“I never had six friends . . . six sisters . . . like you guys.” Sassi wasn’t sure how that answered her question, but she decided not ask.
*****
As they sat there and ate, Soo’ asked Bl’azzz, “Can you play a song for us on your Booyah?” Like Sassi and K’ssss, Soo’ and Bl’azzz had become really good friends.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She reached into her backpack and pulled out the instrument. “What do you want to hear?”
“Don’t know any dragon songs. Just keep it happy . . . to irritate the P’xxxies.” Little did she know, the tiny creatures were very close by . . . waiting for the right moment to attack.
So Bl’azzz played a bunch of songs for which no one knew the words. But the melody was just what the doctor ordered . . . happy and fun. After the sixth one, she put down her instrument and said, “I need to rest my lips. Anybody have some water?”
Aeri’elle handed her a water bottle and Bl’azzz took a long, deep sip. “Thanks . . . . Oops,” and the one thing she shouldn’t have done, she did. She burped and a tongue of fire roared from her mouth.
When the P’xxxies saw the bright red flame, they knew it was the right time to attack. They swarmed out of the trees and headed for the Sisters.
Dazzle was the first to notice them. “P’XXXIES,” she screamed to her sisters. “DEFEND YOURSELVES.”
But the only defense, according to J’azzz-min, was being happy. At this particular moment, no one was.
The little creatures dove down trying to land on their victims. But the two dragons kept flapping their large wings and that kept the P’xxxies from getting too close.
Trying to find a little shelter, they all crawled slowly to a bunch of trees that offered a little protection from the swarm of winged attackers. When they got to where they wanted to be, they were out of breath and very scared.
“Any ideas?” Sassi asked Egg.
“I’m going to run and get Bl’azzz’s Booyah so she can play something happy.”
“YOU CAN’T,” screamed her Feminion. “Those things will get you.”
“She’s right,” said Bl’azzz. “This is my fault and that’s my instrument. I’ll do it.”
“Keep beating your wings.”
“Ah, you care.”
“We’re Sisters aren’t we? Of course I care.” Aeri’elle had a very hurt look on her face.
Bl’azzz saw the look and said, “I know you do. Thanks.”
So the F’yre Dragon took a deep breath and ran back towards her instrument. The P’xxxies immediately changed course to follow her. They tried to land but the dragon kept them away with her wings. She reached her Booyah, picked it up in her mouth and was about to start playing.
But a half dozen P’xxxies flew down and grabbed the instrument from the dragon and flew away with it. Bl’azzz started to run after them, but tripped. And in that moment, a P’xxxie landed on her back . . .
Bl’azzz screamed once, then went silent.
“OH MY GOSH. It’s got Bl’azzz.”
“Do something, hurry.”
Egg looked around and saw a couple of large pebbles on the ground. She picked up two and gave one to Sylvia.
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
And both girls threw their pebbles as hard as they could. One just missed, the other one didn’t. It hit the little creature in the stomach and the purple P’xxxie went flying off. It landed on the ground obviously dazed. The other P’xxxies broke off their attack, flew down and picked up their injured friend and left.
The girls waited a second to make sure the creatures were really gone, and then they ran over to Bl’azzz.
“Bl’azzz, are you alright. Bl’azzz can you hear me. It’s Soo’ . . . come on girl, wake up.”
The F’yre Dragon began to moan. One of the girls fetched a water bottle and they poured a little on Bl’azzz’s back where she was bitten. When the injured dragon opened her eyes, they offered her a drink.
But she knocked the bottle away.
Her eyes went wide . . . as if she had just seen something horrible.
She looked at the faces looking back at her . . . and started to cry.
The crying got worse . . . and soon became a howl of utter despair and hopelessness. It sent shivers up and down the spines of her six sisters.
“Bl’azzz, it’s okay. Bl’azzz, those things are gone. You’re okay now.”
But she wasn’t okay. Her laughter and sweet nature were gone. All that remained was a sad, unhappy dragon. She continued to cry but she didn’t know why. Nothing the girls said made a difference. The P’xxxies had claimed their newest victim . . . and the fire in Bl’azzz had gone out.
Chapter 8 - Seven Sad Sisters
“Use the bracelet.”
“Oh, how stupid I am. Of course.” So she put her hands on the dragon’s head and said, “Be not sad or discouraged, Sister. All is well. Return to your…”
“Forget it.”
They turned around and looked at the cat.
“Why?” asked Aeri’elle.
“It won’t work. Rules are rules, sorry.” She almost sounded as if she were sorry.
“It worked on Egg when I put her to sleep.”
“You weren’t trying to make the hallucinations go away.”
“It worked on the souls in the Dead Trees.”
“Not really. They’re still stuck in the trees.”
“The power of the jewelry cannot work against the evil in these lands; is that correct?”
“Wow, a complete sentence.”
“Your rudeness grows tiresome, cat.”
“Hey, I’m just the messenger here. I ain’t responsible for all this stuff.”
“You could show more compassion.”
“You just don’t get it, do you? I gotta do what the rules say . . . that’s why I’m here.”
“You helped us with the sand serpent.”
“Sometimes the rules can be . . . ummm . . . stretched a wee bit. Say by a cat’s whisker.”
Sassi had to ask, “Is there nothing we can do for Bl’azzz?”
“No, sorry.” They thought the cat really cared . . . until she added, “Look at the bright side; at least she ain’t burning anybody with her hot breath.”
“Shut up. Just shut up,” screamed an angry Soo’.
“Whatever,” and the cat disappeared.
The girls forgot about J’azzz-min when Bl’azzz began to moan again.
“Egg, do something . . . please.” Soo’ hated to see her friend like this.
“Can you carry her?”
“Sure.” It would be hard on land, but she would find the strength.
“We can take turns,” offered K’ssss.
“Thanks.”
So Egg put her hands on the dragons head and said, “Sleep, Sister.” And Bl’azzz immediately fell asleep.
But when they tried to hoist the sleeping dragon onto Soo’s back, they couldn’t do it. After a few tries, Sylvia suggested they make a sling out of the tents and harnesses out of the ropes. They put a harness on each of the serpents and suspended the sling between them. Then they rolled the sleeping dragon onto it.
“Very clever . . . again,” said the Princess. Sylvia just nodded; she was too depressed to feel very clever.
It was a sad group of girls that began their journey again. And their pace was slowed to a crawl because of the awkwardness of carrying the sleeping dragon.
“Are we going to make it before our time is up?” asked Sassi.
Egg just shrugged. She had no idea and she really didn’t feel like talking. Even though Dazzle had warned her repeatedly of the dangers of the Quest, it really never struck home. At least, not until now.
*****
They came to another fork in the road. Aeri’elle asked Egg which direction she wanted to take.
“It doesn’t seem to matter. You choose.”
So the dragon took the left path. And hour after hour, they wound their way through t
he trees . . . ever alert for those horrid P’xxxies.
“Egg . . .,” called Soo’.
“Yeah.”
“We need to rest . . . sorry.”
“Do not be sorry, my sister. Your sacrifice for Bl’azzz is admirable. The same is true for you, K’ssss.”
They set down the sling with the sleeping dragon and Egg woke her. She would need to eat and drink . . . and perhaps her condition had improved.
“Nooooo,” the dragon wailed.
“What’s wrong, Bl’azzz?”
“It’s so sad, so sad.”
“What is?”
But she didn’t answer; she just sat down and cried softly. Soo’ sat next to her trying to get her friend to drink a little water and maybe to eat something.
Egg walked a little ways from the group to talk privately to Dazzle.
“What should we do?”
“That is your decision. If it were mine, I would make our sister comfortable, give her adequate supplies then leave her behind. It is very dangerous to take her with us.”
Egg was shocked. “I could never do that. She belongs to the Sisterhood . . . and we would never do something like that. Never.”
“As I said . . . it is your decision.”
Egg turned around and walked back to the others. And at that moment, J’azzz-min chose to reappear.
“Hi, girlies.”
No one even turned around to look at the cat.
“Nice welcome. I can really feel the love.”
Again, this was greeted with silence.
“So I guess that if I told you I had some bad news, you wouldn’t be all that thrilled.”
That was perfect . . . just what they needed; more bad news.
“Speak, cat.”
“You’re lost.”
“WHAT?” screamed Sylvia. “You’re supposed to be our guide. What kind of stupid cat are you?” Everyone’s nerves were on edge since Bl’azzz was hurt and the least little thing could really upset them.
“We’ve been traveling for hours. Do you mean we have to go all the way back? We’ll never get out of here in time.” Aeri’elle felt bad because she was leading the group and it was her decision to take the left path.
“It’s a bit of a conundrum, isn’t it?”
“What kind of drum?” asked K’ssss.
“Conundrum . . . it means a problem,” explained Sassi.
“Oh.”
“J’azzz-min, it is your responsibility to guide us through these lands and you failed. Find a solution.”
“Wait . . . I got it, I got it. I’ll just snap my fingers . . .,” and she did just that. “Nope, guess that didn’t work.” The cat’s sense of humor was as strange as always.
“How about if I snap your head,” said Soo’ menacingly.
“Great idea,” and J’azzz-min took off her head and tossed it to the shocked serpent.
“Gross,” said Soo’ while letting the head fall to the ground.
The headless cat walked over, picked up her noggin and reattached it. “Urgghhh,” she hissed, “Sometimes that gives me such a headache.”
“J’azzz-min, if we don’t get out of here in time and have to start over . . . will Bl’azzz be better? You know . . . like it never happened?” Now that was a promising idea . . . if true.
“Let me check the rule book,” and the cat began to look at a pretend book in her paws. “Oh, yes, here it is. NO.”
“No?”
“No.”
“What does the rule book say about a cat guide who fails in her duties?”
“Ummm . . . (she did the pretend thing again) . . . it says she has to fix it.”
“Well what do you intend to do?”
“H’mmm . . . hows about a little switch-aroo?”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you girlies should make camp here tonight and in the morning I fix our little problem.”
“I don’t trust you,” said Sylvia.
“What’s your choice?”
“What about the P’xxxies?” asked Aeri’elle.
“Believe it or not, no one has ever injured one of them before. So now they’re afraid of you. Ain’t that a kick in the head?”
“Which land will we go through next?” asked Egg.
“Haven’t decided. Do you care?”
“Guess not.”
“In that case, pleasant dreams . . . and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
*****
They set up camp and since the P’xxxies weren’t going to attack again, they lit a fire. Sassi cooked a wonderful meal for all of them. Well, it was actually three wonderful meals. They sat back and ate . . . enjoying the hot food. Even Bl’azzz had stopped crying long enough to eat.
When they had finished, Soo’ said, “It’s my turn.”
The girls looked at her in surprise. No one was in the mood for an amusing story.
“It’s not going to be funny. I’ll save that one for another time if it’s okay with everybody.” The girls all nodded.
And she began to tell her tale. “A pretty long time ago there was this girl. She was a really amazing serpent . . . smart, pretty and brave. Kind of like you-know-who.” She pointed at Dazzle. “And despite her mom’s warnings, she wanted to battle against Mobius. She joined with a group of other serpents and they went to a secret cove to practice how to fight . . . something she had never done before. But as it turned out, it wasn’t much of a secret. One of the serpents was a spy for Mobius and he sent a bunch of really mean dragons to attack these kids. They weren’t much older than me.”
“I’m sorry,” said Aeri’elle. “Not all dragons are that way.”
“I know that. Anyway, all the serpents were injured, captured, or worse. The only one to escape was this girl 'cause she managed to hide in a sea cave. But she was hurt really badly. She stayed in the cave for more than a day . . . afraid to come out. When she finally did, there was a dragon waiting for her.”
The girls were listening intently and didn’t make a sound.
“She thought she was about to die. But she had no intention of giving up without a fight. So she tried to attack the dragon.”
“She was very brave, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was, you . . . you . . .,” Soo’ smiled sadly and finished with, “sweet sea sister.”
“What happened to her?” asked Sassi.
“The dragon said something like, ‘I’m a loyal friend of Princess Dazzle . . . which makes me a friend of yours. I’ve come to help you.’ He had heard that there had been a battle and he came to look for survivors. Anyway, he took this girl to someplace safe and nursed her back to health. I’m telling you this story because that girl was my grandmother. If it wasn’t for that dragon, she would have died . . . and I would never have been born.”
The girls sighed in satisfaction. They all had tears in their eyes.
“I need to repay the debt for my grandmother. If I make it through this Quest . . . so will Bl’azzz. That’s my promise.”
Each girl stood up, went over to Soo’ and gave her a hug.
“We’re all going to make it. Nobody messes with the Hameggattic Sisterhood.” Egg said it, but in her heart of hearts, she knew it wasn’t true.
*****
“Things go poorly for our friends. I feel badly for them.”
“I could make it go worse.”
Ahhh, K’aos; your chance will come. I promise.”
*****
That night Egg dreamt. She was sitting by the Myst Tree and they were having a very nice conversation.
“So, Mr. Tree, what are you exactly? We don’t have trees like you on earth.”
“I was placed here by the Old Ones. They are the race of beings that brought humans, serpents and dragons to Aerianna.”
“I know that. But what are you?”
“Just a tree.”
“That’s not really true, is it?”
“You are very wise for one so young.
“So tell me again about
what was, isn’t, unless it will be.”
The Tree laughed. “I said ‘Succeed and all that was, will be again.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“What do you think it means?”
“Now you sound like Grammy.”
“Is that good?”
“Oh, very good. She’s always trying to get me to use my head. You know . . . to think things out.”
“Then she is a very wise teacher.”
“Okay, so I guess if we beat Mobius then we succeeded. Right?”
“Yes.”
“And let me think . . . all that was will be again. That probably means . . . ummm . . . ,” but she wasn’t sure.
“How is Bl’azzz?”
“Not very well. But thank you for asking.”
“Has she always been unwell?”
“Oh, no. She was fine until the P’xxxies bit her.”
“Can you solve the riddle now?”
Egg thought about that for a moment; then a light came on in her brain. “You mean that if we beat Mobius then . . . Oh my gosh.”
“Tell your grandmother she has done well by you, Egg of Earth.”
*****
She woke up in the morning feeling like she needed to remember something. What was it? It’s like when a word is on the tip of your tongue and you can’t quite recall what it is.
But before she could finish the thought, J’azzz-min popped into existence.
“And a great, good’acious morning to the lovely sisters. Did we sleep well?”
“Shut-up,” Soo’ was still upset with what the cat had said about Bl’azzz.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Are you ready for your third great getaway?”
“What is our destination?”
“It’s the always lovely, always interesting . . . Switch Swamp."
“Why that one?”
“I flipped a coin. If it was heads, I’d send you directly to the Crystal Mountain. But if it was tails, I’d send you to some place particularly unpleasant. And, you lost . . . . Go figure.”
“You’re a horrible little cat,” said Sylvia unable to hide her dislike of their giddy guide.
J’azzz-min never seemed to be insulted by the insults. “If you think I’m bad, you just gotta meet my buddy J’ynx.”
“YOU have a buddy?” Soo’ had a hard time believing that.
“Abso-cat-alutely.”
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 59