“I do not know. Perhaps you will dream on it tonight.”
“Dazzle.”
“Yes, Egg?” The Princess was being very, very patient. She understood just how devastated the two girls must have been feeling.
“I lost five sisters. I don’t want to lose Sylvia.”
“Nor I.”
“Do you promise?”
“I cannot promise that which I cannot control.”
“Dazzle.”
“Yes, Egg?”
“I miss Sassi and K’ssss and Aeri’elle and Bl’azzz and Soo’.”
“Will you do something for me?”
“What?”
“Tomorrow, before we continue our journey, I would like you and Sylvia to remember each of your sisters. Then I would have you write your memories in your diary.”
“That would be wonderful.”
“Then sleep. And you, also, Sylvia. By tomorrow night, we will have reached the Crystal Mountain and claimed our first victory over Mobius. And in so doing, we will pay honor to all the sacrifices made by you and your sisters.”
*****
The girls had been asleep for many hours when the moon reached its zenith in the sky. As Dazzle sat there watching, a shadow drifted across its yellow and orange surface . . .
It was the Wraith known as K’aos. But in his former life, he was Z’kkk, the fiancé to the Rose’Alynnia, Princess of Aerianna.
“Ah, my love, it is good to see you once again. I have come to reclaim not only my throne . . . but you as well. You proposed marriage to me; and I expect you to honor that promise. Sweet dreams.”
*****
“Morning,” said Egg with a big yawn and a stretch.
“Good morning, sleepy head. I’ve cooked you some breakfast.” Sylvia put some food on a plate and gave it to her friend.
“Thanks. It smells delicious.”
“It’s one of Sassi’s recipes.”
“Oh.” A wave of sadness washed over the girl.
“Good morning, Egg,” said Dazzle as she returned to the camp.
“Morning.”
“I have surveyed the surrounding area. The water is not deep; and though the bottom is muddy, it does not appear to be as bad as Switch Swamp. We will be able to cross over with little difficulty. The land beyond is wet and soft . . . but easily walked upon.” She paused to let the girls absorb this information, and then continued, “Did you dream of the Glade?”
“I tried . . . but nothing happened.”
“Then you shall walk and we shall follow.”
What else was new . . . it felt like they had already walked a thousand miles. The two girls looked at each other and shrugged. Just one more day and this part of the Quest would finally be over.
“Are we leaving right away?” asked Sylvia.
“No. You must first write of your memories of Sassi and the others.”
So Egg wolfed down her breakfast and pulled out her diary. She was both looking forward to, and dreading, what they were about to do.
“Okay, who shall we do first?”
“Let’s do Soo’ and Bl’azzz first.”
“Okay.” So they started to talk about the serpent and the dragon, recalling every last detail from the day Egg had recruited them till the day they flew away. Even Dazzle added a few comments and observations. After those two, they talked about Aeri’elle then K’ssss and finally Sassi. When they finished, Egg found a blank page in her diary and began to write . . . reading her words so that the other two could follow along.
Dear Diary,
She stopped and asked, “Does anybody know the date?”
“Forget the date . . . just write.”
“Okay, okay.”
‘Dear Diary,
There was a lot to write about . . . and Egg kept skipping from one sister to another then back again. And every entry brought a smile to their faces. It turned out to be just what the doctor (or in this case, Dazzle) ordered.
… Aeri’elle was so stuck-up when I first met her. I never thought she make a good sister. Boy, did she fool me.
… K’ssss loved to laugh. We all just adored the way she would “H’sssss.”
… Soo’ was always making fun of K’ssss. My favorite was when she called her a slithering sack of silly.
… Bl’azzz had such a bad case of gas. Lucky for us it came out of her mouth and not the other end.
“EGG,” said a horrified Sylvia. “That’s disgusting.”
“No it’s not.”
“You’re just so bad. Anyway, keep writing.”
… Sassi had the most beautiful skin color. I never thought green would look so good on a girl.
… K’ssss saved us more times than anyone else. She turned out to be our most valuable player. I hate to say it . . . but it was our biggest surprise.
… Bl’azzz played a weird instrument called a Booyah. She was really very good.
… When Aeri’elle ate that monster’s friend then threw it up . . . it was so gross, but now it seems very funny.
… Soo’ was awesome the way she saved her friend Bl’azzz. That big ugly spider chose the wrong person to mess with.
… Sassi was so quiet and shy. But she was the best cook; and she was so brave knowing that she wasn’t going to make it out of the Maze.
And page after page, Egg wrote about her missing sisters. Some of the comments made Sylvia and her very sad. But mostly, all the things they wrote made them laugh and smile with the warmth of fond remembrances.
By the time they finished, they kind of felt like the Hameggattic Sisters were safe inside of the diary. And that was a good feeling.
“You have done well. Someday, with your permission, I will include everything you have written about your Sisters and put them in our history books. Every child . . . human, serpent and dragon . . . will be required to read and learn about the seven great heroines of Aerianna. They will all come to know and admire the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”
“Really?”
“Really and truly. But now . . . it is time to finish what we have started. We must go.”
Chapter 10 - Never ‘Glade
“Fiddlesticks.”
“What?”
“You heard me, fiddlesticks.”
“What’s a fiddlestick?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“Eloise Grace Graystone,” Sylvia replied in a huff, “if you can keep saying that silly phrase, then I think I should have one too.”
“What silly phrase?”
“Oh my gosh . . . what was it again?”
“Oh, that one.”
“So now I have my own. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and I think fiddlesticks is perfect. What do you think, Dazzle?”
“It is a most agreeable word.”
“Thank you.”
They had been trudging through the glade making pretty good progress . . . all things considered. Not having J’azzz-min to tell them which way to go, Egg decided to use dandelions as her guide.
“How, my sister?”
“I’ll just hold it up . . . and whichever way the little thingy’s blow is the way we’ll go.”
Dazzle was more than a little doubtful. “Why?”
“Just because.” Egg had absolutely no reason to believe that this silly idea would work . . . but it was the only thing she could think of. Besides, they were walking through a field of dandelions. That must mean something.
“We will trust your instincts . . . for a time.” Truth was that Dazzle had no better idea.
As they walked, they were mostly quiet . . . each girl thinking her own thoughts.
Dazzle was thinking of Z’kkk and the day he would hold her in his arms again.
Sylvia was still thinking of her missing sisters. ‘How lucky I am,’ she thought to herself. ‘I became friends with dragons and serpents and a green girl. I just know that I’ll see them all again . . . I can just feel it.’ But she didn�
�t know how that would be possible. ‘Maybe the Tree can do something,’ she thought hopefully.
And Egg was daydreaming of her Grandmother. She couldn’t wait to get back to tell her everything. Unfortunately that thought led to another one . . . when she got back, she would no longer be Flying Girl. It was going to be so hard to be just your everyday Egg. But what a great year she had had . . . and because of that, she couldn’t feel sorry for herself. Well . . . maybe just a little.
*****
The pretty glade was lulling them into thinking they were safe . . .
Safe enough to let their guard down . . .
Safe enough to daydream . . .
Safe enough to forget that they were in the last of the seven challenges. And everyone knows you save the best for last. Or, in this case, the worst . . .
“Hey, Dazzle.”
“Yes, Egg?”
“I thought a glade was like the Everglade back on earth. You know . . . lots of water and crocodiles and snakes.”
“I hate snakes almost as much as spiders,” said Sylvia who made a disgusted face like ‘yuk’.
“No. A glade is a clearing in a forest. But I think the name of this place is not very accurate for there are trees aplenty.”
“Then why do they call the Everglade the ever glade? Why not the Ever-swamp?”
“Or ever-marsh?” added Sylvia.
“I do not know,” said the Princess smiling. “It is a puzzle.”
The pleasant moment was shattered when Egg began to scream, “OH MY GOSH…OH MY GOSH…OH MY GOSH”. She had been leading the way when the path she had been following brought her to the edge of a cliff. And there below, totally unexpected, was the Crystal Mountain . . .
“What is wrong?”
“Egg, are you okay?”
“LOOK,” cried Flying Girl. The other two ran over to their companion and looked to where she was pointing.
“We did it!” said Sylvia in an awed voice. “We actually did it.”
“It is a most impressive structure.”
They stood there for many minutes just staring. It would have been hard for them to put their emotions into words. After all they had been through . . . all the sacrifices they and their sisters had made . . . they had done the impossible. They were glad and relieved that they had succeeded, but sad and depressed that the others weren’t there to savor that success. The moment was bittersweet.
Then reality hit Dazzle like a slap on the face. “We are in grave danger.”
Egg and Sylvia turned to look at the Princess and at the glade around them. “What is it?”
“This is Mobius’ last opportunity to stop us from reaching the Mountain. But we have yet to encounter anything remotely dangerous.”
“Hey, you’re right.”
“What do you think he’s planning?” asked Sylvia who was nervously looking around for anything that might do them harm.
“I believe he purposely let us enjoy the first part of the Glade so that we could reach this very spot . . . and see our goal. It’s just his way to make our eventual defeat that much more bitter.”
“What do you mean . . . defeat?” Egg was offended.
“In his mind, he firmly believes that he will triumph and we will fail. We know differently.”
That made both girls feel better . . . until the Princess continued. “We must be very vigilant. Assume that everything from this point forward means to do us harm. Take no chances.”
Without realizing she was doing it, Sylvia took Egg’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Egg squeezed back.
“Stay close and proceed slowly.”
*****
Not far from where they had stopped to admire the Crystal Mountain, the flat, wide glade . . . and the field of dandelions . . . came to an end.
The glade itself began a fairly steep descent down the mountain. It also narrowed to not much more than a path. On either side, the trees were much more dense . . . there was hardly enough room to squeeze between them. It was obvious where Mobius expected them to walk.
“I do not like this,” said Dazzle as she surveyed the path they had to follow.
“Why?” asked Egg. She didn’t see anything particularly dangerous.
“Mobius is forcing us to take this path . . . challenging us to run this gauntlet. It will be fraught with peril.”
Egg looked at Sylvia but the other girl also didn’t know what the Princess was talking about. Anyway, this seemed to be the least dangerous place they had faced so far.
“Dazzle, J’azzz-min said we had to worry about the tack-toed tick. Maybe that’s the only danger.”
“I do not believe so, Feminion. There will be other challenges.”
“So why don’t we just go through the trees? Syl and I aren’t very big. We could probably squeeze between them.”
“Agreed,” said the Warrior Princess. “But first, let us prepare for the worse. Retrieve your ponchos from your backpacks and put them on . . . including the hoods. They may protect you from the ticks. And take out the knife and the ax . . . they could prove useful.”
So the girls did as they were told. Sylvia also picked up about a half dozen good-sized pebbles for each of them and they stuffed them into their pockets.
“Okay, we’re ready,” said Egg who really wasn’t.
They walked to where the narrow path began . . . then past it and over to where the trees were. But as they got closer, they noticed some kind of ground cover none of them had ever seen before . . .
. . . growing between the trees.
“What the heck is that stuff? It looks like cotton candy.”
“Whatever it is; it’s kinda pretty,” answered Sylvia.
“Pretty, perhaps; but it is most likely dangerous.”
“Any suggestions?” asked Egg.
“You should proceed alone for a few paces to insure that it is passable. But first, take out a rope and tie one end around your waist. Sylvia will hold the other end and pull you back to safety . . . if need be.”
Egg looked at the Princess and rolled her eyes. Sometimes being the captain of the team was pretty lousy.
“I’ll do it,” volunteered Sylvia.
“No. It’s my job. I’ll do it.”
“I’m your Feminion . . . so I should do it.”
“I’m the captain . . . so I should.”
“No . . . I should.”
“Don’t argue. You’re giving me a headache.”
“Sisters,” interrupted Dazzle, “this will not be the last danger we will face. Each of you will have an opportunity to be a hero.”
The girls looked a little embarrassed. “Sorry,” said Sylvia. “I was just trying to help.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks, anyway.” She then pulled out the rope, tied one end around her and gave the other end to her friend. “Okay, here goes nothing.”
“No, wait.”
“What?”
“Let me tie my end around this tree . . . just in case. If the rope slips out of my hands . . . well, anyway, just to be safe.”
“An excellent suggestion, Feminion.”
So, Sylvia tied the rope and Egg stepped onto the cotton candy. She yelped in surprise as she began to sink.
The plant was pulling her down . . . and in an instant, she was knee deep, then waist deep, then . . . just her head was visible. But not for long.
She disappeared beneath the pretty flowers.
*****
If the rope hadn’t been tied to the tree, Sylvia would have lost it . . . and with it, her friend. But it was . . . and she didn’t.
“Pull, Sylvia. Quickly.”
But she couldn’t. The rope had stretched tight and it looked like it was about to snap. Apparently, the plants were still wrapped around Egg and were trying to pull her deeper yet.
“I CAN’T . . . . I CAN’T,” she screamed in panic. “I’M NOT STRONG ENOUGH.”
“Feminion . . . listen to me. Keep pulling on the rope for all you are worth. Egg’s life depends on it. I wil
l try to assist.”
“WHAT? HOW?” The girl was still screaming even though she didn’t realize it.
Dazzle didn’t answer . . . instead, she disappeared.
Sylvia continued to pull on the rope but it wouldn’t budge. But a moment later, she almost fell down backwards as the rope started to come up. She pulled and pulled and pulled until every muscle felt like it would explode. And to her enormous relief, Egg’s head appeared above the plants. With her last ounce of strength, she managed to pull the other girl out and back onto solid ground.
Egg laid there . . . coughing and wheezing and trying to suck in as much air as she could. Sylvia dropped down next to her, totally exhausted and breathing just as hard as her best friend.
It took them a few minutes to regain their breath and to speak.
“Egg . . . what happened? I couldn’t pull you up; then I could?”
“It was Dazzle.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. She did something and there was a flash of light and the plants let me go.”
“Dazzle,” Sylvia called.
“I am here.”
Both girls looked up and were shocked by what they saw. Dazzle was almost invisible. “What’s wrong with you? What did you do down there?”
“I used most of the energy in Egg’s suit to shock the plant. When I did, it released her.”
“But how come we can hardly see you? Are you okay?” Egg asked.
“Egg, I may not be with you much longer. When the power is drained from the suit, I will be unable to show myself. When it becomes sufficiently drained . . . I will be unable to speak.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“You’re not going to die . . . are you,” asked Sylvia in a hushed voice.
“No, my sister. My essence cannot be destroyed . . . unless the suit is destroyed.”
Well . . . that was something, at least.
“Dazzle, what are we supposed to do without you to help us?”
“Trust in Egg.”
That didn’t seem like nearly enough . . . for either girl.
“So what do we do now? Just take the path like Mobius wants us to?”
“Yes. But do it quickly. The longer you take . . . the more opportunities he has to do his evil worst.”
“Okay . . . if you say so. You ready, Syl?”
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 70