Astray

     "Psyche, get back here!" yelled a redheaded girl, clutching a mop in one hand and a bucket full of grimy water in the other. "We have to get this place clean before the dust starts taking over, along with grime, dirt and…more dust!"

     "Aw, Aurora, do I have to?" asked the Wocky, jumping off her scooter and letting it crash into a bush. She sighed, and followed her owner, who tossed her the mop.

     Aurora glared down at her pet. "Psyche, you are to clean up the mess your little Feepit left a few minutes ago."

     "It wasn't my fault, Helios isn't disciplined!" said Psyche impatiently. "Can't he clean up after himself?"

     "You know you are to be responsible for your petpet, dear. It wasn't his fault either."

     Muttering bitterly, Psyche began her chores. Not only was she made to mop up a certain little puddle, the Wocky had to clean her room and help set the table. And all the while, Psyche was moaning as if she were planning her own execution.

     "And make sure those dishes squeak when I rub them!" called Aurora gaily, flouncing off with a broom.

     "Do I have to?" groaned the shadow Wocky again.

     Her owner rolled her eyes. "We all play a part here, Psyche. I can't keep working while you slack off, you know. Work is like a pie. When it's divided, each individual gets less of the pie. Thus, if you help me, my load is lessened thanks to you."

     Aurora didn't expect a sardonic answer from a rebellious pet. "What about MY workload then?" snapped Psyche, mopping furiously. "You just don't want me to have fun, don't you?"

     "Well, I do, honey…I really do," stammered the redheaded girl. "It's just that - "

     "That you can't work without seeing me break my back over the most insignificant things!" Psyche finished. She threw the mop down at the feet of her owner and stomped off to her bedroom. "You're not the boss of me!"

     There was nothing Aurora could do, except stare after the Wocky. The owner simply stood there, until a couple of tears began to drip from her usually sparkly blue eyes. She sighed, and immediately jumped onto the sofa, sobbing into a cushion.

     ***

     Night fell, a clear, starless night. Psyche was still sitting on her bed, arms crossed, angry tears pouring. She picked up a trusty dagger she used in battles, and hurled it towards an old sketch of Aurora she had drawn some time ago. The formidable blade sailed forward and hit the picture so hard that it was torn in half.

     But after seeing her owner's face ripped, the shadow Wocky felt a slight twinge of regret and bit her lip. Psyche contritely got up and crossed her room to the door.

     "Aurora?" she called through the hallway. There was no response. Psyche peeked into the living room, where she had last shouted at her owner. However, there was no sign of any life, except Helios the Feepit, asleep on a tiny basket-type bed.

     She shook her petpet awake. "Helios! Helios, where's Aurora?" asked the Wocky worriedly. The Feepit replied by blinking twice and going back to sleep.

     "Where are you? I'm sorry I yelled at you!" Psyche felt more tears flowing down her furry cheeks. Her owner's red head and shining blue eyes was nowhere to be seen, nor was her voice to be heard. After searching every niche and nook of the Neohome, she collapsed onto the sofa and wailed. "What have I done? Why didn't I see the error of my ways? Why? WHY?"

     "Oh, dearest little Wocky, there is no need to cry."

     Psyche lifted her head and scanned the area. Suddenly her gaze fell onto a dazzling purple glow before her eyes. It wasn't Aurora though, and she felt her mouth quiver again with hopelessness. Still, she stared at the illuminated, growing orb that began to take form and realized what it was.

     It was a faerie.

     "Little one, cry no more. Your obnoxious owner has been taken care of."

     "You know where Aurora is? Where?"

     Mavara the dark faerie grinned, a grin that was hard to interpret. "Oh, you wouldn't want to know, darling."

     Psyche frowned. "Yes, I do! Please!"

     The faerie shook her head. "No, no, that horrible girl only makes you work. You need not be tortured by her unfair hierarchy anymore." She stroked the Wocky on the cheek.

     "But…she's not often making me work. Well, maybe sometimes…oh, all right. Aurora is ALWAYS pushing me to do chores." Psyche's bitterness returned and overcame her intense longing. Mavara seemed happy about this as she grinned even wider.

     The dark faerie hovered in midair. "Come with me, my darling," she whispered.

     However the shadow Wocky refused. "My owner says that dark faeries are dangerous and should not be trusted," she proclaimed. At these words Mavara gasped, and her smile faded a bit, but Psyche didn't notice.

     "Don't listen to everything that terrible witch says," said the faerie. "She makes you work, why then should you trust your slaver?"

     Psyche cocked her head in thought. "Umm…" she began.

     "Exactly. Now, will you come or not?" And under her breath, Mavara added, "You can't spend your whole life crying for someone who'll never return, you know."

     "Huh?"

     "Oh, nothing. So, are you ready?" As she saw Psyche nod, the dark faerie snapped her fingers and the two disappeared behind a cloud of smoke.

     ***

"Where are we, Mavara?"

     The shadow Wocky looked around. She and the faerie were transported to what looked like an old abandoned tower, full of barrels and crates. The walls were made of drab gray bricks, and so was the floor. There were only a couple of small windows with bars on them on either side of the circular domain.

     "We have arrived to your new life, Psyche," answered Mavara. "No more nagging owners, no more untrained petpets, and best of all, no more chores!" She cackled an odd laugh that sounded more evil than carefree.

     Completely oblivious to the aura of menace emanating from the place, the Wocky began laughing along with her so-called new friend. "I bet we'll have lots of fun here! So when do we begin?"

     The faerie's smile disappeared instantly, but her eyes continued to glow with a malicious light. "Oh, it begins now, my dear Psyche," she said softly, holding out what looked like a string of metal loops with a matching, spiky collar at the end. "It begins as you wear this around your neck."

     "What is it?"

     "A gift. Doesn't it shine ever so brightly?" She unfastened the clasp on the collar and put it around Psyche's neck. But as Mavara redid the clasp, the shadow Wocky came to her senses and realized that she was now chained.

     She felt the cold metal straddling her furry neck and gasped. It was a chain. "Mavara, what did you do?" she asked, panicking. Psyche stared at the dark faerie, and she stared back at the frightened Wocky, looking more malevolent than ever.

     "Oh, Psyche, I never thought you'd realize my little scheme," said Mavara swiftly. "I wanted to recruit many dumb, carefree pets - "

     "Dumb? I'm not dumb!"

     " - Who will be willing to do my bidding. You were looking for your dear Aurora, Psyche? Well, look behind you!"

     Chains clinking, the shadow Wocky whipped around and nearly fainted in horror. A silver statuette of a girl lying facedown was perched on a stone table. Psyche reached out a paw to touch it, but it was cold and hard to the touch, nothing like the skin of her old owner. She wanted to pick the figure up and hold it close, but Mavara grabbed her chain and pulled her back.

     "Let go of me!" yelled Psyche. She tried to escape, but the collar was fastened too tightly. Now that Mavara was tugging so hard, she also felt as if she were being strangled.

     "Aurora! AURORA! No!" The Wocky groped for the clasp and attempted to undo it, but the dark faerie immediately grabbed her paws and held them down. With the other hand, Mavara reached for a long, gnarled staff with a gray orb shining on top.

     She pointed this into Psyche's eyes. "You will do my bidding," she began. "You will help me in my latest scheme. I never wanted to do this, but your stubbornness has forced me to!" The orb on the staff began to glow, and the color swirled. The movement and the dismal light quickly mesmerized the young prisoner. And it was not only the look in her eyes that began to change…

     In a mirror before Psyche, Mavara could see the eyes beginning to ignite with a malevolent gleam like her own. The teeth of the shadow Wocky slowly grew until they were long and sharp enough to be considered fangs. Psyche was slowly mutating into an evil form. Even the thoughts of Aurora and her old life in her mind began to disappear.

     "How excellent," said Mavara. "Now then, go and guard the entrance! No one must see me begin working on my plot…"

     Psyche wanted to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she let out a stream of incomprehensible growls and snarls which led the dark faerie to grab hold of her chain and pull her back with such force. The Wocky felt the strangling pain of the collar one more time.

     "You will never, ever disrespect me like that, ever again," snapped the faerie. Mavara's Wocky could do nothing but nod…the same nod that got her into this horrible creature's scheme. As Psyche retreated to the door, she heard once more the evil cackles of her captor, and didn't even bat an eye at the silvery statuette on the table next to the doorway.

The End

Author's note: This story is based on the Neopets TCG starter deck card #126, Mavara's Wocky, in case you were wondering.