PROLOGUE

This story answers what happens AFTER the Disney movie, but BEFORE the events of the 1939 movie.

PLOT: The Wizard is placed on trial for killing Glinda's chief lieutenant, Agatha. It goes into WHY he does so, HOW the characters deal with her death and the chain of events that ultimately follow. The story discusses the internal conflicts that each character faces both before and after.

The great majority of the story is a flashback told from the Wizard's perspective. It starts by him receiving a mysterious letter from Glinda to travel to Theodora's castle (now known as the Wicked Witch of the West), but he does not know why he is being asked to travel there, and neither does Glinda make it clear to him. Additionally, Glinda tells the Wizard in her letter to not to discuss the mission with her, and that he should await further instruction after he gets there.

The Wizard presumes that he is being sent for diplomatic reasons and that Glinda refuses to discuss it because of the controversy surrounding who he is visiting.

While there, the reader will get to know the presumed "villains" in the story, the Wicked Witch of the West and her "minions", the Winkie Guards.

I put quotation marks around the word "villains" and "minions" above for a reason. It will become clear as you continue to read further into the story.

At the onset, the reader will also become acquainted with Glinda's chief lieutenant, Agatha. She will become a VERY IMPORTANT character in this story. One thing that the 2013 movie left out was Glinda's army. Glinda's army is a crucial element in the novels, and the story answers the question why the army was absent in the Disney movie.

ALL the characters from the Disney movie make a return. They include Glinda, Evanoara, Theodora, the Wizard, China Girl, Finley, Knuck and the Master Tinker. The two characters that feature the most reading time are the Wizard (obviously) and Theodora.

THERE WILL BE FURTHER BACKSTORIES TO ALL OF THE IMPORTANT CHARACTERS IN THE MOVIE: THE WIZARD, EVANORA, GLINDA AND THEODORA AND HOW/WHY THEY TURNED OUT THE WAY THEY DID.

There are four additional characters introduced (besides Agatha) who also have major roles. The first one is the captain of the Winkie Guards, Mitchell. If you are into Wizard of Oz trivia, the name Mitchell was the actor who played the head guard in the 1939 movie.

The second character will be Mombi, the "Wicked Witch of the North". She comes into play when the Wizard gets into a bind later on in the story.

THERE ARE TWO ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS WHO WILL HAVE MAJOR ROLES, AND ARE PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERS IN ALL OF THE SEQUEL, BUT THEY ARE A SURPRISE!

As you read this story, a sequel to the 2013 movie, ask the following question: who are the real villains? Is it Agatha? Is it Theodora? Is it the Wizard himself? Is it Evanora? The Emerald City? Is it Ozian society?

Each character will have his or her own motivations, some being familiar from the 2013 movie. This story WILL conclude the trilogy.

Enjoy. Chapter 1 is below.

CHAPTER 1

"This way." The Soldier with the Green Whiskers gestured towards the Wizard, who was sitting on the hard floor with his back against the wall. The leader of the Emerald City Guard was tall. Like all of the other guards, he wore a handsome green and gold vest with black pants, a green helmet and carried a long halberd.

He proceeded to lead the Wizard from his holding cell and into a huge auditorium filled with hundreds of spectators. The Soldier directed him to sit at a desk near the front of the room. Next to this desk was a miniature porcelain doll who the Wizard knew well. China Girl, the porcelain doll who the Wizard helped when he was sent to steal Glinda's wand, was to be his advisor.

As the Wizard looked to his side, there was another small desk where Glinda was sitting. She did not speak as the Wizard entered, but instead was busily preparing to take notes and record the proceedings.

Another guardsman stood silently at the front of the room, who then shouted. "All rise!" The spectators and the Wizard stood to attention as nine Ozians silently entered the front of the auditorium from a private door and walked in tandem towards a rectangular table.

They were the council. And they were here to preside over the Wizard's trial.

The council leader, an elderly Ozian human male scholar and lifelong resident of the Emerald City, looked to his left and then looked to his right at his fellow members before he turned his gaze to the room. "Wizard, please remain standing, but everyone else may be seated."

Once the Emerald City spectators took their seats and the shuffling had ceased, the leader spoke once more. "Court is now assembled by the Emerald City Council and I quote 'whose purpose is to inquire into the cause and circumstances surrounding the untimely death of Agatha, Glinda's Chief Lieutenant, whose death was caused by the Wizard himself, and to try and examine the Wizard for his conduct on that fateful day."

The council leader stared at the Wizard, who was still silently standing at his desk. "Please, surrender your top hat and then be seated."

The Wizard took his top hat off his head and handed it to an Emerald City guard who stood at attention next to him. The guardsman then ceremoniously walked over and placed it gently onto the council's table before proceeding to walk back to his original standing position.

Once the Wizard was installed as the Emerald City's guardian, his top hat was enchanted by Glinda, which not only allowed the Wizard to enter and exit the Emerald City at will but was also used to identify him to outsiders who did not know who he was. Additionally, the top hat allowed him to store simple magical spells which Glinda taught him. Relinquishing this item was the equivalent of surrendering his position, his authority and his powers.

Once this was effectuated, the Wizard then took a seat at his desk.

The council leader eyed the Wizard up and down. Sitting next to him was a purple talking bunny rabbit with a green plaid shirt and a green talking frog with a purple bowtie.

"Wizard, why don't you tell the council, in your own words, what transpired on the day in question."

He looked the council leader in the eye. "First, I would like to say that I was on official business of the Emerald City and…"

Another council member, a short dark skinned munchkin woman, heatedly interrupted. "Official business? How were you on official Ozian business when you were at the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West?"

The Wizard gazed at the annoyed council member before he continued. "I was on official Ozian business. I received a letter from Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, beckoning me to travel to the Winkie Country for reasons undisclosed…"

A third council member, a jovial talking tiger with a pair of thick framed reading glasses, interrupted. "Yes, we will discuss the nature of this letter and its consequences in due time. But we would like to hear what happened on the day in question and why you killed Agatha."

The Wizard's gaze was steady. "And in order to do that, I have to give the entire backstory…"

The council leader smiled as he read a piece of paper in his hands. "Yes Wizard, we know your entire backstory with this…Theodora, I believe that is the Wicked Witch of the West's actual name. Knuck told us what you had already told him."

But the Wizard shook his head. "No, not my backstory with her. The backstory of the last several weeks. And how this unfortunate incident came to pass."

The leader nodded to him. "In that case, please start from the beginning. Your time begins now and will continue uninterrupted."