Random fic is random

[strongheartmaid]

AN: blame for this goes to various things - ry_sabir for his color challenge prompt of "Sepia" and for this trivia fact: Early on, the Cowardly Lion was in fact the cursed form of a handsome prince named Florizel (which is the name of the Prince in the Sleeping Beauty fairytale), who would battle the Witch in midair and kill her by cutting apart her broom while Dorothy watched from the sidelines. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/trivia?item=tr2220617

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The Lion stared at his reflection in the water, taking a few steadying breaths as he searched for any sign of a change and found none. It had been so long since he had seen his true reflection that he had started to forget what he looked like - although, there was enough in this cursed form that he could extrapolate as to what he had looked like. His eyes were the same - far too human for a Lion [not that Dorothy, the Scarecrow, or the Tin Woodsman had noticed, he was sure that Toto had] and having retained that warm amber color he had as a man. The fur, well, it did a good job of mimicking that warm tan skintone he had been blessed with and also that rich mahogany color of his hair. [At least, he thought that's what color his hair was - it had been too long since he had been human that he was finding it difficult to remember]

He was startled for a moment as another reflection appeared in the water next to him but noted it was only Dorothy and so visibly relaxed. "Was I gone long?" he asked, his voice a soft rumble.

"Long enough that we were getting worried," she admitted.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he apologized. "I.. just needed some time alone. To think," he clarified, not wanting to offend the younger girl.

"About what you're going to ask the Wizard to give you?" she asked, settling down next to him.

"Something like that," he said quietly. He stared at the sky, wondering if he should tell the others who he was, who he had been - it would be nice to hear someone call him by his real name once more, but no.. No, he hadn't been that man since that fateful day. If he ever returned to his true form, then he'd reveal, but right now.. He closed his all too human eyes and hoped it wouldn't be obvious that he could cry.

"Lion?" Dorothy asked, concerned for him once she spotted the tears on his fur.

Comments

[ry-sabir.livejournal.com]

Really enjoyed this!

The more I think about it though...how weird would it be to see a Lion fighting a Witch in midair. I mean, how would he fly up there?

[strongheartmaid.livejournal.com]

thanks :D

yeah, I'm trying to figure out how that would work. Not to mention figure out which of the witches cursed him [Mombi, maybe?]

[ry-sabir.livejournal.com]

Or if you want to twist it a little, how about Glinda or Locasta (Good Witch of the North) to teach him a lesson a la Beauty and the Beast (see how I connected those dots for you?) :D

[strongheartmaid.livejournal.com]

I do love my Beauty and the Beast, heh. So - the lion was to teach him to not be a coward? Hmm.. How to break it then, bar him doing that fight with the Wicked Witch?

[ry-sabir.livejournal.com]

Perhaps he was running away from responsibility, and simply the act of helping Dorothy and the others on their quests (thinking of others before self) leads to breaking the spell?

[strongheartmaid.livejournal.com]

well, one of the other trivia facts I spotted could lend to the running away bit, bolding the important bit:
In the earlier drafts of the script, the writers often created new incidents to liven up the story. The original idea was to turn the story into a slapstick musical comedy, so there were a few deviations from what was written in the book. Some of the earlier scripts included a son for the Wicked Witch of the West whom she wanted to put on the throne of Oz, a stuck-up niece for Miss Gulch, a rescue from the Wizard's balloon by the Munchkin fire department, a singing princess and her cowardly suitor who gets transformed into a lion, [/snip]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/trivia?item=tr0782016

[lovelykitta.livejournal.com]

Really good.

[strongheartmaid.livejournal.com]

thanks :D