Elphaba set her broomstick on the ground, then pounded on the door. She put her head down, hoping no one could see her skin, and praying that they were still awake. It was early in the night, yet.

The man answered the door, and, as she had with the first person she had went to, Elphaba thrust the note from Dr. Dillamond in his face and waited for the man to take it.

She felt it being taken from her grasp, and heard silence. It was taking much too long for him to read the note, and she stared down at her feet, her black hair making a curtain around her face, her heart pounding, still scared of people.

"Amaurine…?" he called into the house, slightly fearfully. The door was shut in her face.

Slightly confused, Elphaba stared back up at the door, wondering if she should knock again. She could hear footsteps inside of the house, but no one was making any move to open the door again.

She stood there for at least a minute, though it felt like much longer than that. Elphaba raised her hand to knock again, but put it down quickly, deciding against it. She looked behind her, pondering over going back to Dr. Dillamond's house. It was then that the door was opened again.

She jerked her head back to the person at the door. It was a woman this time. She looked to be about thirty, and was a few inches shorter than Elphaba, and had curly, frizzy sandy blonde hair. Her eyes were small and green, and she had on a white sleeping gown with pink stripes woven into it. She smiled, though her eyes did not. "Dillamond sent you?"

Elphaba was shocked still for a moment, caught off guard. She cleared her throat. "Yes."

The woman stared at her up and down with a slightly disgusted look, which would make anyone else feel self-conscious, but Elphaba was used to it. She usually said something to people like this, but this woman was helping her. Elphaba couldn't afford to be herself around her. She stared humbly at the ground.

The woman looked back at Elphaba's face. "Elphaba, is it?" she asked, and her tone seemed to indicate that she had accepted her.

Elphaba nodded, and the woman put her hand out for Elphaba to shake. She had a weak grip. "I'm Amaurine."

Elphaba nodded again, and Amaurine turned around, walking back into her house. Elphaba wavered on the porch for a moment, then bent down to grab her broom and came inside, shutting the door behind her. The man who had opened the door was sitting on the couch in the living room. He was stocky, with strong-looking arms and short, straight brown hair combed forward to hide his balding head, though he was probably about the same age as Amaurine. He had on a brown sleeping shirt and pants, with grey slippers.

Elphaba took a look about the house. It was big, much bigger than any other place she had ever been in before – well, of houses. It had high ceilings, and lots of sleek, expensive-looking furniture. She was very intimidated by all of it, and was, not for the first time, very conscious of how shabby her own clothes were, and felt awkward standing there while holding a broom in one hand and a book in the other.

Amaurine gestured towards the man on the couch, who got up to greet her. He was nearly a head taller than she was, and she started to back up as he came near her, but then realized that he didn't mean to harm her. He extended his hand, and Elphaba dropped her broom on the floor to shake it. "I'm Rojaro. Terribly sorry that I slammed the door in your face, but I'm sure you can understand."

She nodded, not looking in his face. He was certainly intimidating, but seemed kind.

Amaurine stared at the two, then ran a hand through her hair. "Let me put your...things by the door," she suggested, and crossed back to Elphaba to get her broom. Elphaba let her handle it, not pleased with anyone else touching her things. She followed Amaurine back to the door and took her hat off, setting it on top of the Grimmerie. Amaurine stared at Elphaba's broom for a moment, but then set it down, turning away. Elphaba stood by the door for another moment, feeling intrusive.

"Why don't you sit down?" Rojaro said. "Let's talk."

Elphaba stared at them both, but they went to one of the couches and sat down, staring at her expectantly. Awkwardly, she gave a short glance back at her hat, which, for some reason, she wanted back on her head, but then walked slowly to the couch opposite the one they were sitting on and sat down primly.

"So is this what you've been doing since…"

"Yes." Elphaba answered them, not wanting to talk to them about anything.

"And Dr. Dillamond's been helping you this whole time?"

"Yes."

"Anyone else?"

"Just the people he's sent me to."

"Who are?"

Elphaba looked at them suspiciously, and Amaurine laughed. "We're just curious…you can't blame us."

Elphaba stared down. "No, I can't."

Amaurine stared at her sympathetically, and Rojaro cleared his throat. "How about we let you sleep? You've come a long way from Dillamond's."

Elphaba didn't look up, and he got up to get a blanket from upstairs. Amaurine smiled at her. "You'll be all right sleeping on the couch, correct?"

Elphaba nodded. She didn't care.

…

The next morning, Elphaba was up early. She was not going to be sleeping when Dr. Dillamond came by – she wanted to see him again.

The sun had barely risen when Elphaba was awake, and she folded the blanket that she had used and set it on the back of the couch. She heard a noise from the second floor and squinted up the stairs blurrily, wondering if they were awake. After deciding that they weren't, she sat back down on the couch, thinking. Dr. Dillamond could only protect her for so long. How many more people could he have to send her to? How many more people had enough respect for him to shelter the most sought-out fugitive since…it struck Elphaba that she couldn't remember someone that had put this much fear in the hearts of Ozians as herself. She raised her eyebrows and took it in stride, not pondering over the fact too long. The point was, Dr. Dillamond could not have too many more people to send her to. The next person might be the last one. What was she going to do after that? She needed a plan.

She didn't have time to form one. Rojaro descended the steps quickly, and it gave her a start. She looked up at him, not squinting. She never squinted in front of people. He smiled. "Sleep well?" he asked, and Elphaba registered that he did not sound like he was speaking to a Wicked Witch. He sounded like he was just speaking to a regular person.

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

He smiled at her, then went into a hallway. He changed his mind and poked his head through the door again. "Want breakfast?"

Elphaba did, but hated imposing like this. She shook her head.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked back through the door with two plates. He gave one to a baffled Elphaba, and gave her a knowing smile. He did not eat with her though; he went back into the kitchen, leaving her alone on the couch with eggs and bacon.

Amaurine came downstairs about an hour later, long after both Rojaro and Elphaba were finished eating. Her face still had sleep written on it, but she gave a tight smile to Elphaba, then went back through the hallway that Rojaro had went into for the kitchen. Elphaba could hear muffled voices, but then they stopped talking. Amaurine came back into the living room. "When do you expect Dillamond?" she asked Elphaba.

Elphaba shrugged, wishing she could give her an answer. "Sometime today…I think." She tried to recall what he had said. "He said not to leave here until he did come."

Amaurine nodded, then stood up with a smile to her. "You're welcome here as long as you stay."

…

Nessa wheeled herself down the hall, ignoring the whispers that followed her. Some people pitied her; most were afraid of her. She as the Wicked Witch's sister, after all. Nessa's face burned, and she looked up from her shoes. Boq was walking in her direction.

"Boq!" she exclaimed. Boq looked embarrassed, but didn't pretend not to see her.

"Hi, Nessa," he said, trying to pass her without stopping.

"Wait," she said, slightly confused. She hadn't seen him for longer than a few seconds since her sister…well, did what she did, and she wanted to talk to him. She smiled half-heartedly. "We haven't seen each other in awhile."

"I know."

Nessa stared up at him for a long moment, and then shook her head, wheeling the way she had been going. "Fine."

"Nessa…"

Nessa didn't turn around. She was extremely hurt, but hardly blamed Boq. This, all of this, was Elphaba's fault. She knew, she knew, that Elphaba would come back for her, though. She waited every night for Elphaba to come burst through the window on that…broom, and take her away from this horrible school. But she wouldn't go. She wouldn't go with her when she came…it'd just be sort of nice to see her sister again. She had an image of her sister smiling at her, and she almost let out a sob, but suppressed it. She didn't do that.

A/N: Umm…I don't have anything to say. There was something that I was going to say in this author's note, but I forget what it is, so…I'll just say it next time.

Blufair: Thanks! I had fun writing Elphaba/Dillamond's interaction, even though as I read it I realized it wasn't terrific. Oh well! Thanks!

Kennedy Leigh Morgan: I adore your name. : ) Thanks so much!

Elphabafabalaelphiefae: Thank you! For everything, but especially the names. As you can see, I have used two of your names in this chapter. I like them a lot, they were great suggestions! Thank you so much! Oh, and yes, my characters are definitely out of character…I don't really think Elphaba and Fiyero will ever get to have personalities. They're just there. ; )

Anonymous-cat: Thanks! Bwa ha, I suppose you must wait and see what Elphaba shall do…in a few chapters or so…yes.

Jemima: Yes! If this were a movie, there would be ominous music playing. Doo doo doo doo doo… (by the way, just in case you weren't clear, that was the ominous music. ;D )

Starsinthesky: I love Fiyero, too! I just want to…sing As Long As You're Mine with him! YES! And why thank you, I think you rock also.