The Jester left the prison early this morning. Yesterday they told him that he would join the Winkies and assist them in repairing their country.
He was escorted by the captain and some guards to the Winky Country.
He wore black shoes, a green pair of pants and a light brown top with long sleeves that ended at his elbows. They gave him those clothes to work with, but he was still chained with handcuffs.
He looked down at the ground as his messy grown chestnut hair hide his view. Then he heard two guards speaking to another one:
"Do you think that those infected by those flowers can contaminate others?" asked one.
"No! Alymair carried one and he is still healthy so there's nothing to really fear!" the other answered.
"Yes but did you see that? Those burns suddenly appearing on this child's body out of nowhere!" the first added.
This detail caught the Jester's attention. He knew someone who was contaminated by the same thing and had developed the exact symptoms.
Then as they arrived they were greeted by the Winkies leader.
Anilozy saw him with the guards and stopped what she was doing and walked toward the Tin Man. The Jester looked at her with contempt as he saw her coming. She frowned at him, in response of his staring.
"Jester, you are here with the agreement of the king and myself to help with the repairs of the Winkies homes! So we'll be giving a day of work to prove yourself worthy of a possible reformation! And if I see or hear about anything going wrong you'll..." the Tin Man informed but the Jester cut him off.
"Yeah yeah I got it! can we get this over with? I mean the sooner the better!" he said.
The captain pulled on the chains of the handcuffs and faced the Jester.
"You better be not begin playing with our anger Jester!" Guydor warned.
"Stop calling me Jester! I have a name." the prisoner protested.
Everyone was a little surprised by it, they always thought that he didn't mind being called by what he was. They even thought that he didn't have a name, so they stood silent and waited him to tell them.
"My name is Philisius Trozz." the Jester answered as he looked down intimidated.
"Very well Philisius. Anilozy! Take him with you and ask your father to give him some work!" the Tin Man ordered as he left to help a group the captain unlocked the handcuffs off of Philisius's hands.
"Will be staying, watching your every move!" Guydor added. "So at any wrong step, we interfer!."
Him and his guard stood there as they watch Anilozy and the Jester leave.
The young woman walked through the crowd to search for her father, the other people glared at the prisoner as he walked past them but he didn't care.
"So Philisius?" Anilozy asked as she looked at the Jester.
"I just remembered it yesterday. It's the name my father gave me when he found me at his doorstep when I was a baby. I was just one day old." the Jester answered.
"And it only came back now? But how could you remember it now if you were cursed to be a jester?" she asked again.
"I was only cursed at 7 years old you know?" he added then he looked at her with no more anger.
she smiled gently at him but as she smiled he looked away. He still was very solitary.
Then she finally finds her father, and her and Philisius walked towards him.
"Oh father!" she called. He turned back and faced her, then as he saw their old threat now prisoner, he felt a bit of anger toward the Jester. "Father! Our leader wants you to give the prisoner some work."
Her father nodded.
"Your sister wants your help! She's at the well, don't worry I'll assist him." he answered as he looked at the Jester with a hint of anger.
Before going, she whispered to her father:
"Please be nice to him or else nobody will want him to help with the repairs."
He nodded, she smiled at the both of them as she leaves them.
Philisius looked at her going, she was so graceful, even in those peasant clothes. Then her father caught his attention.
"You'll carry this concrete bag and bring it to the other group near the castle! Make sure the bag doesn't end up empty there!" he added as he throw the concrete bag to the jester who caught it in time but almost lost his balance duo that it was heavy.
But none of the less, Philisius did what he was told to do. He put the bag on his back, and while holding it some teenagers cut the bag at the bottom.
They thought it was funny to mock a villain.
Philisius turned back to see the damage? there was nothing else he could do to stop the concrete powder to fall out. He looked back at the teenagers who laughed at him. Oh he just gives up!
This reformation program was a lame failure! Nobody wanted him around! They all wished he was dead! He left the bag and the teenagers. He didn't care anymore! They could give him the death penalty to end with it!
He walked away a little, until he knew where to go.
To the place where the Deadly Flowers grow!
Those flowers!
His sister had planted plenty of them enough to kill a country, it was for deadly elixirs and poisons. She would have created a huge contamination in the land of Oz to acquire the throne, if she wasn't stopped by Dorothy Gale that is!
He finally arrived to the place, but to his surprise, the flowers weren't there anymore.
What ? But this can't be possible! This is where they should have been! Or did they got rid of them already? He's thinking of who could tell him what happened.
"Jes...I mean Philisius Trozz." he heard.
He turned back and saw the Tin Man coming his way. He must have been warned by the Winkies.
"What are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to help with the work?" asked the Winkies leader a little angry.
"I was! But they don't want me!" Philisius complained. "Everyone wants to see me dead! They hate me!"
"You created that hate! And you can undo it as well! If you get back to work to show them what you're worth!" the Tin Man answered.
He knew that this reformation program wasn't going to be that easy, but the ex Jester and the Winkies have to make an effort, but he knew the first reason behind this.
"And not everyone hates you! Anilozy seemed nice toward you! Enough nice I should say! I'm surprised that she took a first step into this reform..." the Tin Man dared but the ex Jester cut him off.
"Oh I see! Well listen here Tin Can! Between me and this woman, there is nothing!" he added as left the place.
The Tin Man expected such denial. But at least he knew that Philisius didn't came in this part of the woods by accident, since he examined every of his moves and expressions while following him.
He can deduce that there must have been something important here once.
Then the night came. The Winkies decided to have a fire camp between all the villagers and the Tin Man sat among them.
The Emerald City Guards and their Captain were next to him. They saw everyone passing by them, until their target showed up. They saw that Philisius wanted to go toward Anilozy who was sit between her father and her older sister.
Anilozy saw him coming and so did her family. The Guards wanted to interfere but the Tin Man told them to remain seated.
Apparently, Philisius didn't get the approval of the woman's father to let him talk to her in privacy, so the ex Jester left the family alone while still being watched by Anilozy.
The Winkies Leader spoke to the Captain and the guards:
"This morning, I saw that he got behind the castle, at the opening of the woods! What was there before?"
Guydor answered :
"The witch's forbidden garden your Leadership. Only the witch got there. Well as I heard of."
"And do you know what she used to plant there by any chance?" the Winkies Leader asked. "No. Do you think that the Jester and this young lady have something to do with the new found epidemy?" Guydor asked.
"I don't push away any possibility." the Tin Man answered.
"This morning captain, me and my camrade here were talking about that child Alymair brought to Glinda. And it caught the prisoner's attention!" the guard added and the other one nodded.
This new information concluded their deduction.
"So, the Jester has something to do with this illness then!" the Tin Man concluded.
"But what the girl has to do with it?" the Captain of the guards asked.
"I don't know. I tried to talk to Philisius about it and he seems to denial something." the Tin Man added.
Then a Winky caught their attention.
"Sir! It's my wife, she's not going well!l" the man said to the Tin Man.
The Winkies leader and the Winky peasant left the guards and arrived in a still being repaired house. When the Winkies Leader entered, he saw the mother of the last contaminated child laid down in a improvised bed.
"She's the last person who touched the bouquet! Yesterday she fainted believing it was just some exhaustion! But today she's burning hot and she's feeling weak and dizzy! And those burning marks at her arms... I should have warned you sooner but she didn't want to scare the children!" the man explained.
The Tin Man carried the woman in his arms and covered her with a blanket. He carried her to Guydor. The victim in their leader's arms alarmed the Winkies as well as the ex Jester and the guards.
"Guydor! You have to take this woman to Glinda! She's contaminated by the epidemy!" the Winkies Leader ordered.
"But what about the Jester?" the Captain asked.
"I'll lead him back to Emerald City!" the Tin Man told.
With that said, Guydor and his men got back on their horses and Guydor carried the weakened woman to Glinda. Philisius jumps at the occasion and got to talk to Anilozy
"How many are infected?" he whispered to her.
"It's the 7th case in this part of Oz!" she answered back in the same tone.
"Anilozy, where are those flowers ?" he then asked.
"I don't know! They tend to grow where they want those later days!" she answered, then she looked at him. "Are you trying to save us?" she remarked as she grinned at him.
"What ? Don't be ridicul ...!" Philisius tried to say, but was cut off when he heard his cuffs closing on his wrists.
"I need volunteers to bring back Philisius Trozz to the Emerald City!" the Tin Man said as he placed back the handcuffs on the ex Jester's wrists.
Anilozy raised her hand up, but her father caught it before it raised up any further.
"I'm going with our leader! You stay here with your sister!" he said.
The man whose wife being taken to Glinda also volunteered. And a third Winky also joined them.
"Alright then! Let's get going." the Winkies leader ordered as he led the path.
Before Philisius left, he turned to face Anilozy she was about to say something but he cuts her off.
"Anilozy! Stop and forget about me!" he said as he left with the group.