Chapter 5
As the two women ran into the castle they found no sign of Dorothy or Toto. Zelena was missing as well. They searched the castle only to be blocked by spells. Ruby was feeling frantic as she went from place to place looking for the hard headed woman. They found very little to point them in the right direction.
“What are we going to do?” Red exclaimed as she paced in Zelena’s main chambers.
“We will figure it out.” Mulan said as she looked over the stuff that Zelena left laying around.
“Yeah and how do you suppose we do that?” Ruby spoke in a defeated tone.
“We call on the help of the other witches in OZ,” Mulan stated. She had found the book of records that Zelena had stolen from Galida. Seeing how to find them she moved out of the castle with a defeated Ruby trailing behind her.
As they walked into the heart of OZ they found two witches sitting at a table discussing something. Mulan cleared her throat, “We need your help.”
The witch of the North stood from her seat, “We will help you get Dorothy back but you will help us after that.”
Mulan looked at Ruby who had what could only be described as begging puppy eyes then back to the woman, “Agreed.”
“Good,” She moved her hand above the glowing crystals in the middle of the table. “You,” she gestured with her hand towards Red, “Will use this,” white smoke appeared and in her hand was a vial of liquid. “This is a tracking potion. You need to go back to the castle and find something of Zelena’s. Pour it on and it will transport you to where she is.” She then cautioned, “Be careful though, we only have one vial that we created with all three of us. It will only work once.” Red took the potion from the witch and left the three to find Zelena.
The witch then looked to Mulan, “Hold out your weapon.” Mulan paused for a moment at the request. She had earned this weapon by fighting for her father. She proved a woman was just as good as a man. The weapon had been a family gift from generation to generation.
“Do not worry child. I plan on just making sure that it's the sword I think it is.” Reluctantly she pulled the sword from its sheath and presented it to the witch of the North. “Just what I thought. This sword is blessed by so many things because of the ones who made it. It has protected you and will continue to do so. Your belief in its ability is strong...Never lose that.”
“I won’t,” she sheathed it, “Now what is it I am to do?”
With a smile on her face the witch replied, “You will use that sword to cut through the spells that Zelena has placed on the castle.” Pulling a stone necklace from thin air she presented it to Mulan, “With this you will find Dorothy and Toto. It will glow when you are on the right path.”
Mulan put a hand on her sword, “How do I cut through them, the spells.”
“The blade was purified by the love of the ones who made it. As you know love comes in many shapes. The love of family, the love of friends, and the love of the one. You are filled with all those loves, one way or another. Think of that feeling, remember what you are fighting for in this battle.”
“Love,” she whispered in understanding. With her hand on the hilt of her sword she turned to leave.
“When you are done saving Dorothy the three of you must return.” The woman called out.
Mulan turned around, “I give you my word.”
“Good the witch replied.” The two women disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
Taking a deep breath Mulan started on her way back to the castle to get started on her part of the quest. She never thought about how to access the swords magic before. She had always just used the magic when needed. Thinking about it love was involved every time. The love of her country, her family, her friends, her fellow fighters. She never stopped to think how much love she has had before now. With a new found hope in her heart she started to run towards the emerald castle to find the woman that would make her friend happy.
As Ruby looked through Zelena’s chambers she felt herself getting overwhelmed by the thoughts of never finding Dorothy again. She stopped and took a deep breath; knowing that a panicked mind wouldn't help. Looking again she found a hat that Zelena like to wear here. She went outside and poured the potion over the hat.
The wind began to pick up and soon a cyclone was starting to form around her. As it began to get faster the wind started to lift her up. With the full moon’s light shining through she could feel the wolf itching to get out. As she started to spin around she felt her cloak pull from her body. In fear she let her wolf take over and waited for it to stop.