Out of Her Mind.
...
"Yero? Fiyero, darling, where are you? Let's make eggs for breakfast! I'd like my hat as well so we could go on a walk later," Elphaba called to Fiyero one morning in her withered voice.
It was times like these that brought Fiyero so much pain. Once they were gone, he only longed for the next time Elphaba knew, when she remembered. He lived for those moments.
Elphaba had been forgetting for some time now. It had started with small, simple things such as misplacing her hat. Soon there after, the green witch began to forget everything around her, fear would flood her dark eyes and she no longer recognized the scarecrow with whom she lived. Often times, Elphaba would reach out her withered hand to Fiyero and ask in a sad voice, "Dear Scarecrow, where is my Fiyero? Where has he gone?"
His replies were always the same, "He'll be back soon." Of course, he was referring to the next time when Elphaba knew who that scarecrow sitting beside her really was.
"Yes, Fae. Come on, let's go get you dressed," Fiyero said softly in reply as he walked over to help the old woman up.
"I can dress myself, Fiyero." She hit his straw-filled arm softly. Although she was old, her personality had not been altered a bit, she still refused any unnecessary help from Fiyero. "Will you get my hat while I dress? I think it's downstairs on the chair."
"I'm on my way," The scarecrow said as he moseyed his way down the flight of stairs. Elphaba's hat was exactly where she had said. Today was a good day for her. Fiyero smiled and picked up the hat gently with his gloved hands, he fingered it for a moment. For some reason, standing there holding Elphaba's hat filled him with grief. He didn't know why he had felt that way, nor did he have time to figure it out, for Elphaba was slowly making her way down the stairs.
"Did you find it?" The green witch called just as she came into view.
"Yes." The scarecrow walked over, gently he placed the hat upon the old woman's head and gave her a soft kiss.
"I love you, Yero," Elphaba said quietly.
Today is a good day. "I love you too." For a short moment, he held her in his arms and she laid her head upon his chest. "Alright, let's make you breakfast." With that, he reluctantly pulled out of the hug and led her to the kitchen table.
He helped her into a chair and she quickly remarked, "Such a gentleman, Fiyero." She turned to find a vase of flowers in the center of the table, she said, "Oh, did you pick these?"
"I did." Pots and pans clattered as he clumsily began to cook breakfast. Being a scarecrow made cooking twice as difficult, but still, he made breakfast and dinner for Elphaba every day no matter what state her memory was in.
"Poppies..." The small red flowers rested peacefully in a crystal vase of water. She plucked one from its safe haven and brought it to her face so she could smell its sweet perfume. "They're beautiful."
"Just like you," his smooth voice replied. Finally, he finished cooking and he took his place opposite of Elphaba. "Here you are," he slid the plate across the table to the green woman who slowly began to eat. He watched her.
"Must you watch me eat, Fiyero?" She asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes." It seemed as though the prince spoke much less these days, and when he did, he was very serious. Although, he had not aged a bit, his mind had and he often felt tired.
"I do love our home, Yero," Elphaba said softly, putting a forkful of egg into her mouth.
Truthfully, Fiyero could not say he enjoyed living in Kiama Ko, but the couple had decided to move back to Oz a long time ago, it had been their only option. Before, they had lived in the forest of Amber on the outskirts of Ev. It was a wonderful place to live, separated from Oz by the impassible desert and separated from Ev by vast stretches of trees. The tall trees in the fall took on an amber coloration, hence the name, it was so beautiful and unlike anything in Kiama Ko. The only problem was supplies, the nearest village was a six day walk and even more on the way back.
Fiyero never did allow Elphaba to make the journey, for she was infamous even in Ev. To add to that little tidbit, most people considered her dead.
That was one thing Fiyero always found odd, being considered dead when you are alive and well. Every so often, Fiyero would hear news of his family, back in Oz, from hushed voices on the streets. Sometimes good news sometimes bad, the worst was hearing about his funeral. He always felt awful about hurting everyone he had known by faking his own death. What was even more odd, was when people would ask him, the scarecrow, about helping Dorothy kill the witch when he was coming home to her with food.
The journeys became too long for the scarecrow, who was starting to become worn and had more patches than actual material. As Elphaba aged, Fiyero found that he could no longer leave his love alone for such a long time, for fear she would hurt herself while he was gone.
Kiama Ko seemed like the only other option. Deserted, distant, isolated, and filled with escape routes in case of an emergency or unexpected visitors. The walk to the village was less than one day round trip. He was still a celebrated figure in Oz for aiding Dorothy in 'melting' Elphaba even though that had happened forty years ago. They had live in Kiama Ko for only thirty-two years and Fiyero could still recall the first time Elphaba had really forgotten.
It had been upon his return from a supply run, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, not yet. As usual, he slipped through the back door, carrying large amounts of food and other materials.
"I'm back!" His words echoed through the stone castle.
Now, normally, Elphaba would have responded with some smart, sarcastic comment. Something along the lines of, "Figures, just as everything was beginning to get quiet around here!" But, her voice did not ring out in reply, there was only a ringing silence and then a hurried scuffling noise from upstairs.
"Elphaba?" The scarecrow set his heavy load down quietly and called for her again. No reply.
A frightening crash ricocheted off the walls and an earsplitting scream followed there after. "Elphaba!" Fiyero gasped shortly before he flew up the stairs with surprising speed. Once he reached the top, he found books strewn across the floor, his eyes traveled to meet Elphaba's. They were filled with fear. "What's wrong, Fae?" The scarecrow asked worriedly, leaning over to pick up a book.
"Only Fiyero calls me that!" The old woman spat at him scornfully.
"Elphaba, I am Fiyero!" The other replied in shock.
"No, you're not! I know who Fiyero is and I'm pretty sure he's not some beaten up, worn out, old scarecrow!" She picked up her broom and held it threatening towards him. "Who are you? Where am I, where's Glinda? Nessa? Where's Fiyero?" Her voice rose on the last name.
He couldn't help but to be confused. "WHAT? How can you not know me? I am Fiyero!"
She held the broom to him, completely unconvinced. He tried to move towards her, to comfort her but she only screeched at him, "YOU STAY BACK!" Fiyero stepped back, hurt and confused.
"Elphaba," he felt like crying, but no matter how much he wanted to cry, he knew he'd never be able to. "Elphaba, I don't understand."
She remained there, like she was frozen with fear. Suddenly, her eyes flushed with realization and the broom clattered to the floor loudly. "Yero, oh Yero," she cried, hurrying to Fiyero's open arms, "What's happening to me?" Tears streamed down her face and soaked his fabric and he knew she was losing her memory. He knew, he was loosing her.
"Are you done?" Fiyero asked, waking up from the painful memories. Elphaba nodded and gave him the plate.
"Thank you, that was delicious as usual." Elphaba said quietly as she turned to look out the window. "Such a pretty day..."
Fiyero had been right, it was a very good day for Elphaba. One of those rare occasions when she hadn't forgotten a thing. They picked apples, painted, gardened, and took a walk, it was an eventful and glorious day for the two of them. On days like this, it seemed like she was back to her old self.
As the short day came to an end, a long, exhausting night began. Fiyero looked across the dark room to see Elphaba sleeping peacefully. He knew it wouldn't last, he'd only have to wait to see what terrors her mind would create in the dead of night.