Iris in Oz

Huzzah! My first original story on here!

*Does*this count as an original story? I don't know.

## Chapter 1

"Iris, would you bring Mrs. Cook's groceries to her, please?" Mrs. Smith asked her 12 year old daughter, Iris. "I would do it myself, but I have to make dinner for the both of us."

"Sure, Mom!" Iris said maybe too enthusiastically with a bright smile on her face.

Mrs. Smith frowned as Iris picked up the groceries and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder before she went out their section of the apartment's door.

"Iris, I know more than anyone that you've been going through a rough time recently," She said. "I want you to know that I didn't break up with Jim for any reason that would be your fault. Things just...didn't work out between us."

Iris said nothing. She just brushed her mother's hand aside while looking down at the ground and went out the door. As she did, the Smiths' albino pet cat, Snowstorm, followed her.

~

Iris carried the groceries moved sadly and slowly to the apartment's elevator, with Snowstorm following close behind. The cat even followed Iris into the elevator when she opened it and stepped inside.

Once Snowstorm was inside, she started rubbing her whole body against Iris' legs, almost seeming to be an effort in cheering her up.

Iris laughed, getting a small smile on her face, and picked up Snowstorm, petting her gently.

"Oh, Snowy," She said with a sigh, looking down at Snowstorm as the cat purred. "Why can't things go back to the way they used to be?"

With one hand, Iris stood on her tip toes and pressed the button at the top that led to the fifth floor.

Nothing happened.

Confused, Iris pressed the button again, while Snowy meowed loudly in order to announce that she wanted to continue to be pet.

Still, nothing happened.

Now a bit frustrated, Iris pressed the button multiple times, while Snowy continued to meow loudly.

At first, it seemed like nothing was still happening, but after a few seconds, the elevator started to move upwards, startling both Iris and Snowy and causing Snowy to scramble out of Iris' arms and to the floor.

When the elevator stopped moving, the doors opened wide. Instead of still being in the apartment, however...

It seemed like both Iris and Snowy were in a world straight out of Iris' favorite book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

## Chapter 2

Iris' eyes were wide with wonder.

"Woah," She said, almost in a whisper, before she turned to Snowy with a grin slowly forming on her face. "I can't believe it! Snowy, we're in Oz!!"

Snowy looked outside, soon looking unimpressed.

"I don't see what's so special about it, really," She said with a Posh accent. "It's just- Wait. Did I just talk!?"

While Iris had her jaw dropped and eyes wide because of this sudden revelation, her eyes soon lit up, and her dropped jaw turned into a huge grin.

"Snowy, do you know what this means!?" She asked Snowy.

"It means that I can finally say that I utterly despise Meow Mix now?" Snowy deadpanned.

"No, silly kitty!" Iris said, giggling. "It means that you're like Billina the chicken now!"

"I'm like her, huh?" Snowy said, shooting a withering look at Iris. "Tell me, Iris, do I peck at the ground and eat worms?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly," Snowy said. "Besides, why would I want to be a chicken in the first place? If I were a chicken, I wouldn't be as elegant and regal as I am now."

Iris rolled her eyes at that.

"Don't you want to go outside and look around?" She asked Snowy, getting excited again. "I know that you're not impressed by Oz now, but I have a feeling you will be once you see what it has to offer!"

Snowy looked at Iris for a bit, noticing how excited she was, and sighed.

"Well, alright," She said. "But only because I'm curious."

Iris practically squealed in delight, making Snowy cringe, and raced outside, a huffy Snowy following close behind.

"Iris, how could you!?" She exclaimed. "You know that cats like me have sensitive hearing!"

Unbeknownst to both Snowy and Iris, the further away they got from the elevator and the groceries, the more they seemed to literally fade from existence. When the two of them got far enough away, the two items faded away entirely, leaving only a dirt path in its place.

Also unbeknownst to Iris and Snowy was that two little creatures seemed to be following them. At first glance, they appeared to be mice, but if one looked closer, they seemed to also be made of shadow, which only made it easier for them to slip in and out of the shadows as they followed the two newcomers.

One of the mice was also whisper-talking to nothing, or so it seemed.

~

Eventually, both Iris and Snowy saw a fat, little old woman on the green grass that was beside the dirt path Iris and Snowy were walking on. She had a large book in her lap and also had her eyes closed, seemingly concentrating on something. She did open an eye, however, while Iris stood agape while looking at her and Snowy was rolling her eyes at Iris' behavior.

"So, I guess that you're just going to do this to every book person you meet, huh?" Snowy deadpanned.

"Why, hello there, little one!" The little old woman said suddenly, startling both Iris and Snowy. "Might I ask why you were looking at me all funny a few seconds ago?"

"Oh, sorry about that!" Iris said, looking a bit sheepish. "I just remember you from my favorite book of all time, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! You're The Good Witch of the North, right?"

"Indeed I am!" The Good Witch of the North(the little old woman) said, smiling. "Ah, I see that Mr. Baum made his book about us as he promised a few years ago. Good for him!"

"Mr. Baum?" Iris said, her eyes lighting up. "You mean L. Frank Baum, the guy who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and many more stories? You knew him!?"

"I did," The Good Witch of the North said. "He was a nice man, all things considered, if a bit eccentric. I never knew why he thought-"

The Good Witch of the North was suddenly interrupted by Iris squealing. Snowy, meanwhile, was doing the cat's equivalent of facepalming at her owner's behavior.

"Look, this is a perfectly nice chat and all, but we really need to get going," Snowy said, interrupting Iris' squealing. "I, for one, would really like to be-"

"Is there anything we could help you with!?" Iris suddenly asked The Good Witch of the North, interrupting Snowy and startling both her and The Good Witch of the North.

"Um...why, yes, there is something you could help me with!" The Good Witch of the North said. "To the right of me is a small Munchkin town that has a little farmer's market in the center of it. Could you be a dear and get two apples, three tomatoes, five pears, six cucumbers, and one bundle of grapes for me from there?"

The Good Witch of the North then waved her hand, and in a burst of magic, a wooden basket with some of Oz's currency inside it was in front of Iris and Snowy.

"Sure!" Iris said with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm, picking up the basket with a big smile on her face.

Snowy, meanwhile, was less than thrilled about doing this.

"And we have to do this for you, why?" She deadpanned.

"Well, you don't have to," The Good Witch of the North said. "It would be nice if you did, though! Especially since I have to figure out why one of my spells isn't working, so I'm probably not going to have time to shop in a while."

"Don't worry, we'll help you out!" Iris said with the same overenthusiasm she displayed earlier.

"Thank you, dearies!" The Good Witch of the North said, smiling. "Now, if you excuse me, I must go back to trying to cast my spell again."

"Okay!" Iris said, waving to The Good Witch of the North and then turning around and starting to walk to the town. "Come on, Snowy, let's go get some groceries!"

Snowy rolled her eyes and mumbled something about how humans would be happier if they learned how to be as independent as cats were, but came along with Iris regardless.

~

After some shenanigans involving Iris getting overenthusiastic about meeting some Munchkins for the first time and Snowy trying to catch the shadow mice that were still following them, Iris and Snowy eventually got the fruits and vegetables that they needed using the currency in the basket and began to go back to The Good Witch of the North.

When they came back to her, she was snapping her fingers seemingly aimlessly and muttering what seemed to be gibberish. On the third snap, however, what seemed to be a translucent mirror appeared in the air next to her, and when she saw it, a celebratory grin formed on her face.

"Finally!" She exclaimed. "I've been trying for over four days in order to make this spell work again!"

Snowy saw that Iris was too amazed by The Good Witch of the North's magic to say anything and cleared her throat, making both Iris and The Good Witch of the North look at her.

"We have what you wanted," Snowy said simply.

"Excellent!" The Good Witch of the North said. "Can you give the basket to me now, dearie?"

"Sure," Iris said a bit less enthusiastically, bending down and giving The Good Witch of the North her basket.

"Thank you, dearie," The Good Witch of the North said, smiling gratefully. "Oh, before you go, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," Iris said, biting back a sigh.

"Well, I suppose you could," Snowy said, rolling her eyes. "Make it quick, though. I would like to return to our home as soon as possible."

"That's the thing that I want to talk to you about," The Good Witch of the North said.

"Oh?" Snowy said, raising an eyebrow.

"You see, for some reason, it's been getting harder and harder for people from Earth to get back to it once they arrive in Oz," The Good Witch of the North said. "Usually, when they arrive in Oz and explore it, their way of getting to Oz vanishes from existence, and only the Silver Slippers in The Emerald City can get them back home."

"So that means we have to go to The Emerald City in order to get back home?" Iris asked.

The Good Witch of the North nodded.

"Unfortunately, due to my powers mysteriously weakening, I cannot bring you to The Emerald City myself," She said. "I can, however, tell you to find and follow The Yellow Brick Road and give you this."

The Good Witch of the North then mumbled something under her breath and pointed at Iris, causing some magic to go inside her and for her to glow for a bit afterward.

"I have just given you three wishes," The Good Witch of the North said. "Now, you can wish for anything relating to you or Oz and its people. The wishes would also allow you to wish to go home, but unfortunately, I can't include that in the things the wishes can do now because of my weakened powers."

"Now, The Yellow Brick Road starts a bit beyond the town that you just went to," She continued. "You can't miss it. Good luck, dearies!"

Iris' face broke into a wide grin.

"Thank you!" She said, turning around in order to go towards the town. "Come on, Snowy, let's go!"

"...Fine," Snowy said, sighing. "Things just can't go my way, can they?"

And so, Iris and Snowy began their quest to go to The Emerald City, while still being followed by the shadow mice as they were.

## Chapter 3

When Iris and Snowy arrived at The Yellow Brick Road, they found shadow mice working on it, with a suspiciously familiar(at least to Iris) and literal life-sized patchwork girl talking to one of them.

The Yellow Brick Road itself looked to be in much disrepair, with many of the bricks cracked, chipped, or missing entirely.

"Sorry, miss, but you're going to have to find another way to The Emerald City," One of the shadow mice said to the patchwork girl in a hushed but high pitched voice. "As you can see, The Yellow Brick Road is unsafe for travelling at this moment, and probably won't be safe in a while."