"Welcome, my student, to our personal Palace Library. Every one of these books were donated to us by the Emerald City Library in a stunnifying display of generosity." Madame Morrible led Glinda through a stately oak door into the largest library she'd ever seen. The Wizard trailed behind.
Beneath a high golden dome of a ceiling sat shelf upon shelf of books. They came in every size, some bearing the yellow pages of age while others were brand-new. All of the shelves had to have stretched over ten feet high. Marble columns surrounded the shelves and led to the second-floor balconies, while the walls bore intricate oil paintings of landscapes from all over Oz. An enormous window in the back wall had its curtains drawn back, letting in the sunlight and illuminating swirls of dust particles. Elphaba would've adored this place.
No. That was wrong. The Elphaba Galinda had known would've adored the place. As for Glinda, she could only have wondered what Elphaba, would think now. Wherever she was. Perhaps she'd denounce anything that belonged to the Wizard. Call it all lying propaganda and storm out, sparks of magic involuntarily sparking along her fingertips. There was no reason why it should've been her and not Glinda standing beside Morrible.
They wound between the shelves until Morrible stopped and turned to face one. "These rows are our Sorcery section. We're going to build the image of you as a Good Witch. The people need another symbol of hope to instill confidence. They will know that their fine government will keep them safe, even in danger and hardships."
Glinda steeled herself. This was nothing new. They weren't talking about Elphaba. The Wicked Witch wasn't real, only a creation of the newspapers and wanted posters. She wasn't speaking ill of her best friend; the Witch barely resembled the actual person at all. Just another lie she had to spread until Elphaba was finally found and received the crushing brunt of the Witch's punishment.
Not that she could tell Morrible such things. "Are you going to teach me sorcery again?" was all she asked.
She arched a penciled eyebrow. "You? Sorcery?"
"It's just since you brought me here, and-"
"Glinda, my dear, no need to worry about such things. The vast majority of our population has no innate magical talent whatsoever." Morrible ran a finger along the spines of the books. She selected some, forming a sizable stack on the table. They were detailed studies of sorcery, practical spells, and the physics of magic. "We are here so I can prepare you for the Anniversary Ball. You need something flashy, something magical to make your official debut as a Champion of Goodness. Oh, I like that title. Someone get that in writing."
"You trained me yourself. I can come up with something suitifying if I had the chance."
"Don't stress yourself out so. The Ball will be perfect. We'll have a brand-new dress made just for you. Your whole family will be there, as well as the Tiggulars. You'll be on the front page of every newspaper, and all of Oz will see reports about your goodness. Every one of them will adore you! My only word of advice is to leave the magic displays to me. We wouldn't want your grand entrance to be-" She spoke through clenched teeth, "-disappointing."
Getting Fiyero to make an appearance at all had been a feat. He'd grumbled about the whole affair, saying he didn't want to stroke the Wizard's ego after everything they'd learned about him. That wasn't completely accurate, she'd argued. True, the Anniversary Ball was held in commemoratorium of the Wizard's arrival to Oz, but it was mostly an excuse for high society to drink and show off their expensive clothes. It wasn't so different from what Fiyero got up to at the OzDust on weekends. Glinda had had to send a heartfelt letter to his parents about how little she got to see him nowadays, and how he should start taking more responsibilities as Prince, and how odd it would look if a royal family had a member missing on such an important event. Only then was he coming for certain.
Glinda once told a reporter that herself and Fiyero's devotion to their great nation was only matched by their undying devotion to each other. That was a lie, or at least a half-truth. He must feel some care towards her if he'd stuck around this long. But did he love her? The question hung in the air. She couldn't bring herself to ask.
"I was thinking of having you fly in from the sky with magic displays behind you," Morrible continued. "It will display the contrast between you and the Witch. We've spread the rumor that she's always flying on that broomstick, seeing all and ready to strike terror at any time. We can play that angle to you, as if you're watching over them to keep the Ozians safe."
The Wizard piped up. "If real magic won't do, I worked on a prototype for a flying apparatus one time. Why, they'll believe it's your own magic with the press of a button."
Morrible scoffed, "Please, that pile of metal can't fly three feet off the ground."
"It...might need a few adjustments..."
She turned back to the sorcery texts and flipped through one. Glinda followed suit, picking up the spellbook closest to her and trying to find the levitation section. Morrible said, "Perhaps you could have a theme to your flight. Something soft and feminine would do. We could give the appearance of a cloud, or a sunbeam, or-"
"A bubble!" Glinda chimed in, blurting out the contents of whatever happened to be on the page she'd turned to. She had to say something before the decision was made for her. It fit her just fine, she thought. Momsie used to call her bubbly when she was little. "I can read this spell. Let me try," she continued. Shaking out her hands and bouncing on her toes, she studied the page. If it was imbued with enough magic, she could get results without any inborn magical talent.
"Dear, I'd stop if I were y-"
"Ah Bel Ah...Pertum Ah, Bel Ah Pertum Bel Ah," she chanted. The words printed on the page took effect. A shimmer of magic coated her, leaving an enormous clear bubble behind that surrounded her on all sides. She couldn't hide the grin that crept onto her face. All that sorcery training had paid off. Morrible would be impressed, and finally declare that their sessions hadn't been a waste of time after all. Perhaps she'd receive more control over her own image: getting to perform real magic or writing her own speeches instead of parroting the latest rumor about the Witch.
She studied the Wizard and Morrible. The latter crossed her arms. Neither looked particularly impressed.
Right. The bubble had to fly.
If she grabbed the book to search for another spell, the bubble would pop. All she had were her emotions. Maybe she did have magic inside her and it was just well-hidden. She stared at the ceiling, furrowing her brows. Up. Fly. Float. She stood on her tiptoes, willing them to leave the floor. Nothing. Elphaba made this look effortless. Glinda remained grounded.
She shifted her weight the wrong way, and the bubble popped. "Madame, wait, I'll get it right next time."
"This is not up for debate. I will perform the spells. We'll make the Ozians think you're a powerful sorceress. Whether you are or not is irrelevant."
"It is relevant! Can't this one thing be real? Not like anything else is lately!"
Morrible's eyes widened. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" She enunciated every syllable as both their faces hardened into glares.
The Wizard lumbered into the confrontation, stepping between them. "Now, now, no need to get angry. I'm the leader of Oz. Do you think everyone would be happy if they knew I was an ordinary man? No! The country would fall into discord. Sometimes we say things that aren't true, and it's for the greater good."
Morrible cleared the distance between herself and Glinda, practically shoving the Wizard out of the way. She grabbed her wrist, fingernails digging into soft flesh. Grimacing, Glinda tried to pull away, to no avail. "I am extending an extraordinary opportunity to you by offering this position. You have been given everything, and yet remain ungrateful. I control the masses' beliefs, and I can take away your precious popularity in a heartbeat. All I'd have to do is extract class records and some stories from your classmates. I'll tell them all you were and are friends with Oz's greatest enemy. Do I make myself clear?"
Glinda nodded, so Morrible released her grip and clasped her hands. "Now that that tiny issue's settled, come along, miss. You don't want to be late for your dress fitting! I am so excited for you."
Morrible tucked the spell book under her arm and led the Wizard and Glinda away from the shelves. Taking one last glance at the sorcery tomes, Glinda let out an imperceptible sigh. So this was it. Morrible would cast all the spells and make the public believe Glinda was the powerful sorceress. Her question had been answered. Not even that one little thing could go her way.
Maybe someday she'd sneak into the library after everyone else had retired to bed. She'd study those spell books and truly cast the magic that time. Maybe in another time, not that day, something about her could be real and true.