Chapter 2:

In OZ

Six months later...

Annie was back in Kansas at the house that she now shared with John Gale. She sat on the front porch one morning in a chair looking out at the cloudy sky. She had been married to John for nearly 6 months now. They had a beautiful wedding and she had gotten to know his family very well, they adored her. And she loved him...right?

And yet she couldn't stop thinking about Oscar.

She was a teenager when she met Oscar, 17 years old to be exact. They met at a party, and had their first dance. An hour later she'd caught him making out with another girl in the corner. She then decided he wasn't worth it. They met again the next day and he apologized. They had an off and on relationship for the next five years.

She loved Oscar and wanted to be with him always. But Oscar was too unpredictable. All his traveling and various jobs that hardly paid enough to keep food on the table, the lying and cheating, all the women he dated.

Then she met John Gale. He was a good man. He'd graduated from university, went to church, was charitable, a family man. Her parents and her sister Emily pushed her to date John and she ended up seeing him behind Oscars back (not that Oscar hadn't seen plenty of other women behind her back). She decided that John was a more wholesome man than Oscar ever would be and said yes when he asked her to marry him.

But she never stopped thinking about Oscar. She pulled a photo of Oscar out of her dress pocket. There would always be a void that John could never fill. Oscar would have her heart forever.

The front door opened and John came outside. "Are you alright darling?"

Annie quickly hid the photo back in her pocket. "I'm fine honey."

He held her hands. "I'm going to visit my family later today. Would you like to come?"

"Of course," she said. "But um, I'd like to go for a walk for a little while. Just to clear my head."

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked concerned.

"Of course. I'll be back soon." She gave him a kiss and then proceeded to walk out of the neighborhood.

She knew she had to forget about Oscar. John was an incredibly man and he cared about her deeply. And Oscar had moved on anyway. But deep in her heart she knew it had been a mistake to let Oscar go.

She ended up in town and was walking past a restaurant. A few steps later she wasn't in town. She was floating through a portal and a few seconds later she wasn't in Kansas anymore.

A giant butterfly flew past her, the wind blew through trees that smelled of flowers and fruits, the sun was brighter, the world was more colorful, and she was standing on a road made of yellow bricks.

She looked around confused and panicked. Where was she?! She turned around and at the end of the road in the distance was a huge city that radiated emerald green and there was a beautiful emerald palace in the center of it. She wondered if she went towards it she could find someone to help her.

All of a sudden a giant bird flew past her and startled her. It was blue and orange and unlike anything she'd ever seen before.

With that she decided it would be best to go towards the city.

*WW*

Oscar walked through the Emerald City with Finley flying by his side. Half his time was spent in the castle where people came to see the wizard in his "true form" and as for wishes. But he liked to leave the castle and walk among the people on nice sunny days like this.

People greeted him warmly as he walked through the city. All of the people in OZ respected him deeply as their wizard.

"It's a beautiful day Finley and not a witch in sight," Oscar said proudly. "They won't be back."

"They promised they would come back," Finley pointed out.

Oscar laughed. "After that performance we won't be seeing their faces around here any time soon. And if they do come back, we'll scare them away again or blow them into dust."

"What would Glinda say if she heard you saying things like that?" Finley said with a chuckle. Glinda was highly against killing of any kind let alone blowing someone to dust.

Oscar shrugged. "What Glinda doesn't know won't hurt her," he said with a wink.

They past by a jewelry store that had just opened. Oscar looked at the things in the window. "What if I bought one of these for Glinda?"

"She'd love them!" Finley said mesmerized by the sparkling diamonds.

"Then it's settled." They went inside and Oscar started looking around.

"Your highness!" The store owner said bowing to him. "How can I help you?"

"I want the finest diamonds you have for Glinda."

"Only the best for the good witch," the store owner said leading Oscar to his most priceless diamonds. "I think any one of these are fit for a lady like Miss Glinda."

Oscar looked through the jewelry on the table and settled on a beautiful sparkling diamond necklace. "I'll buy this one."

"Excellent choice," the store owner said leading Oscar over to the checkout counter. The wrapped the necklace up and Oscar paid for it then he and Finley were on their way.

"When are you going to give it to her?" Finley asked.

"Give what to who?" China Girl said catching up to them.

"China Girl you cannot tell anyone about this," Oscar said seriously.

"I promise!" She said innocently.

"I bought this for Glinda," Oscar said showing her the necklace.

"Ooh pretty!"

"I'm going to give it to her tonight."

"I think she'll love it!" China Girl grabbed Finleys arm. "Come play a game with me Finley."

Oscar couldn't help but laugh as Finley was dragged away. He put the necklace back in his jacket pocket and kept walking.

Meanwhile Annie had entered the city. People were going about their business getting off from work, picking children up from school, buying things, eating at places. It was a very busy and beautiful city with some of the most incredible architecture she'd ever seen in her life.

She stopped someone in the street. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?"

The person looked confused. Everyone in OZ knew about the Emerald City. "You're on the Emerald City," he said continuing on to pick his wife up from work.

She was still confused. She ran into someone else. "Pardon me, how do I get out of here?"

"Just go through those gates there," the woman said pointing to where Annie had just come from.

This wasn't helping. She didn't know what to do. John had to have been worried by now. She had to get home.

All of a sudden Oscar saw her in front of him. She looked confused and scared. He was also confused. How did she get to OZ?

"Annie," he said going towards her.

"Oscar!" She exclaimed relieved to have found someone she knew.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had just gone for a walk and all of a sudden I ended up here...where are we?"

"This is OZ," he replied.

"OZ?" She said confused.

He realized this would take a lot more explanation. "Come walk with me and I'll tell you everything."

They walked together and he told her everything from the beginning starting with the tornado to the defeat of the wicked witches. Afterwards Annie was in shock and Oscar expected that reaction.

"I know it's a lot to take in," he said.

"I never would have guessed..." She said in disbelief. "How did I get here then? There was no tornado and I didn't have any magic to get me here."

"Maybe Glinda would know," Oscar replied. "Come back to my palace with me and we'll find out if she knows."