"A Little Fire"
Based on the musical "Wicked" and "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"
Snodin
*
I: Let Him Never Die
"Eleka nahmen nahmen
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen
Eleka nahmen nahmen
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen
"Let his flesh not be torn
Let his blood leave no stain
Though they beat him
Let him feel no pain
Let his bones never break
And however they try
To destroy him
Let him never die!
Let him never die…
"Eleka nahmen nahmen
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen
Eleka nahmen nahmen
Ah tum ah tum eleka… eleka…. Ele… AUGH!"
SMASH! Went the window pane as she threw a bottle at it in frustration, startling her winged monkey companions in the process.
Elphaba was at it for over thirty minutes now, chanting a phrase she barely understood from The Grimmerie in a desperate act to save her captured lover, Fiyero. By then the Gale Force- the Wizard of Oz's personal guards- had already tied him to a post in the middle of a corn field and left him there to die, beaten and bloodied. This was her last chance to save him… but…
"I don't even know what I reading!" she blurted out loud in her frustration.
The black-clad, lime-skinned woman then started to pace back and forth, back and forth in her sanctuary, watched over by her loyal winged monkey friends. Uttering nonsense to herself, things like, "Fiyero, where are you? Already dead or bleeding?" to herself, she was clearly drifting into madness. And her friends could only watch.
Then suddenly, she came to a sudden halt. "That's it… I've had it. I'm done making good, because every time I try, someone gets hurt. Nessa… Doctor Dillamond… Now Fiyero… oh, Fiyero…" She then collapsed to her knees in grief.
Chistery, the lead monkey, fluttered to her side to try and console her, only to be pushed away. "No!" she spat. "I don't want your pity." The witch then scrambled to her feet and pulled her cape around her arms.
"Let all of Oz be agreed, I'm wicked through and through. Since I cannot succeed in saving those I love, then I'll just have to make do with what I have. And what I have is… is… those shoes."
Elphaba marched herself to the nearest window, overlooking a green field that went on and on until it hit the horizon. There, in the far distance, sat the magnificent skyline of the Emerald City. There, she would find her sisters' bejeweled shoes.
"Those shoes rightfully belong to me. I'm going to get them back… no matter what it takes."
Elphaba's teeth grit, and for a moment one would swear they saw fangs among them.
*
His eyes fluttered open, perhaps instinctively. He wouldn't remember dreaming, or even what dreaming was. He wouldn't remember a thing about his past- his name, his heritage, nothing. After all, what kind of a living can a brainless scarecrow expect?
But it wasn't just instinct that woke him up; it was the sound of wings flapping and a bird cawing in his ear- or what would have been his ear. His potato sack head shifted slightly to the right, and gazed upon a crow sitting on his shoulder, cawing at him.
"…Go on, git. …Scat," he muttered, not quite sure how it was that he could talk. It didn't matter anyway, this bird was starting to annoy him. "Boo!" Nothing. The bird wouldn't budge. To make matters worse, more were coming, perching on his outstretched arms and raggedy hat. "Oh, come on!" So far, this wasn't his day.
Bark! Bark! Bark, bark, bark!
The sound was enough to scare off the crows, giving the scarecrow a brief moment of relief. "Whew…" This gave him a few seconds to look around and observe things. The first things he saw were his feet, tied fiercely to the crucifix-like post. His shoes were old and worn, as were the rest of his tattered clothes. Everything inside was a mixture of straw and leaves, he could feel and hear them rustling as he twitched. It was a little ticklish, but he would soon adjust to it. What he didn't know was that there were now stitches where there used to be scars, patches where there used to be gashes, and cloth where there used to be flesh.
"Hm. …This is int'resting," he muttered.
Then came that ear-splitting barking again: Bark-bark-bark-bark!
"Augh," he moaned in irritation. His annoyance quickly turned to concern, however, when he noticed a small figure trotting down the road ahead. It was a little girl, at least ten years old, wearing a strange blue skirt over a white blouse and with dark brown hair in twin braids. Her shoes glittered with every step, almost blinding his button eyes for a moment. He watched as she and her little black dog came to a crossroad, and stood there in puzzlement.
"…Are you lost?" he called out to her.
The startled little girl looked around, but saw no one. "Who's there?" she called back.
"Me!" he called out in reply. He would wave to her, had his gloved hands not been tied down.
Still not certain where this strange voice was coming from, the little girl asked, "Which way to the Emerald City?"
"Oh! Emerald City, let's see… Emerald City… Uh… That way." His left hand pointed.
"Which way?"
"That way!"
"Left?"
"Right."
"Oh, I go right?"
"Right. No, left! Wait… Which is left again?"
Grrr, growled the little dog, pin-pointing the voice to the strange scarecrow on the pole.
"Hush Toto," said the girl. "It's just an old scarecrow."
"Yes I am. Wait… I am??"
"Oh… OH!" gasped the little girl as she realized that the cloth doll was talking. "I beg your pardon sir, I- I didn't know that was you."
"Yes, it's me," he smiled. "I'm… uh, well… I'm me!"
"I'm Dorothy," she curtsied. "I need to get back home to Kansas, but only the Wizard can help me."
"Wizard? There's a wizard around here?"
"Why, yes. I thought you knew."
"Oh, I'm sorry to say that I don't know much. I don't even know how to get down from here."
"Well, maybe I can help." The little girl fearlessly approached him at his post, and one by one she loosened the knots around his legs and wrists. Without understanding of the law of gravity, he plummeted to the ground as soon as he was freed.
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, didn't feel a thing!" he smiled as he struggled to his feet. The scarecrow then realized he didn't know how to stand, or walk for that matter, and as soon as he took his first step he fell to the ground again. "…I'm seriously not used to this."
"Here, let me help." The little girl was all too willing to pick him back up and balance him until at last he took his first firm steps on the yellow brick road.
"Oh, this is fun! I like walking."
"Good. Do you want to walk with me to the Emerald City? I'm sure the Wizard will be nice enough to meet you."
"Well, sure. I don't mind keeping you company, I just wish I could be more a help. Not much going up in here, y'know, all stuffing."
"Oh, that is a shame… Maybe the Wizard can help you."
"You mean, he can give me a brain?"
"Well if he can help me get back home, I'm sure he can do anything."
"Well it's worth a try. Alright, count me in!" He then took his stuffed glove into her hand and shook it firmly.
She smiled back, "Then we're off to see the Wizard."
"Right… Wait, no! Left! We go left, I'm sure of it."
"Right- I mean yes."
Then off they went, two unlikely characters plus a small black terrier, down the winding yellow brick road.