Maggy and the Quest for the Unknown Jewel

ch. 6

The first town they stubbled upon was Luskqueet. It was full of rivers and ponds. There was a specific pond that stood out to them. It was glowing, but the water was muggy and dark. It was uncertain how deep the water went, but the surroundings were quite lovely. On the other side of the street, there was another pond. Its surroundings were dying and droopy, but the water's surface was a perfect color of blue and was slick. They got closer to both and noticed people were sitting by both. On one side, there were four girls and on the other, there were six. The prettier of the sides held four beautiful women. They were dressed in pink and blue with sparkles and their hair pinned up and curved around their faces. They sat perfectly still staring into the water. The others waved at them with cheerfulness, but were surrounded by sadness and the dark, cold shadows. It seemed ironic to all of them that the sadder surroundings brought much happier people. They were beautiful in spirit, but the six of them were rotten in appearance. Their tails were a musty, blueish-grey and every girl's hair swooped of the faces and was tangled.  

Not knowing quite which way to go, they broke up. Ifor and Adeline went to the beautiful, selfish girls. It was obvious what Adeline would want to see. James and Maggy went to see the more gleaming side. As Maggy and James approached them, one of the girls leapt up from out of the water. The made her way to a rock and sat on it. She was different from the rest of the mermaids that were around her. This mermaid looked like she belonged on the other side of the pavement.  The had long, brown hair. Her tails was purple and did not sparkle, but it shimmered with the movement of the sun reflecting off the water. She said nothing while James and Maggy stood in front of them, but instead just smiled and returned to her preoccupied mind.

On the other side, Adeline sat on a rock getting her hair braided by one of the mermaids. She fit right in. These mermaids were very self-involved. Maggy hated them! She did not know why, but Maggy had a passion in her soul for finding people like these girls and destroying them. She could not hurt these mermaids though, they were one of their only chances left around here. James and Maggy were focused on their own battle. They both ha no idea what to say to the mermaids. Maggy and James whispered to each other for a moment or two as each one of the six mermaids said their names. James stepped forward at the command of the tallest mermaid, who had said nothing before.

"Why are you here?" the mermaid asked, pulling her hair back so it would not fall on her face as much.

"We are looking for some help. We have all traveled from a far away kingdom, and are looking for the lost jewels. It was rumored that there might be one around here." James replied with hope in his voice.

"I am afraid all of our jewels were stolen from us in a battle last year. They were taken by an army near the small kingdom of Gracan. They are strong warriors. With the right help, you might be able to defeat them, but this task is a very risky one. here, take my map of their battle grounds. They are stored in a bunker below one of the village houses. Whatever you do, do not hurt those villagers. They did nothing wrong." the same mermaid spoke these wise words of wisdom.

"We have no intention of hurting anyone. We simply need the jewels. My mother dies only a short time ago, and the jewels are the only connection I have left with her." Maggy spoke this time, and one of the girls asked her to come closer.

They continued the talk, and were able to come up with a plan about getting the jewels back. Meanwhile, Ifor and Adeline were getting no where. The only interest Adeline had was about the beauty of the four girls. Finally, Maggy stepped over to help.

Maggy cleared her throat and quickly said, "Excuse me! We are here to get something done. Adeline, get down from there and help us!"

Adeline did not move. "Adeline, I said now!" Maggy was done with her disapproval.