Chapter 9
Elphaba stepped over the scattered remains of the puppet show and, apparently riot, that had taken place mere hours ago.
The moonlight bathed the place in an eerie silver glow, accompanied by the chirping of crickets and the absolute lack of visible life.
It was for the better. Whatever Elphaba was trying to achieve required her to be absolutely discreet.
She'd gotten word from Chistery about the chaos caused at a travelling puppet show which had revealed some activity.
Elphaba was glad she wasn't too late.
Faintly, her ears picked up on the noise that came through the night that sounded suspiciously like crying. Elphaba propped her broom upright and hastened her footsteps, trying to locate the source of the sound.
If Chistery was right, there was a Donkey trafficking ring hidden underneath the facade of the puppet show.
She didn't quite know what exactly had occurred in the place to leave it so wrecked, but she found herself glad for it.
It wasn't long before she found the trail of carriages.
A warm orange glow came from the one in the lead.
Shit!
Elphaba ducked away from the window, pressing herself against the wall as a shadow passed.
“You were supposed to be watching her!” A gruff, accented voice bellowed.
“I-I k-know, sir.” Another voice stuttered. “I'm sorry.”
“If I may,” another, more timid voice interjected. “it wasn't his fault completely. She is slippery.”
“You know what else she is? Gone!” There was a deep sigh. “She was the reason we've turned such a huge profit.
“At least we have the other business.” The second voice said more confidently.
“We?” The first man said angrily. “What makes you think I want you here after everything? I lost my prized puppet because of you.”
“If you throw me out, I can bring attention to your business and you don't want that.” The second man said indignantly.
“Who said I'm throwing you out? You're just being demoted. Daniel! Take him to the last carriage.”
“The last carriage?” All the fight seemed to leave the man's voice. “Please, it's horrible there!”
“Daniel!”
Elphaba winced at the sound of the carriage door opening. She risked a glance at the other side.
The silhouettes of two men slowly inched their way out of the carriage. One of the men — the taller one — visibly struggled against the shorter one's ironclad grip.
“Dan! Come on!” The taller man pleaded. “You can't be serious about this.”
The shorter one didn't answer. Or at least Elphaba didn't hear him answer.
Elphaba inched forward along with them, sticking to the shadows as she moved. She crept by the carriages, listening to the protests coming from the man until they finally reached the carriage that brought up the rear.
Elphaba heard it, louder and clearer than she had.
The crying coming from inside this carriage was unmistakable. Donkeys. Hundreds of them from the sound of it.
Some of them spoke broken words that were overlapped by those who brayed or sobbed incoherently. Elphaba had seen and heard a lot of horrendible things, but this was almost unbearable. She wondered how no one heard it. Or maybe nobody cared.
Animal trafficking wasn’t an uncommon thing in Oz. And with the Wizard’s anti-Animal factions and laws, it enabled those who were involved in such things.
More Animals were driven out from their homes, jobs, and lives everyday. More Animals were caged and unable to speak by the time they grew older. And Animals who could speak and went against the Wizard had their speech stolen from them.
Elphaba tried not to think of Dr Dillamond, but it was hard not to let the old Goat cross her mind. She’d managed to push away the thoughts of all the loss she’d dealt with for the sake of her mission, but she found herself yearning for the professor’s sound advice even more.
Shaking her thoughts away, she focused on the mission at hand. It would be harder now that there was a person in the carriage, but she could deal with one person. The problem would be if there was more than one.
She waited for the man — Daniel? — to leave before she struck.
She couldn’t do it in a flashy manner or she would risk casualties and she certainly wanted the ordeal to be as quick as possible. She could draw attention to herself after the Donkeys were free.
Slowly, she snuck up to the door of the carriage and she opened it.
The sound assaulted her, stronger than ever. Elphaba could feel the despair that hung thick in the air. The carriage smelled absolutely foul with things that Elphaba didn’t even want to imagine. She wouldn’t be surprised if someone died in there and no one noticed.
“Daniel! That you?” The familiar voice called.
Elphaba’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and she was absolutely horrified at what she found.
Cages, multiple cages flocked a huge part of the large carriage. They were different sizes and shapes and each one of them were filled with Donkeys. There were even some hanging on the walls and suspended from the ceiling.
Where did they even find so many?
The Donkeys weren’t the only form of life though. Humans. There were six of them, and out of the six, five looked exhausted and like they hadn’t slept in days. They squinted at her, trying to make her out through the light produced by the lone candle in a far corner.
The one man who stood his ground and stared at her through wide eyes was the one she assumed had been dragged here anew. He looked at her as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He looked terrified.
Elphaba smirked. This was going to be far easier than she had initially thought it would be.
By the time the man had gotten over his surprise and opened his mouth to call for help, Elphaba had already jabbed the butt of her broom into his stomach. His eyes went wide before he sagged to the floor.
The five others now looked alarmed, but didn’t attempt to make a move against her. She didn’t have time for them. She made quick work of them and brought them over to where the first man had been knocked out.
She proceeded to survey the cages, wincing at the noises which only seemed to get louder.
With a wave of her hand, the locks on the cages clicked and fell to the ground, the doors swinging open and at once, quiet descended over the place, a few scattered whimpers being the only thing that permeated the air. She could feel all the scared eyes staring at her.
“Go on.” Her voice sounded loud in the now silent carriage. “You’re free.”
With that, she teleported out of the carriage, watching the door.
For a while nothing happened.
Then, one by one, Foals came out until a flood of them ran out, scattering in random directions. She hoped they would be safe and that they’d find their way back home. After ensuring that no more Foals ran out, Elphaba teleported back in. The men were, thankfully, still unconscious, sparing her the headache of dealing with them again.
A single whimper drew her attention away from the people and to one of the smaller cages in the far right corner. A single black Foal remained in it, cowering against the wall.
Elphaba slowly approached the creature who only seemed to shrink back more.
“It’s alright.” She whispered. “I won’t hurt you.”
The Foal peered up at her through large brown eyes. A pang ran through Elphaba’s heart. Those eyes were so similar to Glinda’s. She can’t help but think that Glinda would have been able to put the little creature at ease. That had never been Elphaba’s strong suit apart from that Lion cub all those years ago. Even then, she’d had Fiyero’s help.
“Why aren’t you leaving?” Elphaba hazarded an ask. “You’re free now.”
“Mama.” The little Donkey brayed. “Gone.”
Elphaba’s throat suddenly went dry. She knew the feeling of loss all too well. And she knew what that could do to a younger child.
“W-Would you like to come with me?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think about them.
The Foal had stopped shaking now, just staring at her with pure curiosity in his eyes. “W-Where.”
Elphaba’s voice thickened with emotion as she spoke. “Home.”
***
She made her way through the wreckage once again, the Foal in tow as he pranced along unsteadily beside her. She would take flight soon, she just wanted to survey the area of the puppet show to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.
Just when she thought she was in the clear and was about to mount her broom, a flash of yellow caught her eye.
Her head whipped to the left as she stared at the cloth that seemed to have snagged on a nail that was sticking out of a wooden beam.
The yellow piece of cloth hung on the nail, a splash of red lining the edge. Her breath caught in her throat as she moved to the beam slowly as if she might startle the cloth away.
The cloth fluttered in the wind and Elphaba’s mind flashed back to the last time she’d seen Glinda in the colour, her sundress gently shifting with the breeze in that cornfield.
She took hold of the cloth and tucked it into her cloak’s pocket. Perhaps she was being delusional and far too sentimental, but when it came to Glinda, she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
Then, with one heavy sigh, she tucked the Foal under her arm, mounted her broom and took the skies.
There was just one thing left to do.
Her hand ignited and she hurled the fireball toward the carriages.
She hoped it sent a message to the Wizard.
She was not backing down.