Laurel

     Laurel the Grey Yurble woke up, dazed and confused, lying on the cold dirt ground in front of a farmhouse in Meridell, not knowing who she was, where she was, where she was from, or what had happened.

      The first Neopian she saw was a big White Skeith who introduced himself as Charley. Charley could eat so much that anyone watching would think he would explode. Laurel explained her situation to Charley. Charley said he would give Laurel a tour of Meridell and maybe something would jog her memory.

      The first stop was extreme potato counter. Laurel felt dizzy after watching the potatoes and slipped on a trail of slime. Charley explained that was from the Slorgs that lived there. The two entered Meri Acres pick your own and ended up with a sniddberry, purple felberry, a pile of dung, a bit of barbed wire, and a pusberry. Laurels' stomach growled and Laurel and Charley shared the three berries. The next stop was the rubbish dump, which was a good thing because Laurel had no idea what she was to do with the pile of dung and barbed wire. They didn't stay long because the smell was overwhelming.

      Charley excitedly told Laurel about "Old Bessie" a huge marrow. The farmer asked Laurel to guess the weight of the biggest marrow grown on the farm that day. Laurel guessed but was wrong and was not let in on the secret of how much it did weigh. Turmaculus was the next stop. Charley told me to try to wake him, I was a bit afraid to do so, what if he did awake? I rang a bell but thankfully all Turmaculus did was let out a big snore. We walked on and saw a small racing arena. Charley said it was for Turdle Racing. Turdle number three was named Smelly, which reminded me of the dump, so I chose number three. I was asked if I would like to feed Smelly anything to help win the race. I felt in my pocket and found a piece of recycled candy corn. I bet only one of my Neopoints as I was not sure how long it would take me to find my home. I lost but it was fun to watch, Smelly may have done better without my food offering. Charley said a really fun game to play was Ultimate Bullseye. As I picked up the bow and arrow, a thought came to mind that this was something I had never tried. Obviously, I hadn't as the first arrow went right to the ground and the others didn't even hit the target.

      Charley told Laurel that the feast at the castle was just about to end and there were always leftovers for anyone who wanted them. Laurels stomach growled again. Laurel ate until she couldn't eat another bite and then the leftover desert was set out. There were all kinds of ice cream. Ice cream thought Laurel, why is that so familiar. Charley had kept a piece of spicy juppie cheese and told Laurel the next stop was Cheeseroller. Laurel laughed thinking the food had gone to Charlie's head. But sure enough at the top of the hill, she pushed the cheese, and it did a forward somersault, dove left and right and finished in 78 seconds, which she was told was horrible, but didn't care as it provided much-needed laughs.

      Next, I saw a beautiful green faerie, who I was told was Illusen. She smiled and asked if I would like to go on a quest for her, I declined as I was already on my own quest to figure out who I was and where I was from. We stopped by Ye Olde Petpets Shop and a Drackonack was looking for a home. Charley said he was looking for a pet so he purchased it and named him Sam. We stopped at a game called Shapeshifter. Charley said he didn't understand the game but asked if wanted a go at it. I declined as it did look difficult. We saw some Mortogs, and Charley said I should try to kiss one as it may turn into a prince. I puckered up but the Mortog exploded with a BANG! We walked into a room with a poker table. The three sitting there asked if I cared to join. I wasn't interested in losing what I did have and there was a smirk on their faces as if they knew one of them would win anyways.

      Charley said the Grumpy Old King Skarl might like to hear a joke so we went into the castle. I said "What did the Blumaroo say to Brucey B? Can of ghost candy canes!" Skarl looked bored and said, "that was not in the least funny." It was getting dark and Laurel was feeling disappointed that she was no closer at the end of the day then where she was at the start of the day as to who she was. She thanked Charley for his kindness, this was not where she belonged, but she had made a new friend! Laurel continued on the path to Brightvale.

           Laurel started to walk down the path towards Brightvale and met Jolly the Plushie Cybunny, she was from Meridell and was a fruit farmer on her way to sell some of her wares. Jolly was very tall and fast. She was so fast she tripped over a bucket of fruit once and it turned to jam. As Jolly and Laurel were walking they saw a poster that said there was a race coming up the next day. Jolly was excited and thrilled to enter the race at the Brightvale Castle.

      As they entered Brightvale they went into the Fruits of Brightvale shop where Jolly sold her fruits. Jollys' favorite fruit was the purblare and she let Laurel try one, it was a bit sour but still yummy! Jolly said she didn't need to be back for a bit so she would give Laurel the grand tour of Brightvale. They walked by the Armoury and both were glad they did not need to purchase anything as there had been peace for so long. Jolly pointed down a couple of paths and told Laurel the bookshop and scrollery were down them. The two came to the Wheel Of Knowledge and Laurel decided to try her luck. Her spin ended in another spin. The next spin resulted in this saying: "Doing a quest for an earth faerie may result in your Neopet gaining a little weight." Well, that was useless. They walked up to the Potionery shop. A Cybunny greeted them and asked what they may be looking for. Laurel told of her situation and the Cybunny said she hadn't heard of anyone missing, but perhaps an Elixir of Intellect may help her remember. Laurel drank the elixir, but nothing seemed to happen. Laurel thanked the Cybunny anyway and continued down the next path past the Motery shop and ended up at the Glaziers shop with such colorful windows. Jolly told the shopkeeper that the recent rainstorm had knocked out one of her Brightvale Berry Stained Glass Windows. The shopkeeper said they were currently out but as soon as a new one was made, they would deliver it to her farm.

      Jolly told Laurel the next stop would be the most fun of the day! Laurel and Jolly colored a Cybunny with a cape juggling fruit. That was fun, relaxing and a much-needed break! As they entered the castle Jolly found out that Princess Roberta, King Hagans' niece also entered the race. Roberta had won every year since the race first started. Roberta was known for her athletic abilities but also her dishonesty. Wise Old King Hagan asked Laurel if she had any wisdom for him. Laurel would have rather had wisdom from the King, not sure that anything she could tell him would help anyway, but why not try. Laurel said, "I believe that friends are like a family of Yurbles." King Hagan said, "I already know that, but I will give you 478 Neopoints and since I am feeling nice today I will give you a ten times bonus." Laurel said, "Thanks that will really help with my future travels." Jolly invited Laurel to stay the night and watch the race the next day. Jolly went to bed that night with worries on her mind. Jolly, Roberta and all the other contestants went to the starting line. The race had started, Jolly was passing Roberta. Roberta tripped Jolly and said, "bite the dust." Jolly went rolling down the hill. As Laurel was watching she thought, wait something was familiar about this, but what? No time to dwell on that, Laurel needed to cheer Jolly on. Jolly was so fast she still caught up and won at the last minute. Everyone cheered for her. They finally had a new winner! Jolly celebrated with all her friends by having a big party. Princess Roberta entered the party and went right up to Jolly and said, "I am sorry." Jolly invited Roberta to join them and now they were friends. Friends can bring out the best in each other.

To be continued...