Hey guys! I apologize if I've been dead from the "Wizard of Oz" fandom for quite some time! I've just been busy with college and a bit hyper focused on my "Little Shop of Horrors" fic. Anyway, here is your much anticipated sequel to "The Scarecrow's Baby" and "Tin Man's Turn." Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter 1: A Munchkin named Ralph von Strauss
There once was a munchkin named Ralph von Strauss. He was a fine looking man about 4'1 tall, with brown curly hair, auburn eyes, and a wide smile. He wore a green vest with a white collared shirt and brown corduroy trousers. One day, he, his wife, Helen von Strauss, and their twelve children were on a picnic when all of a sudden, the sky darkened and a tornado formed and was heading right towards them. Ralph hollered at his family to run and seek cover in a nearby ditch. Ralph's family all made it to the ditch, but Ralph, who was in the rear to insure no one lagged behind, was not able to reach the ditch in time. The tornado picked Ralph up and threw him onto a nearby hill. As suddenly as it had appeared, the tornado was gone. Ralph stumbled to his feet and desperately looked for his family. What he saw horrified him. The evil Wicked Witch of the East was using her magical powers to kill Ralph's wife and children! Ralph tried to run up to the witch to save his family, but before he could reach them, they were all dead and the witch had flown away on her broom. This was a very tragic moment for him. So he went home and locked himself in his house to mourn his family. Several days passed, Ralph was not exactly sure how many, when he heard a knock on his door. He answered it. It was another munchkin. "Good news, Sir! The Wicked Witch of the East is dead!" the munchkin told Ralph. "Leave me alone! I'm in no mood to celebrate! The Wicked Witch of the East just killed my wife and kids!" Ralph said indignantly. "Fine then. Guess we'll all have to celebrate without you!" said the munchkin, walking away and heading to Lollipop Lane to celebrate. Ralph slammed his door, got his handkerchief out of his pocket, and wiped some tears out of his eyes. He then went into his bedroom to continue his mourning. In the distance he heard voices chanting, "Ding Dong! The Witch is dead! Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead! Wake up – sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed! Wake up! The Wicked Witch is dead…" Even though all of the other munchkins were celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch that had killed his family, he felt as if the munchkins were celebrating his family's death, too. He got up from his bed and slammed his window closed so that he wouldn't have to deal with the munchkins' singing.
A year later, he had come to terms with his losses and was trying to get out of the house more to try and get his life moving again. One day he went on a walk to Emerald City to meet Glinda the Good Witch. Ralph had known Glinda for a while, but Ralph's last visit with her was a few months ago to debate with her about whether the other munchkins were celebrating both the Wicked Witch's death and Ralph's family's death or just the Wicked Witch's death. Glinda had explained that they were celebrating the Wicked Witch of the East's death only and that they were not celebrating the deaths of the people she had killed. This made Ralph feel a bit better, but he still hadn't been able to cope with the death of his family for a whole year. This time, he came to see Glinda to thank her for helping him cope with the loss of his family. The Wizard was there along with Glinda and of all things, a lion! "I shall eat you up to pieces and lick my chops clean after the meal!" said the lion to Ralph, pretending to be ferocious. That startled Ralph a bit. "He's joking." the Wizard assured Ralph. "That's right!" said the lion. "I used to be cowardly, before my friend Dorothy helped show me that I have courage, but the name 'Cowardly Lion' seems to have stuck. I prefer 'Mr. Lion' though." "Who's Dorothy?" asked Ralph. "WHO'S DOROTHY?! Everybody here in Oz knows the famous Dorothy!" exclaimed Mr. Lion. "Well, I've been in mourning for a whole year and so I haven't really talked to anyone." said Ralph timidly. "MOURNING?! Why were you in mourning?!" Mr. Lion asked him. "Well, me, my wife, and our twelve children were all on a picnic when this evil witch came and separated us. She had conjured up a tornado which separated me from my family and threw me on a nearby hill. She then went and killed my family right in front of my very eyes! It was so heartbreaking for me to watch. After seeing it, I went back to my home and mourned my family." Ralph explained. "Aww. I'm sorry to hear that!" said Mr. Lion. "Thank you very much, Mr. Lion. Will you tell me about your adventures with Dorothy?" said Ralph. "Yes!" said Mr. Lion, "Come with me and I will tell you all about my adventures with Dorothy and how she, I and our friends, Scarecrow and Tin Man defeated the Wicked Witch of the West." So Mr. Lion told Ralph all about his adventures with Dorothy and over time, they became fast best friends.
So now you've met my OC, Ralph von Strauss. Next chapter we will explore his relationship with Mr. Lion, as well as Mr. Lion finding out about his pregnancy. Well, I gtg now. I have some homework to do.