Chapter 34

I do not own anything from the Wizard Of Oz.

So sorry for the delay everyone, we have been really busy.

"Comfortable Dorothy?" Ozma asked with a smirk.

Dorothy scoffed at the queen, and tried to adjust the chains around her wrists to make them more comfortable. Her wrists were now almost raw and sore. Dorothy eyed the emerald now incased in a force field like bubble that Dorothy could not penetrate mentally to release the emerald back into her possession.

Dorothy was stuck in the throne room. She was not even allowed to have a private room in the castle. At least Drigka did that for her, she thought wryly.

"Now, all we do is wait for Scarecrow to make his entrance, and all will be complete," Ozma said as she walked around.

Dorothy's scrunched her eyebrows. "You knew the Nargol would be defeated, didn't you?"

Ozma laughed slightly. "Of course. You and Glinda are too powerful to let them win. I was shocked about King Jonah, but such is life. Now, I can execute my power over the council," Ozma explained.

"Oran would never allow that. He will be named the new head of the council," Dorothy shot back.

Ozma flung back her silver-blonde hair. "That weakling. He will pay for what he did to me," Ozma muttered.

Dorothy thought for a moment. "Ozma, you almost have Scarecrow along with myself. Isn't it time to lift the spell on the people?"

Reginald came in at that moment before Dorothy could get an answer from Ozma. Her gave Dorothy a death stare as he entered, but then turned away from her. He was grieving his son, and Dorothy knew he would want vengeance against Scarecrow himself.

"Dorothy. I should have known that womanizing, boozing Ordaran would not be able to finish the job. I put my trust in him, and he screwed up," Ozma began. "He was the one who requested Scarecrow, and I gave him willingly. I should have said no."

"Ordaran played with Scarecrow too much to boost his own ego," Dorothy said.

Ozma nodded. "You're right there. I should have gotten rid of you two long ago. I always knew you'd be a threat to me one day."

Dorothy adjusted her chains and flinched at the pain in her wrists. "Why? We never even gave any inkling that we would plan to overthrow you. We were just living happily on our farm. We never complained, never questioned, anything!"

Ozma eyed her steadily, and answered. "Do you really think that Scarecrow would have allowed the riots, and uprising to happen after hearing about it?"

"People never rioted until you sent Scarecrow away!" Dorothy retorted.

"No, but there were plans, and Ordaran couldn't have came at a better time," Ozma said.

"Scarecrow and I were no part of that."

"No, but you would have been. Scarecrow, in all his loyalty, couldn't resist, and deep down Dorothy, you know it," Ozma said standing and pacing a little again.

Dorothy watched as Ozma began to pace again.

"What about the people?" Dorothy asked.

"Shut up!" Reginald yelled to Dorothy.

Dorothy flinched again, but not from the chains, but from Reginald's stare. She did not like the look in his eyes. It was evil, and Dorothy looked down to avoid it.

Ozma put a hand out to calm Reginald. "I will answer the question. I will let up once Scarecrow is in my possession, and then I will cast a new spell to control the people of Oz forever," Ozma said.

"Someday one of them will figure it out, and remove you," Dorothy said angrily.

Ozma laughed, and then brightened. "There has been something I have been meaning to tell you."

Dorothy's eyes narrowed. She struggled against the chains again, but it was no use. She was locked in.

"What?"

Ozma produced a little bottle from her pocket, and Reginald began to sneer behind her as she walked towards Dorothy.

Just then Boren walked back into the thrown room and bowed to Ozma who barely acknowledged him. His eyes were on Dorothy. Dorothy caught the guilt, but just for a moment.

Ozma came face to face with Dorothy, and held out the small bottle in her hand.

"Remember when you were injured in the jungle near Aglas?" Ozma asked.

Dorothy began to sweat, and swore she would probably faint at that moment. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breathing began to quicken.

"Yes," she answered with a shaky voice.

Ozma turned back to Boren, and ordered, "Boren, tell Dorothy what this is."

Boren's green eyes flashed with anger for a moment, but he looked down and could not meet Dorothy's eyes. "It is Essence of Moonshade."

Dorothy began to swoon a little, and she kept swallowing. She was not stupid, and a little cry escaped her lips as she realized what it was for.

"When did you give it to her Boren?" Ozma asked smiling at Dorothy's reaction.

Dorothy's eyes began filling with tears.

"No…" she whispered.

Boren looked from Ozma to Reginald nervously, but answered. "When I offered her water as we made our way back to our village."

"It works very well, doesn't it? In fact, it works so well, that I couldn't just have a bunch of blonde haired children running around. People would have been suspicious," Ozma explained with a sneer on her face.

Dorothy felt her whole world fall apart at that moment. Never in her life had she felt such violence towards another person. She began to sob, but stood to face Ozma head on.

"You fucking bitch!" Dorothy yelled as she ran towards the queen. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to beat the life out of the fairy queen. Nothing!

Dorothy was not able to reach her as she was pulled to the floor by the chains. She sat there for a moment and sobbed.

Ozma watched as Dorothy crumpled to the floor in sobs.

"I take it those words were an insult to me from your world. Very well. I could not take a chance with you having that child. If you and Scarecrow are and will be defeated, then a child could come back for vengeance," Ozma said as she watched Dorothy continue to sob.

Dorothy suddenly looked up with her brown eyes now hardened. "I will kill you, Ozma. I promise you that."

Ozma chuckled at Dorothy's promise, but Boren noticed the worried look in the queen's eyes.

Ozma began to walk away when she turned to say something else to Dorothy. "There is one more thing, Dorothy. Say, if you try to escape and go outside. You will be sickened. I have put a protection spell on you, but it ends the moment you go outside."

….

Dorothy sat there for a while, and tried to calm her anger, and her feelings of betrayal. She never imagined that Ozma would ever go that far. She ignored everyone around her. She ignored the sympathetic looks from the servants, and advisors. They used to be Scarecrow's servants and advisors, but fear kept them loyal to Ozma. In return she kept them, and their families healthy.

Dorothy looked over the balcony doors, which were tightly shut because of the disease that had overtaken Oz. There was a group of soldiers who had come in not too long before who had been healed by the fairy queen.

Now, it was just a waiting game for Scarecrow to arrive. She wondered on his plans, and how she would release the emerald, and have Ozma gone from this world once and for all.

Dorothy sat there contemplating what to do. She knew Scarecrow was in Oz somewhere, and knew they were truly alone in this, but what his plans were she did not know. He had to know by now she was captured, and he would be coming for her.

Think, Dorothy, think!

She watched the emerald as it beamed to her through the force field. She could tell it was trying to get back to her. She closed her eyes for a moment, and began to concentrate on it. She knew there was a sacrifice that needed to be made to save them all.

She opened her eyes and looked around. Ozma and Reginald had been called to a meeting, and there were only guards in the throne room now. She had no idea where Boren was.

He was probably still watching for Scarecrow, she thought.

Dorothy knew she could reach the doors, and open them, but did she take the chance?

She looked up to see Boren standing above her at that moment. His sad eyes glowed green slightly as he stared down at her.

"I have nothing to say to you," she said bitterly.

Boren shook his head and said, "I never wanted this to go this far. I was only trying to protect my people from this."

Dorothy sighed. "You told me how much you loathe power, but here you are, back to being a shape shifter, and now a full sized dragon on top of that. I would call that power. Boren, you threw your own sister like she was a rag doll! You killed your former leader, and you loathe power? You lied!"

Boren looked away for a moment, and said, "I didn't have choice Dorothy. Ozma would have wiped out my people."

Dorothy's eyes settled steadily on his face. "Not if you had helped us."

Boren smirked for a moment, and said, "Us? You mean Scarecrow and you?"

Before Dorothy could answer an explosion rocked the castle. Dorothy covered her head and looked around wide eyed as some of the ceiling began to crumble a little. Boren shook on his feet, and almost fell. The guards began to arm themselves, and looked around awaiting instructions.

Dorothy couldn't help but smile. She knew her husband was here.

Ozma and Reginald came running back into the throne room, and Dorothy could hear her barking instructions.

"Find him, and bring him to me!" She ordered as everyone began to scatter.

Reginald and the rest of them bowed as they began to run out of the room.

Ozma looked over at Boren and said, "Watch her."

Dorothy knew at that moment that Ozma was distracted, and her eyes narrowed as the force field began to fade a little.

Dorothy looked up at Boren who took a step back. He nodded to her, and looked around.

Suddenly, another explosion rocked the city, and Ozma fell to the ground. She was really distracted as her advisors tried to help her to the ground, and she was angrily pushing them away.

Dorothy could not concentrate at that moment to get the emerald back in her grasp, and she looked up at Boren to try to formulate something else.

She feared for Scarecrow as he was in danger.

Dorothy caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She knew this throne room just as well as Ozma, and saw the secret door open a little. It was so fast that if you blinked you could have missed it.

She knew Scarecrow was waiting for the right moment. She had to do something.

Dorothy began to concentrate again as Ozma began to bark orders once more. She could feel the power of the emerald within her, and it began to pulsate within the force field once more.

"Boren! Once he is found I want you to burn him with your fire!" Ozma screamed angrily. Boren stood there not saying a word.

Ozma then glanced over at Dorothy. She could see what Dorothy was doing, and her blue eyes widened with realization.

At that moment, Dorothy was too busy trying to free the emerald to know that Ozma saw her.

Ozma smiled and began to make her way over. She knew she could not keep Dorothy from getting the emerald this way, but she could delay it a little.

Ozma then walked over to the balcony doors continuing to watch Dorothy as emerald was starting to free itself from the force field to rejoin its mistress.

"I don't think so Dorothy Gale!"

A resounding "No!" came through the throne room as Scarecrow came through the tunnel door and made himself known.

Ozma opened the door, and began to chant her spell to Dorothy Gale.

Dorothy struggled to breath as the illness began to take over her body. She felt very hot, and began to cough uncontrollably for a moment struggling with each gasping breath. Sweat began to trickle down her face, and she could have sworn she spotted spots of blood on the floor from the cough.

She looked around as dizziness had taken its hold, and tried to focus.

She could see the emerald and how it was still quiet in the force field, and she could see the outline of Scarecrow as he ran towards her, but was immediately subdued by soldiers.