"Mistress…this Winkie farm hand tried to steal from our food supply this morning. He was caught by one of the guards." The boy was hurled in front of the witch by one of the accompanying guards. "What should be done with him?" Several Winkie Guards had surrounded the trembling young boy as Theodora and the captain loomed over him. They were in a garden adjacent to a side entrance of the castle. The boy was so terrified of the witch's presence that he began to wet his pants.
Normally, when a Winkie would try and steal from the food pantry, the punishment would be an automatic loss of food rations, or worse. Various offenses from Winkie adults would be determined by the individual guard on duty. However, it was the witch who always decided punishment for the children who worked in her castle. Just last week, the witch had to beat yet another child with a strap for failing to dust her mirror properly.
But for some reason, this time was different. Perhaps timing was fortuitous for the terrified boy, but the Wizard had somehow affected the witch. And whether it was out of happiness from his arrival or the blissfully intimate encounter between them the previous night, she showed mercy to this young child. She acknowledged to herself that it was this weakness that Evanora had always criticized her about, but deep down, she simply couldn't help it. Unlike the week prior, she was filled with positive emotion. She was happy now.
Theodora looked at the Winkie Guard who had caught the boy. "Tell him to not do it again", she sweetly responded. She then took a more serious look as she nodded for him to carry out her order.
In response, the Winkie Guard turned to the boy and shoved him by his back. "Move along!"
As these events were unfolding nearby, the Wizard slowly stretched and strolled into the dining room wearing his two-piece suit and top hat. He saw Bella and her two younger helpers, Daisy and Betsy, cleaning.
The Wizard gave a big grin to the Winkie maids. "Good morning…" He began to look around as he was hungry. "Do you know where…the kitchen is?"
Bella stopped her duties and looked at the Wizard. "It's right past this door. Would you like me to prepare something for you?"
But he shook his head. "No need. I will do it myself."
The Winkie maid then stepped in front of him. "Well, we do have white bread, fruits and oats, which is what was served yesterday to the Mistress. I am sure a powerful ruler such as yourself would enjoy the same staples." She then held her finger to her mouth as she thought of the castle's entire stock, which was often solely reserved for the witch and, at times for select occasions, her Winkie Guards. "We also have various fish and meats you might find interesting paired with the finest of wines…"
But the Wizard interrupted her with his outstretched hand. "That's alright…but I think I would rather have eggs…"
Bella's eyes grew wide. "Eggs? But that food is typically given to the Winkies. I mean, it is very unconventional that a being of your stature…"
The Wizard smirked. "Well, I am unconventional…"
It didn't take long for a Winkie boy to run to the chicken coop and retrieve the Wizard's request of three eggs.
"Thank you!", the Wizard gave his usual plastic smile to the boy as he hurriedly entered the kitchen. As Betsy and Daisy continued to clean the dining room, Bella uncomfortably stared at him. "Are you sure you don't want me to cook this for you? The Mistress…"
"No, my dear, I am fine!" The Wizard continued to grin as he cheerfully grabbed one of the eggs and cracked them. "Ahhh, I love cooking eggs!", he said delightfully. "It reminds me of my time in Kansas…" As the runny yolk fell into a small pot, he took a beater and started to stir.
"I see…", Bella said. "But the Mistress…"
The Wizard began to yawn as he interrupted her once more. "I'm tired. What time did all of you Rugrats finally leave last night?"
"We never left. It took so long to clean up that by the time we finished, the sun was rising…"
He turned around and looked at the girl with astonishment. "Wait, you were here the entire night?" The Wizard was shocked at what she was telling him.
"Yes, but this is not out of the ordinary", Bella replied matter-of-factly. She gave a slight yawn, which she covered with her small adolescent hand.
"Wizard, there you are!", Theodora entered the kitchen area in a mild-mannered huff as Bella lowered her head and scurried away. "I went to the bedroom and saw you weren't there, so I've been looking for you all over the castle and…" Her voice trailed off as she raised her brow and eyed her guest. "Wizard…what are you doing? You can have one of the servants cook for you and…" As the witch approached the cooking area, she curiously examined the food that the Wizard was preparing. "You are making…eggs?" A look of disgust was evident on her face, even though she tried her best to cover up her expression.
To Theodora, eggs were a dirty choice of food, typically reserved for the lowest and the poorest members of Ozian society. The witch cringed as she saw the Wizard crack an egg.
"Yeah, I'm making eggs", he smiled, completely ignoring the witch's mannerisms and expressions. "Do you want one?"
But the witch sharply held her hand up. "Wizard…" The witch began to make a slight gagging sound. "That's gross. I can't believe you are making something that is so unbecoming of you."
The Wizard turned around and pointed his finger at Theodora as he spoke. "There is no such thing as unbecoming food. Have you ever had eggs before?"
The witch shook her head. "Wizard, I can't believe you would make food such as this. Food that is made by and prepared for…vermin no less…is that what you are, Wizard?"
He turned his head and looked at the witch who now had her hands on her hips. He was disappointed that she would say something like that. He expected better from her.
"Theodora, I…" But he was interrupted by her. "I don't care, Wizard." She motioned with her hand to silence him. "I am right and you are wrong, okay? I know more about Ozian tradition and customs than you do. Let's make that clear here…"
The Wizard turned around and focused on what he was preparing. He was hurt and taken aback that the witch was behaving like this. "Ok, let's change the subject…", he softly murmured.
But Theodora was persistent. She raised her finger and wagged it in the air. "No, Wizard. Stop being so sensitive. I want you to admit that what you are making is disgusting and unbecoming of you. I want you to admit that you are wrong and I am right! Now say it! If you want to be here, you are going to have to get used to my rules."
His back still turned to her, the Wizard kept his head down as he focused on his prep work. He raised his eyebrows at her testy remarks. "Okay, look, I am simply going to make breakfast and you can just do whatever you please…" He felt annoyed and was really surprised that Theodora was acting like this. Over some eggs.
Why isn't she letting this go, the Wizard thought to himself. She just keeps going on and on about this. Why isn't she letting this go?
"Oh, so now you want me to leave, Wizard? Is that what you really mean? Is my opinion of no consequences to you—"
Her voice trailed off as he then cracked another egg.
As the witch opened her mouth to vehemently object once more, she then saw another atrocity. The Wizard took some salt—the most valuable ingredient in all of Oz—and sprinkled it onto the eggs.
"You…are putting salt…onto eggs?" The witch gasped as she put her hands on top of her head. She looked at him like he had just killed a small puppy. She was visibly stressed and anxious.
"Damn right I am", the Wizard mumbled to himself. He was not going to argue with her over such a small trivial matter. He didn't remember the last woman he was with who got upset over what he was making for breakfast. The argument he was having with her felt surreal. He then began to search the various cabinet compartments that were above his head. "Now, where is the cheese and those vegetables we had two nights ago…"
"Wizard…language!", the irked witch placed her hands on her hips.
"Oh, sorry", he responded sheepishly. He then took a gold coin out of his pocket and placed it into a nearby jar.
The peeved witch maintained her annoyance as her eyes narrowed, her foot tapping the kitchen tile anxiously. "Wizard, that's not the wicked jar…"
"Well…then get your maids to place it in the right jar", he whispered in an irked tone as he continued to beat the eggs.
The witch rolled her eyes, shook her head and bitterly waved her hand at him. "I can't with this man…" She then stormed out of the kitchen.
"Hey! Where's my cheese and vegetables!", he playfully yelled. "Bring my cheese and vegetables woman!" But no one responded.
Several minutes later, the Wizard emerged from the kitchen with a plate of cooked eggs. He decided to put the silly incident in the kitchen behind him. The witch was sitting on a gold encrusted chair, located near the center of the table. Her red hat was resting on a chair next to hers. She was directly across from a pile of the Wizard's blueprints, which he had neatly arranged.
"Ah, here we go…the crème de la crème", the Wizard triumphantly announced, trying to turn the tense atmosphere around. Theodora raised one of her eyebrows and simply smirked at him sarcastically. "That's it? That's your crème de la crème?"
He gave her a wide smile. "Don't be so presumptuous." He then sat down across from the witch and placed the plate in between them. "Try it", the Wizard dared. "If you don't like it, I promise you can spit it in my face." The witch sighed and shook her head. "I am only doing this because of you, Wizard, I swear…" She then took a silver spoon, scooped the smallest bits of egg from the plate and placed it into her mouth.
He eyed her. So, what do you think?" After several moments, the witch briefly closed her eyes and nodded. "Mmm." A slight smile spread across her face.
"Yes!", the Wizard yelled. He clasped his hands together in triumphant glee. "I knew it!"
"Okay!", Theodora finally conceded in defeat. "It's good." She then smiled as she placed her hand on the Wizard's. "Or maybe you have the right touch." They then took turns scooping the rest of the eggs out of the plate to eat.
The witch then eyed the Wizard with a smile. "What?", he asked.
"No one has ever cooked for me before. My parents and sisters never cooked. They all thought it was beneath us. And then you come along…" She looked at him curiously, but with a hint of confusion in her gaze. "Why is it that you cook?" To Theodora, cooking was the equivalent of rolling around in mud all day or performing the dirtiest of activities. Esteemed Ozian society simply did not partake in such activity.
"Well, maybe to make a good leader, you simply have to be well rounded…"
"What?" The witch looked at him with confusion in her voice. "What do you mean, well rounded?"
"It's like cooking. If people want to take you seriously, you have to do everything that people who work for you do. If someone is handling the vilest of shit…"
"Wizard!", the witch's eyes grew wide and her tone angry. "Language!" She then took a jar filled with some of the Wizard's gold coins and placed it in front of him. She then pointed at it. He sighed, taking another gold coin out of his pocket and placing it into the jar.
"Anyway…", he continued. "If someone who works for you handles the most disgusting of duties, then that means you need to do it also. It inspires confidence and it will help make you a great leader. If you just want to sit back and allow the people who work for you the honor of doing the most uncomfortable of duties, they will come to resent you. Cooking is merely one such duty that you sometimes have to do…" The Wizard's voice trailed off as he snatched the last remaining piece of egg from the plate. It's an art to make delicious food. Even from the vilest of…"
The witch's eyes become wide and her eyebrows raised as his voice trailed off, seemingly about to say another wicked word.
"Trash."
The witch beamed at him.
"And that's why I cook."
The Wizard then lowered his head and began to examine one of his blueprints. He raised his bag, which was sitting on the red carpet and placed it on the dining room table. He opened it and began to shuffle through the various contents. "Now, where is my pencil?", he murmured. After a brief search, he took it out and held it with his fingers while he examined his drawing. He then began to make delicate marks.
The witch extended her hand to his, but the Wizard gently rejected her affection. He glanced up at her. "I need to work". He smiled with a slight nod. "Let me work."
She curiously eyed his drawing as she leaned her head across the sturdy oak table. "What are you doing?", she asked.
"I am glad that you asked!", he proudly exclaimed. He began to gesture with his hands. "I'm making inventions, magical creations." He grinned at the witch, who eyed him quizzically in return. "But what is it?", she probed.
"A way for Ozians to communicate with each other when they are far away. I want someone who is in Quadling Country to be able to speak with someone at the Emerald City without having to travel there", the Wizard said. He then lowered his head as his gaze then shifted back to the blueprint.
"Is that magic?", the witch asked. She was now intrigued. He continued to make scribbles on the blueprint and focused his gaze on his drawing. "What is magic?", he responded esoterically as he continued to make more markings.
The witch eyes him intently. "What do you mean, Wizard?"
He answered his rhetorical question. "Magic is a process that is not understood. It is mysterious because no one understands how it works." He paused. He then stopped scribbling, raised his head and gazed at the witch. "But what if the process was understood. What if the process could be replicated by others? Then it's not magic anymore. Magic is just something which has no known explanation because no one other than the creator knows how to replicate it." He then lowered his head as he continued to make markings.
Theodora interjected. "Or maybe witches and wizards are simply superior beings who can use magic and we can harness that magic around us…"
The Wizard stopped scribbling and glanced up at her. "That's still not magic."
Her eyes narrowed. "Of course, it is. What else could it be?"
He focused his gaze on her. "It is not magic in the sense where there is no explanation. There is an explanation. It is just that we cannot answer what that explanation is…yet."
The Wizard's voice trailed off as he looked down and examined his blueprint again. He started mumbling to himself as he intently concentrated on his work. The witch slowly stood and walked around the table, eyeing his blueprints curiously. As she stood behind him, she put her hands on his shoulders and started to kiss his cheek. "Can I see your other drawings?" Her cheek nuzzled with his as she eyed his work.
He stopped his scribbles and started to spread his other blueprints on the table. "There's so many current projects I'm working on." He began to point his finger at each of them as he gave a brief explanation. "I want this machine to wash clothes. I want this other machine to dry clothes. I want this machine to act as a cooling system…I want this to cool and preserve food…"
The witch interrupted him as she began to whisper alluringly into his ear. "Yes, but certainly you must also be working on creations with great destructive power. What about those?" She began to probe him as a small devious smile spread across her red lips. She began to give him soft and delicate kisses on his cheeks. "Tell me about those, Wizard…"
He smiled. "Don't be fresh with me…" Of course, the Wizard was mindful enough not to bring his military drawings to the castle. Those were kept locked away at the Emerald City palace. He subtly changed the subject.
A look of disappointment flashed across the witch's youthful face as she began to slowly back away from the Wizard. "I see…" Inwardly, while the witch was upset that the Wizard did not share any information with her that she could find useful, she would find other ways to discover what creations the Wizard was really concocting. And if he was really developing magic with destructive energy, she wanted to harness that power for herself. She would like nothing better than to use that power to control her subjects and to get sweet vengeance on Glinda.
Even her "sister" Evanora would not be spared. Theodora still wanted retribution for her steamy escapade with the Wizard. And as for her guest, as long as he did what the witch wanted and kept her satisfied, then he had nothing to worry about.
The Wizard gave the scarlet clad witch deep and intense feelings that she never felt for anyone before. She loved him deeply and she didn't know why. Was it that stupidly playful grin on his face? His dark and ridiculous looking two-piece suit? His personality? Or maybe it was because of his caring and loving nature?
Yet, the witch told herself that his nature was deceptive. Still, while the Wizard did nothing during this visit that told her that he was misleading her, she still vividly remembered how be betrayed her shortly after he arrived in Oz. They were supposed to be together forever. He was supposed to be her one and only. He double crossed her once. She did not want that to happen again.
Before his arrival to Oz, the witch would simply feel dead on the inside. She would alter from feelings of glee to despair and thoughts of being a burden and not wanting to live anymore, sometimes within the same day. The Wizard changed this. He made her feel alive. Joyously alive. But then he snatched it away when he "betrayed" her. She hated him for this. She hated him for taking away her happiness and euphoric sense of glee.
And while she projected warmth and sweetness to the Wizard, there was still one part of Theodora's psyche that was itching to simply light him on fire. And as he was being incinerated, his screams of agony echoing deliciously throughout the castle halls, the scorned witch would simply give him a malevolent evil grin as he slowly met his end. It would be his just desserts for what he did to her and how he had abandoned her for all these years.
Yet, she really did want to love the Wizard. She wanted to hold him, to hug him and to kiss him. And to squeeze him until they were both in a blissful state of heaven. She wanted to love him so much. Despite her intense feelings she had for him, she would rather hear his screams of agony as his skin sizzled and melted instead of him breaking her heart again.
She was incredibly torn on what to do. This perpetual conflict between her "good" side and her "wicked" side tore her apart, but this civil war within her was nothing new. She had kept these warring states perpetually hidden from the outside world for years and strived to only show her goodness. It was only Evanora who sensed that there was a war brewing inside her little sister's mind. No one else throughout the land was aware of what Theodora truly harbored until the Wizard tore off the band aid when he sided with Glinda.
A small smile spread across Theodora's face as she placed her arms on the Wizard's shoulders. "You know…you really should be paying more attention to me, Wizard…"
"Don't you have work to do?", the Wizard bluntly interrupted her as he continued to make pencil marks on one of his blueprints.
This caught the witch off guard. "I do, but I was thinking since we had such a nice night together that we can spend more quality time with each other." The witch's lower lip started to slightly tremble as nervousness took over. "Wizard, don't you think I am beautiful?"
He put his pencil down as he sighed and slowly turned around. "Look", he exclaimed as he put his hand on the witch's. "I need to finish these drawings in the next several days. I promise that we can do dinner tonight. But please, I need to finish this…" He smiled at the witch, who merely gave him a nervous glance. She finally relented, nodded her head and silently walked away.
The Wizard put his hand on his face as he continued to concentrate on his work. There was something unsettling about what happened with the witch, but he decided to simply let it go.
Time went by quicker than he had anticipated. After taking a short nap early in the afternoon, he continued to work on his drawings. The dining room area was quiet. The Wizard would hardly even notice when the Winkie maids, led by Bella, would appear and clean.
At one point, the Wizard got up to stretch his legs and took out his pocket watch. 3:30PM. He was about to sit down again when Daisy tugged on his pants. "Wizard…I'm so tired…can you help me?" She gave him a deep and protracted yawn. He eyed the girl sympathetically and smiled. "Nothing like a good ol nap wouldn't solve." The small child rubbed her eyes as the Wizard gently took her by her little hand. "Come with me." The Wizard escorted Daisy and led her towards the bedrooms of the castle. He then returned to the kitchen and continued to work.
It wouldn't be long before Bella interrupted his thoughts. "Do you need anything, Wizard?" He looked up at her from his blueprints. "Nah, you don't have to do anything for me." After he saw Bella stifle her own yawn, he decided to say what was on his mind. "Why don't you take a nap? It's very refreshing."
The maid shook her head. "We can't do that. If any servant ever decided to take a nap, the Mistress would be very, very angry."
But the Wizard smiled and played down her concerns. "Don't be ridiculous. Daisy is in my guest bedroom napping now as we speak. I took one and I was fine." As the Wizard spoke, a look of horror was evident on Bella's face. She frantically started to shake her head, her eyes wide with fear. "No! Wake her up right now! She must—" But before the maid could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a loud, piercing and bone chilling scream.