Aeri’elle hated the idea of having this discussion with a total stranger . . . and a human at that. But for some reason that she couldn’t explain, she felt that it was actually the right thing to do. “We can’t agree on one specific plan. And . . . we can’t agree who should be our leader.” Then she quickly added, “Of course, I’m the logical candidate, but . . . there isn’t full concurrence on that. Yet.”
“What do you know about Dazzle?”
“Please stop referring to the Princess like that. She is not your personal friend. I mean . . . if she were alive, that is.”
“Sorry. So what do you know about her . . . the Princess?”
“What every child on this planet knows. She was beautiful, intelligent, brave, kind, wise, clever, strong . . .”
“Please ask her to stop,” interrupted an embarrassed Dazzle.
“What about at the end . . . when she was fighting Mobius?”
“You know very well what happened. That crazy man killed her.” The dragon looked as if she was going to cry.
“Do you think that Daz . . . umm . . . the Princess could lose to Mobius?”
“Everyone says that there was no one in this world that could defeat her.”
“Then why do you think it?”
“Well . . . because it happened. He even put her body in that horrible glass coffin.”
“Yes, he did put her body in there.”
The way Egg said it made Aeri’elle stop and look at her. She stood there thinking then finally said, “Are you saying it was just her body . . . not her . . . her . . . her spirit?”
“I am very impressed with her logic and ability to see that which is not obvious,” said Dazzle. Egg had to agree.
“Why do you want to defeat Mobius?” asked the girl. The question startled the dragon.
“Because he is evil.”
“In what way?”
“He is not of this world. He betrayed our King. He sowed mistrust between dragons and serpents and . . . and . . . humans. He rules for his own pleasure and not for the good of the people. And he took the Princess from us.”
“Dazzle was never defeated by Mobius.”
“What?”
“She gave up her body so that she would not have to fight her boyfr . . . her fiancé. Z’kkk was turned into K’aos but he is still her love.”
“Thank you,” said a misty-eyed Princess.
“IS . . . did you say IS?”
“Yes.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Egg and I am from the planet Earth. Dazzle . . . your Princess . . . helped create me. Or at least who I am.”
“I don’t understand?”
“When she knew she was going to have to fight . . . and maybe kill . . . K’aos, Dazzle refused. She created a special flying suit made of Serpents Crystals and asked the Myst Tree at Sighing Whorl to transfer her spirit into it. Then she had friends take the suit and some of her DNA to Earth. The DNA was given secretly to over a thousand people in the hope that when their bloodlines came together someone . . . special . . . would be born. I’m that person.”
“Special . . . in what way?”
“I’ll answer that in a little bit. But first let me tell you that I’m on quest to get Dazzle back into her body so that she . . . we . . . can defeat Mobius. I’ve recruited five others into my . . . umm, sorority. It’s called the Hameggattic Sisterhood. But before we can start, I have to get one more Sister. I would like you to help us.”
“Why me?”
“Like I told you before, you were in my dreams.”
Aeri’elle walked a few feet away, trying to think and take this all in. She returned and said, “Are there other dragons in your Sisterhood?”
“Yes, one.”
“And you would be our leader?”
“Dazzle created me to help her. I’ve recruited you to help me.”
“You obviously must know how utterly insane this all sounds?”
Egg giggled. “Oh, absolutely.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Take an oath . . . actually two.”
“Then what?”
“Then you’ll see.”
“See . . . you’re saying that I will be able to see the Princess, aren’t you?”
“Wow . . . you are really, really smart. Even Dazzle thinks so.”
“She is here,” it was a statement, not a question.
So Aeri’elle repeated the oath of the Hameggattic Sisterhood. Then she put a small pinprick on her clawed foot and touched it to Egg’s.
“Aeri’elle, I am very pleased to meet you, and to welcome you to the Sisterhood.”
Aeri’elle stared at the Princess, her eyes as wide as they could get. Then she knelt down and bowed her head very low . . . and for once in her life, she couldn’t think of anything to say.
Chapter 8 - Magnificent Seven
Egg and Dazzle took Aeri’elle to the Sisterhood and introduced her to Sassi and Bl’azzz. But it didn’t go well. When the F’yre Dragon tried to say “Hello,” it came out “Hello-oops” followed by a burp and a blaze.
“Ouch . . . you uncivilized, uncouth, uneducated, unbelievably ugly, ungainly urchin.”
“Sorry,” cried the girl interrupting Aeri’elle’s very impressive list of “U” words. “I have gas.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“I know,” she said sadly.
“You obviously made a mistake when you recruited . . . this,” she said to Egg disgustedly while pointing at Bl’azzz.
“No I didn’t. You’re just going to have to trust me.”
“Why?”
“Because I also had a dream about Bl’azzz,” then she added, “and Dazzle approved of my choice.”
“Your majesty . . . please reconsider. I know a dozen highly intelligent dragons that would love to join you. Any one of them would be better than . . . her.” She made the last word sound like yesterday’s garbage.
“Hey, you snotty know-it-all, rich kid with a giant size ego and big head . . . I said I was sorry. Chill out, will ‘ya.”
“See. See,” stammered Aeri’elle. “This . . . this . . . person is simply not the type we need in this Sisterhood. Princess, I beg you . . . please.”
“I think not. The choice of Sisters has always been Egg’s to make. She does not need my approval since she has my complete faith in her ability to choose the best and my absolute confidence that she and her companions will succeed in their quest.”
“But . . .”
“I have spoken.” Dazzle rarely used her royal tone . . . but she did so this time. And it meant only one thing – don’t argue with the Royal Princess.
“Yes, your Highness.”
“Egg and I are returning to Earth to give her Feminion her ring. Then we shall return as quickly as we can. In the meantime, I expect Aeri’elle and Bl’azzz to become better acquainted and to find a way to accept each other. Your lives may depend on it. More importantly, the lives of every one of my people may depend on it. If you cannot do it on your own, listen to Sassi. She will act with my authority . . . so please do as she asks.”
Sassi beamed at the responsibility entrusted to her. She was her old self again; the problem with her father was now forgotten ever since Egg had intervened.
“I will see that they become great friends.”
Aeri’elle looked at the girl and rolled her eyes. Dazzle chose to ignore the gesture.
“Thank you. Please remember the great challenges that lie ahead for all of us. Any differences that you now have . . . and that you cannot reconcile . . . might doom us all to failure.”
All four girls nodded solemnly.
*****
“Hi, Syl.”
“Where have you been? I called about fifty times but your grandmother kept saying you were too busy to come to the phone. What were you doing?”
“Oh, not much. I flew to Aerianna and recruited two more sisters for the club. Both of them are dragons.”
There was
dead silence for about ten seconds then, “Okay . . . if you’re not going to tell me what you were doing, it must be for a good reason. Right?”
Egg tried to contain her smile but it was no use. She giggled and said, “I was telling you the truth.”
“OH EGG,” said an exasperated Ham “you have simply the weirdest sense of humor on this entire planet. Anyway, did you want to come over? I’m so bored.”
“How about you come here and we’ll have a sleepover. Grammy and I will come pick you up.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes . . . that’s absolutely perfect. Just hang on and I’ll ask my mom.” Apparently, her mom was right there because Sylvia was back on the phone in a heartbeat. “Come get me.”
“On our way.”
*****
They made it back to Grammy’s and sat down at the kitchen table while the older woman made lemonade.
“So . . . tell me what you were doing that you couldn’t talk to me.”
“I did.”
“You did what?”
“I told you.”
Sylvia tried to remember what her friend had said. “Oh, Egg . . . stop kidding me. I don’t know what you’re talking about . . . dragons and Airy Anna or whatever you said.”
Egg wanted to continue her teasing but Grammy gave her one of those looks. “It’s all true. But . . . why don’t you put your ring back on first, then we’ll talk about it.”
“MY RING” screamed Sylvia. “Oh, I felt so lost without it.” She grabbed it from Egg and looked at it. “Hey, what’s this little crystal thing?’
“I had a friend put it in for you. Do you like it?”
“Well . . . it’s pretty.” Then she slipped it on her finger.
Egg and Grammy watched as Sylvia’s face began to change. It was like a veil being lifted. Her eyes became really wide and her mouth opened as if she had just seen something wondrous.
“So . . . are you Sylvia or are you my favorite Feminion?”
“OH MY GOSH!”
“Hey, that’s my line.”
“Oh, Egg, I had completely forgotten about . . . about . . . everything.” It made her sad that her memory of Flying Girl and Dazzle and the quest had been lost to her. But now that it was back, she realized how special it all was. She put her hands to her face and began to cry.
“Hey . . . why are you crying?”
“Because she realizes that her life without you and Dazzle is rather ordinary.”
“Is Grammy right?’
“She’s always right,” Sylvia managed to say.
“Well you’re my Feminion again . . . and forever.” She reached over and gave her best friend a very warm hug.
“Thank you,” Syl said very quietly, “for everything.” And then she sat straight up in her chair as she remembered what Flying Girl had said. “You did it? You found the last two sisters?”
“Yes, she has,” said a newly materialized Dazzle. “Welcome back, Feminion. You have been missed.”
“DAZZLE,” said Syl a little too loudly. “Oh, you’re still as beautiful as I remembered.”
“Thank you.”
“So tell me about the dragons; what are they like?”
“How about if I just introduce you to them and you can ask them?”
“Ask them,” she smiled as she said the words remembering why Egg had taken her ring in the first place. “I can talk to Soo’, and K’ssss and Sassi and everybody. Oh Dazzle, thank you. This is going to be great. I felt so left out before. Now I really am a Sister.”
“You were always a Sister,” Dazzle said sincerely. “You also have the power to return to Earth without Egg’s assistance. Just touch the crystal on your ring and think of the place you would like to return to. At Egg’s request, you may also return to Aerianna . . . but only back to the place where you first left.”
“Wow . . . that’s brilliant.”
“So I think we should go back to Aerianna. It’s time for us seven to get to know each other cause we’re about to start our quest.” That made Egg both happy and nervous. It’s one thing to talk about fighting Mobius; it’s quite another thing to actually do it.
Sylvia’s immediate reaction was exactly like Egg’s. But then she thought of something. “How long will it take?”
“What?”
“The Quest.”
“I don’t know.”
“But how can we stay away from here for a long time without our parents getting a little suspicious?”
Now that was a very good question. Sylvia looked at Egg who looked at Dazzle who just shook her head as if to say, “Don’t ask me.”
After a few nervous moments of utter silence Dazzle finally said, “Because of the time dilation between Aerianna and Earth, I should think no more than seven to ten earth days would suffice. That would be almost a full month on my planet.”
“Time what?” asked Egg.
“Think of it this way. The clocks on Aerianna run three times faster than on Earth.”
“Oh.”
“School starts in less than three weeks. So it’s now or who knows when.” Added Sylvia.
“Grammy . . .” If anyone could come up with an answer, Egg knew she could.
The older Eloise thought about the problem then smiled. “I have the perfect solution. Your mom and dad will be celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary next month. I think I’ll give them their present this weekend . . . plane tickets to Paris for . . . umm, let’s say two weeks. That’ll give you a little extra time if you need it.”
“Oh, Grammy, that’s perfect.”
“What about me?” asked Sylvia.
“If your mother approves, I think the three of us will go up to the mountains for a couple of week. Unfortunately the cabin where we’ll be staying has no phone and because we’ll be in the mountains, there will be no cell phone service.”
Sylvia grinned. “Grammy, you are the best.”
“It is settled. We should fly to Aerianna now so that Egg and Sylvia can meet with their sisters and make any final preparations. Then we shall return one last time . . . until you leave on your holiday. ” The Princess nodded to the older woman as if to say, ‘Well done’.
“Say hello to Sassi, K’ssss and Soo’ for me,” requested Grammy as she gave each of the girls a hug.
*****
“Hey Ho, Egg Oh.”
“Ala-Kazam Ham,” added K’ssss not to be outdone by Soo’.
“Hi you guys. I’m so glad you two are back.”
“Wouldn’t miss your cooking for all the aryas in Q’umulus.”
“Thank you,” said Sassi with a big smile.
“Hey Soo’, don’t I get a hello?” asked Sylvia pretending to be hurt.
“Hey . . . you can talk. That’s monumental.”
“Sylvia, I’m so glad. Now we can really be friends,” said Sassi as she gave the girl a hug.
“Syl. This is Aeri’elle and that’s Bl’azzz.”
Both dragons nodded hello while Sylvia tried her best not to stare.
“I, too, am pleased to see all of you.” Dazzle had just materialized from her swirling cloud of fog.
As if on cue, all five girls from Aerianna bowed their heads at the Princess as was proper.
“Egg, do not let me interrupt. This is your meeting and these are your Sisters. Please continue.” Egg wasn’t old enough to understand that it was the Princess’ way of telling everyone that she . . . and not Dazzle . . . was in charge. But everyone else understood. They all turned to Flying Girl and waited.
The first thing Egg did was to blush. All this attention was a bit overwhelming . . . and embarrassing. She glanced at her Feminion who smiled and nodded encouragement.
“Okeydokey,” she mumbled. “Well, now that we have Seven Sisters we’re ready to start the Quest. But I think before we do that we need to do two . . . no three . . . things.”
“First, we should eat the food that Sassi’s cooked.” Everyone agreed . . . K’ssss and Bl’azzz more enthusiastically then the o
thers.
“Then we should go around the room and everyone should tell us something about themselves. We’re really going to need each other so we just have to become best friends.” Everyone nodded in silent agreement.
“And then we need a plan.”
“WHAT?” squawked Aeri’elle. “Are you telling me that there is no plan? What kind of leader are you?”
“Hey,” yelled Sylvia coming to her friend’s rescue. “Don’t be so mean . . .”
“Dragons are always mean,” interrupted Soo’. “But she does have a point.”
“I think we should all calm down,” said Sassi trying to calm things down.
“Arguing makes me want to cry,” added K’ssss trying not to cry.
“QUIET,” screamed Bl’azzz as her breath caught fire and nearly toasted poor Sylvia who wasn’t expecting a fire-breathing dragon.
“YIKES.”
“Sorry about that. I have gas.”
“You’re disgusting,” Aeri’elle reminded her.
“I may have gas . . . but you’re a gas-bag.”
“That’s it. I can’t be part of this ill-conceived venture with so many disreputable and unqualified . . .” she searched for a word but could only come up with “. . . characters. I’m going home.”
“NO YOU’RE NOT.” Egg didn’t mean to yell it . . . it kind of just came out that way. Everyone stopped bickering and turned to the girl.
“This is your world . . . not mine and not Sylvia’s. If we’re willing to risk everything to save it from Mobius, the least you can do is stop fighting like a bunch of . . . of . . . boys. Are your really going to turn your back on your own home and on Dazzle just because you’re selfish? How could you live with yourself if you did that?”
No one said anything while Egg looked from Sister to Sister. “We are the Hameggattic Sisterhood. And we’re the only ones that can stop Mobius and bring Dazzle back. I picked each of you because you were in my dreams. And Dazzle says that dreams are the way the universe talks to us. I don’t think it was lying to me. Well, at least I hope it wasn’t.”
When she finished, she was greeted again by silence. So she added, “If anyone wants to quit, then it’s okay. But this is the only time I’ll ask. After tonight, you need to honor your pledge. So, Sylvia . . . are you with me?”
“Of course.”
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 50
