Edna: From the Beginning

Seeing how Halloween is just around the corner, I decided to give everyone a little spirit. Halloween is, after all, the most creative and exciting part of the year! Who would turn down free candy? Without Halloween every year, I wouldn't know what to do.

So, as you know, Edna is a very popular witch who is situated in the deep and scary forests of the Haunted Woods. Every day Neopets visit her for quests and in return receive pleasant awards. Sometimes she is taken as a rather rude and snobby Zafara, but none of that is true at all. No one actually knows where Edna came from, or how she became a Witch, and I am here to tell you the whole story, from when Edna was just a child to now. Edna really never gets the credit she deserves. Just take a minute and read about the notorious witch from the Haunted Woods…

      "Edna! Edna, come down here right now! I am not going to wait one more minute!"

      Edna heard her wicked aunt calling from downstairs and groaned. "Am I only here to do work? Cant I have a little bit of privacy once in a while?" Edna muttered under her breath. She dropped her blue mirror and headed toward her door. The floor shook slightly beneath her as she walked, and she could almost feel her aunt's anger begin to rise.

      "Edna, you lazy Zafara! Stop making those noises on the floor! Your great great grandfather built this house with his own two paws, and it's about time you appreciated it!"

      Edna scowled and walked grumpily down the stairs. "This house is set to fall apart at any second. A Mootix could knock it down!" she whispered angrily under her breath.

      Edna entered the kitchen and sat down lazily on the chair beside her cousin, who was admiring his new fur, which to Edna's surprise was a marvelous electric blue. She looked angrily from her aunt to her cousin, who was now noticing Edna's shock.

      "Mom noticed how good I was being and how much work I was getting done… unlike you," he smirked, "so she decided to buy me a paint brush and paint me Electric!" Her cousin once again began admiring his shiny new coat, seeing Edna's eyes turn green with envy.

      "That's not fair! Aunt Chelsa, I do tons more work than Jacob does around the house! All day long he sits around playing with that darn Puppyblew of his! I don't understand why he gets rewarded and I don't!" Edna yelled, unable to hold in her anger. Tears began burning in her eyes as she tried desperately to look confident in front of her sniggering cousin.

      Edna's aunt turned toward her, her face red with anger and hate. "How dare you contradict me! That is no way for a Zafara - especially a Zafara of your heritage - should behave! You should be on your knees thanking me for taking you in those years back when your parents left to fight for Meridell! I am sick of this! Upstairs! Get upstairs now and don't come out until I allow you!"

      Edna, tears now almost streaming down her face, got up and ran upstairs and into her room.

      "It's not fair! I'm always treated like this, and it's just horrible! I do everything around here! I clean, I feed the petpets, I do all the chores I'm ordered to do everyday, and Jacob does nothing! This isn't a home, it's a prison!" Edna said to herself, wiping tears from her eyes and snatching up her stuffed bear.

      "I think it's about time I left this place. I am quite old and should be living on my own now anyhow. Its not like she's my mother or anything, she's just my aunt - and a rude aunt at that! I can ask people around the woods for food, or just some regular stuff that'll help keep my safe and alive while I look for a home."

      And with that, Edna made up her mind. Quickly grabbing her bag and throwing the small amount of items she possessed into it, she grabbed her cloak and opened the window. She took a glance back and smiled. "Goodbye forever!" And she jumped out the window.

      She landed on the soft ground of the woods. It was the middle of the afternoon and still quite bright. Edna was glad. She didn't want to be out in the woods so late. She had heard many stories about these woods, and she wouldn't want to be caught anywhere in sight when the moon began to glow in the sky.

      She began to walk away from the unstable house. She didn't know where she was going or what she would do, but the farther she got from the house, the better.

      Edna roamed around the forest for what seemed like an hour. She passed by the castle of Eliv Thade, the Game Graveyard - where she stopped for a few minutes to pay her respects and wipe a tear from her eye - and the infamous Esophagor. It was when she passed by the Brain Tree that she got an idea. Standing alone not too far away from her was a Kacheek looking around with mild interest. The idea growing in her head, Edna headed toward the Kacheek and smiled brightly.

      "Hi! I'm Edna, and I… I give out quests. They're not hard quests, just simple quests that any Neopet can do. I need to make, uh… a Magic Scroll of Kacheek Transforming, and it will require only two items," Edna said with polite enthusiasm.

      For a moment the Kacheek looked at Edna as if she were crazy, but a moment later his face broke out into a smile. "Sure thing! I accept, I guess."

      Edna smiled, cheering happily within herself. She quickly thought of some basic tools she would need to survive and summoned up two very important things. "Please bring me a Green Toothbrush and some Carnupepper Soup!"

      The Kacheek's eyes lightened up with surprise. "Inexpensive! I love it! Where shall I find you when I fetch the items?"

      Edna looked around. "Here is okay I guess…I don't really have anywhere to sleep or live for tonight anyhow."

      The Kacheek stood for a moment until his bright eyes lit up once more. "There's an empty tower right by the Haunted House that you can stay in for the night! I hear that no one has occupied it in years. I haven't got a clue why, but it can be a safe place for you to stay in for tonight."

      Edna smiled brightly and almost hugged the Kacheek. "You're wonderful! Just come and visit me at that tower when you get the items; I won't be doing much, just bustling about trying to get comfortable, I suppose."

      And with that, both Edna and the Kacheek parted. The Kacheek heading toward the nearest food store, and Edna hopping off towards the rather gloomy-looking tower.

      Edna stepped in and looked around. It had an eerie feel to it and it was rather dingy and cold, but it would do for the night. Edna was just glad her plan had succeeded and that she had found a place to sleep for tonight. She paced up and down, waiting for the Kacheek to return and contemplating why the tower had been abandoned for these many years. Perhaps Edna could even stay here a few days before she found herself a place to live…

      After just twenty minutes of waiting, the Kacheek returned with a grin on his face. He held out his palm, and in it were both the brush and the soup. Edna was almost ecstatic. She thanked the Kacheek, who said he would visit her and do another quest whenever he visited the woods again. Edna gradually accepted, happy that she had met such a kind Neopet in the depths of the Haunted Woods.

      Days and days passed, and as time went by, days turned into weeks. The word of Edna's quests was spreading around, and although she wasn't getting very much business, a few Neopets a day were coming to visit her. Soon the tower was full of items friendly Neopets had given to her when they had asked for a quest. In time, the value of all the items Edna had received was enough to buy an actual neohome. It was Halloween night when Edna was planning to move out.

      She packed the last of her belongings and looked at the once again cold and gloomy tower that she had spent some weeks in and even called home. She sighed and smiled, and just as she headed to the door a bright light flashed from up above.

      Edna stopped and looked toward the high ceiling. Hesitantly, she said, "Is anyone there?" She dropped her bags and walked further into the tower, looking cautiously upwards.

      In the distance, a voice rose throughout the whole tower, vibrating against the walls and making Edna jump.

      "It is Halloween Night. A time when all the evil of Neopia come out and do what they please. You, Edna, are what I will consider the next big thing."

      For a moment all Edna could do was stay rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend what had just happened. After a few moments she summoned up the courage to speak. "What in the world are you talking about? I'm just about to-" Before Edna could finish, a bat-like and beautiful Acara swooped downwards, and green light spread all around the tower, illuminating the ominous walls and causing Edna to yell out in shock. "W-what is going on!?" she yelled out frantically.

      The winged Acara swooped over her and moved her hands rapidly. "It is time for you to become what you have been set out to be," the creature said, waving her hands ever more quickly and muttering under a strange tongue. She seemed to be citing an odd incantation.

      Before Edna could say or much less do anything, the tower illuminated with bright green light once more and she could feel herself changing. Her beautiful blue skin began to turn a bubbly and grotesque green, her ears sprouted largely and a dark cloak wrapped around her. She began to feel different, act different, and even see differently.

      The strange Acara laughed and swept outside, yelling: "Happy Halloween to the new Witch! Always count on Vira to make it worthwhile!"

      From outside, Neopets trick-or-treating all around looked up into the sky and saw the tower burning a bright green. No one knew what had happened or what was going on.

      Deep in the tower, a new Edna had transformed. She dumped out all her belongings and threw them each into a pot whom a cheery Lenny had once given her. She laughed hysterically. Her laugh echoed through the whole of the Haunted Woods.

      Ever since, Edna - although not as harsh or vulgar as most - has been forever changed. No longer is she cheery and helpful as she was before.

      Neopets from all over the globe visit her everyday, accepting quests and giving items to her. No one knows what Edna brews over everyday in that dingy tower of hers, and rumors all over the Haunted Woods speculate that she has a horrible plan.

      The polite and kind side of Edna has long since disappeared, but her life will linger on in that tower for a long time to come.

The End