Prologue

The sky stretched out as far as her eyes could see. The rolling red hills of Quadling Country reached up into it and the clouds wrapped themselves around the hills like an embrace. Multiple colors were present at this time in the evening when the sun was beginning to set so that her sister the moon could rise again. Pinks, yellows, and blues ran into each other, blending seamlessly as one. Maybe that's why she loved this time of day best; it was a perfection demonstration of living harmoniously with one another. The surface longed to caress the clouds and colors didn't believe in personal boundaries. Every thing was one.

Glinda was alone, something that didn't happen often because of reasons she kept to herself. She constantly surrounded herself with others, laughing and chatting, as if none of them had a care in the world. She ruled a province, but one wouldn't guess that based on how she treated even the lowest ranking soldier in her army. There were no distance between her and the people and she made sure she was accessible to all. Glinda the Good lived up to her name and nearly everyone loved her. Her problems with love did not stem from other people though.

The sun finally was hiding behind a hill towards the west and its rays gave the hill a dimly lit halo. In the corners of the sky, the dark indigo of night was waiting in the wings to come out and steal the show. The moon was readying itself to shine down on Oz. As it got darker, Glinda did not stir from her spot on the balcony off her private chambers. She kept staring off into the distance; uneasy about something she couldn't put her finger on. Though uneasy, Glinda stayed standing, maintaining her regal posture and clutching the stone railing.

The lady's maid, Kat, gently opened the glass door that led to the balcony and walked out, being careful not to startle her mistress. She was a very old woman who was probably close to the end of her days, but still did every single duty that was required of her. She was absolutely devoted to Glinda and had been for many years. Glinda sensed Kat's presence, but did not turn to face her, afraid that Kat would reveal the source of her uneasiness. Kat was horrible at pretending everything was all right though and Glinda knew that she was actually quite pleased about something.

"Lady Glinda," Kat said, giving a small curtsy, despite her mistress avoiding her gaze.

"What is it, Kat?" Glinda said, more coldly than she had meant to. "I mean, is there something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite. I think what I have to say will please you and a lot of other people greatly," Kat explained, moving next to Glinda. She too placed hands on the stone railing and leaned forward to get a closer view of the landscape. "It is always so beautiful up here. So quiet too! Perfect for reflection."

Glinda had been on edge for almost a month. Kat's build up to whatever news she had was unbearable and she just wanted Kat to tell her what was happening. She knew better to put up a fuss though because Kat would take even more time to reveal what she knew.

"It's my favorite spot on the entire estate," Glinda replied softly. "I can experience all of Oz from her. I can see the Gillikin mountains in the north, I can smell bread being baked in Munchkin Country, and I can hear the rustle of the wind blowing across the sandy dunes in Winkie Country."

"That's not all I hear from Winkie Country," Kat added, a small smirk appearing across her face.

Glinda looked over to her and smirked as well. "Whatever you know that I don't surely has you in a jovial mood. I wonder what it could be."

Kat chuckled and turned to walk back into the palace. "Maybe you'd be just as informed if you ever looked in that old book that you enchanted as often as I do. It's wonderful how you learn about things no one else knows."

Glinda raised an eyebrow and followed Kat through the door. "What page is it on?"

"I was organizing your desk when I saw it," Kat explained. She was about to draw a bath for Glinda so she was heading into the bathroom. "My dear, for someone who is so good, you sure are messy. Little pools of ink everywhere and papers completely disheveled like some kind of animal's den. I digress. The book was open, I saw the words scribble across the page and I immediately came to you. It should still be open on the page."

While Kat left the room to draw the bath, Glinda walked over to the Book of Records, which kept an accurate recording of all major events in the world. She waved a hand over its writing so it would only reveal what happened in Oz. Kat was a simple woman who didn't care for other worlds so whatever caught her attention must have happened in Oz. Words and sentences rearranged themselves with a wave of her hand and a single statement appeared on the page. It read:

"The Wicked Witch of the West is dead."

Glinda felt her heart rise, her blood raced, and her eyes filled with hope for the first time in a very long time. She sat up to look out the large window at the sky.

With a hand on her chest, she whispered, "This is Lurline's will…and it is good!"