The hallway was empty as the Wizard slowly and carefully opened Theodora's bedroom door. He peeked his head out slightly and nervously looked both ways. Despite Bella's assurances that the witch would not intercept him as he made his way out of the castle and towards the large fountain in the middle of the grounds, he was still anxious. His was on edge as his chest felt tight. And for the first time as he quickly and quietly dashed along the long hallways of the castle, he kept his head down. He ignored the Winkie servants that walked past him and especially the Winkie Guards who were standing silently at their assigned posts.
Considering he was on shaky ground with the Emerald City and was still waiting for Glinda's intervention, he did not want to do anything to upset Theodora further. Still, and for the first time since the Wizard's arrival, he now felt how oppressive the atmosphere was. He was tense as he made his way towards the entrance of her castle.
The Wizard remained undisturbed as he passed the multitude of bedrooms and several of the castle's quaint parlor rooms. He finally made his way past the glass rotunda and stepped out into the sunlight.
As soon as he did so, he felt much relief. The bright sun filled the deep blue sky. The temperature was warm as a refreshing and soothing breeze blew past his face. He breathed in heavily through his nose and closed his eyes as the warmth of the sun hit his face.
The castle grounds were immaculate and truly beautiful. They were filled with a multitude of birds that sang a harmonious and melodic tune. Many paths zig zagged in all different directions as gorgeous manicured gardens were arranged in neat rows. Moreover, there were multitudes of varying-colored flowers, plants and tall trees that emitted unique and inviting smelling perfumes. The castle grounds were incredibly peaceful and tranquil. There were dozens of small fountains dotted throughout the gardens, all located when each path would intersect with another.
Like most "water" found throughout the castle, these fountains did not actually contain water, but a different compound that looked and tasted like water. Whenever someone bathed in it—as the Wizard discovered when the substance stayed on his skin for a lengthy period of time—its texture would become gelatinous. After showering, the Wizard would sometimes need to run his towel over his body several times in order to become completely dry. Still, drinking this "water" was tasteless and completely harmless. And most importantly, this "substance" was installed throughout the castle grounds by Queen Lurline to protect her youngest daughter.
The Wizard slowly made his way to the large fountain in the center of the arboretum. When he arrived, however, there was no one there, so he decided to sit on a nearby bench. After several minutes of waiting, he started to become antsy. Should he continue to sit there? Or should he walk back to the castle? What if the witch discovered him there?
However, after waiting for another minute, Bella appeared along an opposite path. She was accompanied by an older man, whom the Wizard remembered seeing earlier that morning. Based on his short and stocky frame, he was the one who had met the witch and had the unfortunate displeasure of having two Winkie Guards violently pin him against a nearby glass wall.
It was Bella's father.
"Thank you for coming", Bella quietly said as the Wizard stood to greet her. "I told you that you would not run into that Wicked Witch as I know her schedule very well." The maid was wearing her typical white work clothes as she slowly removed her white gloves from her hands and handed them to her father. He was wearing a dirtied brown button-down shirt, a soft felt hat and a rustic, but worn pair of pants.
The maid locked eyes with the Wizard again as her voice became more deliberate. "I apologize for not telling you what this meeting is about, but surely you have seen how this Wicked Witch has acted and behaved." She looked at him with glowing, but pleading eyes. "We need your help…"
Bella's father then introduced himself. "Wizard…" The man tiredly extended his outstretched hand to shake his. "T-thank you for coming out and meeting me on such short notice. "My name is Ugu. I am Bella's father and I am the leader of the Winkie underground resistance."
The Wizard eyed both Bella and her father as he nodded his hand, but otherwise remained silent. "We need your help", Ugu continued. "This Wicked Witch has terrorized the Winkie population for the past three long years. She has kidnapped our children and forced them to be slaves in her castle. Some children haven't seen their parents in months. Some work night and day. We need your help to liberate the land from her…" His voice was also pleading while mixed with desperation.
The Wizard lowered his head and sighed. He then looked up at Bella's father. He knew that there was much tension between the witch and the Winkies, but being labeled a "Wicked Witch", the same label given to Evanora, was extreme in his eyes.
He subtly shook his head. "Theodora might be a lot of things, but being a Wicked Witch is not one of them…"
"You saw how she just treated you earlier", Bella said. "This is how she treats all of us on a regular basis. She screams at us regularly. She beats children who don't please her or fail to live up to her impossibly expectations. We have no freedom because of her. Farmers are forced to give half of their food to her, otherwise their children will be taken from them against their will and be forced to slave away in her castle." Bella then gently touched his arm with her hand. "Please Wizard", she said pleadingly. "Please, we really need your help…"
"I have my own problems now", he sighed. Bella looked perplexed. "What do you mean?"
The Wizard placed his hands on his hips and gazed at the ground. "Let's just say I'm not on the best of terms with the Emerald City." He then shot a glance at Bella and her father as he didn't elaborate. "I wish I could help, but I don't know what you want me to do…"
Bella took a step closer to him and began to whisper into his ear. "We know what the witch's weakness is…" She then moved her head slightly away from the Wizard's as she stared into his eyes. "Her weakness is water. She is highly vulnerable to it. Not this fake magically enhanced water that you see throughout the castle, but real water. And I also know that there is a water pipe near the kitchen that the guard's use. You are the only one who can get close to her and dump this water on top of her when she least expects it." Bella continued to lock her eyes with his. "You can melt her with real water. You can kill her…"
The Wizard's eyes narrowed. "Look…" His gaze remained on the Winkie maid. "I am sorry that this is happening, but murder is not the answer. I am sorry, but I am not going to murder anyone…" As he turned his back and began to walk away, Bella continued to look at him as she raised her voice.
"There are rumors that you murdered someone from the Emerald City. Agatha was her name. She paused before continuing. "Isn't that true?"
The Wizard turned around and began to approach the maid again with anger in his voice. "I didn't murder her! I acted in self-defense!"
"In defense of a Wicked Witch?" Bella asked.
"In defense of me!" the Wizard angrily stated. "She wanted to kill me when I wouldn't do what she asked!"
"To imprison the witch for her crimes? You should have let her", Bella said. "I am not sure why you tried and stopped her, even though it is not my place to ask. But you should have let her trap that witch in a box for all eternity."
"No!" The Wizard adamantly shook his head. "If what you say is true, then there needs to be justice. But cold-blooded murder is not justice. That is not the way."
Ugu chimed in. "But she is too dangerous to face justice. She throws fireballs. She can literally blast her way through buildings. How can anyone contain her? I hear that only our great King Pastoria was able to do that. But he's departed and is with the Faeries now, may he rest in peace."
The Wizard sighed and gestured with his hands. "Now, look. Nobody is killing anyone." He placed his hands to his chest empathetically. "I am sorry this is happening. I really am. But yelling at someone, ordering someone to do work or even hitting someone does not merit a death sentence."
"What about taking away our food?" Bella responded.
"Has anyone died because of her actions?" the Wizard pointedly asked.
"Well, no, but it causes a great deal of suffering among the Winkie population! And someone someday could die from her actions. You can prevent this from happening! We have to live with much fear! Please Wizard, we are begging you! Please…do something!"
The Wizard then rubbed his eyes with his hand as he thought what to do next. He then lowered his hand, tilted his head and looked at Bella again. "And what about the rule that all Good Ozians do not kill?"
Bella hesitated and did not respond.
"I will talk to her…" He then turned to Bella's father.
"It was nice to meet you." He gently shook his hand once more. "But I cannot do as you ask…"
As he turned and slowly began to walk away from the pair, he felt an ominous sense of dread. For the first time since he arrived at Theodora's castle, he was being asked to commit cold-blooded murder. This made the Wizard ask himself troubling questions. Was the rule that "no Good Ozian kills" a belief that was held solely by Glinda? Or did Bella ask him to carry out this clandestine mission because she herself believed, deep down, that the Wizard was inherently Wicked? He didn't know the answers to these questions and didn't ask the maid.
He was on a roller coaster ride, caught in the middle of a conflict between Theodora and her Winkie subjects. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he knew that Glinda was going to come for him soon. He just hoped that her intervention was going to be sooner rather than later.