CETHOSIA

Queen Arcadia is sitting on an opulent chair made of opal with an ancient book closed on her lap. There are sprites and faeries flying all around her. Three sprites are on her shoulder looking down at the book and whispering in her ear.

Chapter One

Today is Saturday! It is story day in the realm of Queen Arcadia.

All around Queen Arcadia there is the soft flicking of wings.

Shhhhh ……… listen, listen

‘Read us the story Queen Arcadia. Read us the story.’

Queen Arcadia smiles. ‘Do you like to sit in your garden and look at the butterflies chasing the wind and playing among the flowers?’ The sprites and faeries nod and laugh. Three fly over to sit on her shoulder, they whisper to each other and point down to the ancient storybook. Another sprite hovers just above her right ear. He wants to be able to see all the illustrations.
‘This is a story of two special butterflies. Princess Cethosia, a beautiful lacewing butterfly, and Papilio Ulysses, a handsome mountain-blue butterfly. Shall I read you the story?’

The sprites and faeries all clap their hands in excitement and gather round Queen Arcadia, who begins to read the story ……………

Shhh ……. perhaps we can hear the story too

ψ

Cethosia had just come out of her chrysalis and was stretching her wings for the first time. It was so glorious to be out and about in the sunshine. It was so glorious to feel the breeze and see all the colours of the world.

Just then, a breath of wind toppled her off the branch.

She fell.

She fell and fell, down past the eucalypt flowers, down past the spiky banksia leaves and down toward the running stream where fish swam and waited for tasty morsels to land on the water.
‘Beat your wings! Beat your wings!’

Cethosia tried to beat her wings but it only made her tumble more.

‘Beat your wings and fly!’

Cethosia concentrated and concentrated and beat her wings. She began to fly! It was like when you flap your arms and pretend to fly, except that you DO go up in the air. Wouldn’t that be good!

She was just in time.

She stopped falling and rather unsteadily began to fly, just like the butterflies you see in your garden: up, and uuuup, and across, and over, and across, and down. For an instant, her left wing touched the water just above the nose of a waiting catfish. The catfish stirred and opened its mouth, but she had flown away. She flew over to a wattle tree, its rich golden flowers bursting all around, and stepped lightly on to one of the silvery green leaves.

The grumpy catfish sank back into the stream.

The other butterfly flew over and settled next to her. She could see he was a very handsome butterfly with beautiful blue colours on his wings.

‘Thank you for saving me,’ said Cethosia, a little shyly.

‘Oh, that is all right,’ replied Papilio in a rather bored voice, as though he saved beautiful butterflies all the time.

‘What is your name?’ asked Cethosia.

‘My name is Papilio Ulysses. I am named after an ancient Greek hero,’ he replied. ‘What is your name?’

‘My name is ........, Oh, I am not sure what my name is. No one has told me. How do we find out our name?’

‘We have to find another butterfly who looks like you. Let’s go and look together.’

‘Yes, I would like that!’ said Cethosia and with a little whoop of joy she jumped off the leaf and spread her wings.

‘It is so lovely flying about!’ cried Cethosia. ‘I should like to do it for ever and ever!’

Just then, a gust of wind tumbled both butterflies over and over. They went down, and then across, and then up and up and up. Then the gust of wind passed them on to a flowing breeze. Cethosia was still getting used to flying and she would sometimes stumble on a particularly difficult crosscurrent of air. Papilio smiled and stumbled as well, pretending it was a game. That way he was able to show her how to fly without, which would have made any butterfly exceedingly cross, always correcting her or telling her how.

They flew with the breeze: over the dappled carpet of tree tops; over a craggy outcrop of rocks that looked just like a grandfather bent over and leaning on his walking stick; over a tumbling stream with silver wattles and white bottlebrush along the banks; over thorny bushes where little fairy wrens darted in and out, flashes of brilliant blue.

‘I’m puffed!’ cried out Cethosia.

‘So am I!’ yelled Papilio.

Just then, the wind decided to play with something else and it let them go. The butterflies tumbled over one last time and started to drop down to the ground, down into a little forest of wattle trees where they were hidden among the long green leaves and little puffs of gold. They flew over to a large branch and lightly stepped on to one of the leaves. After gently raising and lowering their wings three times, they raised them one last time and looked around.

‘That was fun,’ Papilio panted softly. ‘ I wonder where we are.’

‘Look at all those beautiful golden flowers. Are you hungry, Papilio? I am starving.’ Cethosia walked over to some wattle flowers and delicately started to eat the nectar. Papilio joined her and they feasted together.

Soon they flew over to a leaf to have a rest in the shade. They were both very tired from the flying and before long, their eyelids became droopy. They tried and tried to stop their eyelids from shutting but it became harder and harder, until...................

‘What are you doing here!?’ demanded a beautiful butterfly, who looked just like Cethosia. But her wings were black and fiery-red.

Cethosia’s and Papilio’s eyes instantly opened wide.

‘I beg your pardon,’ asked Cethosia looking up.

‘I said, what are you doing here?’ repeated the butterfly with the fiery-red wings. Her eyes sparkled with amusement and she smiled as she spoke to show that she was not to be feared.
‘We came here on the wind. Who are you?’ replied Cethosia.

‘My name is Cethosia cydippe chrysippe. Quite a mouthful, isn’t it?’

‘I am not sure what my name is,’ said Cethosia.

‘Oh, that is easy. It is Cethosia cydippe, without the chrysippe. You are a cousin of mine. See, our wings are just the same shape and we have the same patterns. It’s just that you have different colours. Yours are blue and mine are black and red.’

‘Thank you, ........... Cethosia.’ said Cethosia who then turned to introduce Papilio. ‘This is Papilio, my friend.’

‘Hello, Papilio,’ said Cethosia’s cousin.

Papilio smiled and then, after an awkward pause, exclaimed, ‘Cethosia!’

‘Yes!’ the two cousins replied.

‘No, Cethosia, Cethosia without the chrysippe. Do you like your name?’ asked Papilio.

‘Oh yes!’ cried Cethosia, ‘It is a lovely name!’

‘Yes, it is a pretty name. It suits you as you are a very beautiful butterfly,’ said Papilio, as though he said very pleasing things to girl butterflies all the time.

Cethosia blushed a little and started to play with a wattle flower.

‘Where are you planning to go now?’ asked Cethosia’s cousin.

‘We hadn’t thought about it,’ said Papilio. ‘ But I would very much like to go exploring. What about you, Cethosia, ……… and Cethosia, would you like to come too?’

‘I am much too old to go exploring,’ said Cethosia’s cousin. ‘But before you go I would like to tell about Arcadia, the Queen of the butterflies. Perhaps you would like to try to find her castle. Would you like to hear?’

Cethosia and Papilio looked at each other.

‘Yes!’ they cried out together. ‘We would very much like to hear about Queen Arcadia!’

Cethosia’s cousin settled down on a leaf beside a wattle flower. She took a small sip of nectar from the flower and began.


Arcadia was the first butterfly. She had grown up as a gum blossom fairy. One day she had a bitter argument with one of her sisters, Regan.

Regan had been born with a black heart and was always bullying the small fairies. Arcadia had caught Regan just as she was just about to lead a group of the little fairy children into the Dark Glen. The Dark Glen was a forbidden place ruled by an evil king who had been imprisoned there by the High Kings. Regan had to answer to the High Kings. She was banished from the kingdom. Two Princes led her to the edge of the kingdom and cast her out. Regan went only a little way and then she hid behind a tree.

‘I will live close to the kingdom until Arcadia grows up. Then I will return to see how I can gain my revenge,’ thought Regan. She then searched around in the forest to find a place where she could live until that time came.

Now, in the ancient times, when a gum blossom fairy grew up she would become the queen of a new species of insect. That is how all the different types of insects came into existence. The High Kings allowed each gum blossom fairy to choose her own new species. Some gum blossom fairies had become bees, some had become ants and some of the mischievous ones had become spiders. One gum blossom fairy, who was especially good at jumping, became the queen of grasshoppers. When Arcadia grew up and it was her time to choose she decided she would like to give the world colour and beauty.

She knelt down before the High Kings and pulled her brightly coloured cape about her. Mist rose out of the ground and covered Arcadia. Then the sun and the moon sent out rays of light, which joined into a single brilliant beam that shone directly onto Arcadia.

Instantly the mist dispersed. A rainbow arched out from the quivering cape and disappeared into the clouds where the gods were said to live.

The cape lay huddled on the ground. It lay still. Then it started to move, ever so slowly. A pair of dazzlingly exquisite, rainbow-coloured wings slowly emerged. They grew and grew. Arcadia arched her neck and two large beautiful eyes looked up at the Kings, who all smiled down at her.

‘You have chosen well,’ they said.

Arcadia flew up and stepped lightly onto the golden crown of one of the Kings.

The king laughed.

‘Go Arcadia and dwell in the kingdom around the sacred mountain. From you will issue forth a new species called ‘butterfly’. They will be gentle creatures who will spread to all areas of the world and bring colour and joy to many people.’

Watching all this was Regan who had sneaked back into the kingdom as she had planned to do all those years before. She had seen Arcadia turn into a butterfly. Her face contorted into a sneer. She then turned her back and went to the evil king who ruled the Dark Glen. She begged of him one last wish before she left the kingdom, forever. The evil king gazed at her for a long time. Showing no fear Regan stood firm and met his gaze. Finally, the evil king’s withered face slowly shattered into a grimace and he croaked, ‘What is it, that wish my dear?’
‘I have grown up,’ Regan replied. ‘I am now entitled to be a queen. I want to be queen of wasps. I will feed on butterflies, especially while they are helpless caterpillars, for all eternity.’

The evil old king chuckled and then with a roar he bought forth a great wind that dashed her from the kingdom. In the wind his voice screamed, ‘Your wish is granted!’

Cethosia and Papilio sat still, not talking, their eyes wide with wonderment.

Cethosia’s cousin continued ........

Arcadia built her Castle at the base of the sacred mountain. The mountain is the centre of a rich valley. It has three rivers that start in the foothills of the mountain and then wind their way around to finally meet at a place called ‘Tumbulgum’ which means ‘meeting of the waters’. The three small rivers become one great river, which then slowly meanders down to the sea. It travels first through rich rain forest and then, as it gets closer to the sea, through sandy mangrove swamps full of scuttling blue crabs.

Legend says that to get to the valley you must fly with the sea to your left wing. When you see the sacred mountain that will mean you have nearly reached the valley. You cannot miss the mountain as it can be seen for many day’s travel. It looks like this.

Cethosia’s cousin then drew a shape in the dust like three waves, each lower than the other. The first wave was sharp and tall. The second was more rounded and lower than the first.
The third, lower again, was broader and rounder.

Follow the coast until you reach the river. Follow the river up the valley and it will lead you to the sacred mountain where you will find Arcadia’s castle.

If you can find her castle, and if you can enter it, you will live forever.

‘We will go,’ said Papilio bravely.

Cethosia’s cousin smiled.

Beware! When Regan became queen of the wasps she was not content to let them live in peace. She split the wasps into two Kingdoms. A Kingdom of fierce Killer Wasps under King Exeirus and a Kingdom of smaller, gentler Wasps, under King Diapriid. She then caused them to have great enmity towards each other by casting a dark spell of hatred. The two Kingdoms have fought each other to this day. Yet, no one can remember how their hatred began or why they fight each other still. It just is.

At one time, in the early days, the gentle wasps under King Diapriid tried to fight against Regan’s power. However, she was too strong and turned against them. In her spite, she made the Killer Wasps her favourites and gave King Exeirus special dark powers.

In those early days, Regan tried many times to destroy Queen Arcadia’s castle. However, her power was not strong enough.

Unable to destroy the castle Regan chose the Killer Wasps, her favourites, as guards to surround the castle and imprison Queen Arcadia. King Exeirus swore a special ‘Dark Oath’ never to let Queen Arcadia out of her castle or to let any butterfly in.

If the Killer Wasps catch you, they will kill you. That is why very few butterflies have ever tried. None have ever reached the castle.

Cethosia’s cousin, having finished her story, sat back and waited.

Papilio looked at Cethosia. Cethosia felt a strange sensation. The story had frightened her. Yet she also felt strong. Somehow, she knew, she was destined to reach the castle. She walked over to her cousin.

‘Thank you for telling us the story. I would like to try, with Papilio. I wish you could come with us,’ said Cethosia, taking her cousin’s hand in hers.

‘I have been very happy with my life. My days of adventure are over. Yours have just begun. Go carefully.’ Cethosia’s cousin replied.

She had indeed had many adventures. She was one of Queen Arcadia’s Heralds who had been sent specially to tell Cethosia the story. The story was a seed planted in Cethosia’s mind. It was her destiny.


Chapter 2

Cethosia and Papilio flew up, caught the breeze, and were off. They climbed and climbed to catch an air current that would keep the sea on their left wings. Flying along they felt a thrill of exhilaration and excitement.

The clouds in the air billowed and tumbled into the highest reaches of the sky. They were like giant castles being made by impatient gods. The sun was throwing out great splashes of orange and streaks of red as it sank over the mountains to the west, dragging the night sky behind it. Then, the first star started to twinkle in the east.

‘We should find a place for the night!’ yelled Papilio. ‘Let’s go down and see what’s in that forest over there.’

The two butterflies, who had become expert flyers by now, let themselves out of the air stream and floated back to earth like a pair of richly coloured autumn leaves.

They came down into a copse of banksia trees with three tall gums standing in the centre.
They stepped lightly onto a branch, next to a rich red banksia flower, and delicately supped at the nectar.

A Christmas beetle with golden, speckled wings came over with her children and made herself comfortable on the branch. The children were soon running about and tumbling over each other. Cethosia laughed as two little beetles, who were playing a game of chasing, ran under her legs.

Papilio pretended to ignore them until little Jonathon stood on his foot.

‘Ouch!’ started Papilio, looking around indignantly.

Cethosia laughed again and put her arm around the little beetle.

Mrs Beetle came over to the two butterflies.

‘Hello, are you staying here for the night as well?’ asked Mrs Beetle.

‘Yes,’ replied Cethosia. ‘We are on our way to the realm of Queen Arcadia. Do you know if it is far away?’

‘I have heard of it,’ said Mrs Beetle, ‘but only in legend. My parents used to tell me stories of the Killer Wasps that surrounded it and the evil queen, Regan. I only know that if you fly with the sea to your left wing your are supposed to find it.’

‘We are very tired,’ said Papilio. ‘Would you mind being guard while we have a little sleep. Wake me in a while and I will look out while you sleep.’

‘That is very sensible,’ said Mrs Beetle. ‘You sleep over there and I will put my children to bed also.’

With a sharp look and a shrill little cry Mrs Beetle soon had her children scurrying around her legs. They knew that shrill sound meant danger and to come home at once. Mrs Beetle led them off to a shelter and tucked them into a bed.

The night closed in and the stars came out like sparklers scattered across the pitch-black sky. Everything was still and quiet. After a while, the gentle sounds of the night insects and animals going about their business floated through the air. Safe sounds. A light breeze slowly stirred the leaves. Mrs Beetle sat near her children and listened. A sharp cry sometimes carried through the air as a bird or a night animal called out. Insects flew about and bumped into branches and leaves. Small sounds of the night. Safe sounds.

A scratch. A faint scratch.

Mrs Beetle looked up.

Nothing.

The night sounds went on.

Another scratch, a little nearer.

Mrs Beetle looked around again.

Nothing.

A scratch, followed by a sudden rush of movement.

‘WATCH OUT! FLY! IT’S MR LIZARD!’ shrilled Mrs Beetle.

The two butterflies were immediately awake and flew straight up into the night sky.

Mrs Beetle also flew into the night with her children swarming around her.

The lizard stood on the branch looking at his supper flying away to the next tree, his head moving gently from side to side.

‘My heart is beating so fast. Thank you Mrs Beetle,’ cried Cethosia. ‘ Are all your children safe?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ said Mrs Beetle. ‘Little Jonathon bumped his head because he was sleeping under a twig, but otherwise we are all fine.’

Little Jonathon sat next to Mrs Beetle rubbing his head and looking a little sad and sleepy.

‘I will stay awake now, if you would like to sleep Mrs Beetle,’ said Papilio. ‘You can also get some more sleep Cethosia. It will be another long day tomorrow.’

‘I am still excited from the lizard,’ said Cethosia. ‘I should like to stay awake with you Papilio, for a while, if you please.’

Papilio was very pleased.

Mrs Beetle herded her children into a safe place and after settling in front of them, she went to sleep.

Cethosia and Papilio sat together in silence. After a while Papilio took Cethosia’s hand in his. They sat listening to the sounds of the night. The moon climbed into the night sky, basking the bush with a soft yellow glow. It smiled down benevolently on the two butterflies.

Cethosia soon fell asleep.

Papilio looked at her and sighed.

He whispered, ‘You are the most beautiful butterfly in the world, and I will protect you forever with my life.’

He then brushed her wing lightly and settled in for the long night watch.

A faint, rose-pink glow heralded the new dawn. Banks of clouds hugged the horizon where the ocean met the sky, far out to the east.

Slowly, one patch of clouds started to glow brighter and brighter. Soon it began to sparkle.

Bright, silver lights danced in and about the clouds, like children too excited to stay in bed.

Then, the top of the sun’s head peeked out. The clouds welled up and the sun disappeared again, as if it had thought it was too early and had gone back to bed. The silver lights, like naughty children, all jumped and bounced around the clouds, telling the sun to get up. It’s time to get up!

Then it rose. It heaved itself up and smiled on the earth; basking it in light and casting the first shadows of the day; long dawn shadows that danced through the leaves.

‘Wake up, Cethosia, wake up,’ whispered Papilio, gently shaking Cethosia’s shoulder.

‘Oh, Ummm.’ Cethosia blinked her eyes and then saw Papilio. She smiled and felt warm and happy all over.

‘Hello, Papilio,’ she said sleepily, then with a start.

‘Why did you not wake me to stand guard?’

‘You were tired, so I let you sleep. I wasn’t tired anyway,’ replied Papilio, stifling a big yawn.
Cethosia smiled to herself.

‘Thank you Papilio, but I must take my turn from now on.’

‘Lets have some breakfast and then head off again,’ said Papilio. He walked over to a flower and delicately sniffed inside.

‘Good morning,’ said Mrs Beetle. ‘How are you this beautiful morning?’

‘We are both very well Mrs Beetle, thank you,’ said Cethosia, ‘What do you plan to do today?’

‘Oh, I think I might stay here for a while and let the children play. Before you go, I would like to warn you of the Deep Gorge you have to cross today. It is the Kingdom of the Killer Wasps. There is a castle in the middle shaped like an old gnarled tree. That is where King Exeirus lives. If you are to cross over the gorge, you must fly low through the shrubs and make sure nothing sees you.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Beetle,’ said Papilio. ‘Is there no way around this gorge?’

‘No. It is said that Regan caused a terrible gash in the earth with one of her lightening bolts. That gash became the Deep Gorge. Regan gave it to King Exeirus as his Kingdom. It goes on for ever and ever, and no-one has ever found the end,’ replied Mrs Beetle.

‘We will be careful then,’ said Cethosia. ‘Goodbye Mrs Beetle. Goodbye children.’

‘Goodbye and good luck!’ Mrs Beetle waved to the two butterflies as they flew up and searched for a wind to carry them along. They were careful to keep the ocean to the left of their wings.