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Dave was more excited than Amelia could ever remember seeing him. She wasn’t buying it just yet.
“The past?” Amelia asked, hesitantly.
“It makes sense, right?” Dave said. “This could be the ancient iron age of the Mediterranean.”
Luther laughed. “So, basically your idea of a dream come true. How do you know this isn’t a really good movie set? Or a prank?”
Dave scowled. “Would you be serious for one second. Why would anyone have a movie set completely in the dark? Besides, we haven’t seen any cameras. And nobody could prank us like this, it’s too much work. Besides, it doesn’t explain how we got here with the sundial.”
“There might of been some kind of gas in Grandpa Joe’s study that made us all fall asleep and we’re dreaming or something and that’s why he doesn’t let anyone in there,” Luther said. “A prank is a lot more believable than us suddenly being back in time before there’s electricity.”
“Does this feel like you’re dreaming?” Dave asked, holding the ropes up. “It hurt when they were tying mine.”
Luther’s mouth twisted and he looked away.
“Besides, you think we all imagined the same shrinking thing together at the same time?” Dave challenged. “No one could have done a prank like that.”
Amelia began to speak then stopped, considering. It would have been strange if they had all imagined the exact same thing at the same time. Looking at Luther, Amelia knew he was thinking the same thing.
“So, if we know someone’s not playing a trick on us, and we know we’re not crazy, then all this has to be real,” Dave continued, louder and more convinced now than ever. “Besides, think about it. The cow was from this time and place. Grandpa Joe even said so!”
Amelia thought back to the sundial. It did have the word Yesterday written on one side, and that was the side the cow fell on.
“But how do we know what everyone’s saying?” Amelia asked. “We don’t know any ancient languages, and everyone here sounds like they’re speaking English.”
“Maybe magic powers from the sundial? Or—or a super powerful computer in it that translates for us?” Dave said, ignoring Luther’s snort of disbelief. “For now, we need to get that sundial. I think we might be able to use it to get back home!”
The boy who had been left to watch them was looking from one to the other like he didn’t understand anything that was going on.
Amelia looked past him to where the guards had leaned the sundial against the wall. She still thought she could see a thin ray of light on the sundial where the shadow should have been, except it had moved from the far left side and was closer to the middle now.
If Dave was right, they only had about six more hours to go.
Before anyone could answer, the door to the building swung open. Amelia got a good look at the people who had taken them prisoner.
There were two more guards with spears and armor, both older than the boy who was with them. A moment later a woman entered. She was beautiful, with light red hair and gray eyes that sparkled like chips of glass. She stood straight and proud in her own set of bedsheets. Amelia saw that a little circle of gold wire sat on her head. The woman looked familiar somehow, but she couldn’t quite place why.
The woman strode across the room. She stood over the three of them, a spear in her hand.
“I suppose this is what I should have expected from my brother’s spies,” the woman said, looking at Dave. “Most of his followers aren’t much better off than you.”
Amelia saw Dave look down, confused. Suddenly his face brightened.
“That’s why everyone’s giving me funny looks! It’s a costume! I’m just dressed up this way. I’m not really a mummy.” Dave said.
“Yeah, and she’s dressed like Cleopatra,” Luther said, pointing at Amelia. “No one’s saying anything about her.”
“Who is Cleopatra?” the woman asked Amelia.
“The Queen of Egypt,” Amelia said.
“In about a thousand years,” Dave whispered in her ear.
The woman, who hadn’t heard, raised an eyebrow. “I know the Queen of Egypt. You do not look like her.”
Dave gasped. “Whoa.”
Amelia wasn’t sure she’d heard right. Had this woman really just claimed to know the Queen of Egypt?
“Just so we’re clear,” Luther whispered. “Egypt doesn’t have a queen in our time, right?”
“You know the Queen of Egypt?” Dave asked, ignoring him. “What’s she like?”
The woman’s mouth quirked in a little grin, like she knew something not many other people did. “Petty.”
The three children sat in silence as they considered what all this meant.
Dave was right, they really were in the past.
Luther cleared his throat. “Sorry, can we go back a second? You think we’re spies?”
“Spies,” the woman said. “We know my brother brought his ships here. He wants to take my gold. I did not think he would use children and a living mummy to help him do it. Maybe he has gone insane. What are your names?”
“I’m Luther, the mummy’s Dave, and the girl’s Amelia. We're not spies,” Luther said. “Who are you?”
“I,” the woman said, lifting her chin proudly. “I am Queen Elissa of the new city, Carthage. And I know you are spies, because you are trespassers.”
The kids sat in silence as they listened to what she was saying.
“Or, you would be trespassers in our city if King Iarbas, whom we have borrowed the land from, would let us build a city here,” Queen Elissa said.
Amelia wrinkled her nose in disgust as she thought of the ugly old king and his guards making the man who could not walk pay tribute.
“He wants to marry me,” Queen Elissa continued. “But I do not want to marry him. He told me I could live here, away from my brother, but not build until I decided to marry him.”
“That’s awful!” Amelia said.
“I know,” Queen Elissa agreed.
“Look, you can’t possibly think we’re spies. If we were, do you really think we’d be dressed in such weird clothes and let ourselves get caught by that girl?” Luther asked.
Queen Elissa sighed and leaned her spear against the wall. “You are right. I do not actually think you are, but I also do not know who you are or why you are here. It is not likely that you arrived at the same time as my brother by chance.”
“If that’s the case,” Luther said. “Why not tell us a little more about what’s going on?”
Queen Elissa glanced at the oldest of the three guards in the room, who looked like he was almost as old as Grandpa Joe. The man gave a little shrug and nodded.
“My father made Pygmalion and I the heirs to the throne,” Queen Elissa said quietly. “Half of the kingdom belonged to me and my late husband.”
She stopped and wiped away a tear.
Amelia wasn’t sure why, but something about Queen Elissa’s late husband buzzed in her mind. Hadn’t she just heard something about the man? Amelia tried to recall what it was, but could not.
“As soon as my husband was gone, Pygmalion tried to take all I owned,” Queen Elissa said. “He took the throne, then he had some of the gold removed from my home. My friends and I slipped into the palace and took it back. Then, we fled for a new land. He’d only been king for a year and what he ruled over was a mess. We sailed for a long time, making several stops along the way, but eventually found this land. We’ve been here for almost two years, on land borrowed from King Iarbas. The local people love us and we know everyone. Which is how I know you are not from here.”
“You can say that again,” Luther said.
Queen Elissa looked confused. “Why?”
“He means you’re right,” Amelia said, scowling at Luther.
“I see,” Queen Elissa replied. “Regardless, since we do not know you, we will keep you here until we stop him.”
“What’d you mean, stop him?” Luther asked, his eyes narrowed.
Queen Elissa swallowed and Amelia saw a tear in her eye. “I do not know yet. We never expected he would follow us, we only just heard about his ships landing this afternoon. Pygmalion was a mean boy. He is a worse man. I fear for my friends. I fear for the people of this country who are with us. Things may be very bad if we do not give him the gold.”
“Why don’t you give it to him then?” Luther asked.
Queen Elissa raised an eyebrow. “Why should we listen to you?”
“We’re dressed as a mummy, a fake Egyptian queen, and an oversized orange. Why would you not listen to us?” Luther asked.
Queen Elissa laughed and turned to the older guard. “Puto, we need to speak with King Iarbas tonight. We will try to make a deal with him, so I want everyone there with us, to show him we are serious. Leave these children, but make sure they are tied well.”
Amelia felt her heart sink at that.
“Go to Iarbas in the middle of the night?” Puto asked.
“If I know my brother—” Queen Elissa started to say, but Amelia cut her off.
“—He’ll be on the move at dawn.”
Queen Elissa looked at them again and smiled.
Amelia didn’t like that smile.
Nothing good happened after someone smiled like that.