They arrived by broom- Elphaba hadn't been sure it would support the both of them, but it had. All the same she and Fiyero were eager to get back on firm ground. She was sweating in the men's shirt she wore- she had decided to use her old disguise again, not wanting to run into any member of her family that could recognize her.

"Wow. Is all of Munchkinland like this?" Fiyero gestured to the little town they had arrived in- Center Munch, the town where Galinda had read in a newspaper that the house had landed.

She frowned. She had been very young when her parents had moved into the Quadling, and visits to her parent's homeland hadn't been especially common. Shrugging, "Not really, only in some of the more secluded towns. Nest Hardings wasn't this cheery."

Indeed, Center Munch was cheery to say the least- while most Munchkinlander families had married into height along the way, some were still purely "little". The town of Center Munch was doubtlessly sheltered, and all of the homes were tiny. The citizen's clothing was brightly colored, as were their homes. Colwen Grounds was a day away. She recalled the newspaper article Glinda had shown her- her family was making a visit to the Eminent Thropp. Nessa and Frex had decided to visit the little town, that was still mostly Lurlinest. To see what new converts they could get.

And now Nessarose was dead. It was easy to fine the spot where she had died- the house was larger than the others, and not nearly as colorful. Elphaba dropped to her knees in front of it, Fiyero watching her from a few feet away. "Nessie, I'm so sorry I ran away like I did. You didn't do anything wrong, I promise."

All was very quiet- the Munchkinlanders were avoiding the outsiders... except for one, and that one was from another town, anyway. "Boq, is that you?" Fiyero called out. Elphaba looked up, trying to see. Indeed, there he was. She touched the brick of the house before pulling herself to her feet.

"Fiyero!" He jogged over and noticed Elphaba, "Alphaeus. I never thought I'd see either of you again, we were worried. Why did you two up and leave like that?"

They looked at each other. Biting the bullet, Fiyero decided to go with the easiest explanation. He pointedly looped his arm around "Alphaeus's" shoulders. "Shiz just... wasn't for us. We wanted to get away... to where we could be together."

Boq nodded. Galinda hadn't been lying when she had said that all of Shiz had had suspicions when the two roommates ran off. "Oh, that. Well, no matter. It's good to see the two of you and I hope you're doing well."

Elphaba smiled, pleased that her friend was so accepting, even if it was needless. If she had actually been male, it shouldn't have affected anyone's opinion of her relationship with Fiyero. But still, something bothered her. "Boq, I thought you were from Rush Margins. Why are you up here?"

"I'm just helping my uncle on his farm for the summer. Funny, I didn't plan to have any excitement. Alphaeus, did you know Miss Thropp? I couldn't help but notice you kneeling by the house. Friends of the family?"

She shut her eyes. "Vaugely, when we were young. Do you know much about what happened? To her family, too?"

He nodded. "The Thropps. It wasn't pretty, lots of gossip floating around. Miss Nessarose's family lived in the Quadling Country. Her father Frexpar, her, her little brother, and her older sister. The sister was named Elphaba, I remember. We were actually in a play group together when we were little, before the family moved. I can't remember much of her other than that she had green skin. Peculiar, right? The other kids picked on her, though I didn't. Well, anyway, Elphaba ran off almost a year ago. Some family strife. Apparently, Nessarose blamed herself for it. She was very religious already. When her sister disappeared, she only fell deeper in it."

"It wasn't her fault at all." At Boq's odd look, she clarified. "I mean, I doubt it was... I mean, hell!" She was untying her hair before anyone could say anything else. "I mean, it wasn't my sister's fault that I left at all. It was simply me being an emotional idiot."

"What?" Boq raised his eyebrows in understandable confusion.

"If we wait an hour or two, my skin will be green again."

Elphaba's explanation wasn't helping. Fiyero stepped in. "You see... Elphaba didn't just run off. She disguised herself, very well, might I add. As our friend, Alphaeus. Alphaeus, Elphaba. You get it?"

Boq's expression changed from confusion, to shock, to disbelief, and finally to acceptance. He gave Elphaba a hard look, remembering her little nuances and peculiarities from Shiz. He asked the first question that came to mind. "I think I understand... so you two didn't run off to be lovers like Avaric said?"

Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a look, fighting the urge to laugh. "Well, we did. It's just that she is a she. Though that probably makes the rumor a little less entertaining to Avaric, he'll still probably spread it along." He kissed her on the cheek, and she smiled a little.

But then her expression changed. "But Boq, my sister. What exactly happened? I-I need to know."

He opened his mouth, but stopped. "Alph- Elphaba, sorry. Are you sure you really want to know?"

She nodded. "I have to."

"She was visiting at the local Church. There was a storm, a bad one. There was a funnel cloud, it took everyone by surprise. The house came from the sky- I didn't see it happen, but everyone around said it was very quick. Nessarose likely felt no pain, didn't know what was happening." He stopped. She leaned heavily onto Fiyero's shoulder, letting her hair fall around her face like a curtain. "Elphaba, maybe we should stop."

"No... you believe she felt no pain?"

"No, I don't think there was any pain. It was all very, very fast." He hesitated. "The house is completely intact. The little girl wasn't hurt at all, or the little mutt."

Her head snapped up, revealing her tears. "What? A little girl?"

He nodded. "Dorothy, her name is Dorothy. Her aunt and uncle owned the house. She was completely horrified when she realized someone was dead. Everyone pitied her. She said she came from Kansas, though no one has heard of that place. Some suggested she visit the Wizard. He's from the Otherworld, right? Maybe he could point her in the right direction."

She scoffed, thinking of the Wizard's policies. "Poor thing. The Wizard is probably a humbug, someone just claiming to have some mystical life. Wherever she's from, no doubt she's as stuck here as we are."