Prologue

Hong Kong Island

May 1842

A scream roared across the port dock, shifting everyone's attention.

Nolan groaned, "Annalee, can you please be careful?" Shifting his attention to his younger sister, "I don't need you busting your brains before we can even get to the villa." The child nearly tripped jumping on the dock.

"But, look, brother, that man is climbing a strange tower," the five-year-old yelled excitedly.

The Earl and Countess Montague face the direction their daughter was pointing to. It was the time of the season in Hong Kong when the citizens were celebrating the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. A strange celebration it was to these native Londoners. Near the harbor, the Hong Kong citizens were preparing to gather for the Bun Scrambling Competition.

"Yes, darling but don't stare too long it's rude," said the Countess, Isabelle Montague.

Turning to the rest of her children, Nolan(15), Theodore(13), Josephine(11), Eleanor(8), and Eugene(6). "All right children, why don't you head into town and enjoy the festival while your father and I head to the villa to set up our belongings."

"Mr. Ming will be going with you so you don't get lost," The Earl, Victor Montague, turned to their newly hired Chinese footman, and whispered, "Make sure they return to the villa before sunset."

"Yes, my lord," Mr. Ming leads the children out of the docking area towards town. "C'mon, children this is a very exciting day to enjoy the festival."

The streets were booming with music and laughter as children were bumping into each other. Annalee found the whole celebration intriguing, astounded by the lights and music despite not seeing that many bright colors in the streets of London. She excitedly ran over to a vendor selling big buns and asked Mr. Ming to buy her one. As Mr. Ming paid for the bun, the child turned her attention to her older sisters Josephine and Eleanor. They were trying on hair clippers at another stand on the other side of the street.

Dashing across the street, Annalee yelled, "I want one!" Josephine and Eleanor with an annoyed expression looked down at their sister saying, "No."

Josephine was the eldest daughter of the Montagues and more responsible than her two younger sisters. As for Nolan, who was the eldest child of the Montague, made sure to watch out for his younger siblings, especially making sure to keep a keen eye on the youngest, Annalee.

"Ms. Annalee, your bun," said Mr. Ming, handing the giant bun to her.

"What is that writing in the middle?" replied the child, referring to the red writing on the bun.

"It's a Chinese character that means peace. The festival is to commemorate traditional Chinese culture, and it's also to drive away evil spirits."

"Well, it sure is driving away something, 'cause this is delicious," she muffled, stuffing her face into the bun.

Looking up from the child, Mr. Ming inspects where the other children might have gone. Theodore and Eugene both were at the town center watching the lion dance performance. As the others joined them, they noticed that at the very center stood one of the giant towers that Annalee mentioned near the harbor. The tower stood at least 60 feet off the ground, made of bamboo and covered with fake buns.

While her siblings and Mr. Ming were engrossed in watching the men climb the bun tower, Annalee turned her attention to the small parade of people who were roaring. Moving towards the sound, and through the enormous crowd, Annalee pushes her way to the center to see children her age standing at the top of large sticks wearing traditional Chinese attire. As more children approached the corner, the audience roared even louder. After finishing her bun, Annalee joins the audience in cheering.

...

After two hours of looking, Mr. Ming and the Montague children could not find Annalee. It was almost sundown, as Nolan regrouped with his siblings back at the center. The streets were now growing less crowded and the more time passed, the more worried they became for Annalee.

"Anything," Nolan said breathlessly to the others. They each shook their heads covered in sweat after running around town looking for their sister. Mr. Ming had already sent word to the Earl and Countess about their daughters' unknown whereabouts. It only took two seconds after realizing Annalee's disappearance. Mr. Ming was already worried about what the Earl was going to say.

"The Earl should be arriving here shortly," said Mr. Ming. Focusing his attention on the small crowds of people looking for a 3'4" little girl with a white and rose dress. "Your father will be sending a carriage to bring the rest of you to the villa."

"What about Annalee?" Eleanor wondered. "Shouldn't we keep looking? She couldn't have gone that far."

"The Earl will be sending a search party to look for her. As of now, you children should be returning to rest. It's been a long journey for you."

"Children!" Everyone looked at where the sound had come from. From a distance, they see The Earl Montague running in their direction. "Any luck so far?" To his disappointment, they all shook their head. The Earl's stomach dropped as he fell to a squat, covering his face with his hand. After hearing the news, the Countess had fainted and was currently recovering from the shock.

"Mr. Ming, I'll have you take the children back to the villa, while me and the rest of the search party keep looking," The Earl said getting up. "The carriage is just done the street. The coachman should be waiting for your arrival."

"Yes, my lord," Mr. Ming replied, ushering the children towards the carriage. "And should I give word to Lady Montague?"

"No, that won't be necessary. She had already fainted once she received the news. I can't afford to stress her even more." Before their departure, the Earl gave each of his remaining children a kiss on the head and sent them an "I love you."

The night was already getting colder as the Earl and his men continued their search for his daughter. The festival had already died down. Now many on-goers were returning to their homes. They continued to search in the alleyways, even asking the townsfolks if they'd seen a young girl wearing a white and rose dress. Most, if not all, responded with a shake of their heads, while some were unable to understand the English language. After what seemed like a long night of searching, the Earl had become exhausted and beaten after running around. He worried for his child and if doesn't return with news to his wife, he truly believed she would surely die. Annalee was his bright light when bombarded with many affairs. Being head of the household meant having loads of responsibilities. The Earl had already lost the late Countess, his mother, late last year. He couldn't bear to lose his youngest child, who always made sure to bring a smile to his face.

He knew his other children must be grieving, having lost their younger sister. They must feel guilty for not keeping a close eye on her. Especially Nolan, being the eldest, knew his responsibility as their older brother to keep them safe. Their first travel to Hong Kong should've been an exciting memory to keep, but little did they know this would be the family's worst memory and possibly the last memory of Annalee Montague.

...

Her head hurt, a lot. She could barely remember what had happened to her. She remembered laughing and music and cheering and then darkness. She remembered hearing murmurs of what seemed to be a foreign language. Someone had bound her hands behind her back and placed a smelly sack bag over her face. She was terrified, worried what these strange people would do to her. She couldn't remember how she had gotten here. After a whimpering sound came out of her mouth, the murmurs turned to sounds of men yelling in that foreign language. She suddenly felt a hard impact, as if something made of metal had hit her. A splash reached her ears, and water quickly engulfed her, causing her to lose consciousness.

Before regaining consciousness, the girl tasted salt and was drenched from head to toe. Lifting from a lying position, the girl took notice of her surroundings. She was on the beach, somewhere but seemed like nowhere. The night was cold and the waves were cold against her skin and there was no one in sight. As she looked down at her feet, she noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes, and her clothes were covered in sand and dirt. She couldn't think what had possibly happened, not even her name or where she came from. The small amount of memory she'd regained before losing consciousness. She likely knew that someone had kidnapped her.

A massive headache started to form as she tried to move around. The girl noticed her hands were tied together and tried to move them to loosen herself from the rope's tight grip. Slowly, moving her tiny hands free from the rope, she gets up walking towards the direction of land. Where she was going she didn't know. She was surrounded by a dense forest and rocky ground as she began her journey up a mountain. After a long walk from a steep mountain forest, the girl sees light coming from ahead and hears voices. Most of all, she smelled food and she was starving. After a few minutes of contemplating, the girl started dashing across the dense forest, breaking through the opening and revealing a wall.

"Hah!"

"Hah, hah!"

Noises from beyond the wall echoed through the forest. As the girl got closer, she realized she was too short to see beyond the wall. Looking left, the girl noticed the edge of the wall and walked towards it leading to the corner of the building. The little girl continued walking along the wall finally reaching the front gates. The loud noise soon faded into the background. At the entrance of the gate, she saw a large scripture on top of the gate written in a foreign language. Hesitant to knock, she heard her stomach growl. It had been a long walk from the beach and the steep climb made her hungry and thirsty. She could not remember when she last ate. After a few minutes of contemplating, she finally decided to knock.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

There was no answer to the first three knocks. She waited a minute or two and then decided to knock again. Before her hands reached the gate's door, the doors flew open and she stumbled forward falling flat on her face.

"Házi, nǐ hái hǎo ma," said an older man helping her up. The girl finally on her feet looks to what seemed like a man with a long dark beard in a strange white robe. The old man observed the little girl, noticing she was likely around the age of 5 or 6. Her dress was torn covered in sand and dirt and she was likely a traveler from the West based on her pale features. Looking behind her, the old man would have thought she would be traveling with her parents, but there seemed to be no guardian with the child. Before the old man was able to ask her where her parents were, a voice came from behind him and shouted, getting closer. The girl looks at this newly uncounted man walked towards them looking much younger, wearing a similar style robe as his acquaintance.

"Shīfu, shì shuí?" asked the younger man. As the men were conversing, the girl gazed at the men idly, recognizing they were speaking in another language. She felt like she'd heard this language someplace, most likely from the individuals who had gotten her into this predicament. Before the girl even said a word, her stomach growled again. Hugging her stomach tightly she looked slightly embarrassed as she faced the two men. They both laughed, which surprised her. They cordially welcomed her inside what appeared to be their home. The girl is taken aback by the spacious yard and the dazzling lanterns that illuminate the night sky as soon as she enters. The fragrance in the air was familiar, somewhat sweet, and reminded her of home, though she wasn't aware where home was. Across the yard, she noticed what seemed like 10-15 children, probably slightly older than her, moving in slow steady movements. They moved so gradually that not one of them lost their balance, keeping one foot on the ground and the other in the air.

"Tai chi," the elder man remarked, bowing down to her height and smiling. She grinned and repeated it.

"Tai chi."