Disclaimer- I do not own Wicked or Rent.
Mark and Joanne had the urge to pinch themselves. They were now standing off to the far side of the throne room after Elphaba had led them quietly through a small door.
Their eyes were staring straight ahead at the person sitting on one of the thrones—Maureen. She had long velvet robes draped over herself and a golden crown sitting atop her head. Maureen's dark brown wavy hair fell past her shoulders, down to her shoulder-blades. She didn't seem to have aged a day since Mark and Joanne had seen her last.
There were citizens lined up to see and talk to her, most of them bearing gifts.
Solely from knowing Maureen for so long, Mark could tell that she was hideously bored but trying to hide it.
The citizen up in front of Maureen now sank to his knees. "Your Majesty, you have no idea how much this meeting means to me."
"Um…thanks!" Maureen flashed one of her trademark smiles.
The man proceeded to tell Maureen the most urgent problems in his life. To both Mark and Joanne's surprise, she actually seemed to be listening.
"Okay, so, I'll get a doctor to your house by tomorrow and… I'll have a guy talk to you about the other things really soon, 'kay?"
"Thank you, my Queen!" The man bowed again and backed out of the throne room.
The next person approached, but Maureen got up from her throne before he could get anywhere. She spoke to the crowd, "Sorry, I have to go. If you have any serious problems, you can talk to one of the advisors."
The citizens dispersed rather quickly, and Maureen turned to leave the room out the side door…the same door that Mark, Joanne, and Elphaba were standing near. Elphaba looked down at the little girls, "Can you two go play in the garden for me? Your daddies are outside and maybe they'll play with you two as well."
The girls nodded and happily skipped away down the hall together.
Elphaba, Mark, and Joanne now looked over to Maureen, who had just spotted them.
Maureen stopped walking immediately, her eyes and smile growing bigger by the second.
"What the freakin' hell are you two doing here?"
Elphaba smirked, "The girls were playing and they decided to give you a special birthday present. Surprise!"
Maureen couldn't help but feel pride toward her daughter and niece, and in truth, she wasn't all that angry. She had lost every part of Bohemia when Angel had left a few years ago and now she had some pieces back. It felt as if a missing part of her had just been restored; although, she would've liked it if weren't just her two exes that had returned.
Despite this, Maureen speed-walked over to Joanne and Mark and hugged them both.
"I missed you guys…"
As surprised as Mark looked, Joanne looked even more stunned and speechless.
Maureen smiled at them both, hugging them again, "So you met the girls! Aren't they the best?! Emaurie is my daughter and Elfie is Faba's. They're both four-years-old."
Elphaba spoke up dryly, "And inventive. They found a spell to bring your friends here for your birthday. "
"Can one of you please tell us what the hell is going on?" Joanne asked, still absolutely confused.
"You have a daughter?" Mark asked, his mind still picking through what Maureen had just said.
"Why don't we sit down somewhere and explain." Elphaba said, looking at the two newcomer's faces.
"That would be nice." Joanne responded caustically, looking quite relieved.
--
Once the four were situated in one of the sitting rooms, the process of explaining began, which clearly wasn't going to be an easy feat.
"Alright, so what happened to you, Maureen?" Mark asked. "When you left Bohemia, I mean."
Maureen leaned back in the couch she was sharing with Elphaba. She had already taken off her crown and robes, making herself more comfortable in just jeans and a low-cut shirt.
"I didn't leave really. I was sort of magically 'kidnapped'. My sister Faba, here, used a spell and it pulled me here…to Burzee. It seems I was actually born in this world, not ours…I mean yours…" She looked to her sister in confusion.
"Feel like lending a hand? Any old time now would be nice, Faba."
Elphaba sat smiling at her sister's difficulties. Then she spoke to Mark and Joanne directly.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for what the girls did. They meant well, but that didn't make it any easier on you. I'm Elphaba, Maureen's twin sister…yes, twin, I know, I know, I'm green, she's not. Try to get past that. Many years ago an evil witch sought to gain and keep control of a neighboring land called Oz. Unfortunately, she discovered an ancient prophecy that predicted her downfall at the hands of two sister witches, one normal, one green. When we were born she took steps to confound the prophecy by kidnapping one of the babies and placing her in your world. That baby was Maureen. When a spell was cast several years ago, it pulled Maureen home, well, here, to Burzee and to me. Needless to say, we fought Morrible…"
"We kicked her ass, you mean." Maureen added.
"Yes, we did. She was destroyed. In the meantime though, Maureen met and fell in love with the King of Burzee, Emrys. It was her decision to stay. We both had daughters around the same time. I'm married to Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus…it's in Oz. Elfie is our daughter. Emaurie is the daughter of King Emrys of Burzee and his wife, Queen Maureen. How's that, Reena?"
Joanne and Mark didn't seem much less confused than before.
Joanne was beginning to get a rather nasty headache. "You expect us to believe that? Magic's not real…it's just…not."
Elphaba's eyes caught Joanne's and she smiled. "Your friend Angel didn't seem to have a problem believing it."
"A…Angel? How could Angel have been here? Angel died before Maureen disappeared." Mark asked, his voice wavering as he spoke.
"Magic." Maureen said softly, but seriously. "Pure, honest magic. The kind of magic that brings a beautiful soul back to guide you through the toughest time of your life. Everything Angel was about when she was alive was magic. Why wouldn't it be after? You need proof? Then here's your proof—I know that Mimi is dead…and I know that because Angel told me. Angel was there for her just like she was there for Faba and me when we needed her the most."
Elphaba spoke up, "That's how I recognized your faces. I saw you in a mirror that Angel led us to."
Mark and Joanne sat silently for a moment and looked at each other, questioning each other without speaking. This couldn't be true…could it?
Mark was still considering everything they had said, but Joanne, ever the lawyer, stood up firmly and declared, "No! No, Maureen you disappear and you expect me to believe that you dropped into the middle of 'The Wizard of Oz'?"
"The what?" This came from Elphaba, who looked sincerely confused and startled.
"'The Wizard of Oz'" supplied Joanne. "It's a movie…well, first it was a book. Maureen you must have seen 'The Wizard of Oz'!"
Maureen wrinkled up her nose and shook her head. "Not a chance! A black and white movie? Every time it came on, I got up to that damn song about a rainbow. I couldn't stand it! I always changed the channel."
Mark's jaw dropped open and he shook his head unbelievingly. "But it's a classic!"
Suddenly they noticed Elphaba pacing. "You say this was a book before it became this…movie thing you talk about?"
Mark nodded, "Uh, yes. It was a book…written a long time ago, before the movie. Why?"
Elphaba looked at Maureen meaningfully. "The old coot did it, Reena."
"What?"
"Daddy dearest. He made it home. Don't you see? Glinda kicked him out of Oz, him and his hot-air balloon, and he made it back safely, probably pulled into a time current…sending him further back to the past. I can only assume that he shared the story with someone and well, he always wanted to be famous again."
"I'll be damned."
Mark and Joanne spoke at the same time, "Daddy?"
It was at this point that the sitting room door opened, admitting two formidable men, each holding a little girl by the hand.
Maureen stood up, looking at Emrys, "We have company, baby!"