Chapter 29

I do not own anything from Wizard of Oz.

Sorry for the delay again. Hubby and I are making plans to move to Florida. I decided to be closer to my dad. So, I thought I would try to get a few more chapters in before we move by the end of the month.

"You need to hold still, your grace," Lorna said as she adjusted Dorothy's dress.

They were now back in the land of Mifkit, and in Oran's castle. They were waiting for the rest of the council to gather and approve the war, and Scarecrow's declaration of King of Oz.

Three other kings needed to make the journey there, and it was taking long because of Oz being quarantined from the disease running rampant through the land.

Scarecrow was getting anxious to invade, and tired of waiting for the kings to stop delaying. He wanted to get this over with, and get reinforcements. He had no idea where Ozma was getting armies from and who they were yet.

So far, Glinda was not able to tally any deaths of the disease in Oz. Ozma was keeping the weak, but not weak enough for death, but not strong enough to rebel.

Leandra chuckled as Dorothy rolled her eyes at Lorna.

"You better get used to that title my dear," Leandra said lying on the rug wagging her tail lazily.

Dorothy raised her chin in defiance. She hated the title with all of her being, but for now it was necessary.

"You are all my closest friends. You don't need to refer to me that way," Dorothy said looking around the room to Lorna, Loila, Leandra, and Khali. Glinda was somewhere with Oscar.

"Dorothy, it is a sign of respect. Besides, if anyone deserves it you do," Lorna said removing some pins in the dress.

Dorothy scoffed. From the moment Scarecrow declared himself the King of Oz, the men did respond better. They cheered as he spoke, and then cheered again as he announced Dorothy as queen.

"No…"

Khali giggled a little as Dorothy adjusted uncomfortably in the dress, and asked, "Well, you don't need all the pomp and circumstance. You can rule without all of that, right?"

Dorothy sighed as Loila began to help her sister, and they began to argue.

"I have to for this council meeting. I would like to know where these guys were when Oz was invaded by Drigka and his Nargol," Dorothy wondered aloud.

Leandra rolled over and said, "Well, being queen of my pride, protocol states that you have every right to speak for your country. Just as much as Scarecrow does."

Dorothy thought about it for a moment. She hated every moment of this, but if she could use the power she now possessed for some things then she would.

"Leandra! You will wrinkle your dress!" Lorna scolded as Leandra yawned loudly.

It was Leandra's turn to roll her lion eyes. "Yes…yes. I am a lion. I am supposed to lie around."

It was Lorna's turn to scoff as she finished some sewing on Dorothy's skirt.

It was now Dorothy's turn to giggle as Glinda walked in. She was dressed in dark green gown that fell to her feet. The collar decorated in gold and green trim. Her hair was piled high on her head.

She bowed to Dorothy. "Are you almost ready, your highness?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes again much to Khali's

amusement, and said, "Yes, I am. I think."

Dorothy's dress consisted of a lighter green and black bodice, with Oz's sigils on the sleeves, which were more as décor than anything.

Lorna was happy with her work, and helped Dorothy step down from the stool. She then placed the makeshift crown on her head and pinned it in her hair.

The blacksmith's hurried and made her a crown for this, and Dorothy did not like that either. She felt it was not needed given the situation they were in.

Glinda smiled broadly at Dorothy. Her hair was set around the crown, and curls fell to her back. Her dress was absolutely stunning.

She did look like a queen no matter how much she protested.

Dorothy looked at herself in the mirror and sighed slightly. The emerald necklace secured around her neck.

Dorothy, Leandra, and Glinda made their way out of the parlor and into the hallway where their mates would be waiting.

It had been so long since Scarecrow had seen Dorothy dressed up that she was actually kind of nervous at what he would think.

As they made their way down to the meeting hall, servants and other guards bowed to them, which made Dorothy cringe. She just wanted to hide her face in her dress.

Two guards were ahead and behind them, and led them on.

Glinda turned to her and said, "They will question Scarecrow up and down. Now, you can object to anything they say, but since you are from a foreign land they will probably ignore you."

Dorothy nodded in understanding.

"Yes, but don't be afraid of them either. They like to throw their power around. In the end, every nation is sovereign and their power is limited, though they like you to think otherwise," Leandra finished.

Dorothy nodded again in thought.

"Scarecrow can overthrow Oz if he wants, what he is asking for is armies to help reestablish his power," Glinda commented in thought looking around.

"So, why did they not help when Drigka invaded?" Dorothy asked.

Glinda turned to her and scowled a little. "Cowards! Drigka paid them to look the other way when the Nargol came from Middle Earth. Remember when the Nome Lord let the Nargol across their lands?"

"He is one of them?" Dorothy asked.

Glinda nodded. "They change every ten years, but right now he is one of them, but he could not make it in time."

"The other one are Jonah King of Ix, and Gregor Lord of Ev," Leandra said thinking of their names. "They are here."

"Of course, there is Oran, and Daemon of the Gargoyles. So, we will have support," Glinda finished.

Dorothy then spotted Lion, Scarecrow, and Oscar all dressed in their Oz uniforms for the council.

Scarecrow could not stop staring at Dorothy as she approached. She was definitely his queen, and his chest swelled as she held her head high as they walked up.

This was a moment when he hated being straw again. He wanted to tear off her clothes right there and make love to her, but held back. He had a duty, and it was to get Oz back.

He took her arm, and whispered, "You look stunning."

Dorothy blushed as other advisors from the other kingdoms greeted them.

"I hate this," she whispered as they bowed to her and she smiled through gritted teeth.

Scarecrow chuckled. "So do I."

They walked into the big council room, and there was sitting Oran, and the rest of the members.

There was a table with just enough room for the leaders, and chairs on the side.

Scarecrow would be at one end with Jonah the King of Ix on the other as he was head council after Scarecrow abdicated.

On one side was Oran, and Daemon, and the other was Gregor.

Lord Gregor was a huge man with long black hair that fell to his shoulders. However, Dorothy noticed the big scar on his face on the left side. It was almost like a burn. He was short, but very broad. He stood, and was courteous, but Dorothy could already see he was openly hostile towards Scarecrow and Oscar.

King Jonah was tall, and gangly. He almost had an angelic glow about him. Dorothy could tell he came from generations of ruling the land of Ix.

He did have softer brown eyes than Gregor's sharp blue ones.

His skin was pale, and Dorothy thought he almost looked sickly. His light blue king garb did not help any, and neither did his thinning white hair.

However, Dorothy was surprised at how strong his grip was when he kissed her hand. Gregor did soften to Dorothy once she was greeted to him.

"I have heard much about you, savior," Gregor said almost growling towards her, but it was light.

Dorothy smiled slightly, and tried not to sound nervous. "All good, I hope."

Gregor shrugged as Scarecrow and he stared each other down.

"Of course, my lady," he said gruffly.

He then walked from Dorothy to Glinda and greeted her just the same.

Scarecrow leaned into Dorothy and said, "There is a lot of bad blood between us, and he was friends of Lord Ordaran. Do not worry."

"Well, that makes it better," Dorothy said sarcastically.

Dorothy nodded to her husband, and found Jonah to be much more friendly. Of course, Daemon was one of her best friends, and Oran had become their greatest ally.

Suddenly, Oscar spoke up and said, "If we could all take our places we will begin."

Dorothy and Scarecrow stared at each other for a moment, and squeezed hands as they separated.

Dorothy took her place beside Glinda and Oscar at the side of the room. Leandra was on the other side of Glinda with Lion.

King Jonah was quiet for a moment as he read a few things on the papers given to him by his advisor.

Dorothy sat there trying to send positive thoughts to Scarecrow as he sat quietly waiting to speak.

"When I spoke to Ozma last it was about a year ago," King Jonah began. "I did warn her about the effects of cutting off allies, and becoming isolated."

"She has every right to. Oz is a sovereign land," Lord Gregor said. "She also had every right to align with Lord Ordaran, no matter our disagreements with him."

Jonah frowned at Gregor, but continued. "That is correct. However, she is a part of this council, and should be here today to defend her actions, and Ordaran's death was directly her cause."

"I disagree," Gregor growled sending Oran a stare of hostility.

Oran sat back and smirked back at him.

"That is something I am working to remedy, your grace," Scarecrow said cautiously.

"By overthrowing her," Gregor said raising a dark eyebrow turning his attention back to Scarecrow.

Scarecrow stared him down, and said, "Yes, as a matter of fact."

Dorothy wanted to cover her ears after that. The arguing began and became very intense. King Jonah did not indicate whose side he was on, but just sat there in thought as Scarecrow made his case.

"Kidnapping you does not make a bad queen," Gregor argued.

"No, but sickening your people does!" Scarecrow said banging the table in anger.

Glinda squeezed Dorothy's hand as the men continued to argue. Finally, Oscar got into the fray, and Dorothy noticed that King Jonah gave Dorothy a quizzical look.

Finally, King Jonah put up his hand and silenced everyone.

He then sat forward and looked at Dorothy straight in the eye. Dorothy wished her seat would have opened at that moment and swallowed her, but met his gaze as steady as she could.

"I want to hear from the savior on this," Jonah suddenly said, and the room went silent.

Scarecrow turned and smiled at her a little, and nodded for her to speak.

"I don't think I have any say in this, your grace," Dorothy argued a little, and almost breathlessly.

Jonah suddenly looked very strong from his chair, and Dorothy could have sworn he began to glow a little.

"Yes, you do," he argued back. "You come from another world, and I want to know what you make of this."

Dorothy took a deep breath as all eyes turned towards her, and she blushed furiously.

Suddenly, the door opened, and one of Oran's advisors whispered furiously in Oran's ear, but no one was paying attention.

Oran's eyes widened and he suddenly excused himself making Scarecrow's eyes narrow in confusion.

"Do not worry about him, savior. I still want to hear what you have to say," King Jonah said waiving a hand in dismal at Oran's sudden departure.

Dorothy sat up straight and looked straight at Gregor who scowled at her a little.

But, before Dorothy could speak there was noise coming from the hall, and soldiers and guards began to arm themselves.

Everyone in the room stood as the yelling began to get louder. Scarecrow unsheathed his sword, and grabbed Dorothy and put her behind him.

The arguing got louder and louder, and Oscar went to open the door with his rifle ready, but was pushed back as the door burst open.

Dorothy's eyes widened as their stood Thoreon the cousin and advisor to Queen Ozma. Dorothy could tell he had just been traveling, and never stopped till he got here to this meeting.

He looked really angry as he looked around the room to the other royalty. His eyes then fixed on Dorothy and Scarecrow.

Guards that were still loyal to Ozma came in behind him, and Oran was now a prisoner of one of them. He looked really angry himself for the invasion.

His own guards surrounded the Oz ones, but they backed off as Oran had a knife to his throat.

Thoreon then pointed to King Jonah and yelled, "How dare you hold this council without her majesty in attendance?"

King Jonah calmly came out from behind his guards and said, "She was more than welcome, Lord Thoreon. Unfortunately, your quarantine prevented us from you receiving the message ahead of time."

Thoreon looked around again, and smiled a smile that Dorothy didn't like.

He turned to Scarecrow and Dorothy once more and laughed. "So, the rumors were true. You are straw once more."

Scarecrow growled a little, but Daemon held him back with a claw on his arm.

"What do you want, Thoreon?" Daemon demanded getting angry for the intrusion.

Thoreon laughed again. "You are all so pathetic. Do you really think we would let this take place without retaliation?"

"State your peace, then we will decide from there," Lord Gregor said lowly. "Watch yourself with those words of retaliation, Lord Thoreon. Wars have been started on much less."

Thoreon looked very pleased with himself as he sat down and poured some wine in a glass. He looked around once more, and said, "I have ten thousand Nargol just waiting at the border. Give me the savior and the shapeshifter Boren, and no one dies on your lands."

As shocked faces turned towards each other in the room Thoreon chuckled again looking pleased as he took another long sip of wine.

Dorothy felt ice-cold fear permeate through her body as she heard those words of the Nargol.