"So, what brings you to this institution?" Teddy questioned, watching as the teen beamed at the sight of the living, breathing wax figures and stuffed animals they passed in the hallway.

"Well, um, I got a job here." Quite frankly, she was a bit distracted. Every little thing around her captured her interest. There were people from all places and periods of time: Pilgrims, Inuits, even Australian aborigines. A few of the figures eyed her suspiciously; others whispered among their groups and smiled.

"Well," Teddy chuckled, "I'm aware of that. I meant, what gave you the motivation to take this post?"

"Oh, um..." She hesitated. "Well, I just love history, and-"

"Splendid! I'm sure you'll fit right in, then." For Brooke, it was a rather encouraging and welcoming statement. Pieces of guilt from her true motive were being buried by the wonder and majesty emanating from the night.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, oh, um, yes. I just.. wow."

Teddy couldn't hide his smile. Things were going better than he'd originally thought. But, of course, the night was just beginning.

"Teddy!" A feminine voice rang from the other end of the hallway.

"Sacagawea!" Teddy shouted, speeding up but not exactly running as Brooke tried to keep pace.

"Wait... the Sacagawea! The one who assisted Lewis and Clark on their expedition?"

"That's the one," the president responded, clearly more focused on the matter at hand. Brooke noticed a sense of urgency in the Shoshone woman's movements.

"What seems to be the trouble," Teddy asked.

"It's the Mayans," Sacagawea said as she approached the President.

"Oh good heavens, not again. I thought you locked them up!"

"I thought you locked them up!"

"In case you weren't aware, I was just doing my duty, like I've always done. Anyway, how hard must it be to settle a minor dispute?"

"Why don't I just show you this 'minor dispute.'"

The two walked briskly through the reception hall and up the steps. Brooke, having absolutely no idea what was going on, simply followed, and bravely spoke once they reached the top.

"Um, what's happening here?"

Sighing, he turned to face the teen. "I'm not entirely certain myself, Brooklyn, but we're about to find out."

They approached a wide doorway. Teddy held up his hand, silently ordering the two females behind him to halt. He then backed to the wall and slowly made his way to the edge of the doorway, trying to observe the room without being acknowledged. Sacagawea peered in behind him.

Brooke could hear the two whispering, but couldn't understand what they were saying. Though she was tall, Teddy's large hat blocked her view. She tried peering her head around the two others.

I wish I could see what was going on.

She shuffled her feet around Sacagawea, and before she knew it, she had tripped and fallen on the hard marble floor, directly in front of the entrance. She barely had time to register the scene in front of her when she felt dozens of sharp, painful, burning sensations in her face and arms. Her eyes welled up and everything before her became a dizzy, blurred mess.

"D'oh! That's it! You've crossed the line! Get 'em, boys!"

"Attack!"

Her eyes closed, and she felt only the throbbing pain in her forehead and heard only the sounds of battle, which were growing more distant. The muffled commotion dissolved into a ringing sound, and, unable to speak or move, Brooke finally submitted to the exhaustion she felt within her.

Brooke laid unconscious on the couch in the break room. Sacagawea was leaning over her, carefully plucking out each dart one by one.

"They must have added some sort of poison to the darts," she commented, applying an herbal salve over a wound.

"I bet that's what they've been up to those past couple years," Jed remarked.

"I'm serious. Someone could have been hurt. These darts could have easily killed one of your men."

Jed looked down grievously. Her words were true, however much they stung.

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Octavius, moving his head in an attempt to get a glimpse of the injured girl behind Sacagawea.

"Oh, yes," Sacagawea replied reassuringly, "She will be fine. The poison isn't enough to cause her any major harm. She should be waking up soon."

Teddy entered the room, temporarily lifting his hat to wipe his brow.

"Did you have any success?" Sacagawea questioned.

"Some. Fortunately, there were no casualties, only minor injuries from the battle."

Both miniature leaders took a deep sigh of relief. They wouldn't have been able to forgive themselves if any of their people were lost.

"As for the Mayans," Teddy explained, "we managed to lock most of them up. Unfortunately, a few are missing. The Romans have organized a small search party for them."

"Hopefully we will find them soon," replied Sacagawea. "Maybe they won't be so hostile toward the other exhibits."

"Yes, and hopefully, in smaller numbers, they won't be quite a nuisance."

"They never learn." Jed said, finally sitting down on the edge of the coffee table beside his friend.

Before Sacagawea could remove the last dart, she heard a faint groan.

"I think she's waking up." Sacagawea backed away from the waking girl. Teddy rushed to the couch where she laid, the two miniatures standing up, not knowing what to anticipate.

"Ugh, what happened..."

"Quite a lot," Teddy replied, smiling.

"You tripped and fell," Sacagawea calmly explained, sitting down beside her. "You were attacked. But you'll be fine. Now hold still." She reached over and carefully pulled out the last dart, prompting a small cry of pain, then once again rubbing the salve on the wound.

"Ah! What is that?" She grabbed the dart out of Sacagawea's hand, and examined it. It resembled a toothpick. Sacagawea was silent, soaking a cloth in a small bowl of water and wringing out the water.

"Here." The Indian woman offered the cloth. Brooke gently rubbed the soaked cloth over her eyes, her face covered in sores. As she set the cloth on the table, she noticed the two miniatures in front of her. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, not sure of what to make of the small men before her. Both looked slightly nervous.

The cowboy spoke up, tipping his hat. "Name's Jedediah. And.. and this here's my buddy Octavius." The Roman beside him bowed, holding his fist to his chest.

Brooke's eyes widened. "Wait a minute... that voice... I think I remember now. You... you were the ones who attacked me!" She pointed her finger accusingly.

"Woah, woah, woah, don' just jump to conclusions now!" Jedediah shouted, backing up.

"We were only trying to help!" Octavius explained.

Brooke looked at the two larger figures, seeking confirmation.

"It's true," Teddy assured, coming to stand beside Sacagawea. "They were not the offenders. They are on our side."

"Oh." Brooke looked to the floor shamefully. "I'm sorry."

Teddy moved to sit beside her. "Your accusations were understandable. We were confused as well, on the night we first awoke. It took some getting used to."

"Our apologies for frightening you." Octavius said officially, walking towards the edge of the table. "We did our best to stop them, but unfortunately there's a bit of a language barrier between us and them."

"Yeah," Jed agreed, "but hopefully now they know we mean business. They should get the idea." He put his hand to one of his gun holsters.

Brooke smiled widely. She hadn't seen them in their frozen states, but honestly, what other explanation could there be? The tablet brings even them to life! These little guys were adorable, especially the cowboy. Of course, she kept that to herself.

Jed pointed to something behind the others, causing them to look back at the door, which was slowly being opened by none other than Ahkmenrah. He was visibly nervous, but smiling all the same. He still had his tablet in his embrace.

"Is this the proper time?"

"Certainly, my boy!" Teddy said, coming closer to meet the young Egyptian. He continued quietly. "We were beginning to get a bit worried. Are you alright?"

"Oh yes, Teddy, I am fine. I just needed some rest."

Strange. He's never needed to rest during the night.

"Alright, then. Let's continue where we left off, shall we?" He led Ahkmenrah to the couch, where a young woman was waiting, eager to hear the tale of his most prized possession. A possession all his own, that astounded and amused everyone it met. To this day, it still brought him joy. And heartache.

Ahk eagerly sat down beside Brooke. They all made themselves comfortable, as if they thought they'd be hearing this story for the first time.

Teddy sat on an old beige armchair beside the table. "Allow me to properly introduce us first. Ahkmenrah, this is Brooklyn. She'll be taking Lawrence's post. Brooklyn, this is Ahkmenrah-"

"Fourth King of the Fourth King, ruler of the land of my father's." He spoke regally, but his expression was indiscernible as he stared at the marble floor beneath him. No one knew what to expect from the king. Only Teddy and Brooke were aware of his strange behavior earlier that night.

"Excuse me? Ahkmenrah?" Brooke waved a hand in front of his face. "Are you okay?"

A wide smile was evident as he turned his gaze upon the new guard. "Brooklyn..." He chuckled. "Guardian of Brooklyn..."

Yay! I'm so glad I got this chapter finished! This one was rather tricky, as there were a lot of factors in the story. I'm somewhat proud of how it turned out. I hope I'm characterizing everyone well! Forgive me if I have a little historical inaccuracy, I only went by my knowledge this chapter. As a writer I am fueled by feedback, so if you have the time, please review! I can't wait for chapter 11!

Update 2: I'm gonna get chapter 11 up, don't worry. It's in the making, but it's the end of my senior year and things are pretty complicated for me right now. I'm going through a hard time, but I'll get through it. I should be able to update more often when I'm out of school :) As for now, I don't know when I'll get the chapter up. Maybe this weekend. We'll see :) Nonetheless, thank you SO much for your patience!