(Dorothy Picks the Princess)

*January 15th, 1906*

*Land of Mangaboos*

Dorothy and Oscar stood in surprise as they had heard the Prince's orders and this also generated many whispers from the other Mangaboos.

"The Princess?! Is she even ripe yet?! I heard it's gonna take years for her to grow" One Man had whispered out as this could be heard by Dorothy as this only made her more curious.

"Explain, who exactly is the Princess of the Mangaboos? Is she the rightful heir to the throne?" Dorothy had asked the Prince as she was met with the young boy nodding his head in confirmation.

"Yes, She was originally meant to be ripe before me; however, I was born first which made me the ruler of the Mangaboos but I always knew my sister was the rightful heir to the throne for many years and now, I'm able to find her thanks to you and Oscar" The Prince had answered back as this made Dorothy even more intrigued to follow through with his wishes while Oscar remained cautious.

"How do we know you are not lying to us? I've heard from Glinda the Good that Mangaboos are pretty untrustworthy and tend to lead intruders into certain doom when provoked" Oscar had chimed into the conversation as he looked at the Prince rather sternly as this seemed to have annoyed him greatly.

"How stupid can you be? I'm telling the truth! I truly have a sister who is the rightful heir to the throne and just by that, I'm sentencing you and the entire party into the dungeons!" The Prince had spoken back to Oscar in a very dark and annoyed tone of voice as this shocked Dorothy, Oscar, and everyone else as many more mutters and insults erupted from the Mangaboos as Betsy, Eureka, and Zeb had watched everything from the carriage.

"Annnd we're goners. I wish I had some warm milk or maybe a can of food before our untimely deaths, oh it's such a shame" Eureka had spoken out while yawning to herself in boredom while Zeb grew more fearful of the chain of events while Betsy remained calm but was still fearful.

"Oh great! Now what we're gonna do?! We can't be put to death or put in the dungeons! It's maddening! We have so much to live for" Zeb had spoken out in fear while Betsy nodded her head in agreement as she was on the same boat as her new friend.

"You're right but I have a feeling that Dorothy may get us out of this situation, I've been friends with her for almost a year and I just know that she'll find a way.." Betsy had spoken to Zeb with a smile on her face in hopes of calming him down as the pair continued to watch the current events that were unfolding.

"W-Wait?! You don't have to do that, your majesty. It's just that Oscar doesn't trust you guys and he has good reasons so just tell us, are you lying to us or telling the truth?" Dorothy had asked the Prince in a serious tone of voice as there was silence for a few seconds and just when the Prince was about to answer the question, Gwig had come out of the crowd of Mangaboos with an angered expression on his face which made Dorothy and Oscar curious.

"P-Prince?! You mustn't awaken the Princess for it spells trouble for our prisoners and spells DEATH for you! Don't give into their demands or even your own demands" Gwig had cried out as this generated more mutters from the Mangaboos as the Glass City became filled with many whispers as this new revelation surprised Dorothy and Oscar greatly.

"What do you mean? Explain at once or else I'll send you to your death!" The Prince had responded back to Gwig in a serious tone of voice as the tone and sound of his voice instantly made the Mangaboos grow silent as there was now dead silence.

"So, if we release the Princess of the Mangaboos then this could mean his death and trouble for us?" Dorothy had thought to herself as she continued to watch the events that were unfolding.

"Well, My predictions state that once you unleash the Princess then you will walk into your death! I do not want to lose you, my majesty so do NOT unleash the Princess" Gwig had responded back to the Prince's question as this made the boy think for a few seconds before deciding on his answer.

"You honestly think that little lie was gonna make me go back on my plan?! You lied about the second rain of stones today and you've failed to make yourself useful for me today and with that, I sentence you to DEATH!" The Prince had spat out in anger and annoyance and this shocked Gwig greatly as his face grew with fear.

"W-Wait?! Death?! I'm protecting you?! I'm warning you?! It's that girl! I just know it! She was the one who came here in the first place! I'll kill her!" Gwig had spoken back to the Prince in a crazed voice as his eyes darted over at Dorothy who gave him a look of confusion as he quickly ran towards her.

"I'll Kill you!" Gwig shouted as he attempted to stab the young girl with his thorns; however, a pinkish light from Dorothy's head illuminated as this sent him crashing to a huge glass that was nearby.

"You won't kill me! I'm protected by the Good Witch of the North! It's not my fault for your constant lies!" Dorothy had spat out in annoyance as this revelation caught the Prince's attention as he turned around to speak to her.

"Good Witch of the North?! You are truly an odd person, a very odd person indeed.." The Prince had spoken to Dorothy as this made her chuckle.

"I get that alot but it's gonna take more than some cranky old man to take down this girl and that goes for you" Dorothy had spoken back to the Prince in a playful tone of voice as this made the Prince briefly smile which surprised Dorothy as she looked over to see a very angered Gwig approaching them with such speed.

"I will kill you!" Gwig had roared out in fury towards Dorothy as he attempted to get near the young girl; however, he was quickly sliced in half by Oscar who had used his sword which caused Dorothy to scream as she expected to see bones and blood; however, there was none.

"I-Impossible.." Gwig had spoken out as both halves of him had split open thus killing him for good as he fell to the ground.

"Just as I expected, he's a vegetable! It seems that the Mangaboos are truly made of vegetables' ' Oscar had spoken out in surprise while Dorothy remained surprised at this revelation.

"Of course, we're all made of vegetables down here, does the same apply to you, Dorothy, and the others, no?" The Prince had spoken back to Oscar in a curious tone of voice as he was met with Oscar shaking his head in denial.

"No, we're made of meat and the same goes for the others on top of the Earth but I must ask, will the sorcerer truly be dead?" Oscar had spoken back in a rather calm tone of voice as he was met with the Prince nodding his head in confirmation.

"Yes, he shall wither away into nothingness and after that, we shall plant him one more and new Gwigs and sorcerers could take his place but as for now, follow me, and the same for the others.." The Prince had answered back as he motioned his hands for Dorothy and the others to follow him along and with that, Jim had resumed moving once more as he carried Zeb, Eureka, and Betsy along with him.

The journey to the Royal Gardens didn't take too long as everyone had arrived at their destination where the Princess was currently growing.

"So, this is where the princess or whatever is at, right?" Zeb had asked Dorothy while speaking from the carriage as he was met with his cousin nodding her head in confirmation.

"I see, well, please be careful and we don't know what that Prince is plotting" Zeb had spoken out to Dorothy once more as he continued to watch his cousin and Oscar walking with the Prince.

"So, suppose we pick the Royal Princess, right? I bet she's already ripe and ready to go" Oscar had asked the Prince as he was met with him nodding his head in confirmation.

"Yes, my sister is definitely ready to be born or rather picked according to your terms but I'll leave it to you and the girl to pick her" The Prince had answered back as he had taken a few steps back to give room for Dorothy and Oscar to do their job.

"All Right! Let's pick her so she can become the rightful ruler over the Mangaboos!" Dorothy had spoken out in joy as she and Oscar began to pull and to their surprise, the Princess wasn't heavy at all as both Dorothy and Oscar managed to pick her up and gently placed her to the ground.

"S-She's beautiful…" Dorothy uttered out as she blushed madly at the beauty of the princess.

"The Princess appeared to be in her twenties and had very beautiful blonde hair that resembled Dorothy's bob cut and her facial features were very beautiful and young.

"My name is Aurora. I thank you very much for picking me.." Aurora had spoken out in a sweet tone of voice as this brought smiles to the faces of Dorothy and Oscar as the pair bowed down in respect.

"We salute you, your royal highness!" Oscar had cried out in joy as he kissed her hand in respect and during this Aurora had looked over and turned her attention towards her brother and glared at him.

"Sir, you've wronged me greatly! I've never been ashamed to even call you my brother! I've been ready for picking for the past week!" Aurora had spoken out to her brother in cold fury and in a voice much more colder as this made the Prince grow rather fearful.

"I..I'm sorry, I didn't know or aware you were already ripe and perhaps if there was a sign.." The Prince had spoken back; however, Aurora wasn't having any excuses.

"Give me the star of royalty, now! And after that, I want you to kill yourself! Nobody wants a sad pathetic excuse of a vegetable like you around here and I will ensure that you will NEVER grow AGAIN" Aurora had spat back at her brother in a very nasty tone of voice as this shocked Dorothy greatly as she began to speak.

"Wait, he's your brother and I'm sure that.." Dorothy had spoken out; however, she was cut off by Aurora.

"Silence, foolish girl. I'm talking to my brother and any more interruptions from you will be fatal.." Aurora had commanded Dorothy as the girl quickly grew quiet which made the princess smile.

"And as for you, fool. Give me the star and kill yourself! I NEVER want to see your ugly face again" Aurora had spat out in disgust as she awaited for the Prince to do what he was told.

"O..Okay.." The Prince said in a depressed tone of voice as he handed over the star and with that, he put his head down, slouched over, and proceeded to walk away from the garden and thus he was never seen nor heard from again.

"Aurora is so cruel…was Gwig truly right?! Did we just walk into our deaths.." Dorothy had thought to herself as she looked up to see Aurora smiling at everything that was going on as the Princess began to speak.

"Well than, I guess I should deal with you disgusting invaders next so follow me if you wanna continue living your pathetic lives.." Aurora had spoken out as she began to walk on the air above everyone as if she's some goddess which annoyed and angered Dorothy greatly while Oscar tried to calm her down.

"Dorothy, we mustn't allow our anger to dictate our actions, we don't know what the Princess is capable of.." Oscar had advised Dorothy as she nodded her head.

"I know but I'm just tired of these bad rulers trying to kill us for things that's not our fault!" Dorothy had answered back as she began to walk towards the carriage while Oscar followed her; however, this was seen and heard by Aurora as she smiled.

"Foolish girl, I will ensure that you'll regret coming to the my precious Land of the Mangaboos for I'll punish you greater than anybody has ever punished you before…" Aurora had spoken out to herself as she continued to walk towards the Glass Palace as if she truly was some Goddess that was a force to be reckoned with.