Perfunctory Disclaimer- 100 bottles of beer on the wall…100 bottles of beer…I don't own the characters or places except the ones I made up, 100 bottles of beer on the wall….
Chapter 7- Life Without Lile
The coldest, wettest, dreariest months at Brisbe brought the best news that most could ever hope for. Lile finally passed Level Four Mathematics, and would be graduating Mid Term.
Unbeknownst to her, there was a secret party in room 317 the night Lile got the results of her Final Exam. Invited to the shindig was Glinda and Jadis, of course, and Tambra, Tavvia, and Kyndie. All of them were members of their 'Secret Society of Lile Watchers', and now, all of them had amulets to protect them against any spells that Lile might toss their way.
"How long before she's gone?" Kyndie asked. At fourteen, she was the youngest of the assembled girls.
"She'll sit for her portrait in two days," Tambra said, "And then she's free to go. Then, she'll return in the spring to get her diploma with the rest of her class."
"Two more days. I can hardly wait!" Tavvia said, making a protection sign over herself, "I think they should just frame her portrait in black and toss it in the Wicked Witch room!"
"Hmmm…yes, she should have a place of honor, right next to her Cousin Mombi!" Tambra giggled.
While they dished out on Lile, Jadis kept the Turkish Delights in good supply.
"Am I the only one who thinks it's kind of scary?" Glinda asked, "I mean, to me, it just seems…so shivery. Why don't the teachers see what we see? Why can't they see through Lile the way we can? Even the Queen is buffaloed by her!"
"Well, that isn't saying much, since Queen Ozma hardly ever sees her, and of course Lile puts her best foot forward whenever she comes to visit. Not to mention, no one ever discusses the bad stuff that goes on around here to the Queen. To do so might risk having her pull out her financial support, which we could ill afford, right?" Tambra conceded.
"Of course, you have a good point."
Glinda supposed this was what her Grandmother would refer to as 'good politics'. Maybe the Headmistress wasn't as buffaloed as Glinda thought she was.
"In other words, as long as they can't prove its Lile misbehaving, they can't do a thing about it…"
"Exactly. The little wretch has to be caught red-handed, which she's too smart to do, so until she does, everything gets swept under the rug."
"Well, soon enough, she'll be gone, and no one will have anything to worry about. At least Mira seems above Lile's brand of garbage, even if she is about as friendly as a cactus," Jadis concurred.
"Just the same, I won't be taking my amulet off any time soon," Tavvia said.
"Me neither," Kydie agreed.
There was a huge crowd gathered in the gallery when Lile's portrait was placed up with the other smiling alumnus of Brisbe Girls' Academy. Lile was all smiles and gushing gratitude, thanking the Headmistress, her teachers, and her fellow classmates. One would think she'd been nominated as the class valedictorian, when in fact, that honor would likely go to Jadis! But, she still drew crowds where ever she went, as Lile was infused with a natural charisma, despite the fact that most of her former classmates had already graduated. With a toss of her glossy, ebony hair she waved to her classmates, hugged a few she was close to, and then excused herself to pack her belongings.
"This is it! We finally get rid of her! For real!" Tambra whispered to Glinda and Jadis.
"I'm not counting on it until I see that carriage pull away with her in it!" Glinda hissed back quietly. From up above, the portrait of Lile seemed to stare down malevolently at them, as if it heard every word they said to each other.
One blustery morning, Lile finally did leave. Bundled up against the chill, her numerous trunks piled up behind her, Lile called out to her friends:
"I'll be back in the spring! And don't forget to watch for the invitations to my party!"
And then, there was peace. It was if the walls of the school suddenly breathed a collective sigh of relief to have her gone. The change was most noticeable in Mira, who seemed to bloom almost the moment the carriage rounded the corner, carrying her sister out of view.
Before long, Mira began to experiment with her hair where she never had before. Instead of just letting it hang in a lank ponytail, now, she would braid it, wear pretty barrettes and combs in it, (always black, green or gold, of course) and even curl it. Every now and then, she would even wear a pretty ring or a bracelet. Yet unlike Lile, her tastes were simple. Slowly, the dark circles beneath her eyes began to fade, and the dull listlessness within them began to liven up. After awhile, she was even talking with a few girls at the lunch table. It was such a shame that the real Mira had to wait so long to emerge.
Their private studies were much more enjoyable too, without the oppressive domination of Lile's presence. Glinda learned that Mira was actually looking forward to heading West and assuming her duties there, despite the fact that the country was strange and distant, and had once been dominated by Mombi.
"There's two factions that control the Great Forest there," Mira explained to her one day, "The majority was ruled by King Avinus the Third. He's the Great Lion everyone in those parts talks about. He ruled all but the Enchanted Forest. The Enchanted Forest is ruled by the Winged Monkeys. Nikko is their leader. They don't have a king, per se, but rather a leader, and they've elected Nikko to be in charge. When Mombi took over, she killed King Avinus the Third and subjugated all of the lions. She also took control of the Winged Monkeys."
"Oh, dear…."
"Yes, but King Avinus has an heir; a son, aptly named Avinus the Fourth. He's too young to rule yet, so now his wife is acting as regent until he's old enough. Meanwhile, control of the Enchanted Forest has been given back to Nikko. Then, of course, there's the Winkies. They make up the majority of the rest of the people in the West. Mombie subjugated them as well, but Ozma's troops freed them when Mombie was eradicated."
"Yes, the Winkies. I've heard of them. Wasn't Mombie forcing them to serve as her palace guards?"
"She enslaved them and forced them to do all of her labor," Mira replied.
"Do you suppose they'll be wary of you?"
"I'm sure they will. Who wouldn't be? But, from what I gather, Queen Ozma has already been at work, campaigning for peace. Hopefully, the transition will go smoothly."
"I do hope so!"
"Say, wasn't there once a prison colony out North?" Mira asked, her eyes gleaming with sudden interest.
"There used to be, many years ago. Over a hundred years ago, at least. But, my Great-great grandmother made a vote to move the colony to an unsettled area in the South, near the Deadly Desert, because it was too easy to escape where they were before. Everyone unanimously agreed," Glinda explained.
"Except, maybe the Southerners…"
"Oh, even they don't mind, from what I hear. The prison falls under the territory jurisdiction of the Hammerhead Tribe. They are a fierce group of people; guerillas, really, that are so hardened, they managed to prevent being overtaken by Mombi. The Hammerheads are clever, too. They have special vehicles that can traverse short stretches of the Deadly Desert…and they are paid a stipend to keep watch over the prison. Therefore, it was quite an amicable decision."
"Whatever works, I suppose."
"From what I understand, that's the very same prison Mombi languishes in now. I hope she likes it there, frying in the hot temperatures, guarded by a fierce tribe of locals she could never conquer!"
Both the girls giggled a bit at the thought. They'd each seen Mombi's picture in the 'Wicked Witch' Gallery, and she did not seem like the sort of girl that would like prison one iota.
"Do you suppose it will be easy for you to take over when your Grandmother retires?" Mira asked her suddenly.
"I haven't really considered it. My Grandmother isn't the sort who will relinquish her control easily. She'll only retire when she's good and ready to, and by the looks of things, she's got many years left in her yet. But, she's no idiot. The foundation of our family rests on one generation succeeding to the next. When the time comes, she'll start preparing the people for what will surely come long before it actually happens, and she'll make darn sure I'm ready for it when it does. There will be charity luncheons, township drives, demon-castings…all sorts of things I'll do to prove myself under her watchful eye. I know this, because I remember my mother doing them. All the while, I'll be exposing myself and proving my skills to the people of the North. Then, one day, she'll announce her retirement, and I'll take over. I suppose that's how it will work," Glinda explained.
"Really, I guess that's the best way. It's sort of frightening just being tossed into the wolf's den. I know plenty of spell-craft, but nothing of politics, really. What if I fall flat on my face?"
Glinda bit her lip thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose it's too late to ask Queen Ozma for any of her best political books, is it? She's the best politician I can think of, aside from my Grandmother. Where you're going, I'd think you'll need them!"
"Perhaps I will. If anything, I can't imagine I'll have much else to do there in such a wild country but read, which I dearly love to do. If I could have a library stocked with everything about the Western Colonies, and good political practices, and the best spells…and a few books for entertainment and fancy, I'd be happy for a good long time!"
"Well, the Queen has told us that educating our minds is an important goal, and that we should not only focus on our respective lands, but that we should also learn as much as we can about our neighboring provinces. So, if I should happen to learn anything useful about the Western Colonies that could be of aid to you, I'll be sure to let you know," Glinda offered.
"Right now, anything at all would be useful," Mira said with a small smile.
The winter passed so peacefully, that it was hard to believe that it went so quickly. Soon, the Last Year girls were buzzing excitedly about their portraits and commencement parties, and moaning about Final Exams. Glinda felt a lump in her throat. Two of her very best friends in the whole world would be leaving her, and departing for futures unknown, especially Jadis, who would be stepping back through the wardrobe to Narnia. Glinda wondered if she'd ever see her again.
Tambra, at least, would not be going far. As a resident of Munchkinland, she giggled that she might find a way to crash Lile's oft spoken of commencement party, even if she herself wasn't invited.
"After all, I will be in town by then," she giggled, 'and I wonder just what Prissy Miss Lile would do if I showed up, uninvited, with a bunch of Half Drunk Munchkins?"
"I'd pay to go!" Tavvia hooted, "Just to get a load of the look on her face!"
"After all, you'd be protected from any hoodoo she could toss at you with that amulet you have," Kyndie addied, 'So I'd do it if I were you!"
"Maybe I will!" Tambra smirked.
"Aww, Jadis, I wish you could come too. You could be my guest," Glinda coaxed. She was hoping against all hope to have Jadis return for just one last engagement in Oz before the wardrobe swallowed her up forever.
"I can't make any promises, but I'll try. I must admit, crashing Lile's party sounds like loads of fun!" she said.
Just as she suspected, Glinda did get an invite to Lile's commencement party, for two reasons. The first was because she was the Granddaughter of the Goodie of the North, and it would be improper not to invite her, and secondly, because she was one of the three girls that had rescued Mira. (Of course, this was for show. Lile couldn't care less about anyone rescuing Mira, but she had to look like she did!) This was precisely why the two other girls, Tavvia and Kyndie, were also favored with invites, even though Lile never glanced their way twice in school. Left off of her invite list was, of course, Tambra and Jadis, whom she cared not two hoots for. Jadis could be squeezed in as Glinda's guest, Tambra possibly as one of the other girl's…but then again, Tambra had other plans.
"Oh, and it does say we may bring a guest if so inclined!" Kyndie squealed.
"Yes, you know that Lile is hoping Glinda will bring her brother," Jadis smirked.
"Knowing Lile, she probably just sent invitations to Broden's and invited him herself," Glinda remarked caustically.
"Oh, and she'd have the gall, wouldn't she?' Tavvia chided.
"She's eighteen now. Of course she can have a mixed party without her parent's name on the invite if she'd like, as long as it's properly chaperoned." Tambra stated.
Of course, Glinda's mind was only partially on the party that was to be at Landa's posh palace in the Eastern Quadrant of Oz late in the spring, after the graduation ceremony was held. The rest of her attention was on focused on the girls getting ready to have their portraits made. As she suspected, Jadis had graduated with the highest marks, followed very closely by Tambra. They were chosen as Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively, and the golden plaques beneath their portraits would indicate their distinctions. Glinda was proud of them both, and she held her sadness in check. Now was no time for her sorrows. Tambra's parents had written her a glowing letter. They were extremely proud of her. Tambra's mother had graduated with only a golden plaque (though, of course, it was an honor to be accepted to the school at all), and she was thrilled that her daughter had graduated second best in her entire class! It seemed that the 'Small Wonder' of Brisbe Academy was really a 'Big Wonder'. They wrote that they'd be coming to the ceremony with many of Tambra's relatives to cheer her on and hear her speech. Jadis, too, would be making a speech. Glinda only hoped that her family would be arriving through the wardrobe to root her on.
The senior's portraits were all hung with pomp one sunny afternoon, and Glinda watched the smiling faces of her two best friends join Lile's smug countenance up on the gallery wall. Oh, how beautiful they both looked; Tambra with her ever youthful porcelain complexion, twinkling eyes, and short, soft curls, and Jadis, with her complicated, shining braids, lovely smile, and penetrating gaze! Lile's portrait truly paled next to theirs.
