Chapter 23
I do not own anything from Wizard of Oz. I promise this is all tying together.
Anyway, they still have to go back to Oz and deal with Ozma right?
Dorothy led Meera out of the Arena. It was absolute chaos outside of the arena. She looked around to see if any help had arrived yet, but no such luck. Dorothy threatened any soldier that came near her or Meera with the emerald necklace that was now back in her possession.
She was upset Scarecrow decided to stay and fight Ordaran, but she knew he had to resolve it.
"Dorothy, just let me go, and I promise you can leave the city," Meera said to her.
Dorothy pulled on the magical ropes, and said, "I doubt that. I won't kill you if you cooperate."
Dust was rising through the city, and she could see fires going in the distance. It was a war zone, and she had yet to spot anyone from Oz.
People ran around them, and when a soldier or group of soldiers met up with them, she would still use Meera as her shield.
It did work, and all Dorothy wanted was to see her friends, and go back for Scarecrow.
She wondered where the shapeshifters were, and if they would help after all. Who knew if Ordaran had lied to her, and the shapeshifters were not evil. She could not take the chance. She could not trust anyone.
She continued to walk through the city, and had Meera in front of her. She had Meera guide her, and said she would let her go once she was safe with her friends.
"You are not safe, Dorothy," Meera said.
"What do you mean?"
Meera chuckled. "You will see."
Dorothy was tense from anticipation. She held onto to the emerald for dear life. It was her only protection.
She kept looking around, but could only spot citizens of Aglas.
She just wanted this all to be over, and go home.
Suddenly, Dorothy looked up and could see a swarm of something dark in the sky.
Meera cried out in fear, and turned Dorothy and said, "Let me go! You have no idea what you have done."
Dorothy stopped and looked up. It was a flock of some kind of birds. They began to take aim, and Dorothy realized they were going to attack the city.
Dorothy could only stand there in awe, as the formation was so perfect that it was almost surreal.
People around them began to scream and cry out and run for their lives.
Dorothy knew it was the shapeshifters, and she needed to do something about them, if they were really evil.
Dorothy looked at Meera who pleaded with her silently.
Dorothy willed the emerald to let her go, and the ropes disappeared.
Meera shook her head at Dorothy. "They will not spare you."
She then took off in the other direction without looking back at Dorothy.
Dorothy stood and watched. She then gasped in fear, and realized what was happening. The swarm of birds was taking aim at her!
Boren, you asshole, she thought angrily.
Before Dorothy could react a swarm of hawk like creatures surrounded her. She began to cry out in pain and fear as they flew past her, and pecked at her skin. She fell to her knees and covered her head. She needed to get a spell going or it would be the end of her.
"Don't kill her!" A voice suddenly yelled out.
Dorothy looked up and could see Boren walking towards her as the birds began to swirl around him.
Dorothy looked behind him, and just spotted a sea of green and black when she was hauled to her feet by the blonde shapeshifter.
Dorothy looked straight into the glowing green eyes, and spat, "I should have known."
Boren held her against him and said, "Things would have been fine if you had not come along."
Dorothy's eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Boren shook his head. "I am not the evil one here, Dorothy."
"Then why did you attack me?"
"Did you think I would just let you go just like that? Your precious Scarecrow was the one who set the embargos, and who paid?"
"What?"
"Answer me!" He said bringing her closer to his face.
"How did you pay for that? You were already out of the city by the time he did that."
"It was because of him that we were attacked again! We were taken for slaves again, and butchered. Ordaran was able to defeat us once again. Ami had a deal with him. He would stay and fight, and Ordaran would leave us alone, and he broke it after those embargos," Boren explained angrily to her.
Dorothy shook her head, and said, "How was he supposed to know? Slavery is illegal in this realm. He did what he thought was right! What Ordaran did after that was not Scarecrow's fault."
Boren shook his head, and she could see the tears forming in his eyes.
"Then Scarecrow gets captured, which was fine, but you come along. I could have looked past it Dorothy. I could have loved you more than that stupid straw man ever could."
Dorothy stepped back a little, and ignored his admission. "Then why did you help me? Wouldn't it be to your benefit that Scarecrow was captured?"
"I never thought he would live this long," Boren answered through gritted teeth. "I went with you, because I thought he would be dead by now."
"Boren, there is good and evil on both sides of any war. Ordaran was doing more that slavery you know that! He was smuggling, and thieving."
Boren shook his head in disgust, and said, "You will never see through it, will you? You will never see that royalty is nothing but evil?"
Dorothy shook her head. "I never would have came back to this world, and stayed if I had thought that of Scarecrow. All you want to see is that your people paid a price for Ordaran's crimes, but instead of asking for help, you stubbornly decided to risk lives, and not look at the big picture."
Boren looked at her for a moment and said, "There is one other thing."
Dorothy looked at him suspiciously and asked, "What?"
Boren grabbed and before Dorothy could react the emerald was wrenched from her hand.
Boren then looked at Dorothy for a moment, and she could see the tears gathering again.
"I would have loved you. I would have given you a good life, but you still chose the Scarecrow King. I knew it all along, but he has to pay for what he did to us," Boren said.
Dorothy could feel her breathing quicken. She could feel the fear begin to intensify. She struggled to get the emerald back, but Boren was too strong for that. She felt she knew what was coming next. She had been in this position before. She knew of death very well. It had hit her many times, and now recently with the loss of her son. She wondered if there would ever be a day that her and Scarecrow would ever find peace, and maybe it was only in death that they would.
It was to Dorothy's surprise that he suddenly pushed her to the ground.
Boren shook his head, and said, "I can't do it. I was going to kill you, but I…I can't. I will do one thing though."
Dorothy was suddenly pushed to the ground, and the other shapeshifters began to surround her.
Boren turned to her, and said, "However, this doesn't mean I won't do the same for Scarecrow, and I will not let you make us human again."
Dorothy tried to get up and get to the emerald again. She tried to have it come to her, but he was too strong.
Boren then made a fist and Dorothy could hear the small crack of the jewel crushing in his hand.
Dorothy cried out as the magic she held in her for so long went dark, and she felt like she just lost part of herself. Without the emerald she would have nothing to fight back with. It had been with her since she was child. Even when she had gone back to Earth as a child, it had always been with her in the form of rubies. She could always feel it, and now it was gone. She felt even though Boren hadn't actually took her life, that a piece of her was now gone.
"Take her to the arena," Boren said as Dorothy sobbed lowly.
Dorothy was then pulled up to her feet, and they made their way to the arena. Without the emerald necklace there was nothing they could do to defeat the shapeshifters.
Dorothy then looked up and realized Boren had gone on ahead of her. He was anxious to get to Scarecrow. She had no way to warn him that Boren was coming for him.
She looked around, and knew the shapeshifters would never listen to her. They only took orders from Boren. She had to do something.
"Dorothy!" A voice came out of the distance. The shapeshifters stopped swirling around her, and all turned to look at Oscar and a bunch of soldiers from Oz bearing down on them.
Dorothy was relieved, but at the same time scared for them.
She went to yell for them to keep back when a female voice came out of the crowd, and yelled, "Let her go!"
Dorothy spotted Khali walk through the crowd with Tin Man following close behind.
Khali looked determined as she met up with her kin. "I said let her go!"
The other shapeshifters looked at each other in shock.
Khali then shapeshifted into a hawk as well, and began to fly through the crowd attacking whoever stayed around Dorothy.
"Khali!" Tin Man yelled out with obvious concern.
Khali then came out of the crowd, and said, "Get her out of here! I can take care of this."
Tin Man then grabbed Dorothy and dragged her out of the swarm of birds that were now attacking each other.
"Are you alright?" Tin Man asked as he stood her up.
Dorothy nodded, and suddenly arms wrapped around her in a hug from Oscar.
"Thank the gods you are safe," Oscar said to her.
Dorothy nodded and held Oscar for a moment. She was so happy to see him and others that almost forgot.
Tin Man was now helping Khali fight off her captures.
Dorothy looked at Oscar confused. "What is this?"
Oscar looked over, and said, "Some of the shapeshifters turned on us, but not all of them. We were warned by Boren's sister."
Oran came up and embraced Dorothy and so did Lion.
"We have the city under our control now," Lion said. "Where is Scarecrow?"
The rest of the birds took off into the sky, and Tin Man was now holding on obviously injured bird in his arms. He looked genuinely upset.
"Tin Man, how badly injured is she?"
Khali then came back to human form, and held onto Tin Man breathing heavily. "I am alright," she said smiling slightly.
Dorothy turned to Oscar and said, "We have to get to the arena. Boren destroyed my emerald."
Oscar looked over her in shock, but did not address it. "Lead the way! Let's go get our King."
They began to run off to the arena, and Dorothy was given a sword and knife in case she needed.
It was not easy getting over there, as they had to fight off soldiers on their way.
Khali looked over at Dorothy apologetically. "I never wanted this Dorothy."
Dorothy smiled at her. "I know."
Khali looked over at Tin Man and back at Dorothy. "I can get us there faster."
Despite her pain, Khali became and horse.
Tin Man spotted Dorothy climbing her, and said, "Wait for us!"
Dorothy shook her head as she held Khali's mane. "No time!"
Khali then galloped through the rest of the city, and through the crowds. She was able to kick soldiers trying to attack while Dorothy slashed at them with her sword.
Then a group of soldiers were almost able to take them down, and Dorothy felt Khali buckle underneath her.
Khali let out a frustrated cry, and said, "I need to change!"
Dorothy nodded and held her mane. Before Dorothy could blink she was sitting on top of a striped tiger. The tiger roared, and Dorothy smiled as most of the soldiers backed off in fear.
Dorothy was then shook off her back, and Khali jumped into the crowd.
"Go!" Khali yelled. "I'll be there in a minute."
Dorothy looked over her one more time, and then took off running for the arena.
She could hear Khali's roars behind her as she reached the tunnel.
She ran through it praying that she would get there in time. She slowed down as she made her way along the wall. It was quiet, and she didn't like that. She was grateful there were no soldiers around.
She made her way along the wall trying to reach the light at the end fast, but not enough to be noticed.
Trying to calm her beating heart, and breath. She came to the door, and looked on.
Scarecrow was about to behead Ordaran. Feeling relieved she was about to show herself when a figure came out of the sky, and changed to the rattlesnake. The snake wrapped around Scarecrow's neck, and he fell to the ground grabbing at the snake.
Ordaran must have been injured because he did not rise right away.
Dorothy had to do something. It was obvious it was Boren, and she had to get him off of Scarecrow.
Getting her knife ready, she began to come out of the tunnel, but what she saw next shocked her, and made her stop in her tracks.