A/N: A shout out to James Birdsong. Thanks for your review!

Chapter 14

Elphaba had insisted that Semir get the party he deserved so they moved ahead with his tattoo ceremony, despite the dragon issue not being resolved. The people of the Vinkus were glad to have a distraction. The party and the tattoos were done with three days to spare before they expected the response to the letter.

Glinda had returned to the Emerald City and announced to the entirety of Oz the situation that they were in. The reactions were what was expected. There were those who liked the idea, those that hated the idea, and those that weren't sure how they felt.

The blonde had tried to assure them that things were in place and there should be nothing to worry about but there was no way for her to guarantee it. Some fears were eased when she mentioned Ix but not many of them. Balfour had backed her up and Khalil did as well. He'd taken the Vinkun approach to training and the Gale Force had become the elite fighting force it was always meant to be. Though they were still not as good as the actual Vinkun troops. It would take generations of soldiers to reach that level.

"Is Zara ready?" Balfour asked as they enjoyed dinner together.

"I'm sure Elphie will make sure that she is. Supposedly all dragons must obey a Dragon Lord. Since we have two, that should give us a leg up. Zixi didn't seem worried that Ix doesn't even have one, which has made me wonder what her back up plan is," Glinda admitted, sipping her wine.

"Plus we have Bonescraper," he said.

"Another level of protection it would seem but again that leaves our flank via Ix open," Glinda frowned.

"And you're worried that it could leave us vulnerable," Balfour understood her concern. Zixi was a wild card and so were the dragons.

"I just wish I knew her motivation," she said.

"She's as powerful as Elphaba but she doesn't have the ability to be a Dragon Lord. Last I checked the dragons could just thumb their noses at her," he said.

"True, which could cause feelings of resentment if they only listen to Elphie or Zara," Balfour nodded.

"Exactly. She may lobby for Bonescraper to join her in Ix. He's loyal to Elphie so…" the blonde heaved a sigh.

"You think that she'd try to start a war over this?" He wondered.

"I have no idea. We never did learn why Zixi was so eager to help us with the Nomes, other than the fact that it benefitted her. It's not like we hold a lot of functions with Ix. We may be allies but mostly on paper," Glinda said.

"So do we have someone looking into Zixi?" Balfour was beginning to get concerned.

"Oh Elphie is on that. She and I had this discussion before I left, I'm just stewing. I do apologize Balfy. I just needed to get it off my chest," she admitted. He reached across the small table and took her free hand in his.

"Why have I had to pull stuff out of you then? You've been awfully quiet lately," he said.

"If this goes wrong, it won't just be a small mistake. People could die. I'm not sure that I can handle that. Everything is completely out of my hands," Glinda heaved a sigh.

"That's why I'm here. To help you handle it," Balfour said.

"History will judge us for what happens next," the blonde told him. It was dark, even for Glinda but she wasn't exactly wrong. However, Balfour wondered what had caused her to seemingly lose all of her hope. His thoughts swarmed. Perhaps what she needed was to visit her children. That might be best.

To Be Continued…