Chapter 24
Hi All! I do not own anything from Wizard of Oz.
Sorry again for the delays. Ugh! Life, you know. Also, sometimes my grief for my mom can still be overwhelming.
Anyway, enjoy! Still lots more to go.
Scarecrow felt his breath leave him as the snake wrapped itself around his neck. His lungs screamed for air, and his heart was beating out of his chest. His surroundings began to blur as the snake squeezed the life out of him. He knew this feeling before, and it was not pretty. He wondered if Dorothy was now waiting for him on the other side.
He stopped struggling as the blurriness began to fade and the snake hissing in his face began to blacken. It was over, and he was ready. He could no longer feel his body, and his mind began to calm. He could have sworn he began to see figures swirl around what was left of his sight.
His one thought was of his wife. It kind of surprised him that he did not see her yet. Maybe, she was still alive, maybe he should fight back against Boren who was hissing things that he could not decipher in his ear.
Then something happened. The grip around his neck loosened. He could have sworn he heard a yelp, and air began to rush back into his lungs.
Scarecrow was shoved to his side, and a coughing fit began to overtake him as the air went in and out of his body. He still could not move, but noticed the blackness went back to blurriness, and then things started to focus once more.
A dark figure loomed over him, and a deep voice came through to his ears. "You'll be alright now, Scarecrow King."
He could hear arguing going on, but it still seemed so far away, but it was profound. As his vision focused he could see two figures arguing above him.
Scarecrow's vision became clearer as the figures went from arguing to changing into lions. Both roared at each other, and then began to fight into the middle of the arena.
Suddenly, cool arms wrapped around him, and pulled him away from the fight.
He looked to see brown eyes and auburn hair above him.
"Are you alright?" Dorothy asked Scarecrow.
Scarecrow shook his head to clear his thoughts, and smiled at her. "Yes, I'm fine."
Dorothy held onto Scarecrow for a moment while a coughing fit overtook him again. They needed to get out of there.
Dorothy had spotted the dark skinned man come out to the arena as Boren was choking Scarecrow, and before she could react the man pulled Boren off of him, and the two began to fight.
"What is this?" Scarecrow said staring at the two fighting animals.
Dorothy shook her head in amazement. "I don't know. I saw Boren choking you, but the other man, I think you called him Ami, came out of the other tunnel."
The couple embraced, and Scarecrow said, "Thank the gods, you're alright. I thought Boren had gotten to you."
Dorothy smiled, and said, "He did, and he destroyed the emerald, but he couldn't kill me. His sister Khali saved me."
Scarecrow knew already, and he would tell her about it later. He just thanked the heavens that she was all right and back in his arms once more.
Scarecrow needed to do the right thing, and help Ami. He had saved his life.
He sat up and felt his strength beginning to return.
"Where are the others?"
Dorothy shook her head. "I don't know."
Dorothy helped Scarecrow to his feet, and she could tell by the look in his blue eyes he was going to do something.
"Scarecrow no…"
He looked down at her, and said, "I have to. Give me your sword. I need to end this."
Dorothy was so sick of the fighting they continued to have, but she knew deep down he was right. This had to end now. He was going to help the man he called Ami.
Scarecrow began to run towards the two fighting lions, but the darker one shook his head, and yelled. "No Scarecrow! This is not your fight!"
Scarecrow stopped in his tracks at Ami's words, and could only watch as the two changed to bears, and then back to lions and continued to fight each other. Ami was right there was nothing he could do, he could only stand there and watch as the two shapeshifters tore at each other.
Something had been nagging at Scarecrow, but he wasn't quite sure what it had been until he turned to go back to Dorothy.
Scarecrow knew he had forgotten someone, and that someone was his captor.
"Drop your sword, Scarecrow King," Ordaran hissed with Dorothy's knife at her throat with Meera smirking by his side.
With the scuffling shapeshifters now behind him, Scarecrow dropped the sword and raised his hands in surrender.
"No!" Dorothy screamed out, but quickly quieted when Ordaran adjusted the knife at her throat.
Ordaran looked around with a defeated, but crazed look in his dark eyes.
"Once again you take everything from me!" He yelled out.
He adjusted his stance with Dorothy and pushed the knife slightly against her throat. "But killing you wouldn't be enough for this. So, I will make you pay in another way."
Scarecrow felt this fear once before when Drigka had Dorothy in his grasp. He was now unarmed, and very human, so he didn't know what he would do now.
He could still hear the fighting going on in back of him. The shapeshifters were of no use to him now. He could not get help from Ami to try to save Dorothy. He was on his own, as he didn't know where the others were.
"Please spare her, Ordaran. Your fight is with me, not her," Scarecrow pleaded. "I am unarmed now. You can finally end this."
"No Scarecrow. I will let you live, but I will take the one thing from you that you cherish the most, for all that you have taken from me," he said.
Dorothy began to sob, and her eyes met with Scarecrow's. Scarecrow could feel the tears burn his eyes. He would die for Dorothy, but he never wanted her to die for him.
"Please…" Scarecrow began to sob a little. "I will do whatever you want."
Ordaran just laughed as Scarecrow fell to his knees in defeat. There was no other way out. Ordaran would kill her before he could even get within fighting distance with him.
Meera turned to her cousin and said, "Do it."
Dorothy began to cry, but a sudden peace came across her face and a look of love towards Scarecrow that he would remember the rest of his life, though it would not long without her. Everything they had been through together, he now cursed because it had been so tragic and so much pain. He swore with his every breath that Ordaran would die not long after Dorothy.
"I am begging you one last time to let her go," Scarecrow said outwardly sobbing now. "Take me instead, I am the one you want."
Scarecrow then spotted a flash of purple come up behind Ordaran. Surprised, he could not comprehend what was happening as Ordaran was suddenly pulled back from Dorothy.
He realized he finally had his moment, and began to run to his wife as the knife began to press into her skin. Ordaran cried out in pain, and the blood began to flow from his lips, but his grip on Dorothy loosened long enough for Scarecrow to pull her away from the knife, and back into his arms.
Then green and purple began to surround the couple and Scarecrow held Dorothy, but was confused about the colors of the soldiers surrounding them. In slow motion, Meera was now screaming in a soldier's grip.
He looked down at Dorothy and she looked up at him and began to sob into his chest. He checked on her, and thanked the gods that she was unharmed.
He then watched as Ordaran crumpled to the ground, and standing behind him was someone he was shocked to see.
King Oran of the Mifkits pulled back his sword as Ordaran fell.
Scarecrow looked at him confused at first, but Oran smiled slightly. Scarecrow nodded still in shock to see his old enemy fighting besides Oz soldiers.
"Take a moment old friend," Oran said.
Dorothy still shook in his arms, but looked at him and smiled slightly.
He tightened his grip on her, and said, "I thought I would lose you."
"Me too!" Dorothy said laughing lightly, but then blushed at her own joke. It probably wasn't appropriate at the moment.
Scarecrow chuckled and held his wife.
"Dorothy! Scarecrow!"
Scarecrow and Dorothy turned to see soldiers with Oscar, Lion, and Tin Man flood into the arena.
Oscar hugged Dorothy, and embraced Scarecrow tightly.
"We thought we lost you this time, old man," Oscar said smiling.
Scarecrow laughed at his friend and returned his embrace. "Never."
Dorothy went and embraced Oran and thanked him for saving her life.
Scarecrow was about to walk up to him and do the same thing when a scream rang out getting their attention.
"Boren no!" The horse that Tin Man rode in on cried out.
Suddenly, the horse changed to a human that was Khali.
Tin Man tried to stop her from running to the two lions fighting, but he was unsuccessful.
The crowd gathered gasped as the darker lion finally fell to the ground.
The lighter lion turned and was shocked to see the crowd of soldiers had gathered.
Khali ran to Ami to see if he was still alive, and said, "Boren stop this! It's over. Ordaran is dead!"
Scarecrow let go of Dorothy despite her protests. This was as much on him as anyone else, and he wanted to make things right.
"Stand down!" He yelled behind him as he approached the lion that growled at him. He heard his friend Lion growl in return ready to fight on a moments notice.
Khali backed up a little with a pleading look in her eyes. Scarecrow didn't notice that Dorothy had run up to her.
"Boren, you are free now. This is all over," Scarecrow said softly. "Your people are free to take back the city you were chased from not long ago. There is no need to fight anymore."
As Scarecrow approached the Lion, Dorothy walked to Khali who stood with tears in her eyes.
She suddenly turned to Dorothy with determination, and said, "You need to make us just human again."
Dorothy looked at her friend in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Khali's green eyes flashed and she said, "Boren will kill Scarecrow I know it. You need to use your emerald to stop him once and for all."
"I…I can't Khali…"
"Dorothy, please!"
"Why?"
Khali shook her head in impatience at Dorothy's questioning. "Because Boren will always blame Scarecrow as well as Ordaran did for what happened to us."
Dorothy turned to her husband, she needed to help him and fast.
Khali looked at her again. "Dorothy, do it now."
Dorothy turned and looked at her and shook her head. "I can't. The emerald was destroyed by your brother."
A looked of horror passed over Khali's face, but then calmness came over her.
She turned away from Dorothy and began to approach her brother.
Dorothy looked around, and could see shocked and confused faces around them. She could see Ami start to stir and return to human form.
The lion form of Boren roared at Scarecrow, and Dorothy began to fear for his life once more.
She could see that these people had been beat down and broken for so long that it had made permanent scars upon all of them.
Tin Man began to yell for Khali, and began to run towards her, but was stopped by Lion.
Then Dorothy felt something inside of her stir. The power of the emerald was still with her. She looked as Boren began to look between his sister and Scarecrow. Khali had been closer to Scarecrow. Boren said something to Khali, but she did not listen.
Dorothy knew at that moment what Khali was going to do.
Scarecrow yelled for Khali to stay back, but she put herself between Scarecrow and Boren.
Dorothy felt the powers of the emerald once more. Then a flash of green formed in front of her eyes. She looked down for just a second and the emerald was once again in her hand, and glowing.
Dorothy watched in horror as Khali was pushed out of the way by Boren and fell to the ground which Ami began to pull her away as she screamed for her brother to stop.
The lion then jumped through the air at Scarecrow, and Dorothy knew what she had to do at that moment to end this.
The flash came hard and fast and the crowd was almost pushed over as the power of the emerald passed through them.
Dorothy opened her eyes and could see Scarecrow just standing over a now human Boren sobbing on the ground in front of him.
Khali crawled over to her brother and put her arms around him.
Scarecrow stood over the sobbing man, and at that moment knew these people had been through their own hell. Now, because of Dorothy they were just as human as he was once again.
He bowed his head for a moment, and knew it was not over yet here in Aglas. They had a lot of cleaning up to do here first before they could they even think about going back to Oz. It was the least he could do to ease their suffering.
Ami walked up to him as Dorothy once again ran into his arms, and he hugged her tightly.
He smiled slightly at Ami, and said, "Do you still want to fight me?"
Ami laughed out loud, and both men shook hands. "No, Scarecrow King, but I only want two things."
Dorothy turned and both looked at the man confused. "What is that?" Scarecrow asked.
Ami looked around and shook his head sadly, but smiled slightly. "To help my people live freely again, and to let me go. I have made many mistakes, things I still need to pay for on my own. I wish for my freedom to walk away, it is punishment enough for me the rest of my life."
Scarecrow turned to face Ami in confusion. "Are you sure? They may need your leadership again."
Ami shook his head. "No, Scarecrow King. You were right. I lost my honor the moment I took my son's life over my own greed. I need to make my own peace with the things I have done, and it means leaving my people for good."
Scarecrow could only nod in shock, and sadness over his new found friend.
"I can never thank you enough for saving my life," Scarecrow said lowly.
Ami looked around and sighed. "Boren is innocent. Please do not punish him. He will need help, that is all I ask."
Ami took Dorothy's hand and kissed it. "You're right Scarecrow King. She is beautiful."
Dorothy smiled slightly and blushed making Ami smile widely.
"Thank you for freeing me," he said to her softly.
Scarecrow looked down at the brother and sister. Boren looked up at Scarecrow completely defeated. Khali and Tin Man hugged for a moment, which made Scarecrow, raise an eyebrow to his friend who smiled in embarrassment.
He looked back at Ami, and said, "I will."
Ami was then made a path, and walked through the arena into the city only to quickly disappear from sight.
Dorothy looked up to her husband and smiled. "It's time, Scarecrow."
Crowds began gathering in the arena. Scarecrow knew exactly what she meant, and knew there was much work to do.
…
I still have few more plans for Aglas before they head back to Oz. Yes, I am anxious to get them back there as well resolve their issues with Ozma.
I was originally going to kill off Boren, but I didn't feel it was the right thing to do.