LifelongLeahstar: I actually completely forgot about that story, but thanks for reminding me!
ElphieNeedsAHug: Not everyone will die. But it won't be as fun if everyone makes it out of this story alive and okay. Something has to happen.
I actually made a really big reference in the last chapter that no one got. Okay… three people got it, and those three people know who they are, so they're not going to spoil it for everyone else. It's actually a really big clue about what's going on. Let's see who can guess the reference.
Soon, but not soon enough for Maia, the two girls reached the Quadling country. They were exhausted, hungry, and in need of a bath.
"We're here!" Maia exclaimed.
"Finally! Now let's find Gaia's temple."
"Wait!" Maia stopped her friend. "Won't we need an offering for her?"
"One step ahead of you," Carisse smiled, pulling three golden apples out of her bag.
"Are those…" Maia whispered in awe.
"Yup. The Golden Apples."
"From the tree at the edge of the earth?"
"That's the one."
"How did you get those?"
"I've had them for a while, but I've been saving them for a rainy day."
Maia simply stared at the younger girl before taking the lead and trying to find the temple. "Excuse me, but do you know where we can find Gaia's Temple?" she asked a passerby.
"Down this lane, past the large tree. You can't miss it," the man said.
"Thank you," the two girls waved and followed the directions. They soon found the temple and tried to push the door open, but it was locked.
"Uh… is this supposed to be locked…?" Carisse asked.
"I don't think so. Maybe there's another way in," Maia said as she began to look around the temple. "I wonder why it's locked… Carisse, you go around the other way." The huntress turned around, but found that she was all alone. "Carisse?" The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the feeling of pain in the back of her head and a soft, female grunt from behind her.
Hours later, when she came to, she found herself in a dark room. She tried to move, but her hands and feet were tied. "Carisse?"
"Maia?" a soft voice answered back.
The older girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?"
"I… think so. What happened?"
"We were at Gaia's temple. The door was locked and we were trying to find a way in."
"Trying to find a way to break in, you mean," a new voice said.
The two girls stiffened as a faint light appeared and a person walked out from the shadows. As they stepped forward, the room became brighter and Maia and Carisse were able to see who they were dealing with.
The person standing in front of them was a young girl, probably around seventeen years old, with creamy light brown skin and long, thick black hair that was in a braid over her shoulder. She wore a shimmering golden dress and had a faint aura around her, letting Maia and Carisse know that she was a goddess. Her brown eyes glared back at the huntresses as she circled around them, looking as though she was seconds away from pouncing on her prey and eating it alive. "Who are you two?" she finally spoke, her voice not as intimidating as her look.
"Ah… I'm… C-Carisse," Carisse said, though it sounded more like a question due to her fear of never seeing the sun again.
"Maia," the older girl said, sounding much stronger than she felt.
The young goddess turned to Maia and slowly approached her. "A daughter of Apollo?"
"If I say yes, will you refrain from killing us?"
The goddess rolled her eyes. "And you are both Huntresses of Artemis?"
The goddess seemed to already know the answers to her own questions, but Maia and Carisse simply nodded.
"State your business here."
"Uh… we were trying to see if we could beseech Gaia and ask if she could help us with something," Carisse said.
"Gaia? You were in search of Gaia?" the young goddess asked.
"Ah… yes," Carisse said meekly.
"Gaia's temple is on the south side of the Quadling Country, many miles from here."
Maia gave Carisse an 'I'm not walking all the way there' look and turned back to the goddess. "If you don't mind my asking, who are you?"
"I am Nicia, goddess of desire," the goddess said.
"I thought that was Himeros," Carisse said, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Nicia's eyes burned. "Not sexual desires, mortal!" she hissed. "I am the goddess of the deepest desires of the heart."
Carisse looked down and muttered an apology.
"And… where are we and what are we doing down here?" Maia asked.
"I do not take too kindly to intruders trying to break into my temple unannounced."
"We weren't trying to break into your temple. We didn't even know this was your temple," Maia said.
"The door was locked."
"Because I did not have any scheduled appointments. Today is my day off."
"So, you won't help us?" Carisse asked meekly.
Nicia paused. "That depends. Did you bring anything?"
"There are golden apples in my bag."
Nicia waved her hand and Carisse and Maia's bindings were undone. After giving her wrist and ankles a brief run, Carisse hurried to the corner, were her bags were dumped after they were kidnapped and brought here, and gave the three apples.
"You really were looking for Gaia," Nicia said, but she took the apples anyway. "What do you desire?"
"We want to know where our friend, Elphaba, is," Maia said.
Nicia took a bite of the apple. "The green girl?"
"You know her?" Carisse asked.
The goddess shook her head. "Not personally, but I've heard stories about her. Plus, my sister, Hali, is the patron goddess of Munchkinland."
"We know that she's from Munchkinland, and about her past. But we need to find her first," Maia said.
"Do you know if she's gotten there yet?"
"No. She is traveling to the Emerald City currently, but it's only a matter of time before she finds out and goes to Munchkinland. I know what Elphaba desires, and her desire to find out where she comes from is strong. It is one of the strongest desires I've felt in a while."
"But she can't find out. We have to stop her. What's the quickest way to the Emerald City?"
"And does it require a lot of walking?" Maia said. "Because I think I've had enough walking to last me a lifetime… literally."
Nicia smiled softly. "I can get you there in the blink of an eye."
Maia looked beyond relieved. "Really?"
The goddess nodded and finished off the apple. "You just have to make it your heart's biggest desire."
"That sounds easier said than done," Carisse said.
"It is," Nicia nodded. "It's one thing to want something very badly, but to fully and completely desire it with all your heart takes a lot of effort. But it's the only way I can send you there."
The two girls exchanged a look and held hands. Closing their eyes, they focused all of their energy on desiring to go to the Emerald City will all their hearts. Their desire to help their friend stay out of harm's way helped them and pretty soon, they felt themselves slipping away. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the center of the Emerald City, right in front of the Emerald City Palace.
"Wow," Maia whispered in awe. "We're in the Emerald City!"
"I've always wanted to see the Emerald City!" Carisse smiled.
"There are buildings as tall as Quoxwood trees!"
"Dress salons!"
"Libraries!"
"I can't believe we're actually in the greatest city in Oz!"
The girls looked all around them, taking in all the green and splendor. Everything looked so fancy and Ozmopolitan.
"We… we should try to stay focused," Carisse began to say, but Maia was already starting to window shop. "Maia!"
"Huh?" the older girl said, half distracted as she looked at a very pretty deep purple dress.
"We should at least get cleaned up first. I have enough money for us to rent a hotel room for two nights."
"Then we can come back and –"
"Look for Elphaba."
Maia pouted slightly, but followed the younger girl to the Grandiose Oz Hotel. The person at the front desk gave them a look as they entered the hotel, clearly judging them by their appearance. He softened up slightly when Carisse paid for the room for two nights and they girls went to freshen up.
The two soon emerged, Maia in a pale yellow dress and Carisse in a light red dress, both wearing their hair in braided ponytails. "Now, to find Elphaba," Carisse said, but Maia was off again. "Maia!"
"What? She's probably not even here yet. We should enjoy the city while we still have the chance," Maia said, already halfway to the shop window.
"Fine. But as soon as we see her, we're getting back on track," Carisse said after a while, then joined her friend in looking at the wonderful window displays.
"Wow," Fiyero whispered as they entered the city. "So this is the Emerald City."
Elphaba gently tugged on the reins, causing the horse to stop. She dismounted and Fiyero got off after her, following her as she led the horse to the horse fence, tying it to the post. "Maybe we can search here instead of going straight to Munchkinland."
"You just want to sight-see."
"I want to help you, Elphaba."
Elphaba turned and regarded him. "You really think we should search here?"
"We can ask the oracle of Ozma. She'll be able to tell you where your family is. And who knows, maybe they are in Munchkinland."
Elphaba didn't move for a moment, and Fiyero wondered what she was thinking. "Alright," she finally said. "Let's ask the oracle."
They found out that the oracle was right next to the fates of the Emerald City palace. Elphaba seemed at odds with herself, and Fiyero reached down and squeezed her hand. Elphaba looked at their joint hands then glared up at him, but Fiyero simply gave her an encouraging smile. They went inside and, after paying the twenty green penny fee, were directed by a young woman to go through the doorway to see the oracle.
Inside, they found a young girl, no older than eighteen, sitting cross-legged on a pillow on a throne. A dark purple scarf was draped over her shoulder-length light brown hair. Her hands were resting on her knees and her eyes were closed. She looked like she was in a meditative state and didn't want to be bothered. Elphaba turned and looked like she was going to leave, but Fiyero stopped her.
"Go on, Elphaba," Fiyero whispered, turning her around and pushing her towards the oracle. "Ask her your question."
Elphaba blinked, still unsure, but cleared her throat. "Oh great oracle of Ozma, I –"
"I have a name, you know," the oracle suddenly spoke, startling both Elphaba and Fiyero. The young girl opened her eyes and stared at them. "It's Ona."
Elphaba opened and closed her mouth several times, but no sound came out.
"I also have a second name of Thalassa, not that anyone would care about that." She gave a dry laugh, at odds with her name. "It means 'of the sea'." She laughed bitterly and spread out her arms. "And where do you see the sea here, hmm? Again, not that anyone would care. People only come to me when they want to find out something. They never come just to chat."
Elphaba just stood there, dumbfounded. "I…"
"You thought that I only spoke in riddles, didn't you? People seem to forget that I'm a real person with real feelings. I didn't exactly ask for this stupid curse of prophesy in the first place. I came from a family of fishermen, my parents were always on the water and wanted better than what they had, but there is no kindness in the desert, nor the sea. My parents were fools and dreamers. Just like everyone who comes to see me."
"Ah… I'm sorry," Elphaba said, not fully understanding everything the oracle had just said. "My f-friend and I…"
"Oh, there's two of you," Ona said, clearly not impressed as she noticed Fiyero. "Well, my name means 'gracious', but I am not. My time is sparse, so pick one thing to ask and move on."
"So, you'll help us?" Fiyero asked.
"I hope that wasn't the question you came to ask me," Ona said, narrowing her eyes at the Vinkun. "You seem like you traveled too far to ask such a dumb question."
Fiyero glared at her, then stepped back.
"But yes, I shall answer your question, but answer me this. If I tell you of your fate, what will you do? Why should I tell you if all you're going to do is declare that it's not to be, and it's your duty to change it?" Ona asked.
"I'm not here to ask about my fate," Elphaba said, finding her voice. "I came to ask about… something else."
Ona relaxed. "I'm waiting."
"Where is my family?" Elphaba asked.
Ona regarded her before closing her eyes. Her body tensed and she began to shake uncontrollably. Her hands rose to her head and she moaned softly. As suddenly as it started, it stopped and Ona's hands slowly came away from her head and spread out in front of her, her palms open and facing up. "Over the sands and the forest of the land, landside, and homebound to send. To fly home this castaway, guarded by night, green as the sea and ready to fight. You'll find them underfoot, overfoot, and low. In the land of the short, they're unluckily so, if back to your family you're willing to go," she spoke in a monotone voice. She relaxed and slumped forward, and Elphaba managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
"Ona?" Elphaba asked, gently brushing the girl's hair away from her face.
The oracle moaned and slowly opened her eyes. She quickly pushed herself up and brushed the non-existent dirt from her dress. "Thanks… I suppose."
"Thank you," Elphaba said. "For helping me."
"You actually understood what I said?" Ona asked, clearly suppressed.
"I got the gist of it," Elphaba smiled.
Ona blinked. "Most people don't understand a word I say. I can never even remember what I said. And… you're welcome. No one's ever thanked me before. They would always run out of here." She looked around. "And honestly, I can't blame them. I should really consider redecorating."
Elphaba smiled and watched as the oracle resumed her proper place on the throne. "Good luck on whatever it is you're doing," Ona said before resuming her initial position and closing her eyes.
Elphaba smiled as she and Fiyero walked out. "That went much better than I expected."
"Are we still going to Munchkinland?" Fiyero asked as they went back to their horse.
"Yes," Elphaba nodded, finding that it was very hard to stop smiling. "That's where my family is. They're in Munchkinland."
So, yes, I couldn't resist two more inserts. I was the goddess Nicia and my best friend, Megan (you all remember Megan, right? From Megan's Corner of Useless Information in HNESNE) debuted as the oracle, Ona. She actually wrote (through texting) most of Ona's lines. Don't forget to review!