Glinda stood in front of a full-length mirror in her apartment to check out her almost-finished dress. It was the dress she will be wearing in the opening ceremony for the gathering of Ozian leaders in the Emerald Palace.
Although its color was different from what she originally planned, seeing herself in it, she thought it was not so bad after all. It should have been pink but her friend, Pfannee, now a rising star in the fashion industry in Emerald City, insisted to use a different color. She chose sky blue with accents of silver and white because she found it suitable for Glinda when she summons her giant bubble.
"Maybe you can make this a little tighter, Pif," Glinda told Pfannee, pointing to her waist. "We must hide these flabs. I've been gaining pounds recently."
"Ugh. You're not fat, Glinda. If you call yourself fat, what would you call Horrible Morrible?" Pfannee replied. She had a bit of a hard time placing pins to mark the adjustments because she and Glinda were laughing. Once she did, she said, "There. Any more tighter than that will prevent you from breathing."
Later, Pfannee finished the dress by stitching the fabrics in place while Glinda laid some trinkets across her dressing table. It took almost an hour for the two ladies to finally decide on the best set of accessories and hairdo to match with Glinda's dress.
Glinda stepped into her high-heeled silver sandals and stood again in front of the mirror. This time, she wore the full outfit, including some white-gold jewelry with diamond accents. Finally, Pfannee placed a tiara onto Glinda's head.
"There you go," Pfannee said, moving away so Glinda could see her self on the mirror. "Too bad, Shen isn't here to see this. So, what do you think?"
The blonde looked at herself in the mirror from head to toe. She slightly twisted her body so she can to check out her back. Content with her appearance, she twirled, the skirt beautifully flurrying around her.
Pfannee smiled, feeling happy for her friend and proud of her newest artwork. "I'm taking that as a yes," she said. Suddenly, she found herself trapped in a bear hug.
"Oh, Pfannee, it's perfect! Thank you!" Glinda said, pouring all her love into her hug.
"Glinda, careful! The dress!" Pfannee jokingly chastised. They giggled.
"I have to agree. It's perfect. But I think I can add a little something to that," a new female voice said.
Glinda's smiled as she turned her face towards her incoming guests. "Lily! And Geoffrey! How are you?" she asked, greeting her mentor and her mentor's husband. Her eyes widened upon seeing the little baby in Lily's arms. "Oh! Is she…?"
"Our little pride and joy, yes" Lily answered happily. "Say hello to Miss Glinda and Miss Pfannee, baby."
Glinda and Pfannee took a closer look at the baby girl, who greeted them with a cute yawn.
"Aww…" the ladies said in chorus. The parents of the baby chuckled.
Geoffrey coughed. "Honey, you might forget the purpose of our visit here," he said to Lily, winking.
"Oh, right!" Lily handed the baby to her husband and took the box he was holding. Then she looked at Glinda, eye to eye. "Glinda, for months, we have trained together. For just a short time, I have seen much improvement not just in your sorcery skills but also in your maturity. Even without my guidance, you have continued your search for knowledge and practice of skills. Let me just say that you have made this lowly teacher proud."
Touched and teary-eyed, Glinda hugged her teacher. Pfannee came to Glinda's side to rub her friend's back.
"Oh, you crybaby! That was just an introduction and you're already crying," Lily chastised jokingly while wiping Glinda's tears. They all laughed.
"Okay. Going back," Lily continued. "Since you've done well and you're now capable of standing on your own, perhaps it's time we give you this. We were planning to save this for your birthday but that's almost half a year away. I want you to start to get used to this as soon as possible."
Lily laid the box on the floor and opened it to reveal a silver scepter. Its head resembled a snowflake made from unevenly cut pieces of crystal. Upon contact with light, the crystals that studded the scepter reflect it, creating a beautiful display of rainbow colors on the walls of the room.
"It's a special staff that enhances its user's control over the water element. Not to give myself a pat on the back but I think it's one of the best staffs we in Quasicrystals have ever created," Geoffrey said.
"That's right. Fashionable, too," Lily added. Pfannee nodded in agreement. "Here, Glinda. Take it."
Glinda slightly flinched at the weight of the staff. For a second, it felt a thousand times heavier than a typical wand. Not only did she feel the weight of the staff itself. It also bore the weight of the hopes and dreams of her teacher, her friends and the people who placed their trust in her.
"Glinda!" Pfannee came to help but Glinda stopped her.
"No, Pif. I can do this."
Seeing the determination in the young sorcerer's eyes, Lily and Geoffrey smiled.
Holding it with her two hands, Glinda lifted the scepter a little more and adjusted to a stance. She closed her eyes and channeled some of her energy to her staff to test it. Light shone from the crystal in the middle of the staff's snowflake-shaped head.
It did not take too long before Glinda became enclosed in a giant bubble. She was simply too happy that she failed to notice immediately the mess she had created in her room in summoning some wind and water around her.
"Ah, the wand works perfectly fine. I'm so glad to finally see it at work. Just a little practice on your control and you'll be fine," Geoffrey told Glinda. Glinda nodded, silently thanking him for his advice.
"Yep," Lily continued. "On the brighter side, I can see that the intensity of your magic certainly improved, Glinda. You just have to play around with your staff so you can increase your control."
Pfannee just could not stand being out of place. "And the wand suits your dress, girl! Oh, Glinda, you look gorgeiferous!" she added. "I can't wait for people to see you in the gathering in the palace!"
"I know!" Glinda replied. They giggled.
The day Glinda had been anticipating and preparing for finally came. Guests from various parts of Oz poured into the Emerald Palace's grand ballroom. To her relief, she was not the one assigned to welcome them because she had a bigger task to do. In her quarters in the palace, ShenShen and Pfannee helped her dress up for the occasion.
"I can't believe I wasn't invited to witness Glinda's final fitting!" ShenShen complained. "I should have been one of the first people to see her in this dress!"
"Hey, I invited you! But you chose to take your little vacation in Pertha Hills days before the big event?" Pfannee rebutted jokingly. "We've been busy here. We should be the ones complaining, you know."
ShenShen pouted. "Traitor! I saved the news of my engagement so both of you would hear it at the same time."
Pfannee hit ShenShen's arm playfully. "Oh, stop whining and get back to work! The program will start soon."
"Um. Girls. I uh…" Glinda uttered with a small voice, struggling to breathe while her two friends absent-mindedly tightened her corset and pulled her hair back too much.
"Oops. Sorry!" Pfannee and ShenShen simultaneously said.
Moments before the program, Pfannee and ShenShen stared at the mirror, admiring their artwork. Far from how they overly decorate themselves in their younger years, they have learned to choose the select few designs or accessories that will accent one's most appealing attributes. With someone as pretty as Glinda, they did not need to use too much jewelry and make-up. Amidst the sparkly things that decorated her, her overall regal appearance stood out.
"Miss Glinda, the opening ceremony is about to start," a young servant called from the door of Glinda's dressing room.
"Okay!" she cheerfully answered as she stood up from her seat.
She picked up her snowflake scepter and walked towards the door. Before she left, she jumped to her two friends and hugged them like there was no tomorrow.
ShenShen and Pfannee, speechless, looked at each other, searching each other for reasons why Glinda did what she did. Of course, they did not need one. True girl friends willingly return hugs for their girl friends, anyway. Besides, a girl does not simply get used to the heavy task of standing in the midst of the leaders of Oz and representing no less than the Wizard, himself.