Family Vacation
Miranda entered the family sitting room, which was empty.
"Where is everyone?" She frowned.
"Sorry we're late for game night." Sofia apologised as she and Madeline rushed in.
"We were practicing flying derby and lost track of time." Madeline added.
"Mm-hmm. I guess the rest of the family lost track of time, too." Miranda sighed. "i'll go see what's holding your father."
"And we'll go find Amber and James." Sofia smiled.
"Can our first game be 'who am I'?" Madeline asked. "I've been working on my Cedric impression. 'Merlin's mushroons!'"
They all chuckled as they left the room.
As Sofia rushed down one corridor, she reached Amber's closet, finding her looking at a measuring tape.
"Amber, what are you doing?" She asked. "It's game night, remember?"
"Oh, I totally forgot!" Amber gasped. "I was busy reorganising my closet! So what do you think of this?" She unfurled a blueprint. "I want to install a mini-planetarium so I can look at the stars, and choose a stylish outfit at the same time!"
"Great idea." Sofia nodded. "But... mom's waiting."
"Right." Amber agreed, before stopping. "Hold on. My telescope can double as my hat rack!"
"I'll tell mom you're coming in a bit?" Sofia frowned.
"Yes, yes!" Amber waved her hand. "I'll be right there! Thanks, Sofia!"
In James' room, James had several toy knights all over the room when Madeline entered.
"Halt!" James called.
"Ah! What!" Madeline yelped.
"My knights are on a quest to save King Ashford." James declared. "And you're about to smush the King!"
"Oh, sorry." Madeline cringed. "But it's great you're excited about playing a game, because mom wants us all in the family room for game night."
"This is no game, Madeline!" James said in a scratchy voice. "This is a brave and daring quest!" He emptied his box for more knights. "Can you tell mom I'll be there soon?" He added in his normal voice.
"Sure..." Madeline sighed.
Meanwhile, Miranda found Roland working on a model castle.
"Rollie, ready for game night?" She asked.
"Ah, is that time already?" Roland asked. "The royal builder and I are designing a new castle as a gift for the elves. I've been having a blast making this turrets!"
"But it's game night!" Miranda protested.
"Miranda?" Roland asked, taking her arm.
"What is it?" Miranda asked, as Roland led her a short way away.
"Would you mind if I quickly built the great hall?" Roland pleaded.
"And then will you come to game night?" Miranda urged.
"As soon as I'm finished." Roland nodded.
"Oh, goody." Miranda smiled.
A while later, Miranda, Sofia and Madeline were sitting in the game room, still waiting for the rest of the family.
"I guess they're not coming." Miranda sighed.
"I guess not." Sofia agreed.
"Girls, can you remember the last time we all did something together as a family?" Miranda asked.
"Well, we all had breakfast together this morning." Madeline declared. "Oh, wait. Amber went to her astronomy club meeting."
"What about the all-kingdom tea yestday?" Sofia offered. "No, dad was interviewing a new court jester. I guess it has been a while."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we all have hobbies and school and exciting jobs." Miranda declared. "But spending time together is important too. It would just be nice if we could all get some quality time together as a family, away from our work and hobbies."
"What if we go somewhere together?" Madeline suggested.
"Like on a vacation!" Sofia smiled. "We can take a ski trip..."
"Or go boating." Madeline added. "Or how about to Merroway Cove?"
"Or go to the Royal Elephant Rainforest!" Miranda smiled. "I've always wanted to see the flying elephants there."
"That sounds fantastic!" Sofia smiled.
"Great idea, mom!" Madeline added.
"I think so too." Miranda smiled. "We'll book a trip right away. This is just what the family needs. Great idea, girls!"
The next morning, the family exited the castle, wearing jungle gear.
"To the coach, everyone!" Mirande smiled. "Our family vacation awaits!"
"Yay!" Sofia and Madeline cheered.
Roland smiled, as he saw a red vehicle ahead of them.
"We're taking the new Cloud Coaster?" He gasped. "My engineers say it's a horseless, steam-powered dynamo, and from the look of it, I agree!"
"Mom thought you'd want to drive it." Sofia smiled.
"And right you are, my Queen!" Roland kissed Miranda's hand, then got into the driver's seat. "I've been dying to take this baby out for a spin!"
"Not so fast, you two." Miranda stopped Amber and James, who were carrying their blueprint and knight toys. "Remember, we're going on a vacation to be together. So no distractions!"
"But without these, how do you expect us to have fun?" Amber frowned.
"By spending time with each other!" Miranda smiled. "Now hand them over."
"Alright, fine." Amber sighed.
"Here." James said, as he and Amber gave the items to their mother.
They all got into the Cloud Coaster.
"Well then, is everybody ready?" Roland donned his driving goggles.
"Just a few more pieces of luggage to pack, your majesties." Baileywick announced, as several servants carrying boxes came over.
"I hope we didn't overpack." Madeline frowned.
"Of course I did!" Amber smirked.
Baileywick tried to close the trunk, but it was too packed to close at first. He finally slammed it shut.
"There, all set!" He smiled. "Have a wonderful trip. And drive safely, your majesty."
Roland pulled a lever, and the Cloud Coaster sputtered to life.
"Alright then, off we go!" He smiled.
The Cloud Coaster drove down the runway, then went up into the sky.
"Oh!" Miranda caught her hat, which almost fell off her head.
"Dad, remind me: How long is this vacation again?" James asked.
"Five days." Sofia declared.
"Which will be very relaxing." Roland smiled. "It'll be fantastic!"
"Mother, what do you say we cut the vacation to one night?" Amber offered. "I really want to get back to my castle remodelling."
"And my knights were just about to vanquish the dragons!" James added.
"Come on, we're all going to have a great time together!" Miranda insisted. "Did I tell you we're going to see flying elephants?"
The boot opened, and the luggage dropped out.
"Plus, there'll also be macaws, ocelots, sloths even..." Miranda continued. "Doesn't that sound fun?"
"Not as fun as an in-closet planetarium." Amber pouted.
"And we'll have our very own tour guide to show us the rainforest." Miranda handed Madeline the brochure.
"Our lodge looks really fancy and luxurious." Madeline declared.
"And look, it also comes with its own cruise boat!" Sofia added.
"A fancy lodge would be nice." Amber admitted.
"And a cruise boat would be pretty good too." James added.
"This will be the best family vacation we've ever taken!" Miranda smiled.
"I can't wait!" Madeline beamed.
"Me too." Sofia agreed.
"Now, let's kick in some extra flying horse power!" Roland pulled the throttle, and the Cloud Coaster sped up.
Not long after, they neared their destination.
"I think we're here!" Madeline called.
"Yes, the lodge should be coming up soon." Miranda agreed.
"There it is!" Roland pointed.
"It looks like... oh, waternette" Amber frowned.
"It probably just looks small from up here." Roland shrugged.
They landed the Cloud Coaster, and saw that the "lodge" didn't look much better up close.
"Wasn't the lodge supposed to be fancy and luxurious?" Amber asked.
"Well, yes." Miranda agreed. "It looked a lot better in the brochure."
"Perhaps it's rustic on the outside, but grand as a castle on the inside." Roland suggested. "Let's take a look."
They entered the hut, only to find it a total mess on the inside.
"Is that hole supposed to be there?" James pointed to a hole on the roof, where a macaw was looking at them.
"Well, the brochure does say the lodge has very sunny rooms." Miranda declared. "So there's that..."
"I think this is supposed to be the bedroom." Sofia pointed to a pair of hammocks.
"Oh, hammocks." Roland noted. "How quaint."
Roland tried to lie on one, but it ended up tearing.
Amber went over to the Cloud Coaster and opened the boot, finding it empty.
"All our luggage is gone!" She gasped.
"It must have fallen out on the trip here." James surmised.
"But where are my clothes?" Amber panicked. "What am I going to change into for dinner?"
"Come on, everyone." Madeline urged. "We don't need fancy stuff and a million outfits to have a good time."
"We don't?" Amber squeaked.
"No." Miranda agreed with Madeline. "All we need is each other."
"Your mother's right." Roland nodded.
"Why don't we go do something?" Sofia suggested. "Let's go on an adventure!"
"Great idea, Sofia!" Roland smiled.
"Yeah, nice thinking, Sof." Madeline agreed.
"That'll get us into the old vacation spirit." Roland declared, as some sawdust fell on him. "And out of this cabin."
"Well, I am way ahead of you." Miranda smiled. "I booked us on Fabulous Freddy's Flying Elephant Tour. Our guide Freddy should be here any minute."
"Sounds great!" Sofia beamed.
They suddenly heard a squawking sound.
"Hey!" James pointed, as a bird dropped a small box into Miranda's arms.
"What is it?" Madeline asked.
"It's a note." Miranda read the piece of paper on top. "From our tour guide." She read it. "Oh. It seems Fabulous Freddy is sick in bed, and can't take us to see the flying elephants today."
"So what do we do?" James asked. "Stay here?"
"Ugh, do we to?" Amber groaned.
"Wait!" Sofia pulled a piece of paper out of the box. "He sent us a map of the rainforest!"
"Oh, and a whistle." Miranda read the attached card. "'For herding flying elephants'."
"We could go on a Flying Elephant Tour ourselves!" Madeline smiled.
"Why not?" Miranda grinned. "We'll take the raft- I mean, the cruise boat! Everyone, up and at 'em! The first adventure of our family vacation is about to start!"
Roland, James and Amber weren't as enthusiastic.
"What's everyone waiting for?" Sofia asked.
"Yeah, come on!" Madeline urged.
A short while later, the royal family were drifting down the river on the raft.
"We've been on this raft for half an hour, and the only wildlife we've seen are mosquitoes." Amber swatted one away.
"According to the map, the spider monkeys should be right around here." Sofia declared.
"Spider monkeys? That'll be fun." Miranda smiled.
"I don't see any." James sighed. "My knights could be saving King Ashford right now."
"Mom, there's a spider monkey!" Madeline pointed.
"Let's dock and take a closer look!" Miranda declared, moving the raft to shore.
The family disembarked and chased after the spider monkey.
"Oh, look, Rollie!" Miranda cooed, as the spider monkey scampered across a tree.
"Aw, you're a cute little furball, aren't you?" Roland smiled.
The spider monkey threw a berry at Roland.
"That was not cute." He frowned.
More spider monkeys emerged, and they were angry.
"Ambush!" James yelped, as the spider monkeys threw more berries.
"Hey!" Sofia yelled.
"Watch out!" Madeline cringed.
"Back on the raft, everyone!" Miranda urged.
They rushed back to the raft, dodging a hail of berries. Amber was the first onboard.
"Come on, come on!" She urged.
As they pushed off, the spider monkeys kept chasing them down the river, throwing more berries.
"Those guys have good arms!" James admitted.
"Hang on!" Roland turned the boat down a bend, where the spider monkeys couldn't follow.
One spider monkey threw a final berry, which struck Amber dead center.
"Oh!" Amber yelped.
"Is everyone okay?" Roland asked.
"Uh-huh." Sofia nodded.
"I'm okay." Madeline added.
"I guess." James shrugged.
"If you don't mind smelling like mulberries." Amber frowned.
"I think we can handle having a few berries thrown at us, Amber." Miranda declared. "Where to next, Sofia?"
"It's... kinda hard to say." Sofia held up the map, which was covered in berry juice. "The map's covered in berry juice."
"Just a suggestion, Miranda." Roland offered. "We've been out here a while, we've seen some adorable spider monkeys... What do you say we head back to the lodge for a little rest?"
"Fabulous idea, daddy!" Amber shot up.
"You can turn around right there!" James pointed to a fork in the river.
"Wait, where's your sense of adventure?" Miranda frowned. "Those monkeys were a little feisty, but that's no reason to turn back!"
"Mom's right." Madeline agreed.
"I still really want to see the flying elephants." Sofia added.
"I do too." Miranda smiled. "So let's go find some! After that, I promise we can head back to the lodge."
"I think that sounds like a reasonable plan." Roland admitted.
"As long as there are no spider monkeys, I'm in!" James grinned.
"Alright, fine!" Amber groaned.
"It looks like the flying elephants live on the other side of Parrot Glade, which is just up ahead!" Madeline closely examined the map.
"Then pick up that paddle, Rollie." Miranda urged. "Let's get to that Glade!"
After a short time of paddle, they reached a small jetty.
"Alright everyone, time to break in those hiking boots." Miranda declared. "Start walking!"
The family trekked further and further into the jungle.
"Trees, plants, no flying elephants... can we go now?" Amber pouted.
"Can we go now?" A nearby macaw imitated her.
"We're in Parrot Glade, alright." Miranda chuckled. "Let's go. This way."
As Miranda walked off, the other macaws repeated her words.
"Let's go. This way."
"Let's go. This way."
"Wait, which way?" Sofia frowned.
"Miranda?" Roland called. "Which way did you go?"
"Miranda? Which way did you go?" A macaw repeated.
"Which way did I go?" Roland pushed aside a bush.
"Which way did I go?" Another macaw repeated.
"Now where did you go?" Madeline frowned.
"Now where did you go?" A macaw mimicked.
"Who, me?" Roland asked.
"Who, me?"
"Hey, cut it out!" Roland yelled.
"Hey, cut it out!"
"I'm getting confused!" James yelped.
"Mom, dad!" Sofia called, tearing her pant leg on a branch. "Whoa!"
As Amber and James wandered around, they split up. Amber caught a hair on a branch, then her hat on another branch, and her cloak on another.
"Sofia! Madeline! Mom! Dad!" James called.
James stepped into a mud puddle. He could get free, so he pulled on a small tree nearby. The tree snapped back, flinging him out of the mud, but leaving his boots behind.
"Oh no." He groaned. "My boots!"
Sofia and Madeline had stuck together.
"The others all went in different directions." Madeline frowned. "Now what?"
Sofia spotted a unique-looking ridge nearby.
"I've got an idea." She smiled. "Everyone, head for that hill with the arch in the middle! We'll meet up there!"
"Good thinking, Sof!" Madeline grinned.
"Meet up there!" A macaw squawked.
"Oh, I see it!" Miranda declared.
"Me too!" Roland smiled.
"On my way!" James stepped forward.
"Coming!" Amber added.
"Coming!" A macaw squawked.
They all reached their destination together.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Miranda sighed with relief.
Amber pulled herself up a small cliff.
"I thought I'd be lost in there forever!" She groaned.
"Like my boots." James sighed.
"The map says this is where the flying elephants should be." Sofia declared.
"We're not still going to sight-see, are we?" Amber moaned. "Look at us! We're a mess!"
"Not to mention shoeless." James added.
"Oh, I can fix that." Miranda smiled.
Miranda grabbed some vines and leaves, and started wrapping them around James' feet, creating makeshift shoes.
"Wow, these are really..." James mused.
"E-earthy!" Miranda declared. "Very earthy! Now, we're so close to finding the flying elephants. Can't we just stay a bit longer?"
"I don't see any elephants, Miranda." Roland frowned.
"Maybe we could the whistle to call them?" Madeline suggested.
"Right!" Miranda nodded.
Miranda pulled out the whistle and blew on it several times. But nothing happened.
"Still don't see any elephants." James frowned.
"Neither do I." Amber sighed.
"Back to the raft?" Roland offered.
"Definitely." Amber nodded.
"Hold on." Sofia stopped them. "Maybe we can spot them from the top of that hill."
"I'll go take a look." Miranda smiled. "Be right back."
Miranda started walking up the hill.
"Where are those flying elephants?" She groaned. "I need to get this vacation back on track!"
Miranda finally reached the top.
"Whooo!" She called to the others. "I made it up here fine!" She started looking around. "Now, elephants, elephants... urrrgh! Where are they?"
As Miranda came across a pond, she climbed atop an oddly-colored rock.
"Let's try this again." She blew the whistle.
The "rock" Miranda was standing, along the one next to it, turned out to be a flying elephant.
Miranda flew to the ground, and then ran from the angered winged pachyderms.
"Everyone run!" She called to the others. "Stampede!"
"Flying elephants!" Amber gasped.
"Guess mom found them!" James observed.
"Come on!" Roland urged.
"Let's go!" Sofia added.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Madeline yelped.
The family rushed back to their raft, the flying elephants right behind them. The flying elephants took to the skies.
"Everyone, duck!" Roland yelled, as the flying elephants swooped down on them.
The family dodged the dive, but one flying elephant crashed onto their raft, destroying it.
"Oh no!" Sofia gasped.
"Our raft!" Madeline frowned.
"Now can we please end this awful vacation early and go home?" Amber pleaded.
"I must say, I second that plan." Roland agreed.
"I third it." James added.
"Oh, yes, okay, we can go home." Miranda sighed.
"Without the raft?" Sofia asked.
"How can we get back to the lodge?" Madeline added.
"I suppose we'll just have to walk." Miranda declared.
"Walk?!" James gaped. "Could anything else go wrong on this trip."
With a crack of thunder, the clouds darkened. A storm was on the way.
"We need to find shelter before the rain comes." Roland suggested.
"That looks like a cave." Sofia pointed.
"Quick, let's go!" Miranda urged.
They rushed to the cave, as the rainfall increased.
"Oh, I'm getting soaked!" Amber complained.
"Guess this is why they call it the rainforest." James joked.
"Come on, we're almost there." Roland declared.
They all took refuge within the cave.
"At least it's dry." Madeline held up her head, catching a trickle of water dripping through a crack. "Sort of..."
"It's dry enough to wait out the storm here." Roland nodded. "From the looks of it, we may have to spend all night.
"Spend the night here?" Amber cringed. "Oh, no, no. no, no. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss that dusty old lodge!"
A gust of wind blew into the cave. Amber shivered.
"This vacation is a total failure." Miranda sighed. "I am so sorry I forced you all on this trip."
"You didn't force us, mom." Sofia told her.
"No, no, I did." Miranda insisted. "No-one wanted to come, but I made you, and... look at us." She shivered. "I feel terrible for putting you all in this situation."
Miranda sat down on a rock.
"Wait, I know how we can warm up!" Madeline started picking up pieces from wood from around the caves.
"I know what you're getting at, Maddie." Sofia joined her. "We can build a campfire."
"Excellent!" Roland smiled. "I'll gather some tinder."
"I'll help too, dad!" James offered.
Soon, the campfire was ready. Roland rubbed a stick to start it up.
"I'll make us a seating area." Amber started moving around rocks. "Even a cave can have decor."
Roland, James, Sofia and Madeline started blowing, as a wisp of smoke grew.
"Smoke!" James grinned.
"We have an ember!" Roland smiled, as the campfire sprang to life.
"It worked!" Madeline cheered.
"Nice job, dad!" James added.
"Mom, come over here and warm up!" Sofia offered.
Miranda walked over.
"Oh, that does feel good." Miranda held her hands before the fire.
"Why is everybody standing when you could all relax on your very own rock ottoman?" Amber smiled.
They all sat down on their rock seats.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm actually pretty comfy." Roland admitted.
"Me too." Madeline smiled.
"Not too shabby." James agreed.
"Look, I think I have something for dinner." Miranda opened a napkin full of nuts.
"And I have berries for desert!" Sofia declared.
They all enjoyed their food.
"So, since there's nothing else to do, anyone up for game night?" Madeline offered.
"Okay." James nodded.
"I guess." Amber smiled.
"Sure." Roland nodded. "Why not?"
"Good thinking, Maddie." Sofia declared. "Let's start with 'who am I'?"
"Ooh, I have one!" Amber stood up. "Who am I? 'Let's make it work!"
"Baileywick!" Madeline guessed.
"Wow, that was spot-on!" Roland chuckled.
The whole family laughed.
"I'll go next." James stood up. "'Ooh, jiggly-wiggly pudding? Great!'"
"Dad!" Sofia smiled.
"Daddy!" Amber said at the same time.
They all laughed once more.
The next morning, they emerged from the cave.
"Ah, the rain finally stopped." Miranda smiled.
"Well, let's head back to the lodge." Roland suggested. "It's gonna be a pretty long trip without the raft."
"Oh no!" Madeline gasped. "Look!"
The flying elephants were just ahead of them.
"What do we do?" Amber whispered.
"Run, obviously!" James hissed, trying to sneak away.
"Wait!" Miranda approached the flying elephants.
"Miranda, be careful!" Roland urged.
Miranda walked over to the lead elephant.
"Hi!" She smiled. "I know I scared you last time. I promise I won't do it again." She held out her hands. "No whistle, see?"
The flying elephant let Miranda hold her trunk.
"They're friendly!" Miranda told the others. "Really?"
The rest of the family came over.
"I'm James." James shook a small flying elephant's trunk. "Nice to meet you."
The little one trumpeted in James's face.
"Whoa-hoah!" James chuckled.
"Do you like berries?" Amber offered a slightly larger flying elephant some food. The flying elephant eat them from her hand. "Oh, that tickles!"
"Hmm, you're a pretty magnificent fellow!" Roland told the largest one. "When you're not stampeding us."
"Since we're all friends now, do you think you could do us a favor?" Sofia asked a pink flying elephant calf.
"Like what?" The calf asked.
"Our family needs to get back to our lodge." Madeline declared. "But since we can't use our raft, do you think maybe you could fly us there?"
"Well, I don't know..." The calf frowned.
"We've had such a tough time in the rainforest." Sofia sighed. "We could really use the help."
"Please?" Madeline pleaded.
"Hold on, let me ask my family." The calf declared.
The calf and her family talked amongst themselves. The calf then returned to Sofia and Madeline.
"My family says: Let's do it!" She smiled.
"Yay!" Sofia and Madeline cheered.
"Come on, climb aboard!" The calf pulled Sofia and Madeline on her back with her trunk.
The rest of the flying elephant family did the same with the others.
"Looks like we're going for a ride!" Sofia grinned.
The flying elephants all took off into the sky.
"Whooo! This is the best!" Madeline cheered.
"This is even better than the Cloud Coaster!" Roland declared.
"Somehow, this rainforest is so much better than it was yesterday." Amber admitted.
"I still can't believe that we spent the night in a dark and dirty cave!" James smiled.
"Oh, it wasn't that dark and dirty." Miranda retorted... causing the others to stare at her. "Okay, yes it was."
"But you know what? It was still fun." Sofia declared.
"Because we were together." Madeline smiled.
Sofia/Madeline: Our trip got off to a rocky start
When we arrived at the lodge
That looked like it would fall apart
Amber: Then all our bags wound up getting lost
And we survived the monkey tribe
And their awful berry toss
Sofia/Madeline: But oh, what a vacation
At times, we wanted to give in
All: But we braved the rough weather
And got through it together
Yes, we still made it through
And had more fun than we ever knew
"Look, the lodge!" Sofia pointed.
"I suppose I should be glad to be going home." Roland frowned. "But I don't know."
"Yeah!" James agreed. "We never did see those hot springs."
"And there's probably a lot more exotic animals to see." Amber pointed out.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Miranda smiled.
"We'd like to stay." Roland declared.
"Can we?" Amber asked.
"Yeah, can we?" James added.
"Well, that's okay by me." Miranda nodded. "I mean, that's fantastic by me!"
"Take us to the hot springs, please!" Madeline told her and Sofia's calf.
James: At first, I thought that this would be a bore
James/Roland: But the adventure we found
Has made us want to stay for more
Miranda: Some bumps, a smidge of catastrophe
Helped to remind us all that we love being a family
All: And oh, what a vacation
At times, we wanted to give in
But we braved the rough weather
And got through it together
After all that we've been through
We're having more fun than we ever knew
After all that we've been through
Miranda/Roland: We're having more fun
Sofia/Madeline: Having more,
All: Having more fun
Than we ever knew
Than we ever knew
"I can't wait for our next family vacation, mom!" Madeline announced.
"Me neither!" Sofia grinned.