A/N: I have chosen to use male pronouns for Tip, as he currently identifies as male (according to the official Emerald City Twitter). This is also going full-on AU/Canon divergence, I guess.
The purification ceremony was actually not as pleasant as it sounded.
It was rather grueling, especially for the already-exhausted Lucas.
Dorothy and Lucas knelt on the stone floor what felt like hours, until they could not longer feel their knees, while Tip poured water over them for most of the ceremony.
Cold water.
West hovered around the edges, speaking in strange tongues, occasionally joining them, pressing their foreheads together, making a rather intimate, if strange, tableau.
In the end, Dorothy couldn't quite say she felt "purified", but she was a bit cleaner.
Cleaner, but dripping wet and shivering.
"All right, that's sorted," West announces at the end of it, with a tone that suggested that they had just been doing something rather mundane. "Who's hungry?"
Lucas immediately nods. "Starving."
"Get changed… dinner will be served in an hour," West snaps, waving her hand at a servant.
"Follow me," the girl blandly says.
She leads them to a set of double doors, then shoves one open.
"This isn't the room I was in before," Dorothy says, hesitating outside.
"You've been given new rooms, Mistress Dorothy," the young woman says, sounding less than enthused.
"What about Sylvie? She…"
"She is already inside. She – and your dog – wouldn't let anyone near her except for Tip," the woman informs, clearly disdainful of the newest servant.
Lucas hurries inside, eager to find the little girl. Dorothy quickly mutters a word of thanks before following him.
It is a spacious suite of rooms, and they hear Tip's voice behind one of the doors.
"Sylvie?" Lucas calls.
"Tip?" Dorothy adds, knocking.
The doors open, and little Sylvie greets them with a tiny smile, looking cleaner than she ever has. She rushes forward and hugs Lucas. "You look beautiful, little one," he says, running his hand over her shining hair.
"W-wet," Sylvie quietly says, pulling away. Then she hugs Dorothy, even though she is just as soaked.
"When did she start talking?" Dorothy mouths to Lucas, eyes wide.
"Yesterday," he whispers. "Still not much."
Sylvie pulls away from Dorothy and turns towards Tip, who is holding out a towel for her.
"Thank you, Tip," Dorothy says.
"She only trusts me because I helped you," he answers, carefully drying off the parts of Sylvie that got wet.
"There aren't many people to trust around here," Dorothy replies.
Tip nods. "I know." He turns to hang up the towel and Dorothy puts a hand on his shoulder.
"I know you do." She turns to head out, but his voice stops her.
"I'm supposed to show you your rooms."
"Okay," Dorothy says.
Tip sighs and walks in front of them. "That was Sylvie's room," he points behind them. "This is obviously the main room," he says, waving his hand around the central chamber. "Sleeping chamber," he points. "There is a bath in there. The other bath is there," he points to a third door.
Dorothy blinks, noticing there is only one bedroom apart from Sylvie's. She glances at Lucas and sees a question on his face he can't quite articulate, but she is pretty sure what it is.
"You're supposed to get cleaned up and changed for dinner," Tip says. "You'll find clothing in the wardrobes." He begins to walk out, then stops. "The dog doesn't get to come to dinner, but I'll bring him some food," he adds, then exits.
"Um, okay," Dorothy says. She looks down at Sylvie and sees the little girl sitting with Toto, absently stroking his fur. Toto makes a noise of doggy contentment and rests his chin on her lap with a sigh. His eyes close as she pets him. "I guess we just… Yeah." She walks into the bedroom and sees a large four-poster bed, complete with red velvet draperies, in the center of the room. There are two huge wardrobes on one wall with a door between them, leading to the bath. There is a full-length mirror on another wall, beside some massive windows.
"Apparently we are to share?" Lucas finally finds his voice and asks the question that has been hanging over them.
"Apparently," she replies, her voice weak.
"I can sleep out there if you—"
"No… it's fine. You've been through a lot," she interjects, not brave enough to turn around and face him.
"We both have," he quietly says.
"Yes, well… even so, sleeping on a couch won't do you any good," she answers.
"I could fall asleep right now, standing right here, I'm so tired," he responds with a gruff laugh. He notices she doesn't offer to sleep on a couch and let him have the bed alone.
She finally turns and looks at him. "I think that other bathroom is for you," she says, her hand reaching for his of its own accord. "You stink," she adds with a laugh.
"So do you," he counters, his shy, crooked smile warming her heart. He leans down and gives her a small, soft kiss, then heads to his own bathroom.
xXx
A soft, timid knock on the door rouses Dorothy from a slumber she hadn't realized she slipped into.
"Mistress Dorothy?"
Dorothy opens her eyes to see a pretty young woman hovering uncertainly in the doorway to her bath. "Oh… um… hi."
"I am here to assist you. My name is Lia," she says, curtseying but still not entering. She is very young with pale skin, almost-black hair, and striking green eyes.
"I don't need any—"
"Please, Mistress. It is my job. Mistress West said—"
Dorothy holds her hand up, knowing the girls are likely all afraid of West. She knows she still is. "All right. I don't want you to get in trouble." She waves her in.
"Oh, thank you, Mistress," Lia sighs, hurrying forward.
"Just… just Dorothy is fine," Dorothy says, knowing it's probably futile. These witches seem to be big on ceremony.
"I cannot," Lia answers, taking up a soft sponge as Dorothy leans forward.
"How 'bout 'Miss' then? I don't think I like being called 'Mistress' very much," Dorothy says.
Lia finishes washing Dorothy's back and reaches for a pitcher. "Please lean your head back… Miss," she says, trying it out.
Dorothy obliges, and eventually settles in, enjoying having her hair washed. She thinks back to when she was little and Aunt Em would wash her hair in the kitchen sink. She actually smiles, remembering kneeling on a kitchen chair, leaning forward with her head hanging in the sink until her neck and back ached.
This is nothing like that at all. She reclines back, her hair hanging over a basin, as Lia carefully and gently pours water over her hair, rinsing it clean.
Lia helps Dorothy out of the bath, slips a robe over her shoulders, then follows her into the bedroom. She glances around, looking for signs of Lucas.
"There is a small dressing room in the other bath. Your man is in there, being assisted by Rex," Lia informs, guessing Dorothy's thoughts.
"Rex? West has male servants too?" She is guessing Rex is male; though in this land, she really has no idea, because some of the names are quite different than the kinds to which she is accustomed.
"Not many," Lia answers, opening the wardrobe while Dorothy sits and continues squeezing the water out of her hair with a towel. She withdraws a red gown. "This is the gown you are to wear tonight," she says.
"Oh is it?" Dorothy asks, eyebrows rising.
Lia's eyes widen. "Forgive me, Miss, but this is a ceremonial dinner, and traditionally—"
"Lia. It's fine." Dorothy sighs. "I'm sorry; I'm still getting used to all this. I don't know that I ever will."
"Yes, Miss. You will have your choice any other time… well, almost… but tonight, this dress must be worn," Lia explains.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't go against tradition," she replies. "It is a beautiful dress."
xXx
Dorothy emerges from the bedroom 20 minutes later. The gown is gorgeous and fits her very well, flattering her slender waist and soft curves. Her hair is partly up but hanging long down her back, with red ribbons woven through, all courtesy of Lia.
She sees Lucas standing near the window, looking out into the night. When he turns, neither of them can find words.
"Pret-ty," Sylvie's quiet voice breaks the silence.
Dorothy smiles and looks at the girl, still sitting with Toto on the couch. "Thank you, Sylvie. You are very pretty, too."
Lucas has been walking towards Dorothy while she was talking, and she finally gets a good look at him. He is wearing shiny brown leather boots over snug-fitting trousers that highlight his muscular thighs, a red and gold brocade vest, and a cream colored shirt that is open at the neck. His sword, which has been cleaned and polished, hangs at his hip. Like Sylvie earlier, he is cleaner than Dorothy has ever seen him.
He looks gorgeous.
"Hi," she breathes, unable to come up with anything intelligent to say.
"Hello," he answers, his stormcloud blue eyes drinking her in like she is an oasis and he has been lost in the desert for days. "You look beautiful," he says, able to finish the sentence this time.
"You too," she replies, and the two simply stare at one another.
Lia quietly clears her throat, breaking the spell. Dorothy turns. "We do not want to keep Mistress West waiting, Miss," she gravely informs.
"Right. Okay," Dorothy agrees.
"Are you hungry, Sylvie?" Lucas asks, holding his hand out. The little girl hops down from the couch and comes to take his hand. Toto pads over to a large cushion in the corner that clearly has been placed there for him and curls up.
"Good boy," Dorothy calls, then takes Lucas' other arm. "You ready for this?" she asks him.
"No," he answers.
"Good, because neither am I."
xXx
"Ah, what a lovely pair you two make," Mistress West greets them. Dorothy manages a weak smile, never sure if the witch is being serious or sarcastic. "Come, sit."
Dorothy sits across from West. Lucas takes the seat to Dorothy's right, and Sylvie is shown to a chair on his other side.
The food is brought out and they eat in uncomfortable silence for a while. Dorothy notices West drinks more than she eats.
"You have questions," West finally says.
"Yeah, but I can't put most of them into words right now," Dorothy replies.
"Suits me fine; it's less I have to do," West comments, waving to a serving girl to refill her goblet.
"Why is everything in my room red?" Dorothy asks.
"You are to be the new Witch of the East," West answers, rolling her eyes. "Glinda has everything white. My things are black. Our late sister's was red, as I'm sure you recall," she continues unable to keep the bitterness from her voice at the end.
"What? I can't be a… a…" Dorothy pauses snapping her fingers, "what was it? A Cardinal Witch!"
"My sister's gauntlets chose you for a reason," West grudgingly replies. Clearly she still isn't terribly keen on bringing Dorothy into the fold.
"Well they chose wrong. I have no idea what I'm doing!" Dorothy exclaims.
West laughs, throwing her head back. "You think I do? You think any of us do? That's what life is, child."
"I thought you said life was choices," Dorothy counters.
"I did. And it is. But I never said there wasn't a lot of guessing involved," she answers, picking up her goblet. "Your kid's asleep," she adds, pointing to Sylvie, whose head is resting on her folded arms on the tabletop. She snaps her fingers and Tip appears out of the shadows.
Lucas stands to lift the sleeping girl, but Tip waves him off. "I've got her," he says. Lucas hesitates, and Tip gives him a level look before easing Sylvie into his arms. "Is she your daughter?"
"No. Well, I don't know, but I don't think so," Lucas answers. "I hope that I would remember something as important as that."
Dorothy reaches out and gives his hand a gentle squeeze. Tip leaves with Sylvie and Lucas takes his seat, still holding Dorothy's hand.
"Your consort is a man of few words," West observes. "A quality I always prefer in a man."
"Some people only speak when they have something worth saying," Dorothy responds, defending him.
"As I said," West replies, angling her head. She drains her goblet, deliberately sets it on the table, then gives Dorothy and Lucas a crafty look. "All right, I've kept you long enough," she says. "I'm sure you must be… eager… to retire."
"Thank you," Dorothy replies. "I know I'm exhausted, so Lucas must be about ready to fall over."
"Well, as long as you have enough energy left to for the Sanctification," West blithely comments. "Oh," she adds her voice dripping with innuendo though her expression attempts to be innocent, "you probably don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"
Dorothy gives West a sideways look. "No, but I think I can guess," she says after a few seconds.
"Oh good. I would hate to have to spell it out for you," the witch replies, cackling madly. "Oh, come now. That was funny."
Dorothy manages a weak smile. "Sorry, I'm not used to all this. I'm still not completely sure you're not going to kill me," she blurts.
West's expression sobers. "I'm still not completely sure I'm not going to kill you either," she says. "But you can rest assured I won't tonight. Wouldn't want to deprive you of your—"
"Okay," Dorothy says, cutting her off. "Um, goodnight then." She stands, takes Lucas' hand, and leads him from the hall. In the corridor, she stops.
"Dorothy?" Lucas asks, wondering why they've stopped.
"I can't remember the way back to our room," she says, knowing it has to be because her mind is completely addled by a combination of exhaustion, that damn weird wine, and the knowledge of what they have to do once they get there.
"This way." He leads them towards the stairwell, then up and along a corridor to their doors. Outside the room, he pauses. "Was she saying what I think she was saying?"
Dorothy looks up at him, nods, then pushes the door open and enters.