Norwitch Committee on Courtship Tradition (Meeting No. 34)

Norwitch Committee on Courtship Tradition (Meeting No. 34) is a fanfiction about Kaolin Alabaster, Garen Norwitch, and how they ultimately got together. It was written by Alpha.

This fic is rated G for General Audiences (all ages).

Meeting Minutes
Garen Norwitch departed the halls of Ever After High early that Saturday morning, bearing with him a pass that bore the seal of Lady Glinda XLIV, ruler of Gillikin County, Magical Grand Vizier of Oz, and Garen's mother.

The hot-air balloon his mother had sent for him floated in an embarrassingly opulent display on the front lawn of Ever After High, so Garen got in quickly, showing the flight attendant the paper which had approved his transportation into Oz.

"It's quite all right, young Lord Norwitch," the attendant answered sympathetically, almost pityingly. "We're well accustomed to assisting your travel. You don't need to show us your permission papers every time..."

Garen could read between the lines-- this particular company of balloonists were accustomed to transporting him because his inability to use magic extended to an inability to use magic objects, including the portals used by nearly everyone else in Ever After. His jaw tightened an imperceptibly slight amount. He had to remind himself to keep a stiff upper lip.

"Nonetheless," he replied, smiling politely. "I'm grateful for your work. This can't be your idea of an ideal Saturday morning."

"Nonsense," the attendant beamed back. "I myself rather enjoy a nice morning flight... besides, it's excellent business, you know."

And thus, as the attendant turned and finished preparing for flight, Garen carefully turned off his MirrorPad's connection to the MirrorNet and buckled in his seatbelt. He settled in for what must have been his hundredth reading of the very application that would be the topic of his meeting in Oz-- a name, Kaolin Alabaster. A smiling photograph which captured only a fraction of how charming that smile could be in real life.

An essay, with that final line that took his breath away: ''I feel so at home with you, Garen. You feel like family''.

Of course, Garen thought, there must have been some sort of a systemic error. Some sort of glitch on his family's courtship application website, which had mistakenly sent the application into the rejection pile and sent out the typical e-mail automatically.

He had contacted his mother about it, going through all of the usual bureaucratic channels, and received in reply a summons to an emergency meeting of the Norwitch Committee on Courtship Tradition (which had met quarterly ever since his first-ever crush, circa age eight). Garen was positive they were about to spend the afternoon discussing something which had to be done with the web design contractors, discussing funds which had to be allocated to glitch removal, or perhaps moving the cloud service servers to a new rainbow.

It was far from Garen's ideal Saturday... but if it meant sorting Kaolin's application correctly into the approvals category, which would then forward a pre-approved date location and time slot, it was well worth it.

He stepped off the hot-air balloon with a word of thanks to its attendant, striding into Norwitch castle, making his way smoothly up to the second-floor meeting room, the one with the rose wallpaper and grand, mahogany table.

Garen poked his head in and smiled, "Mom! Dad! It's been forever since I've seen you!"

"Oh, Garen, dearest!" Lady Glinda smiled and stood from her position at the head of the table to embrace him. "You look well... that cravat is very dapper on you, just as I suspected."

"Thanks, mom," Garen chuckled, even though he hated the itchy fabric. "I thought dad was away with that construction project in the border towns?"

"Well, you know your mother," Lord Norwitch clapped his son on the shoulder. "She showed up last night, absolutely determined to get me here. Insisted we travel by bubble. I suppose the building improvement team can survive for one day without me... how's Ever After? Set any new records for pole-vaulting at their school yet?"

"Ah, well... cousin Celadon still hasn't agreed to sign. I think I'm really wearing him down on it, though!" Garen nudged him back. "I haven't beaten the all-time high, yet, but I'm within half an inch... something which hasn't been done in over twenty years."

"That's our boy," Glinda kissed his cheek. "I know how much you must miss Emerald City Academy... but I'm royally proud of you for helping us make sure the entire Ozian tradition doesn't go down in flames because of that boy."

"I'm sure he's just made a mistake... he panicked, or something, and did it out of nerves," Garen tried to explain.

"And we shall welcome your cousin back to Oz with open arms once he realizes it," Glinda answered benevolently. "Mistakes must be forgiven, after all, once they have been genuinely repented. I'm sure that this confusion is but temporary."

"Now, then, the rest of the committee should be here very soon," Lord Norwitch beamed and patted the empty chair next to his own, just to the right of Lady Glinda. "Help yourself to some sandwiches... I'm sure you're hungry from the trip."

"Thanks, dad... I think I will," Garen picked a plastic-wrapped sandwich from one of the many, many tea-trays that sat on the meeting-room table. He read the label, Grogrande Catering, and smiled at the familiar name-- neither of his parents were around frequently enough to justify hiring an actual chef, and refrigerators full of Grogrande Catering boxes were the very nostalgia of his childhood. He smiled faintly and added, "I love this caterer."

"So do I," Lord Norwitch took a bite of his own sandwich. He winked faintly at Glinda, "They were the ones who catered the business function where your mother and I met."

"You can be sentimental about the strangest things, my dear," Lady Glinda shook her head fondly.

"It's true, though. I couldn't remember a word of what was said about the new security measures because I was so enraptured by your mother," Lord Norwitch elbowed his son lightly. "That's what made me fill out the application, you know. The ten-page research paper on my family tree, going back six generations... the tax form releases... even having to sit for an entire album's worth of professional photos. She was worth it, though."

"That was all I ever really wanted," Glinda's eyes softened. "Someone who was willing to slog through all the bureaucracy, who could understand the kind of responsibility it really meant to be part of the Norwitch family. Someone who would be willing to work with who I am... my public office and all. Your father turned out to be all that and more."

"I know the application process is royally important to our family," Garen agreed, trying to avoid watching his parents make mushy-eyes at each other by paying attention to his sandwich instead. "That's why I think it's hextremely vital that we remove any possible errors in our dating admissions process."

"Well said," Glinda agreed, and then, Grandma Galiena and Grandfather arrived, quickly welcomed and helped into chairs.

--x-x-x-x-x--

When at last, all nine members of the Norwitch Committee on Courtship Tradition had arrived and settled in, Lady Glinda at last clapped her hands and called the meeting to order.

"We of the Norwitch Committee on Courtship Tradition have gathered for this emergency meeting in order to discuss inherent and potential flaws in the present system of Garen Norwitch's Courtship Application Process," Lady Glinda read from her notecards. "We will begin from our primary concern: the recently-rejected application submitted by Kaolin Alabaster, the son of the China Princess."

There was a faint murmur of agreement, and Garen felt reasonably certain that whatever technical issue there had been would soon be rectified.

"It seems there has been an error in the application process," Glinda moved. "And I propose that we update and expand the Application Questionnaire in order to ensure that we receive no other such unsuitable applications in the future."

Garen gave pause in the middle of chewing his second sandwich. That wasn't right, he wanted to protest, but before he was able to finish swallowing, somebody else had already begun talking.

"That's right," harrumphed the high-scholar of Ozian heritage in attendance. "A question or two about blood lineage wouldn't hurt. It is ill-suited enough that the most powerful Good Witches in all of Oz should receive an offer from a side-story character... but from one who is only adopted into their royal family!"

"Young Garen's had the same application question and requirements since he was entering middle school," Grandma Galiena pushed up her glasses. "I say it is high time for an update."

A political adviser in the Northern courts tittered, "At the very minimum, some sort of question asking whether the applicant is male or female."

"That is correct... I think we are all in agreement that such undesirable matches must be filtered out for expediency's sake," sniffed one of Glinda's many PR attendants. "It would be highly inappropriate if word of this got out!"

"Wait--" Garen attempted to interject.

"Yes, yes," Lord Norwitch patted his son's shoulder absently. "We must be aware of the political ramifications of having rejected such an offer. The China Country is an important trading partner across Oz... and their very fine dishware makes up a significant portion of Ozian exports."

"Well," Glinda clapped her hands again, looking faintly contrite. "I am afraid that such offenses are unfortunately unavoidable... we cannot accept male applicants. They will be unable to provide the Norwitch legacy with an heir... and our bloodline must not be allowed to run out."

There was a beat in the room, for a second, as the ramifications of that portent sank in.

"Wait for a moment," Garen frowned, his entire expression seeming to drop into something incredibly grave. "... I thought this was about accepting that application. I thought the fact that it had been turned down was a mistake."

The room burst out into interjections and shouts, until, from her position at the head of the table, Glinda held up her hand, her expression stern and demanding silence.

"It seems there has been a misunderstanding," she looked towards her son curiously, a troubled knot beginning to form in her brow. "Please, Garen... explain."

"I didn't think there was anything wrong with the application," Garen answered, beginning to feel rather awkward. "The essay was great. He looks fantastic in our crest colors. I thought that the mistake was that it ended up in the rejections pile."

"The application was correctly turned down," Glinda's lips pressed together thinly. "You cannot enter into courtship with that young man... nor with any young man who comes after him."

"But," Garen hesitated for a moment. "Why?"

"Because it is your duty to have a child," Glinda sighed. She shook her head, "The bloodline of the Norwitches must never come to an end."

"You are one of the very few families in Oz whose bloodline has remained unbroken ever since the very first telling of The Wizard of Oz," the heritage scholar attempted to explain, unscrolling a highly detailed family tree. "It would be an enormous loss to history, to the entire Ozian tradition of fairytales, if the line of the original Good Witch Glinda were to end here."

Garen swallowed, glancing to the floor. "I could adopt."

"As the protectors of Oz, we have a duty to uphold," Grandma Galiena's back straightened, and even in her advanced age, she seemed full of a vigor and determination. "A duty that is carried in the very magic of our blood. I know you may not have your magic yet... but someday, you will. That power is within our blood, and nowhere else in all the great realms of Ever After... and that power will be gone forever if you never produce an heir!"

He would let down all of Oz, Garen realized, shuddering as he cast an eye towards his presently-useless Bubble Staff. As if his apparent lack of magic weren't humiliating enough, he thought-- he could go down in history as the one who ended the Norwitch legacy.

The one who single-handedly destroyed the line of Oz's foremost protectors.

To the surprise of all, it was Lord Norwitch who broke that silence, glancing across the table at his sister-in-law, "Dr. West."

Glinda XLIV's half-sister, the former Wicked Witch, had been biding her time quietly, preferring not to speak at all during these meetings. Still, she responded tersely, "Yes?"

"Is it not true that you assisted Lady Goodspell and her wife in producing three children, related by blood, through new methods of cauldron magic?" Lord Norwitch questioned pointedly.

Dr. West seemed to hesitate for a moment, replying with a stilted, "... yes."

"And-- theoretically speaking, of course," Lord Norwitch added. "You would be able to help do the same for our son, if he were to theoretically marry a man?"

There was a long silence. Dr. West stared down at her hands for a lengthy moment.

Her reply was quiet when it came: "Yes."

"That," Grandma Galiena cut across acridly. "That sort of black spellwork is an abomination of nature!"

"Dearest, please," Grandfather attempted to assuage his wife. He looked apologetically in Dr. West's direction.

"Absolutely not!" Grandma Galiena trilled. "That woman may be my stepdaughter, but I will not permit any sort of heretical magic to be involved in the creation of my great-grandchild, regardless of whose dark magic it is! Do not forget exactly whose fault it is that Garen is having a magical predicament in the first place!"

Garen winced a little at the insinuation. "Grandma... I don't think it's really fair to blame Dr. West. I mean, the spell was cast ninety-nine generations ago, and..."

"Who says that I'm blaming Dr. West?" Grandma Galiena harrumphed, sniffing faintly. "But you cannot deny that the magic inherent in her destiny wants to do harm to the magic that's inherent in ours!"

Not particularly eager to get caught up in yet another argument between his daughter and her stepmother, Garen's grandfather interjected with all due haste, "Perhaps it needn't get as far as having children. I mean... the boy is still in high-school, after all, and very, very few people end up with their high school sweethearts in the end. I don't see any harm in letting the boy date around a little, at his age."

"Well," Grandma Galiena seemed mollified. "I do suppose that's true... you and I, for one, dated very different people in high school."

Dr. West clenched her jaw, but held her tongue. To the relief of everyone in the room, she did not mention that her own mother, Witchy West, had been Grandfather's high school sweetheart when he married her.

There was a long, long pause before Glinda cleared her throat. "Now that the discussion portion of the meeting has been completed... I would like to propose a vote. All in favor of a new application process?"

Eight hands went up around the room. After a moment's hesitation, Garen begrudgingly lifted his hand as well... if only so he could have the opportunity to change the entire requirements section to something that read 'must be Kaolin Alabaster.'

"Excellent," Glinda smiled faintly, visibly stressed from the familial duress she'd grown up with. Then, after a moment. "And... as some manner of disagreement arose over the matter... all in favor of upholding the rejection of Kaolin Alabaster's application?"

Declarations ran out across the room, the contentious topic a subject of agreement or disapproval for very nearly all. Garen, on his behalf, attempted to explain that it was his life, that it ought to be his choice. Several other people very loudly disagreed, and it wasn't very long before the entire council fell into utter chaos, attempting to get their two cents in on the matter.

"QUIET!" It was only when Lord Norwitch stood and clapped loudly, yelling above them all, that order at last fell across the room once more. Then, he sat down, and glanced to Glinda, sending a very clear social cue to the entire room.

Glinda smiled back at him, relief and gratitude written across her face. "We shall go through the votes counter-clockwise, beginning, alphabetically, with Bartlebee. And we will each be completely silent while the others explain their cases. Your vote, Bartlebee?"

The heritage scholar cleared his throat and stood. "I am deeply concerned about the continuation of the Norwitch bloodline, and what it might mean for the future of Oz. I vote to uphold the rejection of Kaolin Alabaster, and other future male applicants."

He sat down, and the Public Relations assistant directly to his right stood to speak.

"I do not feel that it would be wise for Garen Norwitch to agree to a date with a one-chapter feature, as it will give the impression that he is willing to settle for any regular fairytale," she explained. "The proposals and applications resulting from such an approachable image might cause severe issues with logistics in the application process, and may negatively impact the image that the Norwitches are stronger, more powerful than mortal desires. I also vote to uphold the rejection."

She was still in the process of seating herself when the political adviser stood, robes all a-flurry, "To the contrary, I believe that the China Country and its royal family are an excellent match for the young Lord Norwitch. Though the Prince Alabaster may not have the lineage typical of a China Country royal, his family's assets and political connections are not to be trifled with. I vote to accept the application."

Garen smiled at them, delighted that at least one among the council's number had agreed with him. And thus, with newfound confidence in his veins, he stood to take his own turn.

"As I have previously stated, there was nothing wrong with the application, and I really, really liked the essay," Garen proclaimed. "I still believe that. And... you know, I really like the guy who wrote it, too. It was sweet and it came from the heart... that's what really matters to me."

He swallowed and looked towards his mother, gazing on with faint disapproval in her eyes and a furrow in her brow. He knew that there was still a way to take it back, to undo that which he had said by some other means. He could say that he'd been persuaded, or something along those lines.

But Garen... he was a difficult man to persuade.

"I vote to accept the application," he finished, and sat down, scarcely able to believe that he had so directly challenged his mother's usually impeccable judgement.

"I also vote to accept the application," Garen's father stood, something like the blaze of determination in his eyes. "There are ways to fulfill one's duty without giving up one's desires, I think. Besides... it takes bravery to bare your heart on an application website. I think it's worth letting the boy have a chance."

Glinda's mouth fell open in a silent gasp, surprise flitting across her features. She hesitated for a moment, then, quietly, "You have never voted against me before."

"I have never disagreed with you before," Lord Norwitch answered back, equally quiet. "We usually think very much alike."

He sat down, slowly, and waited for Glinda to speak.

She lifted her chin and announced, "I abide by my original decision and uphold the rejection of the application. Bravery that threatens the very protectors of Oz is only apt to disassemble the entirety of our national security... and our tradition."

She sat down and notedly did not make eye-contact with her husband, merely looking towards her mother to speak.

"Of course I uphold the rejection," Grandma Galiena patted her daughter's hand comfortingly. "Duty and tradition go hand in hand... and the people of Oz must evermore come first."

Grandfather, of course, disagreed: "He is in high school, and he's asking for permission to go on a date! I say of course he can accept the application."

Garen bit his lip and mentally counted up the tally. Four members in favor of accepting the application and four members against. It seemed like the final vote, then, would come to Dr. Wicked West-- the witch whose blood ought to have wanted the entire Norwitch bloodline to come crashing down, the selfsame witch who had outright approved of her son's decision to throw all of Oz in peril by refusing to sign the Ozian Storybook of Legends. If anyone would agree to accepting the application, it would be her.

Still, when she parted her lipstick-black lips to speak, the words that came out were thus: "I vote to uphold the rejection."

Glinda seemed pleasantly surprised by her half-sister's acquiescence. "Wicked?"

"Well," Grandma Galiena looked on with something akin to a newfound approval. "I must ask... what persuaded you to decide thus?"

"It's not a matter of tradition or bloodline... not from my perspective," Dr. West pursed her lips. "The relationship isn't practical. The applicant's only able to leave his homeland because of an amulet, which could be at risk due to Garen's particular magic issues. The Alabaster kid is as good as chained to China Country without it... not exactly an ideal living arrangement for the future protector of Oz. All in all, it's a bad match. Of course I'm voting against it."

"I guess, then... that's that," Glinda smiled faintly, relieved that her mother and half-sister had at last found some sort of common ground. "The results are 5 to 4 in favor of upholding the rejection. I suppose, then... the meeting is adjourned."

--x-x-x-x-x--

"Mom," Garen hurried out of the meeting room in her wake. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

"I'm really sorry, dear," Glinda sighed, trying very hard to hide the exhaustion that came with her particular position. "I already had to move around appointments with eight diplomats and one group of criminals from the underground of Emerald City to be here. I should probably go fight those first..."

"I'll go with you," Garen insisted.

"Oh, sweetie," Glinda shook her head, maternally straightening her son's ringlets. "It's too dangerous. Without your magic, someone could really get hurt."

"I can defend myself, mom," Garen tossed his Bubble Staff between his hands. "I'm getting good at fighting with this thing... even without magic."

"I know you can, dear, but I'm supposed to bring the criminals in uninjured," Glinda set a hand over the heavy, weighted end of that staff. She winked, "This seems like it could leave some pretty mean bruises."

"Let me escort you out of the house, then?" Garen tried hopefully.

"Well, all right," Glinda smiled faintly, though the expression seemed strained. "Should I guess what you're going to ask, or do you want to say it yourself?"

"Mom..." Garen bit his lip. "I want you to change your vote on the application denial."

"I am afraid I can't do that," Glinda dropped all pretenses of smiling. "It is our tradition... it is your duty, Garen."

"But... I like him," Garen began. "And Dad seems to be okay with children born by cauldron spell."

"Your father, however much we may care for each other... your father doesn't understand the importance of our bloodline in quite the same way," Glinda sighed. "Perhaps you don't, either... perhaps you cannot feel the years of magic within your veins, not until--"

Garen set his jaw stubbornly. "I've felt the absence of it. The emptiness within me where the magic ought to be. I know that our family legacy is important... maybe better than anyone."

"You understand, then, how important it is for our destiny," Glinda shut her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Why do you fight me on this? You have always listened before, when I spoke of the importance of tradition. Tradition is what's best for Oz. You know this."

"Maybe..." Garen's mouth pursed into the moue of a frown. "Mom... do you remember when I wrote to you about the way people are treating Winkies? The way people are treating people brought to Life by Powder?"

"I told you that magic could not fix everything," Glinda shook her head. "And basic safety must come first. They are offended, yes, but alive. That's more important... and magic helps with that."

"But the reason why people think it's okay to do all of that stuff..." Garen's expression deepened. "That's because of the way those characters were written in the original stories. Maybe, sometimes... isn't it okay if traditions change? If it helps people?"

A sharp edge stole its way into Glinda's voice, "Absolutely not! Would you have it change in the favor of the enemies that threaten the peace of Oz?"

"Of course not!" Garen protested, but set himself stubbornly. "But this uneasy peace isn't any kind of peace at all. We have to make progress... progress that starts with things like being unafraid of wicked-witch magic, especially when it does things like help people have children!"

"And let our own magic slip into wickedness?" Glinda scoffed. "I can't believe you would throw away your duty, the strength of your entire lineage for... for that boy!"

"It's not just about that boy, mom," Garen crossed his arms over his chest. "And he has a name. Kaolin Alabaster, the son of the China Princess. It doesn't matter to me that he's from a side story, or that he's a guy... I like him! I like him, and his gap-toothed smile, and the way he calls me family, and even the way he can trip over nothing at all!"

"Then I cannot just sit by and allow this... crush... to grow into something more serious," Glinda narrowed her eyes. "Do you even know what he could be after? Our family vault? Fifteen minutes of fame?"

"My heart," Garen professed, "And he doesn't have go after it. It's his... it has been, since that summer at ECA."

Glinda's expression softened and she sighed, rubbing her headache from her head. "You always have been a rather stubborn boy, haven't you."

"I learned from the best," Garen chuckled, slightly ironic. "The most unrelenting, unstoppable force of goodness in all of Oz."

"That's enough flattery out of you, young man," she patted his cheek. "I know that look in your eye... I suppose I can't stop you, even if I think it's a terrible mistake, but I shall welcome your senses back with open arms once you realize it. Mistakes must be forgiven, after all, once they have been genuinely repented... and I'm sure that this confusion is but temporary."

For the first time, Garen saw those words for what they truly were-- mere platitudes.

He smiled, perhaps a bit more falsely than usual. "I'm sure you would, if this were, indeed, a mistake. Application accepted?"

Glinda sighed, "Application-- reluctantly-- accepted."

--x-x-x-x-x--

When Garen landed in Ever After, he sent first a hext requesting that they meet upon the balcony-- "the best place in the whole school to watch the sunset," Kaolin had explained on his tour, that first day Garen had transferred.

The location seemed fitting, he thought, and slid in to find the boy waiting for him already.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long," Garen began, taking a careful seat beside the Prince of the China Kingdom, the distance between them just-this-side of more-than-friendly. Respectable, he thought.

"It's all right... I was up here anyways," Kaolin offered, leaning towards Garen so slightly that the movement was scarcely perceptible. Subconscious. He lifted a hand and traced a line along the clouds. "Your hot-air balloon came down this way. It was... beautiful."

Garen chuckled a little, "I'm kind of surprised that the amount of glitter on that balloon didn't blind you... er. Your eyes aren't hurt... are they?"

"No... the light seemed to cast a rainbow over everything," Kaolin assured him. "It was so much brighter than anything I'd ever seen back home... China Kingdom home, I mean. Not the rest of Oz."

"I... talked to my mother today," Garen admitted, hesitating for a moment. "And the rest of the Courtship Committee, too, I suppose... about your application, and why it was rejected."

Kaolin stiffened, his back straightening just ever-so-slightly. "I see."

"Do you... want to hear what they said?" Garen bit his lip.

"I..." Kaolin looked down at his hands, swallowing. "I don't think I want to know."

"You don't?" A note of surprise in his voice.

"I... know that it wasn't good," Kaolin replied, kicking his feet against the ground. "I knew it, you know... from the moment I got the rejection e-mail. It's all right... you don't have to let me down so nicely."

"Well," Garen took a deep breath in. "For what it's worth, I thought the essay was great. And in the end, it's my choice, isn't it?"

Kaolin glanced up, his eyes wide in alarm, "But your Committee..."

"Doesn't always know what's best for me," Garen asserted. "I wore my mom down... I'm not going to let her disapproval stop me. Maybe, sometimes, tradition doesn't always have to be followed to the letter."

"What does that mean?" Kaolin whispered, scarcely daring to hope.

"I'm not completely sure," Garen shook his head. He steeled his nerves, "But... I was wondering, maybe-- if you were still interested-- we could get a Hocus Latte sometime? And... see where things go?"

Kaolin smiled, then, that full, slightly-crooked grin that showed the gap in his teeth. He slid his hand gently on top of where Garen's rested, and squeezed.

"I'd love to."