"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!", the king bellowed at his youngest daughter as he sat on his throne. "How dare you venture outside against my authority! You could have placed the entire land of Oz in danger! Why…it could have rained today and where would you be now?! You would be a puddle of water! That's what! How much did it cost the treasury for this ridiculous looking outfit you are now wearing? This is an embarrassment! You are an embarrassment!"

As he sternly berated Theodora, who lowered her head in shame as her newly acquired red hat covered her face, Queen Lurline sat beside him and remained silent, with Glinda and Evanora sitting on the side of the throne room.

"You shouldn't have let her out", whispered Evanora. "Maybe I wouldn't have had to cover for you if you didn't give her those ideas to begin with…among others", replied Glinda.

As the king continued to berate their cowering little sister, Glinda decided to suddenly stand and softly object. "Father, it is I who allowed sister to venture outside. If anyone should be held responsible, it is me…"

This prompted the king to temper his furious tone. "We will discuss this at another time." He then looked to his favorite daughter. "Please take your sister back to her room when I am done addressing her…"

This prompted Theodora to raise her head. "Father!" Her voice was filled with anxiety and despair. "I cannot live like this anymore! I want to be free! I want to…"

"SILENCE!", the king screamed as rage started to consume him. "You will do as I say! You will be seen and not heard!"

"But father…", the timid witch tried to protest, but the king was having none of it. "I SAID YOU WILL BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD!"

"BUT I WANT TO BE HEARD!" the youngest witch raged as her ring ignited a fireball on her right hand. The king immediately raised his hand towards his youngest daughter as the ball of fire slowly floated towards him before Theodora had a chance to throw it. When it reached his outstretch hand, he closed his fingers around the flame and extinguished it.

Theodora started to breath heavily as shame, guilt and embarrassment started to overcome her.

The king then turned to Glinda, his voice filled with bitterness and indignation. "Daughter, take your sister back to her room!" He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at his youngest daughter with contempt. "You disgust me…"

As this heated and often one-sided conversation took place, Evanora shifted her eyes to the side as she stared at Glinda, giving her sister a weary glance before turning away. Unlike Glinda, Evanora was never close to her father. And underneath her quiet exterior, she didn't trust him. She secretly wished that their mother was the one who ruled Oz. Ever since the faeries enchanted Oz, an Ozma had always ruled the Emerald City. King Pastoria was the first wizard male ruler the city had. This caused much resentment in Evanora, who despised the way her father had treated their softspoken and meek mother. In their many discussions, Evanora tried to convince Lurline to stand up to Pastoria and to "do what she needed to do" in order to regain control of the palace and put an end to his abusive tirades. Evanora then re-focused her gaze onto Theodora, who was visibly shaking as her father finally ceased his verbal assault against her.

Glinda slowly stood up and approached her slightly trembling younger sister to escort her back to her room. The king then turned to his advisor to talk about the upcoming Emerald City dance, his voice growing more distant as the two sisters left the throne room together.

"Why can't he accept me like I am?", Theodora asked her older sister as they slowly made their way down one of the palace's hallways. "I know he's a good man, but all I want is his love…" As they spoke, the youngest witch would alternate between looking at Glinda and lowering her head to look at the floor.

"I know sister…it is just that father has many responsibilities. You know how busy he is with ruling Oz…but I can talk to father…let me talk to him", Glinda said reassuringly. Deep down, Glinda knew that speaking to either of their parents would be of little use. The queen would always relent to the wishes to the king, who was often domineering and controlling if he didn't get things his way.

The king's excuses to Glinda were numerous when she probed him about her little sister. They ranged from her destructive fire powers to her having a unique and rare aversion to water.

"But Theodora should be trained on how to use her fire powers! And besides, what if one day she has to rule Oz itself?" But the king scoffed at Glinda's suggestion. "She will never be queen!" The king glared at Glinda for her even mentioning this ludicrous idea, but then smiled at her gently. "One day, my time will come and you will rule the Emerald City and Oz." The king shifted his eyes. "Because Locasta is suitable to rule, my successor to the throne is you."

Theodora's voice caused Glinda to snap out of her brief daydream as they continued to walk. "I just…I just want to see the sunrise and the sunset…", the youngest witch said in a hopeful and earnest voice. "I want to have friends. I want to fall in love…I…I want to live a normal life…"

The bright sunlight streaked across a nearby window, which showcased the entire Emerald City skyline. As the pair approached the imposing green plated double doors to Theodora's bedroom, , Glinda turned to her and smiled. "You will have all of those things. In time…" A sad expression was apparent on the youngest witch's face as she lowered her head. She then turned away from Glinda and opened the door to her bedroom. Before she closed it behind her, the youngest witch turned to Glinda and smiled. "I am just happy that you've never turned against me. You are the best sister that I could ever hope for…"

As she heard the huge double doors close, Glinda then turned her head to a nearby voice she recognized all too well. "Still coddling that freak after all of these years?" Dressed in all white, Agatha was crossing her arms and stood near the corner of the palace hallway.

"You know I don't like you sneaking up on me", Glinda softly chided her. "And there is goodness in her…"

But Agatha shook her head. She knew that Glinda was naïve at the trust she placed in her siblings, but sometimes the depth of that trust surprised even her. "You didn't see what happened yesterday. She raged at one of your soldiers—and nearly killed her." Agatha spoke slowly and deliberately as her eyebrow raised. "With a fireball…"

"And was that after they were done taunting and tormenting her?", Glinda asked with subtle irritation in her voice. "I've told you already that they need to leave her alone…"

"Unfortunately, that is not my decision to make", the lieutenant responded as Glinda turned and walked away from her. "The king is the one who made it…"

This caused Glinda to stand motionless as she slowly turned to Agatha and shook her head. "I will speak with him…"

Agatha slowly shook her own head. "I don't see why you would. She is a lost cause…"

But Glinda looked at her tenderly with a hint of irritation in her voice. "There is no such thing as a lost cause. Anyone can be good if they want to be. And she is my sister."

"I don't trust either of your sisters", Agatha said bluntly, her eyes narrow. "But at least Evanora will stab you in the front. Maybe your father is right to treat your little sister the way he does."

Glinda shook her head calmly. "Stop it…"

But Agatha was persistent. "Or perhaps you don't see that Evanora is trying to get power of her own and manipulate your little sister to her own ends? Maybe she just wants her little sister to explode on father and one day she will explode on him 'the wrong way'."

A silence descended between the two women, of which the lieutenant then finally broke. "Or haven't you seen it?" Glinda still remained silent.

"One day, your sisters will betray you. You will see…"

The witch was wise enough not to let anger control her. Instead of responding, she gracefully turned away from her lieutenant and started to walk away. Glinda was the exact opposite of her lieutenant and believed the best in people. It was Agatha who was always the pessimistic one.

As the witch continued to walk, she heard the lieutenant's last words ring through the hall. "One day Glinda, you will wake up. One day. You will see…"