A/N: This is a sequel to 'No One Is Alone,' but can be read as a stand alone. A few of you asked for more after I wrote that piece, but I didn't have any solid ideas until I heard a cover on youtube of 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift. The link is on my profile if you want to hear it. Enjoy. Special thanks to ooncer for betaing!
Disclaimer: Possible trigger warning for violence. Nothing remotely familiar is mine.
Safe And Sound
An eerie silence charged the air between them when Elphaba finally stepped away from the blonde's embrace. She regretted it immediately, feeling raw and exposed without the soft reassurances of Glinda's honeyed lips against her own. She held her breath and let her gaze drift to the dark, dismal gray of the cracked concrete as the full impact of what just happened settled in her stomach like an anvil. Every small gasp of oxygen pained her, and what little air she did manage to retain only caused the constricting lump in her throat to grow larger. She'd just let Galinda kiss her! And, even worse, she wanted it to happen again. Oz, how could she be so stupid?
"Elphie?" Glinda's voice quivered as she felt the emerald girl's warm hand slip free from her own. "Wh- What's wrong? Are you okay?" She tried to push back another sudden onset of tears upon noticing how terrified her old friend's gorgeous brown eyes had become. Her gaze slid to the floor and her chest rose and fell with the rapid puffs of air pushing their way from her lungs. Glinda inched forward and reached a hand out to brush a long chestnut lock from where it had dropped into her eyes, but the sorceress shrunk away, shielding her face, and hopefully the sudden onset of tears brimming in her sable orbs, from the petite blonde. Glinda caught her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down hard, trying to prevent her own sapphire irises from welling up. "What is it, Elphie?" she whispered. "Did I do something wrong?" She went to clasp her friend's slender hand, but again, Elphaba only curled further into herself. "Come on, talk to me. Please?" Her blue eyes were wide and pleading as she waited for Elphaba to meet her gaze.
She swallowed down the flurry of panic rising in her throat. What in all of Oz had she been thinking? What had possessed her to just let something like that happen?
There was no concrete way to describe the rush of emotions that had invaded her body upon feeling Glinda's lips finally melt into her own. It was the most magical, perfect moment she'd ever experienced in her entire life. She wanted so much to simply freeze the picture and stay there forever, with no other worry in the world except what she could do every minute of every hour of every day to make Glinda smile. But the moment the kiss ended, the cruel, harsh realities of the world came flooding back.
Glinda couldn't stay here. She might be willing to die for Elphaba, a fact that the green girl had still yet to fully comprehend, but Elphaba wasn't willing to let her. If it took everything in her, if it took until her last breath, even if it took going beyond the grave, she had to keep her friend safe.
And that wasn't something she could do if Glinda refused to leave. Hearing the longing in her voice made Elphaba's heart constrict with guilt. The last thing in the world she wanted to do right now was hurt her, but she had no choice.
"Go," she rasped, morphing her eyes into slits and doing her best to maintain a harsh edge to her voice even as it cracked. "Go, now."
"What?" Glinda gasped and staggered backward. "Elphaba…"
"Get out of here, Glinda. I can't do this."
"Elphie…" She reached out and threaded her fingers through the witch's trembling hand, relieved beyond measure when she didn't pull away. "We've been over this." She gently took her other hand and lifted the emerald girl's chin so her sorrowful chocolate eyes met Galinda's own steely blue. "I'm not leaving."
"But… you have to." Her voice was soft as a whispered wind. Tears leaked from her eyes and slid soundlessly down her cheeks. Glinda's heart shattered as she recognized the hopelessness that had so quickly nestled it's way back into the green girl's guarded heart. She supposed it shouldn't have surprised her, given the hardships her best friend had endured for so long, but it did. Not two minutes ago, she had agreed to let Glinda stand with her against the Gale Force and the Witch Hunters, and yet now, she had retreated almost completely back into her shell.
The blonde sighed, and her golden tresses shone in the moonlight as she leaned forward to dry Elphaba's tears with the pad of her thumb. "And since when have I ever listened to you, Elphaba Thropp?" she teased, pleased when the smallest of smirks graced the witch's lips as she brought her free hand up to close around Glinda's.
"Never."
"Exactly. And I'm not about to start now. You agreed to let me stay, Elphie, and I intend to do just that."
Elphaba chewed on her black-painted lip and let her eyes wander to the ground again. "I know. But… I'm scared, Glin. What if this plan of yours doesn't work? What if…"
"Have faith, Elphie. It will."
"How can you be so-"
At that moment, a stampede of footsteps rumbled up the stone steps. Elphaba heard chunks of rock hit the ground with massive, hollow thuds, loud as thunder and filled with an air of omniscience. Her verdigris paled to a sickly lime as she realized with horror that the stairs were actually crumbling under the sheer force of the army that bore down upon them.
"Sweet Oz," she gasped.
"E...Elphie?" Glinda's nails dug into her arm and her words trembled. She watched her witch with fearful eyes, praying this wasn't what she thought. "Is that…?"
"The Gale Force." She voiced the blonde's worse nightmare, her tone almost completely void of emotion. "And the Witch Hunters." She slipped her arm free of Glinda's vice grip and retrieved her bronze knife from where it had clattered to the floor by the work table. The crash of boots against deteriorating staircase loomed closer still. Elphaba's hands shook, but she sealed her features and swallowed back the raw fear tearing at her gut before turning to face her friend.
"You have to hide." She yanked back the glossimer curtain that had once concealed her and shoved Glinda toward it.
"What?" Glinda gripped her scepter a little tighter and struggled against Elphaba's iron hold on her arm. "No! Elphie, I won't leave you here! We agreed-"
"I know, Glinda, but now I'm disagreeing. This is too dangerous. The party sounds as if it's grown by at least one hundred in the past month. I can't risk what they might do if they find you here!"
"And I can't risk you dying on me! Please. Let me-"
"No."
"But-"
She ignored the protests and reached atop her worktable, thrusting a large, forest green leather-bound book into the blonde's hands. "Take this."
"Wha…" Glinda gasped and stumbled backward under the talisman's weight. "What is this?" She traced her hand over the lining before flipping it over. Her sapphire eyes widened in and they welled with tears as she fingered its title with a delicate, trembling hand. The Grimmerie. "Elphaba…"
"Glinda, listen to me," she begged, pocketing the dagger taking the blonde's pale, icy hands in her own warm emerald. "I don't care what happens to me. I'm fated to die anyway. If not here, then eventually. I can't keep running forever."
"Elphaba no…"
"Yes. It can't be helped, my sweet." Her was voice thick with unshed tears. "I am wicked, and now I must pay the price."
Glinda sniffed. Her eyes blazed. "You're not-"
"But no matter what, I can't drag you into my mess. Take the book and hide. It will be up to you to keep the faith in Oz once I'm gone."
"Elphaba, you can't seriously think I'm going to let them-"
"Open up, in the name of His Ozness!" Before the blonde could finish her sentence, the new Captain of the Guard burst through the door and pointed his gun directly at the green girl.
Elphaba stepped in front of Glinda, simultaneously rolling her eyes and glaring daggers at the soldier. "Oswald, how nice to see you again. I must say, I'm surprised you managed to track me this far with that buffoon of a scouter you have. What was his name again? Emilio? Evangeline?"
"Edwardo, you treacherous harpy," a shorter man seethed. He marched into the room beside the captain, his spear pointed straight at her sternum. "And you will treat me with respect. By order of his Ozness, you are under arrest for high treason in the form of the liberation of Animals."
"The Animals are not the criminals here, he is! He has lied to you for years! Enslaved and imprisoned thousands of innocents, all to protect his precious image as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"
Oswald scoffed. "Oh, and I suppose you are just what, a victim, in this malicious plot of his? You are Wicked, and that is what you shall always be! Now stand down! Or must we do this the hard way?"
"Elphie, no!" Glinda hissed, her scepter digging into Elphaba's back as she pressed closer to the sorceress's tattered dress. "Don't listen to them. Fight back. If not for yourself, then for me."
Elphaba pressed her lips together and pretended to not have heard her friend's hushed pleas. Instead, she schooled her features into a cold mask and took the smallest step forward.
This isn't your fight, sweets, she thought. And no matter what, I have to know that you are safe.
That, at least, was the truth. She didn't care what happened to her, whether they tossed her in jail or created a spectacle by burning her at the stake. They could do what they wished, as long as Glinda was out of harms way. Taking a deep breath, she thrust her hands forward. "You may take me in," she conceded, her tone as hollow as her lifeless, dark eye. "But know this. No matter what you do, or how you torment me, I will never stop speaking out. As long as there is breath in my body, the Animals will have a voice. And one day, they shall be free!"
Edwardo smirked. "Than we'll just have to make sure His Ozness sees to it that you're breath exists no more, won't we?" His eyes sparkled with a murderous light as he reached into his belt loop and unfastened the cuffs. He shook his head at Oswald. "And you said she was going to be difficult to capture. Perhaps I should have been made Captain instead." He reached out to clasp the cuffs around her thin wrists, their harsh metal glinting in the moonlight. As he lowered them over her verdigris skin, a blur of blue fabric jumped in front of her, almost knocking him flat on his ass.
"No!" Glinda snarled, curling her fists and shoving the scout back while pointing her scepter squarely at the center of his chest. "You won't take her!"
"Glinda?" Elphaba gasped.
"Y...Your Goodness?"
Elphaba's nostrils flared as she gripped the slender blonde's arm and yanked it so she spun to face her. "Glinda, what in Oz are you doing? I told you to leave!"
"And I told you, I'm not going anywhere. Like it or not, Elphaba, this is my fight, and I will not let all your sacrifices be in vain."
"Lady Glinda," Oswald sputtered, scrambling to his feet. "What are you doing here, fraternizing with this… This menace? Are you injured, milady?"
"Elphie is not a menace, you egotistical little-"
"She's been brainwashed, m'lord. The witch must have corrupted her with her infernal magic."
"What? No! I-"
"You're right," the Captain agreed, his eyes hardening even father. He clutched his rifle and aimed it straight at Elphaba's heart. "The Wizard was incorrect. This monster cannot be reasoned with. We must get Her Goodness to safety."
Elphie, look out!" She lept in the path of the barrel only to be hoisted off the ground by the scout and tossed over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Oswald cackled.
"Nowhere to hide, Witch! Say your prayers!" His finger hovered over the trigger and Glinda's eyes widened.
"Noo!" She pounded her fists against Edwardo's chest. "Put me down, you hear? In the name of goodness, let me go!" She kneed him squarely in the chest and he lost his grip, causing her to drop the floor with a loud thud.
"Oomph."
"Glinda!"
"Your Goodness!"
Elphaba moved to help Glinda up, but Oswald stopped her with a steely glare.
"Stay where you are. We aren't finished here." His finger hovered over the trigger, and Elphaba squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to seal herself for the impact.
"Noo!" Glinda shouted.
And then, all hell broke loose.
Most of the battle was a blur for Elphaba. Just as Oswald pulled the trigger that would end her misery, the Witch Hunters and remaining members of the Gale Force thundered through the door. Her name ricocheted off the walls in anguished cries of vengeance. Flames danced in her eyes as the villagers trampled the Captain of the Guard in their effort to seize her for themselves. The stampede sent the bullet rocketing through the castle's decaying roof. Brick debris tumbled around them.
They fought to avoid the dilapidated chunks of the tower, and yet still managed to crowd her in such close proximity that air was no longer permitted to enter her lungs. She was surrounded in less than a minute and completely lost sight of Glinda in the chaos.
Her pulse raced along with her with her heart. Faceless strangers tore at her clothes and spat filthy curses in her face. She thrashed in the center of the ruthless mob, but failed every attempt of escape as she was pushed back by the sheer mass of bodies. Cool, metallic weapons ripped at the flesh on her bare arms, and she could scarcely stumble to her feet before a kick to the shin or blow upside the head would cause her to crumple to the ground. She took each beating in stride, striking with her knife whenever her situation permitted.
Time stopped as the fighting wore on, but for how long, no one knew. Punch after punch was dodged or taken. Embers sparked from ferocious flames glittering ghoulishly atop splintered torches as they seared her dress, scorching the worn fabric.
Eventually it became acutely apparent that her body was shutting down. With every hit, it took longer and longer for her to respond. But she fought to remain conscious. She had to find Glinda. Had to make sure she was safe.
"Elphie, no!"
A harsh crack of a whip and a stabbing pain in the back of her skull were the last sensations to greet her before she slumped to the floor and the world darkened completely.
"G...Glinda?" A blinding flash of green light enveloped the castle as Elphaba blinked and pushed herself into a sitting position. In an instant, the villagers vanished. Every spear, torch, and rifle clattered to the floor in an ear-splitting symphony that nearly shattered her skull. She groaned and glanced around, searching for any sign of her friend in the wreckage. "Glinda, where are you? What happened? I don't..." She leaned forward and tried to stand, but a sharp pang in her stomach prevented her from doing anything other than crawling.
"El… Elphaba….?"
"Glinda?" The green girl jerked her head every which way, gritting her teeth as the sudden motion caused her to whimper in protest as pain shot up her neck. "Glinda! Sweet, where are you?"
"O...Over here," rasped a weak voice.
Elphaba's sable eyes traced each inch of the cold, concrete floor until they finally landed on the rumpled mesh of the blonde's floor length dress. She gasped and slapped a trembling, emerald hand over her mouth. Tears pooled in her eyes as she failed to process the horror that stared her straight in the face. Elphaba sunk to her knees, a sob ripping free from her parted lips. No. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't supposed to end like this!
Glinda's dress was stained with crimson as blood oozed from her abdomen, where a silver-tipped arrow had pierced her straight through. Her face was white as a sheet and her wondrous sapphire eyes were slowly losing their light. It was Elphaba's worst nightmare. And it was coming true.
She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled across the floor, dropping to her knees and gathering the petite blonde in her arms. "Glinda, my sweet, what happened?" she begged, biting the insides of her cheeks to keep from going to pieces then and there.
"You… surrounded…. were going to… couldn't let them…. I c-cast a spell from the… the b-" She reached out and traced the Grimmere's emerald cover with her finger. "Book. Had to… save you."
"You cast a spell from the Grimmerie? You vanquished all the guards?"
A dry laugh erupted from between the blonde's lips, but it quickly morphed into a harsh, hacking cough as her life force was slowly sapped from her body. Elphaba lept into action and helped her into a sitting position, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"Easy, sweet, deep breaths for me. In. Out. There you go." After a few minutes, she could breathe again, and turned toward the green girl with a sad smile on her lips.
"I don't… I don't have much… time," she apologised, reaching up to stroke Elphaba's cheek.
"What? Glinda, what do you….?"
"I wasn't… fast enough… with the… the spell. He… He got me before I could… finish it."
"Who? Who hurt you, Glinda?"
"Doesn't…. matter." She shrugged. "As long as I could save you, it doesn't..."
"Of course it matters, Glinda! And as soon as you're better, I'm going to hunt him down and…"
Glinda chuckled and cut her off with a soft kiss, "I'm not going to get better, Elphie, you know that."
Elphaba's eyes widened and she clasped desperately at Glinda's rigid hands as tears slid out of her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. "Glinda, no," she cried. "Don't talk like that. We're together now, everything will be fine. We're unlimited, remember?"
Glinda grinned and used the last of her strength to press her lips harder against the sorceress' before pulling away and sagging against her chest. "I love you, Elphie. Take care of yourself for me. Don't stop living, just because I can't."
"Glinda, no! You can't… You can't leave me, Glin…." She cradled the blonde to her chest and buried her face in the golden tresses. "Please... Please don't leave me… I love you."
Glinda's eyes shot open and she vaulted up in bed as a cold whoosh of air detatched her thin nightdress from her body.
What in Oz? She knew her choice of such slim nightwear was beyond unreasonable in the dead of winter in the Emerald City, but it had only been a few months since she and Elphie had succeeded in their grand plan to overthrow the Wizard, and Glinda had yet to retrieve all of her possessions from the old penthouse so they could be properly housed in the living quarters of the Emerald Palace. So much had happened in these past eight weeks as the two of them worked to lift the Animal Bans and restore Oz to it's former economic glory, that for once, clothes were the last things on Glinda Upland's mind.
She groped around for the blanket while her sapphire orbs slowly adjusted to the darkness. Her brow furrowed and her lower lip jutted out from beneath her perfectly white teeth in a frown. She felt nothing but the soft blanket that covered their king-sized, emerald-framed bed beneath her fingertips.
A small, pitiful whimper reached her ears and she glanced to her right. Her heart constricted in her chest. Now she understood why it was so cold in here.
Her girlfriend had cocooned herself in every sheet available to her. A sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead. Her smooth, luscious ebony locks were a maze within themselves, turning into knots upon knots the longer she grappled with the light fabric. Her knuckles were a dark, forest green in contrast to her brilliant jade skin and her nails dug into her palms. She thrust her feet outward against the blankets, as if trying to outrun the demons that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her subconscious, while whimpering uselessly in her sleep as anguished tears trickled from her eyes.
"Glin… Glinda, no!" she sobbed. "Please! Please don't leave me… I… I love you."
Glinda's heart catapulted into her throat. She crept closer to the bedside and flicked on her tableside lamp, setting it to dim. The soft light bathed Elphaba's beautiful emerald features, and Glinda's stomach rolled with sympathy upon seeing the pained, unadulterated anguish contorting her lovely face. Her cheeks were damp, and familiar, useless whimpers escaped her lips.
She sighed. It was a night terror again. Ever since that day in Kiamo Ko castle when they'd fended off the Gale Force and Witch Hunters before escaping to the Emerald City and exposed His Ozness' entire scheme, countless ghosts had plagued her sleep. Elphaba refused to reveal the identities of the devilish demons that lurked in the depths of her mind, but Glinda could guess. None of the scenarios she came up with were particularly pleasant, and some had even managed to infiltrate her own nightmares, though she wouldn't dare let Elphaba know. She had enough to concern herself with already.
Nonetheless, the longer she watched her best friend struggle in what she could only image was a terrifying maze of endless horrors due to the hardships she had faced during her time as the exiled Wicked Witch of the West, the more certain Glinda was that something had to be done.
Slowly, she reached out and brushed the pads of her fingers against the green girl's forehead, moving a damp strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes. Then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple, attempting to wake her as gently as she possibly could.
"Elphie," she whispered. "Come on, my lovely girl. Wake up. You're having a nightmare." Her sable irises shot open at the sound of her lover's melodic voice.
"G… Glinda?" she rasped, bolting upright. Panic clasped at her chest and hindered her already labored breathing. When her gaze finally settled on her little blonde, she closed her eyes for a long moment, terrified to find the blackened, unseeing orbs that penetrated her dreams as she watched helplessly while all the life was drained out of her best friend, and one true love. She opened them again and could never remember being so relieved in all her life to see Glinda's sparkling, sea-blue eyes staring back at her, full to the brim with love and concern.
Holding her breath, the witch brought her hand up to touch the blonde's pale cheek, and Glinda nuzzled into her palm. Elphaba said nothing, too shell-shocked to do more than mouth her lover's name in stunned disbelief. Glinda? Tears continued to stream unbridled from her tortured gaze, and Glinda wondered briefly if she even realized she was crying.
"Right here, my El." She clasped the sorceress's unsteady jade hand in her own and Elphaba instantly turned it over in Glinda's palm, intertwining their nimble fingers and hanging on for dear life, as if she were afraid Glinda might dissipate into nothing more than a pile of dust at any moment if she were to release the hold.
"It… It is you," she breathed, and a small smile curled at the blonde's soft magenta lips.
"Always, Elphie. Always and forever." She wrapped her arms protectively around the trembling witch just in time for Elphaba to collapse into them, her body racked with soundless sobs.
The blonde shuddered as Elphaba leaned into her embrace. Even as long as they'd known one another, Elphaba Thropp had not once willingly sought affection. Glinda always instigated it, and Elphaba begrudgingly accepted to please her. The heiress, however, had known from the way her body instantly released only the smallest about of tension that first time they'd hugged back at Shiz just how much the elusive green girl craved some show of physical love. Still,the only other time besides this very moment that Elphaba had been the one to initiate any form of contact was that fateful night in Kiamo Ko, when she was sure they were both doomed to die at the hands of that deceitful Wizard and his dreadfully pestersome, but thankfully for them, extremely gullible, Gale Force.
Glinda pulled her shaking girlfriend closer and kissed the top of her head, letting one hand tread gently in and out of her thick, ebony locks. Much as her stubborn friend hated to admit it, Glinda knew this simple gesture would calm her. Mostly because it reminded her of her mother. With her mother, Elphaba never failed to know she was safe from any harm.
"Shh, now, my, El. I'm right here. You're safe. We're both safe. No one can hurt you."
After a few minutes, Elphaba's breath evened out, her emerald chest rising and falling in sync with the blonde's own. She rested her head on Glinda, the soothing beat of her heart beneath her ear yet another thing helping her to know that this was indeed real, that Glinda was not lying on that solid concrete floor, limp and cold with lifeless eyes as she took her last breaths in Elphaba's arms.
""I… I'm sorry, Glin," she apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you." She unwound herself from the other girl's embrace, but Glinda would have none of it. Instead, she shifted positions and clasped her hands together around her girlfriend's still much too thin midsection.
"None of that, now, my lovely girl. You have nothing to apologize for and you're not getting away from me that easily."
"But I-"
The sudden pressure against her lips caught Elphaba completely unprepared. She pulled back and mumbled a few unintelligible objections, but Galinda simply deepened the kiss and moved her arms so they entangled themselves about the witch's neck, one hand resting delicately behind her head. She wound her fingers in Elphaba's thick, tousled tresses, pulling tenderly at the midnight strands as she trailed warm kisses down her nape.
"Talk to me, Elphie," she murmured. "That's what I'm here for."
The witch stiffened beneath her, not wanting to respond. The nightmare was over now, and she didn't wish to prolong the terror any more. Just thinking about it made her sick with guilt. "I don't want to talk, Glin." She pulled away and shimmied under the sheets, tucking her knees up to her chest. She rolled to face the opposite wall and shut her eyes, praying sleep would overtake her before Glinda had a chance to decide otherwise.
"Elphie…." she whimpered, watching her retreat back within the solitudes of her mind. "Fine. You don't want to talk, I won't make you." Her lips curled upward in a satisfied smirk when the sorceress's shoulders sagged beneath the blankets,
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. But, at least roll over for me."
"Mmm…. what?" Elphaba's brow furrowed as she shifted to meet Glinda's pleading sapphire eyes in the dim light.
"You heard me," she laughed "Roll on your stomach."
"But… why?" she asked again, quirking her brow in askance. Glinda huffed.
"Just do it, Elphie. Please?" Even in the moonlight, Elphaba couldn't resist her adorable pout. She grunted something under her breath, but surrendered to her best friend's will. "Fine. Just don't try and use those magic fingers of yours as a way to get me to talk, because it won't work."
Glinda hid a snicker behind her hand. "Me? Never. Now lay back so I can tend to those weary muscles of yours. After so long fighting off buffoons like that pesky Gale Force, it's a wonder you're still flexible enough to move at all."
Elphaba lips puckered at the mention of the old Ozian law enforcement. She waited with baited breath for Glinda to pry the truth out of her then and there.
Mercy, it seemed, was watching out for her that night though, because the blonde stayed silent as she gently rearranged the green girl's stiff limbs atop the sheets. She brought her arms down to her sides. Elphaba grumbled sleepily and burrowed her cheek into the fabric when Glinda's slim fingers threaded themselves in and out of her silky hair, fighting to undo the knots. After a few tries however, she moved to ghost her hands over the brilliant, emerald curves of her back. She slipped her fingers between Elphaba's thin night dress. A smile graced her lips as her little witch shivered under her touch. The pads of her fingers trailed their way down. From her nape they traced along every vertebrae, until finally coasting to a stop upon her lower back. Glinda giggled breathily as Elphaba arched into her palm, humming in contentment every time her hands glided further down her spine.
"Mmm…. Glinda," she sighed, sagging into the pillows.
"That's it, Elphie, just relax." She started back up at Elphaba's shoulders, kneading at the knots with the heel of her hand and rocking back and forth as she pressed down with all her weight.
"Oz, Glinda, what are you doing back there?"
The blonde chuckled and leaned down to peck the top of her hairline. "Shh. I know it hurts, Elphie, but you're so tight. We have to get rid of these knots."
"Ooh…. Ahh… I…. Glin, I can't…. Oooh." Glinda's knuckles pressed into her shoulders and she slowly worked her way down to the long muscle just to the left of her spine. "Shit… I never knew you could… do this."
"There's a lot you don't know about me, my El. But I intend to show you it all… in time."
"Mmm…. I can't wait." She stifled a yawn and burrowed deeper into the mattress. Her eyes fluttered closed and a smile blossomed on her lips… until Glinda pressed all her weight into a particularly tender spot on the right side of her low back.
"Ow! Fu- That hurts!" she hissed.
Glinda's laughter washed over her, bathing her in sunlight with it's warmth. "Relax, Elphie. If you don't relax, I can't help you."
"Can't," Elphaba protested through gritted teeth. Not… with you…. beating me up l- Ow! Like that!"
"Just try. I promise this will be worth it when I'm done."
"Need… distraction," she rasped. "Talk to me."
Glinda hummed. "What if you tell me a story instead?"
"Like what?"
"Like… what was your nightmare about earlier?"
The temperature of the room dropped ten degrees and Glinda caught her lip between her teeth while continuing to coast her wrists and forearms along the witch's back.
"I told you, Glinda, I don't want to discuss it. It's over now, why can't we just leave it alone?"
"Because it's not healthy, Elphie. You can't keep burying your feelings like this."
"It's worked this long," she grunted. Glinda pretended not to hear.
"And this isn't the first time it happened either, so I know it won't be the last."
"Glinda…"
"Please? For me?"
"Ugh!" The green girl buried her face in her pillow and her girlfriend smiled softly.
"You know I won't stop asking until you say something," she pointed out.
The witch cursed under her breath, but relented. As much as she wanted to keep this to herself and spare Glinda the heartache of dealing with someone else's demons, it seemed she now had no other option. She flipped on her back and propped herself up on the pillows so she could look Glinda straight in the eyes.
"It… it was about you," she said bluntly, her voice shaking as the visions came flooding back. "That night, at Kiamo Ko… I dreamt… I dreamt that they stormed the castle. Not just the twenty Gale Force that you managed to talk down for real, but an entire army. They had me surrounded… They would've killed me but… But you…" Her voice broke and a stifled sob escaped her throat. She shook violently as Glinda gathered her in her arms, holding her close and kissing away the tears that glistened on her jade cheeks.
"I what, my El? What did I do?" The words were tender, quiet as a whisp of wind as she whispered them against the shell of the green girl's ear.
"You… You cast a spell to save me and they… They killed you, Glin! They killed you, and it was all my fault."
"Oh, Elphie, come here." Glinda pulled the green girl into her lap and rested her head against her chest. She reached over and retrieved the brush from her nightstand, gently threading it through Elphaba's matted raven locks. "None of that was your fault. Everything you've endured for so long… Oz, how I wish I could have protected you from it…. It was all the Wizard's doing, not yours." She kissed her hairline and rested her chin atop Elphaba's head. "And, as for me, well… I'm not going anywhere, you hear me? I intend to stay right here, right by your side, for the rest of my existence. Do you understand?"
She lifted Elphaba's tear-stained face so their eyes met and waited for her nod of confirmation. Then she resumed unfurling the knots and sang softly in her ear.
"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light. I remember you said 'Don't leave me here alone.' But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight. Just close your eyes; the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."
By the time she finished the chorus, Elphaba was snoring faintly against her chest." She smiled down at her witch and carefully maneuvered her back beneath the covers. She wrapped her arms around her waist and buried her face in her chest as her eyes fluttered closed.
"You'll always be safe with me, Elphie. Now, and forever."
You and I'll be safe and sound….
The End