By Julie

“Take the chairs away. Make sure that no one ever sees them again.” Gabriella told me firmly, looking me in the eye as she fastened her shawl. “Do you hear me? No one can ever see them. Hide them well.”
“But-”
“Lea! Hide them!” Gabriella stepped out the door and moved so quickly down the street that she seemed to vanish. There was nothing I could do but to hide the chairs.
I held my breath and muttered to myself as I pushed aside the secret door in the drawing room. “Message from Gabriella. We have to take the chairs away and hide them so no one can ever see them again.” I announced. Six pairs of eyes fixed upon me. “What?” Francis asked coldly, even though I knew she’d heard me. “Hide them? We can’t possibly hide them. Take them away? Gabriella said that? We were just about – put me on with her!”
“She’s not on the telephone.” I told Francis. “She was here.”
“Here?” Yolanda eyed me. “At the door? In this house?” I nodded.
“She still could be out on the street! She could be just down the street this very instant!” Amelia flustered, leaping from her chair.
“No, she’s not. She’s gone.” I clarified. “She stepped in just long enough to tell me to take the chairs away and hide them where no one would find them.”
“Well, what shall we do?” Minerva said, standing up from her chair.
“Hide them, I guess,” I snapped.
“We can’t possibly hide them! We were going to be world-famous! We were going to have enough money to go to bed on full stomachs and to pay the rent and get heating!” Francis argued, pacing and stamping her feet. “We can’t-”
“Yes, we can.” Savannah said calmly. Everyone jumped to their feet. “If that is what Gabriella wishes. She must be doing this for some reason.”
“Yes, yes… I suppose that she must have good reason to do this…” Yolanda muttered as she tried to collect herself. “Yes… we’ll hide the chairs, Gabriella will have a good reason… the project will be completed.”
“I think we should do it right now.” I suggested. “What?” Francis and a few others shouted shrilly. “Well, Gabriella sounded like we had to do it now. Like she meant business.”
Francis looked at me like she meant business too.
“All right, all right, we’ll do it now!” Amelia finally concluded. “Everyone in uniform, please.” The room was vacant for a moment, then everyone reappeared. Francis was dressed prim and proper as a city lady, Yolanda in the rags of a scullery maid, Amelia in a rich lady’s red dress, Minerva as a schoolteacher in uniform and a bun, Savannah as a nun, and Juanita a police lady in a navy uniform.
“Who shall take the seventh chair?” Amelia boomed. “Who shall take the place of Gabriella?”
“I’ll do it,” I volunteered.
“Of course you may not! Sending a ten year old on a trip as dangerous and as risky as this?” Francis scoffed. “Who shall do it, then?” Juanita asked. Francis didn’t have any suggestions, nor did anyone else. “All right, I believe Lea shall take the last chair.” Savannah finished.
Yolanda pulled the sliding door of the second secret chamber in the room, and in the small room I marveled at the seven chairs. Silver, but dull, they stood regally in the middle of the room. Each intricate design etched into the silver was unique, in the top half of the back of each was a unique silver object. The chairs were magnificent. “Which chair will you take, Leah?” Savannah asked me sweetly. “This one,” I said, nodding, after consideration. My favorite was small and dainty but still had a powerful, strong feel. Inside the back was a key. “Of course you may not take that one! That one is Gabriella’s chair! It is the commander of the fleet, the one with the mind of its own, the most powerful of-”
“I trust Lea with the chair,” Savannah defended me. “Do you not trust our young companion?” Francis stuttered a minute. “All right, but I shall lead the fleet. I won’t let you have responsibility of all of us. Extra power is entrusted in the leader that can outmatch yours.” Francis claimed the chair with the tiny sewing scissors in the back, Yolanda chose the one with the locket, Amelia chose one with two silver dice, Minerva with the kitchen whisk, Savannah with the spool, and Juanita with the hairpin.
“All right, everyone.” Francis commanded in a loud voice. “Ready – keep your destination in mind. The underground station in London. Chair one!” Francis vanished. Yolanda followed, then Amelia on her chair, Minerva, Savannah, and Juanita. I felt the chair and myself lift from the room with a sudden jerk. I couldn’t tell what anything around me was. I saw blurs of all the colors in the rainbow and more colors we don’t have names for, blending together into one larger color that I assumed that humans had not discovered. There is no way to describe it but that it was a mix of all the colors, just like it is impossible to describe orange but that it is a mix of yellow and red.
Then I heard Francis’ voice shrilly commanding, “No! No! Land in London! Follow my command! Land in London!” But the chairs did not obey. I am guessing from research that Francis’, the first one, ended up in Greece; Yolanda’s, the second one, ended up in Australia; Amelia’s, the third one, ended up in Russia; Minerva’s, the fourth one, ended up in Italy; Savannah’s, the fifth one, ended up in France; Juanita’s, the sixth one, ended up in Whales; and mine ended up in Ireland.
The chair plummeted to the ground more quickly than anything you can imagine, and I screamed louder than most humans would seem possible. When I awoke on the green field, the chair was already gone. It was too late for Gabriella’s warning to have taken effect. The chairs were to strong to act under our command. It was too late.