Author's Note: This is my first ever Wicked fic. I hope you like it!
The sun was setting behind the tallest tower of the deserted castle as a solitary figure topped the last rise and stood, briefly silhouetted against the sky, in the middle of the road. The stones beneath his feet glowed golden in the last light, and he stood there in the wide open, waiting to be acknowledged. Waiting for permission to approach.
It wasn't long in coming; he had known the approaches would be monitored, and within just a few minutes of his arrival, a messenger winged its way out to him from the top of the second tower. It looked like a strange sort of bird when it first lifted into the air against the huge ball of the dying sun, but as it approached him, its body grew larger and more defined. When it landed in front of him, a creature that should never have existed, he gave it a slight smile. "Chistery."
The Monkey bowed. "Captain." He shuffled briefly on his feet, struggling, before speaking again. "She says."
Fiyero knelt so that he was on Chistery's eye level. "Take your time, Chistery," he said gently, despite the urge to shake the message out of him. "What did she say?"
Chistery shuffled his feet again before finally working out one more word. "Come."
The man stood again, letting out a long, slow breath. "Is it safe, Chistery? You and your brothers have kept her safe?"
The Monkey bobbed, nodding vigorously. "We fly," he finally said. "Safe. No other humans..." He paused, waving a long arm. "Many miles."
Fiyero reached down and grasped the Monkey's shoulder, giving it a warm squeeze. "Thank you, Chistery. And thank your brothers, too, for keeping her safe."
The Monkey bobbed his head again. "She is... our savior," he said simply. Then, clearly all talked out, he launched himself into the sky again, flying back along the Yellow Brick Road to double-check Fiyero's backtrail.
The young man squared his shoulders and turned again toward the castle. The sun was nearly down now, only a tiny sliver of it still peeking over the horizon, and he saw something in the uppermost window of the north tower – a flash of green.
With a slow smile spreading across his face, Fiyero started up the road toward his life, his love, his future.
