When we arrived at the castle, I was awed by its huge size and magnificent beauty. The gardens were rainbows of color. The walls were colorful and elegant. When we reached the entrance, with huge marble steps flanked with statues, we exited the carriage. We said our farewells to the winged horses, and started towards the stairs. When our group reached the first step, a deep voice called out.
“HALT! Who goes there???”
I was startled to see it emnate from a large stone lion. Fauna sighed in exasperation.
“Joseph, you KNOW who it is. It’s me, sis, Jay, and our new friend Tweet. For goodness sake, if they’re with us they’re obviously okay! I don’t just pick up people from the streets, you know!”
Joseph sniffed haughtily and cleared his throat.
“Rules are rules, Princess, and if I remember correctly, 1,099 years ago when my maker, Gioliani, the great sculptor, gave me life, he entrusted me to the protection of Sir Galihant. Sir Galihant placed me and all my brethen here, at these steps and gave us the strictest instructions, instructions I have followed dutifully every day since then. Would I not be doing my duty if I ignored these rules, and through them, my duty? Would I not be endangering the lives of thy royal family and your treasures that lie herein? Princess, it is my duty and my honor to serve your family, and if I am to do it to my satisfaction, I must follow the strict guidelines set for us 1,099 years ago.”
As he was droning on, Fauna was lip-syncing him and making faces. I tried hard to stifle my laughter. When Joseph had paused for breath, Jay interjected before he could start up again.
“Joseph, you are completely right. We must follow the rules if you are to keep your position, duty, and status. I am BlueJay, Hero, Tracker, Hunter, and Queen Friend. This is Princess Fauna, and her sister Princess Flora. Their ranks are determined, of course, by their names. This is Tweet, otherwise known as Emiline, world crosser, Animal Friend, Aura keeper, and companion to myself. May we pass and enter the halls of royalty and view the secrets inside so jealously hidden as long as we keep the peace?”
Joseph was silent for a long while, trying to find fault in Jay’s efficient speech. But he could not. She had spoken the truth and spoken it well. Finally he spoke.
“Very well. Enter, and keep the peace if you value your status.”
We nodded respectfully, and ascended the stairs.
“Quick! Climb fast, or else he shall want to do a pat-down!”
Fauna hissed through her teeth. We climbed faster, and, true to her words, we heard a
“Wait! We have not done the royal-”
Before we slammed the door on his voice and tried to smother our giggles. When our laughter had subsided, Fauna sat up and said
“Sorry. Joseph gets so bored out there he tries to keep anyone who comes by trapped for as long as possible, since all the other statues have heard all his stories and won’t respond to him at all.”
I laughed again.
“Sometimes, if a maid or a servant did wrong, they shall be punished by listening to him drone on. But Joseph doesn’t even know it’s supposed to be a punishment! He also trains most of the staff, but he does well. He starts off with the boringly obvious stuff, and when they are simply so bored they start to listen to him, he is talking about the important highlights. He has easily dispelled many a robber by monotoning through the very lecture we narrowly avoided just now.”
Eventually we helped each other up from the ground and headed off to the bath rooms, because,
“No offense, but you guys kinda smell.”
The bath houses were roman style, and the warm water against my skin felt delightful. Once we were clean, (Fauna and Flora had joined us for the company) we splashed around and had games and diving contests. When we were dried off, we trotted through the castle to find our rooms. Me and Jay had suites down the hall from Fauna and Flora’s bedrooms, but both of them were going to be joining us for the night. After all our stuff was organized and put away, Fauna led us to the older princesses’ rooms. The sun had set by now, and the moon had risen and the stars were starting to come up. First we visited Princess Stella, the younger of the elder two. When we entered her room, I was struck by the glowing stars on the walls and ceilings. The whole room was a beautiful purplish dark blue, and everything was blue or silver. The walls had multitudes of beautiful paintings of stars. An easel lay in the corner of the grand room. Out on a balcony, the princess stood, sketching in a sketchbook, glancing up every so often to judge her drawings against the stars. She wore a flowing, simple dress covered with stars, of course. She looked about fifteen or sixteen. When she heard the door, she turned and her long black hair covered her face before she tucked the long strands behind one ear. She smiled, and asked in a quiet, even voice
“Good evening, Fauna. I heard you had returned from your trip. I am glad to see you in good health.”
She turned to Jay.
“Ah, Jay, my good friend. Once more you return to the nest, or your informal home.”
She stepped forward and embraced both Fauna and Jay.
“And who may this be? A little sparrow to follow the BlueJay?”
She looked curiously at me. Unsure of what to do, I performed a feeble curtsy.
“Um, I’m Emiline. I’m trying to get back home, and Jay said she could get the Queen to help me.”
“She’s from District 101 E.”
Stella nodded knowingly, and smiled warmly to me.
“Well, it is wonderful to meet a new friend. I do hope you shall enjoy your stay, however brief it may be, at our castle.”
I smiled and nodded. Stella picked up her sketchbook again and looked back at me.
“Be that an Aura by your side?”
I nodded.
“Ah, an animal friend. I see your marks now.”
She was looking at my necklaces. I looked down at them, a little confused but pleased.
I kept peeking at her sketches, trying to glimpse what she was drawing. Being a bit of an avid artist as well, I couldn’t help but be curious. Stella saw me and smiled. I blushed but she offered me her sketchbook and continued to chatting with Fauna and Jay about journeys and adventures. Finally I handed her sketches back. They were brillinat, perfectly scaled, and beautiful. She accepted them, and told me we should draw together sometime, if we didn’t have to leave immediately.
“I know a good artist and potential model when I see one. You shall have to pose for one of my paintings someday.”
I blushed, and thanked her.
“Sis, we kind of better go visit Moony, she’ll kill me if I don’t hurry.”
Stella frowned faintly and was about to say something, but Fauna dragged us out of the room and closed the door behind us.
“Sorry, but she was about to scold me. She doesn’t like when I call sis Moony.”
She shrugged and walked down the hall to another door. She knocked, and an ‘Enter!’ emnated from within. Jay swung open the door and we entered, Fauna in front and me in the middle. Again, the room was color based, but with blue and yellow. Maps, diagrams, drawings, and paintings of planets, stars, and the moon covered the walls and piles were on the floor. Again, the princess was on a balcony, yet again gazing at the stars. But she was looking through a telescope, frowning and pausing to adjust it every few seconds until she noticed us and straightened. Before she did, I noticed her past waist-length blond hair, with a blue dyed section in the middle. She smiled, pushing back the same few strands of hair that had fallen onto Stella’s face.
“Fauna! It is glorious to see you once more. And look, you have brought me my dear friend Jay once more to my windowsill. And who may this girl be, with Animal marks round her neck and an Aura by her side?”
Jay explained about me again, and Fauna chimed in about my dilemma. I nodded when they had finished, and said
“Yep, they covered it all. I’m Emiline, but my unofficial name is Tweet.”
She smiled and nodded and said it was great to meet me, and should I like to, I would be welcome to take a look through her telescope, the ‘best of it’s line.’ She introduced herself as Princess Luna, and ten frowned and rushed over to a desk covered in papers and scribbled something on it with a stray pencil, looked it over, then scowled furiously and crossed it out vehemently.
“Princess, what plagues your mind so? You look like a cat that had it’s tail stepped on.”
The wrinkles in her brow straightened a little and her frown ceased to look so angry.
“Well, there’s this little scale problem in my mathematics for this diorama of our solar system, and I just can’t seem to get it right.”
She frowned once more. I said
“May I look at this perplexing puzzle? I’m not that good at math, but I might be able to help.”
She shrugged.
“Why not?”
She handed me the papers, and I rifled through them, following her steps. Finally, I found the root of the problem.
“Look, you crossed out here which made you multiply the wrong number, which caused problems in your division of the fractions.”
She took her papers back, and mouthed words silently as she followed through my explanation. She smacked her forehead when she realized I was right.
“Great unicorns, you are right! How did you see that?”
“My old teacher always nagged me to check my work.”
I imitated an old lady squeaky voice.
“Check your work! Check your work! Check your work!”
Luna, Jay and Fauna laughed, and Luna erased the problem and redid it.
“Thank you, Tweet. I am so grateful for your helpful assistance! This will help immensely with the building of the model!"
I started to shrug off all the praise, but I was interrupted by Fauna, faking a huge 'yawn'. Jay raised an eyebrow.
"Princesses, I do think the rest of the royal tour shall have to wait tomorrow. Princess Luna, where may we find the queen tomorrow? Tweet got here by accident and is quite determined to find her way home as quick as possible."
"Yeah, sis, where is the Queen?"
Luna frowned.
"Oh dear, Fauna has been away for the past week or so so she does not know... The Queen has gone off upon one of her trips to another county. She shall return in a week or two. If you are in need of speed, you may stay the night and set off into the city in search of another, but if it is the Queen's services you wish, you shall have to wait. I am sorry if this hinders your progress."
Jay brooded for a moment. She looked up.
"I have made a decision. We need good help, but fast as possible. These times are dangerous for Tweet."
Fauna looked depressed.
"Well, I guess I can't blame you if you guys don't want to stay in this stuffy old castle... Will you at least stay the night? Sis can arrange a carriage in the morning…"
Jay looked surprised.
"Leave? My good friend, I did of course say speed is of the essence, but we need professional help if Tweet is to get back. Did you all not notice? We need the Queens help, for when Tweet came back, she accidentally closed the only portal to her world. The only one that can make a new portal to a specific place would be he Queen."
Luna nodded thoughtfully, while Fauna looked a little lost. She shrugged it off though, and asked eagerly,
"So you guys are staying until the Queen returns?"
Jay nodded, a smile spreading across her face. One grew upon mine too. Fauna did a little victory dance. Luna laughed, and a cat upon her bed raised its head and growled. It was a light shade of yellow. Luna paused and sighed.
"Oh, Crescent, you get enough naps in the daytime. Do stop being so dreadfully grumpy."
Fauna whispered in my ear
"Crescent is Luna's cat. Bad-tempered fellow, but incredibly smart."
Then she grabbed me and Jay and pulled us out into the hall.
"Bye sis, gotta go can't stay have to run have a lovely evening with your doodles and gadgets NIGHT!"
Hey! Where's the emiline picture?
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