"Where are you taking me?" The Wizard narrowed his eyes to the darkness. "Where are we going?" The pair left the grand dining room and entered a long and dark passageway. The witch was one step ahead as she guided her guest by grabbing his hand and started to skip and hop playfully. She giggled and then whispered. "You will see, it's a surprise…"

As they were halfway through, the witch tugged on the Wizard's hand as he abruptly stopped walking. The witch could clearly see that there was much trepidation on his face. Unlike her guest, Theodora's infrared vision gave her clear and perfect vision even in the darkest of places.

"Oh, come on, Wizard. I'm not going to kill you or anything", she replied playfully. "Come on…", she said energetically as she tugged on his hand again, but he stubbornly refused to move. He could barely see one foot in front of him, and he was still unsure whether he could trust the witch completely. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face and the faint light from her ring was of no help whatsoever.

The witch smiled and giggled once more at the look on the Wizard's face. It was a mixture of confusion and fear. "Hey Wizard", she teased. "How many fingers am I holding?"

Her guest frowned and became grumpy. "Come on, this isn't funny. Where are we going and where are you taking me?"

"Follow and yee shall see", the witch smiled mischievously at him. The Wizard sighed and let her guide him once more.

For the next several minutes, they continued on in almost total darkness. The Wizard could sense that they had left the castle and entered into some sort of underground labyrinth. And since he would feel an occasional breeze on his face, he believed that they were close to the surface and that these passageways were part of the natural topography of the Winkie Country.

Finally, after several additional minutes of darkness and silence, the Wizard was relieved when he noticed the exit. As they approached the end of the labyrinth, he saw that the passageway they were in was made of natural granite. When the castle was constructed, he figured that the builders connected this passageway to the estate as a way for its residents to surreptitiously escape in case there was ever an attack. Why the witch chose to take this route though was a mystery.

Still guiding him with her hand, the pair left the underground passageway. Night was upon them as the sky was clear and dotted with stars. The Wizard looked around and saw an endless stretch of fields with sporadic thick oak trees. The witch abruptly stopped and turned to his side. She then held her hands up. "Now…", she playfully gazed at him. "Close your eyes."

Her guest frowned. "What? Why?"

"Don't you trust me? Now, close your eyes." As he hesitated, she placed her hands on her hips impatiently as she smirked at him. "Oh, come on, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already. Now…" She began to gesture with her hands impatiently. "Well…come on already…"

As the Wizard continued to hesitate, she relented. "Oh, fine." The witch then stood behind him and placed her hands over his eyes. "Theodora…what are you...hey! Come on! I can't see!" The Wizard began to squirm nervously, but the witch's hands on over his eyes remained steady.

Giggling slightly, she then gave her guest one directive. "Now…walk!"

Sensing that he had no choice, the Wizard sighed. He began to walk very slowly and with much trepidation. He started to breathe heavily. He was not at all comfortable with this. What was Theodora's surprise? Was she to throw him off a ravine? Was his next step going to be his last?

"You know, I am sure Finley would love to join us", the Wizard said nervously. "Maybe we should invite him?"

But the witch shook her head as she grinned and chuckled. "Oh, I am sure little Finley is preoccupied." After several moments of silence, she started to gently push the Wizard. "Now…march! Walk faster!" She started to laugh playfully. "Oh, come on! Walk Wizard! They're only empty fields in front of us! And besides, you came here on your own volition so you should…trust me…", she snickered.

After her beckoning, he finally decided to cautiously take regular steps. It was not like he really had a choice and while Theodora was partially right that he decided to come to her castle, it was really Glinda who forced him to go.

Thanks Glinda, he thought to himself. Way to not be here when I really need you.

But in reality, this was probably his own undoing. Annie was right. He should not have gotten close to the witch when he slept with her the prior night in her own bedroom. Maybe he said or did something that secretly upset Theodora and she was either going to throw him off a nearby cliff or incinerate him where there would be no witnesses. The Wizard tried to temper his breathing, but underneath his calm exterior, he was scared.

"Oh, come on Wizard!", she said impatiently. "Ugh, you are so stubborn", she groaned as she started to push him with more force. "You are going to be the death of me."

The witch continued to cover his eyes with one of her hands as she stopped walking. She used her other hand to grab the Wizard's arm and to stop him in place. Still covering his eyes with her hand, he felt the witch shift as she moved in front of him.

"Okay", she gleefully said. "Now, you may open them…"

The witch removed her hand that covered the Wizard's eyes. As soon as she did, a magnificent view came before him. They were in an open field that glowed with numerous multicolored flowers. Many bubbles floated in the air as they glowed different shades of blue, green, violet, orange and red. It was a beautiful sight to behold, especially at night.

"Where are we?", the Wizard asked in awe.

"This is where the Faeries landed a long time ago", Theodora replied in hushed tones. "Oz is the most magical place there is, but the Winkie Country ever more so…" The witch then pointed to a nearby bubble. "The original Faeries that enchanted the land left long ago. But they left their residue…their magic!", she said excitedly. "And descendants of the Faeries would come here and enchant an object so that they could channel the magic from the grove…magic that you and I can wield, Wizard!" The witch's bright smile then faded as she then eyed him up and down. "I noticed you don't have a magical item. Would you like to use something for all of the magic that you do?" The witch smiled brightly at him again.

The Wizard looked down at the ground as he pursed his lips. He still didn't have the courage to tell her that he was merely an ordinary man. He also didn't want to tell her that Glinda had only taught him basic magic and had enchanted his top hat.

"No, it's okay…" He took her hand and placed it in his own. "Maybe another time."

The witch lowered her head and pulled her hand away from his. She gently grabbed her ring and pulled it off her middle finger. Since she was still wearing her evening gown that was devoid of pockets, she placed her ring in an outer pocket of the Wizard's suit jacket. She then beckoned the Wizard to take her outstretched hands. "Grab your hands with mine", the witch coyly said.

As he did so, Theodora's hands started to become warm. A dim yellow light began to emanate from the witch's hands, which only began to glow brighter. Taking notice, the Wizard lowered his head curiously and only for an instance. The witch smiled as she gazed tenderly at the Wizard. "You have such wonderful eyes", she whispered. This made him raise his head once more as they now gazed at each other, with the witch studying his facial features in awe as the glow from her hands and the light from the surrounding bubbles that floated in the air now flickered between their faces. She smiled at her guest as she closed her eyes. She then met her lips with his. As they kissed, their eyes remained closed as the Wizard tried to move his hands to her cheeks. However, the witch held his hands in a tight grip and refused to let go. It was such a powerful grip that he probably couldn't have released his hands from hers even if he wanted to.

As Theodora slowly separated her lips from his, she gently nuzzled his nose with hers as she subtly grinned. "Don't try to move your hands, Wizard…", the witch tenderly and softly whispered to him. With his eyes still partially closed, he asked why. "Look where we are…" as a mischievous smile spread across her face.

The Wizard opened his eyes fully as he realized that the pair were now floating many feet above the ground. This made the witch chuckle with laughter.

"I…I…I'm scared of heights!" Panic now began to settle into his voice. "I'm scared of heights!" This made the witch laugh even harder. "Shhhh, shhhhhh, it's okay Wizard. I'm not going to drop you…" The witch continued to nuzzle her cheek lovingly with his as the pair began to slowly float towards the ground, her eyes remaining closed.

"When we are here, witches and wizards do not need to use a magical item to channel their magic. They can use it freely without any limitations…"

The Wizard began to look around as he tried to feign confidence. "Well…my magic is sort of…special!" His voice became more animated. I need certain…conditions in order to use it!"

"Oh!", the witch responded in excitement as she opened her eyes once more. "I see…" As their feet touched the ground, the Wizard pursed his lips.

"Thank you", he said in earnest with a cheeky smile on his face. This was a lovely surprise…" As a soft breeze blew past the pair, the witch continued to hold his hands with hers. "You're welcome", she smiled at him. "Ummm", he looked down to see that the witch still had his hands in hers. "Can I have my hands back?"

"What if I don't want to let go?", the witch teased as she fluttered her eyelashes and brought her face closer to his. The Wizard cocked his head sideways as he looked at her withy playful annoyance. The witch did not pick up on his sarcasm. "Oh, fine", Theodora replied as she abruptly released his hands. "I see that you want nothing to do with me…", she huffed as she stepped away from him and started to walk back to the castle. After a brief moment of confusion on his brow, the Wizard simply caught up to the witch and put his arm around her.

After briefly looking at Theodora, who did not return the favor, they both walked back to the castle in silence.