The Wizard slowly opened his eyes. He stretched as he reached for his pocket watch on a nearby nightstand.
It was 10:30AM. He overslept.
He turned his head and gazed at his two-piece suit that was hanging on a coat rack, realizing that was the only article of clothing he brought with him.
He sighed and mumbled to himself. Nice going, Oscar. Another epic fail on your part.
Still in his undies, he tiptoed to the closed and locked bedroom door. He slightly opened it and peeked his head into the large hallway. Turning to the left and then to the right, he was no one. However, after several moments, he saw a young Winkie maid hurriedly scurry down the hallway.
He beckoned her with a nod of his head as she stopped to greet him. "Hi", the Wizard said awkwardly as the bedroom door obscured most of his body, except for his head.
"Do you know if the castle has a pair of casual…men's clothes?" He cringed at giving this request to a random Winkie maid. She paused, her own garment being in basic white.
"I will have to look". She continued to think. "We don't have visitors who stay here." The Wizard nodded.
"The mistress might have something, but she's outside for the moment. Let me look and see what I can do."
"What's your name?", the Wizard asked.
"Bella", he replied. "That is a very pretty name, one for a beautiful Winkie such as yourself." He gave the girl a mischievous smile.
Despite putting on his charm, the girl was not receptive to him. "Wait here", she responded matter-of-factly.
The Wizard closed the door, pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. Don't people smile and laugh around here? Everyone seemed so serious.
He sat on his bed. After several minutes, he heard a gentle knock on the door. The Winkie maid had returned and heard her voice from the other side of the closed door.
"I found something for you. It should do."
The Wizard slowly and partially opened the door. He quickly took the clothes and proceeded to close the door again.
He heard the maid's voice through the door again. "I'm sorry, but…you are the Wizard, are you not?"
"I am", he replied.
"I am glad you are here." The Wizard then heard her departing footsteps. He silently nodded.
Breakfast had already been served as he casually strolled into the dining room. The Wizard was wearing an ugly blue sweater with casual pants. While he wanted to keep up with appearances, he was tired of wearing his two-piece suit all the time and didn't want to soil his only article of clothing.
As the Wizard sat down to eat, he placed his blueprints on the table. When he left the Emerald City, he brought with him the detailed blueprints of the latest inventions he had been working on. When he would complete these blueprints, he would give them to the Tinkers to build. During the building process, he would intermittently travel to the Quadling Country to supervise them.
As he was pensively examining his latest blueprints, he was startled by a nearby voice.
"What's that?"
The Wizard raised his head and saw a young boy in Winkie guard attire.
The Wizard grinned at him as he emphatically gestured with his hands. "These are my inventions, immense discoveries that will help the people of Oz." He then stared at the child. Have you ever heard of Thomas Edison?"
The boy shook his head.
"No? Well, where I am from, Thomas Edison was one of the greatest inventors ever known." The Wizard then stared back at the blueprint as he mumbled to himself. "I would love to be like Thomas Edison."
The Wizard gazed at the boy once more. "How old are you, son?"
"I am 12, sir". The child guard slowly approached him.
"12!", the Wizard looked at him curiously. "Well, I am much older than you…"
"How old are you?", the child eyed him quizzically.
The Wizard grinned again and shook his finger at the child. "Now, now, now, you're not going to get an answer out of me that easily…"
But the child merely tilted his head and gave the Wizard a petulant look. "Yes, I will. It is I who am carrying a Halbert after all…"
The Wizard smirked. "Oh yeah? You think that little Halbert can compete with the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz?" He then playfully made fists and curled his arms at the boy, who mildly chuckled.
The Wizard then became serious. "I'm 49…"
"No way!", the young child was bewildered. "You look incredibly young for a Wizard…"
He blushed. "Thank you."
The child changed the subject. "I would like to be an inventor someday. Can I see what you are drawing?"
The Wizard smiled. "Sure, I…"
But before he could continue, a side door to the dining room swung open. The child immediately stood to attention as the red clad witch entered and darted past them as she was sobbing. The witch continued to be distraught as she ran towards her bedroom and slammed her door shut.
The Wizard looked around perplexed.
What the hell is going on?
He turned and looked at two random Winkie Guards who were silently standing near the entrance of the dining area. They didn't seem to even notice what had happened.
"Is she okay?", the Wizard asked them. The Winkie Guard merely shrugged, which gave the Wizard an indication that they had seen this happen multiple times before and would not even bother to inquire what happened.
The Wizard turned to the young child. "I will be right back, okay?" He smiled and winked at the boy.
He stood from his chair and briskly made his way to the witch's room. He proceeded to gently knock on her door. "Theodora? Are you okay?" He heard no response.
As he slowly opened the door and entered, he saw her sitting near her dresser with her hands covering her face. She continued to weep.
He decided to handle this situation delicately. "Hi." The Wizard expressed concern. "What happened?" He brought over another chair and sat beside her. He put his hand on her back and began to gently rub it. As she removed her hands from her face, no tears were present near her eyes or her cheeks, but the witch clearly had a sad expression on her face.
"Talk to me. What happened?"
She tried to speak, but after being unable to do so due to her hyperventilating, she lowered her head.
The Wizard placed his hand on her chin, raised her head and turned her head towards him. "Focus. Look at me. What happened?"
Theodora was not used to having someone around who was so caring and loving as the Wizard was with her. Normally, and whenever she became upset, she would just go and cry in her room. No one would ever bother or care to ask her if she was okay. She would always be alone in her suffering, which she was used to. Having someone care for her was an entirely alien experience.
"I…I…I…" The witch was still releasing short, abrupt breaths from her weeping. But she finally was able to muster the strength to speak. "The Winkies are so mean to me Wizard!" She was still hyperventilating, but she tried to calm down. She raised her head again to the Wizard, her eyes wide. "All I need are some of them to set up the ballroom for tonight, but they give me the dirtiest of looks and tell me that it is not their job and that they are farmers! The other Winkies were mocking me too! They were insulting me! They were not respecting me, Wizard!" She turned her head back to the dresser as the Wizard placed his hands onto his lap.
She then became angry as she looked at herself in the mirror. She clenched her teeth in frustration and her hands into tight fists. "How dare they not respect me. Do they even know whom they are speaking to!" She then banged her fist violently onto her dresser, making a large dent.
Startled and his eyes wide with fear, the Wizard cringed at what he just witnessed. Holy fucking shit, he thought to himself. What the hell just happened?
There was a big dent the witch left in her dresser. With nothing but her fist.
His hand covered his mouth. He thought about standing up and leaving the room as fast as he could, but instead, he tried to calm the situation.
"It's okay…" The Wizard placed his left hand on Theodora's shoulder. "We'll get this sorted out. Why don't you have the guards help you with this? I can assist you too."
Despite reassurance in his voice, the Wizard was inwardly terrified. Please don't take your anger out on me next, he thought to himself. Please don't fucking kill me.
The witch turned her head towards him, a serious expression on her face. She then smiled. "Thank you."
The Wizard breathed a sigh of relief. As he was about to get up, the witch stopped him and placed her hand gently on his cheek. She gazed at him tenderly and earnestly. "Why are you so loving to me? Why are you treating me like this?"
Seeing that she had calmed down, he merely grinned. "Because I am the wonderful Wizard of Oz." He winked at her as he stood up from his chair. "I'll also get other Winkies to help out too…"
As he was about to walk away, the witch firmly grabbed the Wizard's arm with her outstretched hand as she stared at her own reflection in the mirror. "Do not speak to the Winkies, Wizard. They are not to be trusted." She then glared at him as she shook her head. "Do not speak to them."
The Wizard nervously nodded his head with a gentle smile as he left the bedroom.
"…And Wizard…" The witch looked at him curiously. "What's that you are wearing?" She began to eye him up and down.
The Wizard turned around once more and gave her a cheeky smile. "I needed an extra pair of clothes so I…"
But the witch interrupted him, her eyes narrow. "So…you put on a pair of my clothes?"
The Wizard blushed. "I mean…I didn't…I mean…I thought…ummm…fuck…"
"Wizard! Language…" The witch quietly scolded him. "Don't have me wash your mouth out with soap! And besides, if you continue to curse, you're going to have to place a gold coin into the wicked jar…"
The Wizard raised an eyebrow. "The wicked jar?"
"Yes, all good Ozians are to refrain from using foul language. You know this, Wizard", the witch replied. The Wizard raised his eyebrow again. "Oh, yes…of course", he responded, not wanting to be caught off guard.
The witch gently waved her hand as she eyed his choice of attire. "Anyway, it's okay, Wizard. You could have a servant merely wash your clothes. But what you are wearing is literally something I haven't worn in ages and anyone can wear it." She covered her mouth with her hand gracefully and giggled. "Enjoy".
The Wizard left her bedroom, his cheeks redder than the witch's dress. "Wicked jar?", he mumbled to himself. "Who thinks of these things?"
The rest of the afternoon remained uneventful. A dozen or so Winkie Guards assisted the Wizard with bringing in the tables with dozens of chairs while the maids arranged the designs of the tables and the entire ballroom.
Hours went by. As they finished setting up, the Wizard still needed to get ready as the captain approached him.
"Wizard, my shift is over. I am heading home for the evening. The guards posted for the evening shift will act as security for tonight's dinner."
He looked at the captain as his eyes narrowed. "Okay, but you may want to tell Theodora this…"
He interrupted him. "The mistress is getting ready in her room. She knows when my shift is over. I just wanted to tell you this."
The Wizard eyed him playfully. "Not joining us for the festivities?"
The stoic captain did not show much emotion and simply shook his head. "No, my family is waiting for me. And besides, those stuffy and snooty dinners are not for me." He then gave the Wizard a small smirk and a quick wink as he turned and walked out of the ballroom.
The Wizard quietly chuckled to himself as he took out his pocket watch. He mouthed an obscenity. It was fifteen minutes until the ball started, and he still needed to get ready. He hurriedly dashed back to his own guest chambers.