(a/n: Please enjoy and review!)
The story: Part three of the AU arc. I might make one or two more before i'm done. Enjoy!
Oz, Finley, China Girl, Theodora and Glinda were gently floating over the vast, green landscape of Quadling country.
A large, translucent bubble carried each across the orange sky.
The wizard, Theodora, Finley and China Girl had left the ruined china town behind them hours ago. Oz pointed the porcelain girl in the direction of the Emerald City and told her to travel there and she'll be taken care of.
But she wanted to accompany the wizard and Theodora.
At first the wizard refused but after a lot of crying and pleading, he allowed the girl to accompany them.
They traveled through the dark forest and eventually came across an eerie cemetery. Theodora and Oz saw a single figure enter the cemetery alone and the wizard deduced that it was Glinda, the supposed wicked witch.
The wizard planned on breaking her wand but Glinda caught them before they had a chance to even steal her wand.
Theodora noticed that the wizard was immediately entranced by Glinda's appearance, much to her chagrin. Glinda revealed to them that Evanora was the real wicked witch.
Oz and Finley were surprised, Theodora wasn't but she feigned shock.
The five of them entered the cemetery together. As they marched past the graves, Glinda and Oz were deep in conversation.
Theodora glared daggers at the good witch of the south and the wizard. She had always envied Glinda. Glinda was much more powerful, more revered and had everything Theodora wanted.
The Wizard, on the other hand, she hated him. He pretty much forgot that Theodora ever existed the moment he laid eyes on Glinda and he was hooked on Glinda's every word.
Theodora had to fight a very powerful urge to burn him.
Glinda gave a brief explanation of her father's death and how she was exiled. She also pleaded for The Wizard and Theodora's help.
The two agreed but suddenly, guards from the Emerald City arrived, along with some flying baboons, and attacked them.
Theodora had forgot about them. The five of them ran. Glinda summoned a fog to cover their escape. They ran blindly till they reached a cliff. Glinda dived off first, followed by China Girl and Finley, leaving Oz and Theodora.
The wizard grabbed Theodora's hand and they jumped off the cliff together. A few seconds after they jumped, the clouds swallowed them up and they found themselves in bubbles.
Once they lost the flying baboons in the clouds, the bubbles began floating southward towards Glinda's domain, Quadling country.
As the bubbles got closer and closer to Glinda's castle, Theodora was worried.
Glinda told them that only the pure of heart could pass through the dome that covered most of land. Glinda, Finley and China Girl passed through easily.
When it was Theodora's turn, she closed her eyes and hoped that she would pass through. To her surprise, Theodora passed through unharmed.
The witch glanced to Oz who seemed a little relieved as well, and then she looked down and saw a large crowd gathered in the village square. She began to feel nervous.
Theodora had threatened to kill every one in Glinda's domain and even though the Quadlings were peaceful, if they remembered any of Theodora's threats, things would get very unpleasant for her.
One by one, the bubbles popped and deposited each of them in the middle of the crowd. The Quadlings gave a warm welcome to Glinda and the Wizard. The children greeted Finley and China Girl. The Quadlings also greeted Theodora warmly and the witch felt a little uncomfortable about that. She felt that the Quadlings were a little too sweet, even before the magic apple.
Theodora spotted Glinda and the Wizard. They stood several feet away. She wanted to join them but she saw Glinda loop her arm around the Wizard's and the two began walking away from her and towards Glinda's castle.
Theodora tried to follow but was swallowed up by the crowd and she couldn't move. She watched as the good witch and the wizard conversing in hush tones.
They climbed to top of the stairs and they turned to face the crowd.
Glinda whispered something to Oz and he smiled a little. The wizard announced, "Good people of Oz, your wizard is here!" the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.
Theodora stood in the crowd, glaring at the two.
Glinda and Oz were smiling and waving at the crowd, looking happy together. A little too happy, thought Theodora.
At the Emerald City, Evanora paced back and forth in her room, wondering where her younger sister went.
When the wizard left, Evanora spent most of the day planning on another attempt to break Glinda's defenses.
She decided to check in on Theodora, to make sure her sister was fine but Evanora found Theodora's room empty. Evanora had the guards search the entire city but they found no trace of her.
After another failed search, Evanora began to worry. What if her sister knew the truth? If she did, where is she?
Suddenly one of her flying baboons returned and reported on Glinda. Apparently Glinda has already turned the Wizard to her side and had retreated to the safety of her domain.
But the baboon told Evanora that there was another woman at the cemetery and from the description, it sounded like Theodora.
Evanora went to her room. Using her crystal ball, Evanora tried to scry Glinda's domain but she couldn't, due to the barrier.
Even though she couldn't see what's going on in the barrier, Evanora could catch glimpses of people if she tried hard enough. Evanora focused a little more and she saw Theodora appear for a split second. In the image she stood in the middle of a crowd, looking angry and a little sad, then the image vanished.
Even though the image was in the crystal for a second, it was all Evanora needed.
It confirmed Evanora's worst fears had been realized. Her sister had somehow learned the truth and had sided with Glinda to over throw her.
Alone, Evanora could handle Glinda but with both Theodora and the Wizard on her side, Glinda's victory was assured.
Evanora felt a sense of panic and her mind began to race for a solution.
After thinking through thousands of different options, Evanora came to one final option. The wicked witch went to her bookshelf and retrieved a large leather bound tome.
She flipped through the pages till she came to the page she wanted.
At the top of the page, in elegant black letters, the title read "Magic Apples".
End
(a/n: what do you think? Sorry if it was short and all but don't worry, there's another one coming up, with a Oscar/Theodora moment in it. Please review!)