Heroes
By: Kikyo-the-Walnut
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: Same as the last chapter, kay?
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Only a few miles away from King Hagan's castle, a purple Lupe sat under the same starry sky. He was an ordinary Lupe, albeit the fact that he had an unusual lavender swirl on his left hind leg; which was not characteristic of any Neopet. He wistfully looked up into the shining stars, as if trying to memorize the exact appearance of each one. He looked at the endless, dark swirl of the stars' backdrop, before he fell asleep next to his sister.
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Before I start my story, I should tell you about myself. My name is Calix. Nothing exciting or regal about my name. I was born a Meridell peasant and hope to die one.
My parents died when I was only three years old. I've lived on my own since, with my five-year-old sister, a Faerie Poogle named Maxie. We survive on our own very well; I'm a mercenary, that is, I get paid to do other Neopet's dirty work. Normally I can secure two or three jobs a week, so I can always bring home food.
I'm not mean, really. Just defensive. I'm a mercenary because I have to be; really, I wouldn't like to harm anyone. I act tough when I work, though, because I have to. You can't act soft in my field of work.
Anyway, for a few years, the system worked fine: I'd be out job-hunting most of the day, then in the evening stop, hunt down some food, and bring it home, to the abandoned farmer's field Maxie and I shared. Until one day, when a "job" brought me all the way to Faerieland. To Jhudora, the Dark Faerie herself. I wasn't thrilled about helping such an evil faerie, but she'd promised to pay me quite a lot.
I'd done the job—I'd wounded some Shoyru with a dagger she'd given me—and then I'd returned home. Today, I would collect my earnings.
"Maxie," I told my sister, handing her a few days' worth of Neopoints, "Take care of yourself, hear? You can buy food at the shop whenever you're hungry. And until I get back, sleep under tall grass at all times. Never let any other Neopet notice you're by yourself."
"All right, Calix," Maxie said agreeably, taking the Neopoints and tucking them away into her sash. "Be safe."
"You don't have to worry about me," I told her. "I'll be fine."
"Okay," Maxie replied. "Well, bye then."
"Bye," I said with a nod. I turned and scampered off into the woods, in the direction of Faerieland. That was one thing I could say for myself, I guess: I had a good sense of direction.
It would be a long trip, I knew, over five hundred miles. I'd packed a knapsack with food and money, however, so I wouldn't have to worry about cost. I'd be taking a ferry most of the journey, anyway. As I thought that, I instinctively gripped the ticket I'd bought a few days prior. It was still safely in my satchel as I'd left it.
As I bounded past various trees and bushes, all extremely lush and green because of the rainy season Meridell was going through, I became aware of a loud noise to the west. It was a combination of trumpets blaring, leaves crunching, and Neopets shouting.
Probably Meridell's army, marching through, I thought. I slowed down to a trot, then a halt. I crouched behind a boulder so I could watch.
"Come on, men! March!" I heard an Eyrie call. They were definitely coming closer, I could tell.
Suddenly, they burst into the clearing I was in. I almost gasped, then stopped myself: the army was amazing.
There were about half a doTanysa Shoyrus wearing matching red and gold-trimmed uniforms, blowing into their trumpets. The leader, a blue Eyrie, was wearing full captain regalia—the stiff, pressed hat, the button-up coat, the polished boots, and the sword at the hip. The troop itself were all in uniform khaki, standing six abreast and seven deep. They all looked alert, aware, and professional.
"Halt!" the Eyrie called suddenly. The Neopets all stopped abruptly, never losing rank. Why was he stopping? I wondered.
"There is someone here," the Eyrie announced, cupping his hand to his ear. I stiffened. Did he notice me? I had hoped not to be seen, for it was standard practice for the military to question and return any travelers without a visa they saw to the castle. I had no permit.
As if he'd read my thoughts, the Eyrie marched over to the boulder I hid behind. He looked directly at me, with a hard, steely gaze.
"Why were you hiding?" he asked me in a hard voice, a voice that matched his eyes.
"I was watching you," I told him noncommittally, my voice quivering.
"Indeed? From behind a rock?" the Eyrie asked skeptically. "Let me see your visa."
I winced. I'd hoped he wouldn't ask that. "I... I don't have one," I admitted, looking down mournfully. Maybe he would have pity on me?
He didn't. "Well, you'll have to come to the castle to get one," the Eyrie said, flexing his wings, "So come with us. My name is Shega, by the way, but if you want to address me, it's Captain."
It was exactly as I'd predicted. I'd be delayed days, possibly weeks, and Maxie would run out of Neopoints soon. Just great, I thought. Dejectedly I followed him and took a place at the back of the regiment, head bowed.
"Turn around!" the Eyrie shouted without further ado. In unison, everyone except me made a sharp one hundred-eighty degree turn. After I realized what was happening, I followed suit more slowly, earning disapproving looks from the contingent.
We marched a few miles west, back to the castle. I tagged along, unsure as of where to walk. Certainly the soldiers didn't accept me as one of them; if I tried to join their ranks, they would push me out of the way and keep walking.
I couldn't help but worry about the reward, too. Would Jhudora still give it to me if I was late? Would she put a curse, or something equally as vile, on me if I still turned up?
Nevertheless, I was more worried about my sister. Could she survive on her own when her Neopoint supply ran dry? I'd only given her enough for a day or two, perhaps one more. Would she come looking for me?
When we reached the castle, Shega halted the troops and strode to the giant wooden door. He quickly slapped the brass knocker against the door a few times, then waited.
Slowly the door creaked open, and a uniformed Skeith bowed to us as we entered neatly and still in formation. Once Shega had made sure we'd all fit through the doorway, he told us to stop. The Skeith closed the door with a thud.
We waited for five, maybe ten minutes for King Skarl to turn his attention to us. I started to become fidgety from standing in one place in half the time. Was this how Skarl always was?
Finally, the King slowly, deliberately turned his head toward us, and nodded deeply. Shega saluted.
"Any news, Captain?" Skarl asked, talking very slowly.
"No." In contrast to King Skarl's unhurried voice, Shega's was sharp and quick. "But we did find this Lupe here, who was traveling without a proper visa." He motioned to me, and I hesitantly stepped forward.
"I see," Skarl said. "And why didn't you have authorization?" he asked, looking at me.
"Well... I didn't have time," I told him. I didn't mention that I didn't have enough Neopoints for a permit, anyway.
"I see," the King said again. "Well, you can purchase one legally in the morning. For the night, stay at the castle."
"But I was sort of in a hurry..." I explained nervously.
"Well, I'm sorry, but you have to stay here," Skarl said with finality. "It's for your own good. Marta will show you to your room."
He motioned to a red Ixi, who scurried up to me and bowed. "Right this way, sir," he said politely.
He led me up a flight of stairs, to a wing of the castle marked "Guests", and to a crude wooden door.
"Here," he said. "Enjoy your stay."
"Yeah, right," I muttered when the Ixi scampered away. Grumbling, I opened the door, revealing a simple wood-furnished bedroom complete with a bed, toiletries, and a fire pit to cook meals. Shelves freshly stocked with food adorned the walls.
I plopped down on the bed disgustedly. Here I was, enjoying a real bed for once, while my baby sister was stuck sleeping in a grubby field. Scowling, I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl, peeled it, and took a bite. When I was done, I threw the empty peel into the garbage.
Suddenly I heard a voice from King Skarl's throne room, someone shouting. I opened the door and listened harder.
"Sire, is there any other way you can help Princess Tanysa? Can you talk with your brother or something?"
"I told you, Jeran, no. I usually don't talk with King Hagan that much."
"You mean you can't, just because you have a grudge against him?"
"What good would it do? He wouldn't listen. He has too high of an opinion of himself, anyway."
"I guess so." The voice seemed a little calmer.
"We can talk more in the morning, Jeran."
"Right."
The conversation ended, and I heard footsteps. Coming toward me. I hastily shut the door so no one knew I'd been eavesdropping, but—
"Hey!" a blue Lupe—Jeran—had seen me. He walked down the hallway to my door and opened it wider.
"I can explain—" I began, although really I couldn't.
"I don't want excuses," Jeran snapped, looking angrily. "How much did you hear?"
"Well—something about a Shoyru named Tanysa..." I stammered. Jeran didn't look happy.
"And... and she got stabbed with a poisoned dagger, right?" I asked with dread, knowing the answer. She was the one Jhudora had targeted... the one I had targeted.
"How do you know?" Jeran asked suspiciously.
Oops. I couldn't let him know I'd done it; he probably wouldn't take it lightly. I mean, this was Jeran, the famous Meridellian knight!
"Well, I heard about it from... um..." I said uncomfortably. Jeran looked me in the eyes, and I looked away.
"You seem to know an awful lot," he said, narrowing his eyes. "You did it, didn't you?"
"No!" I squeaked. "No, I—"
But I was cut off. Jeran was shouting again.
"Why did you do it? You'd better have a good reason to harm Tanysa!"
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Author's Notes: Oooh! Jeran got MAD! Heh, something tells me he has FEELINGS for Tanysa! Ooooooooooooh... Tsk, tsk. Anyway, me likey if you review!