A/N: Wanda wanted to brood and then she wanted to be angry. XD Don't ask me. Also, I included one of my favorite lines from The Simpsons Movie. "He's gone mad with power!" "Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. No one will listen to you."
Wanda decided, since she was trying to avoid everyone anyway, that she might as well do some scouting. She appeared in Trixie's palace and rolled her eyes at its extravagance. Trixie had made out like a bandit with this wish, but what else could Wanda expect? It was almost like it was tailor-made for Trixie.
Wanda, disguising herself as a vase and various other inanimate objects, moved through the palace. She had a feeling Cosmo was going to tail her anyway, despite her telling him not to. She'd never separated from him like this before and he was bound to take it badly. Then again, the part of her that was hurt over his treatment believed he deserved it. Let him suffer for what he'd done.
Brooding, she stopped in Trixie's room. Other than gowns galore, she didn't see anything of note. Gowns…and the faintest hint of faerie dust. Wanda blinked. That was impossible. Besides, there was nothing new here, which meant if there had been a faerie, it had appeared and disappeared a while ago. Trixie Tang didn't have a faerie godparent, as far as Wanda knew.
It wasn't like Trixie wanted for much in this world; material-wise, the girl had a fortune in gems, jewels, and everything else her pretty little heart desired. Then again, she'd encountered other children whose parents were rich but they were miserable. Maybe Wanda was just projecting her unhappiness with Cosmo onto Trixie's reactions to Timmy. Or maybe not. It wasn't like Trixie hadn't jerked Timmy around before.
She sighed. Other than the servants, no one was home. Trixie was presumably still in town with her best friend. The "master"(king?) wasn't present; he was on an extended diplomatic mission to the distant Danville and wasn't expected back for a while.
Even so, even if her father was away a lot and her mother not in the picture for whatever reason, that didn't mean Trixie's intentions toward Timmy were genuine. Wanda suspected Trixie anyway; she couldn't help herself.
She'd told Cosmo not to follow her, but she wasn't sure he'd listen for very long. Or he'd forget she'd said it. Either that or he'd returned to Timmy to mope about it. She sighed, tempted to relent and return to his side. She hated separation too, but he'd hurt her.
They needed to work out their difficulties. She couldn't keep putting a bright face on and pretending everything was all right.
The problem was that Wanda didn't know what to do with herself. She'd wanted alone time, she had it, and now she didn't know what to do with it. She felt singularly useless. She hadn't learned anything new about Trixie, other than the faintest hint of faerie dust. There wasn't much she could do with that information.
Her shoulders sank. Maybe she ought to check on Tootie again. Tootie was probably fine, but at least talking with her would give Wanda an excuse to vent. She shouldn't be using Tootie as a sounding board, though. Wanda knew better than to drag a child into this mess. After all, she hadn't dragged Timmy into it.
Wanda glanced up to spy a portrait of a woman who looked like Trixie. She studied it, wondering whether it was a projection of Trixie at an older age or if it was Trixie's mother. Meanwhile, something drew her attention away.
Something stirred in Trixie's room and Wanda, disguised as a mouse, came face to face with another mouse. She might not have reacted if it weren't for the crown above the mouse's head and the dark purple, nearly black coloring. Wanda froze.
"Who are you?" the two women asked simultaneously.
"What are you doing here?" Wanda countered.
"Me? I live here," the woman said and then blinked. "Wait, I know you. You're famous in Fairy World. Your name begins with an 'W'. Don't tell me. I'll get it eventually."
"What are you doing here?" Wanda hissed. "Trixie Tang doesn't have a faerie godmother."
"She most certainly does," the woman replied, puffing out her chest. "I'm Trixie's faerie godmother. Amelia at your service. Well, not your service because you're not a godchild. Who are you again? I still can't quite remember."
"I thought you told me not to tell you," Wanda said, rolling her eyes.
"I changed my mind," Amelia said and folded her arms across her chest.
"I'm Wanda," Wanda said.
"I do know you! You're one of Timmy Turner's faerie godparents!" Amelia exclaimed. "But why are you here?"
Wanda's mind was whirling. Not only did Trixie have a faerie, she was actively her godmother, not just a fly-by visit as Wanda had originally suspected. Wanda needed to reassess the situation. For one thing, if Trixie had a godmother, then it was possibly Amelia was responsible for this wish. If she was, then she'd done it badly. Trixie's world was supposed to be altered, not everyone else's.
"Is your goddaughter responsible for this?" Wanda said, seeing no point in beating around the bush or bandying about pleasantries.
"So what if she is?" Amelia said, drawing herself up. "She wanted some time with her father."
"Where is Trixie's father?"
"He had business in another kingdom," Amelia said, wilting. "The wish didn't go according to plan. But I'm not supposed to be here right now."
"Oh? Shouldn't you be at your goddaughter's side?" Wanda asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes, but I should be back in Fairy World," Amelia said, fussing. "I skipped out to check on Trixie, but she's not here."
"Shouldn't you always know where your godchild is?"
"I'm kinda new at this," Amelia admitted. "My last job was a disaster and I'm hoping I can do better by Trixie."
"I see," Wanda said, still with her eyebrows raised. She didn't, but she wasn't about to push her.
"I was in Fairy World for extra training," Amelia revealed. "If you see Trixie, will you tell her I stopped by to check on her?"
"Why not just hang around and let her unwish this wish if it's not what she wanted?" Wanda pointed out.
"Would she want me to, though?" Amelia said, wrinkling her nose. "What if she changes her mind again? No, I should wait it out. Besides, I shouldn't be here to begin with. If Jorgen finds out I skipped out on training, I'll be in a lot of trouble."
"Usually, you have the training before you get the godchild," Wanda said, nonplussed.
"I know, I know, it's a little backwards," Amelia said. "Look, I promise I'll be back later. Just tell Trixie not to sweat it!"
Amelia vanished in a cloud of faerie dust and Wanda blinked. Did Amelia imagine Wanda had introduced herself to Trixie or intended to do so? Wanda had no intention of revealing her existence to Trixie. However, if she didn't get out of here before Trixie returned, she might have no choice. She spun about to discover Cosmo watching her.
"How…how long have you been here?" she said, startled.
"You left me!" he wailed and hugged her. He was also disguised as a mouse. "Why did you run off like that?"
She sighed, pinching her nose bridge. "We need to talk."
"Am I in trouble?" Cosmo had to know those were one of the four most dangerous words in the English language-"we need to talk."
"Oh, yes," she said sharply. "You most definitely are."
She was tired of avoiding this conversation or doing whatever she could to procrastinate about it. They needed to have a frank discussion about his behavior and the sooner, the better. Maybe she could finally penetrate that thick skull and, although it was unlikely that they'd manage to reach a solution quickly, at least it'd be better out in the open.
"Cosmo! Wanda!" Timmy called and Wanda cursed inwardly. It looked like they'd have to wait to hold that conversation.
"We'll be right there," she grumbled. "Like always."
"Does this mean I'm off the hook?" Cosmo asked as they prepared to poof back to Timmy.
"For now," she said. For now, you have a continuance. We'll see what earth-shattering event Timmy needs us for in a minute.
It turned out that Vicky could get away with a lot more now that there was no such thing as child protective services hovering over her head. She was already an expert in dealing punishment that wasn't obvious to the naked eye, but now she could pretend to be clumsy and Timmy's parents wouldn't believe him anyway. So when she casually, "accidentally" let slip with the knife and nearly skinned Timmy alive, she assured his parents that it was a mistake and wouldn't happen again. Timmy glared sullenly at her.
"You have to do something about her," Timmy said in an undertone when his faeries finally showed up. "She's gone mad with power. Again."
"Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. No one listens to you," Cosmo said and Timmy shot him a disgusted look. "What? Just saying."
"The worst part is that she could really hurt me and then play it off as something else," Timmy said and Wanda, seeing as no one else was around, hugged him. He hugged her back.
"She wouldn't do that, hon," Wanda said.
"You sure about that? Because I'm not. Not anymore. I haven't seen Tootie, either, and I'm pretty sure she could pretend she offed her without a problem," Timmy said, scowling.
"Oh, she'd have a hard time doing that," Wanda said darkly. Timmy stared, deciding he didn't want to know.
"Did you figure out who's behind this wish?" Timmy asked and Wanda frowned.
"I think so, sport, but you're not going to believe me," she said. "Heck, I don't even believe me."
"What?" Timmy said and stared at her in disbelief. "Who could it possibly be? Crocker?"
"Don't be absurd," Wanda said and then waited a few seconds. "All evidence points to Trixie Tang."
"What?!" he yelped and Cosmo and Wanda shushed him. Vicky was currently waiting tables, although she wouldn't be there for long. Timmy doubted she had the patience to pretend to be patient for very long, especially with how grabby some of those customers were. He could've sworn one of them had made a lunge for him too, which was disturbing in all sorts of ways.
"What?" Timmy said in a quieter tone. "Since when does Trixie have a faerie godparent?"
"Since now, apparently," Wanda said and quickly relayed what she'd encountered at Trixie's palace. Cosmo didn't chime in; he seemed oddly subdued right now, which Timmy was curious about. There was also an odd strain between Cosmo and Wanda, one he had noticed before, but now seemed more prominent. He didn't know what to make of it.
"But why would Trixie have a godparent?" Timmy said when Wanda was finished. "It's not like she wants for anything."
"Just because she looks like she's happy doesn't mean she is," Wanda pointed out. "You should know better than that."
"I guess," he said, though he was unconvinced. "But why would she want all of us to be in her world?"
"That, I believe, is her faerie godmother's fault," Wanda said, shaking her head. "She misjudged the wish."
"You're telling me," Timmy grumbled. "I'm up to my ears in onions and I'm sick of serving people who don't tip! Also, I'm not getting paid!"
"We don't get paid all the time either," Cosmo said.
"You're adults!" Timmy protested.
"Only in years," Cosmo said with a grin. "Besides, I act my shoe size, not my age."
"I know, hon," Wanda said, groaning. "Believe me, I know."
"Isn't she gonna unwish this wish?" Timmy groaned. "Don't tell me she likes it like this."
"I don't know, because I didn't speak with Trixie," Wanda said. "Maybe you can ask her when you speak to her next, at that dance you weren't invited to."
"Oh, yeah," Timmy said, looking at the card he'd been carrying around all day. "Do you really think she meant to invite me?"
"Yes," Wanda said, refraining from rolling her eyes even though he knew she wanted to. He appreciated it.
"You guys are coming too, right?" Timmy said.
"Of course we are," Cosmo said and then paused. "Unless that's why you're mad at me?"
"You really have no idea why I'm upset with you, do you?" Wanda said.
"Should I?"
Wanda facepalmed and muttered under her breath. Timmy didn't recognize the words-they might've been ancient faerie-but he knew cursing when he heard it.
"Wow, you haven't said that since our wedding day," Cosmo said brightly and Wanda sighed.
"Should I know?" Timmy asked, looking uncertainly from one faerie to the other.
"I don't want to drag you into this," she said and frowned. "But don't worry. We'll stick around in case Vicky gets homicidal again."
"Vicky's always homicidal!" Cosmo added.
"Sometimes, I don't blame her," Wanda muttered, almost too low to be audible. Timmy shuddered. He didn't like to think of his faerie godmother as malicious like Vicky.
"Do I want to know?" Timmy asked, eying his godmother warily.
"No. You don't."
"Okay then…"
"So, what are you going to wear to Trixie's party?" Cosmo asked, bouncing up and eying Wanda warily. Both he and Timmy knew the conversation wasn't over, merely tabled for a later time. Timmy, for one, wasn't looking forward to seeing what he'd done wrong. With Wanda, it always felt like it was something.
"Maybe it's a masquerade," Timmy said. "That way, I can go in without getting the boot."
"If it's a masquerade, we should be able to go in too," Wanda mused. "Then we can talk to her godmother without it looking amiss."
"Or a missus!" Cosmo said and Wanda gave him a withering look. "What? Just trying to lighten up the mood."
Yeah, whatever it was, Wanda was just not having it tonight.
"Can you get her to unwish it sooner?" Timmy asked, frowning. "I really hate to say this, but I kinda miss indoor plumbing. And electricity. I know I don't bathe all that often, but the people here really reek."
"Yeah, cleanliness wasn't a big thing in the middle ages," Wanda agreed. "I'll see what I can do, sport. I might have to track Amelia down in Fairy World."
"It's not like Fairy World is that big, right?" he asked and then wilted under Wanda's glare. "Right?"
"Never mind."
"We'll do what we can," she promised. "We'll be back at the first sign of trouble. I promise."
She kissed him on the forehead. "Be good."
"When am I ever not good?" he said and then wilted again. "Never mind. Don't answer that."
"We'll be back," Cosmo promised. "How hard could it be to find a needle in a haystack that big?"
She'd wanted alone time from Cosmo. She wasn't about to get it any time soon. His last comment had been inane and instead of brooding like she'd originally thought she would, she was irritated instead. Oh, well. She'd rather be angry than depressed. Depression was anger turned inward.
Unfortunately, Cosmo was right. Finding Amelia would be like locating a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, she knew where faerie godparents were trained, though they were usually sentenced there for years rather than a short stay. She was apprehensive about returning there, in case someone decided she was a student and shoved her into a class anyway. Despite it having been thousands of years since she'd been a student, she still had nightmares she had tests and assignments she hadn't prepared for.
"So, uh, what did I do?" Cosmo asked and Wanda sighed, resisting the temptation to wring his neck.
"You really have no idea?" she said and then, without allowing him a chance to speak, said, "You hit on another woman in front of me. Multiple women. You acted like being married to me was like a prison sentence. You might've acted like you were joking, but it wasn't funny. At all."
"It was kinda funny?" he ventured and she glowered at him until he lowered his head.
"No," she said coldly. "It wasn't."
"It was only a couple of times?" he said it uncertainly, because she was still glaring at him.
"No, it wasn't."
"I didn't mean it," he protested and his lower lip quivered. She was too angry to be affected and she folded her arms across her chest. They were floating in front of the academy now and she almost hoped someone would come up to them and demand to know what they were doing there, just so she could bite their head off.
"Didn't you?"
"No! I love you!" he said. His lower lip quivered harder, like he was about to start crying. "I never meant to hurt you. I swear. I just thought it was funny and Timmy seemed to think it was funny-"
"Timmy should have nothing to do with our marriage," she said. Despite herself, her anger eased slightly. "You shouldn't be pandering to a ten year old boy."
"I know, but…we have a thing…and…" he faltered. "I'm sorry! I'll never do it again!"
"I know you two have a thing," Wanda said tightly. "But that's not an excuse either. You know that too."
In a quieter tone, she said, "I know you love me. You know I love you. But before you ask, 'What's the problem?'...did you ever think that maybe you took it for granted? That I'd be there?"
"Of course you'd be there," Cosmo said, starting to sweat. "Why wouldn't you be? You're not leaving me, are you?"
"No," she said and touched his cheek. She cupped it in her hand. "I'm not. I just want you to know what you put me through."
Cosmo's gaze searched hers and tears brimmed in his eyes. "I never meant to hurt you. You've gotta believe me."
"I believe you," she said and sighed. "We can talk more about this later. We need to find Amelia and convince her to return to Trixie."
"No," Cosmo said, grabbing her arm and surprising her. "I want to talk about this now. I want to know what I did, all of it. So I don't do it again."
Wanda hesitated.
"I mean it!" he protested. "Tell me everything. I need to know."
They were in the middle of finding Amelia and their godson needed them. Then again, Timmy would survive for a few more hours without their interference, for one thing. For another, he'd do better if he learned some patience. His video games, TV, and indoor plumbing would all be there once the wish was undone. He wasn't in mortal danger, so far as Wanda knew.
"All right," she said. She brought them to a café to talk. It was one of the bigger cafes in Fairy World, Chez Baguette, and it had a rich clientele. It was also across the world from Big Daddy, just in case he had anyone overhear them. Big Daddy would absolutely flip his lid if he heard Wanda was having marriage troubles.
"Let's talk."
She waved a waiter over. This could take a while, but they had time. She was pretty sure Vicky wouldn't murder or mutilate their godson yet.