Playing The Phony In Oz (ONC - 2022)

Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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I was still dizzy after we got sucked into the pit and jumped back into Oz. I smiled when I first climbed out of the pit. No blue grass, no purple trees, and definitely no change in the lighting. Oz looked normal. Beautiful, even.

"So... how do we get to your home? Will you zap me there or do we have to take an Oz bus or something?"

He looked at me with confusion when I said 'bus'. Okay, so they don't have buses here? Fine, I can live with that. Not that I'm going to be living here for long.

"No, we would normally have to walk or go by a carriage, but now we can just hop through a teledoor. I assume you do not know what a teledoor is since it is a magical means of transport. I always have one in handy," Fredrick said, pulling out a folded piece of paper. It was a dull peppermint green and with that paper texture, it looked anything but a door. He casually unfolded the length of it to reveal a pretty life-sized cutout of a door.

He placed it on the trunk of a tree for support. Suddenly it straightened out and sprouted a knob! Fredrick twisted the knob and pulled open the teledoor revealing the cozy interior of a home. 

"Welcome to my abode!" he said with a flourish. "After you, Miss Chadwick."

Before he'd even completed his sentence, I had got in and was admiring my surroundings. The fox stepped in and closed the door behind him. Then he took it off the wall it was leaning on and it turned back into paper, letting him tell it up and put it in his pocket. The house looked old-fashioned, set somewhere in the 19th century- Or was it 20th? I didn't know. But it was quite charming. It was the warm and welcoming sort. Well, at least what seemed to be its parlor was charming.

"Take a seat, Ms. Chadwick," he offered when I remained standing for several seconds. I plopped myself into the soft cushiony chair, looking expectantly at the fox, urging him to spill the tea.

"Tea?" he asked. I blinked once. Twice. Did he just read my mind? I was about to correct him on what I had meant when he asked again, "Ms. Chadwick, do you feel fine? I asked if you'd like some tea to talk over things."

Alright, so he hadn't read my mind. "I-I sure, tea would be lovely." I don't where that came from, but it did. What on earth was I doing here agreeing politely to have tea at an unknown fox's residence? Oh right, I was dragged into this mess by a frickin' tornado and Mr. Fredrick could get me back home. 

I smiled a fake one at him, tilting my head in a calculative manner. You better start talking mister, or I'll have your head for making me wait so long.

The fox rang a tiny bell attached to the corner of the wall. I jumped when a decorated china tray, carrying teaware, floated over to us and sat itself down on the table. "This magical tea set was gifted by none other than the Wizard of Oz himself," Fredrick found the need to boast when my eyes fell in it. "Including the self-pouring tea kettle, the self-stirring spoons, the-"

"-self-explanatory tea set. I understand, Mr. Fredrick." I finished, leaving him looking a tad bit embarrassed. Never thought I'd ever see a fox looking embarrassed. But then again, in the land I was in, nothing was impossible.

"I-uh, right. There is this girl of thirteen who came to Oz with her dog Toto. Dorothy Gale, the original one, came here and landed her house on the Wicked Witch of the East, who lived in the Munchkin Country and killed her. Then she traveled to the Kingdom of the Winkies and killed the Wicked Witch of the West. She also found solutions to her companions' problems by giving Scarecrow his wit, Tinman his heart, and Lion his courage. And the Wizard sent Dorothy back home."