Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Wizard of Oz franchise.
Ozma feels as though she's watching the scene unfold from the sidelines. It doesn't feel real. It isn't even possible that the Wicked Witch of the West could be her mother. Her skin was pale, like the glass from a porcelain doll while the Witch's skin was as green as the apples from the orchards. The Witch began to stroke the side of Ozma's face with shaking hands, making a shiver run down the girl's spine.
Ozma felt herself staggering away from the Witch, though she wasn't sure where she was going. Maybe the Witch was playing a trick on her, and would turn her into a broom stick to keep in the palace if she went along with her games. Ozma always thought that if she ever saw the Witch, she wouldn't get all scared like everyone else in Emerald City did, but now she can feel her chin trembling.
"You're messing with me, right?" Ozma asks with a nervous chuckle. She feels unnerved by the way that her voice trembles. The Witch continues to stare at Ozma as if she is frozen in place, and Ozma's head whips toward Mombi. "Did you know about this?"
Mombi looks between the Witch and the vulnerable teenager in front of her, before shrugging plainly. "I've told you plenty of times before, about the time that I found you in the marketplace. Of course I would have never guessed that you were the spawn of Theodora, since you certainly don't take after her with your looks." Mombi rolls her eyes, a cruel glint shining in her eyes.
"You will not address me by that name!" Theodora snaps, seemingly breaking out of her trance. Ozma, as well as the rest of the manor, watch on with confusion and curiosity. "That part of me died fourteen years ago!" Ozma isn't sure about what is going on, and all that she knows is that she can feel the sparks starting up in her fingers again. She wonders if she even needs to hide the magic anymore.
"If that is the truth, you shouldn't mind if I decide that my daughter isn't leaving." Mombi snaps, grabbing Ozma's left arm while revealing the red sparks in the girl's finger tips. Loud gasps are heard from the crowd of servants that are gathered around the scene as Ozma tries to pull her hand out of Mombi's iron grip.
"I birthed her; she belongs to me!" Theodora protests, grabbing the girl's other arm. She sees the red sparks, and for a moment, remembers a time before she was like this. She remembers getting angry herself, and the red that would fly from her fingers. The memory slips away just as quickly as it appeared, and she pulls the girl towards her body. "The magic that she possesses is proof enough that she is my child." Theodora hisses through her teeth.
Ozma can feel the anger and frustration continue to boil up inside of her as she is pulled back and forth, and doesn't want to take the extra steps to try and control it. Sure, Mombi hasn't been the ideal mother figure these past fourteen years, but Ozma still feels betrayed, even if Mombi "found her in the marketplace". The red sparks start to itch in her finger tips, and an unknown feeling rises above the others in her chest.
Suddenly, a fireball is thrown into the orchard, about two feet away from where Mombi and her sons stand. Ozma looks back at the Witch, suspecting that it was her doing, and is startled to at the way that the Witch stares at her hands.
Awe fills Theodora's eyes as she stares down at her daughter's fingertips that glow a bright red. She never would have suspected that the child would have inherited her magic abilities, and she isn't sure whether to feel proud or worried. She knows that she feels ecstasy, partly because she achieved her goal of finding the child in the first place, and partly because she has been able to push the Wicked Witch away for the longest that she ever has.
Ozma realizes that all eyes are now on her, and that arms are no longer holding onto her. She's surprised at how good it feels to wield this sort of power; it's more than she ever imagined. Sure, she's practiced trying to use the sparks before, but only at nighttime when she was in the orchard, and there wasn't much that she could do without being noticed.
She turns her attention to the Witch, who stares at her in awe. Ozma isn't sure what she feels, but if this woman expects to come back after fourteen years and claim Ozma like she was a prize to be won, then the Witch was mistaken.
"I don't know who either of you think that you are," Ozma starts loudly, making eye contact with both Mombi and Theodora. "But I belong to no one." She declares, daring anyone to challenge her.
To be honest, Ozma is surprised that Mombi is the one to laugh maniacally while the Witch just looks at her. The Witch just stands there, looking at Ozma with something in her eyes. It could have been pride, or awe, or disappointment, or just all three. Either way, it was freaking Ozma out because the Witch wasn't reacting the way that she expected her to.
"You belong to me. It says so in the adoption papers," Mombi breathes when she is done laughing. "And that means that you will get back to your chores, and we will speak about your punishment for this little stunt later." As she speaks, Mombi keeps her eyes glued to Ozma's finger tips. The normally milky color was slowly turning as red as an apple, and Mombi knew that it was a sign of her true powers revealing themselves.
"She will do no such thing." Theodora interrupts, summoning her broom into her hands. "I will not have her spending her teenage years somewhere where she isn't wanted."
"And where else am I wanted?" Ozma snaps, turning to stare at the Witch. Theodora is shocked at her sudden outburst and is about to answer, but Ozma continues. "Clearly not with you, seeing as you dumped me in the marketplace when I was an infant. What if no one had picked me up?" Ozma pauses when she notices that there are tears in the Witch's eyes once more, but not tears of joy as they had been before.
"That isn't how it works. You can't just dump me somewhere for fourteen years and then decide that you want me back one day, out of the blue. What if I don't want anything to do with you? Did you ever think about that?" Ozma asks; her eyes blurry with tears. She can feel another fire ball about to erupt from her fingers, and she turns towards the manor, as all of the residents are gathered outside.
Ozma can hear the loud shriek of one of Mombi's sons, and she can't help the smirk that crosses her face. It disappears just as quickly as it occurred when she turns and sees what she has caused. Children that she used to play with cower away from her with fear, while the adult servants shake their heads at her in shame when they aren't avoiding her eyes. Worst of all is Emma, who stares at her with big blue eyes filled with disappointment.
Half of the orchard is burning, and the Manor, which some of the servants live in. Ozma has destroyed their source of work, and their homes. She doesn't dare turn to look at the Witch, knowing what her reaction will be. She wants to feel angry, because who leaves their kid in the marketplace only to return years later? What evil witch suddenly acts all dopey at the sight of the child that they didn't want? Ozma shouldn't be the one to bear the guilt here, but she can't help it.
Ozma turns away from the scene, staring at the mud on the ground. "You shouldn't have come." She says quietly. She hears footsteps coming towards her, quiet but deliberate, and she takes off in a run. She isn't sure where she is going, but down the yellow brick road seems like the best decision.
"I still don't understand why they aren't together anymore." Nessa Rose, who used to be a China Girl but was now a China Woman, sighs as she travels down the yellow brick road. "I only left for a little while, and when I come back the Wizard and Glinda are no longer in a relationship? Finley, what did you do?"
The faithful monkey servant, who had grown a bit slower these past couple of years, look up at the young woman incredulously. "Me? What would I have done? It was Oz's fault, anyway. He never really was one built for relationships." Finley mumbled while turning away from Nessa Rose.
"What are you talking about? He and Glinda love each other! And they were in such a beautiful relationship for so many years…" Nessa Rose trailed of, running a hand over the delicate china that was her face. She found it hard to believe that her adoptive family would have fallen apart in such a short period of time. "Is he still worried about the Wicked Witch?" Nessa Rose asked, nudging Finley with her elbow.
Finley was unsure about answering, as he was sure that Oz wouldn't want the China Woman to know about his personal problems, yet Nessa Rose had the right to know what was going on. "He's still having the nightmares," Finley admitted while scratching behind his ears. "Glinda has been supportive, but there's only so much that she could do and she was probably getting frustrated…" Finley trailed off, knowing that his explanation was doing no good.
So far, Nessa Rose's trip home wasn't starting off on the best foot. Her adoptive parents broken up, while she had always thought that they would be together forever. "So they broke up on his birthday?" Nessa Rose asked in a whisper. Finley smirked as he led the way back to the palace that the china woman had grown up in. "It's funny that I tell you that he's still having the nightmares about the Witch, yet you wonder about the plans for his birthday." Finley rubs his chin, and is interrupted by a soft kick from Nessa Rose.
"I'm serious! I mean, if it was my fault that someone was turned into a Wicked Witch, I would have nightmares too! That's no reason to end their relationship! If they had to do it, they could have waited until after his birthday at least." She pouted.
"It's not always that simple, Nessa." Finley sighed, signaling that this was the end of the conversation. Nessa Rose huffed once more, before walking ahead of Finley, who was taking his time on the trail.
"Nessa, wait! You know that I don't feel comfortable on this road alone!" He called, though he was ignored as the china woman continued to hurry ahead of him. "There is still a Witch on the loose!" Finley called out in a stage whisper. "Do you really want me to be destroyed?"
"Finley!" Nessa Rose's voice called out from over the hill. The couple was growing closer to the palace, which gave Finley some piece of mind, but the tone of Nessa Rose's voice made his fears resurface.
"What is it?" Finley asked, breaking out his wings and catapulting over the hill. "Are you hur-" Finley started, pausing when he saw what was wrong.
Nessa Rose cradled a small girl in her arms, and looked up with Finley with wide eyes. The girl had dirt smeared across her face and her eyes were shut, making Finley shudder.
"She must have run away."
I used Nessa Rose for China Girl (sorry if it was confusing) because when I went to see Wicked(I've seen it three times), Elphaba's sister's name was Nessa Rose, if I'm remembering correctly. Anyway, thanks for the support on the last chapter!
Thanks to:
somebody: Thank you so much!
gothgirl97: Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! I was trying to combine the books and the musical and the movie, but there's so much!
NadezhdaST: Thank you so much! I'm glad that it made sense, because I was hoping that it was! (I loved your long review)
So what did you guys think of this chapter?