SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

Chapter One: Secrets

Kotta first started to realize it when she found a picture in the attic of their home when she was nine years old. It was an old picture of her parents, younger and happy, with Our family portrait written on the bottom in her father's loopy handwriting.

When she showed it to her parents, Jinora's eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong, Mommy?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, "just…memories." She cleared her throat before she excused herself and made her way to the bedroom.

Kotta looked up at her father, whose eyes were also glistening. "Did I do something wrong?"

Kai laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder and gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Of course not," he said. "Your mommy and I just… When you get older, sometimes you have memories that make you cry. That's all." He took a quick look in the direction of the bedroom, then back to Kotta. "I should check on your mommy. Do you want to keep that picture?"

Kotta smiled and nodded, clutching the old photo to her chest. With a last ruffling of her hair, Kai left and went after her mother.

Kotta forgot about that incident a few days later, and years passed until she thought about it again. When she did, she was twelve years old, and her mother had dropped a plate and was staring at her younger sister.

"Mom?" Kotta said, looking uncertainly between her mother, and her sister, Lani, who was only six. "Is something wrong?"

Jinora waved her hand and the plate mended itself back together instantly, flying back to her hands. "No, I just…" Jinora swallowed hard. "Your sister just reminded me of someone I knew."

Kotta frowned, and gave Lani a smile. "Come on, you can show me your dolls," she offered, eager to distract her. Lani skipped along happily, her short curly hair flying behind her.

They had skin like their mother, a bright green, a few shades darker thanks to their father's dark skin. Kotta had inherited his messy hair, but her mother's colour, and her father's emerald eyes. Lani, on the other hand, had ended up with eyes that were brown or gray, depending on how you looked at them, her hair pulled into pigtails with pink bows. ("Pink goes good with green," their mother always said.) Her younger brother Gale, just a few years difference between them, had their mother's hair and eyes, and looked the most like Jinora.

Kotta could hear her parents crying in their bedroom that night, when she tiptoed past to go to the bathroom. She heard the name "Ikki," but had no clue what it meant. She wondered what was happening, and she realized how little she knew of her parents' pasts.

She had no idea where they grew up. She had never met her grandparents, even though all her Animal friends had them. She had never even been told why they were the only humans here, and why her dad wasn't green like her, her mother, and her younger brother and sister. Her parents would say, "Oh Oz," sometimes, and she had no idea why.

Kotta decided to confront them in the morning. "Mom? Dad? What was wrong last night?"

"Nothing," Jinora answered, tilting her head at her. Kotta crossed her arms at them.

"I heard you both crying. You said a name I've never heard. And before that you looked at Lani like you'd never seen her before." Kai and Jinora exchanged a nervous glance. "Who's Ikki? Why are we the only humans here? Where did you grow up? I don't know… anything."

Kai looked back at Kotta. "That's…not true," he said cautiously. "You know that your mom and I met in college, and that we were friends with your Uncle Godfrey before any of you were born. You know that he officiated our wedding."

"Yeah, I know how you and Mom met," Kotta said exasperatedly, "you were roommates and used to hate each other until you got to know each other and then the story just ends there because you guys don't tell me anything else. You won't even tell me which college you went to, even though there are no colleges or universities here!"

Jinora sighed and closed her eyes. "It's… complicated. You'll understand when you're older, sweetheart."

Kotta frowned. "I'm nearly thirteen years old, how much older do I need to be to know the truth?"

"Older," Jinora answered quickly. "Look, I know there's a lot we haven't told you. And, honestly, we don't know how to tell you any of it. But trust me when I say that it's not because we don't think you're not ready. It's because we're not ready." Her voice broke. "We were too young to have experienced some of the things we did. We want to keep you protected for as long as we can. The last thing we want to do is force you and your siblings to grow up as fast as we had to."

Jinora wiped her eyes, Kai wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Please try to understand," Jinora said softly.

Kotta looked at her feet, and any objections she had died on her lips. "Fine," she said softly. "I'll try."

So Kotta went to find the weak link: Godfrey.

She knocked on the door of her godfather's cottage. "Come in!" he called from inside. Kotta smiled and pushed the wooden door open. Most of the Animals' homes, including her parents, were fairly small cottages, located near a hill with a little valley and a few rivers. It was the perfect place for them, but Kotta couldn't help but wonder what lay beyond her little world. Her parents must have come from somewhere else. And she would hopefully find out where soon enough.

"Hi, Uncle Godfrey," she greeted. He was perched on the edge of one of his many bookshelves, looking rather preoccupied.

He turned his head in her direction, and hooted gleefully at the sight of her. "It's always good to see you, Kotta."

She smiled at him and nodded. "You, too, Uncle Godfrey." She looked around at the shelves, books stacked haphazardly in various locations. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Godfrey hopped off his place on the shelf and landed in front of her. "No, you're perfectly fine," he assured her. "I've just been reorganizing my book collection. Ever since moving out here, I haven't had much time to do so." He tutted at himself. "Anyway, how has life been in the Upland household? How are you parents doing? Making more children, I presume?"

Kotta couldn't hold back her snorting laughter. "Uncle Godfrey, gross."

"Really, I'm surprised there are only three of you. Your parents were quite…energetic back in the day. Actually," he said, cocking his head in thought, "they still are, especially for their age."

"I really didn't need to know that," Kotta said, laughing in spite of her grimace. "But…" as her laughter quieted, she pulled out the photo in the pocket of her grey dress. "I wanted to ask you about this. And…my parents. Where this picture was taken. Where they came from. Why, even in a happy marriage, they still seem so sad sometimes." She sighed as Godfrey gently took the picture into his feathered wings. "I feel like I don't know them at all. But you do. You knew them back when whatever horrible thing happened was taking place. I know you always joke

about the things they did when they were younger, but…I need to know who they were."

Godfrey's face had grown solemn, and his whiskers twitched. "They were…wonderful people," he said carefully. "They still are, and they love you so much, it's just…" he sighed, handing the picture back to her. "Their broken past is their burden to carry. They don't want to force anyone else to carry it with them if they don't have to."

Kotta looked down at the picture, then back to the kindly Cat Owl's face. "I've never even seen another human outside of my own family. Please. Even if you can only tell me a little about who they were. I need to know."

He looked down at the feathered tips of his wings for a moment, staring hard at them, before he closed his eyes and sighed. "Your parents met at a place called Shiz University. It's located in a land called Oz."

Kotta blinked a few times, before grinning to herself. "So that's why they swear by Oz all the time!" she exclaimed. "What else?"

Godfrey looked at her hesitantly, before continuing. "The picture you're holding was taken when they were staying together in one of your grandparents' mansions, in a part of Oz called Kiamo Ko. It was during that week that they first proclaimed their love for one another," he said, chuckling to himself fondly. He remembered that day he'd walked in on them, and how embarrassed all of them had been. From that moment on, he had been sure that they'd stay together for the rest of their lives.

"Wait," Kotta said. "You mean…my grandparents are out there somewhere?"

The Cat Owl paused, growing increasingly uncomfortable. "…Yes," he said reluctantly. "I doubt you'll ever meet them, though. They…disapproved of your parents' marriage."

Kotta furrowed her eyebrows and pouted a bit, and the questioning look on her face reminded him so much of a younger Jinora, struggling to build a network of Animal rebels to help her in her cause.

"Why?" she asked. "My parents love each other. They love us. What could be so wrong with their marriage?"

"Your grandparents could never understand it," Godfrey said. "I'm sorry, Kotta, I'm afraid I've told you too much."

"Just one more thing," Kotta pleaded, and Godfrey's resolve melted. He could never quite say no to his goddaughter.

"Where is Oz?"

Godfrey gulped loudly, looking down at his clawed feet. "Far away," he said. "Beyond the valley. Somewhere over the rainbow." He looked at her apologetically, his black eyes softening. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."

Kotta looked down at her feet again, then back up, smiling at Godfrey. "It's fine. I've already learned so much more than I thought I would." She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss Godfrey's furry cheek. "Thanks, Uncle."

He chuckled. "Of course, Kotta. Just…don't tell your parents we had this conversation."

She grinned mischievously, and for a moment looked so much like her father. "Of course not. It's our secret."

Hi everyone! It's been a while but I was thinking, seeing as the whole fic is already written, we should finally get around to posting these chapters of this. I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear your feedback. Very regular updates, too.