As soon as night fell, I took Galinda's hand and said, "C'mon. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can hang with my friends—and by that, I mean people none of my fathers would want me to spending my time with—and learning useful things—like how to successfully throw a knife at an opponent." Galinda raised her eyebrows and I said, "Don't worry—you'll be safe with me. I'm a trained professional—a knight of Tortall." Galinda stared at me and said, "Story now," she demanded. I sighed and said, "I'll tell you on the way there." She nodded and I led her to the stables. I swung her up onto Starlight and said, "Courage, really?" My cat leapt onto my shoulder and I began leading my horse quickly away from Shiz.
"Okay, Galinda, here's the story," I began slowly. "Like I told you last night, Frexspar hates me. When I was younger he'd yell at me all the time and eventually it got to the point that I couldn't take it anymore. I ran away from home..." "I knew it," Galinda said eagerly. "Knew what?" I asked. "Well, after you ran away, the governor, um, Frexspar, had all Oz searching for you. When my family was discussing your disappearance, I suggested that you were unhappy. Was I right?" I merely nodded and whispered to myself, "HE does care." Then turning back to Galinda, I said, "Okay, back to the story. Anyway, after I ran away, I reached the northernmost fief or farming village of Tortall, Fief Trebond. Two kids—now my siblings—Thom and Alanna of Trebond found me and brought me to their father—so he would adopt me. When he discovered I couldn't read, he was furious. That was probably one of the worst days of my life—after I learned how to read, you couldn't find me without some sort of book in my hands, except for when I was at Court. I trained and became first a page—nearly got into trouble on my first day, but since it was my birthday Duke Gareth sort of cut me a break. Ralon of Malven was being a jerk and I lost my temper. After four years, I became a squire, Raoul's personal squire. Then, four years, later, I underwent the Ordeal of Knighthood and became a knight. Then I came back to Oz, went to Shiz, met you, loathed you, and then we became friends. End of story." Galinda nodded and I said, "Okay, we're here." "Oh, and just so you know—I'm Ella here. You'll be this other rich merchant's daughter who grew up with me, okay?" Galinda nodded and I added, "We'll call you, Linda." "Why?" she asked. "No one can know that I'm sneaking two nobles into a gathering of thieves, now can they?" I said. Then I added, "Oh, I forgot to mention—you're going to meet my parents—King Roald of Conté and Queen Lianne of Naxen and Conté—as well as my brothers—Thom of Trebond and Jonathon of Conté."
Galinda nodded and when we arrived at the Dancing Dove, I playfully smacked Solom and demanded, "Alright, you old drunk, where's George?" "I'll fetch his Majesty, Ella." he replied. "His Majesty?" Galinda repeated, staring at me. Then I whispered, "I wanna see if you can put the pieces together yourself, Lin." "King of Thieves?" she guessed, and I nodded. Then we visited with George, Lightfingers, Marek, Ercole, and Rispah for a few minutes.
Then I took Galinda to Court. I saw one of the pages and I said, "Tell their Majesties that I've come home." "Yes, princess." I led Galinda inside and I said, "Okay, now you're Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, and I'm Elphaba of Trebond and Conté." She nodded and I added, "Technically, when I'm in Oz, we're of different social classes. No one whose family is listed in the Book of Silver is worthy to be in the company of someone whose family is listed in the Book of Gold." She nodded and asked, "Why?" I sighed and said, "The Thropp line is mentioned in one line in the Book of Silver—'The Thropp line rules Munchkinland, the poorest region of Oz.'—that's it, and an entire chapter and a half is dedicated to your family, Galinda." She nodded again. Then I asked, "What region of Oz is your family from?" "Gilikin," she told me.
Then I said, "Your Majesties, may I present my best friend, Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands of the Gilikin Region of the Land of Oz." Galinda curtsied respectfully and I sighed—I would never be as ladylike as my best friend. After a few hours visiting with my family—Galinda and I returned to Shiz—I left Courage and Starlight in Fief Trebond and we walked quickly back to Shiz, just in case I didn't return from meeting the Wizard.
