The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Stepping Up

[Sophia]

The next morning, Apollo and I woke up a little later than usual, but we made a big breakfast for ourselves and brought some over to the twins. They told us that they had never slept so well before, but admitted they may have stayed up late watching the stars. It reminded them of the moonflowers that grew in the caves, but further away. I listened to Apollo continue to talk about the stars and related astronomy stuff, but I didn't join the conversation. I just kinda... zoned out, I was still a bit tired.

The air was cold, but the sun reaching down from above warmed my legs. Apollo's voice started to become a blur as I lost focus of reality. I think I was actually dozing off. But I suddenly snapped back to reality when I saw movement from the pond beyond me.

Teri had come back and was waving to get our attention. We all jumped down from the tree house and sat around the pond, continuing our big conversation from yesterday. I don't remember how long we talked, but it felt like a long time. Eventually, I got the courage to ask Teri a question directly.

"So... you said you live in the lake, right?"

"Yes," Teri replied.

"But, you also said... there's an area below the lake where you actually live?"

"That's right."

"I was just thinking... if all of that exists down there, then... does that mean that... there are more of you?"

"Well, yes. There is an entire civilization just beneath the lake. That's where I live."

"So, there really are more people like you?" the twins wondered aloud.

Teri gave an explanation in better detail. Apparently, there's this huge subterranean area that lies beneath the lake. She said there also used to be larger passageways that lead to the ocean which is where her people gathered and harvested food, but recently, all these tunnels became blocked off for some unknown reason. Her people have been trying to clear the blockage, but as they're so large, it's taking a long time to move the debris safely without the rest of the tunnel collapsing. Teri finally admitted that her original reason for coming up here wasn't just out of curiosity. She was trying to find another safe route to the ocean. Even if it was just a smaller passageway, it would be enough for her people to continue gathering food while they worked to clear the original tunnels. Of course, the only tunnel she found was the one that led to the lake.

"I'm doing everything I can to help my people. We've been able to clear enough of the blockage for certain people to squeeze in and out for small trips. But if we don't get at least one of those passageways cleared soon..... well, I'm not sure what else we can do." said Teri as she shrank into the water.

"I'm really sorry to hear that. I know we're still... kinda getting to know each other, and I know we don't know everything, but if there's anything we can do to help, you can always ask us." Apollo offered. The twins and I nodded. Teri smiled nervously, looking at each of us.

"I... I'll try to keep that in mind. Thank you."

Teri looked away for only a moment, but it was enough for the twins to notice and they tilted their heads in curiosity.

"What's wrong, Teri?" they asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing! It's just... well, I guess it's been some time since anyone has offered to help me with anything. Honestly, I think it's actually been a little refreshing to just... step away from my home for a while."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're telling me that you had tunnels that led to the ocean, right? Have you never been out there yourself?" I asked. Teri shook her head.

"No, in fact, I wasn't really... allowed to go anywhere outside the kingdom. At least, not until I was a bit older. That's what I was told, at least."

"Wait, kingdom?" I questioned, my interest getting piqued a little more.

"Who told you you weren't allowed to go anywhere?" Apollo asked. Teri shrank back into the water a little more, avoiding eye contact before sighing.

"Well, it was... my mom. She didn't... exactly not allow me to go anywhere. She just wanted me to get to know my home and our people more until I was old enough to go exploring outside our boundaries. I wasn't opposed to it, but y'know, curiosity is a hard thing to contain."

I nodded in agreement.

"So, she didn't want you leaving home until you were old enough... But, is she the same person who forbade you from coming up to the surface?" Apollo asked.

"Yes. She told me the stories about the monsters that lived up here and warned me that it was much too dangerous. And... for a long time I believed them. When I was little, I used to have nightmares about monsters, but they came to pass. I don't get them anymore."

"Do you still believe those stories?" the twins asked.

"Well, no, obviously. I mean, back then I wasn't sure what to believe, but it was enough to keep my curiosity at bay. But when you get older, you start realizing that they're just stories. But since I wasn't allowed to go anywhere outside my home, I didn't have any way of proving if those stories were true or not. But... for what it's worth... I am glad I decided to try stepping out of my comfort zone a bit. If I hadn't, then I guess I wouldn't be here with all of you."

I felt a strange heaviness in the air when Teri finished, but it was swept away quickly as she smiled at all of us, and we agreed with her. But something still wasn't sitting right and Apollo leaned forward.

"Teri, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Teri was about to say something with a small grin on her face. But as she looked around at all of us, the grin disappeared. She inhaled and sighed.

"Alright, well... I guess there's no point in hiding it from all of you if you're really that concerned..." she said quietly. She floated towards the edge of the pond, near where Apollo was sitting and hoisted herself out. She sat on the edge, her long tail drifting in the water. She sat with her head down, staring at the water before inhaling again and finally reconnected her gaze with ours.

"Okay... the truth is..... Yes, the home where I live... is an entire kingdom. Always has been. And........ I am their princess. My mother... is the queen."

There was a stunned silence from all of us.

But it was followed by a loud, "WHAT?" from me and the twins. Apollo jabbed us and we apologized for the outburst. Teri just waved us off.

"I know, I know... I didn't want to tell you before because, well... I knew you'd freak out if I told you, and... well... we've only just met, so..."

"You weren't sure how much you could trust us, right?" I suggested.

"Yeah, exactly. But... I dunno....."

"But... you wouldn't have told us unless... something else has been going on?" Apollo guessed.

Teri sighed and nodded.

"Yes... the other part of the truth is..... my mother... has disappeared. She's been missing for some time now. And... as I am the princess..... Since her disappearance, I've had to step up to her position just to keep my people calm until... we figure out what happened."

There was another shared silence from all of us. Teri glanced away and looked back down into the water again. She flicked her tail back and forth.

"How long has it been since she disappeared?" Apollo asked carefully.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure. I woke up one day, and I couldn't find her anywhere. Sometimes my mother will go around helping our people, so I assumed she was doing that. But when it got late and she didn't come home, that's when I started getting worried. She never leaves without telling me or anyone else where she's going. I started asking people if they had seen her at all, but no one did. It... it didn't take long for people to notice and when they started asking me questions, I... I panicked. I was just as confused as they were. And then they started to panic, and when they start panicking..... I don't know. But from then on, I promised that I would take over my mother's duties until she returned. But... I've been so busy trying to be a good leader that... I never really had the time to help with the investigation."

Apollo looked back at me with a worried look on his face and I mirrored it. The twins leaned in closer as Teri continued.

"I think... one day, I just got... fed up with it. So I decided to take the risk and go look for her myself. She had to leave some sort of clue behind for me, I just know it. But I didn't know where to look."

Teri finally looked up at us.

"The tunnel to the lake. I thought it might've been a clue. I was thinking at the time that it could be used as another passageway to the ocean. But when I made it through and I saw... all that light. I guess... I got distracted for a little while. And... that's when I found Apollo."

Apollo shifted his position awkwardly as Teri made eye contact with him.

"Apollo... you should know that, at first... I didn't come to save you just because you were in danger. I didn't actually know you were different until after I fought off those creatures..."

"What... do you mean?" Apollo asked.

"It's just... for a moment, I actually thought... you were my mom."

Apollo and I both went, "Huh?" at the same time. Teri glanced away sheepishly.

"My mom has long hair, kinda like yours. It... was a little hard to see at the time, so..."

Apollo had a stunned look on his face. I was just confused, but I was also trying to hide a wry smile. His hair is pretty long, and I guess from behind I could see how he could easily be mistaken for... someone else.

We tried our best to comfort Teri and we agreed that she did the right thing, stepping up for her people to keep them calm. But we understood that it was a lot of pressure for her. I reminded her again that saving Apollo's life was another step in the right direction. If she hadn't been there in time, or ignored him because he wasn't the right person Teri was looking for, I wouldn't have made it back in time to come save him myself. I still felt partly guilty about that...

Teri finally admitted that... the idea of coming up to the surface was scary. But she was glad she did it or she wouldn't have met us. She decided right then and there that she would enlist our help to find clues to the whereabouts of her mother. She would need a few days to prepare and would return to explain her plan. She left quickly after that.

The rest of us were excited to help her. Even though we only got to know each other for a short time, it was enough for Teri to trust us, and now it was up to us to return the favor. I still couldn't thank her enough for helping Apollo when I wasn't there.

Apollo later pointed out that her plan involved us going down to her home. Which is underwater. How were the four of us supposed to follow Teri to her underwater home and back? It's just not possible. The twins and I finally realized that and were just as confused. Teri left without giving us a chance to ask questions, but in the end, we just had to trust that she would find a way to make it work.