Disclaimer, you know.
At around one in the morning Dorothy woke to the feeling of being watched. She looked around the room but only found Alex asleep in his chair. She quietly climbed out of bed, grabbed the scepter, and left her room. She eventually reached the doors to the business district. She didn't know why but something had compelled her to go there. As she walked through the doors and under the archway the first thing that came to mind was that the business district was still definitely creepy this late at night and she was glad that she had the scepter with her. As she walked towards the square she immediately got the feeling that she was being followed by something or someone. She occasionally took glances behind her and to both sides to try and reassure herself. As she got to the square she found it full of odd individuals once more. None of them paid any mind to her though, she knew she was noticed by a few of them. She slowly walked around the perimeter of the area when she was suddenly stopped by an old women.
"You lost dear?" she asked in a voice that made Dorothy's blood run cold.
"n-no I'm fine, I know my way around." Dorothy said in a nervous tone.
"You don't seem so sure dearie." The lady said walking off.
Dorothy sighed in relief and continued on her way. Now people were beginning to notice her. she ignored them hoping they would just leave her alone but every time she glanced towards them, it appeared as though they were following her. Her stomach began to churn and she began to feel dizzy. Immediately a few of them began to approach her when suddenly a loud, deep voice caused them all to stop.
"Stop right where you are." The voice said.
Dorothy looked to see the old man that she and Alex had bumped into the other day. The man hobbled over to her and looked at her for a moment. It was then that Dorothy got a good look at him.
"Sir?" Came the voice of the women who had stopped Dorothy earlier.
"Quiet. You, come with me, I promise no harm will come to you." The man said grabbing her by the wrist.
Dorothy looked the man in the eyes and saw the honesty and sincerity. She nodded and was quickly led away from the square. They walked to an alley way not far from the square and the man led Dorothy through it to a door. He pulled out a key and unlocked it. As they entered the room Dorothy noticed several books lying about, bottles of powders that she didn't recognize, and amongst other things, a silver basin with a fire burning in it. As the man shut the door behind them Dorothy immediately felt safer even though she knew she should try to be more on guard. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the man.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you and your friend the other day, it was a rather bad morning and I was in a rather bad mood." The man said.
"It's alright, I'm just curious now, who are you?" Dorothy asked curiously
"I'm known by many names, the prophet, the enchanter, the old man, the elder, Tim, you name it, I've probably been called It." the old man said.
"Okay then." Dorothy said now slightly confused.
"Ozma and Glinda told me to keep an eye out if you ever were to come here again, I was surprised to find you came back." the man said picking up a bottle of blue powder and walking over to the silver basin.
"What are those powders for?" Dorothy asked curiously
The man chuckled and took the lid from the bottle of powder and poured a little into the flames. Immediately the flames changed color. Dorothy could hear the man whispering some incantation but she couldn't tell what he was saying or what it meant. As the flames returned to normal the man picked up a pad of paper and a quill pen and began scribbling stuff down.
"Right now it's not important, for now all that is important is that you are kept safe." the man said walking over to her.
"What did you write on the paper then?" Dorothy asked.
"That is also not important at this time." The man said.
Dorothy rolled her eyes and sighed. She then walked over to a nearby chair and sat down on it. She let go of the scepter and let it float in place in front of her for a bit before another question came to mind.
"How do you know Glinda and Ozma?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"I have known Glinda since she was a your age, Ozma was introduced to me when she came to the emerald city for the first time, when you ended up here in the business district the other day Glinda had a hunch that you would likely end up here again late at night at some point, so she contacted me and told me to keep an eye out for you and your friend." The man said.
"So Glinda was meddling again, good to know, is there anything useful you can tell me?" Dorothy asked.
"Oh plenty, but I won't, because there is plenty that you must find out on your own." The man said.
"There's always something I don't know isn't there?" Dorothy asked.
"it's like that for everyone, I think I can tell you this, not everything is as it seems, some facts you may believe to be so, you may later find are false, and perhaps, one day, you will find yourself making a choice you have made once before, but never thought you would have to make again." the man said.
Dorothy thought about this for a moment and became confused. She sighed and stared at the scepter a bit before leaning on the arm of the chair and trying to nod off.
Meanwhile, at the palace.
Dorothy's disappearance did not go unnoticed as Alex had woken up to find Dorothy missing. The first place he went was to Glinda's room. As he walked in he was sure, for a split second, that he saw someone disappearing just as soon as he entered the room. Glinda however made no reaction so he simply told Glinda about the dilemma.
"Alex, she's safe, don't worry, but she is going to be scolded as soon as she gets back, she went to the business district." Glinda said.
"Why would she do that?" Alex asked.
"I don't know, and quite frankly I'm not sure I want to, she is presently at the house of an old friend of mine, and someone you two are only acquainted with." Glinda said.
"Glinda, I need more information than that." Alex replied
"The man you two bumped into the other day, he was just in a bad mood that day, she is staying with him until sunrise, and like I said she will be getting scolded when she gets back." Glinda said.
Alex sighed and left the room. He returned to Dorothy's room and sat back down in his chair. He looked around the room and began to wonder what Dorothy had been thinking.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the city.
"She just doesn't learn does she?" the jester asked himself walking away from the crystal ball.
The jester sighed and paced around his little apartment. If that man had not shown up he would have been forced to reveal himself. Presently only Glinda, Locasta, and Ellie were aware of his return, he wasn't sure when or if he'd be able to face Rose, but he knew he'd be able to face Dorothy when the time came.
Meanwhile in the business district
Dorothy had taken to exploring the little house she had been forced to stay ion for the rest of the night. She found several uninteresting books with the exception of one, it was a book with a lock on it. The lock was made of gold and when she held out her hand to it she received a nasty shock. She sighed and walked back over to the silver basin where the fire was still burning. She looked at the old man who was busy looking for something she looked at the shelf of powders and saw a packet that seemed really out of place. Reaching for the packet she found that it was a square envelope. It was marked with her name and the words, 'when the time comes' scrawled in what she could only assume was the man's handwriting.
"Aha, that's where that was." the old man said.
"What is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"You'll know when the time comes, when it does the packet will open and you will be able to throw the powder inside into a fire." The man said.
"But why?" Dorothy asked.
"Because when the time comes you will need it most, when you find you have no one else to turn to, and when you need a person you care about most, but cannot have that, then will the special powders work their magic." The man said
"Cryptic.' Dorothy said.
"One day you will understand" the man replied.
"I'm not sure I want to." Dorothy replied nervously.
The man sighed and walked over to the chair Dorothy had been sitting down.
"Feel free to experiment, I write down every combination I find that does something, in the little blue book between the sapphire and ruby powders." The man said.
Dorothy chuckled and place the packet in the pocket of her dress before picking up the blue book from its spot. She looked at it, skimmed the pages, and then placed it back in its spot.
"I'm sorry but I don't practice in sorcery, I only have one spell in memory that helped me with the jester's puppets." Dorothy said.
The man chuckled and closed his eyes. Moments later he began snoring loudly. Dorothy sighed and gazed into the flames in the basin. She then tightened her grasp on the scepter and let a tear roll down her face. She then became aware of something watching her. She turned and thought she saw a shadow dart away. She shook her head a few times to try and clear it before sighing and sitting down on the floor. And eventually she nodded off
Well that was a nice turn of events don't you think? What use will that strange packet of powder serve Dorothy in the future? And when will the jester reveal himself to Dorothy, rose, and everyone else? Find out in the coming chapters.