Author's note – Can you guess what Ameril and Heri are going to get for Chase? Won't come in until later chapters, so you'll have plenty of time to guess… or add suggestions people make... hmmm...


Open Book

Chase was up in the store part of the library, the Library Faerie having decided to set him to the task of managing the store while she ran some errands. This was something he had never done before, so he was a little bit nervous, as would be expected from someone who had very little training in doing what he was supposed to be doing.

Nixi was pushing back and forth the cart returns. She seemed to be enjoying her job a lot and had put Benny on top, even though Case had said to take the Baby Gelert down from on top. She was also chatting amenably with the ones who came into the store, nearly every single one of them being Faeries.

Even though Chase was nervous, he was able to stay calm enough so that no one noticed that he wasn't human. If any had, they didn't comment about it either. This had made it so he hadn't gotten even more nervous then he was. This was until two girls walked in. They looked to be pop stars, like those two girls Lindsey Lohan and Hillary Duff. Of course, they didn't look exactly like them, just to be the type.

"Can I help you?" Chase asked adding a book to the pile to go back to returns when Nixi got back with her cart and Benny.

"We're looking for books on Faeries," one of the two girls giggled, pulling down her glasses. "See… we're new to Neopets and we've always collected Faerie statues, so what interested us more then anything here were the Faeries."

"I see," Chase muttered, suddenly looking down at the ground.

"You see what?" the second said, her glasses slipping down.

"That you don't have Neopets," Chase commented, stamping yet another book.

"I see you've…" the second said, only to have her friend to cover her mouth.

"Why would f… Fran and me have a Neopet?" the girl said. "You don't have to have a Neopet to participate and do things in the world."

"No… but it is rather weird…" Chase commented, just as the trolley came back, crashing into the counter, causing the two girls to crash. Chase raised an eyebrow as he saw that it was just Benny, looking a little dizzy. "Where's Nixi Benny?"

The Baby Gelert glanced back to where a little Nixi was coming down the hall running. "I'm sorry Chase; I let the trolley get away from me."

"I thought I told you not to go speeding down the hallways," Chase stated. "You have to start Neoschool, tomorrow, don't you?"

"I… I forgot! I don't have any supplies!" Nixi said, suddenly bursting into tears.

"I think that's what mom was going and doing today," Chase commented. "She's always been really good at seeing that I had what I need."

"Who's your mom?" one of the girls said, curiosity in her eyes. It had to be the first one.

"She's… she's the Library Faerie," Chase commented.

"So… humans can be adopted by Faeries?" the girl asked.

"Perhaps…" Chase said. "Or perhaps not."

"Wouldn't that perhaps involve one not being human," the second girl asked.

"That means you're a Boy Faerie! Are there really Boy Faeries in Neopia!" the girl said, a smile on her face.

"Uhh… I… uhh…" Chase suddenly stammered. This had been a conversation he had wanted to avoid, but as it turned out, it had been a human who asked, not a Faerie… or so he was given the impression of.

"Hello Camerie…" said someone from behind the girls. Chase saw the first girl bite her lip and he glanced to the side a bit to see his mother. "You've grown since I've last seen you."

"You lied," Chase commented. "You guys aren't human are you?"

With that, Chase picked up Benny and grabbed Nixi's hoof and left.

"What exactly are you doing here Camerie?" the Library Faerie asked.

"Rumor had it Aunt Daria, that you adopted a male Faerie… a dark one at that," the girl said, glaring at the woman.

"I don't see the problem… it's true," the woman said.

"So, you'll soil the family name by bringing a Faerie into the family this way that is a Dark Faerie?" the girl asked.

"Camerie… if you are going to judge me like this, you can just leave. You have servants to buy your blasted books for you, you don't need to come here. Expesully if you're going to talk about,"

"You don't have to be so snotty," Damier said, wrinkling her nose at her.

"The two of you have the wrong attitude about Ahril. He's a good kid," the Library commented. "If I find that either of you have bothered him when school starts up, I will give word to the Faerie Queen about this."

"What would she have to do with a Dark Faerie?" Camerie said, sneering at her aunt.

"She is the one who gave me the boy, put him into my care. And he is the one thing that I have that I feel is family… no, Nixi and Benny can be added to that now," the adult Faerie said.

"Oh come on!" she said, horror coming to her eyes. "What about me?"

"You've become a snob!" her aunt commented. "I can't deal with that… you're too much like your mother."

"Mother's become the head of the house… when she hears about the boy Faerie, she will throw a cow,"

"Cam… she threw a cow because I couldn't use magic!" the Faerie said.

"That's because you focused too much on your books and look where that got you!" the girl said.

"Ahh… and your mother focused on goofing off… but let's not talk about…"

"She graduated top of her class!" the younger Faerie commented.

"No… she didn't. That was Illusion's brother… if I recall. Illusion was the top of mine,"

"Hold on… Illusion had a brother?" the other light Faerie commented.

"He was an Ice Faerie… who had the ability to use Dark powers," the Library Faerie commented. "His name was Sarin."

"Oh come on… Aunt Daria, everyone knows that there is only one Ice Faerie," Camerie said, going into a little huff.

"Now… there also used to be Thunder Faeries, Sand Faeries… other kinds. A lot of our population just up and disappeared… not to mention a good deal of the Male Faeries," the Library Faerie commented. It was then that Chase came back and put a mug of coffee in front of the library Faerie. "Thank you child."

She took it and was about to sip it when Camerie used her powers to make the mug fly out of her hand and smash into the wall near where Chase was. Some of the coffee hit him, scalding his shoulder. "What was that for! I didn't do anything to you!"

"You were trying to poison my Aunt," Camerie commented.

"I NEVER asked to be a Dark Faerie! I never even asked to be a FAERIE!" Chase said, suddenly turning to storm off, stopping though in the doorway. "Oh… Nixi wants to know if there are any school supplies for her."

"That was one of my earlier trips. I got some things for her and you for school,"

"What do you mean?" Chase said confusion on his face.

"Neo Faerie School starts soon… after Neoschool starts," the Library Faerie said. "Ahh… we'll have to discuss some things."

"I am not going to learn to fly and I am not going to learn to use my powers," Chase said, suddenly storming off.

"I'll have to talk to him later,"

"So… he really can't use his powers or fly?" the second Faerie commented.

"No… he just found out he's Faerie blood," she then turned to her niece. "Whether you like it or not, he is now your cousin. And no, he wasn't going to poison me! I want both of you out and don't come back unless you're on better behavior and willing to accept him."

"You know that he's going to cause you to lose tons of business," her niece said.

"Considering I am the only bookseller in Faerieland, I don't think that is a problem," she said, pointing to the door.


Author's note – I had planned on reveling that I created a brother for Illusion later, but… it kind of ended up this way.