Authors Note: Italics indicate a flashback. Just thought I'd clear up any possible confusion.

Gates of Destiny

Sweat slowly dripped from his brow as he came to a halt in the middle of the road. The vision that was in front of him symbolized a way to intertwine with his upcoming destiny.

He felt a pit develop within his stomach as his nervousness began to make him uncomfortable. He had travelled mostly on foot for two weeks and four days, in order to reach this green spectacle.

The traveler only stopped to sleep briefly and to nibble off of the three loaves bread his mother had packed for him.

Now that he had reached the city, he prepared to meet the all mighty Wizard. He had no idea what he was going to say to him, but he knew that his strikingly apparent ambition would be enough to at least get him inside the palace.

His hair was brushed, and he changed out of his rugged journey worn clothes, so that he looked pretty decent.

His mother had always told him, "One must look presentable in order to persuade others to listen, only then can ideas be heard." So, looking as presentable as possible, he walked up to the gatekeeper.

"Hello dear sir, I am here to work with the Wizard." The man at the gate, stared at him, yet didn't reply, "Um, excuse me sir, but I'm here to see the Wizard."

The man looked at him, as if he were speaking another language, "Sorry son, the Wizard has been vanished, never to be seen again."

Could this be true? Had he traveled in vain? He felt his heart quickening and the blood throbbing in his head, he was beginning to loose himself.

"Well, in that case," he continued on, trying to hold on to his last bit of determination, "I would like to speak to the man who has taken his place."

At that, the guard chuckled. He pointed him in the direction, and the man boldly entered into the city.

All around him, people bustled about with their various tasks awaiting completion. He was surprised at the elaborate dress that they wore, and became aware that he stuck out in his drab country garb. He felt himself blush from embarrassment.

He would never forget this point in time. This point in time was an important milestone for one reason, and one reason only.

This reason was gorgeous, elegant, and surprisingly small in size. This reason made him smile uncontrollably, and it was evident that it was worthy of every ounce of his attention.

The bubbly blonde quickly captured his eye, and when he went to introduce himself, he clumsily stepped on her foot.

"Ooh!" She squealed from the sharp pain. He quickly apologized, "Excuse me, uh," he stopped, giving her a chance to say her name, but she didn't give it to him. Instead, he gave her his, "I'm Chanter, and I'm here to see the man in charge." She laughed, "Well, you're looking at him." She said while pointing to herself for added emphasis.

Chanter looked surprised to find out that this petite woman was the ruler of Oz, after all, she was a woman and she was beautiful.

She was decked out in pink, with lace and heels. He didn't know how she walked, let alone ruled an entire land, wearing such shoes.

He realized that he was staring and quickly averted his eyes, hoping that she hadn't noticed. It was too late, "Ahem." She cleared her throat, "well, Sir Chanter, do you have business with the ruler of Oz?" He tried to reply, but found it hard to retrieve his words, so he nodded instead.

"Would you care to tell me what that business is?" she asked, with her impatience becoming apparent in her tone, "Well, I was hoping to work with the Wizard, you know, to learn from him."

"Hm," she thought to herself, "well, if you want to see how a real leader works, you can take a job with me. I've been in need of some extra help." With that, she pivoted on her stiletto heels and walked out of the room.

Chanter vividly recalled that day, because it was the day he had met Glinda. He had felt something for her from the moment he saw her standing in the hall, and it had only developed since then.

They began spending a lot of time together, working of course. Until one day, something was different. When she looked at him, her eyes sparkled with indescribable beauty. They found it easier to communicate, and they were finding that they understood each other.

Glinda had married Chanter, in true fairy tale fashion. They seemed to have a perfect relationship, but little did they know, something was brewing inside of one of them. It was something that would dare to split them apart.

In three months since the couple had returned from their honeymoon, Chanter had begun to feel neglected. He tried not to, but he couldn't help it. Every moment, Glinda was busy, making decisions and being treated like a queen, while he was left in the dark.

She was making crucial decisions in meetings concerning the importance of citizen rights and fairness to everyone no matter what species. Chanter sat silently at her side. He did not have the right to express his opinions, for he had no authority.

What a man he was, watching his wife make important decisions all the while he stood there as useless as a sock without it's match.

He tried to ignore his feelings, but it was becoming more and more difficult with each passing day. He found himself bitter whenever he had to hear her address her subjects. Every time this feeling begin to rise from within him, he was also overcome with guilt. How come he couldn't just be happy for her? What kind of husband hated his wife because of her success?