Elphaba sat, huddled under her cloak, counting the seconds. 53,997; 53,998; 53,999; 54,000. Okay, Fiyero, where are you? she thought, as fifteen hours came and went. She went back to counting seconds. After all, it was something to do. Five minutes later, she heard the dull thud of approaching footsteps. About time! She pulled herself together and got ready to leave. Someone knocked twice.
"Fae?" called a familiar voice. "Elphaba, are you down there?"
The Witch rolled her eyes. "Of course, Fiyero! But if you don't let me out soon, I'll probably die of boredom. So let me out!"
With a dull thud, the door swung open, narrowly missing Elphaba's head as it fell. She blinked, the light blinding her. A strong, familiar hand reached in and pulled her out.
As Elphaba's eyes slowly adjusted from the darkness of the room she had been in for fifteen hours, five minutes, the familiar form of Fiyero came into focus. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her. "Oh, Fae! Thank goodness you're safe!" he cried. "I was afraid that you—that maybe you'd—"
Elphaba sighed. Men. She kissed him to get him to shut up. "I'm fine," she said. She kissed him again, glad to be back in her lover's arms. "So," she asked. "Where are we going?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, I'm the most wanted woman in all of Oz, we can't stay here. The wizard will have people all over this place looking for me in just a few days. Besides, you're supposed to be dead. A dead man and the Wicked Witch of the West can't very well just saunter around Oz now, can they?"
He sighed. "I guess you're right. But where will we go?"
"I don't know!" she cried. "Ev, or Quox, or..." she trailed off.
"Well, for tonight at least, can we stay here?" he asked. "We can leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow night," she corrected. "We only travel when it's dark."
"Okay," he agreed. "Tomorrow night."
