Chapter Text
Fiyero stood outside the room where his parents were talking to the headmaster. Their voices were muffled, but he knew what they were talking about. He had performed poorly in his classes. Again. And he had genuinely tried this time. He tried his best to be on time for class. He studied as hard as he could. But it wasn’t enough. He was hindered by bullies, and he was unable to understand what was being taught to him. It resulted in being let go from the latest college he attended. Just like the others before it.
The reason? His hideous condition and the dreadful side effects it brought. The body of a walking, talking, brainless scarecrow. His curse.
Having a head stuffed with nothing but straw made it hard to think. No matter how hard he tried to study and comprehend his lessons. Even worse, he was failing the expectations that came with being royalty. As the Crown Prince of the Vinkus, he was expected to ascend to the throne when his father, the king, stepped down from the position. How in Oz was a scarecrow supposed to rule an entire kingdom?
He hadn’t always been a scarecrow either. He was human once. But that all changed when he was riding out with his Horse friend, Feldspar, when his family was visiting Gilikin for a royal summit. He was only fifteen at the time. He didn’t expect to come across the very thing that would change his life forever. Neither did he think it would be a scared little boy running away from his abusive caretaker, a horrible Wicked Witch named Mombi. When he tried to protect the boy from her wrath, she called him brainless for putting his life on the line for someone he just met. So, she saw it fit to use her specialization in transformation magic and turn into something that was considered brainless. The result was his current form. But in the end, he protected the boy. That is what mattered at the time.
Turns out, there was more to the boy than Fiyero had thought. Mombi had called him Tip, but in truth, it wasn’t who he is. Or rather, she. Mombi was even worse than before when this was revealed after Feldspar brought them both back to the summit. According to the ruler of Gilikin, the Good Witch Locosta, Tip was actually the long-lost Princess Ozma, thought to have disappeared along with the rest of the royal family of Oz. Mombi had transformed her into a boy as an infant and forced her live as one. Of course, the choice on whether or not to transform back into a girl was up to the child. Fiyero never got to find out what decision she made. His own transformation had taken priority in his family.
It took him weeks to months to adjust to his new form. He couldn’t eat, sleep, or feel pain. He also needed to stay away from water that would make his straw soggy and fire that would burn him to ash. What made it even harder was how his thoughts got jumbled inside the burlap sack he now called a head. He couldn’t think straight. There was no way of reversing it either. Mombi had refused to change him back when she was captured, saying that it was so he could suffer. She couldn’t do so to Tip anymore, so it gave her demented satisfaction in seeing the “stupid, Winkie prince” be as brainless as she claimed him be. After seeing there was no way to get through to her, his parents looked for alternatives. If the curse couldn’t be reversed as quickly as they liked, then how about proving that the prince wasn’t brainless?
So, when he became of age, Fiyero was sent to college to get the proper education he deserved. Maybe if he learned enough, his thoughts would be straight again. Unfortunately, after the first semester, Fiyero was kicked out. The students at the first school didn’t take kindly to a living scarecrow, and the teachers were no better. Anything he could learn was hindered by the straw inside him as well. So, they tried again with another school. Then another. And another. He failed in all of them. And nobody wanted to be near the abomination that he is now. It was his curse to bear, and if he could cry again, he knew that they would be falling on the thick leather gloves that kept the straw in arms and hands together, placed in his lap.
At this point, Fiyero considered quitting college altogether. He failed in every school he attended so far, so why bother? He was as brainless as Mombi said he was after all. Making friends was out of the question, too. He tried several times, but nobody wanted to be friends with a scarecrow. Some even said he should go back to guarding cornfields, the audacity. But as long as he didn’t have to go back, he wouldn’t be subject to their ridicule anymore. That was good. Was it?
The door to the headmaster’s office opened. Fiyero lifted his head and stood up, the straw inside him rustling. He nearly lost his balance as the ankle of his boot rolled slightly. His parents, King Roland and Queen Maxina of the Vinkus, walked out of the room and faced him. Their faces were full of concern and sadness. They had been like that a lot after his transformation.
“Let me guess,” he said, his stitched mouth curving up sarcastically. He knew what was coming after all. “I’ve officially been kicked out. It was only a matter of time anyway.”
“I’m afraid the answer is yes,” Roland sighed in disappointment. “And I really thought this would be one. Why we keep having bad luck with these schools is beyond me.”
“We just want you to know it isn’t entirely your fault, Fiyero,” Maxina reassured her son. “Things have been hard since the incident, after all.”
“You mean the incident that resulted in me becoming this?!” Fiyero snapped at her, gesturing to his scarecrow body. “Of course, it’s hard. I can’t eat, sleep, or feel pain. I can’t even be near a lighted match! Better yet, I’ve failed in every school you’ve sent me to. If you ask me, it’s a lost cause at this point. I’m better off quitting. I’m brainless after all.”
“Don’t say that!” Maxina nearly shouted, gently holding his burlap bace. “You’re not brainless, Fiyero. We just haven’t found the right school yet. We talked with the headmaster, and yes, while you aren’t going to attend this one anymore, he recommended a place that holds some promise.”
“Oh, really?” Fiyero chuckled half-heartedly. “And what is this so-called university that holds this ‘promise’?”
“Shiz University in Gilikin,” answered Roland. “Not only is it one of the most prestigious schools in all of Oz, but it also may be our last chance. I heard that the teachers there are much more accommodating to their students, considering how a few of them are Animals who need accommodations of their own.”
“Animals? Like, Feldspar?” Fiyero quirked up a painted brow.
“Like Feldspar,” Roland nodded. “We’re even considering letting you have a roommate this time. The way the students treated here and at other schools was uncalled for, and a private suite will only make you lonelier. Oz knows you need friends more than ever.”
“Or my roommate will be like all the others,” Fiyero said under his absent breath. He wasn’t really counting on friends if he did go to Shiz.
“Fiyero, this is an opportunity we’ve been looking for a long time,” Maxina cemented. “It’s your decision on whether or not you should go, but we believe you should take it. Shiz will be good for you. I just know it.”
“I agree with your mother, Fiyero,” Roland clapped his son’s shoulder. “Scarecrow or not, you’re still my son. I want you to be happy. We both do.”
Fiyero blinked his painted eyes at their hopeful faces. They were serious when they said he should be happy. But how could he be happy when trying to do the right thing was what got him into this mess? This life of misery. Then again, he couldn’t bear to be a disappointment any longer. Maybe he should hear them out. Give this a chance. If it turned out like all the others, he wasn’t sure what would happen.
“Okay,” he finally said after a beat of silence. “I’ll- I’ll think about it.”
“Alright,” Roland smiled proudly. “We’ll begin preparing you for the next semester when we get home, should you decide to go. Just know that we love you, Fiyero.”
“I love you too,” Fiyero said, giving a small smile, hugging his parents.
As they left for the Vinkus, Fiyero could help but wonder what Shiz would be like. If he were to go, what would classes be like? What would having an Animal for a teacher be like? And what would his roommate be like? They were all interesting questions. He couldn’t think about them for long, though. His head was starting to get fuzzy again. Happened every time he tried to think hard for a while. But he knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to squander this. Who knows? Maybe Shiz will be good for him.
Unbeknownst to Fiyero, however, when he finally decided to attend Shiz, he would be making another decision that would change his life forever. One that would alter the course of it in the greatest way possible, for better and for worse.