The City of Emeralds
Fiyero
It was three 'o clock in the morning when Fiyero woke up thinking nothing about nothing but Elphaba. Wondering if she would be okay traveling to Kiamo Ko. But what of the Yunamata tribe? Would they let the caravan through the thousand year grasslands? Would she be worried? He thought. She shouldn't be. For all she knows, he's dead. In that incident in which she prepared to kill Madame Morrible and The Wizard all in one night. He remembered falling down in the snow and seeing the snow stain red. Was it his blood? He had wondered that night. He knew she had gone to Saint Glinda's mauntery. But what had she remembered? He had not had a good night in months. He had awaken every night, starting on the last Lurlinemas. He had awoken with the sweats and shakes. And after the past few weeks had feared going to sleep only to know that he would awake in the middle of the night and light a candle in the window and think about Elphaba. He had not once ever wondered if Sarima would allow Elphie into Kiamo Ko. He never had to wonder. It was the way of the mountains to allow travelers into their home. And not once had he thought of his children. Irji, Manek, and Nor.
He had like every night, lit a candle in the window and sat up for the rest of the night wondering about Elphaba. For some reason, he felt danger was very near on the horizon, for not just Elphaba, but for him too.
Several years passed and no danger had occurred for him. For Elphaba though he was not sure. But somewhere dip inside the pit of his stomach told him she was fine and safe inside the fortress walls of Kiamo Ko. Then, one afternoon, he entered the little room where he and Elphaba had conducted their love affair. It had been years since Malky had passed into the hands of death, and yet, the milk bowl still lay there on the floor. Fiyero felt a strange ache in his head and soon he couldn't speak straight. He tried to read but all he saw was crooked lines. He tried to stand up and it felt as if his legs had turned to jelly. Or perhaps safron cream. Perhaps Ama Clutch was speaking to him beyond death and alerting him after all these years after her funeral, she wanted there to be safron cream when she was honored in death and everyone say goodbye to her.
Fiyero took one step and fell over just like he had the last time he saw Elphaba. What is happening? He thought.
Screams were heard through the window and from the lower levels of the building in which that room resides. And that was the last time people saw the presumed dead Prince of the Arjiki tribe. Fiyero. Or in Elphaba's view: Yero my hero.
2
Fiyero opened his eyes and lifted his hands to wipe the sleep from his eyes. However, when he saw his hands, there were gray gloves that he hadn't remembered putting on. He couldn't remember anything of the sort. As he tried to remember, he realized that he had no memory of him, his life, or of the world around him.
He felt an arm wrap around his torso and he was heaved off of the wooden table on which he had been laying and was thrown over a shoulder. Before he knew it he was propped up onto a post with great force and he felt a slight bit of pressure as nails were shoved into his back. A man appeared from behind him and began walking off through the field.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
The man turned around and walked up the Fiyero. "I must be hearing things."
"No." replied Fiyero. "I just wanted to know where you were going."
The man looked up at Fiyero with wide eyes. "You can't talk."
"Why not? I have as right as anyone to have a voice."
"I'll tell you why." he looked around to see if anyone was watching him. "You are a scarecrow and you are a lifeless thing."
"How dare you! I am not a scarecrow! I am a man just like you!"
The man did not reply. He just turned around and walked off.
"Huh. What a rude person." Fiyero told himself.
He stayed on that post for several months until he was yanked off of the post and was taken back to the barn in which he first woke up. He was thrown down on the table and several women appeared and began sewing him up and stuffing straw into his torso. Not too soon later had he been heaved up again, but this time on someone else's shoulder.
He was taken through a different path and the man crossed over a road that appeared to be made out of yellow brick. He was propped up on a post that was lodged in between a two way fork in the road. He felt another slight bit of pressure and just as quick the man turned around and walked off. "Goodbye!" he yelled after the man. And the man turned around but walked off at a sprint.
Fiyero stayed on that post for several more months and then crows began to show up. One landed on his post and began pecking at his head. "Hey! Get out of here!" he yelled but it did no good.
It stayed like this for two more months and then one afternoon, a girl in a checkered dress came skipping down the road. She stopped right in front of him and looked down both of the roads.
"Oh no. How am ever going to know which road to go down?" she picked up a panting and rank dog that had been trailing behind her. "Oh Toto. How are we ever going to get home to Kansas now?" tears formed in her eyes.
"Well this way's good." said Fiyero pointing to his right.
The girl looked up and Fiyero froze. "Oh. Well that's very odd. I suppose maybe they propped him up like that to signal the way to the Emerald city." she began to skip down the road Fiyero pointed to.
"But this way's good too." Fiyero pointed to his left. And when the girl looked over to him, he froze again.
"Well, I could have just sworn that that scarecrow's arm was pointing this way." She walked backwards and looked confused.
"But of course, both ways would be even better." and at that Fiyero pointed both ways.
The girl stepped back and her eyes widened. "Ha! I know you moved that time! But you're a scarecrow. You aren't supposed to move."
"I'm not? Well I haven't been able to get anything right at all in the past few months. And I have been having the worst pain in my back." he scratched his head and rubbed his back.
"Well I'm sure it's because of those nails in your back." she put down the little dog that Fiyero thought resembled that of a rat.
The girl walked around him and found a hammer. She picked it up and began pulling nails out. After a few minutes Fiyero slid right off the post.
"Oh!" cried the girl and she ran around the post. "Oh, let me help you up." she propped Fiyero up on his feet and lead him out of the field on to the road. She unlinked her arm with his and he felt his legs tumble beneath him.
Once again the girl helped him up. "Oh thank you young lady. Might I ask what your name is though?"
"Oh, yes you may kind…" she looked at him. "…scarecrow. I am Dorothy Gale." she curtsied and grabbed the dog. "Oh, and this is Toto. We are on our way to the Emerald city. And you?"
"Well, I'm not sure. I don't think I was ever given a name. I can't seem to remember anything that happened before the past few months. I think my problem is: I haven't got any brains."
"No brains?" asked Dorothy in shock. "But surely you must have some brains. You can walk."
"Barely." Exclaimed Fiyero as he fell over.
Dorothy helped him up once again. "Well you can speak. Surley that must count for something."
"Ah. True, very true. But you see I have a limited language."
"You mean a limited 'vocabulary'." explained Dorothy.
"Exactly."
"Well, would you like to join me and Toto on our trip. We're going to see the Wizard, and he's going to send me back home to Kansas."
"Kanziss?"
"Yes. That's where I live with Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. Maybe the Wizard could give you some brains."
"You mean you would let me come with you?" asked Fiyero.
"Of course. I get awfully lonely. Although, I can't feed you. I've only enough food for me." she opened up her basket and showed him a small loaf of bread.
"Well that's okay. I don't need to eat. I have no stomach. Only straw."
"And I don't think I'd be much company to talk too. I'm not very smart right now. Even though my teacher tells me I'm in the head of my class, when I listen to some of the things Auntie Em and Uncle Henry talk about, I can't understand it nearly."
"Well that's okay too. I don't have any brains. Only straw. I'm as smart as you are."
"Then what are we waiting for?" She linked her arm in his and they skipped down the road, having to stop every few minutes to prop Fiyero up again on his feet from falling though. And so, they began their journey to the Emerald city.
3
As night fell, Dorothy decided where to stop and sleep. She had some bread and butter from her basket and then went to sleep with Toto inside her basket with bread and butter which Fiyero thought was very unsanitary.
Ha! Who am I to be thinking when I haven't got any brains. Thought Fiyero. El-! He thought suddenly. He had been able to get part of the word out, but not much. He watched Dorothy sleep knowing that he himself could never sleep even if he wanted to. Perhaps if the Wizard could give me a brain, I could sleep. Despite what he knew of his past (which was nothing) he never wanted to go to sleep though. Even though time from time he had wondered what it was like to lay down and just rest. But he would soon wonder about different things protaining to what he had heard the farmers say while they were busy working in the farm. They would say how close Oz is from falling under a dictatorship. But they have nothing to worry about because of the departure of Munchkin land from loyal Oz. But as freedom is gained what happens to their food that is transported straight from the Emerald city. Say, perhaps another drought comes along and they have even less water then before. Would they have to reunite back with loyal Oz? What if they didn't allow them in. Then what?
Often times one farmer would brag to the others and say that if another major drought ever occurred, that they would go into the Vinkus and connect the underground rivers to Munchkin land. Then as their conversation would slowly change, Fiyero would listen about currency and about the difference of Gold and Silver. But very rarely was there speak of Animal rights. And of course whenever the conversation did head in that direction, Fiyero made sure to listen. He had learned the difference between Animals and animals. At first he thought there was no difference at all, but he soon learned the difference was that an Animal could speak and many educated Animals were near extinction. And most Animals were being turned into animals by being beaten to silence or even being treated like an animal could do it for some of them. But of the information of which they spoke and the terribly true things that were happening was just awful and sometimes Fiyero had to pay attention to the crows just to get away from the conversation.
When Dorothy awoke, she let Toto out of her tight grasp and he went off to do his business. She got a piece of bread out of her basket and spread some butter on it, she ate it at a slow pace and looked like she was in a daze when she ate. Not being able to concentrate on a single thing when she ate.
What a pig. Thought Fiyero.
Once Dorothy had gathered Toto and put the bread and butter in her basket, they began to walk along the brick road once more. As time went by, both of them said nothing. It was not long before Toto went off into a bush to piss yet again.
"Does that dogs blatter ever empty?" asked Fiyero.
"Well he is an awfully small dog. I suppose he can't hold that much in there." explained Dorothy with a little defense in her voice.
Fiyero turned with a mocking expression on his face. Often times he had wanted to strangle the dog. How could she live with such an annoying rat? He thought.
They came across a wooden cabin in the forest where the trees seemed to scrape across the sky.
"It is getting dark. Do you think we should stop at this cabin for the night?" asked Dorothy to Fiyero.
"Well I really don't know anything so if you think so, it's better we do."
They - or more like Dorothy - settled into the cabin like it was her very own home, she ate the same thing she always did and went to slip with the same tight grip around Toto.
What a stupid girl really. Thought Fiyero. Letting a stranger, much less a male stranger come along with her. How is she to know I'm not some sort of pedophile? Lucky for her I am not though. But her kindness will be the death of her. Or perhaps the death of someone else.
Dorothy grabbed Toto in her arms and they walked out the door. It was no sooner when Dorothy dropped Toto and her basket and went running towards a tree.
"DOROTHY!" yelled Fiyero. He ran after her and caught her by the arm and swung her around. "Dorothy, you cannot just run away like that. You do not know what dangerous animals or even Animals reside in this forest."
She tugged away. "But look at this man." she pointed to a man that had a metal funnel on his head and a round barreled torso with what seemed to be legs made out of tin cans and feet made out of twisted metal. When they looked closer, they could see his torso was just one big can too. And he was chrome. In his hands was an ax which was lodged into a tree. He didn't move an inch. Fiyero tapped on him and it made a hollow echo.
"He's empty." said Fiyero.
"He's tin!" noted Dorothy.
And Toto merely made his annoying yap.
"He looks to be frozen." said Fiyero.
"I don't think frozen is the exact word, I believe it would be rusted." exclaimed Dorothy.
A sort of whine came from inside the Tin woodman. Another and another.
"Does he have an oil can?" asked Fiyero.
"Well I'm sure he does. What man of tin wouldn't? But where is it?"
The tin woodman rolled his eyes over to a stump.
Fiyero walked over and grabbed the oil can. "Dorothy. I think this is it." he handed it to her.
"You know what it is but you don't know how to use it?"
"No brains."
"Alright then." she started putting oil on his neck and then to his joints. The very last joint was his jaw.
He didn't move for a minute. After a while he began to make sudden brittle movements which then resulted in big movements. He swung his arms around and twisted his legs this way and that. He rolled his neck and began to move his jaw from side to side and up and down. He then spoke up. "Thank you."
"Well you are very welcome. Might I ask your name though?" asked Dorothy.
"Of course. I am Nick Chopper. And you?"
"I am Dorothy Gale of Kansas."
"Hmm. Kansizz is a weird name." replied Nick.
"Oh no. It is no more a weird name than Colarado, or Florida, or even Mississippi. I'll tell you what a weird name is: Oz."
"Well you have me there. Why are you two walking through the forest?"
"We're going to see the Wizard. He's going to give me some brains and Dorothy is going to get back home." said Fiyero finally finding a place to speak up.
"Oh, I see."
"Would you like to join us?" asked Dorothy.
"I'm not sure I need anything from the Wizard though." explained Nick.
"Well surely there's something you want." said Dorothy.
"Well… I have been wanting something that I haven't had in a long while,"
"What is it?" asked Dorothy.
"A heart." explained Nick.
Dorothy gasped. "You don't have a heart?"
"No." replied Nick.
"Well the there's perfect reason to come with us!" said Fiyero.
"Okay, but I'm not very good with sentimental problems." said Nick.
"I don't have any." said Dorothy.
"Me neither." added Fiyero.
"Then I guess that covers it." finished Nick.
And all three of them began walking down the yellow brick road.
"I do have one question though," said Fiyero. "How exactly did you rust?"
"Well that story my straw friend, must start from the beginning."
Nick
A few months after screams were heard in Elphaba's old apartment room when she had lived in the Emerald city, Nick Choppers ax had been returned to him. Sally had found him in his tool shed and had handed him the ax. She then turned around and walked away. He gripped the end with his hand and walked out into the woods.
He began swinging the ax into the tree. He continued this routine for several minutes. After he had reached the middle of a tree he stepped back and threw the ax behind him. He stood for a while and the ax came swinging around in front of him. It hit his chest right over his heart and he fell to the ground without a scream or even a low grunt. He was silent.
A few minutes later he began to writhe and squirm in pain. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. His heart hurt worst of all. It was as if it was shrinking. Perhaps a heart attack. He thought.
A loud sound of an ax thrashing on metal was heard throughout the forest and the pain stopped abruptly. And without warning the ax swung itself into the wood cabin. Sally turned around, ducked from the ax and slid on a marble that one of her children had left there. Her neck snapped instantly.
Hours later Nick got up and stumbled into the cabin only to find an ax in Sally's hands, and her corpse on the floor.
He picked up his ax and disposed of Sally's body properly. He threw it in the fire. Nick went to the bathroom to clean up and what he found was not Nick Chopper. It was a man of tin. He never panicked, he merely got an oil can and kept it with him at all times.
As he was chopping trees down in the woods, a nasty and horrible sound echoed through the woods and probably all of Oz. Some had said it was the Unnamed God speaking to them in the language of the God's and some cried out to it suspecting it to be Lurline. Nick however saw the air funnel and new great danger was on the horizon. No sooner than that sound made it's way through Oz, did a storm blow in. He had his can with him, but what good would it do when your rusted and can't move to get it. And so, he rusted in the rain.