Miss One raised her head up from her bow and beamed at Beatrice, who was still holding on to the boy Munchkin. “Indeed, I am. And what a pleasure it is to finally meet you. From the moment you and Scarecrow left the cave yesterday afternoon, the Munchkins could speak only of your arrival.”

Beatrice almost found it too hard to believe that she had only arrived in Oz yesterday. After everything that had happened to her so far, it felt like she had been here for weeks already.

“Forgive me for not being there to greet you, but I had to take care of a few things here.” Miss One gestured at the deep cluster of giant trees behind her before gesturing for Beatrice to hand her the sick boy that was in her arms. “May I?”

Beatrice handed Tristian over to her.

“Poor thing,” Miss One crooned to the sick Munchkin as she rested his head on her shoulder. “Let’s get this poor baby taken care of.”

“Will he be okay?” Scarecrow asked.

“Not to worry, sweetheart. I believe I have just the thing to help him.” Miss One began heading towards the wooded area behind her and Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and the flying monkeys turned to follow her.

It seemed as if Beatrice was the only one who was worried about getting caught by Wickus’ Loyalties. Out of paranoia, she began scanning the sky. “Are you sure we’re safe? The Skywatchers—”

“—Won’t find us here,” Miss One assured her without turning around. “Glinda has set up a barrier all over this side of the forest, shielding us along with our scents.”

“Thank God for Glinda,” Tin Man crooned with such affection.

Beatrice halted and tilted her head sideways. “Glinda?” She heard that name before but she couldn’t remember when.

Beatrice was so busy racking her brain for some kind of recollection of who Glinda was that she didn’t notice when Scarecrow left Miss One’s side to stand in front of her. It wasn’t until he grabbed her hand when she noticed him. He was giving her an adoring smile. “Come on. I think you’ll really like it here.” He led her into the deep cluster of trees that the others had passed through only seconds ago.

“Whoa,” Beatrice whispered in awe when she saw what had lain on the other side of the gigantic saplings.

Numerous tree-houses were built between millions of branches with swing bridges connecting them from tree to tree. It must have been almost a hundred rows of tall shrubs consisting of outdoor houses and that wasn’t all that occupied her view.

The scene was extremely crowded with not only the Munchkins and flying monkeys who contributed to her rescue that morning but also a lot of other people Beatrice had yet to meet. It had to be a whole village full of them.

Physically fit dark-skinned men and women—only looking just a few years older than Beatrice—were occupying most of the territory, all wearing close to nothing. They all seemed to be wearing skimpy yellow bikinis. Some were poking their heads out of their tree-houses to peer down at their visitors with elated smiles while the others who were on ground level stopped whatever task they were doing to stare anxiously at their guests as well.

“These are the people your mother freed from Eviline’s rule,” Scarecrow told her as they followed Miss One further inside the bizarre yet fascinating area. “They use to look frightening and monstrous when they worked for her but thanks to Dorothy they were able to strip from that appearance.” Beatrice couldn’t help but notice how much affection was in Scarecrow’s voice each time he spoke of Dorothy. To be honest, she wasn’t sure how that made her feel.

Everyone grew immediately silent as they eyed the visitors. It was the Munchkins who finally broke the silence as they altogether started to shout, “TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT!!! WHO DO WE APPRECIATE!!!” over and over again.

Soon the flying monkeys and everyone began clapping and cheering loudly in delight, welcoming the people Miss One was bringing into the secret territory. Several of them made their way over to them.

Lion laughed as several men and women greeted him proudly. “It’s good to see you, Lion!” chimed one of them.

“I knew you were on our side the whole time,” cried another.

Tin Man was greeted with the same affection. “Tin Man! We’d thought we’d never see you again!”

Tin Man took the time out to hug every person and Munchkin that made their way over to him. “Nonsense,” he told them. “Wickus couldn’t possibly get rid of me that easily.”

They laughed.

The way they all swarmed in on them reminded Beatrice of the way people in her world would ambush celebrities whenever they spotted one in a public place.

Beatrice stood one step behind Scarecrow as they both were welcomed with the same excitement.

“Scarecrow, you did it!” cried one male Munchkin happily. “You saved, Beatrice!”

“We all saved her,” he corrected him. “I couldn’t have done it without you all.”

“Is she really the blood of Dorothy?” queried one of the human looking males in a yellow bikini bottom. Since Oz was so magical, Beatrice wasn’t sure if anyone was fully human who lived there.

Beatrice nodded at the male who spoke. “I am. My name is Beatrice.”

“Amazing” someone crooned in disbelief.

“You’re very pretty,” one of the half-naked females complimented her with a sweet smile.

Beatrice smile back, “Thank you. So are you.”

Too many to count surrounded Beatrice and her friends while so many of them were still just peering from their large homes in the trees.

“Alright, everyone!” shouted Miss One through all of the loud cheers and excitement. “Please make room. I have a sick one here.”

Everyone who was in her path instantly complied as they now focused on the poor boy in Miss One’s arms.

“Will he be alright, Miss One?” one of them asked.

“What happened to him?” asked another one.

“Just give me a few hours with him and he’ll be just fine,” she said confidently and everyone seemed to be able to breathe a little better after hearing her say that.

Beatrice wanted more than anything to follow Miss One. No doubt this lady could answer at least a hundred of her questions, but unfortunately, the Munchkins and Eviline’s former servants crowded the path and was eyeing her down like a new art exhibit.

“Thank you for bringing Little Tristian back to us” a female Munchkin said in complete gratitude.

“Don’t worry, we’re not stopping at just Little Tristian, right Scarecrow?” she peered over at him and he nodded with determination.

“You two are quite the pair!” cheered someone from the crowd around them.

Beatrice turned coy. When she looked up at Scarecrow, he was looking more bashful than she was.

Then, a familiar sound caught her attention. It was a squeal she knew all too well.

“Storm???” Beatrice balanced herself on her tiptoes with one hand palming Scarecrow’s shoulder as she tried to glance over his head and the crowd before her.

She smiled with delight as she saw her new pet hopping from head to head of the people in the crowd as he made his way over to her. His flightless wings flapped anxiously and his little mouth was open wide with his tongue slightly hanging out as if he was smiling at her.

Beatrice extended her hands out to him as he leapt his way over to her. “STORM!!!” she sung happily once she embraced him. “Silly, FlyMam,” she laughed. “You can’t jump on people’s heads like that. That’s rude.” She addressed the smiling crowd. “I’m sorry, everyone.”

The crowd laughed, not bothered at all by the fact that her pet just played leap frog with their heads.

She rested her cheek on top of Storm’s head. His fur was still extremely soft. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Storm purred deeply in satisfaction.

“But how…” she started to query and Scarecrow answered her unfinished question.

“After the Hulkpuppets took you away last night, Storm came back to where Lion and I were. Since I had to come here and get help from the flying monkeys anyway, I thought he’d be safe here.”

Beatrice lifted her head to stare into Scarecrow’s eyes with admiration. “You just think of everything, don’t you?”

He shrugged shyly.

“Of course he does. That’s what makes him special.”

Beatrice and everyone else turned their heads over to the west to see who was joining the crowd.

Five young ladies were approaching them wearing very scanty and suggestive attire that adorned colors of pink and purple. They also had on a heavy load of matching makeup and tall high heel boots. Between these ladies and the ones in the yellow bikinis, Beatrice was beginning to feel a little over dressed in her baby blue jeans and black short-sleeved cottoned shirt.

Beatrice then remembered her mother mentioning women dressed similar to them working in Evilines sweat shop.

The woman in the brightest shade of pink was the one who had spoken. Her huge allusive grin was directed straight at Scarecrow. “No one has a brain like him, isn’t that right, Scarecrow?”

Scarecrow grew even shier. His delicate voice went even higher as he said, “Thank you, Samantha.” He turned to Beatrice who was eyeing the woman with a bemused expression. “Beatrice, this is Samantha, Caroline, Sarah, Jessie, and Tabitha.” Each lady gave her a small wave when Scarecrow said their name.

Beatrice couldn’t get over the way Samantha was eyeing Scarecrow. Did she like him or something?

“They were also forced to work for Eviline,” Scarecrow continued, not seeming to notice Beatrice’s grimace in their direction.

“Hey, don’t forget about us!” The five women were soon accompanied by four human-sized crows each wearing sunglasses and a different colored vest.

Beatrice didn’t need Scarecrow to introduce these creatures at all. She remembered very well the stories her mother told her about how much these crows used to bully and insult Scarecrow, making sure that he never would amount to anything. Instantly, she narrowed her eyes at them and the four of them halted their approach.

The skinny one in the blue vest raised up his wings in a defensive gesture. “Hey, easy there” he told her. “We come in peace.”

Beatrice eased up on the death glare she was giving them when Scarecrow touched her arm. “It’s okay, Beatrice. We’re all on better terms now.” He gave them a curt nod and all four of them returned the action.

“We’re here to welcome you to our home,” said the one in the red vest.

Beatrice raised her eyebrows. “All of you live here?” She glanced over the entire crowd and everyone, except for the Munchkins, silently nodded their heads in agreement.

“These tree-houses go on for miles,” said one the ladies dressed in pink. This one had a big, pink, fuzzy scarf draped over her shoulders.

“Cool,” Beatrice crooned as she absent-mindedly stroked Storm’s head. She was beyond elated to have him back in her arms. He was just too cute for words.

“We must have a big feast tonight to properly celebrate today’s small victory!” suggested one of the half-naked males gathering in front. He threw his arm around Rolin the Munchkin’s shoulder who was standing next to him. “As well as to appropriately welcome the Munchkins and all of our old friends.” He peered at Beatrice when he said, “And new friends.”

Everyone cheered in agreement and began leading Tin Man, Lion, Scarecrow, and Beatrice further into their domain.

For the next thirty minutes, Beatrice was being shown as much of the territory as possible by several girls in the yellow swimsuits. She was really curious to know why none of them wanted to wear any real clothing but she didn’t want to be deemed rude by asking so she stayed quiet about it.

After only covering half of the large grounds, Scarecrow met up with Beatrice and the girls when they were standing inside one of the largest tree houses, showing her around. Each house obtained doorframes and window frames but without any real doors or windows to fill them. The girls told Beatrice that there was no real purpose for them since no one could step into this area without the approval of Miss One or Glinda.

“Beatrice?” Scarecrow called out to her.

She turned around and smiled at the sight of him standing in the open doorway.

Scarecrow smiled bashfully at her before quickly peering down at his feet, saying nothing more.

Beatrice knew exactly what that meant. He wanted to spend some alone time with her but didn’t want to interrupt what was going on. She turned to the girls that were showing her around. “Thank you all so much for the tour. Would you all mind if we continue it later though? My friend wants to talk to me.”

They all smiled and waved her good bye.

Scarecrow’s smile was no longer shy once she was walking over to him. Together they walked out on the swinging bridge that linked one house to another.

For a while, Scarecrow did nothing but just gaze at Beatrice with an adoring gin. Before Beatrice could question him, Scarecrow reached up and grabbed on tightly to the large branch that hovered above their heads. Soon, he was pulling his entire body up into the tree. He paused to stare down at her and give her an encouraging smile.

“Hang on, Storm” she told the FlyMam that was clinging on to her left shoulder before mimicking Scarecrow’s actions.

They climbed until they were in the middle of the tree, shielded perfectly by leaves and giant branches. Thanks to the sunny day, the shadows of the leaves reflected softly off of Scarecrow and Beatrice’s faces.

When they sat side by side on a large sturdy branch, letting their feet swing in midair, she asked him, “Where you looking for some better shade from the sun?”

Scarecrow shook his head. “I don’t get hot. I just wanted to be alone with you. I hope don’t mind.”

She turned to face him. “Of course not.”

“Good. I was hoping you wouldn’t.”

“I never mind being alone with you,” she told him honestly.

Scarecrow reached out for her hand and started stroking it. “That’s really good to know.”

Beatrice stared down at their entwined hands. He was doing a lot of that lately, not that she was complaining but it did somewhat confuse her. She was now very much aware of how she felt about him but…how much did he feel for her and, more importantly, did it surpass his feelings for Dorothy?

Was it even okay for her to be in love with him?

“Scarecrow?”

“Yes?”

“I’m really glad you’re alive.”

His face grew apologetic. “I’m sorry there wasn’t a way for me to get to you and warn you that I was okay and coming for you. I hope Wickus didn’t hurt you.”

She shook her head. “No. He just tried to marry me.”

Scarecrow eyed her with disbelief. “WHAT?!”

She shook her head and waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t’ ask. Long story. Besides, it’s inconsequential now.”

“I’m so sorry, Beatrice. You must have been terrified.”

She nodded. “I was, but not for me.” She took a deep breath as she relived the heartbreak and despair she felt when she thought he was dead. “I thought…that you were gone forever and that I was never going to see you again, Scarecrow. You have no idea how relieved I am to know that it was all an act.” She then recalled how mean she was to Lion when she thought he killed him. “I owe Lion a big apology though. I slapped him when I though he killed you.”

Scarecrow grew wide-eyed.

“Don’t worry,” she said after taking in his face expression. “I can go apologize now, if you like.”

She was starting to rise to her feet when Scarecrow gently coaxed her back down. “No, it’s okay. You can apologize later. I guess I’m just…amazed by how much you care, that’s all.”

She frowned. “Of course I care.” More than you know, she thought to herself. Should she tell him? Perhaps she shouldn’t scare him off. Instead, she settled for, “You’re important to me, Scarecrow” and then rested her head on his right shoulder. She closed her eyes.

Storm wasn’t in the way. At this point, he had climbed up one branch higher than them to play with something that looked like a mix between a squirrel and an owl. Beatrice found the creature somewhat cute but its appeal didn’t at all compare to Storm’s in her opinion.

Scarecrow pulled her left hand into his lap and continued to caress it. Each time the two of them made contact it always felt so right. “As you are to me, Beatrice, which is why I’m so happy that you’re staying with me forever.”

Beatrice’s eyes flew open at those words. She lifted her head in order to face him. “Wait, what?”

“You know, staying here in Oz…with me.” A sparkle met his eyes when he said that last part.

Beatrice was more confuse than ever. “I don’t understand. How can I do that?”

His smile faded into an expression of fear and disbelief.

Beatrice could have kicked herself for killing his mood but she needed to understand what he was talking about. “I mean… am I able to do that because I don’t think I can.” And even if she could stay in Oz forever…would she? Sure it was exciting, fun, a little dangerous at times but so was the world she was from, and not to mention awfully unique, but could she afford to never see her family again?

“Dorothy left because she wished more than anything to go back home. Therefore, I believe if you really wished to stay here forever, you could.” A hint of a smile was threatening to occupy his mouth again.

“Forever?”

Scarecrow’s hint of a smile went away when he saw her frightened eyes at the mentioning of forever. “I don’t understand,” his tone grew softer as disappointment grew on his face. “You seem more than happy to share your life with me when I asked you last night. What changed?”

Last night??? “When did we talk about this last night?” A conversation like this she would have been sure to remember, if it had really happened.

“I asked you right before I kissed you.”

Her heart fluttered at the mentioning of their kiss but she didn’t recalled them having an conversation about— “Wait a minute, was this during the time the Sprights were dancing around us?”

Hope found its way back into his eyes. “Yes! I knew you would remember.” He tightened his hold on her left hand.

“Scarecrow,” she said sadly. “The Sprights were singing so loudly that I couldn’t hear a word you were saying to me.”

Scarecrow was perplexed. “But you told me that you never wanted to leave. And when I asked you to stay with me, you said ‘absolutely.’”

She slowly shook her head. “If I told you that, it was because I thought you were talking about something else.”

He stilled and let her hand slide out of his grasp. “What are you saying, Beatrice? Do you not want to be with me?”

Oh no. She was breaking his heart and she was hating herself for it. “Of course I do but…”

After a moment of silence on her part, Scarecrow reluctantly finished her sentence. “Just not forever.”

Beatrice closed her mouth. She just didn’t know how to immediately respond to that. She began to stare down at the roof of the tree-house that was several feet below them. “Forever is an awfully long time.”

That seemed to have crushed him more than anything else. His head was hung low as he stared in his lap. He sniffed. “I guess I was never meant to call anyone my own after all.”

Beatrice turned to him with concerned wide eyes. “Scarecrow…”

When he picked up his head to peer at her, his eyes were red and his left cheek showed evidence of where a teardrop had fallen. Beatrice wanted so badly to wipe away his tears but figured that Scarecrow was probably too upset with her to have her touching him at the moment. His voice broke as he said, “You’re going to leave me, just like Dorothy did.” Before Beatrice could say anything else, Scarecrow hopped down from the branch and quickly made his way back down to the tree-houses.

Beatrice remained in her spot on the branch a little while longer, trying to process everything that had just happened while blinking away a few tears of her own. Breaking Scarecrow’s heart had basically shattered her own into a million pieces. Upsetting him wasn’t intentional but she had honestly not heard a word he uttered to her last night when they danced with the Sprights. How could she fix this? No way could she leave things like this between them. Besides, they still had a mission to complete. They needed to save the Emerald City.

When Beatrice felt Storm hop in her lap, she gave him a sad smile as she stroked his bushy tail.

Storm tilted his head sideways at her, as if to ask why she was looking so sad.

“I’m fine” she assured him as she lightly scratched underneath his chin. But that was a lie. Scarecrow was not fine; therefore, she was not fine. She even felt empty and incomplete without him being right next to her. She peered down at Storm again, who was purring underneath her touch. She loved this little creature so much. And she loved Scarecrow.

The thought of staying in Oz forever with Scarecrow and Storm wasn’t what frightened her. It was the thought of never being able to return home to see her mother and father again that made her petrified.