dorothy must die 00.4 - heart of tin (7 page)

By now, several of the Winkies were stumbling with exhaustion. I did not allow them to rest. They’d have to learn to toughen up. The sun was on the horizon as we marched at last through the Emerald City’s broad gates. One of the Winkies collapsed, only to be hastily pulled to his feet by the others and propped upright. I selected a small delegation of the most alert-looking Winkies and called for Munchkin servants.

“Give them chambers in the palace,” I said curtly. “And see that they’re fed. I’ll be back for the rest of them later.” The Winkies I had chosen to accompany me, among them the chancellor, watched longingly as the others were led away to rest.

“You’ve served me well today,” I told them. “You will be rewarded in the princess’s army, never fear.” They did not seem very interested in the prospect of their reward but they did not protest as I led them into the palace and sent another servant to tell Dorothy to meet me in the Council Chamber.

She kept us waiting for a long time. One of the Winkies had pillowed his arms on the table and fallen asleep by the time she swept into the room, her auburn hair done in an intricate updo
and her dress a slightly different version of the shimmery gingham she’d worn to tell us of her plans. I leapt to my feet when she entered the room, bowing deeply and surreptitiously kicking the chair of the Winkie who’d fallen asleep. He leapt to his feet, too, with a yelp of fear and stood looking around him, blinking frantically.

“My dear Woodman,” Dorothy said. Was that a hint of irritation in her voice? “Why on earth have you disturbed me? You know how busy I am now.”

“I have important news,” I said, my heart flooding with joy just to look upon her beautiful face. I reached forward to take her hand, but then remembered my new fingers. I did not wish to hurt her.

She ignored the gesture and looked at me with impatience. Suddenly I was overcome with doubt. Why wasn’t she happier to see me? “Well? What is it?”

“Princess Dorothy,” I said, going down on one knee before her. “You know your safety is my utmost concern, and your new position puts you at terrible risk.”

“Well, yes, that’s true,” she agreed, fluffing her reddish-brown curls. “Glinda says I must pay careful attention. I think it’s sort of exciting, don’t you? Nobody in Kansas was smart enough to understand how special I am. But here—well, look how far I’ve come!”

“I will remain at your side always, your knight and your protector,” I said. My heart pulsed again with that eerie power. “But a bodyguard is not enough, not even one as devoted as I. My
beloved princess, I have brought you an army the likes of which Oz has never seen.”

Dorothy’s eyes widened and she gasped in delight. “An
army
? Oh, Tin! You’re incredible! I’ve never even dreamed of having an army before! Is it very splendid? Do they have horses and banners? Where are they? I want to see them right now!”

I rose to my feet and took her arm, indicating the Winkies with a sweeping gesture. “These are your generals. Your army awaits you in the palace.”

Dorothy stared at the trembling Winkies with confusion, her eyebrows knitting together. “But, Tin—I don’t understand. These are Winkies.”

“As are all your soldiers,” I explained. “For now,” I added hastily. “Of course, I’ll soon have more recruits. Perhaps the Lion knows a few beasts who would be willing to serve. I’ll oversee their training. Soon you’ll have a fearsome force to defend you.”

A flurry of emotions crossed Dorothy’s face. She was overcome, I realized. Overcome by what I’d done for her. By the lengths I’d gone to. She was so overwhelmed she didn’t even know what to say. I was so happy to see her delight that it took me a moment to understand that she was laughing not from joy, but from exasperation.

“Tin,” she said. “This is really sweet of you, but they’re Winkies. That’s like having an army of stuffed
animals
. I really wish you hadn’t bothered me with this—Glinda and I were having the nicest time going through nail polishes.”

“But, Dorothy,” I said in consternation. “You must understand, Oz has never had soldiers—”

“Tin, just get rid of them,” she interrupted. “They’re a bunch of furry midgets terrified of their own shadows. Look at them.” The Winkies, it was true, were staring at us in alarm, and the chancellor might have actually been crying. I was about to answer when the Scarecrow came into the room, drawn by Dorothy’s raised voice.

“Well, well, well,” he remarked, taking in the scene. “What exactly do we have here?”

“The Woodman has lost his
mind
.” Dorothy giggled. “He’s brought me these
creatures
and says they’re going to be an
army
.”

“An army?” the Scarecrow said, and looked at me thoughtfully. “But that’s not a bad idea at all, Doro—er, Your Eminence.”

Your Eminence?
I thought, reeling. Since when was Dorothy Her Eminence, other than in my heart? And why couldn’t she see the nobility of my gift? None of this was going as I had planned, none of it at all. I looked around the room desperately, as though the answer was under one of the Winkies.

“I don’t want an army of vermin,” Dorothy snapped, and the Scarecrow raised one painted eyebrow. “Wasn’t it enough to have to toil in servitude with these dreadful creatures under the Wicked Witch of the West the
first
time I came to Oz? There’s a reason I didn’t go
back
after I killed that old cow.”

And then my error hit me. Of course. How could I have been so stupid? The Winkies could only remind Dorothy of that terrible time in the Wicked Witch of the West’s palace, before
Dorothy had heroically killed her and liberated the Winkies like the noble woman she was. Her anger hid another, deeper emotion—her pain. And now, like a fool, I was reminding her of it. No wonder she was so upset.

“Well,” the Scarecrow observed, “they’re here now. Might as well do something with them.” I wanted to throw him from the room. He didn’t understand anything, and he certainly didn’t understand Dorothy. Not the way I did.

“I don’t want them within a mile of my palace,” Dorothy snapped. “They probably have
lice
.”

“The Winkies are a very clean people,” I said hastily. “Dorothy, I lived among them for years. I ruled over them, don’t forget.”

“Tin, just make them go away.” She stared at me, narrowing her beautiful crystal-blue eyes. “If you really do care about me,” she said coolly, “you’ll do as I ask without questions, Tin.” With that, she swept out of the room, leaving me staring after her in despair.

“What have I done?” I moaned. “She’ll never forgive me. How could I be such an idiot?”

“What do you mean?” the Scarecrow asked.

“Instead of bringing her an army, I brought her a reminder of a terrible time in her life. How can I possibly earn her trust again?” I sank into a chair next to the chancellor, who made a small, terrified noise, and put my head in my hands, nearly sticking myself in the eye with my sinister new fingers.

“Tin,” the Scarecrow said slowly, “are you actually in
love
with Dorothy?”

“Of course I’m in love with Dorothy!” I shouted, so forcefully I startled us both. “Who wouldn’t be in love with Dorothy? She’s beautiful, and kind, and generous, and we’ve been through so much together. I thought she felt the same way. I was going to tell her when I brought her the army. But now I’ve ruined everything.”

The Scarecrow was silent for a moment. I could practically hear the stuffing in his head rustling, but I didn’t want to know what he was thinking since it was probably along the lines of what a complete failure I’d made of myself. “What will you do with them?” he asked casually.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I mumbled unhappily into my palms. “Send them home, I suppose. There are dozens of them here.” At the word “home” the chancellor perked up visibly, although all of them still looked at me as though I was going to tear off their heads, too. I felt badly about what I’d done, I really did, but if they’d just obeyed me—their king!—from the beginning none of that business would have happened.

“Seems a shame to just waste them,” the Scarecrow said. “Now that they’re here and all.”

“I can’t put them to work in the palace,” I replied. “You heard Dorothy. She doesn’t want to see them again.”

“There are . . . other options,” the Scarecrow said, and I looked at him. His flat black eyes were expressionless, but something in his voice sent a shiver down my tin spine. If you want to know the truth, I’d always thought the Scarecrow was a little
creepy. Even on that first trip to Oz, pretending to be such an idiot, dithering around—no, he’d been planning something all along, you mark my words. The Lion, for all his uncouthness, is relatively honest. What you see is what you get, even if what you get is tacky, boorish, and bad for your nice furniture. And me—well, as you know, I’m just a man in love. But the Scarecrow isn’t like either one of us. He’s crafty, and he only got craftier once the Wizard filled up his head with sawdust brains. I didn’t like the look on his face, but I wasn’t about to let him know that he’d unnerved me.

“What do you mean, ‘other options’?”

He thought for a moment, as if considering how to present a complicated subject to a simple person. “Glinda and I have been . . . discussing a few things,” he said eventually. “You know, she’s really a magnificent woman. Very sharp. Very sharp indeed. She has some other very impressive assets, too, if you know what I mean,” he added with a wink.

“I’m sure I don’t,” I said coldly. “What’s your point?”

“She thinks that Oz isn’t going to be universally happy about Dorothy’s plan to restore the stolen magic.”

“Why on earth not?”

“Oh, you know,” the Scarecrow said vaguely, waving one cloth hand at the window. “Doubts about the process. Something with the constitution.”

“Oz doesn’t
have
a constitution.”

“Line of succession,” the Scarecrow said. “All of that. You know, people really love their fairies. All those wings and
sparkles and whatnot. Dorothy’s just a girl. And you have to admit, this whole story about the battle with Ozma is a little suspicious.”

“Dorothy is certainly not
just
a girl,” I said sharply. “And what on earth do you mean by ‘suspicious’? Ozma betrayed all of us. Of course it’s shocking, but once people realize the truth, they’ll know right away that Dorothy only has the good of Oz at heart.”

“Shocking, yes,” the Scarecrow said mildly. “Quite shocking. Not to mention sudden. Some people are already saying it was a little too sudden, if you get my drift. Dorothy coming back to Oz? Glinda reappearing out of nowhere? Suddenly Ozma’s a babbling idiot? Come on, Tin, I know I have all these brains now, but even you aren’t that stupid.”

“So you’re just going to betray Dorothy?” I said in disbelief. “Because of some palace rumor mill?”

“Oh, I didn’t say that at all. Not at all. Look at us, Tin. We’re back in the Emerald City. Let’s face it, we belong here. We’re not just helping Dorothy. We’re making a better life for ourselves. If Dorothy stays in power, well . . .” He trailed off, his eyes glittering, his expression distant. If I knew one thing for sure in that moment, it was that the Scarecrow had a plan. I wondered if Dorothy knew what it was. If I should keep an eye on him, just in case. Maybe the Scarecrow wasn’t just a little sinister. Was it possible he was actually a traitor to the woman I loved?

The Winkies were following this conversation with enormous eyes, and it occurred to me we should probably be more
discreet. I jerked my chin toward the chancellor, and the Scarecrow laughed.

“Don’t you worry about our little furballs over there,” he said. “I told you, I have an idea for what to do with them. Glinda’s shown me some . . . alterations that can be made to Oz’s creatures. Nothing drastic, mind you. Just a few improvements.”

“Alterations?” I asked suspiciously.

“I’ve been working exclusively with the winged monkeys,” he said, ignoring me. “But I’d love to diversify. I think you’re on the right track with this whole army business. Dorothy just wants to frolic around the palace in petticoats and lipstick like the Emerald City is some kind of giant slumber party. But Glinda has a real vision.” I made a noise of protest, and he laughed.

“Oh, come now, Tin. I know you’re head over heels for the girl, but you have to admit she’s done nothing since she got back except play dress-up and use her supposedly all-powerful magic to give herself new hairdos. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but I’m interested in the bigger picture. And so is Glinda.”

Talking to the Scarecrow was like wrestling with an eel. Suddenly everything I’d been trying to say was all turned around. “I think you’re all wrong about Dorothy,” I said angrily. The Scarecrow only shrugged, and I sighed in exasperation. “Do you really think you can use the Winkies to win her back to my side? What will you do with them?” I asked.

“Think about it,” he said, getting excited. “We do need an army; even you figured out that much. But what if we had an
army that was invincible? Glinda thinks we can do it with magic, but you and I can’t use the magic of Oz that way, not directly. We don’t have any power. It may be possible for us to create weapons that use Oz’s magic—I’m working on that, too—but right now we can’t do much else. But what if I engineered soldiers
using
magic? She’s been helping me the past few days, and I’ve made all sorts of advances. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. But my experiments are, um—” He paused, a little sheepishly. “They do sort of eat up resources,” he said. “I need new subjects, and quickly. And you’ve just shown up at the palace with several dozen of them.”

“Are these experiments harmful?” I asked. Beheading my unruly subjects was one thing, but turning them over en masse to the Scarecrow for some kind of creepshow science project was something else.

“Oh no, no, no,” he said quickly. “Not really, no. Fatal sometimes, but definitely not harmful. And Dorothy will be so happy when you come to her with a real army instead of these little guys.”