The Day of the Seventeen-Headed Dragon: A Legends of Oz Story (ON HIATUS)

❀ | Author's Note: Long Time, No See | ❀

"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up."

- Paul Valery

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To my readers,

     I know you have not heard from me in a while yet again. Sadly, a lot of things that have happened in the past few months have shattered my vision of the future. However, I am back now and ready to write again!

     Now, writing Chapter 3 hasn't been easy either. I'm on the 5th draft, and I'm still not fully happy with it. I think it's just going to be one of those chapters that are just "okay", but that's fine. Also, I'm not giving up on this story. I enjoy writing it, so I should post a new chapter soon!

     I didn't want to just post an update, but I wanted to post some content here as well. So, I decided to write a little story for all of you as an apology for being silent for months. Keep in mind that this story isn't a chapter, so it isn't a part of the main story. Still, I hope you all enjoy it!

With hope for a future full of stories,

The Gale Narrator

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     As the sun slowly set over the Kansas horizon, Dorothy was standing on the porch of a little cottage. She was surprised to see where she was and noticed what was present on the front lawn. There was a path of yellow bricks leading to the house and a garden full of various kinds of flowers.

     A few minutes later, as she was looking around the well-manicured lawn, a man opened the door and stepped out on the porch. However, Dorothy didn't notice him at first because she was so focused on her work. He smiled at this and came up next to her.

     "Oh, Dor, your face looks so beautiful when the sun shines on it." The man replied with a chuckle.

     Dorothy turned to face the man with wide eyes. Only Scarecrow addressed her by that name, but this man was human and didn't dress like him either. His golden blonde hair seemed to move slightly in the breeze, and his cheeks were rosy as if he was as happy as could be.

     "I'm sorry, but who are you? I don't think I recognize you." She backed away a little from him just to be safe.

     "Oh, don't be silly! You know who I am!" He noticed her still-confused expression and cleared his throat. "If you can't remember me, maybe this will remind you."

     The man took a ring off of his finger and laid it in her palm. The golden ring was encrusted with several small emeralds that went all the way around it. Dorothy looked down at her hand and noticed a ring that was the same as his.

     "So, since we have matching rings, I guess you're my husband." She stared at the ring, putting two and two together. "But who are you? What's your name?"

     Her husband still believed this was a joke, but he went along with it. "Well, does my face look familiar to you?"

     Dorothy looked into his eyes, trying to see the man behind them. They were green and gave off an air of intelligence, longing, and pure love. She knew those eyes anywhere. There was only one person in the entire universe who had those eyes.

     "Scarecrow?" Dorothy replied in surprise. "How though? You're human! Also, shouldn't you be in Oz?"

     "We moved, dear! I know how much you always wanted to come back here, so we did." He seemed glad about it. "Besides, you know how much I love the countryside."

"Aren't you the king though?" Dorothy just couldn't believe that this was really happening. "Shouldn't you be married to Zixi or another woman?"

"You mean, I was the king! We found Ozma, remember?" Scarecrow said joyfully before he frowned. "Why would I be with anyone else but you, sweetheart?"

"I don't know..."  She replied as everything started to fade away into darkness.

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The sun peaked out over Oz right when Dorothy awoke. She bolted up in bed with beads of sweat falling from her forehead. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the dream, but Scarecrow was her friend first and foremost. The king, as fond of her as he was, would never marry her. He wanted someone glamorous and highly intelligent, with something to offer in return.

"Why do I feel so upset about that fact?" Dorothy reflected, her mind racing. "He's my friend for God's sake! I should be happy for him!"

She got out of bed and paced around the room in her nightgown, trying to clear her mind. There was nothing more than friendship between them. All of the times they had interacted since she had arrived in Oz were purely between friends...

Right?

As Dorothy tried to convince herself of mere friendship with Scarecrow, the door slowly opened. It was Jellia. The maid could see the state of distress she was in and decided to say.

"Whenever you feel ready, His Majesty wants you to see him in the garden," Jellia said gently with slight concern, wondering what happened.

"Tell him that I'll be down once I get dressed, please." Dorothy cleared her throat, trying to keep herself together. "Thank you, Jellia."

The maid nodded kindly. "No problem, Dorothy." She then left, deciding to not tell the king anything.

Once Jellia was gone, Dorothy sighed and went to the window, opening it. She stuck her head out of it, feeling the cool wind and the warm dawn sunshine on her face. She was unsure and even a little afraid of her own emotions.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship..." Dorothy thought with newfound clarity, bringing her head back inside and closing the window. "I just have to hold these feelings in until I can get over it."

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This dream sequence was supposed to be a part of the new draft of Gale, but I decided against it. Gale will be more action-driven, so I felt like this whole scene would have slowed it down dramatically. However, I really liked it and didn't want to be thrown in the trash completely. So, here it is!

Also, I wanted to make it clear that Dorothy and Scarecrow weren't each other's first love, but that they were each other's true love. They were both in denial for a long time about how they felt.

Chapter 3 of this story should be posted soon if I find the courage and confidence within myself to just write, edit, and post it.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story, and I hope you all have an amazing spring!