Vella smoothed out the skirt of her dress. Glinda had given her yet another dress (this one was white). She had insisted on providing the two kids with clean clothes each day they stayed. It had been a whole week since the wicked witches had been defeated (no one was really sure what happened to Evanora, although some swore that they saw an old hag in Evanora's dress being carried off into the sky) and still Glinda had no idea how to get them home.
Seeing as though the two were living in the palace with her, Glinda saw no choice other than to reveal the truth to them. There were only four others (excluding Oz himself) who were in on the plot. Oz was dead in the eyes of the public-only the Wizard of Oz was left.
Oz, Glinda, the China Girl, Vella, and Shay sat at a table, enjoying the quiet morning as they ate breakfast. After the war, the land had fallen into a state of peace and everyone finally had a sense of freedom. The world itself seemed to brighten a little. The five of them just talked about everything and nothing, although their topic of conversation never strayed to the war or Shay and Vella's families. No one wanted to ruin the sense of calm.
They finished their meal, yet just sat there, talking. Shay continued to try to clean off his spoon (he'd already ruined 5 napkins and several pieces of the Quadlings' scrap fabric doing so). The spoon complained about being dipped in that "toxic potion" the whole time while the knife, who was pretty much spotless, made fun of him. Vella just watched the scene and held back her laughter.
Glinda excused herself, claiming she needed to visit an old friend about a "personal problem". Vella and Shay left next, going out to wander in the garden.
"Do you really think she'll be able to get us home?" Shay asked, breaking the silence.
Vella sighed. "I don't know… I guess so. I mean, shouldn't everything that's happened over the past few weeks be an indication that anything can happen?"
Shay shook his head. "Don't even get me started on what happened… It's all so… blurry. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yeah," Vella said, her voice almost dropping to a whisper. "Yeah, I do…" She sighed again. "If only our parents could see us now. With any luck, Glinda will be able to get us home so we can tell them."
"Maybe I can tell my mom I'm sorry, too," Shay said.
A silence fell over the two as they sat on the garden bench. It would have been completely silent were it not for the various birds and creatures who buzzed around the garden amongst all the flowers and plants.
"What was your plan with the apples, anyway?" Shay asked.
"I don't know," Vella replied. "I guess I was just upset…" Then, in a more lighthearted tone, she asked, "So what about you? Do you like giraffes?"
Shay smiled. "I don't know. I've never seen one."
"I wonder if your parents do," Vella said. "I guess we'll have to ask them once we get home.
The two continued fantasizing about what they'd do when they got home. Vella would show Shay and his family the world. Shay would apologize (again) to his parents for treating them like they were computers and find some way to make it up to them. Both would tell their families about everything that had happened while they were in Oz.
The two spent most of the rest of the day in the garden. It was quiet, and something about it quieted their troubles. In fact, the only times they weren't in the garden were when they ate lunch or needed to use the bathroom.
It was much later that day when Glinda came back. Of course, Vella and Shay didn't know this- they were still outside, this time watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. Oz walked outside to see them.
"How're you kids doing?" he asked.
"I'm not… nevermind," Shay said, still annoyed at being called a kid.
"Right…" Oz said. "Glinda's back. She wants to see you."
Shay and Vella shared a glance before heading inside. Over the past week, they'd memorized most of Glinda's palace, so they knew where Glinda's room was. The only problem? She wasn't there.
The two wandered around the palace, searching for Glinda, until they got horribly lost. They hadn't had the chance to explore every passage. The sound of clanking came from a room down the hall. They walked along until they found the source.
Glinda stood amidst a storm of scattered dishes. She was picking them up off the ground as Vella and Shay walked into the room.
"Oh!" Glinda said. "Good, I was thinking Oz forgot to tell you I needed you."
"No," Shay said. "We just-er-got lost."
"What's with all the dishes?" Vella asked.
"That's why I summoned you," Glinda said.
"Because you needed help picking up dishes?" Vella asked as Glinda set some plates on a table.
"No," Glinda said. "Because I think I have a way to get you home."