A/N: And I couldn't sleep, so here we go again. Just in case I haven't warned you guys. I have no plans for this, no idea where I'm going. AT ALL. This is a prolonged bout of spontaneity put into several thousand words. This also means if anyone has any suggestions on what they want to happen, please let me know.

I'm the Witch 4

4 days later a flurry of green flew through the highest window of Kiamo Ko and landed with a dull thud in a crumpled pile of black. Elphaba struggled to her feet after a while. More because of the silence than any overwhelming desire to actually be upright. Maybe Jayla had actually boiled Liir and then disappeared rather than face her wrath. Provided she would react violently, it was one less mouth to feed after all, particularly with the other woman's unexpected arrival. Stop kidding yourself, she self-chastised, you'd be ropeable if she hurt him in any way, shape or form.

Ignoring her less than ideal physical state, she dragged herself down stairs to ensure the child in her care was at the very least still alive. The Witch of the Woods could go and find another wood to make a home in, the boy was dependent on her. By the time she reached the lower level, she could here noises if she strained her ears. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell if they were adult, child or both. Maybe even Monkey.

A glance into the sitting room provided her with an answer. Liir was sitting on the floor with paper and quill, copying something from a book. Jayla was reading a book on the Kumbrican Witch. Chistery was surreptitiously pilfering biscuits off a plate on the table in front of Liir. The scene was inherently normal. Elphaba wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Her mind now satisfied that Liir was well allowed her body to pass out and, she didn't have to deal with it anymore.

"How did I get here?" A groggy Elphaba questioned when she woke a few hours later clean and, in her bed.

"Jayla did some spells." Liir responded from next to you. This confused the green woman more than anything. Last thing she had remembered was the shed in Munchkinland.

Sheep of all ages were penned in so tightly none of them could move. The smell of blood and death permeated the air. In the air several feet above, the Witch wrinkled her nose. Despite a high exposure to it, she never could stand the stench that came with loss of life. Although, it had been that dislike that had gotten her inside the shed in the first place. As soon as she had flown into the vicinity, she'd been able to smell it. The strength of the smell had angered her so much she'd blown a hole in the roof of the shed big enough for her to fly through.

Dallying won't get you or the Animals anywhere, she reminded herself and dropped lower while staying on her broom. There was a door on the other side and she would have to figure out how to open it. No way could she risk blowing something up again. Likely, the falling metal had killed some of the Sheep, but she didn't want to think about that. It would have to be the door.

"I'm going to open the door and you are going to flee." She informed the Sheep as they flew over her. Whispers reached her ears; they knew who she was and they were extremely thank ful. Particularly those with young Lambs at their feet.

Elphaba flung open the door and waited until the shed was once again empty. Remaining were the bodies of the dead. She could do nothing for them, as it was she was risking detection which would do nobody any good. Just as she turned to close the door she felt the impact of something in the side of her head then, nothing.

Snarling and an instinct informing her of danger woke her. Sure enough, there was trouble and she was right in the middle of it. Half-starved and ferocious looking animals were eyeing her hungrily. Animals, she corrected, she could hear orders coming from the back. A Doberman jumped on her and she screamed. The farmer outside laughed and walked away, satisfied the Witch would be killed and he could collect the reward.

As such he didn't hear the bargaining process that occurred when the Witch was able to get the attacking Dog to realize who she was. Unfortunately, that didn't happen until she was seriously wounded.

"I must have flown back here, somehow." Elphaba said to Liir, returning to the present. He simply stared at her. There was something new in his eyes that she didn't quite understand. She sat up and glared at him. When there was still no response she raised an eyebrow. The boy knew that meant trouble if he didn't explain himself.

"Are you my mother?" Well, that wasn't what she had expected. They'd had this discussion before and the answer hadn't changed. She simply didn't know. Sure it was possible, but she didn't know. More to the point, why in Oz was he bringing it up now? The green woman had thought he would have more questions about the other witch.

"Why are you asking?" The boy actually looked frustrated at her non-answer before he schooled his face again. At least she had taught him that much. An open face would get him killed eventually. His frustration was also the first indication of defiance she'd ever seen from the boy. She wasn't sure if it was a good sign that he was becoming surer of himself, or a bad sign that she would now have to deal with his impertinence. Then she realized she was thinking like a mother and sighed.

"Jayla thinks you're my mother." Jayla was going to get a lecture on privacy later, Elphaba responded mentally. It was an interesting thing to consider though. If a total stranger had thought she was his mother there had to be something in that. It was possible, she'd conceded that point a long time ago. But then, what would Jayla know. She wondered if the other woman was or had been a mother at some point. If so, maybe she was recognizing familiar behaviours.

"And on what exactly did she base this opinion?" Upon asking, Liir looked away. She had the sense he thought he would get in trouble for whatever the older woman had said to him. He was probably right, she reasoned. The woman didn't strike her as being tactful, downright inflammatory was a more apt description. Much like herself, or so she'd been told. She smirked and, the boy looked more scared. But if she and Jayla had similarities, that didn't mean they were related. The same could be the case for herself and Liir. It was at that point she recalled her first conversation with the Witch from Out of Oz.

Her eyebrow shot up and she shot out of bed so fast she nearly bowled Liir over. She raced down the stairs and back into the sitting room where Jayla was still reading. Jayla who had never before been to Oz and was reading a book in the general Ozian dialect. Jayla who had spoken in the same language that the Grimmerie was written in and she had no problems understanding, who Liir had no problems understanding either. The blue tinged woman looked up at the urgent expression on the emerald face. Jayla seemed already to know what was coming, even before Elphaba spoke.

"We need to talk."

A/N: Mild cliff-hanger, but I guess you all know what's going to happen. Perhaps just not how it's going to happen and what the reactions will be. Fair enough if you don't know that, because I don't either. Now I might just leave you for a few days mwahahaha.