THE FARAWAY LANDS OF OZ - Book One

Part One, Chapter One: Pilot

EVANORA

Quick now... There is no more time to lose. They will never find me again!
I was running through the corridors of my beloved castle: The Emerald City. How it hurt me to abandon it, but I had to do it! Theodora had already left, and it was imperative for me to join her. Else, my younger sister did not stand a chance alone against our enemy.
My little knapsack dangled from my wrist as I ran through the secret corridor out of my chambers and straight to the throne room. This was the fastest way out, avoiding the crowd and I could already see the curtain that separated this secret passage I had taken, from my most favorite room.
One could hear the cheers of the Good People of Oz even from here. They thought they had won... How pitiful!

Merely several steps from the window... "Not so fast," The voice to my right that was too slow and too soft to be real made me stop. She could not have found me! That was impossible! "You and I aren't finished yet."
I slowly turned to face the throne from where she continued to emit her sweetness and spread it like thick honey, just as the lights turned on to reveal the spy in the shadows. She always had a flair for the unnecessarily dramatic.
"You have the throne, Glinda. What more could you possibly want?" I replied to her brazen words. She scoffed upon my snapping comment. How my other sister annoyed me... 'Glinda the Good'. She was a nasty and spoiled brat, nothing more! With her perfect blonde hair and blue eyes, fair and soft skin and oh so just intentions.
"You can't give me that. My father. I will never again feel the comfort of his kindness! But I'll settle for the freedom of his people."
Playing the good and righteous once again, I see. But deep down, I know that she wants the throne as much as I do! Take a deep breath, Evanora. Do not lose your temper now. She must think that she won or else she would not have gotten this cocky with me.
Merely minutes ago, she was cowering beneath my feet and pleading for her life. Now that I was to face her on my own, she has drifted into a false sense of security. A little charge will do her good.
Behind my back, I twisted my hand and already felt the electricity vibrate between my fingers. The anticipation of giving her what she deserves was ecstatic. Let's play along with her laughable demands, "Of course, Glinda. At the very least, they deserve that."
How I loved wiping this sickening, triumphant smile off her face as I released my green lightning at her, making her spin around the air and smack straight against the emerald throne. The painful-sounding thud was music to my ears.
With a gracious swipe to my sides, I pushed myself off the ground and into the air. Up here, I was in a more advantageous position. And my crystal necklace was already glowing with magic, acting as excited as I was.
How I will miss these beautifully decorated rooms of gold and green. But perhaps I would never have to leave, once Glinda is dealt with. It would be the dream come true...
"What's the matter Glinda? Out of bubbles?" Mocking always serves its purpose. Especially when my greatest enemy is cowering on the floor and using all her strength to stand up. But I should have remembered that my wretched sister remains unaffected by mockery... All she did was scoff at my words again, catching the breath that I had slammed out of her.
"Don't need them. Bubbles are just for show!" With that said, the "Good Witch" swung her wand and with her flowing white dress, she joined me at the ceiling. Apparently, there was some magic in her after all... Besides her useless mists and bubbles, that was. Well, let us put it to the test:
I raised my right hand and the same lighting cracked out of my fingertips again. This time though, my sister had expected me to strike and she therefore pulled her wand up to her face, where several rays of light protected her from my raging, green bolts.
Yet the longer the connection between our magical abilities held, the more power Glinda could collect and with my own eyes, I saw the rays move closer and closer towards me.
This was not right. She could not win!
I broke the connection and with the lightning that was still shooting out of my fingertips, I cut out a piece of ceiling which fell right down towards Glinda.
She was fast though. Fast enough to dodge out of its way, perhaps but not fast enough to escape my fingers that closed around her throat. The old-school way of murdering somebody would surely work as well. I felt the air fight its way through her windpipe but she followed my example and pressed her hand against my larynx.
The pain was cutting right through my airflow. With each passing second, I thought that my throat would break from the pressure and cut through me. Out of reflex, I dropped my bag and with my left hand, I tried to force Glinda off me by blasting another round of lightning into her face. But mine and her grip remained strong.
She had even managed to free her other arm and protected herself from my magic with her own again. I do not know what we did but through some mysterious powers, my hand was pulled closer to her wand and vice versa; just like a vortex that wanted to swallow us both. Our eyes met each other, and I saw my concern reflected in her expression.
The vibrations of the magic got increasingly out of control, with every inch that our sources of power got together. Right until a shining white light and a deafening bang forced us apart and to the opposite ends of the large throne room.
I was fortunate and managed to catch myself, landing on my feet. Unlike Glinda who had been closer to the wall than I had and smacked right against it, falling onto the carpeted stairs, and rolling all the way down. I would not say "serves her right" but serves her right!
I pushed myself up from my kneeling position and with slow steps, I closed in on my panting sister, twisting my fingers again and waiting for the lightning to charge.
Glinda only looked at me with big eyes. Her defeat was imminent and neither she nor the "Great Wizard of Oz" could do anything about it. Her doe-like eyes grew even more, pleading to be left alive. I raised my hand to finally get rid of her wretched soul but no lightning came out of my fingertips. By the Virtues, what was wrong now?