Chapter Text
When the wind blew East, leaves scattered from the wilting trees, letting them glide along the sky, before crashing into papers that held wrongful depictions of the enemy of Oz.
“Citizens of Oz,”
An echoing voice called out across the land, standing attention from onlookers living their wary lives. Pages and pages of warning about the threat looming over them flew across the wind, sending waves of fear across Oz.
“There’s been twelve tide turns since the Wicked Witch of the West escaped with our grimmerie,”
Munchkinlanders shut their windows, pulling their children inside while others slammed posters across their homes, each filled with propaganda of the vile enemy that reigns from the west, watching and waiting to strike once more.
“Shield your children, trust no animals,”
Creatures ran along the forest, hiding in burrows and dens, trying to hide from Gale Enforcers who marched along the Yellow Brick Road. Some watched with fear, others with hate, yet all never dared to emerge from their homes.
“She will be eliminated,”
In the flower fields of Munchkinland, they were labored to cut the yellow tulips and grind them down to make yellow paint, being handed to by Gale Guard who marched back to their construction. The Munchkinlanders were pushed back and forced to keep on sitting their fields for the Oz.
“Until then, the wizard's vision for the Oz of tomorrow marches on.”
Bisons locked in chains were forced to pull on machines that laid out the yellow bricks, whipped and shouted by Gale guards with cruelty. However, something from the sky snapped every chain connected to the Bisons, where they all escaped and fled back into the forest.
“Beware,”
Brown eyes shone from the sunlight, staring down at the home that turned its back to her, no longer claiming her as its own. The girl simply held her broom tighter, before flying off into the western sky, not being the last time she was seen.
“Of the Wicked Witch,”
~~
TWACK
“Dorothy Gale, are you listening?!” A loud vibration against the wooden desk caused a startled gasp out of the sleeping girl, her head shooting upright and stared at her teacher—who was staring down unamused and a ruler on her hand—with wide eyes. The classroom was watching her, a few children were snickering and whispering to one another.
“Sorry, Ms. Muller!” Heat rushed to Dorothy’s cheeks, eyes flicking downwards at her fiddling fingers. There had been more incidents of Dorothy Gale falling into deep slumber, hearing voices that were not from anyone she’s heard before, places she can only imagine to be from a far away place, people who were beyond her home.
However, these dreams have been getting more frequent, and lasting longer than she was comfortable with. Dorothy would relive these dreams even when she was awake and active, as before when Hickory found her standing motionless when she was in the middle of the barn.
“This will be the last time you fall asleep in my classroom, you hear, Gale?” Ms. Muller sighed while shaking her head, “Next time it’ll be a ruler to your skin and a meeting with your parents,” She shrunk back, shaking her head while looking away. The ruler was much worse than the dunce cat she wore last week.
“She doesn’t have parents, Ms. Muller!” One kid blurted out, “Yeah, she’s an orphan!” Dorothy felt heat rush to her cheeks, feeling humiliation as the children all burst into giggles as if talking about being an orphan was the funniest thing in the world. Maybe to them, it was because they never experienced it.
“You all keep your mouths shut, or else you wish to take her place?” Ms. Muller decided to be decent today and shut the whole teasing down, which worked as all the children instantly clamped their mouths closed and avoided the intense stare of their teacher.
“Now, what is the difference between cyclones and twisters?” Ms. Muller asked, finally getting her class back on course. She walked to the front, setting her ruler down and picking up chalk.
“Cyclones are large and form over water, while twisters are smaller but intense that form over flat lands!” The class’ know-it-all raised his hand and proudly explained, causing the class to sarcastically clap at the kid’s smug expression.
“Yes, and Kansas is very prominent of the latter. Being directly part of what we call “Tornado Alley”, more than 90 twisters form every year,” The teacher skillfully drew on the chalkboard, showing images of tornados and wind pushing against a landmass.
“And what does that mean to a town like ours?” Ms. Muller tilted her glasses down and raised an eyebrow at her class. Dorothy laid her chin on her hand, trying to not float back into her constant dreams.
“It means ruins,” The know-it-all kid said seriously, “Farms are destroyed, with everything in it,” That made a few kids shiver. There’s almost never been any twisters on where they live, at least not what she’s seen since she grew up in this town. However the threat still lingers.
“Any questions?” Muller asked, eyes searching for raised hands. She ever so deflated her shoulders when she saw a particular hand being raised, one that’s connected to the class’ dreamer.
“Can twisters carry us somewhere far away?” Dorothy asked, causing heads to turn to her confused. Some girls giggled and boys scrunched their noses at how dumb the question was, but Dorothy held her head high.
“You should never attempt to be near twisters willingly, Gale,” Muller said, a very serious tone that made the class stop and watch. She took slow steps to stand in front of the child’s desk, leaning down.
“They will kill you before you can even scream,”
~~
“Ouch! You kicked me!” School has ended, and all the children ran out of the schoolhouse to their homes. A few girls walked together, and one boy was particularly being rowdy and it ended up with him getting kicked in the shin.
”Serves you right! Treat a lady with respect!” A girl stuck her tongue out at the boy. The boy merely mocked her expression, hopping on one foot while soothing his ankle with his hands.
”I will when I meet one!” He responded, causing his friends to cackle, which made the girl puff out her cheeks and turned her head away.
Dorothy took a deep breath, peeking from the school door at her running classmates. She didn’t want to be acknowledged by the other kids, but knew the direction they were going was also the way to the farm. With her eyes closed, she quickly shuffled down the stairs and made sure there was a good distance from them.
“Oh look,” She winced at the mocking tone, “It’s Oddie Dottie!” The group of kids all laughed as Dorothy tried to walk faster, passing them until she was in front of them, never once turning her back. Yet they knew how to get under her skin.
“Still singing about rainbows, airhead?” She gritted her teeth and spun around, glaring at the group of kids who were already grinning at the fact they managed to provoke the weird girl.
“Oh, you quit it! So what if I dream about rainbows? At least I think for once!” She spat back, glaring deeply at him. The kids “ooo’ed” at her words, making the boy splutter and his face went red.
“Say that again, Oddie Dottie! You actin like a boy, I oughta beat ya like one!” The boy named James rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw a punch. It wouldn’t be the first time that Dorothy got into a tussle, and it wouldn’t be the last time that she would gladly come home with a bit of blood on her fists.
“Bring it!” Before the two could even scuffle, the children around them stopped when a thunderous tremor rumbled the ground. The schoolhouse nearby shook as dozens of big eyes stared up into the sky, spotting military planes soaring over the sky and passing them.
“There’s more planes in the sky lately,” One girl named Annie finally spoke up after a while. From the radio that always played every morning in Auntie ‘Em’s kitchen, Dorothy would always catch snippets of adult things she didn't really know about.
“My papa said bad things are happening in the East,” Another girl, Janet, whispered conspiratorially, “You know, beyond America,” Dorothy recalls it now, how Uncle Henry rants about how this adult stuff would affect towns like theirs,
“Pwah! They won’t touch this country!” James puffed out his chest and pounded on it,“Especially here! I’ll rough up every single invader they outta throw here!” The other kids all giggled watching him wildly swing his arms around as if demonstrating what he’ll do to invaders.
“But if they do…?” Dorothy suddenly spoke up, all heads snapping towards her. She was used to how many weird looks she gets when she spoke about nonsense, yet it didn’t mean it hurt any less.
“W-well they won’t! President Roosevelt said so!” James stammered, fear rising in his voice. Most kids would praise and march around town about how this country would protect them no matter what, yet history speaks for itself.
As the wind blew through the land, a singular piece of paper fluttered along the sky, hovering just above the arguing kids, right before landing straight into the back of Dorothy’s head. She yelped at the sudden light force, hands scrambling to reach what touched her, just to pull a price of torn paper.
“What’s that?” Another boy named Robert peaked around, ignoring a spluttering James as the other kids watched what Dorothy held. Her small hands pushed the paper to smooth it over, eyes scanning what was designed on it.
“Run away… from the Witch-?” She began, eyebrows furrowing at the woman on the paper, green skin with her mouth wide open, sharp teeth across her lips and a look of hatred perfectly sketched on the eyes.
“YOU LITTLE BRATS!!”
The children all jumped from the sudden shout, heads turning to a running figure holding a rake. That was when they realized where they were standing near, right at the front yard of the dreaded and mean-.
“Miss Gulch!!” Annie screamed, “Scatter!!” All the kids fled into different directions, all but Dorothy. Her eyes widened at seeing what Miss Gulch was trying to hit, a familiar Cairn Terrier that always got into her yard.
Toto was barking frantically, running side to side to avoid the falling rake that Gulch was attempting to smack on his small body. Dorothy gasped, snapping out of her frozen state while she hopped the fence.
“Toto, come here!” She called out, arms stretched out. Toto yelped and pounced into her arms, and Dorothy quickly scrambled backwards to avoid the tyranny of Gulch.
“You best run away, or else I’ll stuff your dog with sand!” She shouted at the girl, who was scrambling to get back over the fence. Miss. Emira Gulch was a sworn enemy to not only Dorothy but to Auntie ‘Em and the farm, owning half the county that apparently gave her a power trip.
“But Toto didn’t mean to chase your cat! He was lonely when I was at school!” Dorothy defended her dog, clutching him tightly as he let out small growls. Toto had never escaped the farm when she was at school, something must’ve caught his eyes and led him here.
“If you ask me, you don’t even deserve a dog such as him! You would get him killed and you’d have no one to blame but yourself!” Gulch snapped back, rattling her rake in her hands.
“T-That’s not true! Auntie Em says taking care of Toto makes me responsible!” When Auntie ‘Em gifted Dorothy Toto as a Christmas present, the barely 6 year-old swore up and down that she’ll care for him forever, making the older woman laugh and kiss her head.
“Your Auntie ‘Em is as brainless as you if you think you could walk away from this without consequences!” She scoffed, “Honestly, why would that woman ever take in a girl like you?” That was a deep blow to the little girl’s heart. When kids her age mocked her about being an orphan, she can take, yet to have an adult say such cruel things.
Dorothy’s heart began to beat rapidly, anger bubbling inside her. Tiny pebbles shook on the dirt, Toto stopped growling and curiously tilted his head when he spotted something from the ground slowly rising from below Gulch’s feet.
“Y-you’re so.. so…!” She spluttered, trying to find the right words to insult such a mean old lady. Toto began to whine at some sort of force, curling closer into Dorothy’s arms as she finally found a word.
“WICKED!”
The ground shook, rumbling underneath Gulch as she stumbled back right as when something wrapped around her ankle and tripped her. The woman shrieked and fell on her rear just as she saw what grabbed her ankle. Roots seemed to have sprouted out of the ground and held onto her tightly, like a hand grabbing her.
Dorothy stared with her mouth open, before turning and running off. Toto followed right behind her, and the two raced down the road and back to their home. Dorothy felt tears well up in her eyes, trying to wipe them off as she hopped over her own fence, startling chickens and leaving them flustered.
“Dottie! What in blazes are you running around so quickly?” Hunk gripped his hat as he tumbled around when she ran past him. His lanky legs made him stumble about, but held his ground and watched Dorothy run into the house.
“Ah, did school end already?” Uncle Henry walked up to Hunk and looked at the sky before looking back at the house, “How bout you three see what’s got Dorothy so upset?” He told his farm boys before quickly running up to a restless horse.
Hunk dragged Hickory and Zeke inside, knowing where exactly Dorothy likes to hide when she’s sad— the closet underneath the stairs. “Oh Dottie? You in here?” Hunk knocked on the door, before opening it to see Dorothy hugging her knees.
“See here Dorothy, what’s got you all blue in the face?” Hickory tilted his head and squatted next to the sniffling girl, “If it was one of them boys again roughing you up, I’ll teach ‘em a lesson,” It was either Dorothy handling herself when facing bullies or Hickory threatening children with an axe.
“I-It was Miss Gulch! She chased Toto around with the rake, a-and insulted Auntie ‘Em!” Dorothy hiccuped as she felt a gloved hand brush the hair from her face, “I-I was so angry, t-that I-!” She stopped to take a deep breath.
“I called her wicked and-…” She didn’t want to also say that some weird roots grabbed ahold of Gulch’s ankle and practically yanked her down. That was beyond anything Dorothy can ever imagine even in her dreams, yet it was so familiar.
“My my, strong words for a small girl such as yourself,” Zeke rubbed his head in thought, attempting to find the right words to soothe a crying child. All he could think of is to hold up the baby chick he was cradling before, to which Dorothy gave a small giggle before petting it.
“You three keep on working outside, I’ll handle her,” The three all jumped at the voice of Auntie ‘Em, making them sheepishly retreat back outside, but not before saying their goodbye to Dorothy.
“Oh Dorothy, wipe those tears away. If you keep on crying about every small bad thing people say about you, you’ll be dehydrated every moment,” Auntie ‘Em consoled her, sitting inside the small closet with her and rubbing her back soothingly.
“I-It’s not small, Auntie ‘Em, M-Ms. Gulch said that y-you…” Dorothy wept as Toto licked Auntie ‘Em’s hand, “You were brainless to ever take me in,” The older lady’s breath hitched in her throat, looking down at the crying girl who finally looked up.
“N-Nothing but Oddie Dottie, the not-so- special orphan,” More tears flowed down, finally able to fully talk about how she felt. It was quite rare for her to talk to Auntie ‘Em with such vulnerability, as she was taught to always keep her chin high and take her problems head on like a Gale, but she could only do so much.
“You have always been special, from the moment you opened your eyes I knew you were going to be something big, my dear,” Auntie ‘Em soothed her, pulling the girl close to rock her back and forth, like what she was used to when she was only five.
“Well, I don’t feel so special,” Dorothy mumbled into Auntie ‘Em’s chest, “I feel all but miserable, Auntie ‘Em,” The woman exhaled, humming a lullaby to keep her little girl from continuing to cry.
“The other kids sneer and bully me, Miss Gulch wants to kill Toto, a-and these dreams are making me miss lessons,” Dorothy babbled on, feeling Toto whine and stood on his legs while licking her cheeks.
“Your dreams?” Auntie ‘Em asked, running her thumbs to wipe away the tears. Dorothy bit her lip, avoiding eye contact before taking a deep breath and shuddered.
“Th-they’re very odd,” She began, “I can see lands colorful and bright, filled with so many creatures I’ve never seen that weren't outside of books,” She could vaguely recall glimpses of big scary cats, bears, giraffes, and even monkeys.
“People of all sorts that dance and sing, live in towns like ours or big cities, most parts of mean, yet beautiful sights,” The crinkling sound from her pocket made Dorothy swallow hard. Her dreams contained lots of lots of papers, warnings and declarations of someone mean and scary
“Do they mean anything, Auntie ‘Em? Does it mean there’s a place I belong?” Dorothy looked at Auntie ‘Em with big eyes, searching for an answer that could help her understand her reason to be abandoned.
“You always get yourself into a fret over nothing,” Auntie ‘Em firmly said, “You belong here on the farm, with us,” She pushed back her braid that was stuck on Dorothy’s face by the tears.
“This is a place you can call home, nowhere else,” She paused, “But… even if you grow up and leave this place? Remember, there’s no place like home,” Auntie ‘Em kissed her on the forehead, resting her forehead on the girl’s.
“Okay, Auntie ‘Em,” Dorothy whispered, mustering the strength to smile up at the older woman, who smiled back. She was held by her for a moment, just breathing calmly and listening to each other's heartbeats, but the comfort was shattered when Uncle Henry’s voice.
“Emily! Miss Gulch is here!”
~~
“That dog is nothing but a menace to this community,” Gulch sternly explained, sitting on the couch like she owned the place, “I’ll be taking that mutt to the Sheriff to make sure he’s put down,” Dorothy held a growling Toto in her arms and gasped at her words.
“You mustn’t! Toto is everything to me, he didn’t mean to!” She pleaded, taking a step back away from the woman, turning to Uncle Henry desperately for any protection.
“Now, Dorothy, we’ll make sure nobody will take him away. Will we, Emily?” Henry smiled gently, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her close behind him.
“Toto is not a mean dog, he’s a gentle dog with… gentle people,” Auntie Em reasoned with the other woman, still glaring at her at the audacity to treat their home like it was hers.
“Don’t you remember laws about people that protect dogs that bite? One word from me and they’ll take your farm away!” Gulch threatened, standing up and sticking her nose in the air, making Dorothy clench her teeth.
“I already have permission from the Sheriff to take that dog away, and I have proof,” She smugly pulled a piece of folded paper from the basket she was holding. Auntie Em and Uncle Henry looked at each other before Henry took the paper, unfolding it slowly before reading it.
“Dorothy…” The girl’s heart dropped, “I’m-… I’m sorry, but we can’t disobey the law,” Dorothy stepped away from the two, shaking her head in disbelief. They promised to protect Toto, they promised to protect her. This wasn’t fair!
“I-I won’t let you take him away, you cruel bad woman!” The ground began to shake again, anger bubbling inside Dorothy. The houseplants rattled and shook, and the three farm boys paused their work to stare at the shaking ground.
“I’ll bite you myself!” Dorothy shouted, which caused one of the houseplants to crack the pot and fall onto the ground, making them jump.
“Dorothy Gale!!” Auntie Em shouted, snapping Dorothy out of her anger. Her eyes widened as she looked around at the face staring at her. Uncle Henry gently took a step closer to her and carried Toto out of her arms.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Uncle Henry tipped his hat back, “I’m afraid we have no other choice,” Auntie ‘Em continued, rubbing her hands together in frustration. That only made Dorothy’s cheeks go red with anger.
“You don’t have any other choice! Why must you relent so easily, Auntie ‘Em?!” She cried, “Toto is the best thing that can happen to me and you’re treating him like a brutish beast!” She reached out for Toto, but Auntie ‘Em held her back as Henry slowly placed a whimpering Toto into Gulch’s basket.
“Dottie,” Uncle Henry sighed, taking off his hat and rubbing his face, “We don’t wanna fight you in this, it’s the law,” He didn’t want to fight her on this, but Dorothy can be stubborn when her heart is in the right place.
“B-But-! But-!” Tears began to pour down her already red cheeks. She watched as Gulch simply let out a “humph!” Before shutting the basket tight and turning to leave already. Despair washed over Dorothy as she pulled away from Auntie ‘Em.
“Oh, I’d rather you’d have both of us gone!” She screamed, stomping her foot like she was five again, and ran up the stairs into her room.
“Dorothy!” Auntie Em called out for the girl, but she already slammed her door shut. When the lock clicked, the emotional barrier broke, and Dorothy finally broke down into more sobs.
She crawled into bed, hugging her stuffed toys tightly and burying her face into the plush fabrics, wanting the day to be seen as a bad dream. She lost her only friend, what more could she do but cry?
“It’s not fair, it’s truly not fair!” More hiccups and sobs, “These poor animals, I can’t protect them!” First the incubator breaking and risking the chicks to freeze, the farm’s donkey hurting her hind leg that almost led to her being sent to a glue factory, and now Toto.
Almost an hour passed, Auntie ‘Em or Uncle Henry didn’t check up on her, returning back to tending to the chicks. Dorothy pulled out the now crumbled paper that was the scary face of what seemed to be… a witch. That’s what Gulch was— a wicked witch.
Then, tiny yet determined barks were heard outside her window. Dorothy gasped in shock, quickly wiping her tears away and getting up to her window. Just as she pushed it open, a small figure pounced into her chest, causing her to take a few steps back.
“Toto!!” She cried, “You came back to me!” The tiny dog licked her face, whimpering and yelping while attempting to curl himself deeper into her arms. Dorothy sat on the bed while hugging Toto tightly as if he would disappear the moment she loosened her grip.
“Oh, I thought I’d never see you again!” She buried her face into his fur, feeling Toto’s tail wag happily at how much love he was getting from her. Dorothy’s happiness faded just as quickly as it came when she had a thought.
“But… once Miss Gulch finds out you’re gone?” She pulled away, staring at the happy pup, tail wagging just for wanting to be near her. How can anyone look at a small creature and treat him so cruelly?
“I can’t stand it! We need to run away,” Crouching down, she pulled out a suitcase from under her bed, clicking it open so Dorothy could pack everything she needed. Toto watched curiously as she tossed things into her suitcase before shutting it.
Sneaking down, Dorothy snuck into the kitchen and grabbed crullers from the counter, placing them into her picnic basket she used to carry when she would have play dates with Hickory and Hunk and Zeke when they were having breaks.
“Come, Toto,” She whispered to her dog, who followed her as she snuck through the back door. All were working in the front, too distracted to notice Dorothy running away, not knowing exactly where to go, but knowing staying won’t be good for her.
All she could was to keep on running.
“Thank you for caring for me, Auntie ‘Em, Uncle Henry,”