Fiyero and Dorothy had been walking for about an hour, her little dog Toto trotting at their heels. As they traveled Dorothy told him stories about her home back in Kansas. Fiyero actually found her stories interesting. Kansas sounded like a very strange place, being so unlike the land of Oz. He found that he was actually taking a liking to this girl as he listened to her tales. She was a bit naïve, but she was sweet nonetheless.
After a while they came to a grove of apple trees, and Dorothy exclaimed, "Look apples!"
Fiyero stopped walking as the girl pointed excitedly. He really hadn't been thinking about food since he no longer needed to eat, but he imagined Dorothy must be starving after such a long walk. She reached up to pick an apple off one of the trees, but her hand was swatted away by one of its gnarled branches.
"What do you think you're doing?" the tree demanded angrily.
"Well we were walking a long way and I was hungry and…wait a minute. Did you just talk?" she asked, eyes widening as she took a step backwards.
A long argument ensued, but eventually Fiyero was able to anger the trees so much that they pelted the pair with apples. Dorothy moved to pick one up, but froze suddenly. Fiyero looked over to see what the problem was and found Dorothy staring at a metal leg, which was actually attached to a metal body. In fact there was a person made entirely of tin standing right in front of them. Fiyero couldn't place it, but the tin man looked awfully familiar.
Dorothy stood up to examine the man, walking all around him, when suddenly he emitted a strange groaning noise. Dorothy jumped back in surprise.
"I think he's trying to speak," she said, looking at the tin man curiously.
"What's he saying?" asked Fiyero, moving closer.
"I think he said 'oil can'," she answered, searching the ground around the tin man. She spotted a small oil can lying near his feet and picked it up. She poured a few drops of oil into the joints of his mouth and relief was evident in his eyes as the joints groaned and then began working properly once more.
"Oh thank Oz, I can speak again. Quick, oil my legs," he said urgently. Fiyero thought the man's voice sounded familiar somehow as well, but he brushed it off as he took the can from Dorothy and oiled the man's leg joints. Fiyero wondered just how long the poor guy had been stuck like that.
The Tin Man took a few shaky steps before he froze again. Dorothy hastily took the can and poured a few more drops of oil into his joints. "Who are you, and how on earth did you get like this?" she asked, watching as the tin man tested his legs once more.
Boq didn't know what this 'earth' was, but answered nonetheless, "The name's Boq, but most people just call me the Tin Man" he answered, a note of bitterness in his voice.
Fiyero's eyes widened as he realized why the man seemed so familiar. He recognized the name Boq as the name of a Munchkin boy he'd gone to school with. Now that he looked at the tin man again he could even see the resemblance. He wondered how in Oz Boq had ended up like this.
Boq continued, oblivious to Fiyero's shock, "I was running through the woods when it suddenly began to rain. I couldn't get to cover fast enough, so I rusted in place. That was about two days ago, and I've been stuck here ever since."
"What were you running from?" Dorothy asked curiously.
Boq's eyes seemed to darken, "I've been a prisoner of the Wicked Witch of the East for years. I finally managed to get away a couple of days ago. I'm surprised she hasn't found me by now."
"The Wicked Witch of the East is dead," said Dorothy softly.
"Dead?" Boq echoed, sounding rather surprised. His eyes softened for a moment, but they became harsh again almost instantly, "She deserved it."
"I don't think anyone deserves that," Dorothy answered, looking down at her shoes. She still felt a bit bad about what had happened. Just because the Wicked Witch of the East had been an evil woman didn't mean she'd deserved to be killed.
"Yeah well, you didn't know her like I did." Boq said bitterly, "She and her horrible sister are the reason I'm made of tin in the first place."
Fiyero looked at Boq curiously at the mention of Elphaba. So she'd been responsible for Boq's change as well. Fiyero knew there must be more to the story than that. He was pretty sure Elphaba wouldn't have turned Boq into a tin man without good reason.
"The Wicked Witch of the West did this to you?" asked Dorothy, eyes widening. Was the Wicked Witch really powerful enough to turn a man into tin?
"Yes, and what's worse, now that I'm like this I haven't got a heart," he said, banging on his empty tin chest for emphasis.
"Well, my friend Scarecrow and I are going to see the Wizard of Oz. Maybe he could give you a heart!" Dorothy suggested excitedly.
Boq's eyes seemed to light up, "Do you think he would?"
"Well, he is a wonderful wizard isn't he?" Dorothy said, now bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
Fiyero was sorely tempted to say something about the Wizard at this point, but he held his tongue. He knew the Wizard would not really be able to grant any of these requests, and he felt rather bad that the two of them would have to find that out eventually. For now though, he'd have to keep quiet. It wouldn't do for a brainless scarecrow to know so much about the Wizard of Oz.
"I'd love to come you," said Boq excitedly, "if you wouldn't mind my tagging along."
"Of course not," Dorothy replied happily, "The more the merrier!"
The three were about to turn and leave, when suddenly a loud crack split the silence. A puff of red smoke appeared on a nearby barn, and suddenly Elphaba materialized before them. Dorothy ducked behind Fiyero, whimpering in fear. Toto was barking hysterically.
Fiyero, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see Elphaba. He'd been so worried that she'd been captured or hurt. He was about to call out to her when she spoke in a strange voice that was not at all like her usual one.
"I see you've made some friends. Well, they can't protect you from me; I will get those ruby slippers. You two stay away from her, or I'll stuff a mattress with you, and use you for a bee hive!" she shrieked. She looked murderous. Fiyero realized why everyone was so afraid of her; she could be very intimidating.
Fiyero's eyes widened as he suddenly realized Elphaba did not recognize him. Why else would she be acting this way? But how was that possible? After all, she was the one who had cast the spell. Unless…unless she didn't know that it had worked. Was it possible that she believed him dead? It would certainly explain her current behavior, as well as the fact that she'd never come looking for him in the corn field. He looked up at her. She was livid, and there was a sort of manic gleam in her eyes.
This was bad. Fiyero hoped she wouldn't do anything dangerous purely out of anger. He'd seen her angry before and it was certainly not a pretty sight. He shrunk back, watching her warily. For the first time since she had sent their class into chaos that day back at Shiz, he actually felt afraid of her.
"Wanna play ball Scarecrow?" she asked menacingly, conjuring up a ball of fire. Fiyero's eyes widened. He knew Elphaba was upset, but he hadn't thought that she'd intentionally harm someone. She didn't seem to be in the right frame of mind right now. After all, she'd lost her sister and now she thought her lover was dead as well.
Elphaba hurled the fireball at Fiyero, cackling madly. He dove of the way just in time and it struck the spot he'd been standing only moments before. Boq stamped it out with his tin boot as Elphaba cackled again.
"Just remember, you can't run forever," she cried, and with another puff of red smoke she was gone as quickly as she'd come.
Fiyero just stared open mouth at the rooftop where Elphaba had been standing only moments before. She'd almost killed him just then. She didn't know it was him of course, but even so that wasn't like Elphaba at all. The Elphaba he knew would never want to harm anyone, and he suspected that if she had she'd regret it once she calmed down a bit. Still, her actions worried him. He couldn't believe she was that upset.
Fiyero had no clue where to go from here. How could he approach Elphaba when she was like this? How could he get close enough to explain things to her when she was more than ready to send him up in flames? This turn of events most definitely posed some new problems.
"I'll make sure you get to the Emerald City safely now no matter what Dorothy. Use me for a beehive…" Boq mumbled as he helped Fiyero to his feet.
Fiyero, feeling as though he should add something to that, said unsurely, "Yeah, and I'll make sure you get there safely whether I get a brain or not!" However, Fiyero did not take his eyes off of the rooftop as he spoke, and only once they continued on their way down the road did he finally turn away.
And there we have the first meeting. I imagine something like this would have had to happen during this scene in the movie. After all, why would Elphaba try to set Fiyero on fire if she knew it was him? Well, hope this rather crucial chapter was satisfactory.
Thanks for reading.
S.P.