Disclaimer, you know.
When they had gotten back to the emerald city Dorothy found alexAlex waiting for her in the chambers. She hugged him tightly. She handed her jacket to him and then went to her room. sheShe constantly looked back to make sure no one followed her. whenWhen she got back to her room she shut and locked the door behind her and ran over to her bed and sat down. She set the scepter down next to her, she then pulled off her boots and set them next to her bed and lay down. She sighed and closed her eyes hoping she could fall asleep. This failed and she eventually sat up and looked around. She then got up and walked over to the desk and rummaged through it eventually finding a few pencils and a few pieces of paper. She then sat down at the desk and began sketching what was outside the window. She sketched out the entire snow covered landscape. She soon finished and then got up to admire her handiwork. She looked at the clock in the room and realized it was now five o'clock and the sun had almost completely set. She hadn't noticed the sun had started setting in the first place but she shrugged this off and walked over to the bed where the scepter had started floating. She was about to grab it when she heard a knock on her door.
"Dorothy? Can I come in?" came the voice of Elena.
Dorothy sighed and picked up the scepter, waving it in the direction of the door she heard the lock click and Elena opened the door and walked in shutting it behind her.
"Did you need something?" Dorothy asked as Elena walked over.
"Actually we were wondering if you wanted anything." Elena said.
"Not really, why?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Dorothy can I talk to you?" Elena asked sitting down on the bed.
"Depends, what about?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Ellie." Elena replied.
"Is it that I should apologize to her for not doing something to stop her sister?" Dorothy asked a bit upset.
"No, nothing like that, she's actually wanted to apologize to you for snapping, but she didn't think you'd be in the mood to see her at the time being, since you locked yourself in here." Elena said looking at the door.
"Elena, Ellie should know that no matter what, no matter how hard things gets she can always talk to me." Dorothy said.
"So you aren't angry with her?" Elena asked excitedly.
"No, if anything she should be upset with me, I've known about the spell since I became wheelchair bound." Dorothy said.
"Alex explained that." Elena said still looking at the door.
"Ellie, come in, Alex you to!" Dorothy shouted
Ellie and Alex slowly walked in, Ellie looked rather guilty, Alex looked rather, well like himself, and he was rubbing at his black eye. Ellie ran over to Dorothy and hugged her tightly, starting to cry.
"Dorothy, I'm so, so, sorry." She said crying.
"Ellie, you know I couldn't stay mad at you guys, let alone get mad at you in the first place." She said hugging Ellie tightly.
They hugged for a few minutes and then broke from the embrace. She then walked over to Alex and hugged him as well. Soon they broke from the embrace and Dorothy looked at Ellie again.
"Do you need any help being a ruler?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Yes, but the china princess said she would assist me, but I still want my best friend by me side while I'm doing it and I hope it's only for three days instead of the entire week." Ellie said wiping her tears from her face.
"Ellie, don't worry, you'll do great." Elena said getting up.
"Thanks Elena, now go get some food for Dorothy please, Dorothy you missed dinner, we ate early, the princess said she knocked by no one answered." Ellie said.
"Yes mam." Elena said laughing and starting for the door.
Dorothy simply nodded and then laughed at Elena's remark. She looked at Ellie who had gone completely red in the face. This made Alex laugh hysterically. Dorothy walked over to Ellie and hugged her again, her color returned to normal and she looked at Dorothy.
"She knows I hate that, I said if I ever end up in Glinda's position, not to call me mam, just treat me like she would normal, plain old, Ellie." Ellie said looking at the door.
"Ellie, remember no matter what happens, to me you can be just Ellie." Dorothy said breaking from the embrace.
"Thanks Dorothy, and alex?" Ellie asked.
"Yes Ellie?" He replied.
"I'm sorry for punching you." She said walking over to him.
"It's alright, I should have known better to go near you when you are upset." He said rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Right, but your intentions were good." Ellie said looking away from him.
"True, but that doesn't solve the matter that you were were upset." Alex said walking around her to meet her gaze.
"Alex, since you are Dorothy's friend and therefore mine, I must therefore apologize for my own actions as Dorothy would if she had done it herself." Ellie said looking up at him then looking away so she wouldn't have to see his black eye.
"Ellie, you don't want to look at his face though, you'd look at mine if you had blacked out my eye." Dorothy said placing a hand on Ellie's shoulder.
"But you understand my actions, you would understand if I blacked out your eye, I'm not sure he understands me like he does you." Ellie said looking at her.
"Ellie, you know it doesn't matter, he's forgiven you for it." Dorothy said holding out her other hand for Alex to take.
"Oh, so this is where you guys are, Dorothy, you missed dinner." Came the voice of Aislynn.
"We established that Ace." Came the voice of Elena as walked in with a tray.
"Can I come in?" Aislynn asked.
Dorothy sighed and looked at Aislynn, then she realized something.
"Ace, you don't need to ask to come in, you're welcome here anytime you like, just knock first if the door is shut and locked, also, why aren't you having people refer to you as your majesty since you are the heir to the throne?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Same reason Ellie wants to be thought of as just plain, boring old Ellie, because I want to be the normal child that I am." Aislynn said as she walked in.
"See? I'm not the only one who has that reasoning." Ellie said as Elena handed the tray she was carrying to Dorothy.
Dorothy chuckled and then took the tray. Setting it down on the bed she opened it and revealed some nice smelling meatloaf, an apple, and what looked like a small bowl of handmade custard.
"It is custard, just in case you were curious." Elena said as she walked out of the room.
"Come on guys, let's let Dorothy eat in peace." Alex said leading both Aislynn and Ellie out of the room and shutting the door behind them.
Dorothy smiled and sat down on the bed. She then started eating, and about half an hour later she was done. She then picked up the tray and the scepter and walked over to the door. Waving the scepter in front of it, making it open, she then walked out of the room and towards the chambers. She then realized she had forgotten her boots, but she shrugged this off knowing she didn't really need them. When she got to chambers she found that no one was there, or at least she thought no one was there, for a crash was heard from the back. She quickly set the tray down on the throne and ran to the back of the room. She was surprised to find both Aislynn and scarecrow working on the rainbow mover, one the pipes from the rainbow mover had fallen off and now scarecrow and Aislynn were trying to throw it back into place.
"Would you two like some help?" Dorothy asked.
"No thank you Dorothy, it wouldn't be safe." The scarecrow replied looking at her and referring to the fact that she was barefoot.
"Right, where is everyone?" Dorothy asked.
"Sick bay." Aislynn said twisting the pipe back into place.
"Okay, where is the sick bay?" Dorothy asked.
"that's right, you haven't been there, wait there I'll get the map, it's best not to leave this thing alone with the condition its in." Scarecrow said jumping off the machine.
"No scarecrow, I can get there, I just remembered." Dorothy said letting go of the scepter allowing it to over.
"Dorothy, are you sure thatsthat's a good idea?" Aislynn asked concerned.
"Nope, to the sickbay FLY!" She shouted jumping onto the scepter as it flew off.
Dorothy new one thing for sure at this point, she definitely preferred flying over the transportation that Glinda provided, it was definitely less dizzying, but it still made her feel a bit sick but it wasn't as bad. She made note of the places she passed as they whizzed by. Soon she came to a halt in front of a door with a chalkboard on it that read, 'sick bay population 1 plus visitors'. Dorothy smiled at this, but then she noticed a small crest of an eagle in a nurses hat which made her chuckle, she then got off the scepter and started for door. She then entered in and found that it was really plain like the hospital that she had spent a good few days of her year. Unlike the hospital however it was almost devoid of life expect for her friends who were sitting at a table in the middle of the room and Glinda who was sleeping peacefully in one of the beds. She sighed and walked over to Glinda. Everyone turned and looked at her as she arrived at the bed. She then set down the scepter and knelt down at Glinda's side.
"Dorothy, I promise, she'll be fine." Alison said getting up from the table
"I know, I just, never mind." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter, getting up, and walking over to the table.
"Dorothy, is something wrong?" The princess asked curiously.
"Nothing's wrong, it's just, I just can't help but blame myself." Dorothy said sitting down in one of the free chairs.
"Dorothy! Why!?" Ellie asked sounding concerned.
"I've known about the spell for a long time, I sometimes I wonder whether or not I should have broken my word and told you about it Ellie, your parents could have stopped it." Dorothy said sadly.
"Dorothy, don't blame yourself, we all could have broken our word and told Ellie and Mr. and Mrs. Upland." The china princess said getting up from her chair, walking over to Dorothy and hugging her tightly.
"I know, but I can't help it." Dorothy said.
No one said a word at this remark, the china princess returned to her seat and Ellie and Alex got up and walked over to Dorothy, as did Alyssa and Terrance. Ellie embraced Dorothy tightly from behind and Alex placed a hand on Dorothy shoulder. Alyssa and Terrance knelt down next to her.
"Dorothy, please, don't blame yourself, we all could have done something." Alyssa said.
Dorothy wiped some tears from her eyes and looked around at her friends, she always felt comfort being surrounded by the people she loved and cared about. And these people cared about her. She smiled and pulled Ellie's arms from around her. She then got up and motioned for Alyssa and Terrance to stand up. As they did this Dorothy pulled the four of them that were surrounding her into a large group hug and chuckled.
"You know, it's hard to stay upset when I'm surrounded by you guys, it really is." Dorothy said.
"We're glad we can make you happy." Ellie said as they all broke from the embrace.
"Dorothy, you know it's not truly your fault, Glinda did it for the wellbeing of the land, and when Glinda is set on doing something your odds of stopping her drop almost too nil." The princess said, her husband nodding in agreement.
"I guess that's true, I mean not even her sister was able to say anything to stop her." Dorothy said looking at Ellie.
Ellie was about to say something when Aislynn ran into the room. She was panting heavily as if she had sprinted all the way here, which in fact she did. She took a minute to catch her breath and then looked up at them.
"So, you guys, are still here?" She asked through breaths.
"Yea, did you run here?" Dorothy asked looking at her/
"Yes, the scarecrow told me that he would continue working on the rainbow mover and to go off and find you guys, when I didn't find you in your room Dorothy, I just assumed you guys were still here and ran here." She said finally catching her breath.
"Well then, have a seat." Ellie said offering Aislynn a chair.
"How is she?" Aislynn asked looking at Elena who had just walked into the room from an office in the back.
"She's fine, just unconscious still." Elena said sighing.
"Brianna, Chrissy, Caitlyn, you two have been unusually quiet giving the events." Ellie said looking at them.
"There isn't much to say, anyways, I have to get back to the ice cream shop." Brianna said getting up and walking out.
"Sometimes I wonder about her." Alyssa said watching as Brianna left.
"Whys that?" Elena asked walking over.
"Well she always seems to have to be doing her job, though I applaud her for that, she hardly takes a break from her duties as a cook." Alyssa said sighing
"She's always like that though Alyssa." Ellie said.
"Right Ellie, but when she does take a break it's only either for events, such as you're wedding, or official army business." Alyssa said.
"Alyssa, don't worry about it, it's how she lives her life, and she's fine." Ellie said.
"Fine Ellie." She said saluting.
"I am going to need to get used to being in this position." Ellie said rolling her eyes making all of them laugh.
"Ellie, I know you aren't used to being in a position of leadership but trust me Alyssa doesn't make it seem that hard." Chrissy said.
"Thanks Chris, but I'm not just in technical leadership of you guys but in charge of Glinda's domain, thank goodness the china princess knows how to be a ruler." Ellie said chuckling.
"You know, your sister is a wonderful person and that goodness often shows in you." Caitlyn said.
"Thanks Caitlyn. I'm flattered, but I will never be able to match up to the way my sister does things." Ellie said sitting down.
"Ellie, trust me, you'll do great, we all believe that you can do it." Dorothy said placing a hand on Ellie's shoulder.
"Yea Ellie, I'm sure you'll do as great as your sister would, and I'm sure she believes you can do it, otherwise she would have ordered someone else to be in charge." Aislynn said smiling.
Ellie looked at Aislynn, then to Dorothy. She smiled and chuckled. She then closed her eyes and took a breath.
"Thanks ace, you have a point." She said looking at her.
"You're welcome, anyway has anyone contacted the gales yet to let them know about our current situation?" Aislynn asked.
"Oh my, I had forgotten to that." Ellie said quickly getting up and running over to a nearby mirror.
She then produced a bottle of liquid from her pocket which she uncorked and splashed on to the glass. The mirror began to ripple and soon it was showing the inside of Dorothy's farm house, from the mirror in the living room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gale?" Ellie said into the mirror, after a few minutes Dorothy's aunt ran into the room/
"Ellie, where are you guys?" Em asked sounding worried.
"Currently stuck in Oz, my sister is currently in the emerald city hospital, unconscious." Ellie said moving out of the way of the mirror.
"Sweet heavens, what happened!?" Em asked now with more concern in her tone.
"She performed a really powerful spell that counteracted the jesters, it drained her of energy, according to Alison and Elena she'll awaken again in at least three days, at the most, a week." Ellie said sighing.
"And without her you can't get back?" Em asked.
"Sadly Alison isn't trained enough to perform the spell properly, not without Glinda." Ellie said as Dorothy walked over.
"Don't worry auntie Em, we'll be fine." Dorothy said assuredly.
"I know, it's just that the Teaks were worrying about Alex, his sister is getting kinda lonely." Em said.
"I wish I had brought Annabella with us." Alex said feeling guilty.
"But that would cause more worry wouldn't it?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"Probably, but at least she wouldn't be missing us." Alex said.
"True." Alyssa said looking at Terrance who nodded in agreement.
"Well the connection is fading, we'll talk to you later Mrs. Gale." Ellie said as the picture in the mirror returned to normal.
Dorothy sighed and walked back over to the table. Ellie followed but she didn't stop at the table, she walked over to her sister's bedside and sat down in the chair next to it. She sighed and looked over at her friends.
"Would you guys mind?" Ellie asked.
"No, not at all." The china princess said getting up and motioning for everyone to come along.
Everyone nodded and got up, Dorothy grabbed the scepter and followed at the back. She was almost at the door when Ellie stopped her.
"Would you please stay for a minute so I can ask you something?" Ellie asked.
"Sure Ellie, what is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Do you really think I can do it? You know, be a leader?" Ellie asked sounding worried.
"Ellie, I know you can do it, and all of us will stand by you until Glinda is well again." Dorothy said giving Ellie a quick hug.
"Thanks Dorothy, but I'm still worried about it." Ellie said.
"Well I would be worried as well if I were in your position." Dorothy said chuckling.
Ellie giggled at this statement and returned a quick embrace. She then turned around and walked back over to her sister's bedside and sat back in the chair. Dorothy chuckled a bit and then walked out of the sickbay and ran after her friends.