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Elphaba was not one of those people who believed in hitting children, but as the high-pitched crying stabbed her ears, she deeply reconsidered her moral standing. Wasn't she already the Wicked Witch? Wasn't she already a criminal? A slap or two wouldn't make her worse.
Not that she could blame the kid. Elphaba was being pretty mean and unreasonable. And Dorothy was still young enough to have most of her baby teeth. But her sister was dead! And that brat had those shoes stuck on her feet. A part of Elphaba even enjoyed scaring the human cub a little bit.
Another high pitched sob echoed off the rocky walls of her fortress. The green woman winced. Soon, she would be ready to bargain her left arm for a minute of quiet.
“I still don't see those shoes off your feet,” she tried to speak louder than the crying.
For a miracle second, the little girl's sob died down.
“But you can't see me at all”. Dorothy said, strangely pragmatic.
Elphaba dug her fingers into her own hair and pulled the strands close to the scalp, “Why, child, I am a witch, I can see you down there with my magic even if the door is still locked!” It was a lie, but Dorothy didn't need to know that.
“That's a cool power,” the girl commented between quieter sobs. Her voice was sounding more nasal each passing minute. She had to stop crying soon!
“I can show you more cool magic if you take the shoes off”.
“But Glinda said not to!”
That name sent a new type of frenetic energy through Elphaba. She pulled the hatch open and grabbed the kid by the collar of her dress. Her touch had less grace and care than one would usually show younglings.
“... I'm so over this.” She waved one hand in the air, calling for an enchantment that made the kid's foot fly to her hand, essentially forcing the girl to be upside down. Dorothy scrambled as her balance was stolen and braced her face against the floor at the very last second, putting her arms up.
The impact caused a sharp pain in her elbows, and a broken yelp escaped her throat. “Let me go!” Dorothy kicked, scratching at the cold, hard stones, trying to pull herself away from the woman. The Wicked Witch’s hold was so much stronger than she could've guessed, especially for such a bony, skinny woman.
Elphaba grabbed one of the shoes and began pulling and twisting it as hard as she could. The little miserable dog was biting her boots at the ankle, but she couldn't be bothered with it.
Dorothy was sturdy for a kid of her age. She had been well fed and well cared for. Elphaba was not having an easy time dodging her wild kicking or ignoring her pained yelps.
“I swear to Oz I'm going to twist your neck, you fucking brat!”
“Elphaba Thropp!” A high-pitched voice boomed.
The two froze mid-action. The Witch looked around in cautious surprise. She could hear the voice clear as if the person was standing right behind her, but there was no one there.
“Release the child this instant!”
“Nice trick, Glinda,” The woman grinned. “Didn't know you knew any spells besides that silly bubble.”
“It's not silly!”
Elphaba jumped at the sound of the crystal high heels stomping her floor, she turned to meet the very pink sigh of her old… colleague, in all her glittery glory.
“Glinda! Help!” Dorothy cried.
“Elphaba, for Gayellete’s sake!” The pink creature scurried in quick tiny steps to the kid, pulling her up.
Elphaba didn't let go of the kid’s foot though.
Glinda, with her arms wrapped around Dorothy's upper body, tried to pull her free using her own feeble physical strength. It elicited an annoyed glare from the green woman, but nothing else.
“Elphaba, this is so childish! Let go of the human cub!”
“Not with my shoes!”
“You can't be serious.”
“She kills my sister, takes her shoes, comes here to kill me by the Wizard’s command and you think I'm not serious?!”
“I didn't want to kill you, I didn't want to kill anybody!” Dorothy insisted.
“Oh, of course not!” Elphaba mocked “Poor little baby is innocent in all of this.”
“Elphie!” Glinda called. “You're hurt and scared, and you're taking it out on the wrong person.”
“Damn right it's the wrong person!” Elphaba exploded, releasing Dorothy's foot, her glare cutting through the air for Glinda only. The kid whimpered, wincing with pain, but no one was paying attention to her. Both Witches were laser-focused on each other. The tension was so great that the girl was scared to whimper despite the discomfort on her ankle and Glinda's thin arms losing strength, almost dropping her.
A second later, Glinda was forced to gently put the child back down. Dorothy stood only on one foot, clinging to the pink woman's waist. Elphaba took the chance to step into the blonde's personal space, towering over her.
“There's only one person who deserves every bit of wickedness left,” Elphaba growled.
Dorothy tried to yank Glinda away without letting her go.
“Don't hurt Glinda!”
When Elphaba’s glare flicked to the child, Glinda put a protective arm around her shoulders.
“You fooled us all, didn't you?” The green woman asked Glinda, a sad undertone to her voice. “Each. One. Of us.”
“Elphie-”
“I'm the Wicked Witch now, and that's how you'll call me.”
“It doesn't have to be this way…”
“I’m not falling for it. How are you here? My monkeys would've spotted you approaching in that huge pink bubble gum.”
Glinda squeezed Dorothy against her harder, and suddenly Elphaba noticed the small faded lines that composed Glinda's image. “You aren't really here, are you?”
Dorothy's gasp made Glinda close her eyes and contain the instinctive desire to wince.
“You're just a projection!” Elphaba chuckled humorlessly. “Now you're disappointing even the stupid little girl you brought into this mess.”
Dorothy’s grip dug harder into the pink woman, “Is that true? Are you not here? Glinda, please, take me with you!”
“Don't bother, brat,” Elphaba sighed. “She's not that powerful.”
It was Glinda's turn to glare at her old… friend. “I had to make sure you had not done anything to her.”
“Keeping her out of it would've ensured she was safe, wouldn't it?”
“Morrible was coming, and she would've gotten those shoes! I made sure these and the child were out of the way.”
“Try harder, Glinda. Try again.”
“I just wanna go home!” Dorothy suddenly lashed out. She let go of Glinda, standing on wobbly feet, looking out of place and impossibly small between the two witches.
She dropped to the ground and began trying to pull the shoes out with all her might. She pulled and twisted, whimpering when it hurt. When it didn't work, she began dragging and kicking the shoes on the floor, hoping it would force them out. Yet they were stuck, stuck in this situation like her! As the realization dawned, Dorothy began shouting. Shouting and stomping and punching the floor like a mad child. All of the frustration and fear she had been carrying overflowed in a wild, loud, and rightful tantrum.
Glinda hung her head in defeat. Elphaba closed her eyes and covered her ears, trying to ignore the sheer agony those screams were causing her. Toto whined and tried to pat his suffering little mistress, unsure of what to do.
“In the name of all Oz, Glinda. Just make them come off.” Elphaba almost begged.
“I can't! It's not my magic!”
“You were the one who put them on her!”
“I didn't think they would get stuck!”
Elphaba threw a fire ball at the wall, roaring.
There was no way out; there was nothing else left. Everything was piled up against her and they continued to pile.
“Leave!” She ordered Glinda.
Using the same spell as before, Elphaba reached one hand out in Dorothy's direction and magically yanked the child to her. The moment she had the girl in her grip, she put one hand over her eyes, whispering something. Dorothy stopped thrashing and went limp almost immediately.
“Come get her,” she told Glinda, “but you come for real this time. Let's get this over with.”
“What do you mean, Elphie?”
“Come meet me, Glinda! I surrender.” It was the last thing Elphaba said before throwing an energy ball against the projection, forcing it to shatter.
She wanted to throw a tantrum herself.