"If I could bring Agatha back, I would. But she made her own choice when she attacked me in the field on that fateful day. I only did what was reasonable in defending myself." Both sides were now giving closing statements and it was the Wizard's turn to speak. He made a short statement in his defense.
"I will say right now that if I had to do things over again, I would have made the exact same choice. I don't regret going to the Winkie Country and I don't regret my actions that day." He then raised his hands in the air and crossed his wrists together. "But if nothing I say can convince the good people of Oz of my innocence, then take me now. If I am guilty, then do what you need to do. But I know that regardless of what happens to me, I know in my heart that I did the right thing, and I will never stop doing the right thing. And nothing you can do here today can take that away from me."
The packed auditorium was silent as the Wizard's words echoed throughout the chamber and he took a seat. There were so many people who had gathered that there were even throngs of residents who were standing. The council leader's elbow was planted on the table and his hand rested across his face. He was lost deep in thought. He finally stood.
"Now that we have heard all the evidence, the law calls upon every Ozian present to vote to either acquit or convict the Wizard. If he is convicted, then he will forever lose his position of authority and further punishment may be imposed by the council." As he spoke, several young Ozian boys were near the council table assembling the voting machine.
The leader turned and glanced at the machine. "So, the way this works since we've never ever done this before is that Ozians will come up and press one of two buttons. The green button is to acquit, and the red button is to convict. There will also be a tally screen on the wall in front of the auditorium that shows how many Ozians have either voted to acquit or convict the Wizard. One Ozian will have one vote. The only ones who cannot vote are the council and the Wizard himself. Let us begin…"
Ozians began to form long lines to cast their vote. At first, the Wizard maintained a large and comfortable lead. As expected, China Girl voted to acquit him. And even though he didn't know which way she would vote, Glinda did too.
But then the vote started to tighten. The Wizard began to squirm uncomfortably in his seat as several of his supposedly "loyal" allies voted against him. He frowned when even Knuck cast his vote to "convict".
Some of the votes were surprising. There were dozens of Ozians who had traveled from Munchkin Country—a territory controlled by Evanora, its residents considered adversaries of the Emerald City—all of whom voted to acquit him, while the vote from those who lived in the Emerald City and the Quadling Country were more evenly split.
His heart began to sink when the vote to "convict" started to narrowly pull ahead. One vote, then two votes. Then three votes before being brought back down to a narrow one vote lead. Finley was the last Ozian in the room to "acquit" the Wizard, which now resulted in a deadlock.
The Wizard's heart was beating out of his chest. Only one vote separated him from losing his position and even being exiled or executed. If the vote was deadlocked, it would fall to the council to determine his fate and he knew that some of its members secretly wanted his head. He didn't know what would happen.
"Hold on", the council leader exclaimed as he stood. "We still have one attendee who has not cast their vote yet!" He then pointed to a guard who was seated in the back, the same guard who accompanied Finley during the Wizard's testimony. "You in the back!"
Everyone turned and stared, but the guard simply looked around worriedly. "Yes, you!", the leader stated again as he pointed. "Please come down and cast your vote…"
The Wizard had no clue who this guard was. Even Finley acted evasive when he questioned him about who this guard was that brought him in. But he prayed that he treated him right during his employ at the palace. He couldn't believe that this guard would be the one who would ultimately decide his fate.
The guard's wide eyes stared at both buttons. And for several moments, nothing happened. "Please press the green button to acquit or the red button to convict", the council leader reiterated. The guard's eyes then looked up at the screen, which showed the deadlock.
The button to "acquit" was then quickly pressed.
There was no clapping or booing. A heavy silence descended upon the room. Inwardly, the Wizard was ecstatic and sighed with a big breath of relief and a goofy smile covered his face.
The council leader then smiled mirthlessly at the Wizard as he commented on the vote. "The Emerald City may call you 'Oz the Great and Powerful', but it may seem more fitting for 'Oz the Great and Terrible' to be your moniker after all." He then turned and looked at the packed auditorium. "We will take a break while we officiate the votes. Since it was very close, we need to confirm that the tally is correct. We will then reconvene later this afternoon with a final verdict." The leader then turned to the Soldier with the Green Whiskers. "Please remand the Wizard back to his cell."
The leader then flashed a look of reassurance to the Wizard. "We promise that this will only be a momentary delay. We can't keep you out in the hallway while this is done…"
The Wizard was then brought to the same back room where he was held while awaiting his trial. He entered the same cell and sat on the makeshift bed. Several minutes later, the door opened, and it was announced that he had a visitor.
He smiled as he saw a guard, the same guard who voted to acquit him, and Finley too. "Hey buddy", the Wizard happily said as he saw his friend approach his cell. The Wizard moved to the side closest to the monkey and grabbed the bars with both of his hands. He was so relieved to see him. He reached through the bars and petted his friend.
"Are you forgetting someone, mister?" The Wizard recognized that voice. He looked up. "Theodora", he asked in a mixture of bewilderment and relief. "What are you doing here? But it's great to see you!" He barely recognized her in the guard's uniform.
The witch smiled and bit her lower lip to prevent a giggle, but then her expression turned serious. "Wizard, why are you staying here? You can just break out!"
His voice was solemn, but resolute. "Theodora, I promised to stay here until a verdict has been reached…"
"But it has! Everyone voted. It's done! Finished! You're innocent!" Her voice then became quiet as she whispered. "Come on, let's not waste time here any longer. I'm gonna break you out…"
He shook his head. "Theodora, no! The council is going to come back in several hours once they've tallied their vote. Let the process run its course."
"Do you really believe that the Emerald City is going to keep its word about anything", the witch spat back. Why do you think they are having this 'delay' for? It's so that they can—"
"Theodora", the Wizard interrupted. "Please…you have to trust me on this…"
The witch arched her back in annoyance. "Ugh! Fine! But if they go back on their word, I'm busting you out of here. No ifs ands or buts!" The Wizard nodded in quiet acquiescence.
During the break, Theodora decided to walk the palace hallways. What normally would have been a bustling place, the palace was now eerily quiet because of the Wizard's ongoing trial. "A penny for your thoughts?", Finley asked her, breaking the silence between the two.
"Memories. So many memories. Some of which I would really like to forget", the witch quietly said. "It feels like I never left." Several moments passed as the pair continued to walk along the plush crimson carpets and the emerald glazed walls before she continued. "But I did leave, didn't I? All of this feels like a dream really. It feels like a dream. I…"
The pair stopped walking as they heard a feminine voice interrupt them from behind. "I know why you are here…"
Glinda's voice prompted Finley to turn around quickly, but Theodora did not move from her position. Instead, her body swayed slightly to its side as her head slowly turned to meet her. Her eyes narrowed and she glared angrily at her sister.
"What do you want?", Theodora grumbled. Her jaw was locked, and she looked at Glinda with simmering rage. The last person she wanted to talk to at the Emerald City was her "sister".
"I know we have our differences, you and I", Glinda said in her usual even-keeled voice. "But I wanted to let you know that I am impressed that you came here to help the Wizard. That took a lot of courage."
"I don't care what you think about my 'decision'", the witch replied bitterly. "You took the Wizard from me. And for that, I will never forgive you. You put on a good show, but you haven't been my 'sister' for a very long time…"
As Theodora turned and started to walk away from Glinda, the southern witch spoke once more. "You can see him if you want…"
This made the witch stop in her tracks. She turned her head again and glared at Glinda once again with a hint of confusion in her eyes. "What?"
Glinda sighed. "What the Wizard and I had ended long ago. But I can see that look in your eye. The way you look at him. He's going to survive this. And if you want to pursue something with him, that's up to you. I won't get in your way." While Theodora's facial expression began to soften, she still looked at her sister with suspicion and distrust. "But he would also need to feel the same way you do and if he doesn't reciprocate your affections, then you have to accept what he says", Glinda added.
The conversation was interrupted by a random servant. "Excuse me, but the council has re-entered the auditorium. They are about to announce the verdict."