Oz: Ballad Of The Fallen Czar(Vol. 1)

5. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕲𝖎𝖗𝖑 𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕱𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖇𝖔𝖆𝖗𝖉

"With this speed, it will take... roughly fourteen days" Uncle Henry coughed as he shivered beneath a blanket, with Aunt Em by his side. Both reflect on what sin had they done, that placed them on such a torturous voyage. "Roughly fourteen days before we reach Australia."

Aunt Em sighed. Disdained by the thought of being trapped in the middle of the ocean, sailing on a ship, for a fortnight. Her eyes felt heavy as she gazed at the window. It was at that moment that Aunt Em desperately felt like curling up into a ball beneath a warm blanket in hopes of teleporting back to their farm. Blows of thunderous lightning dangerously decorated the night sky. The rainstorm was undeniably horrid. Dorothy could shake the thought of how much they were like bullets, ricocheting off of the walls. The word "raining cats and dogs" was strictly an understatement.

The perilous world held them from lingering on the deck, so the small family stayed in their room; a cozy compartment of a dresser and three single beds. That was the service one will get for a dollar, no more, perhaps less. Dorothy sighed as she could feel her stomach fall when the boats dived, cleaving across the mountains of waves.

"It's going to be alright, old boy," The girl comforted Toto as he nestled beneath her slicker. His brown coat was now wet and cold. Understandably, he was trembling. "The rain couldn't stay for any much longer right, Uncle Henry?"

Uncle Henry was practically screaming when a particularly loud thunder shook the world. "Perhaps not! But I might say! This is the greatest storm I've ever witnessed! Hope it wouldn't last as long as our journey."

"Amen to that" Aunt Em sighed, massaging her head with her cold, trembling hands.

"Well, whatever," Dorothy sighed as she stood on her, picking Toto along with her. "I can't stay here any longer."

The place was far too cramped for her liking. "Wherever are you going?" Aunt Em interrupted.

"Oh, don't worry," Dorothy tutted. "I'm just going for a walk, Aunty Em. Perhaps, to the dining hall. I reckon it would be closed by now, but maybe I could sneak in, and stay there for a bit." The dining hall was a large area, free, for her to roam about and leave the burdens of her mind.

Aunt Em then placed both her hands on her hips, and with a stern tone, she snapped. "Now don't you go wandering on the deck!"

"Who in their right mind would go on the deck in this storm?"

"Who in their right mind would go for a walk in this storm?" The woman fired back. Though Dorothy took no offense.

Dorothy turned towards the door, carefully pushing against the knob, standing in a withholding stance. Resisting the powerful waves as the ship dipped. "Be careful, Dorothy!" she heard the woman call. "Does taking 'a walk' that important?"

"Well, it is for me. I can't barely breathe in that enclosed cage-" her sentence abruptly ended with a shriek as she fell to the side, thanks to the already wet floor, rising vertically. Pulling her to the floorboard as she slid. "Damn it."

Toto howled as he fell out of her coat, exposed to the chilling surrounding. "Come here boy!' as Dorothy sat, crossing her legs in the middle of the rocking corridor and holding out her arms towards the old pup. Hugging him instantly as he clung to her.

"Dorothy!" Uncle Henry and Aunt Em called as they held on to the doorframe. "Are you okay?"

"Yup..." she groaned, wiping her soaked skirt with her hands. "I'm fine."

Thunderclaps and lightning snapped below the clouds, yet she resisted the urge of throwing Toto to the ground and clasping both her ears with her hand. Dorothy turned around a corner, walking at a steady, yet struggling pace. The only support she had was the walls beside her.