Wicked Comet part 16
Rich spent a long while in recovery, despite the accelerated healing provided by Elphaba's magic. When he was able to stand and walk again, he had to be helped by Elphaba or Chistery when Elphaba was out.
Rich knew what Elphaba was doing; she was locked in a hunt for Nessa's ruby slippers. Every time she left Kiamo Ko to hunt for the shoes, Rich had tried to reason with her but Elphaba wouldn't listen.
Over time Rich became increasingly bored, even with Elphaba stealing pieces of advanced military equipment off the Gale Force for Rich to examine, over the lack of activity since the Comet's demise and concerned over Elphaba's wellbeing. To pass the time, he had taken to teach Chistery and the Flying monkeys to play cards with a packet of playing cards which were the first present that Elphaba ever gave Rich for his Fifth birthday.
Lots of time passed, but one day, when Rich was playing a game of "Cheat" with Chistery, Elphaba came flying through the window at colossal speed and landed mere inches from where Rich was sitting!
"We're going to have guests soon" Elphaba said to Rich.
"Who?" Rich asked.
"The Farm girl and her companions" Elphaba replied with a smirk.
Rich instantly knew who Elphaba was talking about (She had been talking about them quite a lot recently).
"Oh Elphaba, you're not going to attack them are you?!" Rich groaned.
"I won't kill them if that's what you are saying. Besides, it's the Lion, the Farm-girl and that stupid mutt that I want" Elphaba snapped.
"Well that's a relief, but I do hope you know what you are doing, I don't want to see you getting hurt or doing anything stupid" Rich warned Elphaba in a concerned tone of voice.
"I've said this dozens of times and I will only say it once more, I'm the Wicked Witch of the West, I can do anything I want and nothing can stop me!" Elphaba replied angrily, her eyes flashing scarlet red for a brief second.
Rich looked terrified at Elphaba now, so he stood up to his full height and said calmly,
"I'll make my preparations" before he strode off slowly and painfully, with Chistery helping him along.
Elphaba slumped to the floor and cried, she didn't want to be wicked, all she wanted was to be loved and respected but that was all gone to her now. Her work to help Animals and animals alike, along with people fighting the Wizard, had been regarded as pure wickedness by the rest of Oz. One by one, Elphaba's friends and loved ones had either died or been turned against her. Rich had stuck with her the whole time but Elphaba was beginning to think that even Rich might turn against her soon.
She knew she had to work quickly and be careful since if she lost Rich, Elphaba would be truly alone.
Several hours later
Elphaba had the Flying monkeys capture Dorothy, Toto and the Cowardly Lion and had flown them to Kiamo Ko where Dorothy had been isolated.
Try as she might, Dorothy couldn't get the shoes off, nor could Elphaba force them off due to Glinda's magic enchantment on them.
Rich had managed to find out where Dorothy was being held and had taken it upon himself to make sure that Dorothy didn't starve to death or go insane. Elphaba told him to do everything he could to get the shoes off Dorothy. Rich had expressed his doubts to this.
At this moment, Rich was currently in the corridor, outside the room where Dorothy was being held.
He didn't have a tray of food with him; the time that Rich had allocated when Dorothy's dinner would be brought to her was still a few hours off yet and that job, Rich would give to the flying monkeys. Rich only wanted to talk to Dorothy, hopefully in trying get the shoes off her feet.
Slowly, Rich turned the key in the lock and moved quietly into the room,
"Who's there?" came the timid voice of Dorothy from the darkened interior of the room.
"A friend" was Rich's reply as he sat down on an old wooden stool near the door.
Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, he saw the huddled figure of Dorothy. She was just a kid for Oz sake!
They both sat in silence for a long moment before Rich said calmly,
"you are going to have to take those shoes off"
Dorothy whimpered before she burst out into tears,
"Don't you see? I can't! If I could I would have!" Dorothy managed to say between sobs.
Rich just sat where he was, fearful that any action on his part would make the situation worse, Couldn't Elphaba see that she was destroying Dorothy?
"I understand that. But those shoes have to come off soon. My cousin is starting to get mad now…." Rich said before he trailed off, as he realise he had just given away a critical piece of information and before he could give away more critical information such as Elphaba's name.
"She's your cousin?" Dorothy exclaimed, not quite believing what Rich had just said.
"Yeah, she is my cousin." Rich replied.
Dorothy was still confused by what Rich said so he explained as best as he could,
"The Witch and I grew up together, along with her sister, the witch of the east. Our lives were good, I invented many wonderful machines. Including a powered aircraft known as the Comet, but that crashed just as you arrived."
Dorothy interrupted Rich there,
"I saw a flying silver thing close to my house just before I arrived. Was that the Comet?" Dorothy asked.
"Yes, that was the Comet. I was flying it at the time, like I do always" Rich replied.
"Wow! That was you?" Dorothy said, surprised.
"It was, I was the one flying the Comet, but enough about me. What about you?" Rich asked.
Dorothy then began to tell Rich various facts about her life whilst Rich did the same.
"You know, my cousin, she isn't wicked. She's just lost her way. Those shoes are important to her" Rich said to Dorothy.
Dorothy smiled before she said,
"I knew it! I always thought she wasn't wicked!" she said in glee.
Just as she said this, they both heard Elphaba landing on the floor upstairs and her calling out,
"RICH? Where are you? You had better not be talking to that farm girl!"
"Blast, she's back early!" Rich exclaimed as he got up to his feet and strode towards the door,
"Promise me you will not mention anything that I told you to anyone" He said to Dorothy before he left the room.
"I promise" was Dorothy's reply before Rich left the room and locked the door behind him.