“Make it good . . . or she’ll come back here and squish you for insulting her,” teased Sylvia.
“Yeah, she would, wouldn’t she?”
“How’s this?”
“Perfect.”
“Someday you have to teach us how to draw.”
“I will . . . when I visit Earth.” Sassi then went to hand the diary back to Egg.
“You forgot to do you.”
“Me?”
“You’re a Hameggattic Sister, aren’t you? And our friend.”
Sassi just smiled shyly, and quickly sketched a self portrait.”
“Way cool. Thank you.”
“Show her the sketch Zeke made for you.”
Egg looked at Sylvia who gave her a devilish smile in return.
“Who is Zeke?”
“Egg’s boyfriend.”
“HE IS NOT.”
“Is too.”
“Is not.”
“Is too.”
Egg gave up . . . but she did stick out her tongue.
“So, who is he?”
“He’s the brother of Sylvia’s boyfriend.”
But if Egg thought that was going to get her friend irritated, she was wrong. Syl just smiled and shrugged.
“They’re identical twins,” explained Egg.
“Really? That’s kind of interesting. How do you tell them apart?”
“Don’t know how; we just can.”
“Show her the sketch already.”
Egg thumbed through the diary and found the sketch of the lake. “Here it is.”
“That’s very good. Maybe when I visit earth, I can meet him.”
And to Egg’s amazement, she felt a momentary pang of jealousy. But she recovered quickly and replied, “Absolutely. And you will love his mom. She’s a really neat lady.”
With that, they fell into a contented silence . . . lost in their own special thoughts. A few minutes later, Egg yelped, “Oh my gosh.”
“What is wrong?” asked Dazzle.
“Do you remember the dream I had when we first went to your castle?”
“Yes. You saw yourself flying on the back of a dragon . . . with a boy.”
“I think the boy was Zeke.”
“Curiouser and curiouser.”
“Why did you think of that now?” asked Sylvia.
Egg tried not to blush when she answered, “It’s all your fault for bringing up his name.”
“Ha.”
Sassi understood the power of dreams. “What do you think it means?”
“No clue.”
“You were flying over the Crystal Mountain, weren’t you?” Sylvia reminded her friend.
“Oh my gosh, you’re right.”
“Dazzle” asked Sylvia “what happens if a dream doesn’t come true?”
“That does not happen on Aerianna. It will come to pass . . . in some form.”
“How is that possible?” Egg couldn’t imagine how that dream was going to come true.
“I do not know.”
As they sat there pondering such imponderables, Sylvia remembered something else that had been bothering her for a while. “Dazzle.”
“Yes, Feminion?”
“You said that with the Crystal Egg, Mobius can do anything he wants.”
“That is true.”
“Then how come he just doesn’t make us disappear or something? Why is he letting us get this close to the Crystal Mountain?
Both Egg and Sassi were very impressed with Sylvia’s questions. It was something that neither of them had ever given any thought to.
“Excellent questions, my sister. The answer has to do with the Myst Tree. When I was doing battle with Mobius, I had gone to the Tree to ask for advice. How could I ever hope to defeat that evil man as long as he had the Egg? Since it had been a gift from the Old Ones, I assumed the Tree could give me counsel.”
“And what did he say?’
“The Tree told me that since I was brave of heart, true of spirit and pure of thought, I could not be harmed directly by the power of the Egg.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“Perhaps since I am the daughter of M’earth, the rightful owner of the Egg, and have fought as well as I could with the sole purpose of restoring freedom to my people, the Egg cannot be used against me.”
“Does that mean our Egg can’t be hurt either . . . because she has your blood?’
“I believe it also applies to you and your sisters also.”
“But they were hurt by Mobius,” said Sassi.
“Yes . . . but not directly by the power of the Egg. He did not transform K’ssss into a D’ing Bat . . . the bat itself did that. It may seem like a small thing to you; but it gives us a great advantage.”
“If you say so,” said a mostly disbelieving Egg.
“I do.”
They were silent for a little while, trying to digest what they had just been told. But after a bit, Egg asked, “Let’s talk about something else.”
“As you wish.”
“Can you tell us about your mom now? And about why everyone calls you Rose?”
“Kat’Alynnia was very close to my sister. On the other hand, I was very close to my father.”
“And?”
“My mother loved to paint and to sing and to create . . . be it music, or poetry or stories. And she passed these pursuits on to Ss’ong. Together, they would spend hours and hours composing, reading, or sculpting. They were inseparable.”
“Didn’t your mom like you?”
“My mother loved me . . . but found my interests distasteful. I learned to use a sword and not a paintbrush. And the only art of interest to me was the art of governing Aerianna. I was simply a younger, female version of my father.”
“So you two weren’t very close?”
“We were. But when I was older, she chose to live away from the pomp and tedium, as she liked to call it, of government. My parents loved each other but chose to live separate lives.”
“So when Mobius did all his bad stuff, what did your mom do?”
“I was told that she picked up a sword and attacked him.”
“What?”
“She tried to defend my father. But all we knew was that after she entered the chamber where Mobius was . . . she vanished without a trace.”
“Dazzle . . . is J’azzz-min like your mom?”
“She is my mother.”
“No, no. What I mean is . . . was your mom that goofy?”
Dazzle startled the three girls by bursting out laughing. “Yes, absolutely. My mother was that goofy.”
“Really?”
“She considered sarcasm to be an art form.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she hated to be serious about anything. If the people around her tried to be; she would mock them much like the Cat mocked us.”
“I can’t wait to meet her . . . when she’s not that stupid cat,” said Sylvia.
“And the rest of your family,” added Sassi.
Egg surprised herself by saying, “And Z’kkk.”
“I long for that day. It will be a grand celebration of our victory. But Egg, you must promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“You must not flirt with my Z’kkk. You have your own man.”
Egg blushed pink then red. Sassi and Sylvia laughed until they cried.
When the merriment died down, Egg asked, “So who is Rose?”
“My true name is Rose’Alynnia. My parents and my closest friends call me Rose.”
“WHAT?”
“Your majesty . . . that is not true. All of Aerianna knows that you are Princess Dazzle.” Sassi was as befuddled as her two sisters.
“No. When I was made a Knight Guardian of the Order of the Crystal Egg, I was presented with a sword by the King – my father. But by custom, the recipient actually chooses the sword before time. The King simply hands it to the individual at the ceremony. Ever the rebellious type, I had my friend V
en’trrr create a blade out of serpents crystal – it was the first of its kind. It shimmered with life as light danced off its faceted surface. I called it Dazzle.
The three girls stared wide-eyed at the Princess. This was all so unexpected.
“When Mobius overthrew my father, and his victory was all but complete, I rode on Storm’s back and we visited every major city in the land. I told the people that I would return one day to free them from the tyranny that was about to enslave them. Then I would hold up my sword (and the girls saw the image in their mind’s eye) . . .
. . . as a symbol of that promise. It is then that I gave up my name and became Dazzle, the warrior princess. I promised myself I would not reclaim my own name until I defeated Mobius.
As Storm told me at that time – the Sword and the Rose became one.”
That last phrase caused Egg to remember something. “Oh my gosh”.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sylvia.
“Look . . .” and Egg pointed to the insignia on her flying suit.
“Yes, my sister. It is the Sword and the Rose.”
*****
They slept well that night . . . for a change. When they woke in the morning, Dazzle said, “Eat quickly. Then we must go. There are two more challenges and I am eager to put them behind us.”
That was meant to be encouraging . . . but it wasn’t.
Chapter 8 – Maze of Forever
Four hours later, they came to the end of the Crystal Forest when the path they had been following simply ended. And what they had thought were very large, and very weird looking crystal trees, turned out to be something far different.
As they approached, the branches and leaves rearranged themselves into huge, fearsome faces.
They were the Guardians of the Maze…
“We have been expecting you, Egg, of Earth.”
“We welcome you to the Maze of Forever.”
“We must warn you that she who enters...”
“…the maze shall never leave.”
“We respectfully suggest…”
“That you abandon your Quest…”
“And go back to Earth.”
“Your Grandmother is sick with worry…”
“Over your safety and well-being…”
“And she has begged us…”
“To return you to her.”
“Do it now, before it is too late.”
“We have the power to send you home”
“All you need do is ask.”
“We humbly await your decision.”
And with that, the Guardians went silent. The girls had been standing there in shocked silence listening to these giant talking heads. When they had finished delivering their message, Egg said, “OH.”
But before she could finish her pet phrase, Sylvia added the “MY” and Sassi the “GOSH.”
“Egg, do you understand the significance of what you just heard?”
“Well, of course, silly,” replied Egg a bit impatiently. “My Grammy is worried about me and wants me to go home.” Sassi nodded in agreement, but Sylvia shook her head ‘no’.
“What is your opinion, Feminion?”
“I think Mobius is trying to trick Egg into leaving. I think he’s getting nervous that we just might do what young girls should never have been able to do.” She said it with a great deal of pride in her voice.
Egg and Sassi looked at Sylvia then back to Dazzle to see her reaction.
“I believe you are correct.”
“Really?” asked Egg in wonderment.
“He cannot send you home without your consent. The Crystal Egg would not carry out such an order against me or any of you. But if you request it, then the Egg would do as it was asked.”
“What about what my Grammy said?”
“She did not say that. The words are Mobius’.”
“Oh.” Egg felt a little embarrassed that she was fooled.
“What about the warning?” asked Sassi.
“J’azzz-min told us that the purpose of the Maze was to trap all who entered.”
“But how do we not get trapped?” persisted the girl.
“Egg will lead us through.”
Normally Egg wouldn’t argue when the Princess put the solution to problems squarely on her shoulders. But this time she had to say something. “Dazzle, you can’t know that for sure. We already lost four friends . . . I don’t want to be responsible for losing these two.”
“Egg, doubt and fear are the two most valuable tools left to Mobius. Do not allow him to weaken your resolve.”
Egg was about to ask what she meant, but Sassi stopped her by explaining, “She means don’t let the evil king make you second guess your own abilities. You’ve made it this far . . . there’s no reason why you can’t make it all the way.”
“Well said, my sister.”
“Okeydokey, then,” replied Egg with absolutely no conviction. She turned to the Guardians and said, “Hey, guys. Thanks but no thanks. Can you just point us to the Maze?”
The giant faces said nothing . . . they slowly melted away and what was left was an archway . . .
It led to a long hallway that seemed to go on forever.
“Is that the maze?” asked Egg a little disappointed. It didn’t seem so bad.
“Let us find out.”
So Egg grabbed a hand of the other two girls and started to walk. They passed through one archway then another and another.
“This is too easy,” said Sylvia.
“Don’t complain,” said her friend. “Easy is good.”
As they approached what must have been the tenth doorway, the true nature of the Maze began to show itself. The air under the arch began to shimmer then glow. And in a moment, instead of seeing the rest of the long, endless hallway, they saw what appeared to be a fiery cloud ablaze in reds and oranges and yellows. Their first reaction was predictable . . . they screamed.
“OH MY GOSH!”
“What is it?” shouted Sassi. The answer came echoing from nowhere.
“This is the entrance to the Maze . . .”
“. . . of Forever. Enter . . .”
“. . . at your own peril.”
“Fare-thee-well . . .
“. . . Egg of Earth.”
*****
Walking through that curtain of swirling colors was one of the hardest things the girls had ever done. Dazzle had passed through first to assure them there was nothing of danger waiting for them on the other side. Even so, as they walked through, they closed their eyes and cringed.
When they finally got the courage to look at the Maze . . . their mouths dropped opened. It was . . . well . . . just weird.
There were passageways going off in every direction . . . some circling back from where they started. And this tangle of paths seemed to be suspended in a black void . . . with no end in sight.
Egg opened her mouth to utter that magical phrase, but Sylvia cut her off. “Don’t even say it.”
“Now you sound like J’azzz-min.” The cat was forever telling Egg to stop with the ‘ohmygoshes’.
“Uh-oh.”
The two girls turned to look at their friend.
“It’s gone.”
“What’s gone?” asked Sylvia.
Sassi pointed behind them . . . to the place where the archway they had just crossed should have been. But it wasn’t. There would be no turning back now.
“All right, you can say it.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Egg, we must continue,” said Dazzle stating the obvious. “Choose a path.”
“No, no, no, no, no and nope.”
“We cannot stay here.”
“I can’t do it. Look at this . . .” she said pointing at the tangle of paths that looked like a plate of spaghetti.
“You must.”
“I think I should do it.”
They turned as one to look at Sassi.
“Why do you say that, Sister?”
“It’s what the Myst Tree wan
ted me to do . . . I think.”
Egg looked to Sylvia who seemed to always remember what the Tree said. “Did it?”
“Ummm . . . the Tree said something like, ‘There will come a time when she will have to choose the right path.” (It was referring to the unnamed sister who was inadvertently spying for Mobius.) Then Sylvia shrugged and added, “So, I guess so.”
“Feminion, your memory serves you well. And, you Sister . . . I believe you have correctly understood the Tree’s message.”
“Didn’t he say something else? Something not so good?”
Sylvia blushed but said nothing; so Dazzle finished the Tree’s message. “The right path will lead her to oblivion, but it will also be the only path that can lead to the defeat of Mobius.”
“What’s oblivion?”
“It is not clear. It could mean nothingness or a great void.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“It means that I probably won’t make it out of the Maze.”
Egg looked to Dazzle who nodded her agreement. “Well, then just forget that. No way, no how and not ever will I let Sassi get stuck in here just so Syl and I can get out. Forget it.”
“Egg . . . it’s the reason you chose me to be a Sister.”
That made Egg angry. “NO, IT”S NOT,” she screamed.
“Sassi is right. You chose your Sisters because they alone could help you succeed in our Quest. Each had a very important role to play . . . and this is hers.”
Now Flying Girl was both angry and confused. “No. No. No.” She fought back her tears, calmed herself then continued, “I don’t know why I picked you or any of the others. I really don’t . . . but it couldn’t be for this; for you to get stuck in here forever just to save me. ”
“When the universe talks to us through our dreams, we have to listen. Everybody knows that. In the end, you probably had no choice . . . other than to do what you did. And I have no choice . . . but to do what I need to do.”
“I won’t let you.”
“You were meant to pick us . . . to pick me. And, believe me when I say that I’ll always be grateful. You gave my life a wonderful purpose. And you gave me one more chance to see my mother and father. Egg, I can’t ever repay you for all of that. But, I can find you a way out of here.”
“How? How could you do that? Look at this place.”
Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel] Page 68
