Silent Night

**"Silent Night"**is a special Christmas episode between the second and third seasons. It isthe 35th episode overall.

The special episode was published on December 25, 2018. It is the first episode to be set and feature characters from outside Toontown. The majority of the episode occurs in the past in Cartonia, over 300 years before Toontown was settled and before the outbreak of the War.

In the episode, on Christmas Eve hundreds of years ago in the Kingdoms of Cartonia, two royal heirs fall in love and set in motion an unforeseeable series of events that would ultimately result in the toppling of monarchs and the outbreak of war.

This episode serves as a direct prequel to *War*.

## Promotion

A trailer for the episode was released on the night before Thanksgiving, November 21, 2018. The plan was to wait until Thanksgiving, but producers opted for an earlier release. The trailer is to the left.

    Various wintry images are shown, as text foreshadows the first story set outside of Toontown in the Kingdoms of Cartonia. The music used is "Carol of the Bells." In the first draft, the music changed from the choral version to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's cover, but it felt a bit too dramatic and it was removed. This latter cover was utilized two years later for the trailer of "Hollow Crown."

A special title sequence was developed for the episode, featuring a separate tune and style. The music used is the eponymous "Silent Night" sung by Bing Crosby. The sequence depicts wintry castles with the featured cast's names set above them. Other images shown are an unlit street lamp and a long escarpment, the latter of which represents the Vixen Cliffs.

## Appendix

    On November 21, 2018, producers released a map of the Cartonian continent, which is depicted at the left. The map was intended to help the audience understand the whole Cartonia storyline to complement the episode's release and prepare readers for the upcoming third season. The map shows the eighteen northern Kingdoms of Cartonia that partook in the War that caused the original settlers of Toontown to flee south across rough and inhabitable terrain. Toontown is at the bottommost tip of the continent.

The geography of the continent is inspired by the country of Sweden, though the nation's shape was inverted, reversed, and slightly modified.

## The Episode

---Toontown---

-Before the Cogs-

It didn’t snow in the Gardens, but the weather did change for the cooler in December. Eileen Irenic had the fireplace running in the living room, where the kids were tucked into sleeping bags near the glittering Christmas tree. It was risky to let them sleep there, as Paul kept reminding Eileen, since they still heavily believed in Santa Claws. How, Paul posited, would they sneak the presents under the tree with the kids just around the sofa?

It seemed like a trivial problem. The children slept like logs, and the warmth and crackle of the fireplace would help them drift into deep slumber.

“Good night, little mice,” Paul Irenic said with a smile as he disappeared into the bedroom for a quick two-hour nap before they’d have to wake up in the wee hours of Christmas morning and dump the presents under the guise of being Santa.

“Good night!” Constantine and Irene Irenic replied in unison. They sunk to the pillows and beamed excitedly at their mother, who was sitting on the sofa grinning at them.

“How will Santa Claws get out of the fireplace if the fire is on?” Irene asked. She just turned eight. Her brother was two years older. Was it too old for them to still believe in Santa?

“Magic,” Eileen said simply.

“What if he goes down the chimney to the shop? Will he forget about us?”

“No, Irene, he won’t.”

“Good.”

Constantine put his paws behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling.

“Mom,” he said, ever so inquisitive, “what *is* Christmas? Where did it come from?”

Eileen shrugged.

“It’s a holiday. A time to be with family and be grateful for each other. It goes all the way back to before the War.”

Constantine nodded. He was learning about the War in school. For most students, it was their first exposure to the subject. It usually shocked them. A world other than the utopia they were fortunate enough to be born into? A physical, tangible place just north of them? They would look at the maps from the Diary of War and analyze the vast uncharted lands the original settlers traversed, the Kinnar Glacier, Lake Liberty, the Unforgiving Mountains, the Vixen Cliffs. Constantine was bursting with questions, but he was apparently too shy to ask his teacher because he unloaded them on his parents.

“Someone said Christmas started the War,” Constantine said, his voice rife with hope against the concept. Eileen frowned.

“No,” she said, “that’s not true. If Christmas started the War, we wouldn’t celebrate it.”

“Then…” Constantine said, “why would someone say that the War began on Christmas?”

Eileen sighed. She heard Paul yawn in the bedroom, and she wanted to join him, but now Irene’s attention was rapt, and Constantine was goading her with his eyes. Begging for information.

“The War…did in part begin at Christmastime. Centuries ago.”

Constantine leaned forward, turning over onto his side. Irene sat up completely. Her pajamas were spangled with snowmen and snowflakes.

“Can you tell us the story?” Constantine pleaded.

“You’ll learn all about it in school,” Eileen said.

“But we don’t go back to school for two more weeks!” Irene wailed. “And I haven’t gotten to that class yet!”

“Can’t this wait until morning?” Eileen proposed, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion.

“No,” Constantine and Irene said together, smiling proudly at their unison.

Eileen relented. Next year, maybe Constantine would be too old—too cool—to sit with his sister on Christmas Eve by the fireplace. Maybe Irene would lose that sense of curiosity. Children changed so quickly from year-to-year. Neither of them may want a Christmas story next year.

So Eileen pulled herself to the floor, took both her children’s paws and, to the best of her memory, retold the tale of the Christmas that unraveled the Kingdoms of Cartonia and pitched them into hell.

---Vista, Vulpus, Cartonia---

---Kingdom of the Foxes---

-Over 300 Years Ago-

Bentley Connelly hated the Rook of Vulpus. It was the draftiest, coldest, and probably ugliest of all the Cartonian castles. It was built to be intimidating, and no Vulpus monarch dared tear it down or even alter one stone. History was preserved at all costs in the Kingdom of Vulpus. The foxes were a proud species, and they had a right to be. They were one of the strongest advocates for the Harmony Crown seven centuries ago. Bentley’s own Kingdom of Canis was less fortunate to have such a history. The dog monarchs back then were averse to the idea of sharing a crown.

But thankfully, for the seven centuries since, all was calm.

Bentley loved parties, especially the ones at the Christmas season. Growing up as the Crown Prince and heir to the Kingdom of Canis, he was invited to all the Cartonian Christmas parties. They were held, as was custom, in the capital of the Kingdom currently in possession of the Harmony Crown. Until he was seven, that was the crocodile Kingdom of Eusuchia. He remembered traveling with his father, King Ewan I, and mother to the island off the western shores of Cartonia, sailing through the delta on a riverboat adorned with lights. The crocodile castle was shaped like a pyramid in many tiers. The throne room was at the apex, and Bentley only got to see it once when he was four, but he remembered the purple velvet on the throne itself. It was regal.

The parties in Eusuchia were lavish and exotic. The crocodiles, in their isolation off the coast of the continent, had developed an entirely unique culture untainted by their neighbors. The young Queen at the time—or Farress, as they were called there—made a point to say hello to every guest.

“Welcome to Eusuchia,” Bentley remembered her saying to his seven-year-old self at the last Christmas party of her Harmonious reign.

“Thank you, your Majesty,” Bentley mumbled, his cheeks red with nervousness. His father and mother had beamed, and Farress Nilia had complimented Bentley’s tailored suit.

On New Year’s Day after that party, Farress Nilia had taken the Harmony Crown off her head after ten years, and passed it on. She would remain Queen of Eusuchia, but had fulfilled her kingdom’s duty to the Harmony Crown. The next to wear it was none other than King Ewan of Canis, Bentley’s father.

And so for ten years, every Christmas, the royals of Cartonia came to the city of West Terrier and celebrated the end of the year and the holiday with Bentley’s family. He became one of the more popular heirs, due to his charisma with the guests and eagerness to allow cameras into the parties. King Ewan let his son run wild with party planning, and his fervor for the event led to some of the most memorable gatherings in history. Once, Bentley filled the lower levels of the castle entirely with water and created a lazy river for the guests to use at their leisure.

“He’ll make a good King,” King Octavio of Bovo stated to Bentley’s father at the tenth and final party. Bentley couldn’t stop smiling.

But now…now Vulpus possessed the Harmony Crown. Queen Vixen VII, or the Vixen Queen as she was more commonly known, wore it on her head. Her fox ears were pressed down by the weight of the gold and bronze, and she had pinned it in place. She did not have the same zeal for the Christmas party, and saw the gathering of all the dignitaries for leisure as a waste of time and money. Therefore, the castle was dark and gloomy and the music was at a minimum. Attendance was compulsory, and Bentley had been unable to get out of it.

He felt a little alone tonight, as he swirled his champagne by the fireplace (which he needed to be near or he’d freeze). His mother was here, chatting with some of the other royal Consorts, and lost in her ninth glass of wine. His father was not. King Ewan had been given medical leave from the event, as travel was out of the question. People kept staring at Bentley. They were all thinking the same thing, even Bentley.

*Ewan’s time is nearly up. And Bentley’s is almost here*.

The thought of taking the throne from his father was daunting. Yes, he had been raised for it his entire life. But he was only 23. Too young for such a heavy responsibility. He hoped, as so many dogs did, that Ewan would stay strong and live a few more years. One thing Bentley would not have to worry about in his inevitable reign was the burden of the Harmony Crown. It passed every ten years to eighteen Kingdoms, and Bentley would not live long enough to see it return to Canis.

Bentley searched the room again for some of his royal friends. He only got to see the other heirs and royals of his own age at gatherings like this. He used to be good friends with Crown Princess Jane of the monkey Kingdom of Simeone. Then her mother died a few years ago from a horrible stroke, and Jane became Queen. Jane died in childbirth last February. Her infant daughter, Ana, was here with Simenese guards. The message was clear: the monkeys will persevere.

The other royals of Bentley’s age—his former friends—were too busy to party. They weren’t children anymore. Now they were public figures with duties and responsibilities. Some of them were monarchs. Bentley had never lost his love for fun. They, however, did.

Bentley downed the rest of his glass and grimaced at the party. This was the sixth of its kind in Vista, the capital of Vulpus, and it was just as awful as the last five. He couldn’t wait until the Harmony Crown passed to its next head: Mallardia. The ducks were docile but still fun-loving. Surely they’d at least have a Christmas tree or some decorations. The foxes hadn’t even bothered to hang tinsel.

“Bentley.”

He turned, and nearly dropped his glass. The Vixen Queen was looming over him. She was uncharacteristically tall for a fox. She wore dark red robes with white lining, probably eminent of Santa Claws, and had her paws clasped before her. Her head was inclined upward, and Bentley bowed.

“Your Majesty.”

“Why are you standing by yourself?”

“I…”

“You should join the party. I recall you being quite the animal.”

Her eyes glistened with something. Sarcasm?

“How is your father?” she pressed, leaving Bentley no time to respond to what sounded like an insult.

“He’s doing well,” Bentley said, more or less a lie. “He’ll be here next year, I promise.”

“I would only hope so,” she drawled. “He is a strong King, you know. You have a lot to live up to.”

Bentley’s stomach knotted. He didn’t want to think about life on the throne without his father to guide him.

“I…I’m sorry about your own loss,” Bentley said, remembering his manners. He had hoped to avoid the Queen so he wouldn’t have to offer condolences he hardly felt. Her daughter, the Crown Princess Veronica Vixen, had just this past autumn gotten herself killed in a fierce duel with her younger sister Vina. Both had died from their injuries. The Vixen Queen now had no direct heir.

“Hmm,” she said as reply. “My house has come to ruin in a matter of months. Both my daughters, dead, from their own idiocy.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Bentley said tenuously, “who is the heir to Vulpus now?”

The Queen turned and looked over her shoulder. Bentley followed her gaze to a young fox, her back to them, but her ears and raiment a prominent giveaway to her species. She was looking at artwork around the ballroom.

“My niece,” the Queen said. “My dead younger sister’s daughter. Pathetic little thing. Only just nineteen now and can’t tell you a thing about Vulpine law. Disgraceful that precedence would place her above those I find more suitable.”

“Well,” Bentley said, “you could have another child. It’s not impossible.”

The Vixen Queen narrowed her eyes at Bentley. He had overstepped himself. It was a true statement, but still too far.

“I’m needed elsewhere. Give my best to your father.”

And she walked off, her red robes trailing behind her. Bentley exhaled. That was an ordeal. Bentley’s eyes traveled over the room again, until they landed on the niece, the heir to Vulpus. He had never met the Vixen Queen’s extended family. About two centuries ago, the foxes abolished the once-universal cognatic primogeniture—or the process by which the eldest child, regardless of sex, inherited the throne and all the titles. They replaced it with a new system: absolute distaffic primogeniture. Only females could inherit the throne. Males were not even invited to events. The brothers of the Vixen Queen were not here tonight, nor was her father, or her son. It was a bit bizarre.

Bentley meandered around the tableclothed tables to the niece who, as he grew closer, turned. Bentley stopped cold.

She was beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

She looked a bit frightened and timid, but her features were fair and her face was abundant with genuine kindness.

Bentley cleared his throat and stepped closer.

“Good evening,” he said. She jumped.

“Oh!”

“Sorry!” Bentley stammered, his white face blushing, “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I…I just wanted to say hello. Introduce myself.”

“Oh,” she said. She turned to face him fully. She was wearing a flowery purple dress with lace. She looked extremely uncomfortable in it.

“My name is Bentley Connelly.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed. Was that all she was capable of saying?

“And yours…?”

“Oh,” she said yet again, then stuck out her paw. “My name is Victoria Vixen. I’m the Queen’s niece.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Victoria. I hear you’re now heir to the throne.”

“Yes,” she said sheepishly, looking down. “I am. I…well, it’s a bit scary you know?”

“I do know,” Bentley said. “I’m the heir to Canis.”

Victoria shook her head.

“I can’t believe my cousins went and got themselves killed and now I’m saddled with their responsibility.”

“It was a tragic duel,” Bentley said dumbly.

“It was,” Victoria agreed.

“Are you enjoying the party?”

“No,” Victoria said instantly. “No, it’s awful. I thought it’d be like the ones…”

She paused, then blushed. She avoided Bentley’s gaze, and fiddled with her lace.

“The ones…?”

“The ones that you threw,” she mumbled. “They were legendary.”

Bentley laughed. He had never heard that word used to describe them.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “I wish you could have been there.”

“You do?”

She was looking into his eyes now.

And something in him stirred.

Did she feel the same way?

It was something he had never felt before.

Something…enlightening.

But also…

Wrong?

He knew it was wrong.

She was a fox.

He was a dog.

But that feeling never went away.

Never.

And they exchanged their contact information. He invited her to Canis. She invited him to Vulpus. They agreed to meet the next time the heirs were expected to make appearances together.

They didn’t discuss the unspoken, the silent acknowledgement that they were down the rabbit hole and over the Vixen Cliffs. They had crossed the line already. They had broken the law.

In the Kingdoms of Cartonia, interspecies love, marriage, and expression were strictly and unequivocally forbidden. It was the crux of the Great Cartonian War centuries ago, and the tentative peace ramshackled in the conflict’s final days was built on the compromise all the species would stay in their separate regions, and never be brought together by the temptations of lust.

But as the clocks struck midnight on Christmas Day, and Victoria and Bentley sealed their affection with a kiss in the secluded gardens under the Rook of Vulpus, they set in motion an unforeseeable course of events that would seal the fate of Cartonia.

---Toontown---

-Present Day-

Constantine gaped. Irene was picking at her paws. Neither said anything. Eileen looked at each of their faces, waiting for some sort of response. She had given the retelling the best she could remember the details, but she lacked the flair and eloquence the Diary Pig possessed. She felt maybe she should revisit the book.

“How do we know they kissed in the gardens?” Constantine blurted.

“What’s a Rook?” Irene inquired, cocking her head. Her round ears bumped the armchair.

“A Rook is a castle,” Eileen said first. “We don’t have castles here, and there’s no need for the word. It’s…it has a bad reputation.”

“Because of the foxes?” Irene said.

“Yes.”

“Mom,” Constantine implored. “How do we know they…”

“Yes, yes, I heard you. We know because Bentley said so.”

“He…what?”

Eileen sighed. She was getting ahead of the story. It was weird to be telling them this, this story she had known nearly all her life. Parts of her just wanted to go out with it and just hit them with all the facts, the history, but there was a certain…level of entertainment that went along with the tale. She didn’t want to spoil the plot, so to speak. For the Toons of Toontown, this was a story so removed, so far away, so long ago, that it was just that: a story. It was hard to imagine that Bentley Connelly of Canis and Victoria Vixen were real people. They were dead now, of course. She wondered if in the remnants of the Kingdoms their tale was still told. Was the War a distant memory for the Cartonians up north? Was there even a Cartonia left at all?

“Everything we know about the War, and the time before,” Eileen said slowly, “we know from the Diary of War. When the original settlers arrived here, they wanted to expunge all traces of…”

“Expunge?”

“Remove. Delete. Get rid of all traces of the War and the place from which they had fled. It wasn’t until the Diary was given anonymously to the Museum of Toontown that the next generation learned of the War.”

Eileen paused. What must *that* have been like? To grow up in Toontown, a place flooded with happiness, only to discover decades later that your parents, your teachers, the elder generation, had lived through and escaped unchecked catastrophe.

Eileen was grateful for the Diary Pig and her courage to publish her account of the War. Though she remained anonymous and a huge question mark in Toontown’s history, her legacy was the most powerful of all the original settlers, more so than Maximilian Walters, the first Mayor. Their ability to study the past, and recognize its mistakes and the perils of war, made them stronger.

“The Diary Pig wrote in the Diary of War what Bentley made public during the War.”

Constantine and Irene stared at her, a bit confused. Maybe lost. Eileen needed to backpedal.

“After that Christmas night, all the royal families returned home. Victoria Vixen stayed of course in Vista to apprentice under her aunt to become Queen one day. The Vixen Queens were known then for their sheer determination and resolution. Victoria Vixen did not fit the profile, and the Vixen Queen needed to ensure her successor would continue the foxes’ legacy. Bentley Connelly returned to Canis. His father remained in ill health for the rest of the year. Bentley found himself taking on more and more of his father’s duties. Over the months, Bentley and Victoria wrote lots of letters to each other. Love letters.”

Constantine sniggered but Irene smiled lovingly.

“Awww,” she cooed.

“Every few weeks, there would be some diplomatic mission somewhere. The ruling families would travel for meetings, conventions, get-togethers, and Victoria and Bentley would reunite. They found ways to meet each other. They truly did love each other. But it had to be secret, or else the Kingdoms would find out. I have to repeat myself: this was against the law. They could be executed for their relationship.”

“Then why do it?” Constantine asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Eileen shrugged. She didn’t have an answer. Would she have gone as far as they had done for her husband? It was hard to put herself in that position. Toontown had no limits on love.

“The Diary Pig believes that both Bentley and Victoria were very lonely. And that they were each in their own way suffocated by their duties, their responsibilities, and the rules they had been born within. But they were instantly smitten with each other.”

“Dogs and…other species…can fall in love here,” Irene said, knowing there were no foxes in Toontown.

Eileen giggled at her daughter’s observation.

“Yes, honey, they can. They always could have. You see, Cartonia was a backwards place. They thought they could suppress Cartonian emotion simply by segregating the species and enacting laws that would keep them apart. But you can’t control what goes on inside our hearts. What happened between Victoria Vixen and Bentley Connelly is completely normal. But back then, up there, it wasn’t.”

Eileen crossed her legs and thought for a moment on how to proceed.

“In the summer before the War, they were found out.”

---The Chipmunk Kingdom of Scuridiae---

Victoria’s heart clenched when she first saw the news broadcast, the candid picture of her and Bentley, their lips locked in a kiss, plastered across all the networks. Headlines proclaiming them sordid, misguided, misled, blasphemous, were screaming from the bottom of the screens. Victoria was in her hotel room, her aunt the Vixen Queen next-door. What would be her reaction?

Victoria wanted to call out for Bentley, but he wasn’t here. He had just left to go home to Canis.

All their efforts being careful, to keep their relationship hidden, were being unraveled by one stolen photograph. Victoria stood motionless in the room until the first knock came.

The floodgates had opened.

---The Rabbit Kingdom of Leprolia---

--August--

-5 Months Before the War-

Bentley and Victoria sat side-by-side, holding paws. They were stone-faced, waiting. The television producers ignored them entirely for the duration of their wait. No one wanted to look at them. The interview had been arranged by the host herself, a reputable reporter with a much-beloved interviewing program. She had interviewed all the royal families, all the current monarchs and their heirs. She knew the Connelly and Vixen families personally. She reached out to Bentley and Victoria amid the horrible media storm they had caused to come forward and discuss the relationship publicly. Give them a chance to explain themselves for the inevitable indictments.

Victoria knew she was going to prison. She knew that her aunt, the Vixen Queen, would ask parliament to remove her from the line of succession, which she didn’t mind. Bentley’s father remained in ill health, and before the scandal broke Bentley had been asked to take the title of regent until his father’s passing. Bentley accepted, and now stood awkwardly between two lives. Regent, and criminal.

Victoria felt a little fortunate for her status, which was the only thing that prevented an immediate imprisonment. The Vixen Queen had been too scared of the political repercussions if both the heirs of Canis and Vulpus were imprisoned, and King Ewan was too out of it to notice anything was awry. Victoria remembered cases from over the years of ducks and monkeys arrested for being in love, parrots and horses, anyone. There had been no two-week firestorm, no public debates, no outpouring of both empathy and hatred. No mercy. They had been imprisoned, and shortly after executed.

“UNNATURAL!” the meanest headline read. Victoria shook her head, as if doing so would shake away the memories. Bentley tightened his grip on her paw.

“Five minutes,” a producer hissed in passing. Bentley and Victoria rose. They had dressed themselves professionally, and Victoria had done both of their makeups. No one at the studio wanted to touch them.

“We need to act normally,” Bentley repeated for the ninth time. “If we blow this…if we make them angrier…”

“Bentley…”

“They’ll arrest us tonight.”

If Bentley was arrested…and his claim was annulled, the throne would pass to his younger brother. A dog who had unequivocally advocated his support for the two of them. He was the only one who knew about them before the story broke. Bentley and his brother—Thumper—were extremely close. Bentley told Thumper that if the worse happened, he must lead Canis with grace, and not let Bentley’s choices ruin the Connelly dynasty.

“One minute.”

The host, someone who Bentley had once called a friend, greeted them with simple handshakes and a brief overview of what was going to happen. She told them there was a studio audience.

Witnesses to their pillory.

---Transcript of the Interview of Victoria Vixen and Bentley Connelly by Bunny Sawyer---

-As Transcribed in the *Diary of War*-

Bunny Sawyer: Good evening, your Highnesses.

Victoria Vixen & Bentley Connelly: Good evening.

Bunny: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. The whole of Cartonia is of course very intrigued by and invested in this matter. The two of you are accused of speciesal infidelity with each other. These are extremely dangerous charges, and I appreciate you coming on the show tonight to discuss the relationship between the two of you. I’ll start by asking a very simple question. Are these accusations true?

Victoria: Yes.

Bentley. They are.

Bunny: Wow. I…I have to say that when I first heard the news, I was very very surprised. Of course we’ve all heard of incidents…er…incidences of this happening around the country. But never in the royal families. After all—we’re looking at two regal heirs. Bentley, you’re the current Regent of Canis.

Bentley: Yes, I am.

Bunny: And what does your father think of the relationship between you and Victoria?

Bentley: He doesn’t really understand what’s going on, to be perfectly honest. His mind is not as strong as it used to be. That’s why I have been declared Regent, so that I can look after the affairs of our Kingdom.

Bunny: Victoria, what does the Vixen Queen think of you and Bentley?

Victoria: She…she is not pleased. She does not think it’s…natural. Or right.

Bunny: I don’t think that’s unreasonable, do you?

Victoria: Um.

Bunny: Let’s switch gears here. Let’s talk about the two of you. How did you meet?

Bentley: How did we meet?

Victoria: Oh.

Bunny: I’m sorry, do you not understand the question?

Bentley: No, no, it’s just…

Victoria: We met at the Harmony Holiday Gala at the Rook of Vulpus. I had just been named heir to the throne and it was my first royal event. Prior to the death of my cousins I was third in line to the throne but had been fifth at the time of my birth but somehow I…never mind. I was standing alone and Bentley walked up to say hello and introduce himself. He was very gallant, and kind. And…perfect.

Bentley: She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I knew I had to pursue her.

Bunny: But, you see, that’s what I have a hard time understanding. Lust, if you’ll forgive the bluntness of the term, is in all of us. But what differentiates the strong from the weak is the ability to take that temptation and do away with it. I am sure many have felt as you felt that night, seeing someone beautiful but of another species, and you must take those feelings and switch them off, like so many have done before.

Bentley: Switch them off? You can’t turn off emotions like a light switch. I knew it was against the law for a dog and a fox to love each other. I didn’t even consider it. I knew I was going to go after her.

Bunny: I see. Victoria, did you find Bentley’s advances to be…inappropriate?

Victoria: No. Well, at first I thought about the ramifications. Who wouldn’t? I was nervous, of course, since I never break rules much less laws and I don’t want to go to prison. But when I saw Bentley, he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We were…

Bentley: Smitten.

Bunny: Some think that this relationship is disgusting. What are your thoughts on that?

Bentley: I understand it, to be completely honest. That’s what we were raised to believe. That’s what was bred into it. We were supposed to see other species as simple coinhabitants of this continent. But that’s just not how the world works.

Bunny: How does the world work, then?

Bentley: It’s complicated. I don’t know. I can’t tell you that.

Bunny: How did you feel when the news broke? Relieved? Keeping that secret must have been exceedingly difficult.

Victoria: Yes, it was, but I was not relieved when the news broke. It made life hell for us. Hell we’re still living. Bunny, you’re looking at us like we’re monsters. And the crew is glaring at us. There’s not a friendly face here. We agreed to this interview so that the people of Cartonia can see that we mean no harm to anyone, and that we are happy. Happiness should not be a crime.

Bunny: I don’t think that’s fair. My crew and I are hospitable to all our guests.

Bentley: Okay.

Bunny: Let me ask you another question. What are your long-term intentions? Both of you are heirs and you will one day rule separate kingdoms. So…?

Victoria: Bentley and I intend to marry.

Bunny: Well…I…you…you…you…how?

Bentley: There are people in this nation that will do what’s right in the name of love. We will be married.

Bunny: That’s impossible.

[Jeers]

Bunny: Shhh. Shhh. Let me…I am afraid I am once again a bit lost. How can you be married if you are ruling two separate countries?

Victoria: Bentley and I…

Bentley: Victoria.

Victoria: Bentley…

Bentley: Alright.

Victoria: Bentley and I are prepared to renounce our thrones if we are denied a life together.

[Jeers, shouts]

Bunny: Hush! Quiet! Please…I…

[Raucous]

[Glass shattering]

Victoria: Ow!

Bunny: Hey!

Bentley: Victoria! Grab my arm!

Bunny: Wait! No! Come back! Alonso…bar the door! Jenny—you didn’t have to throw that! Folks, I’m sorry for the interruptions…are they…they’re gone? Damn it. We’ll be right back.

---Toontown---

-Present Day-

“What happened?” Constantine asked, wide-eyed. Eileen had just finished reading the transcript word-for-word from her copy of the Diary of War. It was difficult to really understand what was happening since the thing had been televised and the transcript didn’t include any of the actions seen on-screen, or the emphasis on certain words or the inflections with which everything had been spoken. Eileen could only imagine. Obviously someone had thrown something at Victoria, prompting the couple to leave mid-interview. It was so bizarre, how the Cartonians had abhorred the idea of interspecies love, something so commonplace in Toontown. Maybe this, the catalyst for the War, was why the founders of Toontown made interspecies love so accepted.

“Well, they went back to Canis. Victoria did not want to face her aunt, the Vixen Queen, and Bentley had duties to his Kingdom.”

“And no one cared?”

“Oh,” Eileen said haughtily, flipping through the pages in which the Diary Pig had looked back on the events leading up to the disastrous War, “they cared. People were indignant.”

“In-dig-nant?” Irene sounded out.

“Angry,” Eileen said. “Very angry. But they stayed strong together.”

Eileen flipped to the next entry and recognized a familiar name.

---West Terrier, Canis---

--Kingdom of the Dogs--

-December 707-

Maximilian Walters, the Royal Historian of Canis, frowned out the window at the Prince Regent and his fox lover wandering through the labyrinth of hedges in the royal gardens. Somehow the two of them had caused the largest outcry and most lascivious scandal since before the Harmony Crown.

“Max,” the raspy voice behind him said again. Maximilian turned and approached the death bed of King Ewan I. His wife, Libby, was sitting beside him, grasping his paw. The three of them were alone. Although King Ewan was weakened and deteriorating, he had occasional bouts of perfect cognizance. Today, when he awoke, he was vibrant and alive. Tomorrow, he could be sluggish. He could be dead. Libby and Max lived for his moments of sanity, so they could confide in his expertise and wisdom before he departed and Canis faced even more uncertainty. Bentley was no longer the stable heir they had raised.

“He came to see me.”

“Bentley,” Libby said sourly. She loathed her son now for what he had done. She hated having him in Canis, but Ewan refused to exile his heir. But that didn’t mean Ewan was any happier about the children. Libby spent her days doting on her second son, Thumper, and his only daughter Evangelina.

“He has proposed to the vixen bitch.”

Libby gasped. She clutched at her neckline, then descended into a coughing fit.

Max retained his composure, breathing slowly. He knew this was coming. It seemed inevitable. They had announced on national television their desire to get married.

“That’s not all,” Ewan said. “Bentley asked for my blessing.”

Libby let out a high-pitched scoff.

“Never!”

Ewan looked at Max.

“I refused. And he told me that he will renounce his throne. The crown would then pass from my head to Thumper’s. The line will continue.”

“Good," Libby scowled. "I pray he never marries, and that he never bears issue. And that nothing will come between Thumper and Evangie and the throne."

Ewan sighed, seemingly not willing to resign to that fate.

"Where will he go?” Libby continued. “Vulpus? Some backwood area of Psittancyna? There is no where in this nation that will accept them.”

“Exactly,” Ewan said. “He and Victoria have secret plans to escape Cartonia altogether.”

Libby and Max were silent. Max tried to think where they would escape to, but it seemed there was only one option.

“They intend to charter a boat and brave the hurricanes and cyclones of the Eastern Ocean in the hope of making landfall south of the Vixen Cliffs.”

“They’ll die,” Libby said with what sounded like genuine concern. “No one has survived a journey like that…there’s nothing beyond the Vixen Cliffs. Nothing.”

“That we know of,” Max chimed in, almost involuntarily.

“Max,” Ewan said, “they are not to leave Cartonia. But they are not to remain together either. I have decided it is high time that I put my foot down. I don’t know how long I will remain of sound mind and body. But Bentley is my Regent for now…and I groomed him to be King…he is better off without Victoria. I cannot lose my son. And I cannot have them ruin all the plans I so carefully laid…”

He sighed.

“Please return Victoria Vixen to Vulpus.”

“Return?” Max asked, confused. She wasn’t like a library book.

“A convoy of foxes will arrive at Highland Castle this afternoon. They will take Victoria, by force if necessary.”

“Good,” Libby Connelly exclaimed.

“Max, make the necessary arrangements.”

Max bowed his head, and left the room. Though he was the Royal Historian and chiefly in charge of preserving the country’s history, he had a close relationship with Ewan. He would obey these commands, though deep within his heart he questioned everything he had ever been told by the heads that wore the Cartonian crowns.

---Toontown---

-Present Day-

“How does the Diary Pig know all this?” Irene asked, derailing Eileen’s train of thought.

“Maximilian Walters, our first Mayor, told her.”

“Wait…” Constantine said, his mind blown, “*Max* is *Maximilian Walters*?”

“Yes, silly,” Eileen said, “I told you that.”

Constantine’s mouth was agape, shocked that the first Mayor of Toontown had once been the Royal Historian to the Kingdom of Canis. But he was.

“Mommy,” Irene said, “did the foxes take Victoria?”

“Yes,” Eileen said. “They took her back to the Rook of Vulpus and locked her in her bedroom for days on end.”

“Why?” Irene asked. “Sounds mean.”

“It is mean,” Eileen agreed. She pondered. “The Vixen Queen did not want Victoria to return to Bentley, and to her the only way to do that was imprisonment.”

“What month is it?” Constantine asked.

“December.”

“December,” he repeated. “Then the War is about to begin.”

---Vista, Vulpus---

---Kingdom of the Foxes---

-Christmas Eve, 707-

One year ago, Victoria had met Bentley. Her life had changed that day. She had only just found she was heiress to Vulpus. That had thrown her. The death of her cousins had thrown her. But nothing would compare to how she had fallen, completely, utterly, totally, for Bentley Connelly on Christmas Eve one year ago today.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked better than she had in weeks. After the foxes burst into Highland Castle and forcibly dragged her into a carriage to take her back to Vulpus, she had not tried to keep any sort of appearances. Why should she? The Vixen Queen had shown her no love since her return, and the people of Cartonia were still cold as ever toward her and Bentley.

She glanced at her left paw, where Bentley had promised to place a ring. He had wanted his father’s blessing for them first. A blessing that never came.

Ewan I was still not dead, but he could drop at any moment. It would be a miracle if he made it to the New Year.

Victoria had been confined to this bedroom since she was taken back. But tonight, the Vixen Queen announced her desire to bring Victoria to the seventh Christmas Eve party of Vulpus’s Harmony Reign. Victoria had been given a stunning emerald dress to wear, and was going to ride in the royal carriage to a new party locale: the Vale of Vulpus.

The Vale of Vulpus was where the first Cartonians arrived on the continent. From where was unclear. But the Vale was a beautiful seaport and would be an ideal location for the Christmas party. Victoria, and no doubt other royal dignitaries, was relieved that the drafty Rook of Vulpus was not to play host again this year.

But most excitingly—Bentley would be there!

With the turbulence of the past year, Victoria had never felt closer to anyone than she had felt to Bentley. Being apart from him was difficult in many ways, and it would feel so good to be reunited with him tonight. She knew that efforts would be attempted to keep them at bay during the event, but she knew if she could get to him, they could get out. They could run. To the Vixen Cliffs. Jump over if they had to. But there was no future for either of them in Cartonia.

The door swung open and there stood the Vixen Queen in full regalia. The twisting gold and bronze of the Harmony Crown pressed down on her ears. She inclined her head upward, as she always did when she felt superior—which was always—and waited for Victoria to give an obligatory curtesy.

“Your Majesty,” she muttered.

“Shall we?” she said. Her voice seemed hoarse.

“Are you alright, your Majesty?”

“Sore throat,” the Vixen Queen growled. “On Christmas Eve of all days.”

Victoria followed the Vixen Queen to the carriage house, where they were led into the opulent royal calash, adorned with sapphires and rubies and all the gems once found in the Vale of Vulpus. The driver clambered onto the front of the carriage and cracked the reins. Though all of this was ceremonial and traditional. Horses had not pulled carriages in centuries, since before the Harmony Crown. Now the carriage was automatic, but still had a footman.

Victoria sat opposite her aunt on plush velvet and satin. The Queen gazed through the curtain over the window and smiled at her citizens lining the streets to see their Queen and heir head toward the social event of the year.

But the ride, already awkward due to the silence, became even more uncomfortable as the heat inside the cabin became stifling. Victoria fanned herself with her hand, but it did little to assuage the discomfort. She felt her dress sticking to her fur. The Vixen Queen finally let out a cry.

“I can’t stand it! Victoria, I’m opening a window.”

Victoria let out a sigh of relief as the Queen opened both the windows on either side of the carriage, allowing a refreshing cross breeze to enter. The curtains billowed delicately.

After many more minutes of uncomfortable silence on the long ride, the Queen spoke.

“Victoria,” she began, “there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

*Of course*, Victoria thought*, here it comes.*

“I can’t…make any sort of public statement on this…but privately…”

She cleared her throat and coughed. She looked pained. She turned to look outside at the passing crowds. She slid the curtains to the sides so that the people on the roads could see in. She smiled at them.

“Privately?” Victoria pressed. Was she going to say something…supportive? Publicly she couldn’t support them but privately she could?

“Privately, I think you and Bentley…”

She coughed again, and sent a look of exasperation at her sore throat. She beckoned with her fingers, and Victoria leaned forward so she could hear better. The Queen cleared her throat, but didn’t lean in.

Victoria never found out what she was going to say.

---The Vale of Vulpus---

Bentley was dressed in his best tuxedo—the same tuxedo he wore last year when he fell for Victoria Vixen. He was waiting at the entrance, where the carriages were pulling up. The sun was lowering toward the horizon, and the festivities were to begin as soon as the orb had vanished beyond the Western Ocean. Bentley checked his watch. She should be here within a few minutes. And how excited he was to see her!

“Your Highness,” an aide said, presenting Bentley an envelope. It was from Mallardia. He opened the letter and read the simple message: that he was wanted in the security room immediately. It was signed by his old friend, King Swan XX, who was going to be late to the reception tonight due to a separate holiday party in his own Kingdom. This was odd, but Bentley knew King Swan XX wouldn’t send such a letter without reason. He and Swan had a strained relationship now after he took to the Mallardian airwaves to proclaim Bentley and Victoria “enemies of nature.” But Bentley nonetheless headed for the security room which was conveniently near the entrance.

One guard—a fox—was sitting in front of a series of monitors of all the buildings at the Vale of Vulpus. The main party pavilion was where he was directing most of his focus. On the side wall was a news monitor, which was actually showing Victoria’s carriage on its way to the Vale.

“Um,” Bentley said to the guard, “I received a note to come here.”

The fox looked at him in confusion.

“You did?”

Bentley looked back at the news monitor, and saw Victoria lean forward in the carriage, as if to hear what the Vixen Queen was saying to her.

And then her head exploded.

Bentley felt his entire body freeze, and he fell backward against the door before collapsing toward the floor. He watched as the camera panned out from the scene, where the carriage had sped away, and the crowds were roiling.

But a duck.

A duck with blue fur and an orange beak.

Waving a gun.

“Down with Vulpus!” he bellowed. “An end to sacrilege!”

The screen cut to a news anchor, who began to harrowingly retell the events that had just taken place.

Bentley’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he felt an enormous sense of complete and total heartbreak overcome him. It was like being dropped thousands of feet into freezing water, and sinking and sinking and sinking.

And sinking.

Victoria was dead.

---Toontown---

-Present Day-

Constantine and Irene stared sadly at their mother, who was quiet herself. Victoria Vixen died in the carriage. The hospital didn’t even have to admit her. They knew there was no hope. Everything had been blown to bits.

“Did the Vixen Queen know about the duck in the crowd?” Constantine asked.

“It is believed so, yes,” Eileen said. “The Vixen Queen probably ordered the hit on her own niece.”

“But why?” Irene asked. “Why would she do that? Didn’t she want Victoria to be Queen?”

“What the Vixen Queen wanted,” Eileen explained, “was power and land and total control. She didn’t want an heir. She could get another heir. This was just another step in her plan.”

“What about the duck?” Constantine asked. “What happened to the duck?”

“Well,” Eileen said, “the duck was taken into custody and was being transported to jail when he was hit by another carriage and died. He was never questioned or tried, and his silence has led to a plethora of conspiracy theories.”

“Plethora?” Irene yawned.

“A lot.”

“What do you think happened, mom?” Constantine prodded.

“I think that the duck was a hired hitman from the Vixen Queen. I think he yelled about sacrilege and Vulpus because the Queen asked him to.”

“What was her reaction to the assassination?” Constantine inquired.

---Cartonia---

--Christmas Day, 707--

-Transcript of the Christmas Morning Address by Queen Vixen VII-

*Good morning and merry Christmas, though I feel neither good nor merry this day. It is with a heavy heart that I must confirm that Princess Victoria Vixen has died from head injuries sustained during an assassination attempt yesterday afternoon as I rode with her to the Vale of Vulpus for the Harmony Holiday Gala. This event has been horrible for me and my family, and I bear a great deal of trauma from the close proximity I was to the fatal bullet. We thank and accept your prayers and condolences at this time.*

*The duck, who has since been identified as Leevey Foster, was a known hitman from the Kingdom of Mallardia. I believe this assassination was an attempt to kill both Victoria and I to destabilize Vulpus and eliminate the royal heads of the Vixen family and bring ruin to the Harmony Crown. This duck was clearly acting out of hatred toward foxes and the relationship between Victoria Vixen and Bentley Connelly of Canis. I believe furthermore that this hit came directly from King Swan XX of Mallardia, who has been outspoken about Victoria and Bentley. Though I too have been against their unnatural partnership, I had just mended my personal relationship with Victoria in the carriage at the moment of her death. This unjust act and cruel political move will be tolerated by neither the Kingdom of Vulpus nor the wearer of the Harmony Crown. The ducks have made it clear that they will not respect the peace that we have so graciously enjoyed for 707 years.*

*I therefore present an ultimatum to the ducks of Mallardia, and specifically to King Swan XX.*

*You will abdicate the throne immediately and denounce your entire dynasty from inheritance.*

*A new royal family will rise to the forefront of Mallardian politics in due time.*

*The ducks will permanently remove themselves from the Harmony Crown lineup.*

*The ducks will take full responsibility for the assassination of Victoria Vixen and the attempted assassination of myself, Queen Vixen VII.*

*The ducks will allow a full investigation into the life of the assassin and all who knew him. The ducks will allow Vulpus foxes to conduct their investigation on Mallardian soil.*

*The ducks will pay reparations for their crimes in the amount of 16 million marks.*

*The ducks will relinquish their coastline to Vulpus and the remainder of the country will be divided into occupation zones as decided by the seventeen other monarchs of Cartonia.*

*Failure to abide by all these terms will result in an invasion of the Mallardian mainland by the Kingdom of Vulpus and the allies of the Harmony Crown.*

*King Swan XX, you have until midnight on New Year’s Eve to fulfill this ultimatum.*

*The foxes of Vulpus await your reply.*

---The Mouse Kingdom of Willie---

-December 27, 707-

Maximilian Walters was standing against the stone walls of the Council Chamber of Musenzollern Castle in the mouse Kingdom of Willie. Crown Prince Bentley was seated at the table alongside King Mickey XI of Willie. Mickey had agreed to allow Bentley to hold a diplomatic meeting between the nations of Canis and Mallardia to discuss the assassination in Vulpus. The act by a sole duck had triggered a horrible storm of uncertainty, doubt, and malice against other nations. Many blamed Mallardia for the egregious murder, while others believed there was some larger conspiracy in Victoria’s death.

Bentley had no time to grieve, it seemed. His father remained on his death bed, his mother was cold and devoid of empathy toward the death, and the death of the woman he loved must be avenged. Suddenly, it seemed there was a shift in value in Canis. Though the dogs may have rejected the idea of Victoria being a fox, they saw the pain in their Crown Prince and there was some sympathy for his loss.

But Bentley—and Maximilian too—did not believe the docile ducks of Mallardia would purposefully orchestrate an assassination of a public, and controversial figure, at Christmastime. It wasn’t like them. At all. Assassinations were extremely uncommon, and never so politically charged.

“Down with Vulpus!” the duck had screamed. “An end to sacrilege!”

He had clearly been referring to the interspecies relationship between Victoria and Bentley. That was the sacrilege. But why just target Vulpus? Why not Canis too?

The silencing of the suspect did not help qualm unease.

Mickey and Bentley were silent themselves. Bentley was lost in his thoughts, in quiet mourning. Mickey was respecting that need to mourn. There were a few others in the room, most notably was Minerva Taylor, the historian from the Kingdom of Willie. She was a close friend of Max, and she was on the opposite side of the room now, checking her watch.

Right on time, the doors of the chamber opened, and King Swan XX of Mallardia waddled in. He looked distressed.

Max never would have imagined that weeks later, the room in which he now stood would transform into a formidable War Chamber.

Bentley forced himself to continue to hold back the deluge of his tears as the King of Mallardia took a seat across the table. His aides retreated to the perimeter of the room to watch the intense exchange.

Bentley eyed King Swan XX. He was four years older than Bentley, but already had a four-year old daughter. Bentley could not imagine having a kid at his age. And now he couldn’t even pretend foresee a future for himself without Victoria. Everything had been taken from him.

Swan, who Bentley had always known by his real name, not his regnal, was pulling anxiously at his flippers. It was clear he had not been sleeping. The Queen’s ultimatum was rife with impossible demands and humiliating expectations. The eyes of Cartonia were on this duck to determine the fate of numerous countries at the close of the year. He already had to navigate his way through this ultimatum, and now he was asked to come before the future King of Canis. He was probably terrified.

“Hello, Beck,” Bentley said, using his birth name.

“Bent—Benny,” Beck replied, opting for a familiar name himself. Bentley smiled. Beck looked confused at that.

“Listen,” Beck began, “I don’t want war with Canis. I…”

“Did you know about the assassination of Victoria?”

Beck’s words died in his throat. He gazed at Bentley, then vehemently shook his head.

“No.”

“Did you want Victoria dead?”

“No.”

Bentley swallowed.

“One last question. Do you condone the actions of Leevey Foster?”

“Absolutely not,” Beck abjured.

“Well then,” Bentley said, leaning back in his chair, “I don’t want war with you either.”

Beck’s eyebrows fell together.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “A duck of Mallardia is guilty for a crime that directly has affected Canis. Vulpus has already made their thoughts plain, but you bear me no ill will?”

“Were you being truthful to my earlier questions? I’ve known you a long time. We grew up together. I like to think I can trust you.”

“I was being truthful,” Beck quacked.

“Then that’s that. I bear you no ill will. Did you order the assassination?”

“*No.*”

Bentley turned to look at his historian and advisor, Maximilian Walters. “What do you think?”

Max raised his eyebrows.

“I think he was as shocked as you.”

“Explain this,” Bentley said, sliding the letter signed from Beck across the table. The King grabbed it and read it over in confusion.

“NO!” he sputtered. “No! I never wrote this! I…why this isn’t even my signature! Not exactly. See…right there?”

He shoved the paper under Bentley’s nose. He was pointing violently at the capital “S” in “Swan.”

“I never put a curl like that on the end! Not that grandiose. Here…let me show you.”

The King signed his name again, and held the signatures next to each other. Bentley studied them. They were mildly different. Not the most exonerating evidence, but the King was visibly upset by the suggestion that someone had forged his signature to frame his Kingdom.

“Benny,” Beck implored, “I was wrong. I know…that I said…that what you and Victoria had was unnatural. But I was just being ignorant. And bigoted. I should never have said those things. I should have supported you. I wasn’t there before but I’m here now.”

Beck placed his flipper on the table. It was too wide for him to reach across, but Bentley put his own paw on the wood, and they stared at each other in solidarity. King Mickey repeated the gesture.

“I think that Leevey Foster was acting of his own accord. He was most likely very mentally disturbed,” Beck said.

“Really?” Bentley replied. “Is that reflected in medical records?”

“Um,” Beck said. “No. We can’t really find much record of him.”

“That’s because Leevey Foster is an alias,” Bentley muttered in a low voice. He crossed his arms. “I believe he was a trained hitman. I think he was a hired assassin. And I think he was promised an extreme amount of money to carry out the assassination. I believe he would have been guaranteed protection, or isolation, maybe even a passage out of Cartonia with his riches. A sizable deposit would have been needed to convince him to publicly declare ‘Down with Vulpus! An end to sacrilege!’ though the payer had always intended for him to die before he could be questioned.”

“What!” Beck gasped. “But…that would mean there was a conspiracy.”

“Yes.”

“Who…who has the kind of money to hire an assassin like that?”

Mickey squirmed. Bentley’s eyes lowered.

“The Vixen Queen.”

Beck inclined his head and let his body fall backward.

“Of course…” he whispered.

Bentley wasn’t done. He had so easily seen the dots connect. She thought she was cunning, but she was as transparent as they came. Evil was easily seen through.

“I believe that the Vixen Queen orchestrated the entire thing. She forced Victoria to ride in that carriage, and made sure the windows were open, and that Victoria was in the right position at the right time. She even put herself in the line of fire to make herself seem more innocent. Who would suspect the selfish Vixen Queen of hiring someone to kill the person sitting in front of her? A stray bullet could knock that crown off her head. She chose a duck because the people of Mallardia are tranquil and harmless. No offense but you’re not a military threat. She wants the Mallardian coastline and an assassination of her heir—who she never liked—was at no loss to her but would rally the people of Vulpus behind her to force her ultimatum. If you accept the ultimatum, she gets land, she gets money, Mallardia falls off the Harmony Crown rotation. And you’re next in line for it. She could probably find a way to hold onto the Crown.”

“Why?” Mickey asked, the first time he had spoken in a while. “The Harmony Crown has no power. It’s purely ceremonial.”

Bentley shrugged. That part he wasn’t entirely sure about. But he was sure the Vixen Queen aspired for more than what she asked for. She wasn’t dumb enough to go to war though. War was taboo. The people of Cartonia remembered the stories of the times before the Harmony Crown. The turmoil. The anguish. The fields of blood.

“The Vixen Queen holds a bit of power by wearing the Harmony Crown,” Minerva Taylor, the historian from Willie, offered. “The Harmony Crown’s wearer is supposed to keep peace, and make decisions when all the other nations cannot. Whether she’s playing the offense or defense with her ultimatum, there is no one alone who can check her power. The seventeen other monarchs cannot come to a consensus before the ultimatum expires.”

“The Vixen Queen hates interspecies love,” Bentley plowed on. “She admonished us for it. This was her way of getting rid of a faulty heir, gaining more power, and ruining my life.”

“Did she hate you?” Beck asked. “I mean personally?”

“I don’t know,” Bentley said truthfully, “but she hated my relationship. And now I’m alone.”

The room fell silent. Beck bowed his head and Mickey placed a reassuring paw on Bentley’s arm.

“The Vixen Queen’s wickedness must go no further,” Bentley said. “Which monarchs have you spoken to about the ultimatum?”

Beck shook his head.

“You’re the first two. Should I talk to the others?”

“No,” Bentley said. “Not yet. But let me ask you. What do you intend to do?”

Beck sighed and thought for a moment.

“I intend to accept about half of the ultimatum’s conditions. I will abdicate and let a new royal family emerge. I have to protect my family. I’ll let them investigate within our borders. And I’m going to give them the coastline and about 8 million marks.”

“WHY?” Bentley exploded. He leapt to his paws. “Why? Why? Why? You just said you were innocent. Accepting the ultimatum—even one condition—admits guilt!”

Beck looked horrified. He quickly began to stammer his way through an explanation.

“I have no choice, Benny! The foxes will invade Mallardia if we refuse! We’re not fighters…we’re mostly fishermen.”

“The foxes are not idiotic enough to invade,” Bentley said. “Doing so is an act of war. And the foxes could not win a war against the rest of Cartonia.”

Beck frowned.

“Scuridiae would enter a war on the side of the foxes. They have a longstanding alliance.”

Bentley nodded. Throughout the 707 years of peace in Cartonia, alliances were built and destroyed by the ruling families. They were simple: an attack on one was considered an attack on both. No one knew exactly who was aligned with who, but Canis had an extremely close relationship with Willie. If Canis went to war, Willie would join them.

“Do you have any alliances of that nature?”

Beck looked carefully at both of the monarchs before him before he shared the extremely confidential information.

“Eusuchia.”

Bentley tried to think in his head of how bad a war would be. It would result in casualties for sure, but it wouldn’t last too long. The foxes had no where to run. They couldn’t escape over the cliffs. The northern Kingdoms would push south and overrun them. Bentley could envision the toppling of the Rook of Vulpus and the reclamation of the Vale of Vulpus. His mind wandered to Victoria, and he once again suppressed him emotions.

“Beck,” Bentley said urgently. “You cannot pay the reparations and you cannot accept responsibility for Victoria’s death when you had nothing to do with it. I don’t think you had anything to do with it. Most of Cartonia doesn’t. Let the ultimatum expire. If the Vixen Queen wants to invade and declare herself in open war against the Harmony Crown and what it stands for, the other seventeen Kingdoms—yes seventeen, including Scuridiae—will join against her.”

Beck’s frightened eyes darted around the table. But then he nodded.

“You’re right,” he said. “I won’t do anything. We’ll let the ultimatum expire on New Year’s Eve.”

“And pray there’s no war,” Mickey said.

“Will you join us too?” Beck asked. Mickey nodded, his support for Canis unwavering.

There won’t be a war, Bentley told himself. Not really. Not like the old wars. If there is a war—which there won’t be—it’ll be like a quick battle. We’ll be in and out. Home before the end of January. If Vulpus invaded Mallardia, its neighbors (Willie and Cervidium) would make an instant counterattack, a defense long enough to hold until reinforcements from Canis could mobilize and arrive. Mobilization of troops was an act of war, and Bentley was not going to make the first strike. Until New Year’s Even, no one could move a muscle.

But there was one major mistake that was made that day in the future War Chamber of Willie as the blinded nations of Cartonia moved inexorably towards war.

No one knew the extent of the Vixen Queen’s plans.

---Toontown---

-Present Day-

The clocks struck midnight. Eileen nearly dropped the diary. The chimes startled her. She suddenly realized that Constantine and Irene were asleep, conked out on the floor in their cozy sleeping bags. Eileen leaned over and kissed both their foreheads.

“Merry Christmas,” she whispered.

She tiptoed to the bedroom so she could wake Paul and start laying out presents. Before passing into the bedroom, she placed the Diary of War back on the bookshelf.

---The Pig Kingdom of Porcinia---

-New Year’s Day, 708-

Mom got her a diary for Christmas. It was supposed to be a college graduation present, so she could document her first years in the working world. But with the Vixen Queen’s ultimatum and the outbreak of war likely, was that sort of diary realistic? She gazed at the maroon leather-bound cover and ornate pen that came with it, the soft light of the sunrise barely illuminating the kitchen.

Mom then burst through the front door, home from the town square. The pig looked up. One look at Mom’s face was all she needed.

“Vulpus invaded Mallardia,” Mom gasped. “Mallardia, Canis, Eusuchia, and Willie have declared war on Vulpus.”

The pig’s eyes traveled back to the diary on the counter. She opened the leather cover, grabbed the pen, and began to write.

*January 1, 708*

*War is here.*

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

The episode is told in two storylines, both of which are in the past. Eileen Irenic, in the time before the Cogs and the deaths of her children, retells the story of the last two Christmases in Cartonia before the War, which take place over 300 years prior.

This episode introduced the Harmony Crown, a symbol of Cartonian unity, worn by a different monarch every ten years for over seven centuries to keep peace.

The War hereto always mentioned in Storytime was preceded seven hundred years prior by an event known as the Great Cartonian War, the major issue of which was interspecies love. A tentative agreement was decided that all the Kingdoms would have firm borders and species would not live outside their community, and that interspecies love would be banned.

On Christmas Eve, one year before the War, Victoria Vixen and Bentley Connelly met and set in motion the events that would bring War to Cartonia. Once the relationship between them broke, an enormous scandal erupted and questions of their future inheritance of two thrones came into question. The scandal more or less came to an end with the assassination of Victoria Vixen, an event that would become the final catalyst for the War. Though the assassination was at the time only theorized to be a conspiracy (though seen transparently by Bentley Connelly), in Toontown it was well known that the Vixen Queen ordered the hit.

The Vixen Queen issued to Mallardia an ultimatum with near-impossible terms to accept. This ultimatum was based on the historical July Ultimatum issued to Serbia by Austria-Hungary in 1914 on the eve of World War I.

The episode ends with the Diary Pig beginning her first entry on the first day of the War.

### References

The interviewer, Bunny Sawyer, is named after Diane Sawyer.

The line “I pray…that nothing will come between Thumper and Evangie and the throne” spoken by Queen Libby is nearly a direct quote of a line from King George V’s diary, who wrote about his own son (later Edward VIII, who would go on to abdicate): “I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne.” Bertie would become King George VI in 1936 and Lilibet would become Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

## Trivia

* The title of this episode is a popular Christmas carol.
* This is the first Christmas special. Though one was planned for the start of the fourth season, "Silent Night" was written last-minute.
* This is the first episode to include an appendix.
* The castle depicted in the title sequence for Canis is Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
	+ At the time of the episode's publication, the castle did not have a name. The royal seat of Canis was later revealed in "Into the Fire" to be called Highland Castle.
* The castle depicted in the title sequence for the Vixen Queen's card is Alcazar Castle in Spain. It represents the Rook of Vulpus. A separate castle is used for Victoria Vixen's card, which is meant to represent the Vale of Vulpus. This castle, however, is a 3D imaging.
* The escarpment depicted in the title sequence set behind the guest cast's names is the Arnhem Land Escarpment in Northern Territory, Australia. It represents the Vixen Cliffs, which is the bottommost border of Cartonia.
* Bentley Connelly is named after the author’s dog. His surname is a Scottish surname meaning love.
	+ His brother, Thumper, was the author’s first dog.
* Bentley’s father was originally named Bowan, a name that was decided when the draft of Cartonia was first drawn up in the summer of 2017. The author then could not remember why the King was named Bowan and thought it random and odd, so it was changed last-minute to Ewan, a Scottish name to match how the royal family is implicitly Scottish Westies.
* Eusuchia is named after the collateral adjective used to describe alligators, not crocodiles: eusuchian.
* Eusuchian female monarchs are called Farresses, a reference to the Pharaohs of Egypt.
* Farress Nilia is named after the Nile River in Egypt.
* A female fox is known as a vixen.
* The collateral adjective for foxes is “vulpine,” hence the name Vulpus.
* The collateral adjective for dogs is “canine,” hence the name Canis.
* The system of inheritance used in Vulpus, distaffic primogeniture, does not exist in the world. The author made it up for the episode. Distaff is another word for female.
* Chipmunks do not have a collateral adjective to describe their species, so the name “Scuridiae” was developed based on the word “scurry.”
* The collateral adjective for rabbits is “leporine,” hence “Leprolia.”
* The duck assassin, Leevey Foster, is named after **Lee** Har**vey** Oswald and Jodie Foster, the latter of whom was not an assassin but an obsession with her by John Hinckley triggered his assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
* The collateral adjective for a duck is “anatine” but the author opted for a better-sounding Mallardia after Mallard ducks. The collateral adjective was later used to form the name of the Mallardian capital: Anatoidea.
* The Kingdom of Willie is named after *Steamboat Willie*, the first cartoon to feature Mickey Mouse.
* The royal castle of Willie, Musenzollern Castle, is named after Hohenzollern Castle, the royal seat of House Hohenzollern which was the ruling family of Germany until the abdication of the last Kaiser in 1918.
* This is the first episode since "Voice to the Chorus" to be published from the East Coast.
* The causes of the War are largely based on the leadup to the First World War, with a series of covert international alliances being thrust into a global conflict due to a series of catalysts. Victoria Vixen's assassination is a parallel for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. The Vixen Queen is partly based on Kaiser Wilhelm II.