(AN: New chapter! I don't know how much longer I can go on, what with my computer's power input failing on me like it is.)

(As far as the story goes, I hope some of you have been following along. Daisy is one of those stock characters that you just gotta love - a middle-aged, somewhat cynical woman whom you could see Margaret Hamilton easily playing [that is, before The Wizard of Oz made her infamous as the Wicked Witch of the West]. I rather enjoy her, and it will be sad once I've closed the story, since I can't tell any more about her [this is, after all, nine hundred years in the past].)

(Now enjoy the new chapter! It's got some references to future Ozian things, both musical and book)

Eminent Thropp

The ladies decided to head for Munchkinland as per Daisy's request. For the next several days, they wandered in the snow, eager to get as far away from Gilikin as they could. Neither of them had a map, and it had been so long since Daisy had been kidnapped and taken from her native Munchkinland that she remembered very little of what it looked like or the way back.

To their great satisfaction and relief, they started to notice a change in the weather. The cold wind blew them onward, but the snow began to become thinner and thinner. Towards the end of the second day from the flight from Shiz, and wet grass appeared beneath the hooves of Bfan and Nessa as they tramped through the light snow. Another day and the snow was now far behind them. Both Elphaba and Glinda were glad to be out of the snow: four months of it was longer than any of them ever wanted. Even Daisy seemed less grouchy as they galloped through the steppes between Shiz and where the Emerald City should be.

It was mid-afternoon on the third day of their escape from Shiz, and they now were overlooking the valley where the Emerald City would one day be built. It was indeed a valley, for the rest of Gilikin rose up steadily higher behind them and sloped down into a great basin, with the lowest part being Restwater Lake.

"This vale is too empty," Daisy said, looking out from behind Glinda. "If I had that magical Cap the Lady Koiyo spoke of, the one that would grant me wishes, I'd wish for a big city right there..." She pointed at the empty valley. "A big one, where there'd be hundreds of inns for the road-weary, with hot fires in the hearths and warm food to fill an empty stomach."

"Oh, stop!" Glinda begged. "You're making me hungry!"

"It would be all in blue, of course." Daisy stated.

"Why blue?" Glinda queried.

"Because blue is the color of Munchkinland," Daisy obstinately said. "And this is my wish, after all."

"I'd make it pink." Glinda smiled, some of the old, silly school-girl coming out in this brief moment of peace and happiness. "And polish all the buildings so they're all shiny and sparkly in the sunlight!"

"Pink?" Daisy returned. "What in Oz's name possessed you to pick pink?"

"I like pink!" Glinda smiled.

"I thought you'd like blue," Daisy stated. "What with that pale-blue dress you're wearing." She looked back. "What about you, Aelphaba? What color would you make it?"

Elphaba smiled. After all, she knew where the Emerald City got its name from, and it wouldn't make much of a difference to tell this simple Munchkin-woman. Nine hundred years is a long time, she concluded, and Daisy might die before all this was sorted out.

"Green."

"Naturally." Daisy commented.

There wasn't much for cover that night, so they tried to find a valley that offered some protection from the wind for their camp-site. Glinda, Elphaba and Daisy tended to Fiyero once they got him down off the horse. He was far away from that crystal, but he was still worse off for wear. If the wounds were healing, it was beyond the knowledge of either Daisy, Glinda or Elphaba to discern.

They slept the night soundly without a single thought or fear. In the morning, Elphaba was the first one up. She had been kicked awake by the baby inside her, who seemed content to make her aware at every possible moment that he or she was alive and ready to be out and about. Elphaba hated how hard the baby kicked, especially if it kicked into her spine or bladder. It had been just that right now and she walked off to find a place to relieve herself.

This was actually quite easier said than done. This shallow valley offered no protection or even privacy, and Elphaba didn't feel like squatting down right in the open and relieving herself. Another thing that held her back was that, due to the baby's position, she felt that it might fall out of her at a moment's notice. With Fiyero in dire straits and many miles to travel, the last thing they needed was to be slowed down by Elphaba going into labor.

Her left foot gave way and Elphaba suddenly backed up, saving herself from a very dangerous fall. She gasped at seeing before her a hole in the ground. She was surprised that they had avoided it last night, and relieved as well: it would have been death in the darkness. Squatting down on her knees first, then getting onto all fours, Elphaba walked over to the edge of the hole and peered curiously into its yawning depths. She knew almost nothing about the Underworld below Oz, the land of the Nomes, according to legend, and was both fascinated and disturbed by it.

From where they were now staying and where that would be, Elphaba guessed that this dark hole was a cave entrance that was later excavated and enlarged into the dreaded Southstairs prison. None who went in ever came out. A chill came over Elphaba's body that had nothing to do with the cold morning breeze. She now felt that they couldn't be far enough away from this place.

To her great relief, they did not stay in this vale much longer. Once everyone was awake, they remounted and set off in the direction of the rising sun - well, the general direction that had once been the rising sun, since morning was fast on its way out. At mid-day, they came to a halt and prepared to change course.

"Which way should we go?" Glinda asked. She had only been to Munchkinland once, and that was to Center Munch to see Dorothy off to the Emerald City. It was much easier to come and go by bubble, but she never got to see much of the landscape and where she was going.

"Straight on, I say." Daisy stated. "It might take us two days to cross the Madeleines, but it's better than getting lost in the Pine Barrens. From what I hear, there's all sorts of wild creatures in that forest: prides of lions and fierce Khalidahs, things that are part-tiger and part-bear!"

"Oh my!" Glinda exclaimed.

"I can make fire." Elphaba said confidently. She had been in Munchkinland - she grew up there - and knew her way around the lands east of the Pine Barrens. But better to not say so out loud, that might attract unwanted attention.

"You're also two months shy of your time, dearie." Daisy returned. "Better early labor brought on by a trek through the mountains than a dead mother and child mauled by some Khalidah."

Elphaba sighed. Daisy meant well, and she really didn't have much of a choice, in her condition. Plus, she had Fiyero on her back to worry about, and that would make going into the Pine Barrens alone even more difficult.

"Okay, the mountains then."

The Madeleines were not as hard as they thought, though they did have to dismount and lead Bfan and Nessa through the mountains on foot. Nessa definitely welcomed this change. The three women noticed that Nessa was becoming weaker and weaker ever since they left Shiz. Before, she could gallop for the whole day without resting for more than a few minutes. Now she was sluggish, walking more than running, and sometimes falling to her knees while Bfan slept on his feet.

One evening, they had decided to stop in a bole of the mountains. It was quite well-protected from the wind; yea, only an eagle could have spotted them where they came to rest. The weather was still quite cold, so they built a fire. Fiyero's wounds seemed to be healing on their own, but he was still weak and unconscious. Elphaba, weary from days of wandering, fell asleep as soon as she sat down next to him.

"Daisy?" Glinda asked.

"Hmm?" the old Munchkin-woman returned.

"Tell me," she said. "What's Munchkinland like?" She hadn't been there but once, and knew very little about the land - no pun intended.

Daisy scoffed. "Why would a pretty Gilikin thing like you wanna know about plain ol' Munchkinland?"

"Please," Glinda insisted. "If we're going that way, I'd like to know what we're going to get ourselves into."

Daisy mumbled beneath her breath. "You're a strange thing, asking about Munchkins and all. Most of your kind are content with short jokes. You know, not all of us have small, squeaky voices!"

"I didn't say you did," Glinda returned. She continued, for some strange reason: it seemed that this old Munchkin was dead set on what she thought was 'right' and wouldn't hold with trying to be dissuaded, especially by someone that everyone thought was an empty-headed little princess.

"You know, not everyone in Gilikin is so snobbified." Glinda said. "There are nice open-mi...good, wholeso...What I mean is that there are some people who might surprise you by how open they can be."

"And you're supposed to be an example of Gilikinese open-mindedness?"

"Yes!"

Daisy shook her head, turned and looked into the fire, then walked over to Glinda's side.

"Do you know," she began. "You just might be a servant of Lurline yet, Glinda."

Glinda smiled. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, who else would want to unite the people of Oz and bring peace? Not Ozma, surely! There hasn't been a worthy Ozma since the first one, so they've said." She sighed as she came to rest at Glinda's side. "When this all gets sorted out, you need to make a public appearance before all of Oz: proclaim Lurline's message of peace and harmony."

"No, please..."

"But you must! Lurline alone knows what evils have befallen Oz lately." she sighed. "We need someone to follow, someone who will lead us, whether by person or example, into a better tomorrow for Oz. You could be that someone."

But I'm not, Glinda said inside. But she couldn't say so out loud, for their predicament was still fragile due to being in the past.

"Maybe," she returned. "But first, tell me about Munchkinland."

Daisy sighed. "There's not much I recall, it's been a while since I was last there. I had been kidnapped as a young woman and grew up in Shiz. I was born on a farm somewhere in the Wend Fallows. My family were corn-farmers, and it was expected that I become a farmer's wife myself once I came of age.

"There may not be anything that the fancy folk of Gilikin think is important or worth anything, but there's gold in Munchkinland: fields upon fields of corn in every direction. There's good earth in Munchkinland, and there's always food. We even get snow-apples from the highlands of the Applerue. But the mothers always warn their children about asking first before taking from a tree, because some trees fight back.

"Contrary to popular belief, we're not all short in Munchkinland. There's the Munchkins, my people: the short ones. We're a hardy folk, very near to the earth and excellent farmers. The Munchkinlanders are the tall ones, they've got the brains for rulership and government. That's where the Eminent Thropp comes from."

"Who?"

"Our ruler," Daisy returned. "Since Ozmas have usually been chosen from Gilikinese girls, and since Gilikin doesn't respect Munchkinland as anything more than serfs, we have our own ruler: our own Ozma. The Eminent Thropp is always a woman, a female to rule Munchkinland as both governor and spiritual leader. Everyone wants to meet her, since she is our leader and her petition is as good, to us, as a word from your Ozma."

She's not my Ozma, Glinda thought. In fact, I find myself loathing her even more than I loathed Elphaba when first we met.

The next morning found them finally out of the Madeleines. Before their eyes stretched a sea of golden corn as far as the eye could see. Elphaba felt her heart leap for joy, being back in her homeland: or maybe it was the moving of the child within her, that seemed to happen a lot. To further compound her joy, the trek through the Madeleines had not brought on early labor.

"There it is!" Daisy commented proudly. "Muchkinland!"

"It's so prettiful!" Glinda commented with awe.

"And you should see the fields of blue corn! Munchkin-corn, it's called." Daisy said, with even greater pride.

"Where will we be going next?" Elphaba asked, trying hard not to let her excitement at being back in her homeland show.

"Colwen Grounds." Daisy answered.

The ride from the mountains across the fields of corn seemed easy enough. In the end, it was actually rather monotonous. The rows upon rows of tall corn-stalks stretched on forever, with no end in sight. Daisy led them along the farmer's paths, the paths around each separate field that made it that they did not have to run straight through the fields. Even so, there was nothing on all sides except for corn. They ended up spending the night in the corn-field.

In the morning, they were prodded awake by the butt-end of some kind of farming tool.

"Rise 'n' shine, tallies!" a voice ordered.

Elphaba, sleeping next to Fiyero, had her face obscured by her hair. As she turned around, rising up, the Munchkin farmers took a step back.

"And just what are you, greenie?" one of the farmers, one who was going to seed with age, asked suspiciously. "Some kind of witch?"

"Looks like she's gone one in the oven!" his comrade, a skinny fellow with a large beard, said, pointing at Elphaba's stomach.

"By my briches, you're right! What d'you reckon we do to it?"

"Kill 'em both!"

"No, wait!" Glinda jumped up from her sleep at the slight suggestion of harming her friend.

"Well, hey there!" the fat farmer said, a smile upon his face. "What are the odds of finding a pretty little thing like you travelin' with a green monster?"

Just then, Daisy rose from her sleep, groaning and complaining about the bedding.

"Hey, look!" the thin one said. "This one's alright!"

"Alright, is she?"

"Well, she's the right color and she ain't tall-like." the thin, bearded one said. "Here, I think she might be Munchkin-folk."

"Of course I'm a Munchkin, ya dumb farm-boys!" Daisy returned in her typical grouchy fashion. Or maybe she was just a little more grouchy today.

"Maybe you can tell us who they are." the clean-shaved fat Munchkin said, pointing his pitch-fork at Glinda and Elphaba.

"Refugees from Gilikin." Daisy said. "They want to meet Her Eminence."

The two farmers stopped dead in their tracks, mouths hanging agape. They parted, whispering a few words among each other, then turned back to the strangers.

"Follow us, then."

The two Munchkins took them over to a wagon, pulled by an ox (or was it an Ox?), and ordered them to get inside. Nessa, being too large, was hitched to the back with Bfan by a length of rope the Munchkins tied to their necks. Nessa put up a fight at first, but was soon too tired to resist and succumbed to the rope. This all set, the Munchkins cracked the reins across the ox's back and it set off from the spot.

They arrived at Colwen Grounds a few hours after noon. For a small town, it was in fact the largest of such towns scattered throughout Munchkinland prior to the construction of the Yellow Brick Road. From the cart, Glinda gazed with amazement at the quaint dwelling structures, many of the two story-tall houses, and these were few, only twice the height of Fiyero. The largest, a three story structure that looked about as tall as a two story building for non-Munchkins, the farmers halted their wagon at. They got out and spoke to the majordomo, a rotund Munchkin with a twirled mustache and a forked beard. They delivered a few words to him, and then he walked over to the cart.

"This it?" he asked, in a deep, voluminous baritone voice.

"Aye, that's them." the thin farmer said.

"Alright now," the majordomo said. "Bring yourselves up and outta that cart. Luck has it that you've found Her Eminence at a time when she has no appointments. Remarkable, I know, but come along."

"What about our beasts?" Daisy queried, indicating to Bfan and Nessa.

"I'll have the servants take them off to the stables." the majordomo said. "Now come along, Her Eminence cannot be kept waiting indefinitely." Elphaba, Daisy and Glinda made their way off the cart, pulling Fiyero along with them.

"Please, sir." Elphaba inquired of the majordomo. "Can't something be done for Yero? We've been on the road for almost a week and he's seriously injured."

"Can't you just use a spell to heal him, witch?" the majordomo asked.

"If I could," Elphaba snapped back. "Do you think I would bother asking you to take care of him?"

"I cannot do a thing, giant green monster," the majordomo stated. "Until I have presented you to Her Eminence. Now fall in!"

Glinda and Elphaba dragged Fiyero along, with both of his arms around their shoulders. Before them Daisy walked next to the majordomo as he led them into this humble yet beautiful palace of 'Her Eminence'. While they were walking, a funny thought came to Glinda's mind. She had long ago given up on the hope of ever being with Fiyero, which is not to say that she didn't cherish ever finding a lover of her own. Yet even now, as they were walking through the low-ceiling halls of the palace of Colwen Grounds, a smile crept across Glinda's face.

She was now as close as she could ever hope to get to her beloved 'Fifi.'

The main room was filled with blue candles, though it looked otherwise quite bare. A throne of wood and blue cushions sat at the farthest end of the room. Upon it sat a woman about the age of mid-to-late thirties. They could tell that she was also a Munchkinlander, one of the taller people of the East. She was clad in a simple black dress, fitted with embroidery of blue and slashes through the sleeves, the skirt and the bodice, which were also blue. To the fickle tastes of Gilikinese women, this outfit looked like a bruise. To her, it was elegant.

"Visitors to our beloved Munchkinland, Your Eminence!" the majordomo presented, stepping aside and waving his hand at the guests. He then turned to them. "Behold, Her Eminence Azalea Thropp, ruler of Munchkinland."

The Munchkinlander woman rose up from her throne. The two women knelt before her, but Glinda noticed that Elphaba was trying to hold back tears.

"What's wrong, Elphie?" Glinda whispered.

She didn't say anything, but her eyes were fixated on the Eminent Thropp, her maternal ancestor, now walking before them. They noticed that she wasn't much taller than Elphaba, maybe a few inches taller than Glinda. She had fair skin and reddish brown hair, tied back behind her head.

"Aster!" she said, turning to the majordomo.

"Your Eminence." he bowed.

"What is wrong with this man?" she indicated to Fiyero.

"I know not, Your Eminence."

"He's been wounded." Glinda said, speaking suddenly out of term. "I mean, uh, Your Eminence."

"Oh, don't bother with ettiquette." Azalea waved aside. "I'm not as picky about honorifics and titles as Ozma." She then turned back to Aster the Majordomo. "But I wish my guests to be treated with some measure of hospitality!"

"But Your Eminence..."

"No buts, Aster! Now, find the physician and have him tend to this wounded man."

"As you wish, Your Eminence." Aster bowed and walked out of the room as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"Now, ladies." she said, turning to those before her. "As I have extended the hand of kindness in providing for your wounded friend, would you mind telling me your names?"

Elphaba was still fighting back tears, Glinda was busy looking around at the room, beautiful in its spartan efficiency.

"I am Daisy Fromica, of Wend Fallows, Your Eminence." Daisy began. "I was kidnapped as a young woman and carried off to Gilikin as a slave."

"Oh, damn the Ozma and her pernicious desire to enslave my people! Does she think that all Munchkins deserve to be enslaved because of their height?"

"Actually, Your Eminence, she does."

Azalea walked over to a mirror on one end of the wall that stood before a bowl of water. She washed her face in it, then walked over to her guests, looking a little more collected.

"I'm sorry for my outburst." she continued. "Miss Fromica, since you are a native of Munchkinland, I give you back your freedom."

"Oh, I'm honored, Your Eminence!" Daisy curtseyed before her ruler, bowing her head very low.

"It's my pleasure, my dear." Azalea said with sincerity. She then turned to the others. "And you two, your names."

"Uh...I am Glinda." the blond said. "Of the...uh, Upper Uplands. And the 'gah' is silent, by the way."

"And a high society dame, no less." Glinda noticed that Azalea's tone was more formal than it had been before. "And what brings you to Colwen Grounds, Glinda? Come to kill us in our beds?"

"No, I mean no disrespectation to you or your people!" Glinda replied. "In fact, I wish there were peace between our two races."

"I wish that too." Azalea almost whispered. She then turned to Elphaba.

"Who are you?" she asked. Elphaba did not answer. Taking a step closer, she noticed the look of restrained sadness on the green woman's face. "Is there something wrong, my dear?" Azalea could not pry herself away from the brown eyes that stared back at her from the green woman's face. Eventually she did, and her eyes went down to the large swollen stomach buried beneath her black traveling dress.

"Sweet Oz, you're pregnant!" Azalea exclaimed. She then stepped back, a look of frustration on her face and in her tone. "Oh, where is that bothersome Aster! I could strangle him!"

As if on cue, the sound of bells ringing from a belt could be heard as Aster scurried along, the Thropp's doctor following hot on his trail.

"Doctor," Azalea announced. "Take these and have them to a private chamber. They are to be treated as guests, at Aster Follywroth's expense, and given food and water according to their needs. The young man is to receive immediate medical attention right away."

"As you wish, Your Eminence."

"Oh, and uh..." Azalea paused. "Bring one of my ladies-in-waiting with you. I want her to examine this green woman, see if she is well, or if she is near her time."

"As you command!"

The doctor led the four of them out of the Eminent Thropp's presence, while Aster was most likely begging for an explanation as to what he had done wrong. Once they were out of ear-shot, Glinda turned to Elphaba and saw her rubbing tears out of her eyes.

"Oh, Nessa!" she sobbed quietly. "Oh...mother!"

(AN: Hope you enjoyed this. More to be revealed later on, don't worry)

(As per the book, the female descendants are 'Eminent Thropp', and therefore Azalea is an ancestor of Melena [Elphaba's mother]. As the Thropps are the ruling family in Munchkinland, it would serve that Frexspar took on her name, rather than her taking on his name, when he [in the musical] became governor.)

(Yes, I had the "Oh my!" reference from The Wizard of Oz. I hope you can stomach this story better than I can. But don't worry, I'm not closing it up until it's done!)

(Please give reviews! Give critique, I feel that my writing may have gotten worse or that I'm not describing my stuff enough.)