The Curse of Windsor Castle

Chapter Eleven

The next day, Rose quickly got ready. Melinda washed all her clothes and she, Rose, and Tamara packed for the next trip. Once the two were ready, Melinda dropped them at Amy's place where the two agreed to meet. It was the obvious spot because when Tamara and Rose got there, Amy was still in the shower.

The girls waited downstairs for Amy. When she finally came, Melinda, Mrs. Hawthorne, and Mr. Hawthorne got into the Hawthornes' car and drove to the airport. After a long sentimental goodbye, at which the girls complained multiple times, the parents waved goodbye.

"I can't believe it," Melinda pretended to wipe a tear. "My babies are all grown up and saving England."

"Mum!" Rose groaned. "Quit the Mulan references."

"Okay, okay. Bye loser!" Melinda pretended to sneer.

"Bye Mum," Tamara said brightly.

Amy, Rose, and Tamara got their tickets and everything seemed to be going smoothly until the girls reached security. They got in line and put their belongs on the conveyer belt. When the suitcase went under the x-ray, that's when things started to go downhill. The computer started beeping. "Oh, what now?" Amy moaned.

"Girls," The official said. "I'm going to have to ask you to step aside."

"Of course." The trio walked over to the table where the official opened up the girls' suitcases. He sifted through, but he couldn't find anything that wasn't supposed to be there.

The official frowned. There must be something wrong with the machine, he thought. Little did any of them know, there was something that wasn't supposed to be there in each of the suitcases.

Rose, Tamara, and Amy got to the boarding zone without a hitch. Once their number was called, the two girls got in line to get on the plane. The attendant tore off part of their boarding passes and allowed them to proceed. The girls sat in their seats on the plane to Budapest, Hungary.

"So once we land in Budapest, we have to go through customs and then we are going to have to hail a cab and go to Hilton where we will check in," said Rose while reading their itinerary. "We'll figure out which city to go to from there."

"But how are we going to figure out which town we have to go next?" Amy asked.

Rose smiled. "Well, I've been doing a lot of research and I've noticed that the two towns we've been to were both important parts of different empires. Hanau was an asset in the First French Empire. Como was moved to its current location by Julius Caesar, ruler of the Roman Empire. The Hungarian town Pálháza was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire multiple times. So I think Pálháza is the most obvious choice. But then again, Solymár was also destroyed by the Ottoman Empire."

"So what'll it be, master?" Tamara said, while examining her nails."

"Oh, do shut up. But we should check both towns."

"Why not?" Amy shrugged.

The plane landed after about three hours. The girls got off the plane and quickly moved to customs. The customs scanner also detected the metal, but the official couldn't find anything.

Tamara, Amy, and Rose hailed a cab and got to Hilton. "Tomorrow, we'll go to Pálháza, if we don't find the chair, we'll go to Solymár." Tara decided.

"And if we can't find the chairs at either town?" Amy asked.

Tamara shrugged. "We'll wing it, I guess."

She, Rose, and Amy laughed as they headed to the check in desk.

Since it was near lunch time back in Britain and even in Hungary, the three girls decided to go out for a bite to eat. "I miss pizza," Amy moaned as she picked at her meatloaf."

"It could be worse," said Rose as she sipped her soup. "We could be eating mice and parrots."

Amy spit her food out. "Why would we do that?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Unlike you, I paid attention in history, when Ms. Lawson talked about food the wealthy Romans ate."

"I only pay attention to what's going to be useful for me in the long run. During my job interview, am I going to be asked what food the ancient Romans ate?" Amy retorted.

"It depends what job you're talking about," Tamara shrugged.

After finishing their lunch, the two girls took a cab to downtown Budapest to go experience what Hungary had to offer. The girls, or Tamara, decided to go window shopping on fashion street.

"Why Tara, why?" Rose groaned as Tara commented on a belt for the millionth time. "We could have gone to food street, but no! You wanted to buy something to wear. Can I remind you that we'll be broke if you buy anything from here. You can't even afford to buy anything."

Tamara shrugged. "I'll be using my money."

Amy was shocked. "You have money?"

"Of course I do." Tamara rolled her eyes. "I'm an intern at one of the pediatric clinics near Stanford."

"What's a pedia- oh never mind."

After Tamara came out with a bag that held a single blouse, she, Rose, and Amy decided to go back to the hotel. "I heard there was a swimming pool." Rose started giggling like a kid who had too much candy. "And a hot tub. Wow, I really need that."

The girls changed, and all the while, Amy was jumping up and down. Even though there was a slight chill in the air, Tamara decided that after everything that had taken place, the girls deserved a few moments of relaxation.

"Wow, it's been so long since I've went swimming." Rose said while she did a back float.

"I know right?" Amy sighed as she closed her eyes.

Once the girls were done swimming, they decided to head to their room to change. "Well," Tamara finally said. "If Rose is right, and she probably is." With a quick glance at her sister, Tara continued. "We won't be in Hungary for as long as we were in Italy of Germany so we should enjoy it."

"And enjoy it we will," Amy finished.

"So we're going to Pálháza tomorrow and Solymár the day after,right?" Tara asked.

"Right." Rose nodded.

The next day, the girls got up early to catch a cab to go to Pálháza. "How far away is Pálháza from Budapest?" Amy asked after she was done packing.

"Pálháza is about two hundred and sixty kilometers away. That's almost three hours away from Budapest.

"Let the games begin," Tamara sighed. It was going to be a long drive.

Three hours later, a very cranky Amy and Rose, and a tired Tara arrived in Pálháza's town square. "Let's check every single shop," Tara suggested.

For most cities, checking every single store would have been a daunting and tiring task. But Pálháza was the smallest town in Hungary so it didn't take very long.

Ten minutes later, Rose and Amy came back to the center of the town square. "I didn't see it." Amy kicked a pebble.

"Well, to Solymár we go." Tara tried for a smile.