Quest for the Satyr Crown / Grace Carey

A small satyr climbs into an ancient woman satyr’s lap. The crackling fire in the hearth and the soft red armchair give the sitting room a cozy vibe.  

“Grammy, tell me again about how you became a princess.” 

“Well, Daisy, my little doe, it was many years ago, I was just a few years older than you are now.” 

“Really? You were?!” 

Daisy’s eyes glowed with excitement as she gazed adoringly at her grandmother. 

“That’s right, my doe,” Queen Rosalia continued, “I was deep in the blackberry thicket when I saw it. A statue of a…faun? Nay, a satyr holding a green orb that glowed emerald light. I stepped deeper into the thicket, receiving nicks and scratches on the way. The orb’s surface was so shiny that my reflection was as clear as the sky on a cloudless morning. A deep, soothing voice filled my ears, enveloping me like the beats of a drum echoing through a cave. It said, ‘For centuries now, satyr kind has been forgotten.’  As the voice spoke, visions of ages past danced before my eyes. Scenes of joyous life, satyr children running, and playing on cloven hooves, of peaceful times with celebrations. The visions shifted suddenly, like the stab of a knife, flashes of red with violent shouting and death. Satyrs running in frenzied chaos and screaming with terror. As I watched this horrific scene, I felt pain and anger building up inside of me.” 

 

Grandmother’s Story 

The deep voice from the orb filled my head again. Peace was lost when the humans came: they slaughtered the satyrs. Those who were left fled into hiding. The visions went dark as the voice faded. My eyes flicked open, I had to blink as bright sunlight flooded in. Standing in the thicket, my hooves began to sink into the mossy earth. The thicket was a haze around me. I felt groggy as if waking up from a poor night’s sleep, I couldn’t make sense of what I had just seen, why had I been shown this? Who was the owner of the voice? Why were they speaking to me? “What was that all about?” I wondered out loud. As if in answer to my question, a wind whipped up as sudden as surprise. 

Swirling rings grew up around me pulling me into a tight funnel. The strength of the wind funnel ripped my hooves from the moss. From inside the wind funnel, I caught glimpses of the orb, its brilliant light growing in strength and vibrancy. The orb changing, a small hole forming in its center getting steadily larger as I was sucked deeper into the wind funnel. I somersaulted hooves over horns through the emptiness again and again. Shrill, terrified screams filled my ears; it took me a while to realize they were my own. Just as I dared to open my eyes, I stopped. My hooves solidly on the ground as if I had never been falling at all. Looking around slowly, I tried to understand my new surroundings. The room was round, but not a circle. I was in a sphere, the green glass walls and ceiling were perfectly curved, yet I was standing up straight and not sliding at all. Ancient candleholders were miraculously mounted on the slick curved walls. Their light glinted off the green glass. The room was completely empty, so I was startled at the sound of voices. 

I turned around slowly to see several satyrs of all genders in plain garb laughing, joking, and eating in the room. An old satyr with a floor-length gray beard came up to me. He had on a long blue robe. “Rosalia, welcome to the satyr council,” he waved an arm gesturing to the others around him. Steeping closer to me the old satyr continued “We have chosen you to be our new queen. To achieve this title, you. 

“Hold up,” I said, raising my hand to cut him off. “How do you know my name? Who are you? What am I doing here? What or where is here? I don’t even know where I am. This is impossible: one minute I was happily picking blackberries and the next I was sucked into a magical orb? And now you want me to be your queen?” 

The bearded satyr smiled kindly. “I am sorry, I should have started with that. My name is Grayhelm, I am a protector in the satyr council. This orb has been our safe haven since the humans drove us out of our world, I know your name because I have been watching you for years. You have the strength to save us and return peace to the satyrs”. 

Noticing my confused expression Grayhelm continued, “If you choose to accept, we will give you a series of challenges that will test your patience, honesty, kindness, and determination.” 

What harm could this do? I have always wanted an adventure. Why not give this a go? I thought to myself. 

“All right, I accept.” 

Grayhelm led me into another room. This one wasn’t green or a sphere. It was a rectangular prism. 

The walls were made from white fabric that danced and moved, although there was no wind. 

“The challenges will start   in a moment.  

“But how will I…?” I began, but he was gone. 

*** 

I stood there in the odd rectangular room wondering what to do next.  As one of the curtain walls slid open some invisible force seemed to be pulling me towards it. Inside I saw a rich lush forest with deep greens and warm reds and browns. As I stepped through the doorway, I felt something cleansing wash over me. I blinked rapidly trying to clear my head only to discover that all memories of anything before finding myself in the woods were gone. Still, I had a vague idea that I had a goal to achieve and once I achieved it, I would bring joy and hope to many as well as myself. I had a basket over my arm with two small dinner rolls and a cantina of water. No one had told me, but somehow, I knew I was on a mission and I must keep going. Something inside of me urged me forward. 

After walking for some time, I found a little centaur girl curled up and crying against a tree. Her clothes were tattered and shabby. Poverty must have struck her family hard. I paused, knowing that I must continue my journey, but feeling the need and desire to help this child. 

Crouching down next to her, I whispered “Are you alright?” 

She sniffed and looked up at me, eyes puffy and glistening with tears. “Can you help me?” Watching the poor child tremble made my heart swell with sympathy as a balloon would fill with helium. 

“Yes, of course I will help.” 

Gazing at me through her tears, the girl spoke again “I came out here with my brother, and we got separated, and, and I can’t find my way back.” She wiped the fresh stream of tears from her eyes. 

A strong sense of determination and confidence filled me. Standing up, I offered my hand. 

“Come on, let’s go find your brother!” 

She sniffed and took my hand wiping her nose with her other sleeve. We walked off together into the green foliage. Not long after we came to a small clearing standing in the middle of the clearing, looking around rather frantically, was a young centaur boy, his clothing equally as shabby as the girls’. The girl cried out in delight and ran toward him. 

“Oh, Lizzie! I knew you would find me!!!” 

Face buried in his shoulder, Lizzie murmured, “Let’s go home now”. 

Both children thanked me for helping them, I wished them well and gave them each a roll before heading on. 

As I reached the edge of the clearing, the woods seemed to stop. There were no trees in front of me, no grass, no moss – the scenery just disappeared, leaving white emptiness in its wake. In the middle of the white nothingness, a fabric door like the one I had entered before appeared in front of me and I stepped through. 

Again, I was falling hooves over horns through nothingness.  

*** 

This time, I found myself amid the hustle and bustle of an official-looking government building. Creatures of all kinds wearing black and navy- blue pantsuits hurried across the white marble floors, bumping an jostling me as they rushed by busts of important figures mounted on pillars along the walls. Amid the blur of black and navy- blue, a crowd of creatures sounded me. A mail satyr with a clipboard rattled off a list of appointments and obligations. Others pepped me with questions and problems that I was supposed to solve. Their voices overlapping and overwhelming each other. 

“Senator Rosalia?” “Excuse me, Miss. Rosalia?” “Rosalia!” “Senator?” 

There was too much information to handle all at once. I was becoming increasingly overwhelmed and the discomfort of my pantsuit was becoming increasingly noticeable. Deep breath, Rosalia, I thought to myself, “inhale, exhale” you can handle this. 

“Everyone. Please follow me.”

I ushered them all into a large hall, vacant but for a small stage. I took my place on the stage and called for silence. 

“Please everyone, one question at a time.” 

Somehow, I managed to stand and listen to every complaint and issue for what felt like hours. The interaction was so long and so tiring, but I managed to keep an upbeat, positive tone through the whole thing. as I stepped down from the stage, relieved that the creatures were all gone, I looked around. Just as had happened in the woods, the room dissolved into nothingness leaving the fabric door in its wake. I was falling gracefully in darkness until I stopped. A new seen met my eyes.    

*** 

A china shop; the shelves lined with fragile dishes all with intricate patterns. No one else seemed to be in the shop.  It was eerily quiet. The lanes between the shelves and tables were so narrow that I could barely fit through without turning sideways. My hooves clacked on the hardwood floor as I edged my way toward the exit on the other side of the room. I was almost at the exit when a speaker crackled from out of nowhere, it’s two-second blast of loud static was enough to make me jump out of my skin. 

Several dishes fell to the floor with a CRASH! They shattered in millions of treacherous shards. I stood there motionless, panicking.  What am I going to do? I broke property that is not mine. I have no money to pay for the damage. I will be in so much trouble. “Inhale, exhale” I must assess my options. I could run for it, after all, there is nobody around to stop me. Or I could own up to my mistakes. If I run for it, I won’t have to deal with the immediate issues, but there would likely be consequences later. Owning up to the mistakes seemed like a better option than going to jail, so instead of running away,. I plucked up my nerves, took a deep breath, and carefully made my way over to the front of the shop. An old cat sat at the checkout; round wire glasses perched on her nose. She squinted up at me with yellow eyes, “Yes?” Her voice was scratchy as if she had a cold. I took another breath and spoke, 

“Back there, I accidentally knocked several dishes onto the floor, and they shattered” 

She put a paw to her ear, “Eah? What’s that you say?” 

No wonder she had not rushed over after the crash, she hadn’t heard it, she was nearly deaf. 

I tried again. Louder, this time, but as calmly as I could. 

“I said, back there, I accidentally knocked several dishes onto the floor, and they shattered” 

“What’s that? You got fishes for the poor?” 

The old feline put a funnel to her ear. I sighed and tried once more. 

“I said, back there, I accidentally knocked several dishes onto the floor, and they shattered.” This time she heard me, coming out from behind the counter, the old cat smiled, “Oh dearie, that happens all the time. I commend you on your honesty. Half the people who come through here run out without saying a word.”  After we walked over to the aisle where I had broken the dishes, she clapped her paws together and the broken pieces began mending themselves in mid-air right in front of my eyes. “Truly, it was brave and honorable of you to come forward about this.”  

The china shop melted away and the white fabric door appeared again. 

This time, I was not falling; instead I walked into the green sphere-shaped room. The Satyr Council greeted me. Grayhelm came over to me,  dressed in a long silver robe. The audience of satyrs wore fine silks in honor of my completion of the challenges. Grayhelm spoke: 

“Rosalia, you have passed our challenges. Do you accept your earned right as our queen?” As I looked around, at the waiting audience in their finery with their expectant faces, I was filled with love, strength, and purpose. Purpose to protect my fellow satyrs. I’d bring them peace and joy. 

“I do accept!” I replied regally.

Grayhelm placed a silver crown on my head. 

“Congratulations! You are now Rosalia, queen of Satyr Kingdom!” The satyrs clapped and cheered and bowed to me. 

*** 

“And that my dear little doe is how I became Queen and why you are a princess!” 

Nestled into her grandma’s lap the little doe yawned.  “When I grow up, I want to be just like you Grammy.”  

“You will make a fine queen one day my dear. I love you too, my little doe. Now let’s get you to bed.” 

 

***