Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Oz franchise, or anything else that you might recognize.
"Miss, I'm not sure if I should be doing this..." The female Quadling sighs, wearily eyeing the small body in her arms. She had spent most of her years working in Glinda's palace and had become far too involved with Nessa Rose's shenanigans over the years. She wasn't in the mood to cover up for the child another time.
Nessa Rose simply waves a hand at the worried woman. "Don't worry yourself; nothing is going to happen. We found the child on the side of the road and Finley insisted that I was too small to carry the girl the rest of the way-"
"That's because you are!" Finley interjects, not about to let his decision be spoken down on. "You're still a child yourself, just a very big one, don't forget that. Even when you are actually a woman, you won't grow to be the size of a normal-"
"I'm already a woman!" Nessa Rose interrupts, her glass eyes narrowing into slits. "I can live on my own and provide for myself, making me a grown up that you don't have to look after anymore!"
"And remind me, who were the ones who sponsored you while you attended that fancy school in Gillikin Country-"
"Glinda and Oz insisted! I couldn't refuse-"
"Oh, I see. So now it's their faults, because nothing is ever your fault-"
"Don't turn this around on me!"
"We were speaking about you in the first place!"
"Would the two of you shut your gobs?" Rachel hisses, all signs of apprehensiveness having disappeared. She motions to the unconscious child in her arms with her chin, before leading the china doll and monkey into the palace through one of the back doors. "I swear; you too are worse than the Munchkins during their choir rehearsals…" The woman mummers to herself, though her voice is loud enough for Nessa Rose and Finley to hear.
"Why is she going to go in my room?" Nessa Rose snaps when the Quadling woman steps foot into the young woman's room. She's about to stomp her foot, but thinks better of it once she sees the looks on Finley and Rachel's faces.
Rachel gently lowers the girl onto Nessa Rose's bed, and takes a step back to admire the child. "She really is quite a beauty," the servant points out, making Nessa Rose roll her eyes.
"And pray tell; what did you hope to achieve by bringing her here? Oz will be expecting you for his birthday celebration, and remember that he has been waiting to see you…" Rachel trails off while inching towards the door. All of the servants that worked in the palace were aware of Oz's secret, and had taken an oath at the time of their employment in order to ensure the Wizard that they wouldn't ruin his secret.
Nessa Rose sighs dramatically, looking over to Finley expectantly. "What do you expect me to do? You're the one who decided to pick up a kid from the side of the road…" Finley says and scratches his head while mumbling something about Oz doing the same thing.
"I was just trying to do the right thing!" Nessa Rose protests, though she sounds more like she is whining. She turns and looks back at the girl, who lay on her bed with her hair fanned out behind her much like a princess. For a moment, she is jealous. Jealous of the way that Rachel called this strange girl pretty, the way that Finley wouldn't let Nessa carry her, the way that this girl has actual hair that can fan out on a pillow and feet that won't snap in half like twigs. Nessa Rose shakes the feelings away, reminding herself that she is an adult now, and that she has to make tough decisions at times.
"Maybe she can be his birthday present." Nessa Rose says suddenly, surprising herself. Finley's head snaps toward her, while she can feel Rachel's eyes burning holes on the side of her head.
"You are joking." Rachel tries to make a statement, but it comes out sounding more like a question.
"No, no…" Nessa Rose starts, an idea forming in her mind. "Just listen, alright?"
Nessa Rose isn't sure what she was thinking when she thought that the little girl would be normal.
Of course a child that you find in the middle of the road isn't going to be normal.
The girl is huddled in the corner of Nessa Rose's bedroom, staring at the three with wide eyes. Nessa Rose tries to ignore the way that the girl's hands look like they are about to light on fire.
"Who are you people?" Ozma asks, trying to sound brave by keeping her voice level, but knowing that she has failed. The last thing that she remembers was running away after the train wreck that occurred back at the manor, and she guesses that she must have passed out while on the Yellow Brick Road. She's confused and scared and angry and nervous, but she's also disappointed. She had just gotten the hang of convincing herself that everything that had occurred so far was just a nightmare.
"Technically, I'm not a person…" Finley starts to point out, but is silenced by a tap on the shoulder from Rachel.
"Look," Nessa Rose starts, frustrated with the fact that this girl was causing trouble. The girl has already knocked down Nessa's bookshelf, her mirror, and most the snow globes that she's received from Glinda every past year for Christmas. She's sure that she was never this much trouble when she was a child.
"I just want you to come and meet… my parents."
Ozma's eyebrows shoot towards the ceiling. "Y-your parents?" The red sparks in her finger tips are dying down. "Like…dolls? Your doll parents?" She wasn't sure if she was angry or ready to attack or something before, but the bizarre feeling in her chest subsides for a moment as she wrings her hands together.
Nessa Rose freezes for a moment, unsure of what to say. It makes the most sense to lie to the girl, so that she would be able to get her to leave willingly, but something tells Nessa not to follow that route.
Perhaps it is the red sparks in the girl's fingers.
"Not exactly…" Nessa Rose trails off, watching the girl closely for a reaction.
"They adopted her when she was young." Rachel supplies quickly, noticing Nessa Rose's unusual anxiousness. The China Girl was definitely known for speaking her mind, and she was surprised that the doll hadn't screamed at the girl yet because she wasn't going along with her plans.
Ozma's eyes travel over the monkey, the china doll, and the stout woman warily. She isn't sure how long it's been, but it feels like it's barely been a day. In less than a day, the only life that she has known has been ripped away from her. Even if she went back to the manor and begged for Mombi to take her back, things would never be the same. Mombi and all of the servants knew about her magic, and who knew how they would use it against her. She didn't hang around to see how the Witch or Theodora or her mother or whoever that woman was reacted, and she wasn't sure if there was a search team out looking for her. She isn't sure who she can trust.
"I'm not really in the mood." Ozma settles for, pausing to take in everyone's reactions. The monkey and the stout woman eye her warily, but the china doll stomps her foot in frustration.
"Ugh! Are you serious? We took you in when you were on the street, and all that I'm asking is that you meet my dad! It's his birthday. Is that really so much to-"
Ozma is new to this whole fireball thing, and still jumps back when the fire emits from her fingertips. She doesn't mean to scare anyone, or break anything, but she was just so angry. How dare this random doll criticize her? Ozma finds that she feels scared, not only because she blew a hole through a wall, but because she couldn't control it. She didn't want to control it. Blasting fireballs when you're angry feels so fulfilling.
The silence that follows feelings suffocating, and the only sound that can be heard is the sound of flames crackling on the wall. "I'm sorry," Ozma starts, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "I didn't mean-"
"Are you a witch?" The monkey cuts her off, shooting the girl an accusing glare.
Ozma shakes her head furiously. She feels the anger rise back up in her chest, but she pushes it back down. "No, I'm not a-"
"Then you must have some sort of…condition, my dear." The stout woman interjects, her eyes filled with concern. Ozma decides not to say anything, and just nods.
"I'll see your parents, if you want me to." Ozma offers tentatively. Nessa Rose is frozen. She isn't sure if she wants to bring this kid to Oz or Glinda at all, if she's going to be throwing fireballs all over the place. On the other hand, Glinda has always loved children, and would probably gravitate towards this child more if she had a predicament that she needed help with. Glinda and Oz would work together to help this kid out, and then they would get together, just like they did years ago. At this conclusion, Nessa Rose isn't even annoyed about the possibility of having to share her room, as long as this kid can get her adoptive parents back together.
"Well, don't just stand there." Nessa Rose orders after snapping out of her trance. "Come on! There's work to be done."
"All that I'm saying is that there's something really off about this girl." Finley whispers harshly, staring at the girl from the corner of his eye. He and Nessa Rose are standing in a corner outside of the throne room while the girl, "Ozma", wanders around, touching ever thing that sparkles. "Let's see: we found her in the middle of the road, she blasts fireballs, and you have to admit that she looks just like "you know who" in that dress…" Finley trails off suspiciously.
Nessa Rose steals a glance at Ozma, who looks extremely awkward as she tries to move in the white dress and cherry red sweater that Rachel had given her to wear. The girl had clearly never worn a real dress before, or taken a step in a pair of heels.
"I'm sure that it's nothing. Besides, I'm sure that lots of people looked the way that the Witch did before she became the way that she is now." Nessa Rose brushes off the comment. Though she did feel that there was something eerie about the situation, she wasn't about to let some weird feelings about the kid ruin her plan.
"Hey, Ozma!" Nessa Rose called, waving the girl over. Ozma's head snapped up from the portrait of the former King of Oz. Ozma remembers all of the stories that she has heard about the great Wizard of Oz, illegally, of course, since the inhabitants of the Emerald City were forbidden from ever speaking of the Wizard. Ozma has always thought that those stories were fairytales, but she isn't so sure anymore. She feels sick, and it's not just from the tight dress and ridiculous shoes.
"Just who exactly are your parents?" Ozma asks, but her question falls on deaf ears as Nessa Rose barges into the throne room.
"Oz!" Nessa Rose squeals.
Ozma squeezes her eyes shut. She can hear voices speaking, but she isn't sure what they are saying. She turns slowly to follow Finley and Nessa into the room, but she doesn't have much of a distance to walk, as a man and woman stand in front of her.
Ozma can't explain their expressions. The man looks as though he is relieving a nightmare, and Ozma glances down at her fingertips, which aren't glowing. She doesn't see any fire anywhere, so she knows that she couldn't have caused any harm. The woman looks less freaked out, but more worried, if possible. Her hands fly to her mouth as she gaps. "Oh, Nessa Rose," She sighs, her eyes never leaving Ozma's face. "What have you done, child?"
Oz feels as though he is having a mental breakdown. He should be able to have one, seeing as he went through a breakup and a million flashbacks this week. He was wondering why they were just reoccurring now, and now he wonders if it was Theodora's doing. The person standing in front of him is too small to be Theodora, and looks like a child.
Oz just isn't sure. His mind isn't processing this correctly. It could just be a trick of the light.
But her eyes are his eyes, copied exactly onto her face.
Ozma takes a step back towards the door as the man starts to hyperventilate. She can't figure out what she did wrong, and she isn't use to being the center of attention.
Why is everyone staring at her?
Why does this child look like the perfect mix of him and her?
"I said that I was sorry!" The man bellows, making Ozma jump and the sparks fly right back into her fingers. The man flees from the room, just as Ozma throws another fireball.
"Oh, dear," the sound of Glinda sighing is all that can be heard in the silence that follows.
Isn't it just so much fun to ignore the rest of your responsibilities and write? Anyway, I hope that you all like this chapter. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it anyway.
Thanks to:
gothgirl97: Thank you! I'm glad that you like it!
EvilRegal: Aw, thank you so much!
Sakura Lisel: Thanks for pointing that out :)
NadezhdaSt: I really really love long reviews. That being said, thank you so much for the feedback! I'm glad that is it kind of realistic, or as realistic as it can be. I just really thank you enough, wow. :D And I always thought that Glinda looking like Annie was pretty odd/ unhealthy as well.
booklover457: Thank you! I feel the same way, and I try to show that in my writing :)
Thank you all so much for your reviews! I can't even find the words to describe how they inspire me. Just knowing that people read this makes it so much easier to try and write 50,000 words. Thank you!