Witch Queens_Tales from Oz

by S Cinders

  “Nothing more than you deserve,” he unlocked the chains on the wall and gathered them to tug at me.

  I barely kept from falling as I struggled to stay with him.

  There were six more Winkie’s outside the room holding spears.

  “No, funny business, Witch!”

  I was honestly flattered that they thought I would have enough in me to fight back.

  Black spots appeared in my vision.

  “What did you do to her?” Steele roared, and I saw him running toward me from the other end of the tunnel.

  His eyes flashed red, and I saw his teeth sharpen into jagged points. He grabbed the first Nome and ripped him in half. The blood spurting across the cavern as he threw the carcass and reached for the next one. It was seconds before they were all dead.

  Steele pried the iron bars apart with his bare hands. I was terrified and oddly turned on by the entire affair.

  He picked me up and cradled my bruised body against his chest.

  “I should have destroyed them all from the start,” his voice was deeper, darker than usual. “Are you alright?”

  I wanted to say yes, but I felt like shit.

  Steele started walking through the maze of tunnels. So, I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest.

  “I will be okay,” I prayed he wouldn’t put me down, and he didn’t. “What happened to King Rand?”

  Steele paused, “Were you attached to keeping him alive?”

  I swallowed a hysterical laugh, “No, they tried their damnedest to kill me. You can take them all out.”

  “I am not sure that wiping an entire species out is the best idea, but there is considerably less Winkie’s than there were when we started this venture.”

  “Where are the remaining Nome’s?” I almost hated to ask.

  “I’ve locked them in the Great Hall,” Steele sounded distracted.

  “Is everything?” I broke off upon opening my eyes. We had entered a pirate’s hoard of treasure. Stacks of gold, silver, diamonds, and rubies to name a few. But what had me wanting to laugh was a large container of silver-colored rocks.

  But it wasn’t silver. It was cassiterite—literally tons of it.

  The Winkie’s were sitting on a massive tin mine. The entrance to the tunnel was littered with pickaxes, crates, lamps, and chisels.

  I looked up into Steele’s face. His eyes and teeth had gone back to their normal state.

  “No wonder they wanted you,” I teased, “Save them quite a bit of work.”

  “Bastards,” he grumbled.

  I couldn’t have agreed more.

  CHAPTER 47 - PART 4 – Elphaba

  “Are you dead? Oh Goddess, I never should have let you go, Your Majesty!”

  Cass barreled into the treasure room at top speed, pausing only to see me in Steele’s arms.

  “She is dead!” Cass wailed, giant tears gathering on her impossibly long lashes.

  “For goodness sake, Cass,” I grumbled, pushing myself out of Steele’s arms. Just as my feet hit the floor, my knees buckled, and he had to grab me before I fell onto the hard floor of the cavern.

  “You are hurt, it was my job to protect you! Your Majesty, I am beside myself with grief!”

  Good Lord.

  “Enough, Cass, I am fine.”

  Her tear stained face peered up at me from behind her purple gloves, “Really?”

  Steele cleared his throat, “She has a large contusion on the back of her skull. I am fairly confident she is suffering from a concussion as well.”

  Cass paled.

  “Could you heal her?” he asked patiently.

  “Heal? What is Steele talking about?”

  Cass flushed, “Some pixies have healing abilities. I would like to try and heal you, Your Majesty, if you would like.”

  “I would like,” I would damn well love it. “But magic doesn’t work on the Winkie Land.”

  Cass shook her head, “The land is loyal to whom it feels is the alpha. From the looks of things, Steele is most likely that person.”

  “What do I need to do?” Steele answered sharply.

  “Just grant me the rights, I will take it from there,” Cass replied.

  Steele did as she asked and then Cass took off her purple gloves. Her hands were hot to the touch, and I flinched away from them. But Cass persisted, and Steele held me in a vice-like grip. I felt something different and foreign enter my body.

  My first impulse was to pull away, but I couldn’t do anything as it wrapped and coiled around my body.

  The ache in my head started to dissipate. It was then that I stopped fighting. Anything would be better than what I had been suffering. As her magic wove into the very fabric of my soul, I felt her connecting on a fundamental level.

  I knew her thoughts and dreams, her childhood, her beliefs.

  She pulled her hands away, and I immediately felt the loss, but as I took an assessment of my body, I realized that I had never felt better.

  Cass looked pale and tired.

  “Are you alright?” I wrapped an arm around her as Steele picked up her gloves.

  She smiled wanly, “I will be in a minute or two. Losing so much lifeforce is difficult. They hurt you much worse than you could imagine. Your brain had started to bleed, Your Majesty, you were hours away from a stroke.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” I wrapped her in my arms, “Thank you, Cass, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I owe you my life!”

  Cass shook her head, “Your father gave me the responsibility to watch over you, and I failed him.”

  “My father?”

  “I can’t say any more, Your Majesty. Only that I will not fail you again.”

  “Please,” I turned to face her, “Call me El, we should not stand on formality any longer.”

  A bit of color returned to her face, “Yes, Your Majesty, I mean, yes, El.”

  “I feel different somehow,” I moved my arms and legs tentatively.

  “Some of my magic mixed with yours,” Cass explained. “You may have different powers than you did before, some things might be enhanced, and others could be lost. It was a risk that I had to take.”

  I nodded as I took her now gloved hand, “Thank you, Cass.”

  We loaded up one of the mining carts with gold and gems. Once it was full, Steele pulled it along the tunnels and corridors as we made our way slowly up out of Winkie Hell.

  Once we hit fresh air, I let out a sigh I hadn’t known I had been holding. We did it, we actually got the treasure and we are still alive.

  Indy and Scarecrow met us at the base of the tree where this had all started. With them they had several Munchkins and a few Pixies. After debriefing them of our adventure, we slip on backpacks, each filled with treasures.

  Dorothy's treachery had affected each of the volunteers differently. They were more than happy to face the danger to be rid of her forever.

  I was nervous casting the spell to change them into flying monkeys, but it went perfectly.

  We found that we needed more monkeys than we had initially thought. The treasure was heavy, throwing off our numbers.

  “I just wish to hell I could fly!” I waved my hand angrily.

  Suddenly, my feet began to leave the ground as my body lifted in the air.

  My eyes flew to Steele’s in alarm.

  He grabbed my hand and I stopped rising, but I hadn’t settled back on the floor.

  “It would seem, Your Majesty, that you now have the ability to fly,” Cass flushed.

  Bloody hell, this was awesome. Without having to worry about me, we had enough monkeys to carry our group.

  “We are headed to the Unicorners, correct?” Indy asked.

  “Yes,” I called back to her, “You and Scarecrow lead on.”

  We all rose in the air. I still didn’t have excellent control over my new power and smacked into the tree next to me.

  I heard Indy snickering.

  “Don’t make me hex you!” I grumbled.
<
br />   “I love you too, El!” she called back happily.

  We followed Indy and Scarecrow as they rose above the forest trees and flew toward Munchkin Land. It was a few hours before we saw Mount Munch in the distance.

  “How much further do we have before we get to the Unicorners?” I asked.

  “Look for the pool of water,” Steele called out, “Do you see it up there on the left? The blue Dwarfs should be making us aware of their presence at any moment.”

  Arrows shot out of the trees, narrowly missing us.

  “I believe we are there,” Scarecrow said dryly.

  We began our descent. Cass was waving a sizeable white flag

  The attack stopped and there was silence as the flying monkey’s set us on our feet.

  “Stay here and rest,” Scarecrow advised them. "There is a stream just to the south, maybe three or four minutes’ walk. Wait for us there.”

  The monkey’s bowed to him as if he were their leader.

  “Why are you here?” a blue Dwarf stepped forward, raising his high voice. “These lands are reserved for the Unicorners.”

  “We only wish to pass above your land,” Indy’s voice was calm and assured. “We wish you and the Unicorns every blessing.”

  “You have come to steal their apples,” another Dwarf argued. “You are not the first ones to try and fool us. You want eternal life.”

  Scarecrow coughed, “I’ve had my fill of it actually.”

  The first Dwarf moved forward. Scarecrow stood still as the Dwarf circled him. He touched his hands and sniffed at his fingertips.

  “Who did this to you?” the Dwarf demanded.

  Scarecrow seemed frozen.

  “Who did what?” Indy stepped forward, taking Scarecrow’s hand.

  The blue Dwarf stamped his foot impatiently, “What Witch is responsible for trapping this Unicorn in a man’s body?”

  “Holy shit,” Steele breathed.

  Holy shit, indeed.

  CHAPTER 48- PART 5 – Indy

  “You’re a fucking Unicorn?” my eyes flew to Scarecrows.

  His face was white, “You are mistaken. I wasn’t even born in Oz.”

  The blue Dwarf looked at us like we were idiots, “I know a Unicorn when I see one. We have one purpose, and that is to serve the Unicorn herd. Now, I will ask again, who did this to you?”

  “Fuck, I was born this way!” Scarecrow growled menacingly at the Dwarf. “You don’t know jack shit.”

  The Dwarf rolled his eyes, “It is obvious this unicorn is in need of care. I must take him back to the herd. As for the rest of you—be gone!”

  Scarecrow grabbed the Dwarf by the scruff of the neck, “Listen Papa Smurf, we don’t have time for your bullshit. So, you need to do what I say. We have gold and gems to trade in order to have safe passage through Unicorners lands. Who do we need to speak with?”

  The Dwarf choked, “The unicorns will have to approve such a thing.”

  Scarecrow dropped him to the ground, “Then take us to them.”

  The blue Dwarf stamped his foot, “This is highly unorthodox!”

  “Look, if he is a unicorn,” Scarecrow growled at me, but I kept talking, “If he is a unicorn, you have to obey him. That is your purpose, remember?”

  The blue Dwarf went to argue, but found he hadn’t anything to say.

  “Very well,” he huffed, “But they won’t like it.”

  “I don’t give a damn,” Scarecrow muttered, coming over and taking my hand. “They come with me.”

  “Fine!” the Dwarf turned and started to amble his way back into the dark forest.

  We followed along, making sure to walk where he did to avoid traps and pitfalls that the Dwarves were famous for.

  Once we cleared the outskirts, I began to see the light coming from up ahead. But what was really creepy, was that Scarecrow’s skin began to glow.

  “What the fuck?” he muttered, his hand tightening in mine.

  I wanted to reassure him, but it was freaking me out just as badly.

  All I could do was hold onto him for dear life and pray that we made it through.

  The forest faded into an open clearing. One hundred trees circled the outside. They were massive in size and each was hollowed out to hold a stall. As we approached, the Unicorners came to stand at the edge of the trees. Just beyond them was a crystal-clear lake with unmoving water.

  It was eerie how still everything was.

  I noticed the shiny silver apples hanging from the long branches of the trees. It is said that the unicorns eat them to assure eternal life.

  And then to my surprise, each Unicorner bent their front leg in a bow, lowering their magnificent heads to honor royalty.

  Surely, this couldn’t be for me?

  “Haslan,” a giant unicorn spoke, “You have finally returned. Our curse is broken.”

  Not me then.

  Scarecrow looked white as a sheet, “I am not Haslan.”

  The unicorn stomped his feet impatiently, “You have his blood in your veins, despite your unusual appearance. You cannot tell me that it is not you.”

  “I am not Haslan,” Scarecrow repeated, “That was my father’s name.”

  The other unicorns started stomping and kicking up dust.

  “It is an imposter!”

  “That is not our Haslan!”

  “This is trickery!”

  “Witchcraft!”

  The giant unicorn’s horn glowed, and the other Unicorners fell silent, “I will test him.”

  “The hell you will!” I interjected.

  “Indy?” Scarecrow grabbed me before I flew into a rage.

  “You will not kill him; do you understand me? I know what your little test is! Throw him into your lake—only true unicorns can survive it. Well, you are not throwing the man I love anywhere!”

  “Your chosen mate is fiery, Haslan,” the unicorn almost seemed to smile.

  There was a silence, I turned to Scarecrow, my heart trying to burst out of my chest.

  “They can’t do this,” I pleaded with him, “You are not Haslan, you are Scarecrow. My Scarecrow!”

  He cupped my face in his hands, “Why are you crying?”

  I wanted to scream, “I never cry!”

  His mouth twitched at my lie.

  “I have to do this Indy,” he whispered, wiping my tears with his thumbs.

  “No,” I refuted hotly, “you don’t! They are crazy ass unicorns! You don’t owe them anything!”

  He leaned forward and captured my mouth. His taste branding my tongue as he swept into my mouth, leaving no doubts as to who he loved.

  I clung to his shirt front, kissing him with everything that I had. This wasn’t goodbye. It couldn’t be.

  So why did it feel that way?

  He broke the kiss, “I have to do this, for me.”

  If he wanted to do it for anyone else I would have stopped him. But how could I stand in the way of him finally finding out who and what he was?

  I kissed him again harshly, tongues and teeth clashing, “You will come back to me, do you hear me?”

  He swallowed thickly, “Yes, ma’am.”

  He removed his backpack of treasure and stripped down to his jeans. I was sobbing outright, El had taken me in her arms.

  Scarecrow turned to me, “I love you, Indy—always have.”

  Fuck.

  I screamed as he started to walk towards the water. El and Steele had to hold me back from chasing after him.

  Logically, I knew that I would die if I entered the water, but I would rather that than living alone without him.

  He turned to look at me one last time before entering the water.

  I will never forget his face. The monster had come out, his eyes glowing and his body elongated, muscles bulging.

  “I love you!” I screamed.

  For a moment, I thought he would come back to me. Then, in a split second, he dove under the water, causing the first ripples of movement to appear in the pool.

&nb
sp; I was inconsolable. My world shattering as Scarecrow slipped underneath the water. The ripples eventually stopped, and the pool fell silent once again.

  My throat was raw, my eyes burned, but it was nothing compared to the fire consuming my soul. I felt like I was being burned alive, nothing would ever be the same.

  El had tears streaming down her face as she tried to console me. But it was no use. I couldn’t breathe. I sunk to the ground, my screams echoing in the dead air around me.

  El and Steele knelt beside me bowing their heads.

  Then each of the Unicorners turned toward the pool and knelt again to show their respect.

  “This isn’t how it ends!” my face was covered in snot and tears. “We live happily ever after, damn it! This is not how it ends!”

  El collapsed next to me, taking me once again in her arms.

  “I am so sorry, Indy. So very sorry.”

  “El,” Steele’s voice broke through my misery. “Indy, something is happening.”

  “What?” I croaked, trying to sit up.

  I took my shirt and blew my nose. I didn’t care that I had snot everywhere or that I looked like shit.

  My eyes were glued to that damn pond.

  Ripples began to appear on the surface.

  I scrambled to my knees and then to my feet.

  The Unicorners stayed kneeling.

  And then with a wave spraying water over the land, a huge black unicorn climbed its way out of the lake. Shaking its glossy mane and snorting powerfully, his eyes seemed to narrow in on one person.

  Me.

  Holy fuck.

  “Scarecrow?”

  CHAPTER 49 - PART 5 – Indy

  “Son of Haslan, you have returned to take your place as leader of the Unicorners!”

  In unison, the unicorns rose and stamped proudly.

  “No,” I marched myself straight over to the Unicorners. “I’ve had about enough of this nonsense. Turn him back now.”

  They guffawed and neighed in my face. I have never been mocked by an animal before and I have to say, it was humiliating.

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Scarecrow sounded different, and I didn’t like it.

  I tentatively approached him, “Scarecrow?”