Disclaimer: See the last chapter. I don't own Neopets, I own Starry Faerie
Acaras and Dee. Oh, and Simli. I made her up. She's mine.
***
Mirrors don't lie...Right?
***
"Once upon a time, there lived a Kougra Princess. Usually, she was busy racing about, practicing riding and archery and fencing, and a great many other things that are not considered proper for princess, as well as a few that were. Right now, however, she was sitting, staring out one of the large picture windows, bored out of her feline skull.
'Your Highness!' gasped her nurse, a kindly Blumaroo by the name of Simli. 'Why are you hidden away up here? Your parents have been quite worried.'
'So let them worry.' said the princess sullenly. She shifted to a more comfortable position, her dark green fur catching the light. Dark blue strips accented it perfectly, giving her what people called 'unique' when they were polite and 'strange' when they weren't. 'And stop with the highness stuff! It's just silly. When I become queen, I won't let anyone call me 'your highness'.'
'Your-- Princess Gem, I mean, you cannot mean that! Now, come along, your dance instructor is waiting.'
'Maybe I don't want to learn how to dance. Perhaps I would rather swim in the river.' muttered Gem darkly, though not loud enough for Simli to hear. Gem was sick of Simli -- not to mention other servants and relatives-- saying at every available moment that all the things that Gem liked were not proper princess behaviour. She had once overheard her great-aunt Ruby telling her father, Red, that perhaps he should deny Gem of the throne and give it to one of her cousins?
Ever since then, Gem had hidden her interests, and to most people, she studied only the proper things for a princess to learn: dance, sewing, some riding, and all the other things Gem thought too boring for words. She had already decided that she would rule the kingdom of Genovia alone, and so spent all her free time learning things like politics, sword-play, archery, riding, and other little things she thought would be important on the distant day when *she* would be queen.
***
At that time, in the village of Genia, the capital city of Genovia, there lived a small, blue Kougra. His name was Blue. He lived simply, with his mother and father, on a very small farm at the edge of town. At this moment, Blue wasn't working in the fields, or even minding the livestock. He was dressed in his best outfit, walking through the streets of town. These streets were very busy today, and the fields were nearly empty, for today, it was rumoured, a band of traveling musicians would be arriving. Blue carefully smoothed down his dark blue fur, fur that matched the rich indigo colour of his vest. He was the only person that could be spared from the farm chores today, since he wasn't old enough to plant the finicky corn crops.
Pushing his way carefully through the throngs of people already in the square, Blue found a spot just big enough for a thin Kougra like himself. Sliding between a Lenny and a Zafara, Blue found himself right in the front.
'Come one, come all! See amazing things! Have your fortunes told, and see the amazing performing Bloop! All this and more, all for free! All are welcome!'
The person announcing was the strangest Blue had ever seen: A human! But not just any human, this one had a Kougra-like tail! Shaking his head, Blue wandered off around the tents that had been put up all around the square.
***
Gem wandered through the large castle, still bored. Sighing unhappily, she found her way into the old playroom.
The room was large, and hadn't been used---or dusted---in years, probably not since Gem's father, Red, had been a young cub. The playroom was full of all kinds of interesting things, from old items that had long since been discontinued, to ancient, dusty relics from lands far, far away. One of these was Gem's personal favourite. Each time she came up here---and she came up often---she was drawn to it: A large mirror. There was no dust on it; Gem's personal fantasy was that dust didn't have the nerve to settle on it. The air around it felt supercharged, like the static in the air just before lightning strikes. Gem had never seen anything in it except her own reflection, but she could tell that someday, she'd see something else.
This time, as she made her way carefully through the cobwebby playroom, the charged feeling in the air built until Gem was certain her very fur crackled from it. She carefully faced the mirror, sure to find that her green fur was standing up on end.
To her surprise, it was still flat against her body. Gem's amber eyes stared back at her from the mirror, mildly surprised. Suddenly, they opened wide in shock as her image blurred.
It reappeared...or so she thought. On closer inspection, she found that the face that stared back at her, though similar, was covered in dark blue fur, crossed with equally dark stripes. Also, this new Kougra was defiantly a male. Gem whirled, her heart pounding, sure that someone had managed to sneak up behind her.
There was nothing there. Gem turned carefully back to the mirror. To her relief, all it showed was her own wide-eyed image. 'Did I just dream that?' she asked her reflection in a whisper. 'Or...' her voice trembled. 'Or was it *real*?'
Her only answer was the muted sounds of the castle.
***
A/N: Nope, not gonna put up more. I'm gonna leave you hanging as to what happens to Gem and Blue. Bite me. :p Review please, I love getting other peoples' opinions on my work!
***
Mirrors don't lie...Right?
***
"Once upon a time, there lived a Kougra Princess. Usually, she was busy racing about, practicing riding and archery and fencing, and a great many other things that are not considered proper for princess, as well as a few that were. Right now, however, she was sitting, staring out one of the large picture windows, bored out of her feline skull.
'Your Highness!' gasped her nurse, a kindly Blumaroo by the name of Simli. 'Why are you hidden away up here? Your parents have been quite worried.'
'So let them worry.' said the princess sullenly. She shifted to a more comfortable position, her dark green fur catching the light. Dark blue strips accented it perfectly, giving her what people called 'unique' when they were polite and 'strange' when they weren't. 'And stop with the highness stuff! It's just silly. When I become queen, I won't let anyone call me 'your highness'.'
'Your-- Princess Gem, I mean, you cannot mean that! Now, come along, your dance instructor is waiting.'
'Maybe I don't want to learn how to dance. Perhaps I would rather swim in the river.' muttered Gem darkly, though not loud enough for Simli to hear. Gem was sick of Simli -- not to mention other servants and relatives-- saying at every available moment that all the things that Gem liked were not proper princess behaviour. She had once overheard her great-aunt Ruby telling her father, Red, that perhaps he should deny Gem of the throne and give it to one of her cousins?
Ever since then, Gem had hidden her interests, and to most people, she studied only the proper things for a princess to learn: dance, sewing, some riding, and all the other things Gem thought too boring for words. She had already decided that she would rule the kingdom of Genovia alone, and so spent all her free time learning things like politics, sword-play, archery, riding, and other little things she thought would be important on the distant day when *she* would be queen.
***
At that time, in the village of Genia, the capital city of Genovia, there lived a small, blue Kougra. His name was Blue. He lived simply, with his mother and father, on a very small farm at the edge of town. At this moment, Blue wasn't working in the fields, or even minding the livestock. He was dressed in his best outfit, walking through the streets of town. These streets were very busy today, and the fields were nearly empty, for today, it was rumoured, a band of traveling musicians would be arriving. Blue carefully smoothed down his dark blue fur, fur that matched the rich indigo colour of his vest. He was the only person that could be spared from the farm chores today, since he wasn't old enough to plant the finicky corn crops.
Pushing his way carefully through the throngs of people already in the square, Blue found a spot just big enough for a thin Kougra like himself. Sliding between a Lenny and a Zafara, Blue found himself right in the front.
'Come one, come all! See amazing things! Have your fortunes told, and see the amazing performing Bloop! All this and more, all for free! All are welcome!'
The person announcing was the strangest Blue had ever seen: A human! But not just any human, this one had a Kougra-like tail! Shaking his head, Blue wandered off around the tents that had been put up all around the square.
***
Gem wandered through the large castle, still bored. Sighing unhappily, she found her way into the old playroom.
The room was large, and hadn't been used---or dusted---in years, probably not since Gem's father, Red, had been a young cub. The playroom was full of all kinds of interesting things, from old items that had long since been discontinued, to ancient, dusty relics from lands far, far away. One of these was Gem's personal favourite. Each time she came up here---and she came up often---she was drawn to it: A large mirror. There was no dust on it; Gem's personal fantasy was that dust didn't have the nerve to settle on it. The air around it felt supercharged, like the static in the air just before lightning strikes. Gem had never seen anything in it except her own reflection, but she could tell that someday, she'd see something else.
This time, as she made her way carefully through the cobwebby playroom, the charged feeling in the air built until Gem was certain her very fur crackled from it. She carefully faced the mirror, sure to find that her green fur was standing up on end.
To her surprise, it was still flat against her body. Gem's amber eyes stared back at her from the mirror, mildly surprised. Suddenly, they opened wide in shock as her image blurred.
It reappeared...or so she thought. On closer inspection, she found that the face that stared back at her, though similar, was covered in dark blue fur, crossed with equally dark stripes. Also, this new Kougra was defiantly a male. Gem whirled, her heart pounding, sure that someone had managed to sneak up behind her.
There was nothing there. Gem turned carefully back to the mirror. To her relief, all it showed was her own wide-eyed image. 'Did I just dream that?' she asked her reflection in a whisper. 'Or...' her voice trembled. 'Or was it *real*?'
Her only answer was the muted sounds of the castle.
***
A/N: Nope, not gonna put up more. I'm gonna leave you hanging as to what happens to Gem and Blue. Bite me. :p Review please, I love getting other peoples' opinions on my work!
