"Wait, you're here and you don't know why you're here and it's three in the morning and you know where I li- how do you know where I live? Your Ozness, I mean no disrespectation, but what the hell are you doing here?!" Glinda cried.

It was three in the morning, manners be damned, and Elphaba understood that. Neither of them was perfectly coherent at the moment. "I understand your confusion –"

"Confusion, incomprehension, possible delusion," Glinda rattled off, pulling her robe tighter around herself. "I'm sorry." She took a moment to compose herself and remember who she was speaking to. She needed to calm down. But there was nothing that could bring calmness to this moment. "I… I need something to drink." She considered alcohol, but figured it was too early. It was five o'clock somewhere, but not here. Tea would have to suffice. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," Elphaba shook her head.

Glinda made a noise that sounded like a mix between a grunt, moan, and yell, before going to the kitchen to start the tea. Elphaba awkwardly sat down on the couch, her hands pressed tightly together in her lap.

"But something just happened to me that I needed to tell you about."

Glinda had a feeling this would be above her paygrade.

She wrung her hands. "As… as a friend."

That brought it back into her range. Did she just say 'friend'? "Friend?" she repeated over the whistling kettle.

"Yes. Please. I really need your help. You're the only person I could think to turn to."

She made a mental note to unpack their 'friendship' later. "Just one question: whatever this was couldn't have been solved with a phone call?"

"No. I didn't want to risk anyone listening in."

"Fair enough." When she returned, Elphaba had taken off her winter gear, neatly folding them and placing them next to her on the couch. She added her fixings before sitting next to the queen. "What happened?"

"I had a bad dream."

"Two things: one, I don't believe you're sitting on my couch because of a bad dream. And two, I meant your skin. Why are you red?"

"Green and red are Lurlinemas colors, are they not? I'm getting into the festive spirit."

Glinda didn't smile. Elphaba bit her lip. She wasn't talking about her old wounds from the garden, but how her skin looked newly aggravated. She never told her about her water allergy. Fiyero was the only person who knew.

"I awoke in a cold-sweat and… I'm allergic to water."

She did a double-take. That wasn't what she was expecting to hear. "… Huh? Allergic to water? How can someone be –"

"I'll tell you about it later. But right now, I want to focus on my nightmare. It felt so real, and was about… the coup."

Elphaba was walking through the garden. She wasn't wearing shoes, enjoying the feeling of the soft, dewy grass in between her toes. A peaceful breeze gently danced around her. It had been a while since she was allowed this much serenity, even in her dreams. She came across the duck pond, now filled with happy ducklings. She smiled as she watched the ducklings follow their mother in a straight line, quacking in harmony. She smiled, reaching into her pocket, pulling out a small piece of bread and breaking it into small chunks before gently tossing it into the water.

The ducklings nipped at the chunks before climbing out of the water, quaking at her for more. She reached into her pockets, but didn't have any more bread. She sadly shook her head at them, turning her pockets inside out, revealing them to be breadless. Her apologetic expression slowly melting into fear as the ducks' eyes turned red and their adorable quacks turned into angry shouts. They jumped to attack her, but she ran, the outdoor scene slowly melting into the throne room.

She looked out the window. Even though the shouts sounded like they were right outside, the silhouette of the mob was seemingly miles away. She blinked and, apparently, her depth perception must have been distorted, because now they were right outside. She stared down the sea of soldiers, unable to make out any faces, nor slow their arrival. A loud bang rang through her head and she looked up, seeing the ceiling and walls begin to crumble. She tried to run, but her feet were stuck in place.

The wind howled with a vengeance - a vengeance she had no idea what it was meant to avenge - making her hair dance wildly behind her. The air began to smell, soot and smoke filling her nose. There wasn't a fire, at least, not one that she saw. It thickened, making it harder for her to breathe. It was so strong, she could almost taste it. There was no physical obstacle to her plight, which made it even more daunting. She felt like she was drowning.

She couldn't make out what anyone was saying, it was all indistinct chanting, until someone clearly said, "Kill the Queen!" directly in her ear. She turned and came face-to-face with a man who didn't have a face. She wanted to scream and run away, but was silenced. He tripped her, making her slide across the floor. She was frozen by an invisible force before she could scamper away. She could hear the walls cracking and desperately needed to get out.

"Help!" she called, glad that she was finally allowed to make some type of noise.

"No one is coming to help you. Everyone you've trusted is now gone. They've left you. You have no one. You're all alone. You're helpless. You're limited," a daunting voice whispered menacingly.

She turned just as the faceless man pointed a gun at her and fired, fading the dream to black and throwing her back into reality.

Glinda's jaw was practically on the floor by the time the queen finished. She had studied magic dreams in college, but never experienced one to this magnitude. She gently placed her hand on Elphaba's shoulder, startled as she jolted away, as if just waking up from the nightmare. "Okay…" was all she could bring herself to say.

"I knew it was just a dream, but it was so vivid, it felt like reality. And there's more." She told her about the portrait and the mirror, and Glinda began to wonder if she was also trapped in a weird dream.

"… Okay…"

"Okay?" Elphaba repeated. "That's all you have to say?"

"I don't know what else to say. I'm a secretary, not your Magic Grand Vizier." She ran a hand through her messy curls. "I… the fact this is happening three days before the eclipse… or, well, two days now, isn't a coincidence. I don't have much of an explanation for the portrait or the mirror. Other than it's obviously the work of very powerful magic. Thought, with you, I'm not surprised."

"Does this mean it's all true?"

"It means that your subconscious is trying to work through it. Magic dreams aren't that different from regular dreams, but the magic can have different influences that lead to different outcomes."

"What?"

"It's complicated. I wish I studied magic dreams a little harder in that sorcery seminar. The point is that even if not everything about this is accurate, some part of it is. Your emotions – fear, in this case – is mixing with the prophesying magic to try and warn you about what's going to happen."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"I do. One tick-tock." She hurried over to her desk and grabbed a folded piece of yellow, lined paper. She handed it to Elphaba, who, this time, actually read it.

"The Resistance?"

"A group mostly made up of Animals and some humans who are rioting and protesting against the Animal Banns."

"But those were implemented by my father. I had nothing to do with that."

"Well, you're not exactly doing anything to solve the problem by reversing them."

"When he first rose to power, there was discord and discontent. The Banns were set in place because the Animals were becoming extremists and needed to be kept under control. It's simple crime and punishment."

"Under control? In cages?" Glinda challenged.

Something flashed across Elphaba's face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "I was told that cages were only used in the most extremist of circumstances."

Did she hear herself? She sounded like she didn't care. Could she not see how morally unjust this was? She was going to do her the biggest favor in the world by not saying what she's thinking. Glinda didn't consider herself an activist; in fact, she still considered herself a silly, young girl, but she could clearly see the difference between right and who-the-hell-thinks-this-is-okay?

"Miss Upland?"

"Who told you that?"

"Avaric. He was also my father's private secretary. I inherited him, amongst… other things." She sighed. "Before, I had told myself that nothing is going to happen. Now –"

"'Nothing is going to happen' is usually said right before something happens."

"I understand that now. So what can we do about this?"

Glinda bit her lip. "I… don't know. I didn't plan on personally taking action. I just wanted to let you know, and then you tell people to take action."

"I'm telling you to take action. You don't want to see this through to the end?"

Oh, boy, Glinda thought. "I'm not an activist. I don't know what to do."

"Find out when The Resistance meets. You didn't think I would let you off the hook with giving me only half-baked information, did you?"

"Their next meeting is in two days."

She nodded in understanding. "Okay. Now find out where."

"Wait… now?"

"We only have two days."

"But I can't – you have a secret police force."

She snorted. "Apparently, I can't trust them. They haven't reported anything to me. I have to hear all about this from a secretary. Please, Miss Upland. It seems that, for now, you're one of two people I can fully believe and trust."

Something about her tone told her that the other person wasn't Avaric. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

Elphaba gave her a relieved smile. "Thank you."

"I have one more question: How did you get here?"

"I walked."

"You what?"

"Walked. It's easy to sneak out of the palace once you've memorized the guards' rotations."

The fact that the queen had walked to her apartment apparently wasn't the craziest thing about this whole situation, so she let it slide. She was the one who would have to walk back to the palace. She simply nodded and took a sip of tea, which was now cold. "And about this water allergy..."

She told her the same thing she told Fiyero. The blonde hid her surprise well, not even raising an eyebrow. She didn't know why she expected a bigger reaction from her. Maybe her brain wasn't processing it at the moment.

"Thank you again, Miss Upland. I really appreciate this. And… you and Miss Ashti'mai no longer have to worry about the guards."

She smiled. That made having to wake up this early somewhat worth it. "Thank you."

Elphaba stood. "I'll let you go back to sleep now."

"There's no way I'm going back to sleep after all this. You're going to walk back to the palace alone?"

"I walked here alone."

"You can stay for a bit longer."

"I don't want to impose."

Glinda's eyes said 'Really?', but her lips twitched. "It's no problem. Plus, the tea was caffeinated. I'm good for at least the next five hours."

The queen slowly sat back down. "Very well. What are we supposed to do until then?"

"You can tell me all about your dinner with Fiyero."

"You know about that?"

"I helped him pick out which suit to wear. The poor thing was a nervous wreck beforehand. He had no idea what you wanted. I had to convince him that you wouldn't have him dress up just to fire him."

"Oh." She launched into a recount, tentative at first, but slowly opened up with more details, including explaining her water allergy.

"You like him," Glinda giggled at the end of the story.

Elphaba blinked. "He was very nice company," she stated matter-of-factly.

It took Glinda a moment to realize that she wasn't being purposefully thick. "I mean, you like him. You have a crush, unless it's already developed into something more."

Elphaba's face colored. Glinda squealed, then covered her mouth, not wanting to wake up the rest of the building. "Aww! That's so romantic. So, you'll go on more dates and –"

"I really should go now," Elphaba said, standing once again. She checked the time; four-thirty-seven. "It'll be easier for me to walk back when it's dark."

Glinda knew Elphaba was getting embarrassed, though she didn't understand why. "Very well," she agreed. "Be careful. The streets aren't the safest when the only light is from the streetlights."

"I'll be alright," Elphaba said, putting on her coat, hat, and gloves. "Thank you again."

The blonde curtsied. "You're welcome, Your Ozness."

"Elphaba," she corrected. "We're friends, Glinda. It's the least I can do after this early, unannounced audience."

So now she's 'Glinda', and not 'Miss Upland'. She supposed that made it official. But the way she phrased it sounded like she was only making her a friend because she showed up at her door in the middle of the night. But if that didn't make a friendship, she didn't know what did.

"Also, you don't have to worry about your hospital bill."

"I didn't receive a hospital bill."

"I know."

It took a moment for that to sink in. "Oh. Thank you." It would have sounded more sincere if she hadn't yawned in the middle of expressing her gratitution. She walked Elphaba to the door and watched as she walked down the hall, waving one last time before she disappeared around the corner. She closed the door as quietly as possible and sank to the floor with a loud sigh. None of this was in the original job description. If this was some sort of crazy dream, it would be proof that it probably wasn't a good idea to eat all that sugar before bed. If not, she could practically hear the other half of that chocolate cake calling her name. Despite the caffeine from the tea still in her system, she fell asleep right there on the floor.

Elphaba tiredly stared at her calendar. She had completely forgotten that the president of the Vinkus was coming for a private audience today. Had she known, she would have forced herself to get the proper amount of rest.

She decided to meet him in the foyer. Standing was the only thing that was going to keep her from passing out. She had no idea why she was so nervous about this meeting. Yes, she had corresponded with the Vinkun leader, and his people had been in contact with her people, but they had never had a private in-person meeting. The only time he had come was during a big banquet the previous year, and he had been seated at the opposite end of the long table.

She turned when she heard two voices coming down the hall, identifying them before she saw their faces.

"No, Fiyero. You can't call the Vinkun president a buck-toothed walrus."

Fiyero grumbled under his breath. "I won't call him that… out loud."

"That's good enough for me."

The two seemed surprised to see Elphaba waiting there.

"I wanted to use my break to walk with Fiyero," Glinda clarified, answering a question Elphaba asked only with her eyes. "I finished my morning notes early."

Fiyero made a face. "Even though you're supposed to be taking it easy."

"I'm sitting down. It's not like I'm running a marathon."

"You shouldn't even be here."

"I have to work to earn money, Fiyero."

Elphaba loudly cleared her throat and the two stopped their little squabble.

"Everyone thought it would be funny if I was commanded to escort the Vinkun president to the throne room," Fiyero explained. "I was, and they're not funny."

Elphaba gave him a sympathetic smile. "If you don't feel comfortable, I can ask Quirk, the footman, to walk with us instead."

"Would he even recognize you?" Glinda asked, glancing at Fiyero. "And even if he did, it's not like he can do anything about it. You work for the Queen of Oz now."

Fiyero scoffed. "Seeing his face would probably make me want to –"

"Quirk!" Elphaba called.

"No, it's fine," he amended. "I've never actually met the guy. Maybe I want to see how the country chose to downgrade."

The footman appeared and bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Ozness?"

Elphaba gave Fiyero a look, silently saying 'Now's your last chance to back out.'. Fiyero shook his head. "Never mind, Quirk. Sorry."

Quirk bowed and went back to his tasks.

The sound of a car pulling up alerted them to the upcoming presence of the leader. "I should head back," Glinda said, giving the Vinkun's shoulder a gentle pat. "Behave."

Fiyero nodded like a good, little boy. "I promise to be on my best behavior and not call him a fat mole-rat –"

"Fiyero!"

"To his ugly face. Best behavior starts right now."

Glinda rolled her eyes, curtsied to Elphaba, and hurried away. Once she left, Elphaba quickly grabbed Fiyero's hand, a gesture that surprised him more than her.

"It's okay," she whispered.

"Thank you," Fiyero whispered back, gently dropping her hand as the doors opened.

"The President of the Vinkus, Lubiyn DuViper," the butler announced as the doors opened.

"Oh. He's actually pretty good looking," Fiyero muttered in disappointment as the president entered and bowed deeply before Elphaba.

"Your Ozness," the president said, still bowed. His accent was so thick, it sounded fake, and Fiyero quietly gagged.

She nudged him in the stomach to be quiet. "President DuViper," she nodded, wondering why he was still parallel with the floor. "Welcome back to the Emerald City."

"I'm delighted to be back," the president said, finally righting himself and noticing Fiyero.

Please stop looking at me, Fiyero inwardly begged when the president's eyes refused to leave his face. He narrowed his eyes, judgmentally sizing him up, before forcing his face back to neutral before the queen noticed.

Elphaba, of course, noticed and attempted to draw attention away from the awkward situation. "Please follow me to the throne room. We have much to discuss."

The president nodded, his gaze still on Fiyero as he followed Elphaba. He turned around just in time to avoid walking into the wall. Fiyero secretly enjoyed making the president feel uncomfortable. It was the least he could do after making him an orphan.

"Thank you, Corporal," Elphaba nodded to Fiyero once they reached the throne room. "We'll be fine from here."

"Your Ozness," Fiyero bowed, watching as the two disappeared into the room. He was so glad that was done. He made a mental note to never give in to his superiors' "funny" jokes ever again.

"Tea or coffee?" Elphaba offered, gesturing for the president to take a seat at the small table.

"Coffee, thank you. No milk or sugar."

Elphaba carefully poured the liquid into a cup. She gently handed it to him before sitting next across from him.

"I've brought a list of topics to discuss," the president said, pulling a document from his briefcase. "Starting from the new railway trade route from the here to the center Vinkus. I was not told of this newest development."

"President DuViper, if you read the updates my office sends, you would –"

"I would also like to know why my new budget wasn't approved."

Elphaba didn't appreciate being interrupted, especially when she was explaining the answer to his first problem. "The new railway trade route will be a faster way for goods to be shipped to and from the Vinkus. It would speed and enhance all transactions. All the other provinces have adopted this new development."

"The Quadling Country?"

"Is mostly marshland. Trying to put train tracks there would be a lost cause."

"Also, my people are complaining that their taxes are higher than normal."

"That's a problem you must handle on your own. I don't control tax rates. But I will suggest this; your taxes are so high because you don't have a lot of money being recycled back into the economy. Your unemployment rate has increased dramatically over the past three years. And if I recall correctly, that was one of your promises once you were instated; to make new Vinkun jobs."

"Yes, Your Ozness, but in the end, most of the tax money goes to you."

"This isn't about me, and it doesn't go directly to me. It goes to the commerce purse." She gave him a look, daring him to continue challenging her.

He, of course, did. "The taxes are higher than normal because we must raise the funds to build the railway."

"You are paying for twenty-five percent of it. That's less than half, a completely doable amount if you were more careful with your spending." She looked at her most recent Vinkun economic report. "You spent more money on the military and… irrigation schemes? The Vinkus isn't an agricultural country, Munchkinland is. Why are you spending more than Munchkinland on irrigation?"

"We don't have the resources Munchkinland has, so we must spend more."

Elphaba stared at the report before pushing it aside. She didn't want to get into a heated argument this early into their meeting. "Very well, Mr. President."

"Speaking of the military, there's also the issue of the Gale Force."

"What about them?"

"Why are they in the Vinkus? They're scaring the citizens."

"Every few years, the Gale Force regiments do a tour in each of the provinces to study the terrain, train, and help maintain peace and order. This year just happened to be one of those 'few years'. They're under strict orders directly from me to stay out of trouble and not cause any commotions. The Vinkun citizens should have no reason to fear them."

"Why was I not made aware of this?"

"Again, if you were to read the updates my office sends, you would know. I understand you are a very busy man, and I am a very busy woman, but you not reading my updates tells me that either they're not going through, or you just don't care. Either way, something has to change. I will personally make sure that messages get delivered to the Vinkus, but you must read them."

"Yes, Your Ozness," he said begrudgingly.

"Good. Now, moving on to your next topic, your budget."

This went on for the next hour and a half, with the president contradicting and challenging Elphaba, and Elphaba replying with quick quips and diplomatic answers.

"Can I ask a silly question?" he asked near the end of their allotted time together.

"Better than anyone I know, apparently," she quipped with a frown. She was getting tired and didn't have the patience to pretend otherwise.

"Fiyero Tigulaar."

"That's not a question. That's a name."

"He works here?"

"Yes."

"In the Gale Force?"

"Yes."

"And you're aware of who he is – was?"

Three dumb questions back-to-back-to-back. That had to be a new record. "Yes."

"I… I never thought I'd see him again. Everyone in the Vinkus assumes he's dead."

"He is dead to the Vinkus. That was the whole point of his forced abdication. But when you return home, you can convey the happy news that he is, in fact, very much alive and kicking." She stood, and the man across from her quickly copied. "Thank you, President DuViper. I believe we accomplished a lot."

"I… do, too. Thank you, Your Ozness," he bowed, slowly backing up towards the door. He jumped when it seemingly opened on its own, but relaxed ever-so-slightly when he noticed Fiyero on the other side with his hand on the doorknob.

He nodded to him, though didn't wait for him to lead him back down to the foyer. He seemed much too happy to leave. Fiyero paused, looking from the empty hallway to the queen, who was leaning against the doorway.

"Your Ozness?" he blinked.

"I believe you would have done the job so much better," Elphaba said before marching down the opposite end of the hall.