A sickly sweet melodic voice rang out into the air of the Emerald City as thousands of Oz's inhabitants gathered to the city to bear witness to this monumental day. They all knew that the news that they had come to hear would be spoken by that voice soon enough. The sound of the sweet voice belonged to a rail thin woman with hair that looked like it was strings that had been woven into gold. Her electric blue eyes were usually blinding to the citizens of Oz but today they were filled with specks of emerald that muddled the normal effect of her bright eyes.
"Fellow Ozians, friends, I have an announcement to make," said the woman who was known all across Oz as Glinda the Good. She was the most beautiful being in Oz for the rest of the Ozians looked like patchwork dolls and machines put together compared to Glinda. Her translucent porcelain skin contrasted to the dark background of the night sky as she stood on the balcony of her palace. She twisted her almost white hands around themselves in worry, in nerves as she prepared herself mentally for what she was about to say.
"The Wicked Witch Of The West is dead!" Once she said those words the crowd of Ozians cheered and erupted in celebration.
Sounds blasted all around the good witch but the blonde woman wasn't looking at the sources of the noise. She was looking towards the western sky, waiting for that moment when…
A crackling voice of one of the numerous Ozians stopped Glinda's thought immediately.
"How do we know she's really dead?" one of them sneered with a look of disbelief on his or her face.
The good witch looked out among her subjects for the first time as their ruler since she had thrown Morrible in prison (and secretly had the woman beheaded) and then banished the Wizard (and made sure that he got lost in the Impassable Desert forever). Oz was hers now, this land of terrible cruelty and suffering. It seemed to Glinda that ever since Elphaba had died the world of Oz had turned into a hideous, monstrous place. The people no longer looked beautiful to her and in turn they looked frightening. Their faces, bodies and everything else were disfigured and contorted in such a manner that Glinda found it repulsive to look at them anymore. Their skin looked like it had been made stitch by stitch of some sort of thread, their eyes like they were fake orbs of glass with color in them, and their voices were like the shrieks of a dying animal.
"I-I," her voice faltered as she tried to come up with some explanation when suddenly she heard a squeaking sound that nearly broke her eardrums it was so sharp. The good witch turned quickly to see that the four companions that had killed the Witch had joined her on the balcony. Her eyes were first attracted to the blinding sheen of the tin man whose body was rusted and a large hole had been cut where his heart had once been. In its place was a red glass heart that was broken in half. The tin man held onto his prized axe in one hand as his jaw squared.
"We can explain that," he said to the citizens of Oz as he brushed past Glinda towards the podium.
Next the blonde woman's eyes came to the Scarecrow who had his stuffing half out of his body. He followed the tin man lopsidedly galloping after him in a clumsy way. His eyes had been pecked out by the Wicked Witch's crows as Glinda had came to understand and now there was only the stitching on his burlap face that gave any trace that he had even had eyes. Glinda observed that one of his arms had been torn off and that on the top of his burlap head there was a circle cut into it, almost like he had tried to put someone else's brain inside his empty, hollow head. Glinda could see the faint incisions in the material that suggested that her theory had been true. The blonde woman didn't even want to think of whose brain the Scarecrow had now for it had been announced to Oz that he officially did have one.
The Lion came bounding after his friends next with his teeth and golden mane covered in blood and dare Glinda say it even some green liquid… The enormous Lion bared a bloody and gory roar for the citizens of Oz and that caused them to shriek and shout in utter delight.
Lastly there was the pitter-patter of heels clicking against the tile floor that caught Glinda's attention. She turned around once more and saw a girl with a gingham dress on that was covered in the green liquid that she had seen on the Lion's mane. Sparkling red shoes were adorned on the girl's feet and Glinda found her gaze directed to them with a guilty feeling filling up inside her as she looked at them. The girl looked back at Glinda with sadistic little smirk on her small face. As the girl passed by the good witch she grabbed onto the blonde's arm with a hand that was covered in the last traces of the Wicked Witch and whispered, "Be thankful that I like you Glinda… because I easily could have killed you too…" a forced, horrifying smile appeared on Dorothy's face as her dark eyes bore into Glinda's. The good witch felt a lurch of terror fill her up and then the little girl let go of her arm and curtseyed to her adoring fans as she made her way to her other companions on the balcony.
Glinda was left behind them and as the Tin Man began to explain to all of Oz how they had killed the Wicked Witch Of the West she found herself tuning him out and focusing on the night sky.
She grew impatient as she stared up at the twinkling stars, impatient for all of this to be over, impatient to retreat back into her rooms and figure out what in the world she was going to do and how she was going to cope with all this. She didn't have Elphaba to rely on anymore; she didn't have anyone but herself to look after her well-being. She realized quickly that being on her own wasn't exactly as luxurious as she had imagined it in her youth.
"And we couldn't have done it without the help of Glinda," Dorothy's disgusting child-like voice jutted its way into Glinda's ears and pulled her back into reality. With a smile quickly appearing on her face the blonde witch fell in line with the rest of the acclaimed heroes and smiled while the citizens of Oz cheered for them.
The sounds of claps and cheers soon turned into a buzzing background noise for Glinda and she found that another voice was taking shape inside her head. Elphaba's voice had been constantly in Glinda's mind for the past six hours ever since she had been killed.
Look to the western sky… I'll be there when the clock strikes twelve…
Glinda glanced at the grandfather clock that had been placed inside of her room right across from the sliding glass doors so that she could see what time it was and she saw that it was nearly midnight. She had to get everyone out of here before the clock struck twelve or else Elphaba would never come.
"I believe my dear," started Glinda knowing that she needed to get Dorothy home as fast as she could in case she tried to stab Glinda when her back was turned, "that you need to return home to Canzis..." she said to the little girl.
Before Dorothy could protest the good witch explained what to do in order for the girl to go home. Three simple clicks of her heels while repeating the words, "There's no place like home," should do the trick if Glinda remembered correctly what she had been taught so long ago at Shiz. As long as the murdering girl got out of Glinda's sight the blonde woman didn't really care where she ended up.
Soon after Dorothy reluctantly repeated the words she vanished, causing a terrible uproar with the people of Oz that Glinda quickly settled with a few stern words.
After the exit of the little girl turned hero the mass crowds of people began to slowly part from the balcony of the palace. Harsh mutterings of joy that the witch was dead and some of anger that Dorothy was gone was heard as shrieks to Glinda. The blonde woman was paying more attention to the dull sequins of her ripped blue dress than to what the people were mumbling about. Her nail-like fingers pinched at the faded fabric of her dress for invisible loose threads that had caught her complete concentration.
"Lady Glinda," addressed the Tin Man as he bulkily clamored over to the petite woman, "We'll be taking our leave now."
"Oh yes," said the blonde woman faintly as she glanced up at her dress to sweep one last look at the three deadly companions, "Well ta-ta for now boys!" she dismissed cheerily with the fakest smile plastered onto her thin and pale face.
The tin man hesitated to move as his grip on the axe tightened. Glinda noticed and suddenly felt a ball of fear drop in the pit of her stomach.
"Is there… something else you wish to speak with me about?" she asked clearly noticing that they were not moving.
The Scarecrow glanced down at the city below with no eyes as if to see if the coast was clear of all civilians. He nodded to himself and turned back to Glinda.
"We know of your... history with the Wicked Witch Lady Glinda," said the Scarecrow, "And we just want to make sure that we make it very clear to you that she is dead."
Glinda nodded as the news sunk in but she made sure not to believe it. Elphaba had told her and only Glinda herself that she wouldn't be dead, so who were these beings to claim that she was?
"Of course, I understand completely," said the blonde witch with a straight face. The infamous three witch hunters glanced at each other, apparently satisfied with what she had said and left as quickly as they had come, each mumbling an incoherent goodbye to the new ruler of Oz as they did so.
Finally Glinda was alone with nothing but the whisper of the breeze and the twinkling of the stars in the night sky. Even her guards who normally stood post outside on the balcony had left her alone for the night since she had dismissed them in the passing kindness of allowing them to celebrate.
While everyone else in Oz celebrated Glinda waited on the balcony for Elphaba to come. After what seemed like hours but was only minutes the clock chimed twelve times and Glinda's ice blue eyes were locked on the dark sky before her. They strained to see the outline of her dear old friend riding on that filthy old broomstick towards her when finally the image came into focus.
Glinda's heart, which had felt for a while like it had been just sitting in her body, radiated with life as it pumped furiously beneath her chest in anticipation.
The speck that Glinda could only hope, wish, that it was Elphaba became an outline and the outline became a silhouette and soon the silhouette became Elphaba herself as she landed on the balcony.
It took Glinda more than a few moments to register the sight before her eyes. In the deepest place of her heart she knew that this was Elphaba. There were glimmers of the woman's old self buried beneath the monstrosity that she had become. An infamous half smirk there, a roll of the eyes there but as for the rest of her Glinda could not recognize the woman that stood before her.
The green skin that Glinda had once admired so much was now only half on Elphaba's body for it looked like it had burned/melted off of most of her bones. The various pale white bones of her face and body were exposed in the moonlight as Glinda realized that the water that had been thrown had injured the green woman to more of an extent that she had realized. It had burned her… the water had burned most of her skin off. So now all that was left of the woman Glinda once knew, of her Elphie was in shards and pieces on her body. Her eyes had turned fully black; they were no longer that beautiful warm brown color that the blonde had loved to stare into. Her lips were curled into a cruel half smirk that gave Glinda the impression that the old Elphie that she knew was still alive.
"Elphie?" Glinda's voice rang out with uncertainty.
The crooked green hook of her jagged nose pointed towards the blonde as Elphaba looked at the small stature of the good witch.
"You sound as if you're doubting who I am," sneered the notorious evil witch.
"No, no it's just you look different," said Glinda hollowly. Her eyes grazed the figure of her friend with a critical eye. She was as shapeless and skinny as she always had been but this time Glinda could see the hard bone that had been hidden underneath her pearly emerald skin. She looked like a skeleton wrapped in frayed layers of what used to be her old black dress. The combat boots that she had always worn were matted with dirt and ripped along the seams. The strings of her shoelaces were torn and undone and Glinda was amazed that Elphaba didn't trip on them. Her infamous witch's hat covered that beautiful black hair that was pulled into a bun at all times and Glinda realized that this was how most people perceived Elphaba, they perceived her as nothing less than a horrid witch…
Elphaba snorted, an unlady-like gesture and placed what was remaining of her hands on what Glinda could call her hips, "Oh please, like you don't look different either?"
Glinda was hurt by that comment. She frowned, a upside smile was not becoming on the blonde's ghost white complexion, and looked up at Elphaba, "What do you mean, Elphie?"
"What I mean is that you are not the woman you used to be," said Elphaba with a half smirk that showed the red muscles beneath what would have been her skin.
Glinda soon found herself immersed in her own reflection that was cast in the glass of the sliding door.
The pale, apparition like complexion of the woman staring back at her was much like her own. Orbs of blue mixed with dark green were highlighted in the woman's face. Her hair was dull and straw-like and lied limply along the edges of her shoulders.
Her hands smoothed out the imaginable ruffles of her faded blue dress that hung around her beyond slender form.
She was not at all pleased with how she looked. Glinda thought of her appearance as looking like a ghost, a beautiful apparition that was breaking the strings of her own sanity.
"What happened to me, to us Elphie?" asked the blonde in a remorseful tone. Her own reflection shimmered in the glass of the door as well as Elphaba's reflection.
"Oz," said Elphaba flatly, "Oz happened to us."
Glinda pondered over that for a split second, realizing that it actually was true.
The bristles of Elphaba's broom swept across the tile balcony as she balanced her weight against the cracked wooden stick that she had rode on so many times.
"Are you ready? We should have left by now…" mused Elphaba as her eyes traveled downwards to see if anyone was passing by and could see them.
"I think so… Chuffrey, the old fool, believes that I have already left on some business trip. Don't worry he won't miss me," answered Glinda as one of her hands raked across the air and placed itself on the handle of the broom.
Then Elphaba perched herself on the broom and left room for the blonde to climb on. Lifting one skinny leg over the handle of the broom Glinda gripped the handle with both hands tight as she sat down. It soon took off, off across the sky amongst the stars and the full moon that was hanging over them. The dark and dreary landscape that they called home was illuminated below them and Glinda found herself torn on her quick decision to leave.
"Elphaba," Glinda's sweet voice carried out into the silent night softly.
"What Glinda?" asked Elphaba from over her shoulder as she guided the broom higher into the sky.
Glinda saw the lights of the Emerald City fade away into the distance as they flew away, far away from Oz hopefully to another land. It was what she had wanted, wasn't it? She wanted to be alive with her best friend and away from the hideous and horrible citizens of Oz.
"Was Oz always this terrifying? I mean, for the last six hours I've felt like I've been living in a horrible hellish living nightmare," admitted Glinda as her fingers clenched against the thin wood of the broom.
Elphaba took a long time to answer her question, "Oz would always look the way you wanted it to look. When we were at Shiz, did Oz look like it does now?" she asked the blonde.
"No," said Glinda timidly as she pondered over what Elphaba had just said. On an off topic thought Glinda realized just how close they were to leaving Oz and entering some other land.
"Well then there you go, it's all in your perception of things," said Elphaba sharply.
"But Elphie," Glinda started, "everything, even you look horrifying to me. It's like I'm living in a terrifying reality."
Elphaba looked back at her, those dark eyes bearing into Glinda's soul.
"A terrifying reality or a terrifying dream my sweet?" asked Elphaba. Without having a second to reply suddenly Glinda watched in horror as the remaining skin on Elphaba's body peeled off in patches down onto the ground below. Soon Elphaba was nothing but bones until those fell down into the darkness below and Glinda was powerless to stop it.
Soon after Glinda realized that she was still on the broom and she was headed downwards towards the ground like she was free falling.
Lifting her arms to preserve her face Glinda suddenly jolted off the broom and fell into a pit of never ending darkness.
She screamed, a throaty sound that sounded like a shriek of a drowning animal of sorts, and screamed until she couldn't anymore. And just when the darkness was about to envelope her in its clutches, Glinda felt a hand roughly push her shoulder and whispering words of comfort in her ear.
"Glinda wake up," called a voice and the blonde woman opened her eyes to find herself in bed with her husband Chuffrey by her side coaxing her to wake up. Fluttering her eyelids Glinda sat up quickly, which was a bad thing to do considering the next thing that happened, was that her head spun.
"Are you alright?" asked Chuffrey his eyes wide with fright as his arms were wrapped around the small woman.
Glinda found that she couldn't articulate how scared, how unnerving that dream had been to her own husband and she simply nodded even though it was a lie. She got up after a few moments and lit a candle. She moved away from the bed in a trance like state, still not over the terrifying nightmare and looked out into the night.
The candle's light flickered against the glass and Glinda looked at her own reflection relieved to find that it was not the ghastly image it had been in her dream. A quick glance back at Chuffrey, and then a quick glance back at the glass brought about an image that lasted for but a second but startled her nevertheless.
A flash of light and then the image of Elphaba as she had been in Glinda's terrifying dream danced across the window, red muscles, bones exposed, green skin peeling and all.
Glinda nearly skidded away from the window at the sight and caused alarm to rise up in Chuffrey.
"Glin?"
"I'm fine," she breathed in gasps, "I'm fine, really. Just some nightmares finding their way into my reality."
She laughed trying to lighten the mood but Chuffrey would have none of it. He pulled the covers over himself and left her with a lingering question that she found, even in her older years that she never could truly answer, "Are you sure about that my dear? That your nightmares are coming into your reality? Or do you think that your nightmares are your reality and you just never realized it?"
She stared at him for what seemed like the longest time, unable to articulate an answer, and with that he shut off the lights and went to bed with her still at the window with the candle in her hands.
She pondered over that while she watched the flames of the candle flicker in the reflection of the smooth glass.
It's all in your perception of things… do you think that your nightmares are your reality and you just never realized it or that your nightmares are finding their way into your reality?
She looked down at the candle and when she looked back up at her own reflection she found that it was the same hideous sight that she had been seen as in her dream, and that no matter how hard she blinked, the image would not disappear…. and every-time she looked at her reflection after that it was the same horrifying sight.
Oz really could be a horrifying and terrible place...
THE END
I don't really know exactly what this is or why I wrote it but I wrote it on Monday and then I just couldn't bring myself to post it yesterday with everything going on about the Boston Marathon, which was just absolutely horrifying and terrible. I just still can't believe it.
Keep Boston in your thoughts everyone.
Sorry for the really depressing author's note but as a MA citizen I felt like it needed to be said.
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