Questmyre

by HaaJar Johnson

  Twirling about the room in her long gown, Robin was so excited she wanted to bask in the feeling forever. It was then that she decided she would discard her old dingy pair of jeans, t-shirt and small jacket for the clothing of the Fitz. She figured, it would be easier to forget the old Robin she had been on earth if she could dress the part of a fairy princess every day.

  Roami still stood at the doorway staring at her with an odd expression on his face. She had been too busy twirling about and sashaying dramatically before her dresser mirror to notice him at first. When she realized he had not said a word since he entered, she looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.

  “What’s wrong with you?” She asked. Realizing how odd he must appear, Roami shook off the affects her image was having on him. She looked like a fairy princess and he was sure he had never seen her look as beautiful. The sight nearly took his breath away. But so as not to scare her, he coughed slightly and quickly whispered, “Nothing. Just tired I guess.”

  She rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the dresser mirror in front of her. Robin could not help but feel as if her new appearance had wiped away her previous sleepiness. She was now revved up and rearing to go.

  “Wonder how we get food around here. I’m starving!” Robin said while Roami still stood at the door staring at her despite his attempts to look a bit more inconspicuous.

  Flinging herself on her bed and laying on her stomach, Robin mumbled into the soft covers, “Starving and sleepy. Sleepy and starving. What I wouldn’t do for a burger and fries right now. La, la, la, la la! I’m lovin’ it!” She sang out and ended with a giggle once she realized she had been singing an old fast-food jingle from back on earth.

  Roami stopped looking at Robin with wonder and his expression quickly moved towards something a bit more comical. He stared at Robin as if she had completely gone insane. Roami began to wonder if all the dramatic world changes had somehow messed with her brain.

  Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to worry about her sanity at a later time. At the moment they did indeed need to get some sustenance. He walked towards a large golden bell set against the wall near her bed and gently pulled at the black rope dangling within.

  Robin peeked up from the covers and stared at Roami. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I believe this may be a service bell...” Before he could finish speaking a light green servant tapped at the door then walked in. He had gray colored pants and shirt. Robin noticed his feet, however, were bare. His fuchsia colored hair was shaven so low there was just a hint of the brightly colored hair stubs on his head. His eyes were the bluest Robin had ever seen and his face was very gaunt and angular. Without a doubt he looked painfully thin.

  Bowing the servant blandly asked, “What is your wish?”

  “Cool. We even get room service!” Robin stood up and began jumping on the bed. “This is so cool! We should get stuck in new worlds more often Roami. We’re being treated like royalty! How cool is this?!”

  “Robin you really should not get so excited about these things.” Pulling her down from the bed and to his side he whispered, “Worlds can be very tricky. There is something that we must learn from this experience so we must be cautious and remain attentive at all times. We also must be careful of what we say and what they hear us say. We don’t know who can be trusted just yet.”

  “Well my world on earth was just as tricky and dangerous. In fact, New York City was probably even worse than anything they could think up here.” Robin pulled away from Roami and sat on the edge of the bed sighing with exasperation.

  “I’m tired of being cautious, I just want to enjoy this great new life for as long as I can. Is that wrong?” she asked with a pout to her lips. She walked towards the servant eyeing him quizzically.

  “Now… When you say ‘what is your wish’ do you mean we can have whatever we want? I mean…anything we want?” she asked with hope filled eyes.

  The servant eyed her with a blank expression. “Yes, Sky-One. What is it you desire?”

  “Ah! Yay, yay, yay!” Robin began hopping about the room and nearly knocked Roami and the servant over in her excitement.

  “Okay, okay, I know what I want!” She cried. “I’d like a strawberry shake with whipped cream and a large strawberry on top. Um... and some steamed carrot sticks with a side of hummus. I just love carrots and who doesn’t like Hummus?! Let’s see, what else? Oh yes, with a side order of french-fries and a huge chicken sandwich and...” Robin stopped mid-sentence and stared at the servant, “Wait... do you guys have chicken here? I mean… I’m sure I didn’t see any chickens outside and... oh well, you did say I could have whatever I wished so…add a chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes, hold the mayo. Oh, and while you’re at it, I’d like the newest Nintendo handheld game and a few word games and... and... I guess that’s all for now.” Robin said breathlessly. She sighed dreamily with a giddy smile plastered across her face.

  So this was how kids who have gone to Disneyland feel? She had never been there but she had always guessed she would feel just as she did at that very moment. Robin sighed happily then plopped on the bed; exhausted from giving her order.

  The servant gave a slight nod of his head and turned to Roami, “And you male Sky-One? What is your wish, sir?”

  Roami stared at Robin who was sprawled out on her bed with a silly grin on her face, “I’d like some water and a putrin rock nut, please.” The servant nodded his head again and vanished from the room.

  When the door clicked shut behind him, Robin got up from the bed slowly. The air nearly crackled with kinetic energy. Roami was absolutely sure she had something on her mind and that something was about to explode. Her eyes blinked in shock and her mouth gaped open in disbelief. It was obvious she was not happy with him…yet again.

  “Are you out of your mind Roami?” She asked slowly. She put her hand to his forehead to check his temperature, “No. You’re not sick. So I don’t know what possessed you to totally waste the chance to have your every wish granted just two seconds ago!” Rolling her eyes she stepped back and stared at him as if he were a puzzle she just had to figure out. She shook her head back and forth incredulously.

  “Who are you Roami? Ya know… I wonder what makes you tick… You seem way too serious all the time and that can be dangerous to your health, you know.” She began to poke him in the chest. “Does this bother you Roami? Hmm? Where I’m from this would really tick someone off… I mean, they would be so upset they couldn’t help but just scream and chase after me like a madman.” She said while continuing her attack.

  Roami did nothing but cross his arms and stare at her as if she were insane. Realizing she would need another tactic, Robin appeared to sober up and made her facial expression identical to his. She then continued to poke him even harder. Finally Roami blew up and screeched, “Ah!!!”

  Laughing, Robin ran to find cover. Roami chased after her throughout the room until he caught her and tickled her unmercifully. They both fell to the floor in a fit of giggles.

  “You’re crazy.” he said between his bursts of laughter.

  “Yes, well... I have to make sure you don’t kill yourself with seriousity, somehow or another.” she giggled.

  Laughing Roami asked, “Seriousity? Is that really a word on earth?”

  Robin shook her head and said, “Nope. I made it up just for you.”

  Sobering up and wiping the laughter tears from her eyes Robin lay on the soft green rug and stared up at the beautifully painted blue ceiling. “It’s been a while since I’ve been happy enough to laugh and play like this. Sometimes things got so sad and heavy I felt I would explode from the weight of it. I don’t want you to ever feel the way I did…you have to let go every now and then…” She turned to look at her friend beside her. One last tear fell; this one not from joy.

  Roami looked at her and wanted nothing more than to bring back the laughter. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

  “Your wish is served.�
� The servant had entered the room unannounced and beckoned them to follow him to the serving hall which was on the same floor but in a room just beside the elevators.

  When they entered the large green double doors of the serving hall the first thing they noticed was that it was very long. It was filled mostly by a large emerald table lined with soft red velvet cushioned golden seats. The tabletop was covered with green crystal glasses and golden utensils. A large emerald chandelier hung above the center of the table and the walls were lined with multicolored glass art covered windows.

  Everything Robin had ordered sat magically on the dining room table and she screamed with delight. “Oh! Let’s stay here forever Roami! We don’t need to think of any stupid riddle with all this here for us!” She said before diving into her food and presents.

  After Robin had eaten her bounteous dinner and Roami swallowed his simple meal, the two returned to their rooms. Within minutes both fell into a deep and restful sleep.

  For Robin, it was the first in quite some time.

  CHAPTER 6

  The next morning light from planets in the oxygenated skies above their water world beamed down on the colorful Fitzian rooftops. A dark orange glow spread across the city signaling the dawning of a new day. The inhabitants began to wake and the city slowly buzzed with life. Robin and Roami awoke to find new sets of clothes awaiting them on their beds. Instead of robes there were woven pants, sleeveless tunic tops and hard soled green sandals.

  Robin tried her outfit on. To her surprise there was a trendy difference between the male and female garments. In addition to her straight legged hunter green pants, there was a mint-green skirt that snuggly wrapped around her thighs. This along with the purple sleeveless v-neck woven top studded with emerald stars and silver glitter made for an awesome effect.

  Altogether, Robin thought she looked cooler than ever, in her new attire. Having had times when things were so rough she had been forced to wear just one outfit for weeks on end, she felt even more convinced that in this new world she could truly be a princess. A thought that, of course, given her reality back in New York City, had never even remotely crossed her mind.

  After dressing, Robin and Roami met in the hall then made their way to the serving hall which was just a few feet away. When they reached the large and magnificently decorated room, they found Thister already sitting at the table. He appeared to be in very good spirits. However, neither paid him much mind as they made their way towards their seats. The two young adults could not seem to get their eyes off of one another. Robin’s eyes roamed over Roami. She saw to her delight that he wore a matching outfit, purple top and dark green bottom minus the mint green skirt, of course.

  Roami, however, did not seem to like his current outfit. There were way too many jewels, glitter and flash for his tastes. He would have voiced his discomfort but was too preoccupied with staring awestruck at Robin. Roami thought Robin’s brown skin nearly shimmered against the beautiful symphony of colors she was wearing. Her toned and slender physique made the outfit truly come alive. Her black and purple streaked breads were pulled up with a purple ribbon into a neat bun at the top of her head. To add effect two single braids fell on either side of her face. Roami’s mouth nearly gaped open and his eyes shone with wonder so strong they nearly sparkled.

  Not at all comfortable with this amount or type of attention, Robin woke from her own stupor and glared back at Roami. Seeing that his presence had gone unnoticed long enough, Thister politely cleared his throat to gain their attention.

  “Well, hello again Sky-Ones!” His loud welcome nearly made Robin jump out of her skin. She made a mental note to tell Thister sometime later that she was not really a ‘morning person’ per se and that loud noises tended to make her reflex…violently. But for now she just smiled at her short and annoyingly happy host then made her way to her seat. She sat at the middle of the table just across from Roami.

  “I had quite a time at work the other day, but good results for sure! Good results to be sure!” He motioned for them to join him at the table where once again their orders were taken by soft spoken; nearly invisible, pale green servants.

  During the meal, Thister carried most of the conversation with stories about the city of Fitz, the odd but funny quarks of the Fitzian people and listed all the exciting landmarks and tourist spots where he would take them. All along, Robin and Roami nodded politely between bites of food. Each of the teens appeared deep in thought.

  Roami’s thoughts were filled to the brim with possible riddles for their current world and he tested potential plans and intricate schemes to escape the City of Fitz. He had not forgotten their main goal was to return to Source One.

  Robin on the other hand…simply thought about how delicious the food was; how magical her room turned out to be; how cool the water had been during her morning bath; and how great it felt being treated with such respect and reverence. Finally, looking up to meet Roami’s eyes for a split moment, she could not help but wonder why he looked at her the way he did or why those long gazes made her feel such immediate shyness.

  When they finally completed their breakfasts, Thister rested his hands on the table and beamed at them, “Well, it is best that I take you two around and teach you about our great city of Fitz. We’ll take a water buggy and I’ll point out all the sights. Then we’ll visit a few places like the town center, the amusement park and maybe we’ll even get a little rustic and visit the village.” Robin and Roami noticed the odd way he said “village” as if just saying the word left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “That sounds great!” Robin said and nearly knocked Roami over in her excitement to leave Thister’s home and begin their tour. She was no longer afraid of their new world and with each moment felt as if leaving New York City and falling prey to the blue mists might have been the best thing that had ever happened to her. Robin felt like a celebrity and like a princess. She was no longer some dirty, poor and forgotten girl from the harsh ghettos of the greatest city on earth.

  Roami did not appear as excited or trusting. He glared at Robin each time their eyes met, urging her silently to keep her wits about her. She blissfully ignored him and tried her best to do something she had never had the chance to do before; enjoy life.

  They made their way out the front door then stood on the sidewalk to await the carriage. The water buggy was brought around to the front of the building by two servants. Robin had to stop herself from jumping up and down in excitement. She had never seen anything so spectacularly magical as the vehicle now standing before them.

  It looked very similar to her idea of what Cinderella’s pimped out pumpkin might look like. It was made of bright blue painted coral and had dark blue wooden doors on either side of the circular enclosed carriage. The coral had been elaborately etched with designs of various geometric shapes and studded with emerald and jade stars and moons. It glimmered with sprinkles of what Robin could only describe as diamond dust.

  She noticed a small silver megaphone sat on the roof of the vehicle. Tied to the front were two large sea horses made entirely of green crystals. Robin assumed those too were cut from emerald.

  “What is it about emeralds and jade here?” Robin wondered aloud as she eyed the fantastical looking vehicle in front of them.

  Thister heard her question and spoke up with pride in his voice, “They both have special powers here. Only a few among the Fitz are allowed to have these gemstones in their possession. As you can see on the water buggy, the emerald sea horses make the buggy hover above ground and move in all directions. I will show you the steering lever inside which is programmed to direct the crystal horses and move the entire buggy with ease.” Thister explained with a broad smile as he motioned for a servant to open one of the dark blue side doors and allow them entry into the vehicle.

  They stepped into the carriage. Robin and Roami were seated beside each other on the soft velvet blue cushioned bench. Thister settled in opposite them in a single seat. His back would be to them
as the seat faced towards the front. Robin guessed that was the driver’s seat.

  Thister showed them the large emerald lever at the center of the coach. Robin thought it looked very much like a joystick. He swiveled around while in the drivers’ seat to see if his two young guests were comfortably situated in the long indigo colored bench behind him.

  “Great. Well, we’re on our way then!” He proclaimed this loudly then turned back to face the front of the buggy. Right in front of him was a small square of clear glass cut into the coral. Robin and Roami saw that there were small circular glass windows on either side of the buggy that they could look through as well as they coasted through the city of Fitz. In seconds, the group were on their way to the city center.

  Once there Thister urged them out of the water buggy and eagerly introduced the ‘sky-ones’ to a number of passing citizens. They met affluent businessmen, bakers, teachers and store owners. All possessed the same dark green skin with fuchsia hair; despite various other differing physical attributes.

  Robin quickly grew bored with the introductions as she found them polite yet not “real” enough for her tastes. It seemed like all the people they met through Thister were of the royal or upper classes. They each were so worried about “appearances” they did not let their true personalities shine. Robin wanted excitement; she wanted to see who these people truly were underneath their well made disguises. She was sure given enough time and opportunity she would unearth just that.

  At the moment, they stood in front of a dentists’ office talking to the dentist, a lawyer and a store owner. Thister was going on and on about his last visit there to get a root canal. Robin stifled a yawn and took a moment to look around them.

  The entire city center was covered in red cement for the sidewalks, and large maroon colored cobbled stone paths for the streets.