Joan: You own me.
Aurora: Uhh... yeah, that's true. Oh, and just to let you all know, the chapters are short because they were originally meant to be shown in the Neopian Times...
It was a starry night. The clear sky had not a single trace of clouds in them. The stars were twinkling, winking at each other, in the dark, velvet sky. Lupus, the constellation representing Lupes, was glowing, next to Kreludor, content with company. And it was on this particular night that a pale green Gelert was laying on the front lawn of a mansion, laying on her back, looking at the sky, whispering words…
And the next day, she was just waking up from a restless night. For some strange reason, she felt like she missed something and was trying to remember what it was. Angry for no reason, and still half asleep, she threw her pillow at the wall of the large room. It slid down and landed at a heap on the floor. Then, a white Gelert in a white maid's dress with an apron on stood in the doorway. She eyed the pillow before speaking.
"Joan, breakfast is served."
"Not hungry," Joan, the pale Gelert, mumbled. "I would rather stay in bed and wait until the sun is down."
"C'mon, hon, you have a concert tonight. You did request to spend the afternoon practicing on stage…."
"Oh, alright, Marie," she growled, and pushed her covers aside, slid off the four-poster bed, and slipped a robe over her night clothes.
"Joan, you're not wearing your slippers."
"I don't care."
"You'll get cold."
"I don't care."
"Then you'll be going without shoes all day?"
"Yeah. Brings out my inner personality." Joan walked past the maid, and the maid reluctantly followed.
The mansion was absolutely huge. There were two marble staircases leading up to the same floor, curving toward the wall on each side. Down below was a large room with a chandelier, and many other rooms branching off of it. Joan walked down the right-hand staircase and walked into the dining room. There was a long and large table, made from mahogany wood, a single seat at each end, and an elegant vase of freshly picked flowers as the centerpiece. Joan sighed heavily and sat at the very end, the end that was the farthest away from the front door of the mansion. A Kougra butler set a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and an assortment of other breakfast items in front of her, along with a cup and a pitcher of milk, and a bowl of oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, and off to the side were some fresh slices of smoked cheese. She licked her lips and found her fork, then speared three pieces of smoked cheese and ate them.
"I thought you were not hungry, Joan," the maid said at her side. Joan just shrugged.
"I like this kind of cheese, that's all. Where is Pebbles?" she asked, mouth full with cheese, and a grape. Just then, a little blue Gathow came galloping into the room, meowing loudly, and jumped onto the table.
"Shoo, Pebbles!" the maid cried. "Get off the table, you young inconsiderate little beast-"
"Marie! Don't be speaking like that to poor little Pebbles!" Joan cried, horrified, and turned her attention to 'Pebbles' as the maid fumed, and turned on her heel toward the kitchen. Pebbles walked down the length of the table and sat in the bowl of fruit, and meowed.
"You cute little thing," Joan said as she leaned forward and kissed her Gathow on the very tip of its nose. "We're going to entertain the crowd tonight, now won't that be fun? They'll see how well you'll always be on my shoulders while I sing…" And then she stuck a spoon into the cup of Kau milk, scooped out some milk, and let Pebbles lap it up while she polished off the eggs, bacon, toast, and the cheese. She coaxed her petpet out of the fruit bowl before reaching for a green apple that she then pocketed before heading back to her room.
"Now, what should I wear?" Joan mumbled as she scanned her large wardrobe. "A plain tee with blue jeans sounds good, doesn't it, Pebbles?" The response was a meow from her bed.
"Alrighty, then. How about a black choker? Nah… What about earrings?"
"Hiiiisssssss."
"Okay, no earrings. I'm going with street clothes at the concert, then."
Later, a pale green Gelert with a white t-shirt, too-short blue jeans, and a Gathow over her shoulders was walking on the sidewalk in Neopia Central. Only a few by-passers did not take any notice to a famous singer walking down the street, but at least no news crews knew about it. It took a long time to walk a half a block. Every second, someone was asking Joan for her autograph, or a photo, and she had enough fun with that. After 15 minutes, she ran the rest of the block-and-a-half down to a deli.
"I… need… to get into… shape!" she gasped for breath as she staggered into the deli. "No more cheese in the morning!"
"Hello, Joan!" the Kyrii at the cash register said brightly. His nametag showed that he was the manager of the deli. "Having the usual? Today's lunch in the morning? Hahaha!"
"You know I take it down to the theater with me, Chris."
"You always order in the morning."
"I've never seen you away from that register."
"Hmph. Have you ever considered trying something new?" Chris pressed a couple of buttons on the old-fashioned register, and the cards popped up as "25 NEOPOINTS".
"25 Neopoints for a ham and smoked cheese sandwich."
"I can read," Joan said as she pulled out a Neopoint coin, and flipped it toward the manager. He snatched it out of the air with his paw, and dropped it into the drawer of the register, a grin on his face. Another Kyrii, obviously new to his job, walked up to Joan with a paper bag in his hand, and handed it to her.
"Enjoy… Miss D'Arcy!" he stammered. Chris looked surprised, then smiled, and suddenly broke out into laughter.
" 'D'Arcy'… Your last name is 'D'ARCY'?! Omigosh, I've never heard that before! Hah hah hah! By golly, Joan D'Arcy comes down here every week and I don't even know her surname-" Then he laughed so hard that no sound was coming out. He banged a fist on the counter, knocking over a jar of toothpicks, his blue fur falling into his eyes. "That has got to be the funniest name I've ever heard of--"
"Seriously, you don't have to take it that hard!" Joan exclaimed. Chris kept right on laughing, so she walked out as Pebbles hissed.
Two more large blocks, and she had reached her destination. She ran to the lot across the street, where a large black stage stood. Many Neopet workers were setting up the stage for Joan's concert, later that night. There were the sounds of hammers, something that sounded like a saw, and the buzz of an electric screwdriver.
Even though she lived in Neopia Central, she was in a sort of a section of the town, and this particular section was like, well, music lovers central. There was always someone performing on the sidewalk, and any new musical-related trends were picked up immediately. The top 20 songs of the week were announced every week, but if someone didn't catch it, they would fall into despair and ask everyone within 10 feet what the list was. In Joan's case, however, she was a singer, and had been known for two years. Not a pop star- she wasn't exactly popular. Not a rock star- she was more a mellow type. She was just a singer. She wrote most of her songs, but there had been times when she sung someone else's song as a cover, or something someone had written for her.
She reached the lot and walked up the steps onto the stage. A few of the Neopets tipped their hats as she walked across the stage, until she stood in the middle, facing the street, even though the stage was set up at an angle. The sounds of construction stopped.
"What, you think I'm going to make a speech or something?" She turned on her heel and smiled, a single Wocky whistled a tune, and the sounds returned. She turned around again.
"This is our seventh concert, Pebbles!" Joan muttered, and Pebbles slid down her shoulder and in to her arms. "This one will be a piece of cake. Mum and Dad would be so proud." She smiled, thinking about her parents. They had encouraged Joan to take singing lessons when she was young, but since they were both away, she was on her own. After her first concert, in which she had sung several songs that she had written, a music album was put out: "Joan LIVE", with a picture of her and Pebbles on the front. Four of her songs were in the top 20, and the CD was a hit on its first month. This was the reason behind the mansion that she owned.
"Mememememe," she tested her voice. "Who on earth stole my car? Wait, I don't have a car! I have a pretty Gathow called Pebbles!" Pebbles started to purr. "I dunno why in Neopia I said that.... but hey! I'm gonna be on stage! I can almost hear the crowd cheering." Then, Joan closed her eyes and opened them, and she saw a thousand fans in front of the stage, cheering and clapping. There were so many that they were standing in the street, and there were a couple of patrol cars parked nearby, and there were crowd control officers. She let Pebbles jump out of her arms before she raised her arms in the air and shouted at the top of her voice,
"Thank you! What a wonderful performance by Joan D'Arcy, eh?! And now for her hit single, 'Weewoos Racket'!" She twirled in place. Hundreds of cameras were flashing, and there was one Neopet holding a cell phone in the air…
"Joan?" a voice behind her said, and the fantasy vanished, and she was returned to reality. She turned around and saw a starry Lupe standing there, with a clipboard in one of its paws.
"Hi, I'm Sasha," she said, and shook Joan's paw. "I am the manager of the Jackies- you know, that band that plays country? No matter. Anyway, I was hearing you sing that chorus of your song, and well, I thought it was spectacular… So, I was thinking we could work out a deal and record a CD to put out? It won't be live."
"Um, well, I dunno," Joan said hesitantly. "I'm fine without a manager, really-"
"Ah, but what are you going to do when you get as popular as Twisted Roses?" the Lupe added.
"Maybe after the concert tonight?" she asked timidly. "I need to think about it." Sara seemed a little disappointed, but immediately looked cheerful again.
"Well, then… here's my business card," she said, handing a card to Joan, who inspected it closely before pocketing it.
"I guess I'll call you tonight," Joan mumbled, and Sasha flashed a smile before walking away. Pebbles growled, and Joan picked him up before jumping off the stage, and walked back home, eating the sandwich on the way.
"Laying there all night,
Thinking about now,
The wind brushes my fur.
A little speck stands
Apart from the rest,
A little daystar at twilight.
It disobeys the rules,
It has its own ways,
My little Midnight Daystar.
For all you know it
Could be a planet
Thousands of miles away.
For all you know it
Could be a supernova
That never ends.
For all you know it
Could be a parallel
Universe of our home,
Or a spaceship...
It disobeys the rules,
It has its own ways,
My little Midnight Daystar."
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Aurora: And so, this starts off the first of the Joan Series!
Joan: You mentioned Twisted Roses. You don't own them either.
Aurora: Ok... I don't own Neopets and Twisted Roses.
Joan: Doofus! You have to say it in past tense!
Aurora: Who wants to bother with that?!
Joan: Aurora didn't own Twisted Roses and Neopets and she never will! There, I said it for you.
Aurora: Please review because-
Joan: She needs tips on her writing skills.
Aurora: No, Joan... I'm good enough already... I think?