~oz TWO zo~
With the sun came the townsfolk. In the night you would think Munchkinland was a ghost town as the residents boarded their homes and hid. The night was when the Witch traveled.
Elphaba moved past a house that sat leagues away from the mansion, an unassuming but comfortable home that maintained itself even in the darkest of times. A small pot of daisies were growing beneath the window. Elphaba checked the skies for the crow, searching for its black shape in the light of the morning. It seemed to have better things to do than to follow her. Satisfied, her green fingers curled and rapped on the window shutters.
A short man peeked out from behind the shutter, smiled and pushed it open, "Lady Thropp, good morning."
Elphaba scowled, "Don't call me that. You don't know what she'd do if she heard you call me that."
The man apologized softly and extended his hand out, resting in his palm was a soft and bruised apple, "Have you eaten today?"
Elphaba shook her head as her stomach rumbled, "I'm fine, keep your food." She glanced around again to check for spying eyes or ears, "How is my… how is she?"
"Lady Nessarose is fine, she hasn't woken up yet. I think she's growing fond of my son."
Elphaba gave a sad smile, "Well make sure Boq treats her well."
"Do you want to see her?" He asked, still holding the fruit out as an offer.
Elphaba's eyes widened and she wiped at her brow nervously, "No… No, not today. Tell her I said hello, I should be off."
She stepped back onto the path; several Munchkinlanders were cautiously stepping out of their homes now and she preferred not to be seen this way. The Eminent Thropp had never grown used to the looks that followed her. Her green skin aside, she didn't enjoy the shame of walking about in her rags. The townsfolk didn't exactly dress in finery, they were a simple people and their attire suited that, but she couldn't help the shame.
On the edge of the woods now her stomach groaned again. She knew she should have taken that apple. I should stop being so proud.
The trees before her were foreboding; stories of the creatures that lurked behind them were enough to scare any Munchkinlander from escaping to a kinder corner of the world. She did not know which stories were true but she had encountered enough danger in these woods to convince herself that something worse waited in the deeper parts. She reached instinctively for her knife and realized she had forgotten it in the chaos of the morning. If she wasn't nervous before then she was now.
It was her own fault for taking so long that morning; she knew it was her own fault for mucking up the potion. Her fingers tightened their grip around the tin bucket in her hand and she took her first steps into the darkness.
~oz TWO zo~