Evanora stood near a humongous window overlooking the Emerald City skyline with a tray of food in her hands. Perched high above the city, she was gazing at the various markets and the city's wide avenues that were far below from her bedroom at the palace.
Still holding the tray, she turned around and slowly walked to her bed. Her entire bedroom was incredibly large and opulent. Green emeralds filled the stone walls. When the Ozian sun would retreat from the sky in the evening hours, the emeralds would softly glow its magnificent green. With large mirrors and gold-plated walls, her room was fit for any queen.
A week had already passed since the king had berated her little sister for leaving the palace. It was the first time Theodora had ever set foot outside of its walls. Glinda had then escorted the young witch back to her room, leaving her to her lonesome once again. In the intervening days, Evanora had not seen her little sister since. Indeed, it was a busy time as the palace was busy in preparation for its first and only royal dance. Every public figure from Oz was going to be there, including all of the governors from each of the four Ozian provinces. The only witches who were publicly not invited were Gayelette, who had been previously banished by the king and her daughters, Singra and Mombi. At this time, Mombi had taken up residence at a quaint and hidden cabin deep within the woods of Gillikin Country in the north, while Singra had been committing various atrocities in the Quadling Country.
Since Locasta had previously vacated the palace and moved north, the king sent a messenger to his eldest daughter not to attend as well.
Still, while the king and queen had been consumed by these preparations, Evanora was secretly fuming at her father for some time. The king's frequent outbursts and abrasive personality had renewed a passing idea in her mind that she decided to give more consideration to:
I need to dispose of this pathetic and abusive wizard, this wretched excuse of an Oz, she thought to herself. This stupid man has soiled everything that the Faeries have stood for and he is not worthy to rule from the Emerald City.
As she continued to sit on her bed, Evanora began to believe that this plan of hers had merit. The idea of disposing the king started some time ago as Pastoria's personality began to deteriorate. What was once a kind and compassionate man to all of his daughters, the king became mean and abusive to those in his immediate family who weren't his favorites. This was namely Locasta, for refusing to accept the role of Ozma and heir apparent to the throne, and Theodora, whom he regarded as a black sheep and a disgrace to the family. When Locasta left the palace to escape the king's increasingly capricious behavior, all of his anger, frustration and rage then fell entirely on his youngest daughter.
The king's "problems" with Theodora began when she was born. He realized that his youngest daughter had destructive fire powers, which he believed to be incredibly dangerous not only to the Emerald City, but also to every Ozian throughout the land. He believed these powers to be wicked. From a very young age, the king locked her away in her room while refusing to help Theodora develop her powers. This strategy worked until the young witch reached adolescence, when she started to rebel against the king and desired her own independence. At the same time, however, she still needed her parents for support. Thus began a vicious cycle and a perpetual power struggle, where the witch would try to rebel, which only placed greater stress on the king, who then became even more ill-tempered by her defiance. And when the king started to scream at his youngest daughter, she would naturally start to scream back at him. This snowballed until the king refused to even speak with Theodora and demanded that she stay in her room at all times, unless he wanted to berate her.
King Pastoria was absolutely charming to his subjects. All of Oz loved and adored him. But no one knew about this other side of him and how he treated those who were not his favorites, especially within his immediate family. Evanora hated the fact that Glinda would consistently act like nothing had happened and would continually side with the king, no matter how despicable and abhorrent his behavior was. Even her pleas to Queen Lurline to intervene went unanswered!
Additionally, Evanora had secretly resented Glinda for her beauty. She had her mother's features and looks. Queen Lurline had long flowing blonde hair and brown eyes, which was the same as Glinda's. Ozians were often proud and very simple-minded folk. The men often preferred women with blonde hair, as this was a symbol of purity. Since the demographics of Oz meant that there were way more women than men, the males often preferred blonde women. This was not only for romantic reasons, but even for political purposes. "You aren't a Wicked Witch if that witch has blonde hair!" Evanora hated this slogan, but it was said over and over by the Ozians until it was considered gospel. The Ozian cultural view on who was beautiful and who wasn't solidified the witch's inner bitterness, especially because of how she truly looked.
Evanora looked like an old hag. However, it wasn't her fault. This is how she looked when she was born. The only one who knew of her physical deformity were her parents. But as soon as she was born, Queen Lurline enchanted Evanora with an emerald necklace. This magical pendant covered up Evanora's deformity and made her beautiful. And as Evanora grew, her necklace grew along with her.
Still, the witch was incredibly envious of Glinda. Whenever the blonde would leave the palace and grace her subjects, they would fawn over her and treat her like she was beauty incarnate. Internally, this made Evanora seethe with rage. Here was Glinda, the favorite of their father, a witch born with innate beauty and talent. From her perspective, Glinda perfected all of her talents effortlessly and flawlessly. Even her magic was seamless and diverse, while Evanora's magical abilities were limited only to electricity. While electricity was greatly prized throughout Oz, she wanted more.
Evanora believed herself to be the protagonist in this story. And as such, she believed that she was in the right. Glinda was not only more beautiful than Evanora, she was older too. This meant that Glinda was their father's chosen successor to the throne.
Therefore, she needed an ally. When the king would punish Theodora, which was a common occurrence, Evanora would visit her in her room. She would continually confide in her little sister that she didn't have to be treated this way, that she deserved better and that Glinda really didn't have her back because her loyalty ultimately lied with the king. "She will betray you", Evanora warned, but Theodora would always brush her off her concerns.
"She loves me", Theodora would warmly and earnestly say.
While Evanora genuinely did care for Theodora's wellbeing, she was primarily making these visits because she needed her. She knew that her little sister was close to Glinda, but she was secretly hoping that someday this would change. All she needed was something to happen that would turn her little sister against Glinda. All she needed was a little push.
And apparently, this is exactly what transpired several days after Theodora secretly went to the marketplace.
It happened when Evanora was meditating outside. She was sitting in the lush and beautiful gardens that were adjacent to the palace when she heard an explosion. By the time she returned, she saw a huge crowd of onlookers and servants who had hurriedly evacuated from the main entrance of the palace. She began to smell smoke as she entered through a side door, which was only accessible to her immediate family. She followed the acrid scent as she wandered down a hallway, turned a nearby corner and found an area that had been heavily damaged and partially charred by smoke. Several servants were visibly shaken as they were being questioned by one of the Emerald City Guards. Glinda was sitting in a fetal position on the floor as her back was pressed against the wall, visibly upset at something that had just transpired.
"You!" Glinda stood up and began to angrily storm towards Evanora. It was highly unusual for Glinda to become emotional, but there she was, marching towards her with a thunderous roar in her voice and a fiery stare in her eyes as she made her way towards her sister. "You worked your magic on her! What did you do to her!", Glinda shouted as she pointed her wand confrontationally at her. "What is wrong with you! Is this some type of sick joke?"
Evanora didn't know what her sister was babbling about. As she waved her hand dismissively at Glinda and proceeded to leave the hallway before a brawl broke out, she incorrectly presumed that this was yet another quarrel that her little sister had with their father.
She would later learn through palace servants and bits and pieces of gossip that it was indeed Glinda who was attacked in that burnt out hallway by what eyewitnesses could only later describe as a "vicious and terrifying attack by an unknown assailant."
"Whoever attacked Glinda was a monster", one servant would later tell Evanora. The servant recalled hearing the eyewitness telling her about a hideous cackle, which sounded "awful", "chilling" and "downright wicked." And while Glinda performed admirably in protecting several of the nearby servants she had been conversing with prior to the attack, it appeared that she was about to lose, if not for the timely intervention of Lurline herself.
Still, Evanora shrugged off this story as some sort of gross exaggeration. It was not until years later, and after the Wizard's arrival, that she would learn the shocking truth.
"Here, I brought you food", Evanora said when she finally entered Theodora's bedroom several days after Glinda was attacked. She had not seen her little sister since the king berated her in the throne room. A smile on her face, she entered with a tray in her hand.
"Do you remember what happened?", Evanora asked her little sister as Theodora rested on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "No", she said. "I just remember a lot of rage and deep despair. And then everything went black and I woke up here."
The young witch rested her back on a pillow as she propped herself up on her bed. A blanket covered her as her newly acquired red hat was hanging on a nearby coat rack. She gazed at Evanora with a marked frown on her face. "You were right, sister", she scowled. "Glinda betrayed me." Her voice then progressed from anger to sheer hatred. "I hate her!" She became resolute. "I hate her! She is no longer my sister!"
The pair sat silently until Evanora interjected, trying to act like a concerned, but neutral third party. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Theodora's hands rested on the blanket that covered her. She lowered her head as she replied meekly. "It was over a boy." She wiped her hand over her eye. "After everything that she did for me, she just couldn't give me this little piece of happiness. That's all I wanted and for that, I can't forgive her. I just want to be happy and Glinda was so selfish…"
She was silent again as Evanora didn't ask her any other questions. Inside, however, she was jubilant upon hearing this news. Evanora was playing the long game, but was quite surprised at this quick turn of events.
Theodora sighed as her eyes darted around her spacious bedroom. She then spotted a small painting that was hanging on her wall. It wasn't noteworthy and she never paid any real attention to it until today. But the object in that portrait seemingly captivated her. As she stared at it, Evanora turned her head to look at what was drawing her attention.
"A green apple?", Evanora asked perplexingly as she stared at the painting. She then turned to her little sister as her voice became playful and somewhat mischievous. "I hear one bite is all it takes to make your heart impenetrable."
Theodora turned her head and stared at her with wide eyes. "Is that true?"
Evanora smiled at her airily. "Or so the legend goes. If such a magical item even exists, that is..." Her eyes then became narrow, filled with hidden mirth. "Why? Would you one day like me to find you one?"