Oz

The second word reached Zayn’s chambers that strangers had somehow magically landed themselves in the center of the Emerald City, he was on his way down to the cells to see them with his own eyes. He stopped on his way to have a word with his chief security officer that had locked them up himself to get details on what happened in their city. The last time they had strangers arrive in Oz it didn’t end well for his side.

“Tell me precisely what transpired.” Zayn demanded, knocking the titanium of his ring against the titanium of his scepter together.

“I did not see it all, your majesty, but it was as though they came from out of nowhere wearing the oddest of clothes. They spoke as though they knew not where they were and continued to argue of their innocence all the way into their cell.”

“You locked them away together?”

“We only have one empty cell at the moment, sir.”

“Very well. Did they happen to say where they had come from?”

“Kansas.”

Zayn glared sharply at the older man. “What did you say?”

“They mentioned Kansas, your majesty.”

Zayn took in a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly. The mere mention of Kansas set his blood on fire. The last thing Oz needed right now was visitors that could possibly be descendents of the great Dorothy who brought the wicked witch to her death. He didn’t spare a minute longer with the guard and made his way to the cells. He had imprisoned many in his stint as king so far and passed by the majority of them until he got to the far end, at the very last cell against the stone wall of the dungeon where he found the two curious visitors.

It was dark, though not nearly as dark as it would be come nightfall, but he could still see them clearly. A boy with feathery hair and bright eyes with his hands cuffed in front of him and a beautiful girl whose hair was only a shade darker but her eyes were darker still sat together in the cell. He looked between the two as their eyes found him with intense curiosity and slight fear. “Names. Give them to me now.” He demanded putting one hand on the bars. It did not escape his notice that the girl was no longer cuffed. “Shackles, guard.” He said to the side, keeping his eyes on the two.

“I’m Marianne and this is my brother, Louis.” The girl responded, just as the guard handed him another pair of metal cuffs.

“Come forward, Marianne.” When he saw her reluctance and as she looked to her brother for an answer, he gave a long sigh. “Come forward or something very bad might happen.” He threatened, a ball of fire erupting in the palm of his hand. He tossed it like a fireball to where it smashed into the stone near her head.

She didn’t waste one more second before scurrying over to him. “Please, we didn’t do anything.”

“I didn’t ask you to speak. But, if you answer all of my questions to my satisfaction then I will leave you unshackled. Do you understand, girl?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where are you from?”

“Kansas. Where -”

“No speaking outside of answers. I don’t answer to you. I’m the king.”

“Sorry, sir.”

The shifting of her brother caught his attention. “Stay in your spot.” He warned. “How did you come to be here?” He directed back to the girl. If he hadn’t feared her intentions and if he didn’t love Evangeline with all his heart he might have found her pretty.

“There was a terrible storm. A tornado.”

A chill crept up his spine as he remembered the stories of Dorothy and he knew that was precisely how she had come to be here and the old wizard, too. This was not a good sign, but he was thankful to have them in custody. “What are your intentions here?”

“We d-don’t know where we are …” Zayn narrowed his eyes at her then grabbed both wrists with his hands through the bars and cuffed her, pulling his hands back out. “You said you wouldn’t cuff me!”

He turned around and scowled. “Your answers didn’t satisfy me.”



Evangeline made her way through the flowery fields with her two guards by her side. She had been traveling for a good while to find Glinda’s castle. She had always loved it from the pictures she saw back in the Emerald City but she had never gone to visit it in person. After Glinda perished, the castle had sat empty and nothing had been touched or moved as it stood as a tribute to the late good witch and Evangeline hoped that this meant her wand was still inside of it. The only trouble was the guards that stood watch to keep the castle intact. Had she not asked Zayn to spare the castle, she was sure a dragon would have taken all of them out along with the beautiful structure.

She was glad she voiced her love of it when she saw it standing tall and beautifully glittering in the sunlight. It didn’t shine the same as the Emerald City, but more like a star sitting brightly on top of a mountain. The white was so different from the castle in the Emerald City and maybe that was why she liked it so much – it appealed to her lighter side. The side she was trying to quiet down for her love of Zayn and his need for power. Being good and kind was nearly in direct contrast to gaining more power and she knew that Zayn would never choose anything over power. Except maybe her.

They moved closer to the castle and saw the guards but before her own could attack she gripped the cuff on her wrist with her other hand and her eyes lit up as the spell wafted out of her body and towards the guards. She didn’t harm people when she wasn’t around Zayn and these two guards knew that about her which is why she always tended to take them because they never told a soul. The men at the front simply fell asleep and slumped against the wall with their spears clanking to the ground so she could walk right past them and into the lovely, bright and ornate foyer of Glinda’s castle.

“Take nothing. If you find the wand hand it over to me immediately. I will know if you take something.” She warned, then the three went their separate ways in search of the wand.

She found herself in Glinda’s old chambers running her fingers through some of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen (outside of her own closet, of course). They were made of fine silk and lace and in an array of white and pastel colors that were ill-suited for Evangeline now. She wore purples and black – those were her colors – but there was an allure to the color white that she had kept silent and she found herself admiring one of the gowns in particular. She’d never be able to wear it, but she took it anyway.

She sat at the beautiful white wood vanity that had a large mirror with intricately carved wood keeping it in place and looked through some of the pieces of jewelry the late witch owned. Jewels were the last thing she needed – Zayn bought her any kind she could ever want and then some so she moved to trace the carvings around the side of the vanity until one knob in particular pushed in. The large mirror turned glossy and instead of depicting the room behind her it showed a different room where a beautiful tiara was set on a podium along with what Evangeline knew to be Glinda’s wand.

She reached through the less solid mirror to feel the coolness on the other side and reached forward grabbing both the tiara and wand and pulled them out of the mirror before it went solid again and showed her own reflection. She slowly raised the tiara to put in her hair and tilted her head to look at how lovely it was as it sparked in stark contrast to her shimmering dark hair. She felt the wand pulse in her hand and the shimmering blue gem at the tip began to cloud and turn a deep plum color.

She stalked down the stairs, tiara and dress hidden and the wand in her hand as her magic had turned the gem back to its natural color. “Time to get back to the Emerald City, boys.”