Dorothy In the Land of Monsters

by Garten Gevedon

  “I love you though, and I can’t imagine ever wanting to be with anyone but you ever again.” I won’t be.

  “Just be happy, Dorothy. Go and live a wonderful life doing all the things you dream of, and someday you will find a man worthy of you.”

  “No one is more worthy than you.”

  “Oh, but I am not because I am from a realm that is unsafe. If it were safe though, I would never let you go.”

  Every dream I ever had before I came here seems like nothing compared to the dream of living a life with him in it, maybe even having a family with him someday. How I wish he would let me, but I get it, and he’s right about everything.

  “The Winkies made the day you killed the witch a holiday.”

  “No kidding,” I say, surprised and honored I had a hand in a holiday of an entire land.

  “Yes, they are calling it Liberation Day.”

  “Cool,” I say, and he smiles before he lets out a light laugh.

  “Since I am not a sorcerer or a wizard, they want to call me King.”

  “King Nick. That’s very cool,” I say with a giggle.

  If I stayed, I would be his queen. It would be awesome to be a queen, but I shouldn’t fantasize about that considering there’s no chance he’ll forgive me if I stay.

  “I feel ridiculous about it,” he chuckles, shaking his head.

  “Why?”

  “I am no King,” he snorts.

  “What would you rather be? A Prince?”

  “Prince Nick is ridiculous too. How about just Nick?”

  “If you are going to be the guy in charge, they need a title to differentiate you from the other Nicks.”

  “For anyone to call me such a title is ludicrous. Royalty? Me?”

  “How about Prime Minister?”

  “That sounds even more ridiculous. Prime Minister? What does Prime mean? And what is Minister? I do not know what those words even mean.”

  “Neither do I,” I shrug, “but they have them in my realm running governments of some countries.”

  “What an odd name. How about in your country? What do they have? Since there are no wizards or witches to rule a land.”

  “In my realm, we have kings and queens too, and prime ministers, but in my country, we have a president and a vice president.”

  “Mmm, I dislike this title too.”

  “Well, I like King. It suits you.”

  “Does it?” he scoffs.

  “Yes, it does. You’ll make a great king.”

  “There are kings in other countries in the realm but they descend from a long line of other kings and queens. Or most of them do.”

  “Which ones?”

  “There is Ev—they have a king and a royal family. Jinxland also has a king. Pingaree has a king and a royal family. Oz even has a princess. Long ago, Oz had a king—King Pastoria—and he had a daughter, Princess Ozma. The Zombie Witch Mombi took her, and she has not returned for hundreds of years. The legend is Ozma is still in existence, trapped by the Zombie Witch. If she were still around though, she would be the rightful ruler of Oz.”

  “Wow,” I say, still so thrown by all the monster stuff even after all that has happened.

  “They say the Zombie Witch Mombi is the first to take the spice that gives one immortality, making the partaker undead. But as Ardie has told you, being undead has its downfalls.”

  “Yeah, like never sleeping and a relentless hunger for brains,” I scoff.

  “Correct.”

  “Gross—I would hate to be a zombie. Ardie must be so excited to be getting his cure.”

  “Speaking of which, we must return to Emerald City now that you and Werelion have recuperated, and we must bring proof that we have killed the Vampire Witch so there is no question he grants you your promise.”

  “Are you still coming along? Now that you won’t be living there?”

  “Is that a serious question?”

  “Well, I don’t know. You don’t have to come anymore—”

  “Yes, I am coming. I would not let you go without me.”

  “Perhaps then I won’t go at all.”

  “Dorothy, you promised.”

  “But I want to stay. Why collect my promise now? I can collect it any time, can’t I?” I say, and he sighs, distraught.

  “You know I want you here, but I love you too much to keep you here. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, but I don’t want to leave,” I tell him, and he hugs me. I hug him back, my head to his chest, listening to the heart he said wasn’t there.

  “You must. It is what’s best for you. And you will always be my queen in my heart. Know that.”

  “I thought you didn’t have a heart.”

  “I only found it when I met you. You are my heart, Dorothy, and when you go back to Kansas, you take it with you,” he says, and it makes me so sad tears fill my eyes as he holds me in his arms. Even though he is teary too, he smiles anyway.

  We gaze into each other, and I memorize every part of his face, every curve, every fleck of color in his eyes. There is no doubt in my mind and in my heart that he loves me, and that I feel the same way. When I return to Kansas, I will leave my heart here with him too—it will always be his.

  “Shall we go to the festival? It would be my honor if you would accompany me,” he asks with that swoon worthy smile.

  “Festival?”

  “Yes, they are having a festival in Winkie City to celebrate their liberation since the Vampire Witch died. They have asked me to attend the final parade,” he tells me.

  “Then we should go,” I say, excited for him, and to be his date.

  As I wipe away my tears, we walk inside the gilded castle that shines in the daylight. This is where he belongs—it almost matches his beauty—and he deserves such a wonderful position in such a wonderful place ruling over such a wonderful group of people. We go up to our grand room to get ready and a group of lovely ladies come in to dress me. They do my hair in soft curls and gold barrettes covered in diamonds and dress me in a golden gown. Nick wears a regal gold suit with diamond and gold buttons, and we join Ardie and Werelion who are both dressed in dashing gold suits, and the four of us with Toto take a golden carriage drawn by strapping Palomino horse shifters with golden blonde hair to Winkie City to see the parade.

  When we arrive at the parade in our shifter drawn carriage, we climb out onto a dais where golden thrones await us. The surrounding Winkies wave to us in their Winkie way, so we wave back, and the many gilded floats go by carrying Winkies from the palace, freed from enslavement. As they pass, they wave to their fellow Winkies with joy from their newfound liberation. Once all the floats go by, everyone gathers around us, and an older gentleman comes forward.

  “This is my uncle, Menno,” Nick tells me, and I am so happy to get to meet his family. We say hello and then he turns and addresses the crowd.

  “To my nephew, Nick Chopper, Emperor of Winkie, the Golden Land of the West, and the son of my dear departed sister, Minna, I bestow upon you a mighty panoply fit for a king,” Menno says and the crowd cheers as he presents Nick with an enhanced suit of armor.

  Trimmed and plated with gold throughout, the axes’ blades are a shining polished steel and the once wooden handles are now gold. When he wears it, he will look like a king.

  “For the Good Zombie Millard, I bestow a Royal Winkie Walking Stick as a symbol of your travels to our land to liberate our people alongside our Emperor. We will be forever grateful,” he says handing Ardie a gold and canary diamond staff that will help him not drag his feet so much anymore, at least until he gets his cure from the Wizard.

  Next, he presents gold and diamond collars to the Werelion and Toto. Then it’s my turn.

  “And to Dorothy Gale, the Vampire Witch Slayer, we present to you the Hallowed Circlet, an ancient relic of our people said to bring protection to the wearer wherever she may go throughout all the realms,” he says and puts a beautiful gold bracelet filled with stunning diamonds on my wrist. My eyes widen
at the sight of it. “The Good Queen Orinda ruled over the Golden Land of the West for three hundred years wearing this charm. We wish the same long life for you,” he says, and I feel like I shouldn’t accept this. I turn to Nick and he smiles at me.

  “You cannot refuse it,” he whispers in my ear, and I realize he is right.

  “Thank you, so much—I will cherish it always—and when I look upon it, I will remember the years of enslavement and oppression your people endured, and that now you are free,” I say and they all cheer when Nick stands.

  “Thank you all for these wonderful honors. As many of you know we must travel to see the Wizard of Oz, but I will return to you as I have promised,” he says and they all cheer, “When I do, we will begin the reconstruction so that never again will evil forces oppress the Golden Land of the West!” he says and they all roar their cheers, overwhelming my ears. Pride swells within me. If anyone can do it, he can.

  Nick shakes so many hands I’m sure his arms ache. Once he’s done, we return to the castle and I go to the Vampire Witch’s bedroom to find evidence that we have killed her to present to the Wizard. When I look around the room, I see nothing. I go to the armoire and open it to find a Golden Cap just like the white one the Slayer Witch of the North wore. It’s shining gold and trimmed with diamonds. As I place it on my head and look in the mirror, I realize it could get stuck on me like the shoes, so I take it off straightaway. It comes off just fine, thank goodness. I’m sure this is something witch-like, it being so ornate and very much like the one the Gayelette had, so I keep it to take with us.

  Attendants pack for our journey, giving us the night to relax. Nick and I have a beautiful candlelight dinner while Toto, Ardie, and Werelion go on a hunt. We take a walk through the gardens of the palace and then go to bed early. But when we are falling into sleep, I remember we will part forever soon enough, so I get depressed and fall asleep with a heavy heart.

  When I wake up cradled in Nick’s arms, in a comfortable bed, I wonder if this is the last time I will experience this. We will travel in rough terrains, sleeping in tents, and when we arrive in Emerald City, I could go back to Kansas straightaway upon speaking to the Wizard for all I know. This could be the very last time we share a real bed.

  Why did I promise him I would leave? Part of me wonders if he doesn’t want to be with me. But if he didn’t, he would stay here and not return to Emerald City at all. It feels like he loves me. I suppose I wish he loved me a little less, so he wouldn’t hold me to my promise to return to Kansas and let me stay here with him.

  “What are you thinking of, my love? You look worried,” Nick says.

  He is holding me, looking at me, examining me. I thought he was still asleep.

  “You want the truth?”

  “Yes,” he says with a light laugh.

  “That I wish you loved me a little less,” I admit.

  “What?”

  “In a more selfish way. I want to stay. I don’t want to keep my promise to you to return to Kansas,” I tell him, and he sighs with distress. “I’ll go, but I don’t want to.”

  “Winkie Land will not stay safe. Now it appears safe, but it will not last. The vampires will come back to take the castle. Quelala fled before I could get to him. He will take her place, and I am sure he is organizing forces now. They will try to take Emerald City and Winkie Land and then they will move on to the next country and the next. It is not over just because the Vampire Witches are dead.

  “Winkie Land needs security. It will be a massive feat to accomplish. They are a peaceful people who need training to fight. Construction of a wall at the borders will not be enough. I wish we had the technology your realm possesses. Perhaps then we could stop them from flying over our walls. But we do not. We have nothing of the sort except some mechanical things, and magic, but nothing like what you have described to me. We are all only humans here now—no one is a witch or a sorcerer. The most magical being here is you and you are a living person with enchanted footwear,” he says, and I laugh. Munchkin Land is not safe either. I am sure they are there now, turning as many as possible for their attack on all the lands.

  “But you may return to your realm and leave all this behind forever. If I could go with you, I would, but these people need me. I can help them learn to fight, to protect themselves and their land. I must see it through, and I cannot have you here risking yourself.”

  “But I want to risk myself. I want to do it with you, by your side,” I tell him, beg him.

  “Dorothy, I will not live much longer.”

  “What? Why do you say that?” I ask him alarmed.

  “Vampires will come in droves to take over Winkie Land, and I will be the first one they try to kill. They will have to kill the leader to enslave the people. That leader is me now, but I will fight them to the death, my death. I will be very lucky to survive.”

  “So then come with me! All this gold? Gold is worth a lot in my realm. Gold, jewels, silver even! We can take it back with us and live well, so well. Neither of us would ever have to work if we had enough of this stuff to sell.”

  That’s it! That’s the answer. We bring back some of this gold and some emeralds, as much as we can carry, and live a life of luxury anywhere in the world we want. All we’d need is to meet some criminal who could get us a false identity, or figure out a way to take a dead person’s identity ourselves. Maybe we could pretend he has amnesia, and I found him somewhere and he didn’t know who he was. Maybe then he’d get some John Doe identity and could live in my world.

  “Am I to leave all these people with no defense? I also have promised them I would return to help them secure this land, or at least attempt to. I can teach them how to fight, defend themselves, so they stand a chance after I am gone.”

  “So, you’re just going to stay here and wait for them to come and try to take over and kill you?”

  “What choice do I have?”

  “You can come with me!” I say exasperated.

  “What honorable choice do I have?” he rephrases, and I groan. “If I am to die, would you still want to live here, or in your realm?” he asks, and I think it over and I wouldn’t want to be here without him.

  “I’d want to be in mine, but only because of the vampires. And I don’t want to live without you at all,” I return.

  “I know, Dorothy, but I need you to live, and be safe, fulfill your dreams. You promised me and I promised them.”

  “I hate this,” I admit, and he hugs me to him. I hug him back.

  “As do I, but it’s the reality of this realm, and our lives. If there were a way for us to be together and for you to be safe…” he says and stops. He’s getting emotional, I can tell, but he suppresses it. “You know I would do anything I could to be with you and help these people, but that’s not reality. That’s a dream. But know, Dorothy, you are my love. You always will be. I will love you for as long as I live, but I fear that may not be too long,” he says.

  “There’s got to be another way.”

  “If there’s a way for us to be together, I will see it, and I promise you, I will not let you go. But there’s not. You must return to Kansas,” he says with resolve and I sigh, frustrated. “Now let us get up, have a nice breakfast and go. It is a long journey to the Emerald City.”

  When I get up and out of bed, the attendants come in to help us get ready. I’ll miss being bathed and groomed. I will never have this in my realm. Even the richest people don’t do this anymore. Not daily anyway. Maybe if I win the lottery, I’ll hire people to scrub me down and do me up every day.

  The girls who attend to me dress me in another pair of pants with gold buttons up the legs. Just like Jellia, they made them for me, but they also made me blouses, bras and panties, and a few more pairs of the side button pants in varying fabrics and shades of gold but every article of clothing had gold clasps and buttons.

  Once I’m dressed, packed, and ready to go, I meet Nick, Ardie, Werelion, and Toto down on the patio for breakfast. We eat a
hearty meal because we won’t have one for a while, then we get everything together to head out.

  Nick wears his armor, now trimmed with gold and far more fancy looking. He looks like a king who has an affinity for axes on his way to lead an army to war. The rest of us look well put together, dressed in our gold clothes, and there’s no mistaking where we came from when we cross Winkie Land’s borders.

  And so we are off, back to the City of Emeralds, across fields, mountains, without a road to guide us. We can only hope we make it there without too much struggle.

  23

  The Vampire Bat Monkeys

  Days upon days of yellow bloomed meadows and yellow pumpkin patches and orchards of lemons and grapefruits and golden apples. Rotten human carcasses are aplenty, but not one vampire has crossed our path. Dead, decaying bodies hang from the trees as though they were dropped from above, or they lie strewn about the fields, their lifelessness discordant with the endless vivid yellows. The stench of death mixed with the fragrance of the flowers and rotting fruits is nauseating. That along with the sight of so many dead bodies causes me to lose my lunch more than once.

  When we left, we knew to go straight east toward the rising sun, and we started off the right way, but at noon on that first day, when the sun was over our heads, we didn’t know which way was east and which way was west. And that is the reason we are still in these fields as we have been for days.

  Even though we have no clue how to get where we’re going, we forge ahead. The moon shines so bright that every night it illuminates our path, so only when we can’t walk any longer do we set up our new tents to sleep amidst the endless sea of strong-smelling yellow flowers, and all of us except Ardie sleep until morning.

  Some days are gloomy with the sun hiding behind the clouds, but each gloomy day that passes, we go on as if we are sure of which direction we’re going even though none of us are.

  Day by day passes away and the flowers change from shades of yellow to shades of pink and red. We still see nothing before us but field after field, each filled with one type of red flower or another. First, we crossed a field of blood-red dahlias, followed by an ocean of crimson snapdragons. Scarlet tulips for miles in every direction came next, and this continued for days as we traversed one sea of red flowers after another. As we walk, we share our stories from our time apart, each of us with many harrowing tales to tell to fill the silences, and at night, Nick and I get closer and closer, and even more than before I do not want to leave. Although I couldn’t tell them, I am glad we have no clue how to get to Emerald—I don’t want to go yet.