THE FARAWAY LANDS OF OZ - Book One

Part One; Chapter Four: Storm Rising

GLINDA

I had just decided to confess what me and my sisters had done yesterday, that we had the same dream for whatever reason and that Evanora had fallen victim to some mysterious curse, when no one different than herself vaporized into the room instead of just taking the stairs.
"Evanora? There are easier ways to come down for breakfast, do you know that?" Father's humoring may seem like one thing on the outside. But judging from the way that he clenched his jaw upon seeing the black and red mist that Evanora had taken downstairs, there was something deeper behind this.
"Hey," And the nervousness in her tone did not make it any better, given that she is someone that would never show such emotions or any emotions, normally. "I need to tell you something:" The concern in me grew and I could see the gears rattling behind everyone else's eyes. She had done something stupid, one could feel this in the air, "I may have done something selfish..."
What that "something" would be, we were supposed to find out very soon enough. The dining room was located very central and the nearest windows were in the adjacent kitchen.
"Well... You should perhaps look out of the window first and then we can continue." With each half a sentence, she shrunk down increasingly and probably ashamed of what she had been responsible for. My mother was the only one who dared to ask questions. Dared to address the elephant in the room that was pitch-black sky and dark red clouds and lightning.
"What spell is this, Ev?"
I could see that she was fighting with her thoughts, thinking what was smartest to say. I was quite curious though: what stupidity would have the power to cause such a devastating thunderstorm. A thunderstorm resembling very much the one from the dream we had shared.
"Well, where should I start?" She took a deep breath and the battle for words continued. One would have thought that by now, she had learned by heart how to excuse her stupidities but with each one she committed, a bigger one followed.
"Glinda, the others, and I had stumbled upon something. All four of us had the same nightmare the day before yesterday and we thought that this meant that something cosmic was going on. Besides I was not able to hurt any of them, so-"
"Was?" Mother intervened again. I for one was happy that I got out of having to tell mother and father all of that. And Ev on the other hand continued to shrink together and maintained the good distance that lay between us and her.
"Yeah, about that... Glinda and I snuck into the library-"
"I knew something was off, when Marcy invited me, Theodora and Aliyah to listen to her play... She usually hates it!"
"Mom! Can Evanora please finish?" This time, it was I who intervened. Mother only nodded and offered her attention back to my older sister. If there was something to calm her down, it was seeing me being calm.
"We snuck into the library and tried to research this oddity, but we didn't find anything. At least that was what I made Glinda believe. While skimming through some books, I noticed a story of someone who could help us-"
"Morgana le Fay." Everybody looked at father for his sudden comment. His face was blank but he could not hide his concern. Morgana le Fay was the most heinous witch of all times, even battling the Lords of Fear in villainy.
"Yeah," She had to admit but was just as surprised by father's comment as all of us were. I for one was unsure whether to laugh or to tear out my hair upon hearing Ev's news. This was beyond the line. Even for her. "How did you know?" She continued but father only smiled, as much as the situation allowed for smiles anyway. I – and I assume my sisters too – were curious about the reason for this immediate deduction.
"The mist, treasure. The mist... She had been my teacher for quite the time, after all!"
Evanora and father looked at each other. Something was going on inside my sister's head, but she caught herself again and continued. I could not imagine a time where Morgana le Fay could have been the good guy.
Father never told any of us that he knew her, let alone that she had been his teacher. How could such a vile being, be responsible for the kindness that was called Basil Fawkes?
"It's pretty boring from here on: I freed her with water hemlock, she tricked me into promising to be her pupil, she told me that it had been a Dreamscape-related reality curse and then I went back on my promise. After that, she lost it and painted the sky anew."
Everyone was processing this information. Especially me and my sisters. Our parents did not know what had happened in this dream. The horrible things that Evanora and Theodora did and the unworthy things I had done. Aliyah had been Aliyah all the time, so her conscience could go clear...
After a while or so, mother caught her speech again, "I expect that you have a plan how to fix this."
Fortunately, Evanora was not intimidated by mother's harsh tone and request but, in fact, lightened up upon mother mentioning plans. Which was a surprise to me though. She could not plan something even if she had time to do so. I was the planner, and she always went for her gut. Hence, the reason why we are currently in this situation.
"Yes! I do! I will not disappoint you. Father. Mother."
After looking at each of our parents, she excused herself with a short bow-nod combination and rushed out of the room to do whoever knows what again. I just looked at my sisters, all of us having recognized the lie instantly and waited for their nod of agreement which came before I had even really thought about it, rushing off after her. Hopefully, my presence in her "plan" would prevent further collateral damage...