“Oh. Well, I’m just glad it’s not the Queen.”
“She’s mean, huh?”
“Wicked and whacky. If you get the chance to meet her . . . don’t.”
“Yeah, we already got that advice. So, who are you?”
“You have to ask?” he asked. “I’m the great and powerful . . . “
“Oz?” interrupted Egg.
“Oz? Who’s Oz?”
“Never mind. So, you’re the great and powerful who?”
“Will-O’-the-Wisp Wizard, of course.”
“Of course you are. Should have recognized that big face of yours.”
“Are you’re making fun of me?”
“No, no really. So, Will, why are you here?”
“I’m the guardian of the red brick road, of course.”
“Who are you guarding it from?”
“From anyone who wants to pass but doesn’t have the answer.”
“The answer? To what?”
“Very kind of you to ask. A riddle. It’s a simple one, but you’d be surprised how few people can solve it. Ready?”
“Not really, but let’s hear it.”
“What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space; the beginning of every end and the end of every place?”
“Say what?”
He repeated the riddle.
“Just to be clear about this. If we can’t solve it, we can’t pass.”
“Sorry. It’s my job.” The big face actually sounded sad.
“Of course it is. Can you give us a minute?” She didn’t wait for an answer. Turning around, she gathered the other girls in a circle. “I want to make this official – I don’t do riddles. That’s why I have a Feminion. She’s the brain I was supposed to have but don’t. So, Syl – what’s the answer?”
“Egg, I did the last one. I think someone else should answer this one.”
“You don’t know the answer, do you?”
“No idea. No clue. Zippo.”
“Egg, since this is all a twisted recreation of your memories, you must have some idea,” suggested BreeZee.
“Trust me when I say – I got nothing.”
“Bree is right. Somewhere in your mind must be the memory of having encountered something like this brainteaser,” insisted Spirit. “Just give it some thought. Maybe I can help.”
She put her hands on either side of Egg’s head and her eyes turned red.
A moment later, Egg smiled. “Oh my gosh . . . I know the answer. Syl, remember all the silly word games we used to play with the guys (meaning Zeke and Zack). There was one that was kind of similar.” Her friend just shrugged not able to recall anything that would help with this riddle.
Egg turned back to the big face and said. “E”.
“What did she say?” Bl’azzz asked Soo.
“I think she said eek.”
“No, she said E, as in the letter E,” clarified Sylvia.
The big face smiled and said, “Correct. You may pass.” And with that, a puff of wind came up and blew the great and powerful Will-O’-The-Wisp Wizard away.
Egg turned to her sisters and took a little bow. “Not bad for a dimwitted daredevil”.
“You are not dimwitted,” said her Feminion. “You’re just intellectually lazy.”
“Again, you need to work on your compliments.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait,” demanded Soo. “Explain how the letter E solves the riddle.”
“What’s the beginning of the word eternity? The letter E of course. The end of time and space . . . again, the letter E.”
Spirit finished with “and the beginning of every end and the end of every place is also the letter E. Egg, that was brilliant.”
“Can’t argue with the truth,” she replied playfully (but with perhaps a little bit of pride).
“And you said you don’t do riddles,” kidded Sylvia.
“I think Spirit helped a little. What did you do, by the way?”
“Suppressed some of your . . . um . . . random thoughts. They kind of get in the way of you thinking more clearly.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t feel badly . . . those thoughts are what make you, you.”
“Shall we continue?” interrupted Bree pointing down the road.
“We shall,” and the girls once again took off at a brisk pace.
“Egg-o.”
“Yeah, Soo?”
“I’m kind of surprised that we haven’t run into ‘he who must not be named’.
“He who?” replied the girl with too many random thoughts.
“Egg,” said an exasperated Sylvia. “MOBIUS, who else.”
“Ohhhhh. Right. Well, there’s no way the mighty Laff’Alott computer won’t stick him into this simulation.”
“At least he won’t be the baddest character we meet,” said Bl’azzz over her shoulder. “Apparently the Red Queen holds that honor.”
“Baddest? That’s not even a word,” teased her friend. “How about . . .” but she didn’t finish.
“How about what? Don’t tell me you’re stumped for words,” and the F’yre Dragon turned around to smile at her friend. “Hey. Soo. Where’s Soo?”
The other girls turned to look . . . but there was no sea serpent.
“Rats,” exclaimed Egg. “Any chance that one of you saw what happened to her?”
Naturally, no one had.
Egg put her hand to her forehead as if it might help her think what to do next. The others waited patiently – nervously, but patiently.
“Oh my gosh, I guess we just keep going. This stupid dream needs to play out. Come on . . . let’s get it over with.”
Their brisk pace increased to a trot and after twenty minutes, only Bl’azzz wasn’t gassed (which was kind of ironic). To compound the issue, they were halfway up a fairly steep hill. “Please,” called Bree “I need to rest a bit.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Maybe this is why the big cheese took away my flying powers.”
“Egg, let me walk to the top of this hill. I’m not tired in the least and I want to see what’s on the other side.”
“Okay . . . but make sure you can see us at all times. And if there’s any . . . whatever . . . up there, get your hot breath back here fast. I’m not going to lose another one of you without a fight.”
“Gotcha. I’ll be back in a jiff,” and she took off up the hill.
As the others waited, Spirit asked, “Are we losing?”
“Losing?”
“This battle of wits with the big cheese.”
“We have a saying on earth . . . it ain’t over till it’s over. And this isn’t over yet.”
Spirit smiled at Egg. “I love your confidence, your defiance and your . . .”
“Complete disregard of the facts,” added Sylvia with a grin.
“What facts?”
“We’re down two sisters and we have no idea what we’re doing and no plan on how to win.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Those aren’t facts . . . just minor annoyances. Personally, I think the big cheese is running scared.”
“Scared? Of what?”
“Of us, of course. We’ve solved two riddles; we’re well on our way to. . . um, Spirit, what did you call Emerald City?”
“The Metropolis of the Crystalline Edifice.”
“Yeah, what she said. And we still have our sense of humor. What’s not to be scared of?”
“You’re quite the optimist,” answered Bree.
“Yeah. Life’s more fun that way.”
“Hey, here comes Bl’azzz.” They looked up the hill to see the dragon bounding towards them.
“Well?”
“There’s a castle.”
“Really?”
“Really. Um, it looks like it’s made of sand.”
“A sand castle? Are you sure?”
“Pretty much.”
“How weird is that?”
“As compared to what?” asked Sylvia. “A giant fog face who asks riddles?”
“Go
od point. Okay, if everybody’s ready . . .,” and she looked at each girl in turn and received nods of okay. “Then, let’s go play in the sand.”
They slowed their pace since it was still uphill. When they reached the top, Bl’azzz pointed and said, ”Over there.”
“Nice,” said Flying Girl admiring the impressive structure. “Bet that took a lot of pails of sand to make.”
“How do we get in?”
“Walk up to the front door and knock. Come on.”
As it turned out, the castle was huge and wasn’t as close as it first appeared. It took the girls another twenty minutes to get there. Standing in front of the massive front door, Sylvia asked her friend, “Are you sure you want to go in there?”
“You have a better idea?”
“How about we don’t go in there.”
“Come on Syl, you know that’s not going to work. It’s here for us to enter.”
“Fiddlesticks.”
“Okay, here goes . . .” and Egg knocked. Her tiny hand on the massive door should have made almost no sound. Naturally, it sounded like thunder and the girls all jumped.
“Geez, what do you have, man hands?” asked Bl’azzz.
“I’ll have you know that I have perfect hands for a young lady my age,” and she raised them to her dragon friend.
“Definitely man hands,” teased the F’yre Dragon.
Before Egg could respond, the doors began to open. They squeaked and squealed like the gates to a dungeon or nails on a blackboard and the sisters shivered involuntarily.
“Come in, my pretties. Please,” came a familiar voice.
“Soo? That you?” called Bl’azzz.
“To be sure. Oh, yes. To be sure.”
“Let’s go,” said her friend anxious to reunite with the serpent.
“Wait,” called Egg. “Goose bumps.”
“Again . . . fiddlesticks.”
They took a collective deep breath and walked in. It was a massive room and in the center was a cauldron sitting on a fire. And standing behind it was Soo.
But, she was now a witch.
“Welcome, my pretties.”
“Soo?”
“No, no longer Soo. I’m now the Sand Witch, of course.”
“The sandwich? Like with baloney?”
“THE SAND WITCH” replied the annoyed former sea serpent. “This is my sand castle and I’m the Sand Witch.”
“Cute,” said Egg sarcastically.
“Why, thank you, my pretty. Most people don’t see it. Jealously, I think.”
“You used to be one of us,” explained Spirit. “Do you remember when you were Soo, a Hameggattic Sister?”
Ignoring the question, the witch asked, “What is your name, my pretty?”
“Spirit”.
“You’ll do nicely.”
Egg stepped between her sister and her former sister. “What does that mean exactly?”
“Oh, you’re about to find out. Trust me.”
“You know what, I think we’re just going to leave. Great meeting you. Lovely home. Gotta go.”
“Silly, silly girl. I think not.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Egg told her sisters.
But when they tried to turn and run . . . nothing happened. They couldn’t move.
“Rats.”
They turned their heads back toward ‘Soo who wasn’t Soo’ when they heard her start to chant. But she wasn’t addressing them. She was staring into the cauldron . . .
This cauldron I stir, first left then right
stoke the fire and make it bright.
The Red Queen calls, Her minions come,
feel the rhythm, hear the drum . . .
The light now flickers, the shadows form,
All hope flees before the storm
It is the hour, the time is here
The time to scream, the time to fear
Fires lit with dancing flame
Come my Queen, join the game
Night of the ancients, night of the old,
remembered in stories - but never told
The Queen doth rise upon this night,
look into her eyes, know fear and fright
Rituals and rites I now perform
traps my prisoners who must conform
Trick or treat, jinx or curse,
This potion will bring out everyone’s worst.
The Queen begins her time anew,
release the cold from this witch’s brew
She finished and turned toward Spirit. “I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. Can you guess it?”
Spirit shrugged at the nonsensical question . . . but answered, “Three?”
“Exactly. Very, very good. Three. Yes, yes, yes.” She pointed again at Spirit and muttered . . .
Thee I choose on this darkest day
Your friends you now must betray
Exotic Girl, play your part
I turn you into the Three of Heart.
And Spirit began to dissolve into a blur . . .
Then the blur began to take shape. And to the horror of her sisters, Spirit became . . .
. . . the Three of Hearts.
“Take them, my pretty, to the Red Queen.”
And she started to cackle with glee . . .
Mysteria & Sera’Fina
Book 3, The Serenity Deception
Another Novel of
Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood
Copyright 2014, by Robert Iannone
All rights reserved
(Book & Illustrations)
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 – Merlin the Magician
Chapter 2 – No Clowning Around
Chapter 3 – Queen of Hearts
Chapter 4 – Pod People
Chapter 5 – 3rd Rock from the Sun
Chapter 6 – Plan within Plans
Chapter 7 – Sera’Fina
Chapter 8 – Speed Racer
Chapter 9 – Up in the Air
Chapter 10 – And the Winner Is
Epilogue
Prologue
[Quick reminder: Egg and her sisters are in their own rooms but are sharing a ‘surreal dream’. This is one of the stranger ‘attractions’ offered by Fair’Giggle. The central computer has taken bits and pieces of Egg’s memories and woven a bizarre, mashed-up world that the girls must navigate through.]
**
Before Egg could respond, the doors began to open. They squeaked and squealed like the gates to a dungeon or nails on a blackboard, and the sisters shivered involuntarily.
“Come in, my pretties. Please,” came a familiar voice.
“Soo? That you?” called Bl’azzz.
“To be sure. Oh, yes. To be sure.”
“Let’s go,” said her friend anxious to reunite with the serpent.
“Wait,” called Egg. “Goose bumps.”
“Again . . . fiddlesticks.”
They took a collective deep breath and walked in. It was a massive room and in the center was a cauldron sitting on a fire. And standing behind it was Soo.
But she was now a witch.
“Welcome, my pretties.”
“Soo?”
“No, no longer Soo. I’m now the Sand Witch, of course.”
“The sandwich? Like with baloney?”
“THE SAND WITCH” replied the annoyed former sea serpent. “This is my sand castle and I’m the Sand Witch.”
“Cute,” said Egg sarcastically.
“Why, thank you, my pretty. Most people don’t see it. Jealously, I think.”
“You used to be one of us,” explained Spirit. “Do you remember when you were Soo, a Hameggattic Sister?”
Ignoring the question, the witch asked, “What is your name, my pretty?”
“Spirit”.
“You’ll do nicely.”
Egg stepped between her sister and her former sister. “What does that mean exactly?”
“Oh, you’re about to find out. Trust me
.”
“You know what, I think we’re just going to leave. Great meeting you. Lovely home. Gotta go.”
“Silly, silly girl. I think not.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Egg told her sisters.
But when they tried to turn and run . . . nothing happened. They couldn’t move.
“Rats.”
They turned their heads back toward ‘Soo who wasn’t Soo’ when they heard her start to chant. But she wasn’t addressing them. She was staring into the cauldron . . .
This cauldron I stir, first left then right
stoke the fire and make it bright.
The Red Queen calls, Her minions come,
feel the rhythm, hear the drum . . .
The light now flickers, the shadows form,
All hope flees before the storm
It is the hour, the time is here
The time to scream, the time to fear . . .
Fires lit with dancing flame
Come my Queen, join the game
Night of the ancients, night of the old,
remembered in stories - but never told . . .
The Queen doth rise upon this night,
look into her eyes, know fear and fright
Rituals and rites I now perform
traps my prisoners who must conform . . .
Trick or treat, jinx or curse,
This potion will bring out everyone’s worst.
The Queen begins her time anew,
Box Set #3: The Serenity Deception: [The 4 book 3rd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 22