The sun beat down on them as Luke, Lando and Trevor continued down the road. It was probably around noon; a day had already passed since Luke's journey began. He and Lando had slept in a soft patch of grass for the night, the summer air keeping them warm and comfortable. More and more trees were popping up so Luke assumed they would eventually be led into a forest of some kind.
After a while, Trevor whined and pawed at Luke's moving feet. "Luke, I'm tired." Was what he could pick up.
Luke sighed, "Alright, c'mon boy." He bent down and picked up the small dog while continuing down the road. Luke was starting to lag behind from the heat and from walking since this morning. That and something else had been gnawing at him: hunger. He hadn't felt this hungry in a long time, and was afraid it would soon affect his judgment.
Lando on the other hand, seemed to be filled to the brim with energy, Luke assumed because he was a scarecrow. "C'mon slowpoke!" Lando called, now ahead of him. "You want to get home soon don't you?"
Luke panted and stopped, putting Trevor back down, "Sorry Lando," he said, "It's just that we've been walking for so long, and I haven't eaten anything since I got here."
Lando seemed to understand Luke's dilemma and glanced around. There had to be some kind of food around for Luke to eat. It wasn't long before he spied the trees they were passing; a bunch of them had red fruit hanging from the branches. "Hey Luke; there are apples over here!" Lando called.
"Apples?" Luke asked, immediately perking up and running towards Lando. Luke looked up at the ripe and shiny fruit causing his mouth to water. He reached up for it but quickly found it was too high. He jumped a few times, but it was no use. He let out a yelp when he was suddenly scooped up and placed up high. He looked down to see Lando smiling up at him from his perch on his shoulders. Luke smiled in thanks and managed to grab an apple.
"What are you two doing?"
Luke and Lando jumped from the sudden voice causing Lando to lose his balance. As a scarecrow, he wasn't very sturdy to begin with, but he managed to catch Luke and keep him from falling head first onto the brick road behind them. Luke still had his apple safely in his hands and the two looked up to see a young girl that looked a few years older than Luke.
She wore a golden sundress and had light brown hair tied up in a ponytail. Her hands were on her hips as she glowered at them. "What are you doing in my orchard?" she asked sharply.
Luke and Lando quickly got up and Luke bowed apologetically. "Sorry Miss, it was my fault." he said. "I was hungry and we didn't know anyone owned these apples."
The girl's glare became a bit softer, but she still seemed bitter about the whole affair. "Well, be sure to ask next time." she scolded. "Not just anyone can take Aroma's apples."
"We're very sorry." Luke said again, but Aroma waved her hand. "You already apologized and picked the apple; you can keep it, just don't let me catch you in my orchard again, understand?
"We promise." Luke and Lando said together, not wanting to upset Aroma any further. They continued down the road until Aroma and her orchard were well out of sight before they sat on the side of the road and Luke set to work on his apple. It was by far the sweetest apple Luke had ever tasted; no wonder Aroma was upset that he took one. She probably had the best apples in Oz.
As Luke ate, he noticed Lando just watching him eat. "Are you not hungry Lando?" Luke asked.
Lando shook his head, "Scarecrow, remember? I don't need to eat." he said. Luke nodded and quickly finished his apple down to the core. "Feel better?" Lando asked.
Luke nodded; he didn't see any garbage bins anywhere, so the forest was probably the best place. He chucked the core behind him when a loud bong rang out. Lando and Luke cringed from the unexpected sound. "What was that?" Luke asked.
He got up and faced the trees behind them, but saw nothing that could have made that sound at first glance. He took a few steps when his foot hit something hard, making the same sound. Luke crouched to the ground, finding his old apple core as well as what looked like a pair of feet. Luke tapped the feet; they were made of tin! He slowly got up, following the feet which led to legs, then a torso, and a head.
"Lando, look at this!" Luke called. Lando arrived and his eyes widened at Luke's discovery. It was a woman...a woman made out of tin!
All her features were perfectly shaped out of the metal. If it weren't for her very pale and shiny skin, Luke probably would've thought she was human. She had bright yellow hair that reached her shoulders and had black eyes. Her tin outfit consisted of jeans, and a thick shirt covered with a vest, almost like a lumberjack and she held an axe in her hand. Her body was covered in dirt and rust, and leaves and vines were slowly beginning to make their way onto her.
"How long do you think she's been here?" Luke asked. Lando didn't answer. Luke looked to see that he was staring at the woman. His eyes were wide behind his glasses as he gazed at her in awe. "Lando?" Luke asked.
The scarecrow didn't even move. "She...she's beautiful…" he said softly, completely forgetting Luke's presence.
"Lando!" Luke said a little louder, tugging at his sleeve. Lando blinked and looked down at Luke who was smiling mischievously up at him. "Do you like her?" Luke asked.
Lando's cheeks turned pink as he stuttered for a response, "U-Uh, w-well, I-I..." Luke giggled at how flustered he got; love made people act pretty funny sometimes. His smile faded when he heard something. It sounded like a muffled voice, trying to speak.
Luke looked up at the woman's blank eyes, "Did you say something?" he asked. Again, he heard the same sound. Lando seemed to hear it too as he stopped talking. They listened and heard it yet again, and it sounded a bit desperate.
"What was that?" Lando asked. The woman tried to speak again and Luke strained his hearing.
"I think she said...oil can." Luke said.
Lando frowned, "Oil can?" he asked. "What is that supposed to…" Lando trailed off as he spied a small oil can sitting on a tree stump. He snatched it up and faced the woman. "Where should we oil first?" he asked.
The woman spoke again and Luke listened carefully. "She said her mouth." Luke said. Lando nodded and quickly squirted oil onto the woman's lips. She slowly moved her lips, working the oil around until she opened her mouth and let out a breath.
"Oh thank goodness…" she said breathlessly. "It's been so long since I could talk."
"What happened to you, Miss?" Luke asked.
The woman took a deep breath, "First, would you mind oiling the rest of me; I haven't moved in ages and I'm really stiff." she said biting back a groan. Lando quickly oiled the elbow and shoulder joints closest to him before handing it off to Luke who did the same to her other arm. Lando gave her arms a sharp tug, allowing them to squeak and come loose from their rusty prison. The woman sighed in relief as he axe fell to the ground with a thump. "Blast this heavy thing…" she sighed irritably.
Luke quickly applied some oil to her knee and leg joints to she could walk and Lando helped her to sit down. "How long have you been here?" Lando asked.
The woman shrugged, "I don't know, I stopped counting after twenty days." She picked up her axe and placed it in a small scabbard like holder made of leather strapped to her back.
"How did you get so rusty?" Luke asked, sitting next to her.
The woman sighed, "Well, I was chopping down some trees around here, and the next thing I knew, it started raining." she recounted. "I've been standing here rusting ever since."
Luke and Lando looked at each other in shock as the woman stretched her finally mobile arms. "Well, at least you can move now." Lando said.
The woman nodded, "Yes, thank you for helping me; I was afraid I would never move again."
Luke smiled, "It was our pleasure Miss." he said with a nod.
"Please, call me Sharon." The woman said with a kind smile.
"Well, I'm Lando, and this is Luke." Lando said. A bark was heard at their feet and Luke laughed, "Oh, and this is Trevor."
Sharon nodded, "It's very nice to meet all three of you." she said, looking at Trevor to ensure that he didn't feel left out. "But what brings you out here?" she asked. "No one's come down this way in a long time."
"We're going to see the Wizard." Luke answered. "We were told he could help get me home."
"And give me a brain." Lando added.
"The great Wizard?" Sharon asked in shock. "You really think he can help you?"
Luke shrugged, "Well, we've got to try; there must be a way." he said positively.
Lando nodded, "No risk, no glory!"
Sharon smiled at their enthusiasm. "If you really think that, would it be alright if I came with you?" she asked. "I'm also missing something, like Lando's brain."
"What is it?" Lando asked.
Sharon sighed sadly, "I don't have a heart…" she said, punctuating her statement by pounding lightly on her chest, making a hollow sound. "The blacksmith forgot to give me one."
"But that can't be!" Luke protested. "Everything living has a heart!"
Sharon shook her head, "Not me; I don't even have a heartbeat as you heard, my chest is empty." She looked at the ground sadly. "All I've ever wanted was to feel real emotions." She looked at Luke and Lando. "If I came with you, do you think the Wizard would give me a heart?"
Luke and Lando looked at each other, and nodded. How could they possibly turn down a plea like that? "Well if the Wizard can help us, then he should definitely be able to help you." Luke said.
"Of course you can come with us!" Lando said, extending his hand to help her up.
"It's the duty of every gentleman to help a lady." Luke added with a tip of his cap.
Sharon smiled, "Thank you very much." She tried to take a step, but stumbled, Lando barely catching her. "Sorry," Sharon said, "It's been awhile since I've walked."
Luke wasn't sure if it was just the light, but he swore he saw her cheeks turn pink. Luke took her hand while Lando kept an arm around her and they walked back to the road. "I think I can take it from here." Sharon said when they got the middle of the road.
"You sure?" Lando asked, slowly taking his arm away and Sharon nodded confidently.
"Well, isn't this just touching!"
The three jumped and whirled around. Anton was standing on the roof of an old mill, his cape flapping ominously in the breeze. "Hmph, it seems the little brat's picked up some friends." he sneered. "I don't suppose you're planning on protecting him are you?" Luke picked up Trevor and backed away in fear while Lando and Sharon got in front of him, Sharon's hand lingering towards her axe if need be.
Anton smirked in amusement, "So you would risk your lives for this boy and his stupid dog; how noble." he said mockingly.
"Luke never did anything to you!" Lando retorted. "Why don't you just leave him alone?"
"Stay out of this!" Anton spat. "Unless you're eager to play with fire." He held up his hand making a few flames appear on his palm and Lando shrank away. Sharon wasn't intimidated, her hand now around the wooden handle of her axe, but Anton seemed to only be amused by her ferocity. "Do not worry, I will leave you be all in good time." He fixed his glare on Luke. "Once the boy hands over what's mine."
Luke gulped and gripped Trevor tightly but shook his head fearlessly. "No! I won't give them to you!" he said bravely. Claire had told him not to give up the shoes and he wasn't planning to disappoint her.
Anton frowned, "Poor choice, Luke Triton." he said dangerously. "And don't think your friends will be spared!" He flapped his cape and disappeared in a puff of smoke once more.
The three deflated in relief; that could have turned nasty. "Well, that was unexpected." Sharon said, taking her hand away from her axe.
"I'm sorry." Luke said sadly. "The witch is after me because I have his shoes; you shouldn't be around me, or you'll be in danger."
"C'mon Luke," Lando said, kneeling down and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I already said I would go with you, witch or no witch."
Sharon nodded and knelt in front of him, "I may not look like much, but I'm not afraid of any old witch, and if that idiot shows up again…" she took out her axe, "I'll make sure he doesn't get within an inch of you or Trevor."
Luke slowly smiled, feeling his eyes becoming moist from happiness. He had never known another person besides the Professor or Emmy that would do all this for him. "Thanks you guys." he said softly.
He put Trevor down and Lando faced the path ahead of them. "Well then, shall we continue to the Wizard?"
Sharon got up, "We shall." she agreed.
"Let's go!" Luke exclaimed, pointing down the path, and they were off once again.
Aroma: Flora's Japanese name
Sharon: Angela's Japanese name
Three cheers for RandallxAngela cuteness! X3