Chapter 3
For the past two weeks, Elphaba has slowly adjusted to her new lack of magic. A part of her missed her lessons with Madame Morrible, the woman had been kind and really encouraging to Elphaba. But now the princess had more time to spend with her father, so she wasn’t complaining.
The father and daughter duo had taken to enjoying quiet reading with each other when the Wizard had the time. Elphaba had gone through quite a few books in the palace library. As soon as Oscar noticed this, he had brought more in for her enjoyment.
Currently, the two are cuddling on the couch in the Wizard’s office. Elphaba was reading a mystery book, while the Wizard was studying the Grimmerie now that he could actually read it.
While reading, a thought comes to Elphaba’s mind.
“Daddy, can I go to school?”
The question catches the Wizard off guard. He pauses and glances down at his child with a confused look.
“Why would you want to go to school?” the Wizard questions, his arm around her shoulders tightening subconsciously.
“Because it seems fun.” Elphaba replies innocently, glancing down at her open book. “All the characters in my books go to school. It looks like something normal kids do.”
“Ah, but my dear,” the Wizard says smoothly, trying to find a way he can convince her not to want to go without seeming controlling (despite knowing he’s controlling). “You are not a normal child. You’re a princess.”
Elphaba looks a bit dejected, but persists anyway.
“But then how do royal kids get an education? Don’t they need school too?” she points out.
The Wizard taps her on the nose, gently nudging her glasses back up the bridge of her nose when they slipped down. “Royal children have private tutors. As will you when the academic year starts.”
Elphaba frowns at him, her bottom lip sticking out in a small pout. “Why can’t I go to school?” she asks quietly, “Is it because I’m green?”
Instantly, the Wizard’s face softens and he pulls her closer to his side in a hug. “Oh, no, no no my lovely darling. It is not because you’re green. You’re perfect the way you are, never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Then why can’t I go?” Elphaba asks again with a sniffle.
The Wizard sighs softly, trying to come up with a good excuse other than his own paranoia.
“Because…Because you are so much smarter than other children your age.” he says tenderly, gently tucking a few of her microbraids behind her ear. In the back of his mind, the Wizard makes a note to call in the hairdresser again to redo the braids, they are getting too frizzy. “I don’t want to put you with other kids your age, you’ll be learning things you already know.
How about this,” the Wizard says as an idea pops in his head, “When you turn 16, I’ll enroll you in the best academy in Oz, Shiz. Do you think you can wait that long?”
Elphaba’s face scrunches cutely like it always does when she’s thinking. Not for the first time, the Wizard can’t help but feel a pang of adoration for his daughter.
“Alright,” Elphaba finally says, nodding in agreement with his plan. “Deal.”
“Deal,” the Wizard smiles, chuckling when Elphaba grabs his hand and shakes it.
They fall back into a comfortable silence, continuing their reading. Elphaba rests against him, her eyes drifting shut. The Wizard absentmindedly strokes her hair. Then he happens upon the spell he was looking for, and sits up with a triumphant grin.
Elphaba grumbles as she slips off of him.
“Ah, I apologise darling.” Oscar chuckles apologetically and lifts Elphaba back on the couch. “I forgot you were on me.”
Elphaba huffs and rolls over on the couch, dozing off.
The Wizard smiles fondly at her, before standing and walking to the door. He catches a maid and orders her to send Chistery to his study. Then the Wizard re-enters the room and sits on the couch, waiting for the monkey.
Soon enough, there’s a knock on the door.
“Enter,” the Wizard calls in a cold tone.
The door opens and Chistery, the monkey in charge of his guard, lumbers in. His scarred face eyes the Wizard warily as he bows his head.
“Ah, Chistery, just the monkey I wanted to see.” The Wizard stands and walks over to the primate.
Being a soft spoken creature, the monkey doesn’t respond. He’s learned the Wizard seems to enjoy hearing himself speak anyway.
“You see, I’ve found myself a new little experiment to try out,” the Wizard continues, looking through the open Grimmerie in his hands, gazing at the wing spell. “You are your men- er, monkeys- are the perfect specimen for me to use.”
There’s a cruel gleam in his eyes now as the Wizard slowly circles Chistery. The monkey tenses nervously.
The Wizard chuckles coldly, “No need to be scared, my friend. I won’t kill you.”
Then he starts reading. The words the Wizard speaks sound like gibberish to Chistery, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that the Wizard is casting a spell. Soon, there is a blinding, agonizing pain in Chistery’s back. Large feathered wings sprout from his back, pushing between the cracks in his armor. His hands and feet elongate and grow into talons. Pained shrieks escape from him as his body is warped and changed into that of a strange bird-monkey hybrid.
In his malicious glee, the Wizard forgot that Elphaba was sleeping on the couch. The poor girl wakes up when she hears the sound of shrieks. She pops her head over the couch with a look of concern to see what’s going on. Her expression twists into one of horror when she sees Chistery in pain on the ground and her father standing over her, Grimmerie open and an evil grin on his face.
At the sound of her scared gasp, Oscar’s gaze snaps to Elphaba. His heart stops for a moment at the sight of fear on her face, directed at him.
The Wizard briskly walks to her and crouches down in front of her, blocking the view of Chistery from her sight.
“It’s alright my dear, everything is okay. No need to be scared.” He attempts to sound soothing, but there’s a hint of anxiety in his voice. The last thing the Wizard wants is for his daughter to fear him. “Chistery will be just fine.”
“B-but he’s in pain,” Elphaba whimpers, looking at Chistery worriedly. “Y-you hurt him.”
The Wizard gently grabs her when she tries to back away. Despite her struggles, Oscar holds Elphaba firmly yet gently against his chest.
“I know, I know dear. Hush, shh, hush now.” The Wizard tries to sooth her. He holds her tightly even as Elphaba tries to wiggle away. It’s clear the green girl wants to go check on Chistery.
“Remember what I’ve told you?” he says gently once Elphaba finally stops her struggles. “Sometimes we have to do mean things for the greater good. Chistery went through a necessary evil so that he can help me.”
“H-help you w-with what?” Elphaba asks in a quiet, timid tone.
“Help me keep an eye on the people of Oz,” the Wizard says softly, glancing at the winged monkey as he slowly gets up. “He and his crew will fly through Oz and act as spies for me.”
“Why w-would you need spies?” Elphaba asks anxiously, tensing in his arms again.
“Because there are bad people out there,” the Wizard explains, gently rubbing her back to sooth her. He decides against telling her it’s so he can make sure no one tries to revolt against him.
“I-is Chistery okay now?” Elphaba asks with a distraught look.
“He will be fine, my emerald.” the Wizard assures her.
Elphaba slowly relaxes, casting one last concerned glance to Chistery before looking back at her father.
“It’s to help people…” she whispers, as if trying to reassure herself.
“Yes, my dear.” the Wizard lies with a tender whisper, still holding her close to her chest. “It’s to help people.”
The years pass by. The Wizard continues to manipulate Elphaba into trusting him and believing that everything he does is for the greater good. It’s like a need the Wizard has. He needs his daughter to trust him, to look up to him, to depend on him. She’s the most important person to him, the Wizard doesn’t want her to see him as an evil man. Even though he definitely is.
So now Elphaba is 16, and as they agreed, she will start school at Shiz.
A few days before term, the Wizard summoned Madame Morrible to the Emerald City so that he can speak with her about Elphaba’s school experience. She is the Dean of Shiz, after all.
“I want you to keep an eye on Elphaba,” the Wizard says as he leads Madame Morrible down the hall to his study. Ever the gentleman, he holds the door open for her before following her inside.
“Straight to the point, as always.” Madame Morrible raises a brow at him. The Wizard sits down at his desk, Madame Morrible sitting across from him. “You do realize that Elphaba would strongly protest, yes?”
The Wizard waves her off. “She won’t have to know, as long as you’re not obvious.” He narrows his eyes at her, his tone dangerous. “I’m assuming you can be discreet.”
“Of course, your Ozness.” Madame Morrible says quickly, hiding her slight anxiety behind years of a practiced facade. “I will keep an eye on her and make sure your daughter is safe, she will be none the wiser.”
“Excellent,” the Wizard purrs and leans back in his chair. “Now that that’s settled, I have another request for you.”
“How can I assist?” Madame Morrible queries with forced politeness. She absolutely loathes when he summons her and has her be his servant. But she did it for her security and reputation, and Morrible knows she could never defeat the Wizard.
The Wizard gives her a smug smile, he is well aware of her dislike of him ordering her around. “One of your staff, Doctor Dillamond, the goat,” there is a hint of disgust when he mentions the professor, “Keep a close eye on him as well. He has noticed what we are doing to the animals, and I would prefer it if he didn’t stir doubt in the minds of the young.”
“Of course,” Madame Morrible says. This is something she can agree with, and something she will gladly do for the Wizard. The animals needed to be kept in line, after all. “I’ll ensure he is kept in line.”
“Perfect,” The Wizard offers a charming smile, malice clear in his gaze. “That is all, you may leave. I trust you have plenty of work in preparing for the upcoming academic year.”
Madame Morrible nods and stands up. Once she’s left the room, the Wizard sighs and runs a hand through his silver hair. He’s had a long day, and could do with a break. Just as Oscar stands up from his desk, there is a light knock on the door before Elphaba bursts in.
“Oh no,” he frowns when he sees the green nail polish in her hands. He knows exactly what she’s here for.
“Oh yes,” Elphaba shoots back, walking over to him and pushing him back in his chair. This was the deal. You send me to Shi with a few guards, and I get to paint your nails.”
“Is it truly necessary though?” Oscar tries to persuade her out of it. A few days back when Elphaba started packing for school, the Wizard had tried to get her to let him send guards with her for extra protection since Madame Morrible wouldn;’t be able to watch her the whole time.
Elphaba had agreed, but only after Oscar agreed to let her paint his nails green.
“Of course it is!” Elphaba retorts, pulling a chair up next to him and grabbing his left hand. “A deal is a deal. If I have to be embarrassed with guards, then you have to be embarrassed with green nails.”
The Wizard sighs in defeat, a small pout on his face as Elphaba starts painting his nails, starting with his thumb.
By the time Elphaba has finished and his nails are completely dry, the sun is setting outside. Oscar’s stomach growls.
“Ah, dinner time.” He stands quickly and pulls Elphaba up before she can insist to glamorize any other part of him (she once did his hair, it was absurdly curly for weeks).
“Alright, alright,” Elphaba huffs, trying to put the cap back on the nail polish, “Hold on father- I’m not ready.”
“Please do hurry, my dear.” the Wizard says light heartedly, helping clean up the used cotton balls. “I’m positively famished.”
Elphaba rolls her eyes with a small smile, grabbing the last of the nail polish stuff before walking up to him.
“I need to drop these off at my room first.” She says, walking out of the study.
The Wizard sighs dramatically and follows her out. He certainly was hungry, but he’d rather wait a few extra seconds to eat with his daughter, than go and eat alone. He’d be eating alone for the next 6-9 months while Elphaba was at Shiz.
After dinner, Oscar joins Elphaba in her room, helping her pack for the upcoming school year. He may be a busy ruler, but he was also a father. The Wizard wanted to spend as much time with his emerald as he could before she left.
“I still think it would be better for you to stay,” the Wizard sighs as he folds a dress and hands it to her, watching as the green girl places the dress in her suitcase. “It’s safer here. I’m here.”
“But Shiz offers more opportunities for me to grow and make connections.” Elphaba points out, glancing at him before moving onto her last minute hygiene products. “I can’t stay sheltered forever. And…I’d like to make friends.”
“You could make bad friends,” her father says with a hint of anxiety in his voice. “Or people who only want you for your status, or to get to me. It’d be much more practical for you to stay here where I can protect you.”
“Father,” Elphaba huffs, turning entirely to face him now. “I can handle this. I may not have my magic anymore, but I am still far from helpless.” the princess raises a brow at him. “You did make me take self defense lessons for a reason, after all.”
“Yes, I know.” the Wizard sighs and places his hands on her shoulders. A part of him mourns the fact that she is no longer small enough for him to carry. “I just worry. I have great plans for you, I don’t need you getting hurt.”
“I love you too,” Elphaba says dryly.”
“That’s not what I meant, dear.” the Wizard sighs in slight frustration and pinches his nose. He looks back at her and pulls her into a hug. “I love you, my emerald. And as your father it’s my job to worry. But I trust you, and I trust your abilities.”
He steps back and gently cups her chin, tilting her head up so she looks at him. “And I know you’ll do great at Shiz.”
“Thank you,” Elphaba whispers, her eyes shining with gratitude.
“Of course, my love.” the Wizard gently kisses her forehead. “Now, let's finish packing, shall we?”
Three days later, the Wizard watches from the platform of the train station as the emerald green bullet train takes off for Shiz with his daughter aboard. He can’t help but feel a pang of longing and anxiety as he watches the machine fade from view in the distance.
Oscar sighs and places his indifferent mask back on, turning around and promptly walking back to the carriage that will take him back to the Emerald Palace. A few winged monkeys fly overhead as added security, despite the Wizard being more than capable of defending himself.
“She’ll be fine,” he whispers to himself in a calm yet menacing tone, trying to ease his raging paranoia. “And if not, I’ll destroy anyone who touches her.”