Chapter 23

by SchammieLynn

While I had been mourning Terrence being deployed, I had become oblivious to the other happenings in Oz. Sawyer the scarecrow was still residing within the Emerald city and using his newfound knowledge to help people solve some of their problems. It was noble of him, and Oswin and I were both grateful that he was taking care of that when larger scale items preoccupied our time.

Never had Sawyer come to us for advice on something before until Zelena's return.

Pretty much any time we heard a knock on the door now, Oswin and I were almost petrified, but we answered nonetheless.

"Sawyer!" I exclaimed as his worried, raggedy face gawked back at me.

"Essie? You're okay!" He reached out for a handshake and I found that he was eagerly yanking my arm up and down.

"Why are you here?"
"Well, obviously the witch is back, and I have an idea to get rid of her."

I nodded, "Come on in."
"Oswin, it's Sawyer!" I called and Oswin came walking out of the study.

"Good to see you, Sawyer," he greeted, shaking hands briefly. "What is it?"
"I have an idea."
"Yes, I'd say those would be coming about now," Oswin smirked. I tried not to giggle, but it was nice to see Oswin cracking jokes even under all the stress.

"Really, sir. A good idea."
"Sit down. Let's hear it."
"Alright, so," Sawyer wrung his hands nervously. "I think we should bring Dorothy back."
"What makes you think that's a good idea?" I asked.

"The witch was always afraid of her, and yes, I do know about the crystal thing. But either way, whenever we encountered Zelena, it was because she knew of a weakness that could slow us down. I'm almost positive that there was something else that Dorothy could have done to her, and only Dorothy and Zelena would know what that is."
"Oswin do you-"
"Sh," he interrupted and closed his eyes. "How old was Dorothy when she came here?"
"14."

"Essie, how old were you when you discovered you had magic?"
"13."
"I was 15." Oswin clapped his hands in discovery. "Dorothy probably had magic and we didn't even know it. She probably didn't even know it! It was still getting started! But Zelena did! And Dorothy's magic might be the exact polar opposite of Zelena's which would destroy her!"

"Now, we can't just send Dorothy in there," Sawyer began nervously.

"Oh, no. Of course not! But we can set a trap for Zelena. We'll devise all that later though. Now, how to get Dorothy here…. How did she come before?"
"It was a Tornado. I think Glinda did it!" Sawyer said. Glinda's magic was incredibly powerful, as I had learned from Oswin. However powerful she was though, as Good Witch of the North, she wasn't allowed to harm any living thing, including someone as evil as Zelena.

"I've got a phonecall to make," Oswin jumped up and disappeared from the room, and Sawyer and I gave each other wary gaze.

"Bet you're excited to see Dorothy again," I said with a smile, not helping myself from dreaming about Terry's return someday as well.

He shifted defensively. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! You two were friends, that's all."

"Oh. Well. Yeah. Of course. She half-saved my life."
"Half saved?"
"Mmhm. Got me out of the cornfield, but couldn't stop me from being a scarecrow. Believe it or not, I was human once."

"What can change you back?"
"Good question," he said sadly.

"Well maybe when Zelena dies, you'll be free of your curse."
"That would be great," he sat back. "Being human again."
"Yes!" Oswin cheered from the other room.

"What?" Sawyer and I both asked in unison.

"Dorothy will be here tomorrow morning with the help of Glinda. Now. What do we do about a trap?"
"We need some sort of bait," Sawyer said. "Something too good for her to pass up."
Silence fell over the room, and the realization suddenly hit me. So, I volunteered, "Me?"

Oswin got ready to protest but I stopped him. "My magic is under control as long as I am, Zelena's my aunt and she knows it, in fact she probably hates it, plus I'm in the way of her throne."

"Essie," he groaned.

"Come on. All you have to do is put me out in a field somewhere and make it look like I needed to go out there, and she'll come after me. We'll have Dorothy nearby to trap her, and this time we'll lock her up. Sawyer can carry the orb so nobody with magic releases her."
"It's a good plan," Sawyer said wearily.
"We have to see if Dorothy has the ability, first. But okay. Essie, prepare the spare room. Thank you for this idea, Sawyer."

The next day, a small group of us gathered behind the palace to greet Dorothy. Myself, Leo, Sawyer, Oswin, and Glinda were all waiting for the tornado that traveled worlds.

Suddenly we heard a scream and I felt the gust of wind. The tornado seemed to end in midair and Dorothy was flailing. It wasn't her whole house this time, just her.

I waved my arms and threw up a giant ice hill with snow at the top to cushion her fall. Several surprised faces looked at me as she landed at the top.

"What?" I shrugged.

Dorothy quickly slid down, and it was very clear that she was no longer the 12 year old girl that had graced Oz before. Time must have passed very different in the world she was in, because she was probably about 20 -something years old now.

"D-Dorothy?" Sawyer stepped forward and she looked at him curiously.

"Oh my stars. I'm back in Oz." She flew into Sawyer's arms and both of them laughed.

"Hey Dorothy," he said as they pulled away.

She place a hand on his cheek and whispered, "You haven't changed a bit, my friend."

"Dorothy?" Leo asked, looking worried that she had maybe forgotten about him.

"Leo!" she cried and hugged him, as well as Glinda next to him. "And Glinda as well! It's so good to see all of you. Mr. Wizard, sir."

Dorothy curtsied and Oswin bowed his head.

"Thanks for the soft landing, Essie," she smiled at me.

"No problem," I grinned back, happy to see her. It was a reminder of Terrence's first arrival home, and that he had made it home safe once before.

"Where's the Tin Man?"
"Army," I squeaked, still not used to admitting it.

"There's a reason I'm here, isn't there?"
She stepped back, looking worried. Her hair was no longer in braids, but a brown bob just above her shoulders. Her lips were full and red, and she looked like she had stepped out of a magazine. The gingham dress was replaced by a stylish blue blazer, white top and skirt, and she looked as though she'd strayed from the Kansas farmhouse. There was no mistaking her though, it was very much Dorothy.

"The Wicked Witch of the West," Oswin stepped forward. "She's returned. And we think you might be able to stop her once more."
"The last time I only splashed water on her and as she melted, it was onto some crystal ball… It was an accident. I'm not meant to fight anything."

"Give me your hand, Dorothy," Oswin instructed. As he grabbed it, sparks flew out of light posts nearby, and the ground shook, but not much.

"That's magic, Dorothy." He said as he let go. "That's what you're going to use to defeat Zelena."

"Do I splash water on her again?"

"Don't worry. I'll train you and everything. We've got a room set up in the palace and…"
"Wait just a minute. I never agreed to this. And technically, you've taken me against my will."
"Will you help us?" Oswin asked sincerely. "You know how to get back if you want to."

She looked down, and there, there ruby slippers had taken a place on her feet. "How…?"
"Oz knows your back, and those rightfully belong to you. They're also a source of your magic."

She bit her lip and pondered a bit before deciding. "I'll help."

"Great. We've got breakfast inside, and a place for you to sleep. It's all set."
She smiled, and as I melted down my giant snow hill, I could have sworn a flying monkey was sitting near the top of it.

"Essie, you're sure you want to do this?" she asked as we walked to the edge of town together.

"Of course," I lied. "Are you?"
"3 days ago, I wouldn't have believed any of this. 7 years ago, I wouldn't have believed that it wasn't all a dream. But I care about everyone here, and the Wicked Witch has cause so much terror."

I looked behind us at Sawyer and Leo who were coming along as backup, and she smiled at them as well.

"I want to make Sawyer human again," she whispered. "It's too soon to say but…"
I looked over at Dorothy and whispered, "You like him, don't you?"

Love entered her eyes and she nodded.

Since Dorothy's arrival, our plan had been working perfectly. Dorothy's magic was incredibly strong and way more easily controlled than mine. Not only was she brilliantly talented, but a romance between herself and Sawyer was budding as well. Nothing had happened yet, not even holding hands, but the looks they exchanged and the way they could make each other smile; it was very clear something was happening.

We neared the town gate and we began to slow down.

"This is it," she breathed nervously. "So I just…"
"Yup." I cut her off, not wanting anybody else to hear it.

"Be careful, Essie," Dorothy said and gave me a hug. "I'm glad we're friends now."
I smiled and nodded. "You be careful too. Gotta get you back in one piece."

I took a deep breath and exited the gate. When I looked back, Dorothy was kissing Sawyer and Leo was standing guard. I smirked to myself and continued on.

The forest was probably a half a mile from the city, and I could make it there in no time.

What Oswin and Dorothy and the other's didn't know was that while they thought I was luring Zelena, I was actually going to look for Terence. The army was station somewhere in the forest, that much I knew. I had to find him and bring him home with me while Zelena was being captured. The forest was beyond where anyone wanted me to go, but I was going to get there regardless. I had to see Terrence.

I ventured further and further out, and when I got into the forest enough that I could see Dorothy, but they couldn't see me, I dared to look back.

"Essie?!" Dorothy cried. She was running toward the forest, trying to get me to stay in an area that we could actually see each other.

Oh, hell. I thought to myself, seeing the figure from the sky.

"LOOK OUT!" I screamed. "DO IT NOW!"

I ran back into the field of poppies and hurled ice at the green spot in the sky. I knew without seeing her that it was Zelena. Nothing else could by hovering in mid air with plumes of green smoke surrounding her.

"NOW!" I yelled again, still throwing ice at her.

Within the cover of the trees, Zelena couldn't see me, and I wouldn't have had any better accuracy from the middle of the field than I would have from a tree. So I climbed up and continued shooting.

Zelena cried out as something hit what looked to be a broomstick and she fell to the ground, but used her magic to soften the landing. With Zelena and Dorothy poised against one another, I stopped throwing ice, knowing that it would be distracting, especially if i missed.

I figured then was a good time to sneak out of the woods. I contemplated just running in and finding Terrence, but even then, I couldn't leave them knowing that I could help.

Just as I came about a few yards into the field, I heard a piercing wail. When I looked out, there was Dorothy, a blue light and smoke flowing out of her and into a floating glass orb.

The orb that was supposed to hold Zelena.

Without a sound, I mustered all the ice and snow that I could and sent it flying over to where they stood, hoping to stop it from happening. It only bounced off of a force field, and I tried my best to sneak it towards them from other angles, only to find that there was no luck.

Sawyer and Leo must not have noticed, because they were running towards Zelena as well, only they were much closer and obviously visible to her.

"Zelena, stop!" They yelled. Sawyer didn't have straw everywhere, and when Zelena multitasked to throw fireballs at him, he simply ducked. That's when I realized; Dorothy's kiss had broken his spell.

As I moved in, and they moved in, and I thought that maybe we would have a chance, but Dorothy vanished, and the orb dropped to the ground. Zelena sent something my way, but I flicked it off and kept running towards her.

Sawyer and Leo, however, had been hit. I no longer saw them standing.

"Funny thing about being human, Scarecrow… YOU CAN DIE!" Zelena cackled. "And she'll have no idea."

Knowing there was nothing I could do, I boxed myself in an ice igloo and peered as she tried everything in her power to break it down and get to me. For every green fireball she launched, I shot ice into the sky and added another layer to my fort. Distraught as I was, she wasn't going to get me. Not that day, not ever.

When I thought she was done and that she had left, I began to melt the igloo. When I was free, I looked up to see Zelena standing there. I waved my hand and ice shot at her with great speed.

"I'm sparing you today, Popsicle. But soon. Very, very soon."

With the glass orb containing Dorothy in her arms, she soared off, laughing maniacally.

I walked slowly back to the palace, and on my way back, saw the bodies of Leo and Sawyer, dying inches away from each other and their beloved Dorothy. Leo was curled in a matted mess of blood and fur, a large sword straight through him. I did all that I could not to hyperventilate. Sawyer's human form was twisted and warped on the ground. I prayed that in the few short moments that he was human, they had been good. Especially knowing that he and Dorothy really were in love.

Repeating the trick that Oswin had shown me, I iced them over, the frost shining in the all-too-cheery sunlight. I apologized, said a prayer, and then, with tears in my eyes, I let them drift away in the wind.

All my sadness, all my worry, all my fault.