Oz

Cecily had never been a fan of cities, something about the lack of nature and bustling streets always making her nervous. She had hated the emerald city, only going there when she had no other choice, but the city outside Glinda’s castle was even worse. The deserted streets made her feel uneasy, and the fact that whatever people they did come across quickly ran in the opposite direction. Something was seriously wrong here and it was making her stomach twist into knots.

“Cec, you okay?” She looked over at Ilithyia, nibbling her lower lip.

“Something here is not right.” She whispered, shaking her head. “And I’m sure if there was even a hint of a tree around here, they would agree with me.” Ilithyia simply nodded, looking at her friend before she smiled.

“So, can I ask you something?”

“I can’t stop you.” Cecily said bluntly as they looked at a few trinket stands, trying to find something that seemed all powerful.

“What did Louis say? When he ran after you?” Cecily froze, her cheeks turning bright red and she nearly dropped the small glass dancer figurine in her hands. She shakily set it back on the stand, folding her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know what you’re speaking of.” She said, her voice shaking. But Ilithyia smiled, setting a hand on her shoulder. Of all the girls on this journey, Cecily felt most comfortable with Ilithyia. They were both wanderers, although they were different kinds, and she never felt quite as out of place when she was with the pretty blonde. But whatever this was she felt when Louis was around, it wasn’t something she was keen on sharing.

After she had run off from him, the trees had told her of the sad, beautiful boy, sitting on a stump and waiting for her. When they had all gone to sleep, Louis had laid down between her and his sister, and the next morning his hand had been gently lying over hers. Even now, when Liam had split everyone up, she had seen the disappointment in his stunning blue eyes when he realized that they wouldn’t be a team. Something about the Kansas boy made Cecily’s heart race and her palms sweat and her head to become more jumbled then the twigs that make a birds nest. She had no clue what this was, and she was worried Ilithyia might tell her what she feared most, she was in love.

Ilithyia just watched patiently as Cecily spaced out, her hands shaking as they continued walking. But finally the brunette snapped back to reality, looking at her friend.

“Have a nice trip?” Ilithyia chuckled softly. Cecily simply turned a brighter shade of red.

“Not particularly.” She muttered, hugging herself.

“So, you and Louis…” But she stopped when she saw the sheer discomfort her friend was in and sighed. “You know what? Forget I asked.” Cecily looked up at her, giving her a soft smile before clearing her throat.

“Let’s find the source of that magic then.”

The two girls scoured the city, trying to find something, anything, but it was no use. Neither one knew what might be the source of this magic, and none of the townsfolk would speak to them. So finally as night fell they made their way back to the brewery Liam had pointed out earlier, arriving to see Niall and Rowan enjoying dinner, smiling at each other.

“Maybe we should wait-” Ilithyia started, but Cecily didn’t see the problem as she walked over, sitting down next to Rowan.

“Did you find anything?” She asked, cocking her head to one side.

“No.” Niall said simply, looking a bit put out, but only for a moment. Cecily simply looked at him as Ilithyia sat beside the blonde boy, mouthing an apology to Rowan before smiling knowingly.

“Did you lot find anything?” They all four looked up to see Liam, Marianne, Harry, and Louis walk inside the abandoned tavern, Louis not taking his eyes of Cecily. She simply looked at the table, trying to think of what tree gave his life to create it as the others walked over and sat down. She knew by the faint smell of his skin that Louis was beside her, so she kept her eyes on the table.

“Cecily.” Her head snapped up at her name, looking around the table to find Liam shaking his head. “Glad to have you back.”

“Sorry.” She muttered. She simply kept her head down as each group went over what they had, and hadn’t found. She could feel the frustration rolling off Liam as everyone admitted they had no idea what to look for.

“It’s like looking for hay in a haystack.” Rowan muttered, “I mean, does it have an aura or a presence or something?”

“I don’t know.” Liam admitted.

“Is it a weapon, or a wand, or-” Harry started, but he was abruptly cut off.

“I don’t know.” Liam repeated, his voice loud enough to cause the bartender to look over. Marianne set a hand on his arm and everyone watched as Liam relaxed completely. Taking a deep breath he looked at everyone. “Sorry.”

“You’re tense.” Louis said, shrugging. “We all are.” Cecily looked over at the feathery haired brunette in surprise. It was the nicest thing he said to Liam since they were rescued.

“Well.” Liam said simply. “Let’s all get to bed then, we can start fresh in the morning.”

“What about the guards?” Marianne asked quietly.

“They can’t come in here for a while.” Cecily said bluntly, her first words in nearly two hours. “The trees changed the path so it’s impossible to find this place. But soon they will have to move back.”

“Why?” Louis asked. She turned her eyes to the table again, swallowing nervously.

“The guards will start chopping them down.” She murmured, pressing her lips together. “And they won’t all die for us.”

“Then it’s even more important we find the source of this magic as soon as possible.” Liam said. “Same groups tomorrow, and we’ll have to look even harder, go over any and everything you might have missed the first time.” The group nodded before standing, all making their way to the bedrooms above the tavern and paying for rooms for the night. Although Ilithyia and Rowan insisted she could sleep with them, Cecily opted to get her own room. She needed time to think, to clear her mind of Louis so she could focus on helping to save Oz.

She was simply sitting on her bed, not even pretending to sleep, when there was a faint knock on her door. She looked up as it opened, and when she saw those bright blue eyes she knew she wasn’t going to be able to focus.

“Can I um, can I come in?” Louis asked, his head peeking through the doorway. Cecily simply nodded as he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He somehow looked even more handsome in the light of the candle by her bed, and Cecily couldn’t help but flush.

“Where’s your sister?” She asked quickly.

“Asleep.” He muttered, walking over and sitting on her bed beside her. He seemed nervous as he rung his hands, looking down at his shoes. “I um, I never got to properly thank you, for saving me.”

“Like I said, it’s my job.” She said, scooting as far away as she could without falling off her bed. Louis simply scooted closer, knowing she had nowhere else to go as he sat hip to hip with her.

“Whether you had to or not, you still saved my life. He murmured, his eyes locked on hers. “And you ran off in the woods before I could thank you.”

“And now you have, so goodnight.” She squeaked. Louis simply pressed his lips together, looking at her as he blushed slightly.

“Actually, I didn’t.” She didn’t even have time to open her mouth to ask what he was talking about when Louis shot forward and Cecily shot back. She felt herself falling before she hit the ground with a loud thud, her head spinning. Louis just sat on the bed for a moment before the door busted open to Liam and Marianne.

“Cecily are you-” But Liam stopped when he saw Louis sitting on her bed, quickly clearing his throat. “Are we interrupting something?” Marianne was smiling wickedly at her brother, but Cecily quickly shot up.

“No.” She said bluntly, “Louis was just leaving.” She couldn’t look into Louis’ eyes as he sat on the bed, just looking at her.

“Well in that case, it’s time for bed you two, we’ve got a long day in the morning.” Liam said, his cheeks still pink.

“Right.” Louis muttered. He quickly stood, making his way back over to Marianne. He looked back at Cecily, who just watched him sadly. Then finally with a small sigh he shut the door, leaving her alone as he and Maryanne went back to bed.