The Wicked Witch of the East: Evanora's Return

[Part 2]

CHAPTER 1: FIREFLY

-Dark Forest-

*~ Glinda ~*

"Are you sure about this, Glinda?" Finley hovers over her shoulder, paws pulled in and eyes darting left and right. "There have been so many attacks recently. And the last time we were here…"

"Visiting my father's grave is something I once did often," she laments quietly, thinking back on the war with Evanora. It's been a year since the wicked sisters were driven from Emerald City yet it still feels so recent, like a fresh wound. With renovations, reformations, law revision and everything in between, Glinda has not visited her father's grave since the day she met Oscar. She wonders what her father would think of Oz as it is now. Of Theodora's fall, of Evanora's death, of Oscar's reign, of Glinda.

She wishes he was here with her.

She pushes open the gate and gives Finley her final thoughts on the matter. "I want to pay my respects."

Finley keeps his eyes on the sky and Glinda keeps her wand firmly in hand even as she lays flowers upon her father's resting place. She says her prayers and rises, prepared to leave when a scream catches her ear. Screeches follow - the horrid, familiar high-pitched growl of flying baboons.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Stay close."

"Of course we're investigating." Finley's shivers, but his resignation is noted and ignored. Instead, Glinda keeps an ear out, treading carefully to the location she heard the voice. It takes her out of the graveyard and into the forest, Finley clinging to her shoulder all the while.

When she's close enough to see them between the trees, Glinda takes a moment to observe the situation. Two baboons, apparently on their own, converging on something she can't see. Weighing her options she hesitates to act, uncertain if intervention is necessary, but the first scream remains in her mind. Part of her is uneased by it, afraid to think it might be one of her people suffering at the hands of Theodora's remaining army.

There is a moment when the baboons part long enough to give her a clear view of the object of their attention and it is an instant that makes up her mind and spurs her to action. Her wand lights up and a wave of magic slams into the baboons, knocking them away. She takes advantage of their disorientation to direct the branches of the nearby trees, trapping them in an inescapable hold.

They shriek and claw at the wood. Glinda ends the spell, but the branches continue to tighten until only silence remains. She sighs, acknowledging the unfortunate fate, then turns to the baboons' target.

She can't quite tell whether the child is male or female by appearance alone. Their clothes are ragged and torn, though vaguely reminiscent of what might once have been a boy's work clothes. Their brown hair is cut short beneath the ears yet still hangs down in loose curls. Their face is dirty, but there is a feminine softness to it despite the sickly impression left by semi-shallow cheeks and exhaustion-ringed eyes.

Glinda slowly crouches down, watching the child skirt back. "Hello, little one. What are you doing in the Dark Forest? Are you lost?"

They continue looking at her in wide-eyed terror.

"Can you understand us?" Terrified eyes dart to Finley and pin him in place, likely comparing him to the baboons. "I'm Finley," he tries to soothe, "and this is Glinda, she's the Good Witch of the South and Queen of Oz."

"Good Witch?" The child's voice is scratchy and feminine. Two points in favour of the fairer gender, Glinda decides that is what the child most likely is. The girl's head tilts in her direction and Glinda smiles gently.

"Have you met one before?"

A hesitant nod. "Locasta."

Glinda is somewhat surprised to hear the name. It's been many years since Locasta retreated to the north, then promptly placed her infamous ban on all of Gillikin Country. It's strange to think that she, Locasta, Evanora and Theodora were all once together in Emerald City with rumours rampant that they would be the next generation of the Cardinal Coven. So much has changed since then.

"Did she bring you here?" Glinda hasn't seen any signs of the witch, nor heard any tell of her being seen about the lands surrounding the city.

The girl shakes her head. "Have to go to Em'rald City. Meet her there."

Glinda frowns. "Did you get separated?"

Another nod. "She was fighting the bad monkeys."

"What's your name?" Wonders Finley, handing the girl a handkerchief.

There's a pause, then she says, "Mombi said I'm a boy and called me Tip, but 'Casta says she lied. She changed me back to a girl, but we don't know what my name was. Mombi wouldn't tell."

Something itches at the back of Glinda's mind, but she pushes it aside for the time being, focussing on the little girl before her. "Would you like us to call you Tip?"

"No, thank you."

"Is there something you would prefer we call you instead?"

"'Casta called me Firefly."

Glinda! Look at all the fireflies!

"Alright. Firefly it is then." She smiles welcomingly, holding out her hand. "Would you like to come back to Emerald City with us? We can wait for Locasta together."

Firefly seems uncertain. A moment passes. Then tentatively, she reaches out and takes Glinda's hand, Finley's handkerchief clutched in the other. "Okay."

Glinda guides them out of the forest and back onto the road and casts a protective bubble around them to make them invisible to the flying baboons. Finley coaxes Firefly into conversation, all while Glinda's mind races. Who is Locasta's little Firefly? What are her connections to Mombi? Why disguise the child's nature?

Unease gnaws at her and Glinda wonders what mystery she has stumbled upon. It would be best if Mombi does not catch wind of Firefly's location, so discretion will be mandatory in handling the situation. First however Glinda requires more information and it seems Locasta may yet have the answers she seeks.


-Emerald City-

"You have no idea who she could be?" Oscar whispers beside her. Both of them are looking in from the door to where China Girl and Firefly are huddled together in bed, sound asleep.

Firefly had been awestruck by the sight of the city, but cautious and wary of the people. China Girl broke through her walls in a way only a child can and the two spent the afternoon regaling one another with tales of their lives. By quietly listening to their conversations as she helped Firefly clean and prepare for bed, Glinda learned as much as she imagines she could about what the child knows about herself. Little of the information she gathered holds weight though.

Firefly was raised by Mombi as a boy under the name Pip until she was found by Locasta. The two witches fought and Locasta won, forcing Mombi to share what information she was willing to give: Firefly was given to her as an infant accompanied by instructions to hide her.

Although Firefly appears to be a young child, there is no certainty that Mombi or whoever else had her, did not intervene. This makes her true age a mystery and with it, her identity.

"None." She sighs, frustrated by her lack of insight. "I attempted to send word to Locasta. Whether she received it remains to be seen." She motions for him to follow her and leave the girls to their sleep

"The Wise Witch?"

She smiles somewhat, happy to see he has kept his word and continued his research of their land. "A wise witch. Locasta the Good, the Witch of Waves. She holds dominion in the north." She reminds gently.

"The one who outlawed magic." He nods.

"Her knowledge is vast, her intellect exemplary and her advice greatly coveted. Her fame is only hindered by her dislike of the effect magic has had on the people of Oz." She accepts his offered arm. "Her belief is that the Ancient Faeries may have made a mistake in allowing their blessings to take root, seeing it as another form of temptation."

"Within the shadow of power is the desire for more."

A fitting way of putting it. She spares him a smile for his cleverness. "Unfortunately, but I fear she might take Theodora's descent as confirmation of her ideals and close off Gillikin Country altogether."

His brows furrow. "That would destabilize the current balance, wouldn't it? Now that Theodora has allied with the wicked witches in the west and east."

She nods. "Our deeds, Evanora's defeat – these are the only things protecting Emerald City. If Locasta closes her borders we will lose the only ally we have."

"And because I'm not a real wizard, it will be easy for them to take Emerald City and through it the rest of Oz."

She sighs, rubbing her temple. "It seems that just as we overcome one disaster another follows it."

"Retaking the city was necessary for Oz's future, but it also brought attention to us. Holding off Theodora's attacks and continuing reparations at the same time is a show of strength. It's an image we must uphold to keep the people's hope alive."

"You're right, of course." She squeezes his arm. She enjoys the silence that ecompases them, but the nearer they come to her chambers, the more restless her mind grows. Eventually she breaks the silence and admits some of her recent thoughts to Oscar. "When I was a child, I believed my father's reign would last forever. Kind, steadfast and resolute. Then he died and for the first time in my life I was alone. After that I would pray for his guidance, and pray to my mother for the strength to keep moving. As a child, I did not see myself standing where I am today."

"What? Next to a handsome fraud?" He jokes, giving her a half-smile.

"That too." She laughs.

"When I was a boy," he says a while later, just as soft and nostalgic as she, "my family was poor. My mother would sew clothes and my father would work as a farmhand for anyone willing to pay. They were well off once, before I was born. My father was a prominent politician in Omaha, but then he was tricked, he lost everything and my mother was the only one who stayed. I never knew what it was like to live like this," he gestures around them with his free hand, "but it was my dream and I worked to make it reality."

"By conning and cheating?" She teases, trying to keep the atmosphere light despite the weight their words carry. She is grateful that he trusts her with his past and the burdens and scars born of it.

He smiles, but it's melancholic and sad. "Before coming to Oz, I told a close friend that I never wanted to be like my father. I didn't want to be the kind of man who did good, worked his whole life and then died alone with nothing."

"And now?"

"Now, I wish I paid better attention. I didn't understand it then, but now that I have something worth fighting for, I can see why he was willing to endure what he did."

"Regret always comes too late." She agrees quietly. "What if, if only, this and that. We cannot change the past. But we can work to make a better future."

"For them and for ourselves."

They come to a stop before her door. Oscar kisses her knuckles in his nightly greeting and she returns it with a kiss to his cheek. They exchange well wishes and then he departs down the hall with her entering her chambers to prepare for sleep. As Glinda readies for bed, she cannot help but indulge in theories about Firefly. The thoughts keep her up all night and drive her from her chambers early in the morning with an idea. She has the servants investigate and Knuck assist in going through Evanora's transfer documents.

Oscar brings her tea and a light meal at noon, promising to take care of work that might arise. She keeps at her search until they finally find what Glinda has been looking for. She hurries to Oscar's study and spares a moment of appreciation at the sight of him hard at work. She begins the tea while he finishes and then he rises from his desk to join her by the tea table.

"Did you find what you were looking for then?" He asks after a sip. His expression is warm and he sweeps his hand to the side, inviting her to take a seat beside him.

She smiles and sits down, gently placing a key down on the table in front of them. "The key to the Hall of Records - and the history of all of Emerald City."

His eyes widen and he looks down at it in wonder. "That is-"

"Impeccable timing."

Glinda twists around. There, in the doorway stands a familiar witch draped in blue, one hand on Firefly's shoulder and the other cradling her side.

"Locasta." Glinda breathes in surprise, almost reverent.

Glinda! Glinda! 'Casta's back!

"We may yet be able to get to the root of this problem after all."


My draft had more diologue, but this felt a better route to go, only now the introduction feels a tad rushed. *Sigh*

The story begins again.

Happy reading everyone!

- LL -