Free dorothy must die 00.4 - heart of tin by danielle paige Page A

Everything in Oz was changing so quickly. Dorothy back, Glinda and the Scarecrow probably cooking up some secret plan behind my back, the Lion chomping down bones in his room in the palace like it was his own home. Except that now the Emerald City was his new home. It was all of ours. I was overjoyed to have Dorothy back—more than overjoyed. I’d thought I would never see her again, and here she was, within reach. But everything else was so confusing, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing her with Glinda, the Scarecrow, and the Lion.
    Over breakfast, the three of us talked about the first time Dorothy had come to Oz. “Do you remember when you had to rescue me from the poppies?” the Lion roared happily,chomping on a chop and spraying bits of food as he talked. “All those mice!” We laughed, for a moment united again in our shared history.
    “Everything was so much simpler then,” I said, a little sadly. “We only wanted obvious things. A heart, courage, brains—and Dorothy gave us all of that, and more.”
    “Of course,” said the Scarecrow, eyeing me keenly. “And that’s why you must do exactly what she asks of you, Tin.” I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t say “we.” When had my friends changed so much? Was it really true that I could no longer trust him? I didn’t want it to be, but I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind.
    Even before I’d known I loved Dorothy, I’d been her champion. When the Wicked Witch of the West had sent wolves to kill us, I’d slain them all without a second thought, to protect Dorothy. I’d done whatever was necessary on our quest to keep her safe. Wasn’t killing the Winkie in my courtyard almost the same thing? If it was, why did I still feel so bad about it? Why did everything have to be so complicated now?
    I wandered through the palace in a daze for the next few days, confused and often alone. I barely saw Dorothy, who was holed up constantly with Glinda, and if I didn’t know better I would have said that she was avoiding me. After that first breakfast the Scarecrow, too, was nowhere to be found, presumably working away at his mysterious experiments. To my surprise, I even missed the Winkies—especially Norbert. He had been a good, reliable, and kind companion over the years, and he knewa tremendous amount about the history of Oz. I should have kept him at my side, I realized belatedly. The Scarecrow didn’t need all my Winkies for his project. Norbert would have been good company—and a good adviser in this strange new palace life.
    Only the Lion had as much free time as I did, and although I often found him wearisome—all he talked about was hunting—at least when I was around him I didn’t have to think about a lot of things I didn’t understand. On the rare occasions when the Scarecrow emerged—I’d see him in passing, or at meals, which we attended as Dorothy’s closest companions even though we didn’t eat—he refused to talk about his work other than to say it was progressing well. His clothes were often smeared with blood, and sometimes bits of other, gorier things that I preferred not to examine too closely. He would spend the meal practically bouncing in his chair, and then rush away as soon as the dishes were cleared. “Be patient,” the Lion counseled in his meaty-breathed growl. “Only the best for Dorothy, you know.” I sighed. Did everyone in the palace know how I felt except her? She, too, sat at meals most of the time, but took the place of honor at the head of the table, where she laughed and carried on with everyone but me. Glinda was always by her side. I tried every day to catch her alone, before or after lunch or dinner, but she always said gently, “Not now, Tin,” and hurried away. Could it be possible that I’d disappointed her so much she was avoiding me? The Lion, who witnessed most of these failed attempts, gave me consoling pats on the shoulder as I stared longingly after her glittering heels