~oz ONE zo~

It had been five years since the Witch arrived in Munchkinland.

Elphaba stashed her book into her pillowcase, molding the flimsy and worn pillow around the tome to better conceal it. The sun was peeking out of the early morning sky through the only window she had and she had spent too much time idling. She had read and reread the pages of that book more than she could count and yet she had let herself get so dumbly lost in the pages. She was supposed to be up before dawn, things were supposed to be finished by now.

She blew out her candle, really just a pile of wax drippings and a wick that she was able to collect in secret, and placed it up on the barren shelf. Her bare feet leapt up the stairs of the basement and pushed the heavy door open. The first floor of what used to be the Governor's mansion had been cloaked in darkness; windows had been boarded up and curtains had been nailed shut. Old furniture sat in heaps, rotting away in corners of the manse. It smelled pungent; like dead mice. She ran to the table in the center of what used to be the drawing room, upon the table stood a small stone bowl filled with an assortment of herbs and flora soaking in a strange solution.

"No, no, no." She muttered to herself, frantic as she drained the mixture in a nearby sifter, "Please be alright."

The liquid was a dark and muddy brown; this was noted as she transferred the drained substance into a clear glass jar. She held it up for inspection. Was brown good? She should have been more careful, it was supposed to be drained before the sun came up but she was stupid enough to convince herself that she could finish a chapter.

Above her the floor creaked. Her breath caught in her throat and she moved around to the opposite end of the table where the bones of a mouse waited in its own jar. She fished around for the skull missing it among the many small bones in her panic. This should have been done already. The floor continued to creak, this time nearer to the stairs and something began its descent. She found the skull and dropped it into a tube of acidic syrup waiting nearby, let out a sigh of relief and backed away to grab the broom.

She tried not to look at the Witch as she landed at the bottom of the stairs, Elphaba had never gotten used to the sight of her. The Witch had been plump when she arrived; round and even a little charming. Elphaba likened her look to that of a grandmother. The years and the spells had dried her up, though. Her eyes sunk deep into her head and her skin turned leathery; her fingers were nothing but bone and flesh with a jagged black nail at the end. She still dressed in the finery she had arrived in but she had let them grow dull with age. She clutched a cumbersome green book in her hands.

The Witch began her work at the table without any word to her servant, studying the solutions Elphaba had mucked up. The green girl made herself busy on the other side of the room using the blunt end of the broom to collect cobwebs. The Witch picked up the jar of the muddy liquid and eyed it with suspicion. Elphaba could feel her clear pupils glaring into her back. There was a low, inhuman growl from the Witch.

The bony woman began her work. Elphaba did not like to watch. She abandoned the scene, broomstick in hand and made for another room. Quietly, she grabbed herself a jar and tucked what webbing she could find into it. She looked around what used to be her family's library and mourned the loss of all the good books. A crow pierced through the only shutters in the house that had not been nailed shut and perched itself on a forgotten armchair. As she was accustomed to, she ran to the window and shut it immediately. She and the crow stared at each other like old enemies.

A shriek came from the other room, accompanied by a crash. The crow cawed fiercely. Elphaba's stomach lurched and she ran back towards the clamor. The Witch stood above the now overturned table, shattered glass and wood at her feet. Her eyes, void of color, met Elphaba's.

"You did something wrong." Her voice sounded like two snakes hissing in tandem.

Elphaba gulped down her bile, "I only did what you told me."

A force picked her up a foot off the floor and sent her crashing back down. A spell book lifted itself off of a pile and smashed itself across her face. Through gritted teeth she muttered a "Sorry" as she was hauled to her feet by invisible hands.

"Useless." The Witch shrieked as Elphaba ran to clean the mess of broken glass. A bit of acid touched and burned her fingers; she grimaced and began using her ragged dress as a glove. She stood to toss the shards of glass into the wastebasket but a rough gust of win snapped at her hand and made them drop. She looked up to meet the Witch's milky-white eye; a gnarled finger was pointed toward the direction of the door. Elphaba frowned but understood the Witch's wishes. Fearing any more of the woman's wrath she made for the door.

She ran down the hallway quick as she could to the main entrance. Elphaba opened it a crack, barely enough for her to squeeze by it. There was a hiss from behind her as a sliver of light fell onto the dusty hardwood. In the morning light now, she slammed the door shut and let out a frustrated shriek.

Months! It had taken her months to gather those flowers and herbs for that forsaken potion. She still had scrapes and bruises on her from her last encounter with the forest that surrounded Munchkinland and she was now heading right back into it.

She ripped off her apron and rammed it into the rough stone path beneath her. The crow made its appearance, circling her head. She swatted the thing away and reached for a tin bucket kept hanging next to the door. With another swipe at the crow she made her way down the road that used to shine a bright yellow into the mouth of the woods.

~oz ONE zo~