Shorts for Middle Grades

The Secret Sacred Order

“Toss! your stones into the sacred pit, upon the sacred fire!” he commanded, his voice stern and impressive.

Tiny beams of sunlight shone through the dried reeds and sticks that made up the walls of the ceremonial hut.  Hidden well into the forest where no other could discover, the sacred ritual progressed.

One by one the stones were tossed into a shallow pit as white smoke curled and caressed the surface and then absorbed its essence.  A young girl watched with curious eyes.  It was time for her to place her stone beside the others.  Her hand ran over the smooth, rounded surface.  She had selected one that was shaped like an ostrich egg.  It was significant of birth.  She was the first girl to become inducted into the secret order so it was appropriate for her to choose birth as her rite of passage.  Yet, she hesitated to include her stone with theirs.  It was hers and she wanted to keep it safe.

“Ahem!  Toss! your stone into the sacred pit, upon the sacred fire!” was repeated.

She turned her eyes upward toward the boy standing above her, wearing blue jeans and a red and blue striped shirt.  A ridiculously large, dirty sheet was tied around his neck and he held in his hand a tall stick with a string of chicken bones laced to the top.

“But I like my stone…” the girl began to say before she was interrupted.

“I said, Toss! your stone into the sacred pit, upon the sacred fire!” the boy repeated.

“But, Billy…,” she pleaded.

“My name is not Billy, Jenni, my name is William! of the Wood!” he thundered in the deepest voice he could muster.

“Billy…,” Jenni whispered.  “I mean, William! of the Wood!” she added in a louder, deeper tone.  “Do I have to…?”

“Do ya’ wanna be in the Secret Order of the Tenisall or not?” William asked, interrupting the girl.  She thought for a moment and then looked up and nodded slowly.

“Toss…! toss the stone, Jenni!” William said, his voice rising to a higher pitch.

Taking a deep breath and looking sadly at the smooth rock in her hands, the girl tossed it into the pit.  A loud ‘clack’ chased the smoke in all directions momentarily, but it soon returned to examine the inviting surface until it, too, disappeared in the fog.

William nodded with a pleased smile crossing his previously serious lips.  “The sacred fire is appeased,” he reported.

“Brother Joe…,” he stated, turning to the first boy to his left.  “Stand.”

The boy stood slowly and shifted his feet nervously.  Jenni looked up at the boy in awe while picking nervously at the frayed edges of her pants.  The room was silent but for the chirp of birds and the clap of leaves on the surrounding trees.

“You shall now be known as Josefi of the Trees.  No other member of the Secret Sacred Order of the Tenisall shall know you by another name.  Your brethren…,” he hesitated for a brief moment and looked over at Jenni, “…and sisteren… shall address you as such for always and forever.  Be seated.”

The boy smiled and looked at the others seated around the fuming pit.  He was obviously pleased with his new name, Jenni thought.

William looked down on the boy seated next to Josefi and pointed.  “Brother Allan…,” he paused dramatically.  “Rise.”

The boy smiled and rose to his feet.  He looked expectantly at William, waiting to be bestowed with his new moniker.

“From this day forward,” William spoke, as the others looked on.  “You shall be known as Allanius of the Sea.  Your brethren and sisteren shall always refer to you as thus.”

Hushed whispers greeted the new Allanius of the Sea.  “Be seated, Allanius of the Sea,” William ordered and the boy obeyed happily.

The boys seated to each side of Allanius patted him on the back in congratulations and then shifted restlessly.  Boys --and lone girl—sat anxiously staring at the next boy in line to be endowed with the honor of the Tenisall.

“Brother Fred…,” William’s voice boomed.  “Rise.”

Fred rose, too quickly, so that his long thin legs became entangled in each other, causing him to fall into the boy seated to his left.  Temporary pandemonium ensued until William was rolling his eyes and the mood inside the hut was less than sacred.

He waited until the secret order was settled and then looked upward to Fred’s tall, gawkish form.  “From this day forward…,” he began and then hesitated.

Jenni began to wonder about his hesitation.  She looked up at William and then back to Fred.  What was he waiting for?  Did he forget Fred’s name?  Were the “Gods” not inspiring him with a name as elegant as Josefi or as powerful as Allanius? The silence in the hut was deafening.  The tension was climbing and Jenni felt like she was about to burst.  The hot summer sun beat through the leaves and warmed the ceremonial room.  Sweat dripped slowly down Fred’s neck and tickled his back as he stared anxiously at William! of the Wood.

“Well, are ya’ gonna tell us or not?” Jenni shouted.

“I’m doin’ it, Jenni, you just shouldn’t interrupt or I lose my concentration,” William whispered.

“Fregious…,”he boomed as Jenni closed her eyes tightly, praying that Fred’s new name would be a worthy one, “…of the Frogs.”

“Oh…,” Jenni answered nervously as everyone else looked immediately in her direction.

Fred looked back at William who stood majestically waiting.  Everyone looked up to Fred and then back at William.  They understood how important it was to have a good name and they wondered at the significance of the ‘Frogs’ portion.  William was their leader and he must have had a pure intent when he gave the label to Fred.

“You…, he continued with all eyes trained on him.  “Will be able to leap forth… ahead of your brethren… and you shall…,” he hesitated.

“…and sisteren…,” Jenni interjected.

“Huh?” William asked.

“And sisteren..,” Jenni whispered loudly.

“Oh… and sisteren…,” William added.  “And you shall be…,” he continued and then stopped again, unable to grasp the next word.

“Green!” Jenni shouted excitedly.

William looked at her and then smiled. “You shall be Green, with pride.” He said and looked up at the young man who stared apprehensively back at him.

All eyes shifted to Fred.  They waited uneasily for his response, anything to tell them if he accepted it or not.  The moment passed painfully slow and Fred looked at the expectant faces of those seated on the hard ground.  Then he smiled, also and a relieved smile crossed William’s face.  The others exhaled as Fred sat amongst them once again.  He was still an esteemed member of the order.

Finally, William reached Jenni.  “Sister Jenni…,” he said and she held her breath. “Rise.”

She looked at those seated around her and slowly, carefully, rose to her feet.  She felt tall and strong and regal.  She hoped that her new moniker would be a good one; Nothing frog-like or dirty. She had wanted to be a princess with pink ponies for as long as she could remember and hoped her brother recognized and respected that.

William cleared his throat and stood straight with a stern look on his face.  “From this day forward…,” he began and then stopped.

OH, no, Jenni thought, he’s stalling.  He doesn’t have a good name for me.  He’s about to hit a home run and he’s gonna choke.  How could he?  This was important.  It meant everything to her personal image.  Did he realize that he held her future self-esteem in his very hands?  He closed his eyes tightly again and swallowed hard.  It was worse than when she waited for Fred’s name; mostly because it was hers.  He’d better get it right, she thought.”

“You shall be known as… Jenn… a… la…,” he said, hesitating annoyingly, “Jennala… of the Sprites.” He finished, finally, and wiped the beads of sweat gathering on his forehead.

The boys around the sacred pit stared quietly forward.  Then they looked up at Jennala apprehensively.  She looked at them disappointedly.  She couldn’t believe she heard him correctly.  He got it wrong.

“I want to be something more ‘princessy’, and with ponies or fairies with lots of bright, pretty colors,” she finally answered with her hands on her hips, looking her big brother straight in the eyes.

Silence fell over the room.  It was the moment that would set William! of the Wood apart from Jennala of the Sprites.  He had to exert his authority.  He had to show everyone who was really their leader.  Not a voice was heard.  Not a breath was breathed.  All sat motionless as the showdown took form in that small hut in the forest.

“You didn’t let me finish…,” William said under his breath to the girl on his right.  “You shall be know, from this day forward, as Jennala…,” he began again and looked at the various expressions on the faces of those around him.

He had to salvage what was left of his dignity.  He had to show that he was really boss.  He would be their leader for eternity or until they became bored with it.  That was who he was and who he would always be.  Jennala would have to accept it.

“…of the Sprites, Queen of the Fairies…,” he added quickly and everyone turned quickly to Jennala.

Jennala looked at her brother with a pensive expression on her face.  Then she smiled and nodded acceptingly.  William breathed a sigh of relief and Jennala of the Sprites, Queen of the Fairies sat down and crossed her legs.

The boys around the pit smiled and nodded their approval.  Then William straightened his mighty back again and pounded his scepter on the sodden floor of the hut.  Chicken bones clicked against the shaft randomly and all were, once again, staring up at their fearsome leader.

“Be! it known throughout the land that these proceedings are secret unto the order of the Tenisall and that no other is to know your honor name.  Any person who shall divulge the secrets of the Secret Sacred Order of the Tenisall shall have their liver cut out and boiled in hot oil!” their leader instructed.

A look of concern came over the members of the order as they watched their leader thoughtfully, that is, all but Jennala of the Sprites, Queen of the Fairies.  She was looking down into the sacred pit of the sacred fire.

“Your fire is almost gone, William,” she notified.  “Better get more dry ice from Mom.”

Suddenly the eerie creak of a screen door broke the tension inside the hut.  “Billy!  Jenni! Time for lunch!” they could hear her call from several yards away.

“See ya” later, guys!” Jennala said and picked up her sacred stone from the sacred pit.  Then she skipped across the lawn and up the steps to the back door of their house.  They heard a loud creaking and then a slam.

The boys sat for only seconds in silence before they coiuld hear the girl’s voice again.  “Guess what, Mom?” Jennala chirped happily.  “I have a new name and it’s Jennala of the Sprites, Queen of the Fairies.  Isn’t that cool?” she proudly chattered.

“That’s nice, Honey,” her mother replied.

“And Billy’s is William! of the Wood!  I think it’s too boyish, but he seems to like it so I guess it’s cool,” she added.

In the quiet hut, William hung his head and shook it back and forth.  “Maybe ya’ shouldn’t of invited your sister,” Josefi whispered to him.

“Had to.  The fort’s hers,” William told him with a look of regret on his face.

“Hey, William of the Wood, are you coming in for lunch or do I have to come get you?” he heard his mother call out from the kitchen window.

“Mom, What’s a Tenisall?” William could hear Jennala ask as he trudged up the stairs to their house.

“I don’t know, Honey…,”