Dark Rainbow (Part 6)

The city was called Olympia and it's king was the magnificent Icarus. Golden Icarus, and well loved by all the citizens of Olympia.
The city was nothing like Dorothy had seen before. The architecture was very strange, but also every window, corner, drain, door, manhole, gutter, pipe, column, rooftop, displayed colourful charms. There were poppies in every square inch of the marble pyramids and villas.
She noticed that all of the people in Olympia were young, fresh faced, healthy, gorgeous. Not one elderly person. There were girls in white dresses dancing like ballerinas in mid air. Groomed animals dressed in poppies. Handsome men played harps. There were bowls of fruit everywhere that people could help themselves to. All the people smiled perfectly white glittering teeth.
"This is my beloved city," said king Icarus. "You'll be my honoured guests."
Icarus showed them through the city to the palace covered in gold lattice walls. Dorothy, Star Corn and Stannum were shown into a dining hall with a huge welcome feast. Dorothy felt hungry, but something about this didn't seem right. Everything was too perfect.
The courtiers were pretty airy people in white gowns, drapes, flowers in their hair. Men played harps. Women danced. Children laughed gently. They giggled and Dorothy overheard whispering voices talking about her and the others. The voices said:
"Soldier monk, hee hee." "Farmer, hee hee." "Weird girl and wolf, hee hee." "Girl is a barbarian, hee hee!"
Dorothy ignored them. The stares, grins, the pretty men and women making fun. 
At the feats, Star Corn and Stannum scoffed themselves. Totem was being a wolf and enjoyed his treats on a bone. Dorothy ate some bread and it dissolved like water, without any flavour. This was all an illusion.
Star Corn and Stannum were easily hypnotised by all of the glamour. Dorothy didn't like the way everyone was smiling. She felt uneasy.
"Dorothy," Icarus said. "You've barely eaten."
"I'm not feeling very hungry," she said.
"This food is the best in the world!"
"I just want to go home," she replied. That golden path led her to Olympia. So where was Kansas? It wasn't here. Helen told her to go home following that path. She did and her life was in danger.
"You need to follow the red path from Olympia to get home," said the cool voiced king.
"Now I follow the red path? Is this a joke?" Dorothy was feeling sick now and slammed her hand on the table, making bowls of fruit jump. She got up and her face flushed with beetroot rage.
"Sit down, girl!" Stannum ordered. "You're in the presense of the king!"
"Excuse me your highness, but I have to leave," she said.
Icarus stood and laughed. His laughter was like thunder.
"Girl!" he started."You can't just leave yet.You're under arrest and have yet to face trail for the death of princess Meng. You stole her sword and killed the straw spirit. Your pet wolf killed a number of our native animal species."
Star Corn looked at her with a mouthful of food. Stannum stared at her with cold eyes. The king looked menacing, huge and angry with his long golden mane and fiery eyes.
"Your highness," she protested."It's not what happened. I came here by accident, a tornado, the woman was dead. Helen gave me the sword, the monster in the field tried to kill me, Star Corn..."
"ENOUGH!" The king roared.
The king demanded a trial by nightfall. Dorothy was taken by two guards wearing golden chainmail and she was placed in a small white cell with a tiny round window, facing a green jade disk on a wall with a motif of a gold lion. She was left there for hours. Dorothy cried and called for her aunt Emerald.
(End of Part 6. To be continued in Part 7).

This story was written by me and it's loosely based on the "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" adventures by L. Frank Baum.