“I see.”
“Not that you’d want to come—I just wish you could come with me. I will miss you, a lot.”
“If it is like this in your realm… never mind.”
“What?”
“Well, I was going to ask why you’d want to go back but I want you to go back. At least it is free of vampires and deadly night creatures.”
“If it wasn’t safe, I wouldn’t want to, except to tell my family I’m alive. Back home, I don’t have friends like you and Ardie and the Werelion.”
“You don’t?”
“No. I’m so lonely out on that farm. There’s no one around. Billy, my ex-boyfriend, will be back from school in two years and I just know I’ll end up married to him, living a boring, mediocre life in a mediocre relationship because there’s nothing better for me. But here, you guys are all I have, and it’d be the same for me here as it would be for you there. If I stay here, I’ll end up alone in some lame job as a milkmaid for General Boq or something. Soon enough, you’ll meet your future wife and I’ll be lucky if you have any time at all to hang out with me.”
“I would never stop being your friend, but it won’t matter because you have to return. Dorothy, you are my best friend, and I want all the best things for you.”
“Oh Nick, I feel the same about you.” As I throw my arms around him and hug him tight, I say, “The woman you end up with will be so lucky to have you.”
When I release him from our hug, he lays one of his ladykiller grins on me, and we continue to stroll down the road side by side. As we walk our shoulders touch, and when our knuckles graze, he pulls my hand into his and squeezes. Although it’s clearly a friendly gesture, my heart still does backflips in my chest. With one deep quavering breath after another, I calm my thudding heart and focus my attention on the surrounding city.
Emerald roads and emerald sidewalks line a row of swanky skyscraper apartment buildings. Each one has a grand lobby carved from massive emerald crystals in intricate designs. Uniformed zombie and shifter doormen stand at each door. At the building up ahead, a little marmoset shifter exits through the lobby doors carrying a clutch with flowers embroidered on it. A sweet bow sits in the fur atop her head, and she wears blush and maybe even some mascara.
As the marmoset shifter approaches, a zombie doorman in a green uniform with copper buttons pulls a braided cord at the end of the awning. When he yanks the cord, a bubble blows from the corner of the awning to just the right size for the marmoset. And when he releases the cord, the bubble detaches and hovers. The doorman bends down, lifts the little marmoset, and puts her inside the bubble. When he releases her, she floats, and when he removes his hands the bubble drifts away.
“So cool,” I say with a laugh and look to Nick who watches me with an amused grin. “Are you so used to magic living here that my reaction is funny to you?”
“Oh, I am not used to it. Only sorcerers wield magic where I’m from. Although I have seen magic, it was never like this.”
“What is it like where you’re from?”
As we stroll around, he tells me all about what it was like living outside Munchkin Land and what he describes sounds kind of like Kansas but with more color and more parades. Not having television and movies makes people want to have more parades, I guess. At least when you’re a Munchkin. I tell him about the limited forms of entertainment available to us in Kansas and he’s fascinated by the idea of television and movies, the internet and computers, smartphones and tablets, and wants to see them. How I wish I could come back and show him a movie or a smartphone. There are so many things I’d like to show him.
If I had my own place in Kansas, if I was on my own, I’d ask him to come back with me, but I know Aunt Em and Uncle Henry wouldn’t let me bring a boy home to live with us. And my realm would be so strange to him with cars and planes and machines. Education, schooling, he wouldn’t have any under his belt—he would have a hard time getting a job for so many reasons. Life in my realm would be hard for him, and he would hate it—it’s a very different life.
The more time I spend with him, the more I want him to kiss me, and it hurts he isn’t on the same page, but it wouldn’t matter if he were because I am getting out of this realm. There is no other option, but I hate what it will take to do it. These boots will help me with the task though. More than that, I hate that he has roped Nick, Ardie, and Werelion into it with me. This task will be far more dangerous than the journey here. Maybe I can do it alone. Maybe they can just wait here, either in an inn or outside the city somewhere nearby, while I kill the Vampire Witch on my own. Toto can stay with Ardie. All I need is directions and food and I can go with my bag of weapons.
“What is it?” Nick asks me as we stroll through the city after our dinner.
“I…” I start but then I think better of it, knowing he will argue with me.
“What?” he presses.
If I sneak out and go, they’ll just come after me. My best hope is that the Wizard will agree to my request and command I go alone. If he doesn’t though, I need to persuade them to stay behind somehow.
“All this is my fault, and I want to go alone to kill the Vampire Witch.”
“That will not happen,” he says shaking his head.
“Why not? This is because of me—I’m the one with the boots—and I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Out of the question. Although I do not hate the thought of you staying behind and allowing me to go alone to complete the task.”
“No, never.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s my task. Because I’m the one with these silver boots stuck on my feet.”
“Dorothy, you must stay safe. That is more important than my place here, or Ardie’s cure, or giving a werebeast courage.”
“Why when I have more protection than any of you? On my feet I have magical boots that help me kick serious butt, and I have a bag of weapons given to me by a witch I haven’t even used yet. What’s smarter is for me to go alone.”
“Dorothy, I will never let you go alone.”
“Why?” I ask, baffled.
“Because,” he says, and that’s all he says.
“That’s a great reason,” I chortle.
“The Wizard gave the task to us all and we will all travel to the land of the Winkies together,” he insists.
“This is an out I’m giving you, a chance not to worry about any of this. If we succeed, this city will no longer be safe, so your stake in this is low. Walk away right now and forget about all of this with a clear conscience. Why won’t you? Why do you care so much?” I challenge.
“Even though I am a heartless killer of vampires, it is not as if I do not care about anything or anyone at all.”
“So, you admit you have a heart?”
“I am very frustrated with you, Dorothy,” he admits.
“Because I got you to admit you’re not heartless?” I smirk and he cracks a smile.
“Since I have met you, I have realized I can care for others.”
“Because you were alone before. Now you have us. Me, Ardie, and Werelion. You have friends, people to care for. That’s the difference.”
“Notice you are the only person on that list.”
“Well, Ardie will be a living man again, and the Werelion was once anyway,” I say and shrug.
“Don’t forget Toto,” he says with a grin.
“And Toto,” I add.
“Dorothy, you are dear to me—a dear friend,” he says, not wanting me to misconstrue his affection for something more, and it annoys me. I must make a face because he notices and says, “Did I say something wrong?”
“I… It’s fine,” I sigh.
“What is it now?” he says with a light groan, and I laugh.
“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head.
“Just say it,” he says irritated.
“Fine, I get it—you care about me as a friend and nothing more—I don’t need you to keep clarifying it for me, all right?”
“Did I say that? No. What I said is that you are dear to me and a dear friend. I did not say that is all you are,” he says baffled.
“I realize you know there is more to me than just being your friend. That is not what I meant. It seems you keep trying to make it clear to me you have no interest in me other than friendship and I do not need you to continue to say it. I’m not hitting on you.”
“Hitting on me?”
“It’s an expression from my realm that means trying to kiss you or have sex with you. Rest assured I’m not trying to be more to you than your friend. So you can stop keeping me at arm’s length because it’s making me feel like an idiot and I’m not even doing anything to warrant it.”
“That is not what I meant when I said that,” he says getting irritated back.
“Look, I get we have a brother-sister thing happening here, and I’m not trying anything, just to make it clear, since you seem to need clarification.”
“You see yourself as my sister?”
“You do.”
“No, I see you as a friend—my best friend…” he says and stops, his eyes filling with sadness, “but I need for you to go. This realm is not safe, so I want you to return to Kansas. Dorothy, I care for you and I want what is best for you, but I will miss you so much. Please, let us not fight.”
“I’m sorry,” I sigh. “I’ll miss you too… but I doubt I’ll make it back to Kansas,” I say.
“If you do not, you will stay with me, won’t you?” he asks me with a look so sincere it makes my heart hurt.
“For as long as you’d have me.” Tears well in my eyes as I gaze at his sad but beautiful face. If I have to stay, the three of them would be all I’d have. At the same time I wouldn’t want to impede on their lives or be a burden. “But I would need to figure out how to live here on my own. I know that you have your own dreams and I wouldn’t want to impede them or hold you back. If I’m hanging around all the time, it might be hard for you to find a girl to marry, and I couldn’t interfere with that.”
“You wouldn’t,” he says as he leads me around a corner onto a wide road.
Large statues stand on an island in the center of the main street. Subtle movements give the statues just enough life to make them eerie and magical. The first in the row is a princess in a ball gown who sways as though she is listening to music. A soldier stands at her side like he is on guard, his head scanning the crowd with narrowed eyes. Beside the soldier is a stately wereferret in a top hat and fancy suit who chats with a horse-headed man in a tuxedo. And at the end of the row of statues is a winged girl with a beak in a party dress dancing with a werewolf in a tailcoat. They twirl and sway on their shared emerald block and gaze at each other with dreamy eyes. As we stroll along admiring the trimmed sculptures, I think about the possibility of living a life here if I never make it back home.
“Maybe I can stay with General Boq—he might give me a job,” I remember. “When I stayed at his house, he said I’d have a place there, and I live on a farm at home. Uncle Henry made me work around the farm. Maybe I could work for him, with his cows or something. You might not need to put me up, at least not for too long,” I say.
Perhaps that would be best, if I go to the General and ask for his help. I am sure he’d give me a place to stay and some work. I could take care of myself that way.
“You would go to the General instead of staying with me?”
“Nick, I don’t want to be a burden to you. How can you find a wife with a girl living with you? I mean, it’s not unheard of but it wouldn’t last. You’ll get married and then what would become of me?”
“Then you would be married,” he says, and it confuses me.
“You think I’d get married before you?” I ask unsure.
“You’d be married to me,” he says and my heart jumps in surprise.
“What?” I ask surprised and confused. He keeps telling me we’re just friends, again and again.
“I told you I would marry you,” he smirks.
“Hilarious. I don’t need your pity to that level. Thanks anyway,” I scoff.
“I do not live far from General Boq’s. You will live with me and perhaps get a job with him,” he says with his winsome smile.
“Maybe for a little while. Until I get on my feet. I wouldn’t want to get in your way.”
“You would not get in my way—I want you to be with me so I can protect you and keep you safe.”
“Don’t worry, I still have these boots on. I swear my feet will fall off if I can’t take them off soon.”
“At least now you no longer have the predicament of the pants,” he says with a laugh.
“True. Not that it matters,” I say, and he laughs.
“It could, if you wanted it to,” he says, being very flirtatious, and it makes me wonder what he’s up to. I look at him with a squinted, scrutinizing eye and he guffaws.
“Why are you messing with me all of a sudden?” I ask him, squinting in suspicion.
“I just bought you a nice meal. Shouldn’t I get something in return?” he says, and it shocks me. My eyes widen as a gasp falls out of my mouth. He laughs at my reaction and I punch him in the arm which makes him laugh more. “Ow!”
“Don’t be an ass,” I scold.
“Ass as in a donkey or an ass as in butt?” he asks.
“Either,” I smirk, my brow raised.
“Oh, Dorothy, I enjoy being with you very much. You are not like most women from Oz.”
“How so?”
“You are fascinating. The things you tell me about from your realm, they boggle my mind to think of. And your reactions are amusing to me. You always assume I am, ‘messing with you’ as you so eloquently put it. And the way you speak amuses me. With your bathroom talk and unusual phrasing.”
“Well, I’m typical where I am from,” I shrug.
“Perhaps that is true, although I doubt it. You are funny, interesting. You are authentic and unique, and so beautiful. I know you do not believe me when I say it, but you are,” he says.
“Thanks.”
Ugh, I feel like he’s my parent trying to tell me why I’m special—it feels pathetic, but I know he’s trying to be nice, boost my confidence and all that.
“I mean what I say. I… I am very attracted to you, Dorothy. You know that,” he says to me, with a tone of sympathy. He must be able to tell I have a serious crush and is trying to make me feel better, because if he likes me, he is the king of mixed messages.
“I get the feeling you’re attracted to a lot of girls.”
“Perhaps, but I haven’t seen a single female other than you since I have met you who I think is more attractive than you.”
“We’ve been in a forest and all we’ve seen are vampires and werebeasts,” I remind him as I shake my head.
“Not here.”
“Why are you saying all this to me?”
“Because I will die if we fail. If I survive, I want you with me, but if we do not achieve our goal and I die, I like your plan to go to the General. Stay with Ardie if he survives. He is honorable. And never stop searching for a way back to Kansas.”
The thought of what he’s just said hurts. It sends deep sadness and dread right into the pit of my stomach that shoots straight up through my chest making my throat swell and my lower lip wobble.
“I won’t let you die,” I say with all the sincerity and determination in my heart.
“But I would die for you, Dorothy. All I want is for you to be safe,” he says, and I am so touched by his words. I think I believe him, and it makes me so sad.
“You better not die for me.”
“I will do my best, but I live a life where I can die at any moment. I had hope that it would change, but I am used to this.”
“Ugh, I hate that you are,” I say as he leads me through the streets with his hand placed on the small of my back. His touch sends feelings of comfort mixed with butterflies through me even though I’m worried about him, about all of us.
“Well, you know I’m attracted to you,” I admit with an eye roll.
“I did not know.”
“Liar,” I scoff as we stroll along, and when I look out at the road before us, I notice the magic is thicker here in this part of the city—it rolls over the ground like green dry ice vapor.
A hand emerges from the vapor in light and fog beckoning us on with a curled finger, and we follow it down a street, around one corner, then another, and arrive at a massive hole in the ground that bursts with giant, hexagonal emerald crystals and dense green magic. Surrounded by a balustrade, the geode-like hole is about half the size of a city block. An arching crystal sign is raised above the balustrade. It has an intricate lattice in a Flower of Life pattern that surrounds calligraphic letters that read, The Enchanted Hollow. Beside the sign is a large copper and emerald plaque and we wade through the copious green fog and approach it.
Here lies the heart of the realm. From the Hollow, the magic of Oz emanates. For those who know the sacred words, speak them while gazing into its depths. To you, it will reveal great wonders.
“Do you know the sacred words?” I ask Nick
“No, I do not.”
I turn to the zombie beside me who is leaning on the balustrade eating a Brain Bar. He looks about forty but like he’s been a zombie for a long time—he’s not as well preserved as Ardie, that’s for sure. His skin has a waxy look to it; he has broken, black fingernails; and death marbles his hands in midnight-blue veins that slither up his arms.
“Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but do you know the sacred words?” I ask him. For some reason, my question tickles him, and he laughs as he chews. Once he swallows, he answers me with a smile.
“No one does.”
“Why is it there then?” Nick asks, his brows knitting in confusion.
“When it happened, that was what he said, or rather, one thing said.”
“When what happened?” I ask and an ‘are-you-kidding-me’ expression takes over his bluish, undead face.
Dorothy In the Land of Monsters Page 28