Saving Washington's Portrait

Chapter One

"When I shall again write to you, or where I shall be tomorrow, I cannot tell."-Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison Gates sighed irritably as her father ranted on and on about her brother. She tucked a piece of her deep chestnut colored hair behind her left ear, and then rubbed her left hand across her brow. Her hazel eyes were beginning to glass over.

"The most irresponsible, hard headed…"

"Dad, let Ben be. He hasn't done anything illegal-"

"Yet. He hasn't done anything illegal YET."

She groaned, "Daaaad."

"What's he doing going all the way across the world anyway? Is he still looking for that treasure?"

"You know he is, daddy."

"Well, I'm glad at least ONE of my children has more sense than to go chasing after that myth."

"Um…dad?"

"At least you're doing something worthwhile with your life. Ben is just wasting away."

"Dad, I'm going with him." She told him nervously.

"You're WHAT?" He cried in outrage, "No you are not, young lady. You certainly are not."

"I most certainly am," She said with a sigh, "I'm 25 years old, not 15, dad."

"What does he need with an architectural historian anyway?" Her father grumbled.

"I don't know, really. He just asked me to come along and I agreed, but its Ben you know he's got a reason."

"Fine, Dolley, you and your brother are going to get yourselves killed, but fine. Just fine," He muttered angrily.

"It's nice to have your support, daddy," She said sarcastically, "I'll call you when we get back."

"Yes, fine, alright. No one ever listens to me," He said as he hung up.

She chuckled and shut her flip phone before turning to Riley and Ben, "I'm in."

"YES! Thank you! A normal person!" Riley yelled as he rushed her with a hug.

She laughed, "Why, Riley, I didn't know you cared so much."

"I-I-I don't," He said as he let go and straightened himself up, "I don't"

"Go pack, Dolley, we'll wait," Her brother said with a smirk in the younger man's direction.


"Okay, guys, so I've got everything I think I'll need. You said your guys are supplying us with cold weather gear, right?" She asked her brother and her best friend cautiously after a couple of hours of packing.

"Yes, everything else is ready, can we go now?" Ben asked impatiently.

"Hey! Don't give me that. You're the one that asked me to come and you're also the one who said you wait until I packed. So CHILL, big brother."

Riley grinned in amusement at the older man's expression, "Ha Ha, you were just told off by your little sister."

Ben gave him a withering unimpressed look, and Riley gave him a sheepish one in return.

Dolley shoved her massive duffel bag into Riley's arms, "Carry my bag for me? Of course you will."

Ben chuckled at his little sister, and motioned for Riley and Dolley's super sized duffle bag to exit before him.

"Thanks," Riley said sarcastically as they left.


"I was thinking about Henson and Perry crossing this kind of terrain with nothing but dog sleds and on foot, can you imagine?" Ben asked the man in the seat next to him as they drove through and across the Arctic Circle.

Dolley smiled at her brother almost in disbelief. Some of the things he said sometimes made her wonder if he was really only seven years older than her.

"It's extroidinary," The man she only knew as Ian said.

"Are we there yet?" She asked Riley as they hit a rather large snow bank and her head collided with the ceiling of the vehicle for the millionth time. Luckily the overstuffed and extremely quilted hood on her peach colored jacket cushioned her skull and prevented too much damage.

"Assuming Ben's theory is correct and my tracking model is accurate we should be getting very close. Don't go by me I broke a shoe lace this morning," He replied.

Three heads turned to look at him quizzically.

"It's-It's a bad omen," He said in an attempt to justify himself.

"Shall we turn around and go home?" Ian asked sarcastically.

"Or we could pull over and just throw him out here," Ben added.

"Oh no, we can't do that," Dolley protested, "Who would carry my bags?"

The three of them had a good chuckle before Riley piped up again.

"Ha ha ha, okay," He dead panned.

"Riley you're not missing that little windowless cubicle we found you in are you?" Her brother asked cheekily.

"No no, absolutely not," Her friend responded.

Suddenly Riley's computer began beeping, and Ben stopped the massive all-terrain vehicle. They all exited the vehicles and Dolley accompanied her brother as they fanned out with metal detectors. A few minutes into the search Ben's started going crazy, and the two of them began picking away at the snow until Ben's pick hit metal.

"I got it," Dolley said as she pulled out her water bottle just as Ben was reaching for his. She quickly opened the nozzle and poured water in top of the snow cover portion of the bell they uncovered. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the name "Charlotte" on the bell, "Oh my god"

"Hello beautiful," Her brother said thankfully as he ran a gloved hand over the bell.

"Ian! Riley! Over here! We need to start moving the snow!" Dolley yelled as she jumped up and ran for the others with a permanent smile fixed on her face, and the infamous clue ("The secret lies with Charlotte") running constantly through her mind. Ben finally found it. He found The Charlotte.


That's all for chapter one. I know there are like a million Original Character movie companion stories out there, but it seems my imagination wouldn't stop until I wrote my own. I'm hoping Dolley will be a believable OC. I try to avoid writing Mary Sues if at all possible. I'm wondering if I should explain the title, but I think I'll just point yall in the right direction. Look up Dolley Madison on Wikipedia, and read the section called "First ladyship". After you read that I think it will all become clear.

Feel free to let me know what you think...

angellwings