Oz

The wind caused the trees the whistle and moan as small girl stood at the base of them, her lips pressed together. “The entire village?” She whispered. The trees whispered again and Cecily nodded, running a hand through her long brown hair. “I see.” She sighed, setting a hand on the bark of the closest tree. “Stay safe my friends. We’re going to take care of this, I promise.”

“Talking to trees again?” She looked over to see Niall and Rowan smiling at her and blushed as the trees moaned angrily, causing Cecily to take a step back.

“It’s alright, they’re friends. They fight for you like I do.” The trees murmured again as Cecily turned to the handsome blonde boy and the beautiful brunette by his side. “Another village has been destroyed.”

“Another one?” Niall asked, his eyebrows rising. “Cecily are you sure?” She nodded.

“Well come on, we have to let Liam and Ilithyia know.” Rowan said, extending her hand to the petite brunette who appeared as though she could step into the tree line and vanish among her wooden friends.

“Rowan.” She whispered, her deep eyes far away as they always were. “They’re in so much pain. They don’t trust anyone anymore; I had to talk to them for an eternity before they explained what has them so terrified.” The wind moved through the trees again, sounding sad as Cecily’s eyes watered. “Oh no.”

“What’s wrong Cec?” Niall asked as the girls eyes grew distant once more. She pressed her lips together, looking back up at the two and shaking her head slowly.

“There were no survivors.” She choked out. The trees seemed to cry with her as the small girl wiped away her tears, wiping them on the sleeves of her earth toned jacket. “They didn’t even spare the children.”

“Come on Cec.” Rowan whispered, wrapping her arm around the small girl and leading her out of the woods. As the three made their way down the yellow brick road Cecily looked up, seeing the remnants of black smoke against the sky, now orange in the sunset. Her head moved to the side once more as her stomach growled loudly. Niall chuckled, looking down at her.

“When was the last time you ate?” He asked. She shrugged and Rowan simply shook her head. They both knew it was common for Cecily to get so caught up in the trees and what they had to say that she would forget important things, such as the meeting and the fact that she was hungry. To most Cecily seemed like an odd imbecile, not fit for the stunning glamour of the Emerald City that sat in the distance, but Rowan, Niall, and the others knew that wasn’t the case. Cecily was a genius, and like all geniuses, no one understood her or thought her anything more than a freak.

Liam had found the girl in Emerald City, trying to explain to everyone that something wicked was happening, but none believed her, saying that her years in the forest had driven her mad. Liam, however, had sensed it too, and had basically taken her under his wing. He had tried to bring Cecily out of wherever it was she lived in the heart of the forests, but she refused saying her friends needed her.

She was always conversing with the trees, which the others had thought foolish and overall, nonsense at first. But when it came to pass that what she told them were facts, facts she could never find out without the help of the forests whisperings, then they realized the small girl was no madwoman, she was just a bit…well… odd.

None of them even really knew where she came from. She never told them about her family or how it came to be that she wandered endlessly among the trees, living like one of them at times. When Liam wasn’t keeping track of her Cecily sometimes took days to find, and had once even been located in the heart of the dark forest, speaking with one of the black, gnarled trees about the smoke in the skies and attacks on the villages.

The group was worried that one day her conversations with the trees would lead her into a dangerous area and they might lose their connection to the forests. They had to take turns keeping track of her and keeping her safe, but most often keeping track of Cecily was like trying to catch the smoke that colored the skies dark. It had been Niall and Rowan’s turn this time and they were glad they didn’t have to wander all over the forests of Oz calling her name like Ilithyia had to do last time to locate her.

As they approached Liam and Ilithyia Cecily had gotten a hold on her tears, but Liam still knew something was wrong. He had become like a brother to her, and the young, spacey girl had become family to Liam, all of them had. He instinctively approached Cecily, handing her a piece of bread which she quickly took, picking the food apart slowly before popping pieces into her mouth.

“What have the trees said?” He asked simply.

“There was another attack on a village.” She whispered. “They left no survivors.”

“Who is ‘they’?” Liam pressed, but Cecily simply shook her head.

“The rumors among the trees have become too great to figure out who exactly.” She admitted. “Some say it was a dragon, others say the flying baboons that Evanora once called her own. It is difficult to separate the fact from the fiction and exaggerations from the truth.” With that she popped another piece of bread into her mouth.

“Anything else?” He asked. She pressed her lips together, looking into Liam’s eyes, but he knew she didn’t see him. Her mind was always a million miles away it seemed.

“There is a prophecy.” She whispered. “Murmurs of others descending from the land of Gale.”

“Others?” Niall asked. “You mean more than one?”

“Yes.” She answered. “And if we wish to vanquish this evil, they are the key.”

“Does anyone know when they will come?” Ilithyia asked. Cecily shook her head.

“It is only a prophecy, and there are no specific times or dates.” She whispered. “But rest assured my friends, when Oz is in its darkest hour, a savior will always come.”