Disclaimer you know.
"Dorothy?" Came the voice of auntie Em.
"Yes auntie Em?" Dorothy replied.
"Are you ready to go to the Manor? Everyone else is." She called.
"Give me a minute to get stuff ready!" Dorothy called.
"We'll be waiting in the truck." She called back.
"Okay, see you in a minute." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter and a large sack containing her gifts to her friends.
She had gotten help of course in getting some of them. Her aunt had helped her in secret, the only secret she kept from her friends. She then realized she was doing things in the wrong order. She put the things down and put on her coat. She then grabbed the rest of the things and left the room with Toto following at her heels.
"So, party then, I really like your choice in outfit." Toto said.
"Thanks boy, I had Glinda get it for me from my closet in the city, the perfect holiday dress." Dorothy said
The dress was red in the top half and green on the bottom. It was definitely perfect for the occasion. It was good for a party yet you could wear it casually for everyday use. She looked down at Toto as they exited the house and walked towards the truck. Glinda had taken Ellie with her to the manor ahead of time so there would be enough room in the truck for her and Aislynn to travel in the back seats comfortably. Dorothy handed the sack off to her aunt who then got into the truck and set it on her lap. Dorothy then got into the back seat followed by Toto. And soon they were off. It was only one in the afternoon but during their planning session Dorothy's aunt and uncle decided the party should start early and everyone agreed.
"So, merry Christmas." Aislynn said.
"Merry Christmas ace." Dorothy said
"So, our plan is to stay the night at the manor, tomorrow we open gifts, and then go to Oz." Aislynn said pulling out a note pad.
"You guys all seem to have this planned out." Dorothy said as they drove along.
"Yes, yes we do, we planned it all because we have a surprise for you." Aislynn said/
"Auntie Em, were you in on this?" Dorothy asked.
"We all are Dorothy, even Alex, as well as Glinda, and she came up with the idea for the surprise." Em said.
"Well then, if it was Glinda's plan then it must be good." Dorothy said chuckling.
"We figured you'd think so, on my opinion I think you're going to love it, also the surprise won't be till Christmas day when we all go to the emerald city." Em said chuckling
"What do you mean by all?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"I mean us, the Maitlands, the Teaks, Mr. Foreman, and your little crew." She replied.
"And they're all fine with being transported to a strange and unusual place?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Of course not, but its Christmas and they were willing to try something new, Mr. Foreman didn't seem to have a problem though." Em said smiling.
"That's because in the medical trade, you see a lot of strange things, I don't think he minds seeing anything stranger." Henry said.
"Good point, do you think the Pryce's will be willing to come?" Em asked.
"Doubt it, Mr. Pryce has changed over the last year I won't deny it, but he seems a bit jittery with this Oz stuff." Dorothy replied.
"Good point dear, anyone against offering anyway?" Em asked.
No one said anything. Not even Toto barked to object. Dorothy smiled and chuckled.
"Guess not, you can offer, if he accepts well for him and his wife, if he doesn't, well I won't blame him." Dorothy said.
"Me neither." Em said chuckling.
They all shared a brief chuckle about this and then fell silent. The silence lasted until they were pulling up to the manor. It was decked out in holly and what looked like vines of holly around the windows. The lawn had what looked like a family of snowmen. They were many different sizes of snowmen sitting around the lawn. In the windows wreaths. And on the door knocker a Santa hat and beard which Dorothy thought was quite funny. There were already cars there, they belonged to the Teaks, the Maitlands, and one she assumed was Mr. Foreman's. Behind them arrived Mr. Alistair and Mr. Pryce and his wife. They all emerged from their cars and walked towards the door of the house.
"So just how many invitations did you end up sending?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Everyone in our class got one, as well as the people in my grandfather's address book, the maids called all of them, I got a stack of sympathy cards as well." Aislynn said.
"That reminds me, when is your grandfathers funeral?" Dorothy asked.
"When the thaw happens." Aislynn said.
"Oh." Dorothy said as her aunt handed her the sack of gifts back.
"Yeah, by the way Mrs. Gale the kitchen has everything you requested." Aislynn said as Jessica came out to greet them.
"Thank you ace." Em said smiling.
"Good afternoon, merry Christmas." Jessica said to all of them.
"Merry Christmas Jess." Aislynn said walking into the house.
"Merry Christmas Mr. and Mrs. Gale." Jessica said turning to them.
"Merry Christmas Ms. Jessica." Em and Henry said following after Aislynn
"Merry Christmas jess." Dorothy said smiling, Toto barked as well.
"Merry Christmas Dorothy." Jessica said allowing Dorothy to pass.
Dorothy and Toto walked pass Jessica into the house. The sight she was met with was one she was surprised with. Next to the stair way was a large Christmas tree surrounded by gifts. She walked over to it and jenny walked over.
"I assume you have gifts, Glinda told us to suspect that, anyways they are sorted by name just look for the ones with your friends names on them." Jenny said.
"Thanks jenny." Dorothy said opening the sack.
She had hardly gotten to setting down gift into the pile before she was nearly tackled to the ground by Annabella. Dorothy gently set down the gifts, let the scepter levitate, and picked up Annabella. She then looked at jenny who nodded, she herself then began to sort out the gifts. Dorothy smiled and walked to the parlor carrying Annabella. She then looked at Annabella's outfit. It was similar to one Dorothy wore as a kid. It was a dark red color and had a little holly sprig at the she walked into the parlor followed Toto and the scepter. As soon as they were parlor Dorothy set Annabella down and walked over to her friends. Ellie was wearing a dress similar to Dorothy's, Glinda was wearing a light blue version of her pink dress, and Alex was wearing a nice suit jacket and dress shirt. He was wearing tan dress pants that had no creases in them and to top it off a pair of spats shoes. She chuckled at the look and Alex walked over and hugged her tightly. Her eyes then fell on Donna and Kelly, Donna was wearing a red dress while Kelly was wearing a green one. Dorothy broke from the embrace and walked over to them. Her eyes then fell on Mr. Foreman. He was wearing what looked like a tuxedo but with a long suit jacket, inside the jacket Dorothy could see that it was lined with velvet as red as blood. He looked at her and smiled.
"Merry Christmas Dorothy my dear." He said getting up and bowing.
"Merry Christmas Jon." She said curtseying.
"So, people are beginning to arrive." Alex said looking out the window.
"Yep, and soon the rest of the refreshments will be done and set out in the ball room." Aislynn said.
"Wait this place has a ball room?" Alex asked.
"You definitely weren't paying attention, go past the kitchen, fifth door on the right." Aislynn said.
"I didn't know either, but I guess it makes sense to have one in the manor." Dorothy said shrugging.
"Right, anyways, Aislynn you should go greet your guests, this is your party after all." Mr. Foreman said.
"Right, you guys should probably head to the ball room." Aislynn said Dorothy looked at her friends and nodded.
They all then walked out of the parlor and towards the ball room. Alex picked up Annabella and carried her with them. Toto followed closely at their heels. Soon they arrived at the ballroom which was a sight, it was huge, and decked out completely in decorations with wreaths on the walls. Dorothy marveled at it for a minute then noticed an orchestra, men with cellos and violins as well as other string instruments. Jenny was now setting bowls of punch and egg nog.
"There's no alcohol in the eggnog, since there are children coming." Jenny said.
"That's good, where did you get the recipe?" Dorothy asked.
"Mr. Diggs made some for him and Aislynn last Christmas, I tried to duplicate it as well as I could." Jenny said.
"That's nice, how's the punch?" Dorothy asked.
"On my opinion it's good." She said.
"I'll have to try some later." Dorothy said.
"Why not now?" Jenny asked curiously.
"Because it would be rude to try some before the other guests." Dorothy said as people began to slowly fill the room.
Jenny smiled at Dorothy and chuckled. She then walked back towards the kitchen. Dorothy smiled as Aislynn walked in accompanied be several more guests. Dorothy walked over to her and smiled.
"So many have arrived already, yet food will be served until what, ten o'clock?" Dorothy asked.
"Yep, people will probably start leaving beforehand though, help your selves." Aislynn said.
Dorothy smiled and walked out of the ballroom, she immediately ran into Mr. Foreman. She then lost her balance and fell over. Mr. Foreman Chuckled and helped her up.
"Aren't you going to join the party in the ballroom?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.
"Not right now Mr. Foreman, I'm going to go to the parlor, is Glinda still there, I noticed she didn't follow us." Dorothy asked.
"Actually she said she'd be back in a few minutes, she was preparing something for tomorrow." Mr. Foreman said.
"Okay, well I'll just go wait for her then." Dorothy said.
Mr. Foreman said nothing, he just smiled and let her passed. Dorothy smiled and walked passed him and soon found herself back in the parlor. She walked over to one of the couches and sat down on it. She then took a few deep breaths and set down the scepter. She looked down at her feet and at her silver flats. She had polished them for the occasion and she was happy with her job of it. After a few seconds Glinda appeared in front of her.
"Oh Dorothy, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with the rest of the party?" Glinda asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about something." Dorothy said.
"What about?" Glinda asked curiously.
"This has been nagging me for a while and I've been wondering about it, why is Ellie blonde while your hair is reddish orange?" Dorothy asked curiously.
Glinda looked at Dorothy and sighed. She walked over to Dorothy and sat down next to her. Dorothy noticed she had a tear in her eyes. Dorothy sighed and took out a pocket handkerchief, she dabbed Glinda's eyes and waited for a second.
"That's, more or less, my own fault." Glinda said.
"How?" Dorothy asked in shock.
"Exposure to magic at a young age, I've done a lot of things which I regret, but my magic affected Ellie in ways I didn't expect, I never intended for any of it to happen but magic affects everyone you are around." Glinda said.
"So, Ellie is blonde because magic has some sort of fallout effect like radiation?" Came the voice of Aislynn.
Dorothy gasped and turned to the door to find Aislynn and Ellie standing in the parlor door way. Ellie ran in and hugged her sister tightly. Glinda returned the embrace and smiled.
"Aislynn's right." Glinda said.
"So magic effects everyone no matter what?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Sadly yes." Glinda said referring to Ellie's blonde hair.
"Well let's not worry about that now sis, there's a party going on." Ellie said.
"Right, right, come on guys, we have a party to attend." Glinda said getting up and dragging Ellie out of the room.
Dorothy looked at Aislynn and chuckled. They then both walked out of the parlor and back to ballroom. When they arrived the orchestra was playing music for a slow dance. Alex walked up to Dorothy and bowed to her, Dorothy in turn curtseyed and handed the scepter to ellie. She then took Alex's hand and they danced. Dorothy found that Alex could dance beautifully, he lead so well. However unknown to both of them people had cleared out around them to watch them dance. When the song ended they stopped and were met with an applause, it was then that the clock struck six in the evening. Dorothy and Alex shared a gasp and Dorothy herself blushed. She and Alex took a bow and took Alex's hand and ran over to the refreshments table. She then got herself and Alex a glass of punch and downed it in one go.
"Did we really dance nonstop for five hours?" Dorothy asked.
"Seems like it." Alex replied.
"Wow, you were great though." Dorothy said.
"You were too." Alex said picking up a mini quiche and offering it to Dorothy.
Dorothy smiled and took the quiche from him and popped it in her mouth. It was delicious. She was about to say something when jenny came up to them.
"You and Alex did some rather nice dancing, but Mr. Greene is here, and he wants to see you in the parlor, alone." Jenny said looking at Alex.
"Okay, I'll go see him." Dorothy said running over to Ellie and grabbing the scepter.
Dorothy then ran as quickly as she could to the parlor. When she got there she found Mr. Greene in a lime green tuxedo, sitting on the couch. He looked at Dorothy and chuckled.
"Ah Dorothy, merry Christmas." He said gesturing for her to sit down.
"Merry Christmas Mr. Green, Jenny said you wanted to see me?" Dorothy asked shutting the parlor door and then walking over to the couch across from Mr. Greene and sitting down.
"Yes, and this time it's to give you something that Mr. Diggs wanted me to give you on the Christmas after his death, that means now." He said pulling out a green envelope and placing it on the coffee table.
Dorothy smiled and picked up the envelope. She then placed it in her dress pocket to open later. As she reached into the pocket she felt her hair ribbon of keys in there. She had forgotten about them, she knew that she would be going to Oz at some point this Christmas so she assumed she had done it instinctively.
"Is that all?" She asked curiously.
"That is all, he only left me with the instructions to deliver it to you." He said getting up and walking over to the door.
As he opened it Alex and Ellie fell into the room. Dorothy gasped and ran over to help her friends up. She helped Ellie first then Alex. She then proceeded to punch Alex playfully on the arm.
"I thought you wouldn't spy on me of all people." Dorothy said as Mr. Green walked around them and out towards the ballroom.
"We were curious." Ellie said.
"I understand that, but Jenny said Mr. Green wanted to see me alone." Dorothy said.
"Well, aren't you going to read the letter?" Glinda asked from behind her.
"Oh Glinda, not you too." Dorothy said.
"Sorry, I was curious about what the lawyer of the wizard wanted." Glinda said.
Dorothy looked at her friends and pulled out the envelope. She then opened it and pulled out a small card. It was a Christmas card with a picture of the emerald city on the front. Dorothy smiled and opened it. She then read it aloud.
"Dear Dorothy gale, if my lawyer did his job right then this card has been received by you on either the 24th or 25th of December after my death, assuming this I would also assume that you probably have Aislynn in your custody, merry Christmas to you both, in the envelope besides this card you will find a small gift for you two, yours truly, Oscar Diggs." Dorothy said.
Dorothy then looked in the envelope and indeed there was a folded up piece of rectangular sheet of paper. Dorothy took it out of envelope and unfolded it. She looked at it for a minute as the paper unfolded itself from another piece. Ellie walked over to her and pulled one of the slips of paper from Dorothy's hand. Aislynn then walked into the room.
"So this is where you all disappeared to, what you looking at?" Aislynn asked walking over.
"It seems, that your grandfather left you and Dorothy a Christmas present, and it appears to be, two checks one made out to you and the other made out to Dorothy." Ellie said looking at it.
"Ace, how wealthy was your grandfather?" Glinda asked curiously looking at the checks.
"Very, and now I get to put something in my personal account, why how much did he give us?" Aislynn asked curiously.
"Fifty-thousand dollars each, that's a very generous sum." Glinda said snapping her fingers in front of Dorothy's face.
Dorothy blinked a few times and shook her head. She then looked at her friends and handed the check to Glinda. She then sat down a whistled for Toto. After a few minutes he ran in and jumped onto Dorothy's lap.
"Aislynn, your grandfather is a really generous man, but I'm not sure I can accept his gift." Dorothy said.
"Why not?" Aislynn asked curiously.
"Because it's technically your money, you inherited his fortune remember?" Dorothy asked.
"Yes, and technically at the time this was written it was my grandfather's fortune, and you have my permission so it's okay." Aislynn.
"I think that's fair enough Dorothy." Glinda said.
"I guess so, but fifty-thousand dollars? What am I going to do with that?" Dorothy asked.
"Save it? That's what I do." Aislynn said.
"Fair enough, Glinda, give that to my aunt." Dorothy said
"Give what to me?" Em asked coming into the room with a tray of mugs.
Glinda walked over to Em and took the try, she then brought her over to the couch and sat her down.
"Your Niece has been left a gift by Mr. Diggs." Glinda said handing her the check.
Em looked at the check for a second and her jaw dropped, Aislynn chuckled for she had seen this reaction before. Em handed the check to Dorothy and then slouched back on the couch.
"Well then, looks like we need to open you an account, but first have some hot chocolate." She said referring to the tray.
Dorothy smiled and took Toto off her lap. She then got up and took a mug from the tray and took a sip. She giggled and then walked out of the parlor. Letting go of the scepter and letting it follow her she walked to the kitchens. When she got there she found Jenny carrying a large tureen filled with her aunt's hot chocolate. She smiled and walked around jenny and took another sip of her own. It tasted delicious and rich. Dorothy then walked over to kitchen table and sat down. Setting down her mug she picked up the scepter and looked at the entry way to the kitchen. She then finished the hot chocolate in a few more gulps and sighed. She then got up and walked over to the kitchen window and looked out. Even the large shed in the back was decked out in holiday lights. Dorothy then reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys. Without even thinking about it she walked out the back door and ran to the shed. Letting go of the scepter she allowed it to follow behind her as she came to the door. Going through the keys and putting them in the lock one by one, she did this till the lock on the giant shed turned and allowed her entrance. When she pushed open the door she found the room was well looked after. In the middle stood the basket to a balloon that she had nearly once ridden in. she walked over to it and placed her hands on the edge of it. Looking into the basket she found it completely empty. She began to think about her first visit to Oz and wondered if it would have been scary to ride all the way from Oz to Kansas in the balloon. She was however broken from her thoughts by the feeling of someone's hands on her shoulders.
"Jessica said she had seen you run down here, so this is yours?" came the voice of Alex.
"Yes, but I'm kinda frightened of it to be honest." Dorothy said.
"Okay then, anyways, it's getting late and people want to see us dance again." Alex said.
"Well then, best not keep people waiting." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter.
Dorothy then grabbed Alex's hand and led him out of the shed, she then waved the scepter causing the door to shut and the lock to click. She felt her pocket to make sure she had remembered to put the keys back in there, and she had. She then ran back to the house dragging Alex behind her. Soon they were back inside the house and running to the ballroom. When they got in there and were about to cross the threshold when Auntie Em came and pushed them back. Dorothy looked at her aunt curiously. Her aunt pointed up and Dorothy followed her hand.
"Oh my." Dorothy exclaimed.
"What is it?" Alex asked curiously.
"Mistletoe." Dorothy said now noticing that all eyes including Ellie and aislynn's were on her and Alex.
"Henry get the camera." Em said.
"Really auntie Em?" Dorothy asked.
"First Christmas kiss." Em said teasingly.
"Curses, the old tradition trick." Dorothy said.
"Everyone in our family had their first Christmas kiss on a Christmas eve near 7 in the evening." Em said as henry came in with an instant develop camera, the bag for it, and small album.
Alex took the album and looked through it. He sighed and then handed the album back to Em. He then looked at Dorothy and sighed.
"Even your parents are in it." Alex and Henry said in unison.
Dorothy looked at them and sighed, they had her. She couldn't break the tradition, she didn't want to think that she would be breaking some strange tradition and feel that it would disappoint her parents.
"Just Kiss!" Aislynn shouted.
Dorothy looked at Aislynn then at Alex. She saw her uncle was now poised with the camera. Dorothy looked at Alex again and pulled him into a kiss. A large "Awe" was heard from the people surrounding them. Uncle Henry took a picture and placed it in the album. Dorothy and Alex the broke from the kiss and walked towards the center of the room. Ellie walked over and took the scepter f Aislynn walked over to the orchestra and put her hands up as if ready to conduct. Alex looked Dorothy in the eyes and took her hand. The music then began and Alex and Dorothy got into position. They then began to dance.
"Where did you learn to dance so beautifully?" Dorothy asked.
"Promise me you won't laugh when I tell you." Alex said.
"I promise." Dorothy replied.
"The truth is, I've been taking a variety of dance lessons for a while, ballroom, tap, jazz, everything but ballet I should think." Alex said.
"Alex, that's so sweet of you, is that what was in the bag you were carrying the first time I was at your house?" Dorothy asked as they continued to dance on
"If you mean dance shoes then yes, and it seems that other people have joined us in the dance." Alex said.
Dorothy said nothing at this remark. She just looked around the room. People had indeed joined in the dance they were doing. Even Dorothy's aunt and uncle had joined them. They danced for what felt like hours. But soon the music had begun to slow down and come to its end. Everyone else besides Dorothy and Alex had stopped dancing. As the music came to a stop so did they. They were once again met with an applause. Dorothy looked at Alex and took a bow. Dorothy then walked back over to the refreshment table and this time poured herself some eggnog and downed it in one go. She found that dancing definitely made her really thirsty. She then walked over to a chair and sat down. She then crossed one of her legs over the other and pulled off one of her flats. She then rubbed the sole of her foot for her feet had become sore with all the dancing. Alex walked over and grabbed a few pastries that had been set out. She held one out for Dorothy to take a bite, she did and savored it for a bit. She then smiled at him and slid her flat back on and took the pastry from him and finished it off.
"These are delicious." Dorothy said through a full mouth.
Alex chuckled and handed Dorothy a napkin. He then helped her up and Ellie ran over and handed her the scepter. Dorothy took the scepter and then leaned against it. She then yawned and stretched a bit. She then pushed herself up and sat back down.
"I think it's time for bed." Em remarked walking over.
"Not yet auntie Em, there's something else I wanted to do before the end of the night." Dorothy said.
"What's that dear?" Em asked.
Dorothy smiled and stood up. She then whispered something into her aunt's ear. She chuckled and ran over to henry and whispered it to him. He nodded and walked over to the orchestra. He then borrowed the violin of one of the musicians and played a long screeching note. This attracted everyone's attention.
"Sorry, I just couldn't think of a way attract everyone's attention, my niece has some things she wanted to say." Henry said signaling Dorothy.
Dorothy smiled and walked over to the small stage. She had a glass of punch in her hand now. She handed the scepter to her uncle. She then cleared her throat and took a small sip of punch.
"Yes, hello, as it is getting late and I didn't say it earlier, but I would like to propose a toast to Aislynn diggs, who put together this party, though she didn't do it alone I think personally it's an impressive turnout, and to that I toast her good health, and that she have a good life." Dorothy said.
"Here, here." Ellie shouted.
Everyone cheered and raised their glasses. Aislynn was standing there speechless. She ran over to Dorothy and embraced her tightly. It was then that Glinda walked up to them accompanied by her parents. Dorothy couldn't help but snicker at Mr. Uplands outfit. He was wearing a bright green suit with a red top hat, and a dress shirt with a candy cane pattern on it. Mrs. Upland however was wearing a normal party dress.
"That was a very kind thing you did Dorothy." Mrs. Upland said.
"Thanks Mrs. Upland, now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go to bed, I am actually really tired." Dorothy said starting to yawn.
"Well you were doing a lot of dancing." Glinda said chuckling
Dorothy smiled at Glinda and then took the scepter back from her uncle. She then walked out of the ballroom where she ran right into Jessica who was having a conversation with Mr. Foreman.
"Turning in for the night my dear?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.
"How'd you guess?" Dorothy asked.
"I'll show you to your room." Jessica said taking Dorothy's hand and leading her along.
They walked to the main area of the house and then up the stairs. Jessica led Dorothy to the room right next to aislynn's. Dorothy opened the door to find Mrs. Teak singing a lullaby to Annabella trying to get her to fall asleep after all this excitement. Dorothy then noticed there was a crib set up next to the bed.
"Annabella wouldn't stop begging us to allow her to let you sleep in the same room as her." Mrs. Teak whispered.
"It's okay, I don't mind." Dorothy said walking in.
"There's a nightgown for you in the closet in the event that you do decide to change out of the dress." Jessica whispered.
"Thanks jess." Dorothy said.
Jessica said nothing after this, she just nodded and walked away. Dorothy smiled and set the scepter down. She then walked over to the bed and sat down next to Mrs. Teak. Annabella yawned a bit and reached over to Dorothy. Dorothy smiled and took Annabella into her arms. Mrs. Teak smiled and got up and walked over to the door.
"You think you can get her to sleep?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.
"I hope so." Dorothy said.
"Well, I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to see if anyone needs help downstairs." Mrs. Teak said walking out of the room.
Dorothy smiled and looked at Annabella. Annabella nuzzled her face into Dorothy's chest. Dorothy chuckled and began to hum a lullaby. Annabella sighed in content and soon she was asleep. Dorothy smiled and carefully stood up. She then walked over to the crib and carefully put Annabella in it. She then stretched and walked back over to the bed and sat down on it. Sliding off her flats and placing them next to the bed she decided that she would change in the morning, she knew that her aunt had packed her a spare dress in the event that she had messed her current one in some way. Soon after Dorothy had gotten herself settled Mrs. Teak came back in and sighed in relief. She looked at Dorothy and smiled. She then chuckled a bit and shut the door. Dorothy herself smiled and soon she closed her eyes and was asleep.