Hello All! I know it has been a terribly long time since my last update, but I hope that this chapter makes up for it somewhat! I've been terribly busy, and it took me quite a while to get everything just right. Enjoy and please leave feedback!
Chapter 12: Destiny's Arrival
The days that had passed since her father's death had been some of the hardest in all her reckoning. Her father, the great mastermind, the provider, her staunch supporter, was dead. The doctors were relatively conclusive on the cause of death; they had said that it was a heart attack brought on by undue stress. She was torn inside, wondering if the argument they had shared had been the undue stress that had pushed him over the edge.
The morning of the funeral brought with it a foggy, rainy day. Days like this rarely plagued the Upper Uplands, and yet here it was. Glinda awoke with a start; she put on a dressing gown and walked down the hallway to her father's study, within moments she found herself in the one place where the solidarity of her father still existed. Everything was just as he had left it, books open on the desk, his smoking jacket lying over the armrest of the old chair before the empty fireplace.
Glinda walked around her father's desk and sat down in the chair. She curled up in it and closed her eyes imagining all of the times that she had sat on her father's lap as he worked, but those times had long since been over. When she opened her eyes once again all of the warmth that she had imagined disappeared. Her eyes fell on the things that her father had been working on the day of their argument. She shifted some papers until she found the official looking paper from the Wizard; she immediately began to read the foolish thing.
Lord Xander Upland:
I have received intelligence that the outlaw under the alias of the Wicked Witch has recently made contact with you. I am sending a liaison to your estate in the hopes that you will cooperate with the investigation into the whereabouts of the said witch. If you have any inquiry or further information into the matter please contact my secretaries post haste.
Signed,
The Great and Terrible Wizard of OZ
As transcribed by Press Secretary Madame Morrible
Glinda dropped the letter, the fact that Elphaba had been in contact with her father was curious enough, but the fact that the Wizard and Madame Morrible had known about it was even stranger. She wondered if her father had cooperated with the investigation, and if maybe that is why he had been so skeptical as to her appointment. She looked through the drawers on the desk, and finding nothing decided to do as she always did and ignore the entire affair until she found her way back to the Emerald City.
The funeral was a subdued affair, as most funerals are. Glinda was glad that Fiyero was there to lend her a shoulder to cry on. After her father's death the rest of Glinda's stay rushed past in a flurry of pomp and circumstance. On the evening before her departure, her mother had several social dignitaries come to the family estate for a small get together. Glinda enjoyed the idle chatter among Gillikin's like-minded nobles, which would be quite different than the political debates she was sure to witness while working so closely with the Wizard.
As she entered the carriage with Fiyero the next day, her teary eyed mother hugged her once more and gave Glinda her blessing, along with a beautiful ring blessing.
"This has been in the Arduenna clan for generations, since our departure from the Emerald City. I want you to have it now that you are returning there. It should bring you some luck."
Glinda smiled through her tears and hugged her mother more tightly than she could ever recall.
The trip back to Shiz, where she would depart from Fiyero and meet up with Madame Morrible, was quite uneventful. Fiyero doted on her most of the journey, as he had for the past few weeks in the Pertha Hills. Glinda of course took compliments whenever they came her way, and so she didn't mind him constantly talking about her.
"Fiyero, you are nearing your completion at Shiz, being that you are a few years older than me. What are you planning on doing with that time?"
"Well Glinda, I had planned on returning to the Vinkus for a time and then do my civic duty by representing my father's kingdom in the Emerald City during the winter months."
"So how long exactly will it be before you are able to reside in the Emerald City?"
"Well I would imagine it would several months, I have to get back in touch with my people and such."
Glinda was slightly disappointed in his answer, though she would never show it.
"How utterly too divine, I should be settled in by then. But what if the Wizard were to contact you with an appointment?"
He looked at her curiously, and laughed.
"That would be fantastic, it allow me to be with you the entire time."
They arrived back at Shiz to a flurry of bustle, the rest of campus was in the midst of completing finals, and it was quite the show. The day after she arrived back, Glinda decided that it would pertinent to seek out the ex-Headmistress. She arrived at her office at the socially acceptable time and gave a little knock. Her silly little tic-tok answered the door almost immediately; Morrible was seated near the fire with a cup of tea.
"Ah dearie, I had heard that you had returned to this humble little site of learning. How was your explorationing of our fair OZ? Did you manage to practice any of your charm-work?"
"Well my travels were quite nice, very fulfilling, and yes as a matter of fact I did get the chance to work on my charms, although the defensive spell was a little botched. Umm… also, my father passed away while I was home for a few weeks."
Madame Morrible did not seem surprised, but she made a huge show of her sadness.
"How terrible, to lose one's father at such delicate age, and when everything seemed to be falling into place for you. Ah well, death often comes to be known as life's greatest enemy, but we must look past that and come to grips with that fact that death simply gives life its value."
Glinda was unsure if that was meant to comfort her, but she seated herself on the chair next to Madame Morrible.
"So, you say that your defensive spell went awry, tell me how so."
Glinda spent the greater part of three and a half hours working with Morrible on various spells. By the time she had finished she was almost too exhausted to pout.
As she walked back to her room, she noticed all of her old friends seated around a table at the club that they often shared meals; they did not seem to notice her as she snuck across the courtyard, that is, until she heard the piercing shriek of a young Munchkin boy.
"Miss GLINDA!"
She turned to see Boq rushing toward her, she plastered the most cheery smile that she could muster under the circumstances.
"Master Boq, what a pleasant surprise."
"I should say the same thing, disappearing on everyone, we thought that maybe you had gone off and left us like Miss Elphaba."
"Well how terribly foolish you must feel now, no I simply went on a short sabbatical taking a few weeks longer than Spring Reprieve usually allows, but since I am already finished with my coursework, there seemed to be no use in sticking around."
"Well that is lovely. I guess Fiyero went with you?"
"Oh, yes, of course, I forgot to mention that. He went with me as my chaperone, since I lacked one on this particular venture."
Glinda then heard the annoying shrill voice of Pfannee, once again smiling she turned to face the girl.
"Glinda, Glinda, where have you been, we have been simply worried to death when you didn't appear after the reprieve."
Pfannee was joined by the others, and then some, it seemed that Glinda's social inner-circle had grown considerably during her absence. They obviously had tagged along so that they could get the scoop on Glinda's travels, and even in the future be able to count themselves as Glinda's acquaintance, and be able to cash in on a favor. She smiled.
"Well unfortunately there simply isn't anything to it. I go special permission to go abroad and I visited home, it was all simply too provincial for words."
The girls all seemed to be rather disappointed. Glinda, for all her social graces, did hate to disappoint, even the most horrendable of girls.
"But Fiyero did travel along with me. We went to several social gatherings and even met with the Frottica's matchmaker."
There was an audible gasp, as all of the girls present were of or had heard of Gillikin social etiquettes enough to know the gravity of the matchmaker's decision.
"Glinda, stop holding us in such suspense. What did she say?"
Glinda smiled knowingly, she of course wanted to at least make the most of this uncomfortable situation.
"Well, she was very stern with me; she talked of how it takes months and months of sessions before she ever makes an approval. She wanted to be sure that Fiyero and I were a perfect match."
"But how could she get that from one meeting? That is so unorthodox, she must have said no."
Glinda laughed, these girls were so predictable.
"Actually, she approved us on the spot. She said that we were the most passionate couple she had ever encountered, and that she couldn't possibly say no to what she saw as a match made in heaven."
The girls stood there with their mouths hanging open, standing there also, alone and forgotten was poor Boq, a twinge of regret graced Glinda's heart, but only for a moment as a feeling of utter triumph raged through her.
"Glinda, you are simply too good. Even a matchmaker can't say no to you. What will you do next? Sit in for the Wizard?"
Glinda took that thought with her as she excused herself from the festivities. She made her way quietly back to her room.
The next evening Glinda made her way back to Morrible's study, in hopes that she would announce their departure for the Emerald City. As much as she had anticipated and loved her time at Shiz, the grandeur of her future loomed ever closer. She could barely contain her excitement.
She found Morrible much the same way as she had left her, sitting before the fire. She beckoned Glinda forward, and even seemed to have read her mind, as peculiar as that sounded.
"Dearie, please take a seat, it is time to discuss your imminent departure from these hallowed halls of learning, and your arrival at your future."
Glinda smiled as she sat down.
"That would be lovely."
"There was a small accident involving some of the students and the flying machine that the Wizard provided for your transportation."
"What do you mean, an accident?"
"Some of the boys thought that it would be fun to take the thing around on a joy-ride, and well you can imagine boys and their landings. The machine is completely destroyed, unfortunately, and there simply isn't enough time for another one."
Glinda wondered what the implications of such a disaster would be. Could her arrival to the city be postponed? She looked at Madame Morrible, who seemed to be enjoying Glinda's discomfort, but the feeling passed relatively quickly.
"We need to discuss your arrival. The other Secretaries and I have been working tirelessly to publicize your arrival in the city. It will be one of the biggest celebrations that OZ has seen since the arrival of the Wizard himself. They are expecting a savior to arrive and deliver them from the evils of the times. You should see the town center, the fools have placed totems in the likeness of you all around, they think of you as some sort of goddess."
Glinda looked at the floor, were all of these lies really necessary?
"And what if I can't deliver this salvation that everybody is expecting."
Glinda was surprised when Madame Morrible laughed in an almost hysterical fashion.
"I hardly expect you to deliver. Not in the literal sense, anyway. But in they eyes of every citizen in this great country, you will deliver."
Glinda was dumbstruck, then what in OZ was she doing, all of this training, was she not to take up what Elphaba had cast aside, to assist the Wizard?
"Oh, dearie, I hope I didn't offend you? That was not my intentions."
She gave a stifled laugh, meaning that she had fully intended it.
"What I mean is, you will be the most prominent and visible face in OZ. You will be the source of light for many, a source of incorruptible goodness. You will take the goodness that is done and spread it. You will be like an angel bearing all of the good news. And you will deliver these poor foolish simpletons out of this dark time."
Glinda smiled, as she often did in uncomfortable situations such as these. She took a moment to process the information. She was to be some sort of public figure who would venture around OZ giving out the good tidings of the Emerald City. That didn't sound so bad, a little less complicated than trying to magic everything right.
"So, Madame, what is it we need to talk about. Surely you and the other Secretaries have all of the details sorted out. And as for the flying machine, I'm sure that there is some other option."
"Yes, as I said before, we have been working tirelessly to make everything perfect. Everything, except your arrival."
"Well if not by some sort of flying contraption, surely a carriage would do."
But Glinda knew what Madame Morrible was thinking, a carriage would be too common for the savior of the Emerald City.
"We were thinking of something a little more glamorous. Something a little more prominent and visible."
"Well what did you have in mind?"
Madame Morrible's non-existent eyebrows rose.
"Well that's something for you to figure out now isn't it? I cannot simply dictate policy to you, you are a free and independent 'savior'. Now as they say in the kitchen, 'chop-chop'"
Glinda took that as a dismissal, and she walked from her tutor's apartment quite disparaged. How in OZ was she going to come up with an extravagant arrival when she hadn't even mastered transportation spells? She was sure that her wand would be able to aid her. She reached her room much quicker than the night before.
The next morning Glinda woke with the morning sun streaming in through the drapes, which she had clearly forgotten to draw. She sat up and several books fell to the floor, she sighed, if only her teachers at finishing school could see her now, studying so late into the night that she had fallen asleep.
Glinda had researched all means of transportation magically. There were numerous ways, but most were not nearly as dramatic as the occasion called for. So she had sat up writing spells of her own, with very limited success. Her bubbles had of course complicated matters. When she had tried to summon up a gale force wind, she managed to overload her room with thousands of bubbles traveling at gale force wind speed; it was not as pleasant as it sounded. Glinda had then begun to cobble different spells together. This had been a little more success.
Glinda walked down the stairs to the male dormitories and knocked on one door in particular. Boq answered in a flurry.
"Miss Glinda? Do you know what time it is?"
"Yes, and I realize that it is a Saturday, and you would much rather sleep in than spend the entirety of your day with me helping me on a little matter, and I completely understand, but I had no one else to ask."
His jaw could have hit the floor, to Glinda's delight.
"I'll be ready in five minutes."
Glinda stood patiently and waited. Her final product, the mode of transportation that she would be using to come and go by, was a huge magnificent travel bubble. She just needed to test it out, but she needed a spotter just in case she fell, or at least someone to inform Madame Morrible that she had foolishly tried to fly in a bubble and had plummeted to her doom.
Out in the empty courtyard, Boq reamed her with questions.
"So what spells did you use?"
"I used a complicated defensive spell which only ever encompassed me in a giant bubble, then a levitating charm, and then a spell for swiftness. But I have yet to test it fully, so you may witness my first flight, or my death. And I do hope that you manage to arrange my crumpled body in a dignified manner before going and telling someone if I am dead."
Boq laughed, and so did Glinda, it did feel good to laugh even though it was quite beneath her to joke about something as common as death.
"What happened to you flying machine? Wasn't that your mode of transportation to the Emerald City?"
"Well, according to Madame Morrible, there was an accident involving some foolish boys."
Boq looked at her in a sort of bewildered fashion.
"When did she say that occurred?"
"Well she didn't. She simply stated that it happened sometime during my absence."
Glinda continued to flip through the spells that she had written down, but Boq still seemed confused.
"Master Boq, whatever is the matter?"
"Well it's just interesting, I saw Madame Morrible and the Headmaster wheeling the contraption into an unused classroom last night just after dinner, and it seemed to be intact."
It didn't make sense to Glinda, why in OZ would Madame Morrible lie about something so silly.
"I'm sure that you are simply mistaken Boq."
In a moment's time she was encompassed by a bubble, Boq, as per her instructions, prodded it with a stick, but it didn't pop, which to Glinda, was an indication to continue. She performed the levitation charm, which lifted the bubble several feet off of the ground, with a simple movement of her wand she could control the movements of the bubble, then with her final piece she performed the swift spell. Boq got smaller and smaller and she climbed higher. She found that there was even good climate control in the bubble, because she felt neither hot nor cold, and there was even a soft breeze. She landed with little trouble and the bubble dissipated in a matter of moments.
"Miss Glinda that was brilliant! I'm so glad that you invited me to join you! Who would have thought that something so thin could carry anyone?"
Glinda smiled at his compliments, and as nice of a moment as it was to share it with him, she wished more than anything that Elphaba could have been there to see it. Elphie wouldn't have believed that the empty headed blonde from the Pertha Hills could have developed a bubble in which someone could travel.
A letter from Madame Morrible came the very next day stating that she had taken leave of the school and had already made her way to the Emerald City; the day of her expected arrival was to be early the following week. Glinda began to make all of the arrangements, she said goodbye first to all of her general acquaintances, then to her closer connections, and finally to her friends.
Last she said goodbye to Boq and Nessarose. She found them seated outside of the chapel, Boq seemed rather uncomfortable sitting there watching as Nessa prayed. Glinda stood by waiting patiently as the girl finished up.
"Glinda, what a pleasant surprise. I'm assuming that you are here to say goodbye to Boq and I?"
"Why Miss Nessarose, you would be correct. I'm leaving this evening."
Boq stood and took Glinda's hand kissing it gently. Nessa looked on disapprovingly, but did not say anything. Nessarose stood as well, she was still a little balanced, but it did seem that the shoes were working beautifully.
"Thank you for giving me the gift to stand. I won't forget it. I do hope that you will be able to visit me in Munchkinland, even if it is on official business. Thank you for being like a sister to me."
With a rare smile, Nessarose hugged Glinda. Glinda smiled, but felt a little guilty, if only she could know the truth about her sister.
After the preparations had been made, all of Glinda's personal effects had been sent in a carriage that would arrive sometime before she did. Glinda would be taking a carriage to the outer metropolitan area of the Emerald City, then summon up a bubble and flying in for the celebration.
The carriage ride passed by in a blur, and she greatly anticipated what to expect upon her arrival. As the courtier handed her off to the awaiting Secretary of the Wizard she felt a rush of excitement.
"Lady Glinda, I'm honored to meet you, we have heard so much about you. Madame Morrible informed us that you would be providing your own transportation from this point. The Wizard asked me to give you this."
He stepped aside revealing a gorgeous one shouldered dress that with cascading shimmery green fabric beneath emerald crinoline that fell just a little past her knee. She put the dress on, and a hairdresser came in and did up her hair, masses and masses of curls piled high atop her head, a diamond encrusted headpiece was placed to the side. She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror, she looked like royalty. The Secretary handed her the wand, and she summoned up a magnificent bubble. She had even added a spell to change to outer color of the bubble so that it shifted colors around the visible spectrum every few seconds, and the bubble produced thousands of smaller bubbles which flew around her. The inner part of the Emerald City came into sight; it was just as beautiful as the last time, only now she was descending in on it. She saw the Wizard's Palace come into plain sight, and she began her descent on the crowd below.
The assembled was huge, the largest gathering of people she had ever seen in her life. She saw a stage and assumed that it was there that she was expected to arrive. She plastered on her best smile and began to wave as she descended. The crowd began to notice her and there were many cries.
"Look, it's Glinda!"
She landed, and the bubble disappeared. Madame Morrible walked up onto the stage, as Glinda continued to smile and wave. Madame Morrible handed Glinda a sheet of paper, and when Glinda looked at it she saw that it was a speech, a podium was pushed up and a microphone. The entire crowd got silent. Glinda walked over to the podium, holding her wand for comfort, thinking back to her lessons at Shiz about speech giving, and making the subject matter interesting, as well as exuding confidence and exuberance. She began to read the speech.
"Fellow Ozians, it is my greatest delight to finally arrive in this City of Emeralds after many months abroad. As many are aware, I have come here in the hopes of delivering this country, which I have grown to love, out of the dark and difficult times that we have become so familiar with."
As she read the next part, she nearly stopped the speech entirely, but the people were expecting her to raise their spirits. Clearly this was part of Madame Morrible's plan; to get Glinda in the spot-light and put her under pressure to publicly denounce Elphaba, thus sealing her fate. So she decided to change it slightly, so as to not outrightly speak out against Elphaba.
"We must transcend the adversity of the times, created by ones who relish chaos; it is mine and our Glorious Wizard's hope that you will join under us to rid OZ of such wickedness. For no one mourns the wicked."
With that she held her hands out in an official looking way. There was silence, and for a moment Glinda thought that the people didn't like what she had said, but then suddenly there was a great outcry and the crowd exploded with cheers.
At that Madame Morrible walked behind her and began to escort her off the stage.
"Decided to go off script? How good of you."
Morrible smiled and waved as they were met by several guards who then escorted Glinda to the Palace and then the throne room of the Wizard. Glinda stood in the center of the room with Madame Morrible as the Wizard appeared.
"Glinda, how wonderful of you to make it. That was quite a speech I heard, and judging by the crowd's reaction, everyone is already in love with you."
He clasped her hand warmly and Glinda couldn't help but smile.
"So, Madame, has everything turned out well?"
"Oh yes your Ozness, the formal ball will be starting shortly to celebrate Glinda's arrival. And then there is the parade, and the brunch tomorrow."
"And the guests?"
"All staunch supporters"
"Wonderful, well if you need anything Glinda, you know where to find me. But I expect you will be quite busy."
Glinda looked at the old man for a moment; she smiled as he did a little bow. He seemed to be such a peculiarly jovial man, and yet there was something not quite right, but she curtsied and was whisked off by Madame Morrible a moment later.
