Following their delicious breakfast, Wendy immediately went out to tend to the farm fields. By now, she was starting to get very much used to the feel of having, and moving around in, digitigrade feet. Carefully, she tended to the fields, making sure each crop was well-nourished so that they would be full-sized and healthy by the time it was ready to extract them from their places in the soil.
She next began to sweep around the interiors of Minerva's cottage, and dusted around the areas where a broom could not reach with a featherduster, being very careful around the more delicate areas of Minerva's home. As she dusted around, there was a bit of a commotion outside, and the idle, relaxing witch…who had been watching her servant work…stepped outside curiously.
As Wendy worked, however, one of the younger voices spoke aloud. "C'mon! Hurry up! I wanna get there in time to see Dorothy!"
This made Wendy stop, as she wondered if this was the same brave little girl from Kansas who the people of Bunnybury held in high regard. She still had quite a bit of dusting to do, though. As much as she wanted very much to ask Minerva for permission to visit the Emerald City…a place she had yet to see for the first time…and meet Dorothy Gale herself, she knew her jobs as Minerva's servant needed to take priority.
She felt like she needed to earn her first visit to the Emerald City.
As Wendy worked, however, she heard two voices engaging in conversation she could not make out clearly, as she was deep in the cottage's basement. Their voices, however, she could easily identify. One was Minerva.
The other was Chamberlain Plummage.
By the sounds of their voices, their discussion seemed to irritate Minerva some, as she raised her voice a bit as they spoke. She let out a heavy sigh, however, and seemed to relent to whatever it was that they were having a row about.
Wendy was in the midst of scratching out a stubborn stain in the basement when she heard Minerva at the top of the stairs to the basement. "Come back up at once, servant!"
Her voice didn't sound very happy, and Wendy worried for what she would be told as she immediately moved to the stairs and ascended quickly, scratching an itch at one of her long ears nervously.
She nearly ran into Minerva as she stepped through the doorway, gasping in surprise, but settling in front of her with a dutiful look on her face. "Yeth, Mith Minerva?"
The proud witch had her arms crossed in front of her, and a bit of a frown on her face. In one of her paw-like hands was a pair of sealed envelopes. "It seems you have been entrusted to a royal task, Wily Wendy." Minerva began. "It also looks like you'll get to meet Dorothy Gale…and visit the Emerald City…after all."
Wendy's eyes widened. It was certainly what she had hoped for, but there was a far more pressing concern on her mind. "Um…can it wait 'til after I'm done with my work, Mith Minerva?"
Minerva arched an eyebrow. She was a bit surprised at this manner of response from Wendy. As much as Minerva appreciated it, she had to maintain her reputation, and she therefore assumed a scolding expression. "Wily Wendy, this is a royal task that comes straight from the nobles of Bunnybury, and one of these tasks is for the King himself! You are a bunny now and I will not have you insulting its ordained King by refusing a task that YOU have been entrusted to! Do I make myself clear, servant?"
Wendy shrank a bit, that fearfully timid feeling beginnning to take hold. "Y…yeth, Mith Minerva…I'm thorry, Mith Minerva…!"
Minerva softened her voice. "Apparently, the King has requested that you be the one to send a message to the Princess Ozma. I imagine it has something to do with the birthday party, which is tomorrow. The second message here is for the Princess…Dorothy." The witch looked at the indicated envelope for the Kansas girl a bit oddly. "I've been told they need to be hand-delivered to each one."
"What'th wrong, Mith Minerva?"
"Hmm? Oh…pardon me, Wily Wendy. It just seems a bit strange is all. If these are what I think they are, I'm a little confused as to why it isn't just Ozma the King would be replying to. Why the need to send one to Princess Dorothy?"
"Maybe it'th bith'neth oth'r than th' birthday party." Wendy surmised aloud.
"But…if Dorothy had just arrived…" Minerva's voice seemed to trail off as she began thinking on this oddity, but she seemed to dismiss the thought in the next moment. "…eh, perhaps you're right, Wily Wendy. Go ahead and get into that nice dress the Chamberlain had made for you. I want my servant looking her very best when she finally meets the two Princesses of Oz."
"Yeth, Mith Minerva!" Wendy's face brightened as she hurried into her room to acquire the elegant dress, changing out of her servant's garb in favor of the exquisitely-designed gown that had been tailored for her.
She then stepped out to face Minerva Mulch once more, smiling. In her appraisal, however, Minerva seemed a bit troubled, and Wendy's expression went from excitement to concern. The bunny girl started to say something, but Minerva raised a hand to stop the words before they were spoken.
She then waved her open hands around in front of Wendy, and intoned a few words of her own…
Shanel, Sasson, Shalama Samite!
Strands of red, threads gold and white!
Turama, Shimara, as Sun shines bright,
Thy tress and thy dress a comely sight!
Wendy's curly red hair seemed to come alive and reshape, much to the servant's surprise, as Minerva reached the end of her incantation. A layer of sweet makeup also formed upon Wendy's furry face, the enchantment creating a beautiful combination of makeup and hairstyle, making the bunny girl's overall appearance entirely stunning. Minerva finished her grooming by tossing a sparkling dust around her, which made her twinkle as she moved. Bringing her servant before a mirror, Wendy went wide-eyed and slack-jawed in utter amazement. She looked very, very beautiful!
Wendy slowly turned her head to Minerva. "I…I…"
Minerva smiled. "I agree, dear. You look undeniably radiant…and once you have dressed me, the both of us shall hop on over to the Emerald City so you can deliver your messages."
"Madame Minerva…" The somewhat frumpy Guardian of the Gates began, once the proud witch had stated her business as the bespectacled sentinel requested. "…I do believe everyone and their grandmother wish to see Princess Ozma and Princess Dorothy, but unless this is about confirmed party business…"
"Guardian, I have a message from the King of Bunnybury!" Minerva protested aloud. "The other message is royal business concerning Princess Dorothy!"
"I can't tell you how many times I have heard those excuses!" The Guardian griped. "'I have urgent royal business from Jinxland!' 'I have urgent royal business from the land of the Yips!' 'I have urgent royal business from Bunbury!' 'royal business from the China Country!' Royal, royal, royal!" The irritated Guardian then stepped up close to the mildly intimidated witch. "Well, this time, I'm making a new rule! Unless I get a specific okay from someone who is royal…"
Wendy saw the creature step up behind the Guardian as the griping man in the emerald-colored glasses spoke. A four-legged, full-sized Lion with a cute red bow gathering up a portion of his headfur into a cute pigtail. He just stood there, on all four of his paws, listening until he seized an opportunity to interject. "I do believe I count as royalty, yes?"
The Guardian gasped in his surprise as he turned to face the ordained King of the Beasts, the magnificent, gold-furred presence that nearly everyone in the land of Oz knew, by virtue of his old reputation, to be the Cowardly Lion.
The expression the Lion was giving the Guardian, however, was a bit more intimidating.
The Guardian of the Gates now looked a bit flustered. "Uh…s…sorry, your highness…" He then gestured to the two bunnies as Wendy stared in awe at the outer architecture of the magnificent cityscape that loomed before her and Minerva. "….we…we have, um…two visitors from…from…"
"Yes, Guardian. I'm well aware they hail from Bunnybury. As they are both beasts, I should think that I should know at least a little something of whatever manner of furry folk roams the Quadling wilds over which I rule?" The Lion then turned his gaze to Wendy, stepping up to her to give her a curious whiff.
Wendy was now amazed at the sight of a lion actually talking, and being understood. She would have been entirely intimidated were it not for what Minerva had told her when they first met. The beautiful servant was still a bit nervous when the ordained King of the Beasts padded slowly over to her to get her scent.
"Hmmm…" the lion began, in his post-sniff assessment, his feline eyes finding Wendy's nervous ones. "…what is your name, my dear?"
"Wendy, thir." She followed this general introduction with a respectful curtsey. "Um…Wily Wendy."
"Wily Wendy, eh?" The lion sounded intrigued at the name alone. Minerva began to wonder if Ozma had been using her Magic Picture to spy on her activities, or perhaps Glinda had spoken to the lion based on passages she had read in her Great Book of Records. "I am called the Cowardly Lion, Wendy, and I am the ordained King of the Beasts. As you have…technically…become one yourself, I will expect you to obey the rules of the wild, which I am certain Minerva here has acquainted you with?"
"Um…I don't think tho, thir." Wendy replied.
The lion nodded. "In that case, Minerva and I will need to have a little talk right here and right now. You, on the other hand, may freely enter the Emerald City and conduct whatever business you have come for."
Wendy looked curiously to the Guardian, who smiled cordially upon her, and after going through the necessary operations required to open the closed portal, he gestured to the space within the city that waited for her past the South Gate of the wondrous, emerald-encrusted haven. "Welcome to the Emerald City, Wily Wendy. You may pass, and we hope you enjoy your visit."
Wendy smiled. "Thank you, thir." The beautiful bunny girl then looked warily to Minerva, who now looked quite nervous.
The lion didn't look very pleased as his eyes lingered on the witch, but he briefly turned his head to Wendy with a more pleasant expression. "Go on, Wendy! Minerva and I just need to talk for a bit. We'll be letting her in shortly." The lion then turned back to Minerva, his expression once again wary. "Assuming, of course, that I find her explanations acceptable." The King of the Beasts sternly added.
Wendy couldn't help but hear Minerva swallow audibly. It was disturbing to see the bunny witch she had been serving suddenly look so…terrified. She worried that this lion was going to cast some form of harsh judgment upon the very witch she had been serving since she arrived in this amazing land.
She found herself lingering with worry, in the spot she had been standing in, for about a minute before she regained her senses and moved into the city. Her gaze drifted everywhere as she made her way into the beautiful mecca, her own appearance drawing awed gazes from the people and the beasts that were making their way around the interiors of the city. Wendy found it particularly interesting that business transactions in front of shops and open stands were being conducted in the absence of something she knew to be a necessity in the world outside of this land of Oz.
Money.
Not one face within the impeccably clean cityscape seemed shady or sullen. As Wendy walked, she noticed that there was a kind of pattern in the dress color schemes of the human occupants of the city. Some wore purple, others wore red, there were people dressed in yellow garb, and others…a majority of them small in stature, their heights no bigger than a ten-year old child…were clothed in blue garments.
As wondrous as the Emerald City's interiors were, however, they paled in comparison to the central building that stretched high and tall unto the clear skies above. Wendy could see a high balcony as she craned her head up to see how tall the building was.
A funny-sounding voice behind her intervened upon her scrutiny. "See anyone you know up there?"
Startled, Wendy turned to face the voice…and found herself gazing upon a skinny man in very fine clothes. In one of his white-gloved hands was a small case. Two things about this particular individual struck Wendy as being highly unusual.
One was that his clothed body was made entirely of wood, explaining his skinny frame.
The other was that his head was actually a large pumpkin with carved-in facial features.
That it was actually talking to her was a mildly-significant discovery in comparison, having seen many animals capable of human speech, among all the other incredible unusualities she came to comprehend in the time she spent thus far in the magical fairyland.
"I beg your pardon?" The pumpkin-headed man then remarked, noting Wendy's silence as his large head tilted to the side. "Are you quite alright, Miss?"
"Huh? Oh, yeth. I'm thorry." Wendy finally replied. "I'm tryin' t' find Printheth Othma an' Printheth Dor'thy."
"Oh! What an amazing coincidence!" The pumpkin-headed man then exclaimed. "Follow me, then, for I have the very same purpose. My name is Jack Pumpkinhead, and has been since I was made by my mother, the Princess Ozma of Oz." Jack then looked over the bunny girl's dress. "I must say, you have a very exquisite gown upon your furry person, young lady!"
"Thankth! I'm Wily Wendy." The servant gave Jack a respectful curtsey. "How far are th' Printhetheth?"
"It's not a matter of how far, Wily Wendy." Jack replied. "It's a matter of how close they are. The Royal Palace is right over there." He indicated the very building Wendy had been staring up at. "Shall we go in together?"
Wendy smiled. "I'm right behind you."
Jack now looked puzzled. "You are? But…how can you be? You're right in front of me!" The pumpkin-headed man then indicated the space behind him. "Shouldn't you be here?"
Wendy, however, took that to be a kind of command. "Oh! Yeth thir." She then hurried behind Jack, lowering her head. She didn't know much about this strange new friend, but if she were made by the Princess of Oz, she didn't want to be disrespectful. To be made by a Princess, by Wendy's wisdom, should confer a kind of royalty upon the human-like construct with the pumpkin head.
Following timidly behind Jack, they entered the large building, and Wendy once again found herself staring around the breathtaking splendor of the Royal Palace's interiors. As she gazed around, she heard a pleasant-sounding voice, which Jack closed in on.
"…but there is still another sort of button which is covered with dull cloth, and that must be the sort your papa meant when he said you were bright as a button. Don't you think so?"
The voice of a little boy, with curly blond hair, responded to it. "Don't know."
Wendy's eyes finally settled upon where the voices were coming from as Jack Pumpkinhead stepped forward to address a blond-haired little girl wearing a cute hairbow and a pretty dress sitting in the finely-designed seat of the throne room area they were all in. Flanking this girl were a host of personages both human and otherwise. Laying at the little girl's feet was a large, well-built tiger with a cute bow of ribbon tied to his striped tail. To the girl's right was another young, but very beautiful-looking lady in a shimmering, gauzy dress that seemed to shimmer the colors of a rainbow, and she had a pretty smile upon her flawless young face. To the girl's left was the curly-haired little boy, who was wearing a cute blue sailor suit. Standing beside the boy was the strange-looking person the boy had been talking with. He was odd in the way she had thought Jack was, only this person had a body composed entirely of straw, with a stuffed burlap sack upon which a painted face was perpetually moving and speaking as if it were as real as a human's.
This figure paled in comparison to the individual to the little girl's right, however, for here was another construct with a human build, only the whole of his body was made entirely of tin, and resting upon his shoulder was an emerald-encrusted woodsman's axe. Behind this tin person were two human men, one looking very shaggy in appearance, and the other a finely-dressed gentleman with a balding head, and two black sideburns sweeping upward in a crescent moon-like curve.
Such was Wendy's amazement at these sights that she missed her name being mentioned by Jack Pumpkinhead once a young woman wearing a green maid outfit had come to claim the package Jack had brought. "Um, Wendy? I do believe Princess Dorothy wishes to meet you!"
Indeed, the blond-haired girl in the throne seat was now looking directly at her, a sweet smile on her face. All the other eyes were on Wendy as well, with similarly pleasant gazes.
Wendy, however, was struck speechless. She didn't know quite what to say first. She was entirely overwhelmed. She had finally made it to the Emerald City, and she was finally meeting Dorothy Gale.
In her mindset as a servant, however, her reaction seemed obvious after she recovered from the shock. She dropped to her furry knees in front of the young Princess, her tone inescapably nervous. "I…I'm Wendy Wily, y..your highness…"
Jack sounded puzzled. "Wendy Wily? But…I thought it was Wily Wendy!"
"Yeth, thir, it ith." Wendy then lowered her head. "I'm thorry…"
"Dear me! What a timid little bunny!" The straw-filled man observed.
"A bunny that looks very much like a young girl, too." The tin-plated man surmised aloud.
The young woman in the shimmering dress now tilted her head to the side in her scrutiny, and her eyes seemed to twinkle a bit as she gazed upon the timid bunny girl. The little girl in the throne seat noticed this, as did the tiger at the girl's feet.
"Princess Dorothy…" the young woman in the shimmering dress slowly began as her eyes stopped twinkling. "…this bunny was a girl. Witchcraft is holding her to this form, but…she doesn't seem very unhappy about it."
With the girl in the throne seat finally identified, the bunny girl gasped in delight as her eyes fell upon the young Princess. "Are y' really Printheth Dor'thy? I really wanted t' meet you! I've heard tho much about you!"
Dorothy couldn't help but giggle at this. "It's nice t' meet you too, Wily Wendy! Where'd y' come from?"
"Tex-thath, your highneth."
Dorothy gasped at this. "Texas? Why, that's not too far from Kansas!" She leaped to her feet and moved up closer to Wendy, who lowered her head timidly. "Oh, please get back on y' feet, Wendy! Y' don't need t' be so shy around me!"
Smiling meekly, the bunny girl slowly rose to her digitigrade feet.
"Y' can jus' call me Dor'thy, too. Ev'n though I'm a Princess." Dorothy assured, noticing the servant girl was taller than her.
"How'd you become a bunny?" The little boy then asked.
"I therve a witch. Mith Minerva Mulch, th' proud witch of Bunnybury." Wendy replied. "I methed up her carrot crop, so she made me look like thith."
"Hmmm, Bunnybury? I've nev'r been there." Dorothy noted. "What's it like?"
"Not ath pretty ath th' Em'rald Thity, but…it'th thtill very nith. Their King wanted me t' give you an' Printheth Othma methageth perthon'ly." Wendy then produced the envelopes, presenting one to Dorothy. "One ith for you, the other ith for Othma."
Dorothy took the envelope from Wendy's furry hand. "Thank you, Wendy! Princess Ozma's away preparin' for her party, but…well, I s'pose y' could jus' give her th' message, right? If it comes from th' King of Bunnybury…"
"Oh, I don't know, Dorothy." The Tiger then spoke, in a deep tone. "She's awful busy today. Maybe Jellia can present it to her later."
"Oh, but it could be real import'nt, Tiger!" Dorothy turned her eyes back on the bunny servant. "I think she should jus' see her real quick an'…"
Wendy's perspective then lurched, and it made her stagger a bit where she stood. Blinking rapidly in an attempt to stabilize her senses, she found that she had been suddenly relocated to what looked like a large banquet room. The place was huge, and very, very festive-looking. Within the room, aside from herself, was a single occupant, and this young girl…who was dressed in a gauzy white gown similar to the young woman next to Dorothy in the throne room with the twinkling eyes. She had a gold crown seated on a head of beautifully curly brown hair which spilled in silken strands down to her mid-back. On either side of her head were large red flower heads, and in her slender, pale-skinned hands was a long, gleaming golden wand, topped with a kind of insignia which she remembered seeing at the gates to the Emerald City…a large "O" with a "Z" within the space of the larger round letter. The indescribably beautiful young woman ran the glowing head of this scepter across the room, causing a simple string she had run between the columns along the outer edge of the banquet area to sprout a series of beautiful, fragrant flower heads.
The bunny servant was once again amazed at this sight, and once again, her eyes boggled and her jaw slackened. At the same time, she wondered why she was suddenly brought here. Who was this person a few feet in front of where she was now standing?
As if in answer, the young decorator turned her sweet face to Wendy, and a pleasant smile played upon this sweet young person's face. She lowered her long wand to her side as Wendy lowered her head bashfully.
This decorator then emitted a sweet giggle. "First time being zapped someplace else by a magic spell?" She then asked.
Wendy smiled meekly. "Yeth."
"Well, don't worry, my dear. I asked Glinda the Good, who was just coming into the throne room, behind where you were standing, to transport you to me." The decorator then approached the bunny girl, closing some of the distance between them. "I understand you have a message for me from the King of Bunnybury?"
Wendy blinked…and then it hit her. She gasped as her eyes went wide. "Printheth Othma?"
The decorator, who was indeed the Princess Ozma, smiled as she nodded in confirmation.
Wendy immediately dropped to a knee and bowed low. "I'm thorry, your highneth. Yeth…I do have a methage." She then held out the envelope without lifting her head.
After a moment of contemplative silence on the part of the fairy princess of Oz, her voice serenely chimed forth again. "Please rise, Wendy Wylie."
The bunny girl quickly rose to her digitigrade feet, gazing timidly upon the fairy princess. Wendy couldn't help but be a little surprised that she was being identified by her actual name. Naturally, she imagined that this princess was quite powerful not only in noble bearing, but in magic as well.
Ozma then raised her wand high, positioning its head above Wendy's. "This will be just a touch of fairy magic upon you. Perfectly harmless. There is something I wish to see."
The head of the golden fairy wand then began to glow with a soft white light, and the princess circled the head above Wendy. In the next moment, a pleasant warmth filled her body, instinctively compelling her to raise to her tiptoes as she felt her body's full pelt of soft bunny fur quickly recede, along with the two buckteeth that were forcing her lisp. She felt her ears shrink and move back to the sides of her head, and the wiggles she felt at her nose suddenly stopped. The whiskers under her nose also receded into her skin, as did the creampuff-like tail at her posterior.
When the highly comfortable warmth abated, she nearly stumbled as her heels once again touched the floor. Looking upon her hands, Wendy confirmed that they were once again human, and touching at her face further made it plain that her human appearance had been fully restored.
Wendy, however, didn't feel as joyous as Ozma might have expected. In fact, she began to worry that the princess was going to send her back home in the very next instant.
Wendy quite simply didn't know how to respond to what had just happened. She was actually starting to get used to the furry form the witch had given her so unexpectedly. She found a strange kind of comfort in it.
And now, it was gone.
Initially, Ozma smiled seeing the form of the 16 year old girl restore itself by virtue of her magic…but then, her expression turned to concern when she saw Wendy's somewhat troubled reaction. "Wendy?" She then asked. "How are you feeling, my dear?"
"I…" Wendy hesitantly began. Her eyes didn't even settle back on the fairy princess. "…I don't know…"
"Wendy? Oh, please look at me, sweetheart." Ozma calmly asked.
Slowly, the Texas girl's eyes met Ozma's.
"I wanted to see what you really looked like, Wendy. Beyond all that fur." Ozma then explained. She then moved to one of the banquet seats, pulling out a second chair in so doing and patting gently upon it. "Come sit with me, dear."
Wendy complied, nodding slowly as she settled her now furless posterior into the seat. The Texas girl noticed, too, that the gown she was wearing still fit her perfectly. No doubt the magical manipulations from Ozma also made the necessary alterations to her outfit as well.
"This…transformation of yours." Ozma began. "You didn't ask for it, did you?"
"No, your highness." It felt weird for Wendy to be speaking normally again, without the lisp.
"Yet, you seemed to accept it?"
"Well…I come from a farm, your highness." Wendy explained. "I…I'm used t' workin'."
Ozma slowly nodded, understanding the rationale which kept her from protesting what had happened to her so abruptly, or even so vividly. There was, however, a truth she needed to share with this young girl, and it was one she knew the bunny witch was deliberately keeping from her servant. "Wendy…what if I told you that Minerva Mulch was not willing to change you back into a human? That she wanted to keep you as her servant for the rest of your life? In the form she gave you? Even after you fixed the damage to her crops?"
"But…" Wendy quietly responded, after a moment of quiet consideration. "…I…I like her…I like servin' her, your highness." A dreadful thought then occurred to the Texan. "Miss Minerva isn't in trouble, is she?"
"Well, I can tell you Glinda won't be pleased when she finds out what Minerva did to you. She doesn't like transformation magic at all." Ozma warned. "And she will find out, Wendy."
Wendy's shoulders drooped. It felt like a party she was enjoying was coming to a bitter end. "You're gonna send me back home, aren't you?"
Ozma tilted her head a bit, curiously. "Do you want to go back home, Wendy? I can easily do this."
There was no denying it. The very notion of going back home now seemed entirely miserable to the young Texan. After everything she had experienced and had seen here in this land of Oz, how could she possibly return to foster parents who, at times, seemed so absorbed in the family business that they practically forgot Wendy lived with them? Did her disappearance really have any effect on their lives at all since she got swallowed up by that unexpected sinkhole?
Wendy felt Ozma's soft, smooth hand caress at her chin as the Texan's eyes once again went back to the fairy princess. "You don't want to, do you, Wendy?"
Wendy now sounded a bit desperate. "Couldn't I stay for y' birthday party, at least? Please, your highness?"
Ozma smiled sympathetically at this. "Oh, of course, dear! I would be more than happy to have you stay with us for the party tomorrow. I'll tell you what, Wendy. After tomorrow's festivities, I'll have you join me in my boudoir, and we can have a look at where you came from using a special picture I have. You can make your decision then as to whether or not you'd like me to bring you back home. Does that sound fair?"
The Texan gave this idea some thought, although she was a bit fearful for what she would see in getting a glimpse of the farm. A smile, however, formed on the young farmgirl's lips, and she nodded in agreement.
Ozma's expression brightened at this. "Good, good. I'll have Jellia Jamb give you quarters to stay in for the evening here in the city."
"But…what about Miss Minerva, your highness?" Wendy then asked, with deep concern.
Ozma had thought what she had told her about Minerva's devious fabrication would liberate Wendy from any further display of loyalty. It seemed, however, that the bunny witch had either laid her enchantments down pretty thoroughly, or perhaps there was a less-than-wicked side to this so-called "proud witch". Even if she did lie to the young girl she had taken as her servant. The fairy princess made a mental note to have the situation investigated, perhaps even as the party affairs were in full swing.
"Well…I can assure you that she won't be harmed no matter what happens." Ozma assured. "Although I'm certain Glinda and I will be having a little discussion about Minerva, and what she did to you."
"She nev'r hurt me, though." Wendy protested. "She was…nice. An'…it felt nice, what she did t' me…didn't hurt at all…"
Ozma just nodded silently as Wendy spoke. "Whereas you feel a wicked person would have made things a little more…painful for you. That's understandable." Ozma then positioned her seat directly in front of Wendy, looking deep into her eyes with a scrutinizing gaze as she spoke. "Wendy…I should tell you that when I restored you, I also cleansed you of any enchantments that may have affected your mind or even your emotions, which is why a lot of your lingering sympathy for Minerva honestly surprises me."
Wendy tilted her head curiously. "Don't people in Oz work? Like I do?"
Ozma giggled at this. The fairy princess began to see that there was more to Minerva's penchant for calling the girl 'Wily Wendy' than just a mere fancy. "Oh, yes, my dear. The people of Oz work because it is their desire to do so, and many of their situations are similar to yours. Your situation stands out, however, because you're not native to Oz, and it was a badly-laid magic spell that brought you to our lands, much like the natural tornado that brought Dorothy Gale here from Kansas, and all things considered, you haven't done any wrong at all. I find it rather surprising, for one thing, that Minerva was asking you to fix a run of crops that she herself destroyed through her botched magic. So I need to ask you now…and I need you to be absolutely truthful with me…do you honestly enjoy serving Minerva Mulch as you had been doing?"
After a moment, Wendy nodded. "Yes, I do."
"And the enchantment she laid upon you…turning you into a bunny…never bothered you?"
Wendy shook her head. "I was startin' t' like it, too."
Ozma nodded slowly, thinking on the Texas girl's replies. The fairy princess then asked about Wendy's upbringing, which the farmgirl felt as comfortable sharing with Ozma as she did with Minerva.
As Wendy spoke, Ozma began to understand why the farmgirl had warmed to Minerva so much. It wasn't that Wendy hated her foster parents. They just weren't showing her the kind of love and affection Wendy wanted, which was understandable since the Texas girl's interests…largely through Minerva's influence…proved so unusual as to warrant the conclusion that Wendy's life would have been less than fulfilling if she had spent the rest of her natural life on that Texas farm. At the same time, Ozma marveled over the notion of someone actually finding contentment, if not outright happiness, as the servant of a witch. The fairy princess herself could certainly relate, as she had once been in the more miserable service of a wicked witch named Mombi.
Although in that time, by virtue of Mombi's magic, she was a boy named Tippetarius.
Ozma had all the justification in the world in her decision to abandon Mombi, of course. Not only was she a difficult and bitter person to serve, the Gillikin Country witch also made no secret of her intentions to change her servant boy into a marble statue. Had it not been for his lucky escape from the nasty old crone's farmhouse, he probably would have spent the rest of his life frozen into a sad, lamented pose, and positioned somewhere within the house Mombi deemed suitable.
It was Mombi, ironically, who had restored her own servant boy's true gender. That, in fact, was the last real magic spell the wicked witch had cast before a potion Glinda condemned her to drink effectively removed the crone's ability to use magic.
But was this Minerva Mulch anything at all like Mombi? Some of Wendy's circumstances were similar to what Ozma went through, although this time, it wasn't a gender-based conundrum.
And Wendy actually wanted to stay with this witch. Possibly even serving as the kind of foster parent Wendy would be happy with.
Ozma now knew what she needed to do next.
But, unfortunately, it would have to wait.
"Wendy, I very much appreciate your being honest with me." Ozma remarked, smiling. "If only to keep Glinda from getting upset over it, however, I'd like to keep you free from bunny fur for the time being. I'd also like to have you remain in the Emerald City as a guest for a time. At least, until I can spend a little time talking to Minerva Mulch, which I will certainly set my mind to once tomorrow's festivities are done."
Although Wendy wasn't too thrilled with this decision, she understood it, and nodded after letting out a somewhat glum sigh. "I und'rstand."
"But I will share an interesting little fact with you that might even help your situation." Ozma then added.
This understandably got Wendy curious, and she gave the fairy princess her full attention.
"Do you know who was behind the very creation of Bunnybury, Wendy?" Ozma asked.
Wendy ventured a guess. "It wasn't th' King, was it?"
Ozma shook her head, smiling once again. "It was Glinda, Wendy. Glinda has a great deal of affection for bunnies, so she used her incredible magic powers to create an entire community for them to inhabit."
This surprised Wendy considerably. "So…that whole place…even th' Royal Palace…was made by Glinda?"
Ozma nodded. "She basically provided the living spaces. The bunnies who came to live there developed the residences and businesses you must have seen. I imagine Bunnybury is about as nice as our Emerald City, right?"
Wendy nodded. "Actually, I think th' Em'rald City is a lil' more nice-lookin'."
Ozma giggled at this. "Don't let the King of Bunnybury hear you say that!"
They both shared a laugh at this.
Wendy was then dismissed so that Ozma could continue her preparations, and the sweet-natured Jellia Jamb escorted Wendy to the room Ozma had reserved for her.
The Texas girl deemed the room quite extravagant for a guest. Not only did the place have a very nice bedroom and bathroom, it also had a sitting room and even a small dining room. Wendy wondered if this was anything like the lavish 'penthouse' concept she heard her foster parents back in Texas mention during some of their meals together. Spacious, luxurious…these traits certainly applied when Wendy first entered her room.
A closet in the room also contained a variety of very beautiful dresses, but when she looked upon a mirror and finally saw herself in the makeup Minerva had magically applied to her…which seamlessly adapted to her human appearance through Ozma's fairy magic…she decided to remain in the beautiful dress she was already wearing, which just happened to go so well with her hair and makeup.
Wendy spent a bit of time relaxing, although in that time, she felt uneasy. She was not, after all, in Minerva's farmhouse, where she could be tending to the tasks Minerva had ordained her to do regularly. At least, until she had earned her way back home, so to speak. To hear that this was a lie was certainly difficult for her to accept.
But then, she found the notion of lingering in this wondrous fairyland impossible to deny.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Jellia Jamb had returned to relay Ozma's offer to join her, and a great many guests from all over the lands surrounding Oz, for a large banquet. The Texas girl was quick to accept, and when the time came, Jellia escorted a hungry Wendy Wylie to the banquet area.