Disclaimer, you know.
When the two of them got to Dorothy's room, dorothy handed alex the scepter and walked over to her desk, the room had already been set up with beds for the triplets to sleep in, as well as a large playpen in the far corner. When she got to her desk however and looked at the envelope, she noticed that there appeared to be something in it along side it contents. Picking it up and turning it over she got a good look at the wax seal that was sealing it shut.
It was a large red round seal, in the middle was what appeared to be a bear's paw, surrounded by four symbols that she knew represented the elements, a leaf representing earth, a flame representing fire, three wavy lines representing wind, and a tear drop representing water. In a triangle around all that was what appeared to be a sword, a staff, and an arrow. The seal for its size had an amazing amount of detail. Opening it, and examining its contents, there was the letter, and what appeared to be a small silver whistle. It was round and had a small ring around the end. Just looking at it she knew that blowing into it would likely cause it to emit a rather high-pitched sound.
"they sent you a gift?" alex asked curiously coming over and looking over her shoulder.
"seems like that." Dorothy said setting the whistle and the letter on her desk and them rummaged through her satchel for her reading glasses.
Putting them on, she picked up the letter again and unfolded it.
"oh, you're reading your letter now?" Ozma asked as she came into the room.
"about to, they also sent me this little silver whistle." Dorothy said gesturing to it.
"strange, they normally don't send those to anyone." Ozma said
"they?" dorothy and alex asked curiously.
"just read the letter and you'll understand, I'll go grab mine." Ozma said walking out of the room.
Dorothy sighed and scanned the letter quickly, she as allowed to inform people of its contents as it said at the bottom.
"To Her Majesty, Princess dorothy gale, as I'm sure has been revealed to you by the time of reading this letter, that our queen, Ozma, Lady Glinda the good, and Locasta have also received one as well, however by request I was allowed to write this letter to appeal directly to you, as I have no doubt that you are curious as to who are writing these letters, were are faction once known as the tribunal, we used to stand judgment if the active ruler was busy or a crime was committed that fell under our jurisdiction, our faction has laid dormant since the time of the great wizard and the wicked witches, when we were banned from taking any part in the politics of Oz." Dorothy started reading before alex cut her off.
"have you ever heard of the tribunal?" Alex asked curiously.
"no, they've never been mentioned, not even in passing, and judging by what I've read, and what we know, being banned from taking part in Oz's politics usually leads to what you do, or even the mere mention of it, being counted as taboo." Dorothy said scanning the rest of the letter again.
"odd then isn't it?" he asked
"but standing judgment is the part that worries me, I haven't really read the rest of the letter, but I honestly hope I'm not standing trial for anything." Dorothy said.
"because they'd send you a whistle for that?" alex asked.
"I wouldn't know." Dorothy said.
"well continue then, sorry for interrupting." Alex said.
"right, we are writing this letter to appeal to you all to allow us to at least have a part in political council, it has been so long since we stood judgment over anyone that we no longer feel that our faction is worthy of doing so. I wished to appeal to you directly as opposed to using the cookie cutter carbon copies that the other members are using as people are more likely to listen to you because of all you've done for oz. however, as you are not of this world and are probably worried about this, we have all recently come into council and agreed, that the actions that you have taken are justified, even though you could not have known where they would've have taken you." She read.
"well, at least they like you, the Tribunal was banned from taking any action in politics in Oz because of the giant wolves created by the wicked witch of the west." Ozma said coming back into the room with her own letter.
"I thought they were native?" Alex asked curiously.
"I thought that too, but no, and there's a rather sinister reason as to why they are as large as they are, and why you'd ever want to be bitten by one." Ozma said.
"I don't think I want to know this reason." Alex said shuddering.
"anyways, continue." Ozma said turning her attention back to dorothy.
"okay, enclosed in this letter is a small silver whistle, many like it have been made for us, until now, only five have ever been handed out, should you wish to accept our request, blow into it and I shall come, as it is the only way for any of you to contact us, and as a courtesy and a gift of peace and good faith, you shall be allowed to keep the whistle in the event that you ever need our aid." Dorothy went on.
"Mombi tried to contact the Tribunal once, hoping they could help her expand her powers, she was flat out refused, not really a surprise to anyone who knew what she did as a hobby." Ozma said.
Dorothy nodded and continued.
"we cannot force your decision nor can we meet you in person unless we are allowed to come into the city, the Tribunal was only banned from doing anymore than being outside observers as punishment for the crimes of the witch of the west, a ban set into place by the great wizard when a man in Winkie country survived an attack, he was angered, as well as frightened, but placed the blame on us, claiming it to be for the protection of the people of Oz, we accepted it as it is not our way to pursue affairs against the power above us, so we hid ourselves away in our sanctuary helping those we represent by allowing them sanctuary as well, but only observing in the affairs of the land, never taking action or passing judgment." She read.
"well, the tribunal wasn't evil, they actually did help out a lot in their time according to the professor, they were basically banned from taking action so the wizard could pass the blame onto someone else, this was in the earlier years of his regime.' Ozma said.
"my grandfather said, he had done many things that he regretted, and hoped someone would someday right his wrongs, this was around the time his health started to fail." Aislynn said from the doorway.
"Oh, ace, how long have you been standing there?" Dorothy asked turning to her.
"long enough, there was a book on the Tribunal in the library, or at least I think that's what it's about, it's called Oz's Tribunal I have it in my room in the middle of a large stack of them." She replied.
"well, as Dorothy's letter states, the tribunal wasn't bad, however, as they had been banned from taking action, they could not attempt to pass judgment on the wicked witches, though I personally doubt that would have ended well for them, the only thing that kept the witches from straight up storming emerald city was the wizard, who they believed to be more powerful than both of them combined." Ozma said.
"because having someone that acts has protector has definitely stopped people from trying to take power before." Alex said rolling his eyes.
"anyways, continue reading dorothy, my letter was quite short, but it was the same request they are tasking to you." Ozma said.
"we appeal to you all now as recent events, including the restoration of winkies countries flora and fauna made us feel the need to have a purpose in events in Oz once again. I must once again reiterate the point that we no longer wish to pass judgement, but we do wish to take at least some form of an active political role in oz once again, we shall not do anything unless you, or the queen ask it of us. And I now appeal to you directly with my own request, as writer of this letter, I wish that you allow us to take an active part in Oz's politics so that I may once again leave our sanctuary and do what I once did, assisting the forest fairies." Dorothy went on.
"ah, your letter was penned by the youngest member of the Tribunal, well, youngest all things considered, the famous Zinnia, she was a representative of nature, magic, and animals, the bear print, the four elemental crests and the staff, she actually settled down in our Gilikin village for a time to try and keep an eye on mombi to make sure she wasn't doing anything that would count as a crime against the land, you know, apart from practicing magic illegally." Ozma said shrugging.
"how was she practicing illegally?" Alex asked.
"when you start practicing magic, usually you notify the local authority, and get a document saying that you are responsible for anything that may go wrong, and if caught doing anything illegal, like practicing dark magics, you would be stripped of your abilities to do so, she however wished to practice in secret, however it was everything but, most people worked out what she was doing with her constant trips, and the consistent colorful smoke rising out of the chimney, but as I was never allowed to leave the property any farther than the vegetable patch, and there was no conclusive evidence against her, that no one could do anything, and as a result, I was always miserable." Ozma said shuddering a bit.
"so how did you meet Zinnia then?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"when she came by and asked me for directions to Mombi's cottage, the members of the tribunal are not unknown, just never talked about, maybe a year or so after they went into isolation Mombi tried to contact them hoping that they would assist her, promising that if they helped her she would help them come back into the public light." Ozma said.
"but they never act without reason, so She could only have observed." Madeline said coming into the room.
"that was her job, really it was the job of the entire tribunal, with the powers they were granted by the council of immortals." Ozma said.
"what kind of powers?" Alex and Aislynn asked curiously.
"well, even all together the group of them would have been no match for the wicked witches but had they managed to get them both in one place long enough for the entire council of the tribunal to converge around them, they could've have stripped them of their powers and wiped their minds of all knowledge of how to do magic." Ozma said.
"but they'd had to have managed to pin them in some place long enough, to do so, and when they were active Zinnia and Fayth were the only ones to ever leave the sanctuary on a regular basis according to the stories I've heard about the Tribunal." Madeline said conjuring up a cup of tea.
"what was Fayth a representative of?" Alex asked.
"animals, as well a group led by the faction known as the hunt, and before you ask, no they did not hunt for sport, their job was to track down animals that were created by magical means, such as the giant wolves and basically teach them control, stop them from being vicious, bloodthirsty, what not." Madeline said.
"then why do the Kalidahs still exist the way they do?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Because the magical means that created them was the formation of Oz into fairy country, perhaps someday I'll take you all on a tour of some of the more obscure parts of Oz." Madeline said with a smile.
"I see, anyways, I'm almost finished with the letter if no one objects to me continuing?" dorothy asked.
"no objections." Ozma said.
"we hope to hear from you once you have talked it over with the other recipients of these letters, as I have said, yours is the only one that was custom tailored to appeal directly to you, as while the queen Ozma has the power to lift the ban over us, many of the leaders may still fear our presence, and we fear that lady Glinda, and Locasta may not see this request to kindly, letters were as well sent to the mayor of Munchkinland, and the garrison's of Winkie country as they have no real established leader. I hope this letter has been enough to at least consider allowing it, but we will accept whatever fate is thrown at us, hope to speak soon, Zinnia, representative of nature, animals, and magics of all sorts." Dorothy said.
"guess this means you'll need to arrange a council of leaders, while the rest of Oz may accept Dorothy's decision, it is true that there are many that still fear the tribunal, and some that see them as weak for being unable to contain the giant wolves in a timely fashion." Madeline said turning to Ozma.
"it's already being arranged, it shall be this afternoon, Locasta and I have sent out a letter of our own to the leaders." Came Glinda's voice from a nearby mirror.
"how long have you been listening?" Dorothy and Aislynn asked.
"as ace said, long enough, and it's true, the Tribunal was basically barred from polite society for no readily apparent reason, but I will say this, I knew both wicked witches as you know, the tribunal would not have stood a chance against them without going against their own code, it would be nice to see them taking some active interest again." Glinda said with a smile.
"but why appeal directly to me, instead of Ozma?" dorothy asked curiously
"because your judgement is best in most people's eyes, I really hope I don't have to explain why, but even if you did decide that it was a good idea, and then had me allow them to come back into the public eye, people would still want to hear what your opinion on the matter was, to many, you rank up there with the fairy queen Lurline in terms of people that are looked upon rather highly, and the order, in descending is Lurline, myself, then you, though by popular poll you are the most popular person in Oz." Ozma said with a smile.
"I see, so, who will be attending exactly?" dorothy asked curiously.
"well, Ozma, myself, Locasta, The Mayor of Munchkinland, Rose and the jester, as well as General candy apple, Marshall Mallow, China princess, who are on their way from candy county as we speak, the queen of the field mice, who is here with me now, and Lion, who will be representing the animals of the forests, oh, and of course you'll have to be there." Glinda said counting off.
"why is the queen of the field mice with you?" Alex asked curiously.
"she's been checking on all of the field mice throughout oz, and wasn't sure if I was home but felt like dropping in." Glinda said.
"couldn't dorothy, logically just blow the whistle now and let us be done with it?" Madeline asked.
"No, the leaders of Oz that have been selected for this council are ones that we know will allow word to pass quickly the Tribunal is aware of this as well, so that once the council has passed judgement, though we already know what the consensus will likely be, it won't take long for it to pass on to just about everyone, though the tribunal will likely emerge in their usual way." Glinda said.
"by shooting a spectral version of their crest into the sky?" Madeline asked.
"any time they passed judgement over someone, it's what they didn't to make it known the decision was theirs." Glinda said.
"what were their sentences?" alex asked.
"they, were given permission to, if necessary carry out the most severe of punishments, though they rarely sentenced anyone with capital punishment." Glinda said shuddering
"I see." Alex said wishing he hadn't asked.
"anyways, we'll speak again soon, we must prepare" Glinda said as the mirror faded.
"Glinda's right, so much to do and so little time to do it." Ozma said groaning.
"Well the vote will be pretty unanimous wont it? I mean, once they hear Dorothy's opinion on the matter they'll all be swayed in that direction." Aislynn said.
"true, but we still have to have to be prepared ace, the tribunal will come the moment dorothy blows that whistle, we have to represent." Ozma said smiling.
"well then, you'd better start getting ready, the clocks ticking, and dorothy, you may want to brush your hair, it's a complete mess." Madeline said conjuring a hair brush and putting it on the desk.
Ozma nodded and quickly left the room followed by Aislynn. Madeline departed shortly after leaving alex and dorothy alone again.
"so, your majesty, what are you going to decide?" He asked teasingly as he picked up the hair brush and started brushing her hair.
Dorothy smiled and picked up the silver whistle once again, turning it over in her hand, her smile went a bit wider.
"Ace said her grandfather admitted to making many mistakes, and that he had hoped that one day someone could right his wrongs, so that's what I'm going to do, make things right." Dorothy said.
"I think that's a good idea, I mean, as has been established, the Tribunal weren't evil, and at the end of the day, they were victims." Alex said.
"well, the wizard, as I may have neglected to mention, had no real powers, he was intelligent, great with mechanics, but he had no magic, and was always paranoid that someone would find out his secret, that he was a fraud, in fact, if I recall, my friends and I were the first people to hold an audience with him in quite a long time, if you were in his position, wouldn't you try to shift blame by making executive decisions?" Dorothy asked.
"well, honestly, I think a lot of people in that position would, I mean, he hadn't, imagine the backlash he would have gotten if he hadn't done anything, and just stayed locked in those chambers, sitting behind the curtain." Alex replied.
"exactly, which is why I intend to make it right." Dorothy said with a smile.
"and that's the right decision." Alex said smiling back.
"well, it'll likely be a short council, like I said once dorothy voices her opinion the vote will sway towards whatever her views happen to be." Aislynn said coming back into the doorway.
"thought you were heading to the library or something?" Alex asked turning to her.
"nope, I didn't even go all that far, just a few feet away from the door, but, I must thank you dorothy, on behalf of my grandfather, and I'm sure, if my grandfather were alive, he'd be happy to hear someone is trying to correct his past mistakes." Aislynn said walking over and hugging her.
"ace, it's the right thing to do, sure, in your grandfather's time as ruler, he may have made some, questionable decisions, but from his perspective, it was the only way to protect himself, if he shifted the blame." Dorothy said.
"its always easier to blame someone else, when you aren't the one in control, he was in control but had no real powers, however, it was the Tribunal's responsibility to make sure that the creatures created by others didn't go completely mental on people, and they failed to prevent an attack, all it takes is one slip up, and it becomes hard for people to forgive." Aislynn said sighing.
"you sound like you're speaking from experience." Alex said.
"those were my grandfathers words, never really understood what he meant before now." Aislynn said shrugging.
"well, anyways, I guess we should be getting ready, gotta make myself presentable." Dorothy said sighing.
"ill leave you two to it then, have fun." She said with a giggle before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
Dorothy and alex shared a glance and smiled, alex continued brushing Dorothy's hair
"anyways, this is your first real royal act isn't it?" alex asked.
"I think so, yes, though I'm sure had we still had school today Ozma and Glinda would've found an excuse to get me here." dorothy said shrugging
"oh, I wouldn't doubt it." alex said.
"though I assume ace will be right, it will be short" dorothy said.
"you think they'll let me sit in?" Alex asked curiously.
"that, imagine will depend on whether my cousins arrive before the council starts, someone will have to watch them will I'm in there, and while I know Maddie and Aislynn can be good at the job, I think Glinda would likely put you on the task." Dorothy said.
"good point." He said sighing
"anyways, let's not dwell on it too much, that'll just add to the anxiety." Dorothy said sighing
"agreed." He said nodding.
