Box Set #4: Sisterhood's End: [The 3 book 4th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood]

by Robert Iannone

They nodded their agreement.

  “Then you will not question me or speak of this until I do. Have I your word?”

  Again, they all indicated yes.

  “Thank you. Now, as to other matters . . . you will all be part of my coronation ceremony.” That was greeted more warmly. “But, I must warn some of you that clothes will be worn.”

  “No way, Meggy,” whined Bl’azzz. “No stupid clothes. Not even for a Queen.”

  “Not even this . . .” and she reached behind her and pulled out a familiar object.

  They all roared their approval except Serenity who had no idea what it was or what its significance might be. “Cute, but what is it?”

  Meggy leaned in and whispered conspiratorially . . . however loudly enough so all could hear. “It’s the official scarf of the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”

  “Ohhh. That’s like the one Sassi gave K’ssss during the Quest, right?”

  The former silly serpent answered, “You can bet your fish tail it is.”

  *****

  Long story – short, soon thereafter M’egg-Alynnia was crowned Queen of Aerianna. As she ascended the royal throne for the first time, she wore something around her neck that seemed out of place on such an occasion . . .

  Someone in the crowd whispered to his companion, “What is that cloth she’s wearing?”

  “It appears to be a scarf,” replied the woman.

  “You don’t suppose she’s trying to start a new fashion trend, do you?”

  “Oh, I certainly hope not. That thing is ghastly.”

  *****

  Fire’s Breath

  A few months later

  The relationship between Bl’azzz and Py’wackit never went further than just good friends. The young man really liked her but had no intentions of settling down anytime soon. He and the Prince were having way too much fun to give it up. Of course, Benny was engaged and that did place limits on what they could do.

  For her part, Bl’azzz wasn’t inspired to be the domestic type. She was happy that Soo was married but that wasn’t for her. Well, at least not right now. She liked Py more than she cared to admit. When they went out they did have a gas (oops, bad phrase) . . . make that ‘a ton of fun’. And because of that friendship, she tended to spend a lot of time with the Prince and other royals.

  At first, she was incredibly self-conscious about her manners and lack of education. But she was a Hameggattic Sister – even if there was no more Sisterhood. As such, she was still a Heroine of Aerianna and apparently, everyone wanted to be seen with her.

  When she was alone with Soo, she once told her dearest friend, “It’s really weird all the attention I get.”

  “Listen, you giant, gull-winged gasbag, you earned it. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Do you want to know the one story I have to tell over and over again?”

  “The Seven Lands?”

  “No.”

  “The weirdness on Laff’Alott?”

  “No.”

  “The time castle on Zynn-Zaz’zia?

  “No.”

  “Good grief, just spit it out.”

  “Your wedding.”

  “Kill me now.”

  *****

  When it comes to royalty, things can get a little strange. Py had not been introduced to the new King because his royal-ness came from cousins of aunts whose brother married someone’s mother. Translation – he had about a drop of royal blood in him.

  On the other hand, he was Prince Ben’Edikk’s best friend. So, Benny made the introductions. It was a few months after Debonn’Aire’s coronation and the Prince, Lady Molly, Py and Bl’azzz were headed for Fires Breath for a party.

  “Hey, you giant feather duster, let me introduce you to your Sovereign.”

  “Your Royal Benny-ness is too kind to this lowly servant.”

  “If you call me that in front of anyone but Bl’azzz and my fiancé, I will banish you to Nau’tika.” The Prince was kidding . . . mostly.

  “Listen, Sire . . . I’ll wait outside,” said Bl’azzz.

  “Nonsense. After all, he is your King as well.”

  So the three made their way to the Throne Room where they were introduced by the Sentinel. “Your Majesty, Prince Ben’Edikk, the Lady Molly and acquaintances.”

  “Acquaintances?” whined Py.

  “Quiet down,” whispered his friend. To the King he said, “Your Majesty, I came to pay my respects.”

  “Prince Ben’Edikk, you do me great honor.”

  “May I introduce my fiancé, the Lady Molly.”

  Molly curtsied. “Your Majesty.”

  “Lady Molly, you are most welcome.”

  “And, my two dear friends. This young man is Py’wackit” and the dragon stepped forward and bowed. “Your Majesty.”

  “Py’wackit, welcome to Court.”

  “Thank you, Sire.”

  “Last, but not least, may I introduce you to Bl’azzz, a former member of the Hameggattic Sisterhood and a Heroine of Aerianna.” Benny turned to Bl’azzz only to see her staring at the King with her eyes very wide. “Bow,” he whispered to her.

  “What?” she answered without taking her eyes off the King.

  “You must bow before your King,” he whispered again . . . only this time with such urgency that even Debonn’Aire heard him.

  The new King stood up with a smile on his face. “Bl’azzz, it is my honor to meet a renowned member of the Sisterhood,” and he bowed to her.

  “What?” Poor Bl’azzz was in a stupor . . . she had never met a more handsome dragon in her life. Or in her dreams for that matter. Py knew what was happening with his friend and he took a wing and pushed the girl down.

  “For the love of all that is holy, don’t burp and burn, you weird, whacky woman,” he told her.

  “What?”

  *****

  Zynn-Zaz’zia

  “Bree, I’ll say it again, it was a brilliant idea.”

  “Dad, after the first seven hundred times, compliments lose a little something.”

  Aeri’elle came to Zephyr’s aid. “Nonsense. You can’t compliment her enough. Not only did she suggest using the former Time Castle as the core of the new university, she is doing a tremendous job of organizing and managing all the modifications that we require.”

  “Big bird, shut up,” teased the butterfly girl.

  “Not happening.”

  “What is big bird?” asked her father.

  “Actually, we don’t know. It’s Egg’s nickname for Aeri’elle. What it refers to is a mystery.”

  “Has anyone heard from her?”

  “No, Dad. Please, don’t ask again. If we do, I’ll tell you.”

  “Sorry. I know how much you miss her.”

  Bree glanced at Aeri’elle who refused to make eye contact. It was already going on three full years since they had seen their sister . . . and the pain had yet to lessen.

  After a few awkward seconds of silence, the dragon asked, “Where’s Tee’ka?”

  “She and Bl’udd went to get some construction material. That dragon can carry a lot of stuff.”

  “He’s a big guy. Tee has really grown fond of him.”

  “Talk about your odd couple. But she’s worked miracles on him. It’s hard to believe he’s the same traitor that helped Mobius. He’s been terrific. Everyone loves him . . . how’s that for a turnaround?”

  “Well, that’s actually good to hear. The University will need some kind of security force. Do you think Bl’udd could help with that?”

  “He’s already assigned to do that for our new tourist trade. Let’s see how that goes . . . if he does well, we can ask him if he’s interested in taking on additional duties.’

  “That’s great. Thank you, Zephyr.”

  “Did you bring the designs?”

  “Yes, Bree,” and she gave the girl a cylinder filled with drawings. “As we discussed, we need to have better access for life forms that can’t fly. So roads and canals must be bu
ilt.”

  “I’ll get K’ssss and Zazzi working on the calculations.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Are we going to be ready to open on time?” That was Aeri’elle’s primary concern since she had committed to the rest of the Federation that the facility would be available as promised.

  “We’ll get it done,” said BreeZee and Zephyr beamed proudly.

  *****

  Earth

  It was Christmas time and Egg was as excited as she had ever been since losing the sisterhood and flying suit.

  “It’s going to be cold up there,” warned her father.

  “Dad, I’ll be fine.”

  “No, you’ll be so cold you won’t be able to concentrate. Can’t have that.” He walked over to the couch and pulled a box that was hidden behind it. “Here – go in your bedroom and put these on.”

  Egg smiled. “What is it?”

  “A gift from your parents, your sister, your grandparents and Sylvia. She’s the one that picked it out.”

  She went to peek inside but her mom said, “Stop and change. Hurry.”

  Egg came back in a minute looking like Amelia Earhart . . .

  “How epic is this? I love it. Thank you,” and everyone got a hug.

  “Time to go,” said Ezra.

  “Wish me luck,” and they all did.

  By agreement, no one was going to the airport except Ezra. There really wasn’t anything to see because the test would be conducted at three thousand feet. It would also take the better part of two hours. So, they decided to stay home . . . where they could be warm and comfortable. However, Sylvia did walk her friend to the car. “Time to be Flying Girl again.”

  “Yeah, it is. It’s been too long.”

  “Nervous?”

  “Not about flying. It’s all the facts and figures I had to memorize that’s hard. For instance, did you know that some clouds are called cumulus? Sounds just like Q’umulus back on Aerianna.”

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I knew that.”

  “Duh . . . of course you did.”

  “Anyway, even though you don’t need it, good luck.”

  “Thanks. Don’t forget, you promised to be my first passenger after I get my license.”

  “Forget? Please . . . I get nightmares every time I go to sleep thinking about it.”

  “Let’s go Egg,” yelled Ezra from inside the car.

  “Gotta go.” She hugged her best friend.

  “I’m really proud of you. You know that, right?”

  “Syl . . . you know that you’re much more than just my brain.”

  They both were getting teary eyed so Sylvia said, “I know. Your brain, your kidney, your liver, your spleen, your gluteus maximus, your pinky toe, your . . .” but the rest of the body parts were lost as the car drove away.

  *****

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “You can call me Crash.”

  “Crash?”

  “Yeah, I’ve wrecked a half dozen planes in my career. My friends thought it was an appropriate nickname. Personally, I don’t get it.” He said it with a smile.

  “Go figure,” she answered playing along. “By the way, you can call me Egg.”

  “Chicken?” he joked (as if she had never heard it before).

  “I’m flying with a guy name Crash – how chicken could I be?”

  “Touché. Okay, then . . . what do you do first?” His jovial demeanor ended . . . and now he was all business.

  “I checked the weather along the flight path and for the next few hours it will be severe clear and the winds aloft at less than ten knots. So we’re good to go VFR (translation – unlimited visibility, hardly a breeze, no storms in the area and Visual Flight Rules were in effect).

  “Good.”

  “So let’s do a pre-flight” (meaning check the plane visually to make sure there is nothing obviously wrong. No oil dripping, no missing screws or bolts, no dings on the propeller, lots of fuel . . . that sort of thing).

  Egg did the preflight and declared the aircraft fit to fly. “Hop in,” she told Crash. In an old biplane like hers, oddly enough the passenger sits in front and the pilot behind him.

  They both put on headsets so they could talk to each other (and the control tower). Without them, the roar of the engine and the wind would drown out all sounds.

  Egg turned on the radio and called the tower. “This is Foxtrot Golf Seven ready for take-off with the numbers.” (translation – hey you guys in the control tower, my plane, FG7, wants to go flying and I know all about the winds and stuff).

  “Rodger, Foxtrot Golf Seven. Cleared for runway one niner.”

  “Rodger.” Egg taxied out to runway 190, gave the plane gas by pushing a little lever and accelerated to forty-five miles per hour. She gently pulled back on the stick and the airplane leapt skyward.

  And My Flying Gal was flying. Within a minute, they disappeared from sight.

  Two hours later Ezra heard on his portable radio “Tower, Foxtrot Golf Seven in bound, permission to land.”

  “Rodger, Seven. Permission granted.”

  Ezra took out his binoculars and scanned the sky looking for his black and red plane. He spotted it as it turned left then left again . . . heading straight towards the runway. “Come on, Egg . . . keep the nose up,” he said out loud. New pilots had a tendency to push the nose of the plane down to land it. That may seem logical but it’s actual wrong. You hold the nose slightly up while you cut power to the engine. It then will slowly lose speed and glide gracefully onto the tarmac.

  And Egg nailed it. The plane landed as smooth as butter. Ezra pumped his arm into the air. ”Way to go, Flying Girl. Never a doubt.”

  Chapter 9 – Nothing Remains the Same

  Q’umulus, Council of Equals

  The Queen walked in and everyone stood. “Please, as you were.”

  One of the first things Meggy had to do after her coronation was to replace the triangular (three-sided) table with a square one to accommodate the new positions her mother had created for councilors of ‘off-world’ issues.

  On her side of the table, sitting to her left was Lady Serenity and to her right, Prince Ben’Edikk. Moving clockwise around the table, Aeri’elle and her father, Soar’elle, sat to the right. On the opposite side were Tink’rrr and K’ssss. Finally, on the remaining side were BreeZee and Tee’ka.

  Of the nine present, all six women were former Hameggattic Sisters. No one thought that it was a coincidence. More importantly, no one objected to have the Heroines of Aerianna in charge of the government.

  “Good morning. I hope this day finds you all well?” It was Megg’s traditional greeting and everyone answered in the affirmative. “Wonderful. The first order of business is to modify the composition of this Council.”

  “So soon?” asked Soar’elle. He was dutifully aware that Rose had placed him and Tink’rrr here to bring a little ‘age and wisdom’ to the proceedings. Youth could be well intentioned but it could also be rash.

  “I have given this considerable thought but will listen to reasoned objections before I finalize my wishes. I was very pleased with the selections of S’eeee-sik and Debonn’Aire to succeed as Queen of Serpents and King of Dragons. I did not wish to interfere with their transition, so I have held off for more than a half year. But, I believe they have performed remarkably well in assuming their new duties. It is my wish that they join the Council of Equals. My mother excluded their predecessors, as I am sure you surmised, to pressure them into abdicating.”

  “I have a concern,” said Serenity.

  “Indeed? Please, tell us what troubles you.”

  “I believe it would be a disservice to you, and to the current Council members if the two proposed appointees felt it was their right to speak for their species. I, for one, value the voices of our friends across the table and would not want them to withhold their opinions in deference to their monarchs.”

  Two dragons and two serpents smiled at the girl
who had just stated how they felt but were wary about voicing.

  “Very wise council . . . and something I had not considered. What say the rest of you?”

  The discussion that ensued lasted for almost an hour . . . without reaching a clear resolution. Meggy finally brought it to end. “Thank you. I have heard your concerns and I will consider them. Alas, this meeting is already running late. Aeri’elle, a brief report on the progress of the university, please.”

  “I defer to my sister BreeZee who is managing the construction.”

  The winged girl, no longer embarrassed or afraid about being put in charge, said, “Your Majesty, the details are irrelevant. The completion is a month ahead of schedule.”

  Meggy smiled warmly. “Well done, sis . . . Bree.” No one missed the slip.

  “If I may,” said Aeri’elle. “Curriculums and texts are complete and approved by the Trustees. We have a full complement of professors representing sixty-three worlds of the Federation who will be here . . . sorry, at the University, by the end of the month.”

  “Excellent. And students?”

  “Our cup runneth over. We need to pare down the candidates over the next few weeks. There are so many qualified ones that it will be difficult.”

  “I do hate to see anyone turned away,” said Meggy. “Is there nothing to be done?”

  “May I suggest something?”

  “What might that be, Tee’ka?”

  “Can’t we broadcast the lectures so that everyone in the Federation can view what’s going on? Like the Empress did when she showed Egg Peekaboo Prime.”

  The Queen looked at Tink’rrr who smiled and nodded. “Consider it done.”

  “Excellent . . . a word I use too much in describing everyone’s contributions. One last item . . . have you named the university?”

  BreeZee answered, “I have discussed it with my father and Howl and have their agreement. We will call it the Hameggattic Pan-Galactic Institute of Knowledge. Though my sister Egg refuses accolades for her accomplishments and those of the Sisterhood, I think it’s only right that the new Federation acknowledges their debt to Flying Girl.”