The tin Boq and the cowardly beast sat in silence after Fiyero finished his story. It was an amazing tale that he had cooked up in his head, about how the Witch had kidnaped him, taking him away into the woods, trying her best to make him swear he'd help her get rid of Dorothy. The Scarecrow only hoped that Dorothy wouldn't remember anything to the contrary.
A half-day passed before Dorothy finally opened her eyes. She remembered nothing of her unfortunate brush with Elphaba and accepted the strawman's story as the truth. Fiyero suspected that the girl's faulty memory was a side effect of Elphaba's spell.
The group traveled slowly for the remainder of the day, helping a still disoriented Dorothy along the way. She slowly regained her full senses, and her usually joyful demeanor returned as the sun moved overhead. As the day progressed, the thickness of the woods began to waver, and the path became progressively smoother.
The Lion, as it turned out, was an excellent companion, though every flutter of a butterfly's wing made him jump in horror. His irrational fears aside, the beast was more of a comfort to Dorothy than Fiyero or the tin Boq could have ever been. No matter how affectionate they were, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow could not connect with her like a being of flesh could.
The last night spent in the forest was a cold one indeed. The wind was high, and all attempts at a fire had failed since the wood was damp from the rain of the day. The band of travelers did their best to make beds out of the driest leaves around, but it too was a hopeless endeavor.
After Dorothy and the Lion spent two restless hours tossing and turning on their respective beds of leaves, they awakened and joined the Scarecrow and Tin Man in discussion, all the while trying to get even the tiniest flame to spark.
The Lion and Tin Man spoke excitedly about the Wizard and how wonderful he must be. They were so excited to see him. Fiyero did his best to feign enthusiasm about encountering the not-so-powerful Oz, but couldn't help feeling more than a little uneasy about the whole thing.
How had he gotten himself into this mess? He could leave now. Fiyero knew that he could easily run off with Elphaba and never look back. So what was keeping him? The strawman sighed. He knew exactly what bound him to this fruitless journey to the Emerald City.
Fiyero knew he would never be able to live with himself if he fed Dorothy and the others to the Wizard and left them to his mercy, or lack thereof. No...he would stick out the journey with his new companions to the very end.
Though the Lion and the Tin Man were jubilant in their discussion, Dorothy did not look so thrilled. It was late, and cold, and the fire was just starting to get going, but these did not seem like legitimate reasons for the girl's features to be plagued with such uncertainty.
"What are you thinking?" asked Fiyero.
The others went quiet, for they too had noticed the change in Dorothy's mood.
"I'm worried," she said quietly. "That we will go all this way and the Wizard won't grant our wishes. None of the people I've talked to so far have ever even actually seen him for themselves.
What if I take you all along on this journey only to find that it was a frivolous one, or worse,
what if the Witch harms one of you? I don't know if I'd be able to forgive myself if that ever happened."
The four sat in pondering silence. When Dorothy began to cry, the Lion curled up with her and placed his head gently on hers, careful not to lay all of his weight upon the girl.
"The Wizard has to grant us our wishes," said the Tin Boq, though doubt laced his voice. "He has done such wonderful things for our land that he must care deeply for the people! He was the one who had our magnificent Emerald City constructed in the first place. He must hear us Dorothy,
that's what Wizards do."
Dorothy dried her eyes, though she still didn't look quite convinced.
"Trust me Dorothy," the straw Fiyero chimed in. "The Wizard is as real as you and me."
Fiyero knew that his tone might give him away, but he didn't care anymore. All he wanted was to keep his friends safe and see Dorothy get home in one piece. Then once it was all over, he could return to Elphaba, and they could have the life they so deserved.
"How do you know, Scarecrow?" Dorothy asked innocently. "You were only made a short time ago."
"That is true," Fiyero lied quickly. "But while the farmer put me together, he spoke to his friend who had once seen the Wizard. You see, he painted my ears first so that I could hear what happened around me, and I heard him talking to a neighbor. The other farmer had gone to the Wizard about the drought, and received an immediate audience. So clearly we can draw one of two conclusions from this: either the Wizard is real, or the neighbor of my maker is a filthy liar."
A fleeting pause led to giggling, which made Fiyero smile warmly. Dorothy's face lit back up with her laughter, and the fire finally began to roar. The Scarecrow backed away from the flame a bit, weary of sparks.
"Dorothy," said the Tin Man. "All this dampness has made me a bit stiff. Would you mind quickly oiling my joints?"
The girl nodded, and reached into her basket. As she oiled the metal man's joints, something like snores emitted from the Lion. Dorothy giggled a bit, but her face quickly fell.
"How I wish I could sleep so peacefully," she said quietly.
There was an undertone of sadness in her voice that Fiyero didn't recognize. It was not the complaining of a child, but the pain of a young, lost woman. Boq must have noticed it as well,
for after she spoke, the Tin Man quickly glanced at Fiyero. He then grathered the girl up in a stiff hug. Dorothy was a bit surprised, but hugged her friend back tenderly. Fiyero thought to himself that the tin Boq must have hugged away a bit of her sadness, for she appeared once again to be a young girl.
"Do try to get some real sleep tonight, Dorothy," the Tin Man said gently. "You'll weaken if you don't rest properly."
She nodded again in silence, and turned back to her spot beside the Lion. She fell to her pile of leaves with a familiar crunch. At that moment, the strawman desperately missed his sense of smell. He remembered that nothing compared to the scent of dead and dying leaves. He suddenly envied Dorothy as she inhaled her crisp, makeshift bed.
The night dragged on as always. The Tin Man had gone off somewhere with his axe, whispering about some noise or other that he'd heard. Dorothy whimpered, her head still aching with anxiety.
"Scarecrow," she sighed. "May I lay with you?"
The strawman looked at the young woman perplexed for a moment, but nodded in silence. Dorothy crawled from her warm spot by the fire to join Fiyero.
"Won't you miss the heat of the fire? I can't move any closer for fear I'll burn up."
"I don't mind it so much. You're quite warm enough for me."
The girl rested her head gently in Fiyero's lap. A few moments passed without words as the fire roared and the Lion snored. Fiyero knew that Dorothy could not afford yet another sleepless night, and so he worked up the nerve to ask,
"What do you dream that causes you such worry?"
At this, Dorothy sat straight up, her eyes widening slightly. Her fear of the question quickly turned to embarrassment, and even by firelight the strawman could see her blushing.
"I see my aunt and uncle. I see them missing me, mourning me, putting a headstone with my name on it in the field I liked to run through in the summer rain."
Dorothy began to shake ever so slightly.
"I want so badly to go home!"
"And you will!" Fiyero responded a bit more fervently than he had planned. He gently laid her back down in his lap and stroked her hair slowly until her tears subsided. "You don't need to worry Dorothy. I'm going to make sure you get home, even if I have to take you there myself."
Dorothy giggled.
"You're too kind to me."
Her eyelids started to flutter.
"Sleep without fear," the strawman whispered. "Your troubles are almost over."
Fiyero knew that somewhere in the shadows, a beautifully tragic woman watched over them all.
Sorry this took so long! Hope it was worth the wait. More will come, and it will come faster than last time.