Disclaimer; Well you know by now
Meanwhile in Oz
Ellie was watching the scene unfold in the Teak residence. Aislynn was asleep in the throne, Finley was now flying laps around the room and Toto was chasing him around.
"Finley, if you wouldn't mind, please land I don't want ace to get woken up, she's had a busy day." Ellie said.
"Yes mam, how's Dorothy making out?" Finley asked.
"Pretty well, Glinda just got there with one of Dorothy's nightgowns, looks like she may have to spend the night, I can't bear to think of her staying in the same house as that kid." Ellie said shuddering/
"Well maybe you've misjudged him? Maybe he has a soft side?" Finely asked listing off possibilities.
"Thanks Finley love you too." Ellie said sarcastically.
"Humph." Was the only remark he made.
"Finley why don't you go find some work to do?" Ellie asked curiously.
Finley nodded and flew out of the room. Ellie smiled and looked back at the crystal. She waved a hand over it and it went dark. Using the crystal ball without Glinda here was absolutely forbidden for her to do but she couldn't resist watching the happenings at the teak residence. She knew though that Glinda wouldn't be till morning, because if the jester was around, she would be trying to get him.
Meanwhile in Kansas.
"Em, do you think he'll come back?" Henry asked loading the muzzle on his rifle.
"I don't know henry, but please be careful with that thing, it gives me the willies." Em said shuddering
"Em, don't worry I know what I'm doing, just pray that Dorothy will be alright tonight." Henry said sighing.
"I'm glad Glinda was able to come and get some of Dorothy's things, though this goes against her punishment I guess it's all for the better." Em walking over to the window and looked out.
Meanwhile at the teak's
"Dad I said I don't want her here!" Alex whispered out, complaining.
Dorothy and Mr. Teak were about to say something when Glinda cut in. she grabbed Alex's wrist and took him to the side, Dorothy followed.
"Alex, you listen to me and you listen good, Understand!?" she whispered out sternly
"Yes mam" he said nodding quickly.
"Good, now, the jester has now been both here and the gale residence, correct?" she asked him.
"yes." Alex said quickly.
"And you understand that she is in grave danger correct?" she asked as well
Alex just nodded.
"Now I can put protections around your house and the shop, but they are only affective if Dorothy is here, so you are going to buck up and deal with it or you can just go out there and face the jester on your own!" Glinda said sternly.
"Glinda!" Dorothy gasped out in shock.
"Ms., whatever your name is, I will not have you threatening my son." Mr. Teak said as Mrs. Teak came down the stairs.
"Oh, I'm not threatening him, heavens I would never pit someone against that kind of evil, not intentionally anyways." Glinda said as Dorothy looked at her as if to say 'Seriously?'
"Well that's a relief, I guess." Mr. Teak said as Mrs. Teak came down the steps.
"Would you guys please quiet down, Annabella is now asleep, oh, hello you were the woman that came here with Dorothy right?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.
"Yes, my name is Glinda, I'm a good friend of Dorothy, and you already know the sheriff." Glinda said smiling.
"Hello officer grey, what brings you back?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.
"A message from the gale's, they think it would be a good idea if Dorothy stays here provided that Miss Glinda her stays as well, hence the box she came in with, it has Dorothy's and her own sleepwear, do you have a guest bedroom?" officer grey asked curiously
"We have two, one where Alex keeps his knick-knacks and stuff and the other is just a conventional guest room." Mrs. Teak said.
"Good, because like I said, Dorothy and Ms. Glinda will be staying the night, they only need to stay till morning or until we give an all clear." Officer grey said.
Dorothy looked at Glinda for a second, then turned to Alex who looked like he was about to throw a fit or something. Glinda was about to say something before Alex cut her off.
"But, I, Don't, want her to stay here!" Alex shouted.
A few seconds later crying was heard from upstairs. Mrs. Teak sighed and looked at Alex angrily.
"For Christ sakes, Alex, you know I put your sister to bed at this time, why would you shout?" Mrs. Teak asked through gritted teeth.
"My dear, you go and relax, I'll take care of Annabella." Mr. Teak said sighing, "Alex, you go get the guest rooms set up." he added.
Alex stood there for a few seconds then he went, rather reluctantly back upstairs. Dorothy then looked at Mr. Teak and held her hand up so that he wouldn't follow his son.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her, you two should both have a chance to relax." Dorothy said smiling.
"Dorothy, you are our guest, we couldn't ask you to do that." Mrs. Teak said.
"I insist Mrs. Teak, you guys just go, Glinda, keep an eye on them, and make sure they get a chance to relax." Dorothy said walking over to the stairs.
Glinda nodded and Dorothy walked up the stairs. When she got to the top of the stairs she felt a chill go down her spine, as if she knew that they weren't the only presence in this house. Dorothy shivered and walked over to the source of the crying. The door to the room was open a crack, Dorothy shivered as she felt a cool breeze blow out of it. She quietly pushed the door open and ran over to the crib that the crying child was bawling her eyes out in. she set the scepter up against the crib and carefully picked up the child.
"Shh, it's alright now, Shh." Dorothy said lightly rocking the child.
Annabella gradually began to stop crying and began to start giggling. Dorothy smiled and chuckled as the child playfully tugged at one of her pigtails. It was then that Dorothy heard a click and saw a bright flash. She shook her head and looked towards the source of the clicking sound and saw the jester sitting on the window with an instant print camera. The picture hummed out of the machine and fell to the ground in front of him.
"What a touching display." He said chuckling.
Annabella heard the voice and turned to face the jester. She saw him and gulped, and then nuzzled into Dorothy's chest.
"What do you want now!?" Dorothy whispered quietly.
"Why do you always assume I want something?" He asked teasingly
"Well your scaring Annabella." She said as Annabella shivered in her arms.
"Well, let's take another picture, smile" he said pressing the button on the camera.
It clicked and flashed, Dorothy shook her head again then gently set Annabella down in the crib. She then picked up the scepter and aimed it at him.
"Where did you even get that camera!?" Dorothy asked sternly.
"Oh, this old thing? I picked it up from a little nick-knack store down the street." He said chuckling.
It was then that the jester dropped the camera and vanished. The camera flashed and released another picture. She then walked over to it and picked up the camera. She pushed the down flash compartment and placed it on a nearby shelf.
"Dorothy are you okay in there?" Glinda asked appearing in the door way.
"Yea, I'm fine, I don't think Annabella will be asleep for a while though, she's frightened." Dorothy said walking back over to the crib.
"Jester?" Glinda asked curiously.
"You guessed it, left that instant develop camera that I put over there, and here are the pictures." Dorothy said pointing to them.
Glinda pulled out her wand and mumbled something pointing it at the camera. Nothing happened so she sighed in relief and walked over to the camera and the pictures. She looked at the pictures and chuckled.
"Awe, how cute." She said picking up the three picture.
Dorothy walked over and looked over at the pictures. They really were cute. She then walked back over to the crib and picked up Annabella.
"Dorothy why don't you bring Annabella downstairs? I'll keep an eye out for him in case he returns." Glinda said.
Dorothy nodded and took Annabella out of the room. She was still shivering in her arms.
"Don't worry Annabella, he can't hurt you I won't let him, neither will your momma or your papa." Dorothy said as she realized that the scepter was floating out of her grasp allowing her to get a better grip on the child.
She sighed and adjusted her grip on the child. The scepter levitated in front of her following her as she walked down the stairs.
"Dorothy!" Annabella said.
"Yes Annabella?" Dorothy asked.
"Who jester?" Annabella asked curiously as a child would.
"He's a bad man, well, more like a very wicked man." Dorothy said.
"What wicked?" She asked again.
"Dear, I'm expanding your vocabulary aren't I? Well, how can I describe wicked to you?" Dorothy asked stopping in the middle of the stairs.
"Why not use me as the description?" Alex asked from the top of the stairs.
Dorothy looked back and saw Alex standing there, looking as if he was about to cry.
"Alex, is something wrong?" Dorothy asked.
"My sister likes you better than she likes me, no there's absolutely nothing wrong." He said sarcastically.
"Alex, your sister does not like me better than you, I'm just a friend, you're her brother, it's your responsibility to take care of her, guide her along the way, I've always been an only child, but you are lucky, and so is Donna, you have someone to look up to you." Dorothy said sitting down on the steps.
"Alecks?" Annabella said pointing to her older brother.
"See? She's trying to say your name." Dorothy said chuckling and then signaling to Alex to come down.
He looked at her and sighed, almost as if in defeat and walked down the stairs, taking a seat next to Dorothy. Dorothy giggled a bit and handed Annabella over to Alex.
"Alecks!" Annabella said pointing to him.
"Close enough." Alex said taking his sister in his arms, she kissed him on the cheek making Dorothy giggle.
"See? She loves you." Dorothy said giggling.
"Thanks Dorothy, um what's with that thing? It's just, floating there." Alex asked referring to it.
Dorothy looked at the scepter, she then plucked it from the air in front of her and tightened her grasp on it.
"Remind me to explain later." Dorothy said.
"Right, anyways, the guest rooms are set up there up the stairs second and third doors on your left, its right across from my room and the bathroom." Alex said carefully getting up and carrying his sister down the stairs.
"Thanks." Dorothy said getting up and following him.
When they got to the living room Dorothy got an odd sinking feeling, something she couldn't explain. The scepter went dim and Dorothy felt something surge through her body.
"Dorothy? Are you okay?" Mrs. Teak asked sounding concerned.
Dorothy didn't respond, she collapsed to the floor and blacked out. She then found herself in the middle of a nightmare. The jester was laughing louder and more wickedly than he usually did. Surrounding her were once more her friends and family being tortured in various means, none extremely harmful but torture none the less, she wanted to scream, but she found that she couldn't. She then felt someone one embracing her.
"Dorothy, it's alright child, it's just a dream." She heard the voice of Glinda saying.
Dorothy's eyes snapped open, she immediately sat up and found herself drenched in sweat. She then found herself being embraced tightly by Glinda. She cried for a bit before realizing that Alex was in the room holding his little sister, smiling smugly.
"Dorothy okay?" Came the voice of Annabella.
"No, I don't think so Annabella, I think she's really upset by something, and to be quite honest, I think it's funny." Alex said chuckling.
"Alex, please shut up." Glinda said sternly.
Alex looked at Glinda and shut his mouth, he then walked over with Annabella in his arms. Dorothy looked around to see that she was now in a bed, the scepter floating a few inches away from where her head had evidently had been resting. She felt scared, but at the same time she still had that sinking feeling as if something was wrong. She the felt Glinda pushing her out of the embrace and looking at her with a sad look in her eyes.
"Dorothy, I know you don't want to talk about it but I want you to tell me what you saw." Glinda said sternly.
Dorothy went on to explain that she had seen the usual nightmare, as to not disclose any information to Alex, she didn't want him to know her weaknesses, and that was the jester's job to know. She then gasped as the clock struck seven.
"Oh sweet Oz, I'm going to be late for school, Glinda why didn't you guys wake me sooner!? Dorothy said wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Dorothy, we don't have school today, we may not for a while, it was broken into in the middle of the night." Alex said, as his tone went from amused to even more excited.
"Do they know who did it?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"They do not, but I suspect the jester." Glinda said
"Why would he do something like that?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"I don't know." Glinda said getting up, "We'll be leaving after breakfast by the way." She added and walked out of the room.
Dorothy sighed and lay back down on the bed she was in. she stared up and the ceiling and closed her eyes, only to open them moments later to find Annabella now lying on top of her. Her own blue eyes meeting with the green ones of the child. She giggled and sat up. Looking over to where Alex was. He was once again smiling a smug smile.
"Dorothy better now?" Annabella asked.
"Yes Annabella, I'm feeling better now." Dorothy said taking Annabella into her arms.
"Good for you, now could we cut the theatrics?" Alex asked almost gagging.
"Alex, would it kill you to be nice in front of your sister?" Dorothy asked setting Annabella down on the blankets and getting out of the bed.
"No, I just, find it amusing." He said slowly chuckling.
Dorothy picked up Annabella off the bed and sighed.
"Just wait till you learn to walk, then you can give your brother running hugs." Dorothy said giggling.
"Hey don't give her any ideas, I don't want to be tackled by a one year old when she does manage to figure it out." Alex said chuckling.
"Alecks tackeleded?" Annabella asked making them both laugh.
"Trust me Alex, you'll do great with helping her grow up." Dorothy said walking over and handing her off to him, "But if you don't mind, I want to change back into my dress." She added.
"Sure thing, I'll uh, just tell Glinda that you'll be down in a minute or so." Alex said walking out of the room shutting the door behind.
Dorothy smiled and walked over to the foot of the bed and grabbed her dress and shirt. After a few minutes she emerged from the room with her nightgown folded up under her arm and the scepter. In her free hand. The only thing she wasn't able to find were her flats, they weren't in the room with her so she went down stairs to ask if anyone had seen them. When she got to the bottom of the steps she found Alex standing there, holding her flats. Dorothy walked over and took them. She looked at Alex with a slightly annoyed face. She dropped them on the floor and slid them on, she then walked into the living and saw Glinda, holding a stuffed bear in Annabella's face pretending to make it talk. Annabella sat there just not looking amused at all. Dorothy smiled and walked over, setting her nightgown down on the coffee table she walked over to Glinda and plucked the bear out of her hand.
"Trying to keep her amused?" Dorothy asked giggling.
"Yes, it worked on Ellie when she was a baby, but it's not working on this one." Glinda said sounding frustrated.
"Smart kid, Annabella, do you just want to play with the teddy bear?" Dorothy asked placing it in the playpen.
Annabella picked it up and hugged it tightly. Dorothy giggled and looked at Glinda who was looking at her strangely.
"You do realize now her and that bear will probably be inseparable until she's maybe five or six year's old right?" Glinda asked worriedly.
"Yes, I used to be the same way Glinda, except with a patchwork quilt my mother made for me." Dorothy said sitting down on the floor.
Glinda chuckled and reached over to Dorothy, pulling the scepter out of her grasp. She then took the green orb off the top and rubbed it against her own dress until it sparkled. She then replaced the orb and handed the scepter back to Dorothy.
"There, now it looked more appealing to have around, oh and Dorothy, I have to be heading to the school, they want me to insist with the investigation before I return home, but Ellie, Aislynn and Toto should be showing up at the door right about…Now!" Glinda said as a knock came from the door.
"I'll get it!" Alex said, they then heard the door opening and heard Alex shout "AGH!" then a loud thud on the ground.
Dorothy and Glinda both got up and ran into the hallway, they found Alex on the ground his hands up to a now bloody nose and Ellie standing there looking triumphant. Mr. and Mrs. Teak then ran into the room and gasped.
"Ellie what in heaven's name did you do that for!?" Dorothy asked kneeling down on the floor the help Alex up.
"I don't like him, so I figured that would be fitting, oh dear, he's bleeding." She said as her tone switched from triumphant to concern.
"Yea we noticed, and just wait till I tell father about this." Glinda said looking at her little sister with an angry face.
"Ellie you need to apologize I think." Aislynn said looking at the scene.
Toto who had been somewhat oblivious to the happenings merely walked up to his mistress and barked. Glinda produced a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to Alex who took it and pressed it against his nose.
"Actually I'm pretty sure, I deserved that." He said as he grunted and got to his feet.
"I wouldn't say that, Alex you never hit anyone just teased, and hit me with paper darts, but that's about it." Dorothy said.
"Thanks, but if she hates me enough to do that, then I deserved it, wait a minute where's that lady that was here?" Alex said looking around the room and then pressing the handkerchief against his nose again.
"I think she left through the back door, I saw her go to the kitchen." Mrs. Teak said sighing.
"Yea, my sister doesn't like to make too much of a fuss about things, but anyways, come on Dorothy let's get back to the farmhouse, it's a long walk." Ellie said.
"Thanks Ellie, well Alex, hope your nose feels better." Dorothy said tightening her grip on the scepter.
"Thanks." He said sarcastically.
Dorothy smiled and sighed she then remembered her nightgown.
"Mrs. Teak could you grab my nightgown from the living room?" Dorothy asked.
"Sure thing." Mrs. Teak said running into the living room quickly and emerging with it a few seconds later she then walked over to Dorothy and handed it to her sighing.
"Is something wrong?" Dorothy asked.
"I wish you could stay longer, Annabella hasn't been any trouble with you here, and you seem to have a knack with children don't you?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.
Dorothy smiled and walked over to the living room. She smiled and walked over to Annabella.
"Goodbye Annabella, I hope I get to see you again soon." Dorothy said looking down at the child.
Annabella looked at Dorothy and frowned.
"You not stay?" Annabella asked.
"I'm sorry, but you I have to return home." Dorothy said thinking about it for a minute.
"See you soon?" Annabella asked.
"I hope so." Dorothy said bending over and kissing Annabella on the forehead.
Dorothy then sighed and walked back to front door.
"That's was cute Dorothy, do you think you could babysit for us at some point?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.
"You'd have to ask my aunt and uncle, really I'm in no authority at the moment." Dorothy said sighing.
"Fair enough, are you guys still opening your cornfields for the harvest tomorrow?" Mrs. Teak asked.
"Yep, well I guess I should stop stalling, Auntie Em and uncle henry will probably get mad if were not home soon." Dorothy said handing off her night gown to Ellie and then walking out, scepter in hand.
"See you tomorrow!" Mrs. Teak said shouted as Dorothy and her friends walked away, Toto barking at their heels.
"Odd isn't it, all this time I thought Alex was just a plain old rotten person, but the fact that he didn't even try to fight back." Ellie said, her voice trailing off.
"I know Ellie, and of all the things I've ever thought, and of all the things I've believe impossible, I think, I sincerely think, that I can change him, for the better, for everyone's sake." Dorothy said smiling.
"Do you really think you could?" Ellie asked curiously.
"I think so, yes, yes I could." Dorothy said looking over to her friend.
"Suit yourself, but if you get hurt in the process don't blame me." Ellie said.
"Don't worry, I won't." Dorothy said chuckling.
Toto barked a few times as if agreeing with his mistress. Dorothy looked down at him and giggled, she knew if Toto approved then she could do it. And she knew she could do it, no doubt about it.
"I can't wait for the harvest tomorrow." Ellie said changing the subject.
"I know, me neither, I just love the harvest." Dorothy said giggling.
So why have I given Dorothy this unexpected goal to change Alex for the better? More importantly, how is she going to cope with being turned into a cat in the next chapter? Some questions should be answered in the next installment of the story. And a question that im sure will come to your mind, is why am I expanding a nearly one year old child character's Vocabulary, well im basing her off my little sister when she was that age, she ended up with a very big vocabulary before she was one years old because of me, my brother and sister.