"Theodora…I have to go back to the Emerald City." The witch curled her lips into a huge frown as she started to sob. "No! No! No! No! No! No!" She started to pout and scream as she made two fists with her hands. "NO!" She then punched the nearest beam as the castle ceiling gave way and crushed the Wizard to death.
"Theodora…I must go back to the Emerald City. Like, right now…" The witch clenched her teeth in a fit of rage. "NO!" She then lit a fireball with her hand and set the Wizard ablaze.
This is going to be harder than I thought, he thought to himself. The Wizard imagined every possible scenario as he sat in the dining room after speaking with Finley, who was now sitting on a chair next to him.
As the minutes passed, his nervousness refused to subside. He pursed his lips as his nails scratched the fabric of his black suit pants.
After he had secretly and quietly spoke with Finley in one of the many parlor rooms of the castle, the Wizard walked back to the dining room. When he didn't see the witch within eyesight, he then asked one of the guards standing watch to locate her. Instead, the guard brought the captain, who responded that she was outside "making her rounds with the Winkies", but that she would come see him once she returned to the castle.
When the captain turned and walked away from him, the Wizard stepped outside, and the monkey followed him.
As Finley called his name, the Wizard was lost in his own thoughts and weighing his options. He could decide to stay at Theodora's castle. For one, the Winkies needed a stable leader, and he was certain that if he stayed, he could slowly persuade her to become a more capable and compassionate ruler. Despite most of Oz condemning her, he saw something in her that many others simply did not see.
But then what would he do about the Emerald City? He heard what Wogglebug had told him: the Emerald City would send the guards after him, the same men that the Wizard was supposedly in charge of.
He finally found solace under the shade of a large tree. As his back rested against the bark, he pressed his hands against his face. He then heard a familiar voice that had been trailing him all along.
"Wizard, I had been calling your name repeatedly", the exasperated monkey told him when he finally caught up to his friend. "Are you okay? What's going on? You are not your perky self! Do you want a banana? I know bananas make me feel better all the time!" While Finley was not a huge banana eater, he remembered how the Wizard would make jokes to him about bananas and he was trying his best to cheer him up.
He lowered his hand and gave Finley a ghost of a smile. "Yeah monkey. I am okay…"
He continued. "Finley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in this situation of having to be a third party but…I'm just nervous." He sighed. "I don't know if I can tell her…"
"Wizard…" Finley pursed his lips. "You just have to tell her the truth…"
This made the Wizard interrupt his friend. "But the truth is, I don't know what course of action to take! On one hand, the Emerald City was wrong! The Emerald City IS wrong", he stressed. "Knuck is wrong! Glinda is wrong! They are all wrong!" He lowered his head as he stared at the grass, his voice now quiet. "Agatha got what she deserved."
He then raised his head and stared at Finley. "But on the other hand, if I don't clear up what happened, my name will be tarnished. I'll be an outcast forever…"
"Then tell her that!"
This made the Wizard's voice quiver and unsteady. "Oh, I don't know. I don't want her to be upset…"
He then continued after exhaling through his mouth. "I know if I tell her I have to leave that she is not going to take that well…"
Finley shrugged his shoulders. "Then have her come with you…"
"What", the Wizard asked.
"Maybe you should just give Theodora the option to go with you. That way, you give her the choice and leave it in her hands…"
The Wizard rested his hand on his chin as he began to mull over Finley's suggestion. Have Theodora go with him? To him, this was a horrible idea. From the Emerald City's perspective, it would seem like the Wizard and the witch were in an alliance. At worst, the city would think that they were under attack. But it was probably the best and most horrible idea that Finley had.
Somehow, he needed to convince the witch that him returning to the Emerald City would be the best thing not only for him, but also for her. Somehow, he had to convince her that this was her idea. But he didn't know how to do this. As he heard the birds chirp a melodical melody and the warm Ozian breeze blow past his face, he started to feel better. Being outside—even if he did so against Theodora's wishes—made him feel better.
"That might be a good idea", he finally said. "I'm just going to need to figure this out in the next several minutes…" Knowing that he didn't want to be absent from the castle for too long, he stood up and looked down at his monkey companion. "Come, let's get back in there. Let's face the music", he sighed.
The tension in the dining room was so palpable that it could have been cut with a knife. Time seemed to pass incredibly slowly. Neither Finley or the Wizard spoke as the witch entered the dining room with a big glowing smile on her face. As she skipped and hopped with glee, she grinned at them with a sparkle in her eye.
"Wizard, now that you are going to stay here with me forever", she beamed at him. "We are going to make preparations..." She hopped right over to where he was sitting at the dining room table. He was silent as he stared into space and his jaw remained tight. "You can sleep in my bedroom of course", she continued as she completely lacked any self-awareness that the Wizard had a dour and gloomy expression on his face. "And of course, you can rule from here. I can't wait to plan all of this with you. We are going to…"
Her words ended on her tongue as she then noticed that little Finley was sitting next to him. "I will be with you in a second", Theodora giggled as she flashed the monkey a big and bright smile. She didn't make the connection that he was there on the Wizard's behalf. It was at this point when she finally noticed the Wizard's depressed demeanor. This made her quiet as she stared at him as her wide eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Theodora…", he finally said in a dispirited, but firm tone. He sighed as he tried to muster up all the courage he had within. "I have to tell you something…I…"
This made Theodora smile at him as she held up her hand in protest. "Save that thought, Wizard! I have a surprise to give you!" And with that, the witch reached into the pocket of her red coat and pulled out a small stone that glowed blue. "Wizard, I know you gave me presents, but I've never gotten anything for you!" She beamed at him exuberantly as she continued to talk. "So, I wanted to return the favor." She extended her hand and placed the rock onto his palm. "Remember that night when we went to the field the Faeries landed in when they came to Oz? I went back there and made a magical stone for you! My sister has green, I have red, so I felt that the best color for you would be blue!" She giggled as she pecked his cheek with her lips. As she pulled away, she continued to smile at him radiantly and fluttered her eyelids.
"So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Wizard?"
His lips started to open, but he didn't know what to say. "I mean…I…I wanted to say…I…" He clenched his teeth nervously as he stared at the witch, who was becoming inquisitive as to why he was being evasive with her.
"What", she asked.
When a response was not forthcoming, she broke her gaze with his and energetically bounced around the room, speaking with much hope and sincerity in her voice. "If you don't remember, that's okay! We are going to spend every waking moment together so you will have time to recall. Because we have a lot of lost time to make up for. Things are going to be so delightful and…"
"Theodora…" The Wizard said as he mustered up all his courage. "I must go back to the Emerald City. I am leaving…tomorrow."
Her back was turned to him as the witch stopped in her tracks. She flinched slightly and was quiet only for a moment, but otherwise remained unfazed. She began to walk away from him, but instead of frolicking around the room, her pace had now slowed. "…And we can do all of the things together that we wanted to do, but we couldn't yet" she said as she finished her sentence. "And we could take day trips…"
She continued to speak while she continued to walk away. This made the Wizard stand from his chair. "Theodora…"
But she ignored him as she continued, a subtle edginess in her voice that betrayed her inner anxiety. "Are you listening to me", he asked. He then began to follow the witch as she tried to leave the dining room. "…And there's this peaceful place in Winkie Country that I would really like to go", she said. But he caught up to her, placed both his hands on her shoulders, looked into her eyes and interrupted her.
"Theodora…I need to leave tomorrow. I think you know why…"
"I…" The witch lowered her eyes and looked at the ground. She then stared at him. "But…no. No! You don't need to go back to the Emerald City. Why would you do that?"
"Theodora", he said in his most sympathetic voice as possible. "I must clear my name. I must fight these allegations the Emerald City is accusing me of. I must go back…"
This made the witch shake her head as she clenched her teeth. "NO!" The witch shrugged his hands off her shoulders. She then pointed at him angrily.
"I told you, Wizard! If those fools want to start something, then they can come here, and we will kill them for all I care! That will teach them not to mess with me! But there is NO way you are leaving to go back to the Emerald City! I FORBID it!"
Indeed, for Theodora, the Wizard going back to the Emerald City was out of the question. In her mind, his being there was her personal victory over Glinda and all the others who had betrayed her and turned their backs on her. The Wizard was her prize in this existential struggle between her, the Emerald City and especially Glinda. She was never going to let him go. Her very mental and emotional survival depended on it. She was not going to lose him again to Glinda and especially not to those "good" Quadlings.
"Please", he began to plead with her. "I just want you to put yourself in my shoes and understand my…"
But she interrupted him as she flew into a rage. "NO", she screamed. "I TOLD YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE MY CASTLE WITHOUT MY EXPRESSED PERMISSION. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"
"Theodora, but…" he began to talk as his lips quivered but was again swiftly interrupted by the angry witch.
"Wizard, if you leave now, don't you EVER come back", Theodora thundered at him. "Because if you leave, you will be my sworn enemy! And I will make sure to do everything possible to ruin your life!"
This made the Wizard shake his head. "Don't do this", he pleaded. "Please…don't…I beg you…"
"Too late!", she barked at him as she crossed her arms on her chest.
"So, what am I supposed to do?"
"You should have thought about that before you came here! I am not going to go through what you did to me again! You are supposed to choose ME, Wizard! Not Glinda or the Emerald City! You are supposed to choose ME!"
"But what about…"
She was unrepentant and did not let him get a word in. "What about what? No!" There's only one way you are going back to the Emerald City", the witch yelled. "And that is with me as its conqueror!"
This made the Wizard become angry as he gestured with his hands. "This is wrong, Theodora! This is not the right move!"
Her voice was sharp and fuming. "I don't care!" She then raised her brow as she stared at him suspiciously, her voice became bitter. "Whose side are you on, Wizard?"
He arched his back. "Oh Jesus…"
"Who", she bellowed at him as he turned away from her in frustration. She placed her hands on her hips, clearly not understanding the Wizard's own foreign cultural reference. He merely shook his head before turning to the monkey.
"Finley…please…please say something." He was practically pleading with him.
"What? Finley is with YOU", she barked. This made the witch curl her hands in exasperation. "Wizard, I TOLD you that you are not to speak with Finley without my EXPRESSED permission!"
"But Theodora…"
"NO", she screamed at him. She then pointed at him with fury in her voice. "Listen Wizard, I have been more than nice to you while you have been here! Your emissary stepped onto MY land without MY permission. And he was lucky that I even allowed that! You have been given free range of my castle BY ME and you don't even need to lift a finger while you are here. But me being nice to you is contingent on you following MY directives and doing EXACTLY what I say and what I want! And if this means I tell you NOT to speak to Bella or Finley or anyone else, then you BETTER do what I say! Because my niceness to you can be revoked at ANY time! And if it's revoked…" The witch was pacing back and forth angrily and with much acrimony in her voice as she continued to glare and yell at the Wizard.
"Then what", the Wizard asked pointedly.
"You don't want to know what", the witch threatened angrily as she scowled at him.
"No, finish the thought. It is very important. Then what?" This made the witch stop pacing, but otherwise didn't respond to his question. Truth be told, she didn't fully think about what she'd do if the Wizard openly defied her. She had many conflicting feelings about him, all of which were now simultaneously bubbling to the surface.
Why are you doing this to me", the witch groaned as she stomped her foot and held her hands out, almost in a pleading manner. "Why do you want to hurt me? Is this what you want, Wizard? To hurt me?"
"No…", the Wizard emphatically said. "I'm really trying my best not to…"
"Well, you better try harder", the witch said unforgivingly. "Because I've given you everything, Wizard! I've given you everything! And this is how you treat me! This is how you repay me!" Her eyes narrowed at him again as she continued her tirade unabatedly. "You better make things right, that's all I can say! Because with the way things are heading, ohhhhh…" The witch then made fists with her hands in frustration as she clenched her teeth in anger. "You are going to be my sworn enemy again!"
"Theodora", he said with much empathy in his voice. He was trying to get through to her as best as he could. "I am not your enemy. We are not enemies!"
"If you go back to the Emerald City, then you will be!" She clenched her teeth again as she curled her hands into fists once more. "Ohhhhh you make me just want to hit you!" She lowered her head as she placed her hands onto her face, but then quickly gave a dark glare to the Wizard as her verbal onslaughts continued. "You are pathetic!"
By this time, random Winkie servants and maids heard the commotion, and some had gathered at the entrance of the dining room to quickly and quietly gawk to see what was going on before returning to their duties.
"Theodora, stop calling me names!"
"Well, you deserve it!"
"Umm…can I say something", the monkey said with much trepidation in his voice as he suddenly interjected from the nearby table.
"WHAT", the witch furiously screamed at him.
"Theodora, he just wants to help", the Wizard said. "Please, he is a friend, let him talk…" This made the witch glare at the Wizard. She finally tilted her head and stared at the monkey, her tone becoming more even keeled. "What?"
"Theodora…", Finley said, finally finding his voice, albeit nervously. "Maybe we can all accompany the Wizard to the Emerald City, just like we did three years ago. Do you remember when we did that?" He quickly lowered his head as he anxiously touched his paws together.
His suggestion made the Wizard subtly nod his head. He thought it was a good idea that the monkey was using emotionality to persuade her. As Finley tried to reassure and soothe her, the Wizard muttered under his breath. "Thank you…"
The witch took several steps towards Finley as she lowered one of her knees and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "But if the Wizard goes back to the Emerald City, he will never return. You don't want that to happen Finley. Do you?"
To the Wizard, it was rather chilling how Theodora could make the sudden transition from being ragingly furious to being highly charming and incredibly sweet.
"Look", he said to the witch. "I'm not on the Emerald City's side. I'm not. I'm just trying to resolve this issue the best way I can without…"
The witch stood, turned her head back to the Wizard and flashed him an angry glare as she interrupted him once more. "Out of the question! It is not happening! Or we will be enemies again. You can be sure of that!"
So much for the monkey trying to reassure her, the Wizard thought to himself. He raised his hands. "But why do we need to be enemies?"
The witch began to seethe with resentment and anger once more. "Because Wizard! Those fools have done nothing except ruin my life! And those 'Quadlings' too!" Her tone then became scornful and contemptuous. "They extol the virtues of 'Goodness' but they are just a bunch of devious hypocrites! They ruined my life, and they are not going to take you away from me again too!"
"Theodora…"
"What!?" The witch screamed at him on the top of her lungs as she clenched her teeth and her hands curled into fists.
"What do you want me to do?" His voice was soothing and warm.
This made the witch soften her facial expression. "What? What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean. What do you want me to do?" He held his hands up. "It's your choice."
This made Theodora silent, and her jaw locked. When no response was forthcoming, he asked again. "Well, what do you want?"
"No…no one has ever asked me before what I wanted…" She conveyed this in an unexpectedly soft tone as her eyes narrow and her brow lowered. She lowered her head while her eyes gazed at the carpet as she thought of his question.
The Wizard looked at her and asked pointedly for a third time. "What do you want?"
She looked at him again as determined as ever. "Wizard, I told you what I wanted from the beginning. I want to be queen. I want to be respected by everyone in Oz! I deserve this!"
"Why do you deserve this?"
"Because…because…" Theodora lowered her head momentarily before she raised it once more and clenched her teeth as she was aggravated. "Because I am a good person!"
"So what", the Wizard asked.
"So what…" The witch paused as she thought of what he had just said. "So what? What do you mean so what?"
"What does being a good person have anything to do with any of this?"
"Because…" Theodora lowered her head and gave more thought to the Wizard's question. She then raised it, locked eyes with him and frowned. "Because it does Wizard! If you are a good person, you are virtuous and life rewards you! It just does! And if you are wicked, then you are rightly punished!" The witch continued as her voice remained stressed and she began to whine. "But I am a good person, Wizard! I really am! I try to treat everyone with decency! Okay! I am a good person! But it is hard to do that when life has been so very unfair and cruel to me!"
As Theodora spoke, the Wizard placed his fingers on his chin as if he was deep in thought. "What", she impatiently asked.
"You know what I think", he finally said.
The witch raised her brow. "What?"
"I think you are wrong", he bluntly said to her. He didn't know if anyone had ever challenged her so brazenly before, but he had slowly started to become confident ever since he arrived at the witch's castle. He didn't know why. At first, he thought it was because Glinda had been protecting him, but now he knew with certainty that this was not the case.
She clenched her teeth and glared at him. "How am I wrong", she quietly asked with a subtle hint of annoyance in her voice as she crossed her arms on her chest. In a way, he sensed by the tone of her voice and by her general defensiveness that she was daring him to continue in order to test the limits of her patience.
Up until this point, the Wizard was trying to argue with her logically. But nothing had been working. It was not until Finley started to appeal to her emotion that he realized he was approaching this the wrong way. He needed to engage in emotion and to use his body language for dramatic effect.
"I think that divine justice does not exist", he replied as he slowly turned away from Theodora. He walked to the nearby bay window and began to stare outside. There was a moment of silence before he continued. "I think someone can be the best, most kind person there is and still have terrible things happen to them." He continued to look outside as he talked. "And sometimes, someone can be wickedly evil and good things happen to them." He then turned and looked back at the witch. "That is the uncomfortable truth. And sometimes, no matter how hard someone tries and no matter how decent they try to be, their good deeds are not rewarded."
The witch narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying, Wizard? That I should be wicked to get what I want?"
He shook his head. "No, I am not saying that. For wicked people have bad things happen to them, too." He turned and looked back out the window again as he paused for several moments before continuing again. "What I'm saying is that you really need to change your mindset and forgive these people for how they wronged you." The Wizard then shrugged his shoulders as he turned and gazed at her once more. "Just like how you forgave me…"
"But that's different", the witch protested.
"How", he asked.
"Because…" When she couldn't find the right words to say, her hands curled up into fists and she became aggravated. "Because it just is, Wizard! Okay! It just is. It's because you're special!"
As she spoke, he started to walk back towards her again. He pressed her further. "Why? Why am I special?"
"Because…you are the Wizard!"
He pressed her even further as he approached her once again. "Is it because you love me?"
"Yes!", she barked at him.
"Then honor my memory by doing good deeds", he said to her as he reached out and grabbed her hands with his. This made Theodora quiet. And for the next several moments, no one spoke as they stared at each other. "We both know that I am right", he said, finally breaking the silence.
The witch groaned as she lowered her head. She then looked up at the Wizard once more. "We can talk more about this in the morning, okay?" Her hands then gently broke away from his as she turned around and quietly walked out of the dining room.
As she silently made her way to another part of the castle, Finley came up to him. "Good job, Wizard", he remarked. "I am proud of you."
But he merely shook his head. "This isn't over, monkey." He sighed. "This isn't over."