A.N: Happy Valentine's Day everyone! The next chapter will appear next Saturday not on Wednesday yet.
Chapter 2: An odd arrival
Ozma Lavender Gale, not only named after the lost princess but also according to her special eye color, was waiting for this day for quite a while now. Today the new Palace Guard and his family would arrive at the Palace and Ozma had heard that he was bringing a girl with him who was two years older than her. Not many kids lived at the Palace and the few sons and daughters of the servants were all much older than her. Ozma needed a friend that wasn't as calm and boring as her twin brother or as annoying as her younger sister Amelia. This girl was a chance to find a companion for her secret adventures and the single thought of all the fun that they could have made her twitchy.
She , her mother and her youngest sister Thea, who was resting in her mother's arms, were standing in the huge entrance hall and waited for the new staff members who, according to their messenger, would arrive any minute. Ozma's family was kind-hearted, down-to-earth and almost all staff members loved to work at the palace. However Ozma's mother Lucasta preferred to leave a good impression and to at least look majestic so she didn't approve of Ozma's fidgeting with her dress.
"Ozma dear, would you please stop doing that, you will only ruin your lovely dress," she scolded her for the third time now. Sometimes the young princess wished that she would have met her great grandmother who claimed to have been a farmer's girl and therefore had taught her children and grandchildren that every person and every living creature in Oz was equal. Her mother respected that and she treated every social class with the same respect and dignity but she couldn't stop herself from buying expensive dresses for herself and her daughters and she had hired a snobby teacher who tortured Ozma and her brother Ambrose with boring lessons of etiquette.
Once Ozma had stopped to misuse the hem of her dress, she started to wiggle with her feet which made her mother even more nervous and the girl had to confess herself that she needed to do something about her excitement. Trying to distract herself she stared to the white ceiling with the filigree paintings that showed the history of Oz. Just as she was looking at the picture that showed the fight of her great grandparents against the Wicked Witch of the West, the door to the palace suddenly opened and behind a servant Ozma detected a tall bulky man with short blond hair and a normal sized woman with long braided hair that looked like honey. Both had mesmerizing blue eyes and both looked tired from their long journey. The two were accompanied by three boys of three different sizes and ages but all looked like they belonged to the same family. However Ozma lost every sense for etiquette when she noticed the girl who was about her age and size and who looked exactly like her mother. The princess was about to run to the girl and bombard her with questions but her mother stopped her with an elegant move of her hand and everyone went silent.
"Welcome to the Central City Palace! My name is Lucasta Gale. I happen to be the Queen of this realm, but please call me Lucasta and not your majesty. Only in very special circumstances when the etiquette asks it of us. You´re welcome in our home and you will be treated with respect and equality like my grandma used to teach us. You must be tired, do you need to lie down? My servant Thomas will lead you to your apartment if you ask to see it now. We could talk later with a cup of tea and some pastries." One thing was for sure her mother was a protector of good manners and impressive talking, but her heart was resting at the right place.
The new staff members seemed to be confused about the kindness though and it seemed to surprise them. Ozma had heard that they were from a small village at the edge of Munchkin Country. It looked like the news from the palace barely made it to a place so far away. Ozma hoped that the girl and her family wouldn't be full of prejudice and that she wouldn't think that the princess was snobby or unkind.
After the first shock was over, the head of the family, the tall bulky man, introduced himself as Wyatt Cain sr. the new Palace Guard and he thanked her mother for the unexpected kindness, after that he introduced his wife Elisabeth Cain to the Royals and the nervous woman curtsied very precise and deeply.
"Your majesty, please excuse our manners, we aren't a family in which prejudices rules the daily routine but we still didn't expect our majesty to be so kind-hearted and so well... easy going if you excuse my language. It would be very kind if we could rest first since it was a long and hard journey but we don't want our majesty and her family to wait all too long," the woman called Elisabeth said with a calm and soft voice. Ozma loved it right from the beginning and she wished that this woman could become one of her teachers as well.
"I honor the heritage of my grandmother and I don't see why I shouldn't treat my servants like equals. This place is far too big to clean it on my own and I'm the Queen of a country so I have to stick to certain rules and act like a noble and wise authority who doesn't clean their own toilet. But I offer many people a job and a safe living like many Queens have done before me. I might be the heir of a noble and royal dynasty but I'm a human being as well and I think only a relaxed and balanced staff is a good staff." Ozma could see that her mother had yet convinced another family that from now on would serve them with trust and passion.
"This makes you not only a good Queen but also a an employer that I would be honored to work for," Wyatt Cain sr. answered and bowed in front of the Queen.
"Would you please stop bowing now. As I said before it is important that my ambassadors and the other dukes see that my servants respect me and see me as their superior but I don't believe in such a philosophy. I do wish to remain Queen though so we have to put on a show whenever a stranger resides at the palace, but as long as that isn't the case, I´m Lucasta Gale and these are my daughters Ozma Lavender and Thea and there is no bowing, is that clear, Mr. Cain?" The last suspicion vanished from the faces of the adults and Mr. Cain suddenly started to smile.
"Only if you call me Wyatt," With that the man grabbed the outstretched hand of Ozma's mother and the Queen's face lit up as well.
"So and now before you go off to your long deserved rest I would like to know who these handsome children are that you brought with you. I bet that my little Ozma can't wait to get acquainted with your beautiful daughter." Elisabeth blushed lightly when the Queen of Oz complimented her children (she would need some time to get used to the carefree atmosphere and casual conversation) but with a smile she pushed her children in front of her own body and introduced them as their nine annuals old Robin, seven annuals old Anne and six annuals old Wyatt Jr.
"And you are pregnant my dear aren't you? Which moon cycle?" Lucasta asked with curiosity.
"The 4th your ma…Lucasta," Elisabeth stammered a bit surprised, she hadn't told many people that she was pregnant and it surprised her that the Queen could sense her pregnancy. She sure would like to ask the Queen for some advice, since the birth of Wyatt had been difficult and harder than the other births.
"In this case I don't want to suspend you any longer. Thomas would you please lead them to their apartment. My servant will collect you in 5 hours if that is okay with you. Ozma my dear would you take care of the children of the Cain's while I will introduce them to their new jobs? You could collect them as well and introduce them to the other children." The Queen laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder, who gave Anne an assuring smile that was returned with the same gesture.
"I would be delighted mother," the girl answered with sparkling eyes.
"You´re too kind," Elisabeth answered and smiled at the young princess as well.
"Would you please follow me now," the servant, Thomas, threw in his word and soon the Cain family left off to their new quarters.
"I have a feeling that we have just earned two marvelous new servants and three new spirits for the balance and joy in this dusty place." Her mother reassured Ozma before she herself left off to her office.
Ozma had to talk to her twin brother before she would search for one of her best dolls. The young girl was sure that she and Anne would be best friends by the end of the month.
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The Cain's were blown away when the young servant Thomas opened up the doors to their new home. The apartment was gigantic and the Queen had ordered that the interior of the rooms looked casual and homey instead of posh or fancy. All their fears disappeared when they saw that they wouldn't have to live in a cold place with no feeling of a home.
The children were flabbergasted when they saw their rooms which were big enough for little Cain to store his toys and Anne to store her beloved dolls. Robert was delighted that he wouldn't have to share a room with his younger siblings any longer since 9 was an age where he didn't want to sleep in a pink room with unicorns watching him from every corner.
Liz and Wyatt watched as their three kids ran through the different rooms with big sparkling eyes and a little smile on their face. As they entered their bedroom they encountered another surprise.
"Looks like we will have enough space for romantic hours at night," Wyatt Sr. whispered so that his children wouldn't hear him. Liz turned around with a mischievous grin on her lips. She wrapped her small arms around her husband's neck who bent down to gave her a passionate kiss.
"To a new beginning," she whispered into his ear before she left the room again to bring her children to bed, they had five hours before they would discover more parts of their new home and she wanted her children to present their best side. If they were too tired, though, they would never leave the impression that Liz wished for her children.
Wyatt watched his wife as she walked through their new home with graceful steps and softly wiggling hips. He would never stop feeling attracted to the woman that he married almost 12 years ago. She was one of a kind and she would win the hearts of the royal children in no time. Now it was about time for him to lie down a bit because he too wanted to leave a good impression so that he and his family could start a new life at this magical place that offered them so many new chances and opportunities.
Only 10 minutes later he felt the soft touch of his wife, who had laid herself next to him and who now caressed his chin with kisses. Her warm body against his own made him feel secure and her breath against his skin calmed his nerves. It was difficult to keep his eyes open and so it was no surprise that minutes later a deep sleep wrapped him into its blanket.
A.N : Hello again in this chapter I was asking myself if the Queen was too nice to the Cain's . I was afraid that this might be too unrealistic but my friend told me that they are in Oz and everything is a bit different in Oz so I kept it this way. If you have complaints please let me know. I just thought that Cain and Ambrose might have an easier start if the Queen allows them to have contact.