Now you see why I made the decision to release both at once. You might have started getting worried about Capara. Keep that tension in mind. It's important. And for anyone who dislikes questioning sexuality, you might want to reach minimum safe distance.
Disclaimer: All characters, places, and whatnot belong to NeoPets.com, not me. I did the story and nothing but. Please don't hurt me or sue me, I am making no money off of this at all, I swear. I am making no copyright claims and am just using the characters for the purposes of fun and entertainment, not profit.
What do you think? Write to me at DeMachina@cs.com Flamers: Negatory. MSTers: No way. Regular comments: Most assuredly.
Ferny watched Capara vanish behind the doors of the elevators, keeping her in the corner of her eye. The girl was gone and everything was done with. No more problems, no more strange feelings, nothing but peace. Ferny wiped her eyes with the hem of a dress and started to pack again, more rationally and calmly. "That didn't require as much time or effort as I thought it might. Nothing more to do except wrap my Caparas... tiaras. That was odd."
~All alone.~
~Nothing but my thoughts.~
"I hope I didn't chip a nail when I slapped her. That's all I'd need. Ooooh, that... commoner!" Ferny checked her nails as she always did, and tried to ignore the gnawing realization that the word commoner had lost it's offensive sting. In her mind it was no longer bad to say or be that. And she couldn't dare consider what that might mean.
~And that's what scares me.~
~That I will now have to think...~
"This certainly was a misguided adventure. I thought I could prove my skill and ability by both winning the championships and making it on my own. Daddy will not be pleased. Well, if he never finds out he'll never get mad. I could... Oh no! I'm thinking like her! Then again, I've always trusted deceit to keep me from trouble. I just never thought anyone else would use it on me." Ferny concentrated hard on every minute detail of everything that she did, to keep her mind occupied and away from the questions that burned inside. Was she really so different from Capara? And, did she really hate the girl who had come to love her, despite everything?
~Blindness!~
~Blindness!~
Ferny closed her suitcase and did her best to make it snap shut. But every time she tried to close one side the other side would bulge, or she'd feel something shift and that would force her to open it up and readjust everything. Sometimes it seemed the distractions were intentional, that she purposefully sat in the wrong spot or pushed one place too hard so she'd have to delay her packing. Just keeping her mind occupied... or was she just afraid of leaving too soon?
~Blessed blindness set me free~
~From these thoughts that now haunt me.~
Ferny finally just gave up on trying to close her suitcase, figuring that it could wait until much later. She threw herself onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Since she was in a themed Hotel her ceiling looked like the top of a tropical jungle, each leaf carefully painted to look totally real. I'm not going to let this bother me. I have spending money, I have a good reputation and I have my good looks. I could just go out and do something. Maybe visit that quaint little eatery that Capa... No, maybe I won't do that."
She rolled over on the bed, now laying on her belly and staring at the floor. The carpet, she realized, looked like grass, even though it felt like ordinary carpet. Deceptive appearances. Deceptive... It seemed that she was surrounded by irony. Or maybe it was just her perception doing that. Maybe she was reading into it too much. It was all too complex. Life was so simple back at the palace. She never had to think about things like this. Or anything else... for that matter...
~Life is hard and getting harder~
~Out of the way or let it mow you down.~
"My life is not spiraling out of control! It just can't! I refuse to let some little Kyrii upset my life! I am a Princess! I always have my way! I never had to... Had to deal with... Some life." She'd seen too much of real life while hanging on Capara's arm. She'd seen heartbreak and disappointment, seen losers with nothing to show but an empty wallet. She'd also seen winners laughing and joking with everyone around them. Life from bad to good, everything that she never saw in the palace. "Smiling yes-men and functionless tag-alongs, all of them! Why would daddy try to keep me ignorant? It's not like I'm a stupid girl. I got good grades when I was with my tutor who... Worked for daddy..."
~Truth is hitting and hitting hard~
~No time to run and no place to hide.~
"It's true. I really didn't know anything. How can I even be sure that what I know is truthful, or even just accurate? All the things I thought I knew, math, science, everything. It might all be garbage. And I'd never know. Even my social skills are impaired. I never had to see the bad and good. Only she showed it to me... And I can say that without fear." Ferny slid herself off the bed and looked at her suitcase, packed but open. Just like her mind. Filled with a thousand ideas but open and willing to have them explored. "Just what am I running from? And who?"
~Fight or flight?~
~Lay down and let it strike.~
"When I saw her, I thought she was a boy, she tricked me and then told me the truth. Simple. That's how it was, no question." The flimsy and two-dimensional story fell flat in her mind, because she knew she could flesh that story out. "Well... Did I really think she was a boy? No, I didn't. I just thought, "What a great looking pet! I think I'll go over and talk." I didn't even think about gender until she started talking. Had she let on right then and there, would I have been disgusted? Or anxious?"
~Slowly, like a glacier's crawl~
~Truth is emerging.~
"After that she led me along. But it's not like I resisted her. I couldn't. She was so handsome... pretty... or something like that. She had charm, wit, wisdom and an air of strength. She put up well with the things that I said, which really must have hurt her inside. She's a might fine actress indeed. She managed to suppress the urge to speak against me. I let myself be led, and revealed everything to her. Maybe that's why she fell for me. She knew all about me, and liked what she saw. For whatever reason she liked what she saw when I was laid plain and couldn't hide behind my pretenses."
~Slowly, like the drifting of continents~
~Truth is being set free.~
"She told me the truth... She had fallen in love with me. That last game, I could see, she played with pure desperation. She had to win, to get herself off of the streets. She wanted a home, a warm bed, clothes, everything that I more than take for granted. And yet, I saw her. Up at that winner's podium, in the spotlight, at the top... She was looking down at me. And I was actually crying." Ferny balled her gloved hands into fists, gritting her teeth as she considered what a fool she had been. "I had the nerve to cry... I made her feel bad for winning the happiness she deserves... And then I... I slapped her and sent her away. I said I couldn't work. It must be able to work. It has to work. She was willing to make it work..."
~Flip the cards.~
~Flip the cards.~
Ferny wiped her eyes and started to pull things from her suitcase. After a few of her dresses ended up on the floor she decided to go out and worry about the clothes later on. "I wish she'd told me where she was staying. I have no clue." Ferny made her way to the elevator and took it down to the lobby. She was going nowhere but out into the NeoVegas night, because she just had to leave and at least try to find her. "Maybe that spot we first met. She's probably there just thinking." But a whisper in the back of her mind reminded her that Capara was crushed. And that she could probably do something less than rational... Ferny's pace went from a quick walk to a full run.
~What are the odds?~
~One perfect pair.~
Ferny saw the streetlight from quite a distance, but couldn't tell if anyone was there. Until she got a little closer. Under the illumination of the streetlight like so many others stood the Kyrii she had come to admire and adore, the one who had taught her so much about life. "Capara!" Ferny shouted as soon as she was close enough to be heard. "Capara! Wait there!"
"Ferny?" Capara turned from her somewhat stiff position against the streetlight and turned to regard her. Surprised was written all over Capara's face, but it was also obvious that her eyes had been filled with tears.
"Capara please don't... Don't leave. I didn't mean it." Ferny finally arrived at the light, standing quite close to Capara, practically pressing against her.
"I'm sorry, Princess. But you said for me to go? What am I supposed to believe?"
"Believe this!" Ferny unashamedly took hold of Capara's hands, squeezing them lightly as their fingers intertwined.
"What..?" Capara looked down at the twined fingers, slowly bringing her hands up to really look, to make sure it wasn't just a dream.
"Believe that I..." Ferny drew Capara closer. Her eyes were locked with the Kyrii's. There was no mistake. It had to be true. Blue eyes and blue eyes, coming closer and closer. No more lying from either of them. She only knew the truth. "Believe that..." Nearer and nearer. Their bodies came so close that they ended up pressed together, front to front, at last only one last spot missing from contact... "Believe that I love you..." Their lips touched, Capara quivering, possibly because it was like she was living a dream and feared waking up. Ferny held tightly onto Capara's hands, drawing strength from the girl. She was deathly afraid of what she was doing, but knew that it was the truest thing she had ever done. Their lips remained together for a long while, both of them unwilling to end the first kiss. They both wished to savor it, and savor they did...
To be continued...
Ferny: So this is what it feels like to kiss...
Capara: This is what true love is like...
Ferny: It's so wonderful I can hardly believe it.
Capara: I never want this moment to end.
Ferny: I just want her here all the time.
Capara: I'll never let her go.
Capara and Ferny: This is a dream come true.
Ferny: Now we can both go home. Together.