I am so sorry it took me so incredibly long to post this chapter, but my computer got very sick and it wouldn't let me type anything without having cows. Luckily, I took it to the doctor and I got it back yesterday. I'm proud to announce that it made a full recovery! Apparently, his keyboard needed to be reset, and that was the reason that every time I tried to type a "p," I got something like this, "QEROIWUqeruEoiaOUosiduRf." It was quite annoying.

I finished the book after two days, and I LOVED it. It was definitely the best book ever written. I purchased it last night and now I am reading it again.

-Daylights-and-Sunsets-: I am glad that you are enjoying the story, and I have the same general opinions about OC's. I really wanted to make one for this story, but please don't worry, I know that we haven't learned much about her yet, but that is on purpose. Her personality is going to come out a lot more in the next several chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked, or any of the canon characters. They belong to Gregory MacGuire and Stephen Schwartz.

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The next morning broke much too early in Ayenna's opinion as she yawned and groaned at the sunlight streaming through the green curtains.

She grinned a little, though, when she realized that she had the whole day to do whatever she wanted since Dhert had told her that his father wouldn't be back until the day after this one. She just hoped that his father would give her a job. Dhert had seemed pretty sure that he would, but still….She decided to just enjoy herself and not worry about that.

She got dressed in her customary gray and started to head out the door, but right before she got into the hallway she went back into the room and grabbed a hat as an afterthought. It might be a good idea to try to cover up her face. She pulled the plain gray hat low and once again ventured into the hallway. Once she had gotten out of the building, she found herself amazed all over again at the sheer enormity of the city. Even though she didn't normally like being around people, she somehow found the crowds of the city comforting, and she reveled in getting lost in the hustle and bustle around her. She window shopped for a while, and then found a quiet café to lunch in.

Later in the evening, after she had had some supper, Ayenna looked up at the sky to see that it had darkened considerably, and it looked as though it was going to rain very soon. She sighed and quickened her pace; she didn't want to be caught outside in a rainstorm. Ever since she could remember, she had had a strange…allergy…to water. It was not life-threatening as long as the water was in small doses, but water on her skin could be very painful. She was only a block away from the inn, but it looked like the rain was going to beat her.

She quickened her pace even more until she was flat-out running. The inn loomed closer and closer, but the first few drops came down before she could get inside. Some of the water had managed to land on her arms. It made faint sizzling sounds as it burned her skin, and patches of it peeled away. She knew that later angry dark green blisters would form where she had been touched with the substance that was a veritable acid to her. She groaned and clenched her teeth against the burning pain. She knew that she would need to get an umbrella sometime soon, so that she wouldn't have to stop whatever she was doing just because it started to drizzle.

She sat in the lobby of the inn for a while, watching the weather. As soon as it stopped raining, she hurried out into the street, and careful not to step in puddles, made her way to a store she had seen earlier that morning that had carried umbrellas.

The door made a small tinkling sound as she pushed it open.

"Can I help you, dear?" asked the elderly woman behind the counter.

"No, thank you," Ayenna said, looking up at her.

The woman's mouth formed a small O when she saw her face, but she said nothing other than, "Ok, then."

Ayenna went to the back where she had seen the umbrellas. She looked for a gray one, but her search was in vain; all the umbrellas were emerald. She sighed and purchased one anyway. It would keep her safe from rain, despite the distasteful color.

That night, she had no trouble falling asleep.

Ayenna jolted awake early the following morning for no apparent reason. The first thing she realized was that today was the day she found out if she got the job at the newspaper or not. However, she could not go yet. After all, it wouldn't be very thoughtful to go banging on her possible new employer's door at six in the morning. She tried to go back to sleep, but she was too excited to accomplish more than just making herself fidgety. At nine O' clock, she simply couldn't wait any longer, and she headed for Dhert's house.

She found the residence again without too much trouble. She stood staring at the door for a moment, feeling very worried. After all, whatever Dhert's father told her would determine whether or not she would be able to make any money anytime soon. She found herself wishing she could go back to the orphanage. At least there she didn't have to worry about how she was going to afford her next meal or keep a roof over her head. Growing up wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

After a moment more, she steeled herself and knocked on the door. While she waited, she found herself rocking back and forth on her heels, a nervous habit. The door was finally opened by a kind looking man who appeared to be in his forties. Because of his resemblance to Dhert, Ayenna knew that this man must be the boy's father.

"Why, hello there," he said, not even blinking at her green skin, "You must be Ayenna. Dhert said you would be coming by."

Oh, Dhert told him I'd be coming. I'm sure he warned about my…coloration. That is the only reason he didn't scream or panic, Ayenna thought to herself sadly. Out loud, she said, "Yes, sir. I don't know what all Dhert told you about me, but I was wondering if I could possibly work for you at the newspaper."

"Yes, Dhert did tell me that you were wanting to work at the Gazette. He also told me of your situation. I can give you a job right away, and promote or demote you as needed. I can tell that you're a bright girl, though. I'm sure that I will never need to demote you."

"Oh, thank you, Sir!" Ayenna cried, elated, "When can I start?"

"Today if you like. And you can call me Strattel," said Strattel.

"Yes, Mr. Strattel. Where do I need to go to start working?"

"The office is just down the street. If you wait for a moment, Dhert and I will accompany you. It is time to get working on tomorrow's edition," Trasel told her.

He invited her inside and she made rather awkward conversation with Dhert while his father gathered up everything they needed for the day's work. Finally, they set out for the building that the Gazette was printed in. It was rather smaller than she had expected it to be, and it was made even smaller by the large printing press that occupied much of the room. But everything was very clean and organized, and Ayenna knew that she would be able to handle working here. Surprisingly, besides them, the building was deserted.

"Are there no other workers?" Ayenna asked, confused.

"Of course there are, but they do not come until 10:00 every morning. That is when the work day officially starts. It is only 9:45. They will arrive soon," Strattel told her, "Now, come, I will show you how we make newspapers."

He led her to the printing press and showed her the basics of making it work. He showed her the vats of ink and the huge stacks of paper.

"But you will not really have to worry about this stuff so much," he told her, "I have another job in mind for you."

"What?" she asked curiously.

"I want you to be one of the writers."

"Really?" she asked, thrilled. She had not been looking forward to printing newspapers all day and getting ink all over herself, but writing, that was a job she could enjoy.

"Yes. You will get opportunities to travel all over Oz, writing down the news. But today, you will just follow me around so I can teach you the basics of reporting."

By the time the day was over, Ayenna was exhausted, but she went home with money in her pocket and feeling quite proud of herself. She had explained her money situation to Strattel, and he had agreed to pay her for each day's work instead of the whole week's worth at the end of the week for a while; just until she could support herself better. On the whole, the day had been successful. While several of the other workers had stared at her, Ayenna assumed that Strattel must have had a talk with them beforehand because they had made no comment about her skin when they thought she was within earshot.