“Forgive me,” said Mrs. Graystone, “but each story continues to give me goose bumps – the good kind.” Everyone smiled.
“I guess I’m up,” said BreeZee.
“Before you begin . . . I just have to say, you’re breathtaking. I love your wings,” said Mrs. Graystone.
“Hey, I’ve got wings,” teased Bl’azzz.
“Yes . . . but you’re a dragon,” and Egg’s mom stuck out her tongue to everyone’s amazement.
“Now you’re getting the hang of it,” the other replied. “Nice.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry, BreeZee, please continue.”
“No problem. I’m going to be as brief as Bl’azzz. I’m from a wonderful family, I had a few friends . . . but I was shy and hated to take chances. My future was going to be dull, ordinary. Egg and the others changed all that. In fact, your daughter put me in charge of the Sisterhood when she went back to Earth. And here’s the important thing . . . I tried, but I couldn’t do it. No one can lead the Sisterhood but Egg. How she does it is a mystery. Like the others said, she’s kind, caring, clever . . . and I will do anything for her. She can lead me to the far ends of the galaxy and I would gladly follow.”
“Actually the only reason we made her a sister,” teased Egg, “was that we needed someone good looking.”
“Good grief . . . how can you look at my face and not see cute written all over it,” complained Soo with a goofy grin.
“I’ll tell you later,” responded Egg.
“I guess I’m next,” said Spirit.
“Grrrrrrr. Burp.”
“Oh, sorry dear Jynx. I meant we’re next.”
“Grrrrrrr.”
Mr. Graystone said “Can I ask . . . is that like a dog?”
“Grrrrrrr. Burp.”
“Oh my gosh, Dad . . . Jynxie is a Shamie and an honorary sister. She’s incredibly smart . . . like human smart.”
“Really. Sorry.”
“Grrrrrrr.”
“She forgives you,” said Spirit.
“I have to say that it is not easy ridding myself of human prejudices. I look at Aeri’elle and I don’t see a professor . . . I see a dragon. Given a million tries, I would never have guessed K’ssss is a genius . . . whereas I would readily believe that of Serenity. I have to admit, I’m embarrassed.”
“Mr. Graystone, there is no need to feel such,” said Lord Z’kkk. “A day ago, you and your kind were the only intelligent species in the universe. Now, you find that you are but one of a million races. You travel half way across the galaxy in a blink of an eye – a trip that you could not even conceive of before it happened. It has to be overwhelming. However, I saw your daughter adapt very quickly. Surely you will too.”
“That is very kind of you, Lord Z’kkk.”
“By the way, I am obviously not a Hameggattic Sister but if Spirit will give me a minute . . .” he looked at the Thought Weaver who nodded her approval. “Thank you. Mr. and Mrs. Graystone, your daughter and her friends have done extraordinary things for the people of Aerianna and a hundred other worlds. But, on a very personal note, Egg gave me back the love of my life. If for no other reason, she will always have my undying love and support. With all due respect, I consider her my daughter.”
“Thank you. I’m simply at a loss for words to express my feelings.”
Z’kkk smiled and nodded his understanding. “Spirit, please continue”.
“Thank you. My story is simple. I am a mutant and spent my life in hiding from the evil that ruled my world.”
“I’m sorry . . . you’re what?” asked Mrs. Graystone.
“I am a mutation . . . caused by the radioactivity left after a war fought many years ago. My telepathy, my ability to heal and my gift for seeing the threads of the future are the result of that mutation. I needed to escape my world and I did. I was given the chance to offer my services to Egg and the Sisterhood. In exchange, though they did not know it at the time, I would have them help set my people free. It didn’t quite work out the way I had expected . . . but in the end, with the overthrow of the Empress, Paradox was saved. I am now free to spend as much time with my family as I choose.
Though that was my initial reason for helping, I never realized what I would gain by accepting membership in the Sisterhood. My sisters mean as much to me as my family . . . well, they are my family now. And Egg . . . I will spare her any more accolades. Just know that I feel exactly the same way as the others.”
“By the way, Mom and Dad, she was the one who healed Aeri’elle and saved Meggy’s life.”
“Like everyone else who spoke, very impressive,” said Mrs. Graystone.
“My turn, my turn,” squeaked Tee’ka.
“Tee, if I could have one more minute?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Spirit.”
“No problem. I just wanted to mention the contribution of this wonderful Shamie.”
“Shamie?”
“Short for Shameless Mimic. She can assume the shape of virtually anything she sees. Ever since Laff’Alott we have all depended on her cleverness and quite frankly might not have succeeded without her help.”
“Grrrrrrr.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ll second that,” added Egg. “She was amazing. That’s why I made her an honorary sister. She more than deserved it.”
“Grrrrrrr.”
“I’d love to see her shape shift,” said Mr. Graystone.
“I have an idea,” replied Tee’ka. “Jynxie, can you do me as a hostess?”
“Grrrrrrr,” and she shifted . . .
“Holy Toledo. That’s amazing.”
“Why that shape, Tee’ka? What did you mean by hostess?” asked his wife.
“Is it my turn now,” the girl asked Spirit.
“Yes it is,” was the smiling reply.
“Oh, good. I first met Egg and the others in Fair’Giggle . . .”
“Fair’Giggle?” repeated Mr. Graystone with a smile.
“Yes, it’s one of the dozen or so cities on Laff’Alott. The whole world is an amusement park. Each city caters to different age groups or tastes. When Egg came, most of the planet had been shut down for repairs and upgrades. Fair’Giggle was the only city still functional so that’s why they ended up there. It was the place where I worked.”
“Sorry . . . I still don’t understand. What does that . . . (he pointed at Jynx’s impersonation of Tee’ka) have to do with you?”
“I was a computer generated holographic projection with artificial intelligence.”
Mr. Graystone shook his head in utter amazement. “Just when I thought I was getting a handle on all this, you throw that at me. My response is pretty much down to one word . . . ‘WOW’. That’s it.”
“It gets better,” added Egg. “Go on, Tee, tell him the rest.”
“Okay. What I want to tell you is that your daughter treated me like a flesh and blood person from the moment we first met. She cared about me and my feelings. Anyone who didn’t refer to me as a person would get a good verbal spanking from her. In my twenty years of existence, I had never had such a relationship with a guest. Up until then, they just thought of me as a . . . a thing to do their bidding. Egg gave me something so precious. She gave me friendship. I can say that she’s my dearest friend and sister . . . but that seems totally inadequate. She means so much more to me than that. I exist as I do now because of her. Until she sends me away, whenever she goes out into the galaxy to help others, I will be there at her side . . . protecting her, helping her. She is the reason I am.”
“Oh, my. Oh, my,” was the best Mrs. Graystone could mutter between tears.
“Tee, you know I love you too. However, Mom and Dad, she left out a few things. First, it was Serenity’s mom that created the hostess corps and their artificial intelligence. Her body was an avatar created by Serenity for . . . um, another reason. I also made her acting Feminion to help BreeZee lead the sisterhood.”
“That word . . . you used it before back home. What is
it?”
“Dad, it’s an Aeriannian term for a trusted advisor. Syl was mine.”
“Ah. How come you used it if front of your mom and me? Weren’t you afraid we might catch on?”
“Are you kidding? I always talked about Sisterhood stuff but you thought I was being a loopy teenager. There was ‘none’ chance you would ever catch on.”
“Yeah, you’re obviously right.”
“By the way,” said Ezra, “Tee’ka left out that she was the inadvertent cause of Egg’s plane crash.”
“What?”
“Tell them, Egg.”
“I’ll make it quick. Serenity gave me that device that I used to hang on my plane. It’s like a transporter from Star Trek. Anyway, when I started my cross-country, Tee was sent ahead by the girls in their spaceship to find me. She materialized on the plane. But she was standing up and the sudden movement sent her plummeting to the ground. I did the only thing I could think of and dove out to catch her.”
“WHAT?”
“Hey, I had my parachute on. Anyway, I obviously was successful and we landed safely. On the other hand, the plane crashed.”
“Oh my gosh,” said an exasperated Mrs. Graystone. “You jumped out of an airplane.”
“For a good cause.”
“Incredible,” replied her father. “No wonder there’s such an unbelievable bond between all of you.”
After a few seconds of silence, Serenity said, “If I may. I would like to say a few words.”
“Please,” encouraged the Queen.
“Of all the sisters here, I am the only one that should never have been asked to join. Before I even met her, I hated your daughter. It is such an ugly word . . . but it is accurate.”
“Why, for heaven’s sake,” asked a shocked Mrs. Graystone. After listening to so many wonderful things, it was jarring to hear someone speak ill of Egg.
“The abbreviated version was that I thought she was unworthy to be the leader of the legendary Sisterhood. I believed she was just using the others . . . that there was no way in the universe she could be as amazing as the history books portrayed her. I created an elaborate deception on Laff’Alott to prove my point. In the end, Egg outwitted me, uncovered the deception and turned the tables on me.
At that point, I should have been set adrift in space. But, she didn’t do that. Not too long after, she invited me to become a sister. And amazingly, she was able to convince the others that I should be given the opportunity. Not only do I love your daughter, I owe her such a debt that I will never be able to repay her. Being a member of the Sisterhood, and Egg’s friend, is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. That ever will.”
“I continued to be speechless,” said Mr. Graystone. “Thank you for being so honest.”
“Well, she may have been honest but she left out a few small details,” explained Egg. “First, the reason she’s confined to the wheelchair is because she was injured trying to save her mother’s life.”
“I failed.”
“Stop that. You never had a chance at succeeding. By the way, her mom was trying to build a contraption to defeat the Empress. In the end, her daughter found a way to do it for her. Then there’s Tee’ka. It was Serenity that gave Tee the ability to leave Laff’Alott. She certainly didn’t have to do that at the time . . . but she did. It was one of the reasons I knew she’d make a great sister.
“Daughter, I’m very impressed with all that I’ve heard. But the ability to turn an enemy into a friend is the most remarkable thing I’ve heard so far.”
“I agree,” added Ezra.
“Yeah, thanks,” said Egg whose body language was screaming ‘stop talking about me’. “So, I think you’ve heard from just about everyone.”
“Not so fast,” said Sylvia and Grammy simultaneously. They were a split second ahead of Rose who was about to say something similar.
“You first, dear.”
“Thanks Grammy. Of everyone here, she and I have seen Egg’s evolution up close and personal. Well, I should add Dazzle to that list too.” The Queen Mother nodded with a smile.
“In the beginning . . . way back at camp when we first met . . . my best friend forever only thought about herself and about winning. She wasn’t a team player. She wasn’t even a good friend.
Then Egg became Flying Girl and everything changed. She discovered that doing good deeds, even without getting the credit, was its own reward. Over time that morphed into her dislike of any accolades. She really does think she’s just your run-of-the-mill, ordinary, everyday Egg. Like Serenity, it’s hard to understand that level of humility without thinking it must be an act. But it’s not.
As for me, without her friendship I would have gone through life as just an . . . an egghead. Before anyone asks, that’s an earth term for a nerd. To pretend that I could ever repay her would be the height of silliness. I was never . . . heck, I’m still not . . . the adventurous type. The Quest, Zynn-Zaz’zia, Laff’Alott and the Empress . . . well, such experiences would have been beyond my wildest dreams. And after I graduate from Harvard, I’m going to apply to Aeri’elle’s university . . . how awesome is that.” She paused to gather her last thoughts. “Mr. and Mrs. Egg (she teased) . . . your daughter has the ability to change the history of the galaxy. She and the Sisterhood can, and will do so much good for so many people that it would be criminal if you didn’t give your blessings for her to move to Aerianna.”
“Thank you, Sylvia,” replied Mrs. Graystone. “You have been a part of our family it seems like forever. And you have been Egg’s companion through some amazing adventures. My husband and I appreciate all that you’ve done for her.”
“Ditto that,” added her husband.
“Mom, Dad . . . there’s something you should know. During the Quest, she and I were passing through the last of the Seven Lands when she was bit by a Tacked-Toed Tick. Once that happens, you fade away . . . never to have existed.”
“I can’t even pretend to know what that means. Why is she . . . why are you . . . here if that happened?”
Egg answered for her friend. “Another long story. The quick version is that the Myst Tree said if I could dream of a better result for everything bad that happened on the Quest, he would bring everyone back the way they were. But I had to do it in reverse order which meant Sylvia had to be the first one. Problem was I didn’t even know who she was any more. Luckily, I found a photo of us that we took at camp. She sent me a copy and I almost threw it away. In the end, I put it in my diary and that’s where I found it. Still didn’t know who it was so I asked Grammy for her opinion. Anyway, it all worked out and I brought her back.”
“Egg, dear . . . I think that’s a great segue [pronounced seg-way] for me,” said Grammy.
“Just a warning, Grammy . . . in about a minute or two I’m going to run screaming from this room.”
“If you had your suit on, you could fly,” she teased back.
“If I had my suit on, my dad wouldn’t remember any of this.”
“You’re right, I forgot. Anyway, daughter . . . son-in-law, I think I have some serious explaining to do.”
“Mother, why would you say that? Doesn’t every grandmother give her nine-year-old granddaughter a flying suit then her blessing to travel across the galaxy to fight an evil villain or two?”
“Mom, did you know Grammy was captured by a Mo’beye . . . that’s a henchman of Mobius?”
“MOTHER.”
“I did try to assess the danger I was allowing Egg to face. In my defense, she had the flying suit, had the jewelry and had the sisterhood whom I met. Furthermore, I have always known my granddaughter was an extraordinary individual. As Sylvia said, your daughter’s transformation from a self-centered nine year old to a super-hero in the making was thrilling to watch. However, I know I overstepped my authority on more than one occasion and I apologize.
When I finally decided Egg was putting herself in more danger than I could allow, I asked Rose to disband the Sisterhood . . . which she
did. It was an awful mistake on my part. The Sisterhood is meant to be . . . and Egg was born to lead them.”
“Thank you, Mother. But, you and I will still need to have a little talk when we get back.”
“Can I bring my husband?” she replied with a coy smile.
“No. This will be a girls-only talk.”
“My goodness.”
“Grammy, first of all . . . I can never adequately thank you for trusting me with the suit and jewelry. No matter what my mom says, as far as I’m concerned you did the right thing. Even having the Sisterhood disbanded.”
“Thank you dear. But . . . “
“Grammy, the five years we were apart, each of the sisters had so many personal accomplishments that would probably never have happened otherwise. Marriage, becoming royalty, joining the Council of Equals, learning how to lead or to organize . . . just so many things that ordinary girls get to experience. You . . . and Dazzle . . . were very wise.”
“Even for you, dear?”
“I went from being a teenage girl to a young woman. I matured, both physically and mentally. I learned to fly the old fashioned way. I earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Most importantly, I learned to appreciate my grandparents . . . their love for me and each other, and their collective wisdom. So . . . thank you.”
Insert a minute of hugs and kisses here.
“I believe enough has been presented, Mr. and Mrs. Graystone, for you to make an informed decision about your daughter. However, I will be the last to speak since it was I who initiated the events that have led to this moment.
First, you, your mother and daughter are my descendants. Each of you has my DNA in your blood. (Mrs. Graystone eyes went wide since she had never considered this. Being descended from royalty is always a pleasant surprise). To put it simply . . . we are family.”
Box Set #4: Sisterhood's End: [The 3 book 4th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 34
