And here is chapter two. Thanks to Kennedy Leigh Morgan for becoming my beta for this. gives her a round of applause Anyways. Onwards, but before that thank you for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Oz, Elphaba, or any of this. I am just using the characters because I'm a fan. Rights belong to Gregory Maguire.

She was working more or less mechanically by then, her mind running at a speed faster than her hands. Thinking about the conversation she'd had with Linnet. Lurline, that had been stupid. If Linnet read newspapers and broadsides or gossiped with neighbors (and she was sure that she did) maybe she would know about Elphaba the Terrorist girl. At least she hadn't said Fiyero's name. And she had hopefully covered up any gaps in the tale. But she wasn't normally so open. Maybe it was the relief that she felt now that she was away from it all. Maybe it was because she sensed that Linnet Shenn was the type of woman who could see through lies, even lies as well formed as the ones Elphaba told and that Linnet would push and push her if all she had said was that he was dead. And then maybe she would accidentally spill the real story, just to get her off her back. Although she was stronger than that she hoped, but not as strong as she first was when she joined the Resistance. Fiyero had softened her up at bit, she had tried so hard not to fall in love with him, just to have sex and not make love with him but in the end it hadn't worked. Elphie shook her head and blinked away a tear. She had never cried much before. If this was what love did to people, maybe it was good that Fiyero was dead.

Hopefully her employer would drop it; she needed no sympathy right now. In the mauntery she had almost been able to forget herself to an extent. She would had been able to fully retreat and just become the nameless green girl if not for Liir... and where was he? She had tied him to the cord looped loosely around her waist with another cord, and it was still there- oh. He was hiding behind her skirts as there was a customer at the counter, filling out an order form. She'd probably have to look at that later. But for now she could keep on cracking eggs to add to a huge cake for some society party.

From the tension on the string binding Liir she realized that he had sat down. She bent over with her eggy hands and asked him if he wanted something to play with. He nodded and shoved his index and middle finger in his mouth and sucked on them. She gave him a few toy blocks of wood from the mauntery that she had extracted from her bags when she put them upstairs.

Liir attended to, Elphaba went back to the eggs. Crack, split. It was a pattern, a gooey one. Her mind kept wandering as she stopped with the eggs according to the recipe and went on with the sugar. How large would this cake be anyway? Doubtless when it was iced it would look like on of Glinda's formal dresses that took up half the closet in Shiz. Pink and frilly, although the cake wouldn't be frilly. Glinda's dresses usually were.

Everywhere she went in her mind there were memories. Even while baking a cake. The sad get sadder, the tired get tireder, the weary get wearier, and the green only get greener. Elphaba grinned mirthlessly. On the floor Liir banged two blocks together, denting the bright colors that had been painted on to them. That was getting annoying, him playing drums with his toys. She quickly toweled the egg on her hands off with a dry cloth and scooped Liir up.

"Time for a nap," she told him. He squinted and scowled at her.

"No." Liir said, and then yawned.

"I regret the day you learned to speak," Elphaba said to him half fondly and half annoyed, and carried him upstairs.

"Liir, it is time for a nap. And if you say no again I'll..." She didn't need to carry through with her threat. He was already asleep on her shoulder, thumb and index finger in his mouth. She felt some odd sort of feeling inside her chest and set him down on the pallet then covered him with a blanket. Elphaba remembered the cord attaching them on her belt and untied it. She walked back downstairs to the store slowly and quietly so to not disturb her son.

Her son. That would take some getting used to, acknowledging it like that. Saying that she was a mother.

That almost made her laugh out loud. She could see so many others as parents, and some people from Shiz must be married by now. She knew Glinda was, to some palace baronet. Fiyero had told her, but hadn't said if she was a mother. She had asked though. Glinda, Glinda she could easily see as a mother. She would be a warm pink ball of motherly fluff, coddling and loving her child almost to death. Unlike herself, Elphaba mused. She was completely unfeeling sometimes. She hadn't even accepted to herself that Liir was her son, Fiyero's son, a being that they had created together. Liir had become something to her when he told her who she was. His mother. And she had seen that, she had seen it and in response she had given him a name.

She shook her head, feeling a strand of hair that had escaped from the tight bun she had put it in hit the side of her face. She absentmindedly tucked it behind an ear. As soon as she saw Linnet she asked her a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"What's that cake for anyways?"

Linnet, who had been pouring over the order forms, looked up.

"Hm?" she said. "Oh. It's for some stockholder or shareholder meeting. That cake is for the party afterwards. Lady Glinda herself has been invited- her husband, Lord Chuffrey, is hosting the meeting. They have a little house- that's not right, they have a mansion somewhere here. And of course Lady Glinda is originally from Gillikin. Frottica, isn't it? Well. Annaele, I have invitations for myself and any employees. So you're coming."

Elphaba didn't want to go, and she also gave a start at the sound of the false name she'd given her employer.. "Must I? I mean, I just started here today. I'm not positive that qualifies, you know"

Linnet chuckled. "It's a society party, think of the food and fashions that we'll see and in case of the food, eat! Besides, it's not for another few days, so you can go out shopping for a dress if you need one. Perhaps something with a bit of color? Something other than black?"

"Black doesn't clash with my skin as much as some other colors do," Elphaba pointed out. Linnet waved that away.

"This is Gillikin, my dear. I'm sure that you can find something appropriate! This might be a fairly small village but we still have some of the best dress shops around!"

Elphaba still preferred black.

"I should get back to the cake," she said. "If the event it's for is so fancy and important I shouldn't just keep talking to you," she finished, abruptly ending the conversation that had been starting. Linnet shrugged and turned back to the orders; Elphaba went back over to the cake and started stirring in sugar again. Her back was turned to Linnet or she would have seen the contemplative look the other woman gave her.

In truth, Linnet was confused by the woman. She had a bit of a tragic past and she was as green as grass. With skin like that it must have been difficult. And Annaele was from Munchkinland with its people quite a superstitious lot. It wouldn't have been easy. But the woman was so odd. A good worker from what she could see, but most conversation barely got started before it was stopped.

Downstairs, Elphaba and Linnet worked at respectively baking and reading forms. Upstairs, curled up on a pallet, Liir dreamed.

There was a man with diamonds on his skin and his mama together with a white and black cat. Mama gave out some milk to the cat but it turned away after a few licks at the dish the milk was in. Mama got some food down for the diamond man and they talked but Liir couldn't hear what they were saying. He looked around and saw a skull with flowers and that frightened him, in his dream. He tried to get away from the scary skull but instead the room with his mama and the other person faded away. He didn't, and next there was a cell with bars over the window. There was a man in it, was it the same man he wondered? The man in the cell, whomever he was, was sad. Liir wanted to help him but then he woke up.

When she finished working for the day, Elphaba realized that she needed to get food. Linnet's house was "out back", or behind a few hedges, another cottage, and stone walls. There might be a garden too. She would have to start the bread in the morning, then. But first would come dinner. Liir was half awake next to her. She gently prodded him in the arm to wake him.

"Liir, we're going out to buy food," Elphaba said. "Did you have a nice nap?" He nodded and blinked sleepily.

"I told that it was good for you, Liir. That's why you listen to me, see?" She picked him up with a slight grunt. "Come on, we're going out." He nodded and Elphie put his shoes on and then slipped into hers, which she had kicked off a few minutes ago. It was fairly warm out, so at least she didn't need her cloak and her son didn't need his jacket. She walked down the stairs again with some money in her pocket. Elphaba then put Liir down, she knew that he could walk and didn't need to be carried, but he pouted and reached his arms back up towards her.

"No," Elphaba told him, crouching next to Liir at his eye level. "You're too heavy now for that. I can't carry you long distances. You can walk." She straightened up and started to walk out of the bakery. Liir followed her on his chubby legs, still pouting at Elphie's back.

She strode purposefully, catching attention from other villagers even though she was trying not to. But there was something about Elphaba that caught you and pulled you in. Was her it skin or her own odd sort of charisma? But people looked at the green woman and the normal colored little boy besides her. Some turned away, and some stared at the two. Elphaba didn't take notice of it, she was used to that sort of thing. People had stared at her all her life because of her skin tone. That was the one thing that she had liked about the Emerald City- sometimes she could easily lose herself in the crowd, especially during Ozian festivals. Everything was green right then and there. People would just assume that she was, oh, very into the spirit of things. They didn't know that she was working against them and their wonderful Wizard.

But that was then, when she had been whole. Had she been a whole person then? She had had fervor and fire but what was she doing? Helping to blow up things and conspiring to kill authority figures. But what had she really been doing? Was the Resistance still active without their Fae? But no, she wasn't their Fae; she was Fiyero's Fae. Elphaba sighed. Why couldn't she just be no one's, belong to no one, not be Glinda's friend Elphie or Frex's daughter Fabala or Fiyero's lover Fae or Liir's Mama-

No, not that last one. Liir needed a mother, needed someone to watch over him and to protect him. And she would do that. Maybe she could stop being Elphie and Fabala and Fae but she would stay Mama for Liir.

After all, he was also Fiyero's son and she loved Fiyero, had let herself fall in love with him. She loved him too much, she thought. And if this were a way to honor him, looking after his son then she would do that for him.

But it's not all for him, a part of her said. Liir is half of you too. So can't part of this be for you? Honoring your son? He's not only Fiyero, you gave birth to him. Liir is both of you.

Very well, Elphaba decided, I'll honor us both. I'll do this for Fiyero and me. And Liir, of course. I'll try to stay strong for Liir.

She leaned over and picked up Liir. Maybe she could carry him after all. He sighed contentedly at this act his mother did and once again put his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it. Elphaba found this disgusting but said and did nothing. She stopped briefly and cuddled him close to her, earning an approving look from a grandmotherly looking lady who was sitting on a bench nearby and then continued walking towards the shop Linnet said had groceries. Both she and Liir would have to eat.

Thoughts? Questions? Please review.