"They're not going to budge on getting Restwater back," Boq said as he sat down on a chair behind his desk. "That's all we've been bickering about for the last two weeks. You'd think some Lurlinemas spirit would have held over."

"They aren't," Milla agreed as she took the seat across from him. "The Gillikin Barons that run the Hall of Approval don't like the idea of Restwater being under the control of someone other than themselves."

"But they can't want war over it." Boq shook his head. "They like their money too much to spend it on that."

"Except Munchkinland hurt their pride," she replied, leaning forward. "We invaded the Emerald City and only left because of Glinda. Considering someone tried to kill her not too long ago, and the rumors that she had been kidnapped from her home in Gillikin, I'm not too sure they are fond of her either."

"At least with Glinda we got some things resolved." Boq sighed. "Basic stuff like trade and coinage. Now they're talking about tariffs and exchange rates!"

"Those things helped Munchkinland prosper whereas Oz didn't really get anything."

"Just refusing to have any agreements with us isn't going to make us want to come back under Oz, which it is abundantly clear that they want."

"I assume they wanted to intimidate us." Milla leaned back. "And the more we remain defiant the more they grow angry. I've no doubt they will try to withdraw the trade agreements between our borders. They'll hope that they can break us that way."

"It didn't work under Nessa; I don't know why they think it will work now."

"I don't doubt they'll know that." Milla nodded. "Hope is not a strategy. However, it is an attempt to weaken us before they attack."

"Which is what we've been preparing against for almost a year." Boq sighed again. "This seems so idiotic. We all know what each wants, but their ego prevents it."

"I've no doubt they see it the same way."

"How do you figure?"

"The Barons probably think you should just reintegrate into Oz. You'd still be the Governor of Munchkinland, we'd still have our armies, and everything would go back to being normal. Even Avaric said that he'd happily add our Eminences into the Hall. A dozen of those, another couple dozen of lesser men, and we'd have the next largest faction after the Gillikin Barons."

"Yes, but we'd still be subservient to Oz. Our people have been Munchkinlanders for long enough they can't imagine going back."

"And it's not been long enough that those of Oz can think of Munchkinland being truly separate," Milla replied. "Besides, between the Animals and Vinkuns, we could outnumber the Gillikin Barons."

"You argue quite well for them," Boq answered. "Better than they did."

"Know thine enemy." Milla tapped her temple. "If you know what an enemy values you will know what he will do, and you can exploit that."

"Hmm." Boq sighed. "We better keep preparing for the inevitable then."

"Yes we should. Our militia training continues to go well, including integration of Animals."

"And we should write to Glinda to let her know of the situation."

"What good would that do?" Milla arched an eyebrow.

"Because as you know, if anyone can stop the war by talking sense into people, it would be her."

Milla grunted but said nothing. Finally,

"Do what you wish. You are the Governor."

Avaric inwardly shook his head as he made his way to the Emerald Palace. He knew as well as any that the demands being made were not something Munchkinland would agree to. The Barons were being far too greedy; or were purposely looking to provoke Munchkinland into war. They could not see that economic integration would slowly bring back Munchkinland into the fold. Unfortunately, without someone like Glinda around to force their restraint there was nothing to be done.

"I assume that talks went poorly?" asked Shell as Avaric entered the Throne Room. He gestured and the attendants hovering around him departed.

"Exceedingly," Avaric confirmed. "If they hadn't been diplomats they would have told me no in a much less polite way."

Shell let out a sigh of exasperation. Standing, he began to pace the floor. After a few moments, he spoke.

"These damn greedy Barons are going to bring war back to us." He shook his head. "But I need them if I'm going to keep ruling so there isn't anything I can do about it. Of course once war starts they'll complain about having to call up their forces and they'll resist it."

"Perhaps we should start a call up now?" Avaric ventured. "Tell them it's meant to intimidate the Munchkinlanders and bring them back to the table. That way when war breaks out they're ready."

"They'll probably fight me on that as well."

"Probably. But less so than later and if they do, it will weaken their own position. No one wants to be dragged into a war by themselves. Instead of being united, the Barons will start worrying about sticking their neck out on their own."

"That's not a bad plan." Shell nodded. "I think I'll do that. See which ones squeal the loudest. Thank you, Avaric."

"You're welcome, Throne Minister."

After Avaric left, Shell made his way towards a secret part of the palace. Traversing a hidden tunnel, he emerged into a large building. A woman in a tight black dress was waiting for him. Shell looked around for the boy that was normally with her but did not see him. Putting it out of his mind, he approached her.

"You said there's an update on the project, Mombey?"

"Yes. I definitely thought you would like to see this," she replied.

Motioning for him to follow, she turned her back and walked over to a pen. As Shell neared, he heard the grunts and huffs of the beast within. Shell could see the barest hints of yellowish scales as it moved around. Mombey put out an arm.

"No closer. They're still likely to take off an arm."

"What did you want to show me? I can see they've grown."

"Oh, it's more than that," she answered smugly.

Mombey snapped her fingers and a piece of meat dropped from above, swinging from a rope. Shell looked up to see the boy in the rafters. A roar drew his attention back to the creature in the pen. It lunged upward at the meat, but it was not tall enough. After a moment it did again, but this time a great flap of its forearms accompanied it. Shell marveled as the webbed wings spread, air buffeting him. The dragon managed to get to the meat in two flaps of its winged arms, but after another it settled back to the ground. Shell moved forward to watch the dragon tear into the side of beef.

The size of a large dog, its yellowish scales gleamed in the dim torchlight.. Shell could see now its front legs were winged like a bats, and its body was thin in comparison to the red drakes. It gazed up at him with yellow, slitted eyes and growled. From its mouth came a puff of smoke.

"Marvelous," he breathed. "They can fly and breathe fire?"

"No," Mombey replied. "Their body is too small to hold enough of the humors to make any meaningful fire. However, the red drakes are producing quite well. They can be your fire breathers on land while these can be your hellions from the sky."

"Wonderful." Shell nodded, smiling. He turned and walked back to her. "Absolutely wonderful. This will greatly help with the coming war with Munchkinland. How soon can they be ready?"

"War with Munchkinland?" Mombey's eyes narrowed. "Why would you want that?"

"I don't," Shell snapped. "But the Gillikin idiots are pushing me towards it. With these dragons I could terrorize Munchkinland into submission without great loss of life or material."

"It will take months to break the ones we have into something useful," Mombey retorted. "They may never be completely obedient. Do not pin your hopes on them."

"I don't need them to fight the war for me," Shell answered. "Just frighten them witless. They won't know how many we have or what they can do. They'll beg me to call them off."

"A quick resolution to Munchkinland would be in your best interest considering how the Vinkus has unified under the Arjiki."

"What?" Shell asked. "When?"

"Recently. The last month or so," Mombey sighed. "One of the foolish savage tribes thought they could overthrow the Arjiki with a duel. They lost and had to come under Arjiki rule. That made them the largest in the Vinkus, and the rest have started falling in line. They've even crowned a king."

"This is the worst possible news." Shell groaned. "Especially since Elphaba and Glinda are with the Arjiki."

"Yes." Mombey nodded. "Better hope the dragons scare Munchkinland. You might soon need them for the Vinkus."

"They'll keep. Even if they are unified, they cannot fight like a civilized nation," Shell scoffed. "Nor will they. If we don't bother them they won't bother us."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Sure as I can be. Besides, it makes no difference in the short term. We have to deal with Munchkinland first."

"Quite true." Mombey paused. "But I might be able to help the Vinkus keep."

"And how is that?"

"Don't worry about it." Mombey flicked her finger dismissively. "But it will take some time. I need to go see my old friend, the Nome King."

"I received a letter from Boq today," Glinda said. She was sitting in one of the dining halls with Elphaba, Sarima, Wynne, and Fiyero.

"Your voice seems like it isn't going to be pleasant," Fiyero said. Glinda shook her head.

"It seems that talks between Oz and Munchkinland have broken down. Oz is insisting on Munchkinland giving up Restwater or they'll start levying tariffs and devaluing their coins."

"That's heading straight for war." Fiyero frowned. Glinda nodded.

"Why would Munchkinland not give it back?" asked Elphaba. "War seems too great a risk for a lake."

"Because what is to keep Oz from attacking later anyway?" Fiyero replied. "Right now Munchkinland holds a place of strength. Restwater supplies a large amount of the drinking water to the Emerald City. If Oz attacks, they can cut it to hurt the City while they try to hold out. Even a week or two would bring the City to its knees."

"Exactly." Glinda nodded. "Which is why Oz always worries about it. However, the push comes from the Gillikin Barons who don't have a vested interest in the City."

"So they're just using it as a pretext for war," Wynne said.

"Yes."

"But what do they stand to gain from it?" asked Elphaba. "War will hurt them too."

"They probably don't think it will." Fiyero sighed. "With the Madeleine Hills separating Gillikin from Munchkinland, they think that any army would have to go through the Glikkus or the Emerald City. The Glikkus, despite being part of Oz, has been neutral and on good terms with Munchkinland. They wouldn't want to jeopardize that by marching armies through it."

"But won't Oz call on their armies?" asked Sarima.

"Yes," Glinda answered, "but they'll point to the Royal Army first."

"Which is basically a useless pomp group for aristocrats to network and boast about," Fiyero added. Glinda nodded.

"And because of that, it will fall to the Home Guard to support them."

"Which weakens the Home Guard, Throne Minister, and Emerald City."

"Ugh. Politics makes my head spin," Wynne said.

"But there's something the Barons haven't counted on that I'm sure the Throne Minister and Avaric have," Fiyero continued. "The Animals in Munchkinland's armies."

"Why is that important?" asked Elphaba, concerned.

"Because they don't see their value," Fiyero explained. "The Gillikin Barons are too stuck in their ways; too isolated. They only think of warfare of lines of men with rifles shooting at each other. If they think about Animals, they think of them as more agreeable manual labor or pack animals."

"They're not just dumb animals, though," Elphaba protested.

"They're not," Fiyero agreed. "As you've shown, they are useful in ways that Ozians are not. A Goose or Hawk might not carry a rifle, but it can scout ahead and let you know positions. Wolves, Bears, and Boars might not stand in a battle line, but the Madeleine Hills mean nothing to them. They can traverse them in several days, especially if there is a Mountain Goat leading the way. Animals make great irregular troops and Milla is brilliant at irregular warfare. If it comes to war, I think the Barons will quickly find that their lands are not as safe as they think."

"Is there no way to tell them that?" Sarima asked. "Make them see that the cost is higher than they think it will be."

"No," Glinda answered. "They either won't see it, or in their arrogance disregard it."

"The only one who had a chance of cooling heads was Glinda," Fiyero said. "Which is why Boq wrote."

"You're not thinking of going back there?" Elphaba asked.

"No," Glinda shook her head. "Even if I didn't have only a few weeks left in this pregnancy, I cannot come back and interfere without the Throne Minister calling for me himself."

"Which he isn't going to do," Wynne said.

"He is not."

"You better let Boq know," Elphaba said. Glinda nodded.

"Yes. I hate to dash his last hope, but really there is nothing I can do. I don't think the Barons would even listen to me anymore. I've waned too much in influence being out of the City for almost a year."

"I wonder if we are going to be walking into a war zone come spring when the Hall of Approval comes back into session," Fiyero said.

"I didn't think of that," Sarima added. "But that is a good point."

"Well, Fiyero," Glinda interjected, "you won't be going back in spring."

"Why not?"

"As your father has been crowned King and you officially are the Crown Prince of the Vinkus, both of you are barred from the Hall of Approval. Membership specifically excludes royalty of the countries of Oz," Glinda explained.

"W-what? Why?"

"It's tradition. The Hall of Approval was set up to give non-royal aristocrats a voice in running Oz. Granted, there hasn't been any royalty in Oz in generations besides the Governors of Munchkinland, and they never were part of it."

"So what you're saying is that the Vinkus will lose two seats?"

"Oh no." Glinda giggled. "You'll assign your seats to two others who will go in your stead. Which reminds me, you'll need to send a letter confirming all of this to the Master of Ceremonies so there are no hiccups come spring."

"Great, more work." Fiyero sighed.

"If you'll excuse me, I have a letter to Boq to write," Glinda said, and leveraged herself up.

"I'll write to Pfannee and let her know as well," Sarima said. Glinda nodded.

"Good idea."

"Well, despite all that depressing news, there is one good thing," Wynne added as she stood. "At least Oz will be too busy to focus on us."

"Well, that's something." Elphaba agreed.