However, there was one uniquely earth event that Egg introduced herself.
“It’s called dodge ball. The rules are simple – take a ball and try to hit someone on the other team. If you do, and he or she doesn’t catch it, then they are out. Last person standing wins.”
“Your Ladyship,” a young girl called out. “Are you going to play with us?” The adults in the audience all laughed at such a silly notion. If for no other reason, the Princess wasn’t quite dressed for the sport . . . or any sport.
“Of course I’m going to play and I pick you for my side.”
The young girl, maybe nine years old, looked at her mother for approval. “Go . . . but behave yourself.”
“And what’s your name?”
“I’m called Rosie, your worship,” and she curtsied. It was a popular name in honor of the beloved Queen Mother.
“No, no. I’m not anyone’s worship.” To the audience she said, “My name is Egg. If anyone calls me anything else, you’ll hurt my feelings. Understand?”
The people smiled and nodded approvingly.
“Lady Egg”.
“Rosie, it’s just Egg.”
“Egg.”
“Yes, Rosie?”
“Can you play dodge ball in that dress?”
“Oh. Of course not. Ring, tend to my suit”. Gray smoke, Flying Girl, oohs and Ahhhs, - you know the routine. “Okay, let’s choose up sides.”
“Egg”.
“Yes, Rosie?”
“Is there a prize for winning?”
“A prize?” Benny whispered something in her ear. That earned him a kiss – and the mouths of everyone dropped open. A Royal couple kissing in public was unheard of.
But they loved it . . . these two were just like real people.
“My husband suggested that the winner gets to go flying with Flying Girl. What do you guys think of that?”
They apparently like the idea.
*****
Later that day, the Prince brought out the legendary sword Dazzle. The blade, made from serpent’s crystal, had symbolized the thousand-year fight for freedom from Mobius. Few citizens ever had the opportunity to see it and Rose had suggested to her son it would be well received by the people if he were to bring it.
Everyone had a chance to get close to the blade and a few of the children received permission to touch its hilt.
Many of the grown-ups who understood the history of their world, and the sacrifice that Rose’Alynnia had made, welled up with tears of gratitude. That emotion, in turn, led them back to Egg – the Heroine of Aerianna – who brought the Queen’s plan to fruition.
“My Lady”. It was Rosie’s mother.
“Please. It’s just Egg.”
“Oh no. It will never be just that. Not to us. You were Rosie’s age when you fought that evil creature. Nine years old and you saved this entire world. My Rosie is free because of you. She wants to grow up and become a Hameggattic Sister because of you. How could I ever thank you? Like everyone here, I’ve read the history books. But I still don’t understand how you could be brave enough to do that? To do what not even the Queen could do.”
Egg walked over to the woman and hugged her. When they stepped apart, she said, “Don’t give me too much credit. I had six wonderful sisters and a hundred of the Shades of Nights standing with me. And I had a lot of luck.”
“Rubbish,” someone shouted. When everyone turned, the poor fellow grimaced. “Sorry, your Worship. It was you. You saved all of us and all of our families. It’s what we believe.”
That brought out a chorus of agreement from the rest.
Into the awkward silence that followed, Rosie asked, “Egg, tell us what happened.”
“What happened when?” Egg was thankful for the diversion.
“At the end when you faced Mobius.”
Egg was about to demur but the Prince said, “Please, wife. I would like to hear it from you also.”
She gave her husband one of ‘those’ looks. “Alright” and she began the tale finishing with, “After he had sent all of the Shades and Sassi back to the Seven Lands, he was about to . . . um . . . dispatch me with his sword.” The crowd gasped as if this was news to them. “Just then, the Queen came in with this sword (and she held up Dazzle) and Mobius stopped his attack on me so he could go after her. Rose was better trained as a swordsman than Mobius and held her own. But in the end, he was so big, so powerful, that he knocked her down and was ready to do the unthinkable.”
Rosie interrupted. “That’s when you did it, right?”
Egg laughed. “I did. I shot him with a great big gob of glue and he became stuck. And that’s it. That’s all I did. I poured glue on him. Not much of a hero, am I?”
Yeah, the crowd wasn’t buying it. They all began to applaud . . . and the noise kept getting louder and louder. Egg dropped her head in embarrassment.
Benny came to her rescue . . . but not quite as quickly as he could have. He held up his hands and like someone throwing a switch, the crowd went silent. “My wife and I thank you all. As she has told me on more than one occasion, she would gladly do it all again because the people of Aerianna were well worth fighting for.” And, they roared again.
After the sword was put away, most kids were sent home and just the older folks remained with their guests. To their surprise, Egg and Benny led them to the outdoor pavilion and danced. He was very graceful – a product of his upbringing. Egg, on the other hand, did her best not to injure him.
When the dance ended, Egg found an elderly gentleman and pulled him on the dance floor. Benny, taking advantage of the situation, chose a beautiful young woman. After the dance, Egg explained the Earth custom of ‘cutting in’. They each chose another partner and every ten seconds or so, both men and women practiced the ‘cut in’. To dance with the Heroine of Aerianna or the handsome son of Rose’Alynnia was, for most, a dream come true.
After an hour or so, everyone – especially the royal couple – was getting tired.
“Before you leave,” said Egg getting their attention, “I would really appreciate if you would spend a few minutes and tell us how the Prince and I can make your lives – and those of your children - more fulfilling.”
Everyone was surprised by the request and for sure, no one wanted to be first. Egg explained, “We will be asking all the citizens on our tour the same question. When we are finished, we will publish the top five issues for all to see. And then, we will convene an advisory council to work on solutions.”
Someone had the courage to ask, “Will you and the Prince be on the council?”
“Yes. And one member from each of the nine major cities.”
Benny added, “Those members will not be from the Royal families. They will be elected by you.”
That night, as the people of River’s Edge made their way home, they realized they had been wrong about the married couple. The Prince was such a gentleman and not stuck-up at all. He was charming and amusing and obviously very much in love with his wife. Even better – he wasn’t afraid to show it (more than one husband heard that refrain multiple times that night).
As for Egg, their high esteem for her had already been off the charts. But now – they realized they had shortchanged their heroine. She wasn’t just some semi-mythological super hero risking her life to fight evil. She was a real person – as sweet, as self-effacing as the history books said she was. The fact that she cared about their lives as individuals made each of them feel special. And the best thing of all – she seemed so ordinary, just like them.
*****
“Mother. You spied on your son and my sister?”
“Nonsense. I simply sent trusted acquaintances to bear witness to the events that they had organized and report back to me in excruciating detail what was said and done.”
“I believe that is the definition of spying. However, since the deed is done, please share the information.”
“She is extraordinary.”
Meggy rolled her eyes. �
�I am as shocked as you,” she teased. “Details, please.”
“She ate with the towns folk; she played games, allowed some children to fly with her, danced with as many locals as wish to do so then held a meeting so they could voice their grievances.”
“Not quite,” corrected his Lordship. “She asked how she and my son could help make their lives more rewarding. And the game she played was dodge ball.”
Meggy laughed. “I presumed she won.”
“I am told she subtly lost so that a young girl named Rosie could win.”
“Nothing you have said surprises me in the least. However, the real test is when she visits with Dragons and Serpents. If she receives the same welcome, there will be little for us to do to achieve our goal.”
*****
The visits to the mountain cities of the dragons and the submerged cities of the serpents went equally as well.
In Naut’ica, Queen S’eee-sik, the former leader of the Shades of Night, made an unexpected appearance to greet her old friend. Seeing the two legends arm in arm (that’s obviously just an expression since serpents are lacking the appropriate appendage) made for a memorable sight. Though Egg invited her to stay and join the festivities, the Queen demurred. They would meet later as planned.
The royal couple followed the same script as in River’s Edge . . . with a few notable exceptions. Marco Polo was substituted for dodge ball . . . and grilled meats were replaced with eel – live, slithering eel. The fact that these two humans would actually partake in such repast – without regurgitating it – earned them an enormous amount of goodwill.
When they arrived at Fire’s Breath, one of the three castle cities of the dragons, the first thing they were asked to do – more like pleaded – was to verify the rumor that the legendary Storm had recently saved Flying Girl’s life.
“He most certainly did. I had been knocked unconscious and I was very close to death. My sisters had been searching frantically for me but there were hundreds and hundreds of pieces from the destroyed planetoid to examine. Then my good friend Storm appeared to the crew. He told them to follow him and he led them straight to me. By the time I was transported onboard, I needed a jolt of electricity from I’za to restart my heart.”
The dragons all reacted the same way – with small eeks. It was a combination of pride in one of their own saving the Heroine of Aerianna as well as acknowledgement of the mortal danger that she had been in.
To get things back on track, Egg suggested a race through an obstacle course for anyone interested in matching their skill against hers. The challenge was met with a lot of excitement and more than fifty brave souls volunteered. Flying Girl did well but apparently, a favorite son edged her out at the finish line. To the delight of everyone, she then challenged the young man to another contest. She would ride on his back and he would try to throw her off.
He couldn’t . . . and that earned her some very high praise.
As for their barbeque, Egg and the Prince gamely ate what the ‘people’ ate. Afterwards, in the privacy of their bedroom, they agreed that the unidentifiable meats were virtually inedible. “Remind me to have Ashley buy some Pepto Bismal the next time she visits earth.”
*****
Aboard the Gracie
“So that’s what I have so far,” said Bree recounting her conversations with Zazzi and Aeri’elle.
“Not much to go on,” commented Serenity.
“By the way, did I tell you that Egg got goose bumps when we talked about the Sky’lords?”
“That critical fact must have slipped your butterfly mind.”
Bree, like all the sisters, was so used to Sparky’s insults that they didn’t even register. “Why is that important?”
“Why is what important?” asked Skotti. He had just entered the room with a tray of coffee. He poured a cup for each of the girls then offered them cream and sugar.
“Egg got goose bumps when she and this winged whacko were talking about our lost civilization.”
“Don’t know what that means?”
“Goose bumps – earth term for those little bumps you get on your arms when you’re cold or scared.”
“What’s a goose?”
“Shut up.”
Bree asked again, “Why is that important?”
“Because we can make some reasonable deductions as to where these people are.”
“Are? You think they still exist?”
“Now I do. Dead Sky’lords can’t be very dangerous. Therefore, not dangerous means no goose bumps.”
“That’s a stretch.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“I wish Jax’x was here,” tormented the other girl.
“She will be, assuming we’re still here in a week.”
“Really? Things not going well with Grex?”
“It’s going fine. He just has work to do.”
“Oh.”
“Would you two concentrate? What else you got, love of my life?”
She honored the guy with a big smile. “Well, if Egg got goose bumps, somehow she’s going to get involved in the search and it has to be relatively soon. Her goose bumps are not a long range indicator.”
“But she’s on her honey . . .” and Bree stopped. “Where is she going after she finishes her tour?”
“Bel’lanca,” said Serenity as she whirled around and grabbed the map. “Pretty boy, scan this into the computer. Hurry.”
As he was doing just that he sang, “Look at me, I’m a pretty, pretty, boy. Just a toy, just a toy. Oh boy, oh boy, a pretty boy toy”.
“Make him stop,” pleaded Bree.
“Skotti – shut up.”
“Yes m’am.” Map’s been scanned.”
“Computer, compare the map to the surface features on Bel’lanca.”
“Working,” came a female voice.
“Is there a match?”
“Affirmative. Northern hemisphere. Eighty-five percent correlation to current land mass and natural formations.”
“Any signs of life reported in that area?”
“Negative. Uninhabited.”
“Any geological surveys?”
“Affirmative. Survey limited to orbital scans”
“Print out a detailed map with an overlay of the scanned map.”
“Complete.”
“Any record of archeological expeditions to this region?”
“Negative.”
Serenity turned around . . . stood up and took a bow.
“Bravo. That deserves a kiss.”
“What a shock,” teased Bree.
*****
Over the next two weeks, the girls scoured every known database in the Federation trying to find any reference to the Sky’lords. It proved to be a futile effort. As promised, Jax’x had joined them and was as excited as BreeZee to uncover the mystery of the long lost, but maybe still alive, Sky’lords.
Skotti used this semi-down time to go back to his day job and catch up on a few projects he had been overseeing. The only reason the young man was still on board was that Sparky asked Egg to ask Benny to reassign him to the Sisterhood until the honeymoon was over. The Prince couldn’t deny his new bride her request. Or anything, for that matter. So technically, he didn’t need to do it, but the young man was very conscientious. Besides, he was bored and he needed a break from three lovely, continuously prattling, babbling and gossiping young women.
When he returned, Serenity gave him a full report on what they had uncovered. It went something like this . . . “nothing.”
“Let’s concentrate on the medallion,” suggested Jax’x. “Anyone want to venture a guess as to what it does?”
“My guess is its some kind of locking mechanism or a key to one,” suggested Skotti.
Serenity inserted a finger into the hole on the teardrop tab and tried to move it. “It still moves. At some point we may want to take this thing apart.”
“Skotti, if it were a locking mechanism, how do you think it works?” asked Jax’x.
<
br /> “That tab that Sparky moved – I would expect that those metal nubs on the outer ring will pop out. Then the whole thing would fit into a receptacle – either to lock it or to open it.”
“If you’re right, we shouldn’t mess with it by taking it apart. At the very least, we shouldn’t do anything that might damage it more than it might already be. It may very well be the . . . key . . . to solving this mystery. Pun intended.”
“Agreed,” and the mechanism was put away until later.
“Hey Bree, do you think these Sky’lords had an ascension rite like your people?” asked Jax’x.
“Say what?” Skotti wasn’t familiar with the Wind ‘dancer ritual so the girl explained it to him.
Bree didn’t answer right away. “Probably not. We were the creation of Zynnia and our development was more artificial. We can assume the Sky’lords developed naturally which means that the whole Ascension rite wasn’t – or isn’t – part of their evolution.
“That’s at least something to search on. The problem is that there’s no reason to believe these people called it an ascension storm. They may have had another name for it,” explained Serenity.
“That may be true, but I’ll have the AI use our term and see if it can find a match,” suggested Jax’x.
It took the AI the better part of an hour to finish the analysis. The girls and Skotti used the time to have lunch.
“Analysis complete,” came the computer.
“Display results.”
NO MATCH flashed on the screen.
“Shazbot.”
*****
“Hi, guys.”
“Right back at you,” responded Serenity. “If you’re not buried nose deep in a book, I need your help.”
“Of course you do. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.”
In the background Skotti laughed. “Shut up back there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Returning her gaze back to the ever-smiling face of Egg’s brain, Sparky said, “I like you better in person. You’re less annoying.”
“Stop it. You’re making be blush. So, which of your many problems do you need help with?”
“I want you to do a little research for us.”
Syl looked at the others. “What are you mischievous miscreants up to?”
Gracie - Box Set #6, Part 2 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Page 3