I FORGOT ABOUT THIS STORY I'M SORRY. I'll be uploading regularly from now on I swear I'm so sorry...

Chapter 3 - Just around the riverbend

"So, Sammy. What happened to you?" Dean asked once they were on their way. "How did you find the slightly discolored but weirdly stunning witch-lady in the shapeless dress?"

"Well," Sam said. "She found me, just outside Kiamo Ko and took me in. She thought I was wounded and…"

"Examined you thoroughly?" Dean wiggled his eyebrows.

"Jerk." Sam growled.

"Bitch." Dean smiled. "Seriously though,"

"She just gave me something to eat and asked if she could help, so I wrote the letter and she sent out her Monkey to find you." Sam shrugged. "She was really nice to me. A little crazy though, she kept urging the Monkeys to talk to her."

"Well," Dean said, "Not that crazy really. Originally, all the Animals in Oz could speak, but the Wizard started anti-Animal campaigns. I don't know why, but he wanted to ban speaking Animals for some weird-ass reason."

He got a proud smack from Charlie.

"How do you know all this?" Sam asked.

"Charlie." Dean said with a crooked grin.

"Figures."

They set off towards the Gillikin River, or at least, so they hoped.

Their journey was lost in chatter about Game of Thrones, Wicked, Hunting and preventing Dean from stealing their food.

"C'mon, Sammy," Dean groaned. "One apple. Please."

"At this rate, our food will be gone by dawn." Sam said. "You're not getting any until we reach the river."

Right that moment, they topped a hill and saw a glistering ribbon in the distance.

"The Gillikin River!" Charlie pointed.

"Can I has the food now?" Dean pulled at Sam's sleeve and tried to snatch the bag away.

"No way, José." Sam held the bag up high where Dean couldn't reach.

Sourly, Dean remembered the times where it'd be the other way around and he would hold things above his head where Sam couldn't reach.

That trick stopped working after Sam's grow spurt, and half a year later Sam discovered that the tables had turned.

They reached the river a couple of hours later.

"We should cross it." Dean said.

"Dean," Charlie sighed. "Elphaba said 'NOT TO CROSS THE RIVER'."

"Charlie," Dean said in the same intonation. "Look at this side of the river. Then look at the other side of the river. We gonna cross that bitch."

Dean had a point. On this bank there were trees and hills, and it would be one Hell of a climb to make any progress at all. The other bank was smooth, with tall grass and low bushes.

"Dean has a point." Sam said. "We can always cross back if it gets too dangerous."

Charlie crossed her arms and huffed indignant. "Whatever. But you're carrying me. I get one droplet of water on any part of this dress and you're dead."

Sam pushed the bags in her arms and swept her off her feet. "Let's go." He said and waded into the river. The water reached his belly button at its deepest point.

Dean followed, hand clenched around the hilt of Ruby's knife to not lose it in the current.

The rivers banks were not wide apart and the current wasn't strong, they reached the other side safely.

"See?" Sam said when he put Charlie back on her feet. "Not dangerous at all."

"I still don't trust it." Charlie said.

"Let's camp out here." Dean said, eying the moon. "I think the sun's about to rise and we need to dry our clothes anyway."

"Yes." Sam nodded. He stared at Dean.

Dean stared back. "What?"

"Are you going to get some wood or not?" he asked.

"You are going to get some wood." Dean grumbled.

"Why…" Sam paused. "Wood I?"

"O my God," Charlie sighed. "Go away."

Dean sat down next to Charlie, shivering slightly in his soaked jeans. "Because A) I'm the big brother so I get to boss you around, and B) I'm the better Hunter so I have to protect Charlie."

It earned him a slap. "Says who?" Charlie and Sam simultaneously said.

"Plus," Charlie added, "I don't need protection, I'm the Queen of Moondoor."

Dean got up, growling. "Fine, I'll get wood. But I want food when I get back."

He wandered around the bushes and gathered some sticks and dry grass, before returning to their camping site.

Charlie was on her tablet and Sam was wringing out his jeans.

"Sexy." Dean smiled at his brother, who whipped the wet jeans at his back.

He dropped the wood and started building a fire with steady hands, constructing a triangle and tearing grass into tinder.

"You're good at that, Dean," Charlie said, when he managed to light it at his first attempt.

"Yeah." Dean shrugged. "Salt 'n burn. I've built more fires than the boy scouts."

Sam and Dean dried their shoes, socks and jeans. The sun was warm and its combined power with the fire dried everything quickly.

"I'm gonna take a nap," Dean announced when the sun had fully risen.

"How could you sleep right now? It's day!" Charlie frowned.

"Watch me." Dean dropped on his back, folded his shirt in front of his eyes and was snoring within a minute.

…

They ate at dusk and were on their way when the moon had risen.

"Man, I wish we had horses." Charlie sighed while she gathered her things. "I've managed to get a signal. It's a weak ass signal, but I believe that if we head North-East there's the farm that Elphaba mentioned where we can get ourselves horses."

"Yeah," Sam nodded happy. "Let's do that."

He started East, the way Charlie had pointed and Charlie followed him.

Dean trotted to catch up. "Wait. Charlie, how did you get a signal?"

Charlie shrugged. "I didn't, really. I just inverted the transmitter in my tablet from receiver to broadcaster. There was some other funky stuff in my bag and ta-daa! I created a outgoing signal that leaches out like a whip and scans the surroundings, bringing them back to my tablet and reporting their findings like little flying Monkeys." Charlie smiled proud.

"It's sounds pretty illogical to me." Dean frowned.

"That's because you're a complete and utter…"

"Idiot." Sam smiled.

"I was going to say computer illiterate, but idiot is fine with me." Charlie smiled.

They walked in Charlie's horse-farmer direction for an hour or so when at the horizon the shape of a farm materialized.

"Well son of a bitch." Dean swore.

They walked towards the farm slowly, hoping that Charlie would be right.

"Why don't you stay here?" She proposed. "Give me the money and I'll, I'll go in on my own."

"Why?" Sam said. "What if they're dangerous?"

"Because you're both not clothed for the event. And Sam, if they're dangerous, I'll have Dean's colt, right Dean?" Charlie held her hands up.

Sam dropped the coins in it, and Dean the colt, both with disagreeing looks on their face.

"If you're not back in five minutes. I'm gonna go over there and save your ass." Dean growled.

"Dean Winchester." Charlie said, "I am a queen. I don't need saving."

With that, she took off.

Sam settled against a tree. "Might as well get some sleep."

A Hunter never missed a chance to sleep.

About half and hour later, Charlie emerged from the shadows with, thank the Lord, three horses and a sack.

"We got lucky." Charlie smiled. "These horses need to be delivered to the Emerald City. I've paid him some money for clothes and some sort of 'rent fee'."

"He just gave you the horses?" Dean frowned.

"I paid him good coin for them." Charlie threw the sack at Sam. "Normal Oz clothes. Change quickly and I'll try to calculate a new route."

Sam opened the sack. Quickly scanning the contents, he saw a pair of rather large shorts, two blouses, two jerkins and a legging.

He quickly snatched the shorts and handed the sack to Dean.

He was already hoisting into them when Dean noticed.

"Sam!" He groaned. "Please. Don't do this to me."

"Yeah," Charlie smiled. "Sorry about that."

It was quite a funny sight, Dean standing there in his underwear, with a look of despair on his face and the white leggings in his hands.

"They're for horseback riding!" Charlie said. "Trust me, Sam's gonna be jealous by the end of the night."

"I bet." Dean growled while pulling the leggings on. "I look ridiculous."

By the looks on his companion's faces, he did.

"Well," Charlie smiled. She handed one of the reins to Sam and the other to Dean. "Let's go. If we keep going steady, we should get there in about three more days, since we took a little detour."

Dean looked at his horse, swallowing hard. It was jet black and, well, rather large.

Charlie was already mounted on her horse and smiled while Dean tried to hoist himself on his. "Be careful with her, Dean, she's for the new captain of the guard." She beamed. "Fiyero."

"Okay." Dean frowned. He took up the reins and tried to position himself.

His extensive Hunter-training did not include horseback riding, unfortunately.

"Come on!" Charlie spurred her horse into a bumpy gallop and fortunately, theirs followed.

They galloped back down to the river and followed it until they came to another side branch.

Sam looked up at the sky. "About an hour until dawn. We might as well set up camp and figure out how to cross it during the day. We could also try and travel during the day now that we match the setting."

"Agreed." Dean dismounted. "But sleep first."

Charlie unsaddled the horses and tied them to a tree with some make-shift halter, while Dean searched for wood and Sam made dinner.

The insides of his calves were red and raw, and Dean frowned when he returned with his arms full of twigs. "What happened to you?"

"The leather of the saddle kept rubbing against my legs." He rubbed them softly, to ease the pain.

"I told you, Dean," Charlie smiled, "You look like a ballerina, but your clothing is designed for long rides. Sam's exposed legs will keep hurting him until we get to the Emerald City."

Dean smirked.

"Don't laugh too hard, Dean," Charlie sat down, "Your ass is gonna be sore in the evening too."

Dean grumbled through breakfast and when Sam offered to take first watch, he nodded and turned around to get his four hours.

…

A soft touch on his shoulder woke Dean up. He groaned softly.

Charlie had been right. Everything was sore, and even just thinking about moving hurt. Dean forced himself to sit up anyway. "What time is it?"

"From the place of the sun I'm guessing around two in the afternoon." Sam whispered.

Dean wide-awake in a second. "Jesus, Sam why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"Because you looked like you needed the extra hours." Sam sat down next to his brother. "I'm worried, man."

"Me too." Dean said. "I parked Baby under a tree and it's blossoming and there's gonna be sticky leaves on her roof and those are a bitch to clean off."

"I was…" Sam sighed. Dean's stubborn way of refusing to talk was never not obvious. "Let's just… let's figure out a way to cross the river and we could make some miles before sundown."