(King Dox of Foxville)

*June 15th, 1906*

*Foxville*

One hour had passed since the journey to Oz started and there, Dorothy, Button-Bright, and Shaggy Man continued walking across the upcoming village.

"It seems we're getting lost or something. All I see is buildings and nothing else!" Shaggy Man spoke to his friends while observing the strange buildings.

"We're not in Kansas anymore. I have never seen such a town like this and what's more, is that there are fox statues everywhere" Dorothy responded in a confused manner while continuing to observe the strange sight that she was seeing.

Before long they saw ahead of them a fine big arch spanning the road, and when they came nearer they found that the arch was beautifully carved and decorated with rich colors. A row of peacocks with spread tails ran along the top of it, and all the feathers were gorgeously painted. In the center was a large fox's head, and the fox wore a shrewd and knowing expression and had large spectacles over its eyes and a small golden crown with shiny points on top of its head.

"Fox. I see a fox" Button-Bright simply spoke in wonder while pointing at the statue which caught the attention of Dorothy and Shaggy Man as they walked toward the young boy.

"We must be in Oz or at least a country that borders it. I never seen any statues dedicated to foxes before in my lifetime" Dorothy spoke in a tone of wonder while Shaggy Man nodded in agreement.

"I'm with you. Talk about strange indeed! Maybe the people in this town might help us with directions to this Oz place so let's explore around the town to see if someone might help us" Shaggy Man advised Dorothy while the young girl nodded in an understanding way.

"You're right. Let's see if.." Dorothy responded; however, her words were cut off by a group of soldiers surrounding them in a circle which proved to be troublesome for our gang.

The soldiers were all foxes dressed in uniforms. They wore green jackets and yellow pantaloons, and their little round caps and their high boots were a bright red color. Also, there was a big red bow tied about the middle of each long, bushy tail. Each soldier was armed with a wooden sword having an edge of sharp teeth set in a row, and the sight of these teeth at first caused Dorothy to shudder.

"Halt! Speak your names at once! Who dares to trespass Foxville!" The Captain commanded our heroes while the other fox soldiers held their spears toward them.

"My name is Dorothy Gale" Dorothy responded politely and formally while staring at the fox soldiers with their weapons pointed at her.

"My name is Shaggy Man but if the man is too much then simply call me Shaggy, if you must" Shaggy Man also responded in the same formal voice that Dorothy had responded with.

"Button-Bright" Button-Bright simply responded casually while the fox captain watched them with interest before looking over to see Toto growling at them.

"I'm Captain Rex of the Fox Army. Why have you stepped into our village? Speak at once or forever hold your peace in prison!" Captain Rex commanded the group in a rather authoritarian voice while eyeing who he deemed trespassers.

"We're sorry for causing you and the other foxes trouble. We are on our way to Oz, specifically the Emerald City; however, we seem to be lost and we were wondering if you had any directions" Dorothy responded formally while Shaggy Man and Button-Bright nodded in confirmation which in return caused Captain Rex to stare at them for a few more seconds before speaking once more.

"Emerald City? Yes, we're aware of the area; however, we don't talk to Princess Ozma or any officials due to the former King Pastoria wronging our king and our people many years ago" Captain Rex responded seriously while this managed to surprise Dorothy as she let out a gasp.

"Pastoria?! How did he wrong the people of this village? Ozma always tells me he was a good guy before his death" Dorothy asked the captain curiously while this made Rex turn the direction towards the palace in a timely fashion.

"That's not for me to tell. I'm only the captain of the Foxville army; however, we could bring you to our king. He could answer any questions you might have" Captain Rex responded while Dorothy nodded in an understanding manner as she smiled.

"Alright. Let's see the king. If we can figure out what wrong Pastoria did in his lifetime then maybe we can heal whatever hurt this village has with the people of the Emerald City" Dorothy spoke to Rex while looking over at Button-Bright and Shaggy Man as they too had agreed to tag along.

"I don't know what everyone is talking about but I guess I'll tag along" Button-Bright spoke out with curiosity while stretching his arms.

"Alright, follow me to the palace and all should be well, my dear friends or rather prisoners.." Captain Rex responded while chuckling to himself before the army and our heroes began to venture toward the royal place of Foxville.

The soldiers guided Dorothy and the others toward the palace and along the way, they entered the town of Foxville which consisted of many beautiful houses of carved, beautiful, marble colors.

The decorations were also beautiful as they consisted of peacocks, turkeys, geese, and other such animals.

"Such lovely foxes. I hope we don't scare them. We truly didn't come to harm them" Dorothy commented to herself while observing the many foxes that were watching them from the windows while some of them were watching while doing their daily routines.

"You heard what the captain said? We might be prisoners! Surely we must have done something wrong on our way here" Shaggy Man whispered in Dorothy's ear while the young girl shrugged the comment off.

"Nonsense. We simply asked for directions but they seemed nice so we shouldn't worry about anything bad happening to us' ' Dorothy whispered in response while feeling a tug on her shoulder which belonged to Button-Bright as she looked at the boy.

"What's a prisoner?" Button-Bright asked the girl curiously while waiting for a response as Dorothy began to speak.

"You'll find out soon enough…" Dorothy responded casually while she and the others continued to walk towards the royal fox palace.

"Alright, once we enter these doors then you must do as I say, okay?" Captain Rex advised the heroes before opening the door to reveal a royal foyer that consisted of many paintings and at the end of the room, the King of Foxville sat on his throne.

"So these are the visitors that I've been hearing about. Please come this way!" King Dox spoke rather joyfully to our heroes as Captain Rex and some of the soldiers guided Dorothy and the others closer to the king before stopping just a few inches away from his throne.

"So, what brought you here, strangers?" King Dox asked the trio as Dorothy began to speak up.

"Well, me and my friends were on our way to the Emerald City and I was going there to visit Ozma early since her birthday is coming up while my other friend, Button-Bright seeks to be reunited with his family, and as for Shaggy Man, he's just tagging along" Dorothy responded formally while her two friends nodded in a confirmation which further caught the king's interest.

"Ozma? Emerald City? Interesting indeed. I didn't know Princess Ozma's birthday was coming in the past few days; however, we couldn't care less due to the former King Pastoria wronging our people years ago.." King Dox responded sternly, while Dorothy's curiosity only grew as she pressed the issue further.

"What wrong has Pastoria done? I'm curious to know. If we can figure out the issue, then maybe Ozma might patch things up, and everyone can be happy with each other." Dorothy asked King Dox, her voice filled with more curiosity.

She glanced over to see the soldiers glaring at her, which caused the girl to refocus her attention on the king.

"Well, the former king and my father played a game of chess and you see, Pastoria cheated and this sparked the disdain that we have towards the people of the Emerald City. It's shocking, isn't it?" King Fox responded with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Cheated!? What type of king would cheat?! That's quite rare from where I come from!" Shaggy Man cried out in shock while Button-Bright on the other hand, looked confused as ever.

"Cheated? I wasn't aware of this but with respect, refuse to believe it. I always heard Pastoria was a good man and I can vouch due to me being Ozma's friend and even right-hand princess' ' Dorothy spoke to King Fox in response to what she just heard while continuing to stare him down; however, this only made King Dox smile.

"You must think foxes are tricksters, don't you? It's bad to assume things based on what fairy tales you've read. Just my little advice" King Dox responded to Dorothy with a chuckle in his voice while Dorothy shook her head.

"No, Your Majesty. I'm not assuming all foxes are tricksters. I'm just stating that I don't believe your story, perhaps there was a misunderstanding and if so, I would like to personally invite you and the rest of Foxville to Ozma's party" Dorothy responded in the same polite voice while this made King Dox think for a moment before finally settling on an answer.

"Fine, I shall attend Ozma's party and settle this nonsense once and for all; however, I have one final gift to show my gratitude.." King Dox responded with a smile on his face which in return, caused Dorothy and her friends to smile back as they waited for whatever was coming to them.

"Little boy, come here for a second.." King Dox commanded Button-Bright while motioning his fingers to direct him to his throne and with that, the young boy did what he was told and walked forward before stopping at a good distance.

"Do you like foxes?" King Dox asked the boy while he waited for an answer.

"Don't Know" Button-Bright responded casually which made the king raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"You don't know? Well, let me see if I can fix that for you.." King Dox responded before letting out a smile. King Dox began to extend his hand toward the boy which caused a red flash of energy to appear.

"Let me do you a great favor. I'll turn your head into a fox and don't worry, you shall speak just like us" King Dox spoke to the boy thus causing Button-Bright's head to turn into a fox which shocked Dorothy and Shaggy Man.

"Wait, why?! I'm sure nobody doesn't want to be a fox besides a fox so please change him back" Dorothy asked King Dox while walking towards the boy to see his head now being a fox before glaring back at the king with serious eyes.

"Oh no, don't look at me with those eyes. They remind me of a certain someone but that's not important. What's more important is that I can't undo anything I cast a spell upon and besides, this boy shall enjoy foxes even more!" King Dox responded while laughing to himself which in return, caused the other guards to laugh along with him.

"I don't wanna be a fox.." Button-Bright spoke to King Dox before quietly sobbing to himself which caused Dorothy to comfort him by hugging him warmly.

"Making a kid cry? Shame on you! We're leaving at once! We'll go to Emerald City and see if Ozma can change him back." Dorothy spoke to King Dox once more with a stern voice while the king smiled back.

"Okay, I'll allow you people to roam free but don't expect Ozma to always help you in times like these but my guards shall direct you to the exit of the village. I bid everyone farewell" King Dox spoke to our heroes for the final time before getting up from his throne and walking back to his office.

"Don't worry, you'll get your human head back. I promise you that.." Dorothy reminded Button-Bright while continuing to give the young boy comfort.

"Maybe it was my love magnet that saved us from becoming prisoners but at what cost?" Shaggy Man thought to himself. After a few minutes of rest.

Captain Rex guided Dorothy and the others toward the exit of the village and there, laid a path for the gang to continue their adventure.

"You people got lucky. King Dox usually sends trespassers into the dungeons but don't expect the same treatment again, okay?" Captain Rex advised Dorothy and the others while this was met with Dorothy smiling back.

"Goodbye and don't worry. We don't plan on coming back here anyways but I hope King Dox and the rest of you people come to Ozma's party" Dorothy spoke to Captain Rex for the final time before resuming her adventure while Rex waved them goodbye as they walked the road.

The gang had officially walked the road and direction which was provided by Captain Rex.

"I don't have much confidence in Button-Bright's love for foxes showing once he returns to normal.." Shaggy Man whispered to Dorothy while the young girl nodded in agreement.

"You're right. I bet Button-Bright feels terrible right now but that's why we must reach the Emerald City where everyone can be happy.." Dorothy whispered back before smiling at him which in return made Shaggy Man smile back.

The gang continued to walk for an hour before stumbling upon a rather interesting site and that was a being that resembled a young girl dancing.

"What's this curious sight.." Shaggy Man whispered out with curiosity in his voice while Dorothy nodded in agreement.

"I'm wondering that as well but why is she crying?.." Dorothy whispered back while continuing to look at the dancing woman and this lasted a few more seconds before this was noticed by the woman who still was teary-eyed.

"Um…P-Please don't tell my father…" The woman spoke out in a rather shy tone of voice.

Who exactly is this woman, the same woman who also watched our heroes?!