Hey everyone, this is ComingAndGoingByBubble! I'm super excited to be co-writing this story with my good friend antiwicked! We both hope that you like this story. There is so much more to come!
Bubble
The sound of heels echoed through the hall of Mockbeggar as Glinda made her way to the foyer to meet with Dorothy. Glinda wrung in her hands in nervousness, the only sign of emotion on her face, and kept the rest of her body calm.
Finally her eyes spotted the silhouette of the little girl from Kansas that she had seen in Center Munch all of those years ago, and Glinda stopped walking abruptly. Flashes of her memories came to mind, of Nessa's shoes gleaming in the sunlight, of Dorothy and her annoying yapping dog Dodo or Toto, of Elphaba furious and Witch-like desperately wanting those shoes. It was almost too much for Glinda to handle all at once. But she took deep breaths and smoothed out her blue dress in an effort to calm herself.
That was interrupted by a shrill, child-like voice.
"Glinda? Is that you?"
Dorothy had now noticed her presence and moved forwards to greet Glinda.
Forcing a smile on her face, Glinda returned her attention to Dorothy and hugged the child.
"Yes it is, dear. It is very nice to see you, but I'm sorry that I say that I am quite confused as to why you are back in Oz again. I sent you home to Kansas nearly four years ago, and your return is quite puzzling."
Two servants now came in and offered chairs to both Glinda and the girl, and they both sat down.
"Well, yes it is quite a story, Miss Glinda-"
"Mrs. Chuffrey," corrected Glinda even though she would have preferred Miss Glinda any day, but she had no idea if Chuffrey or any of his annoyingly loyal advisors were lurking around these corners.
"Well Mrs. Chuffrey," the little girl stammered in nervousness, "I was just out and about with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry when the mud underneath me started sliding and before I could say or do anything it all went black and I ended up back here. Oh I do hope Toto is alright, and Auntie Em and Uncle Henry they all get so cross when I get in trouble!"
The blonde tried hard not to grimace at the whiny tone of Dorothy's voice and she paused before saying anything.
"It seems as if you have been through a great deal of trouble, dear. Why don't you wash up and we will talk later about what to do and how to get you back home."
Glinda got up out of her chair, and turned to leave her mind already on other things when Dorothy called out to her.
"Mrs. Chuffrey The Witch was there!" she blurted out, her eyes wide and terrified. Obviously Dorothy had been hiding this piece of information from everyone until she met someone who she was familiar with, and Glinda was just that person.
Upon hearing this, Glinda paled extremely and tried and failed to keep her composure.
"W-what?" she uttered, her hands clenching in shock at her dress, not caring if it wrinkles.
The girl swallowed and nodded, "She was there helping out these talking animals in escaping the land slide, and the Scarecrow was there with her. But as soon as he saw me, both of them disappeared in a blink of an eye. I thought it was my imagination but then I saw this."
She produced a pink flower clip from the pocket of her dress and held it out to show the blonde witch, whose face and body grew pale and faint.
Glinda remembered this hair clip well, and as soon as her fingers touched it the memory of the night of the Ozdust came back to haunt her.
"Elphie," she whispered so softly that Dorothy heard the syllables but not the words and cocked her head to one side with interest.
"What was that, Mrs. Chuffrey?" she asked.
But before Glinda could give her a convincing lie, Chuffrey entered the room.
Glinda grew quiet and still, but she remained fingering the flower clip gently as she took it from Dorothy and held it her own hand. It gave her something to distract herself from the fact that her husband was in the room.
Cringing slightly as he wrapped one beefy arm around her small, delicate waist way too low in the presence of a small child, she focused on the flower.
"Glinda, what is the meaning of all of this?" he asked.
Drawing herself away she answered vaguely.
"She's back…" she said to herself in an out loud whisper.
Puzzled, Chuffrey furrowed his eyebrows, "Who is?"
"The Wicked Witch of the West, who is traveling with my friend The Scarecrow. I do hope that she did not possess him to follow her! After all, you all told me that she was dead!" Dorothy now looked frightened and scared and Glinda could not help but feel pity for the girl. And she was right, but all of Oz had thought that she was dead.
"We thought so too, but apparently she fooled us all," stated Chuffrey with a bit of an edge to it.
Glinda felt his eyes on her, but she looked down at her feet purposely avoiding him.
"Come on, Glinda let's let the girl wash up and rest and we'll meet her for dinner," said Chuffrey softly. Anyone else would have thought that that was something he said to comfort her, but Glinda knew that it was a command. Usually she would argue with him about his subtle commands but right now Glinda felt numb and powerless at the news and felt compelled not to speak.
Giving the child one last look, and letting Chuffrey take her away Glinda felt detached from her body. Her mind was racing at the new knowledge. She thought back to this morning at the orphanage where her own words had come back to haunt her.
And there the wicked old witch stayed for a good long time.
And did she ever come out?
Not yet…
But now Glinda had an answer to that question.
'Yes, now she's come out, come hell and what may,' Glinda thought to herself as she entered her and Chuffrey's room, ready to tell a whole bunch of convincing lies to make him not suspect a thing.
