Heartless21/05/2008 04:18:00
I don't know why, but I was particularly impatient that day. I tapped my long wand on the arm of my chair, always glancing up at the clock. He was 10 minutes late and it was wearing on my nerves. Finally, I heard a metallic knock on the door, and immediately I put a smile on my face. "Please come in," I said nicely, and he hesitantly opened the door.
The Tin Man began to slowly walk across my throne room. For some reason I was drawn to him, like I had previously known him from somewhere. Impossible, I think I would remember meeting a man composed completely out of tin. About 10 feet away from my throne, he stopped. He began to twiddle his fingers nervously, another aspect that seemed oddly familiar to me. "Why have you asked to see me, Tin Man?"
He looked back at the door, as if he hoped to make a run for it, but he turned back and looked at me defiantly. For a while he didn't say anything, just stood there glaring at me, and I said, "If you are not going to say or ask anything, I have better things to do." and walked over to my desk. Leaving him standing there, I glanced over my desk, looking for the forms I still had to fill out. I opened one of my desk drawers, but it was the wrong one. The drawer I opened contained all the letters and things the Boq had given me. Boq…
I would be the last to admit this in public, but I always loved him. True, I did love Fiyero, but it was different with Boq; he was always so accepting, no matter what I said to him to keep my image good, he always smiled and trailed after me. Ooh how I always hated him for that, making me feel so dirty and mean, but it was also the trait I admired most in him. After Nessa died, I went to her mansion, to free him, to finally tell him how I felt, but he was gone; all of his things were still there, and to my horror, there was a small pile of blood on the floor. It could only have meant something bad, so I assumed the worst. Now that he, Nessa, Fiyero, and Elphaba were gone, I was left with my loneliness and a single picture of Boq I refused to relinquish and was now holding in my hand.
"M-Miss Galinda?" said the Tin Man in his hollow, metallic voice, but somehow still alive and warm. Miss Galinda? Why does that sound so familiar?
"Yes?" I replied, turning around, still holding Boq's picture. I gasped, still not wanting people to really know about my feelings for him, but as I held the picture up, so that the Tin Man was next to it, I saw it, the reason the Tin Man seemed so familiar. As I looked back and forth from the picture to the Tin Man, it all became clear; the shape of his body, the shape of his face, that hair, those eyes. Tears streamed down my face as I said, "B-Boq? Is that you?"
He grimaced, probably hoping he would not be recognized and gave a heavy sigh. "Yes it is me. How coul-" but he was interrupted as I ran over and embraced him.
"Oh Boq! How did this happen to you? Who did this to you? Oh, Boq…" I wept on his cold tin shoulder. After a few moments, he pushed me away.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked in a hurt tone.
"Doing what?"
"Why are you doing that, do you take pleasure in humoring me?" he said with even more pain and anger.
"Boq I-"
"Don't mean Biq?" he said coldly. Something was wrong…
"What happened to you?"
"I had my heart disintegrated! What's up in your life?"
"Boq please, let me help you."
"Why would you ever want to help me, huh? All you ever did was hurt me! It wasn't Nessa who killed my heart, it was you!"
His bitter words pierced through me like a poisoned arrow. How could I have been so selfish to the only person I had ever truly loved? Did I just assume that no matter what I said or did, he would be there? Was I really that selfish and cruel? Obviously he had his limits…as he should, I treated him horribly.
"Boq, why did you come here if you thought I wouldn't want to help you?"
"I came here to tell you how much you have hurt me! You emotionally abused me, and I just wanted to show what came of your heartlessness!"
He spread his hands out wide, gesturing to his shiny tin body. "The whole reason I am made of tin is because you set me up with Nessa to avoid from being seen with me at a stupid, insignificant dance!! I have no physical or emotional heat because of you! I hope you're happy, Glinda the Good!"
I didn't know what to say or do. Every word he said was true.
He turned around to leave in a huff, but I couldn't let him leave.
"Boq wait!" He kept walking down the hallway. "Boq PLEASE!!" he still kept walking. "I ALWAYS LOVED YOU!" I didn't mean to say it, but it burst out of me like a volcanic eruption. He turned around slowly, and when I saw the look on his face, I knew I had made a huge mistake.
"How DARE you!" she shouted as he clanked back to my throne. "How could you have the raw NERVE to say that to me! Mocking me again, I see. If you loved me, why in the world would shun me from sight every time I even got near you? If you loved me, why were you engaged to Fiyero? If you loved me, how come you have never done anything to benefit me over you? When have you shown you have a heart?"
Tears were streaming down my face. I was shaking and collapsed to the floor. He continued to stare at me with his cold, glass eyes. As he turned away to leave, he whispered "Sad thing is…I will still always love you, no matter what. Good bye Glinda, forever."
This was the final blow to my heart; after all I had done, said, he would love me to the day he died. If I didn't do something now, I would lose him forever. As he slowly walked away, I got up and ran over to the Grimmerie. I flipped and flipped as fast as I could until a found the spell.
Placing my hands on my sides and chanting the cursed words, the spell began; bright silver light erupted from my fingertips, alerting Boq's attention, making him turn around, in time to see the beams twirl around my body. I closed my eyes, preparing for the spell to take effect, and suddenly, my heart seemed to burst aflame inside my body. I screamed in agony, but kept my eyes shut, not wanting to see Boq's reaction to my pain, for I feared it would still be satisfaction or relief. As the pain in my heart ebbed away, the second phase of the spell began, and my skin became hard and inflexible, making it impossible for me to move any longer, and I collapsed on the floor. Completely paralyzed I lay on the stone floor as the third and final phase of the spell began; I couldn't even scream as it rendered me in a phase of the worst pain I had ever experienced. I blacked out, with my last sight being Boq rushing over and standing over me…
I awoke later in the throne room. My eyelids felt heavy and hard. I picked up my head to look around and found every part of me felt stiff and awkward. I couldn't remember what happened, or why I had passed out. Maybe I had been working too hard on a new spell? While I slept I had the strangest dream…Boq was there…and he was made of tin…I preformed a spell on myself…a terrible spell…
I felt a cold hand on my shoulder, and turned around to find the Tin Man, Boq…it wasn't a dream. Boq had a concerned look on his face, but I could see a bit of happiness as well. "Glinda…I…I don't know what to say…"
I looked down at my hands; they were made of tin. I got up as gracefully as I could and walked over to my full length mirror. I was made completely out of tin; my eyes were cold and lifeless, my hair was frozen into a giant metal fixture, and all of my joints were transformed into hinges; I was a tick tock, just like Boq.
I turned around to him. "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you not to be alone any longer" I began to walk over to him, but one of my leg hinges gave out and I collapsed on the floor. He ran to my side and placed his arm around my shoulder. He smiled at me. "I can't believe what you did for me." he said, and he kissed me.
It was Boq's first kiss, and the first kiss I had that mattered. When we finished, he looked into my eyes and said quietly, "You are most certainly forgiven. Lets go, let's leave Oz behind"
I turned around and glanced at my throne and desk. "I can't go. Glinda is the ruler of Oz."
Boq glanced around the room. "I don't see Glinda any where, only the Tin Man and Tin Girl."
I beamed at him, stood up, and without a backwards glance, left Oz behind forever.
Glinda sighed and smiled as she finished her story. Her sons and daughter clapped their hands at the conclusion, overjoyed by the amazing tale; she and Boq ended up having three children: Biq, Fiyero, and of course, Elphaba. Biq was the youngest at age 3, and was a spitting image of Boq, but had Glinda's crystal blue eyes. Fiyero was 5 years old and was about a perfect blend between Boq and Glinda; he had Glinda's golden locks, Boq's endearing face, Glinda's perfect skin, and Boq's shortness. Lastly, there was Elphaba, who was the eldest at age 7. She, however, looked nothing like either parent and, ironically, looked very similar to the original Elphaba, minus the green skin.
"Mommy?" said Elphaba shyly.
"Yes, dear." said Glinda sweetly.
"Well, how did you get back to normal?"
Glinda looked down at her once again perfect body and smiled. "Well," she started. "After we left Oz, we spent an extremely long time looking for the cure, searching in hundreds of foreign lands and places, but to no avail. Eventually, we just decided that we could be just as happy the way we were. We eventually found Androlasia, where we live now, which is just a little outside of Oz. It took a while, but we found a minister who would marry us, and somehow, the moment we said 'I Do', we were transformed back to normal. Once I became completely fluent in the language the Grimmerie was written in, I discovered that the spell was a special type called a consequence spell. Consequence spells only work as long as something remains the same, otherwise, they are broken. For this spell, as long as the one enchanted remained alone or heartless with no one to love them or be loved, they would remain tin. Once your father and I got married, though, it was broken."
At that moment, Boq walked in the door. He was no longer a shrimpy, scrawny little munchkin, oh no. Working as a builder, he was now very built and tan. He smiled when he saw his wife and children all sitting happily on the floor together. He put his tools by the door and ran over to hug his kids and kiss his wife. They all sat together on the floor for a while, laughing, when little Elphaba tapped Boq on the shoulder.
"What's up, Fae," he asked her.
"Who's Elphaba?"
Both Glinda and Boq gave her a puzzled look, and little Elphaba shook her head. "I'm not talking about myself. Ya'see, I was reading this book about Oz, and one chapter was about a Wicked Witch, and her name was Elphaba. Why would you name me after someone who was wicked?"
Glinda and Boq looked at each other, smiled, and then turned back. "Well, you know, things are seldom what they seem." Glinda said. "Let me tell you another story. It all started back when Boq and I were at school, at Shiz University…"