Arrival of Dorothy at Kiamo Ko

Dorothy Gale, the girl from Kansas whose house had crushed Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East, arrives at Kiamo Ko, the mountain stronghold of the Arjiki tribe, to confront the Wicked Witch of the West. The encounter, which begins with a tense welcome from the Witch's household and a shared meal, culminates in a confrontation on the parapet where Dorothy, acting on the Wizard's orders to kill the Witch, instead begs for forgiveness for the accidental death of Nessarose. In a moment of panic, Dorothy throws a bucket of water at the Witch, causing the Witch to melt away, an event that will be celebrated as a political assassination and help topple the Wizard's regime.

Arrival and Welcome

The flying monkeys, under the command of Chistery, deposit Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion onto the cobbles of the inner courtyard of Kiamo Ko. The Lion moans in pain and weeps from vertigo, while Dorothy sits up, clutching her small dog, Toto, and asks where they are. Nanny, the elderly former nursemaid, genuflects and welcomes them, while Liir, the foundling boy who lives in the castle, introduces himself and the stronghold. Dorothy expresses immediate worry for her friends, the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow, who were left behind in the dark. Liir promises to retrieve them in the daylight, and the Lion, still recovering from the flight, complains that if the Unnamed God had wanted Lions to fly, he would have given them hot-air balloons. Nanny chirps a warm welcome, insisting that the traveler is always welcome in the mountains, and offers them a meal. Dorothy, however, states her purpose: she needs to find the Wicked Witch of the West. Liir informs her that the Witch lives there, with him.

The Confrontation

The Witch appears at the doorway, descending the steps with her skirts whirling and her broom hurrying to keep up. She addresses Dorothy directly, accusing her of having the nerve to make a crash landing on her sister. Dorothy, flustered, tries to explain that the house was not legally hers, but the Witch dismisses the technicalities, stating that her sister was alive before Dorothy arrived and is now dead. Dorothy apologizes, saying she would have done anything to avoid it, and takes the Witch's hands in hers, insisting she is sorry. The Witch recoils, calling it false sentiment, but Dorothy holds on, asking if the Witch was close to her sister. The Witch detaches herself and leads the group inside for something to eat.

Dinner and Despair

During dinner, Dorothy begins to cry, worrying about her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry back in Kansas. Liir begins to tear up as well, and the little dog, Toto, begs for scraps, reminding the Witch of her own losses, particularly her beloved dog, Killyjoy, who was killed by the Tin Woodman earlier that day. Nanny tries to lighten the mood by singing "Happy Birthday to You," but no one joins in. The Witch, growing impatient, sends Nanny, Liir, and the Lion away, and then takes Dorothy's hand, leading her to the tower room. Liir leaps to intervene, but the Witch pushes him aside, and Dorothy tells him to take care of Toto. The Witch locks the door behind them.

The Parapet

In the tower room, the Witch demands the shoes, which she claims are hers. Dorothy insists they won't come off, that Glinda put a spell on them. The Witch circles, and Dorothy backs away, stumbling over furniture and knocking over a beehive, stepping on the queen bee. The Witch accuses Dorothy of strewing death in her path, comparing her to Nor, Fiyero's daughter, who was kidnapped and lives as a political prisoner. Dorothy pleads for mercy, but the Witch grabs her by the wrist, demanding to know why she has come to murder her. Dorothy denies it, but the Witch presses on, asking if she is the Third Adept, working in collusion with Nessarose and Glinda. Dorothy, confused, says she is not adept, but adopted. The Witch then pulls Dorothy back to the corridor, lights her broom on fire, and chases her up the corkscrew stairs to the parapet. The Witch slams the door behind them and locks it.

The Plea for Forgiveness

On the parapet, the Witch holds the burning broom high, demanding the truth. Dorothy admits that the Wizard said to murder her, but she never intended to, and that is not why she came. She says she came to ask the Witch if she would ever forgive her for the accident, for the death of her sister, because she could never forgive herself. The Witch shrieks in panic and disbelief, caught between the refusal of forgiveness she herself endured from Sarima and the plea for mercy from a child. A fragment of the burning broom flutters off and lands on her skirt, setting it on fire. Dorothy, seeing a bucket of rainwater, grabs it and says, "I will save you!" and hurls the water at the Witch.

The Melting

The water causes the Witch to melt away. The body apologizes to the soul for its errors, and the soul asks forgiveness for squatting in the body without invitation. A ring of expectant faces moves in the shadows like ghouls: Mama, Nessarose, Papa, Shell, Nanny, Ama Clutch, Boq, Crope, Tibbett, Avaric, Glinda, and the ones whose stories are over: Manek, Madame Morrible, Doctor Dillamond, and most of all Fiyero. The ones whose stories are curiously unfinished include the Princess Nastoya, Liir, Sarima, and the ones who fell to the Wizard, including Killyjoy. Behind them, the Wizard himself, a failure until he exiled himself from his own land, and behind him Yackle, whoever she was, and the anonymous Adepts, and the dwarf, who had no name to share. The Goddess of Gifts, the last, reaches in among flames and water, cradling her, crooning something, but the words remain unclear.

Aftermath

The death of the Wicked Witch of the West is hailed as a political assassination or a juicy murder. Dorothy's description of what happened is deemed self-delusion or a bald-faced lie. In an indirect way, it helps rid the country of its dictator. Dorothy, more stunned than ever, makes her way back to the Emerald City with the Lion, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and Liir. There, she presents the Wizard with the green glass bottle that said MIRACLE ELI- on the paper glued to the front. It is a matter of history that shortly thereafter, the Wizard absconded from the Palace in a hot-air balloon, just a few hours before seditious ministers were to lead a Palace revolt and to hold an execution without trial.