#H.M Wogglebug T.E | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

forkanna · 6 years ago

Link

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTE: This is the end of part II, and part III will be the last. Stay tuned for that soon!

Happy Christmas Eve to all!

"...and what about my penonias?!"

For the hundredth time that morning, Glinda felt like she wanted to do nothing more than crawl off to bed and pretend the day had never occurred. A large percentage of the "grievances" had nothing to do with the new law forbidding mistreatment of Animals. The citizenry seemed to have taken this as their golden opportunity to complain about any pointless little thing in their lives. Nessa had tried to warn them that this was what would be awaiting them, but they had both scoffed at the idea; surely, the good people of Emerald City wouldn't be nearly so petty and mundane!

Except, apparently, they were.

"Your penonias are no concern of mine," Elphaba droned, leaning heavily against her arm. "Now then, Miss Minkos, could you be so kind as to give the stage over to someone who…" A yawn interrupted her. "Who isn't trying my patience? Not to mention my ability to stay awake."

With a huff and a "WELL!", the Minkos woman stalked off the dais and into the gathered crowd. There was some murmuring of unrest, so Glinda decided she had better do her job of smoothing things over.

"Wonderful!" she called out, clapping her hands together. "That's quite a lot of you taken care of! I'm not even sure there are any left out there; we addressed the worries about how to take care of transportation, and fair wages for Animals who wish to enter employment in their previous servitudity rather than search for new employment. Very good, very good, we're really making progress!"

She overheard Nessa muttering, "I don't know how she stays so perky all the time," and saw Elphaba nodding, but chose to pretend neither of them existed for that brief moment.

"Next up…" Jellia looked down the sign-in list, having to unfurl the last bit of the scroll. At least they were nearing the end. "A man named… Wooglebug? Do I have that right?"

"That's Wogglebug," an overly-refined voice called out as he approached the dais. And he was, indeed, an insect, though overgrown to be nearly as tall as Glinda. "Professor H.M. Wogglebug, T.E., if you please. And I should like to talk about the state of your educational system. For many years now…"

The proceedings stretched on and on. By the time they finished with the grievances for the day — which had booked up their time completely, and there were a few names on the spillover scroll for the following week — they needed to break for a belated lunch. As they fed, glad for the chance to replenish their energy and mental stamina, Glinda asked a highly pertinent question.

"The eyepatch? Ah… well, I've tried it again, but either Dorothy has her necklace shut away in a box, or the spell has stopped working."

"What? Oh no, so you have no idea how she's doing now?"

"Sorry, but I don't. She'll just have to get along without us. We sent her back to her precious Kansas; now it's up to her if she can survive there."

"Just awful," Polychrome sighed, nursing the single droplet of morning dew on her saucer. "I was very fond of Dorothy, and wish I could go and see her. But I'm afraid that without being able to catch a rainbow… I will not be able to do so."

Curiosity piqued, Glinda asked, "Didn't you ever learn how to do that? Y'know, what your father can do?"

"Summon rainbows? Goodness, no. A sky fairy must study for many years to learn how to move the rainbows and clouds, and I just had no head for that work. Now I wish I had tried harder! Ohhh, will Father ever find me? What will I do if he does not?"

"Then we'll shoot you into the sky out of a cannon," Elphaba threatened. Glinda swatted her arm.

In no time at all, they were back to address the final matter of the day: Tippetarius. Glinda really found herself dreading this confrontation, given that he was such a young boy and really seemed to believe in what he felt was right. But that didn't mean they could let him keep speaking out against their rule; it would only stir up stronger resistance.

"You have been accused of attempting to ambush the Throppland Council," Elphaba read out from her scroll once the boy was brought to the dais in front of their seats. He looked no worse for wear, and his hair was stuffed up into his cap once more. Glinda did have to wonder why he grew it out so long only to hide it away. "And of disorderly conduct outside during the original address. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty! By reason of… of my love for the Land of Oz!" There were a few murmurs of agreement from the crowd.

"That's enough hyperbole. Explain your reasons for being outside the palace."

"To find out what you were up to. You said you were going to give us audience in a week, but what if you didn't? What if it was part of some… scheme to distract everyone while you filled the streets with soldiers, turned us into slaves?"

Nessa had had enough. "Your imagination is very colourful. But we're here to speak about specific charges, alright? Please, don't make up all these stories and try to stick to the facts."

That seemed to upset the boy a little more; he looked as if they had slapped him across the face and insulted his parentage. "But I am! You asked why I was outside, and… and I answered! I was keeping watch on the Palace to make sure nothing crazy happened, and if it did, I might alert someone!"

"Who would you alert?"

"Well… I hadn't figured out that part." There was a slight ripple of quiet laughter from the audience. After a few seconds, he went on as his cheeks pinkened, "You still haven't answered some of my questions."

"You're the one on trial!" Elphaba burst out in exasperation.

"How can we know that we're in the best hands? How do we know the truth of what you told us about the Wizard? You just… showed up here, after being fugitives for years, and tell us all to take you at your word!"

"You've forgotten the trial of Madame Morrible. We already gave her water from the Truth Pond, so every word out of her mouth was genuine. And she admitted that she had coerced everyone into believing we were responsible for the winged monkeys, we were trying to 'attack' the Wizard instead of being tricked into- why am I re-explaining this?"

Glinda sighed as the murmurs rose in the audience. "Y'know, some people just really don't care about who's right. They only care about who seems like the victim, and if it's the Wizard or this little boy, they're more ready to believe it."

"Men really are babies," Nessa muttered. Likely her opinion wasn't entirely objective, due to how the situation with Boq had failed to be resolved, but Glinda had to admit she found herself agreeing from time to time.

A little late, Tippetarius grumbled, "I'm not little."

"Children always say that."

"Alright, alright," Elphaba sighed wearily. "If you agree to taking a drink from the Truth Pond, we can cut through this a little faster, but you won't have it forced upon you because you haven't attempted murder. Entirely voluntary; it's up to you."

He hesitated. It was actually highly conspicuous, and stretched on long enough for a cough to be heard in the nearly-silent room.

"What's the matter? Suddenly you're the one with too many secrets, hmmm?"

"No, no! Just… I don't want to answer just anything in front of all these people." He pointed up at the council seats. "You promise just to ask about my duel and things related to that, and not a bunch of gossipy secrets? You know how women are."

Even while a tick flared up in Elphaba's jaw, and she gripped the bench in front of her a little tighter, Glinda hurried to answer, "Of course not, dear. We have no interest in gossip, just in getting this matter settled."

The translucent green glass of Truth Pond water was already prepared. After the success of using it against Morrible, they had all unanimously agreed that it should be of great use in further trials. Although it was expensive, given that the Truth Pond was in a far-off corner of the Vinkus, they could always fly down and gather another jug of it themselves. That was Elphaba's reasoning, at least.

The accused regarded it warily, lip curling. Drinking pond water of any kind certainly didn't sound appealing, but realising that it was either that, or going back and forth with mistrust, he raised the glass. And paused.

"Boy, we haven't all day," Elphaba prodded him.

"Why don't you have to drink it, too?"

"I've had just about enough of-"

"No, really! If I have to be honest, then so do you! Unless you're really afraid of what you'll say, which sounds to me like you're not any less of a humbug than the Wizard!"

It was actually a pretty smart argument. Not that Elphaba enjoyed that it was; she growled under her breath, and Glinda slid a hand behind the bench to alight on her thigh, since she was reasonably sure her roommate had been about to shoot to her feet and possibly conjure a fireball to rid the boy of his stupid hat.

"I'll agree to the same terms," she said, glancing at the two sisters, who were a little surprised. "You can ask me about things that apply to being a Councilwoman of Oz, or your trial. We'll both take a sip. And Elphie and Nessie don't have to do any such thing, because they are not on trial. Jellia?"

In short order, Glinda had taken a sip. There were things about her relationship with Elphaba that she would rather not mention in front of a full audience, but otherwise, she would only be too glad to explain some of what the three of them had been through without anyone being able to question her honesty. With a shaky sigh, she handed it back to Jellia, who took it over for their prisoner. This time, he took a large swig, even larger than Glinda's, without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Good," Elphaba said, turning to her. "What is your name?"

"Glinda Upland, of the Upperuplands. Formerly Galinda."

The slight smile on her love's lips made her stomach flutter, but she was already asking, "And your age?"

"I… it's twenty-two, now. Isn't it?" That was her honest answer; she had sort of lost track somewhere along the way. They didn't celebrate birthdays in the cave.

"And your weight?"

"Probably about eight… and a half stone." Her cheeks were colouring now; she knew she had put on a little weight, and that made it one of the worst questions Elphaba could have asked her. But it was also a relatively inconsequential way of confirming that she was telling the truth.

"Alright. Now…" Turning back to the dais, she said, "What is your name?"

Something was already different about the boy. His voice was a little different in the same way Glinda's was, devoid of any societal nicety or bravado or any of those other trappings. Earnest and sincere. But that wasn't the most remarkable thing about his answer, even though it had been such a mundane question.

"Ozma."

"What? What did you say?"

"Ozma." He looked very confused by his own words, but he kept on, "But currently Tippetarius Mombi."

There was a startled murmuring all around the room. That one word, Ozma, had stirred up a thousand emotions in all gathered; they knew the power it held. But how preposterous for a boy to be named Ozma at all! Even Elphaba looked incensed, but also quite curious; it really was the water of the Truth Pond, and they had watched it slide down his throat. Even some droplets ran down his chin, so even if he hadn't truly swallowed, there would likely be some compulsion to avoid falsehoods.

"How old are you?"

"I'm… nineteen, as far as I know."

"As far as you know?"

"I haven't had a birthday party that I can ever remember."

Elphaba could sympathise, and Glinda could sympathise with all three of them, so she didn't contribute. As long as she was compelled to tell the truth, she felt more comfortable letting anyone else helm this interrogation. "Fine, fine. Why did you come to the Emerald City?"

"To get away from Mombi."

"But that's your name."

"It's my adoptive mother's name. But she was a bad woman." He slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Oh? Tell us about her. Just the short version; in what ways was she bad?"

"She locked me up and told me my name was Tippetarius Mombi, and that I was her slave. Eventually when I didn't run away, she let me do the chores without being chained up, but… she… would beat me if I disobeyed. Told me that little boys deserved it for being rowdy. And she always told me to cut my hair but I hated cutting it."

"About that," Glinda couldn't help asking. "Why do you keep it so long?"

"Because it feels more natural," he admitted… and his voice was a touch higher in pitch. The way it sounded, the timbre and inflection, Glinda was almost positive that he had been deepening it intentionally before now. "Mombi always wanted me to cut it but I told her 'no'. She would whip me, or send me to bed without supper."

Completely at a loss, and distracted from their goal of finding out what Tip was doing in the Emerald City, Elphaba leaned forward and asked, "What's happening to you right now?"

"I don't know. My voice sounds higher." That much was obvious, but of course, he couldn't tell a lie — and even a pithy joke about it such as "Why don't you tell me?" would have been a sort of lie, after a fashion.

"Why did you say your name is Ozma?" Nessa asked, wanting to get to the heart of that right away. She looked keenly interested, in a way that even Elphaba didn't, who was also leaning forward intently.

"Because it is." He still looked quite shocked to hear his own voice, including the words it was forming, and he was beginning to tremble. "Because… it was the name I had when I was a baby. But I barely remember it, I mostly remember Mombi telling me 'Your name is no longer Ozma, it's going to be Tippetarius from now on'. So now it is."

"But it isn't really?"

"No. It's Ozma."

Silence reigned in the courtroom, even though there had been some mutterings before; everyone was too fascinated to hear what would come next. Elphaba pushed a hand into her mouth, and Glinda could tell her mind was racing; she always got that same look in her eyes. Perhaps Mombi had simply been lying to the boy, but if there was any - any possibility that he had been told the truth, then a decades-old mystery was about to be solved. Glancing at the other two women behind the bench, neither of whom had the slightest idea of what to say, she looked not at Tip, but at Jellia.

"Remove the prisoner's hat."

Tippetarius did flinch back at first, but then seemed embarrassed that he had and let the hat be removed. Instantly, the dark red hair fell down in gentle curls… and seemed to be a little longer than before. With this out in the light, he definitely looked more bashful, the freckles on his cheeks darkening. The effect was unmistakeable.

Almost as one, the entire crowd looked over the door to the courtroom at the portrait of Ozma the Warrior. Perhaps because of her being the most powerful and striking of the Ozma line, the similarities between she and the ragamuffin boy before them were impossible to deny.

"Boy…" Glinda wished she had a less clumsy way to ask, but she couldn't think of one. "Are you a girl?"

This was the first time Tip seemed to fight against the compulsion of the Truth Pond's water. To no avail. "Y-yes."

"Then why are you dressed as a boy?"

"Mombi transformed me into a boy with her powers," he went on, and even while speaking, his body seemed to be changing subtly, his voice lightening, escalating in pitch. There was still a mixture of panic and disbelief in his eyes, even if his tone was absolutely certain. "She figured no one would ever think to look for me if I were a scruffy boy instead of a girl."

Elphaba had a sudden thought. "And… did you know any of this before today?"

"No, ma'am. I knew I was being hidden, but couldn't remember why."

"Are you Ozma, descended from Ozma the Billious?"

"I don't know that. I only can remember growing up with Mombi. But I remember her telling me that my name was no longer Ozma, and that I was a boy, and… and that she would kill me if I ever said otherwise." The last seemed to cost him something to admit, because he shivered.

"Would you be more comfortable if we call you Ozma?" Glinda asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't remember that I was Ozma before just now. I'm Tip." Tears were streaming down his cheeks by now.

"Would you rather be called Ozma?" Nessa asked, head tilted very slightly. Glinda had to admit that she would never have thought to change the phrasing of the question in that way. "Does that sound more correct to you than Tippetarius?"

"I… I don't know. I don't know!"

Unable to help herself, Glinda stepped out from behind the bench. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said when he flinched. "And you know that's the truth, don't you?"

"I do."

"You seem like a nice… boy." She wasn't sure which to pick now, but decided to stick with the previously-accepted pronoun until it was proven otherwise. As she continued, she walked to the dais and stepped up onto it with him, which caused fresh mutterings to break out in the crowd; that was highly unusual in the middle of a trial. "I'm sorry we asked about all this in here, where you had to tell everyone the truth. We didn't mean to make you embarrassed, but we had to make sure you weren't going to interfere with our plans."

"And what are your plans?" he asked smoothly.

"To help the Animals. And to remove the Wizard and Morrible from positions of power, so they couldn't keep hunting us and corrupting the government." She hadn't meant to say the last bit, but it came tumbling out because of the water.

"And how long have you been planning this?"

"Not very long. I didn't want anything to do with that at first; Elphie was the one who wanted to help the Animals the most. But after being chased around Oz for two years, it seemed like we either stopped them, or we would be killed or put in prison. So we had to plan a way to get in here and capture them."

The crowd muttered a little about that, as well, and she cast a helpless frown over at Elphaba. For her part, she was completely unflustered.

"Did you plan to kill the Wizard?"

Even as she was trying to keep her mouth shut, it was already saying, "Yes, if he didn't listen to reason or try to negotiate with us. After all, he'd already sent an innocent little girl to kill us; he would have deserved it." Before that moment, she hadn't been entirely certain she believed the Wizard did deserve a death sentence. Apparently, deep down, she did.

"Guess I can understand that," Tip said — and with every passing second, he looked less like a "Tip" and more like an "Ozma". Still rather stout and toned, quite strong, but his hips were a little wider, his neck a little more slender. The Adam's apple had more or less vanished. That confirmed something Glinda had been wondering: this Mombi character had definitely cast a spell on the baby, not just stuck her in boys' clothes and told her that her name was Tip.

For she was Ozma. There was no sense in pretending now that the magic of the Pond had revealed her.

She put an arm around Ozma's shoulders and leaned in close. "I'm sorry. This must be very strange. But… I think we have to call you 'Ozma' now, because you're definitely she who was descended from the throne of Oz."

"I must be," she replied with a lopsided smile. "It doesn't sound like a very common name."

"Actually, it's illegal to name a common child Ozma, and considered to be in very poor taste besides," Nessa supplied. "Disrespectful to the throne. Well… it was before the Wizard's reign, at least."

"Oh."

Glinda lowered her voice. "But you're really a very sweet looking, um, young lady. I thought so when you were still Tip." She hadn't meant for that to pop out, and cursed the water in her belly yet again. "A-anyway… do you still think we're trying to pull a fast one on the whole Land of Oz?"

"No." The answer seemed to surprise the younger woman, as if she hadn't realised it before that moment. "Well… you can't lie if I can't lie."

"Exactly. So are you going to keep challenging us to duels and other preposterosities?"

Even while Ozma-nee-Tip was shaking her head, looking thoroughly ashamed of being so hasty and reckless, Jellia cleared her throat. When both Pond-influenced women turned to her, she ducked her green tinted head.

"Begging your pardon, Councilwoman… but I think you have something else to consider."

"Hmm?"

A highly stunned Nessa answered for her. "She's Princess Ozma. We… I mean, I know she wasn't raised to take the throne, but…"

"The rightful heir has appeared," Elphaba finished. Her face was a lighter shade of green than Glinda could ever remember seeing it, as were the faces of every member of the gathered observers. Ozma was trying not to look like she wanted to sink down into the dais due to a roomful of stares. "This changes literally everything."

END OF PART TWO

#The Coven Of Oz #forkanna writes #wicked fanfiction #wizard of oz fanfiction #forkanna the writer

2 notes · View notes