Chapter 15

"Good Unnamed God," Lord Arduenna said once Fiyero and Elphaba had explained what they'd seen. The rest of the people gathered in the great dining hall agreed with the Gillikin nobleman and murmurs went through the group.

"I think that it's safe to assume that the Queen is dead and that whoever is behind this has already started moving forward with their plans. Who was next in line for the throne since the royals were the end of the line?" Elphaba asked.

"The Queen's cousin, Porkchulatka, but truth be told I have no idea where he resides or if he's dead by now because they got to him first," Arduenna admitted.

"My guess is that's why they wanted the Queen alive. Find her cousin and then once he's out of the way…" Fiyero let that sentence hang there, everyone understanding what he meant.

"I wish we had more intel on what happened in the capital? Do you really think the same people who were protesting peacefully could be behind what happened?" Ayla wanted to know.

"I would say 'no' but given how the protest ended, I can't say that I would put it past them. Politics lately have been a powder keg and the shooting of innocent civilians might have been the move that caused it to explode," Glinda's father said.

"The race is on to find Porkchulatka then. I'll try to see if I can find him with the crystal ball," Elphaba said. She got up and went to the study to use her magical device in hopes of finding the person they sought before something bad happened to him.

"I've officially closed the borders with Gillikin and sent troops to reinforce all possible places of entry. They have instructions to let people in but to hold them only a few miles from the border until they can all be accounted for. I also sent scouts into Gillikin to see if they could find anything out about what has been going on. The Munchkins have been alerted so that they may secure their borders as well," King Tahir told them.

"I think I'd better get back to the Emerald City and get Ozma and the Council updated," Glinda spoke up.

"I should go with her. If we are to rally the troops, no one is more qualified than the Captain," he gave a wink to the group.

"Agreed but be careful my love," Aytac said.

"You know me, I'm always careful," Khalil smiled and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Right, well we better get a move on," Glinda stood up and headed out of the room and down the hall to her room.

"Good luck and keep an eye on her will you?" Balfour asked his old friend.

"You can count on it," Khalil nodded and clapped him on the back. Then he too left the room.

"So now do we sit on our hands and wait?" Larena asked as Elphaba entered the room.

"I'm afraid so. My crystal ball was unable to detect any signs of Porkchulatka," the green woman frowned.

"He could have died years ago to be honest. It was a long shot but one worth taking. Thank you Miss Elphaba," Arduenna smiled slightly at her.

"With any luck we'll either hear from the scouts or whoever is now calling themselves the leader of Gillikin soon," Tahir said.

"You think they will reach out?" Balfour wondered.

"I think if they want to stay on the Vinkus' good side, they may. By now they have to assume that we've seen the smoke from the capital or have started taking in refugees," Ayla pointed out.

"We are prepared for whatever comes our way," Tahir was more than confident that no one would want to tangle with the best soldiers in Oz and rather try a diplomatic approach. There was a knock on the door and Lieutenant Bahram poked his head in.

"Lieutenant what is going on?" Elphaba asked as Bahram moved his whole body inside the room.

"Young Mr. Emir Aksoy is here to see the Duchess Zara. I confused the poor boy when I called her Princess," he chuckled.

"It seems everyone uses those terms interchangeably when it comes to Zara. Perhaps it is because she reminds them of her mother. It seems like an odd time for him to be here. Did he say why he was visiting?" Fiyero wanted to know.

"With all the hoo-ha going on at the border, Emir's father wishes him back to his tribe. I think he wants to say goodbye, especially since he doesn't know when he'll be back," Bahram explained.

"Give him our best please," Queen Ayla spoke up.

"Of course your Majesty. I've had Chistery distract young Bartholomew," Bahram smirked and then ducked out the door.

"Why would he be distracting Bart?" Larena was confused.

"Well up until the sudden arranged marriage between Bart and Derya, we always figured he was sweet on Zara but she and Emir have been spending time together a lot recently," Elphaba explained.

"We just have a crazy amount of teenage drama going on don't we?" Aytac shook her head.

"Here's hoping we can all resolve it together quickly," Fiyero looked at Glinda's parents.

To Be Continued...