Chapter 4: Lincoln of Royal Woods!

Lincoln's sisters were laughing so hard that they could barely stand up.

"What-what happened to all of you in there?" asked Lincoln. "After we curtsied, we left," said Lola. "When we looked back in the room, you were still bowing!" said Lori. "She didn't say 'rise'!" said Lincoln. "Yes, she did, dummy!" said Luan. "Well, I didn't hear her!" said Lincoln.

He turned away from his 10 sisters and started walking as fast as he could. He strode through one of the elegant room into another. He didn't know where he was. These rooms all look the same, he thought angrily, with stupid velvet furniture and stupid gold-trimmed walls.

"Lincoln, wait!" called his sisters. They hurried after him.

Lincoln kept walking, desperate to get far away from the scene of his disaster. Finally, he came to a door that led outside. He opened it and stepped out onto a long marble terrace overlooking the back of the palace. Bright silvery light from a full moon shone on a huge garden.

Lincoln stood in the chilly air, trying to calm down. He took a deep breath. He desperately wanted to run back to the tree house and go home.

"Lincoln!" said his sisters as they slipped out to join him. "I'm sorry I called you a dummy," said Luna. "Are you okay, dude?" asked Luna. "I didn't hear her say to rise," said Lincoln. "And the flute fell out of my coat and my hat came off . . . and my wig . . . and I sneezed and I slipped . . . . "Come on, let's leave," said Lincoln "We can go down these stairs," he said. "No, we can't leave now," said Lori. "We have a mission from Merlin," said Lynn. "Don't feel bad," said Lana. "Hardly anyone saw what you did," said Lucy. "Yeah, except Her Imperial Majesty and all those imperial kids," said Lincoln. "They all laughed at me," he said. "They weren't like being mean," said Leni. "You were funny," said Luan."Here give me your wig," said Luan.

Lincoln handed Luan his wig, and she put it back on his head and straightened it. "Your hat," said Luan. Lincoln gave her his hat, and she placed it over his wig. "Hide the flute," said Lucy.

Lincoln stuck the silver flute back into his pocket. "I don't know what we need this flute for," said Lincoln. "There's nothing dangerous here, I don't get this whole mission," said Lincoln. "We'll figure it out," said Lori. "Let's just go back in," said Lola.

The 10 sisters pulled Lincoln Lincoln back inside the palace.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Lincoln. "We should like find the party we were invited to," said Leni. "That must be what Merlin wanted us to do," said Lisa.

She pointed across the room. People were streaming through a set of doors into another room. Loud party noises came from inside: the chatter of guests, tinkling china, and harp and violin music. Lincoln pulled back. But his sisters took him by the arm.

"Don't worry, I'll bet there are hundreds of people in there," said Lori. "We'll get lost in the crowd," said Lana. "But what about all of those kids and Her Imperial Majesty?" asked Lincoln. "They don't care about us," said Lisa. "They have too many other guests to think about," said Lynn. "Come on," said Lori.

Lori leads her brother and her 9 sisters through the double doors into the party room. "Whoa," breathed Lincoln. He and his 10 sisters stopped and stared.

The party room was the size of a football field. Grand paintings covered the towering ceiling. Everything was trimmed in gold. The glossy white walls and tall mirrors reflected the glow of at least a thousand candles. Musicians played harps and violins while hundreds of guests stood around long dinner tables, chattering and laughing. Women fanned themselves, their diamonds and rubies flashing in the candlelight. The air smelled of perfume, powder, and roses.

"Okay, let's talk about our mission," said Lori. "We have to help a brilliant artist get on the right path to bring joy to the world," said Lisa. "Yeah, but first we have to find one . . . ," said Lucy. "Right, so let's look around," said Lynn.

Lincoln and his 10 sisters started drifting together through the huge room. Lincoln gazed at the grownups. Dressed in their finery, they all looked pretty much the same. What does a brilliant artist look like? Lincoln wondered.

"Lincoln of Royal Woods!" came a high little voice. Oh, no! thought Lincoln. He whirled around. The boy with the tiny sword was grinning up at him. "I have been looking all over for you!" he said. "Hi!" said Lola. "What's your name?" asked Lola. "Wolfie," said the boy. "That's a funny name," said Luan. "So is Lincoln of Royal Woods!" said Wolfie . His eyes shone as he looked up at Lincoln.

"Are you a clown?" asked Wolfie. Lincoln's sisters giggled. "Yeah, that's right, I'm a clown," said Lincoln.

"How old are you, Wolfie?" asked Lola, changing the subject. "Six!" the little boy said. "Six?" said Lincoln. This kid looked more like a four-year-old, he thought, five at the most.

"And I'm eleven," a girl said. It was the same girl who had helped them in line! "Cool, our brother here is eleven too," said Lori. "Yes, I am," said Lincoln.

"Hi!" said Lynn. "Hello, again," the girl said in a soft," lovely voice. "I am wolfie's sister," she said. Lincoln felt his face grow red. The girl must have seen him make a fool of himself. "My name is Nannerl," said the girl. "Nan-nerl?" said Lana, trying to pronounce her name. The girl smiled. "You can call me Nan if you like," she said. "Wolfie and I enjoyed your performance in the Great Rosa Room, Lincoln," said Nan. "You must be proud, Her Imperial Majesty does not laugh easily," said Nan.

Lincoln shrugged and scratched his wig. He wondered if the girl was joking. But she looked serious, so he decided not to tell her he hadn't meant to be funny.

"Do you call your mother 'Her Imperial Majesty'?" Lola asked Nan. Nana looked confused. "No," she said. "We call her Mama!" said Wolfie. "But you just said Her Imperial Majesty doesn't laugh much," said Luan. "Oh, Her Imperial Majesty is not our mother!" Nan said. "Our mother is back home in Salzburg, we are just visiting the palace," said Nan. "Then why was Wolfie sitting on Her Imperial Majesty's lap?" asked Lucy. "Because she likes me very much!" Wolfie piped up. Oh, brother, thought Lincoln.

"Wolfie, be modest," said Nan, shaking her head. "Actually, Wolfie jumped in her lap when we presented ourselves," said Nan. "I tried to grab him, but Her Imperial Majesty wanted him to stay with her," said Nan.

"My Papa taught me all the names of the imperial children before we came here: Leopold, Ferdinand, Maximilian, Joseph, Maria Antonia, Maria Elisabeth, Maria Christina, Maria Johanna, and Maria Anna.

"Hmm," said Lincoln. "Maria's a popular name around her," said Lincoln. Nan laughed. Lincoln liked making her laugh.

"Hey, look at me!" said Wolfie. He pulled off his wig. He pretended to sneeze and then fell to the floor. "I'm Jack the Clown!" he said. Suddenly, Lincoln's 10 sisters started laughing. "Ha-ha, very funny," said Lincoln, forcing a smile. He'd had just about enough of Wolfie.

"Nan, we have a question for you," said Lori. "Do you know if there are any brilliant artists here at the party?" asked Lori.

"I hadn't really been in Vienna long enough to meet many people," said Nan. "But Papa told me that artists do live-"

"Wait!" Wolfie broke in. He jumped to his feet. "I know someone here who is very brilliant," said Wolfie. "Who?" asked Lucy. "Me!" said Wolfie. And he bowed.

"Wolfie," said Nan," shaking her head. "Right," said Lincoln. He turned back to Nan. "where were you about to say?" asked Lincoln.

But Wolfie broke in again. "Nan and I are both brilliant!" he exclaimed in his high voice. "Our papa teaches us math, history, writing, reading, geography, music drawing, riding, fencing, and dancing," he said. Wolfie raised his arms over his head and did a little dance step. The sisters laughed again.

"Wolfie, stop!" said Nan. Yeah, cool it kid, thought Lincoln. "Do you want to go outside and play in the garden?" Wolfie asked Lincoln and his 10 sisters. "We can all dance," he said. "I don't think so, Wolfie, but thanks," said Lincoln. He turned back to Nan.

"So, what were you going to tell us about artists?" asked Lincoln. "Oh, yes," said Nan. "Papa told me that Her Imperial Majesty often invites artists to live in the palace and work here," she said. "Perfect!" said Lori. "Do you think any of them are here at the party now?" asked Lucy. "I don't know," said Nan. "The palace is very big," she said. "Papa told us that more than fifteen hundred people live here," she said. "Why are you looking for brilliant artists?" asked Nan. "Oh," said Leni, "we're on a mission to-" Lori interrupted her. ". . . to a party with brilliant artists," she finished. "That's our mission," she said.

Then she laughed because she knew she sounded stupid. Nan, laughed, too. "I see," said Nan. "All right then, at dinner, I will ask Papa where the artists stay," she said. "Thank you!" said Lincoln. Finally, he thought, they were starting their Merlin mission!