With Glinda neutralized and a revolt being organized, Lo realized that she could no longer live in her self-imposed seclusion. She had to break her anonymity…while at the same time keeping her secrets…by heading out to the Emerald City, a place she had not been to for many months. Back then, the charlatan ruler…the Wizard of Oz…was in the seat of absolute power.

He also factored into the reason she had gone into anonymity.

Ojo, in his determination to undo the petrification his accident inflicted on Glinda, Doctor Pipt and his wife, followed her over, as did the Woozy and the glass cat. The entourage had left Munchkinland moments after Prudence had given Lo the notice about the forming of the army. She looked at the notice again during her journey, by pink horse-drawn carriage, to the city…

WAKE UP, people of Oz!

Our lands must NO LONGER
be DEFENSELESS in the face
of future threats to the land!

It's time to make a
DIFFERENCE!

Do your part in making Oz
STRONG!

Say NO to charlatan Wizards
and their straw-stuffed puppets!

Join the CITIZENS ARMY!

Inquire with Farmer MILLICENT
in the Gillikin Country

Farmer Millicent. The Gillikin Country. This was what had alarmed Lo upon her first look at this notice.

Millicent Thrombey, after all, was a name Mombi frequently used to disguise herself. Lo herself was once deceived by this pose.

The munchkin witch had failed to convince any of the gillikins that Millicent was actually Mombi. The old witch was too good at covering her true identity, despite her defeat at Glinda's hands.

As it was late in the day, and despite the pleas of the glass cat that she represent them as they slept(which she knew could be a potentially disastrous option), Lo and Ojo were given rooms in the royal palace to sleep, and they turned in following a nourishing meal. As much as the Scarecrow wanted very much to inquire with Lo about a way to break the petrification spell, he knew that while he as a straw-stuffed man could go day and night without sleep, Lo and Ojo were "meat people", as the munchkin farmer who created him called them. As meat people, they needed sleep. All the better for them to have all the energy and clear thought for them to be questioned about their urgent business…and in Lo's case, the petrification…once they had finished their breakfast.

Lo was the first to rise from her sleep, and she went right to the throne room, where one of the maids on evening duty permitted the munchkin witch to step in.

The Scarecrow monarch was quick to explain the situation regarding Glinda and her petrification, but Lo's reply was not what the straw-stuffed king was hoping to hear.

"I'm afraid I haven't the skill to undo such an effect, your majesty." Lo responded. "However, I have a means by which I can acquire answers, and it would seem that something must be created to break the spell. Ojo has been quite steadfast, thus far, in acquiring the ingredients we need. That box-like creature…the Woozy…has one of the components on his tail. It's just a matter of detaching them, which is a difficult matter in itself as the Woozy's hide…even at that stubby tail…is quite thick, and the hairs on the tail that we need won't come out very easily."

Lo then told the listening monarch about the other ingredients needed…or rather, the ones that had not yet been acquired. The six-leaf clover, and the one-quarter pint of well water.

"Well! The water shouldn't be a problem!" The Scarecrow responded. "I'm sure we have plenty of wells all over Oz!" He then looked to the maid standing beside the throne seat. "Don't we?"

"This water cannot come from just any well, your majesty." Lo noted. "It needs to come from a well where no light…not even direct moonlight, nor direct sunlight…shines down into its depths. I know of one such well, but it is in the Gillikin Country, and it is perilously close to a certain farmhouse inhabited by a certain witch."

"Mombi?"

Lo nodded. "I'm afraid so…and we may have a much bigger problem on its way to the Emerald City, your majesty."

At this point, Jellia Jamb stepped into the throne room, allowing the maid assigned to the king to step away and retire for a few hours' sleep of her own. Upon spotting Lo, she gave the munchkin witch a polite curtsey. "Good morning."

Lo smiled. "Good morning, Jellia. I trust you had a very good night's sleep?"

Jellia blinked. "You…know me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jellia dear. I should introduce myself." The old munchkin extended a small hand. "My name is Lo."

"Lo? OH! You're the good witch from Munchkinland! Thank goodness you're finally here!" Jellia accepted the hand, gently shaking it as she smiled. "I guess you know about what happened."

Lo nodded. "Although there's a far more grave matter which I was about to share with the king." She then handed the notice Prudence gave her to the Scarecrow. Jellia also looked at it, reading over the Scarecrow's shoulder.

The stuffed monarch frowned as he lifted his head up to look at Lo. "Millicent?"

"If I'm right, her full name is Millicent Thrombey." Lo replied. "It was an alias that Mombi once used."

Jellia frowned. "If you're right?"

"Well, I would not want us to jump to conclusions, Jellia." Lo warily noted. "We only know this woman's first name. There could logically be other Millicents in Oz, after all!"

Jellia nodded. "We just have to confirm the last name, then."

The Scarecrow's eyes were back on the notice, however, as Lo and Jellia spoke. His gaze lingered on its words thoughtfully.

"They think I'm a puppet?" The Scarecrow now looked troubled. "But…I have no hand in my head, moving my mouth! And my voice is my own!"

"I think they mean that the Wizard purposely put you on the throne while he was away." Jellia explained. "Whoever wrote this seems to think that if the Wizard returns, you'll let him resume his rule."

"Well, that seems only fair, don't you think?" The Scarecrow reasoned. "I mean…I never asked to be the ruler of Oz. All I wanted was a brain!"

"But you have been such a good ruler, your majesty." Lo gently noted. "You don't want to abandon the people who do trust in you, do you?"

"But…I can't think of things like armies and fighting and...and setting new rules about emergencies at the gates of the city!" The Scarecrow looked troubled now. "I'm just a scarecrow!"

"A scarecrow with a very good brain, your majesty!" Jellia reminded.

"Good brain? I thought a right triangle was an isosceles triangle, Jellia!" The straw-stuffed monarch countered.

Lo had to quickly interject. "Your highness…if I may, if anyone asked me…before, or after, the Wizard gave you your brain…if I could use my witchcraft to help find the smartest person on this entire planet who had the most perfect brain, or a globally-accepted leader of men, women, and children, I can tell you, with all the conviction imaginable, that my answer…whether I used my witchcraft or not…would be the same as Glinda's."

Jellia and the Scarecrow looked curiously to Lo, awaiting her answer.

Lo then smiled. "That no such person exists, nor will such a person ever exist. Not even a magically-created individual like yourself, nor any animal. Your tin-plated friend, Nick Chopper, has a very sentimental nature and is well-deserving of the heart the Wizard gave him, but he's certainly not the most heartfelt person on the planet, nor is your other friend, the Lion, the most courageous of all living things."

Jellia nodded in agreement, but the Scarecrow still looked perplexed. "But…what do I do about this 'Citizens Army'?"

Lo thought on this. "Perhaps if we were able to find this 'Millicent', we could…"

A loud rapping on the throne room door, echoing through the long hall leading to the throne room, interrupted the munchkin witch. They then heard the sound of a door opening, and footsteps heading their way. Such was the Scarecrow's established protocol: knock, and then enter. And when he heard such a knock, he knew that it almost always came from Private Omby Amby.

As Omby walked down the hall, a wheezing sound could also be heard. The wheeze sounded very much like a donkey's bray.

The boy was wrapped in a bedsheet, with only his lightly-furred face showing. He looked terribly nervous as he stood in front of the Scarecrow, who gazed upon the partially-transformed boy sympathetically, as did Lo and Jellia.

"He would not identify himself, your highness." Omby reported. "Apparently, he does not remember it."

Lo stared upon the boy, deep in thought. "I think, before we hear anything from this boy, he should at least have the benefit of a drink." She looked to Jellia. "A goblet of lacasa, if you would, Jellia." Lo then stepped over to the head maid and whispered in her ear. "Bring a spoon, too."

Jellia nodded, and hurried away to the palace's kitchen to acquire the beverage. While she was a way, the Scarecrow turned to the boy. "Did someone…make you look like this?"

"I…I can't say." He wheezed again, involuntarily. "She'll find me. She always does."

"But who, dear?" Lo asked. "Who is it that always finds you?"

The boy squinted his eyes shut. "I can't say! I…can't…sayeeeEEE-AWWW!"

"All right, all right. I apologize, young man." Lo patted gently at the boy's shoulders in consolation. "We'll just wait for your drink to arrive, yes?"

And arrive it did, a few moments later. Jellia brought a full pitcher of lacasa, with a single goblet full of the beverage, both of which had been placed on a tray. Lo took the goblet off the tray, and then produced a packet that was ripped open. Lo poured its contents…a fine white powder…into the lacasa goblet. Discreetly procuring the requested spoon from Jellia, Lo stirred and dissolved the powder into the drink, which she then brought over to the boy once she handed the spoon back to Jellia.

The boy, who was indeed thirsty from his on-foot trek to the city, accepted the offered drink and began pouring it right down his throat as a smiling Lo watched. Jellia was also quite curious for what this powder would do.

When the boy was brought before the king, the Scarecrow, Jellia and Lo noticed evidence of a donkey tail between the boy's legs. This tail now began to shrink, moving upwards towards the boy's spine. He then began to writhe a bit from the tingles and weird sensations going through his body. They also saw that the boy's blackened nose was restoring itself to its natural color.

In the next moment, the boy blinked, noticing that he no longer had the involuntary urge to wheeze, and he released the bedsheet that covered him as well, revealing a perfectly normal…but still nervous-looking…human boy.

The Scarecrow smiled, as did Jellia, as the boy looked to them. "D…do you have any more of that stuff?"

Jellia nodded. "You can have as much as you like, dear…although we do have some questions for you."

The boy lowered his head. "Well…I…I'll try to answer them…but I honestly don't know too much."

"Whatever you can answer will be fine, young man…and no matter what, you're getting more of that drink." The Scarecrow assured, gesturing to Jellia, who refilled the now-empty goblet. The monarch's burlap face then turned back to the boy. "Now…can you tell us who made you look as you did?"

The boy sighed. "I told you…I…"

Lo quickly interjected, moving to whisper into the boy's ear. "Was it Mombi, dear? Just nod your head if I'm right."

The boy looked to Lo for a moment, and then nodded his head. "I really hope she didn't do anything to that nice gillikin girl, Rosemary. She was nice enough to do that…um…'diss-track-shun' thing with Mombi so I could get here."

"Well! This Rosemary must be a very brave girl!" Lo observed, smiling.

"Rosemary?" The Scarecrow frowned, rubbing at his burlap head in contemplation. "We sent Dorothy out to find Mombi, too…and if Dorothy is renowned for killing witches, she might have thought Mombi would know the name."

"And you think Rosemary and Dorothy are one and the same?" Jellia surmised aloud as she handed the full goblet to the boy.

"I'd stake my Th-D on it, Jellia!" The stuffed monarch replied.

Lo's eyebrows rose. "Ahhh, so Dorothy did make it to you, your majesty. Very good, very good!" The old witch smiled, but then her expression went serious. "But…you say she was sent out to find Mombi? Why in the world did you do that?"

"Actually, it was Dorothy's idea, Lo." The Scarecrow responded. "It was a logical argument, too. We thought Mombi could be hiding in plain sight using a disguise. She figured if she went in under a disguise, under the pretense of someone wanting to meet her…"

"Dorothy figured she might want an apprentice." Jellia quickly interjected. "She explained that idea to me while I was preparing her disguise."

Lo sighed. "Jellia…you'd be surprised how long I've known old Mombi. I can tell you, therefore, that in my experience, she would sooner take a servant…as she no doubt did with this boy…than train an apprentice. When Mombi was defeated by Glinda, Mombi made a promise to never again use magic in the north lands. She also promised to develop a farm owned by a rival she had eliminated during her short but merciless reign. This rival also wanted to convince Mombi to make her an apprentice…but when the rival learned just how wicked Mombi was as a witch, she turned on her. Needless to say, that rival was never seen again."

A grave expression was now on the burlap face of the king of Oz as he lowered his head. "Oh, no…"

Jellia had a regretful expression as well. "It's…been some time…since we sent her out…" She looked to Lo. "…do you think she might have seen through Dorothy's disguise, Lo?"

"Oh, it's possible that she hasn't!" Lo replied. "Assuming Dorothy has been playing it smart. I mean…Mombi is certainly a powerful witch, but I don't think she's powerful enough to read minds, otherwise she would not be so reliant on transformation magic."

Jellia nodded. "If you can't read their minds, fool the truth out of them."

Lo nodded. "Precisely."

"But you said she'd sooner take a servant than an apprentice." The stuffed monarch interjected. "If the boy was her servant, it's possible she has Dorothy serving her now, whether she's in disguise or not."

"Right, but if Mombi knew Rosemary was Dorothy, Mombi would see her as too much of a threat to keep as a servant." Lo countered. "If she still thinks our friend from Kansas is Rosemary, though, we might have a shot at getting her away from there."

"But…what about that big army?" The boy asked.

The Scarecrow lowered his head again. "The Citizens Army. Dear me…Dorothy captured, and we have these soldiers to think about, too! I don't think my brain can handle all this at once!"

"I bet your brain could if everyone could see it work!" came a familiar female voice.

They all turned to see Omby Amby marching into the throne room. Behind him was the munchkin boy, Ojo, and flanking him were the Woozy and the glass cat.

"Good morning, Auntie Lo." Ojo remarked, rubbing at his eyes. "Say…can I see that notice you had? About the army?" He then noticed the Scarecrow, and gave a courteous bow. "Oh…I'm sorry, your highness."

The Scarecrow rose up from the throne seat and handed the notice to Ojo, who took a close look at every word of it. "Hmmm…defenseless…charlatan…puppets…"

After another scrutinizing moment, the boy's head rose. "I think I know who wrote this. I've seen her writing before."

Lo's eyebrows rose up. "You have?"

"Uh-huh. If I'm right, then my cousin is in this army. She could even be leading it." Ojo revealed. "If I'm right, her name is Jinjur."

"Jinjur?" The Scarecrow now had a surprised expression of his own. "She was one of the soldiers I sent out to look for a stolen dishpan! She ran off in a huff when Master General Commander Belay tricked me into thinking she gave him her progress report." He then lowered his head regretfully. "I never realized there was any kind of rivalry between them."

"Maybe Mombi convinced Jinjur to create this army, your highness." Jellia surmised aloud.

"So? Forget Mombi! Let's put a spy in that army!" The glass cat then remarked, as the cubes of her pink brains continued to shift around. "Someone we can trust! Send a woman, though. I don't understand why it always has to be a man soldier…anyway, send a woman with a good head on her shoulders! Of course, her brain could never be as good as mine…I mean, you can see mine work…"

The Woozy turned his box-like head to the cat curiously. "Why is it so important for people to see your brains work? I was watching them all last night, and they didn't seem so special to me."

The cat tilted her head curiously. "Then why is everyone staring at me all of a sudden?"


Once the morning sun had reached the five o' clock position, Dorothy Gale's eyes began to flutter open.

Stretching and yawning for a long moment upon the thick pile of hay she slept on, her eyes then widened as she suddenly realized that something felt very different to her this morning.

The tingles she had running all over her body, since Mombi had grasped her shoulders, were now completely gone. The bruises Mombi's fingers had made were also gone.

Dorothy closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. It also became apparent to her that she wasn't tired in any way beyond her stretching and yawning upon waking up. She therefore began to rise from the bed of hay she had been laying on…

…and found this action to be a little more difficult, given the visible difference in her appearance compared to the previous day.

Curiously glancing at her arms, she noticed that they looked slightly larger than usual. Her hands then went to her face, feeling at her cheeks and her neck. Nothing felt any different.

When Dorothy made the effort of rising to her feet, however, she let out a slight grunt, as if burdening excess weight. She did make it to her feet, and although she was still in her milkmaid uniform, the shape of her body finally revealed what Mombi had done to the disguised Kansas girl.

Although she was not at all grossly fat, Dorothy was definitely larger in frame. Her fully-uniformed body, usually quite trim for a girl her age, was now more of a rubenesque figure. Her clothes felt a little tight on her, although she could still move around and work in them.

It now dawned on Dorothy. The meaning of what Mombi had said before those bony fingers of hers dug into the Kansas girl's shoulders. About how Dorothy was apparently "a little out of shape".

Which obviously implied that Mombi didn't want Dorothy joining the planned revolt at all. At least, not as a soldier. But if Jinjur needed spellcasters, then why didn't Mombi start training Dorothy in witchcraft?

She didn't quite know what to think of this, although she suspected that the next time she saw Mombi, she would likely gloat about it. Noticing a broom in one corner of the barn, she grabbed it and began sweeping around the barn, doing what she could to tidy up the area in advance of the old witch paying her a visit.

As her sweeping routine had her coming close to the stall where the four-horned cow had slept, Dorothy noticed that she was not there. No doubt she was in the fields grazing. The Kansas girl swept within the stall area as well, making sure it was particularly clean and tidy.

Once Dorothy was sure the stall was as clean as she could possibly get it, she turned around…and gasped in surprise, seeing a smirking Mombi standing a few paces away from her. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest as she got a good look at her milkmaid.

"I see we're looking a bit…heavy today?" Mombi mused aloud. "I should feed you smaller bowls of soup from now on!"

"I…I was just cleaning around the barn…"

"I noticed." Mombi stepped closer to Dorothy, a partial smile on her face. "You did good work on the butter and cheese yesterday. I have a good amount of milk today as well, thanks to you, my future apprentice."

"Miss Mombi…please…why do I look like this?" Dorothy asked. "Is it because…"

"It's because I WANTED you to look like this, dog!" Mombi growled. "In case you had any ideas about that little army you spied on yesterday. I don't want you doing any silly fighting. I want you working!"

"Oh, but Miss Mombi…I don't have any interest at all in that army!" Dorothy assured, as convincingly as she could. "I told you…I want to be a witch, just like you! You didn't have to do anything to me…I'm with you, one hundr…"

Mombi grasped Dorothy's cheeks with a firm grip. "I will do whatever I want to you, milkmaid! Hasn't it dawned on you that your loyalty to me is being tested? I command, you obey!" Letting her go, the old witch then stepped behind Dorothy, her hands once again on her shoulders as she brought her lips close to the disguised Kansas girl's right ear. "Like a gooood girl."

Dorothy blinked at the sound of those last two words. They sounded strangely familiar to her, and she began staring forward nervously. Memories of Aunt Em using those very same words to her whenever she behaved herself around the farm back in Kansas filled her mind. In fact, she remembered dreaming about these moments during the night.

"That's right." Mombi continued to speak in Dorothy's ear in a soft tone. "My cow likes you, Rosemary dear. You're going to start taking very good care of her, won't you?"

Despite the four horns, the cow did remind her of Imogene, the cow that was a part of the Gale farm. She remembered Uncle Henry teaching her how to milk the Holstein. "Yes."

"That's right." Mombi remarked as Dorothy continued to stare forward. "You're going to continue making more good milk, more delicious cheese, and more fresh butter for me, won't you?"

Reminded of the butter and cheese-making processes she remembered both Aunt Em and Uncle Henry showing her how to do, Dorothy nodded very slowly. "Yes."

"That's right." Mombi gently hissed. "Because being a good, hard-working milkmaid is all you want to be for me, isn't it?"

One corner of Dorothy's lips moved upward. Despite herself, she found this notion strangely agreeable. She liked being able to help her Aunt and Uncle around the farm, after all. "Yes."

"That's right." Mombi hissed into the Kansas girl's left ear, and then hissed unto the right ear. "That's right. That's all you want to do. Work, work, work. You crave it. You love it. When you're not tending so obediently to your favorite four-horned cow, you're going to clean up all around my farmhouse. You'll prepare my breakfast. My lunch. My dinner. You'll revel in the toil and the trouble of your duties. Welcome every bead of sweat that moistens your smooth skin. The scent of work. The strain of work. You'll want more and more of it! Because being a good, hard-working milkmaid is all you want to be for me, isn't it?"

Dorothy slowly nodded, never once blinking her eyes. A slight smile was now on her lips. "Yes."

"Gooood girl." A wicked grin was now on Mombi's face. "Gooood girl. So ready and willing to fill those pails in front of the barn with water from the dark well near the edge of the forest to the west of here. So ready and willing to use that water to mop and clean the floors of my farmhouse. So ready and willing to wipe and to scrub every little inch of my farmhouse kitchen until it is completely spotless. I bet you can't wait to do all of that, don't you?"

Dorothy nodded once again. "Yes."

"Thaaat's right." The witch whispered into one ear. "Goooood girl." She then whispered into the other.

Mombi then raised a hand up near Dorothy's right ear and clicked its fingers sharply. The disguised Kansas girl rapidly blinked out of her trance, and then looked to the grinning witch.

"Now go on and get those pails filled. Quickly now!"

Dorothy performed a quick curtsey. "Yes, Miss Mombi!" She then headed out to the front of the barn, grabbing the handles of four pails…two in each hand…and hurrying down the road towards the well she had been instructed to get the water from.

As Mombi watched her milkmaid walk further and further from the barn, the four-horned cow clopped beside her. "What a devious little spell you've cast." The Holstein remarked.

"That was no magic spell at all, although the enchantment I laid upon her yesterday helped make what I just did easier." Mombi replied. "It's a form of suggestive hypnosis the Wicked Witch of the East was developing. She taught it to me before our little falling-out." The witch then turned her head to the curious cow. "Now you know why I had you whispering the exact words I told you to repeat to Rosemary as she slept. You'll need to do the same thing tonight, though, to reinforce the effect."

The four-horned cow nodded. "So you really didn't need an apprentice, did you?"

"Of course not." Mombi revealed as she rubbed at the four-horned cow's furry head, her eyes still on Rosemary. "Apprentices have a bad habit of being annoyingly dependent on their teachers. Since I no longer have that pathetic little burro of a boy, I figured Rosemary would make a suitable replacement." The witch then turned to look upon her prized cow. "If she ever screws up, I wouldn't mind having another cow joining you as you graze in the fields. You do like Rosemary, after all."

The cow smiled wickedly. "That's right."


The recruiter, who had come from the southern Quadling region, blinked when she saw the newest recruit's known skills. "Pastry-making?"

The female recruit nodded. "I know it's not much, but at least I can keep your soldiers well fed."

The recruiter, whose name was Trixie, nodded. "Well…can you cook real food? Doesn't make sense to feed an army nothing but sweets, after all."

"I should hope so." The recruit replied. "I mean, I am a cook…but does that make any difference? You want soldiers, don't you?"

Trixie smirked. "That's up to the General." She then looked to the person behind this female recruit as Trixie handed the page the cook had filled out to Lieutenant Spindle. "NEXT!"

Spindle gestured for the recruit to follow her, and the munchkin officer took the cook into an adjoining room, where the recruit found herself facing the General herself. Spindle handed Jinjur the cook's recruitment form, and after giving it a thorough examination, Jinjur turned her eyes to the cook herself, looking her up and down, and pacing slowly around her.

Once she was back in front of the cook, Jinjur fixed a stern stare upon the taller human woman. "So…what's your issue with the king?"

A cold and accusing look was on the cook's face now. "That straw-stuffed idiot sent out armies from all four of the lands that make up Oz, and he still couldn't find my dishpan."

A knowing smile slowly formed on Jinjur's lips. She then extended a hand. "Welcome to the Citizens Army, Cayke." She then looked to Spindle. "Put her in the kitchen."

Cayke smirked. "I don't suppose you can help me find my dishpan?"

"Oh, don't worry." Jinjur assured. "Once we've overthrown the king, we'll get it for you."

Mopping floors. Tidying up the barn. A bowl of soup for breakfast. Making bread. And, of course, tending to the four-horned cow.

Such was Dorothy's first morning working as Mombi's servant and milkmaid.

All the work had the disguised Kansas girl visibly exhausted. She was constantly covered in sweat, and milk stains began showing in blotches on her purple uniform.

Yet, Dorothy felt compelled to keep working, as per her hypnotically-implanted suggestions.

The larger figure Mombi had given her didn't make things much easier, although she had been conditioned to welcome the strains that came with the work nevertheless. Welcome the sweat. Welcome the many jobs the old witch had tasked her to do, which she attended to without complaint, and which she accomplished in a manner that...disappointed Mombi. After all, the old crone had wanted to hear the girl complaining. Whining. Even screaming in frustration.

Mombi was given no such satisfaction. Still...having Rosemary do all the work would certainly keep the old witch in the lap of luxury for as long as she fed her new milkmaid the requisite breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

When Dorothy gave the four-horned cow her morning milking, her touch was always as gentle as the Holstein preferred it to be, and she never needed to remind the milkmaid any further. By the time Mombi's servant began working the butter churn, it was almost time for lunch.

And as she worked the churn, she saw uniformed crowds begin to gather in front of the farmhouse. No doubt the army was beginning another training regimen. From what Dorothy remembered, the next day was supposed to be the time of the army's march on the Emerald City.

This, however, was what troubled the hard-working young milkmaid as she ate her lunch. She knew the idea of her being there in the first place was to confirm that Mombi was indeed spotted and was up to no good…

…but the mental conditioning held her where she was, doing the things she had been mesmerized into doing. Work she liked doing, and work she was certainly capable of doing, and being fed for it. Aside from her now being as large as she was, where was the wickedness in this?

Dorothy surmised that she would need at least a single night, assuming all of the work she needed to do was done. She deduced that she needed to work extra hard. Push herself. Work fast and to satisfaction despite her larger frame. She would then need to somehow send word to the Emerald City that Mombi was indeed up to…

was she up to no good? The farm needed a lot of work, and it didn't seem fair that no one else was helping. No…she needed to stay. And work extra hard. Push herself. Please Mombi, so she could receive more of the work she liked doing.

Because being a good, hard-working milkmaid is all Dorothy wanted to be for Mombi.

And so she glanced, periodically, at the training procedures during her afternoon milking of the four-horned cow. As Dorothy worked, she caught the smell of fresh cookies as another uniformed recruit wearing a white apron began walking among the army aspirants carrying a bowl. She seemed to be making an offering to each of the recruits. Some accepted, while others did not.

As she got closer, Dorothy noticed that the recruit wearing the apron was indeed offering cookies, and she had a lot of them in the bowl. She asked the same question, with a smile on her face, as she handed each of them out, one per trainee. "Victory cookie?"

The milkmaid was anxious to take one for herself…

…but when she got close to the milkmaid, Dorothy's hand was lightly slapped away, and the recruit frowned at the surprised milkmaid. "Don't be ridiculous. You're large enough as it is!" This earned the cookie lady a few giggles from the surrounding women as she stepped away from Dorothy.

Sighing regretfully, the disguised Kansas girl resumed milking the four-horned cow.

"Hmph. That wasn't very nice of her." The four-horned cow remarked. "You do so much more work around here compared to them. You're the best servant Mombi has ever had, did you know that?"

Dorothy's eyebrows raised in recognition of this revelation. "Really? She…she told you that?"

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you are…and I've been on this farm ever since Mombi inherited it." The husky-voiced Holstein explained. "Like I had said, I never liked the boy that was here before you. Too much of a nervous wreck, and he's been serving Mombi long before you came."

Dorothy nodded. "He must have heard about all the terrible things she did in the past…but, it's funny. She doesn't seem so bad to me."

"Oh, Mombi definitely has a very nasty streak." The Holstein countered. "In fact, as I recall, she 'taught a lesson' to another boy that served her once. Punishment for a scare he once gave her using a pumpkin-headed wooden statue he built while she was sleeping one night. After the terrible argument that followed, he disappeared, and then that fraidy-cat servant replaced him. I don't know what happened to that first boy, but…well, that's none of my business." The cow then turned her head to Dorothy, smiling. "Those boys could never be a good girl, like you."

Dorothy smiled wide at this, and wrapped her arms around the cow's thick neck, hugging it tightly and affectionately in her appreciation. "Mmmm…thank you, Miss Cow."

The cow giggled. "Back to work now, milkmaid."