ℜ𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔊𝔬𝔩𝔡 (and the legend of the Dark one)

Chapter 3: Witch's woes

Rose opened her eyes. She was breathless and sprawled out on amber concrete. As she sat up and gazed at her vibrant surroundings, she realized she was on the famous Yellow Brick Road. It had been designed millions of years ago and was painted the peculiar golden hue so that traders and travelers could easily locate the Emerald City. Rose felt a smile develop; this meant she could find her father in no time. Swiftly, she began to picture the Emerald City's green, intimidating turrets so she could teleport there quickly.

In no time, the spell was complete, and she abruptly arrived in a dingy alleyway. Immediately, Rose noticed about 50 freshly made flyers clumsily taped to almost every corner of the wall next to her. They were the same as the poster that her father had acquired. "Wow, they must really hate Zelena," Rose snickered to herself. She began walking towards the town centre, trying to wipe any remaining mud from her black leather skirt. After a bit of confusion, and accidentally walking into a private courtyard, she finally reached the town square. A large wooden stake was being constructed, ready for Zelena, and a crowd was already assembling.

Rose began frantically looking for her father or Jefferson, but both were nowhere to be seen. Rose started to feel a bit terrified, she was in a strange, crowded town, far away from anyone she knew and people were starting to give her menacing glares.

Suddenly, she lost her balance and crashed into a man carrying a crate of fish. "Ow... oh, um... sorry." The man looked at Rose as if she were dirt at the end of his shoe. "Watch where you're... why the hell are you green, filthy urchin!" More people began to turn and face Rose's pale, mint complexion. "Now that wasn't very nice... yeah, I'm gonna need you to apologize for that," Rose snapped. "Why should I? Little bug, I am only stating the truth." Rose felt a wave of rage crash over her; she did not like people talking about her appearance. "Maybe because if you don't, you will become charcoal." Rose started to form a small fireball in her hand, like she had seen her father effortlessly create many times. Except, she hadn't been practicing this particular spell, and the fire started to extinguish into smoke.

The crowd that had formed around her let out a loud shriek, and mothers shielded their babies in case Rose was about to turn into a monster and gobble them up. For a couple of minutes, there was silence, with the townspeople frozen in shock. Then, suddenly, a small man at the back of the rabble shouted, "She's a witch, just like Zelena. Arrest her!" Promptly, the crowd began to charge at her, clutching ropes to tie her down and placing a metal cuff on her to block her magic.

Before Rose could try and escape,
she was thrown into an old wagon prison, with only metal bars to look through. It was pitch black and the wagon reeked of horse manure.
Rose began to sink onto her knees in tears "Oh god, just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse, they send in a dirty peasant girl" a snarky voice complained from the other end of the wagon. Rose instantly looked up at the figure in the corner and wiped away the remaining droplets of water in her eyes.

"Wait are you...Zelena?"Rose asked examining the women crouched in the corner "No I'm the tooth fairy, of course I'm bloody Zelena, didn't you hear about my arrange death today."
Rose's eyes filled with hope as she excitedly edged closer to the witch. "That's great!" "What? My arranged death? Oh yes lovely." She said sarcastically. "No, that your Zelena, I have been looking for you all day." "Why? So you can kill me quicker?" "No so I can save you. Obviously." Zelena paused looking at Rose's face "am I meant to know you, strange lizard girl?" "I would hope so, I am Rose, Rumplestiltskin's daughter, you know your mentor." Zelena paused again this time slightly sweating in embarrassment "oh yes Daisy, that's right Rumple has spoken a lot about you."
"It's Rose." " That's what I said."

"I knew Rumple would come to save me! So what have you got girl?"
"Well when I heard my father was going to stop your execution, I wanted to come, but my dad wouldn't let me so I" "wait, wait wait, Rumple asked you to stay behind? and is not part of your rescue plan?
Oh great, now I am stuck with his clueless sidekick." Rose glared angrily
"Do you want my help or not because it looks like my father has given up on you and quite honestly, I am starting to see why." "Fine I want your help, just get me the hell away from here!"

"Good. Now, this is the plan. Do you remember the story of Snow White's execution?" Zelena paused, looking a bit confused.
"Isn't that the girl who pricked her finger on a spinning wheel and fell asleep? Yeah, I'm sure her story will be very helpful for me," Zelena grunted, her sarcasm making her British accent seem stronger.

"No, first of all, that wasn't Snow White, that was Princess Aurora. And second of all, yes... her story will be helpful because she was in the same position you're in right now, and she got out of it alive. Okay?"
Zelena let out a long moan, her eyes rolling as far back in their sockets as possible without hurting herself.
"Fine... if you say I have to copy some stupid, boring princess, then I will, but it better get me out of this damn place."
"Yay!" Rose eagerly clapped her hands together and bounced with excitement.

Rose briskly explained that Snow had used black fairy dust to turn herself into a beetle and fly away without anyone recognizing her, and then she used the Blue Fairy's magic to turn herself back.
"We might have to use my dad, though, because I'm not sure you're on the best terms with the most virtuous, righteous person in the entire Enchanted Forest, unless you suddenly became a saint."
Zelena grinned wickedly at the word "saint."

"Good, so we'll do it when the flames almost burn us to ash, so that all the munchkins think we're dead. Then, we'll find my father, and once he turns us back, we'll escape through Jefferson's hat or something."
"Fine, fine, alright."
Zelena looked out of the bars contemplatively for a couple of minutes before turning to Rose and nodding to initiate the plan.

Soon, it was sunset, and the sky turned a deep salmon. If you squinted, you could almost make out a hidden moon and stars. If Rose weren't about to be put to death with a kooky witch, she might have marveled at its beauty. But all that was on her mind at this moment was making sure the escape plan was foolproof.

All of a sudden, two Emerald guards, one tall and intimidating, the other small and bad-tempered, opened the heavy door of the prison and dragged Zelena and Rose out aggressively, then threw them down onto a wooden platform in front of hundreds of disapproving glares. The two men proceeded to tightly bind yarn around the women's wrists as the crowd cheered.

"Hey, Lilly." This time, Zelena's voice had a sense of vulnerability, even though she had gotten Rose's name wrong again.
"What?"
"Have you got the fairy dust ready?"
"Yes, and I am going to sprinkle it," Rose replied, reassuring the witch. "What? No. I am the adult and clearly the most mature,"
Rose immediately rolled her eyes.
"So I should be in charge of it."
"Fine, fine, as long as you wait for my signal,"
"Of course, my dear."
Zelena tried to make her smile look as genuine as her jawline would allow.

"Gather round, good people of Oz, and witness justice being served." An important-looking man stepped forward with a badge that read "Captain of the Emerald Guards." He began to unfurl a long scroll bearing the royal crest and frantically looked up and down it, impatiently. Finally, he found what he was looking for and began menacingly peering at the two supposed witches' appearances.

"Zelena, you are hereby charged with practicing witchcraft and sorcery. How do you plead?"

"You know witchcraft is not illegal, right, old man?" Zelena began to laugh, but everyone else remained silent. "Thanks to years of being under your iron fist, we have come to see your kind for what they truly are: demons and monsters. This new law has been put in place as a result of the public's opinion. Now, how do you plead?"

Zelena started to smirk before shouting, "Guilty as charged!"