Disclaimer, *fluff*
As the afternoon finally ticked into evening and evening became the early night hours, Dorothy, Madeline, the triplets and Elphaba found themselves in the living room of the now officially named, Gale hall. Ozma did eventually return to the city. While alex went down to the cellar for a bit.
"so, they'll develop as time goes on?" Dorothy asked.
"eventually, yes." Madeline said watching them.
"so, their names, Alicia, amber, and Robert, was there any method to that?" Elphaba asked curiously.
"Not really, I just liked the sound of it." Dorothy said smiling.
"so, I found a few bottles of Lacasa in the cellar, do the number of years and days mean anything?" alex asked curiously as he came back with three red bottles.
"depends, are any of them 10 to 15 years?" Elphaba asked.
Alex set them down on the coffee table and read them, there was one.
"um, yes, this one, why?" Alex asked curiously.
"During the 10 to 15-year mark drinking it has a chance of giving you the lifts." Elphaba said.
"what are the lifts?" alex asked curiously.
"its also called levitation syndrome, its not exclusively caused by Lacasa, far from it." Madeline started, "you end up floating 10 to 15 feet off the ground, I've gotten them twice, its not completely understood, mainly because no one has been able to keep their patience long enough to research it while afflicted." She continued.
"coming back down must be fun." Alex said looking at the label again.
"oh, it's a slow process, I remember when both Glinda and I got it, put us out of our lessons for a few weeks, we both needed a good wash afterwards as well." Elphaba said chuckling.
"I can imagine, everything else makes its way downwards." Alex said.
"it can last a day, to a few months, but usually doesn't last longer than a few weeks." Madeline said, "unlike objects of power, there are a lot of documented cases of magic based ailments and afflictions, and, and the triplets seem to have no interest in learning today." She said walking over to them and squatting down.
The triplets looked up from their toys for a moment, their eyes flashing emerald again, but then turned back to their playing.
"do they do that all the time?" Elphaba asked.
"mostly, they can talk, they just seem to choose not to, actually them managing to blast dorothy back earlier is the most I've ever actually see them do." Madeline said taking off her hat and putting it on Alicia's head.
It immediately fell over her eyes, being several sizes too large for her. the three of them burst into a fit of giggles.
"they're quite intelligent too." Glinda said, her voice coming from the mirror.
"yes glin, we know that, so, since I brought it up, and I'm sure you were watching." Elphaba said smiling teasingly, "why don't you tell these guys how you gave us the lifts?" she said.
Glinda's face went red, this was obviously an embarrassing story. But now they were all interested.
"Story time?" Robert asked curiously
The triplets got up, walked over to the couch dorothy was sitting on, and climbed onto it. looking at the mirror intently.
"w-well, it's a funny story, not one of my proudest moments." Glinda said sighed, "well, it was a holiday week at the university, so classes were on hold, Elphaba and I were in our room, studying. I got a tiny bit bored so I went down to the kitchens where I found a few bottles of Lacasa sitting out, me being, well, me at the time, figured it wouldn't hurt to take just one, the school had several. They were a bit dusty and unlabeled, but I figured they would be fine." She said trailing off.
"I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical of the bottle she returned with, but she talked me into it." Elphaba said.
"it still smelled and tasted fine, so we drank it, it wasn't until later, in the evening, that anything actually happened, I think it was me who noticed first, as we slowly started rising, oh Elphie here was furious, I mean, I did practically speaking steal a bottle of Lacasa, but the teachers did agree that being stuck with the lifts for a few weeks was punishment enough, though I was never allowed in the kitchens unsupervised again" Glinda said, her face still red, "Locasta and Nessa were the only ones who were allowed into our room, to help us with food and drink, and to bring us work to do, and, well I did sort of talk her into." She said sighing.
"looking back on it though, it was rather funny wasn't it?" Elphaba said chuckling.
"it was, might not be one of my proudest moments, but it was pretty funny now that I look back at it." Glinda said starting to giggle.
"not everyone is 100 percent good." Alex said looking at his reflection in the bottle he was holding.
"Hatter is there a set up in place so the triplets can spend the night?" Glinda asked quickly changing the subject.
"did we do bad?" Alicia asked worriedly.
"no, no, far from it, your parents are just shocked, that's all." Glinda said.
"we all were." Dorothy said adjusting her position so that she was facing them, "I wasn't expecting to be blasted back a good 6 or 7 feet by you three." She said.
"we're sorry." The three of them said in unison.
"don't apologize, it wasn't really your guys' your fault, you didn't really know what you were doing." Glinda said.
"we didn't want dorothy to get in trouble with the thingy." Alicia said climbing onto Dorothy's lap.
"she was curious, and unconsciously did what any curious person would do, you three managed to block her from doing it, without ellie and Locasta I don't…" was as far as Glinda got before realization fell across her face.
"oh, I love that face, when the coin misses her hands completely and drops to the floor." Elphaba said snorting.
"the familial bond between them, all three of them had the same intentions, to keep dorothy from accidentally getting herself into a fix, so they bound their own spell, blasting her back and somehow nullified the effect of the charged moons tear." Glinda said.
"you told me, what feels like ages ago, something along the lines of spells cast by two siblings or at least family members together were more powerful than just the one of you." Dorothy said, trying to remember.
"It'd be the same if you and I tried to cast the same spell." Madeline said smiling.
"right, so, what I'm understanding, these three can never live what we define as a normal life?" alex asked curiously.
"alex, how long has it been since our lives were normal?" dorothy asked.
"fair." Alex said sighing, "besides, with the beast inside, I can't ever go back to who I was." He added.
"you'll be good." Robert said yawning, beginning to doze.
Alicia and amber started to yawn and nod off as well. Glinda and Elphaba shared a smile, they knew the magical energy they had expelled was finally catching up to them. Within minutes the three of the were sound asleep, awkwardly curled up with dorothy. Madeline said nothing in remark, she simply vanished for a few moments, when she returned she motioned for alex to help her, as well as Elphaba. She took Alicia into her arms, while alex took Robert and Elphaba took amber. Dorothy followed them upstairs to the bedroom Madeline had shown them earlier that morning. It was now set up with beds with guardrails along the sides for the triplets. With a snap of Elphaba's fingers the three were changed and soon tucked into bed. The lights were already dim and alex had already slipped out by the time dorothy, Elphaba and Madeline had made sure they were sound asleep.
"they'll sleep till early morning." Madeline whispered leading them out and to the room next door.
They hadn't looked at this room during the original tour. In fact, dorothy hadn't noticed the door until now. It was red, Madeline's color of choice. As they entered it, they found it was set up similarly to the sitting room, but with a crystal ball placed in the center between two of the armchairs.
"I assume we're meant to use this to keep an eye on the triplets till we're ready to turn in for the night?" dorothy asked
Meanwhile downstairs though, alex was now sitting on the couch, looking at the bottles of Lacasa. Glinda's face still in the mirror. He was worried, and she could see it. she knew he was worried about the beast, what he could do, what he might do. Glinda watched as he held his hand out for the scepter. Once it was in his hands, he stood up, brought the orb to his mouth and whispered something. The whispers were sharp and stern, but Glinda couldn't make out what he was saying. For a moment the light in the orb went dark, before it relit and it pinged a few times, almost as if it were agreeing to orders.
"what was that for?" Glinda asked curiously.
"I should hope it was obvious." Alex said sighing, letting the scepter float next to him.
"it seems like you were giving it orders." Glinda replied.
"and I hope those orders were obvious." Alex said.
"I can guess, but it's your object of power." Glinda said.
"the triplets are tucked in, dorothy and the hatter are in the tea room upstairs." Elphaba said coming back into the room, picking up her umbrella from the stand.
"you'll be off then I assume?" Alex asked.
"for the first time in years, returning to emerald city, feels, unusual." Elphaba said sighing.
"well, I hope you settle in well, we'll return in the morning as soon as we can." Alex said sighing, "just assure Mr. and Mrs. Gale that they're safe and sound." He added.
Glinda nodded as the mirror rippled and her image disappeared. Elphaba smiled but said nothing. She simply tightened her grip on her umbrella handle and vanished. Alex sighed, shook his head, picking up the oldest labeled bottle of Lacasa and grabbing the scepter before starting for the stairs.
Meanwhile back in emerald city.
In the gale's bedroom, em and henry were both taking turns at pacing the room. One would pace while the other sat on the couch.
"I mean, its not like this comes as a shock." Em finally said.
"but it still does em, our children, have an affinity for magic, the entire idea of it is enough to cause worry." Henry replied.
"no, you just didn't expect them to do what they did, especially without any prior training." Glinda said sticking her head into the room.
"oh, Glinda, come in." Em said
"we were just discussing." Henry said sighing.
"I know, I heard, and honestly I share the same worries you two do, now that they know they have powers, I'm more worried that they might try to explore it further." Glinda said sighing.
"that's what I'm afraid of, they could quickly get themselves into trouble." Em said worriedly.
"well, you said you two had been discussing things behind closed doors, care to share?" Glinda asked walking over.
Em and henry shared a glance before nodding.
"this doesn't exactly come as a surprise to us, considering the nine months saw me here in the palace, they were born here in oz, their eyes flash emerald, they never really speak or make any noise while playing, there were nights where both of us could swear we saw their hands glowing." Em said sighing.
"now that we know they're capable, even on accident." Henry said, "well, what do you suggest we do?" he asked looking Glinda dead in the eyes.
She could see his worry, his fear for them. She knew the answer that would best suit her. which was to take the triplets under her wing, teach them. But she knew this wasn't really the right answer. However, she was a tad curious.
"well, have you two considered options?" Glinda asked curiously.
"we have." Em said nodding.
"and?" Glinda asked now becoming more interested.
"well, a couple of things." Em said, "considering recent events though, perhaps it would be best, to start discussing more, permanent arrangements." She said sighing.
"you've all discussed, you, the Teaks, the Alistair's, Jon." Glinda said, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't look in from time to time, not that this comes as surprise I'm sure." She said stifling a giggle.
"not even remotely, perhaps tomorrow, we should discuss this in more detail, once the idea has had time to percolate for a bit." Henry said.
Glinda nodded, she knew Ozma would be pleased getting to have this discussion, as it was her jurisdiction. However, she knew Em and henry wouldn't be comfortable permanently residing in the city. They were farmers by trade, and she didn't think either of them would be too comfortable with the idea of never having work to do. Get them a small farm in munchkin country, that seemed like a favorable idea. As she quietly left their room to return to her own, she passed by Aislynn who was returning from the library with a large stack of books. She sighed and shook her head. When she eventually got back to her room, she found Elphaba waiting for her, pouring out tea for the two of them.
"nessa decided to turn in for the night." Elphaba said putting a decent amount of sugar into Glinda's cup.
"that's fine, anyways, I talked to the gales, I think, like the teaks, they're considering moving to Oz as a more permanent arrangement." Glinda said smiling.
"you must be pleased by that." Elphaba said taking a sip from her cup.
"oh, I'm excited, but enough about me, Elphie, you have a lot of catching up to do." Glinda said smiling teasingly.
"and I will, in due time." Elphaba said smiling back.
Back at Gale hall.
In the upstairs parlor, sitting room, tea room, the three of them were at odds about it. Alex, dorothy, and Madeline enjoyed some of the Lacasa for a short time before Madeline decided it'd be best for her to return back to the city. When they were finally alone, save for the scepter. They sighed.
"it won't be easy, you know, for the three of them." Alex said.
"I know it won't, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't know some of the things being discussed behind closed doors." Dorothy said with a sigh.
"same here, your aunt and uncle and my parents, on numerous occasions have discussed the idea of making Oz a more permanent living arrangement." Alex said nodding.
"and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't personally become fonder to the idea." Dorothy said getting up and stretching.
"not just because I have to stay behind, I hope?" alex asked curiously
Dorothy giggled, "well, that's a more recent reason." She said between them.
"honestly, Oz, at least to me, is more of a home than Kansas, people here have actually accepted me as I am, I know ellie still just barely tolerates me for your sake, but I personally have more true friends here than I do back there." Alex said getting up and taking her hands.
Within moments they were dancing, pressed close to each other, but still in conversation.
"I won't deny, I'm fairly certain that's why she wanted to bury the hatchet, apart from the fact that it wouldn't have accomplished anything if you two were at each other's throats all the time." Dorothy said smiling.
"you were and honestly still are, our main priority, and if it helped, all of us would be willing to do anything, just for you." Alex said pressing his forehead to hers.
"I know you would, and that's what has me in a constant state of worrying." Dorothy said closing her eyes.
They remained silent for a few moments, before stopping. Alex leaned forward, kissing her gently. She blushed and giggled, before embracing him tightly. Feeling his arms wrap around her, she felt warm, she felt safe, she felt her troubles just seem to melt away. But soon she felt sleepy, yawning. Alex chuckled, before holding his hand out for the scepter.
"I think, kitten, its time you turned in for the night, I did have a gift for you, but its at emerald city, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow." Alex said teasingly.
"when did you find the time?" dorothy asked curiously.
"to get the gift? While you were out with Alyssa at the seamstress's well, I say gift, I actually got you, a couple of things that I thought you would like." Alex said chuckling.
"if one of them is a perfume." Dorothy said trying to be both teasing and threatening, only to yawn and go into a fit of giggles.
Alex smiled and shook his head.
"no, I can't stand perfumes, people always use to much of it, and it can be overwhelming, I like you as you are." Alex said smiling, "don't wait up for me, I'll go to bed eventually" alex said.
Dorothy nodded and left the room, taking the scepter with her. alex sighed and walked over to the chair he had been using, picking up the polished silver platter the glasses for the Lacasa had been sitting on. His reflection in it quickly twisted into that of the beast once again. He looked at it.
"you won't win, you won't beat me." He said to the reflection.
The beast said nothing, not even a whisper, he simply smiled. His sharpened teeth showing in full view. Alex shivered, he was afraid of the beast, but he couldn't let him win. The beast was dangerous in more ways than one. As he set the plate down, he sat down, leaned back against the chair, and sighed. At least, he knew one thing for sure, the beast wouldn't be as much of a danger as he could be now.
So, dear readers, what orders do you think alex gave the scepter, I do hope it was kinda obvious, but at the same time, I realize it might not be.
