Chapter 3
Of Witches, Wands and Wizards
A loud explosion and the earsplitting shrieks that followed it caught Romano's wandering attention. The centre of the courtyard was quickly being cleared; munchkins running and jumping in all directions in panic, far away from the cloud of evil green smoke billowing from the air. Romano turned his worried face towards Arthur, seeing that the latter remained unmoved, if not, perhaps a little angry. Romano inspected him closely. He did look quite angry actually. His eyes were narrowed and, although his eyebrows weren't anymore creased than usual, intense ferocity radiated from his emerald eyes. The smoke was beginning to drift now but the munchkins remained fearful, crouched over as close to the ground as they could get. Romano peered into the dissipating smoke curiously, as an image began to take form, slowly becoming more defined until Romano could just about make out who..... Arthur looked down in shock as a small squeal escaped from the Italians lips and he gripped onto Arthur, terrified.
"I-It's the bastard F-Francis." Romano whimpered concealing himself behind the angel's body, unsuccessfully out of 'Francis' sight.
"You know the Wicked Witch?" Arthur asked, taken aback. He raised an eyebrow. "So, you don't know where you are, you don't know who I am, but you know the Wicked Witch of the West." Romano just nodded, wide-eyed and fearful.
The Wicked Witch began to move towards them, the smoke swirling around him and long back cloak trailing in his wake producing a menacing aura. Romano could see now that it wasn't Francis, although the resemblance was frightfully uncanny.
"Wait a second." Romano stopped, his head tilted to the side, fear suddenly forgotten. "Why is he called a witch if he is a guy?" Arthur's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and he cleared his throat a few times.
"Er, that would be because we used to think he was a girl and the name...just kind of stuck."
Romano sniggered, suddenly finding the witch a whole lot less frightful. At the sound of Romano's amusement, the witch turned to face him, causing Romano to flinch back once again.
"Bonjour mon cheri." The witch flashed a charming smile in his direction, his teeth pearly white. 'Where is my sister?" The other two men responded with silence, Arthur glaring daggers at him and Romano shivering ever so slightly.
"I saw her coming this way, non?" he asked again, absentmindedly picking a budding crimson rose from a nearby plant and pocketing it. Creasing his eyebrows slightly at the other men's rudeness he cried dramatically, 'Mon dieu! What is wrong with you people!"
Arthur crossed his arms and scowled at him from beneath knitted eyebrows. "Sod off you bloody wanker."
The Wicked Witch remained unfazed. "Ahh Arthur, ever the gentleman. I don't want any trouble. I just want to find my sister." He matched Arthur's deadly glower with his own defiant glare.
Romano looked from one man to the other bewilderedly. Placing his hands on his hips, he stamped his foot for attention as though he was a child throwing a tantrum. "Er Hello? Anyone remember me? I'm the guy who fell out of the fucking sky and landed in this bloody place with no way to get home."
The Wicked Witch turned his attention to Romano, sideling up to him, a teasing smile dancing on his lips. "Aren't you a feisty one? You could nearly match Arthur with your 'colourful' language." Cupping a hand under Romano's chin, he tilted Romano's face towards his own, brushing a solitary finger over his cheek slowly, completely ignoring the hostile look he received. Romano turned a bright shade of crimson, his cheeks heating up angrily, and slapped the hand away.
"W-w-what the hell are you doing, dammit!" he spluttered angrily, fists curled up into tight balls. The Wicked Witch grinned and winked at the annoyed man, causing him to fume even more.
"Leave him alone you French bastard." Arthur stepped forward to interfere. "If you must know, your sister is over there" he said begrudgingly, jerking a thumb towards Romano's house. The Wicked Witch frowned.
"Why did you feel the need to turn her into a house?"
Arthur scoffed. "Not the house, you imbecile, under the house."
Romano smiled smugly as he watched realization cross the witch's face. His mouth gaped as he tried to comprehend the situation. "Y-YOU KILLED MY SISTER! SACRE BLEU! W-w-why THE HELL did you do that" he screamed. The Witch turned to Arthur, his face livid.
"Actually I dropped a house on her." Romano said conceitedly, then seeing the look the Witch gave him, berated himself for saying so.
"You, dropped a house, on my sister." The witch said, his words, although softly spoken, dripped with venom. He was circling Romano now, slowly, as though was prey. "How could anyone be so incredibly.....clumsy." Romano shivered, feeling the Witch's breath on his neck.
The Witch straightened suddenly, dusting down his robes and repositioning his hat. "Never mind!" he said cheerfully, his face transforming into his original beaming smile. He began walking towards the house. "Now I shall wear the ruby slippers!" he exclaimed, "The ruby slippers will make me more powerful than ever!" He rubbed his hands together in barely contained glee. Arthur smirked slyly.
"Not if I can help it." He waved his star wand briskly through the air, muttering incoherently, sending a small amount of sparkles issuing through the tip.
The Wicked Witch faltered mid step, turning towards Arthur, his face wrought with suspicion. "The ruby slippers are gone! What have you done with them!"
Arthur placed his hands on his hips and smiled cockily. "See for yourself." He waved a hand casually towards Romano. The Wicked Witch just stared quizzically. Arthurs smug expression was quickly replaced with his permanent scowl, annoyed that his plan to shock the Witch hadn't quite had the effect he had wanted. "Step forward!" he snapped at Romano, who was concealed behind a rose bush. Romano stepped forward tentatively, quite bewildered by the entire situation, his hazelnut eyes swimming with confusion.
"Ah-huh!" Arthur cried triumphantly, face alight with newly found joy. The Witch's face, on the other hand, had dropped, his mouth gaping open.
"T-the ruby slippers!" He lifted a finger slowly and pointed at Romano's feet, as a small murmur swelled around the munchkins.
"What the hell are you on abo-" Romano glanced down at his feet in confusion, recoiling In amazement. The ruby slippers glistened snugly on his feet, the minute red crystals reflecting the sun like thousands of tiny mirrors.
"Give them back" The Wicked Witch loomed over him causing a small yelp to escape from Romano's throat. "Give them back now." The Witch's demeanor had completely changed from the flirtatious charming man he had been before. Romano smothered another whimper as the witch glared fiercely at him from beneath coal black eyes. These mood swings were really starting to scare him.
"G-get lost dammit!" Romano said attempting to contain some of his composure. "I don't even want your fucking slippers. Take them!" he said, refusing to meet the witch's gaze, his voice unusually high pitched. Arthur's face darkened with surprising speed at Romano's outburst, his wings rising and tensing in anger.
"You bloody....undeserving......piece of..."
"Shit!" Romano cried frustrated "I can't get these off!" He was pulling hard on the slippers, turning it into a game of tug of war with the shoes, and it seemed as though the ruby slippers were winning.
Arthur smacked his face with his palm and sighed in despair. "Look, okay," he said, attempting to calm himself. "The slippers are obviously very powerful otherwise he wouldn't want them so badly. Would you stop that!" He shouted just as Romano lost his grip on the shoes and fell forward, arms and legs flailing, landing with a soft bump on the ground. Romano groaned in exasperation and brushed the dirt off his white shirt which was rolled up at the sleeves to accommodate for the change in weather from Kansas. Arthur just rolled his eyes, his expression one of pure irritation.
"You can't take them off you git! There's obviously some sort of magic which is keeping them firmly glued to your feet."
"Stay out of this Arthur!" The Wicked Witch muttered angrily. "I'll cast a spell on you!" he threatened, his deep blue eyes glaring at the angel. Arthur brushed sandy blonde hair out of his face and met the witch's gaze with his own, chuckling irritatingly.
"Hah! You don't even have any power here you bloody French twit. Get lost!" Arthur looked up to the sky and pointed in mock surprise, his eyes widened and he placed a hand over his open mouth. "Look a house is about to fall on you too!" he sniggered. The witch ducked and his eyes darted to the sky, his face alight with fear, then flushed an angry red as he realised Arthur was only teasing him. The witch's reaction caused Arthur to burst into laughter, Romano following suit.
"I will have those slippers!" The witch shouted at Romano, staring defiantly at the Italian. "You just wait. I can't do anything here but you wait, you just wait till you're all alone in the dark. Soon I'll get those slippers and my revenge too!" He cackled manically, one of the most frightful sounds Romano had ever heard. Blowing a kiss to no one in particular, he slung one leg over his wooden broom with ease, and threw the rose he had pocketed previously to Romano. With a charming wink and smile, he clicked his fingers and with a sound like the crack of a whip, he disappeared along with his broom, leaving a cloud of green smoke where his image had been.
Romano stood stunned for a few seconds, blinking repeatedly, and shaking his head. Arthur was muttering and cursing under his breath something about 'blasted wicked witch's get all the best transport' and began to move slowly around the crouched munchkins, his sandals scuffing along the dirt and unsettling small clouds of dust.
"You can get up now, he's gone" Arthur said warmly, an encouraging smile across his face. As the munchkins gradually got to their feet, Romano noted that they seemed smaller than before, or maybe he had just forgotten how tiny they actually were. Arthur turned to him, his face grave and serious.
"You do realise that you have made an enemy of the wicked witch. He will most likely come after you, so you really need to get out of Oz as soon as you can."
"What do you think I've been trying to do ever since I got here? How the hell am I even supposed to get back?" Romano asked.
Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment, staring fixedly at the sky. "Well, there is someone who might know...." he began slowly, each syllable articulated perfectly. "But he is such a blasted idiot." Arthur said this softer than before, talking more to himself then Romano. Frowning in contemplation, he sighed. "You may as well give him a chance. The Wizard of Oz has a reputation for knowing all. If you find him, he may be able to help you get back to Kansas."
"The Wizard....of Oz... Is he good or evil?" Romano asked suspiciously, he wouldn't set it past Arthur to deceive him.
"He is good..." Arthur stopped as though remembering something. "He lives in the Emerald City, quite a long way from here. I suppose you are going to have to walk."
Romano's face fell. "Walk! Are you fucking serious?"
Arthur blinked at the man. "Well unless you brought your broomstick..."
"Okay, Okay I get it." Romano muttered angrily brushing past the angel, eager to finish his long journey as soon as possible. "Hang on," he halted and turned around. "How am I supposed to know where the hell I'm going?"
Arthur stopped smoothing his feathers and looked up. "Follow the yellow brick road."
Romano just stared. "But what happens if..."
"Just follow the Yellow Brick road." Arthur stood straight, wings extended to full length. A bright orb surrounded him, causing Romano to squint to see through the blinding light. "Goodbye Romano, and good luck!" he said, with a small wave, receiving only a frown from the man.
As Romano walked towards the large golden pavers that lined up to make the road, the munchkins began to accumulate around him. "Follow...the Yellow Brick....Road..." Romano whispered to himself.
"Follow the Yellow Brick Road." The mayor stepped forward again.
"Follow the Yellow Brick Road," Said another munchkin.
"Follow th-"
"Do you guys ever shut up?" Romano shouted into the crowd, startling the munchkins, but not enough to achieve ending their song.
Follow, follow, follow, follow
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Follow the Yellow Brick
Follow the Yellow Brick
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Romano sighed heavily in defeat and began walking hastily away from the growing chorus of little voices. The twisting Yellow Brick Road began to edge away from the small village, the road seeming to lead in an endless line to nowhere, as the faint sound of the singing munchkins drifted to his ears.
Your'e off to see the Wizard
The wonderful Wizard of Oz. A/N: Oh look she updated! *insert suprise here* Hope you all haven't completely forgotten me yet. Sorry for taking so long, yet again! I blame exams. I'll be trying to update quicker as holidays are coming up so i'll hopefully have heaps of time. I LOVE REVIEWS so please, if you enjoyed it review! I need the encouragement. :D Note on this chapter, I didn't really like this one. I spent ages trying to redo it but I just couldn't make it any better. France proved alot harder to write than I thought.