Chapter 15

Emily stuck her head out the window and took in all the sights below her. Guests were starting to arrive for the ball. She chuckled to herself. Of course it was so natural that she was invited to her first ball, and had nothing to wear. She shut the window and sat on the luxurious bed in her room. The guest room was glamorous, and was obviously made for only the most important of guests. Emily wondered why she was even in this room, and why she was considered such an important guest to Oz. Not that she minded of course. But it was Dorothy who was famous, not her.

"I guess family connections go a long way here" She thought to herself.

At that moment the door flung open and for a moment, Emily thought it was Glinda who had walked in. But after a second look, she was clearly much younger.

"You must Emily, right?" The young woman smiled the most brilliant smile Emily had ever seen.

"And you must be..Melinda?" Emily countered. Melinda nodded and looked Emily over.

"Hmm, what do I have to work with, let's see.." Melinda then circled around Emily. Emily felt like she was prey being circled by a lion. "I just wish I had more time, but we'll have to make do" Melinda finally concluded. She then snapped her fingers once, and immediately, two other women walked in. One was holding various hair styling products, and the other was holding makeup. Before Emily could protest, Melinda pushed her into a chair, which seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"I have to go finish getting ready, but I'll be back with your dress." And with that, Melinda walked out, leaving Emily to be bombarded with hairspray and blush. Meanwhile, she wondered whether Melinda was acting like a total bitch because she was in a rush, or if she was always like that.

About half an hour or so later, Melinda came back into the room holding a dress bag. She had a beautiful sky blue dress on, and by the looks of it, was very expensive.

"It took me some time, but I finally found the perfect dress for you!" Melinda laid the dress bag on the bed and opened it. In the bag was a sleek green dress, which shimmered in the light. Emily almost gasped.

"It's beautiful! Thank you!"

"You can keep it, I bought it for a party, but green was never my color. It clashes with my hair" Melinda said swishing her hair to prove her point. Emily couldn't imagine why green would clash with blonde, but she said nothing.

"Now, with the issue of jewelry, I found these lovely emerald bracelets, but I couldn't find any necklaces…"

Emily smiled. "That's fine, I'll just keep on the one I have already"

Melinda took a step forward "May I look at it?"

Emily nodded. Emily took the necklace off and handed it to Melinda. She looked at it curiously in her hand. "Interesting, I don't recognize this gem. It's definitely not an emerald, but it's green like one…" Melinda handed it back. "It'll do, now come on, put on your dress and get to the ball room. Come and find me when you get there" Before Emily could say anything, once again Melinda had left.

Emily sighed and put on her dress. It fit perfectly, just as Melinda had said. Emily looked at the mirror and examined herself. It was official; she had never looked this good. And she felt great, despite being stuck in a "fantasy land"

Emily made her way to the ballroom, which wasn't to hard to find, considering that's where everyone else seemed to be heading. When she walked in, she suddenly felt overwhelmed. There were maybe 300 people already there, and more filtering in through the doors. And most were wearing some shade of green. And the ball room itself was huge, and was adorned with chandeliers with emerald crystals. Green was everywhere you turned. Music was playing, people were dancing, eating, or talking. Suddenly, she felt everyone's eyes fall on her. She scanned the room for Melinda. It wasn't too hard to spot her, she was the only one wearing blue after all. But before she could get to her, she heard her name being called.

"Emily! Emily! Come here dear!" Glinda called.

If Melinda had been easy to spot, then Glinda was the easiest of all. Pink did stick out in a sea of green. Actually pink stood out no matter what color surrounded it. Emily made her way over to Glinda and curtsied.

"Oh, there's no need for that nonsense, you're among friends here" Glinda giggled.

Emily blushed "Oh, thank you"

"Emily there was someone I wanted to introduce you to"

A woman stepped up next to Glinda, dressed in purple "This is Nalia, the Witch of the South"

"Emily, such a pleasure to finally meet you" Nalia said

"Oh, the pleasure is mine" Emily said, minding her manners.

"Glinda was just telling me about you're little mission. I just wanted to let you know, if you need any help, don't hesitate to find me. I'll do all I can to help you find your family"

"Thank you, I'd appreciate all the help I can get."

"Mother, you sent for me?" A new voice then said from behind Emily. Emily turned around to find a young man.

"Yes, Fausto, I don't believe you've met Emily"

Fausto turned to Emily and bowed "A pleasure"

Emily nodded, speechless.

"Fausto is the captain of the guard"

"Is he your son?" Was the only thing Emily managed to say. She tried avoiding eye contact with Fausto.

"My only, do you see the resemblance? Is it the good looks?" Glinda said and smiled at Fausto

"Mother, please" Fausto said trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Well, if you don't mind, Melinda told me to find her when I arrived" Emily then said, trying to leave

"Very well, go ahead" Glinda said

As Emily walked away, Glinda gave Fausto a look. "What?" Fausto asked defensively.

"You didn't bring a date…again"

"Your point.."

Glinda turned Fausto in the direction of where Emily was walking. "Don't think I didn't notice the way you looked at her"

Fausto turned to Glinda, about to deny it all, but Glinda interrupted his thoughts. "Go over there, and ask her to dance. It would make my heart so happy, to see my son finally dance with a girl at a ball"

Fausto sighed and nodded. "This is only because it'll make you happy"

"It'll make you happier. Don't act like this is some sort of punishment, she's a nice girl. Now go on!" Glinda said in an encouraging tone.

Fausto squeezed through the crowds of people, and caught up to Emily, just as she gotten to Melinda. "Fausto? What brings you here?" Melinda asked, puzzled. He usually didn't participate in any socializing during parties. Emily turned around to once again to find herself staring at Fausto. She tried so hard not to make it obvious that she was gawking at him, but it was hard to hide. But it looked as if he was doing the same.

"I need, I mean…ahem. I would like to..no.."

He then turned to Emily and held out his hand

"May I have this dance?" He asked. He hoped his hand wasn't sweaty. Emily stood there like a complete idiot, still staring, now in disbelief. This gorgeous, handsome guy was asking to dance, at a ball. She felt like she was Cinderella, and Prince Charming was asking her to dance. "Yes" She wasn't sure how to respond, so she said it in a tiny whisper so quiet, that Fausto didn't hear. So she nodded, and took his hand.

They went out onto the dance floor and stood there, staring at each other, neither one moving.

"Um, I'm not very good at dancing" Fausto then admitted

"Me either. Well, I'm not exactly sure if dancing here is quite the same as back home" Emily said, relieved that they both felt sort of awkward.

"Well, it must be to some extent, after all the Wizard was from where you came from. And he introduced Ozians to dancing." Fausto said in a matter-of-fact tone

"Really? I had no idea" Emily remarked. Awkward silence then ensued.

Melinda then came onto the dance floor with a young man, and began dancing. But she was dancing awfully close to Fausto.

"Say something" She whispered harshly at him

"Like what" he muttered

"What was that?" Emily asked

"Oh, um, I said, that I like your dress" Fausto quickly said

"Thank you. Melinda gave it to me. I feel like I fit in with it, everyone else seems to be wearing green." Emily said. Fausto was no exception. He was wearing a green tux.

Fausto half smiled. "It's almost a requirement. We are in the Emerald City after all"

"What's so special about the Emerald City in particular? Is it made of Emeralds? Is it magical?" Emily asked

"How about I give you a grand tour of the city tomorrow, and you can judge for yourself?"

Emily smiled "I'd like that"

Fausto shot a glance at Melinda, who nodded in approval.

"Now, let's really dance? Shall we?" Fausto asked as some waltz music starting playing

So Close- (Fausto)

(authors note: For those who have seen "Enchanted", this scene may be a little easier to envision. Just imagine everyone in green, and Amy Adams is younger and has black hair…and Patrick is younger and blonde..works for me)

You're in my arms, and all the world is calm. The music playing on for only two. So close together, and when I'm with you. So close to feeling alive.

A life goes by, romantic dreams will stop. So I bid mine goodbye and never knew. So close was waiting, waiting here with you. And now forever I know.
All that I wanted to hold you, So close.

So close to reaching that famous happy end. Almost believing this was not pretend. And now you're beside me and look how far we've come. So far we are so close.

Fausto looked down at Emily, who was against his chest. "You lied"

She looked at him confused "About what?"

Fausto sighed "You said you couldn't dance"

Emily smiled "The same could be said about you"

"I'm a fast learner" He said and grinned.

Melinda went over to her mother and remarked "I've never seen Fausto smile that many times, especially at a party"

Glinda smiled and looked at Emily and Fausto dance. The scene reminded her of that night at the Oz Dust Ballroom. The night she had danced away with Fiyero, the night she became friends with Elphaba. "Elphie" Glinda whispered quietly

"What?" Melinda asked

"Oh, nothing, now why are you here with me, this is your party" Glinda said and shooed Melinda away.

How could I face the faceless days, if I should lose you now? We're so close, to reaching that famous happy end. And almost believing this was not pretend. Let's go on dreaming for we know we are. So close. So close. And still so far.