There are many old places on the Island of Sodor. The Skarloey Railway, Toby's old branch line, and the Wishing Tree. There are a few castles too. The biggest is Ulfstead Castle where Millie and the Earl mostly work. There is also Sodor's Castle along the Skarloey Railway. Then there was Rolf's Castle and Castle Loch, but there was one other on a different part of the island. The Ruined Castle was one of the oldest tourist attractions on Sodor. A queen once lived there long ago.
This castle has a tale or two to tell along with it. Thomas meant to go there with a storyteller but ended up helping Emily to the bakery with her flour after her whistle jammed. Before that, Emily wondered if she could be a queen and made up a game she called "Queen for the Day." She told Percy to do what she said, but Toby disagreed. When she sent Percy with his trucks along her line, he ended up crashing into Mavis, then Toby hit a downed telephone pole. Emily went to alert the station master, who called for the Breakdown Train to help the engines. This made Emily learn that she wasn't as well-leading as she thought.
Despite that, with Emily being as beautiful as she was, Thomas didn't just call her his angel. He would call her a queen sometimes too. He believed she had good capability to be a true queen and actually lead. If only she could be given a chance, she could really prove her queenly approach the right way.
One cool morning, Thomas and Emily were at Knapford Station, waiting to take passengers on a little tour of the island in three places. They were happy to be working together. Just the two of them side by side and enjoying each other's lovely company.
"How is it to work with me, Emily? Right beside your star?" asked Thomas.
"I love it, Tommy. Working with you is the best way to work," smiled Emily.
"Same here, my love," Thomas replied.
Eventually, their coaches were full and the guard's whistle blew. Soon, they were on their way to start the tour. Their first stop was the Ruined Castle. Thomas and Emily stopped and let the passengers explore around the estate and the castle. The two engines watched them with calm, content confidence. Then Thomas found himself looking at the castle. It reminded him a little of Great Waterton when he first discovered it several years ago and he was really enjoying the old feeling this place gave. He was remembering when he helped to restore Great Waterton and how Stanley found him and helped bring him back to the engines.
Emily was looking at the castle too. She too liked old features of the island. Suddenly, something else began to stir in her mind.
"I'd like to be a queen," she whispered very softly. She had said that once before during her painful days when she unintentionally led Percy, Mavis and Toby into an accident, but this time, she now knew better than to command without knowing what to do. Emily looked at the castle, then she looked at Thomas, and an idea came to her. Although she did cause some trouble here with Percy and Toby, she felt she could give the "Queen for the Day," game one more chance. She thought carefully before she spoke up.
"Thomas," she said.
"Yes Emily?" answered Thomas.
"You call me a queen sometimes, and I've learned so much with you and your friends…please, do you think I could be 'Queen for the Day'? I'll be careful with what to command."
Thomas stayed quiet for a moment, then answered. "As you command, your majesty," he smiled.
Emily was most flattered. She could now try to be a queen once again. Before she commanded anything, she thought about what the Fat Controller would want to be done. She knew the children still had a tour to complete, but she didn't want to be hasty either.
"Thomas, we will let the children explore here for some time, then we must move on with the tour," she said.
"Yes, Queen Emily," replied Thomas. So he and Emily stayed put, watching the children. Emily watched some of the children with a smile. She remembered seeing children a few times before. Mostly playing in the snow each winter. Like anyone, it warmed her heart to see children happy.
Soon, the passengers came back to continue the tour. This was Emily's chance. After the passengers boarded her coaches and Annie and Clarabel, she remembered the tour locations and spoke up.
"Thomas, our passengers are ready. We must keep on with the tour. Huff on to Arlesdale End," she said.
"Yes, Queen Emily," whistled Thomas and they were off again. Thomas thought Emily was doing a fine job at being a queen, even if it was just a game. As they made their way along the line, he spoke to her.
"I must say, Emily, you're doing very well telling me what to do," he said.
"Thank you, Thomas," said Emily. "I just hope my commanding you won't cause any trouble."
"It won't. I believe that," reassured Thomas, making Emily smile. Soon, they arrived at Arlesdale End. Toby was happy to have people visit him, and of course, he was happy to see Thomas too.
"Hello, Thomas and Emily," he greeted. "How are you two?"
"Wonderfully, Toby," said Thomas. "Just doing as my queen wishes."
"Really?" asked Toby. "Are you sure that's alright to do?"
Emily knew he was remembering that day he had to tell her to get help. "Don't worry, Toby. I'm making sure we keep on time," she whistled.
"Very well. Just see you do that," said Toby.
"We will, Toby," said Thomas as he winked at Emily. Emily winked back and spent some time enjoying the atmosphere until the passengers came back. Some of them waved at Toby through the windows of their coaches, making him smile.
"On to our next stop, Thomas. To the meadow!" commanded Emily.
"Right away, your highness," smirked Thomas. Once again, he and Emily were huffing along the line with no problems arising thanks to Emily's careful thinking and knowledgeable skills.
At the meadow, the passengers walked up and down the hills. Some of them sat under trees in the shade, some sat on the hill with friends or family. And some children were chasing butterflies or rolling down the hill.
"Our passengers all look happy, Emily," said Thomas. "I wouldn't be surprised if you're partly what's making them happy."
Emily giggled. "Thank you, Tommy. But I'm just trying to prove my worth of being a queen while also doing it right," she said.
"Well, you're doing a wonderful job at that," smiled Thomas.
Half an hour later, the passengers all came back to the coaches, ready to go home.
"OK, back to Knapford Station, Thomas," said Emily.
"Yes, your highness," said Thomas. They made their way back to Knapford Station just in time. The passengers were all very pleased with Thomas and Emily.
"Very lovely tour, sir," a passenger told the Fat Controller.
"Well done, you two," said the Fat Controller to the engines.
"It's more well-done for Emily," said Thomas. "Thanks to her queenly skills, I think we kept on schedule."
The Fat Controller looked at Emily. "Queen?" he asked with wonder.
"Uh…that's right, sir," said Emily, slightly nervous. "I told Thomas what to do…but I didn't cause any trouble, we kept on schedule and our passengers are happy…"
The Fat Controller took a moment or two to reply. "Well, Emily, the passengers are happy, and I am proud that you might have played a part in that, but giving orders is my job. You are to follow through and obey my orders, which you do a wonderful job at. Now, remember that I run this railway…but I think you were really useful today because you knew what to do."
"Thank you, sir," said Emily. "Anything you say."
"Very good," smiled the Fat Controller.
After leaving their coaches in the yard, Thomas and Emily went to Tidmouth Sheds…when an idea came to Thomas. There was still quite some time of daylight to do something with Emily.
"Emily…" he said. "I have an idea." He turned round on the turntable until he faced her. Then he buffered to her.
"What is it, Thomas?" she asked.
"Come with me," he murmured. They huffed off buffer to buffer all the way back to the Ruined Castle.
"What are we doing here, Thomas?" Emily asked.
"Emily…there's something I want to tell you about today," said Thomas.
"Is…is it about me being Queen for the Day? D-did I do alright?" she asked nervously. Thomas gave her a look of kindness and peace. Emily felt a deep sense of wonder and emotion as he spoke.
"Emily," Thomas said kindly. "The Fat Controller may not fully approve of what you did today, as well as you did…but you must remember two things. One, in my heart, what happened here so long ago wasn't your fault. Gordon and James' ways pushed you to such a limit to think you could lead, and your sadness and fear must have made you go wrong…but it was an honest mistake. And you made up for it. Secondly, and most importantly, in my heart…you ARE a real queen. You do know how to lead and command the right way."
Emily couldn't speak, she was so happy with Thomas' words.
"Plus, you're as beautiful as any queen…and you're my queen…I'm your little prince," Thomas added with a light laugh.
Emily was so touched by Thomas' statement, she started to cry quietly with joy and let her tears drip down her cheeks. Then she saw Thomas inching closer to her. His eyes were full of gentle affection only she could love.
"W-what are you doing, Thomas?" she giggled.
"I'm gonna kiss you, my queen. Your reward for doing such a wonderful job at being one," murmured Thomas as he gently kissed her cheek.
"Oh, Tommy!" Emily giggled joyfully as he kept kissing her a few times over.
"Your cheek is so warm," Thomas whispered as he softly let his lips stay on her soft cheek.
"Well," giggled Emily. "Loved ones are made to keep each other warm and comfy."
Then she suddenly buffered closer to Thomas and kissed him all over his face. She kissed him on both cheeks wherever she could reach. She kissed his nose four times in a row and kissed his lips too. That caught Thomas by surprise a little, but he liked that.
"Aww, Emily," he smiled. "Your kisses are so lovely."
"So are yours. I love you," sighed Emily.
"I love you too," said Thomas as they kissed each other more gently and calmly, enjoying each other's love so much. After a while, they decided to head back to the sheds and spend the rest of the evening there.
At the sheds, the engines were just talking about their day as Thomas and Emily came back. Emily turned round and backed into her berth beside Edward and Thomas came in beside Emily.
"Where were you two?" asked Edward.
"Just a little time together is all," said Emily in a casual manner.
"Yeah. We had fun today, taking our passengers around the island," said Thomas.
"Well, I'm happy you two are doing well," said Edward.
"Thanks, Edward," Thomas and Emily said together. Then all the engines spent the evening talking about their day and simply about how they all loved working together. Thomas and Emily felt happy to just enjoy an evening with the engine family and they smiled in satisfaction and content feeling of being together.
And so another story has concluded. But, more importantly, the stories in plan for Christmas have been finalized, we have four stories for you this Christmas, call it, "Thomas' 2016 Christmas Hamper." But there's also plenty to enjoy before that, like the next story for example, so look forward that and leave your reviews for this story. See you all later.