“She defeated him with glue? Good grief.”
“However, that is just the final chapter of this first adventure. It is the beginning of the story that will keep you enthralled. Come, let us look at the portraits of the original seven sisters,” and she walked her guests to the far side of the room.
“May I present the seven original sisters.”
Ezra was wide-eyed as he went from painting to painting. “Please, tell me their names.”
“The beautiful, green-skinned young lady is Sassi. She was the first to marry and is now a mother whose daughter is engaged to be married.”
Grammy hadn’t heard that. “Kissy is getting married. How wonderful.”
“Kissy?” asked Ezra with a smile.
“She is named in honor of K’ssss . . . the sea serpent just there.”
Ezra walked over to the portrait. “What was it you said about her before?”
“She comes from a very distinguished family of scientists. In fact, it was her father who made the glue sticks. However, when Egg recruited her, poor K’ssss had yet to reach intellectual maturity.”
“Meaning?”
Grammy answered because Megg would have couched it too nicely. “She was as dumb as a sack of rocks.”
“And now?”
“She used the power of the Crystal Mountain, a construct created by Mobius, to speed up our solar system to eliminate the time dilation. No one else can understand her calculations or how she did it. Not even her brother and father . . . and they are both very, very smart.”
“Incredible.”
“On Aerianna, sea serpents are the scientists. It was their theories that we humans. . . um, borrowed . . . to create our floating city.”
“Borrowed?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Ezra smiled but didn’t pursue her answer. “Is she still a sister?”
“Once a sister, always a sister. But K’ssss is now married and lives on Zynn-Zaz’zia.”
“So that leaves five of the original sisters.”
“No, this one is Aeri’elle. She is a professor of Aerianna history. She and her father are creating the first inter-species university at the request of the Queen F’Aerianne.”
“Another queen?”
“She is also called the Rainbow Queen because of the coloring of her wings. She was Queen of Dragons when my grandfather, M’earth, won the contest between species. One of his first directives as the ultimate ruling power of this planet was to create the Council of Equals and he invited F’Aerianne as well as E’ssss and S’eeee – the King and Queen of the Serpents – to join. They ruled as a . . . a team. I believe that would be the way an Earthman might phrase it.”
“Your grandfather was very wise.”
“He still is. He and my grandmother have retired but are very active.”
“Very glad to hear that. So, that means there are now four of the original seven left.”
“Sorry, no. This is Soo’nami” and she pointed at the serpent’s painting. “You will love her. She never stops joking or wisecracking. Very amusing.”
Ezra shook his head yet again. “A sea serpent with a sense of humor. It would never have occurred to me. Why did she retire?”
“She is in love with K’ssss’ brother. Egg told her he would never propose if she was off gallivanting around the galaxy.”
“She’s quite amazing isn’t she?”
“Soo?”
“No, Egg. Always thinking about her friends.”
“Sir, she is the most extraordinary young woman I have ever met. That I will ever meet.”
Grammy had to dab at her eyes . . . for some reason.
“I’m beginning to see that. So who is the fire breathing dragon?”
Her name is Bl’azzz. She is also a vegetarian . . . unheard of for her species. But because of that she has a little . . . there is no nice way to put it . . . a little gas problem. She will burp whenever she is frightened and because she is a F’yre Dragon, the gas ignites into a ball of flame. Usually, it is very amusing.”
“A vegetarian dragon . . . will the surprises never end?”
“You have only scratched the surface of the story and the characters. I suggest you take a course in the Hameggattic Sisters. Aeri’elle, herself, teaches it.”
“I would dearly love to.”
“Let me finish quickly. This painting of Egg and Sylvia was from a photo taken shortly after they first met at camp. Egg detested the girl. But, as in all good . . . fairy tales . . . they became best friends and started the Hameggattic Sisterhood. The photo in question was in Egg’s diary. If it hadn’t been, the original quest would have ended very badly and Mobius would still rule.”
“How? Why?”
“Sylvia was bitten by a Tack-toed Tick and faded away, never to have existed. Suffice it to say it is a very long story. If we have time, I will return to it. Now, this last painting is Egg, of course. She is wearing clothes my mother wore when she was Egg’s age. The flying suit was out of power and a very, very dear friend was trying to recharge it. By the way, that is F’Aerianne’s summer castle in the background.”
“She has a knack for wearing cool costumes.” He hesitated then asked, “Who was the friend that was recharging the suit? I get the feeling he or she is no longer with us.”
“He was the dragon Storm, my mother’s best friend. Their bond was so great that when Eloise and Egg dreamt of my mother, Storm was always there.”
“That’s true, dear.”
“Did he die at the hands of Mobius?”
“No. He died of old age. He was a thousand years old. However, Egg gave him a going away present for which my mother will be eternally grateful.”
“What would that be?”
“My mother’s spirit was still in the flying suit. If one had her DNA in their blood, they could see and talk to her . . . but only if you were female. Somehow, Egg was able to give Storm that ability. Egg and the others watched as the Prince’s spirit passed out of his body and for the briefest time, he was able to see and hug my mother.”
Megg stopped because there were tears running down her cheek . . . and she did not care. Grammy walked up to her and they hugged until the Princess regained control.
“I make no apology for my display of emotion. My mother and her best friend had sacrificed a millennium of their lives for the people of Aerianna. For them to have that last embrace was their well-deserved reward.”
“Indeed. Princess, I am humbled by you and your sisters. By your mother and her friends and family. By your world and its accomplishments. I cannot express how profoundly grateful I am to have this opportunity to be here. Thank you.”
“Your words are kind and you are most welcome. I can see why Eloise might have more than a passing interest in you,” teased the Princess.
“Oh, dear don’t . . .,” said Grammy with a twinkle in her voice. “It will go right to his head which is already much too big.”
*****
They landed back on Q’umulus and the Prince and Sylvia slid off of Py’wackit’s back. “Thank you, Py. Maybe will get a chance to fly again.”
“You’re welcome, Syl. By the way, I’m glad the Hameggattic Sisterhood’s here. I’ll sleep better for it.”
“Oh, please, you insufferable maudlin feather duster,” teased his princely friend. “You know very well that I have the situation under control.”
Py looked at Ben’Edikk then at Sylvia. “EEK,” he screeched, shook his head and bounded into the sky. He looked back at yelled “See ya . . . Benny,” then flapped his wings as fast as he could.
“Insolent creature. I think I will have his feathers plucked.”
“You guys are best friends, I take it.”
“Yes, but never tell him that.”
“Mums the word. Anyway, thanks for taking me.”
“Of course. Sylvia . . . please thank Egg for me.”
“She said it was a wedding gift.”
“She is such a remark
able young lady. If I had not fallen in love with Molly . . .,” but he didn’t finish.
“I’ll tell her.”
“Before you go, I do have to report back to my . . . to the Queen. What exactly did the Myst Tree advise us?”
“Honestly, you can never tell with him. He just loves his riddles.”
“You are Egg’s Feminion. What will you communicate to her?”
“I think the love/hate thing was a reference to Serenity. The knowledge is power part is not as obvious. There’s a piece of information that I’m missing . . . I can feel it.”
“I know the Tree said I was not to be involved. However, if you have need of me, please just ask.”
Chapter 4 - Hobgoblin
Egg was taken to a room used by the Empress as her private study. The Sentinel knocked on the door waiting for permission to enter.
“Come,” said a soft voice.
As the Sentinel reached for the handle, he whispered to Egg, “Good luck.” He pushed the door opened and stepped aside. The girl strode into the room and walked up to the Violetta. Without showing any of the courtesies demanded by royal protocol, she said, “You wanted me?”
Violetta showed no emotion . . . apparently taking no offense from Egg’s rude behavior. “Little one, would you care to see my world?”
That was unexpected. “You want to take me to Peekaboo?”
“Perhaps someday. But for now . . .,” and the wall behind her came alive with a breathtaking image.
She hated herself for saying it, but Egg was impressed. “Epic.”
“Indeed.”
“Is that a picture?”
“Not at all. It is a ‘live’ view from a satellite orbiting the planet. My scientists have found a way to transmit the image instantaneously to wherever I am . . . regardless of the distance. It is similar to Aerianna’s space portal . . . only for data, not people.” [FYI – light from our sun takes eight and half minutes to reach earth . . . so the Empress had a pretty neat gizmo].
Egg knew better than to irritate the woman. . . but she just couldn’t help herself. Mean people did that to her. “It wasn’t really your scientists, was it? You stole this from someone else.”
Again, the Empress refused to get angry. In fact, just the opposite. A very small smile teased at her lips. “You and I are much alike, little one.”
A very big compliment from an Empress . . . so naturally Egg responded, as you would expect – with modesty and respect.
Oops, that’s not right.
“Hey, we’re not anything alike. You’re just a big . . . and really tall . . . bully.”
The Empress looked with mild amusement at her guest. She then put her hand to the gold collar on her dress . . . but just for a moment. “Ah, I had never heard that term. To bully is to intimidate another. I have no need to bully to achieve my goals . . . I simply use reason and logic to convince others to do as I wish.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Do you realize that an individual who shows such disrespect to the person of Empress suffers mightily for their transgressions?”
“I thought you said you don’t bully people. Sounds like you’re trying to bully me.”
Violetta stared at the girl as if deciding whether to respond. After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, she said, “How very strange this universe is.”
Egg scrunched her face in confusion. “What?”
Ignoring the rude question, the Empress asked, “Do you know of my history . . . how I became Empress?”
“Nope. No idea. I guess I assumed your mom was Empress first.”
“Not at all. My mother was a scullery maid.”
“Which is?”
“In the great noble houses on Sunnyside, scullery maids are the lowest-ranked and often the youngest of the female servants and act as assistants to a kitchen maid.”
For the first time, Egg was impressed. “Wow. And your dad?”
“My father was a scientist working for one of the royal families.”
“Isn’t that a little weird . . . a scientist marrying a maid?”
“Perhaps. But my father was dedicated to his work and had no time, and presumably little desire, to meet suitable women. My mother used to serve him his meals in his laboratory. In the fullness of time they fell in love and married.”
Despite herself, Egg was fascinated by the story. It sounded so romantic. “Then what happened?”
“My mother was allowed to give up the kitchen and serve as my father’s assistant. Eventually, she became fairly adept at the science and was able to help with the actual experiments. They made quite the team . . . “. The Empress paused for a second and touched the gold collar again. “. . . much like Madame Curie and her husband Pierre on Earth.”
Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, Egg kind of remembered the story. “They discovered something or other.”
“Yes, as did my parents.”
“I’m guessing that discovery helped you become Empress.”
Again, the little smile played on Violetta’s lips. “Indeed.”
“Well?” asked Egg impatiently.
“By the time of their discovery, I was eighteen years old. I, too, helped out in the laboratory. Though I found experimentation to be tedious, I adored the discoveries . . . the scientific breakthroughs. As you might say on Earth . . . I was hooked. That love of science I inherited from my father. Can you guess what trait I received from my mother?”
Egg giggled which really isn’t something you do to an Empress. “Your love of cooking?”
Violetta stared at the girl assessing what she had just heard. Apparently believing it was a harmless jest, she allowed herself a rather large grin. “I do like you, little one.”
That kind of irritated Egg . . . because she was beginning to like this tall, weird looking hobgoblin.
“No,” continued the Empress. “Neither my mother nor I like the culinary arts. What my mother did possess was the burning desire to better herself. To take control of her own life and her own destiny. When one is a scullery maid, your life belongs to others. It is the worst type of prison . . . your body is free to move about, but your personal desires and ambitions are held confined by the whims of others.”
In one of her rare bursts of insight, Egg said, “So that’s why she married your father. It was her way out of the kitchens. Right?”
“Would you think ill of her if that were true?”
“No . . . as long as she didn’t hurt him.”
“On the contrary. He was in love and she returned it. At first, it was an act . . . but eventually it became very real. Their partnership produced a life time of happiness, a wealth of scientific discoveries . . . and me.”
“That really is epic.”
“Indeed.”
“So, you were eighteen and they discovered something that could give you power. That’s when you became Empress?”
“No, little one. To ascend to the pinnacle of power takes time, cunning, resources, allies and perhaps a dash of luck.”
“And a really great invention.”
“That too.”
“What was it . . . that invention?”
“It is of no consequence. What is important . . . was important . . . is how I used it to begin my ascension to the Throne.”
The story was about to go from romantic to historical and Egg lost interest. “So what does all this have to do with Aerianna or me?”
Violetta ignored the question . . . for the moment. “It took seven long years for me to achieve ultimate power on Sunnyside. For a girl of eighteen at the beginning of this journey, seven years was a lifetime. And though I had the vision and the drive, I knew I needed help. By chance – perhaps you would call it luck - I met a young woman of extraordinary intellect at a scientific conference hosted by my parents. Do you know who it was?”
Egg scrunched her face at the question. How could she possibly know who it might be? Then that newly energized brain of hers squirted some smart-juice into
her mind and the answer was obvious. “Astral Sing.”
Violetta smiled. “Yes. She became my ally . . . and friend. That part was unexpected. For various reasons and by circumstance, I had never had a friend before. I freely acknowledge that without her help, I would not have succeeded. I owe her a great debt. Sadly, in the end, she and I had a falling-out. It is one of the deep regrets of my life.”
“Then she died.”
“Yes. However her daughter survived the terrible accident.”
“I know, I met her.”
“To finish my story quickly, with her scientific discoveries and my cunning we were able to recruit more and more people to our cause. Seven years later, I was crowned Empress. However, I was not satisfied. I began to use the same techniques that gave me power on Sunnyside to win over other worlds. And, the Starlight Alliance came into being. As my power grew, I chose to move off world to Peekaboo Prime – it was smaller but more easily defensible should I be attacked.”
“Made a lot of enemies, I guess.”
“Some individuals did not share my vision of the future.”
“And now you want to add Aerianna to your . . . your necklace of worlds.”
“Such a poetic way to phrase it. Yes, Aerianna has much to offer. Besides the technology that keeps this city floating and the space portal, there is an entire race of scientists.”
“You’re talking about the sea serpents.”
“Indeed. Look at your sister, K’ssss. Such an extraordinary mind. I would have her efforts focused on technologies that will help the Alliance become larger and stronger.”
“What if she doesn’t want to?”
“I will not bully her. I will find a way to convince her of the rightness of my request.”
“Yeah, no. It doesn’t matter what you call it, but in the end you’re going to force everyone to do what you want them to do.”
Violetta threw Egg for a loop when she changed subjects completely and asked, “Where is Serenity?” Weirdly, that statement gave Egg the dreaded goose bumps.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I wish to repay my debt to her mother by offering her my friendship.”
Box Set #4: Sisterhood's End: [The 3 book 4th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 4