Elphaba bent over her broom. The ground blurred, just a few feet beneath her, and she reached up to tug her hat more securely over her head. In front of her, Peric tilted his wings and angled sharply to the left

She bent her wrist just a little and the broom immediately responded, swerving to follow him. She heard Peric chuckle, then beat his wings down hard, surging into the air. Elphaba pulled the broom up and flew after him.

He eased up once they were high in the air, slowing down until she was beside him.

"Pretty impressive, Fae."

"I'm a girl of many talents," she deadpanned.

He rolled his eyes. "Feel like heading back?"

She nodded silently, and together they angled themselves toward the city. They flew low over the walls and landed quietly in an alley a few blocks away from the corn exchange.

Malky was waiting for them when they returned. He paced across the middle of the floor, his head and tail bent low.

"What's up?" asked Elphaba. She noticed a newspaper spread out across the floor near him.

"News," said Malky.

"Bad?" Peric asked, hopping over.

Malky stopped and sat down. He looked past Peric and stared at Elphaba, his eyes wide and unblinking. "News," he repeated. She swallowed.

Peric was close enough to read the paper now. He fluttered his wings and tucked his head back into his neck. Elphaba's stomach dropped, and she moved forward to kneel beside them.

Wizard's New Protégé Makes Dazzling First Impression

Below the bolded headline was a black and white photo of a young girl, beaming and waving at a crowd near the palace. Elphaba saw the familiar curl of her hair, the brightness of her eyes, even through the black and white. Numbly, she registered the fact that Morrible was in the picture, standing next to her, but that didn't seem to matter. All she could think of, all she could see was…

"Talk surrounding the Wizard's new apprentice reached its peak yesterday afternoon, when a Miss Glinda Upland made her first appearance outside the palace," Malky read aloud. "The young sorceress, who until now studied at Shiz—"

"Fae?" Peric asked softly. Malky stopped reading and looked between the two of him.

"She's…she didn't tell me…" Elphaba shut her eyes tight. She breathed in deep, curling her fists, then let it out, forcing herself to stop shaking. "What does this mean?"

Her voice was flat. Peric glanced at Malky, then back at her, worried.

"Fae—"

She ignored him and looked at Malky. "What does this mean? The Wizard has his public figure. We know who it is now. No more surprises. What do we do?"

He blinked slowly. "For now, nothing. We have a job tomorrow night. We do what we're told, like always."

Elphaba nodded and pushed herself to her feet, turning toward her bed.

"Fae." Peric snapped his beak when she didn't turn around. "Elphaba!"

Still no response. Calmly, she took her hat off and set it on the ground along with her broom. She laid down, pulled the blanket over her shoulders, and didn't say another word for the rest of the night.

When Peric and Malky had gone to their respective corners for the night, and no one had moved or made a sound for at least an hour, Elphaba rolled to her feet and grabbed her broom. Her eyes were dry and heavy from lack of sleep, but she ignored it and picked up the paper that was still lying in the middle of the floor. Soundlessly, she slipped onto the broom and flew out the window onto the roof.

She sat down with her knees against her chest and stared at the newspaper. Her eyes moved past the awful photograph and on to the actual article.

Talk surrounding the Wizard's new apprentice reached its peak yesterday afternoon, when a Miss Glinda Upland made her first appearance outside the palace. The young sorceress, who until now studied at Shiz, arrived in the Emerald City about a week ago and has been busy ever since.

"Miss Glinda is a talented young girl," says one of her instructors, ex-headmistress of Shiz, Madame Morrible. "Of course, a job with the Wizard is quite the step up from the classroom, so she is already hard at work training."

Training for what, exactly? We asked the same thing, and while no one at the palace could give us an answer, a few of Miss Glinda's servants had their own piece to say.

"Miss Glinda is one of the most courteous young ladies I've ever had the pleasure of serving," says one of the kitchen staff.

A lady's maid agrees. "She is sweet, kindhearted, just…good."

We have to agree. Glinda "the Good" charmed the crowd at her public appearance, and according to Morrible, there's a lot more where that came from.

"It is still early," she says, "but the public will be seeing a lot of Miss Glinda in the future. Our hope is that she can be a symbol of…well, hope. Goodness and light for the people of the Emerald City, and all of Oz."

Elphaba crumbled the paper, then tried to tear it to shreds. When it didn't work as well as she wanted, she let out a quiet snarl and let the magic flow through her until the paper was ablaze in her hands.

She threw the ashes off the side of the roof and resisted the urge to scream. Glinda the Good. It brought a hot, metallic taste to her mouth, and for a moment she swore her vision tinged red. She bit her cheek until she tasted blood and let her face fall into her hands.

The night wasn't quiet. Elphaba could hear noise in the distance: echoing drunken shouts, the groaning of crumbling buildings, bitter, howling wind. Somewhere in this city, right now, was Glinda.

No, not somewhere—in the palace. With Morrible. With the Wizard.

How could she do this? Elphaba didn't even know she was studying sorcery until just a couple weeks ago. Did she know, when she last saw Elphaba, that she was moving to the Emerald City? How long had this been an option? It was Morrible's idea, undoubtedly. Morrible had given her the offer. But how long ago? And why didn't Glinda tell her?

The air started humming around her, and Elphaba realized she was shaking. She felt so betrayed. She felt angry—no, furious. She felt…she felt…

Unsure. Why didn't Glinda tell her? Elphaba saw, yet again, the image of Glinda standing across the room, turning away from her. I love you, Elphaba had said, and Glinda had given her no response. Was it over? Had she hurt Glinda too many times, and now…?

She heard a whimper, and Elphaba's face burned with embarrassment and the effort it took to control her magic and—oh Oz, was she crying? She sucked in a breath and yanked her sleeve over her hand to dab at her eyes before more tears could fall and burn her.

She clenched her jaw until it hurt and shoved the emotion down. If Glinda didn't care anymore, then neither did she. And since Glinda was here, working for the very people who were destroying Oz, then she clearly didn't care. Elphaba had Peric, and Malky, and her work with the Resistance. Nothing else mattered. It couldn't matter.

A rush of emotion—rage, despair, grief, unlike anything she had ever felt before—threatened to choke her, but she let out a small cough and shut it down. Glinda the Good. How pathetic. How fake. And yet, how clever. She was good at charming a crowd, manipulating the people to get what she wanted. She always had been. The people of Oz would love her.

But as for Elphaba? She hated her. Hated her.

Glinda felt as though she had been running for a week and a half without stopping. Life at the palace was exhausting, and Morrible said she wasn't even doing much yet.

She had been announced to the public a few days ago. There had been cameras and journalists and crowds of strangers calling her name, asking her questions. She had been so overwhelmed she was dizzy, but Morrible's hand dug into her shoulder, so she put on her best smile. She had always been good at putting on a smile.

After that, she had only left the palace a couple of times, mostly just to meet a few of the city's higher ups. There would be more public appearances later, Morrible had told her. Community work, charities, things like that—but for now, she was focusing on settling into the palace.

She still didn't know her way around. The staff and servants were always kind to her, but she felt out of place, especially when they shook their heads as she thanked them. She was anxious all the time, afraid that she would mess up somehow and everyone in this huge, overwhelming city would turn on her. She thought constantly of Elphie, but after Morrible's threats, she fought hard not to let it show. She thought about Shiz, too, and of Boq and Fiyero and Crope and Tibbett, and their corner in the café or the grove of trees they always sat beneath.

Mostly, though, she trained. She spent hours every day with Morrible. Once, another sorceress came in for about an hour of the lesson. Morrible eased up while she was there, and the other instructor had only praise for Glinda. But as soon as she left, Morrible was running her ragged once more.

It was during one of these sessions that a man walked into the room. Morrible tilted her head at him and told Glinda to stop the activity she was doing. Glinda did, immediately blushing as she saw the man. She was breathing hard and sweating, and from the way Morrible had responded, this man was important.

He didn't look important, though. He was short and plain, and whatever hair left on his head was graying. He looked vaguely familiar, and as he moved to stand next to Morrible, Glinda realized she had seen him once before, in a picture on Morrible's desk.

"Miss Glinda," he said, smiling at her. "I'm so pleased to finally meet you. I apologize for taking this long, but it's a busy time, what with this business with Munchkinland. I'm sure you understand."

Glinda blinked. "The…Wizard?"

His smile widened, and he looked genuinely delighted. "Yes, my dear. I'm not quite what you expected, am I? Don't worry, it's a common occurrence. That's why I don't do many public appearances, you see."

She couldn't think of anything to say. It didn't seem to matter. The Wizard came forward and grasped her hand in both of his.

"I must say, you were quite the darling in front of all those people the other day. The whole city is talking about you. Glinda the Good, they keep calling you. I rather like it, don't you? What do you think, Madame Morrible?"

"I believe it suits her image well." Morrible's voice was cheerful, but her eyes were narrowed dangerously at Glinda.

"Exactly right," said the Wizard. "Now, Miss Glinda, to business. There's a reason I wanted to visit you today. You see, you couldn't have arrived at a better time."

"Why is that?" Glinda asked, somewhat warily. The Wizard just grinned, still squeezing her hand.

"I'm sure you've heard all about Munchkinland's intention to secede, yes? Well, the Eminent Thropp will be coming to the palace in just a few days to work out negotiations. I would love it if you could join me in welcoming her."

"M-me?"

"Yes," he said. "See, our new Eminent is just a little younger than you. I can't imagine how stressed and nervous she must be feeling. It is my hope that seeing another young ambassador like yourself can put her at ease a bit."

Glinda blinked a little and closed her mouth, trying to come up with a response. "I-I don't—I mean—y-yes, of course—"

"Excellent!" the Wizard cried. He turned to grin at Morrible. "We'll have to work out details later. I assure you, Miss Glinda, you will be a great help."

He gave her hand one last squeeze, then quickly left the room. Glinda resisted the urge to wince. Had she really just agreed so easily to him? But then, how else did one respond to the Wizard?

"Focus, Miss Glinda. We're not done here."

Glinda tried to put her attention back on sorcery, but inwardly she couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. What exactly did they want her to do? What was going to happen to Nessarose while she was here?

And, most distracting of all—she was going to meet Elphie's little sister?

Nessarose Thropp arrived the next week. Late in the evening, Glinda was led down to the entrance hall. The Wizard was there, surrounded by a few attendants, all of them in dark green suits. Almost a dozen other palace officials—Gale Force officers, politicians, and a couple of sorcerers that Glinda recognized from her sessions with Morrible—were lining up along the wall. Morrible was there, too, and she beckoned Glinda over to position her at the end of the line.

She grabbed Glinda's shoulders and bent down to speak in her ear. "You have no connection to the Thropp family, do you understand?"

Glinda tilted her head away, but Morrible's fingers dug into her arms. "Answer me, Miss Glinda. There is more at stake here than your petty crush."

"I understand," Glinda mumbled. She blinked a couple times, but she had too much makeup on to cry now. Morrible let go of her, satisfied enough, and stood to her side.

The small crowd that had gathered in the foyer chatted as they waited, but Glinda stayed quiet. She recognized a few faces, and if she was put on the spot she could probably come up with names to match, but she felt like a stranger there. Then again, maybe that was why the Wizard wanted Nessa to meet her.

Finally, the doors opened. Glinda was prepared, but apparently the others were not. Nessarose Thropp wheeled into the palace, scowling as the line of politicians struggled to compose their shock.

The Wizard had no such problem. "Everyone," he called, bouncing forward to stand next to her. "May I present Miss Nessarose Thropp, Eminent of Munchkinland. Miss Thropp?" He held out his arm, motioning her forward.

They went slowly down the line as the Wizard introduced the palace officials. Nessarose was perfectly polite. She returned bows with a duck of her head and a pleasant, "Pleased to meet you." But Glinda had become good at reading Thropps, and the more she watched Nessa, the more she saw.

Her manners were flawless—better than Elphaba's ever were, Glinda thought—but beneath her words was a cold sort of dignity. She held her chin high, even as she did her little bow. Her eyes were willful, guarded. There were so many small, stubborn things that reminded Glinda of Elphaba. The sharp line of her jaw, the angle of her brow—their eyes were even the same shade of brown.

All of a sudden, the Wizard and Nessarose were in front of her. Glinda put on her most winning smile and curtsied a little.

"Your Eminence," she said quietly.

"This," said the Wizard, "is Miss Glinda Upland. She is the newest member of our little family here."

Glinda would have had a hard time stopping herself from rolling her eyes, but she was too focused on Nessarose. The younger girl's expression had shifted, just for a second, when Glinda's name was announced. Glinda tried to read her eyes, but whatever recognition that was there had vanished, replaced with that cold dignity that seemed to radiate off of the Eminent.

The Wizard didn't seem to notice. "You are very tired from your trip, I assume? A servant can show you to your room. Your bags have already been brought up, and your people are getting settled in their own chambers as we speak."

Nessarose looked away from Glinda and up at him, nodding a little.

"The night is yours, my dear," the Wizard said kindly. "If you need anything, never hesitate to ask. I will see you in the morning, yes?" He shook her hand in both of his, just as he had Glinda's, then beckoned one of the servants over.

Nessarose disappeared with the servant, and the Wizard turned back to his little entourage. He smiled and nodded, then waved over a couple of politicians, and they, too, disappeared down the hall.

Everyone began to disperse. Morrible put a hand on Glinda's shoulder and led her down the hall. They went up a staircase and rounded a corner, then Morrible pushed Glinda toward the wall, not bothering to be gentle.

Glinda twisted away from her grip and scowled up at her. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. Remarkably, you managed to do what we asked."

Glinda crossed her arms over her chest. "Then why are you dragging me around the palace?"

"Because you don't know your own way," Morrible said snidely. She turned serious. "Your job isn't over."

"What do you mean?"

"Nessarose will be spending the night in her room. The Wizard didn't schedule anything with her until tomorrow."

"So?"

"So, you are to go and have dinner with her."

Glinda blinked. "Why?"

"Because we told you to," Morrible said quietly. "That is the only reason you need."

"You want me to…what, butter her up? Convince her that the Wizard is a wonderful person and she should do everything he asks?"

"No," Morrible said. "If you do that, she'll be suspicious."

"Good. She should be."

"If she is more difficult tomorrow at the negotiations, then you will be held responsible."

"And, what? You'll throw me in Southstairs?"

"That's putting it kindly," said Morrible. "But, yes. And we will advertise it to the whole city. And who do you think will come flying to rescue you?"

Glinda glared, but it was useless. Just like that, Morrible had her trapped. "Fine," she muttered. "Is there anything else you want from me?"

"Put on a smile," Morrible spat. "We want her to actually like you."

With that, she turned and stalked down the hall. Glinda leaned against the wall and pressed her palms into her eyes. The wall was made of polished stone, and it felt cold and foreign against her back. She stood upright again and smoothed out her dress.

"Forgive me, Elphie," she whispered, then she turned and headed back to the first floor, where Nessa's rooms were. "Here goes nothing."

She had to ask a servant for directions, but she eventually found Nessa's room. Glinda lingered outside the door for a while before finally raising her hand to knock softly.

"Enter," said a voice. It sounded much older than Nessa, but when Glinda carefully opened the door and slipped inside, she was the only one there.

"Hi," Glinda said, then immediately cursed herself. Since when was she awkward? She quickly put on a small smile. "I was wondering if you were hungry. We could get dinner?"

"You're asking me to join you for dinner?" Nessa's voice was overly formal. Glinda leaned back against the door, relaxing her stance.

"I thought you might want company. This place is kind of overwhelming, isn't it?" Glinda looked up and waved her hand a little. "I just arrived a couple weeks ago, and I still feel like a stranger most of the time."

Nessarose relaxed just a little, and Glinda felt the tiniest bit of guilt. She pushed it aside. She wasn't lying, so what did it matter?

"We could ask someone to bring us up a meal," Glinda said. "You wouldn't even have to leave the room."

Nessa's eyes flashed up to hers. Earlier, Glinda had thought she looked like Elphaba because of all her stubborn parts. But now, seeing just a glimpse of vulnerability in her gaze, she could see all the small, quiet, uncertain things that both sisters had. It made Glinda feel bad—not for what she was doing now, but for everything she failed to do for Elphaba.

"Okay," Nessa said quietly. "That sounds good."

Glinda smiled again, pushing away her thoughts, and went out into the hall to ask for a tray to be brought up for them. When she returned, Nessa was rolling her chair back and forth. Her shoulders were relaxed, but her eyes were still guarded.

Nessa cleared her throat when she saw Glinda again. "So, you're…Glinda Upland?"

"I am," Glinda said. There was a desk near the door, and she went to sit at it, facing Nessa.

"You went to Shiz?"

Nessarose did know who she was. Elphaba must have talked about her. Glinda felt her cheeks heat up, despite everything.

"I was halfway through my second year until I came here."

"And now you…work for the Wizard." It wasn't a question this time, but Nessa still seemed uncertain. Something didn't add up for her, Glinda knew. But she stayed silent, offering no answer. What was she supposed to say? Nessa sighed. "He asked you to come see me, didn't he?"

She hesitated. "No." Nessa raised an eyebrow, and the expression was so like Elphaba that Glinda immediately amended herself. "Not directly."

She wondered if Nessa knew that she was silently comparing her to Elphaba. If she did, she never let on. The green girl hung in the air between them, haunting, unacknowledged.

The food arrived, then, and they both thanked the man who brought it. They ate little and talked less. Nessa asked her a couple polite questions about the palace—how long had she been there, was it an adjustment from Shiz or her hometown. Glinda decided to stay away from any touchy subjects and instead asked about the Colwen Grounds.

"I wanted to study architecture," she explained when Nessa gave her a surprised look. "It's one of the oldest buildings in Munchkinland, right? Aside from a few churches."

As long as they could stay on irrelevant subjects, they were relaxed. At one point Glinda looked down and noticed Nessa's shoes, which glittered like jewels.

"Oh, those are gorgeous," she said, leaning forward. "Where did you get them? Did you have them made?"

"They were a gift from my father, for this trip."

Glinda wanted to scowl at the mention of Elphaba's father, but instead she smiled. "Emerald City fashion? Two of my friends picked apart my entire wardrobe to prepare me for coming here."

"The palace didn't give you everything you need?" Nessa asked, smirking a little.

"Oh, they did," said Glinda. "But it's nice to have something from home, you know?"

Nessa gazed down at her shoes and stayed quiet. She looked so lost all of a sudden, so uncertain. Glinda thought about how much Elphaba had worried about her sister, even back before she took the Eminency. She bit her lip, thinking hard. She wanted to help Nessa somehow, to make up for all the times she couldn't help Elphaba.

"I realize this will seem rude," she said softly, "but may I ask about your legs?"

Nessarose scowled, but it seemed more out of surprise than malice. Still, she sounded annoyed when she answered. "I was born like this."

"I know. El—" Glinda bit her lip, struggling to breathe for a moment. Nessa's face was impassive, waiting. She tried again. "Do you know if it's the muscles or the bones or the nerves?" Now Nessa looked like she was about to snap at her, so Glinda quickly raised her hands and went on. "Forgive me, it's just… This past semester, I did some pretty extensive research with healing magic."

"You can't help," Nessa said coldly. "No one has ever been able to find a solution. Besides, magic is frowned upon by the Unnamed God."

"All living beings contain magic," Glinda argued, gently. She looked down again, and suddenly she had an idea. "What if the magic wasn't directly attached to you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

Glinda moved to kneel in front of Nessa and touched one of her shoes. "May I?"

Nessarose hesitated, but then she nodded a little. Glinda squeezed the shoe. It seemed durable enough to hold up against a spell. She glanced up at Nessa, studying her. Her legs were so thin from never being used, but that didn't mean it was a muscle problem.

"Do your legs ever hurt?" she asked quietly.

Nessa shook her head. "I've never felt them."

Nerves, then. Glinda nodded a little and focused once more on the shoes. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing. But if her magic was focused on the shoes and not Nessa, then there shouldn't be any bad side effects. Worst case scenario, whatever she tried didn't work.

She didn't think about the Wizard. She didn't think about Morrible. She didn't think about the ridiculous name the city was starting to give her—Glinda the Good. She only thought of Nessa before her, so steady and yet so small in the mess of politics she had been thrust into. And she thought of Elphaba, somewhere in this city, trying, as always, to do the right thing. Glinda closed her eyes and started whispering the incantation. It was almost a hum, and the air around her started thrumming with energy. Nessarose shifted and started to protest, but then shut her mouth and pressed her lips together.

When Glinda opened her eyes again, the shoes were glowing bright. They faded slowly to their normal color as she leaned back on her hands and looked up at Nessa.

Nessa's eyes were shut tight and her fingers trembled around the arms of her chair. One of her legs jerked and she gasped a little. Her brow furrowed and sweat started to bead on her forehead from the effort.

"Nessa—"

"No," she hissed. Then, softer, "No. Let me do this."

Slowly, she pushed her leg out. Her shoe met the ground and wobbled a little, but she leaned forward and put some of her weight on it. She stretched her other leg out and went through the same process. Slowly, she eased her weight away from the chair. Her legs trembled and buckled, and she fell forward. Glinda rose up on her knees to catch her, but Nessa immediately pushed her away, stumbling back to her feet.

Her eyes opened, and she stared across the room at nothing, her expression unlike anything Glinda had ever seen before. She swallowed hard, then took a small step forward. Then another. And another.

Nessarose Thropp was walking.