Dorothy stared at the food before her as she lay in the bed, sat up. She was confused, to say the least.
"I'm not hungry." She stated.
The Lion frowned. "But you're as thin as a stick. And you've transported between worlds, and you haven't had anything for several hours. Quite honestly, you should be dieing for a glass of water, and you're refusing perfectly good food?!"
She shrugged, still staring at the plate of eggs, bacon and sausages. "I'm not hungry." She repeated. She looked up, her eyes cold and distant.
"Why are you still here. Where's Doctor Jones? He's going to angry if I don't see him son-"
"Doctor Jones, He's- " The Tin Man sighed. How to explain this? "He's left."
Fear struck her eyes, and she quickly struck at the plate, causing it to shatter on the ground, spilling the food everywhere. She clambered out of bed, a fierce look in her eyes. "You're lying. Stop lying to me. He would never leave me. He said he'd always watch over me. Always!"
She said it in such a deep voice, both the Tin Man and the Lion thought she was possessed. At that moment, the Scarecrow came in, carrying the ruby slippers.
"Well Dorothy, maybe this will jog your- " The Scarecrow began, but stopped as he saw Dorothy standing in an attack position.
Dorothy's eyes narrowed on the slippers, and she blinked several times.
"Are those? The ruby slippers?"
"Yes, yes they are? Do you want to try them on?"
Dorothy frowned. "It's a bit late for that."
The Scarecrow blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Doctor Jones, he said that the Ruby Slippers, they represented something. You see, red in fairy tales symbolizes blood, so when the story is about a girl, the shoes suggest menstruation. I didn't look for the shoes, I wasn't even aware of them. Glinda placed the shoes on my feet and said, "There they are and there they'll stay." The ruby slippers seemed like a curse when I tried to escape from the Wicked Witch of the West, but eventually I understood their magical power, just as a girl comes to understand the mysteries of reproduction. That's Doctor Jones's analyse. "
She said this so strangely, as though she was copying it word for word.
The Tin Man frowned and replied. "Oh really. And what do we represent?"
Dorothy frowned herself, placing a hand over her abdomen. "He wouldn't tell me."
The Tin Man rolled his eyes and stood up. "For the Love of Ozma." He muttered under his breath as he left the room. The Lion followed after him, after giving Dorothy a reassuring rub on the arm.
The Scarecrow and Dorothy stared at each other, an awkward silence coming between them.
"I'm Sorry." Dorothy mumbled. "My heart wants to believe you're here, but Doctor Jones-"
"He isn't here." The Scarecrow looked at her deeply. "I am. Just believe I am. It doesn't have to be real. We can pretend."
Dorothy nodded. "Pretend isn't what I want though. I want to be able to touch it, and feel it and smell it and know I'm not dreaming. I want to believe, honest I do, but I can't when everything tells me it's wrong. I'm sorry."
The Scarecrow bowed respectively. "As you wish Dorothy. But when you do get hungry, just let the attendant outside your room know. She will alert me. Good afternoon."
He left quickly, his heart pounding with the thought of her just on the other side of the door. He leant against it, gritting his teeth, curling leather fingers into fists. Doctor Jones. Something had to be done about Doctor Jones.
