The Wicked Witch of the East: Evanora's Return
[Part 2]
CHAPTER 5: WIZARD
-Emerald City-
*~ Locasta ~*
It was strange.
How she adapted to sharing meals with this odd group, that is.
Every morning, afternoon and evening they gather together at this table. They eat, drink and talk as though they are family. She doesn't know most of the others, and yet, she's never felt like she's intruding. Welcome, rather. It was a painful reminder of how things used to be. How King Pastoria used to rule.
Before Evanora…
Locasta has slaved over the matter for years and still no answer, at least no clear one, has come to her.
The Evanora she knew, the one whom had been her closest friend, she had no interest in pointless violence. She advocated peace, worked tirelessly to ensure the citizens of Emerald City and whomever else they could reach were never in need.
This Evanora. This Wicked Witch. She is not one Locasta is aquatinted with.
"I will be returning to the Hall of Records today."
Broken from her thoughts, Locasta turns her attention to Glinda whose eyes are steely in their determination.
"There is one more question I want to ask, before we investigate anything else. Once finished, we can further evaluate the situation with the wicked witches."
"Well then, I suppose we'll just have to occupy ourselves then, won't we girls?" The Wizard winks at Firefly and the China doll, earning giggles and smiles. He then turns to her, a question in his eyes. The girls follow suit. It's almost enduring in a way.
"I have plans of my own." She takes a sip of her chalice, trying to conceal her instinctual smile at the near simultaneous 'aw' from their youngest diners. "Speaking of." She sets down her drink, suddenly reminded of the nook in the throne room and its drastic alterations. "Where is Queen Lurline's orbuculum?"
"Oh right." The Wizard smiles, seeming embarrassed. "We moved it to the old school-room. Glinda thought it would be better off out of the way, but close enough at hand should we need it."
Deciding not to comment, Locasta inclines her head in acknowledgement, expressing her gratitude.
Glinda sets off first and Locasta follows not long after, bidding a good day to the Wizard and his captivated audience. He's telling them of a past performance when she slips out the door, one she imagines must have continued all the while she made her way to the school-room.
She found herself stopping in the entrance, caught up in nostalgia and melancholy.
It hasn't changed at all.
The desks, the chairs, even the burnt candles. Due to the differences in age and experience, she never studied with Glinda or Andahan, but she did sit through several lessons with Evanora. The other witch was mainly self-taught from what Locasta had learned, but King Pastoria had helped her fill in the gaps.
Running a hand over the surface of her old desk, she found herself recalling the notes she had slipped to her fellow witch. In the beginning, Evanora had no interest in anything other than furthering her craft, but bit by bit Locasta had managed to wear her down.
They were caught once, exchanging notes.
Evanora had expected and was prepared to accept punishment, but King Pastoria had just smiled as he read the note and then changed the lesson to one regarding messages. He taught them how to conceal words, to draft a false letter, to write and enchant code, how to brew a befuddling potion and how to apply it all to secret messages.
It was what inspired Locasta to respond to Evanora's letters once she moved back to the north.
It all seems so long ago now.
-Emerald City-
*~ Oscar ~*
"What happened next?"
Two sets of wide eyes stare back at him, fully caught up in his telling. It almost makes him feel guilty about having to stop his narrative.
"What happened next? Well. Maybe you can find out – if you can find the same type of flower."
"Like the one in the story?"
China Girl brightens, excitedly pulling at Firefly's sleeve. "The garden! Let's go check the garden!" She turns to him as almost an afterthought, sheepishly adding, "Can we?"
"Why not? Just let me grab my coat."
"Yay!"
They're already running off before he's even out of his chair. He laughs, pleased to see them so excited. Hopefully, the rest of his 'suggestions' will be met with equal enthusiasm.
-Emerald City-
*~ Locasta ~*
Finding the orbuculum is simple. Attuning herself to it is much harder. Initially, it is almost gentle in its rejection, no doubt an influence from Glinda's recent use, but then after a brief time pushing on, it begins to fight her in earnest.
There is a sting that slowly turns into a burn then a flicker of dark flame in the glass accompanied by the impression of anger, betrayal. It mellows after some time, though Locasta feels drained.
Instead of pulling away, she takes a deep breath and ventures on.
What she feels next is akin to a jolt, adrenaline awakening within her veins. Arching flashes, green and lightning-like, travelling between the clouds of the orbuculum's anatomy. She feels burdened, guilt-eaten, helpless...
The scrying crystal seems to soften, taking new shape. Attuning itself to her magic. The strain leaves her and Locasta exhales in relief, adjusting her focus.
-Emerald City-
*~ Oscar ~*
Content with having won the rest of their tale and satisfied with its ending, the two girls had begged him to remain outside for some time longer, wishing to play among the many flowers blossoming in the royal gardens. He could hardly say no.
"Firefly, look!"
"So pretty…"
Giving them a few more moments, Oz busies himself with going over his plans, eventually deciding enough time has passed to safely head on to the next location without inconveniencing the castle's staff. "Girls! I'm not sure about you, but I could do with a little shade. Why don't we take a few flowers inside to be arranged? I'm sure it would make for a nice surprise for our busy witches."
Their agreement is a cacophony of delighted gasps and shouted suggestions for which flowers would better suit which witch. In the end, they somehow manage to come up with four different bouquets. Promptly deciding that he has to pass judgment as the one possessed of the 'Wizard's All-knowing Eye.'
It puts them a bit behind schedule, but as long as they are having fun, Oz considers it well worth the glare that the Head Maid sends his way once they finally make it into the foyer.
-Emerald City-
*~ Locasta ~*
"Where are you?"
Remaining boggy, then changing to scenes Locasta knows have played a role, the crystal continues to deny her requests.
Until, that is, she finally has enough and asks aloud that which she fears may be overheard.
The vision focuses, first, on a pair of silver slippers, then on the person wearing them and finally on their surroundings.
"Munchkinland." She breathes out in disbelief, her brows furrowing the more she sees.
-Emerald City-
*~ Oscar ~*
"Wizard, look!" It's Firefly who spots the note under the vase the servants prepared. She removes it, her eyes widening. "There's something written on it!"
"Let me see!" China Girl almost throws herself out of his arms in her enthusiasm, forcing him to quickly kneel and release her. She reads the note and looks back at him with suspicious, sparkling eyes. "Before Wizards, they told us to make a wish upon a star."
"A star?" Firefly tilts her head. "During the day?"
"I've heard stories that the sun is a star. One that we can only see during the day." He supplies easily.
"Then… there's always a star to wish on, isn't there?"
He smiles. "With or without wizards."
China Girl smiles back and teases, "I bet wizards don't show up in the telescope!"
"What's a telescope?"
Gasping in mock horror, China Girl turns from her friend to him, her tone urgent. "We need to take her to the observatory."
Playing along, he gives her a salute. "At once, Princess!"
"And as your princess, I say: to the fifth floor!"
-Emerald City-
*~ Locasta ~*
"Why endure this?"
There is no response, of course. Only the continued image of a woman facing off against some young-blood wicked witch who managed to get her hands on the golden cap. Though the bees cannot pass through the erected barrier, the wolves certainly can. Yet, despite her battered state, Locasta does not suspect that the brunette will be deterred.
She never did know when to stop pushing herself.
-Emerald City-
*~ Oscar ~*
The observatory kept the girls well occupied, though Oz will be the first to admit that the star lanterns Glinda had helped him make may have had something to do with it.
The looks on their faces when they first spotted the moving lights on the floor and walls was truly a treasure. China Girl was, naturally, the first to place the lanterns as one of his 'inventions' and had immediately began her rounds of questioning.
They're ordinary oil lanterns, he explained. Each has a candle that casts light and a frame like a box with a screw-like dial to set the intensity. The only difference is that instead of glass panes, the frame is entirely made of metal and every frame has little star-like windows scattered about, through which the light escapes, casting the star-like shapes.
The lanterns can float because Glinda cast a permanent levitation spell on them.
They turn in slow circles because the weight of the base is designed to be slightly off to one side.
Although China Girl found all these mechanical details quite fascinating, Firefly was entranced by the lights for a more aesthetic reason. "I always wanted to see the stars up close." She whispers in awe.
It was sad really, the reminder that she was not free to wander or live life as any other child, able to see the beauty of the night sky with but a glance out the window.
"Well." China Girl gently takes her pinky finger. "Consider it the first of many wishes to be granted by the Wizard of Oz."
"That's right." He kneels down next to them and has the urge to put a protective hand on each of them. "If there's anything you need, anything you're struggling with, be sure to bring it all to the Wizard."
He hopes he will be able to see her smile like this all the time. A wish, he supposes, for her to find happiness. And a desire to help her obtain it.
"In that case," she turns shy, almost embarrassed "is it okay to ask for a snack? I'm a little hungry."
It's such an innocent request that he can't help but laugh. "It's a good thing I thought of that." He gently turns them around and instructs them to check under the research table.
Surprise and delight is clear on both their faces when the lift the tablecloth to find a picnic basket and a folded blanket. Firefly hauls out the basket and China Girl pulls at the blanket with all her might. They turn to him near simultaneously, the combined question-and-demand crystal in their excited expressions.
With a laugh he helps them remove the items and set up the picnic. Unfolding the blanket, he passes a corner to each of them. "Let's spread it out under the lanterns. That way, we'll be surrounded by stars."
"Like the deserts!"
"Or water." Firefly adds, brown eyes twinkling. "A river of stars?"
"A sea of stars," he agrees with gentle correction, wondering if any of the people of Oz have ever seen the ocean.
"Like the Shifting Sands, you mean?"
He huffs a laugh and pulls China Girl onto the middle of the blanket, setting down the basket beside her. "Why are you so obsessed with the desert?"
"I'm not! It's just shiny when the sun shines over it." She stands to reach inside, barely managing to reach. He stops her from falling in just in time, leaving Firefly to unpack their treats.
"Ah-huh. Glass is made from sand too, you know." He needles, settling her back down.
"Maybe. But china's better!" She declares, taking a large bite out of an offered cupcake.
"Wizard?"
He turns to Firefly, humming in acknowledgement.
"Thanks for the surprise."
Such a bright eyed little girl. He can't imagine why anyone would want to take away her smile.
"You're welcome."
A bit of Locasta mixed with a bit of fluff at the end. Hope you enjoyed!
Until the next chapter!
– L.L.