Did he have that right?
Fiyero ran back towards the cottage he and Dorothy had passed the evening in, Toto at his heel, hoping that there would be some oil in one of the many dusty cabinets. He thought that Boq must have been frozen there for some time, for the cottage was recently built, but clearly uninhabited.
Dorothy ran after Fiyero, after a hushed assurance to the frozen being that she would be right back and everything would be all right, and began searching for the necessary lubricant.
"The poor creature," she mumbled as she searched. "He must be so frightened! And to think he may have stood there undiscovered always if we hadn't come along...EUREKA!"
She had found what they needed tucked in the back of a cupboard crawling with spiders. The relief and excitement on her features lit the dank cottage. Dorothy took off running back toward the rusted man.
The oil slipped swiftly into the tin joints, loosening them at last. Boq moved, a bit stiffly still, but he moved just the same. And when Fiyero heard him speak, there was not a smidgen of doubt who he was.
"Thank you so much!" Boq said with his airy voice.
The tin creature threw his heavy arms around Dorothy at once, the weight of him pressing down upon her slender frame. She stumbled a bit under his heft, but balanced herself quickly. When he finally relinquished her, Boq held Dorothy at arms length by her shoulders and looked her over.
"You, the both of you," he said, turning to Fiyero. "You've saved my life! I am very grateful to you."
"How did you ever come to be in such a state?" asked Dorothy.
Suddenly Boq's face fell.
"I was once made of flesh, and quite in love," he said sadly. "But a woman who knew the Wicked Witch was in love with me, and asked her to make it so I couldn't love the other woman."
Fiyero pondered this. Some of it had to be true. Who else could have transformed Boq into this? It must have been Elphaba, and Fiyero would have bet anything that Nessa had something to do with it.
"I was chopping a tree when the rains came and rusted me solid."
"But why would the Witch turn you to tin? How would that solve anything?" the girl asked innocently.
"Now being made of tin, I have no heart. I suppose the Witch assumed that without a heart to give away, I could not love."
Suddenly his stiff lips quivered.
"She was right!" he wailed as a fresh batch of tears rolled down his face, quickly turning to spots of rust.
"There there," Dorothy cooed. "Don't cry, my friend. If you do you will surely rust just as you did before. Besides, you've no reason to cry any longer, for we are on our way to the Emerald City to see the Wizard!"
Boq's interest was suddenly captured and he seemed to calm a bit.
"The Scarecrow here is going to ask him for a brain, for his head is stuffed with straw and he wishes to think as other men do. I am going to ask him to show me the way back to my home in Kansas. If he can do these things, I don't see why he couldn't give you a heart!" she said with the broadest of smiles.
"If I had a heart, I could go back home and profess my love to my darling!"
The tin man put his hand over the cavity where his heart should have been lovingly.
Fiyero felt a bit of anger rise through him. Boq was still in love with Glinda after all she'd done to him? Did he not know it was the very woman he loved that bonded him in misery with Nessa?
It was then that Fiyero realized the horrible truth...this was partially his doing! He had encouraged Glinda to be rid of the pest that was then the flesh and blood man named Boq. He had wanted Glinda to himself, and as a direct result of his selfishness, Boq was sold into the emotional slavery of Nessarose.
This was the price Fiyero paid now. He would have to live with this heavy guilt.
Boq broke Fiyero from his thoughts as he announced,
"I'll join you!"
Dorothy jumped and clapped, glee filling every corner of her being. She threw her slender arms around the creature she would so tenderly refer to as Tin Man from then on.
A very loud crashing sound followed by an explosion of fire suddenly shook the ground. There, on top of the uninhabited cottage, stood Elphaba, trying with all her might to look intimidating. Fiyero would have laughed out loud, but the malice in her voice silenced him instantly.
"Keep away from the girl, both of you!" she squealed. "She is cursed, and very soon, she and her wretched dog will meet a bitter end. If you were wise you'd leave her now and stay where you belong, or you will watch her die!"
Elphaba attempted a cackle, which sounded more like a rotten cough, but still Dorothy and Boq shook in fear. Elphaba was being a little harsh. Why would she do that?
The green woman must have seen the anger in Fiyero's face, for he suddenly saw her features soften, and could have sworn she'd winked at him before sending a ball a fire hurdling toward him.
Fiyero flailed in fear, disbelief threatening to cloud his senses, until he realized that the fire would not burn him. It was on his arm, but it didn't leave even a single scorch mark. He smiled at Elphaba, who was laughing. It was a good-natured laugh, without any sort of cruelty. She probably found Fiyero's initial reaction to the innocent flame quite amusing. He would have laughed with her, but Dorothy was nearly in tears.
Before he knew it, Elphaba had disappeared. She was getting quite good at that.
"This is horrible!" Dorothy sobbed as she and Boq put out the last of the flames. "You mustn't follow me any further, my friends. The Witch will surely destroy you if you continue on this journey with me."
Fiyero was about to proclaim his loyalty to the girl, but Boq, surprisingly, beat him to it.
"No, Dorothy," he said strongly. "We are your friends, and I'd rather be destroyed by the Witch than send you ahead alone. I'll stand by your side whatever comes."
Fiyero smiled. Boq was no longer the weak young man he'd known in college.
"I too will stay with you," said Fiyero, putting his arm around Dorothy. "I owe my freedom to you. I'm sure I speak for the Tin Man and myself when I say that we are very much in your debt. We would never abandon you."
Dorothy smiled through her tears.
"I'll do my best to protect you," Boq said. "Even if I am heartless." Boq's behavior was anything but heartless during the next two days of travel. He was almost as attentive to Dorothy's needs as Fiyero was. He too stayed awake during the long nights, having no need for sleep, as Dorothy slept comfortably. The Tin Man often stared wistfully at the young girl, perhaps craving the ability to dream.
Or was that his way of showing that he too was falling under the girl's spell?
It was on the third day that they entered the forest. Here the road of yellow brick was not at all smooth. There were many golden bricks missing, and there were spots that were overgrown with weeds. Often Fiyero would lose his footing and Dorothy would have to help him walk. There were even instances where the woods became so thick that Boq would have to chop through them with his ax in order for them to pass.
When the woods became especially dark, Dorothy gripped Fiyero and Boq's arms tightly in fear. They stood on either side of her, making sure that if any creature were to come out of the trees, they could not touch the flesh-girl.
"I don't like this forest," she said weakly, Toto following along in unusual silence. "I fear the beasts that may dwell here."
Fiyero had heard frightening tales of these woods as a child. They were said to be dangerous and were usually avoided. This was, however, the most direct path to the Emerald City, and with food supplies for Dorothy dwindling and becoming harder to replenish, Fiyero didn't want to take any unnecessary detours.
He and Boq had discussed it the night before as the girl slept so as not to frighten her.
"Dare we enter the woods?" Boq had asked Fiyero, holding Dorothy's hand in one of his own as she shook in her sleep. "It is certainly dangerous."
"Starving is dangerous for Dorothy as well," Fiyero replied in all seriousness. "And food is becoming more difficult to find. We need to get to the Emerald City as soon as possible, or our friend may be lost. We can protect her from harm in the forest."
They were in agreement.
Fiyero felt comfortable with their decision until a ferocious roar sounded from the left side of the road.
Our strode a large lion, ready to attack.
It was when the dog got away from Dorothy that things got away from Fiyero. The next thing he knew, Dorothy had rushed forward to save her beloved pet, and when the lion's mouth opened to devour his dear friend, Fiyero truly knew fear.
Here is the next chapter!
Sorry it took so long, but I've just moved into college. More will come soon!
Opinions please?