The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Surprise, Surprise

"What? What happened?!" Teri yelled when she opened the door to her Mother's room.

Everything was a complete mess. Most of the furniture looked like it had been destroyed and ripped apart. Pieces of it were floating around. The large sea sponge bed was dead white and looked like it had been torn to shreds. What was left of a wardrobe lay broken and pieces of it were scattered around the room. And throughout it, everything looked like there was an oil spill. A strange, inky black mess was spread everywhere, making it difficult to see certain parts of the room clearly.

Teri dashed into the room and looked around frantically. Apollo was just as surprised.

"This... this wasn't like this the day before! I was just in here, how could this have happened?! Who did this?"

Teri was picking up every object she could find, pushing the pieces of broken furniture away, trying to clean the room on her own. She gagged while moving through the ink and it only spread around more as she continued to swim around. Apollo wanted to help, but was just as confused.

"Teri... I... Do you think a person could have done this?" Apollo asked. Teri shook her head.

"No. I don't know. I don't think they could've. It couldn't have been any of my people. They wouldn't even think about doing something like this. Something... something had to have broken in here! But how were they able to get past... I was just here, how could this have happened during the time I was gone?"

Teri was starting to freak out and Apollo swam over to her side and pulled her away by the shoulder, hoping the inky fumes weren't... toxic in any way.

"Okay, okay, just calm down. We'll figure this out, but we need to stay calm."

Teri shook her head and took a few deep breaths.

"Y... you're right, I'm sorry. It... This just doesn't make any sense. There's no way anyone could've..."

"Okay, okay, I hear you. I don't know... what could've done this either. It doesn't seem like a person could've done this much damage. Do you think they were looking for something?" Apollo asked.

"I... I don't know. I don't know what they could've been looking for in here,"

"Okay. Maybe... should we go back and see if Sophia or the twins found anything?"

"Y-yeah, let's do that. Maybe... maybe they can help figure this out."

"Okay, let's go."

The two swam out of the room and made their way down the hall, eventually making their way back into the library where the twins were hovering over the stone table in the center of the room.

"Hey, did you guys find anything?" Teri asked.

"Um... maybe? We found this, but..."

Apollo and Teri moved into the room as the twins pointed out the ruined book on the table. Teri gasped at the sight of it and rushed over to look through the pages.

"Where did you find this?" Teri asked.

"It was over there in that pile of sand."

"It was the only book we found out of the shelf, but we don't know what it is."

"We can't read anything inside it, and we didn't find any other books like it. Do you know what it is?"

Teri took a moment to look through all the pages. The scratched out lines, blotted pictures and completely inked out pages. If there was one thing Teri hated to see, it was a damaged book. So much information lost.

"I... I'm afraid I don't know what book this is. I told you, I haven't read every book in here. I don't think I've even seen this one before..."

Apollo swam over and tried to peak over Teri's shoulder. He was just as appalled. He's seen minor damage to books before, but this... this was just unforgivable.

"What kind of person would do this to a book?" he muttered.

"I don't know. We keep this library open to the public all the time, and everyone respects the quality of the books. I've never once seen a single book out of place or even slightly damaged. This..."

Teri suddenly got an idea.

"You think whoever did this to the book was the same person who messed up the room?" Teri asked.

"What? I... hmmm... Maybe?" Apollo replied. "Do you think that book was in the room and then moved here so no one would find it?" he wondered.

"Hmm... it's possible. But I told you, I've never seen this book before. I wouldn't know if it was originally in my Mother's room or not?"

The twins asked what they were talking about and as Teri was explaining what they had found in her Mother's room, Sophia turned up and peaked into the library, finding the rest of her friends gathered inside. She quietly approached everyone mid-conversation, still holding the book and note in hand.

"Hey, did you guys find anything?"

"Ah!" everyone shouted, startled by Sophia's sudden appearance.

"Oh, Sophie, it's just you. Sorry, I didn't hear you sneak in like that. What did you say before?" Teri asked.

"Just... wondering if you found anything?"

"Well... sort of." Apollo replied, glancing over at Teri.

Teri gave a brief explanation of their findings and Sophia took a look at the ruined book for herself, just as surprised as everyone else by its condition.

"What kind of person would do this to a book?"

"That's what I said!" Apollo chimed.

"Yeah, anyway, what's that you're holding?" Teri pointed out.

"Oh, right. I just found this in another room. I almost missed it, but when I opened it up, this fell out of it," Sophia explained, holding up the thin book and the note. Teri took both items, recognizing the book.

"Hey, I know this. Hm, it was one of the first books my Mother made me read."

"Yeah, I... couldn't read anything inside it. The note is the same way too. Can you... read that?"

"Of course I can, let me see..."

Teri held the note close to her eyes and began to skim the lines. Her expression changed and everyone noticed it. The arm holding the book drooped to her side, before she tossed it on the table and held the note with both hands, her face a look of worry and surprise.

"Teri? What does it say?" the twins asked.

Teri glanced up for a moment before clearing her throat and reading the note aloud to everyone.

"M-my dearest daughter..." she began, "If you've found this note, then by now you've noticed that I've gone and haven't returned in some time. I know I've done my best to raise and care for you. You've learned well what it means to be a leader and how to put the needs of our people above our own, and I believe you are more than capable of handling things on your own. Please do not fear, I've only gone to... take care of some business that I should have handled long ago, and I plan to return soon. No matter how much time has passed, I know you will do well to keep our people safe, and I will find a way to return to you. That is a promise. If anything happens while I'm gone, I know you have the strength to do the right thing. You have my complete trust, and there is nothing you could do that would disappoint me. May the strength in your heart be as courageous as your spirit and all my love goes to you. Mother..."

There was a deep and heavy silence from everyone as Teri lowered the note. No one said a word, but they all looked concerningly at Teri. They could all see the look of worry and confusion on her face. Sophia finally spoke up to break the silence.

"Teri... do you know what this means?"

"I... I... I'm not sure."

Teri picked up the book the note was found in, looking over the cover, trying to process everything.

"Why would she...? What sort of business is she talking about...?" she muttered to herself.

As she pondered this, Sophia noticed her friend shaking his head and blowing bubbles out of his mouth.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"Uh... Teri... I feel a little weird."

Teri turned around to see that Apollo looked like he was struggling. Her fins flared out as she snapped back to reality.

"Oh! That means the charms must be wearing off! Quick, everyone out! We need to get back to the surface, now!"

Everyone quickly rushed out the doors and they scrambled to get back to Teri's room so they could leave without being noticed. Teri had to help Apollo and the twins move onwards as they were starting to panic. Sophia remained focused, but was starting to feel the effects of the charm subsiding. She was having trouble seeing clearly and she felt a growing pressure around her chest and ears. Everyone managed to find the tunnel they came from and they pulled themselves through it as quickly as possible. Teri stayed behind everyone to make sure they were okay.

One by one, they swam out of the tunnel and found themselves at the bottom of the lake. The twins hiccuped and two large bubbles escaped their mouths, heading upwards. They suddenly couldn't breathe and immediately started booking it to the surface, trying to hold whatever amount of air they had left in their lungs. Soon, Apollo and Sophia lost their breath as well. They used their wings to push themselves upwards quickly, refusing to accidentally inhale the murky lake water. Before their bodies forced them to take a breath, everyone finally breached the surface and inhaled lungfuls of air. Their sight was restored and the pressure around their bodies lessened. They all quickly headed to shore, spotting Apollo's beach bag on the little beach where they had left it before.

They slowly trudged onto the sand, almost feeling weighed down by the sudden change in gravity. They all collapsed on the sand as Apollo reached out to his bag and threw everyone a fresh towel to dry off. Sophia wiped her face and wrapped the towel around her shoulders and shivered. Teri came onto the shore last and sat with everyone as they collected themselves.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're okay," the twins replied, breathing heavily. Apollo and Sophia just nodded.

"Sorry, I thought the charms would last longer. Um... You know, I can't thank you guys enough for wanting to help out. It... really means a lot to me..."

"Hey, c'mon, it's the least we can do. You sure you're feeling okay?" Apollo asked. Teri nodded with certainty.

"Yeah... I'm not sure I would've found all that stuff on my own."

"Hey, you know, it's not too late. Do you wanna come back to the tree house with us?" the twins offered.

"I'd love to, but I think I need to get back home. I've got a lot of cleaning up to do, and maybe I'll see if I can find out more about the book you guys found. You've already done so much for me, you deserve a break."

"You sure you'll be fine on your own?" Apollo asked.

"Oh yeah, it's nothing I can't handle. I promise I'll come back soon and I'll tell you about anything I find. You'll be okay getting home?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Sophia chimed in.

"Okay, well... I'll see you all soon then!"

Everyone waved to Teri as she descended back into the lake and swam off. They sat in the sun for a while longer to dry off before throwing all the towels back to Apollo and flying up to the top of the cliff where they walked the remainder of the way home.

"Hey, you sure she'll be okay on her own for a while?" the twins asked.

"Yeah, I think so. She'll come back for us if she needs anything. But... I know how you feel. I hope she'll be okay," Apollo replied. Sophia just nodded in solidarity, and they continued to make their way home to clean up and change into a fresh pair of clothes.