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A/N: For those who like behind-the-scenes details, Viridis/Ginger is General Jinjur from L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz.


Resistance
by Fiyero Oberon

VI.

The focus is no longer on saving the Animals – indeed, the war is now far, far deeper than that. Ozians as a whole are being persecuted. Viridis has seen it with her own eyes: the torture chambers the Gale Force have secreted away beneath the Emerald Palace, the hair they pluck one-by-one from the bodies of Animals and humans alike. She's heard the low, rumbling laughter of the Force generals, their murmurs. "Well now humans and Animals are being treated equally," one had spat, "d'you thinks they'll leave now?" Laughter rose from the torturers and the screams got louder.

She has seen the Quadlings and the Vinkusian people and the Munchkinlanders, their hair cut short, their bones jutting from their bodies from food deprivation. She has seen the Animals with their fur shaved off, their mouths muzzled and their paws tied to poles, being carried around upside-down while their eyes look around in fear. She has seen the evil side of the Wizard of Oz and she is ready to do what it takes.

But for Viridis, even the sight of the dying Animals does not stir her anger like Raven's death. It had been a quick and painless death with no arguments, exactly the way Raven had not wanted to go. A soldier with ridiculously long whiskers had ridden up on his steed, sword in hand, and cleanly sliced the independent woman's head from her body. Viridis shed a single tear for Raven, which landed on the woman's chapped lips and slipped into her mouth. She hasn't cried since.

Viridis has taken over the Resistance since then, under her alias – Ginger. She leads the Army of Revolt with a cold shoulder, a cool temper, a keen eye, a harsh tongue. The battles grow more intense each day as more and more soldiers are gruesomely killed, as innocent people and harmless Animals are destroyed.

It had started as a disgusting genocide of the Animals, but now the Wizard had turned against the entire land. She leans over the side of her cot and spits on the ground as she thinks of the Wizard – she hates calling him that, for she knows he is a fraud. Indeed, half the world knows that the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz is actually a sneaky ventriloquist with pounds of luck on his side. Viridis, among others, suspects that he doesn't even think of or create his own disguises, but there is little proof for either argument and plenty against both so the truth has remained quiet for all this time, for fear of the wrath of the Good and Giving Wizard.

Viridis rolls over the side of the cot and her naked body collides with the cold, hard earth beneath her. Sitting up, she runs calloused hands in circles on her muscled stomach, and down her legs. Someone stamps their feet thrice outside the tent flap and sticks a hand in. "May I enter, General?" a man's voice asks.

Viridis stands and envelopes herself in a long blue dressing gown, a fanciful garment not expected on the rough-and-tumble woman. Tying the sash she verbally admits the man's entrance and he steps inside, saluting her, though she can still see his surprise at her informal state of undress. He is a short man, undoubtedly of the Munchkinland blood like her, with a silver-gray hair and wrinkles around the eyes. Yet his vibrant eyes reveal a younger age than that which his skin and hair suggest, confirming her assumption of his Munchkin background – those Munchkinlanders which have inherited the stereotypical shorting genes tend to look much older than they are. "At ease," she says and the man relaxes his chest and shoulder, clasps his hands behind his back, and takes a step so his feet are shoulder-width apart. "State your name, soldier."

"Boq," he says nervously. "Boq of Munchkinland. I have come requesting a time off."

"And what is the reason that you are requesting this leave of absence?"

Boq of Munchkinland shifted his weight from left foot to right foot and back again to left. His eyes darted around anxiously and Viridis turns to sit at a chair facing a mirror, her back to the nervous Munchkinlander. She begins pinning up her long curls, eyes fixated on the reflection of Boq of Munchkinland. "I recently received a letter from my wife," he says, "and a friend of ours from university is having a child."

"What is your point?" she asks. Her lips are pursed and the bland taste in her mouth is bitter. "I do not see how this relates to you, soldier."

Boq of Munchkinland lets out an exasperated sigh. "The friend is Nessarose, the Eminent Thropp." Viridis cocks an eyebrow. "My wife and I have been asked to be the godparents of this child since, as I'm sure you know, ma'am, the Eminent Thropp is highly religious woman."

Viridis stands and draws the silk dressing gown closer as she steps across the room. "You're married, Boq of Munchkinland?" He nods. "You have children, no doubt?" Boq mutters his confirmation. "Yes… Yes, we can do without you, I think. You are free to go, Sir Boq," she tells him. "You need not return either, unless you ultimately feel compelled. The Army can continue without your services, but your family cannot. Tell the Eminent I wish her and her child all the best."

A wave of relief sweeps over Boq of Munchkinland's face. He salutes General Ginger, thanks her profusely, and steps out of the tent.

Viridis must be feeling especially kind today. She does not usually permit leaves of absence. Stepping into her boots, Viridis hurries out into the gray weather. A fat raindrop lands on her nose.

"We will conquer the Emerald Palace by sundown!" she announces to her troops.


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