A/N: I've massaged the Ozian History a smidge for the story's purposes. Hope you enjoy.
A/N2: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. More on Glinda's parents, right now. ;)
Chapter 21
It would be a few days before Glinda's parents arrived at the Emerald Palace. This was fine as the three code breakers had found more information out via the letter and map. Fiyero was still trying to get some help from the scientists back in his native Vinkus.
"Momsy, Popsicle, it's so good to see you," Glinda hugged her parents as she greeted them outside the front of the Palace.
"It is good to see you sweetie," Lady Larena smiled.
"Yes pumpkin, it is good to see you. We were concerned after we read your letter," Lord Highmuster said.
"There's a lot going on and Elphie thinks you can help," Glinda said.
"Then lead the way," her mother told her. Their daughter led them inside the Palace and to Morrible's former office. There Corporal Norris bowed and let the three enter the room.
"Presenting Lady Glinda, Lord Arduenna, and Lady Larena," Norris announced. Mopsi and Popsi bolted out of their seats and bowed. Elphaba stood from her seat, smoothed her dress, and curtseyed.
"Please we don't need such formalities. What can we help with?" Lady Larena asked. She was quickly offered a seat on the couch and her husband took a seat next to her, with Glinda sitting next to her father.
"Well, the reason we asked you to come is because we didn't want to have this conversation interrupted…" Elphaba explained as she moved from behind the desk to the group of chairs that were near the couch. Mopsi and Popsi joined her.
"It sounded ominous in your letter," Lord Arduenna admitted.
"My colleagues, Mopsi and Popsi of Munchkinland, and I were translating some code from Councilman Arif and Boq. During our work, we discovered that the Great Gillikin Railway was built over the remains of the Yellow Brick Road. The road seems to be purposely rerouted – basically, work stops in Munchkinland and it is never finished. The road is finished in Gillikin but soon replaced by the railway. Even that though doesn't go as far as it could and it stops at Shiz. Do you know why this was? It would seem that if a train were available, all of Oz would want in, yet that's not what happened," she started.
"The railway was built to force the Glikkuns to send their emeralds through the Gillikin, right?" Mopsi asked.
"The leadership of Gillikin didn't have much of a choice in the matter. The Yellow Brick Road was supposed to make trade easier between the Ozian territories, but we were all at different stages of development. The Quadlings weren't in communication with much of Oz, so little was known about their status at the time. The Vinkun tribes were still not all on the same page, but even if they were, they weren't mechanized in any way. The Munchkins were farming already, but seemingly they had no desire to do much else, no offense," Arduenna told them.
"None taken," Mopsi smirked.
"What do you mean, they didn't have a choice?" Glinda was confused. This is not what they'd been taught in school.
"Outside of the Emerald City, Gillikin was the only part of Oz that was basically ready to receive the railway. The leaders were told that if they wanted Shiz to become the official higher learning center of Oz, then they had to build the railway. No one knew what a railway was. You see a revolution was already under way and we didn't know it," Larena said.
"Um what now?" Popsi gave her a look.
"What wasn't immediately clear was that someone had the ear of the Ozma Regent, Pastorius. The Great Draught was dragging on. Jobs were drying up. People were heading into extreme poverty, losing their homes, losing their belongings, and ending up on the streets. Whispers of work that would be coming would ripple through the destitute and it was the only thing that kept them going. That's when it happened," Arduenna told them. Before anyone could ask any questions, his wife continued,
"We were told that Pastorius had died in his sleep. With his daughter not old enough to take over control, one man stepped up, and the future of Oz was forever altered."
"The Wizard," Elphaba couldn't believe it.
"Rumors persisted for a little while that Pastorius was murdered and that a coup had actually taken place, but they remained rumors. No proof of what had happened except with those that were in the know. Magically, most of them either kept their mouths shut or they died. Basically, the railway creation led to jobs and people flooding into Gillikin. The Great Draught led to a situation that things became what they were. Because of the railway, the Emerald City was transformed, the Yellow Brick Road was expanded, just not in Munchkinland, and the people were enthralled," Arduenna said.
"So basically, the Wizard is the one who dictated where the railway went?" Popsi just wanted confirmation on his end.
"Pretty much. That way he could install Morrible at Shiz and shape the future generations. Though the bigger problem is Glikkus Canals. The soil out there isn't very stable. That's why the Yellow Brick Road didn't go any further," Glinda's father explained.
"The Wizard wanted the expansion to go over the Canals. This would allow for more emeralds to be brought to the Emerald City. The engineers and architects told him that nothing was steady enough out near the Canals, which is why the road stopped. Frustrated the Wizard to no end but the Glikkuns proved to him it wouldn't work," Larena told them.
"Proved how?" Elphaba pressed.
"Well, it was not widely broadcast, but one of the leaders in Gillikin at the time, let it slip that they tried to build the road and it collapsed. That apparently was the only way that the Wizard relented," Glinda's mother explained. Elphaba looked at Glinda and the blonde frowned. What was the next step? Should they just let the Munchkins fail or had the Glikkuns figured out a way to shore up the soil?
To Be Continued…
