A/N: A shout out to James Birdsong. Glad you enjoyed those chapters. Thanks!
Chapter 10
The Queen expected a letter but as the sun began to go down on the following day and she had yet to hear from her husband, she grew nervous. Fiyero had been talking with all of the scouts via Bird or Flying Monkey and nothing appeared on the horizon at the Vinkun desert border. They were still trying to locate any underground tunnels with no luck. Elphaba meanwhile was helping Doctor Magi come up with some medicine for Zara. The little one was experiencing gas from her mother's milk and the medical man said as she aged, they'd need to see if other dairy items bothered her.
"I have a horse approaching! At least I think it is…." Corporal Sadik shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Sergeant Bahram asked him as he moved toward the younger man. Sadik handed him the spyglass and the Sergeant took a look.
"I see what you mean. Probably enchanted by Lady Glinda. Tell them to ready the gates but to not open them," Bahram instructed. The Corporal called down to the men at the gate and gave the order while the Sergeant followed the being on the enchanted horse. It wasn't easy as the horse was moving at more than a horse in a full gallop could normally.
"Men, rifles at the ready! If this is an unfriendly, I want to show them how unfriendly we can be!" Bahram shouted out. The response from the fifty soldiers was the sound of their rifles being cocked. It was loud and the man on the horse slowed, having heard it.
"It is I, King Tahir!" Bahram studied the now stopped man and quickly confirmed it was the King.
"Open the gates! Men at ease!" The Sergeant ordered before heading for the gates. The gates slowly opened and Tahir moved his horse through them. Afterwards the men quickly closed the gates behind him.
"I am sorry your Majesty. We're all a bit on edge around here," Bahram said.
"Understandable given the letter I got. Where is Lieutenant Ash?" Tahir asked as he dismounted. Quickly the stableman came up to fetch the King's horse, he was not alone however as the Griffins had followed given the commotion.
"When my wife said we had guests, I think she left out just who she meant," the King's surprise was evident.
"She probably did it for our own protection, your Highness. I am Altan, last elder of the Griffins. With me are my wife, Lale, daughter Kelebek, brother Bahadir, his wife, Filiz, and their son, Iskender," the Griffin made the introductions.
"I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for warning the kingdom. I trust you have been well taken care of," Tahir smiled.
"We have. Your family and people have been most gracious to us," Altan said.
"Excellent. Now, I must speak with my family. It is important they know the developments from the Emerald City," the King told them.
"Of course, your Highness. Should you need us, we will be in the stables," Altan bowed and the others followed suit.
"We may need you but I could not ask you to fight for us. You have already put yourselves at great risk to bring us the news that you did," Tahir said.
"If you stand with Elphaba, then we stand with you, your highness" Kelebek was once again speaking out of turn.
"She has that effect on everyone doesn't she?" The king chuckled.
"That she does," Altan chuckled himself. Tahir quickly excused himself and headed inside the palace. The servants met him in the hallway and took his travelling coat while telling him that the Queen, Prince, and Princess were up in his study. He thanked them and quickly headed upstairs.
"So you've been busy while I was away," Tahir said as he walked through the door of the study.
"Never a dull moment around here, you know that," Ayla smiled and went to her husband, giving him a quick kiss.
"I have missed you too but I'm guessing we don't know when or what is coming next," he smiled at her.
"As the Griffins have laid out for us, Queen Zixi is looking to Oz to either find an ally or crush us before we can do any more damage. From the rumors going around, Ix is in the middle of dealing with the Dominions of the Nome King. The Nome Kingdom is not as powerful as they used to be and their access to Oz was cut off by the dragons. Their focus shifted toward Ix but Zixi crushed them before they could accomplish their goals. Peace has reigned ever since but it would seem the shakeup in Ozian leadership has caused her focus to shift. The Griffins say that Zixi had ordered the border between Ix and the Nome Kingdom fortified. Supposedly, it is nigh impregnable," Ayla explained.
"While our borders are soft because we assumed the deserts to be impassable," her husband nodded.
"Zixi has forced her attention on Oz because of my powers and of course Glinda's. We defeated Morrible and the Wizard, whom everyone thought to be unbeatable," Elphaba spoke up.
"I sense a recurring theme here," Fiyero smirked.
"Well it would seem that reputation was enough to keep everyone inside their own borders but that now would not seem to be the case. Glinda has ordered that all people of stature are to report here to celebrate the birth of little Zara. She hopes that celebrating the birth of the once Wicked Witch's daughter, who will also be a Princess, will satisfy Zixi's curiosity. However, I have bigger concerns. Rivet has yet to divulge anything and we've tried everything short of torture," Tahir frowned.
"So we are still in the dark," Fiyero frowned as well.
"For now but I fear there is another fish to fry," his father said.
"What else could possibly be going on?" Elphaba wanted to know.
"Without Glinda's knowledge, I have recruited Captain Khalil to look into Councilman Lake from Quadling country. He bothers me," Tahir told them.
"You think he's really a spy for Zixi?" Fiyero wondered.
"He doesn't have to be. He could be part of those that continue to fight for the Wizard's freedom. Either way, he's shifty and I don't like it," the King explained.
"Then we must move forward with all caution and try to plan Zara's party," Ayla nodded.
To Be Continued…