Chapter 1

Written by Toonsgirl27

Edited by BeecroftA

Artwork by Alamarus

AN: After all the high intensity stories as of late, lets give you all a nice fairy-tale. :)

"Come on Nick!" Judy cried, grabbing her mate's paw. "Time for another round in the P.I.X.A.R.!" She dragged him to the machine the couple had been experimenting with for quite some time. The P.I.X.A.R. was an attraction at Fitwick's Arcade that transported the users via virtual reality to an alternate universe where they could act out their own stories.

Unlike the bunny, the fox did not seem to be as enthusiastic as he usually was.

"Do we have to, Carrots?" He groaned. As much as Nick enjoyed using the machine with Judy, he was beginning to get bored with it. What V.R. experience could they possibly go on that could top the previous one? Or better yet, just being by his bunny's side with their adorable kits who were growing up so fast.

"Come on, where's your spirit of adventure?" Judy smiled. "You always enjoy these experiences with me!"

"Okay, but nothing bloody and gory!" Nick shuddered.

"It won't be like that!" Judy shook her head. "Mickey has written a story for us that he thinks we'll like!"

Mickey Mouse was her cousin, who her Aunt Joanne and Uncle Oscar adopted many years before when Mickey's own parents had died on a vacation trip. He and Judy, along with Mickey's brother, Oswald, were close to each other throughout their childhood years.

"Does it involve a certain tap dancing snowman?" the vulpine asked wryly, referring to Mickey's favorite TV show, The Olaf Show.

"Hush now, silly!" Judy punched him in the arm playfully. "When I asked Mickey what the story was about, he wouldn't tell. He said it's a surprise!"

"Hope it's a good surprise then!"

The couple got themselves settled in their seats. After Judy wrote down her cousin's story on the screen, she and her husband put on their V.R. helmets and the machine began to work its magic.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a kingdom called Happy Valley. It had many green hills, a brook that ran throughout the land, fields of tulips, a couple of farms with windmills, a small town, and a beautiful castle made of polished marble.

The town of Happy Valley was ruled by a strict rabbit, King Oscar, and his polite wife, Queen Joanne. They have two sons: a rabbit, Prince Oswald, and a mouse, Prince Mickey. The family ruled the kingdom well, ensuring that their prey subjects (rabbits, mice, pigs, and sheep) were all well-cared for.

Although the King and Queen were good rulers, they were also poor parents. They doted on Oswald, but neglected Mickey. For instance, they always dressed Oswald in the finest clothes but provided Mickey with little more than rags. The mouse had to eat alone in the servants' quarters instead of with his family in the dining room. And unlike Oswald, Mickey was not allowed to own any toys and books. He was forced to work with the servants instead.

The reason for this abusive treatment was an unfortunately simple one: Mickey was not their real son. Mickey's mother had been a lady-in-waiting for Queen Joanne. When the mother died from an illness, Joanne took Mickey in as her ward. Her husband preferred that Mickey be Oswald's whipping boy because he refused to accept a mouse in the family, and Joanne fought hard to let Mickey become a prince too. After much arguing Oscar finally agreed, but refused to allow Mickey to be treated as a prince for fear of the mouse usurping the throne, much favoring his birth son Oswald. That was fine with Joanne as long as her adopted son got to stay in the castle instead of on the streets.

Oswald, however, strongly disliked the way his parents treated his brother. He felt it was unfair to deny Mickey the same privileges just because he was a mouse and adopted. Upon learning that his brother disallowed from learning more than the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic at his father's behest, the heir began to give Mickey secret lessons on the same advanced subjects he had been learning such as algebra, literature, and history.

And because Mickey did not have any friends besides him, Oswald invited some of his cousins from the nearby kingdom of Bunnyburrow to visit. Luckily, his cousins adored Mickey! One cousin in particular was Princess Judith 'Judy' Laverne Hopps. She felt a kinship with the mouse like none other because she, too, knew what it was like to be an outcast of the family. While her sisters were serious, prim, and proper, Judy was optimistic, caring, and playful. Unlike her sisters who enjoyed being royalty out of love for glory, luxury and the romantic prospect of marrying princes, Judy hoped to be a good queen so she could make a difference! Yet her parents, King Stu and Queen Bonnie, could not understand why she showed interest in dealing justice instead of parties and marriage. Where they came from, it was considered improper for does (female rabbits) to be involved in politics, even those of royalty. Oswald and Mickey, however, sympathized with Judy and encouraged her to never stop trying to make the world a better place.

This is what led Judy and Mickey to become friends. The two were always together, playing every game from swordplay to archery to checkers. As long as Mickey had Oswald and his cousins, nothing could make him unhappy.

And then scandal struck, followed soon by tragedy. Oswald was arranged to be married to a suitor, only to fall in love with a commoner instead. Given an ultimatum by his father, the prince chose his beloved over the throne and eloped, never to return. Dismayed, the King and Queen boarded their fastest ship in pursuit of their son and left Mickey in the care of the guard captain, Sir Bogo. Weeks later, a devastated Mickey received the news: his adoptive parents had perished at sea, and he, Mickey, was to become the new King.

"Thank you for coming to my kingdom, Judy!" Mickey smiled, helping one of the servants set down a suitcase. The mouse was very strong for his size. "I could really use your help!" After he had written to Uncle Stu and Aunt Bonnie for help preparing for his coronation, he had been pleasantly surprised that they agreed. Stu and Bonnie themselves were busy taking care of their kingdom (and training their heirs, John, Jane, and Marty), but they were able to send some of their spares (Judy, Dottie, Thelma, Frank, and Fred) to train the mouse in his kingly duties before his crowning day.

"Thank you for inviting me and some of my siblings to your palace, Mickey," said Judy as she, her siblings, and a few bunny servants carried her and her siblings' luggage to the guest bedroom. "I needed a trip." Even though she came here to help her cousin prepare for becoming king, she had also come to distract her mind from...well, she didn't want to think about it or else she'd never get out it of her head!

"Does the guest bedroom have a mirror?" Dottie asked expectantly.

"Yes, Dottie," Mickey answered, rolling his eyes. He could understand Dottie needing a mirror to touch up her makeup, but she spent too much time in front of it for his taste.

"Does your castle have a library?" Thelma asked Mickey.

"Yes," Mickey replied. "Down the hallway, turn left and you will find it!"

"Mickey, can you have one of the servants bring me buttered toast?" Frank asked.

"Mickey, what is the economic status of your kingdom?" Fred piped.

"Mickey, can one of your servants iron my dress?"

"Mickey do you have a copy of War and Peace?"

And the four were soon shooting Mickey so many questions of Happy Valley and his castle the poor mouse could not keep up with them. Mickey started getting so overwhelmed he was clutching his ears like he was in pain.

"GUYS!" Judy shouted, silencing her brothers and sisters. "Knock it off! We are here to help Mickey rule his kingdom, not to lay about the castle!"

"But Judy, you were anxious to come here too!" Thelma pointed out. She blushed when she was shushed by Dottie, as if the doe was not supposed to reveal something personal.

The gray bunny looked hurt but quickly covered it with her sternness. "Yes, but it's to get away, not to relax!"

Just then, Sir Bogo entered the room.

"Your majesty, it is time for you to review your country's laws!"

"Now?" the King-to-be asked, astonished. "This late afternoon?"

"Before dinner time, yes!" Sir Bogo saluted. "It is important for you to know them for the upcoming coronation."

"It's not until next weekend," the young mouse reminded the annoyed buffalo.

"Yes, but we want you to be full of knowledge so everybody will see you are up to the task!" Sir Bogo snapped, making everyone except Mickey shiver. "The last thing we want is our subjects to panic just because their King doesn't know what the Tea taxes are! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Oh very well," Mickey sighed. He had been really looking forward to spend time with his cousins. He turned to his servants, Donald Duck and Goofy.

"Guys, can you give our guests a tour around the castle?"

"Okay Mickey!" the duck and dog replied. They were relieved to do something that didn't require heavy lifting.

The prince and the buffalo captain left the guest bedroom. The royal bunnies were about to leave with the servants when they noticed Judy still standing.

"Aren't you going to come, sister?" Dottie asked.

"No thank you," Judy shook her head. "I am tired from the journey and I want to be alone for a while."

"Suit yourself," Frank shrugged.

Once Judy was alone in the guest bedroom, she went on her bed and laid down. She breathed a tired and sad sigh. The past few months had not gone well for her, and the bunny princess wanted to get away from all the pain she had been feeling.

"Why Harry?" Judy moaned. "Why did you leave me? Was I not good enough for you?"

For a long time, her parents had been setting their daughter up with princes in hopes that she would be married before her 18th birthday. Judy had turned down every one, largely because they were all vain and snobby. She could not find a buck that appreciated her wanting to make a difference in the world. They only wanted somebody to produce them heirs. Then, when she finally met one rabbit prince, Prince Harry of the Woods, Judy thought he was the One -until one day he broke her heart. Who knew that he would elope with some commoner doe, let alone a few months before the wedding could be planned?

Now she was here at her cousin's palace, hoping that she could recover. When Judy had tried to recover at her own home, her parents had made it worse by blaming her. They thought she had done something wrong to Prince Harry! Otherwise, he wouldn't have left her!

"It's okay, Judy," the princess said to herself. "Everything's going to be all right." She gazed her head toward the window. "Somewhere out there is somebody looking for you. Somebody who will love you for being you!"

Over the hills, over the field of tulips and through the woods, resided another kingdom. It contained a gothic castle, a downtown center, and caves. This kingdom was vast but this was hard to tell because it was hidden deep in the woods, covered by many towering trees. It looked very dark and gloomy compared to Bunnyburrow and Happy Valley. This kingdom was called Zootopia (or as prey animals often called it, Zistopia).

It was ruled by a proud and mighty lion, King Lionheart. Although he did not have any heirs, he received much assistance from his members of the Royal court such as Lord Finnick, Sir Benjamin Clawhauser, Lord Big, Lord Otterton, Lord Wolford, Lord Fangmeyer, Lady Delagato, and Duke Nicholas Piberius Wilde. They all worked hard to ensure that Lionheart ruled the land well. Especially Duke Nicholas, who showed particular care towards the kingdom's subjects, especially its foxes. Also among their duties was protecting Lionheart from those who would oppose him.

One night, while King Lionheart was sleeping, a small figure skulked in the shadows outside. The prowler creaked open the window (which Lionheart had left ajar due to stuffiness), and crawled through it into the mighty lion's bedchambers. The shadowed figure then pulled out a long shining butcher knife, and before the sleeping lion could so much as stir, began to stab Lionheart mercilessly and without hesitation. When the figure was done, it turned to leave as it started to put its knife away, bumping in the dark into a nightstand topped with a candle and books.

CRASH!

Hearing voices, the shadow panicked and jumped out of the window. It was in such a hurry to get out that it failed to notice the bloody knife falling out of its clothes.

When Nick flung open the bedroom door, followed by Finnick and Clawhauser, their jaws all dropped.

"OH THE HORROR, THE HORROR!" the red fox gasped, shaking violently. "OUR KING HAS BEEN MURDERED!"

"SOUND THE ALARM, BEN!" Finnick ordered.

Clawhauser did not need to be told twice. He immediately ran to the bell at the top of the tower and began to ring like crazy.

"AWAKE! AWAKE! AWAKE! KING LIONHEART WAS MURDERED!"

Soon, all members of the court and castle were gathered around the scene of the crime.

"Who did this?" Nick demanded. "Who would dare to murder our good King?" The red fox turned to Fangmayer and Delgato. "Did you two hear anything?"

"No Nick," they responded, sorrowfully. "We heard nothing at all until we heard a crashing sound!"

"Yes, someone did knock over the King's nightstand," the vulpine observed. "The question is who?"

"Nick!" Lord Otterton called, seeing something in the darkness under the windowsill. "You might want to look at this!"

Nick came over and saw what Otterton had found: a bloody butcher knife.

"Who would be dumb enough to leave that behind?" Finnick commented.

Nick took a sniff at the knife, trying to find clues. He smelled blood and a strange scent that smelled like...prey.

"It smells like a prey animal!" he snarled.

"What prey is it?" Otterton wondered.

"I'm not sure," the red fox grumbled. He looked out the window, and that was when his keen eyes spotted movement beside a nearby tree. A shadowy figure emerged from behind it, as if trying to creep away. Then it stopped with a jerk, as if it had seen Nick too, and started running into the forest away from him. "Finnick! Follow that shadow!" Nick ordered.

"Yes sir!" the small fennec saluted.

Finnick flew out of the window, landed noiselessly on the grass outside, and began to quickly but quietly pursue the shadow figure. But soon, because of the numerous trees and plants, the small fox lost sight of his quarry. However, he he still managed to follow the assassin's scent via its footprints. After an hour of chasing the scent, Finnick had followed it out of the forest of Zootopia: it had led him to the opening gates of Happy Valley. Swiftly but quietly, the fennec fox turned around and went back home to report.

"What did you find?" Nick asked.

"I don't know what animal it was but whoever it was, it came from Happy Valley!" Finnick reported. "I lost the intruder in the woods, but I followed its scent there! We may not know who the murderer was, but it definitely was a prey!"

"I knew it!" Nick's voice darkened. "I knew it was a prey from Happy Valley!"

"You did?" Otterton asked.

"Not exactly but I'm still not surprised," Nick answered. "Happy Valley has always have a grudge against us predators!" He took a chair and sat down, brooding. "Four score and seven years ago, predators and prey used to live together in Happy Valley. Until one day, a snake came and ate a young rabbit named Princess Fluffy, and it was all blamed on a fox, Prince Reynard. Predators were outraged and fought hard for his case but the prey refused to believe that a fox didn't eat a rabbit. Fearful of us, they banished us to live in these dark woods. They agreed that there would be no war, but predators would not be allowed to come to Happy Valley and Prey would not be allowed near us. King Lionheart and I have made attempts to negotiate peace with King Oscar, but that old fool kept turning us away and threatened to attack us if we ever tried to talk of peace to him. Well, we haven't spoken a word to him for three years and yet he has sent someone to attack us!"

"Why would Happy Valley attack our King?" Otterton questioned.

"Let's declare war on them!" Big shouted.

"A war!?" the others yelled.

"Yes, a war!" Nick agreed with the shrew. "If the prey want to fight, we will fight back!"

"Okay, but um, one problem," Clawhauser mentioned. "As you mentioned earlier, predators are not allowed near Happy Valley."

"Not exactly, my dear friend," Lord Big spoke up, holding an invitation. "Behold, Prince Mickey has invited us to attend his coronation!"

"Prince Mickey!?" the others gasped.

"Wait a minute, I thought Oswald the Lucky was supposed to inherit the throne, not that pipsqueak!" Finnick stated.

"I'm sure there is a reason why the mouse is inheriting the throne," Nick pondered. "Well, friends, I say let's go." His muzzle held a smirk that would frighten a rabbit. "I am sure the young Prince won't mind if we come and show our support, right?"

"Right!" His friends nodded, understanding Nick's plan.