“Magic.”
“Oh, right.”
“Are you ready?”
“Where are we going first?”
“Grammy?”
“Just like the nursery rhyme . . . I see London, I see France. First stop, merry old England.”
So Egg headed east and in moments, they were over the Atlantic Ocean. And for as far as the eye could see in any direction, there was nothing but blue water with foamy lines of white at the top of waves.
Flying as fast as she could, Egg soon had them in sight of land . . . it was the coast of England.
“What’s our first stop, Grammy?”
“Stonehenge.”
“What’s that?”
“Very ancient rocks.”
“That sounds kind of boring.”
“Trust me. Remember, I’m your guide.”
So Egg flew low over the English countryside until her grandmother yelled, “there it is.” Egg looked where her Grammy was pointing and swooped down out of sight of some tourists.
They approached the circle of rocks. “This isn’t so boring,” said Sylvia.
“No, but it is a little strange. What was it?”
“No one knows for sure. It was probably a Druid place of worship.”
“Who were the Druids?”
“An ancient race. Some believe they were wizards and soothsayers, but in pre-Christian Celtic society they formed an intellectual class comprising philosophers, judges, educators, historians, doctors, seers, astronomers, and astrologers.”
Egg looked at Sylvia who looked back at her. They made a silent pact with their eyes right then and there not to ask Grammy any more questions.
They strolled around for a bit then walked back to where they had landed. “Now what?”
“To London, my dear Watson, to London.”
“Who’s Watson?” asked Sylvia before she realized what she had done.
“Oh, it was just a silly reference to Dr. Watson, the partner to the famous Sherlock Holmes, detective extraordinaire.” Egg kicked her friend.
They took off and in minutes landed just outside of London to avoid being seen. It was too far to walk, so they took the famous double-decker bus into town.
And for the next few hours, they took in all the famous sights of one of the great cities in the entire world . . .
. . . Westminster Abbey, the place where all the Royals married.
. . . the famous clock tower, Big Ben. And of course London Bridge which wasn’t falling down at all.
. . . then to the Tower of London. It was the place where they used to imprison just about everybody who made the king or queen mad. But nowadays, it was home to the Royal Jewels. It was spectacular to see so many diamonds, rubies, and gold. Egg made a mental note to ask Dazzle if she had a crown.
Then they went to Buckingham Palace where the Queen really lived. First, they watched the changing of the guard. That’s when new soldiers come out to replace the ones that had been guarding the gates for hours. It should have been boring, but to the kids’ surprise, it wasn’t. And then, something really cool happened . . .
. . . the Queen came riding out in a horse-drawn carriage! If this wasn’t a fairy tale, then nothing was.
Finally, Egg got her wish and they found the Millennium Ferris Wheel, which was incredibly large, and rode it three times. When they got off, they all agreed flying with Flying Girl was a lot more fun.
“Okay ladies, this old woman needs a spot of tea.” So they took a taxicab and found a little cottage restaurant hidden amongst some trees. Grammy insisted they act like proper English ladies and order cucumber sandwiches and tea. It was different, but in return, they made the older woman agree to dinner at McDonald’s when they got to Paris.
After lunch, they flew over London, looked back to see Big Ben one last time, and headed east to Paris. Egg was the most excited of the three. She had wanted to go to France ever since she became Flying Girl.
Paris was a whirlwind. They had spent so much time in London that they only had about an hour before they had to head home. So they talked it over and decided that there were a few things they absolutely had to see.
First, was the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum (for Grammy’s sake).
It was exciting to see the famous painting up close. But, they were disappointed also. It wasn’t very large.
Then they went to Notre Dame Cathedral . . . where the Hunchback used to live (at least in the story). And they rode under the Arc de Triumph.
They took a tour of the famous palace called Versailles . . .
. . . and finally, they went to McDonald’s for a good old American hamburger and French fries.
“Did the French really invent French fries?” asked Ham.
“They certainly did. It is one of their finest achievements.”
Chapter 5 - Myst Tree at Sighing Whorl
“Dazzle, can Syl . . . ummm, I mean my Feminion, be here at night when you come to visit?”
“She would not be able to see or hear me.”
“Really? Why not?”
“She does not have that which is necessary.”
“Oh, you mean the flying suit. Could I let her wear it . . . just for a few minutes, so she could see and talk to you?”
“It is not possible for her to make the suit function.”
Egg wasn’t totally sure what that meant, but it did bring up a question. “How come Grammy could use the suit . . . since she wasn’t the One?”
“That which makes you me is in her. But, in the end, she lacked all that was required.”
Now the conversation had turned completely goofy. “I guess if I ask you to explain, you would just say, ‘Of this we will speak later,’ right?”
That made Dazzle laugh. “My sister, you are very amusing to me. You bring me much joy. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Egg waited to see if the princess would actually give her an answer.
But all Dazzle said was, “If you have no further questions, I would continue my story.”
“Ummm . . . I do have a couple of questions.”
“Ask.”
“Is there any way for me to secretly carry my flying suit . . . maybe using some kind of magic thingy. Someday I might need it to help someone in trouble. But if it’s in my bedroom, it could take too long.”
“Such need has never occurred to me.” She stood silently while trying to figure out an answer. After a few moments, Egg’s ring twinkled. Then Dazzle said, “You may now use the magic of the ring to tend to your suit.”
“Oh, that’s pretty neat . . . using the ring to shrink just my suit. But what do I do with an itty-bitty suit?”
“The ring will provide. May I continue my tale?”
“Two more questions, if it’s okay?”
“Of course.”
“Since you’re a princess, did you have a crown with jewels?”
“It was only a tiara. But one day you shall be present when a crown is placed upon my head. It will be the symbol of our victory.”
That gave Egg a shiver . . . of fear or excitement, she wasn’t sure. It was probably both.
“Dazzle, can I ask just one more question.”
“Yes.”
“Ummm . . . did you have a boyfriend?”
“His name was Z’kkk. We were to marry.”
*****
“And so the contest between the three races began. After a century, the Dragons dropped out of the competition. To their credit, they had built magnificent castles on towering peaks . . .
They learned to trade with humans and serpents by offering their great strength and ability to fly in return for goods that they could not make. But, in truth, they could think of nothing else to do.
The serpents, however, were a much more ambitious race. They had no intention of losing. Their accomplishments almost matched that of man. They built marvelous cities under the water. They discovered the science of the crystals that grow at the deepest depths of the ocean. With these they
created such wonders as the Translator Crystals that allowed each race to understand and talk to each other; the Morphing Crystals that allowed one to change his size, and the Enhancer Crystal that amplified one’s strength.
“That’s why I can do all that stuff, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“What about the bracelet and the flying suit?”
“Humans invented the bracelet’s power; I conceived the flying suit, though it was my good friend Ven’trrr, a serpent scientist, who turned concept into reality.”
“So why did you win the contest?”
“As I have said, it was Q’umulus, the cloud city that gave us victory. But it was not because it could float in the sky, though that was a wondrous sight to behold. It was because of what we did there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Q’umulus was dedicated to endeavors that did not enhance the material wealth of our people, only the spiritual wealth.
It was a place to write poetry and stories of honor and love.
It was a place to contemplate the nature of man and the universe.
It was a place to create music and song that thrilled the soul and stimulated the senses.
It was a place to challenge the world around us and to create philosophies of life.
It was a place to divine the nature of nature.
It was a place to delve into the mystery that was the Old Ones.
It was built to be the home, the stage and the laboratory for the human mind to explore existence.
And when it was completed, the Old Ones ended the competition and we three – humans, serpents and dragons – were summoned to meet the Myst Tree at Sighing Whorl.”
“What is that?”
“Sighing Whorl is a fog-shrouded valley whose existence had never been discovered. But one day we were shown the way. And on that day, the humans were declared the victors and my father was award the Crystal Egg.”
“So what is this mystery world and what does the crystal egg do?” Egg was no longer bored; her curiosity was at full tilt.
“It is not mystery world. It is the Myst Tree at Sighing Whorl,” said Dazzle speaking slowly so Egg would understand.
“What the heck does that mean?” she answered with a little frustration.
“It is late. Of this I will speak tomorrow.”
“No, no, no, no,” cried the young girl. “I’ll never get to sleep if you don’t tell me more.”
Dazzle smiled. “I will tell you this. Sighing Whorl refers to the sound that the fog makes as it swirls around the valley where the Myst Tree lives. As it moves over the rocks and hills, it makes a sound like a human sighing in satisfaction. It is a most pleasing sound.”
“And the tree?”
“It is the representative of the Old Ones.”
“You mean the Old Ones are trees?”
“No. The tree exists to carry out the bidding of the Old Ones.”
“You can talk to it?”
“It does not talk; it communicates.”
Egg wanted to ask what that meant but thought better of it. But she had to know what the Crystal Egg did. “Dazzle, just tell me what the Egg does?”
“It does whatever you ask of it. Goodnight, my sister.” And, Dazzle turned back into the cloud, which melted into nothingness.
*****
Egg sat there for a few minutes trying to remember everything Dazzle had told her. The idea of a city that floated sounded so awesome. She wondered if that was where Dazzle and her boyfriend were supposed to get married. Then she wondered what had happened to him. But in her heart, she knew that the bad guy – whatever his name was – did what bad guys always do . . . something bad. She felt very sorry for the princess. Losing the person you’re supposed to marry had to be just horrible . . . even if he was a boy.
It was late and she was tired, so she put aside these thoughts for the moment. There was time enough tonight to dream about them. Egg got off the bed and walked over to the little chest. She unfastened the necklace, slipped off the bracelet, and put them both away. As she went to take off the ring, her conversation with Dazzle about the flying suit came back to her.
“Now, what did she say? Ummm . . . something like the ‘ring tends to my suit’. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, a white fog swirled around her and for a moment, she was completely covered by it. A second or two later, the fog disappeared and so did the flying suit.
“OH MY GOSH,” she yelped. Egg was standing there in her underwear. She ran to her dresser, took out her pajamas and slipped them on.
“Well, that was pretty weird,” she thought. “I wonder what happened to the flying suit.” She looked everywhere but it just wasn’t there.
Since Dazzle had made this magic, Egg wasn’t worried. But she was confused. “Come out, come out . . . where ever you are,” she called to the suit. But nothing happened.
“Okay, let’s try this again. Ring, tend to my suit.” Sure enough, the fog was back and when it disappeared, Egg was dressed in her flying suit.
“That is creepy, freaky and way too cool.” So naturally, she tried it again. “Ring, tend to my suit.” And, yup, it happened one more time. Now she was back in her pajamas.
“Dazzle, that is about the neatest trick I’ve ever seen. Thank you.” She wasn’t expecting the princess to answer.
But, she did. “You are welcome, Egg.”
Chapter 6 – Arm’ageddon
“Hi, did you talk to Dazzle last night?”
“Yes. She told me she had a boyfriend and a tiara and . . . well, a lot of stuff. She even gave me a new magic trick. Why don’t you meet me at the park and I’ll tell you everything while we bike?”
“Oh, Egg, I can’t. My cousin is here and she’s leaving at lunchtime. So, I need to spend time with her. Why don’t you come over?”
Egg was disappointed; she just couldn’t wait to share everything with her friend. But family was family, or so said her Grammy. “I’ll be there in a bit. See ya.”
“Bye.”
With a sigh of frustration, Egg found her mother and asked her permission, fetched her helmet and bike and rode the two blocks to Sylvia’s house. When she got there, her friend was outside with another girl.
“Hi,” she called.
“Egg, this is my cousin Sarah.”
“Nice to meet you.”
In response, the girl asked, “Is your name really egg?”
“Those are my initials. My real name is Eloise Grace Graystone.”
“Oh, that’s very cute. And I like your ring? Can I try it on?”
Egg was wearing the ring and the bracelet. “I’m sorry. It was a very special gift and I promised I would never take it off.”
To change the subject, Sylvia asked, “So, what do you guys want to do?”
“We’re leaving in about an hour so I don’t have much time.”
“Hmmm . . . it’s such a nice day why don’t we draw pictures on the driveway. I have lots and lots of chalk.”
So they agreed and at first everyone worked on their own drawing but then Sarah suggested they all work on one giant design. “It’s called the dragon and the frog” and she quickly sketched the outline of her idea. It turned out that she was a very good artist.
“Why a dragon and a frog?” asked Egg.
“Well,” explained Sarah, “the dragon was once a beautiful princess and the frog was her handsome prince. But a wicked witch put a curse on them. Then a good witch felt sorry for them and gave the frog wings so he could still be with his girlfriend . . . the dragon.”
“Okay.” After hearing Dazzle’s story, Egg could believe just about anything. “Do they ever become prince and princess again? I can’t imagine that the dragon would be very happy about having a frog for a boyfriend.”
This caused the girls to giggle.
For the next hour, they worked as a team. And the result was a masterpiece worthy of any museum . . . even if the dragon looked more like a winged horse.
As the
y admired their work, Sarah asked the all-important question, “Would you rather kiss a frog or a boy?”
“Boy,” said Sylvia without hesitation.
“A boy but only if he was a prince,” her cousin responded.
“I would rather be a frog then to kiss a boy,” declared Egg.
But before they could defend their choices, Sylvia’s aunt came out of the house. “Okay, ladies, it’s time to go. Thank your cousin for a lovely visit.”
“Auntie Em, this is my friend Egg.”
“Why do they call you egg?”
The three girls found this very funny and they started to giggle again. Finally, Sarah said, “Mom, those are her initials.”
“Oh, very cute. What kind of an egg are you?” she asked teasingly.
“Ummm . . . I’ve been scrambled, broken and fried. I guess the only thing left is to change my last name and become Egg McMuffin,” and the silly girls burst out laughing.
*****
As soon as her aunt and cousin left, Sylvia was allowed to ride to the park with Egg. It was only a few minutes away so they decided to wait until they got there before talking about last night.
But Sylvia was so anxious to hear everything that Dazzle had to say that she raced as fast as she could. Poor Egg had trouble keeping up.
“Hey, slow down.”
“Come on, slow poke,” her friend teased.
“I thought my Feminion had to do everything I said.”
“No, silly. Only slaves and soldiers have to obey.”
“Well, you’re like my soldier. You’re supposed to protect me.”
“From what? There are no serpents or dragons around here . . . except for the one we drew.” But she slowed down anyway.
“Thank you.”
“You are most welcome, my queen” she answered with a big smile.
“See . . . isn’t this better?”
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 32
