A few weeks ago an image of Brigitta taking Dorothy's place in Munchkinland popped into my head out of nowhere. Then the prompt on my TSOM Proboard for May was dropping the characters into a scene from another movie, and I just had to go ahead with this. It's my first dive into cross-over fics and really is a gift to all my readers; I hope readers of both my fandoms can enjoy this silly piece, because I had heaps of fun writing it.
A note on the world: In this fic, Oz is real, but L. Frank Baum also existed and wrote all those books about them (I'm currently reading A.G. Howard's Splintered series, which does much the same thing with Alice in Wonderland) and I'm going to assume Brigitta has read them. This is why the novel is mentioned.
"I found you Marta," Fraulein Maria's voice rang out. "Only Brigitta left."
Brigitta remained still upon hearing those words. No one could see her; she was in the boatshed and anyone looking for her would have to come inside before she was visible.
But in all honesty, she wanted to be found. It wasn't that hide-and-seek wasn't boring exactly; Fraulein Maria made anything fun. Even two weeks out from the wedding, her soon-to-be new mother had still found ample time to spend with the children.
But where this game was concerned, with the exception of her soon-to-be new mother, she was always the last person found. When Fraulein Maria had been selected as 'it', Brigitta had run off to the boathouse because it was far more obvious than any of her usual hiding places. The fact that she was still the last person left hiding made her equally surprised and annoyed.
The clatter of a tin falling off a shelf and to the floor awakened Brigitta from her reverie. All she could hear was the gale that was blowing outside. The wind had picked up out of nowhere, and was blowing fiercely.
Brigitta knew she had to get outside. The game was forgotten. With the wind this strong, the roof of the boathouse could collapse in and squash her at a moment's notice.
She tried to stand to make her way to the door, but found herself knocked to the floor like the tin. Grabbing the shelf on the wall, she hoisted herself up and looked out the window.
All she could see was the sky. The wind appeared to have lifted the boathouse clean off the ground and it was now flying through the sky. Brigitta was so caught up in the moment that the impossibility of the situation didn't even occur to her.
The grounds of the villa were still visible in the distance. On the ground below she could see the tiny figures of Fraulein Maria and her siblings. They were apparently unaware of the impromptu tornado that was sweeping through the grounds and were making their way towards the boathouse that was no longer there.
A giant THUMP knocked her against the floor. The wind had stopped. Brigitta stood up, dusted her dress off and timidly peeked out the window.
The world outside looked completely foreign. She couldn't see much, but she knew she had never been here before.
"I have a feeling I'm not in Salzburg anymore," she said to herself.
Finding no point in staying inside the boathouse, Brigitta carefully opened the door and stepped outside, the sunlight hitting her in the face as she did so.
As her eyes adjusted, a landscape nothing like any place she had ever seen before came into view. She seemed to be in a town square of some sort, though it was completely deserted. The main focal point was a spiralling road made out of what appeared to be bright yellow bricks.
She turned her head to see more, and her eyes met a sight that made her sick to her stomach.
A pair of legs were sticking out from underneath the boatshed. They were wearing black and white striped stockings and bright red shoes that glittered in the sun.
She had crushed a person with the boathouse. Even though she had no control over the situation, she felt horrible.
Not wanting to think about that any longer, she looked back at the centre of the square, dominated by its curling golden road.
Looking at the road again triggered a distant memory. She looked back at the shoes, the only remains of the person who was crushed by the boathouse. The boathouse carried here on the wind.
Cyclones. Yellow Brick Road. Jewelled Shoes. Like an avalanche, the realisation hit Brigitta. Could she actually be – no of course not. It was impossible.
She remembered reading L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz when she was younger. It had never been one of her favourites, but everything she saw around her, in one way or another, reminded her of the Land of Oz that the American author had created.
But she couldn't possibly be in Oz. It was just a fictional world. It didn't really exist. Maybe she had fallen asleep and was imagining the whole thing. Yes, that had to be it. Any moment now Fraulein Maria would touch her cheek and wake her up. That seemed much more likely than being catapulted into a story book.
"Hello there,"
Brigitta turned around at the voice. A young woman with curly blonde hair wearing a ridiculous bubble-blue ball gown was staring inquisitively at her.
"Who are you?" she asked. Her voice was high and bubbly.
"I'm Brigitta. Brigitta von Trapp. Who are you?" she inquired with a pointed look.
"I'm Glinda the Good," she answered cheerfully.
Brigitta recognised that name from Baum's novel. With all the comparisons, this woman, this witch, if memory served correctly, cemented the fact that she must be in Oz. If, of course, she wasn't dreaming.
"Who are the flowers for?" Brigitta had noticed a small nosegay of flowers in Glinda's hand, and, not knowing what else to do, attempted a conversation.
Glinda quietened and looked almost crestfallen. Brigitta followed her line of sight to the legs underneath the boathouse.
"Oh my, I-I'm so sorry," she stammered, putting the pieces together in her head. "Did you know that person well?"
"The Wicked Witch of the East?" Glinda asked. "I did know her, yes. Our paths did cross."
"I didn't mean to kill her," Brigitta protested.
"No, no, of course not." Glinda murmured, nodding sadly.
Eager to change the subject after sensing her companion's unhappy mood, Brigitta asked Glinda if there was any way she could get home. If she couldn't get home soon Father would send out a search party.
"I don't think there's much I can do for you," Glinda replied sadly. "But...maybe the Wizard of Oz could help you?"
The Wizard of Oz. Of course! Brigitta knew she was bound to hear about him sooner or later. Lost in thought thinking about Baum's novel, Glinda continued before she could say anything.
"If you follow the yellow brick road," she said. "You'll eventually end up at the Emerald City."
"How will the Wizard know to help me?" asked Brigitta.
"Hmmm. That is confusifying," puzzled Glinda, but her face soon brightened. "Oh, I know!"
She waved her wand dramatically. When Brigitta looked down she saw the ruby shoes on her feet.
Despite her shock, she couldn't suppress a small giggle. Father would be so angry if he could see her now. He wouldn't even let Liesl wear shoes with anything more than the smallest of heels and only on very special occasions. She felt somewhat rebellious wearing these shoes.
"This will do?"
"Mh-hmm," Glinda nodded. "Now, you just take that one road the whole time,"
Brigitta sighed. This version of Oz wasn't quite like Baum's, but ifthe Wizard was anything like his character in the book, he wouldn't be able to help her. But she wasn't needed here and having given up on treating this experience as a dream, was genuinely curious about what else she could see.
She nodded a thank you to Glinda and started walking slowly down the yellow brick road, feeling very silly and very excited at the same time.
Before she had gotten very far she heard a voice behind her. It wasn't Glinda, but they were talking to her. And the conversation did not sound pleasant.
"So I would appreciate some time alone to say goodbye to my sister."
Brigitta paused. She thought of her sisters. And her brothers. Theirs was a bond like no other. This woman bringing up her sister made Brigitta's heart ache.
She looked at the unending strip of gold. Was there any point following it? Could the Wizard really help her, or was Glinda just leading her on? She seemed rather scatterbrained, and she was here in the first place because of the Wicked Witch's death. Her judgement was probably not the best right now.
Her curiosity for this mysterious woman and her sister won out over her curiosity to go to the Emerald City. In the blink of an eye, she turned around and headed back the way she had come.
She ignored Glinda's comment as she walked right past her up to the front of the boathouse. Crouched by the stockinged legs was the woman Glinda had been talking to. She was crying.
She definitely looked like a witch. With her pointed black hat and long cloak, she looked as though she'd stepped out of the pages of Marta and Gretl's book of fairy tales.
"Are you alright?" Brigitta asked. She cautiously laid her hand on the woman's shoulder.
Instantly the woman turned around and seized Brigitta's hand.
"Will you give me back the shoes?" she asked.
Brigitta couldn't answer right away.
All her life she had been taught it wasn't polite to stare; Mama, Father, Fraulein Maria, her teachers and many others had told her countless times. But she couldn't help it. The woman's skin was a bright emerald green. Brigitta had never seen that before. She didn't remember it from any witches in the fairy tales she'd read, and no characters in Baum's books had had green skin.
"Can I have the shoes back?" the woman repeated. "Please,"
"Oh-of course," Brigitta replied, finally finding her voice.
The woman seemed slightly surprised.
Brigitta sat down on the ground next to the crashed boathouse and reached down to pull off the shoe.
But it wouldn't budge.
She tried again, but still, nothing happened.
"Here, let me help," the green woman offered. She gently grabbed Brigitta's foot and pulled, but the shoe wouldn't come off. It was if it was glued to her foot.
"Binding spell," she muttered under her breath.
Without another word, the witch stood up and strode over to where Glinda was standing a short distance away. Brigitta followed. She still wanted to return the ruby shoes to the rightful owner and then return home. These two witches seemed to be her key to achieving those goals.
"Glinda," the witch asked impatiently. "What did you do?"
"What do you mean, Elphie?" she was feigning innocence, but her tone was just as annoyed. "I gave her the-"
The final part of her sentence was drowned out by a sound in the distance. It sounded like a large group of people. Currently they were out of sight, but everyone present realised it wouldn't be long before they arrived.
"Quick," Glinda urged, a desperate expression on her face. "The Gale Force is coming. You have to hide."
Elphie's expression changed so quickly Brigitta barely saw it. First she seemed scared, then angry, before she nodded solemnly.
"Take her with you," Glinda added, gesturing at Brigitta.
The witch grabbed her arm and ran. Brigitta had no choice but to follow.
They hadn't run for very long before they came upon a house. It had seen better days, but Brigitta could tell this was certainly a grand residence; though not as extravagant as the villa. The green woman eased the gate open, almost cautiously and walked through.
"What are you doing?" Brigitta asked. "We can't just break into someone's house."
"It's my house," she replied. "Well, it used to be."
Brigitta didn't know what to say to that. For all she knew, the woman might be lying.
This Oz was nothing like the land she had read about. Even in that land she would surely be lost. Here she didn't know where to start. Her green kidnapper had been crying over the Wicked Witch of the East. She had said she was her sister. Did that make her a wicked witch too?
"Well, are you coming?"
Broken from her thoughts, she once again found herself out of options. Obediently she followed the green woman inside.
"We'll have to lay low for a little while," the witch announced as they leaned against the closed front door. "But we should be safe."
"Alright," Brigitta gasped. "I didn't quite catch your name."
"Elphaba,"
"I'm Brigitta," Brigitta told her. "It's nice to meet you,"
Elphaba nodded her response.
"If you don't mind my asking," Brigitta continued. "Why are you..."
"Green?" Elphaba had clearly been anticipating this question.
Brigitta kept quiet, letting her silence speak for her.
"I actually don't know," Elphaba answered with a sigh. "I've always been green."
A long pause fell, before anyone spoke again. Elphaba obvious didn't want to talk about her skin.
"Did you mean what you said about giving me the shoes?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Of course," Brigitta nodded. "I don't need them. And you said they belonged to your sister?"
"Yes," she said. "I guess it's just sentimental value, but they are the only things I have left of her."
"No, no, that's alright," Brigitta assured her. "I know I'd be horrified if something happened to my sisters."
"You have a sister?" Elphaba asked.
Brigitta nodded. "Four," she answered. That earned her a couple of wide eyes and raised eyebrows from her companion.
"And two brothers," she added.
"Seven children?!" Elphaba gasped, her jaw dropping. "Sweet Oz!"
Brigitta couldn't help herself. "You sound just like Fraulein Maria," she laughed.
"I'd want something of theirs to keep if something happened to them," she continued. "Liesl has a photograph of Mama in a locket. Father doesn't even know about it."
"Your mother died?"
Brigitta nodded. "Did yours?"
"Yes," Elphaba admitted. "She died giving birth to Nessa. After that, well more so after that, my father hated me."
Brigitta said nothing. For a long time, she had thought her father hated her; hated all his children. Now of course, she knew that wasn't true. Lost in his grief he hadn't been able to show it, but he had never stopped loving them.
Elphaba had it so much harder. Brigitta reached over to hug the green woman.
She was nothing like the Wicked Witch in Baum's book. Underneath her black cloak, pointed hat and unusual skin, she seemed to be just like everyone else.
"Do you know about the Wizard of Oz?" she asked. Thought Brigitta still had doubts about what Glinda had said, there was no other way she could return home. If she was going to be here with Elphaba for a while, she figured she may as well ask.
"Oh yes," Elphaba scoffed. "Glinda said he could help you get home, didn't she?"
Brigitta nodded.
"Sorry to tell you this," continued Elphaba. "But he won't. He has no real power. I wish someone had told me that before I met him."
Brigitta wasn't too surprised at that. But she still needed to get home. Even as the last person to be found in hide and seek, this was not what she had had in mind.
"Could you help me?" she ventured. For some reason, she felt very comfortable with Elphaba. They had been through so many similar experiences, with dead mothers and absent fathers and siblings they cared deeply about. It was strange how much this world paralleled her life back home.
"Maybe," Elphaba mused. She reached into the satchel she was carrying and dug out a huge dusty tome. Brigitta's eyes widened. A spell book.
"It could take a while," she said. Then noticing her companion's expression, she smiled.
"Do you like books?"
Brigitta's eyes glowed when Elphaba opened the door. It was just like Father's library. For as far as the eye could see there were shelves, filled with books. Brigitta had spent many hours scanning her father's library back home, reading anything and everything she could get her hands on.
"I'll come in when I find something," Elphaba told her. "In the meantime..." she gestured around the room. "Make yourself at home."
Brigitta smiled at her, too overcome to say anything. When the door closed she turned back to the room, the smile still on her face.
The hardest place always was where to start.
"That's a good one," Elphaba commented, bringing Brigitta back to her senses.
She had been lost in the pages of the books while Elphaba had been gone. Their obvious contrast from any book she had ever read before only made her savour them more, completely relishing every part.
"You read this?" she asked.
Elphaba nodded. "I used to spend hours and hours in here. Books made me feel better when nothing else could."
Brigitta smiled. "Me too. Have you had any progress?" she added, closing the book. "About getting me home?"
"Um, sort of," Elphaba admitted. She sat down on the floor and opened her giant spell book. She thumbed through it until she found what she was looking for, and skimmed the page.
"I think this spell should allow the shoes to take you anywhere you want to go."
"Alright," she said, wringing her hands and walking over to Elphaba. Despite being eager to get home, she was somewhat nervous about what would follow.
"What do we do?"
"I'm going to chant," Elphaba began. "Once I'm done, you just need to close your eyes, tap your heels together three times and think to yourself 'there's no place like home'"
"What about the shoes?"
"They'll probably go with you," Elphaba said ruefully. "You'll be able to take them off when you get home. Sending you back should severe the binding spell."
"Are you sure?" Brigitta asked. "I know how much they mean to you?"
Elphaba nodded. "It really is nothing more than sentimental value," she insisted. "Besides, how else are you going to get back home?"
Brigitta closed her mouth. There was no other option. She didn't want to have to search high and low to find another way to return home. If she wanted to get back to Salzburg she had to take the shoes.
"Let's do it," she said determinedly.
With a smile, Elphaba bent over her spell book and began to chant. After a few seconds she stopped and met Brigitta's eyes.
Brigitta nodded in understanding and closed her eyes. She tapped her heels together thrice and thought of home; of the ancient beauty of Salzburg. She thought of Father and Fraulein Maria. She thought about Liesl and Friedrich. Of Louisa, Kurt, Marta and little Gretl. She thought about how much everything and everyone meant to her.
The feeling of weightlessness came over her, little by little and at the same time instantly. Though she could still see the room and Elphaba, there was a sense of detachment; as if she were suspended between two worlds, stuck somewhere between Oz and Salzburg.
"Ozspeed, Brigitta," she heard Elphaba say.
"Auf wiedersehen, Elphaba," she managed before she disconnected completely and was sent swirling away, defying gravity.
"I found you Marta. Only Brigitta left."
It was Fraulein Maria's voice that brought her back to reality. When Brigitta opened her eyes she found herself back in the boathouse. And back home. No time had passed. She had arrived back exactly when she had left.
Brigitta looked down at her feet. The ruby slippers were still there, solid proof that it had all happened, that she hadn't just fallen asleep and that this twister of fate had actually been real. Yesterday she would have thought an experience like that would have been madness, but now she was glad it wasn't a dream.
She reached down and removed the shoes, which came off just as easily as Elphaba had predicted. She wished Elphaba could have them back; she hadn't needed them when she was in Oz; there was no way she would need them now that she was back home in Salzburg.
She then stowed them in a nearby box with some ropes. After all, with Fraulein Maria and her brothers and sisters right outside, she couldn't leave the boatshed wearing them. She'd have to come back and get them later.
A few days later she would move them to a hidden corner on the highest shelf of her closet. But after that she would never see the keepsakes from her time in Oz again. When they fled over the mountains two months later the slippers were the last thing on Brigitta's mind.
But she would never forget Elphaba.
She didn't have to wait long before the boathouse door opened and Fraulein Maria walked in. As soon as she saw her governess, Brigitta rushed straight into her arms.
"You were eager to be found," Fraulein Maria remarked playfully as she drew the girl into a hug.
"I just – I love you so much," Brigitta choked out. She pulled back from Fraulein Maria's embrace and looked at her siblings, who were all crowded around the boathouse's entrance. "I love you all so much."
Everyone smiled back at her.
"We love you too Brigitta," Fraulein Maria said.
That night, Brigitta stole into the library and found The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. After the adventure she'd had, she simply had to go back and read it again.
She reflected on the remarkable events of the day as her eyes scanned the opening sentence: 'Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.'
'Baum got so much wrong,' she thought to herself with a smile.
Hope you all enjoyed it, because I had SO much fun writing it. I have more stories planned, for both TSOM and Wicked, so I will see you all soon. I love you all.