I  woke up to the bustling streets of London. There had been an abnormal heat wave that sent melting garbage fumes into the air. My nose cringed when I stepped into the light of the window. I swiftly latched it closed. I woke up my eldest sibling, Charlie, my big brother. He was 13. I let the little ones sleep. We tip-toed around the room, shuffling things around.

My name is Haley. My family, the McNallys, specialized in baking. Mrs. Mcnally was the baker and Mr. Mcnally made all the display tables because he had wonderful skills in carving. They own the McNally Bake Goods and Furniture. All of us were lawfully the McNally children. But really, most of us were adopted. Some of us who were disliked by our parents were thrown onto the streets to fend for ourselves. Charlie was orphaned when his mother and father died of a horrible disease. He was caught stealing baked goods from their parent’s store, but instead of being given to the police, he was taken in and they put a roof over his head.

The McNally parents were great ones. They had taught the ruthless children manners, math, and English. I was found at their doorstep, March 5th, 1954. I did not have a birth certificate so, it had become my new birthday, All I had was a torn piece of paper that said, Haley. I always wondered what my mother looked like and why I have blonde hair and green eyes. Sapphire was found just about six years ago. Disliked by her parents because she was a club foot baby and looked nothing like her parents were given to a butcher. She was given proper care to take care of her club foot problem. The butcher was a very nice man. When she was two the butcher was killed in a car crash so she set foot on the streets and was caught and sent to a orphanage. After two months the McNally parents adopted her. The twins did not have much of a backstory, all that I know is that they were found in an alleyway being taken care of by a dog. They had also taken in the dog but it had died three years after from giving birth to two small puppies. One was sold and we kept the other and his name is dotty because he  has a huge dot that surrounds his left eye.

 

It was 7:00, I had now woken up all the children. We opened a patched curtain that split the room into two, one for the girls and one for the boys. Saphire, my little sister, had already got partially dressed. And Sofia was running around in her undies followed by her twin brother, Adam who was in his undies too. They ducked in and out of the rooms not thinking one bit about privacy.  After scolding the twins, I finally got dressed. I put on my white blouse and blue skirt. I did not mind to put on my blazer from the temperature outside even though I could get in serious trouble without a full uniform. I helped Sapphire zip up her dress and fix her hair into a braid with a bow. I also helped Sophia put her tie on.

“Everybody decent!” I called to the boys, from behind the curtain.

“As always!” William replied. William was the actual son of the McNally family. After a nice breakfast and head aching school, mom and dad told us to go clear out the attic. When we were up there William and Adam found a picture of a pond with a duck in it.

“What’s that Adam?” William said he was trying to help Adam with his speech.

“Wucky,” Adam said. Then something weird happened. The ground started shaking and everything started spinning.

“Everybody stay still,” I screamed. Grabbing Sapphire I hugged her wishing it was going to be okay. There was a bright light and suddenly I was swimming in a pond. It was the from the picture of the pond and the duck! I suddenly panicked the twins! They could not swim! I swam over to their cries and splashes. I dragged both of them out, Charlie dealing with the others. They were both shivering and Sofia was crying. I noticed that the grass was red leading up to Sofia… Oh! No! I quickly turned to see a huge flesh wound that was covered in dirt. I tore off her tie and shirt quickly wetting her tie and cleaning out the cut and cradling her at the same time. I made long strings out of her shirt and wrapped them around her body making a shirt without sleeves. William tore off his sweater vest and making a carrying bundle. I wrapped her in it. After we were all laying in the sun drying. Sophia had stopped crying, just wincing when she tried to move.

William said, “Where are we?”

The two twins had fallen fast asleep and William and Sapphire had explored the land before them. The sky was like fallen paint buckets all swirled and smooth. I and Charlie were drying everyone’s clothes near a fire and a twig den. William had killed a squirrel and we cooked it over a fire where we had warmed our clothes. I had turned the boy’s shirts into a nice blanket using the bones of the squirrel and tree bark as a needle in the thread. I never knew history class would actually help me.  We have been learning about the Lenape and how they survived. We practiced sewing and cooking over a fire. I placed the twins in the hut and had placed the blanket on them, also cleaning Sophia’s cut once more. It did not look great. The whole wound had been covering itself in a slimy substance and a rash was forming around the cut.

“That’s pretty bad,” came a voice behind me. I swiveled backward to see a goose the size of a small toddler with a cap. I screamed fairly loud.

Charlie took a stick and said, “Stay away you duck!”

“Actually I am a pure breed goose,” said the huge goose, patting his cap down.

“Wucky!” said Adam who had arisen from the hut.

“Well, It is amazing to be in your presence your majesty,” bowed the duck.

“We must go to the queen and king immediately they have been expecting you for a very long time”  “what were you up too?” he quacked.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, my name is Galileo The Goose,” He then tipped his hat.

“Wucky can twalk?” Adam asked tugging on the pant sleeve on Charlie’s pant and pointing a chubby finger at the duck.

“Well, of course, I can talk,” He said astonished at the looks on our faces. He looked around at our tired faces and said, “If you want your sister’s wound to be fixed up then you better start waking up,” he said. Just like that everyone was up gathering little things and preparing for the journey. Somehow horses and a little carriage with two mattresses popped out of nowhere.

“You and you,” He said pointing at us. “Ride the horses, and the rest of you have a nice sleep on the mattress,” he said pointing at the littles. As we rode off in the dark I started to wonder, was this the best idea?  

It was already morning and the sun was peaking out from the hills. The small rays of light hit certain places. I was so tired that dark rings had painted themselves over my eyes. Then I saw the palace. It was too magnificent for words. It was a white palace, pure marble. But the most beautiful part was the sunlit, amber vines that embroidered the entire palace.

“Beautiful, isn’t it,” said the goose who was sitting in the back.

“It was the queen’s idea, a wonderful lady she is,” said the Galileo with envy.

As we entered the castle a beautiful lady greeted us. “Hello, I am Queen Loria,” Said the lady. She had a blue dress on with gold vines wrapped around her. Then perched on her shoulder was a beautiful cardinal.  “Come in!” She said ushering us into the palace. “You all look so very tired,” she said ruffling her cardinals feathers. As we all trudged up the stairs I saw Sophia being taken somewhere else.

“Where are you taking her?” I asked, my voice cracking from dehydration.

“She will be taken to the infirmary,” the queen said. I was too tired to get worried. When we got to a room I slipped off my shoes and went to sleep.

I woke up to an early morning. As I sat up I checked on everyone. Charlie was hugging Adam who had puffy eyelids and tear marks. Sapphire and William were holding hands. The queen had put out clothes for us, and a small scroll. This is what it said: at noon you will attend to a biscuit and tea party with the queen. First please use the washroom and clean yourself, wear the clothes put out for you. No shoes are required. I put the scroll back in its place and went to clean myself.

After a nice shower, everyone else had been up. I put on a wonderful butterfly dress and put my hair in a braid with a satin bow to put it together. Once we were all down, the queen told us some startling news.

“Your sister is fine,” she said. “But she will not be able to go on the quest,” she said. She had told us that the black clouds were dark shadows. They had once attacked the kingdom of Mildew. God granted them an amulet when he saw how much they were suffering. This amulet was no ordinary amulet. It had magical powers and got its nickname the amulet of light. A greedy prince tried to get hold of the amulet. But he was not fit for the job. He perished and the amulet was never seen again. But, it was told to be in the volcano of amber. It got its name because when it had erupted only hot amber came from it. She told us that the prophecy, that five children of Adam and Eve were to help fend off the dark shadows once again. I could see the dark shadows creeping up behind the mountains turning everything black.

“We will do it!” I said.

Once we were all packed for the trip, we mounted our horses and rode away. We went through rain and darkness. Dry days and wet. When we were finally there we all mounted off and looked at the volcano. The sky was darker than ever and the trees drooped and died. I was scared myself.

“Children, you must all press the amulet,” said Galileo. The amulet of light was just a tattered sack on a string. We all pressed on the amulet and said, “From the mountains in sight to the gods of night, we command the amulet of light.” It spun and things sparked back to life the sun shot out and made it all blue! It was wonderful. It was beyond the beyond.

We were all escorted back to the castle by royal guards. “I’m sad to say goodbye so since you all helped so much I have something for you,” said the queen. She snapped her fingers and little necklaces with a small piece of amber appeared on our necks. She said if we ever need any help to put the necklaces back together. And just like that, we were sent back to London 1964.