Chapter 5: Putting Heads Together
It took a long while, longer than Languidere had wanted to wait, but finally the Wheeler leader told her that an emissary of the Nomes was ready to talk to her.
She waited on the ground floor the old "left wing" where she had once met with Dorothy. It was not used for receptions any more: the new king had his own reception court. It had to be on the ground floor; that was one of the stipulations from the Nomes.
She was wearing her most cunning head: Number Seven, a blue-eyed head with platinum-blond hair worn in short bangs. The former owner was Celina, a cat burglar who had been caught trying to steal Languidere's diamonds.
There was a rumble beneath her feet – Languidere stepped back quickly as a pick-axe broke through the white marble floor. From the hole there emerged a skinny, gray-skinned Nome with glasses. He was flanked by two larger Nomes holding pick-axes.
"How did you do that?" asked Languidere. "And how dare you break up our floor?"
"We Nomes are great tunnelers," said one of the diggers.
"I am Kaliko, personal secretary to His Majesty, King Roquat," said the Nome. "If all goes well with our negotiations we will put the floor back as we leave."
"I am Princess Languidere, the former ruler of Ev in the absence of the royal family. I have been badly mistreated by them and I seek justice."
"I am told you have a proposition for us," said Kaliko. "I hope for your sake it is a good one. Our King is in a foul mood after the loss of his magic belt and he is in no mood to be trifled with."
"Are you threatening me?" asked Languidere coldly.
"Not at all, at the moment," said Kaliko. "I will hear your proposition. I would much rather not have you dragged back through the tunnel to the King for punishment."
Languidere's clever head decided to put her cards on the table rather than provoke them.
"In a week, Ozma is having a birthday party in her palace in the Emerald City of Oz. I am sure to be invited, since they were my guests before they went on a rescue mission into the Kingdom of the Nomes," said Languidere.
The diggers growled at this.
"You may call it a rescue mission, but our King thinks of it as an invasion and thievery of his property, the transformed Queen and her children," said Kaliko.
"I agree with your opinion about that, and I hope to set things right," said Languidere. "While the party is going on I will undertake slip away from the other guests and find the magic belt. I will put in on and wish myself back here. It can do that, isn't that correct?"
"Transportation wishes are one of its strongest features," Kaliko said.
"In exchange for the belt, I expect to be restored to the throne of Ev," said Languidere. "They are trying to take my beautiful head collection, and I cannot abide that."
"And the royal family?" asked Kaliko.
"King Roquat can take them back," said Languidere. "I understand from what the Oz people told me that they cheated at the contest your King set for them. One of their party eavesdropped on a private conversation and learned the colors of the transformed ornaments and bric-a-brac your King had made of his slaves, so that they could win his guessing game."
"Yes, their accursed chicken did that!" said Kaliko. "After that, they stole the King's magic belt."
"Worse than that, that fiendish girl, Dorothy, used the belt to turn some of us into eggs!" said one of the diggers.
All the Nomes shuddered at this. Kaliko frowned.
"Silence, Gouge," said Kaliko. "I'll do the talking here."
"What do you think of my proposal?" asked Languidere.
"I'll have to take it back to the King. It sounds basically acceptable."
"And my restoration to the throne? You will back me?"
"Once you turn over the belt, yes. We have no interest in ruling anything above ground."
"Then we have a deal," said Languidere.
"Yes," said Kaliko.
The Nomes withdrew, leaving no trace in the marble floor as they had promised.
All Languidere had to do was wait for her invitation from Princess Ozma.
But it seemed she was not going to get one, although everyone else did.
"I'll need a disguise to crash the party," said Languidere to herself. "And I know just where to get one."