The Road, the Fairy, and the Boxcar

The Regulars of Oz

There was a brief moment of silence before everyone began talking at once, trying to find out what exactly was going on.

"What?" exclaimed both Woot and Polly. "Dorothy and Princess Ozma missing?"

"Who are these children?" A scarecrow and a tin man pointed at the Aldens. The siblings scooted closer together.

"How did they get here?" asked a very shaggy-looking man.

"But the Magical Belt and the Silver Shoes are missing as well?" asked Polly at the same time.

"When did you find out they were missing?" asked Woot.

A hen flapped her wings and squawked. "So many questions! We need answers!"

"Did ... did that hen just talk?" asked Violet, her eyes wide.

"I-I think so," said Henry, his own eyes widening.

"She must be that hen that saved them from the Nome King the first time," said Jessie.

"Yes, but hearing her talk is odd, all the same," commented Henry.

"No kidding," mumbled Jessie.

"Maybe we shouldn't speak of our problems until we've taken care of them," said the tiger with a soft growl in his voice. He took a step towards them.

"Is this how subjects of Princess Ozma treat our guests?" came a voice from the right. In walked a tall and queenly woman with red curls cascading past her shoulders. Her dress was white, simple but elegant, yet it caught the light in such a way that it looked like the fibers were dancing with the light coming through the windows. She had her face turned towards the crowd of people, and the Aldens couldn't quite see her face. Henry wanted her to turn her face upon them so badly as an ache he thought he had suppressed came bubbling up to the surface. That hair, that shade of red, it reminded him of his mother so much. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat before glancing at his siblings, he could see the same pain, the same longing in their eyes that he felt, Benny especially. Henry looked back at the woman, he could almost see his mother's face framed by those red locks. Yet deep down, he knew it couldn't possibly be her, there was no way. So it came as no great shock that when she turned to them, he saw not his mother's warm smile but the gentle face of a queen. But the wishful thinking had done its damage, and Henry thought his heart was going to crack.

Benny burst out crying. "I want my mommy!"

"Oh Benny!" Jessie quickly knelt and wrapped him in her arms, no doubt to hide the tears that were welling up her own eyes. Violet wrapped her arms around Henry's arm and pressed her forehead against it. He could feel the tears streaming down her face as he blinked back his own tears.

"You see, my friends, they want to go home to their mother. They are no doubt as scared as you."

"Oh, no," said Henry, his voice just barely above a whisper so they wouldn't hear the catch in it, "that's ... that's not it. Our parents died a few months ago. We live with our grandfather now."

"Oh, the poor dears!" exclaimed the hen, throwing up her wings. There were others who exclaimed their condolences.

Benny pointed at the redheaded beauty as he wiped at the tears spilling out of his eyes. "My mommy had that same hair!" There was a collective gasp before the room went quiet. All eyes turned to her. There was a brief pause, then the queenly figure knelt down and held out her arms to them. Benny broke away from Jessie and ran straight into them, sobbing the whole way.

"Benny!" Jessie cried out.

"It's alright," said the queen. Then she held out her arms again. Violet took off next. She wrapped her arms around the queen's neck. The queen beckoned to Jessie and Henry. Jessie glanced at Henry, tears filling her eyes. She turned and rushed into the queen's arms. Henry took a moment before he began walking towards them. With every step, it seemed to him like something was being lifted off his shoulders. While yes, their grandfather was taking care of them now and that had lifted some of the weight off Henry's shoulders, Henry, and to a greater extent, Jessie, still worked to keep the family together and sane. And now, the mental burdens seemed to fall off him, and for that brief moment, Henry found that not only could he breathe, he could grieve. Tears were streaming down his face when he finally joined his siblings in the warm embrace of the queen.