L'Antique
Summary: We can get you anything and everything… for a price.
Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets
[1]
Request
We can get you anything and everything… for a price.
Those words resounded in his head as Leapfoot moved forwards, his destination the little whitewash cottage that sat in the cobblestone crossway just beyond the quaint plaza.
With whitewashed walls that appeared navy in the twilight, chocolate brown roof tiles, clear glass windows framed by pine wood, and gray stone steps that lead up to a large mahogany door, it looked the same as all its neighboring buildings. But it was also different, and the most obvious was the signboard that swayed a few inches above the door, hanging by slightly rusted chains.
L'Antique, it read in cursive, ancient-looking handwriting. Leapfoot gulped.
This was the place.
His steps slowed significantly with each step he took towards the sleek mahogany doors, until he finally stopped before the brass handle that gleamed in the moonlight.
We can get you anything and everything… for a price.
"W-w-well… here goes nothing…"
Plucking up what little courage that he had, Leapfoot raised a paw and knocked gently against the wood. The resulting sound echoed spookily around the almost deserted neighborhood and Leapfoot jumped at the sound.
"S-Stupid!" he chided his own cowardice. "You made that sound! What are you afraid of?"
With a pounding heart, Leapfoot gripped onto the brass handle and pushed. A bell jangled lightly and the door slid open just a fraction, unoiled hinges screeching into the dark, candlelit shop. It was, surprisingly, unlocked. As if the owner had already anticipated his arrival.
Somehow, that thought chilled him to the core.
"H-Hello?" he greeted. The shadows returned it with absolute silence. Candle fires swished gently with the new breeze, as if welcoming his presence.
Unsure of what he was supposed to do or what was supposed to happen, Leapfoot invited himself in. Taking small, cautious steps, the cybunny had a vague impression of a haunted house where the door would slam behind him at any second and lock him there for all of eternity.
A tingle down his spine prompted him to look to his left, and…
"Holy-!"
Crashing onto the hardwood unceremoniously, the cybunny looked up at the face a blue scorchio, dressed in a red uniform and holding a cardboard box. It stared at him for as long as he stared at it, and cold sweat ran down his back at the thought of being mistaken for a thief. Granted, he wasn't a thief yet, at least until the initiation ceremony was over. But right now, he was a client, and it was not a good idea to get in trouble with the one he was seeking help from.
He immediately leapt up and bowed in apology.
"I'm very sorry! I wanted to… oh sh-!"
In his reckless rush to clear himself of unwanted charges, Leapfoot had accidentally hit the other neopian. The scorchio smiled statically as it fell backwards with a clatter. His hand outstretched, Leapfoot stared dumbly at the fallen piece of neopian-sized cardboard. He almost face palmed.
"Good going, Leapfoot. You got freaked out over a piece of cardboard. What kind of a to-be-thief are you?"
Allowing himself a chance to glance around the vacant shop, Leapfoot spotted in the suffocating darkness the shapes of packets of food rations, piled neatly in a corner of the shop specifically designated for food products. Meatloafs, neggs, and all sorts of goods that had failed to sell out for the day sat silently on the tables, their vast array of colours bright even in the blackness. To the right, books filled the shelves in one corner, magical ingredients and artifacts the other. Swords and staves lined the walls, some remaining on tabletop display next to shields, bucklers, ropes, and other basic equipment.
As his eyes trailed to the countertop, he drew in a deep breath. On the dark, elegant table, he spotted the most exotic of arrangements that he had failed to notice in his fearful retreat from the cardboard scorchio. A forest amulet lay beside bracelets, rings and earrings. It was an amazingly rare jewelry, extremely hard to obtain and rumored to offer protection in the Haunted Woods. And on the next table, peridot, ruby, amethyst, and citrine lined the desk beside a beautiful, unblemished stone of shiverthyst. It glowed a brilliant sky blue hue, arousing his thief instincts and causing his grubby hands to itch with desire. And…
Oh gods, was that a supernova?
Leapfoot pinched his arm. He had to control himself! But the jewel… the nova… it was just so mesmerizing…
"Damned beast!"
There was a crash, and Leapfoot leapt backwards in shock. A trapdoor that he had not noticed burst open, allowing a sinewy shape to leap out from within the underground room. A flash of blonde blinded his eyes and a slam that shook the entire building deafened his ears moments later.
"And stay in there!" a distinctly female voice screamed.
To his absolute shock, whatever was below the trapdoor bashed against it, retreating with a groan and a frustrated hiss only when the wood refused to budge.
"Good riddance…"
Maybe it was from the shock of having someone appear from the middle of nowhere, screaming at the top of her lungs; or maybe it was from everything that he had been through in this short fifteen minutes of his life, that Leapfoot found himself suppressing the urge to wet himself. Fearfully, he gazed into the pink irises unique to his kind and froze when they glared darkly at him.
But in that instant, those eyes brightened and the girl's temper diminished.
"Oh? A customer, at this time?"
Placing a hand on the dark countertop, the lass flipped over the table and landed soundly in front of him. Setting the babaa she held in her hands onto the floor, she placed her hands on her waist in an almost arrogant pose and regarded him disapprovingly.
"Welcome to the L'Antique," she greeted. "The name's Cynthia, and though I'd really like to serve you and all we're closed for the night."
"But… the door-"
"Was open, yes. I forgot to lock it."
Leapfoot found himself sweatdropping at her eccentricities. What he had expected of the owner of a shop like L'Antique, it was certainly not her. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. As if reading his thoughts, her eyes narrowed and she snapped.
"Well, what are you still doing here? Keep those ogling eyes to yourself and get out before I drag you out."
"W-wait!" he cried, just as she turned her back to him. "I-I've heard that you can get anything and everything…?"
"Yep," the other cybunny nodded. "That's our motto. Well, mine anyways."
"Yours?"
"Uh-huh? You see anyone else around here? 'cept for Wylie, of course."
The white babaa blinked bright blue eyes and bleated sleepily at the call of its name.
"Then why…?"
"Cause it sounds better that way, duh."
Leapfoot said nothing. He couldn't say anything without it sounding stupid or foolish. A part of him actually regretted stepping foot into this shop, or even overhearing the townsfolk's gossips about the girl's remarkable ability to accomplish any given request in a relatively short period of time. But he hadn't another option, had he? It was either here, or the orchard with living statues.
"So, are you going to just stand there and look pretty? Cause if you are, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
That effectively snapped him out of his stupor.
"A-ah actually, I have a request," he said, "I've got to steal four silver apples for the first task of the Thieves' Guild initiation ceremony, but the Royal Orchard terrifies me… there are statues that cometolife and trytoeatyou!"
Those last words came out in a scrambled rush and would not have made any sense whatsoever had he been talking to someone not completely interested in what he was saying.
Cynthia snorted, and despair hit him like a wave.
"I really, really want to get in! Please! I'll pay you anything!"
He swore he saw a glitter in the shopkeeper's eyes at that statement. The other cybunny smiled darkly.
"Now we're talking my language."
Leapfoot gulped for the umpteenth time today. What was she going to require as payment for her service? He'd read in stories about witches who would fulfill your request in exchange for your soul, and this girl's demeanor fit that kind of namesake in every possible way. He winced as she opened her mouth.
"Twenty neopoints per apple."
"Please don't take my soul- wait, what did you say?"
The shopkeeper put on an almost bemused expression.
"I said, twenty neopoints per apple. But I can always increase the service charge if you deem it… insufficient for such a task."
"N-No! Twenty is fine!" he replied hastily. "Twenty neopoints is perfectly fine."
"Good, but I'll have to ask you to pay a deposit first. Can't have you pranking me to do anything that would get me in trouble."
He nodded blindly. "How much?"
"Half of the agreed price."
Digging into his pockets, Leapfoot forked out the coins with shaking hands and placed them in her outstretched palm.
"You… won't tell anyone else about this, will you?"
The blonde looked affronted.
"Confidentiality of the customer's identity is a part of my business."
"G-g-great!"
"A pleasure doing business with you," Cynthia smiled cheerfully, pocketing the deposit. "Come back in the morning. I'll have your order ready by then."
And before Leapfoot could say anything more, the door slammed shut in his face. He blinked stupidly.
Since when had he been standing outside of the shop?