Hi hi! I would have updated sooner but I finished my other story updates so quickly that I, um, needed more time to work out the plot. The poll for Miranda's coronation dress is closed and thanks to the three voters, I have come to a decision, which will be revealed later. Thank you reviewers: Queen Sea, Guest, Terese, and umitsfanfiction. Good guesses were made about the identity of the hooded figure, but unfortunately, none of you were correct. A little thing you might want to know about me is that I barely ever use throw-away characters. Okay fine I admit I might initially use them as disposable characters, but they almost always make reappearances, especially in this chapter.

Disclaimer: don't you wish you could just walk into a store and buy the rights to a story as easily as you could buy a bag of chips

{o}one day until full moon- Theodora's castle{o}

"Let me go, you **** monkeys!" Miranda screamed as the two flying monkeys pushed her up against a metal wall in the middle of what looked like a throne room. The monkeys locked Miranda's wrists and ankles to the wall.

The room was dark except for the torches that were flickering with green fire. Directly above the center of the room was a skylight. Obviously it was for the witch and her monkeys to fly out. The throne room definitely had that wicked vibe going on, and that did not do much to help Miranda's nerves.

"If you touch me again, I will melt you like the little pieces of **** that you are!"

"Tsk, tsk, Miranda," the green witch tutted as she strode into the room with her broom at her side. The hooded figure soon entered behind her. "A princess should not use such foul language, especially in front of others."

Miranda scowled. "I'm not exactly concerned with filtering my wording in front of my kidnappers," she spat out.

Theodora chuckled malevolently. "Obviously your mouth came from your father. Not once in her life did Glinda ever let a curse word slip from her lips."

Miranda almost wanted to chuckle, but she would never let this woman know they agreed on something. "You would know, Theodora. You are her sister, after all."

Theodora looked surprised at the girl's knowledge. "I see your parents finally gathered up the nerves to tell you about your Auntie Teddy."

"No, I found it out myself," Miranda corrected.

"Well aren't you just a clever little detective," Theodora replied with a playful yet evil smirk. "How'd you find that out? Eavesdropping?"

"Reading," Miranda retorted. "I prefer doing things the right way."

"Ah yes," Theodora said with a chuckle. "The 'right' way. This is coming from the same witch who lied to her parents and snuck out to the village."

Miranda frowned. How did this woman know so much?!

"I used to do things the 'right' way," Theodora continued before she smiled maliciously. "And then I became smart."

"More like psychotic," Miranda mumbled under her breath.

Suddenly, Miranda's restraints began to burn. She cried out in searing pain. Theodora was heating the restraints with her fire magic. After about ten seconds, Theodora lowered her hands and the restraints stopped burning.

"Don't test me," Theodora threatened. "Those restraints are fire resistant, but that doesn't mean they don't absorb heat."

"How do you know so much about me?" Miranda asked in a ragged voice.

"I have my sources," Theodora answered slyly. Then she turned toward the mysterious person in the corner and gestured for him to come toward her. "Show our guest who was responsible for her discovery."

The figure reached up and pulled the hood back from his head, which revealed a familiar teenage boy with dirty blonde hair and cruel eyes.

"Bryce Crinch?!"

"I'm honored that you remember me, Princess," Bryce snickered.

"Let's just say you left an impression," Miranda muttered.

"Well it'll be a good story to tell our kids someday. The way their ma fell in love with the man she thought she hated but was always destined to be with."

"Did I miss something?!" Miranda exclaimed in terror.

"After I ran from the guards, Theodora tracked me down and offered me a deal. She promised if I helped her catch ya, then I get ya all to myself."

"I saw that magic performance that day, Miranda," Theodora explained. "Very impressive for a witch without channelers, which is why I decided to take you in. Mytica's prophecy said that a witch born on an eclipse would either save or destroy Oz. I decided to take fate into my own hands. After all, the moon is darker than the sun."

That last sentence triggered something in Miranda's brain. She remembered those words. She began to relive the memory in her mind.

"Funny how memories work," Theodora added as Miranda put the pieces of the puzzle together. "They always make an appearance at the most inconvenient times."

"I will never help you hurt my parents or my people!" Miranda growled. "Never!"

"I had a feeling you would say that. But after tomorrow, I'm afraid you won't have a choice. Niro!"

One of the flying monkeys stepped up and hit Miranda in the back of her head with his club. She slouched in her chains as her head hung lifelessly.

"I love a girl who's feisty!" Bryce said with dark, lust-filled eyes as he stared at the unconscious princess. "But it'll be even better when she's evil! Man that'll be hot!"

Theodora rolled her eyes at Bryce's simplicity. As soon as she had Oz in her clutches, she would be able to get rid of the hormonal young adult.

{o}day of full moon- Emerald City throne room{o}

"We've searched everywhere within fifty miles of the castle, Your Highness. We still haven't found her," Officer Kane reported.

"EXPAND THE SEARCH ZONE!" Oz's floating head boomed. "JUST FIND HER ALREADY!"

The guard scrambled out of the throne room as fast as he could.

"Oscar stop screaming at them!" Glinda snapped uncharacteristically. "The guards have not stopped looking since yesterday! We will find her!"

It was six in the morning on Miranda's birthday and her parents had not slept all night. But, then again, how could they sleep knowing they only had eighteen hours to find their daughter and perform her coronation ceremony?

"Oscar, come out of there," Glinda requested in a soft voice. "There's nobody around to perform for."

Oz's head sighed before he surrendered. He exited the booth and walked over to his wife's open arms.

"I can't believe this happened!" Oz weeped. "This is all my fault!"

"Do not start that again," Glinda insisted. "We just have to put faith in the shred of goodness left in my sister's heart!"

"I just hope that it's still there," Oz mumbled.

{o}day of full moon- Emerald City dungeons{o}

"This has been the worst night of my life," Nick stated glumly as he rested his head in between the metal bars on the door of their jail cell.

"Tell me about it," Violet agreed from her position on her straw cot. "They had no reason to lock us up!"

"I still can't believe she lied to us," Aden murmured. Ever since Miranda's identity had been revealed, he could not think about anything else. "I thought we were her friends."

"Well at least it all makes sense now," Violet replied. "All those times that she did or said something unusual and we thought nothing of it, like how she seemed to show up out of nowhere."

"Like how she had no clue who the Wicked Witch was," Nick added. "The king and queen had always tried their hardest to keep Theodora a mystery."

"And how Duncan Crinch suddenly got arrested for reckless driving the same day that Dawn had saved me from getting run over. She must have gone to her parents about him."

"And the way she didn't get pummeled when Bryce threw that surprise punch at her. She obviously used that magic shield thing that we saw her use to protect herself from the flames."

"And how she was able to get into the restricted section of the library. She used her magic to unlock to gate!"

"Wait! You were in the restricted section?!" Nick questioned in shock.

Violet had forgotten that was supposed to be a secret. "Look, that doesn't matter! What does matter is that there were all those signs and we just didn't see them!"

"She tried to tell me," Aden said when he finally spoke up. "She was going to tell me the truth, but she was pulled away before she could."

"Well she saved my life! So now it's up to us to save her life!" Violet proclaimed.

Aden stood up and, for the first time since the day before, looked confident. "I'm in! We're going to find Dawn - I mean Miranda - if it's the last thing we do!"

"And how do you propose we do that?" Nick inquired cynically. He turned around to face the twins. "In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck in prison!"

"I think I can help with that," a girl offered.

Violet, Nick, and Aden looked to see Beatrice standing outside their cell.

"What do you want?" Violet asked in a suspicious voice.

"To help the princess," Beatrice answered simply. "I saw you with her and I do not believe you had anything to do with her kidnapping."

"Try telling that to the guards," Nick mumbled.

"I did, but they won't listen. So instead, I've decided to help you." Beatrice pulled a set of keys out from her apron pocket. She checked for guards then unlocked the cell door.

"Thank you," Aden said graciously.

"Do not thank me yet," Beatrice interrupted. "I have to get you out of here before the prisonkeeper returns."

The maid led the three teenagers out of the dungeon. Luckily, the rest of the inmates were still asleep and didn't see them escape. After a few minutes, they reached what looked like a dead end.

"It's a trap! We never should have followed to her!" Nick exclaimed.

"Shh!" Beatrice hissed.

Aden and Violet clapped their hands over Nick's mouth.

Beatrice grabbed a torch that was mounted on the wall and she pulled back on it. A golden outline formed on the wall and an open door appeared. Beatrice picked up the torch and, ignoring the looks of amazement, she walked into the passageway.

"I discovered a few of these tunnels while I was cleaning the castle," Beatrice explained. "But I never imagined they would come in handy."

Eventually they reached the end of the passage and they walked out through a tree along the yellow brick road to the village.

"This is where I leave you," Beatrice announced. "I'm afraid you're on your own from here. But I can give you something that might help." Beatrice pulled two bracelets from her dress pocket. "These armlets are supposed to help the princess channel her magic. The king and queen planned to give them to her last night, but when she never returned, they left the bracelets in her room. Find the princess and give these to her."

"But how are we supposed to find Miranda?" Violet questioned.

"Seek out the Bookkeeper," Beatrice instructed. "The Book will help you just as it helped Queen Glinda in the past." With that, she turned turned around and walked back into the hidden tree tunnel.

After a minute of silence, Nick spoke up. "The Book?! How the heck are we supposed to find it?! We don't even know what it is, let alone where we can find it!"

Suddenly, Violet's face lit up. "I think I might."

{o}day of full moon- village library{o}

Violet poked her head into the library. It was empty. "Okay, the coast is clear," she whispered.

The three teenagers managed to reach the library without being caught by any guards or villagepeople.

"Follow me," Violet instructed.

They entered the library and Violet led them up to the restricted section.

"What are we doing here?" Nick questioned obnoxiously.

"When Miranda and I were in here, she showed me this history book. But there was something special about it," Violet responded.

"Special?" Aden inquired. "What do you mean?"

"It didn't leave anything out like our school books. On top of that, it seemed almost like it was writing itself."

"That's one weird book," Nick commented.

"No wonder it was locked up," Aden added.

"Anyway," Violet continued. "If that book never stops writing, maybe we can look in the chapter about Miranda and it'll tell us where the Wicked Witch is keeping her."

"There's just one problem with that plan," Nick pointed out.

"What?" the twins asked simultaneously.

"How are we supposed to get to it?"

Violet and Aden turned around to see that the gate blocking the entrance to the restricted section was magically sealed. Except, instead of its usual green magic, it was sealed with silver magic. In addition to that, the history book was back on its pedestal. Violet was sure Miranda had forgotten to put it back.

"Aw man!" Aden exclaimed.

Nick touched the gate to make sure the seal was real. As soon as he did, though, he was launched up toward the ceiling. He grazed against the ceiling, floated in the air, and then landed back on the ground. "What the heck was that?!" Nick shouted once he got back on his feet.

"Miranda is the Witch of the Sun and Moon. I'm guessing by the silver magic here that this is moon magic. And the moon does have a have to do with gravity, so..." Violet trailed off.

Suddenly, somebody began to chuckle from somewhere near the restricted section.

"Her magic is too powerful to get in that way," a familiar ancient voice croaked from a dark corner at the top of the staircase. He stepped out into the light. "But what kind of a Bookkeeper would I be if I could not take care of the books?"

"Mister Kinling?!" Violet questioned.

"Hello again, Miss Dryson, Mister Dryson, and Mister Locksley," the old librarian greeted. "Now, on to saving your friend."

"How do you know about that?" Aden asked.

"King Arthur entrusted me with that book for a reason," Mr. Kinling answered vaguely. "And he gave me several tools in order to do so." He pulled out his pocket hankie and unwrapped the cloth to reveal a key. He inserted the key into the gate and the barrier vanished. He opened the gate and the four of them stepped into the restricted section.

"Why didn't you say any of this two days ago?" Violet inquired.

"My job as Bookkeeper is to protect the Book from evil, but I am prohibited from interfering with it."

While Nick and Aden gaped in amazement at all the forbidden materials, Violet strode over to the golden pedestal and picked up the history book. She flipped through the pages until she reached the sub-chapter about Miranda (since she wasn't queen yet, her reign as princess was under the chapter about her father). She noticed that the book was filled with beautiful illustrations on every page. It showed drawings of Miranda saving Violet from the speeding cart, defending herself against Bryce, visiting the library, casting some sort of magic spell in her bedroom, escaping the palace, and even being kidnapped by Theodora and her flying monkeys.

"This looks more like a storybook than a history book," Violet stated. Finally, she found what she needed. On the most recent page lay a map of Oz including the Wicked Witch's castle. "I found her!" Violet called out.

"Where is she?!" Aden exclaimed.

"According to this map, she's about a hundred miles west of the Emerald City."

"It'll take us days to get there by foot," Nick griped.

"You do not have days!" Mr. Kinling spoke up. "If the princess does not receive her crown by midnight, she loses her throne forever!"

"Talk about pressure," Aden muttered.

"The worst is yet to come. This afternoon, Miranda will be at her most powerful because there will be a solar eclipse. This will be followed by a full moon, when Miranda is at her darkest. The power followed by the darkness may corrupt her."

"I thought you said you couldn't interfere," Violet responded curiously.

"I cannot, but the princess protected my great-grandson, Johnny, when nobody else would. For that, I am grateful. Now, go find Miranda...before it is too late."

With that, the Bookkeeper stepped out of the forbidden room. When the three teenagers followed him to thank him, he was gone. It was like he vanished into thin air.

"So...how are we gonna get to witchie's castle?" Nick asked.

"I think I have an idea," Aden offered with a sly grin.

{o}day of full moon- village square{o}

"Aden, if this doesn't work, I'm gonna kill you!" Nick threatened.

"You mean if Vance or the guards don't kill you first?"

"Exactly!"

The two boys were standing outside the village salon as they waited for Violet. Vance was keeping lookout at the corner. Brynn's mother owned the salon, so she managed to grab a wig for each of the boys so they wouldn't be recognized by the guards. Aden was now a blonde and Nick now had brown hair.

"Don't worry. It'll work," Aden assured the brunette in a quiet voice.

"Ahem," Brynn interrupted as she stepped out from the salon.

Brynn's long black hair had been straightened and she was wearing heeled black ankle boots and a tight, off-the-shoulder, red dress that reached her knees and had a slit up to her mid-thighs. She had bold red lips and her eyes were done up to the nines. No wonder Vance was so overprotective of Brynn. She was pretty when she wasn't trying, but when she put in some effort, she was gorgeous.

"Introducing the new Violet Dryson!" Brynn announced in a dramatic voice. She gestured toward the door of the salon with her arm and Violet stepped out shyly.

Both Nick and Aden's jaws dropped to the ground.

Golden highlights had been added to Violet's platinum blonde curls, which had been tamed to be more controllable. Her makeup brought out her natural beauty. Violet was wearing white strappy sandals and a bright green strapped dress with a scalloped hem that reached her lower thighs.

While Brynn was dramatic and hot, Violet was soft and beautiful. How had Nick not noticed her before?! Violet had always been pretty, but now she was as lovely on the outside as she was on the inside. To someone who had never met her, she would be unrecognizable, which was what the three escapees were counting on.

"Nick, you might wanna close your mouth before your tongue gets all dry," Brynn commented with a knowing smile.

Violet blushed and Aden looked at his friend in confusion. Sure enough, Nick's face was frozen in shock. But just as Aden was about to say something to Nick, they were interrupted.

"Here they come!" Vance hissed from the street corner.

Aden and Nick ran to hide in the alley while Violet and Brynn fluffed their hair amd rushed over to pick up a banner from the sidewalk outside the salon.

Suddenly, two young royal guards came around the corner on horses.

"Excuse me!" Brynn hollered. "Excuse me, officers?! Can you help us?!"

The guards stopped right in front of the salon. "And why would two pretty young ladies such as yourselves need our help?" the strawberry blonde guard mused.

"We need to hang this banner for Princess Miranda's birthday, but we don't have a ladder and we're not tall enough to reach the spot on the wall where it needs to go," Violet lied smoothly as she beamed up at the guards.

The guards ate it up. "Where do you want it?" the black guard asked. The two of them dismounted their horses and followed the girls to a building a block down the street.

Aden and Nick ran out of their hiding spot and jumped on to the guards' horses.

The black guard turned around at the sound of horses galloping and saw the two boys abducting their horses. "STOP! THIEVES!" he yelled.

"VIOLET!" Nick screamed.

Violet ran away from the guards as quickly as she could. But the guards were too fast for the horses to stop so Violet could get on.

"GIVE ME YOUR HAND!" Nick shouted.

Violet reached toward Nick and he pulled her up on to his horse right before the guards could catch her. She wrapped her arms around his chest so she wouldn't fall off.

The guards tried chasing after the trio, but Vance grabbed them and knocked their heads together. It was not hard enough to kill them, just to make them black out. Brynn waved at the other three while Vance held one unconscious guard under each arm.

"GOOD LUCK!" Brynn called out.

Aden, Nick, and Violet rode straight through the western village gates and rode on toward Theodora's castle.

"We're coming for you, Dawn," Nick thought. "Just keep fighting until we get there."

The next chapter is the big rescue scene! After that, the big finale! Bye bye! Don't forget to review!