Chapter Five

Elphaba looked into the crystal ball that she had learned to use in Shiz. She didn't like the idea of spying on Corey; she wasn't sure what she was going to find, but she couldn't let him travel through Oz with the little girl unless she knew exactly why they were traveling together.

Their picture began to form. She could see Corey's tall, lean build, walking next to a man who was slightly shorter, but more muscular. Behind them were the girl, and a Lion, walking arm-in-arm.

"Avaric…?" She mumbled to herself quietly as the picture began to clarify.

Yes, it was her old schoolmate traveling with Corey, the girl, and the Lion. A most formidable group; she certainly wouldn't be able to take the ruby slippers when Dorothy was protected by such a group.

Then again, Corey couldn't oppose her taking the slippers that were so rightfully hers. She knew that he was a notorious womanizer, but her relationship with him was different. He teased her, he smiled. For goodness sake, he had talked about a Queen, surely that couldn't have been a conversational ploy. She had already slept with him. It wasn't some silly attempt to get her to sleep with him, was it?

She watched as Avaric and Corey spoke, and couldn't help but notice how Corey kept turning around to look at Dorothy, who was smiling at him shyly. Her heart sank as he smiled back. He smiled. Corey Diggs smiled at her like he was genuinely happy to see her. She had never seen him smile that way before.

Her heart thundered against her chest as she watched angrily.

She leaned in quickly, hoping to hear Corey telling Avaric something that would lead her to believe that he was not setting his sights on the little girl from Kansas.

"I don't know, Corey, superstitions or not, she's just a girl," She heard Avaric state.

"Hey, she brought one witch down, didn't she? If she emerges a victor in another encounter with a witch, you have to admit, everyone in Oz will think that she has some kind of powers." Corey responded with a shrug.

"We're going to be doing all of the work, just so she can leave as a legend." Avaric grumbled.

"There are worse things in life." Corey reminded him.

Elphaba backed away from the crystal ball, gasping.

She knew that by "witch", Corey had meant her. He had never used the term to her face, but Elphaba was perfectly aware of what the rest of Oz was calling her. Of course, Glinda was a witch too, but she had managed to be a good witch, likely due to her unquestioning obedience. They certainly weren't after her.

She was having trouble believing that Corey was so willing to kill her, still. The Wizard, yes, the Wizard was a despicable, corrupt man, but Corey was something different. He could be cold, cunning, and snide, but he could also be funny, charming, and kind when he wanted to be. He had made her believe that he had genuine feelings for her after Nessa's funeral – surely he wouldn't do such a thing if he didn't care for her – Corey was a lot of things, but he certainly wasn't fake. Was he?

Well, the crystal ball didn't lie. He had spoken of killing a witch. That little girl from Kansas must have found a way to manipulate one of the great minds of the time, brought him to his knees, and demanded that he slay the second sister alongside of her.

The joke was on Dorothy Gale.

Elphaba would be ready. Oh yes, she would be very ready to face this little girl. She would take out the girl first then hope that the others would be relinquished from her spell. She didn't want to hurt her old friends, Avaric and Corey, nor did she want to hurt an Animal.

She called the flying Monkey to her side, and immediately began working on a plan.


That evening, when Avaric and Corey set up camp again, Dorothy moved closer to where Corey was sitting, in the hopes of getting even better acquainted with him.

He raised his eyebrows at her curiously as she did so, but did not protest.

"Tell me something about your father. It sounds just wonderful to be the son of someone so important. Is he very kind? Oh, I bet he taught you magic. Do you know very much magic?" She questioned eagerly, smiling at him widely.

Corey tried not to smile, without much luck.

For some reason, Dorothy Gale brought out a side of him that he had not yet been acquainted with. It was like the tables had turned, and suddenly, she was controlling his will power. She was making him enjoy her company, making him smile, making him hope. Nobody had been so manipulative towards him before.

"I'm not really interested in speaking about my father, but I suppose I can talk to you about magic." He replied slowly, still trying to regulate his facial features.

She looked at him curiously, but didn't push the subject.

"Okay, then tell me all about magic! Was it difficult to learn? How much do you know? Could you send me back to Kansas if you wanted to?" She questioned, leaning forward as her eyes dilated; she was giving Corey her full, undivided attention.

Corey looked at her curiously before answering.

"Magic isn't very hard. It was already sort of in my genes. I went to school for it, but didn't learn a whole lot. I just found a lot of people to practice on. I know mostly everything that there is to know, as far as I'm concerned, and yes, I suppose I could send you to Kansas. Eager to leave us, are you?" He questioned, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement.

The sooner Dorothy was out of Oz, the easier his life would be. She would no longer be manipulating his emotions and mental capacity, and she would no longer be a liability to him. He could resume his business as the heir to Oz, while she continued living the life of a naïve, simple farm-girl.


Dorothy mentally scolded herself as Corey continued talking about how he came to master magic.

Now he likely thought that she was eager to return to Kansas. He had asked her if she was eager to leave her newfound friends, which couldn't have been farther from the truth. She was still debating whether or not she really wanted to leave Oz. She believed that there was still hope for Corey proposing to her by the end of the adventure. After all, he had been smiling at her a lot, and he was now opening up to her about his magic. That had to be a good sign, right?

Even if Corey did not want to propose to her immediately (it made sense, really, he should wait until he was in power to declare his partner), Dorothy had other reasons for staying in Oz. To start with, everyone thought that she was something special, while back home, she was just another mouth to feed. Secondly, she had friends in Oz. In Kansas, she had Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, and the farm hands. None of them were appropriate friends for a little girl.

Dorothy quickly turned her interest back on Corey, before he noticed her zoning out. She wouldn't want to give him the impression that he was boring her; it was bad enough that he thought she was eager to leave Oz.

"So after a couple of years at Shiz, and a few more professors like Dr. Dillamond, I finally got out of it, and learned a few things along the way. How about you, what kind of schooling do you receive in Kansas?" He questioned, turning his bright gaze on Dorothy.

She blushed, looking down at the ground to avoid his green eyes.

"Oh, my education was not quite as impressive, to be sure. I went to the schoolhouse nearby until my parents were killed. Then I went to live with Auntie Em, and well, she lives so far away from any school houses, that she just taught me herself!" She explained, trying to remain pleasant.

Corey's facial expression softened.

"I'm sorry Dorothy. I guess I didn't realize that you'd lost your parents. What happened?" He questioned quietly, hoping that he wouldn't upset her by talking about it.

Avaric and Jeffrey had overheard the conversation, and had suddenly decided that the conversation was getting too personal for them. With a great deal of noise, they made it obvious that they were lying down, their backs facing Corey and Dorothy, so the two would have a bit of privacy.

Dorothy shrugged, as her cheeks reddened.

"They got into an automobile accident. Do you have those here?" She questioned.

Corey shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Oh, they're like carriages, except you don't need horses drawing them. Anyway, they're horrendously unsafe, and when my parents went to go visit some friends down the road, they collided with another automobile. There were no survivors. Auntie Em had to come take Toto and me back to the farm." She replied softly, looking at the ground thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that. My mother died right after I was born. I know it's difficult to get along without having that kind of guidance with you all of the time." He mumbled, not realizing just how exposed he was making himself.

Dorothy's brown eyes finally met his, as she sighed, giving him the same sympathetic look that he always received when people talked about his deceased mother. The only difference was, Dorothy seemed genuinely sympathetic.

"I'm so sorry, that must have been extremely difficult, to have never known your mother. Are you close with your father? You haven't talked about him very much." She wondered quietly, glancing over at Avaric and Jeffrey before returning her focus on him.

Corey hunched over, lowering his voice.

"Yeah, we don't get along so well. My father is a very…eccentric man. He likes things done his way, and we don't always see eye-to-eye in that regard. Everyone in Emerald City has told me that ever since my mother died, he's just been…well, different. I suppose she was the one element keeping him good and kind. Once she passed, so did his good nature."

"He did seem a bit cross when I spoke to him."

Corey chuckled, looking up at Dorothy.

"Don't take it personally. He speaks to everyone who asks for wishes that way. At least you don't have to worry about that for much longer."

"I'm sorry that you don't get along with your father very well."

"I'm sorry your parents are dead."

They both looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.


"Well, it's getting late, and we both have a big day ahead of us. Goodnight, Dorothy." Corey said immediately, standing up and brushing off his pants, looking around for a place to lie down.

Dorothy nodded, swallowing and jumping up.

They both made themselves comfortable; Dorothy lying against Jeffrey, with Toto curled up beside her. Corey was lying in front of Dorothy, in the same strategic position that he had been in the night before, just in case anyone did show up with ill-will towards her.

As he was lying on his back, staring at the stars, he felt his stomach sink.

How had Dorothy managed to get him to open up so much, despite knowing him for such a short period of time? He had never spoken to anyone as openly before, not even his own father. He was always guarded and calculated in his conversations, never betraying himself with something the other person could use against him. Yet, he had just handed Dorothy a loaded gun, trusting her to avoid using it during her stay in Oz.

He had spoken to her the way Glinda spoke to him. He had genuinely cared about the fact that her parents had died in some strange device in Kansas. He could feel his heart stutter when her big brown eyes were filled with tears at the memory of it. He didn't want to brush her off, or change the subject. He just wanted to let her talk. Likewise, he had talked to her about his mother and his feelings towards his father. He had never even thought about discussing any of that with anyone. Yet, without any prior thought, he had completely spoken his mind to that little girl from Kansas.

He was supposed to dislike her. He was supposed to be anxious to send her right back to the farm she had come from. She had thrown a wrench in that plan by scooting closer to him, pleading him for an intimate conversation. As if he needed any more complicated situations on the journey.