Captain Fiyero Tiggular was at home.
The Thousand Year Grasslands.
The place of his childhood, where he had learned things that made sense, that weren't complicated like the rest of his life, things such as hunting, stalking prey, learning about light glares and shadows. Endless plains of grass lay before him, full of secrets and memories. And fair game. He clenched his gun in his hand tightly.
He was taking a short vacation in his homeland, just him and his instincts. Him and his manhood. Away from Glinda and the guilt that came with her loving smile, the knowledge that he was deceiving her, the knowledge that he had the potential to hurt her. Away from his job, full of disappointment and false hopes, failed hunts for his one desire, from the woman that always seemed to be able to evade him and the rest of the Gale Force.
She didn't want to be found.
Ever since that day, that fateful moment with the Lion Cub, his life, and he had changed complete.y She had called his bluff with precision and accuracy, as easily as if she were doing a child's math problem. She had told him who he was, and he had fallen for her.
But she didn't want to be loved, and now, definitely not by him. Here he was, living a false life yet again, and she knew it, he knew she knew it.
She thought he was her worst enemy. With good reason.
The dry grass nearby rustled, and Fiyero crouched down stealthily, creeping forward as lightly as possible, gun at ready, shaking away his thoughts. He slithered through the grass, causing little disturbance and leaning in the direction of the breeze as to not alert his prey that he was approaching.
The grass rustled again as the prey surged forward, they must have sensed they were being hunted. Obviously whatever he was hunting was young, not as experienced as he in moving with stealth through the long and unforgiving stalks. But it obviously had some kind of instinct, as it headed directly into the sunlight, but it seemed more focused on speed than stealth, which worked to Fiyero's favor. He continued to pursue smartly, as to make his prey relax.
The prey eventually did slow down, and Fiyero crouched again, staying as still as possible. When he heard the prey stop, he crept forward slowly, until his prey was in view. His gun was poised to shoot until- sweet Oz!
That was a woman.
She was green.
That woman was Elphaba!
He immediately dropped the gun, still gaping, and Elphie whirled around to face him, her eyes widening when she met his shocked gaze. She cursed, and turned and fled. Forgetting who he was pursuing, Fiyero went back to his hunting pursuit, cleverly moving to the side to out-flank her. She had no idea where he was. She couldn't know.
He suddenly turned sharply, catching the green woman and tackling her to the ground. Normally he wouldn't resort to such physical levels, but with Elphaba and her iron will (and admittedly strong arms), he was left with no other choice. She squirmed under his grasp, cursing and pushing.
"Let go of me Captain Tiggular!" she hissed venomously, hitting her arms against his chest and kicking at him.
"Oh, no, Elphie," he whispered darkly, grinning at her annoyed face at the use of the nickname given to her by Glinda. "I'm not letting go of you this time." She narrowed her eyes, unwilling to play games.
"Want me to make you?" Elphaba asked angrily, a hint of challenge in her voice.
"No," Fiyero replied smoothly, "You've challenged me enough over the past two years." Elphaba chuckled darkly, shoving him again.
"You want a challenge?"
"I just said no, sweetheart." He tightened his grip. "I like this position very much."
"See how much you like it when I magic you across this field, trust me, I will-" Fiyero sighed.
"Don't make this difficult, Elphie, I'm not going to hurt you." She laughed disbelievingly.
"Why the hell should I believe that?" He eyes blazed. "You and your Gale Force friends have been following me around Oz, trying to capture me!"
"I have saved your life more than once."
"Oh, that's rich. The one who has led a battalion of troops to kill-"
"I give them orders to bring you back alive."
"Okay, but to capture-"
"I have led them away from you more than once."
"Why would I believe that?" she threw back, her face dangerously close to his.
"Your hiding places aren't that clever, and I am a trained hunter. If I had been honestly trying to get you, you would be dead or in prison by now."
"That's definitely going to get me to trust you, Captain," she snorted.
"I don't use titles."
"Ha!" she sneered, "I don't happen to be fond of them either."
"You think I'm really stupid, don't you?"
"No, not really stupid," she shot back, her eyes clouding.
"Well, don't flatter yourself with thinking I'm that stupid anymore. You know, you've made my life very difficult these past few years." Elphaba shook her head, chuckling darkly.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I made your life difficult, Fiyero." Her eyes narrowed. "I would hate for you to have to camp your pampered ass in a cave every night, to spend your whole life running, trying to fight for a cause nobody but yourself believes in-"
"Do you ever let anyone else talk?"
At that, she froze.
Memories rushed back for them both faster than they could hold them back, images flashing through their minds simultaneously, he knew. The Lion cub, the scratch, the running, the bridge, the poppies . . .
She took advantage of his distraction to leap up and wriggle out of his grasp, standing a few feet away from him. He joined her, and for a long moment they stared at each other. Sapphire and chocolate brown gazes, both guarded and wary.
"I still don't know if I can trust you," she murmured, her will weakening.
"Trust me." The sincerity in his voice made her shudder, and she stepped back. "Please."
"Why were you here anyways, Fiyero?" she finally whispered.
"This is my home," Fiyero chuckled, and Elphaba blushed, embarrassed.. "What about you?"
"Didn't you read the papers?"
"Yes."
"Does, 'Look to the Western sky' ever cross your meager little mind?"
"Oh."
More silence.
"How's Glinda?"
"Fine." He should probably say more, considering she was his fiancee, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything more.
Even more silence. Fiyero took a step forward, and she took one back.
"Watch yourself. You're still treading on thin ice."
"I'm what?"
"I don't trust you yet."
"Why not?" Fiyero yelled, exasperated. She crossed her arms, her face set in a stubborn frown. "What do I have to do?"
"You're Ca-"
"Captain of the Gale Force? Don't use that excuse again." He took a step forward. "Elphie, it's me, Fiyero. I danced through life, and we were sort of friends. I'm not Captain Tiggular right now, I'm Fiyero. It's just me."
"Friends?" Elphaba scoffed, "You tormented me!" He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she stepped back. "Don't touch me." Fiyeros tepped back, throwing his hands up in surrender.
"Only at first! Then I got to know you. I considered you one of my best friends." He sighed. "I thought you felt the same."
"You barely talked to me after the . . . thing."
Fiyero coughed, attempting to whip up an answer that wouldn't piss her off. "Well, things were kinda awkward, and-"
"Why were things awkward?" she challenged him menacingly. He shrunk back. Was she trying to get him to make her mad? Probably.
"Um, well, you know, after . . ." he trailed off weakly, shrinking back even more.
"Are you happy?" That question threw him. He blanched at her, eyes wide.
"Am I what?"
"Happy. Are you happy with your life?" she repeated, elaborating a bit more for his sake.
"Do you want the honest answer or the public answer?" She tilted her head, frowning.
"You're not happy?"
"I never said that." She looked at the ground. "But yes."
"Why?" she asked softly, stepping closer, "Why aren't you happy?"
"Be . . . because . . ." he took a deep breath. "I never seemed to be able to find the Wicked Witch of the West."
She took a step back. "What is that supposed to mean? You're unhappy because you never got a raise?"
"I missed you, Elphie," he murmured, taking her hand and pulling her closer. She took a ragged breath. "Do you trust me now?" She sighed.
"I'm still thinking about that."
"Don't take too long."
She hesitated, and finally relaxed her stance.
"I missed you too," she murmured. "You, and Glinda, and Nessa."
"Come back," Fiyero suddenly offered, and she sprang back in surprise. "Say you've changed your mind, say that-"
"Fiyero, I can't turn my back on these Animals!"
"You can't turn your back on me!" She froze, her eyes searing with pain. "Elphie, please, come back with me."
"Fiyero . . . we were friends, I'll admit it now, but we weren't even good friends!" She took his hand. "You have Glinda."
"So will you, if you come back."
"You don't realize how much I want to, Fiyero, honestly, you don't." She collapsed on the ground, and Fiyero sat next to her. "But I can't!"
"Why can't you?"
"I-I . . ."
"Go on, Elphie."
"I'm content with my life," she whispered. "I don't have room for disappointment, or pain, it's just me against the world, like it always has been. Like it should be. No room for false hopes, for any more crushed dreams . . ." She looked at his face longingly, and then back at the ground. "I've accepted my destiny. Alone forever." She turned to face him. "It doesn't bother me."
Fiyero was absolutely appalled. Elphaba's warped and twisted view of herself made him want to vomit.
"Elphaba," he whispered, drawing closer to her. "You are a strong, beautiful, amazing, brilliant, smart, stubborn, clever, and spellbinding woman. I never want to hear you talk about yourself that way ever again."
"And how will you stop me?" she retorted, rising. "I need to get moving." She sent him a coy smile. "The Wicked Witch of the West is going to have to take flight."
"You won't come back then?" Fiyero sighed, deflated. No, more than deflated. Heartbroken. Empty.
"No."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"Look to the Western sky, Fiyero." She cupped his cheek in her soft green hand. "But other than that, no, no you won't."
"Why can't I?"
"It's not safe for you."
"So?"
"I care about you, Ozdammit!" she hissed, "Now shut up and listen!"
He froze.
"Do you want to know the real reason why I can't return?"
"Of course."
She closed her eyes, as if gathering up her courage, and when she opened them, they were completely open. Burning like fire, cold like ice.
"Fiyero . . . I can't wake up every day and watch you and Glinda together, the perfect little couple. I can't sit by, go through the pain, every day. Starving, being shot at, anything is better than that, you have to understand."
"Wait, what are you say-"
"I love you, you mindless idiot!" After the words tumbled from her mouth in a heated scream, she clamped a hand over her mouth, shocked she had let the words slip, but even more shocked to know that they were true.
He froze again. Without thinking, he stepped forward, fully intending to claim her then and there in the grass, but she stepped back, summoning her broom.
"You can't," she whispered. "We can't."
"Elphie, I love you too!" Her eyes widened, and he took advantage of her distraction, stepping up to cradle her face in his hands, his lips descending to meet hers, but she backed away, frightened.
"Don't fool yourself, Fiyero. And don't try and fool me. You may have long ago, but you can't anymore." She backed up. "I'm not that girl. I know it."
"You are, Elphaba, please, just-"
"Goodbye." Her eyes turned fierce, but there was no masking the pain and love burning through them. "I can't do this to Glinda. Or to you, for that matter. We will never speak again, understand? If you do manage to catch me, you will throw me in a prison to rot. Which I probably deserve, since I let myself love you."
"No, Elphaba, don't-"
"I love you." Her eyes glistened with angry tears, furious for having said those forbidden three words again. "Goodbye, Captain."
With those words, she took off, soon disappearing in the horizon. Fiyero looked at the ground. She had torn her dress, and a scrap of black lace lay on the dusty field floor. He picked it up and crouched again, walking back to retrieve his gun.
The hunt was on. And next time, she wouldn't get away.
*****UPDATE 6-8-11*****
I've expanded this slightly and fixed it up a bit. I've improved since posting this. I might do this with some other stories later as well.