(AN: Book-verse has its draw-backs, that's all I can say about the first chapter)

(Enjoy the new chapter)

What Happened in Munchkinland

In the Emerald City, Ozma Tippetarius - the supreme Ruler of all of Oz - sat upon the Throne that had once been inhabited by the Wizard of Oz: in the very palace that had once belonged to him as well. At her right-hand side was the Earth-girl, Dorothy Gale. She had come to live in Oz permanently several years after her last visit to the place.

Before them, the door-ward - that peculiar, cowardly red-bearded guard by the name of Omby Amby - opened to reveal their guest. She was about average height for a woman of about twenty-something. She looked rather different than most Quadlings, with her dark-brown skin sticking out against the naturally ruddy hue of the marsh-people. Her mother had been from the Vinkus, but she had lived her entire life - one hundred and twenty-nine years, exactly - in the land of the South and identified with them as much as any other native.

As with all the people in Oz, she had not aged.

"Captain Aidan," Ozma greeted, using the woman's Gilikin name. "Any news from Glinda the Good?"

"No, your Ozness," the Quadling shook her head.

"This is most irregular," Ozma mused aloud. "The rebellion in Munchkinland could have easily been stopped by Glinda long before this. I wonder what she is playing at: whatever it is, it's for the best, I'm sure."

"Your pardon, your Ozness," Aidan continued. "But I received no news from Glinda because she was not at her palace in Ovvels."

"Did she leave a note?" Ozma asked, quite uninterested in this answer.

"No, your Ozness," Aidan repeated. "In fact, none of the servants said that they hadn't even noticed she was missing until I entered her room."

"You broke into her room?" Ozma asked with surprise.

"The situation in Munchkinland is dire," the Quadling reasoned. "I believe that Glinda's reluctance to move there has been because she has been missing."

"Missing?" Ozma tittered. "You make it sound as though she were kidnapped!" She laughed, then turned to Dorothy, who chuckled in return. She then turned back to the Quadling.

"Aidan," she said, using her Gilikinese name. "You have absolutely no reason to fret. If Glinda is missing, all we need do is find her again. We shall consult my Tapestry that shows what everyone in Oz is doing, shall we?"

She then alighted off her throne, waved for Dorothy to follow, and walked down one of the many passages that led from the Throne Room of the Emerald Palace. Aidan, or Dan'ai as was her name in native Qua'tai, followed after like a little child, sneaking a peak at something not permitted by her eyes.

In one hall of the Emerald Palace, there was a great magical Tapestry, owned by Ozma herself. It showed in disturbing detail all the things that were transpiring in Oz while they happened. Coupled with the Love Magnet that she held over the doors of the Palace, this meant that, despite having nothing private, all of Oz loved her regardless. But love cannot be love if it is forced.

"Well, this is puzzling!" Ozma mused.

"What is it, your Ozness?" Dan'ai asked.

"I-I still have no reason to believe your story, dear." Ozma continued. "After all, it's your word over mine, and everybody loves and trusts me." She giggled something fierce that made Dan'ai think about strangling kittens. Without another word, Ozma rose up and returned to the Throne Room.

Dorothy, however, did not.

"Your highness," Dan'ai said. "Is something puzzling you?"

"Yes," Dorothy turned to the Quadling. "It doesn't make sense. Ozma's always trusted her tapestry, it's never led us wrong. I don't see why she'd be into mistrusting it now."

"What do you mean, princess?"

"She's not here!" Dorothy pointed to Glinda's palace in Quadling, where she had retired to rule the Marsh-people after her stint in the Southstairs almost a century ago. It would have been taken as an act of war by the more cynical people of Oz, a Gilikinese noble-woman ruling over the Quadlings, but no harm came to the Quadlings while Glinda ruled them. And when nobody could protest the Ozma because they were all forced to love her, political upheaval was a thing of the past.

"Why, then, did Ozma refuse to believe it?" Dan'ai asked, looking at the tapestry. True enough, she wasn't in Quadling, or anywhere else in Oz.

"I don't know," Dorothy shook her head. "But this is troubling." She pointed across the tapestry to Munchkinland. "What's causing them to riot like this?"

"Do you think we should go ourselves and find out?" Dan'ai asked.

"I don't know," Dorothy repeated. "But a rebellion is disturbing to say the least. I thought that Ozma's magic Love Magnet made everyone love and obey her."

"Well, obviously it's not working in Munchkinland," Dan'ai added, her forehead crumpling in profound concern.

"What is it?" Dorothy quipped.

"It might be nothing," Dan'ai said. "But if Glinda doesn't want to be found, then maybe something has happened that even she could not foresee."

"What do ya mean?" Dorothy asked. "Doesn't she have that book that shows what's going on in Oz?"

"That's just it, though," Dan'ai replied. "When the servants and I went into Glinda's room, it was gone too."

"Maybe she took it with her," Dorothy shrugged. "It's mighty important, that book."

"Still," Dan'ai murmured. "Something bad is happening in Oz."

(AN: And on that note, [with a quote from the musical, just like in Out of Oz] this chapter is brought to a finish.)

(Going on anymore with this chapter felt like just beating around the bush forever. As much as Ozma is a 'good' character, she's also incredibly naive. And as Dorothy in Out of Oz [and therefore this story] is older than the Dorothy from Wicked/Wizard of Oz, I'm envisioning her as Paulie Rojas from The Witches of Oz, rather than the typical Judy Garland. Reasons being that I liked that portrayal, and Judy reminds me too much of my ex, and therefore I'd be tempted to just character-bash the hell out of Dorothy.)

(As you can see, her grammar is much better in this story than in the original Great War of Oz. She's probably still going to be annoying, but not to the absurd extent that I had in that story. [I'm not taking sides with her against Elphaba, mind you. I still like Elphaba - at least I think I do, see The Warrior and the Witch's Author Notes for more on that. And, furthermore, The Witches of Oz Dorothy didn't mercilessly kill that film's WWOTW, making her a little more likeable in the long-run, since the WWOTW is basically Elphaba]).

(I'm hardly done yet! In fact, I have not yet begun to write!)