Dorothy's Mystical Adventures in Oz Part 34

"Well, she's sort of our friend, too. You see, since we captured her, she has turned out to be quite nice."

"It's probably a trick," said the guardian, suspiciously.

"You can't really blame him for being suspicious," said the Witch. "I've been hated for many, many years. It's going to take a while for people to get used to my new image."

"I suppose so," said Dorothy.

A few moments later, the little door opened again. But this time it was not the guardian. Instead, it was Princess Gayelette, the reclusive but highly respected sorceress from the north. She and her husband, Quelala, had come to ask for an audience with his Majesty the Scarecrow. Upon finding him away, they had remained to look after the palace until his return. Quelala, although not a magician, was widely known for his wisdom and understanding. Gayelette was known for her powerful magic, which she used only for the good of the people. She was never known to harm anyone, and her concern for people and other sentient beings made her a favorite all over the country. As she stood in the doorway, her gaze fell upon the Scarecrow and his friends.

"It is you," she exclaimed. "I was rather doubtful, from what the little guardian told me. He said something about a Witch. But, of course, our Scarecrow would not be a.s.sociating with a Wicked Witch. Even with my own magical charms, I try to avoid such individuals."

"Oh, my!" she said as her eyes met those of the Witch. "Then, is it true?" The princess was visibly shaken. The Witch smiled nervously at Princess Gayelette and curtsied. "I am very pleased to meet you, Your Highness," she said. "And I feel most honored and privileged to be in your company."

Princess Gayelette smiled rather weakly and shook the Witch's hand. "Let us retire to the meeting hall," she said. "I have a feeling you have a long story to tell."

When they reached the meeting hall, the Scarecrow excused himself for a moment to arrange for some refreshments. "Make yourselves comfortable,"

he said. "I'll be back in a moment."

Later, when the straw man returned, everyone was very relaxed, sitting in large, comfortable reclining chairs that the palace staff had made available.

"I'm being very inconsiderate, Dorothy," said Gayelette. "I'm sure you must be tired and weary from your long journey and all your adventures.

Please enjoy your refreshments. We can meet and hear the whole story a little later. One of the maids will show you to the gardens after you've rested. We can meet there. In the meantime, I wish to have a talk with our ruler. We have some serious thinking to do, and only his hand-manufactured brains will suffice."

After everyone had eaten (except the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow who were manufactured beings and had no need of food and drink), a youthful maid led the others upstairs. The apartments were very s.p.a.cious and beautifully furnished. The Witch immediately indulged herself in a long, relaxing perfumed bath. She had never felt so wonderful in her life.

After her bath, she put on a silk robe that had been laid out for her.

She sighed with contentment as she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Soon she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

When the Witch awoke she felt wonderfully refreshed. She got up and walked over to the open window and looked out. The view of the royal garden was very beautiful: trees and flowers of every variety; thick, lush green gra.s.s with little benches here and there to sit on; a little stream cascading over beautiful ornamental rocks, creating miniature waterfalls. There was also a large lake on which white swans swam lazily through the water. What a contented scene it was.

The Witch walked back into the room. The perfumed aroma of the garden permeated the apartment. "How delightful the Scarecrow's palace is,"

said the Witch out loud. "So peaceful. Oh, how I'd love to live here.

"Well, I'd better get dressed. I'm sure everyone will be meeting soon."

When she opened the closet door, she caught her breath. The closet was a large one and completely filled with the most beautiful of clothes. She chose a gorgeous Eastern-looking gown. The material was most exotic. It seemed to be pure silk, yet it had a sheen so reflective that it appeared to be woven with a thread of pure emerald. Attached to the gown were shimmering emerald earrings and a necklace. There was also a bracelet made of emeralds, rubies, and diamonds.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was a young girl about Dorothy's age.

"My name is Jellia," the girl said. "Jellia Jamb. The Scarecrow asked me to a.s.sist you. I am quite good at styling hair. May I?" she said, steering the Witch into a chair.

The Witch's hair was long and straggling. Jellia Jamb set about coifing it. And what beautiful job she did. She then cut the Witch's long, pointed, curling nails and delicately manicured them.

Jellia stepped back to observe the Witch. She gasped with amazement.

"Why, you look exactly like that Princess who has been visiting! Look -- look in the mirror."

The Witch turned to look in the full-length mirror. "Oh, my," she said, holding her hand to mouth. "I can't believe it." For standing in the mirror appeared to be Princess Gayelette herself. She was stunningly beautiful.

The Witch was visibly shocked. "I can't believe it," she kept saying.

"I've come from being an ugly old hag to a beautiful princess." She shook her head in amazement. "I could very easily be mistaken for Gayelette herself."

"Come," said the little girl. "Let us join the others in the garden. I can't wait to see their faces."

A few moments later, they arrived at the Gazebo. "I think we are a little early," said Jellia. "No one is here yet. Come." She took the Witch's hand. "Let us sit down and chat."

A few minutes later, Dorothy arrived. "Oh," she said, as she saw Jellia and the Witch. "Princess Gayelette. What a beautiful gown!"

"And allow me to introduce Jellia Jamb, one of the children of the Emerald City. She and I are old friends," the Witch said, with a wink at Jellia.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Dorothy," said Jellia. "I've heard so much about you. Our Ruler, the Scarecrow, talks about you all the time.

And you are even mentioned in our history books at school."

"Really? I'm most honored," said Dorothy. "Perhaps we could get together after the meeting," said Dorothy. "I would like to find out more about your schools here in Oz."

"I'd like that," said Jelia Jamb. "Oh, here's Princess Gayelette now."

"I beg your pardon," said Dorothy. "I thought this was...?" Her voice trailed away as Gayelette approached. "But, but ... then ... who is ...

Oh!" It suddenly dawned on Dorothy. "Then this must be...."

"The Witch," said the Witch. "Yes, indeed, it is I. We could not resist playing a little trick on you, Dorothy. I hope you didn't mind."

"Not at all," replied Dorothy. "I'm just amazed."

Princess Gayelette and Quelala were no less amazed. Gayelette just kept shaking her head as she stared at the Witch. As the others arrived, they did double-takes when they saw the Witch and Princess Gayelette together. "Please sit down, everyone," motioned Gayelette. "This is no less amazing to me than it is to all of you. As you can see, we could be twin sisters. But the pieces of the puzzle are all falling into place.

I'd like to tell you a little story which may help to explain the remarkable resemblance.

"The story begins in a tiny village in Oz. At that time, it was known as Ozcott. My father had a country home there.

"One day, the Wicked Witch Mombi captured me. She was afraid that my magic would become more powerful than her own, and planned to nip that in the bud so that she could become the most powerful person in Oz.

However, unknown to Mombi, my baby sister was about to arrive. When Mombi found out, she was furious. She went to our house in the dead of night and stole Ozetta from her crib. She then contacted /her/ sister, the Witch who ruled the Deep South, and asked her to take Ozetta. The sister was very happy to take the little baby, as she was quite old and wanted to pa.s.s on all her Witch's secrets.

"I managed to escape, but my dear baby sister was never seen again. We'd all thought she'd died. However, unknown to us, she'd been raised by that wicked old witch and later took her place, so no one ever knew the difference. So this lady, dear friends," said Gayelette, with tears in her eyes, "is, I believe, my long-lost sister, Ozetta."

With that, Ozetta and Gayelette ran to each other and hugged one another tightly. Tears were rolling down their cheeks as they hugged and kissed.

"The fact that we look so much alike leaves no room for doubt," said Gayelette to Dorothy. "And, to mark this joyous occasion, I declare this day a national holiday."

A little Gillikin, who was standing by, scurried off to spread the good news.

"Well," said Gayelette, with her arms around her sister's shoulders, "this is a very beautiful day for all of us. I'm so very grateful to you, Dorothy, and to all of you, for the part you played in releasing my sister from her bondage, and bringing her back to me."

"I would like to thank all of you, too," said Ozetta, "for all you have done for me, and especially for this present moment. I have never experienced such joy, such happiness. I didn't know such feelings of ecstasy could exist. I grew up feeling only the emotion of hate. The person I called my mother was not good to me. She screamed at me all the time -- her eyes constantly filled with hate. She verbally abused me. She even hit me when she was just in a bad mood -- which was most of the time. She acted as if she felt ashamed of me. When she taught me Black Magic, I directed the hate I felt for her to others, weaving it into the magic spells I cast on them. Now I see that the hatred and resentment I wove into those spells only came right back to me. I reaped exactly what I sowed. I could say I didn't know any better, but I did. I just refused to listen to that inner voice -- my conscience. As far as I was concerned, I had no conscience, felt no remorse for what I was doing. My conscience was buried, with no chance of seeing the light of day. Yet, I knew something was wrong, for I was not a happy person. How could I be?

But I would not allow myself to think about such things -- to try to a.n.a.lyze why I was not happy. That is, until you came along, Dorothy. It took you, with your deep understanding, to bring me to a new realization -- a new beginning. I was a lonely, ugly old witch, and now I am a beautiful princess with a beautiful sister and lots of wonderful friends. I will be eternally grateful to you, Dorothy. All of you."

Ozetta then hugged them all in turn. "I know you miss your family, Dorothy," she said. "And that you must return to Kansas. But I want you to know I will visit you often. And I know you will visit us here."

Thank you, Ozetta," said Dorothy. "I beg your pardon, your Highness. For your are really a princess now, and should be addressed as such. It gives me great pleasure, your Majesty, to see you so happy, and to know that you and Princess Gayelette have found each other. I look forward to seeing you again very soon. I have a feeling that there are other missions planned for me in Oz, and I suspect that I shall be needing some help when that time comes."

"Me! A princess! I know now it's true, but I can't believe it. Yesterday I was a mean ugly old witch, and today a young and beautiful princess.

I'm sure it's all a dream, and I shall wake up to reality at any moment.