A clatter of feet interrupted their reverie as Dorothy hurtled through the door. She stopped when she saw them, entwined in the moonlight.
'Oh!' she took a fearful step backwards. 'Am I interrupting anything?'
Elphaba scowled. It would be Dorothy that came in and ruined the moment. Nasty little brat. Dorothy started edging away when she saw the look on the green witches face. She ran back to the kitchen.
'You'll never guess! The scarecrow is outside with the witch. And they're holding hands...and looking at each other.' This was the extent of Dorothy's knowledge about grown up affection.
'It's all very strange' she concluded.
The lion took all of this in with a sort of terror. It was his bit in life to go through everything like a frightened little mouse.
The tin man was more practical.
'Well that's wonderful.'
'It is?' Dorothy and the lion blinked in confusion.
'Of course' he was polishing his tin axe now. 'He'll distract her, we'll get what we came for and then we can escape. What are we here for again?'
'I don't remember. He didn't specify too much' said Dorothy, chewing on some of her lank hair. With all the excitement, she'd quite forgotten the reason for being here.
'I expect he didn't think we'd get this far' said the tin man philosophically.
Dorothy and the lion stared at him. A suspicion was forming in their gormless minds. Had the Wizard sent them off on a suicide mission? They had got this far but had he meant them to go any further?
'Do you mean to say...?'
''It's entirely possible. Who expected us to get this far? It was a long shot.'
'I remember what the Wizard wanted' said the lion, who had spoken for the first time that evening. The others looked round to see who was speaking.
'He wanted us to get a book.'
'What kind of book?'
'He said a magical book. One with spells in it.'
They gazed at him, open mouthed. They remembered now. Though why he wanted them to get a book of spells, they couldn't think.
'So he wanted us to search this place and find a magic book?' Dorothy's terror had returned.
'Probably.'
'And what about the witch? What do we do with her in the way?'
'Throw her off the battlements?' suggested the tin man. 'She'd be out of the way then.'