“Oh, Dazzle . . . you’re still beautiful.”
“Thank you, Egg . . . for that little white lie.”
“How many children do you have?” asked Sylvia.
“I have a daughter who is now twelve and a son who just celebrated his fourth birthday.”
The girls looked at one another, and then turned back to Dazzle. “Your daughter is our age,” said Egg stating the obvious.
“Yes . . . she is. Unfortunately, that is all she has in common with you and Sylvia.” There was something in the way she said it that made them think of Z’kkk’s statement a few minutes earlier.
“Will we get to meet her?” Both girls were dying with curiosity to see what the daughter of Dazzle and Z’kkk would be like.
“Yes. She will be at tonight’s celebration.” There didn’t seem to be a great deal of enthusiasm in that statement.
It seemed like a good time to change the subject. “So, I guess you know why we’re here. Storm told me that you needed our help.”
Dazzle looked at Egg . . . then Sylvia . . . and sighed. “Yes. I am at wits end. You are my last hope.”
The girls waited expectantly, but Dazzle didn’t continue. Trying to encourage her to explain, Sylvia said, “You know we’ll do anything we can to help. Ummm . . . what exactly is the problem?”
“M’egg-Alynnia.”
Egg glanced at Sylvia who just shrugged. “What’s a mega lynnia?”
“My daughter.”
“I don’t understand?”
Instead of answering, Dazzle explained, “Her name honors my mother, my father and you . . . my dear sister,” and she explained how she and Z’kkk had come up with it.
But Dazzle didn’t want to say anymore just yet. Instead, she showed the girls the beautiful gardens and as they walked, they talked about things that had been happening in their lives since the Quest.
*****
That Evening
They were nervous again. As they reached the entrance to the ballroom, two Imperial Sentinels opened the giant ornate doors, stepped inside and stamped their ceremonial lances on the marble floor. Immediately everyone stopped talking and turned to look.
“Your Majesty, Lord Z’kkk, invited guests . . .,” intoned one of the guards in a deep baritone voice, “Egg of Earth and her Feminion, Sylvia.”
The girls stepped through the doorway and the room erupted into cheering and clapping. Not sure what to do (besides blush), they just stopped and stared. Court etiquette dictated that they go up to the Queen and Lord Z’kkk and greet them first. But they didn’t know that . . . and Dazzle didn’t care.
Then they heard a sound that was music to their ears . . .
“H’sssss. H’sssss. H’sssss.”
The girls broke into gigantic smiles and turned to see a silly sea serpent laughing.
“K’ssss,” they both screamed as they ran up to her and threw their arms around the plump serpent’s neck.
“Egg. Sylvia. I missed you guys so much.”
“And we’ve missed you,” replied Sylvia.
“Where’s your green scarf?” teased Egg. It was the one Sassi had given to her friend back in the seven lands.
“H’sssss. I wore it every day for two years until my mom made me take it off. So I framed it and hung it on the wall in my bedroom. Is that okay?”
“It’s perfect.”
“Hey, you slap-happy squishy squash, stop hogging the guests.” That voice . . . and those words . . . could only belong to Soo’nami.
“Soo’ . . .,” the girls screamed again. And they hugged their other serpent sister.
“You two are a sight for sore eyes,” and she looked at each of the girls from head to toe. “I’m no expert on humans . . . but you guys seem to have a few more curves than the last time I saw you.”
Both girls threw back their shoulders, lifted their chins, and smiled proudly. But before they could say anything, they heard another familiar sound . . .”
“Oops. Sorry.” It was Bl’azzz, she had burped, and the gas lit on fire with the sound of a loud whoosh.
“Oh, Bl’azzz . . .,” said Egg playfully, “it wouldn’t have been any fun if you had gotten your gas problem fixed.” She hugged the F’yre Dragon.
“We could always get a P’xxxie to bite her,” teased Sylvia. P’xxxies were little winged creatures from the Colorless Wood. If they bite you, they drain all your hope and happiness. It had happened to Bl’azzz. But the one good thing was it had stopped her from burping fire.
“No thanks. Once was enough. Well . . . you two look a little older, but not much.”
“And you three look exactly the same.”
“H’sssss.”
“What are you laughing at, you giant giggly goofball?”
“I’m not the same.” They looked at the serpent but couldn’t see what she was talking about. “I’m skinny now.”
The girls tried not to smile . . . but it didn’t work. “Oh, you’re right K’ssss. You look terrific?” Egg was being polite; the serpent looked pretty much as she remembered.
“Can anyone join this conversation?”
They turned around . . . and there was Sassi. She was still beautiful with her green skin. But she was noticeably older . . . much like Dazzle.
Egg and Sylvia took turns hugging the other girl.
For a moment, there was an awkward silence. It was a little hard to think of this Sassi as the one that had helped them during the Quest. The older girl (well, to be honest, the young woman) understood what they were feeling.
“See . . .,” she said, “You should have invited me to earth. Then we would be the same age.” That was just the right thing to say and the tension melted away.
“How are your parents?” asked Sylvia.
“My mom and dad are great; and so is their house.” She said that proudly. Her parents had left the young girl with her aunt when they went off to fight Mobius. The little girl never had a proper childhood . . . and the one thing she always longed for was a house to share with her parents. After the Quest, she got her wish.
“What do you mean ‘their house’? Don’t you live with them anymore?”
“No.” She paused for dramatic effect then added, “I’m married now.”
“WHAT?” both girls screamed.
“And I have a six month old baby girl.”
“WHAT?” both girls screamed . . . again.
“She said she has a baby girl,” said K’ssss trying to be helpful.
“They know that, you simple sea slug.”
“Oh.”
“And we have our own house. But, it’s not too far from my mom and dad. They’ve made the best grandparents . . . and babysitters.”
“Excuse me . . . is this an official meeting of the famous Hameggattic Sisterhood?”
They turned to see Aeri’elle standing there.
Egg didn’t say a word . . . she just went up to the proud dragon and gave her a big hug.
“Hi, Egg. It’s so wonderful to see you and Sylvia again.”
“We’ve missed you, too. How’s your dad?” Aeri’elle’s father had been very helpful during the Quest by flying Sylvia and Dazzle’s body to the Myst Tree.
“He’s great. In fact, he’s over there,” and she pointed across the room.
For the first time Egg looked over the people in the room. She recognized many of them. “Oh my gosh . . . it’s the Shades of Nights.” They were the secret organization that fought against Mobius and helped Egg to defeat the evil king.
“I’ve waited twelve years for that.”
“For what?”
“For you to say oh-my-gosh,” and they all broke up laughing.
When the laughter died down, Sylvia asked the group, “So what’s going on with M’egg-Alynnia? What’s she like?”
The other five girls looked from one to the other but said nothing.
“Well?”
Reluctantly, each girl said what was on her mind . . .
“Ummm . . . fi
rst of all, it’s Princess M’egg-Alynnia.”
“And I wouldn’t forget that when I talked to her.”
“And I would always let her talk first.”
“And I would never interrupt her or correct her . . . ever.”
“And I don’t like her. She’s mean.”
The conversation came to a sudden stop when they heard the sound of lances banging against the floor. They turned towards the Sentinels.
“Your Highness, Lord Z’kkk, honored guests . . . the Princess M’egg-Alynnia.”
The doors opened wide and in entered a twelve-year-old girl with a face that you just wanted to slap . . .
The Princess stopped just inside the door and looked over the crowd. Everyone immediately dropped to their knees and bowed low . . . everyone except Egg and Sylvia.
Two of the sisters tried to pull the girls down. But it was too late; M’egg-Alynnia had spotted them. She walked over and stood staring at Egg, then Sylvia.
The girls smiled tentatively.
“Hi, I’m Egg . . .” But she stopped when she heard Aeri’elle groan.
“Bow.”
“What?”
“Bow.”
Egg wasn’t sure what to do . . . but one thing she did know. There was no way she was going to bow to this brat.
“As I was saying, I’m Egg from Earth and this is Sylvia. You must be M’egg-Alynnia?” This time all of the sisters groaned.
“What did you call me?”
But before she could answer, Dazzle had appeared at her side. “Daughter, these are our honored guests. They and their sisters (she pointed to all seven girls) are the ones that restored me to the throne and saved our people from Mobius.”
“Tell her (pointing at Egg) to bow and to address me properly. And this one, too,” pointing at Sylvia.
For the first time since Egg knew her, Dazzle looked uncomfortable. “Egg, Sylvia . . . this is my daughter; the Princess M’egg-Alynnia.” She emphasized the title.
“Hi,” said Egg purposely not calling the girl by her name or title.
“You must bow and address me as Princess.”
But Egg didn’t . . . all she did was to look the other girl in the eye and smile.
“Did you not hear me?”
“I heard you. But unless your mom (there was a small intake of breaths from the guests when they heard the Queen addressed like that) tells me to do it, there’s no way I’m going to bow. And if you want me to call you Princess . . . then you can call me Egg of Earth, Heroine of Aerianna” (more intakes of breaths . . . from the sisters).
“How dare you?”
“Your Mom and I and them (pointing at her sisters) faced Mobius and the creatures in the seven lands. She deserves to be called Queen. But I don’t remember what exactly you’ve done to deserve a bow from me.”
M’egg-Alynnia’s mouth flopped open in disbelief. Then she turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.
Egg made a face as if to say, “Oops, I’m sorry.”
“Well” said Rose’Alynnia, Queen of Aerianna. “I can see that the two of you are going to be great friends.”
Chapter 3 - Just Like Her Mom
“Dazzle, I’m sorry for being so rude.”
“No, Egg, it was not your fault. My daughter is a bit . . . headstrong. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf. You and Sylvia are our honored guests. This celebration is for you.” Then to everyone gathered the Queen said, “Please, enjoy yourselves. Our guests are here for only a short while and we should all take this opportunity to celebrate their visit.”
“Would you like me to go talk to her?”
Dazzle smiled at her sister. “You have always been the bravest person I know. But talking to my daughter . . . especially while she is in this state of mind . . . is far more than I could ask of anyone. No, dear Egg . . . I would have you visit with your sisters and your friends. Then later, we shall discuss the Princess.” She forced a smile for the sake of all seven of the Hameggattic Sisters . . . but her eyes belied how she really felt. “I will see you soon” and she walked away.
They waited for the Queen to leave before they started talking.
“Egg, you are one for the ages,” said Soo. “Never . . . and I mean never . . . have I heard of anyone talking to the Princess that way.”
“If you were a hero before, you’re a superhero now,” added Bl’azzz.
“She’s mean,” said K’ssss repeating her earlier statement.
“How in the world could our Queen have such an ill-mannered, insufferable and abrasive child?” Aeri’elle wondered out loud.
“Take it from a new mother . . . she obviously gets it from her father’s side.” They looked at Sassi . . . who was smiling. The girls all followed suit.
“I’m not so sure about that,” teased Sylvia. “Remember J’azzz-min.” Involuntarily they all looked around to see if the obnoxious cat would pop out of the ground like it did back in the seven lands.
“Actually, Dazzle said she was just that way when she was younger.”
“No way!” Bl’azzz almost burped and burned when she said it.
“Really. On the way back from Storm’s . . .,” but Egg stopped and turned to Aeri’elle. “Oh, I’m sorry.” It was the day her great grandfather had died.
“Don’t be. Please . . . continue.”
“Okay. By the way . . . it was Storm that came to me in my dreams and told me that Dazzle needed us here.”
That made Aeri’elle smile. “He appears so young in my dreams that it’s hard to recognize him.”
“I know what you mean, but I always know his voice. Anyway, on the way back I asked Dazzle how she and Storm became friends. She said that when she was nine or ten, she was a holy terror. Her father and mother didn’t know what to do so they sent her to live with Storm’s family hoping they would have a good influence on her. Well, obviously they did.”
“OH . . .”
“MY . . .”
“GOSH”.
Egg looked at her Soo, Bl’azzz and Sassi. “What’s wrong?”
It was Aeri’elle who said, “You tell her Sylvia.”
Sylvia had put her hands over her mouth trying to stifle a laugh . . . or maybe it was a scream.
Egg looked to her friend. “Well?”
“Dazzle’s going to ask you to do what Storm’s family did for her mom.”
Not understanding, Egg said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about . . .” But then the light came on in her head and she screamed, “OH MY GOSH.”
For a moment, there was dead silence. Then K’ssss started to h’sssss and they all burst out laughing. Well, six of them did.
“Hey, this isn’t funny.”
“Yes it is,” said Sassi who was now crying from laughing so hard.
“Come on you guys. What am I going to do?” She was beginning to panic.
“You can always hitch a ride on Mobius’ space ship,” answered Soo.
“Speaking of which . . . I wonder how he’s enjoying our singing?” asked Bl’azzz. They had K’ssss’ inventor-dad put a continuous playing tape of the seven girls singing every Fandango Sally song they knew in his space ship. Since his flight was supposed to take at least a hundred years, he might be finding the music somewhat annoying.
But Egg was in no mood for laughing and joking. “This is serious. How can I tell Dazzle there’s no way I’m going to take care of that horrible kid?” Then she turned even whiter as another thought came to her, “Oh no, oh no.”
“What?” asked Sylvia.
“Remember the first dream I had with Storm?”
“He comes to you a lot . . . doesn’t he?” The dragon was only slightly jealous.
Ignoring Aeri’elle, Egg said, “He told me that ‘as I once did, so shall you’. I didn’t know what he was talking about.”
“Now you do.”
“He also told you something else. Something like ‘And your reward shall be as mine . . . that which is priceless and forever.’”
“I still don’t know what that means. Anyway . . . it’s the first part that’s the problem.”
“May I make a suggestion?”
All eyes turned to Sassi. “Oh, please,” said a desperate Egg.
“First of all, there’s no polite way to refuse the Queen of Aerianna.” Everyone nodded their agreement.
“So far, you’re not helping.”
“Secondly, you can’t simply show up at your house with a strange girl. The sisters started to giggle at that description. “Oh, I meant to say with a stranger. Anyway, your mom doesn’t know anything about the Quest or about us does she?”
“No.” Egg wasn’t sure where this was going, but she was beginning to feel a glimmer of hope.
“So, the only thing you can do . . .,” she paused again for dramatic effect. It was something she had picked-up from J’azzz-min. “. . . is to ask your grandmother to take her in.”
There was a collective “Ahhh” from the girls.
It wasn’t the perfect answer. “No, I won’t, I can’t, I ain’t,” would have been preferable. But, as a back-up plan, it wasn’t bad.
“Sassi . . . I bet you’re a great mother,” was Egg’s way of saying thank you.
“I like to think so.”
“By the way, what’s your daughter’s name?”
“Kiss’immee.” Sassi had grown very fond of K’ssss during the Quest. “But I call her Kissy.”
“H’sssss. H’sssss.”
“And, B’lazzz, Soo’ and Aeri’elle are her life guardians. That’s like an honorary mother . . . someone my daughter can always turn to for help.”
“That’s really great. I’m so glad that the Hameggattic Sisters are still helping each other.”
“I would have asked you and Sylvia to be life guardians, but . . .”
“But we never visited. I’m sorry about that,” interrupted Egg.
Sassi laughed. “That’s not what I was about to say. It would prove to be a little odd. When you turn seventeen . . . she’ll be older than both of you.”
Box Set #2: Zynn-Zaz'Zia: [The 4 book 2nd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 3