It was early April when Elphaba finally mustered up enough strength and courage to return to her bedroom. But she barely made it through the doorway before all the feelings and memories came crashing back. She ran out, the whole mission aborted, back to her office, almost running into Fiyero in the process.

"Oh! Sorry!" she said, reaching out to steady him. The doctors said that he could be on his feet for a few hours a day to rebuild his strength, as long as he took it easy. He would hobble up and down the halls, leaning heavily on a cane, and using the walls for extra support. He didn't need to take as much pain medicine, which helped with his energy, and he found himself being reined-in by Elphaba when he found himself getting too ambitious.

He leaned against the wall. "I'm fine. Where are you off to in such a hurry? I thought you finished working for the day."

"I did. I just wanted to see if I could go somewhere, but I can't."

Fiyero didn't question, for he knew what Elphaba was talking about.

"I want to show you something, if you're up to it," Elphaba said. "Unless you're tired, then you should probably get back to bed and I'll just –"

"Elphaba," he interjected gently. "Show me."

Elphaba blinked. She had told Fiyero that she wanted him to call her by her name and not her title while he was her guest, but he rarely did. She smiled and led him outside to the gardens.

"Why are we at the Far Wall?" Fiyero blinked. "What's all the way back here?"

"Something I've never shown anyone else." She pushed away the greenery covering the wall, revealing an old door. She retrieved the key from a hidden slot and unlocked the door.

Fiyero gasped as his vision was flooded with a plethora of rainbow-colored flowers. A neatly trimmed bed of grass encircled perfectly trimmed hedges, bushes, and shrubs. Rows of flowers formed a miniature world of their own, full of color and life. A single path, marked with smooth, rounded stones, curled around the garden, offering a glimpse of the best spots. Vines hung from the walls, almost like a decoration. It looked more beautiful than the royal gardens.

"Wow. What is this place?" he inhaled, trying to take it all in.

"My mother's private garden. I found it when I was five, and it's been my special secret ever since. I found the key amongst her belongings before he had them cleared away. I've personally been taking care of it."

"All these years?"

"Yes."

"It's beautiful."

"It's the most serene place here. Not even the library is this calming. And coming from me, that's saying something. This became my special hiding place when my governess forced me to come outside for some fresh air. I would spend hours here, then go back inside when I heard her calling for me." She led him to a bench and they sat together. "I would have picnics here in the summer. I would pretend my father was out here with me, eating and talking and laughing. Of course, I was all alone, but that didn't matter much. I was always alone."

Fiyero gently took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Elphaba squeezed back and the two sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

"I never got a chance to properly thank you for everything."

"You don't have to. It's my job."

"Just because it's your job doesn't mean you should go thankless."

"If people waited to be thanked all the time, they'd never get anything done."

Elphaba sighed playfully. "Well, I would still like to thank you."

"Then I would still like to accept your thanks."

She smiled, looking around the garden. "The night before my coronation, I slept out here. I didn't mean to fall asleep, I was reading and it just… happened. I dreamt that I would have a reign of peace and prosperity, just like Ozma the Majestic. Problems would work themselves out and I would rarely have to intervene. Obviously, that would only happen in a dream, but I still wished for it. My mother was there, or at least, I think it was her. Her face was blurry. I remember her voice better than I remember what she looked like. She would sing to me, so she sang in my dream." She absentmindedly hummed the soft melody. "According to my governess, my first one, that lullaby would put me to sleep without fail. That's probably why I would have trouble going to sleep after she died."

Fiyero hadn't said anything the entire time, simply content with listening to Elphaba's story. They sat in silence for a while until his wound started to throb. He shakily rose to his feet, with Elphaba's help.

"You should get back to bed. You've been up all morning," she suggested.

He shifted his weight, but it looked more like he was swaying, and Elphaba was quick to steady and assist him. "If you insist. Thank you for showing me this. It's clearly very special to you, and I'm glad you trust me enough to share it with me."

"I suppose I can begin to trust people again."

"No one's rushing you. You can continue to go at your own pace."

She knew this, but she also knew that her 'own pace' was still too slow. There were certain things she couldn't take forever to do. She had to get back to ruling the country.


"Galinda? Galinda, sweetie, are you awake?"

Glinda looked up from where she was lounging on her bed as her mother peaked through the ajar doorway. She didn't have the strength to correct her, yet again, on her name. "Yes, Momsie."

She fully pushed the door open, and Glinda was immediately alarmed at how pale her face looked and rigid her posture was.

"What's wrong?"

"You have a phone call."

No one had called for her in a while. "From who?"

"The Queen. The queen has our phone number! Did you give it to her? I must say, I was not expecting to hear her voice on the other end of the receiver. I could barely get a coherent word out when I heard Her Ozness' voice."

She blanched, ignoring her mother's whole rant. Elphaba? She got up and hurried downstairs as fast as she could, picking up the receiver. "Elphie?"

"Hi, Glinda. How are you? Are you feeling better? I'm sorry I haven't been in touch recently. It's been hectic and crazy and I needed to –"

Glinda tuned out Elphaba's ramblings. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Elphaba had discovered her parents' phone number. Though, she supposed, after finding out her address and phone number, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. But it did make her wonder what else she had access to.

"Glinda? Are you still there?"

She jumped out of her daydream. "Oh, sorry. I was… thinking."

"Oh. I was wondering if you were good at planning parties."

If party-planning had been a major at Shiz, she would have majored in it and maintained the highest GPA out of everyone in the entire school. But since it wasn't, it was simply a hobby of hers; a hobby she took very seriously. "Yes."

"If you're up to it, I could really use your help."

"With what?"

"I want to hold an allegiance ball."

"What's an allegiance ball?"

"I'd prefer not to give too many details over the phone. You never know who's listening in. This would require you to return to the Emerald City, but only if you're up to it."

Glinda paused. Her shoulder had healed, but since Elphaba disbanded all her staff, she didn't have a job to return to. Her parents had used this as a reason for her to finally settle down and marry a rich man, but Glinda had put her foot down, saying that she didn't want to do anything until she was officially let go from the palace. "I'd be happy to return. When do you –"

"Is tomorrow okay?"

She blinked. Tomorrow was cutting it pretty close. "It's… doable."

"Are you sure? Because I can –"

"Tomorrow's fine, Elphaba," she interrupted softly. She could tell that Elphaba was already nervous and stressed about calling her, probably in fear that she would say 'no', after everything that had happened there. But in all honestly, she did want to return to the palace. Perhaps doing some type of work would make her feel useful again. She also wanted to go back to her apartment, since she had been paying rent all these months.

"Alright," Elphaba said slowly, as if she still wasn't convinced. "Let me know which train you're catching, and I'll have a cab waiting at the station."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Glinda. I'll see you tomorrow."

A click and the line went dead. Glinda hung up and went back upstairs to pack. She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow.


"What's an allegiance ball?"

Elphaba, who had been so focused on her work, had no idea the blonde had arrived and jumped at her voice. She still startled easily and it was something she was diligently working on to control. "Oh. It's just you."

"Sorry," Glinda said sheepishly, curtsying and going to sit across from her desk. "Hi."

"Hi," Elphaba whispered once her heart stopped racing. "Sorry – what was your question?"

"The allegiance ball."

"What about it?"

"… What is it?"

"Oh. Sorry. It's… um…" She took a deep breath. "I'm inviting all the leaders from the Ozian provinces here. I want them to swear an oath of allegiance and loyalty to me. But, of course, as a party."

Glinda froze, her pen hovering above her notebook. She wanted to say that she thought that was a bit extreme, but then thought about everyone involved in the coup, and decided against it. "Of course."

"You don't have to worry about the guest list. I'm handling that."

"But wait, you're only having a party for four heads of government?"

"No, everyone. Nobles, politicians in all capacities – mayors, chancellors, councilmen, ambassadors, officials – both elected and unelected – and their families. They all must come. It's all very political. But again, you don't need to worry about that."

"And… what if they refuse?"

"The only reason they should refuse a direct order from their queen is if they have one foot on a banana peel and the other in the grave. This isn't just a fancy party. This is a new duty I'm imposing on them to come and prove and solidify their loyalty to me… while eating fried trout."

Glinda made a note that the queen wanted fried trout. "Is this going to be in the ballroom?"

"No, the throne room. And I want it decorated with the official colors of the different provinces. I want all cultures to be represented."

"Do you also want me to handle the menu?"

"If you can."

Of course she could. "Alright. How much time do we have?"

"Sometime next month, before the weather gets too hot. I'm in the final process of hiring the new staff."

"How is that going, by the way?"

"Stressful, but that's probably because I'm refilling every department all by myself. Especially since not everyone who passed the background check wants to return, which is understandable, but it makes it harder for me."

"Do you want me to help with that, too?"

Elphaba shook her head. "No, you'll have your hands full with the ball. Thank you, again, for coming back, even if it's just for this."

"Just for this?" Glinda blinked. "I… planned on staying. I can stay; I want to stay. If you want me to stay, I can."

Elphaba gave her a relieved smile. "Thank you. And there's a larger budget in the royal purse since there hadn't been as many paychecks taken out, so feel free to get creative."

Glinda curtsied and left. She had a royal ball to plan, starting with the fried trout. She made her way to the office and looked around. It looked exactly the same as when she last saw it. It didn't look like anything had been moved. She sat at her desk, the feeling of familiarity sinking in, and for a moment, she felt like she was back in time. But she knew nothing could really turn back the clocks.

She made a few phone calls and drafted a few menus, half of which ended up crumpled up in the trash. She managed to incorporate at least two dishes from each of the provinces, and makes sure all dietary restrictions were taken into account. Four hours later, she started seeing double, so she closed her notebook and called it a day.

"Alright, Elphie, I think I managed to work something out here. I'm just not sure about the Vinkun pudding, but we'll make it hap…" Her voice trailed off when she realized Elphaba had company, and her voice died in her throat when she saw who it was. "Dr. Dillamond!" she gasped.

The old Goat looked up and smiled. "Hello, Miss Glinda. It's wonderful to see you again."

Elphaba bit back a chuckle. "I believe you're acquainted with my new Animal Advisor."

"Animal Advisor?" Glinda repeated, turning to her.

"We'll work on the title later. This is all very unofficial. Dr. Dillamond has been helping me reverse the Banns and set up rehabilitation programs for the afflicted Animals."

"Even after the Banns are gone, it will still take some time to reintroduce Animals as fully-fledged and respectable members of society. There has been much propaganda spread, slogans and posters painted on walls, and fear has set in people's hearts. It will take time to overcome the racism. I've never been much of an optimist, and I fear it may never be completely eradicated," Dr. Dillamond said, and Glinda was reminded of the lectures he used to give at Shiz.

"That starts with me. I will be very strict about these new rules," Elphaba said with conviction.

"You can't rush these things, Your Ozness," Dr. Dillamond said calmly. "People will be more prone to fight back if they feel forced and pressured."

"They are being forced and pressured."

"Patience."

Elphaba didn't look happy, but heeded her unofficial advisor's advice. She turned back to Glinda. "What were you saying about the food?"

She couldn't remember. Something about pudding. "Nothing. It's not important. I just wanted to let you know I'm heading home. I'll start on the decorations tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you, Glinda."

The blonde nodded to Dr. Dillamond, curtsied to Elphaba, and left, closing the door behind her, her mind reeling. She had a party to plan.