Page 12 of There's No Place Like Oz

“They did it to themselves, really.” Crowe shrugged nonchalantly. “As you clearly experienced, the munchkins are a stupid and superstitious people. If you’d preferred, I could have let them bleed you out, but I decided I would rather have your continued company. A woman who is so callous as to wear the shoes of someone she murdered, after all, is someone worth protecting.”

Tobias eased his defenses. It was barely perceptible, but I noticed.

“I see.” He said. “So you mean Dorothy no harm.”

Crowe glanced playfully upward. “I mean lots of harm, honestly. The more harm I can share, the more joy I find. But your sweet girl has put me in her debt, so if she so prefers, I’ll save my violence for the rest of Oz.”

“Yes, Iwouldprefer that.” I said with a quick wave of my hand.

“Then it’s done.” He added with an elegant tip of his hat. “I will protect you both so long as you should want it.”

Tobias seemed to accept that response. Even if there were thinly veiled threats in all of Crowe’s words, I think so long as Toto believedIwas safe, he didn’t care if harm could come to himself. Still, if Tobias was willing to accept Crowe, than that was all the confirmation I needed. I trusted his judge of character much better than I trusted my own, after all.

I took a step forward, now beside Tobias instead of behind him. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure how you’re going to help us.” I frowned, and I continued. “I would love your protection as we make our way back to Kansas, but I don’t even know what direction we should be travelling. It could be south or north or east or west…”

“Well, there’s no witch in the east anymore, so that would be a safe direction.” Crowe pondered. “But if it will get you to Kansas or not, I couldn’t say. I know of someone who might be able to though.”

“Who’s that?” Tobias asked with unhidden suspicion.

“The Wizard of Oz, of course. He’s the ruler of all of Oz, and he should, thusly, know of our neighboring nations. If anyone can help you find Kansas again, it should be him.”

“The Wizard of Oz…” I repeated the title. “Is he evil like the witch? Or the munchkins?”

The scarecrow shrugged. “No clue, I’ve never met him. He hasn’t granted audience to anyone… ever, actually. But they say that he’s all seeing, all mighty, and all powerful. I can’t see any reason he wouldn’t want to meet with someone as lovely as you, sweet Dorothy.”

Toto chewed his lip for a moment, then he muttered quietly. “If he’s all powerful, I wonder if he can turn me back into my old form?”

“Sure, why not?” Crowe’s demeanor was much more friendly now. “Or at least he better be able to, since I’ve been planning to ask him to return my conscience and compassion. Grunhilda took a lot from me when she reached into my brain, and I lost even more when she exiled me to this post. Now that she’s dead, I’d like to build a life in this post-Hildy world too, if you don’t mind me tagging along.”

“How do we find this Wizard though?” I pursed my lips. It all sounded great in theory, but I knew where this Wizard lived about as well as I knew where Kansas was.

“The Wizard lives in the Emerald City, placed firmly in the center of the continent.” Crowe’s local knowledge was already becoming a great asset. “A brick road connects the north, west, east, and south kingdoms to the heart of Oz that governs it all. If we follow that path, we’ll certainly find it.” With that, he swept his hand to the west, where the distant gold of the path glistened under the now fully risen sun. The way the light reflected off the bright yellow bricks made it impossible to miss, even with vegetation blocking the view.

Toto glanced at me, and I glanced at him. Then I took a deep breath and placed my first foot forward. “Then I guess we’re off to see the Wizard.” I said with finality.The Wizard of Oz. I hope he’s kinder than these munchkins.

Chapter 8

I didn’t know what to think of this new companion. He barely looked like he was alive, and he had no natural warmth to make me reassess that impression. He had no heart, he didn’t breathe, he didn’t sweat—he did nothing that helped me to get a read on him. Dorothy was so quick to accept him, but over the last couple of years since I’d been watching over her, she’d been quick to accept a lot of men, so that didn’t mean much in the grand scheme. I’d seen her fall in with some terrible, narcissistic people in the past, and I would hate for that to happen in such a strange new environment.

Crowe also wasn’t giving off any sense of hostility, however, so in theory, he was passing some of my most basic evaluations. Whatever happened, at least now I was strong enough to protect her. This was my opportunity to do better than I could when I possessed a body so small and frail. Whether that meant talking her down from a panic attack or tearing her enemies apart, I was open to whatever it took to be that man for her.

We walked together through the field, hill after hill, always getting nearer and nearer to the shiny brick road. When we’d at last reached its edge, I had to say this so called ‘yellow’was quite impressive. The bricks that made up the pathway were bright and vibrant, glistening like Dorothy’s lovely hair, while also heavily contrasting with the darker color that made up the grass, or the color of the sky that was the same as Dorothy’s kind eyes.

It was overwhelming all these new sights and sounds. Spending my whole life in the body of a color blind dog, I’d never realized what I was missing out on. But now that I had this new form, my soul felt like it could truly stretch out. It felt right. Almost familiar and comfortable and freeing.

I was seeing everything in a new light now, really. My lady was so vivid in her mannerisms and her bright, captivating colors. Her soft lips, her tanned skin, her multi-colored hair, her gently swaying dress that caught the breeze in animated ruffles—she was a vision of goodness and beauty, yet she was also so small and vulnerable.

“I present to you the road of yellow brick.” Crowe interrupted my thoughts with a tilt of his chin. I eyed him as his lips curled into a smile. He always seemed happy in an unexplainably cruel way. I needed to get more of a read on him.

We began to walk the path, and I took position between he and Dorothy. “So how did you lose your humanity, Scarecrow?” I prodded carefully, curious to how he might respond.

Crowe cocked his head to the side before he answered. “Do you want me to show you?” The way he asked almost seemed serious, and the way his sharp teeth shone in the sun had me immediately on my guard.

“I don’t think anyone wants the gory details.” Dorothy stepped in, and immediately he softened his gait.Interesting. While I had obvious reason to listen to my lady, I couldn’t understand what had him obeying so quickly and without argument. Dorothy was certainly special, and she did have a way of making people respond to her, even if I’d had to sit helplessly by as she attracted the wrong attention one too many times. It was hard to say yet where Crowe fell on the spectrum. Something about him still felt a touch unhinged for my taste. I would have to stay vigilant around him.

Chapter 9

The Yellow Brick Road was long and arduous, made so much worse by uneven paving and missing bricks. I barely got to enjoy the scenery; I was so busy keeping my eyes on the ground in front of me. The glare of the yellow in the bright Oz sun made it difficult to see the pitfalls until you were tripping in them, and I had to say, I was not at all impressed with the handiwork.

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