"Hello?"
"You know who it is…"
"Wizard…I…where are you?"
"You know where I am."
The female voice on the other end of the phone at the Emerald City Palace became more uneasy and anxious. It was still early morning and she was getting ready for her day. But she knew what this phone call was about. "Listen to me, whatever you have planned, please…there is a way we can work this out. I…"
The Wizard then interrupted her. "There is a storm coming. Can you feel it? I can. I can feel it. And trust me: I wouldn't want to be in the way of its path." His voice sounded eerily cryptic, like something terrible was about to happen.
"Wizard, please…I can…"
"Goodbye, Glinda". The phone clicked.
"Hello? Hello? Wizard?"
It had been one long week since the Wizard got into a heated shouting match with its new council leader, the Munchkin woman who had now taken its position from Frank, the Wizard's now deceased old ally. Did she have a name? The Wizard did not know, nor did he even bother or care to ask. In his mind, he simply called her "the devil". And when he saw her, he addressed her formally as "counselor" as he did for every other member.
However, since she had adamantly refused the Wizard's request to appoint Theodora as his foreign affairs minister, their already fraught relationship became further strained.
After the Wizard had stormed out of the council chamber in a huff, he returned nearly an hour later. To everyone's shock and amazement, he seemed more at ease and congenial. This made the entire council more relaxed. He apologized profusely and said that it was a great mistake to appoint the witch to this post and that he would pick someone else. He requested that he speak to the Emerald City as he did on the night Evanora was banished to deliver this updated news. They happily obliged, believing that the Wizard had finally come to his senses and abandoned this senseless crusade. "You need the council to advise you of your appointments as this is what was agreed to when you took over this post", the council leader told him. He then turned away from them and departed the room. As he did so and stared icily ahead, he told the council that he would make an appropriate decision the following day and that he would take care of them.
The sky was overcast. This was rather unusual for the Emerald City. What was even more strange was the strong gust of wind that blew in every which direction. The denizens who lived there did not remember when the weather was this capricious. Despite this peculiarity, throngs of Ozians still had gathered at the city square to hear the Wizard's important announcement. To emphasize the importance of this occasion, the Wizard used his holography machine to project his giant face that could be seen and heard by the entire city. Besides appearing in his form for limited and restricted audiences, he had not made a general announcement like this in four years.
As he appeared, the council was jubilant. Nine Ozian scholars were seated near the front and to the side of the Wizard's projected head. The purple bunny rabbit and the jovial talking tiger were still on the council. There was now even an animated lunch box. Most were not bothered when the Wizard announced this appointment. They believed that it was not the best decision, but they remembered all the Winkies who had come to their city in the past year. As the months went by, many spoke glowingly about the Witch of the West, something they didn't believe could be possible. The Winkies said that not only were they being fed well, and their workload was less, but they were all being educated and taught reading, writing and science. For most of the council, they could live with the Wizard's decision, even though it was still an odd choice to make. Was the witch feigning goodness just so she could get her wicked claws into the city? How much had the Wizard been communicating with her after his trial? They did not know the answer to these questions. What they did know was that Theodora was a very controversial figure within the Emerald City, with many of its residents still fearing her. And they had a right to fear her. Not only did the stories say that she had a great, bad temper and treated the Winkies like slaves, but that she also threw fireballs to boot! Most of the council did not know what to think.
But this was far from the truth for the council leader, the same Munchkin woman who oversaw the Wizard's trial. Like Agatha, she never trusted him from the start and did not believe that he would be any better than Evanora. She saw the Wizard as a tool to be used and for the first three years, she was successful at getting him under her thumb.
"You need to find someone who will have your heir", she would shout at him in numerous meetings after the two wicked sisters were chased away from the Emerald City. "Why should I do that, I said I don't want to have any children." She would then scowl at him for even suggesting such a thing. "Nonsense! You need to have someone who can succeed you! And none of this blabber about leaving the palace walls. You need to stay in here constantly! Do you know what the Wicked Witches would do if they ever caught you! They would brutally kill you in the worst of ways! They would torture you while you were still alive! They are not part of the Goodness that makes up Ozian society!" She then turned to Glinda, who had been seated at the end of the table but remained quiet throughout yet another contentious meeting. At this point, the Wizard and her were still seeing each other, though their romantic and personal relationship had become rocky. "Glinda, why doesn't your advisor train him? Wooglebug is his name if I recall correctly, right? Yes, yes, I believe he will do just fine! He'll get this nonsense out of the Wizard's head!"
And in those ensuing years, Ozian society did just that. The Wizard had been thoroughly convinced that the Wicked Witches were irredeemably evil, two-dimensional caricatures that were simply to be feared and then ultimately destroyed. Now, after a series of disastrous decisions that nearly cost the Wizard his job and this latest indiscretion, the council leader believed that the Wizard had finally changed course and that she would be able to control him again like the puppet that he originally was.
However, the Wizard had no intention of changing course. Far from it. This announcement of his was all a ploy. A ruse. A trap. Over the past year, he worked diligently and assiduously at rebuilding his reputation following his trial and the death of Agatha. He was not going to cave into what other people wanted of him, and especially not to this woman.
For those first three years, he did everything that the council wanted him to do. He did everything that Glinda wanted him to do. He did everything that others wanted him to do. Here he was, a mere mortal. He wasn't more powerful than Glinda. He wasn't more powerful than the council. He had lost his way. He had lost his confidence. He was not happy. He just wanted the gold, but after a while, even that became worthless. He felt trapped. And isolated. And alone. He was a broken man.
Somehow, that trip to Theodora's castle had changed him. It gave him the confidence he needed. At first, he was petrified. Why wouldn't he be? He knew what powers she had. He knew what destruction she could bring. He knew that she could kill him with a flick of her wrist. He wasn't stupid. But as his stay continued, something unexpected happened: he started to see that there was more to the witch than what the Emerald City said about her. There was more than this angry, green skinned witch. He remembered her for how she originally was: a kind and caring woman who did her best to contain the darkness within her. Sometimes, she succeeded at this. And other times, she failed. But he wasn't afraid of even the darkness within her anymore. He accepted her for all her flaws. Still, the Wizard didn't excuse her bad behavior. In fact, he never would have chosen her for this appointment if he felt that she hadn't truly reformed or that she wasn't truly ready.
Was she evil? Was she good? The Wizard had been convinced by Ozian society to view her as a black and white figure, but it wasn't as simple as that. Was Glinda good? The Quadlings thought so, but if she was complicit in her father's wicked deeds, then how could she be? Or maybe no one in Oz was all good or all evil and this was a silly pretense and excuse to vilify and ostracize those its rulers didn't like?
He weighed all the pros and cons before he made this final decision. Theodora was his first choice. There was something about her that he really liked, but he didn't know what it was and why he felt that way. He couldn't explain it. He was simply drawn to her in a certain way. As he thought about this to himself, he felt like she was a lost soul and a broken witch who simply needed someone to love and care for her. It reminded him of his fraught past, his traumatic upbringing, and his terrible career setbacks. While Annie was there for him sporadically as a friend, how much would he have changed for the better if there was one person—any one person—who reached out to him and gave him a chance in his career? Who told him that he could reach for the stars? And be the best that he could be? Ironically, the first person who did this was Theodora, but their friendship did not blossom after their first initial meeting. Perhaps he was doing this to relieve himself of the guilt and shame he experienced in those three years before he journeyed to her castle? Or maybe he wanted to do this because he knew the future that awaited her if they were enemies, and he wanted to heed Dorothy's words and prevent such a future from happening? Either way, he wanted to build a strong bond with her. Either way, she was not going to go anywhere. She was the Witch of the West. She ruled the Winkies. Even if Theodora wanted to use him for her own selfish gain when they first met by becoming queen, she still was instrumental in him becoming the Wizard. He wanted to take the generosity she showed him and to pay it forward.
If this had been three years ago, he would have caved to the council's demands that he cease and desist. He would have caved to Glinda's demands. Knowing that they were more powerful than him and that he was merely a humbug wizard, a carnival clown, a circus magician, he would have folded and did what he was told.
Not this time. He was going to fight and get what he wanted. If the council leader wanted a war with him, he was going to give her one. He was going to finally be the leader that the Emerald City needed.
The Wizard's voice boomed as he started to speak. "GOOD PEOPLE OF OZ! HEAR ME! WE HAVE A TRAITOR IN OUR MIDST! AND THIS TRAITOR IS THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL ITSELF! SHE IS EVEN MORE WICKED THAN EVANORA!"
The crowd gasped at such a startling and extraordinary accusation. The council leader's expression changed from one of joy and expectation to utmost horror. But he continued unfazed.
"SHE IS PREVENTING YOUR WIZARD FROM BRINGING GOODNESS TO THE CITY BY LABELING ALL WHO OPPOSE HER AS WICKED! SHE IS DOING THIS ALL SO SHE CAN AMASS POWER FOR HERSELF! BUT FEAR NOT, GOOD PEOPLE OF OZ! FOR IT IS ONLY YOU WHO CAN STOP THIS WICKED WOMAN'S SCHEMINGS BY SUPPORTING YOUR WIZARD! WE MUST LET GOODNESS PREVAIL!"
The crowd began to boo the object of his scorn and derision while he spoke, and the chorus became louder and louder. The council leader stood from her chair defiantly. "Don't listen to him", she screamed towards the massive crowd. "He wants to appoint a Wicked Witch! He's learned nothing!" But by this point, the deafening roars and boos drowned out her cries.
The council was shocked by this turn of events, but its leader was not. She should have known this was going to happen. If anything, she was surprised by the fervor of the crowd. These were the same people who narrowly convicted the Wizard for Agatha's death nearly one year ago.
As she watched the Wizard from the sidelines, her blood began to boil from rage. Anger was an emotion that could not be conveyed in polite Ozian society, but she was seething, and she did not care if anyone saw it. As the crowd tried to rush past the guards, the council hurriedly stood from their seats and scrambled to the palace door.
She was going to make him pay for this humiliation.
The council convened the following day in an early morning closed-door emergency meeting. "He's still trying to bring that witch here! He's declared war on his own people! He doesn't even care!" She was so angry and fearful at what had happened the previous day that she was banging her fist on the table. "We must act now! Before it is too late! We must strip the Wizard of his power! We must banish him from the land! For him to never return!"
In response, the council merely suspended his pay. And when he learned about this from Glinda when she visited him that same day in his bedroom—the king's old chambers—the Wizard became enraged.
"I'll have her head on a platter", he screamed as he pointed his finger at her defiantly. "Who does she think she is? I am the Wizard and I say who I want to appoint! Not the council! She should be lucky the only thing I said about her were bad words! She deserves much more!"
"But Wizard, you did agree that the council shall advise you of whom you can appoint", the southern witch said in a quiet voice.
He turned away from her in a huff as she continued to speak calmly. "I told you this was going to happen, Wizard. I told you that I was not going to be responsible for the fallout…"
But the Wizard was having none of it. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her again with growing anger in his voice. "Advise does not mean I need their consent!" He was still fuming mad. "I get to decide who I want to appoint and when I want to appoint them!" He then took several steps towards her as his teeth were clenched together and his anger simmered. "I warn you, Glinda. Stay out of my way."
"What are you planning, Wizard", she asked with much sincerity in her voice, but he had already stormed out of the bedroom.
The decrepit cabin was dark and gloomy as the Wizard stood over the eastern witch's wooden kitchen table. Not even the tiniest rays of light could enter through those barren wooden boards. Instead, the dull orange hue of a nearby lantern sat on her table and emitted its soft, glowing light.
One day had passed since the council punished the Wizard for his speech by withholding his pay. In those ensuing twenty-four hours, the Wizard decided to venture to the dilapidated cabin of his oldest archnemesis. He knew that he was setting himself up for a major battle against the council once again. And before they decided to take further action against him, he still had two things he wanted to do. And the first thing was to visit his old foe.
Ever since she was banished from the Emerald City those four years ago, Evanora had lived a very impoverished life. It was a tremendous step down from the luxuries, opulence, pampering, and power that she had once enjoyed. She lost everything. Even the gold that she needed from her sister had ceased largely because of the Wizard's intervention and meddling. She hated him, and if not for the Wizard's incredible luck he experienced the last time he was at her cabin, she would have killed him. Even after their previous conversation one year ago, she continued to stew over the indignation of having been beaten by the bumbling buffoon that he is. Though she got to keep her prized ruby slippers which masked her hideous appearance with one of beauty, burn marks were now apparent on her back, arms, and legs. Because of him, even her "pretty face" was now permanently scarred from the previous fight she had with him.
Just moments before, there was an unexpected knock at the door. When she opened it, the Wizard himself was standing at the entrance. His jaw locked, he stared at her for merely a moment before he asked to come in. This shocked the eastern witch. The Wizard wasn't even afraid of her anymore! After glaring at him distrustfully, she finally relented.
She led him to her kitchen as she took a seat at the nearby table, but the Wizard remained standing as he crossed his arms over his chest. Their eyes now locked as their gazes met like two predators who were about to pounce and tear each other apart.
"What do you want", Evanora finally asked him in a seething and biting tone.
The Wizard's expressions unexpectedly softened as he lowered his head and pulled out a written note from his pocket. He took several quick steps towards her and placed it on the table. The eastern witch's hand touched it gingerly before grabbing it and lifting it towards her so she could read it.
"What is this", she asked with sudden surprise on her face and in her voice as her eyes darted up. She slowly placed the letter back onto the table.
Several moments of silence passed before he spoke. "I get it", he finally said. "I get why you did it. I get why you killed him. I don't believe in murder. But I get it." He paused before speaking again. "It was either him or your sister. You had to make an impossible decision. And all the abuse she endured. I…I don't know how she even survived." The Wizard's lips curled into one of anger. "I hope that man burns in hell for what he did."
He took a deep sigh as the soft glow of the orange lantern reflected off his face as he subtly nodded his head. "So that's why I'm pardoning you. If you ever come back to the Emerald City, you will not be punished for the king's death."
Evanora did not speak or show any emotion as he continued impartially, not showing anger, sorrow, or joy in his tone.
He then started to shake his head. "But what I don't understand…what I cannot understand…is what you did to the China beings. I can't ignore what you did to them. If you do come back to the Emerald City, you will be arrested and you will stand trial for the crimes you committed while you served as Ozma…"
"Those fools won't give me a trial!", she spat at him. "They wouldn't even comprehend that those baboons attacked that village without my knowledge. They would just rather—"
"I promise that you will have a fair trial! I give you my word!"
The eastern witch expression turned melancholic. Evanora sighed and rubbed her face with her hands before finally placing them on the table. She looked at him with earnestness in her voice. "What happens next?"
"That part is up to you."
Glinda was seated at a desk in her large and spacious bedroom at her castle. The room boasted a giant chandelier made of pure gold, while her bed was surrounded by four Romanesque columns adorned with flowers and the most intricate of designs. The huge window behind the witch gave a bird's eye view of the entire Quadling Country and took up an entire wall, which was draped to the side with light brown curtains. A white carpet with small bistre-colored designs covered most of the floor, with the remaining sections made of wood. Like the rest of her castle, this fairytale room was charming and truly fit for a queen.
Taking her quill, the southern witch began to write on her parchment as she was consumed by her thoughts. She was so persistent in her concentration that she didn't even notice the Wizard enter. It had now been five days since he offered Theodora a position in his administration, four days since he got into a shouting match with the council leader, three days since his contentious speech, two days since the council stripped him of his pay and one day since his surprise and secret visit to Evanora's cabin. Ever since then, the Emerald City residents had been staging protests, some in support of the council's actions and many others in support of the Wizard.
He still had one more thing left to do. He was about to pour massive fuel on the fire.
Glinda finally looked up as the Wizard entered unbidden and unannounced. "Why…yes Wizard…yes…please enter". She dropped the quill on her desk, placed her elbows on her table and propped her chin on her hands.
"Glinda…it is time we had a talk, you and I…" As he spoke, the Wizard approached an empty chair from across her wooden oak desk and took a seat. "Now, as you know, the council decided to strip my pay…"
"…Which was not my fault. I told you that I couldn't be responsible for the fallout…"
"…And, partially, the blame does lie with me", he conceded, which was perhaps surprising even to Glinda herself.
"I am glad you can take responsibility. It takes a man of…"
He then interrupted her. "But the overall systemic problems plaguing this land are not my fault. The banishments, the labeling of who is wicked and who is not. The root cause of the Wicked Witch of the West's inherent bitterness and hostilities towards Oz…"
"The way she turned out was caused by her and by her alone, including the machinations of our sister, Evanora…"
The Wizard gave her a piercing stare. "Really now? So, Evanora is the sole cause of how Theodora turned out? Is that what you are telling me?" He wanted to see if Glinda would finally take responsibility for the part she played in all this, or if she would continue to deflect and blame others.
"Yes", Glinda blurted out. "Both her and my little sister solely. And well if we include you and your little dalliances—"
"And it had nothing to do with the abuse that you and your father played? That had nothing to do with it at all?"
"Wizard, what are you—"
"What I'm saying is that by helping your father and covering up his abuses, you indirectly created a monster, for which you have taken no responsibility for, even to this day. You've never apologized for your personal conduct. You've never made a public announcement of your guilt and transgressions. You've never once said you were sorry…"
For the first time since he had known her, there was now growing anger in Glinda's voice. "We had no easy solutions but we both did what we thought was best for Oz! We both did what we thought and knew was right!"
"So you say. Or maybe it was because I believed incorrectly that the responsibility was mine and that I never fully and truly investigated you, your father and the Emerald City's role in all this until the past year, that I was brainwashed she was pure evil and had malevolent intent when that was not really the case. I never did any of this and I never called anyone out that this cover up was both reprehensible and unacceptable. That it did tremendous damage not only to one witch, but to many others who would someday cross her path. And that this all led back to one group and one group only: the former king, and those who aided and enabled him. I looked the other way and in doing so, I let the problem fester. For this, well, I take responsibility. But all the above was part of a poor command structure, which I tolerated for the last four years. Moving forward, I will not tolerate this any longer."
"What are you saying, Wizard…", the southern witch asked.
The Wizard stared into her eyes, but otherwise showed no emotion. "Let me cut to the chase. Moving forward and effective immediately, you will no longer serve as my advisor at the Emerald City." As the witch gasped, lowered her head in shock and began to shake her head, he continued. "I'm sorry, I know how much this hurts…"
"Are you serious", Glinda glared at him. Her tone was not one of anger, but rather of bewilderment and confusion as her voice cried out with passion. "I am a hero in Oz! We helped defeat Evanora!"
"A witch who rightfully deposed an abuser and a perfidious man!"
"How could you side with her, Wizard? How could you say that she is a good witch now?"
"Glinda, I am not saying that she is a good witch. What I am saying is that she had a right to depose him because not only was he wicked, but he was a horrible and terrible man. He was abusive and wanted to kill his youngest daughter…"
"I am not going to have you tarnish a good man's name with these empty allegations!"
"Well, then maybe we have different definitions and values of what a good man really is. And that is why it pains me to say this, but it is time to part ways." The Wizard then began to stand as Glinda merely stared back at him in shock and bewilderment. "You don't want to do this", she muttered resolutely under her beath. "You don't know what you are doing!"
"I warned you Glinda", he said without any hesitation in his voice as he shot her another piercing stare. The Wizard then turned his back to her and walked towards the door leading out of her bedroom. "You will always have a place in my bullpen if you decide to acknowledge and make amends for your mistakes…"
"This isn't over!", Glinda yelled at him, perhaps the first time she ever raised her voice at him before. She then banged her fist against the table in frustration as a tear ran down her cheek. In what was another first, she muttered a profanity under her breath. She then sank her face into her hands as she started to quietly sob.
"Fuck!" The Wizard banged his fist forcefully onto his work desk as he held a newspaper in his hand. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" This conveyed the level of anger and rage that was clearly palpable on his face and in his voice. He then threw the paper across the room, which softly landed on the floor. It was the front cover of the Ozian Post, which was titled in big bold letters WICKEDY WIZARD FACING A REAL BLIZZARD, followed by its sub-caption that read: EMBATTLED WIZARD ON ICE! GLINDA ABRUPTLY CANNED, THEN REINSTATED! FORMER LOVERS DUKE IT OUT: JUICY DETAILS ON PAGE 4!
The Wizard hated this media outlet. It was a real rag. They were even able to get his and Glinda's mugshots to stare directly at each other like it was a hostile face off.
"Wizard…language…" Jellia said as she flashed him a meaningful look. He then begrudgingly placed his hand into his pocket, removed some of the gold coins and chucked them into his jar, which was now almost filled to the brim.
The Wizard was sitting behind his desk when his young chief of staff came barging in with breaking news. One day had passed since he had fired Glinda and nearly one week since his initial confrontation with the council over Theodora's appointment began. Not only did the council in a secret meeting vote to suspend him from his official duties, but they reaffirmed through an official proclamation that Glinda was the Ozma of the Emerald City. The council leader then nullified his pending appointment of Theodora as Foreign Affairs Minister. To spite him further, she then appointed Wogglebug to replace her, whose tenure would commence in five days' time once the yearly city budget was approved. Someone—who the Wizard strongly suspected was probably her—then leaked all this to the press, the Ozian Post being one of the most anti-Wizard newspapers. This just aggravated him further.
In the Wizard's mind, with colleagues like this, who really needs villains?
"What should we do", Jelia asked when he finally calmed down. But he simply rubbed his eyes with his hand and waved her off with his hand. "Leave me. I will take care of this", he said.
But will you take care of this? Annie's voice entered his mind as the young lass left his bedroom. "I will", his voice echoed within his own mind. "I've handled this before."
Annie then came into view, the same black and white visage he remembered back in Kansas. "But you haven't. That's the point. You haven't taken care of this. The council has been using you like a fiddle. Is this fight really worth it?"
"Yes!" The Wizard's voice was resolute and certain. "This is far from over…"
Almost a week had passed since the Wizard had visited Theodora at her castle. During this time, the witch had been fantasizing about her impending appointment with much nervous anticipation and utmost excitement. Anytime she became obsessed with something, or someone, she could hardly sleep. This happened when she first met the Wizard, and it was happening again. She fixated on what he had told her and the ramifications it would have on her life.
You don't have to decide now. Sleep on this. And let me know in the morning. This is what the Wizard told her, but she would not be able to sleep on this decision because she wouldn't even be able to if she did not decide that very same day. This decision was so monumental to her that once the Wizard offered it to her, she became consumed by it, and she started to obsess over her choice. And when he had stepped outside of the parlor room where they had been sequestered, she ran to one of the only guards in her vicinity and asked him to fetch her Finley.
"I don't know what to do", the witch exclaimed as she started to pace back and forth as Finley entered the parlor room. She spoke quickly and muttered excitedly with much eagerness and anxiety in her voice. "I don't know whether to accept this amazing opportunity or not…what if I'm not good? What if I really mess this up and I don't know what to do and…"
"Theodora, start from the beginning and speak louder and slower", the monkey raised his paws and gestured to try and slow her down. "I can barely keep up…"
She turned to him as his wings rested and he landed on a nearby couch. "The Wizard offered me the position of a minister at the Emerald City! Of foreign affairs…"
"That sounds exciting! And intriguing…"
"The thing is, I don't even know what it really means. But it sounds important…and powerful!"
"Well, I'm sure the Wizard told you about what the position entails, right?"
"Oh yes!", the witch exclaimed. "I would be visiting and traveling to foreign countries and representing Oz there! I would be meeting foreign ambassadors and dignitaries!" Her voice became more excited as she spoke to Finley. "It sounds like such an amazing experience! And the Wizard picked me! Me!" The monkey could tell from the exuberance in her voice and the joy in her facial expressions that the witch was incredibly happy.
But then uncertainty once again marred the delicate features of her face. "But…"
"But what", Finley asked.
"The thing is…what if I fail at it? What if I'm just not good?"
"You'll never know if you don't try", he said.
The witch lowered her head as she stared at the floor. "The thing is…when I was growing up in the palace, everyone thought that I would amount to nothing. And even my father when he ruled or Evanora when she ruled never had such responsibilities because they rarely, if ever, engaged in foreign countries or traveled to them. So…"
"So that means you have no one to compare yourself too…", the monkey replied, finishing her sentence.
"Yes! And besides, when I wanted to rule the Emerald City, I thought of how great it would be to be respected. To be loved. I romanticized it and thought how wonderful it would be. But now…"
"You have actual responsibilities, and you feel you could fail…"
"Yes!"
"Well, look, you don't have to take it if you don't want to…"
"No! No, I want it! Oh my Faeries, I really want it!" The witch's face turned into a grin as she clasped her hands together as a euphoric feeling swept over her. "Oh! Finley! I am so excited!" She started to jump up and down like a little girl waiting for her Christmas presents. "Now I really really really really want it!"
Theodora was still thinking about this opportunity and her meeting with Finley as a Winkie guard interrupted her daydream. "Mistress…there is someone here to speak with you." As the guard exited the dining room, the Wizard dashed in with an exasperated look on his face. "They're not allowing the appointment through!" He walked past her and then started anxiously pacing back and forth.
"What?" The witch looked at him with disappointment and discontentment on her face. "What do you mean they are not allowing it through…?"
"The council!", he looked at her and interjected. "We need to think about next steps…"
"I knew that they would do this", she started to fume as she clenched her teeth in anger. "They have been doing this my entire life when they were my father's advisors…"
"We need to think…"
"Enough talk! Let's do what you should have done from the beginning!"
"Which is…"
"Invade the Emerald City and depose them!"
"Theodora, I want to appoint you as head diplomat. But if you want this responsibility and all the privileges that go with it, you need to start thinking outside of using violence to solve your problems. When you are dealing with another country and they aren't giving us what we want, you are going to have to come up with diplomatic solutions. That's what we must do now…"
When she began to show uncertainty on her face, he pressed his point further. "Come on, you are a bright girl. We can put our heads together and come up with a plan…"
"What do you think", he then asked the witch after they sat down at the dining room table. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, when we would plan military strategy, I would sometimes write things down in my journal and…"
"Wait…that's it!"
"What?"
The Wizard gestured with his hands to try and get Theodora to arrive at the same conclusion as he did. "I should write in my journal?"
"No, Theodora, we can look in your library to see if there are any books that can help us in solving this issue!" He rested his chin on his hand. "There must be a strategy book in your massive library on how to deal with this…"
They relocated to the library and for the next several hours, this is what the pair did. They searched through many books and climbed many ladders. "What books are over there?", the Wizard yelled down as he dangled from a ladder high above the floor. The library was massive, and he remembered when Theodora showed it to him the first time he came to her castle. It must have been at least five stories in height with hundreds of thousands of books. The ceiling was made entirely of glass, which allowed ample amounts of light to enter.
"Strategy!", the captain yelled from the ground below. He was joined by Bella, who carried with her a huge binder of every book that had been catalogued within the library.
The Wizard tried to reach for a nearby book. When she saw it was just out of his reach, Theodora started to levitate off the ground. "Wait, let me get it for you, Wizard, it is just beyond your reach…"
"Thank you", he said softly as she handed it to him. He looked at it but quickly gave it back to her. He had checked the entire area of the "strategy" section but came up empty with a book that would address their current situation. It was beginning to grow dark, which meant that his help was about to leave for the night. And when they did, it was just him and Theodora who remained. The search continued as he slowly descended the ladder. He now only had one area left to check, which was the ground floor.
The Wizard didn't know if he would find a book that would help. Or maybe the book had simply been miscatalogued or misplaced? He didn't know. But he did know he was looking for an administrative book. There must be an administrative book that would help him, he thought to himself. But despite his search, he came up empty. He was about to give up when the witch started to rummage through some of the books on the highest shelf as she floated in the air. "Wizard", she yelled from above. "Did you reach this section?"
He looked up and saw that the area she was searching from was just beyond the reach of the highest ladder. "Actually, no, wait! That was an area I couldn't get to!" She began to search through several of the books until she saw a small red book in the farthest depths of the shelf. It was behind all the other books. "Hey Wizard", she yelled as she reached her hand into the shelf and pulled the book out. Dust had gathered all over the cover from years of non-use. "What about this book? Catch!" She dropped it from her hand, and it was caught by the Wizard below.
He reviewed the outside of the book. It was a simple red cover with a title adorned in gold letters. Administrative Procedures in Oz. Maybe this is what he was looking for?
He opened the book, and his eyes became wide. "Yes! This is what I'm looking for", he screamed from the ground in excitement. "We've found it!" This made the witch descend and land near him. "What is it, Wizard? What did we find?"
The pair reviewed the book together. "Look, it has procedures for how to challenge rulings and other edicts. This is exactly what I was looking for." He then turned to Theodora who was now next to him. "Did you know that this book even existed?" She shook her head.
By now, it was late at night and the pair had missed dinner. "Are you hungry, Wizard", she asked him as they made their way back to the dining room. "No", he said. "Are you?"
"Maybe a little. But I'll only eat if you eat." This made the Wizard purse his lips as he took a seat at the dining room table. This time he was not going to work on his blueprints, which had been customary of him when he was seated there. Now, he was going to review this book in its entirety. "Okay, I'll have some food." And as one of the night guards prepared them some dinner, the Wizard put on a pair of bifocals that he invented and was busy making underlines on the book with a quill.
"Look", he told the witch, who sat right next to him and was peering from her side. Unlike the Wizard, she had perfect vision and could see far and close objects clearly and with ease. "While this is typically what someone would do if they wanted to challenge the ruler or another administrative official, the procedure seems simple enough. We need to prepare a document outlining who wronged us, how we were wronged and what we want as relief. We need to give this document to the Emerald City and then we need to decide whether to pursue this at the Emerald City itself or give it to a 'central magistrate'" …
"A central magistrate?", the witch said as a confused look appeared on her face.
"Yes, the central magistrate is in the exact center of Oz. If we decide to give the document there, it will then be assigned to a witch who lives in one of the four quadrants of Oz. However, this gets interesting…"
"What", the witch asked, now becoming even more curious.
"The witch is appointed by the ruler of Oz to this position for life. They then hear these 'petitions'. Interesting how nobody ever told me about this…"
"Petitions?"
"Yeah, it's the name of the document we need to file."
"Oh" …
The food then began to arrive, a simple soup with chicken, but the Wizard continued to read uninterrupted. The witch grabbed a piece of bread as she continued to sit next to him. She bent her leg and placed her foot casually on the edge of her chair. "Why don't we just take this to the Emerald City? Since you are the ruler there, winning this there should be easy…" She then started to eat the bread.
"No, I don't think that's a good idea. The book says the losing party gets to appeal to the ruling advisors, who can decide if the decision gets 'affirmed' or 'reversed'. And in this case, that's the council. That path may suit someone who has a grudge against me, but it wouldn't suit our circumstances…"
"Affirmed"? "Reversed"? Theodora did not understand what these words meant, but the Wizard explained to her that 'affirmed' meant the lower ruling did not change and 'reversed' meant that the lower ruling was incorrectly decided and should be decided the opposite way.
"And what about the other way", she asked. "What if we take it to the central magistrate?"
"If we take it to the central magistrate, then it gets randomly assigned to one of these witches in any of the four quadrants of Oz. But most importantly, if we lose, we can always take an appeal to the Guardian Council."
"The Guardian Council?"
"So, according to this book, the Faeries created these procedures when a conflict would arise among its future rulers after they left Nonestica. The Guardian Council is in Ev, outside of Oz. When the Faeries left, they chose to leave a tiny spark of their own divinity with the "Guardians" in a big temple. In this temple, a losing party could appeal to them and seek redress. Anyone could appeal and they would hear the case. Countries outside of Oz do not adhere to the "Good" and "Wicked" labels like Oz does. In the event we lose here, I think this would be the best path to prevail.
"And what happens after that? What if we lose there?"
"Well, we could then appeal to the Faeries themselves. But the chance of them granting an audience with us would be so incredibly small. They apparently deny 99.9% of requests unless it is an extraordinary issue. I don't think this is something that would interest them."
"I see…" She pecked him on the cheek and then looked at her soup. "Come, Wizard, eat your soup. Before it gets cold."
The pair spent their time reminiscing about the last few weeks while they ate. They laughed. They smiled. But when the witch playfully placed her hand on top of his, the Wizard then had to ask a question.
"Are you sure you want to go down this path again", he said. This made Theodora cautiously back her hand away from his. "Why not, Wizard? Do you…do you feel the same?"
"I just think…I just think if we are to do this…if you are to serve in my administration, then it may not be a good idea."
This made the witch arch her eyebrow as a small smile spread across her lips. "You just used the word 'we'. I like that." This made the pair laugh as they finished wrapping up their dinner. And soon, the witch began to yawn.
"Are you going to head to bed, Wizard?"
"No, not yet. You go to bed. I want to stay up and get this document ready. I want this to be given to the central magistrate in the morning and a copy given to the Emerald City…"
And just like that, the Wizard was up the entire night, diligently using a quill and several pieces of paper to prepare his 'petition'. The book gave him specific instructions on how the header should look, how to write the party names and how to address each "action item" he sought. The book even told how he could be compensated for doing this work. He named Glinda, each member of the Emerald City council and even the Emerald City itself as parties.
As the sun slowly started to rise and beams of light began to enter from the large bay windows, he finished writing the entire document and why he sought each "action item." He requested:
The restoration of his position as Wizard, with back pay.
The immediate appointment of Theodora as foreign affairs minister.
Sanctions against the council leader and all its members as punishment for abuse of power. For added emphasis, he asked for 4,000 gold pieces, which was the equivalent of the leader's yearly salary.
Fees for drafting this document in the amount of 8,000 gold pieces from all the parties, his yearly salary as the Wizard.
An emergency, expedited hearing, and,
A "stay" on the appointment of Wogglebug as foreign affairs minister until this petition could be heard and decided.
It wasn't the best worded document, and the amount of compensation was probably excessive, but the Wizard knew he could live with it. According to the book, a "stay" meant the magistrate would prevent something from happening until the case was heard. In this case, Wogglebug would not become the minister until the case was heard and decided, even if the whole process took months.
As he finished putting the quill ink to his paper, he started to hear the little paddle of feet. "Good morning", Bella said to him as the morning crew made their way into the interior of the castle. The Wizard closed his eyes and yawned tremendously as he greeted her. "Good morning", he tiredly responded. He was completely exhausted but knew he would not be able to get a night's rest until he was back at the Emerald City palace. He had a full day ahead of him.
"Were you up all night", Bella asked him. The Wizard nodded his head affirmatively and then told Bella what had happened after she left. "No way!", she replied incredulously as he told her about the contents of the book the pair had found. "I never heard about any of this before. I wonder how many at the Emerald City even know about this?"
The Wizard did not know the answer to this question. But he did know what he wanted to do next. "Get me the phone", he instructed her. He wanted to make a phone call before he left the castle, and he knew exactly who he wanted to contact before he dropped this piece of dynamite onto the Emerald City's head.
He wanted to call Glinda. And to warn her about the impending storm.