The elegant woman crossed her arms and waited for Jasper to come out. She stared in a way that demanded immediate obedience.

  Jasper gulped and froze. He’d never been spotted before, no matter how risky the prank. But he felt a connection with her that told him he’d been spotted. He jumped and tried to run, fearful instincts kicking in without his control, but he hit his head on the tree he’d been hiding near and fell on his back, hard. He stumbled around a bit in the leaves and brush as he desperately tried to get to his feet.

  “Like a frightened deer,” the glaring one commented.

  The bump on his head, and the insult he heard, gave Jasper a little courage. Realizing these three would probably follow him if he ran, he came out and waved, smiling as best he could.

  “Hello,” Jasper said.

  The unknown three stood staring at him.

  “Next time you sense someone spying on us,” the glaring one said to the woman, now glaring at Jasper, “inform me of it.”

  “I do what is necessary for the situation,” the elegant woman said, taking a step toward Jasper with a welcoming smile. “What is your name, young one?”

  Jasper didn’t like being called young, but he kept his composure. “Jasper,” he said. “Where are you from?”

  “We hale from a land far away. I’m certain you’ve never heard of it, so it is unnecessary for me to name it. Suffice to say, we’re not from here,” the elegant one said.

  Jasper thought these people talked very strangely.

  “So, Jasper, you seem to be an intelligent boy,” the elegant one continued. “Do you know where the nearest village is?”

  “Um, I think…” Jasper replied. He’d been to the surrounding villages many times before, exploring new paths on his own nearly every day. But he wasn’t very good at giving directions. “It’s, well, sort of that way, maybe.”

  Jasper did his best to point in the direction he thought the next village was. The three oddly-dressed folks followed his pointing with interest.

  “No, maybe…” Jasper said, and changed the direction. He realized that the three followed his hand with their eyes. Jasper grinned and moved his hand around in a zigzag way, laughing on the inside as he saw their eyes follow his hand intently. “Or maybe…”

  “He doesn’t know. Just teleport us somewhere else on this planet, Nin. Not that this kid isn’t funny,” the one with the copper beard said. “Maybe we’ll have better luck at another place.”

  “Agreed,” the elegant woman, Nin, said. She cleared her throat and closed her eyes in concentration. The other two looked like they were waiting for her to do something.

  “Hey, don’t go, you just got here,” Jasper said, and ran up to the three, not wanting to lose such interesting people quite yet. “What you looking for? Maybe I can help.”

   Nin opened her eyes and looked down at Jasper. Jasper gave her a very friendly smile and she rolled her eyes. “We’re looking for someone to accompany us back to where we’re from. Is there any one of importance in this area who would be willing to come with us?”

   “Just met the Matriarch,” Jasper said, not knowing anyone else. “I… where you going, exactly?” Jasper was now very curious, and a spark inside of him thought that maybe if he was helpful he could come along for this journey.

   “Far away,” the glaring one said.

   “To a place like you’ve never seen before. It’s a city, the greatest you will ever see, I guarantee you that. The people there are powerful and honorable and fill the city’s many buildings. This city is also home to a great power that will one day bring all the universe together in joyful peace. The food’s pretty good, too,” the happy one said with a smile. “Know anyone who would be interested?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

   Jasper took a step back, excitement overwhelming him. Are they from another world, he thought?

  “Julia!” he gasped.

   “Who is Julia?” Nin asked.

  “No one, I mean…” Jasper shook his head and recomposed his smile. “Of course I know someone who would like to go.” He put his hands out. “Me.”

  Something at the back of Jasper’s mind, something small and afraid, tried to warn him about what he was saying. Locked in the excitement of the moment, Jasper ignored it.

   The happy one actually laughed.

  Nin glared at him and said, “Forgive my friend his forwardness, but he is correct. And as much as I know you’d be willing to come with us, we’d prefer someone with more stature.”

   Jasper took a second to realize what she was saying. “Someone more important?” he asked.

   “That’s right.”

   “The Matriarch said no. She’s the most important person here, no one comes close. So why not me? You’re going to the stars, what’s one person to the next?”

   “Because we require someone to address our whole… did you say stars?” Nin asked.

   “He doesn’t look stupid. It’s obvious he’s figured it out,” the happy one said.

Nin sighed.

   Jasper’s heart soared with the confirmation of his hope. These three were not Mother-Dwellers! Jasper felt so excited he knew he was going to burst. But with the training that came from talking his way out of chores and mischief, he kept his nerves in check with a big smile.

  “The way I see it,” he said, “you could either ask some other Matriarch. They’ll probably say no, too, taking time and effort. Or, take me. I’m here, willing, and I’ll do and say what you want.”

   The glaring man’s opinion was obvious. But Nin seemed conflicted, obviously feeling rushed.

  “He’s got a point. Plus a kid might be good for a first,” the copper-bearded man suggested.

   A light came over Nin’s eyes. “As the Prophets set out as children in new worlds, so we bring a child to us,” she said. She smiled and looked down at Jasper, who returned her smiled with a quick chuckle. “Yes, yes.” She bent down and put a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

   Jasper fought for all his might not to jump up and down in joy. “Oh yes!” he said.

   “You know we’re leaving your world?”

   “Oh yes.” Jasper sent a joyful feeling to Julia and hoped he’d see her soon.

   “And this is approved by your parents?”

   “Oh…” Jasper felt like he’d been punched. But he recovered quickly. “My parents love the stars. They’ve always wanted me to go there.”

  Jasper smiled his best. It wasn’t really a lie. His father had often told him that if he wouldn’t stop staring at the stars he’d send him there personally.

   “Alright then,” Nin said, and stood up. She was obviously in her own thoughts, planning out something, and seeming very excited about it.

   “Shouldn’t we get some more? That’s what we talked about, right?” the happy one asked.

   “No, this one will do,” Nin said with a smile, and put her hand out.

  Jasper took it. She felt very soft.

  “One young child, one young mission. This makes the occasion much more symbolic,” Nin concluded.

   The glaring man grunted and said, “Makes it easier. I can get behind that.” And then he did a strange thing. He smiled at Jasper, using muscles that seemed untrained in this endeavor. “I’m Gorn Makift.” Gorn nodded a little bow of respect

   “Pleasure to meet you, Jasper, I’m Chrisholm Jen,” Chrisholm, the happy one, said. He removed Jasper’s hand from the woman’s and shook it vigorously. Jasper had no idea what the man was doing and tried to pull his hand free.

   “And I am Nin Zelinia,” the woman said with a smile and a slight tilt of her head.

   “Why do you have two names? One not enough?” Jasper asked.

   Nin turned and looked at the other two. “No, we have a first and a last name. Do you not have a surname, Jasper?”

   Jasper thought about this. “Surjasper?”

  Chrisholm laughed and said, “Cultural differences, I guess. We’ll get used to it in time, hopefully.”

  Nin nodded. “Now that we are introduced, we should be off. Come in close, Jasper.”

  Jasper got to near touching the woman’s strangely soft gown. He couldn’t stop smiling, looking ridiculous to the three travelers.

  “You might see a slight flash, Jasper, but you will be fine,” Nin explained. “Now, prepare yourself, as you will soon view the home of the Sevens Prophets.”

  “The what?” Jasper asked. He looked up and a blinding white light came from Nin’s crown. Jasper blinked and stepped back, rubbing his eyes.

  Jasper thought he must have walked onto a rocky patch of the path because the ground suddenly became very hard. He coughed, too, as his nose filled with a strange smell. He wondered if the light in his eyes was Nin burning something.

  After a few seconds, he blinked, seeing only red and unnatural, black silhouettes. He kept on blinking and tried to find a tree to lean on, grasping at nothing. His watery eyes slowly came into focus, seeing something very tall and pointed.

  He thought it was a great tree he’d never seen before. The moon seemed shining brighter than ever and glinted off the tree’s surface. Jasper quickly realized the sun, not the moon, was out, high and blazing in the sky. As the world fell into focus, he saw a huge spire stretching higher than he could possibly imagine and ending in a glistening orb. This was no tree.

  “Welcome to Sevens, Jasper,” Nin said, smiling ear to ear and gazing with joy at the enormous building.

  It was at that moment, when this new and wondrous thing had appeared before his eyes, when all his hopes and dreams of seeing something from the stars finally came true, that Jasper jumped back in shock and tried to run. But his legs failed him, too disoriented to move properly, and he fell on his knees with an embarrassingly loud flop.