Three months flew before Dorothy's eyes so quickly. She and Dave were still together, and very happy. Dorothy was to turn sixteen, and was at the top of her classes at the school for sorcery.
Dorothy often went home at night, with the help of the ruby slippers since she wasn't supposed to leave the school during the week, to be with Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion. She told them all of her adventures and discoveries, and they listened with open and proud hearts.
They could never have guessed Dorothy's fate.
It was now Dorothy's sixteenth birthday, and she threw a party in the dormitory with the girls and Dave. She was to celebrate that weekend with Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion when she went home.
After blowing out candles, eating cake, and opening gifts, Dorothy and her friends sat and talked. Anything that popped into their heads was spoken, it was a fun and random conversation that only close friends understand.
Something, however, was not right. Something in Dorothy's heart was putting her on the defensive. Looking over her shoulders, she saw...
"Oh my God!"
Suddenly, a black light filled the room, and everything was blurry when their eyes opened again.
Standing in front of them was a hooded woman, and in her arms, she held the dead body of Angelina.
"Here's a little something for you princess. Happy birthday!"
The woman threw the body on the floor, and the blood spilled on to the hardwood floors. Dorothy peered over at her sister in horror. It then occurred to her that she had not heard a peep out of her friends.
Dave got them in a safe hiding place and motioned for Dorothy to follow.
"Dave, get everyone out of here. I have a feeling this was meant to be between her and I. Isn't that right, Mombi?"
The hood came down to reveal a young woman.
"That's right princess. I am so glad you understand." Mombi turned to look at Dave. "Be gone boy and take your friends with you. I'm not after their lives, neither am I after yours. Hurry before I change my mind."
Dave looked at Dorothy.
"GO!" Dorothy shouted.
With these words, Dave left and brought the girls to safety.
"I must admit that I do not understand completely. Why did you kill Angelina? She was your slave."
"Oh my dear child! Slave is a strong word. I called her my highly devoted little helper."
A laugh that sent chills down Dorothy's spine emitted from Mombi's lips.
"But you see, I had to kill her, for her instincts prevented her from killing you, as they did when you were children. I had mercy on her then, because she was a child. So when the time was right, I burned your house down!"
Dorothy's eyes widened. It made sense now.
"My intent, of course, was to annihilate you, but it didn't work. So I sent Angelina to the Emerald City to finish you. She was very close, but her instincts and her guilt forced her to stop yet again. So, in retrospect, she betrayed me. She denied my orders, and she needed to be taught a lesson."
"I now understand why my family was destroyed. You tried to have me killed, but instead...it was a mistake, the whole thing was a mistake! Or was it a mind game? You were trying to make me let my guard down!"
Dorothy's eyes glazed with tears.
"Dorothy, I think of myself as a fair woman. I really had no reason to kill your family, you were all I wanted. Now my dear, I do not consider myself to be a liar. I'm going to be as honest with you as I can."
Dorothy glanced at Mombi with a flame building inside of her.
"The truth is, your family's death was an accident. My intention was not to destroy them. I must admit however, playing with your mind didn't hurt. If you hadn't been so traumatized by all of that, you would have picked up on Angelina's secret right away. She was a terrible liar, unfortunately, I couldn't get her out of that even after I had my power completely instilled in her. Your sister tried to fight me on the day of her demise, but she changed her mind after I threatened to kill your friends in the Emerald City."
Dorothy let out a gasp.
"You were going to hurt Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion?"
"I had to get Angelina to stop fighting me somehow. She was strong. She could've finished me off if she didn't think I was telling the truth. But she also had a soft heart, something I never allowed to take over me, and she believed every word and every lie I fed her. You see, I was the only 'loving' mother she ever had. Your mother didn't care about her."
"That's not true." replied Dorothy, who's eyes softened. "My mother loved us both very much!"
"That's not the point. Anyway, back to business, I still have to kill you!"
Without another word, Mombi lunged in Dorothy's direction, forcing the young girl to jump over the couch.
Dorothy resumed standing again, only to have to dive back to the floor to avoid a shot of acid from Mombi.
Dorothy stood and looked at the wall, which the acid had eaten a hole through, and swallowed the lump in her throat.
'It's obvious that Mombi is not going to play fair.' she thought. 'I'll just have to play by her rules.'
Thinking fast, Dorothy jumped into the kitchen dodging another shot by Mombi. Mombi was then forced to be quickly out of the way of the flying dishes and glasses that Dorothy was throwing at her. A few things hit her leaving her unharmed, including a spoon. Then a dish hit the wall. Glass flew in all directions, and a piece of glass slashed Mombi's face.
"That's it, now you've crossed the line. This is over little girl!"
"Oh really? I'll determine when it's over!"
The two women circled around each other, both trying to plan their next attack.
'Nothing.' Dorothy thought. 'I've got nothing. All the dishes are broken!'
'She's got nothing to attack with.' Mombi thought. 'Little miss Castine must not have realized the power of the Rose yet!'
"You know, my leaders would be extremely disappointed if you weren't finished by tonight as I promised. I must destroy you!"
Mombi leaped at Dorothy again, only this time, Dorothy didn't move fast enough.
Dorothy was pinned underneath Mombi, trying desperately to break free. When suddenly, Mombi was picked up off of the girl and thrown back.
When Dorothy looked up, she saw Hope struggling with Mombi.
"Dorothy," said Hope as she held Mombi's hands behind her back. "Quick, go!"
"Not without you Hope!"
Suddenly, before anything more could be said, or any actions could be taken to spare the life of the young girl, Hope was being zapped through the stomach, and dropped in a heap on the floor.
"NO!"
Dorothy tried to get to Hope, but Kristen stopped her...she was then dead before anyone knew what was happening.
The other girls stayed close to Dave, though he too was trying to get closer to Dorothy, who was crying in a fit of disappear and hopelessness on the floor of the dormitory, her hands coated with the blood of her loved ones.
"This war is over Princess Castine." said Mombi.
Dorothy decided that it was time to give up.
"I'll kill you fast if you wish."
Dorothy stared at the bodies of Hope and Kristen, who had laid down their lives for her. Just as Mombi fired and Dorothy expected to feel the pain of the wound the shot would surely give, she saw Dave leap in front of her and take the hit.
Dave fell to the floor with a moan of pain. Dorothy ran to his side.
"David Anthony Callo, I swear to God, if you leave me I'll never forgive you!" Dorothy cried, her tears landing softly on his chest.
"Please don't be mad at me, my dear princess!" Dave whispered. "I love you Dorothy."
He died with a long sigh and silence filled the room.
Nobody spoke, not even Mombi, who just watched, reveling in Dorothy's pain. The girls were all silent, holding Alyssa, who dared not look at her brother's corpse.
Dorothy put her head down on Dave's chest and cried into his shirt for a moment, when then suddenly, the sounds of her sobbing stopped.
Dorothy sat up again, her eyes glowing a bright golden color. Dorothy screamed as loud as she could, and a golden rose appeared on her forehead. Then, golden wings spread from her back, and she stood.
Mombi fell to her knees.
"The power of the Rose has been awakened!"
Dorothy outstretched her hands and Mombi's body began to glow.
"NO!"
The evil woman disintegrated into a pile of golden dust on the floor.
Dorothy looked around the room, and saw the lifeless bodies of her lover and friends lying there.
She walked over to Dave, and kissed him passionately, cradling his head in her arms. Dorothy started sobbing, rocking back and forth, holding the body of her beloved. She looked up and screamed.
The screaming stopped, and echoed in the air for a moment as if time itself had seized. When the sound and movement regained their regular pace, Dave, Kristen and Hope stirred and awakened as if they had only been sleeping!
After rejoicing in their success, and Dorothy had recovered from the intense power she had been granted, they cleaned up, and Dorothy desperately tried to make them understand what had happened.
"Dorothy, it's ok. Calm down, everyone's all right now, thanks to you of course!" said Toni.
"I don't think you understand what I've done." Dorothy spoke, still bewildered.
They all looked at her silently.
"I cheated death, but for a moment, I cheated death!"
"You've cheated death before. Remember? You saved all those people's lives at the Kvon Altar."
"NO! You don't understand!"
Dorothy breathed slowly as her heart raced within her chest.
"Dave, when we shared our first kiss, I had a premonition of the future. I saw us graduate, and get married, and have a child. I saw this night that we just lived through, everything happened as it was shown to me, the only problem is, it shouldn't have happened this way. If things had gone according to the law of destiny, Hope, Kristen, Dave, and even I would be dead right now. We were all fated to be killed by Mombi with one shot. But I used my power to its full capacity, and now that we've managed to pull the wool over the grim reaper's eyes, we will pay a terrible price in the future."
"What do you mean?" asked Dave.
"Because of what I've done today, death will come looking for us again, only next time, there will be no way to defeat it. In a cruel irony, we will be killed in the same way that the woman I just destroyed killed my family. And after that, the Rose Kingdom will never again blossom."
"Dorothy," said Autumn. "This cannot be! How do you know this will happen? How do you know these things will be so? Nothing is set in stone. Like you just said, you cheated destiny."
"Yes, and now I pay the price. I'll never see my child grow up, I'll never grow old with my husband."
"But Dorothy," said Hope. "If what you say is true, and you would have died tonight, then you wouldn't have done those things anyway. What's the difference?"
"The difference Hope, is that now the remainder of my life will be lived in torture of what I'll never have."
Dorothy put her hand over her mouth, and closed her eyes.
"May God forgive me."
Ok, I know it's getting intense, but I hope you're enjoying. I've decided to split this story into Act 1 and Act 2. Act 2 will be the continuation of this continuation. Keep reading, it's just getting good. Reviews and e-mails ) are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Tori
Dorothy often went home at night, with the help of the ruby slippers since she wasn't supposed to leave the school during the week, to be with Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion. She told them all of her adventures and discoveries, and they listened with open and proud hearts.
They could never have guessed Dorothy's fate.
It was now Dorothy's sixteenth birthday, and she threw a party in the dormitory with the girls and Dave. She was to celebrate that weekend with Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion when she went home.
After blowing out candles, eating cake, and opening gifts, Dorothy and her friends sat and talked. Anything that popped into their heads was spoken, it was a fun and random conversation that only close friends understand.
Something, however, was not right. Something in Dorothy's heart was putting her on the defensive. Looking over her shoulders, she saw...
"Oh my God!"
Suddenly, a black light filled the room, and everything was blurry when their eyes opened again.
Standing in front of them was a hooded woman, and in her arms, she held the dead body of Angelina.
"Here's a little something for you princess. Happy birthday!"
The woman threw the body on the floor, and the blood spilled on to the hardwood floors. Dorothy peered over at her sister in horror. It then occurred to her that she had not heard a peep out of her friends.
Dave got them in a safe hiding place and motioned for Dorothy to follow.
"Dave, get everyone out of here. I have a feeling this was meant to be between her and I. Isn't that right, Mombi?"
The hood came down to reveal a young woman.
"That's right princess. I am so glad you understand." Mombi turned to look at Dave. "Be gone boy and take your friends with you. I'm not after their lives, neither am I after yours. Hurry before I change my mind."
Dave looked at Dorothy.
"GO!" Dorothy shouted.
With these words, Dave left and brought the girls to safety.
"I must admit that I do not understand completely. Why did you kill Angelina? She was your slave."
"Oh my dear child! Slave is a strong word. I called her my highly devoted little helper."
A laugh that sent chills down Dorothy's spine emitted from Mombi's lips.
"But you see, I had to kill her, for her instincts prevented her from killing you, as they did when you were children. I had mercy on her then, because she was a child. So when the time was right, I burned your house down!"
Dorothy's eyes widened. It made sense now.
"My intent, of course, was to annihilate you, but it didn't work. So I sent Angelina to the Emerald City to finish you. She was very close, but her instincts and her guilt forced her to stop yet again. So, in retrospect, she betrayed me. She denied my orders, and she needed to be taught a lesson."
"I now understand why my family was destroyed. You tried to have me killed, but instead...it was a mistake, the whole thing was a mistake! Or was it a mind game? You were trying to make me let my guard down!"
Dorothy's eyes glazed with tears.
"Dorothy, I think of myself as a fair woman. I really had no reason to kill your family, you were all I wanted. Now my dear, I do not consider myself to be a liar. I'm going to be as honest with you as I can."
Dorothy glanced at Mombi with a flame building inside of her.
"The truth is, your family's death was an accident. My intention was not to destroy them. I must admit however, playing with your mind didn't hurt. If you hadn't been so traumatized by all of that, you would have picked up on Angelina's secret right away. She was a terrible liar, unfortunately, I couldn't get her out of that even after I had my power completely instilled in her. Your sister tried to fight me on the day of her demise, but she changed her mind after I threatened to kill your friends in the Emerald City."
Dorothy let out a gasp.
"You were going to hurt Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion?"
"I had to get Angelina to stop fighting me somehow. She was strong. She could've finished me off if she didn't think I was telling the truth. But she also had a soft heart, something I never allowed to take over me, and she believed every word and every lie I fed her. You see, I was the only 'loving' mother she ever had. Your mother didn't care about her."
"That's not true." replied Dorothy, who's eyes softened. "My mother loved us both very much!"
"That's not the point. Anyway, back to business, I still have to kill you!"
Without another word, Mombi lunged in Dorothy's direction, forcing the young girl to jump over the couch.
Dorothy resumed standing again, only to have to dive back to the floor to avoid a shot of acid from Mombi.
Dorothy stood and looked at the wall, which the acid had eaten a hole through, and swallowed the lump in her throat.
'It's obvious that Mombi is not going to play fair.' she thought. 'I'll just have to play by her rules.'
Thinking fast, Dorothy jumped into the kitchen dodging another shot by Mombi. Mombi was then forced to be quickly out of the way of the flying dishes and glasses that Dorothy was throwing at her. A few things hit her leaving her unharmed, including a spoon. Then a dish hit the wall. Glass flew in all directions, and a piece of glass slashed Mombi's face.
"That's it, now you've crossed the line. This is over little girl!"
"Oh really? I'll determine when it's over!"
The two women circled around each other, both trying to plan their next attack.
'Nothing.' Dorothy thought. 'I've got nothing. All the dishes are broken!'
'She's got nothing to attack with.' Mombi thought. 'Little miss Castine must not have realized the power of the Rose yet!'
"You know, my leaders would be extremely disappointed if you weren't finished by tonight as I promised. I must destroy you!"
Mombi leaped at Dorothy again, only this time, Dorothy didn't move fast enough.
Dorothy was pinned underneath Mombi, trying desperately to break free. When suddenly, Mombi was picked up off of the girl and thrown back.
When Dorothy looked up, she saw Hope struggling with Mombi.
"Dorothy," said Hope as she held Mombi's hands behind her back. "Quick, go!"
"Not without you Hope!"
Suddenly, before anything more could be said, or any actions could be taken to spare the life of the young girl, Hope was being zapped through the stomach, and dropped in a heap on the floor.
"NO!"
Dorothy tried to get to Hope, but Kristen stopped her...she was then dead before anyone knew what was happening.
The other girls stayed close to Dave, though he too was trying to get closer to Dorothy, who was crying in a fit of disappear and hopelessness on the floor of the dormitory, her hands coated with the blood of her loved ones.
"This war is over Princess Castine." said Mombi.
Dorothy decided that it was time to give up.
"I'll kill you fast if you wish."
Dorothy stared at the bodies of Hope and Kristen, who had laid down their lives for her. Just as Mombi fired and Dorothy expected to feel the pain of the wound the shot would surely give, she saw Dave leap in front of her and take the hit.
Dave fell to the floor with a moan of pain. Dorothy ran to his side.
"David Anthony Callo, I swear to God, if you leave me I'll never forgive you!" Dorothy cried, her tears landing softly on his chest.
"Please don't be mad at me, my dear princess!" Dave whispered. "I love you Dorothy."
He died with a long sigh and silence filled the room.
Nobody spoke, not even Mombi, who just watched, reveling in Dorothy's pain. The girls were all silent, holding Alyssa, who dared not look at her brother's corpse.
Dorothy put her head down on Dave's chest and cried into his shirt for a moment, when then suddenly, the sounds of her sobbing stopped.
Dorothy sat up again, her eyes glowing a bright golden color. Dorothy screamed as loud as she could, and a golden rose appeared on her forehead. Then, golden wings spread from her back, and she stood.
Mombi fell to her knees.
"The power of the Rose has been awakened!"
Dorothy outstretched her hands and Mombi's body began to glow.
"NO!"
The evil woman disintegrated into a pile of golden dust on the floor.
Dorothy looked around the room, and saw the lifeless bodies of her lover and friends lying there.
She walked over to Dave, and kissed him passionately, cradling his head in her arms. Dorothy started sobbing, rocking back and forth, holding the body of her beloved. She looked up and screamed.
The screaming stopped, and echoed in the air for a moment as if time itself had seized. When the sound and movement regained their regular pace, Dave, Kristen and Hope stirred and awakened as if they had only been sleeping!
After rejoicing in their success, and Dorothy had recovered from the intense power she had been granted, they cleaned up, and Dorothy desperately tried to make them understand what had happened.
"Dorothy, it's ok. Calm down, everyone's all right now, thanks to you of course!" said Toni.
"I don't think you understand what I've done." Dorothy spoke, still bewildered.
They all looked at her silently.
"I cheated death, but for a moment, I cheated death!"
"You've cheated death before. Remember? You saved all those people's lives at the Kvon Altar."
"NO! You don't understand!"
Dorothy breathed slowly as her heart raced within her chest.
"Dave, when we shared our first kiss, I had a premonition of the future. I saw us graduate, and get married, and have a child. I saw this night that we just lived through, everything happened as it was shown to me, the only problem is, it shouldn't have happened this way. If things had gone according to the law of destiny, Hope, Kristen, Dave, and even I would be dead right now. We were all fated to be killed by Mombi with one shot. But I used my power to its full capacity, and now that we've managed to pull the wool over the grim reaper's eyes, we will pay a terrible price in the future."
"What do you mean?" asked Dave.
"Because of what I've done today, death will come looking for us again, only next time, there will be no way to defeat it. In a cruel irony, we will be killed in the same way that the woman I just destroyed killed my family. And after that, the Rose Kingdom will never again blossom."
"Dorothy," said Autumn. "This cannot be! How do you know this will happen? How do you know these things will be so? Nothing is set in stone. Like you just said, you cheated destiny."
"Yes, and now I pay the price. I'll never see my child grow up, I'll never grow old with my husband."
"But Dorothy," said Hope. "If what you say is true, and you would have died tonight, then you wouldn't have done those things anyway. What's the difference?"
"The difference Hope, is that now the remainder of my life will be lived in torture of what I'll never have."
Dorothy put her hand over her mouth, and closed her eyes.
"May God forgive me."
Ok, I know it's getting intense, but I hope you're enjoying. I've decided to split this story into Act 1 and Act 2. Act 2 will be the continuation of this continuation. Keep reading, it's just getting good. Reviews and e-mails ) are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Tori