Frost (EDITING)

THE ASSASSIN

"Dorothy?" Glinda said, "You have not returned to the Land of Oz in..."

"I know." said Dorothy. She looked unlike anything that Hazel had imagined, wearing a white polka dotted shirt with denims and strappy silver heels.

The Wicked Witch was about to attack her, but was stopped by the Witch of the North.

"You dare not harm her, for she is protected by the power of good."

The witch sneered. "You cannot defeat me, Dorothy Gale. I am much powerful..."

Dorothy opened her tumbler and threw its contents at the Wicked Witch. The witch shrieked and wailed, till she disintegrated into a pile of dust.

The Witch of the East quivered. "Spare me, Oz, the Great and Terrible!" she said.

"You shall be held in the good witches' captivity till you reform." Dorothy said.

The leader of the winged monkeys presented her with the golden cap.

"Release the people that you have taken hostage and help the soldiers carry the dead and wounded." she commanded. The troop obeyed.

Hazel was taken down and released, along with the two good witches. Their enemies had disappeared into thin air.

The nurses led by Rosetta, moved around, attending to the wounded. There had been many causualties; Hazel recognised familiar faces among the dead bodies, many rebel lives had been lost.

"No, leave them alone! Don't take them away." one protested. It was Ced. His face was smeared with soot and tears streaked his cheeks.

Hazel ran up to him. "Cedron!"

"Hazel, they're taking away my brothers and sisters." he said, "They can't be... dead."

She sat down beside him. "I'm sorry..."

"Why must you be? You saved us all. It was all my fault. I led them to their deaths." he wept.

"You must not blame yourself. Besides, I failed at defeating the Wicked Witch. It was Do..."

"Don't attempt to make me feel better, by feeding me lies." Ced said, "I have been a fool and my kin has paid the price for it."

"Battles are unpredictable and death, is an inevitable truth of life.  Is there any greater glory than dying for your motherland? They have brought honour to their family."

"Hogwash! They did not deserve to die. They were too young...Cecil...he was only thirteen.

"I was foolish enough to think that I could be like you, a leader, a saviour. But oh, I am the Grim reaper reincarnate!"

Hazel put an arm around his shoulder and held him closer. He did not protest.
For a moment, the world seemed to stop. A warmth coursed through her, a cosy feeling of familiarity and comfort.

Ced moved away, removing her hand.

"I do not need your sympathy. I am sure you have other matters to attend to, chosen one." 

His distasteful tone shocked Hazel. Before she could say anything, he had walked away from her.

"Some wounds take time to heal." Hazel looked up to see Dorothy.

"Thank you, for saving me and my friends." Hazel said, "I cannot express how grateful I am. I knew I was no match for the Witch."

"You could have been, if you didn't know that." Dorothy smiled, "I realised long ago that the Wizard of Oz is a myth. The prophecy does not refer to a person in particular. The Wizard can only give people what they already have; the brave lion some courage, the compassionate tinman, a heart and a brain to the clever scarecrow.

"All of you need, is to realise what lies within."

"Is that why you were able to defeat the witch with a small tumbler of water, whereas we lost, despite throwing buckets at her?" Hazel asked.

Dorothy nodded. "I have to ask you of a favour. You mustn't tell anyone that I killed the witch."

Hazel was shocked. "Why?"

"I do not want the people of this land to believe in the Wizard of Oz, I want them to believe in themselves. I want you to believe in yourself, Hazel Smith."

"I promise." Hazel said.

"Well then, I shall bid you good luck and good bye."

She clicked her heels together thrice and vanished with a poof.

****

The people of the City cheered out loud.
" Hail Princess Snowflake ! Hail goodness !"

Bottles of mead were uncorked and celebration was in the air.

Only Red noticed Snowflake making her way out of the crowd, oblivious to the joys of victory.

A man came in front of Snowflake, conversing with her. Suddenly, he let out a cry and fell down on the ground.

Red ran up to him. The sound alerted the crowd and they huddled around him.

A short sword protruded out of his bleeding chest.

" Someone tried to kill me." , Snowflake said , "But they missed their target, for I was kissed by the Witch of the South, which protects me from any harm."

"They can't have gone far. They are hiding among us. I will not let them escape !" cried Red.

There was confusion and dread on people's faces.

" No one should move from their spot."  she shouted out. Just as she had expected, she saw one man trying to walk away, stealthily.

She grabbed her battle axe and ran after him.

He moved faster. She quickened her pace accordingly.  She was not going to let him get away.

A barrel of mead fell onto the ground , in between the assassin and Red. The slippery ground  served as a total disadvantage, as the man had wanted. But she was not going to give up, so easily .

She moved a few paces backward and ran as fast as she could. Gaining momentum, she leaped forward.

The assassin was shocked, but he did not waste his time. He hurried away. She scuttled after.

He pushed his fist into a man's stomach. The man fell over, blood on his clothes.

" Bastard." Red cursed. She ran up to the man and pulled him to a corner. " Take him to a nurse !" she told the other men around, "Don't delay!"

They nodded nervously. She continued her relentless chase. The assassin was far ahead of her, but she was determined to catch him.

A few seconds later, he came into view. As she was about to corner the assassin,  another person appeared in between them, taking both him and Red by surprise.

Gretel .

She hit the man's forehead with the flat of her palm. He grabbed hold of his head dizzily, trying to prevent himself from falling.

Taking advantage of his state, Gretel punched him in the solar plexus. The assassin fell down, knocked unconscious.

Red stared at her in awe. Gretel shrugged lightly.

********

AUTHOR'S NOTE :

Some Gretel sass right there. I felt that I was underestimating Gretel and she deserved a moment . So here it is !

Any ideas on who sent the assassin ?

Did you like my interpretation of Dorothy?

I'll try to update soon.

For now , I bid farewell to thee !

See ya ,

Bookworm