Disclaimer…meh? Anyways, as a quick note, the writing style for this chapter may seem a bit different, however I've had this chapter or at least parts of it on the backburner for quite a while and had actually wanted to incorporate it in sooner but couldn't figure out a good way to do so.
The second day of the blue moon festival brought them to Munchkin Country, the second, to Glinda's castle. The third day of the blue moon festival, however, was a day and night that would change their lives forever. It could be argued whether or not this was for the better or for worse depending on your views. Because three nights later a rather large and dramatic change would happen.
The ones that went to Rose's masque ball were dorothy, Alex, Madeline, Jack, and Finley. The latter having come on request of dorothy as Finley knew a little more about navigating Winkie country than any of them did. And as both the scepter and the slippers were acting a bit off color dorothy didn't feel too comfortable relying on them. When they got to Rose's castle, dorothy immediately resolved to keep the scepter along with her satchel, in the guest bedroom she would usually occupy whenever she wound up here. for the first couple of hours the party went off without a hitch. Everything seemed fine, apart from a dread that was growing in Dorothy's mind. However, she eventually shrugged this off and just resolved to stay as close to alex as she possibly could.
"so." Rose said coming over to them, "how are you enjoying the party?" she asked curiously.
"Its been amusing so far, its nice to get out and not immediately be recognized." Dorothy said smiling.
"well you did put the scepter in the guest bedroom so its not like anyone was going to be able to use that to identify you." Rose said.
"true, and the great thing about a masque ball, is its essentially one big guessing game." Dorothy said smiling through her own masque.
"well if it weren't for the fact that I know you guys I don't think I'd have recognized you." Rose said.
Rose's costume was simple, a dragonfly costume with an emerald green eye masque. The jester, being unable to change his own outfit was there as himself. Lily and violet as well as Thomas did not dress up, not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't feel the need to.
"Milady, if I may enquire on something?" One of the townsfolk asked coming up to her.
"Hm? Oh yes, you may." Rose replied turning to him.
"that construction project, that land has been in your family for years, just sitting there, what in Lurline's name possessed you to build something on it now?" The man asked.
"mom and dad have said I could do what I wanted with it, and it was just kind of there, being an empty eyesore, never could stand a bare place, so I resolved to put something on it." Rose said.
"I see, well, thank you that's all I wanted to know." The man said walking away quickly.
"is he talking about that field by the river?" Alex asked curiously.
"no, surely you've noticed the area around castle garrison is a lot larger than it should be." Rose said.
"honestly if it weren't for the forest edge by the branch of the yellow brick road leading here, I'd go far enough to say that most of the land surrounding the castle was forest and woods at one point." Finley said swooping down and landing on Dorothy's shoulder.
"and you would be right, come, we'll walk and talk." Rose said starting for the door.
As they got outside rose picked up a few drinks glasses from the tables set out there. The entire small town had been set up as backdrop for the party as everyone was celebrating the festival, with rose's family castle being the main hub for it.
"a lot of this land used to be more wooded than anything else, were it not for the witch of the west we probably would have kept the tree line closer." Rose said pointing over to the wooded area.
"I assume you're talking about those giant wolves of hers?" alex asked curiously.
"yes, and if any are still out there, they can use the trees for coverage, there isn't much out that way, mostly woods for miles around." Rose said sighing.
Alex looked over there, for a moment he could have swore he saw a shadow but immediately shrugged it off.
"so, where did you build this project that man was talking about?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"Round the bend in the yellow brick road there, just passed that small hill, if it were daylight you might actually be able to see it from here I should think." Rose said.
"I see." Dorothy said as they reached a large canopy tent that had been set up.
"the music is rather beautiful." Alex said looking at the orchestra.
"the jester composed some of it." Rose said smiling.
"Oh really?" alex asked, "that's interesting." He continued.
"everyone needs a few hobbies, you dance, dorothy draws, Finley…" Was as far as she got before getting a bit lost at what to say.
"Mainly flies about and stays out of the way." Finley interjected.
"really? That seems a bit of a dismal way to go about it." Rose said.
"Preaching to the choir, Rose, we've been telling him that every chance we get to, he's stubborn." Alex said sighing/
"actually, speaking of the jester, where's he got to, I figured he'd at least be following us?" Dorothy asked looking around.
"I imagine he's gone to check on the vault." Rose said
"what's in it anyways?" Finley asked curiously.
"you'll find out in due time I expect, now, if I may, your majesty, can I ask you two to entertain us with some of that dancing you're both so talented at?" Rose asked smiling.
"If it would please you." Dorothy said sighing.
Rose nodded and walked over to the orchestra, immediately they stopped playing to listen to her. She whispered something to them and immediately they flipped through their sheet music. Soon they began playing a slower paced song. Alex and dorothy shared a smile before dorothy removed her masque and set it down on a nearby table. She then turned to him, and curtsied. He bowed and took her hands and within a minute they were dancing. soon some others joined in while many just decided to watch the spectacle unfold. For almost forty minutes the two of them continuously danced. However, when they had finished the dance and the music had stopped, a loud, blood curdling howl rang across the fields. Immediately a bell started going off. Rose grabbed both Dorothy's and Alex's wrists attempting to pull them away but alex was already distracted. Turning the other two were met with the sight that had him distracted.
It was a humongous wolf, almost three times the size of any the two of them had ever seen before. It was thin and grey, its eyes, a piercing yellow. However, what made it stand out was both its mouth and all of its paws seemed to be dripping with magical energy.
"A cursed one, come on you two we have to run, NOW!" Rose shouted.
Immediately doubling her efforts to pull them along, eventually alex did give in and followed. However, the wolf bolted after them, singling them out of the crowd. Immediately the jester and Madeline ran out of the castle and saw it.
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO it howled.
As they got closer to the castle, they could hear a loud banging sound. Unsure of where it was coming from and at the time, too frightened to question it. they ran as fast as they could, but the wolf was quickly gaining on them. Once they reached the door however they attempted to slam it shut, but the wolf was pushing against it.
Bong, Bong, Bong. Came a bell like sound reverberating through the castle, dorothy and alex instinctively knew it was the scepter. Madeline immediately ran to retrieve it, pulling on a pair of gloves as she did so.
"how could a cursed one….?" Was as far as the jester got before trying to double down on pushing the large door shut.
The beast was strong, stronger than anything they had come up against before, physically.
"what is a cursed one?" Alex asked sounding genuinely interested.
"Now is not the time, when it tires of this and goes away, then I'll have to explain it." The jester said throwing all his weight against the door.
The banging from the lower parts of the castle seemed to be getting stronger. But this moment of distraction was enough for the wolf to ram the door and break through, sending them all flying in different directions. Madeline quickly returned with both the scepter and Dorothy's satchel. Immediately it flew over to alex. This distracted the wolf for a moment, but it turned its attention to Madeline, who was now running over to dorothy. Jack quickly emerged from the parlor where he had been hiding and immediately turned back around. However, alex quickly regained his bearings and grabbed the scepter. Seeing the wolf bolting towards them, everything seemed to slow, and one thing ran through his mind, two words, 'save dorothy.' He drew his sword and looked at the scepter.
"save her!" he shouted throwing the scepter in Dorothy's direction
It flew faster than the wolf could run, and when it had reached her, an emerald green bubble seemed to shape itself around both dorothy and Madeline. Alex took one moment to laugh, even though he knew the wolf was about to charge him next for that, but if he was going to be brought down by this beast, he was going to go fighting. The beast turned and looked at alex for a moment. Alex smiled, and steadied his grip on his sword. His brain pumping with adrenaline, he felt he was going to enjoy this fight as the wolf charged at him.
"For Lurline's sake, RUN YOU IDIOT!" the jester shouted, "DON'T LET IT BITE OR SCRATCH YOU!" the jester continued.
But these cries fell on deaf ears as alex stood his ground. It was a short fight, he did no damage to the wolf as he had no intentions on properly harming it, the wolf lunged and bit his arm causing him to drop his sword before the wolf released it and swiped at him with his claws. Alex when sliding across the floor at the force of it. his outfit now torn at the chest. The first and last thing he physically noticed was that against all odds, he wasn't bleeding. However, the last thing he heard was the dorothy screaming and then the sound of a shrill whistle before he fell unconscious.
Immediately the wolf seemed to double over in discomfort as the sound of the whistle seemed to harm him. A rush of wind and both Fayth and Zinnia appeared. Fayth saw the wolf and held out a hand.
"Freeze." She said.
Immediately the wolf seemed to stop in its tracks. Benton and Fenrir quickly appeared looking at the wolf.
"a cursed one!" Benton said shocked.
"oh, now that gets you talking." Fenrir said.
"Can it you two, get it out of, oh sweet Lurline!" Fayth said as she noticed alex sprawled on the floor.
Benton and Fenrir immediately vanished along with the wolf as Fayth and zinnia ran over to alex. At this moment the bubble around dorothy and Madeline dispersed allowing dorothy to go to him.
"Hatter, contact Glinda, let them know…" rose started to say before trailing off.
"did he seriously think he was going to stop that, that beast with a sword?" Zinnia asked.
"In his defense." The jester started, "the wolf was originally going after dorothy and the hatter."
Immediately the first thing dorothy noticed was that none of Alex's wounds were bleeding, instead they seemed to be glowing, sending energy through him. She immediately broke down only to have the jester and rose pull her back. Zinnia and Fayth both had worried expressions on their face that dorothy didn't like.
"we can't move him to the sanctuary, it might trigger it too early." Zinnia whispered to Fayth.
"you mean?" the jester asked, trying to stop dorothy from struggling.
"it's started, yes, rapidly so." Fayth said looking over to them.
"what's happening to him!?" dorothy screamed.
Immediately Benton reappeared and placed a hand on Alex's neck, checking his pulse.
"a cursed one, one of the original wolves created by the witch, if one so much as bites or scratches you, even a little pinprick of a scratch, you start to change, you start a literal mental battle with yourself to fight it, but the beast almost always wins, the wolves are a uneven mix of ones darker qualities and ones best, the process, I don't know if it's the blue moons power that's accelerating it or not, but he doesn't have much time." Benton said.
"There must be something you can do, some way you can stop it!?" dorothy asked looking at him.
"if he weren't glowing, then yes, we could have we can't even move him because transporting him might just cause the beast to burst forth." Benton said.
"You mean, he's passed the point where…?" Madeline started to ask as she came back into the room.
"ah, the hatter, yes you've had an experience with one of the victims before haven't you?" Fayth asked.
"Unfortunately." Madeline said sighing before walking over to dorothy.
Immediately dorothy stopped struggling against rose and the jester and looking Madeline dead in the eyes.
"Maddie, tell me what's going to happen to him!" dorothy said sternly.
Madeline looked at dorothy, and immediately dorothy knew this was something none of them would be able to turn away from. The hatter was on the verge of tears.
"Release her, set her down in a chair." Madeline said struggling to get the words out.
Rose and the jester nodded, conjuring up a chair which that sat dorothy in.
"Dorothy, this is hard on both me, and for you," Madeline started, "but alex, is…" But was as far as she got before breaking down, all of Dorothy's sadness hitting her like a piano dropped from a 10-story building.
At that moment everything seemed to stop for dorothy, she could hear nothing but her own heartbeat, racing faster than it had ever beaten before. Her mind racing, even though Glinda had appeared with Alex's parents, she didn't seem to acknowledge their presence. A penny was in the air, flipping, something that Benton had said. 'change' that was it, her mind went back to that explanation. And suddenly the penny dropped, falling into place. She realized what was likely going to happen.
"No!" Dorothy screamed bolting up
"she worked it out." The jester said ready to hold her back.
"He can't become one of them, one of those wolves!" dorothy screamed.
At that moment alex let out a pained groan.
"It's started, the battle has begun, and at least for him it will be painful." Benton said looking at his reflection in the mirror.
Immediately something dorothy noticed, and this took her mind, if only briefly off of what was happening. Benton's reflection did not match him. For a start his reflection didn't show the jeweled collar. Both eyes were intact, but they were a piercing yellow, exactly like the wolf's the face was in a smile where Benton's was now in a scowl. In that smile all of them could see rows of sharp teeth.
"Fortunately for you all." Benton started "if he doesn't pull through the mental battle and changes, there is a way to change him back, that is, if he chooses to." Benton said turning to them.
"what do you mean, chooses to?" Mr. Teak asked angrily.
"I'm afraid this is where I butt in, usually people resign themselves to fighting it, every once in a while post transformation, as we would usually be able to transport them to the sanctuary, one would escape and cause some mayhem, the guilt of what they had done usually leads to them choosing to stay as they are, and not change back." Benton said.
"But you chose to, and we appreciate that." Zinnia said.
"well that's all fine and dandy to talk about, in the meantime what are we going to do with him, if we transport him to the sanctuary with magic he'll be liable to just transform on the spot, and escape." Fayth said.
"Bring him to the guest room." Glinda quickly interjected, tears streaming down her own face.
"and what? Let dorothy nurse him back to health, if he transforms, HE WILL LIABLY KILL HER!" the jester shouted.
"You seem awfully calm in this situation jester, even your wife has taken to a corner now." Benton said.
"Well I unfortunately have seen what my sister's creations can do." The jester said sighing.
"that is fair, you two, jester, and whoever you are, grab the boy and carry him to that guest bedroom, let the girl nurse him, maybe her talking to him will be enough motivation for him to fight, but don't leave her there all the time, make sure she gets some rest, preferable in a separate room." Benton said turning to Mr. teak.
The jester nodded but was immediately stopped in his tracks by a glare from Mr. teak. He picked up his son and carried him away. Dorothy was in shock now, she didn't know what to say, what to do, or what to think. She was about to lose someone, again. She was starting to feel like her emotions were draining from her. It took a few moments before instinct told her this was Madeline's doing as Madeline had stopped crying and seemed to be muttering a spell, only to have Glinda stop her. Immediately the emotions came flooding back, sadness, and anger now. She looked for the jester who was immediately making his way to the cellar. Dorothy got up and bolted after him, the scepter flying after her.
"Where'd Finley fly off to?" Rose asked looking around, but dorothy ignored this.
She knew the jester was faster than her, but she had to have answers, however by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs she only had enough time to see the door to the vault slam shut. Where she once more, fell to her knees, and broke down.
Okay, yes like I said, different writing style, bit darker, but I wrote most of this chapter in my notebook almost a year ago. Which will lead to another point that I had wanted to do since the beginning of the story, alex will become a wolf, but he will not stay that way for very long.
