Chapter 30

I do not own anything from Wizard of Oz.

Sorry for the grammar and spelling errors. I did see the their* instead of there. Yikes! I didn't proofread well.

Enjoy!

"You will die before you come near my wife!" Scarecrow said viciously as Thoreon sat there with a smile as Scarecrow pointed his sword towards his face.

Thoreon put up his hand and said, "I have ten thousand Nargol waiting for my signal if you don't do it. I know none of you have the forces for that."

Dorothy, again, felt the cold fear course through her veins at the mention of the Nargol. She wondered how Ozma was able to get so many, and that they even still existed.

"I knew Drigka had been good for something," Thoreon said taking another sip of wine.

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife as everyone went silent for a moment. Most in there looked to Scarecrow for guidance.

"What do you need the savior for, Thoreon?" King Jonah finally asked. "Wasn't Scarecrow's capturing enough?"

Thoreon looked over the other king steadily, and said, "No. We were planning to keep Dorothy Gale prisoner forever and keep the emerald away from her, but our plans did not work out that way. We know how powerful the emerald is, and if you want to live you need to give it and her to us."

Dorothy looked over at Scarecrow who was about to run Thoreon through with the sword.

"Give us the savior, and the people of Oz will be healed. You can't win this, no matter what you do," Thoreon said looking back at Scarecrow. "Try to attack us, and we will release the Nargol on you."

Dorothy stood there and thought for a moment. So, turning Scarecrow back to straw may have been a waste after all. Their original plan of attack had just been thwarted. Dorothy felt so helpless for a moment. She almost gave up right then and there.

Everyone looked over each other, and finally Scarecrow had to make a decision. He looked over to Oran who nodded at him with a steady gaze.

He then looked over at Oscar, and then King Jonah. King Jonah's eyes narrowed. He knew….oh yes….he knew. Gregor stood back, and then finally nodded to Scarecrow.

No matter what they did, they knew the lands were in grave danger from the Nargol. If there were ten thousand now, that meant ten thousand more were on their way.

Scarecrow walked up to Thoreon who sat there with a smirk.

Scarecrow calmly leaned into the cousin and advisor of the queen.

"You will not take my wife," he said lowly. "Oz will be mine once more."

Screams from the women in the room echoed through the halls as Thoreon's head fell to the floor in one fell swoop of the sword.

Hearing the screams, soldiers, and guards quickly entered the room with weapons drawn.

Dorothy felt nauseous as the sickening sound of sword through skin, muscle, and bone made a loud cracking noise. Dorothy was able to catch the look of shock on his face as his head separated from his body.

"Well, that ended well," Lion joked, but hushed when Leandra elbowed him.

Dorothy had to cover her mouth and turn away from what she just witnessed, but knew that Scarecrow would never give her up without a fight.

Scarecrow then picked up Thoreon's head and handed it to a shaking advisor.

"Take this to your queen as a warning as to what to expect from me here on out," he said.

Scarecrow looked around at the shocked faces in the room, and to a smiling Oran.

"The Nargol are powerful, and will win this if we don't join together. It will not just be Oz, and maybe Mifkit. It will be your lands that she will go after as well," Scarecrow said.

Jonah looked around thoughtfully the shock of what Scarecrow just did clearly etched on his glowing face.

"Scarecrow, you will receive reinforcements from me. I cannot speak for Lord Gregor though. This was an act of war. I hope you are prepared for the consequences."

"I am, your grace," Scarecrow said sheathing his sword once more.

Oran ordered Thoreon's body taken out of the room, and the mess cleaned up.

"They will attack soon," Oran said to Scarecrow.

Scarecrow nodded in agreement, and said, "I know, we need to prepare now."

Suddenly, Tin Man and Ami came through the door and wrinkled his nose at the sight.

Tin Man bowed a little, and said, "Boren has escaped, and was able to head north towards Oz. I guess Thoreon released him."

"He will not attack us. He will just make his escape for Oz," Scarecrow said to the others. "Ami, I want you to stay with Dorothy for safety sake."

Dorothy made a face at Scarecrow who shook his head at her not to question him.

"Yes, Scarecrow King," Ami answered.

"We are going to get soldiers ready as soon as possible," Oran said.

"Start evacuating your people. I am pretty sure Ozma will want vengeance for what I did. We will try to keep them off Mifkit as much as possible," Scarecrow commented.

Oran walked up to Scarecrow, and said, "I made my choice, my friend. You have my military at your disposal. I will send out the orders now to have my people take safety in the hills."

King Jonah finally spoke up. "Scarecrow, I would like to speak to you alone."

Everyone in the room quieted, and Scarecrow bowed a little. "Yes, your grace."

"Now please," King Jonah said with frustration clearly etched on his glowing face.

Dorothy and Scarecrow shared a look for a moment, and Scarecrow nodded to her slightly. Dorothy had to admit she was not going to argue getting out of that room as they were trying to remove Thoreon's body and it was making her nauseous again.

She could handle death, but that made her ill.

The room cleared, and Dorothy and Scarecrow held hands for a moment before she exited with Ami at her side. Since Boren escaped, he was probably making his way to Oz, but Scarecrow could not take that chance no matter how much Dorothy protested.

Boren was still highly dangerous, and if he did manage to make it to Oz then Scarecrow was sure Ozma would restore his powers or worse.

Oscar said Aslan and the others were out searching for him now, but Scarecrow had a feeling he would have help with his escape thanks to the now deceased Thoreon.

He stood and waited for King Jonah to speak.

King Jonah looked around the now bloody room, and shook his head in disgust.

"You have brought war onto a peaceful land," Jonah began as an accusation.

Scarecrow narrowed his eyes in anger, and said, "No, Oran made that choice when he helped rescue me, and I sought his permission before killing the 'ambassador.'"

Scarecrow made sure he emphasized ambassador with disgust.

Jonah shook his glowing head, and said, "Yes, that is true, I cannot argue that one. It is funny how enemies can become friends."

Scarecrow nodded and said, "Oran and I still disagree on much, but he realized the errors of his ways, and so did I."

Jonah raised a white eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Scarecrow scoffed. "What do you want from me Jonah? This will be my second war in five years. I have every right to take back Oz no matter what the council says."

"Yes, you do. However, have already given my blessings for an alliance, I want to know about the Nargol, and how Ozma could possibly acquire them. I thought they were from Middle Earth."

"They are. I have no idea how she was able to acquire them. The only thing I can think of is they have been hiding in the shadows of the realm since the demise of Drigka, and she used her magic to birth more of them," Scarecrow explained. He was getting anxious to start getting ready for war.

Jonah stood there thoughtfully for a moment, and looked at the blood spilled on the floor.

"I have to admit Scarecrow, before you were overwhelmed with Drigka, you had complete control over this realm, including Ordaran whether he liked it or not," Jonah said.

"Thank you, your grace," Scarecrow said smiling slightly.

"You should have never abdicated," Jonah commented to him.

"I had no choice."

"You are contradicting yourself. You did indeed have a choice no matter what your scrolls say. You chose to walk away for the savior."

Scarecrow looked on at him steadily. "I do not disagree. I must say fate may have taken another road if I challenged Ozma."

"However, I must make a challenge," Scarecrow continued.

"What is that?"

"Where were you when I needed your help?" Scarecrow began feeling the old anger returning. "When I had to…."

Jonah's ice blue eyes flashed in anger. "Do you really think that I would help and risk my people to Ordaran for a citizen of Oz?"

Scarecrow felt his rage grow once more. "It is not about that! It is about the time that Drigka took my kingdom, and I had to receive help from across the sea to finally defeat him!"

Jonah bristled a little at Scarecrow's words. Scarecrow could clearly see the guilt that etched on Jonah's features.

"I begged and begged for allies, and received nothing in return," Scarecrow said angrily. "Nothing but silence. Nothing because those who I thought would stand with me instead looked the other way when Nargol moved across their lands."

Jonah stood there and shook his head. "You have no idea what Drigka put us through as well."

Scarecrow laughed bitterly, and began to turn to leave.

"You go and live in your own little world, with nothing wrong, and keep ignoring reality. I will go and fight for my sick people, and take Oz back into my hands where it belongs," Scarecrow said.

Jonah watched as Scarecrow turned away and walked out of the room.

…

Dorothy comforted Khali who cried over her brother escaping. Tin Man stood nearby and waited to be needed if necessary.

Khali sniffed into a tissue that Dorothy handed her.

"My brother is a good man. I don't understand what happened to him," Khali said her voice catching as she sobbed.

Dorothy put her arm around her shoulder as Tin Man stood stoically in the corner.

"He is still a good man. I have seen it for myself, but he has lost his way, and we need to find a way to bring him back," Dorothy said soothingly.

Khali looked at her and smiled through her tears.

"Thank you for being so understanding, Dorothy. It means so much to me how you and Scarecrow have been so nice despite what my brother has done," she said still sniffing.

Dorothy smiled back at her. "You are not responsible for your brothers actions."

Dorothy sat there while Khali continued to sob, and Ami entered the room as well and offered some comfort.

Scarecrow came in not long after, and Tin Man and he were talking lowly for a while.

Scarecrow came over and offered Khali some words of encouragement making her smile.

Dorothy and Scarecrow shared long looks, and he finally said, "If you all do not mind then I am going to steal Dorothy away for the evening. Ami you are dismissed for the night."

Ami bowed slightly and Tin Man nodded taking Dorothy's place.

Scarecrow led Dorothy out of the room, and Oz guards bowed as they past them in the halls along with Mifkit guards.

Dorothy still cringed slightly at being bowed to. She hated it with a passion.

They finally entered their private quarters, and both seemed to be relieved to finally have some private time together, because they both knew that would be few and far between soon.

They embraced for a while, and Dorothy finally said, "I can tell when you want to talk alone."

Scarecrow chuckled. "I need to learn to be more unpredictable to you. Keeps it spicy."

That made Dorothy laugh as she began to get her dress off. She was sick of that thing.

Scarecrow stared longingly at her as she did so, and helped her when she needed. Her skin was so soft, and he cursed his straw.

After she was done, they sat on the bed, and Dorothy knew Scarecrow being straw didn't require sleep or food, and she missed that.

"The Nargol should be here any day now," Scarecrow began.

Dorothy sat there quiet and in thought for a moment, and started to speak but hesitated.

"Speak. You know I love your advice," Scarecrow said searching her eyes as they flitted around the room, and she frowned.

"You know I never question your leadership…."

Dorothy hesitated again.

"But…."

She sighed, and looked at him. "Did you really have to do that today?"

Scarecrow then sighed. "You know I don't mind that you are questioning it, but I have no regrets. Glinda has gotten word people are dying."

Dorothy gasped a little, but still held her ground. "Sometimes the answer to justice is not more justice," she said steadying her gaze.

Scarecrow took a deep breath, and asked for patience.

"Dorothy, if I question it then I will not be a strong leader. So, I am going to disagree and say that I do not regret answering justice with justice with Thoreon."

Dorothy shook her head and looked away. Scarecrow then cupped her face and forced her to look at him.

"I know this is really hard on you, and I understand that. How Ozma was able to obtain more Nargol to come and haunt us once I do not know, but I need you to stay strong and stand by my side," Scarecrow said.

The tears began to wet her eyes. "We have already lost so much," she whispered. "I have been questioning that myself."

Scarecrow looked away for a moment. "I know, and that is why I did what I did today."

Dorothy scoffed a little, and stood releasing herself from his grasp. Scarecrow watched as she went to the window and stared out into the night.

She wrapped her arms around midsection and said with conviction. " Then if you are going to feel that way, I am going to kill Ozma. She is mine and there will be no one else to take her life except me."

Scarecrow almost reeled back in shock at her words. That was the most confident in her words that he had ever heard her.

"If we are going to dish out this kind of justice, then she will be at my mercy," Dorothy commented again turning to Scarecrow when he didn't answer her right away.

Scarecrow gathered his thoughts and stood. He walked over to his wife and put his gloved hands on her shoulders.

"Then I need you to be the leader that you were meant to be," he said looking her straight in the eye. "Do not question what is in here, and here."

He then pointed to her forehead and her heart.

Dorothy looked up at him, and her hard eyes softened as he held her.

"What are you planning?" She asked.

Scarecrow told her, and reluctantly she agreed, but it had to be done.

…

So, this will be it for about another week since we are moving.

I have already outlined the next chapter, and if you want to see Dorothy Gale as a real badass then you will see that next chapter.