Well, I wasn't going to post this chapter until Friday, but then I got so many awesome reviews and decided that I wanted to put it up a little early. I tried posting yesterdy, but something was up with the document manager. I'm glad this story had generated such a positive response thus far, and I appreciate all of the feedback!
Anyways, this chapter is pretty dull, it's pretty much just filler that's necessary to move the plot along. The next chapter will be much more interesting, trust. So anyways, here's chapter 3:
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For a few moments, the three women experienced the sensation of flying forward at a rapid speed. However they soon came to a halt and were dumped unceremoniously onto the ground, tumbling head over heels.
After a few moments the trio stood up and looked around. They seemed to have landed on an unpaved dirt road, and the result was that their clothes were now dusted with the powdery brown soot. On either side of the road large stalks of corn were growing, their kernels glistening golden in the afternoon sun.
Elphaba and Glinda took in the surroundings for a moment before turning to Dorothy.
"Is this Kansas?" asked Glinda, looking around dazedly. She'd grown up in urban areas, and had never before seen dirt roads or corn fields. These sights were very unfamiliar to her.
Dorothy also looked around, but with a spark of recognition in her eyes, "I know this place. It's not very far from the farm that we used to live on." There was a hint of sadness in her tone as she spoke. She had grown up on that farm, and though it still existed, she knew she would never again call it home.
Elphaba stood and dusted herself off for a moment before speaking, "Where do we go from here?"
Dorothy replied, "We're about a mile away from the farm. It should only be about a 20 minute walk from here."
Elphaba nodded and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head to hide her face. She assumed that people here had never seen a green woman before. In fact, from what she could gather from Dorothy's descriptions, Kansas was even less exciting than Oz, with no magic or Animals or anything of that sort at all. Her appearance would probably cause more of a commotion here than it had in Oz, if that was even possible.
They began to amble along down the dirt road, Glinda feeling a bit ridiculous in her big puffy gown and wondering why she never changed her clothes before going off on these sorts of random adventures. She cursed herself for her love of beautiful, yet inconveniencing clothing.
The women walked together in silence. Dorothy had her hands folded in front of her and was staring at the ground, lost in thought, while Glinda's head swiveled back and forth as she tried to take in the unfamiliar looking landscape. Elphaba simply kept her eyes trained on the road ahead, wondering what on earth they were going to do once they actually reached the little Kansas farmhouse.
After about five minutes of walking, the dirt trail led them into a town, where small clusters of people bustled two and fro and venders sold their wears to passersby. Dorothy looked about as they passed through, searching for any familiar faces in the crowd. She recognized a woman who was selling eggs at a small booth and a man who was trying to haggle the price of five ears of corn just a few paces away. However, no one paid the three travelers any notice, and they passed through the small town undisturbed.
Elphaba and Glinda followed Dorothy as she pressed onward determinedly. This was not her home any longer. She no longer belonged here. She was a stranger to her own birthplace. She was determined not to stop and look around, afraid that the sadness she was feeling would overwhelm her and she would break down and cry again. As thy reached the edge of town, the road split in three directions, and Dorothy led them down the street to the right, still not saying a word.
Glinda and Elphaba exchanged a look behind Dorothy's back. Usually they couldn't get the girl to shut up, but today she was being oddly quiet. They were concerned for her, but said nothing as they walked silently forward, figuring she just needed to be left alone with her thoughts for a little while.
Eventually they came upon a small, slightly run down looking farm, and Dorothy turned and led them up the path to the house. Elphaba and Glinda looked around as they followed her. They'd heard Dorothy describe this very farm many times before, but had never thought they'd actually see it with their own eyes. It was obvious that the place had begun to fall apart a bit since Dorothy had last been there.
There were none of the animals she'd described, the chickens and pigs and cows she'd often told them about when she spoke of Kansas. Instead there were empty stables and chicken coups. Perhaps the animals had been sold with no one left to care for them. The grass was not a lush green, but rather a sad, wilted looking yellow, signifying that it had not been properly cared for in quite some time. The house itself wasn't in bad shape, but it looked empty and void of life. The sky had begun to darken as well, and it only furthered the deadened and ominous feel the place had to it.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dorothy fell to her knees in the middle of the dirt path, dust flying up around her knees in clouds. Face buried in her hands, she could contain herself no longer as her tears began to fall once more. This was not how it was supposed to be. The farm had always been a happy place for her, always busy and full of life. The barren land they were now walking on was just an empty shell. Her aunt and uncle were gone, as were her friends and even the animals she'd used to feed every morning before sun up. She knew she'd left that chapter of her life behind when returning to Oz, but seeing it confirmed in such an awful way had caused all of the bottled up grief she'd been harboring to spill over the top.
Elphaba and Glinda were shocked by the sudden display, and could do nothing but look on as Dorothy knelt on the narrow path, sobs wracking her body. Eventually they went and stood next to her, deciding to wait until she was ready to pull herself together.
After a few minutes Dorothy finally managed to calm herself, taking slow, shaky breathes to regulate her breathing. She wiped the extra tears from her eyes, berating herself for breaking down so suddenly. She really needed to pull herself together; there were more important things to do right now than wallow in her own grief.
Suddenly Dorothy felt an arm seize her from either side, and she was gently helped to her feet by Elphaba and Glinda. Embarrassed for breaking down in front of them, she blushed, "Thanks."
"Are you OK?" asked Glinda, not sure what else to say in this situation. She couldn't imagine how hard this was on the poor girl. Glinda had lost her grandparents when she was younger, and it had been hard, but she'd still been surrounded by the rest of her family. Dorothy had absolutely no one left, and she was still so young.
Elphaba on the other hand, was more capable of understanding what Dorothy was feeling, having experienced such feelings not long ago. After Nessa had died, she'd thought Fiyero was dead and that Glinda had turned on her. She knew what it was like to have no one left, which was why she sympathized with Dorothy. The girl needed them right now. She had no one else to turn to.
"I'm OK," said Dorothy, only half believing the words herself. However, she said nothing else and simply turned and led them into the small farm house. Dorothy let the other two enter first, before she took a deep breath and followed them inside.
They found themselves in a small entrance hall with only a few bits of furniture. It had a musty smell about it, akin to the scent of mothballs. A potted plant sat in one corner, and an end table held a few yellowing photographs in dusty frames. Elphaba stole a glance as they walked by, and saw pictures of a young Dorothy standing with a man and woman Elphaba assumed to be Dorothy's aunt and uncle.
Dorothy, however; did not pause to look around, but turned to Elphaba and Glinda and addressed them, "The funeral is to take place here tomorrow. I suppose we'll just have to stay in the house until then. We can sleep here tonight and greet people when they arrive tomorrow."
With that she led them up a rickety wooden staircase, its chipped white paint signifying that it had been built quite some time ago. The stairs creaked as they climbed, and Glinda couldn't help the nervous feeling that the wood would splinter beneath their feet and send them tumbling to the floor in a shower of deadened wood and paint. However, they reached the top of the staircase unscathed, and Dorothy led them down a hallway and into a small bedroom at the end.
Dorothy entered the room and stopped in the middle, taking in the familiar sight of her old bedroom, the last she'd seen of Kansas before being sent to Oz so many weeks ago. She wandered over to the window and looked out, leaning her elbows against the wooden pane as she took in the view she'd seen so many times before.
Glinda and Elphaba entered the room behind her, feeling a bit crowded in the small space. Their eyes took in the twin bed with the wooden bedpost, an open closet that displayed Dorothy's meager wardrobe, and a small bedside stand with a couple of pictures stationed on the top. A shoe box lay opened next to the bed where Dorothy had left it after trying on the ruby slippers. Dorothy wondered if anyone had been in her room since she'd left, or if they simply hadn't wanted to move anything.
After a few moments, Dorothy turned back to them, "It's getting late. We should go to sleep. Elphaba, you can sleep in here and Glinda can sleep in Uncle Henry's bedroom. I'll go sleep downstairs on the couch."
"I'll take the couch," said Elphaba. She really didn't mind, she'd slept in much more unpleasant conditions. Besides, she thought it might feel a bit strange sleeping in Dorothy's old bedroom by herself. In fact, it was going to be strange sleeping anywhere by herself, as she hadn't slept without Fiyero beside her since they'd left the Emerald City together.
"Are you sure?" asked Dorothy.
Elphaba nodded in response, and Dorothy rummaged through her closet for a moment before emerging with a blanket and pillow. She handed them to Elphaba and said, "The couch is down in the living room. It's to the right of the entrance hall we passed through when we came in."
Elphaba nodded and she and Glinda bid Dorothy goodnight before leaving the room and closing the door behind them. Elphaba went downstairs to set up the couch for herself, and Glinda entered a bedroom on the other end of the hall, which she assumed was the one Dorothy had spoken of. Neither heard the soft, muffled sobs coming from Dorothy's room as the night grew darker and they slept soundly.
Well, that's it. We're in Kansas. I wasn't sure whether or not I went a little overboard with the grieving Dorothy idea, but I imagine that if all of your relatives were dead and your home was abandoned you'd probably feel a bit overwhelmed.
Anyways, I'll take this time to answer a couple of reviews:
WickedJelly: 'Tis a common mistake. The name Hunk is pretty much drilled into my head because we did the Wizard of Oz for my school play when I was in seventh grade (coincidentally the same year that Wicked started on Broadway). It could be. What if I'm doomed to never have a smiley face ever again. I'm gonna cry.
Sadly you are not the first this time. But you can have a virtual cookie anyways.
Sigma1: Ugh no, don't even suggest it. I cannot stand it when Elphaba's skin is changed! She's green goddammit, leave the color. Sorry, I get annoyed when a good fic goes and changes Elphaba's skin, cuz then I can't read it any more cuz it bothers me.
elphabathedelerious32: I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a rhetorical comment, but I shouldn't be allowed to hammer things into the walls either. ;P
Well, that's all for now. Please leave me a review if you have the time and I'll try to get the next chapter up by this weekend or earlier.
Till next time S.P.
