“I did what I had to do,” I said. “He was a monster. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him. I probably should have.”

“It’s not what you did. It’s how you did it. Something came over you. Something not quite kosher. You have to be careful—magic doesn’t always sit well with people from the Other Place. You think you’re the one using it, then one day you wake up and realize it’s using you.”

“That won’t happen to me,” I said emphatically. “I’m careful.”

“Most of the monkeys didn’t want to let you in, to tell the truth,” Lulu went on. “Too dangerous, they said. Someone like you—too unpredictable. Just the unsavory type of broad we don’t want to get involved with. Lots of people around here think you’re like her. Meet the new witch, same as the old bitch. We monkeys have dinged enough dongs to know. But I saw what you did for Ollie and Maude, and I had a feeling. I went out on a limb for you. Me, I said, Nah, she’s different. I said We’ll give her a chance. Just a feeling, like I told you. I trust my gut.”

“I’m not like her,” I said, feeling my spine straighten. “I’m nothing like her. I could never become her.”

“Prove me right, okay? Keep ahold of yourself. People are on your side. I hope you’re on theirs.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said firmly, wishing as I said it that I could be as sure as I was trying to sound. “Come with us,” I said, on impulse. “You know this part of Oz better than anyone. You can keep us safe.”

But she was already shaking her head. “No can do, babe,” she said. “Whether I like it or not, I’m not a nursemaid anymore. I’m the queen, string bean. I have my subjects to take care of. I need to stick around with them for whatever’s coming down. Anyway, the kid’s better off with you than she would be with me. I’m no one, really. I’m brave, but I’m just a monkey. Not much use unless you need someone to peel a banana with their feet. You? You’re something else—it’s just too soon to say what. But I know you can keep her safe. Because you want to.”

Lulu reached into the black bustier that I guess counted as undercover gear among the monkeys and pulled out a pink, lacy handkerchief. I thought she was going to use it to wipe her still-lingering tears, but instead, she folded it neatly into a little square and handed it to me. “Here,” she said gruffly. “Take it.”

I took the cloth from her and looked down at it. “Um,” I said. “Thanks?” I was a little confused about why she was giving me a hanky. I mean, I had been crying, but if anyone needed it, it was her.

“Magic is against the laws of the Wingless Ones,” Lulu explained, “but when you’re the queen, you have to have a few tricks up your sleeve, don’t you think? I ‘borrowed’ that one from Glinda way back when; it comes in handy sometimes. Throw it on the ground when you need to rest. It will keep you safe—hidden.” She paused. “Well, mostly hidden. Cozy, too. Glinda travels in style.”

I didn’t ask any questions. It didn’t seem like the right time for it. “Thanks,” I said again.

Lulu made a move like she was turning to go, and then stopped. Ozma still had her back to us, but Lulu decided to talk to her anyway.

“I know you don’t really understand what’s happening, hon. You don’t even understand what I’m saying, most likely. Maybe it’s better that you don’t. If you did—if you could—you’d probably give me a piece of your mind. I don’t even know you, really, do I? When you were in diapers doesn’t count. I wish I’d gotten a chance to see you grow up. Get to find out what you’re like. First I let you get kidnapped, then, when you were back where you belonged, I missed my chance. Coulda come back and visited when you were living it up in the palace, if I hadn’t been too proud. Maybe it will make sense to you someday.”

Slowly, Ozma turned around to face us, casting her eyes to the ground. I could see Queen Lulu struggling; I could see that all she wanted was to reach out and hold the girl she’d once thought of as a daughter. But she held back.

“Somewhere inside you, I hope you know who you are. I hope you know what you are. I hope you know that you’re powerful. We need you.”

Ozma looked up.

“And I want you to know that I love you, even if I haven’t done the grandest job of showing it. Somewhere in there, I hope you can hear me.”

Ozma’s shoulders twitched. Was she listening? Could she understand what Lulu was saying?

Lulu turned to me. “Keep her safe. I don’t care how. It’s the least you could do, dollface. Help her get better. Help all of us.”

At that, Her Highness Queen Lulu of the Monkeys, royal nanny and loyal protector to the rightful queen of the Land of Oz, born a scullery maid and an outcast, now a wise, and only slightly silly ruler, grabbed on to a thick vine and shimmied up, into the vast, unknowable wild, and out of sight.

Just as I was wondering if I would ever see her again, I heard her funny, foolish cartoon voice echoing down from somewhere high above us: “Remember—don’t be wicked. Unless you really have to!” Parting words, I guess. It was good advice. I promised myself that I would try to follow it.

ELEVEN

I smiled to myself and glanced at Ozma out of the corner of my eye. Through the darkness, I could see that she was looking at me, too. We were alone again.