Hey,
Here is a long chapter. A real long chapter! It's double. This is the war chapter. It took me so much time, effort and stuff. I hope you like it. Thank you for all the reviews.
For another great fanfiction go to www dot afterwicked dot com . She's amazing! Check it out!
Thank you for staying with Out of Oz for 12 chapters! If you really like it, tell your friends about it! And review! I love reviews! Tell me how you feel about this chapter.
Enjoy,
TempeGeller
Chapter 12: The war hits Quox…
Rain turned to the day sky. She smiled as she turned around and noticed how her mom was still fast asleep. She slowly stepped from the bed, with a quiet footstep she moved away from the it. Careful not to wake up her sleeping mother.
"Where do you think you're going?" Fiyero was standing in the middle of the stairs. "Little girl.."
"I'm going to see my dragon friend…" Rain smiled "Can I go?"
"Rain, come here…" Fiyero pulled her closer to him. "You're not going anywhere. In fact, you're grounded. Yes, little lady, you're grounded."
"Grounded?" Rain turned around. "You can't ground me. On average kids from 12 to 18 years old are grounded. I'm not between one of those ages, in that simple principle you can't ground me."
"Well you talk like a 12 year old right now…" Fiyero turned to her.
"The physical age has to be between 12 and 18…" Rain gave him a large smiled "You can't ground me."
"What's going on her Fiyero?" Glinda stepped next to her. Rain almost directly put her arms around her waist. Rain pulled herself so close that Glinda put her arms around her. "Fiyero, what's wrong with our little Rain?"
"Daddy is trying to ground me…" Rain pulled herself closer to Glinda. "But he can't do that since I am only 5. You don't ground five year old girls!"
"Fiyero?" Glinda turned to him. "Why are you grounding her? It's just as much my fault as it was hers. Do you really think grounding her will help?"
"Yeah!" Rain turned around facing her father. "I want to go see my dragon friend…"
"Dragons aren't real Rain!" Liir rolled his eyes. "Tell her dad, dragons aren't real."
"But I've seen it myself." Rain turned to him.
"You're grounded." Fiyero gave Rain a firm face. "Now go you your room, Rain!"
"But dad!" Rain glared at him. "Mom didn't say I am grounded. You can't make that decision, unless mom also decides it. Therefor you don't have the legal right to ground me!"
"This is not the decision of a country missy." Fiyero gave Rain a firm face. "You're grounded and that is final!"
"Well, I think we should agree on not not not grounding me." Rain smiled. She slowly stepped from the stairs passing by Fiyero.
"You're not going anywhere Rain Felicia Tiggular!" Fiyero walked off the stairs and stepped in front of Rain. "And if you don't go to your room right now, you'll be grounded for the rest of the month."
"But dad!" Rain kicked the floor. "I want to see her!"
"Go to your room right now!" Fiyero screamed "Don't wake your mom missy!"
"But daddy…" Rain turned to his mad eyes. She didn't know what was wrong with him. Her father Fiyero had never been this mad with her. She slowly reached her arms towards his figure. He pointed to her room. She turned to him with puppy eyes, but this time the move didn't seem to melt his face. She slowly stepped towards her door. Rain stepped in her room. She turned to the bed and threw herself on it. She had a real princess bed, she shared her room with her sister Glinda Rose. But she was playing with Talésa. She turned around and stepped of the bed. She wasn't going to stay here. From the window, she would climb down. She was going to see her dragon friend. Rain smiled, her father couldn't tell her what to do. He would never notice she was gone. She jumped down, slowly moving towards the surface. She smiled as she hit the dirt with a soft noise. She was sure that her father would never hear it. She took a step away from the house. Checking the windows for signs of danger. She was going to see her dragon friend and no one was going to stop her. It wasn't dangerous after all. Rain stepped towards the caves, she was going to take the same path she once had. She would talk to her new friend. Her mother had told her that friendships were really important and Rain wasn't going to wait this one. Alitalia was her friend now.
"Where do you think you're going?" Oscar was staring at her. His eyes turned to her in a certain curiosity.
"I'm going to see my friend in the caves…" Rain gave him an insecure smile "What are you doing?"
"I was going to pick up my balloon…" Oscar stepped to towards Rain. "You mother believed we could use it in the war against Madame Morrible. I'll walk with you…"
"okay…" Rain took a step next to him. "So…"
"So…" He almost directly repeated her word. Like he had no idea what to say, and in some ways he didn't know. The moments with his granddaughter were special to him, but now she knew about their special connection. He didn't know if she cared for him as her grandfather. Maybe he was just a random person. He stared at Rain, her brown eyes were turned to him.
"You are my grandfather…" Rain nodded her head. "So, you knew mommy when she was a baby? Was she cute?"
"I don't know…"
"So you didn't love my mommy's mommy?" Rain turned to him. "Do you love my mommy?"
"Off course I do Rain…"
"You don't harm someone you love…" Rain raised an eyebrow. "Did you do it because Madame Morrible asked you to hurt her?"
"I didn't know your mommy was my baby." The wizard turned to her. "Your grandmother and I were not married. She was married…"
"To Frex, I know." Rain turned to him. "So, I guess you're supposed to buy me a birthday present right? Since you missed like 5 of them."
"Good…" Oscar took her hand. "Would you like a dog?"
"My mom says Animals were made to be our companions…" Rain mimicked her mom's voice "They are not possessions that can be given away."
"You do look after Elphaba, don't you?" he put his arm around Rains shoulders.
"And my dad in some ways…" Rain smiled
"Elphaba, you must see the danger in Rains behavior. " Fiyero stepped around her bed. "I'm sure you're proud of her amazing mind and believe me I'm glad she has my sense of orientation. But this can't keep going like this, Fea are you listening to me?"
"Fiyero, I think you're overreacting." Elphaba spoke "Look, we never had a problem with Rain before. I think she's just trying to experience the world in her own way. It's two times she did it, it's coincidence, Yero. You have to admit it."
"I'm just so worried about my little girl…" Fiyero sat down. "She's not your regular five year old Fea. She's growing up so fast!"
"Fiyero, in so much ways she's still that little girl…" Elphaba turned to him. "We love her for the little genius she is. I was just like her on 5 years old."
Fiyero sat down on the bed and pulled Elphaba in his arms. He slowly kissed the top of her head, and pulled her against his chest. He closed his eyes for a short moment. Just to enjoy this moment of the day. Keeping his wife in his arms and thinking about how lucky he was. But worry kept him up. The war that was coming made his scared. He had never mentioned to Elphaba how scared her was. He didn't want her to know, he didn't want to give his fear to her. And Rain was yet another reason for his feelings. She was a 5 year old girl. A girl that was too smart for her age, at the same time Rain shared his impulsivity. She loved exploring, following her mom around and being in new situations. He was always scared that something would happen to her. It was one of his biggest fears to lose his family. Elphaba and Rain were his source of pure panic. Elphaba would die for anyone she loved, and Rain was the same as her mother. Going through the caves was the exact thing Elphaba would have done. And he had to admit that in the same situation he would have considered the exact same situation. A high pitch cry came from the basinet. Almost at the same time Elphaba pulled herself from the embrace and carried her tired body towards the crib. She picked Melena from it. A smile appeared on her face. She carried the baby to the bed and put her in between herself and Fiyero.
"I wish Rain would act like a 5 year old…" Fiyero smiled at Elphaba. "At least I wouldn't have to worry about her."
"You would be worrying about her telekinetic abilities…" Elphaba spoke.
"She has telekinetic abilities?" Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "When where you going to tell me?"
"You had to know…" Elphaba rolled her eyes. "She flew a broomstick on her first try without a levitation spell. Fiyero, that broom was unable to fly above a meter high. You had to know…"
"So, you say…" Fiyero turned in the bed. "I'll have to worry about her flying knives to her head. Or those small toys she plays with…"
"It's not that dangerous, Fiyero." Elphaba smiled "So she flies a toy to her head from time to time. It's not going to leave her with a concussion."
"Elphaba, I think we should…" Fiyero turned to her. "I worry about all of you."
"Fiyero, she's in her room right now." Elphaba spoke "Being really mad with you. Why don't you talk to her about this feeling you have?"
"She's 5!" Fiyero turned to her. "You don't share your feelings with a five year old!"
"You do when she's Rain.." Elphaba turned to her. "Rain doesn't react well to rules, she needs to hair what you feel. She'll understand that you're worried about her. Fiyero, you screamed to her. She doesn't get worried from that, she gets mad."
"I'll talk to her…"
Rain walked a bit faster as they passed next to the balloon. Oscar stared at the sky, it was on its highest point. In Oz, the son was at his highest on 3 in the afternoon. You could see the sky wasn't clouded, it didn't rain in Quox. Or at least not that much. He stared at the damage of the balloon, only now he could see it clearly. There was a big rip in it. He didn't know how it happened, but there it was. The reason why he had crashed in the land that change his life. Meeting his granddaughter and later her brother and her sisters. He turned to Rain, who was staring at the big gap in the balloon.
"Can you fix this,…" He paused, the need to give her a nickname caused the pause. His mind was going crazy. He heard that Fiyero had called her 'Lemondrop'. "Rain."
"I think so…" Rain turned to the hole. She moved her hands over it, trying to see how big the hole really was. "I think I can make it at home…"
"How are we going to get it home?" Oscar stared at the Rain, who turned to him.
"A simple levitation spell I suppose." Rain stared at the balloon. She pulled a long wooden stick from beneath her dress. "I always carry my wand…"
"Where did you get that?" Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Did your mom give that to you?"
"It's toy wand…." Rain smiled "Turns out I can make it work as a real wand."
"Too smart for your own good…" Oscar whispered beneath his breath.
Rain turned around, and pointed her wand at the air balloon. Concentration was extremely important when doing an incantation. For a moment she closed her eyes. Hearing the words her mom told her in her head. She couldn't hear the words of warning her mom once had spoken about magic. Rain was always distracted by something else when her mom was talking about the dangers off magic. What could happen? If it didn't levitate she would try another spell. Rain hadn't learned any spoken incantations, all the spells she knew were non-verbal. Spells she could figure out from the books her brother had shown her. Liir wasn't studying magic, but sometimes she would ask him to read in a book she found in the attack. One of them was her mother's old magic book. One that had a lot of notes in it. She had mostly concentrated on the non-verbal spells. The reason was rather simple, non-verbal spells could be practiced without her mother or her father knowing. She reached her hands towards the balloon. As she once again opened her eyes. In her mind she saw how the balloon levitated above the ground. It was important to keep your mind of the thing you wanted to happen. In this case she wanted the balloon to fly. Fly wasn't really a good word, flying was different. Levitation was making an object hover on a height between one and two meters. When you would elevate above that height, it would be considered high levitation. Above 15 meters it was considered flying. The difference between 'Flying' and 'levitation' was rather easy. Levitation was always casted on another object. Flying was considered above the 15 meters boundary. You couldn't cast a levitation spell on an object and use a flying spell. Even the most practiced wizards wouldn't be able to do that. The only spell that could make an object hover above 15 meters was found in the Grimierre. That was how brooms were created. Mostly it gave creatures wings, but in the case of humans wings couldn't happen.
Rain closed her eyes again to concentrate herself even more. When she opened her eyes, she saw how the balloon was hovering above the surface. She smiled in success. She had actually done it. This hadn't been her first try. She had made pencils fly around the house, and she used a ball to play with her sister. She considered levitation one of the most amazing things in the world. Levitating herself above the surface was the coolest thing. She took a step back. Her mind was thinking about the dragon she was seeing. She wanted to go there, to the cave. But her mind was thinking about the balloon. She needed to bring it back to the village. It was important it got back.
"Great job, Rain." Oscar smiled "You have the talent of your mother."
"I know I do…" Rain slowly stepped of the stone and started walking towards the city. Oscar turned towards her, and his eyes were serious.
"Weren't you going to see your dragon friend?" Oscar turned to her. "We can still do so. If we let the balloon hover behind us, we can still go there."
"Can we?" Rain's eyebrows raised a bit. "Can we really?"
"Off course we can…" Oscar put her hands around her shoulder. "Are you going to lead the way?"
Rain stepped towards the big stone at the entrance of the caves. In the dark this road had looked different, but she knew it wasn't too far. She wasn't walking for long when she found the balloon and her grandfather. She stared at the entrance of the caves.
"I don't think we should go in there…" Oscar replied "Can you get your dragon friend here?"
"She's not that far…"
"Atilea!" Rain called her name in the caves. She knew that if her dragon friend was in there, she would here that call and come out. Rain turned to the flying balloon, she had never thought flying objects were strange. But right now she couldn't believe that she big object was flying on her power. Simple, she loved what she could do with magic. She loved magic. In the caves Oscar could hear something move. Fear started to walk over his skin. The word 'dragon' was something that brought extreme fear to his whole body. Was Rain really right? Were dragons really sweet creatures? Or would this dragon remember him. Right now he felt sorry about sending all dragons from Oz. Sweat started to appear on his head. He wanted to ask her to go away. The noise started to get closer. He took a step back, but noticed how he collided with the balloon. Never had this balloon stopped him from leaving. Usually it brought him where he wanted to go. Now it kept him close to where needed to be.
"Rain, is that normal?" The wizard raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, she's rather loud." Rain smiled "She is a dragon after all. She's a lot bigger than I am."
"What about keeping a dog as a pet?" the wizard stared at the opening of the cave. "You keep a dragon. What happened to the goat friend?"
"Rain…" Oscar turned the voice. He stared at the big purple dragon that was standing in front of him. All of the images that were burned in his head came to live in front of him. Fire breathing dragons, dragons with a long tail. Dragons with pure emerald eyes. As green as Elphabas skin. But this dragon wasn't like that at all. The dragon called Atilea had a soft purple color, her wings were pulled close to her body. They had a crocodile like structure and were filled in all kinds of pure colors. Her eyes were crystal blue, and showed the kindness with in. The tale was long, but didn't seem to have anything dangerous. The wizard wouldn't want to anger this dragon, because when turned against you this dragon could do some serious damage.
"This is my grandfather…" Rain pointed to him. "His name is Oscar…"
"The wonderful wizard of Oz…" Atilea spoke "My mother and the entire dragon colony had to leave Oz because of you. That's your grandfather?"
"You did that to the dragons?" Rain turned to him. "Why?"
"Madame Morrible told us the dragons were considered a treat to Oz." Oscar explained "Many local homes had been attacked by dragons. I needed to do something…"
"Dragons are peaceful creatures…" Rain turned to him. "Not any of them would ever attack village cities, but neither would my mom. And yet same crime was committed in her name. "
"I know that now…" Oscar turned to Atilea. "I guess saying sorry won't help…"
"We're standing up against Madame Morrible…" Rain spoke "She's attacking the city and Quox. Her armies could be here any day. She has done you wrong. She's done wrong to all the animals in the city, even to the Oscar here. We need to show her that she can't have our city! We need you to stand with us Atilea, get back to her for driving the dragons out of Oz. If we get Oz back, we'll get all the dragons back to Oz. Under the reign of Elphaba the good, you and all your family will be safe. There will be laws against the hunting of dragons. Atilea stand with us…"
"What about my baby? What about Darita?" Atilea turned to her. "If I join your cause , will this amazing Elphaba protect my baby?"
"This amazing Elphaba will do more…" Rain turned to her. "She'll protect all dragons."
"Rain?" Fiyero softly knocked the door. "I know you're mad with me, lemondrop. But you do understand why you are grounded…"
Fiyero put his ear to the door. Inside he couldn't hear a thing, most of the time Rain gave him the silent treatment. When she did something wrong, she wouldn't say anything for four days. Until he would eventually forgive her and get rid of her punishment early. 4 days was the most extreme case. Usually he wasn't able to punish her. It was a simple 'not not' game. She kept adding another not, and made him say the exact opposite. No, Rain Tiggular wasn't brainless.
"Rain Felicia Tiggular!" Fiyero knocked on the door. "Darling, please open the door."
There was no reaction. So Fiyero decided to not follow the normal rules. In a normal situation, Fiyero wouldn't open the door. Rain didn't like it when he entered her room when she was mad. It was the drama queen in his daughter that set up that rule. Fiyero slowly opened the door. In the bed he could recognize something that looked like a human figure. So he sat down on the bed. "Rain, you've got to understand that…" Fiyero opened his eyes. "I'm not mad with you."
Fiyero slowly put his hand next to the sleeping figure. He noticed that nothing happened. He stood up, and threw the covers up. He stared at the dragon doll that was laying in the bed. Rain had a magical doll, Elphaba had made it for her when she was younger. It would take shape of something she needed it to be. Under the covers it turned in to a human figure, but without it; it had returned to its previous form a purple dragon. Fiyero stared at the open window. He didn't hesitate to close the windows.
"Elphaba…" He called out his wife's name. "Fea?"
"What's wrong, Yero?" Elphaba stepped in the room. "Where's Rain?"
"She sneaked out." Fiyero rolled his eyes. "It almost feels like we have a teenage daughter and she's only five. She…"
"Don't be mad with her…" Elphaba put her hand on his shoulder. "She probably really wanted something so bad. She went for it, sound like another person I know…."
"Yeah, and see how it ended for us…" Fiyero turned to her "Sometimes you have to…"
"She's.." Elphaba put his arms around her. "You have to treat her the way she feels. Like someone who can understand feelings. Talk to her about what you feel inside. She doesn't want you…"
"I don't understand that you keep talking about her like…" Fiyero turned to her. "She's a five year old girl. Sometimes I wish she would really be more like Glinda Rose…"
"I know you do…" Elphaba touched his hand. "but we have to accept our little girl the way she is. So smart for her age and pure. She loves you Fiyero. You have to show her what you feel… It will work. Look at how I talk to her…."
"You know how to talk to her in any moment…"
"I see you got the balloon back…" Glinda turned to Oscar. She stared at Rain, who was walking right next to him. "Rain Felicia Tiggular, aren't you supposed to be in your bedroom?"
"Yes, don't tell dad." Rain turned to her. "He's going to be so mad, he's really mad with me the last days. I think he hates me…"
"What?"
"Yeah, didn't you hear how mad daddy was." Rain turned to Glinda with sad eyes. "Usually he laughs when I try to get away with my punishment. But now he really yelled at me!"
Rain stepped towards the house. Almost at the same time the balloon fell to the floor. She decided to head to the attic. She could find anything to fix the balloon there. Rain didn't need help from her mother nor her father. She assumed it would work the exact same way as fixing her dress. Or something like that. With some magic it would be rather simple. Walking the stairs right now was very scary. She didn't want to run in to her father, and returning to her room was something she didn't want to do. Right now, she even wanted to ignore her mother.
"Rain?" Talésa was stepping behind her. "What are you doing? Going on a treasure hunt…"
"No Taltal." Rain turned around. "I'm doing something that's not meant for Uplands…"
"But my name isn't Upland…" Talésa walked behind her. "Please, please take me!"
"No." Rain smiled "Go play with Glinda Rose."
"But Glinda Rose stole my dolly and then flew it to my head!" Talésa spoke "She says that I should play with you. She says you were playing hide and seek…"
"Then why don't you hide?" Rain smiled "I'll look…"
"Okay,…" Talésa laughed "Close your eyes!"
For a couple of seconds Rain closed her eyes. She waited for the fast footsteps to walk away from her. She continued her journey to the attic. Rain was sure that Talésa was going to hide outside. She took a step on the first floor. Her door was open. Soft voices came from it.
"I don't know, Fea." Fiyero spoke "I'm really worried about her, she doesn't think about her actions. The intelligence that makes her the most sweet charming girl ever, makes her naïve. She believe in goodness of people, she trusts them. I'm afraid that the goodness, her feeling for adventure and the love for people is dangerous in her mind. I'm worried something will happen to her when she goes
on this journeys."
"Fiyero, nothing bad has happened." Rain saw how her mom put her arm around her father's shoulders. "She didn't do this to make you mad. You know how much she loves Animals. She loves her dragon friend. I think we should understand that."
"I do…" Fiyero turned to her. "I needed to ground her…"
"She's stubborn Fiyero." Elphaba smiled "The very Thropp-Tiggular stubbornness."
"Daddy…" Rain stepped in the room.
"Rain!" Fiyero walked towards her. He pulled the little girl in a tight embrace. Elphaba stepped behind him and put her hand on the back of Rain's head. Fiyero had tears in her eyes, part of the worry that came out. "Don't you ever do that to me. I am so worried about you…"
"You don't hate me?" Rain stared at him.
"We could never hate you…" Elphaba put an arm on her back. "We love you too much for that."
"I asked my dragon friend to stand by us." Rain smiled "I told her that she could come back to Oz when we get Oz back. I told her about Elphaba the good."
"That doesn't sound right…" Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "I guess Wicked witch of the west kind of grew on me. At least it has a ring to it. The name Elphaba doesn't scream…"
"Can we protect her baby?" Rain turned to Elphaba
"Off course we can…" Elphaba pulled her in her arms. "What were you going to do?"
"Fix the balloon."
"Can I help?"
"Are we ready to go?" Madame Murrible turned to Boq, who was still looking like the tin man Elphaba Thropp had turned him in. His mind was haunted by revenge. And his need to kill her. "Are we?"
"We are…" Boq turned to her. "Do you think it's smart to attack them? You're sending almost 80 percent of your forces. The Emerald city will be unprotected."
"Boq, I know Glinda and Elphaba…" Madame Morrible smiled "Both girls have a direct strategy. They don't really know stabbing someone in the back the way I do…"
"You are sure about that?" Brr spoke "I…"
"They're direct girls." Madame Morrible spoke "They don't plan battles like that. Not any of the parts of Oz that are against us have armies that are trained. It's just a matter of taking them out in Quox. It will be a short battle…"
"What about the witch and Glinda?" Boq turned to her.
"Capture them…" Madame Morrible smiled "Capture any of their families. Don't kill them, I want to kill Elphaba's kids in front of her eyes. I want to see her suffer. And then I'll make her work for me. I want all of them alive, I want to see everyone Elphaba loves die in front of her eyes. Think you can do that?"
"What about Glinda?" Brr turned to her. "What do we do with Glinda?" "Capture her too.." Madame Morrible smiled "I look forward to killing her. Glinda the bad…"
"If she's so evil…" Avaric spoke "Then why do you want her alive?"
"After all she did to Oz…" Madame Morrible turned to Boq, Brr and Avaric. "I want her to die on the most painful dead. That includes her family. All of them…"
"Okay…" Merlia spoke. "My sources tell that Madame Morrible is sending forces as we speak. We need to keep our armies ready.."
"I guess we need to be smart…" Elphaba spoke "Madame Morrible is the only able to do magic. We need to have a strong offense. Rain is making the balloon, I think Glinda and a couple archers need to take the balloon. Glinda, you can shoot at them. You can use magic, anything to kill as many of them as possible…"
"They are innocent people Elphie…" Glinda spoke "I don't know if I can kill someone…"
"If you don't kill them, they're going to kill us." Elphaba spoke "We really don't have a chance. It's us or them. We…"
"Okay…" Glinda nodded. "What about the physical fighting?"
"That's our job…" Fiyero spoke "We have our weapons ready, we will start from the city walls. We'll try to stop as many as possible. On the city walls, more people will try to kill people from a distant. With any force possible, Fea, you'll be there to. Anyone who knows magic. Try to stop them, try to protect the city walls."
"What about the kids?" the wizard spoke. "We can't have kids in this…"
"I can fight…" Rain smiled
"No, you can't darling." Fiyero put his arm around her. "I wouldn't want you there, you are too young. Rain, this is not a video game. This is reality."
"Oscar…" Elphaba turned to him. "You and Rosie will stay with the kids. You are responsible for their safety. You hide, I don't care how. You need to stay as far from the scene as possible."
"Atilea is going to protect the city…" Rain spoke "She's…"
"What if we use the dragon to drop rocks?" Rosie subjected.
"Too dangerous…" Elphaba spoke "This is a creature we're talking about. Carrying heavy object would mean she need to be close to the surface at all times. Carrying those rocks would put her in an extra risks, I won't risk Animals more then they need to be. I think she should guard the south border."
"That's a good idea…" Glinda spoke. "When do you think they'll arrive?"
"I don't know…" Merlia spoke "It could take a night, it could be in the morning. We need to be ready. Our forces are attacking the Emerald city. We'll attack with Quadling and the Vinkus. They'll fight back, but we can take the Emerald city."
"Isn't attacking a helpless city like backstabbing someone?" Elphaba turned to Merlia. "Look I'm all for winning, but I don't think we can attack an unprotected city."
"We're not going to kill citizens." Glinda spoke "We have to take our chance to gain as much land as we can. If we do it now, we should. Look, the Emerald city holds power, we could use it. We have to get Oz back, Elphie."
"I just…" Elphaba paused "I don't want to…"
The early light colored the landscape of Quox red. Glinda stared at the sunset in front of her. A smile left her face as she noticed the danger that was coming her way. The bow and arrow were close to her body. She already prepared a deadly shot. There was a sword standing in the balloon if she needed it.
"Do you think we can get them Glinda?" Merlia spoke. "Glinda…"
"Merlia, I don't know…" Glinda turned to her. "If you can aim, we…"
"Glinda, why are you and Elphaba closer than we are?" Merlia turned to her. "You are after all my sister and I love you."
"I'm up here with you…" Glinda turned to her. "I guess, Merlia you're only 24. Our age difference is 14 years. When I was in Shiz you were in diapers."
"Well, I can't help it mom and dad decided to have another child…" Merlia turned to her. "Glin, I can't help but think you don't love me as a sister."
"Just because…" Glinda turned to Merlia. "We lost touch the last years. And I apologize. We should spent more time together. That's a promise…"
"So…" Merlia turned to her. "Do you think that they're really coming?"
"I don't think so…" Glinda turned to her. "I know so…"
"Mom?" Rain pulled herself close to Elphaba. She was standing next to her mom, on the safety walls of the city. Elphaba turned to her daughter Rain, in her eyes she could see the tears of sadness. She slowly picked Rain up, she gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Are you going to die mom?"
"Who told you that Rain?" Elphaba hugged her closer.
"Everyone…" Rain looked at her. "In every big battle people die, you can't. You're my mom!"
"I'm not going anywhere Rain…" Elphaba smiled "Look around us, we've got this. I promise you Rain, tomorrow everything will be over."
"Madame Morrible wants to hurt you…" Rain ran her fingers over her mom's cheeks. "Mommy, I can't miss you. Nothing can happen to you. You're my mommy…"
"Rain, do you want me to be okay?" Elphaba turned to her. "Promise me that you won't come to help mommy. Stay with your grandfather.."
"But mommy…" Rain turned to her with sad eyes.
"Promise me lemon drop." Elphaba had tears in her eyes. "Mommy won't be able to protect you if you're in danger. Promise me you'll take care of your brother and your sisters. Promise me?"
"I promise mommy…"
"Elphaba…" Oscar stepped next to her. He slowly pulled Rain in his arms. "Elphaba, you don't have to do this. You don't have to fight this fight…"
"I have to…" Elphaba turned to him. "Take care of her! I swear to you, if anything happens to any of them. I'll make sure that you won't be able to see that land over the rainbow ever again!"
"Mom!" Rain turned to her with angry eyes. "Are you mad with Ozzie?"
"Your mom was joking…" Oscar laughed "She likes to tell jokes. Tells them all the time…"
"So?" Lampré turned to Fiyero. "You got my back right?"
"Your Glinda's husband…" Fiyero shook his hand. "I've got your back, if you got mine. Is that a deal?"
"Better…" Lampré pulled the sword closer. To his back a long spear was attached, it was light so it didn't seem like a burden to carry the heavy object. Behind them, many Animals were preparing for the battle. Fiyero looked at the horizon, but couldn't see any traces of people coming their way. The monkeys had reported that there were people on their way to Quox. Some of them were putting a road over the deathly dessert or whatever they called it. In the beginning, the monkeys had tried to slow down the production. But after a few hours, the magic protecting it became too. Fiyero assumed that some of the soldiers might be coming here by broom. But he didn't know how many. One thing was sure, they wouldn't be able to fight them in the air. Glinda was fast, and she would shoot them off their brooms before noon. Especially since they weren't great on flying on a broom.
"Fiyero, my boy…" Marillot put an arm around Fiyero's shoulders. He gave him a playful push. A smile appeared on Fiyeros face "What's the matter my son?"
"You're never this excited about a battle father…" Fiyero turned to him. "Are you okay?"
"I just want to tell you once again…" Marillot spoke "I agree with your choice of a wife. What I don't get is that you haven't married this woman.
"The time was never right…" Fiyero admitted "I wanted to get married, but then Elphaba was pregnant and moody. I guess I kept pushing the wedding date back, until it didn't happen."
"There's no right time.." Marillot spoke "Your mother and I got married in the middle of a dragon fight. No day but today… "
"I know dad…" Fiyero turned to him. "but what's the difference? What will a ring tell about me and Fea? That we're official. Our love is just as real without the ring dad…"
"You have my blessing." Marillot gave him an old ring. "It was your grandmothers. Everyone in Vinkus tradition wore this ring. Every queen, your mom gave it to me. She told me I needed to give it to you. Fiyero, Elphaba is not like any of the girls you've dated. She's kind, brave and everything you need. Marry her Fiyero. If you marry her, she'll be the queen of Vinkus. I want to show Oz that we aren't ashamed to have someone different as a queen. The world turns because we're different. In my eyes, Elphaba is how everyone should be."
"You're giving me this ring?" Fiyero stared at it. "Would you have stood with me if you knew Elphaba was the wicked witch of the West?"
"If you came to us…" Marillot spoke "We would have protected you son. And the witch, it doesn't matter what she was to the country of Oz. To you she's the woman you love and for that we love her. She makes you happy, she makes you think. There's nothing better than a woman who can stand on her own. She made you in a leader for Oz. A woman like that must be remarkable. She succeeded in something we failed."
"Thanks dad…" Fiyero gave him a quick hug. "The wizard he's Elphaba's father…"
"Poor girl…" Marillot spoke "Oscar seems to feel the need to make things up to her. I doubt if he ever fully can."
"I have my doubts he can…" Fiyero turned to her. "Rain worships him…"
"Your daughter Rain…" Marillot turned to him. "She's amazing. So smart for her age. She believes in the good nature of people. I hope that never goes away…"
"Until she sees the bottom of society." Fiyero turned to him. "when are you a bad person? And not a person who's doing bad things? Where's the boundary?"
"In their eyes…" Marillot turned to her. "The difference you find in someone's eyes…"
Fiyero stared at the night sky. He was thinking about the words his father had spoken. Was the difference really in someone's eyes? Fiyero believed it did. You could see something good in someone's eyes. Every time he looked at Elphaba he could see pure goodness. She was almost as pure as anything. Fiyero didn't see that in Madame Morrible's eyes. There was nothing there, no soul. No goodness in her eyes. Fiyero pulled the sword closer to his body. His hands held it close. Like he was ready to kick some ass.
"Good luck my son." Marillot gave him a soft tap on the shoulder.
Fiyero turned to himself. He was dressed in a metal armor. Something that was supposed to protect him from getting hurt. His father and Lampré were almost wearing the same thing. It was rather heavy, and pulling it around was almost hard. His legs were also covered by it. He chose not to wear the helmet, because he simple didn't like the feeling. It made him feel unsafe. With the helmet on, he could hardly see anything. In the end that would be more dangerous. Fiyero turned to Elphaba, he softly nodded his head. A small smile appeared on his face as her face turned to the balloon of Glinda. Almost directly she returned. With a fast movement she pulled the broom above her head.
"Attack!" That was all he heard.
"I don't understand why we have to fight…" Merlia spoke. "Can't we just make things up? I think this is really stupid…"
"We're not up against a person…" Glinda spoke "I think Madame Morrible is beyond evil. You haven't heard her speak. Smile, wave and lie, if that woman dies…"
"She's powerful…" Glinda smiled "But so I am I…"
Glinda slowly took the tonic in her hands. One moment she tried to remember a spell she once learned. She picked her wand up and pointed it at the tonic. What was she doing? Merlia turned to Glinda in confusion. Like she had no idea magic existed. Merlia had never seen anyone perform a magic trick.
"Is it like the card trick we used to do?" Merlia turned to her.
"Not really…" Glinda turned to her. "It's a kind off tracking spell. This arrows will never miss their target…"
"That sounds smart…" Merlia spoke
"It's not just smart…" Glinda pulled a few arrows from the tonic. "It's genius, that way I can launch more than one arrow."
"Glinda, what's that?" Merlia turned to the sky. "Are those…"
"They're here…" Glinda said. She waved her hand, knowing that it would warn Elphaba who was waiting for her signal. The signal that the battle for Oz had begun. In a couple of hours the armies of their sides would attack the Emerald city. Glinda only noticed now that she didn't like the clothes she was wearing. She was wearing a simple light armor. One that she would be able to carry. She wasn't wearing a dress, but normal pants. Glinda preferred her normal happy outfit. The truth was that this wasn't a happy day, it was war. And for that Glinda didn't want to wear her usual outfit. This wasn't her usual her. This was a Glinda she didn't want to be. A Glinda she needed to be. She slowly put 4 arrows on the bow. They were close together, almost to close. In normal case archers would never try this kind of foolish move, but with magic on their side 'foolish' no longer existed. Glinda released the arrows and stared at them flying in to the distance. Hitting a target. The brooms returned to the ground, like they weren't able to stay on the land much longer.
"Where is that Horrible Morrible of yours?" Merlia spoke "I don't see her…"
"Somewhere keeping the battle…" Glinda spoke "No way she fights along with them as their equal. She doesn't think of herself as an equal, why would she go down with people she only uses?"
"True…" Merlia spoke as she watched all of the soldiers take the ground. She noticed how no of them were really good at flying a broom. She assumed that a few of them hadn't survived the crash. But most of them were still alive.
Glinda once more put a few arrows on her bow. Five wasn't possible, it seemed that the arrows were together when she tried it. Another four arrows were going for their enemy. Merlia didn't understand how the tracing spell knew who didn't belong to their side. It was a very difficult principle that Glinda had made up.
From the balloon a flag from the resistance. The flag showed what they cared about, there was a goat on it. In honor of Doctor Dillemand who was still missing after all this years. It was painted pink, and the background was green. It almost proved that Green and Pink went great together. In the border the colors of the parts of Oz were painted. Gilikin, Quadling and Vinkus were all in this together. And in a couple of hours they would attack the Emerald city. Glinda paused. She closed her eyes. This was going to be a long day.
Elphaba stared at the soldiers running towards the city. Her eyes reflected the fear within. She turned to Fiyero, he wasn't paying attention her anymore. She wanted him to turn around, to give her strength. But he didn't. Fiyero was to focused on the army coming their way. Elphaba slowly thought about what she was going to do. Her next move. Would she choose for a spell? A big spell that could provoke Madame Morrible. Elphaba slowly started to think. A non-verbal spell wouldn't be that smart. Non-verbal spells were amazing if you wanted to have small effects. Big effects called for a verbal approach. Elphaba closed her eyes for a moment. It almost looked like she was trying rearrange her thoughts. Put her plans together. A smile appeared on her face. There was only one way to make Madame Morrible angry. Use her specialty against her. Elphaba knew that Madame Morrible wouldn't like it if she proved that lighting was another strong aspect. Elphaba took a step to the foreground. Closer to the small wall, she thought about her plan of calling Madame Morrible to the war.
"Ale kon dale ta ko…" Elphaba started to remember the words. "Kia do ti kales…"
Elphaba smiled as she saw how a cyclone appeared in the far back ground. She turned to Fiyero, how long would it take for the cyclone to get here? Elphaba stared at the far cyclone. Maybe it was dangerous, maybe the cyclone would get here. She hoped that Madame Morrible would stop it. That she would appear. In the distance she could see that the cyclone took up people. Elphaba liked it, less people she had to kill. But her heart was still not at ease.
Fiyero slammed the sword against the armor of another Ozian. His mind started to think about what the story was of this guy. Maybe he was just like him, a family at home. Would his daughter or son cry about him? If he killed this man with the sword in his hands, would it change some poor girls life. Would the innocence of a child like Rain be ruined? Fiyero was sure. If he didn't do anything, the man in front of him would plunge the sword through his heart. There was one solution. He needed to do this. He swung the sword. It collided with the soldier. He fell to the floor. Fiyero took another swing, and severed the head from his body. Fiyero stared at the man, fear in his eyes. What had Fiyero become? Did he become a bad guy? Or was this just another evil dead.
Fiyero took another step to the front. There were more men coming their way, for a few moments he seemed to be ignored. Was it the blood on his hands that had a short effect on the other soldiers? Or was it the shock that one of their people had died by his hands? Fiyero listened to the sound the swords made when the collided. He even listened to the screams, to the fear that started to spread.
He turned to the space in front of him. A man fell down. Three arrows were plunged in his chest. He noticed Glinda's pink arrows. He was sure that Glinda herself fell the same guilt towards everyone. And maybe now it hit him that everyone around them were dead. He could see people from their side. A couple of Animals that had underestimated the battle that had been coming. He could see Glinda's husband. He seemed okay. Fiyero turned around, he saw Elphaba standing there on the bridge. She looked marvelous in a moment of pure horror. Her eyes were pulled away from him. He could see her sad expression. He didn't see it from this distance, but he could put the face to the body. He noticed that her eyes moved to him. Only for a few seconds he got away. If he looked at her, he would be unable to concentrate. He wanted to smile at her. He didn't do it.
Fiyero took another step. He saw how the sky started to change. The sky was wonderful and a couple of seconds later clouds seemed to appear.
"Madame Morrible…" Fiyero spoke, only then he saw the concentration on Elphaba's face. She was chanting words in her head. "Elphaba…"
"What's going on?" A voice said, but Fiyero didn't want to answer it. Right now he didn't want to remove his attention from the battle. Fiyero pulled the sward above his head. He smashed it in to someone's head. The idea that he should feel bad about this didn't go away. This murders would stay with him forever. The feeling when someone closed their eyes forever. Fiyero slowly stepped next to Lampré.
"They're everywhere…" Lampré whispered.
"What's that?" Fiyero turned around. "Is that a cyclone?"
Emerald City, Captain Avaric
Avaric smiled. He finally had all the power he needed. His need for power was something that followed him his entire life. Being a chauffeur to the family Tiggular was something he didn't want to do. He hated Fiyero, more than anything. The handshake they made up was something he never liked. The only thing he wanted to do to Fiyero was plunge a knife in his heart.
FLASHBACK
"Look what we got here?" Avaric stepped from the darkness. He admitted to himself that seeing Fiyero there was amazing. He expected that seeing Fiyero suffer was something he always wanted. He turned to Fiyero, the fear in his eyes was clear. But the determination was something he didn't want to see. He wanted to beat it out of him. He wanted to make Fiyero so small, so small that he would beg for dead.
"You!" Fiyero turned to Avaric. "You were supposed to… We were friend Avaric! You.."
"You and me friends?" Avaric took a step closer. He took a spike and slammed it in his hand. Fiyero screamed in pain. "I am not friends with those who sleep with the wicked…"
"She's not wicked…" Fiyero spoke "Why can't you see that Madame Morrible is making this up. There's nothing wrong with Elp…"
"The witch…" Avaric drove another spike in the same arm. "She doesn't disserve life. She doesn't disserve a plan. She didn't even stay to save you. The love of her life. Or is it wrong? You haven't fallen for her? What's…"
"She's safe…" Fiyero cursed.
"No, she's not…" Avaric spoke "The Gale Force went after her as we speak. They're torturing her right now. Your act will be in vain. She will die just like you…"
"Then why are you torturing me?" A small smile appeared on Fiyero's face. "You have no idea where she went…."
"where is she?" Avaric plunged a knife in Fiyero's left leg.
"I don't know where she is…" Fiyero smiled "And I will never tell you. I would die for her. My Fea…"
"So you do love her?" Avaric smiled "So she must be sexy underneath those… You've had her. Don't you feel dirty? Did any of the green come off?"
"Shut up!" Fiyero screamed "You don't know what it's like. You can't love. You're a monster."
"Why do you say that?" Avaric spoke.
"We've been friends for many years…" Fiyero spoke "A normal guy…"
Avaric slammed Fiyero in the face.
Avaric smiled when he remembered the scene. He thought about it. Was Fiyero Tiggular really alive? Or was it something that he was just making up. Who would be the father of Elphaba's kids? Avaric did believe that Fiyero would have gotten away. Especially since he remember the weird lights that he left Fiyero with. It almost seemed like a spell, and anything like that meant danger. Was Fiyero transformed in to something? In to that scarecrow. He heard a message that in dead Fiyero was on the battle field. From what he heard many people had died. It seemed like they had underestimated the power of Quox. In the end it would be Oz that won. Not the stupid Animals and humans from Quox. He slowly stepped towards the bridge, staring at the river that went beneath it. He knew that he would survive the fall down. He looked at the peaceful river. There were different noises.
And then something happened. A big fire ball flew their way. He could remove himself from the bridge just in time. It hit it, destroying the bridge. A way to get to a side of the castle. In that side of the castle they kept all kinds of documents. He could notice that that part of the building wasn't burning. He started to run, as he saw soldiers from Vinkus in from of him. One of them slammed his sword to him. He could get away, but only just. He walked towards the open space. A dark figure fell on him.
"Avaric…" Marten landed behind him. "Didn't see this one coming right?"
"Madame Morrible hadn't expected Elphaba to stab us in the back…" Avaric reacted "I guess you never really know something."
"Yeah, you are the person that should be saying that…" Marten stepped towards him. "Or did you forget how you tortured Fiyero? Your friend Fiyero, our crown prince Fiyero."
"You think I…" Avaric turned to him. "I should be the king of Vinkus. King Marillot has given weakness to Vinkus. Look at what Fiyero fell in love with."
"At least he had a heart…" Marten pointed his sword at him. Their swords smashed together again. Marten jumped on the small stone and tried to get more power than Avaric.
"You have no power…" Avaric said. He turned to him, only a few seconds later the sword plunged in his heart. "You chose the wrong side, Marten."
"No…" with the last power in his body he turned to him. "I've chose the right side, you've chose the easy one."
"Same thing…"
He stared around him. It only took a few seconds for the city to burn up. Or big parts of it, Avaric grabbed a citizen of the city and pulled him back in the burning building. He didn't feel like saving anyone. He didn't care anything for humans. Fiyero would have called him a bad guy. A man without a soul. He slowly took another fire, and lit the fuel. Fire happened around him. The city was lost. And he was going to make sure that no one would know about their loss.
"You bastard!" A loud voice came from behind them. "You…"
"Dakota…" Avaric turned around. "How's your sister Sarima? And wasn't that your husband?"
"I always knew it….." Dakota had the sword in her hands. "You were always…"
"You don't have the nerve to do that…"
"Watch me…" She said swinging the sword. All she could see was red, as Avaric closed his eyes forever. She stepped back and fell down next to Marten. The Emerald city was colored red. The green was driven away by the high flames. She could still see people battle for their life, but most people decided to leave. She noticed how a couple of the Gale Force tried to help the fire spread. She didn't understand, were they trying to send a message to the rest of Oz. To the only part that wasn't involved with their agreement. Was Munchkinland so important them? What would it mean if they lost power.
"Oh my Oz!" Glinda stared at the cyclone that seemed to come closer any time. Glinda slowly pulled herself closer to the edge of the balloon. Like she was trying to jump from it. She noticed that many of the soldiers had decided to look at the cyclone coming their way. Why would Elphaba make such a foolish choice? What was so good about a cyclone? The last time someone had summoned a cyclone, Nessarose Thropp had died. Was Elphaba trying to recreate a very active flash back.
Glinda slowly took another arrow. She decided to use the attention of the people in her advantage. If they weren't looking, they wouldn't be able to fight back. Shooting people who were checking out a life threatening cyclone should have been wrong. But Glinda couldn't find anything more wrong then killing people. She noticed that Fiyero had believed the same thing as he started to slam his sward in people. Glinda didn't want to think about the pain that Fiyero had to experience. She only had to release an arrow. Fiyero was close to his victims. He could stare in their eyes as they died.
"Why are you doing this?" Glinda spoke "Elphaba…"
"Did Elphaba summon the cyclone?" Merlia spoke
"I think…"
Glinda slowly felt a heavy movement. She wasn't used to the balloon making that kind of movements. She assumed it was the cyclone coming their way that made the balloon restless. But only a few seconds later she felt a large change in movement. Her sister yelled that something was wrong. But Glinda wouldn't believe it. Her blood started to flow faster, her heart beat became fast and irregular. She lifted her head, as she stared at a large spear destroying her balloon. Staring down, she found one person. The tin man. Glinda took the side of the balloon. She made herself small, waiting for the crash to come. She clenched the sword closer to her. She may need it.
Glinda's body was slammed to the floor. Her arms clenched around her sisters shoulders, keeping her close to her. The first thing she noticed that her body had been spared from terrible pains. She could noticed that her foot hurt a bit, but it wasn't impossible to walk on. It was then when her eyes stared up. Glinda's heart started to beat faster, as she noticed a spear above her heart.
"Boq…" Glinda started to cry. "Tin man…"
"Glinda…" Boq smiled "Galinda…"
"Boq, please don't…" Glinda cried "You don't want to do this Boq. I have a baby girl. I have to get home."
"Why would I do that?" He slowly pushed the spear closer to her heart. Glinda could feel the spear close to her skin.
"Boq, there has to be a part that still loves me…" Glinda turned to him. "We went to school together. You're no this guy Boq. You are on the wrong side…"
"You are…" Boq said as fell down. A large object had fallen on his head. Glinda turned around. The first thing she saw was Elphaba. A simple spell had brought Boq here. He was not dead, just unconscious. Glinda couldn't remember that his eyes used to be this dark. He used to be such a nice guy. Biq, she had always called him that. Glinda stared at Elphaba. Merlia was next to her. Her eyes reflected pure fear, she put an arm around her sister. For the first moment in so long, she tried to make an effort.
Fiyero took another step to the right. He took his sword closer to him again, the cyclone was still going strong. It was still far enough away to be safe for ten minutes or more. Fiyero had taken the distraction as an easy way to kill them. Slowly Fiyero grabbed the sword and he made his way through the battlefield. The screams had gotten a bit worst, and the ground was filled with dead bodies. Fiyero had to admit that most bodies belonged to the other side. His father was a great fighter, and Lampré surprised him at the same time. The other animals and soldiers had tried to the same. But some didn't really know how to do it. Fiyero wanted to smile, but he couldn't.
He took another step to the right, for a moment he checked out Glinda's balloon. Something was terribly wrong. The balloon hadn't moved that much in hours. He noticed the strange turns it made. Almost like it was going to crash. A spear was hanging from it. Fiyero knew they didn't just get it down on a natural way. His eyes went to the balloon. Worry for Glinda took over. What happened to her.
"Fiyero!" Elphaba's voice screamed "Fiyero!"
Fiyero turned around as he was face with another man. The man was taller than him. Fiyero never expected that would be possible. But it was the truth in fact. He turned to him, only a few seconds later it hit him that his sword was missing. Fiyero stared at the man in fear, ready to receive a dagger to the chest. He wanted to turned to Elphaba, her eyes were the last ones he wanted to see. Not the eyes of the man that would kill him. Just like he had killed all this man. He closed his eyes, and turned a bit. Ready to receive the pain. But nothing came. He opened his eyes, the eyes of his father stared at him. Relieve took over, he turned back to Elphaba. Her eyes were filled with the same relieve and anger.
"Fiyero…" Marillot fell down. Fiyero noticed the dagger plunged in his heart.
"Father…" Fiyero captured his father before he hit the battlefield. "Father.."
"Fiyero, you have to promise me…" Marillot tried to use his voice but it seemed to take more energy than expected. "You have to marry her. You have to marry, Elphaba. Life is short. You have to show the entire land of Oz that you love Elphaba. Only that way we…"
"Dad, you're going to be there for my wedding…" Fiyero cried. "You are going to be fine…"
"Tell your mom I love her…" Marillot spoke "Tell her that, Fiyero. You are the king, you are responsible for Vinkus and for Elphaba. Protect your family with your life…"
"You're going to be fine,dad…" Fiyero cried "That dagger was meant for me.."
"Being a father means sacrificing your own life for your kids…" Marillot touched Fiyero's cheek. "You would do the same my son. For you family…"
"Dad…" Fiyero stood up. He stared at his father's body. The tears in his eyes made it impossible to fight. Yet, he picked up his sward once more again.
"Fiyero…" Elphaba paused.
"My dear, my dear…." A voice came from behind her. It sounds like you are trying to be me. Madame Morrible appeared. "A cyclone? You really want to be trapped by a house…"
"It sure as hell worked…" Elphaba smiled "It got you out her."
"I was going to torture you, my dear…" Madame Morrible in a flash moved closer to her. Her hands were around Elphaba's throat. Her small feet were above the ground, she wasn't able to touch it anymore. "You know there's a golden rule with you. Wait to hurt your family, and your resistance is gone. I guess there's only one thing I can say…"
Elphaba's heart went faster and faster. She didn't know what to do, in the most scenarios she would know what spell would work the best. But in this case, nothing worked. Not anything. She stared at Madame Morrible, she could hardly take a breath. Elphaba watched as her life passed her by. She would die. Fiyero would have to deal with this battle by himself. She thought about Fiyero, her husband that just watched how his father had died. And now she would have to say goodbye to the world. She hoped that Fiyero would forgive her.
Elphaba noticed ever sound around her. Everything. Every little moment went to slow, like she needed more time to think. But even the time didn't bring anything to her. The sound of arrows flying around her head was too much. And the pain that followed was real to. Only it wasn't the pain of dead she expected. She found her body on the cold floor. Madame Morrible was standing in front of her. There was an arrow who hit her in the leg. It caused enough pain to suffer a bit. But she had already removed it.
"Glinda…" Elphaba stared at the arrow. They didn't look like Glinda's arrow. She turned aroun, but she couldn't see a thing.
The next moment, she noticed that Madame Morrible had disappeared. She turned to the arrow again. Purple. She took a breath.
"Rain!" Elphaba screamed
Rain turned to Oscar. Rosie was watching the other kids. The small dragon was asleep, and sometimes Rain like to curl up next to her. But now she seemed to be more interested in a talk with Oscar.
"So.." Rain turned to Oscar. "Is my mommy going to be okay?"
"We're talking about Elphaba Thropp…" Oscar smiled "She's going to be fine."
"How do you know that?" Rain turned to Oscar. "Is it because she looks after you?"
"Well, she doesn't look after me…" Oscar rolled his eyes. "She doesn't look after her mother either. Elphaba is her own person. Rain, your mom is powerful. Do you trust her?"
"Yes…" Rain smiled "No. Can we see if she's fine?"
"Okay, but fast…" Oscar put his hand to her back. "We'll walk to the south wall. From there we'll be able to see your mom clear."
"I'm taking my bow and arrow, just in case…" Rain smiled "Glinda made them for me. They're purple. I showed them to mommy. But she hardly saw."
"Why do you need a bow and arrow?" Oscar raised an eyebrow.
Rain smiled as she walked next to Oscar. She didn't see any of the horror going on, for some strange reason Oscar tried to shield her from the pain and screams. That didn't mean Rain didn't hear it. Some of the sounds made her terrified.
"My dad is murdering people isn't he?" Rain turned to Oscar. "So is my mom right?"
"That's how a war works…" Oscar didn't look at her. "It's bad people against good people…"
"Accept most of those people aren't bad…" Rain spoke "Just corrupted by their leader. Innocent blood spilled for…"
"Don't think about it Rain…" Oscar pulled her closer. "You're too young for this…"
But Rain didn't agree. Her mind kept going to the horrible fights that were going on. She didn't want to know. Like Oscar said, 5 year olds weren't supposed to think about something like this. They were supposed to have fun. But Rain couldn't have fun, the idea of her mom was burned in her head. In her mind she could see her mom hovering above the ground. She started to run, she had no idea why she was doing. Oscar walked behind her.
"Mom!" she screamed as she saw her worst nightmare come true. Madame Morrible was holding her mom. She was completely helpless. Her instinct screamed as she took an arrow and pointed it at the woman that was taking her mother from her. She pointed it to anything. She couldn't care where she hit her. For some reason she didn't want to harm her. She wanted her mommy to be okay. She released the arrow, it went straight for Madame Morrible. The next thing she saw was her mom falling to the floor. Her green skin was different. And only now she noticed that her green skin became normal again.
"Got cha!" A figure appeared in front of her pulling her up in the sky. "Say good night!"
"Not my granddaughter!" Oscar grabbed a heavy stone and smashed it to Madame Morrible's head. He captured Rain in his arms and pulled her behind his back.
"Look, the wonderful wizard of Oz…." Madame Morrible smiled "It looks like you…."
"Stay away from him…" Elphaba appeared in front of her. "Right now, it's you and me. You touch me. You get away with it."
Elphaba took another step closer. "You touch my baby, you're dead!"
Extra Extra: Dorothy arrives next chapter! Wheelers arrive, other creepy things. Please review! Come back for the next chapter of Out of Oz! Thank you so much for keeping up with this story. Thanks for reading this chapter, please press the review button and tell me what you thought about the dead? THANK YOU!
