Being carried off into the distance by her baboons, Evanora struggled to comprehend what had just happened. She'd had a witch fight against Glinda, yes. But how Glinda ever managed to destroy her power source she didn't quite understand. Moreover, how Glinda got a hold of the power source. Her now revealed old age wasn't helping with the thinking. Nor the fact that she was dangling over Oz.

But Evanora had a secret residence. One hidden in the mountains, where she stored all of her powerful spellbooks. She could brew a potion to fuse some magic into another emerald and wield it as her power source. Her old power was gone, but she could potientially wield some more. And maybe with restored endless beauty she'd be able to comprehend the events that took place in the city.

Getting there was the easy part. Getting inside without her magic would be the hard. And without letting Theodora know she was there. Evanora feared Theodora- the apple that unlocked wickedness had gone too far. Her younger sister had been so naive. Evanora had been too, once. But Theodora made such a large transition- Evanora hadn't. She liked to feel in charge, and Theodora threatened that control. So Evanora didn't want Theodora to be anywhere near her. All she wanted was to do the magic and get back to her old self. If she had Theodora's help later on, she could easily storm the Emerald City and regain control.

Evanora approached the heavily guarded cabin- much less glamorous than she was used to. The baboons bickered with the others, but they didn't move.

"It's me, you dimwit primates," Evanora mumbled. But the baboons heard, and quickly let her through (simply out of fear). She hated being a hag, but at least it could frighten off her own guards. She knocked on the wood, hoping the magic guard would recognize it was her. But it didn't. Please, no, Evanora thought to herself, with a roll of her eyes. But there was nothing from the building, the door remained locked.

Evanora reached into her ruined gown and grabbed a dagger. She carefully drew blood from her aged left hand, and cringed. She smeared it across the door handle. She turned it, and entered the dusty house. Evanora quickly wrapped a cloth around her left hand, tying it, before approaching her books.

She had quite the collection. History books, fiction books, journals, but most importantly her magic book collection. She knew just the book to grab. The Witch's Guidebook, Volume 1. Basics. That would remind her of the main process, but the seventh volume contained information on how to return magic to a witch whose power stone was destroyed. The books were written by a great-great-aunt whose name only existed in those books. No one would ever remember her- because she was a witch. Except for Evanora, thanks to those books.

Evanora did research, for a few hours. She needed glasses, something she'd never needed with her magic. She only had a pair lying around because they had been her long-deceased mother's. But in those hours, she learned that she needed a special potion. Of course she needed a potion, she'd planned ahead and warned her baboons that they'd have to search for supplies. A river fairy's wings, the petal of a deadly poppy, a specific tea bag from the chinatown, a monkeys tail, an emerald itself (which she already had), and boiling water.

She started the water, and waited. Baboons came back pretty quickly with the tea bag, which she would have to wait on steeping, and the monkey's tail. It took a little longer to get the river fairy's wings, and the baboons who did looked very distressed. Using a special mask, the baboons had gone to the poppy fields and picked a petal. She made sure they cleaned it and removed any spare spores, she did not want to die.

She started to steep the tea bag, and threw in the ingredients, beginning with the river fairy's wings and ending with the poppy petal. And then she added in the emerald. But something was missing, she read over the books one more times and failed to find the missing ingredient. A piece of my hair! she realized, before neatly cutting off a piece with scissors and sprinkling it in.

What happened next was absolutely amazing- she'd only seen it once before. The emerald seemed to absorb all of the potion. There was a swirl, almost like a little hurricane. It sparkled green, and soon was all gone. The cauldron was dry. She reached and picked up the emerald, and her skin seemed to morph back to normal. Her sight improved. Her hair grew darker and more healthy. She became a bit taller too. She sighed in relief, glad to be herself again. Theodora would respect her, now. Glinda would wonder how Evanora ever got her magic back. Maybe even the "great and powerful" Oscar would be impressed. She rolled her eyes at the thought of that oaf.

But she knew what happened, now. Glinda had taken her necklace from her neck, and when she fell it had been destroyed. "It wasn't her fault…" Evanora said quietly, looking down at the new stone. "But she'll still pay," her voice tightened as she imagined her revenge, her hand clenching around the emerald. Glinda and her stupid bubbles. Glinda and her weak father. Glinda and her asshole of a boyfriend. But Evanora closed her eyes for a moment. She tried to think, why did she hate Glinda so much? Because Glinda had everything she didn't. That was the truth, no matter how much it hurt Evanora to admit it. Jealousy was a horrible thing, but it fueled all of Evanora's motives. That, and her strong desire for control.

She walked into her closet. It was small compared to her Emerald City closet, but contained some of her most expensive and powerful outfits. The ones that she dared not wear somewhere without total security. She picked out one that was much more her than that stupid one she always wore around the Emerald Palace. It was free of those stupid feathers that her old designer used so often. It was much more chic and fashionable. A dark green, form fitting gown, strap free, and a long brimmed hat that was similar to the red one Theodora so often used to wear. She put her hair in a neat bun and walked outside, looking absolutely stunning. The baboons were silent, clearly out of fear because of their boss's intimidating look.

She thought about what to do for a second, before deciding. "Go search for Theodora," she ordered. A group of baboons flew away. Few were left, and soon got back to doing their animal things. Evanora sighed and went inside. She put away her books, and tidied up her potion ingredients. It looked like no one had touched the room by the time she was done with it. Now what would Evanora do while she waited? She was already bored thinking about the lack of things to do.

She decided on reading her old diaries. Many of them were from back when she was just a young witch trying to make her way in the world without being feared. She would never admit it to anyone, but she and Glinda had once been great friends (resulting in Evanora getting hired in the palace). Until she'd grown so jealous of Glinda that she'd poisoned her father. Her old script had been much more free than her elegant current handwriting. Much like Evanora's personality in a whole.

One specific diary caught her eye. One of her first diaries from when she'd just become the essential leader of the palace (she was only the royal advisor, but without royalty to advise she was in charge of pretty much everything). When she'd exiled Glinda, everything had changed.

Her fingers ran over the paper, until she found a page she was interested in reading.

It's been only about five days since I told the kingdom that it was Glinda who killed the King. All of my plans have worked. I'm going to have complete control of Oz. And there's no Glinda to worry about now. Of course, many royal duties fall onto me. Forms and papers to sign or veto. Things like that. Complete control has its… ups and downs.

I'm planning on taking down some of the weaker areas of Oz. China town. Mainly China town. And I'd love to get rid of some of the more annoying races. Not to sound like a bitch, but certain species certainly get on my nerves. And everything will be blamed on Glinda. I've had this planned out for ages.

Except there's one problem that just showed up today- a prophecy about a "wonderful wizard" who will save Oz. Theodora believes so strongly in it. I say bull. But even if this Wizard does come, I, being the royal advisor, could get him to destroy Glinda. I could basically control the throne without having all of the duties that I currently have. I could then work on my magic and knowledge while also ruling Oz.

I need to somehow make Theodora loose faith in this prophecy. I need to make all of Oz loose faith. So I'm setting loose an army of terrifying, flying baboons. I pretend to hate them. That's not hard. I don't care for them, if I'm honest, but they get the job done.

Since it's very late, I will not write anymore. But I'll be back tomorrow, to add in any details.

Sincerely,

Evanora

She shut the diary shut, her breath showing in the air. It'd grown cold, the sun was setting. Evanora threw on a coat, before humming to herself. She started a fire in the fireplace, and cuddled up by it.

"I could almost fall asleep right here," she laughed to herself, before remembering that she was waiting on the baboons. "Chances are they won't return until tomorrow…" she assured herself, before closing her eyes and hoping for the best.