After a long day, everyone returned to the hotel to freshen up and dress up for the upcoming festivities. Ma helped Sam, Danny, and Ted put on their tuxedos, and they looked adorable. The ladies, Ma, Julie, and Anna, were dressed in beautiful gowns. Ma wore a light blue chiffon bell dress, Julie wore a stunning yellow dress with white lace around the neck and a blue ribbon in her hair, and Anna wore a light lavender dress with a pink ribbon tied around her waist. Aunty M. wore a creamy white chiffon dress and took EJ's hand as they walked towards the carriages that would take them to Liberty Park. The footman was ready to open the doors for the hotel guests, all dressed in white and gold trim with golden silver swords by their side. Even the horses were decked out in their finest with a feather bonnet.
They could hear the music playing in the distance as they arrived at the park. The horse carriage train procession made a clip-clop sound as they traveled down Fifth and Second Street towards the park. The lights in the trees and the byways made it feel like they were the Kings and Queens of England. Ma's eyes sparkled like jewels in the night sky as she held Pa's hand.
When they arrived at the park, the carriage stopped, and the footman let each of them off one by one. EJ, dressed in his little tux, took Aunty M. and Danny's hand while they waited by the corner until they all arrived before entering the park. Sir Drealin and Aunty M. made sure that none of them got lost that night, and he accommodated their little group.
Sir Drealin and his wife, Ms. Tina Lenfind, had five daughters of their own who were just a little bit older and roughly the same ages as the boys, as well as a wee one named Delyn, short for Drealin and more American, according to her mother, yet named after her father. EJ thought their daughter Michel was the prettiest, and he tried not to blush when he looked in her direction. Richard liked or should say, couldn't keep his eyes off Gretchen, with her yellow curly hair and deep blue eyes that seemed to go on forever. Ma and Pa laughed and nodded in their direction every time he smiled, and she giggled when he touched her hand.
"Good grief," Richard and his women. EJ and Will nudged each other, rolling their eyes. You could hear the violins playing as they entered the room, and the ladies glided across the dance floor. It was as if they were walking on air with their partners.
It was a magical night as the music played on. Looking around the room at everyone, it was like watching flowers dancing on a pond in all their bright colors. Sir Drealin was right. It was nothing like going to a farmer's ho-down as they watched Pa and Ma glide across the floor doing the box step. Then Pa did a slow twirl and bowed. It was as if he was the prince and Ma was the princess, as Julie copied with her fellow she found in the crowd.
The boys were struggling with certain types of dances until Pa whispered in their ears, "Count, boys, that's how it's done." Pa took Ma by the hand, and Julie took EJ's. "One, slide to the left, two slides to the right, then back on three walks, one slowly, two slowly, three twirls. Then change it up any way you like, but keep the same count," he said, nodding as he watched them try it again. After mastering that part, "Now let's get the hands right, boys." He took Ma, put his hand around her back, and held his left hand to the square. "Keep your shoulder straight, boys, now walk. One, two, three, watch the feet twirl. That's how you do the American box step, boys," he replied.
After a few more minutes of dancing, the master of ceremonies walked into the middle of the room, followed by an ensemble of magical acts. The stage walls of curtains fell behind them with a loud explosion of lights and whistles all around them. Danny, Ted, and Sam's eyes went wide when a man entered the room with an elephant swinging its trunk. The elephant-headed towards them and stopped. It raised its trunk and roared, showing its tongue, while a man put his head inside and gave it a peanut. "Good elephant."
They saw all kinds of shows that night. Then they danced some more. It truly was for them a night to remember as they climbed the stairs to bed with Sam and Ted in Pa's arms and Danny sleeping in Richard's lap in the carriage. Ma and Pa made the rounds of the hotel rooms as they put the children to bed with smiles on their faces at the adventures they had today and the sights they saw in this little town.
Ma placed the three little ones in their bed. Sam is in the middle, and Ted and Danny are outside the bed. Ma Gave them each a goodnight kiss before pulling up the covers and turning out the lights. "Goodnight, my three angels, goodnight," Ma whispers to them, closing the door, and turning out the lights. Ma walked down the hall to the next room to tuck EJ and Will into bed and Robert and Mark into theirs, kissing each of their heads. "Did you have a good time tonight?" She asked.
"Yes, Ma, yes, ma'am."
"I'm glad. Now sleep, my darlings," she said as she brushed their hair. She gave them each a kiss on their cheeks one more time, then turned out the lights and closed the door.
She walked down the hall to the next room where Frank, Richard, and Peter shared a room. Laying a kiss on Richard's cheek, she tucks him in. "Thanks for staying with us," she said as she tucked him into bed.
"You're welcome, ma'am," he said as she closed the door and walked across the hall to her daughter's room and Aunty M's room to say goodnight.
She opened the door and found her daughters in bed, smiling. "Aunty M. said she went down for a nightcap, Ma, and will be right back," Julie said.
Ma watches her daughters brush their hair and climb into bed. She smiles and kisses them goodnight. After closing their bedroom door and turning off the light, she heads down the hall to join her husband in their room. As she walks, she notices a shadow crossing her path and feels a chill run down her arms. She turns and sees the shadow approaching her boys' room. Ma tries to open the door, but it's locked. She realizes that all her boys are supposed to be in the room, but she can't see or hear them. She panics and turns around to see the shadow of her son, EJ. He asks if everything is all right, and she assures him that it is before returning to her room.
As she counts her boys on her fingers, she realizes that one of them is missing. She runs back to her boys' room and turns on the light, only to find that the other boys are in a deep, unawakenable sleep. She screams for help as her husband and her friends Kollie and Renee rush in. They see her in a panic and the boys sleeping deeply, unable to wake them up.
Martha was weeping. "He was here, and in a moment, he's gone. Ma keeps crying as she points to the spot where he was, shaking uncontrollably. Wayne is frantically searching and banging on doors in the hotel corridors. Kollie is at the front desk, on the phone, and the hotel is in a panic, trying to locate the missing boy EJ.
Not far from where Aunty M. was, she saw her old friend Sir Drealin running towards her, shouting. "Madam, Lady Margaret, please come quickly. You must hurry," as he carried a letter. "Morgan has kidnapped him," he said, waving frantically and pointing down the street to the shadows in the distance. "Hurry, before it's too late," he screamed.
Morgan screeched and laughed. "Who did he kidnap?" Aunty M. replied, jumping up and gathering her skirts as she flew over the gutter.
"Your nephew, the little one, EJ," he said.
Aunty M, tares opened the letter, breaking the seal quickly.
"You were warned; now he is mine forever, as it should be. I have taken the boy; catch me if you can. You no longer have power over me and have wasted enough of my time, for I am faster than any thief and cleverer than any fox, my dearest Margaret, For the Darkness must live once more as the heavens begin to fall.
Join me or die like the rest. The time is coming when I shall rule once more. The boy is my Dark Prince, and his flesh is mine forever. Seek not the Light, for it hides among you as we grow strong. So does my power as the worlds collide into Darkness, for he bears new fruit as I reign once more.
-Lord Morgan. Soon to be your God!"-
"I will not help you, Morgan. I will see you rot in hell first." Aunty M. shouted angrily as she fell to her knees and looked into the shadows. "How dare you take him!" She yelled with all her might, pulling an IOU out of her purse. She tore a corner and called out. "Alright, I am calling in a favor, Mr. Golden Eyes." A flash of light appeared, and a figure emerged from the shadows. Margaret handed him the IOUs, and he nodded and smiled.
"I take it you found me, my bride?" He asked.
"I have," she replied, looking him straight in the eyes. "But first, my nephew needs you." She handed him a letter from Morgan and his family, indicating where he was.
"I see," Mr. Golden Eyes said, frowning at the letter. "Arise, my dear child, and be comforted. Your request shall be granted with cost," he said as he smiled. "For I am sickness and health, death, and life. I am Light against the Shadow," he said, looking towards the hotel. "And this betrayer of Light is mine to hunt once more, for he has left more than just a calling card," as he screamed into the shadows after Morgan.
Aunty M. rushed into the hotel, finding Wayne and Martha in total despair over their sons. The boys were sleeping with pale white faces, and one was still missing. The girls were crying in each other's arms, scared for their lives, and watching their brothers' sleeping pale faces and parents in total distress. Kollie quickly gave Martha something to calm her nerves and help her relax. Martha refused to leave her son's side. Aunty M. showed them the letter from Morgan and assured them that everything possible was being done to find their missing son.
* * * *
In the depths of time where shadows loom, there exists a natural rhythm of life - much like the two sides of a coin or the two sides of a street. Some believe that one must experience the bad to truly appreciate the good, or only a few would be able to see the good if they had not experienced the bad. However, Morgan is currently disrupting this natural balance by kidnapping a young boy for his own selfish purposes. Time has its own purpose, which is not to be manipulated by Morgan. "Quiet, child," Morgan whispers, covering the boy's mouth as he retreats into the shadows to avoid being seen. Mr. Golden Eyes is also on the lookout for the missing child, sending his scouts out into the Darkness to find him.
EJ was squirming, struggling to find his way in the Darkness. A hood covered his head, and he could barely breathe. As he touched the walls and felt the floor, he realized he had been there before. Was this the same place he had entered before he passed through the doorways of Time? He attempted to lift the hood from his eyes, but Morgan, the man watching him, stopped him.
"You remember this place, child. And you know there's no way out," Morgan whispers, revealing his crooked teeth and red eyes. "Be quiet now." EJ could hear footsteps running past him as the room grew colder. Morgan grabbed him, and they ran deeper into the shadows of time. Suddenly, a loud voice echoed through the halls, shaking the floor beneath EJ's feet. "Morgan, what have you done? Where is the boy?" Wings flapped in the hallways as they searched for the missing child.
EJ tried to break free from Morgan's grasp as the footsteps drew closer. He was frozen and unable to call for help. The air was thick and dark, and Morgan's icy cold chest sent shivers down EJ's spine. There was no heartbeat. Suddenly, a sharp, thunderous crack of light filled the room, engulfing EJ in pain. "Morgan, release the boy!" Golden Eyes commands, reaching out his hand as the light surrounds them both.