4 annuals later…

"The world will never forget them, for they kept us all together, be it with their kindness, honesty, loyalty or wisdom. They led us through bad times and good times and they ruled over Oz like the kings and queens had done before them. May they rest in peace now and may they never be forgotten…." The speech of the priest was followed by a minute of silence that caused a shiver to run down Cain's spine.

Thousands of people had gathered in and around the majestic church of Central City, all had come to honor their king and queen and all were now standing still with sunken heads and silent tears running down their faces. It was so silent that you only could hear a single cough here and there and Cain could swear that he had never experienced such a silence before.
Two weeks ago a terrible terrorist attack had shocked the whole country and nobody had been able to embrace that a group of alchemists and worshipers of the evil witch Scarcaise (who has been locked away for decades) had invaded a secret council and placed a bomb in the council room that later killed everyone who had been present. The guards who had arrested them, didn't notice that one of them had placed the device underneath a chair in the council room.

Five ambassadors from Ix and Ev, 3 soldiers, 4 generals, 5 commanders of different Tin Man divisions, 6 dukes and 3 duchesses died that day. Their innocents souls served as a sad reminder that the times in Oz had changed over the last four years and that more and more unsatisfied people started to dream of old days, of the witch and of war.

The reason for the silence and the sadness though, was the great loss of a king and a queen. Queen Lucasta II. and her husband Richard had been among all the other poor souls that day. When the bomb exploded in the council room, the people of Oz lost a generous queen and a wise king.

The only thing that mattered for Cain was the fact that his best friend and his siblings lost their parents at the age of 19, 17 and 15, which still brought the tears to his eyes. When the moment of silence was gone he raised his head again and searched for a familiar pair of red-rimmed brown eyes but he couldn't find Ambrose in the huge crowd of guests.
All of them had been shocked but Cain had a feeling that his parent's death had hit Ambrose harder than his siblings. Cain excused himself as his mother wanted to lay her hands on his shoulder, her eyes were red and swollen as well but Cain needed to find his friend.

He found his sister Rose and the princess Amelia under a tree in front of the church where they tried to calm down a sobbing Thea who couldn't realize that her parents were dead and who had collapsed inside the church during the speech of the priest.
"I think he went inside and locked himself up. I would try to search him in his lab," Rose offered Cain when he asked the girls if they had seen Ambrose somewhere. It was a hard day for all of them and the pain in Cain's chest got worse with every step he took.

In front of Ambrose's laboratory he could sense two other slim figures, even from a long distance at the other end of the corridor- Anne and Ozma. After the Oracle of Oz had announced at the twins 16th Birthday that everyone, including Ambrose, had been right and that the spirits of the past had decided that Ozma should become the next Queen, both siblings had changed.

Ozma wore much more dignity now, she was less jumpy, she studied a lot (especially her magical powers) and all in all she reassembled much more of a Queen now, then back when she was a little child. Ambrose had become even more silent, but he finally had a chance to dedicate all his time to his calculations and inventions and now that he would only be the Duke of Gillikin and Ozma's advisor, their mother had given him a huge laboratory for his studies and experiments. Cain had never seen Ambrose cry before, expect for that day.

Now he was standing in front of said lab and together with Anne and Ozma he was trying to reach through the thick walls of the room and through his friend's thick skull.

"I don't know how long he has been like this, but it feels like he hasn't said a word since the messenger informed us of their death," Ozma sighed when her brother still refused to open the door, even after 20 minutes of pleading.
Hot tears ran down her face and Anne had to steady her so that she wouldn't collapse as well. Her face was pale and she looked ill, her red eyes were the only color on he face and Cain was sure that it would need some time until she was fully recovered and ready for her coronation.

While both Cain's comforted the young princesses nobody noticed the door that opened lightly. However Wyatt had an ear for such things so the slightest creak caught his attention and he turned around. At Ambrose sight he flinched. The prince looked horrible, with red eyes like his sisters', but grayish rings underneath, his hair was uncombed so that an uncurly mess was resting on his head, he was paler than usual and his cheeks looked hollow. He hadn't shaved in days and since he was finally able to grow a beard as well he reminded Cain of a beggar rather than a prince.

"I need some time for myself could you please go and leave me alone, I promise that I won't kill myself and I also promise that I won't build a machine that will kill those bastards." His voice was cold and as hollow as his face and the words only seemed to fall out of his mouth. Cain shook his head when he saw his friend and he wished that he could find the right words to comfort him.

"You look horrible, how can you even think that we will leave you alone in such a state? You need us!" Ozma yelled and her sadness was replaced by unexpected anger. "I need you, your sisters need you, our parents are dead! You can't just crawl under a rock and pout, this country needs you now!" Her hands formed to fists and with desperate strides she banged them on her brother's chest until she started to cry again.

"Ozma stop!" Anne and Cain said simultaneously but Ambrose only raised his hand in protest. Without saying a word, he softly wrapped his arms around Ozma's shoulder and bedded his face in his sister's auburn hair. Both slowly sank to the ground and shed silent tears in their comforting embrace until the first sun started to disappear behind the horizon.
Later people would say that this moment had brought the siblings even closer together and that the tragic death of their mother would bind them forever and it was seen as a keystone for the never ending loyalty and trust between Queen Ozma I. and her advisor.

O.O.o.O.o.o.o.O.o.O.O.O.O.o.O.O.o.o.O.O.o.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.o.O.o.o.o

Three weeks after that Ozma Lavender Gale was crowned Queen Ozma I. of Oz and Duchess of Quadling Country, while her siblings became the duchesses and duke of the other three nations. Being her twin brother and wisest man of Oz , her brother Ambrose Gale was declared to become her head advisor and closest ambassador.

Only 2 months after the royal ceremony Queen Ozma married a guy who came to be known as Ahamo, a slipper from the Otherside who had landed in the land of Oz like the Wizard of Oz before him, with a balloon. Many people, especially the seers from Quadling saw it as a sign and a prophecy. Luckily the Queen fell in love with the stranger without paying attention to the words of the Seers, she loved his smile, his way of talking, his carefree behavior and his humor and everyone around Oz cheered when their beautiful bride said the magical words: "I do."

8 ½ months later on a cold winter day in November, 11 months after Oz lost a king and a queen they gained another member of the royal family – Princess Azkadellia Mae Gale. A gemstone for the family and another piece in the history of Oz.

A.N : This one is a bit sadder than the previous ones..It should be sad but I'm not really good at writing sad so maybe you consider it as weepy ..don't know. I hope you enjoyed reading. More on Wednesday.