THE FARAWAY LANDS OF OZ - Book One

Part Seven, Chapter Thirty-Five: The Overlord

GLINDA

I was rooted to the ground and unable to move. The white wooden walls, dark red curtains, and golden decals everywhere were almost too much for me to focus on. I was in shock about what had just happened. Nothing could have prepared me for even the tiniest bit of it.
I moved my head to look at Zion. Our eyes met and his narrowed eyebrows and folded forehead reflected the worry that I too felt inside me. We have lost our home to Witches, demons and God-like entities before, but the Morningstar seemed more than that. He knew us from Lazarus. The boy had betrayed us.
"Why another rift?" I asked him after what felt like hours of just staring at each other.
"To distract him. And because he saw where we went." And now the worry inside spiked even more. All the people who lived there were defenseless. As if reading my mind, Zion continued to talk and reassure me. "Your wards will protect them. Especially the soul curse that you have left behind."
I was really discombobulated. My head was elsewhere; how could I forget about my wards? They had once even managed to keep Ev and Theo away and back then, the two were an even bigger evil than Morgana herself.
"I forgot." With that, I took one final breath to calm down and followed Zion to his morning room. That's where we would hold our crisis meeting, he told me. In absence of means, one has to be creative. Even when that meant moving to where one usually serves only tea and biscuits.
It was fun to see how similar both castles look from the inside, despite the different specializations of each county as well as the different sense of aesthetics of both previous Lords and current leaders.
I admit that the green marble, black tiles, and warm golden decals of the Emerald City were what I connected with home as well as the grey carpets and curtains. But those clean crystal walls with golden inlays, dark wooden floors, and crimson cloth decoration radiated a warmth that I only knew from my own place.
It had something baroque-ish to it that the Emerald City failed to compete with. The things that I noticed and recognized from home were the huge windows and the lack of servants and maids. Zion told me that this was much different during his parents' reign over the Red Fields. They had no problem in exploiting cleaners, cooks, and butlers.
Our home had turned servant-less once our grandfather became king. The only one who has remained in our employment ever since was Ventner. He was like the uncle we never had and almost a member of the family.
We reached the morning room in no time, or at least it felt like that with me being sunken in thoughts. It was smaller than ours but still able to fit all the Lords and Ladies in, especially now with almost half of us absent.
Aureliu, Simon, and I were the only advisors present but I had to take over for the capital and was obligated to attend. The Fairy Godmother had a hard time maintaining the White Lands in Katina's absence and the other advisors took care of things while their Lords were present here.
Zion, Ryder, Benjamin, Iarann, Aureliu, Simon, and I – as I already mentioned – and Theodora, Aliyah, and mother were present. A tiny circle, compared to our usual force.
"You're all here; good...," I sighed and poured myself a cup of steaming black coffee before taking a seat next to Aureliu. I was drained and ready to go to bed but there was work to do. I was met with a simultaneous hello and murmured thanks for having us.
"You know why we're gathered here in Zion's morning room and not at the Emerald City, so I'll cut it short: We need an intervention plan on how to deal with the disappearance of our two sovereigns and the Overlord, as well as one to handle the blockade by the Morningstar and his companion. Furthermore, several people have to continue trying to find the queen." I took a sip of coffee and almost burned my tongue. I sucked in some air, sharply between my teeth before having to cool down my mouth with several sips of water.
"Well, what's your plan, milady?" Iarann was the last person with whom I had expected agreement. And the approving grunts were even more startling. I live to see the day that the council agrees on something.
"Well, honestly, I had not gone that far yet. I had expected a little bit more... discussion-"
"If I may cut in," Zion interrupted my loss for words and fight to find something smart and sophisticated enough to contribute. I was glad that he took over. I had needed the help. "I suggest splitting what we have to do, once more. Aureliu and I have been talking and the two of us volunteer to investigate the disappearance of our Sovereign and the Overlord."
There was silence for a very short while before the familiar murmur of discussion broke loose. And to my utmost surprise, that died down fast as well.
"From the silence, I assume that you – Lords and Ladies of Oz – have formed an opinion on that proposition?" A grunt of agreement filled the room. "Very well, we shall go around in a circle to see who is in favor of Lord Zion's proposition and to see who is against..."
We went through everybody present and one "agree" after the other found its way to my ears. I could barely believe what I was hearing though. The council agreed on something. This was truly a historic event. Especially with Lord Iarann present.
"Well, the result is evident: We will follow through with Zion's idea to split up our tasks at hand. We have him and Count Aureliu volunteering to get behind the disappearance of our fellow members. We will require another pair to investigate the state of the Emerald City and a group of four to continue the research for our queen's situation."
The hands shot up in the air. Once more, I was almost too overwhelmed. Had I by any chance landed in some parallel universe where everything went smoothly in case of a crisis? Well, to be fair, we've never had a situation as dire as this one: The queen gone, the Emerald City under siege, and another six valuable assets unavailable; meaning Ruby's team and the disappeared.
"We volunteer to spy on the Emerald City!" Aliyah and Theo said almost in unison and before anybody of the people raising their hands had a chance of volunteering as well. A number of hands went down and the remaining ones wanted to help me with Ev.
"Well, that should work out just fine. The two men shall follow the clues to our disappearances, Theo and Aliyah shall return to the Emerald City and see what the Morningstar is currently scheming. The remaining others will help me with the pocket realm. A task for everyone here."
The smiles and lack of any other facial expressions told me that this plan is acceptable to everyone. Zion and Aureliu will go out in one, my sisters in the other direction. Mother, Ryder, Benjamin, and Iarann will be the ones aiding me with Ev. Perfect and easy, I could not have hoped for any better solutions. The agreeing grunts filled the room once more.
"Then what are we waiting for? The quicker we're into it, the quicker we're out of it!"
And the scratching of chairs on the wooded floor set our plans in motion.