Madeleine's POV

"Good afternoon gentlemen. First off, We'd like to thank this board for taking the time to hear our proposal." My brother Milo announced as the both of us were practicing our museum board proposal. Wait, where are my manners? Sorry about that. My name is Madeleine Heidi Thatch and I'm 11 years old.

"Now, we've all heard of the legend of Atlantis. A continent somewhere in the mid-Atlantic that was home to an advanced civilization possessing technology far beyond our own, that, according to our friend Plato here was suddenly struck by some cataclysmic event that sank it beneath the sea." Milo continued.

He handed me a stack of picture cards which I carefully flipped through.

"Now, some of you may ask, why Atlantis? It's just a myth, isn't it?
Pure fantasy." I explained. "Well, that is where you'd be wrong, gentlemen. 10,000 years before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Atlantis had electricity, advanced medicine, even the power of flight."

"Impossible, you say? Well, no. No, not for them." Milo took over. "Numerous ancient cultures all over the globe agree that Atlantis possessed a power source of some kind, more powerful than steam, than coal. More powerful than our modern internal combustion engines." I recited. "Gentlemen, we propose that we find Atlantis, find that source and bring it back to the surface."

"Now, this is a page from an illuminated text that describes a book called the Shepherd's Journal, said to have been a first-hand account of Atlantis and its exact whereabouts." Milo proceeded.

Milo and I shimmied ourselves from behind the podium stand and planted ourselves in front of the blackboard presentation. "Now, based on a centuries-old translation of a Norse text, historians have believed the journal resides in Ireland." I explained.

"But after comparing the text-" Milo grunted as he picked up the heavy shield. "To the runes on this Viking shield, we found that.. that one of the letters had been mistranslated. So, by changing this letter," I wiped at the board with my sleeve before using chalk to replace the letter R with C.

"And inserting the correct one, we find that the Shepherd's Journal, the key to Atlantis lies not in Ireland, gentlemen but in Iceland." Milo grinned. "Pause for effect," he placed the Viking shield down.

"Gentlemen uh, we'll take your questions now," he said as the telephone rang. "Uh, would you gentlemen please excuse us for a moment?" Milo flipped over the blackboard with ease to answer the telephone. I sat down with our "audience".

"Cartography and Linguistics, Milo Thatch speaking."

Milo listened to the angry ranting through the line. He jumped up carefully and switched the light on, revealing us to be the only people in the basement. "Pardon us, Mr Hickenbottom," we edged past the fake crowd of skeletons and antiques towards the boiler.

The machine hissed and groaned as he fixed it before I gave the device a hit with a wrench before Milo returned to the telephone. "How's that? Is that better?" he asked. "Don't let it happen again!" the man scowled before hanging up.

"Now, as you can see by the..." Milo realized he accidentally wiped the map off the board, resulting in his waistcoat being covered in chalk, which made me giggle a bit. "By this, um, map...map, uh, that.. that..ahem..that Maddy drew," he stood in place to match the drawing together and I stood up to stand next to him. "We plotted the route that will take ourselves and a crew to the southern coast of Iceland to retrieve the journal."

The cuckoo bird clock on the wall chimed four times. "We're finally getting out the dungeon!" I cheered. Milo smiled as he dusted himself off and grabbed his paperwork. And handed mine to me. He didn't forget to stop by the desk which contained souvenirs of our late grandfather, the great Thaddeus Thatch who died two years ago when I was nine.

He previously worked at the same museum as us and I remembered how devastated the two of us were when we received the news via letter that Grandpa had passed away. Milo lifted up a framed old photograph of a young him and Grandpa.

When I saw that smile I knew he was recalled the lovely memory of Grandpa lifting Tiny Milo onto his lap. Tiny Milo reached up with grabby hands so Grandpa placed his lifelong explorer's hat on Tiny Milo's head. That hat was too big in size and sunk, covering Tiny Milo's eyes which made
Grandpa laugh heartily.

He opened the candle-lit cabinet, Milo retrieved grandpa's placed it on his head. After all those years it still didn't fit and sunk, covering his eyes. And made me giggle.

We received a message in the chute about the scheduled meeting we had been so busy preparing for with the board of directors to seek fundings for the expedition.

Dear Milo and Madeleine Thatch,
This is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved up
from 4:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

I read out loud. "What?" Milo glanced at the clock, it was just after 4:00 pm. We then immediately received another message.

Dear Milo and Madeleine Thatch,
Due to your absence, the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend.
Mr Harcourt's office.

Those sneaky Smithsonians!

"They can't do this to us!" Milo's glasses and hat fell off as he fumed at their deceit. "It's maybe because they hate us." I calmed him down.

This wasn't the first time they had pulled a faithless stunt like this.

3rd Person POV

Upstairs on the main floor, Mr. Harcourt was talking with his colleagues as they prepared to leave for the weekend. "I swear, those young Thatches get crazier every
year."

"If I ever hear the word 'Atlantis' again, I'lI step in front of a bus," said one colleague. "I'll push you," said another, prompting the men to laugh.

"Mr. Harcourt!" Milo and Madeleine's voices suddenly rang in the distance as he scrambled down the lavish hall. The Smithsonians saw them and panicked, their eyes widening.

"Good Lord! There they are!" One colleague panicked.

"Head for the hills!" Another screamed.

"How did you find us?" A third hollered.

"Where is a guard when you need him?" A fourth cried.

"Run!" A fifth shrieked.

"Members of the board, um wait!"
Madeleine chased after the board members who disbanded into separate rooms in the museum, slamming and locking the doors.

As for Milo, he sped up. "Mr. Harcourt, you gotta listen to us, Sir!" Mr. Harcourt reached a dead end and had nowhere to go which forced him to hide behind a thin plant. Not exactly the smartest idea.

"Uh, Sir?" Milo used the tip of his umbrella to move the plant out of the way, revealing Mr Harcourt's face. Mr Harcourt, who did not want to be disturbed especially by Milo or Madeleine Thatch, opened his umbrella which pushed Milo backwards before the old man ran outside to his awaiting car.

"Uh, sir? Wait! Mr Harcourt! Sir, We- we have new evidence that... please, Mr Harcourt! Stop! Sir, if you...could you hold... thank you very much.
Look at. " Milo called out desperately as he caught up, juggling the scrolls of paper in his arms. He and Madeleine had so many that some accidentally dropped to the floor.

"This museum funds scientific expeditions based on facts, not legends and folklore! Besides, we need you and your sister here. We depend on you two," Mr Harcourt replied firmly, pulling the siblings close.

"You do?" Madeleine questioned.

"Yes. What with winter coming, that boiler's going to need a lot of attention," Mr Harcourt patted
Madeleine's face.

"Boiler?" Milo wondered.

"Onward Heinz!" Mr Harcourt shook his hand.

The car screeched as poor Milo ran alongside, trying to plead his and Madeleine's case. Madeleine found her bicycle

and got on it, pedaling fast enough to reach her brother. "Milo! Get on!" She pleaded to her brother.

He got on and opened one of the scrolls of paper his sister had. "But there's...there's a journal. It's in Iceland! We're sure of it this time!" Milo pleaded.

After checking his pocket watch, Mr Harcourt yanked the purple curtains shut harshly. "Maddy, I'm gonna jump." Milo told his sister. "Don't you-" Madeleine started to warn but it was too late her brother had jumped to the hood of Mr. Harcourt's car.

Imagine Mr. Harcourt's shock when Milo jumped in front of the moving car, clinging to the front window with a thump.

"Sir, I really hoped it wouldn't come to this but these are letters of resignation," Milo slammed his letter and Madeleine's against the glass, "if you reject our proposal, we'll- Whoa-"

Heinz swerved the car to the right, forcing Milo to fall to the ground. Madeleine stopped next to her brother. "WE'LL QUIT!" Milo yelled. The car brakes squealed as the vehicle lurched to a halt before reversing back to Milo and Madeleine. The curtains opened.

"We mean it, sir. If you refuse to fund our proposal..." Milo bravely stated. "You'll what? Flush your career down the toilet just like your grandfather?" Mr Harcourt did the loony gesture around his head. "You and Madeleine have a lot of potential Milo, don't throw it all away chasing fairytales."

"But we can prove Atlantis exists!"
Madeleine insisted.

"You two want to go on an expedition?" Mr Harcourt dug into his waistcoat and tossed a penny at Milo. "Here, take the trolley to the Potomac and jump in. Maybe the cold water will clear your heads. Heinz!" The curtain drew shut once more and the car sped away, splashing Milo with puddle water before it started to rain heavily.

Milo sat down on the sidewalk in defeat. Madeleine got off her bicycle and sat next to her brother and laid her head on his shoulder. "Mr Harcourt is the model of a charmless man." She said. "I never did take a liking to him," "We tried our hardest to get along with him but I'm at my wit's end." Milo grumbled.

"I know but let's keep trying. Why don't we request a new meeting next week?" Madeleine encouraged.

"That depends if the two of us even have a job by the start of the week. Mr Harcourt saw our resignation letters and he did not look happy." Her brother lamented.

"Well, are there any other museums locally we could potentially apply for?" His sister wondered.

Milo shook his head. "I doubt any would be willing to hear our proposal. We'll most likely end up in another basement fixing the boiler."

Madeleine took his hand and squeezed it gently. "You know, it's his loss. It's all their losses. We're another day closer to the biggest discovery of our lives and when they see our success, they're going to realize how big of a fool they are."

Milo peered at her eagerly. "Do you really think so?"

"With all my heart," Madeleine smiled, "Now c'mon, let's go home. I could do with a bubble bath and tea," she said. Milo didn't need to be told twice. He was just as tired and ready to wind down for the night so they caught the next trolley and made their merry way back to their shared apartment.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
Chapter One is finally done and I'm already getting the feels. See ya next chapter! 😊