A/N:
HG readers who have me on author alert, I'm sorry this isn't HG fic! If you read it anyway, I hope you enjoy! Miss you guys!
An Alliance
"Welcome Governor Thropp, it's a pleasure," the King gave her a lopsided grin.
His language seemed overly formal for the relaxed manner in which he winked at her.
"Thank you for meeting with me," Elphaba couldn't quite get the surprise out of her voice and it made her sound husky, which made her blush.
The King was as breathtakingly handsome as they said and apparently as much of a cad too.
He led her to a comfortable study and they settled in armchairs next to a roaring fire. Across the room a desk, surrounded by heaving shelves of books, looked hardly used.
"Uh, to be honest with you, I don't know much of what's going on," he grinned charmingly as he poured two glasses from a jeweled bottle.
"I should probably get some of my advisors in here," he slid her a glass.
Even without picking it up she could smell strong alcohol.
He knocked back the contents of his glass in one sip and poured himself another.
"Your Majesty this is a very important time in Oz. A political union between the Vinkus and Munchkinland is vital in insuring our stability for the long term," she lowered her voice to a whisper,
"No matter what the Wizard tries to do, together we can withstand his plots."
The King's eyes widened.
"Shit, this sounds serious," he poured another drink.
Elphaba hadn't even seen him down the second.
"You are aware of the civil war brewing in Oz, aren't you?" she asked incredulously.
"The fight over Animal rights, unlawful surveillance of innocent citizens, the Wizard's propaganda machine?"
Judging by the expression on his face, he was not.
"Your Majesty…."
He held up a hand.
"It's too early for this. And enough of the your majesty bullshit. You must be about the same age as me…?"
He looked her over and she felt a rush of heat at his appraisal.
"Just call me Fiyero, would you?"
.
Two hours and many drinks later she had just about explained the main points in recent political history, resulting in their current tensions and Munchkinland's need for an alliance.
"I managed to persuade my father the Unnamed God gave Animals speech as a sign that they have a soul and must be saved," she couldn't help rolling her eyes,
"So Munchkinland is a safe haven for the persecuted, but it hasn't gone unnoticed. The Wizard's spies report everything in Munchkinland to him. And they're all over Oz. They're after us now but it could be you tomorrow," she lowered her voice,
"If you do something the Wizard decides he doesn't like. It's dangerous for all of us. We need a strong alliance and the Vinkus is a powerful people, but an alliance with us would benefit you too," she lowered her voice again, almost whispering,
"I have strategies we can use to make sure he can never hurt Oz again. All I need is your help. We can't underestimate the Wizard. No one is safe. But together, we don't need to be afraid of him. It's him that should be afraid. Of us," she finished with quiet conviction.
The King, who had ordered coffee about an hour into the discussion to counteract the other drinks, nevertheless looked tired.
He rubbed a large hand over his stubbled chin.
"Look, this sounds bad, it really does, but trust me, I'm not the guy you need. I'm no good at the politics side of monarchy. Civil war, monkey spies, it gives me a headache even trying to think about it. I've been dancing through life since I was old enough to understand what responsibility meant, and I'm not stopping now."
"But...you're the King!" Elphaba was caught between outrage and astonishment.
"I look good in pictures, I throw a good party every couple weeks, the people stay happy. That's as much of a King as I need to be. It's the only King I know how to be. And it's more of a King than my parents thought I'd be so I'm already exceeding expectations," he said dryly.
He hauled himself up from the armchair.
"I'm sorry, it's too much effort to get involved. I can't help you…"
"Don't pretend you don't care." Elphaba bristled, rising to stand eye to eye with him.
"I've been talking with you for hours about this, I know it matters to you. I saw your face when I told you what the Wizard does to Animals. You know it isn't right. You're not as brainless as you want me to think. No matter how shallow and self absorbed you pretend to be…"
"Excuse me, there is no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self absorbed and deeply shallow," he protested, going for charming.
"No you're not, or you wouldn't be so unhappy," Elphaba countered, seeing right through him.
She saw the flash of surprise in his eyes and she should have felt more satisfaction that she was right but instead she felt the sadness she saw in him.
"Fine, if you don't want my help..." he swept angrily towards the door.
Elphaba shot after him.
"No, I do!" in desperation to make him stop, she grabbed his hand.
A rush of pure joy shot through her from where their hands touched.
His hand was warm and strong and she felt its warmth spread up her arm and through her whole body. It was a blissful and complete feeling like she'd never had before. She rarely had physical contact with other people, especially men, but even taking that into account there was no logical reason touching someone else's hand should affect her so strongly. She had the sudden overwhelming urge to never let go of his hand.
Judging by the way he was staring at her, he was experiencing a similarly strong reaction.
He swayed slightly towards her, his lips parting, and for a surreal moment she thought he might lean down and kiss her.
But he let go of her hand and shook his head, as if to clear it.
He looked around, dazed, eventually pointing at the window.
"Hey, it got dark,"
"Yeah," she murmured, missing the feel of his hand already.
"We must have talked longer than we planned."
"Yeah," his voice was as hushed and uncertain as hers.
"Or maybe we talked too long or something."
Drawn in as if by a magnet, Elphaba took a step closer to him, so their bodies were almost touching. She could practically hear his heart pounding.
"You should stay for dinner," he said quickly, snapping out of his trance.
"I'll tell the cook to prepare an extra place," he called, practically running out the door.
"Fiyero!" she called after him, but he was already gone, leaving her alone in his unfamiliar castle and desperately missing his presence.
.
Dinner began awkwardly, just the two of them, though there were two more places set at the table.
He didn't explain them. In fact he didn't say much of anything, eating his soup with a ferocious silence.
"You're welcome to stay the night, it's late to travel back," he said, to his spoon.
"Unless you think your husband will worry."
"I don't have a husband," she said reflexively, cringing with embarrassment when she heard it, though it had never bothered her before.
He looked up at that, surprised.
"Why not?" he asked. As though it was so surprising.
Elphaba laughed, a sharp cackle.
"Are you joking?" she ventured warily.
It was cruel of him if he was, after the moment they shared earlier. Besides rude as she was a diplomatic guest.
"Joking about what...?" to his credit he seemed genuinely confused.
"Who would want to marry me?" she asked plaintively, demonstrating her verdigris with a sweeping hand motion.
"I'm green," she clarified, when he still looked confused.
"Well, your skin is," he responded, baffling her.
He his tone implied it was obvious, making her feel childish,
"Your hair's black. And your eyes. Well, your eyes are about 12 different colors at once somehow, it's really kind of amazing. And your lips are sort of pinky purple," he grinned.
Elphaba blushed.
She had never thought of her greenness that way before. As simply the hue of her skin. It had always seemed to be her entire identity, encompassing everything about her, forever trapping her as the green one.
She shouldn't get used to thinking differently about it.
Becoming hopeful was dangerous. It only led to disappointment.
"That's besides the point," she shrugged.
"Who would marry a green woman?"
He frowned.
"It's an unusual color to be I suppose," he conceded.
"But surely no one cares that much about it, you're still beautiful," he gestured with his spoon, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Elphaba's breath caught in her chest.
She tightened her grip on her own spoon, not wanting to believe she had heard the words.
"I've never met anyone else with green skin. But I suppose there must be others if you have it. It's not stereotypically good looking, you know, blonde, like me," he smiled matter of factly.
Even his arrogance was charming.
"But beautiful is beautiful. I'm surprised I've never met another green person, I meet all sorts…" he continued, while her thoughts were on fire with being called beautiful, twice, for the first time in her life.
She wished he would take it back.
Because either he really was joking and was being cruelly ironic, or he meant it and her heart, which had already started swelling at the possibility, didn't know what to make of that.
No one in her whole life had ever thought, let alone said that before. Never beautiful, never pretty, never even normal. Always bizarre, freaky, ugly, an abomination, a commotion, an atrocity. Even in her position as Governor she was generally feared and avoided rather than admired.
She frowned deeply, willing herself to unhear it.
"Come on, you really are joking," she said, trying to keep her tone light, like she didn't care.
"I'm not..." he protested, even more confused.
"Wait, are you?" He puzzled, trying to figure out what she meant.
"You can't be serious," she insisted.
"Because if you really think that," she raised her eyebrows, "You're the only one in all of Oz who does."
He was clearly surprised, and then that mischievous grin appeared.
She thought he might tease her, might feign shock at her low opinion of herself after her forcefulness in his study.
But instead he said, "So you've travelled all of Oz? That's impressive."
"What's it all like?" he asked, self-satisfiedly.
"Well, no I haven't," she said, chagrined.
"Actually I've hardly been outside Munchkinland," she admitted, sipping her soup.
"So maybe the small-minded idiots in Munchkinland have a very backwards idea of beauty," he shrugged, victorious.
Never having considered this for a moment, Elphaba felt her whole sense of the world and her perception of herself in it flip on its head with a dizzying rush.
"I promise you, here in the Vinkus, you're beautiful."
He smiled encouragingly. He was sincere, declarative, as though he were the authority on the subject.
Which, here, he probably was, she realized.
His eyes sparkled at her over his spoon, and Elphaba could hardly breathe. She felt warm all over again.
He grew more serious and didn't look away from her.
He got that look, like he might leap over the table and kiss her. Elphaba could see it more clearly now she knew he was the one rare person in Oz who somehow didn't find her physically hideous.
Although she had never been one to pine over romance, accepting easily it was not in the cards for her, Elphaba suddenly knew if he did she would kiss him back with everything in her.
She wanted him, with a deep and primal force like she had never wanted anything in her life before.
Their moment was broken by delicate tinkling laughter as two women entered the dining room.
The elder woman was tall and graceful with wide cheekbones, a proud chin and a smile that crinkled her eyes. Her eyes were brilliant blue, identical to Fiyero's.
The younger was impossibly petite, shockingly blonde, and wearing an accumulation of frilly pastel skirts that gave her the effect of resembling a human cupcake. Her curls bounced about her head as she giggled.
"Sorry we're late darlingest! Momsie and I got absolutely distractified looking at wide brim hats," the blonde practically sang.
She tottered over to Fiyero and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek.
It was only then that Elphaba noticed with a sinking feeling the rings on both their fingers.
"Miss Thropp," Fiyero said, stiffly formal,
"May I introduce my mother, Noriima, and my wife, Galinda. Galinda, Mother, Miss Elphaba Thropp, the Governor of Munchkinland,"
Was she only imagining he sounded disappointed because she was too?
Or did she see regret and longing in those blue eyes that never left hers, even as he took his wife's hand and kissed it?
The woman giggled in response, a sound that already felt to Elphaba like nails on a chalkboard.
Of course he was married.
Almost everyone their age was. He'd thought it strange that she wasn't.
Besides which, he was a King.
For all she knew he could already have a brood of heirs to boot, though it seemed like she would have seen them by now if he did.
Aware of how crazy and inappropriate it was when meeting his wife, Elphaba irrationally felt like he was already hers. That moment in his study somehow rendered any previous life arrangements null and void.
She forced herself to remember she was not his wife. She was Not That Woman.
She put on a smile for the ball of pastel frilly energy that was his wife.
She wouldn't have picked this woman for Fiyero, and noticed that while he gave her polite kisses and held her hand when she grabbed his, Fiyero did not look at his wife with even a tenth of the about-to-kiss-you intensity he had turned on Elphaba just moments ago.
Dinner became even more uncomfortable for Elphaba with the addition of the two of them.
Perhaps it was for Fiyero too. He mostly stared off into the distance just behind Elphaba's head and said little.
The other two women seemed very comfortable.
Fiyero's mother was polite and just as warmly welcoming as Fiyero had been before things became awkward between them.
Galinda was SO warmly welcoming it began to feel aggressive. She asked increasingly personal questions as breezily as enquiring about the weather.
To Elphaba, who hated personal questions at all, and especially from strangers, it was a struggle to stay seated in the room.
"I'm so surprisified it's you!" Galinda gushed.
"We went to school with your sister, you see, at Shiz," she took Fiyero's hand.
"And we all thought she was to be the Governor. She was extremely Governorish in her ways, even back then," she giggled.
Elphaba caught Fiyero giving her a sympathetic smile, which made her involuntarily smile back.
"Nessa was supposed to be Governor," Elphaba explained.
"She gave up the title to focus on her family. She wanted to devote all her time to raising her daughter and being with her husband."
Her sister loved her husband with an almost frightening fervor.
Elphaba supposed it was because she'd never dreamed she would be able to find love, such as she was, that Nessa clung to it so desperately, eschewing everything else their father had planned for her and making her family her sole focus.
"Oh how romantified!" Galinda cooed.
"Yes, she loves Boq more than anything," Elphaba murmured, her eyes seeking Fiyero's. They caught them for a second, before he pushed back his chair and left the table, agitated.
When Elphaba looked back at Galinda she thought the woman looked guilty, though she couldn't imagine why.
She wondered if Galinda could somehow read her thoughts and she was in trouble. But Galinda was so distracted she had barely noticed Fiyero leave.
"Oh Bick, I remember him from school too," she said, more cautious now than gushing.
"Is he happy, with Nessa?" she asked, intensely, as though it were of personal importance to her. Her familiarity made Elphaba deeply uncomfortable.
"It's Boq," Elphaba frowned.
"And I suppose so. They were very surprised when they found out about the baby. But he did the right thing and stuck by her, and they've been married years now, so he must love her…" she trailed off, uncomfortable with saying more.
She'd always had the feeling that Boq wasn't exactly happy.
But what did she know of love?
So she had always assumed she just couldn't see whatever it was he and Nessa shared because she'd never been in love herself, or loved by anyone else.
"I do believe he came to our wedding dearest," Galinda said to Fiyero, who reentered with another jeweled bottle and just one glass.
"The guards told me afterwards that he tried ever so desperatively to get in and give us his good wishes. I didn't think to invite him. We were never that close…" she trailed off, almost sadly.
Her expression darkened when she saw Fiyero pour from the jeweled bottle almost to the top of his glass.
It was jarring to see her make an expression other than cheerfulness.
She opened her mouth as though to speak, but shut it quickly with a "hm!" and plastered an alarmingly bright smile on her face.
"We should throw a party tomorrow, darlingest," she cooed, her tone at odds with the irritation in her eyes.
"One of my dear old friends from Shiz is passing through. She's off to do humanitarian work with some ever so misfortunish Quadlings. What kind of friend would I be if we didn't put on an absotively thrillifying ball in her honor?" she patted his hand.
"And it'll be nice for the public to see us out and about. We haven't had a party since last week!"
To Elphaba this did not seem like a long time between parties.
She raised her eyebrows at Fiyero. He smirked into his glass.
She noticed his mother looked pained but stayed silent.
The atmosphere was tight and it was clear why.
Unable to control herself, as usual, Elphaba reached across the table and grabbed the jeweled bottle from Fiyero.
She ignored the electric rush as her fingers brushed his, grabbing the glass too.
"You've had enough of that today," she said sharply. "If you must drink something, have more coffee."
He looked stunned.
For a moment she thought he was about to argue with her, but as his eyes met her blazing ones, he started to chuckle to himself.
"If you say so," he grinned, eyes twinkling.
"I do," she nodded, pleased, and slid the glass and bottle across the table to his mother.
Noriima looked stunned too, but pleased, her small smile as she caught the bottle reminding Elphaba jarringly of Fiyero.
Galinda looked the most stunned.
Her mouth hung open for a moment before she remembered to close it.
She jumped up and bustled off to make Fiyero coffee, as though trying to seize control of the situation.
.
"Are you much older than Nessa?" she asked Elphaba later, over dessert.
"Or did you not attend Shiz? I feel certain I would remember you if you did…." she said pointedly.
"You're referring to my skin color, I assume," Elphaba said dryly.
Fiyero glared at Galinda.
"No, no I…" Galinda stuttered, obviously trying to come up with a lie.
Elphaba couldn't help cackling in amusement. This seemed to jar Galinda even more.
"My dear old father never sent me," Elphaba said, the endearment heavy with irony.
"He considered it, when Nessa was due to attend, but he decided he couldn't spare me around the house."
"That's awful," Galinda said, sympathetically. Elphaba bristled at her pity.
"It was his decision. I certainly couldn't pay my own school fees, so it wasn't my place to decide. At least I was there to tell him about the Animals. Without us they would have had nowhere to go. Besides, surely you know what it is to be responsible and uphold your duty," she directed the last part to Fiyero, who laughed abruptly and muttered,
"Barely."
"It did make it hard taking Nessa's place as Governor when he died."
"How did he…" Galinda started.
"He died while she was giving birth," Elphaba interrupted sharply, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible.
"Just collapsed with worry for her. He loved her so much…and he was terrified what happened to our mother would happen to her."
"What happened to…" Galinda began, but Elphaba held up a hand to silence her and continued.
"So he was dead and Nessa left the position before she even started. Father had arranged for Boq to marry her months before the birth. I had to do a lot of work very quickly to catch up."
"How terrible, him dying that way," Galinda would not stop with that false sounding sympathy.
"Don't worry your pretty head, I've come to terms with it," Elphaba said brusquely. Galinda gasped.
"We weren't close," she supplied, feeling annoyed at having to explain herself.
"Pretty impressive you learned everything so fast, Thropp." Fiyero said playfully.
She was grateful for him trying to lighten the mood. He had more sense than he let on.
"You're ridiculously smart. I thought you must have been haunting classrooms and libraries for years getting all brainy."
"I taught myself. It doesn't take much, just putting in the effort." Elphaba paused, steeling her courage before adding boldly,
"So there's hope for you yet. Tiggular."
Fiyero laughed loudly, and when she looked at his mother, Elphaba found her smiling.
Galinda looked increasingly distressed as she poured him more coffee, almost by reflex.
.
Elphaba went to bed that night with thoughts of him filling her mind.
The castle felt heavy with his presence and she wanted to go to him, to crawl into his bed, to find out what exactly it was that had happened when she'd held his hand.
But of course she didn't. Because his wife was in his bed with him.
She fell into a fitful sleep.
.
He wasn't at breakfast the next morning.
Elphaba gave an impassioned version of recent political events to a far-too-bubbly-for-this-time-of-the-morning Galinda, hoping the Queen might be able to use her influence to persuade her husband to join their cause.
She kept looking at the door hoping he'd walk in, even though there wasn't a fourth place set for him.
Apparently no one else expected him at this time of the morning.
Alarmingly, Galinda forced her to exchange addresses, gushing about becoming pen pals.
Elphaba left in a carriage after breakfast, telling herself she was just disappointed that her diplomatic mission had failed, not that she hadn't seen Fiyero again.
.
She needn't have worried, because he turned up at her door several weeks later with a bouquet of poppies.
He called them a diplomatic gift and she laughed and welcomed him in, her small, cold office growing immediately warmer and homier with his presence.
"Elphaba, I've been thinking…" he began, pacing restlessly.
"Congratulations," she deadpanned. She started to smile but saw he was very serious and caught herself.
"I think about you a lot, actually," he confessed with frank sincerity, moving closer, searching her eyes.
Elphaba's heart pounded.
"So do I," she half whispered, spellbound by him.
He had that look in his eyes again and Elphaba thought again he was a breath away from leaning in just a little more and kissing her.
Instead he nodded somberly, like they were forming a serious plan, and asked her to tell him more about the Wizard.
.
And so Fiyero passed several months of regular visits to Munchkinland under the guise of learning more about their potential alliance.
It bothered Elphaba that he remained non-committal politically, but she guiltily enjoyed having a reason for him to visit and she looked forward to his visits every minute he wasn't there.
At first she wondered if he really was just coming to learn about politics, but she couldn't fool herself for long that he wasn't really coming to see her.
Neither of them suggested she visit the Vinkus instead.
They enjoyed being undisturbed by anyone else in her empty mansion.
Neither of them mentioned his wife, though Elphaba received a letter from her not long after Fiyero's first visit.
After days of deciding she would ignore it, Elphaba surprised herself by responding.
And so the whole time Fiyero visited her, she kept up letter writing with Galinda, her forced pen pal, with whom she formed an unexpected and genuine friendship.
She was surprised how much she enjoyed reading Galinda's thoughts, surprised at how many thoughts the woman actually had once they'd exhausted the façade of pleasantries, and surprised at how willing she became to share her own secrets.
Well, most of them.
Galinda was the first friend she'd ever made.
It was surprisingly easy to push away the guilt, when Fiyero still maddeningly felt like hers, even though she knew he wasn't really.
With every new thing she read about Galinda, she could see how unsuited she was to Fiyero, and it encouraged her.
He often stayed several days at a time, and they talked about the alliance only as much as necessary to make it the reason for the trip, spending the rest of the time getting to know each other and, a concept new to Elphaba, having fun.
She showed him the sights, few as they were, of Munchkinland.
They rode horses through the wide cornfields and climbed trees to pick apples.
He helped her finish her dream project—a Munckinland National Library—contributing so much both funding and muscle that she dedicated a wing in his honor.
She sequestered them in her own library many an afternoon, and he tore through more books at her urging than he'd read in the entirety of his many many years of schooling.
He watched her draft laws and plan alliance activity.
He helped her clean out her father's room and her sister's, helped her paint the mansion fresh bright colors, helped her get her mother's things down from the attic, sat with her while she looked through them.
He went with her to offer aid to displaced Animals, searched the border with her for injured Animals unable to make the journey to safety by themselves.
And throughout it he hardly touched a drop of liquor, first at her request and later because she'd broken him of the habit.
They found reasons to touch each other that seemed innocent.
They stood closer than comfortable.
They used their afternoons in the library to huddle together on the cozy couch, practically snuggling like teenagers on a first date.
They acted more like young kids on a stolen holiday than a married King and the proper Governor.
As time passed he grew more passionate about Animal rights.
More and more he'd jump down from his carriage and come running over to her, shoving into her hands blueprints and photos of places Animals were kept imprisoned, rescue plans tumbling out of his beautiful mouth before she'd even had a chance to read them or greet him.
He fueled her passion and she felt all the more tenderly towards him for it.
They dressed head to toe in black and took his carriage around the country and broke out Animals by the dead of night.
He held her hand as they ran.
He turned his vacant castle into a refugee camp where fugitive Animals too visible to stay in Munchkinland could hide.
He punched out guards giving her time to escape with the Animals.
When sufficiently motivated he became the Arkiji warrior his ancestors would be proud of.
Elphaba thought his interest might have begun as an attempt to please her, but she thought he was starting to care in his own right about their causes.
There was fire in his eyes, and she found they were even more beautiful ablaze than they had been empty.
Every time Fiyero looked at over at her, in the middle of an activity or up from a book, Elphaba couldn't help but remind herself *he thinks I'm beautiful* and her heart would blaze too.
"I've never been to so few parties," he said once, when he stayed all week.
They were curled up on a couch in Elphaba's personal library and for no reason but mischief he wrestled the book she was reading from her, using it as an excuse to touch her, tickling her stomach until she curled into him and he pinned her on the couch.
They'd been close to this before but this was another step further than they'd yet dared.
Elphaba's stomach coiled with anticipation. How far would it go this time?
His face hovered over hers and her breath caught as she saw the intensity in his eyes.
She knew what he was about to do the moment before he descended on her and kissed her softly, feelingfully.
She gasped into his mouth, before returning the kiss with equal passion and tenderness.
They kissed until they couldn't breathe.
Elphaba never imagined her first kiss would be at 27, with a married man, who she was in love with.
There was no denying it by then, she was hopelessly in love with Fiyero, and against all impossible odds she suspected he might feel similarly towards her.
"What are we going to do?" he asked, pulling back from the kiss, glassy eyed and, thankfully, looking as shaken as she felt. He helped her sit up and held her hand.
She felt his wedding ring against her fingers.
.
What they ended up doing was ignoring all their practical problems and arranging to go away to the Emerald City during Fiyero's next visit.
They spent a long weekend there, not even doing anything productive for their cause, just escaping reality, playing at being lovers in the big city.
It was Elphaba's first time seeing the city she'd imagined her whole life. She delighted in no one batting an eye at her skin color and was amazed by museums, libraries, cultural points of interest. Everything was impressive and beautiful and green.
Like her, Fiyero pointed out, when she declared it.
She had many other firsts with Fiyero in their hotel bed. He was impossibly gentle for such a strong man and made her feel for the first time like she was truly a woman.
Despite knowing it was the center of the Wizard's evil regime, Elphaba wanted to stay in the Emerald City with Fiyero forever.
.
"I'll do it," he said on their last morning there.
They lay naked in bed, watching the sun rise above the Emerald skyline through their window.
It made the green glass glow softly in the light, as though the buildings were lit from the inside.
Elphaba felt lit from the inside with Fiyero's arm slung around her waist, his body cocooned behind her.
He kissed her shoulder lazily.
"Let's make an alliance," he said into her neck. "Let's make it official."
Elphaba turned in his arms to face him.
Though unofficially he'd been helping her for months now, she was surprised he wanted to officially work together. To commit his faith to her plans for them.
"I thought you didn't care," she teased, though by now he'd proven otherwise.
"You made me care," he kissed her once, twice, hands framing her face, rolled her onto her back, hovering over her. "You gave me something to care about. Something to live for."
She pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him with ferocity. She didn't stop to breathe, breathing him in through her mouth, drunk on him. Her body was ready so quickly, feeling the wetness where she needed it she spread her legs to take him inside her.
"Yero, oh Yero, I love you" she murmured over and over as he moved inside her, dizzy with happiness and love.
He returned each declaration of love with one of his own, kissed into her neck, her breast, her hair, and each of them made her heart swell bigger.
When he lifted his mouth from hers to attack her neck again he gasped, distracted by something beyond them, and she propped herself up to see all the objects in the room floating around their bed.
She flushed and buried her face in his chest with embarrassment.
He pulled out of her, rolling to the side.
"Sometimes I make things happen around me…I don't mean to… it happens when I feel something strongly…" she peeked up him to gauge his reaction.
"It's happened before when I've been angry or upset…" she trailed off, noticing for the first time that she'd never before felt a pleasant emotion strongly enough to cause it.
Fiyero frowned, and for a moment she was terrified she'd finally done something that would scare him away.
She watched his face, waiting for him to find her repulsive.
It didn't happen.
He just looked at the floating furniture again, raised his eyebrows, and dived back into kissing her, even more thoroughly than before.
"I'm glad I'm so inspiring," he murmured into her mouth.
Elphaba felt the fear in her stomach release.
It was replaced by the good kind of tightness, quickly building, as instead of continuing where they left off, Fiyero began kissing his way down her body, his fingers jumping ahead to stroke between her legs.
"You can tell me more about it later, I'm busy now," he added, kissing down her stomach, bringing his tongue to join his fingers, as the wardrobe and armchairs rose even higher and bumped against the ceiling.
.
When Galinda wrote, distraught, with news of her divorce, Elphaba felt too guilty to respond.
She had no idea if Galinda suspected her, and didn't want to confess it all even if she did but she also couldn't bear to write lies to her.
Her silence might be taken as an admission of guilt, if Elphaba thought Galinda would ever believe that Fiyero would choose someone like her over the perfection that was Galinda.
Galinda wrote that she was leaving for Gillikin, so at least Elphaba wouldn't run into her in the Vinkus.
She hoped one day, when it had all settled, she would be able to see her old friend and apologize.
No matter how much better she suited Fiyero, there was never anyone more perfect to be Queen than Galinda, and she knew Galinda had loved the Fiyero that her Fiyero had once been.
She felt sorry she'd caused the ruin of Galinda's perfect life.
She even felt sorry to Fiyero's people, for depriving them of a Queen they all so adored and replacing her with one whose own father had barely liked her.
She mourned the loss of her only friend, and felt guilty that she had Fiyero to comfort her in her grief while Galinda did not.
.
Fiyero's mother greeted her carriage as she arrived at the castle.
Elphaba held her head high, not sure what her reception would be.
"I won't pretend I'm proud of what the two of you have done, but I'm very proud of the man he has become, and for that I have you to thank, my daughter," Noriima declared, by way of greeting.
Elphaba had no time to react before she was folded into an embrace.
Surprised and awkward, she wrapped her arms around the woman's body, breathing in her soft motherly smell.
Elphaba felt tears swell behind her eyes as she luxuriated in the feeling of parental love, finally, at 28.
.
Over the years she checked the newspapers, hoping to see news of Galinda's engagement to a society man who'd do right by her.
Shortly after Liir's third birthday she saw the announcement that Galinda had been appointed the Wizard's Grand Vizier.
Apparently she was going by Glinda now, a symbolic gesture of forgetting the life she'd left behind.
Elphaba was shocked and angry that Glinda would take such a position after all she'd told her about the Wizard's evils.
Perhaps she knew it was me who took Fiyero all along, she thought.
She felt guilty too, and not because of Glinda for a change. She felt the guilt of neglecting her own political career.
Their plans for an alliance had fallen into the shadow of their marriage. She had contented herself with monthly reports from the Goat, Doctor Dillamond, she'd appointed to watch over her position in Munchkinland. A refugee activist and former professor at Shiz, she'd grown close to him and knew he was capable of taking care of her province.
She had spent her time instead enjoying Fiyero, watching their son grow. As Queen she helped Fiyero with local Vinkan politics but had neglected her campaign against the Wizard.
Being in love had made her soft. Having people she cared deeply about made her fearful of repercussions.
She vowed to recommit herself to the cause.
A few weeks later they visited Munckinland for her to take stock of goings on and begin planning their alliance's rebellion in earnest.
She sold it to Fiyero as a chance to take Liir to visit Nessa and Boq and he cheerfully agreed.
They sat in Nessa's pristine living room catching up, the children playing in the garden.
Elphaba didn't remember who referenced Glinda's new appointment; only that Boq became very still and pale at her mention and then bolted from the room, slamming the front door shortly afterward.
Fiyero ran after him as Elphaba helped wheel Nessa out. They heard the two men shouting as they hurried after them, Elphaba beseeching the kids to stay in the garden.
"I thought she was married, I know she got married years ago to some rich idiot…" Boq was frantic.
"It was me," Fiyero called, surprised.
"She got married to me. I'm the rich idiot," he chuckled.
Boq looked absolutely horrified, like he was discovering a sordid secret.
"You?! But you've been with Elphaba for…this whole time…"
"Glinda and I haven't been married for six years..." Fiyero was confused, even for him.
If it was possible, Boq paled further.
"I've wasted all this time…I've got to go!" he leapt into the driver's space of the carriage Fiyero and Elphaba had come in and took off.
Fiyero hung onto the side, shouting for him to stop, but was forced to let go as Boq picked up speed and sped away.
"Nessa…" Elphaba began, shocked, but her sister was already inconsolable.
"Ten years of marriage…we deserve each other…he'll pay for this!" she cried between sobs.
Fiyero offered Nessa to accompany them back to the Vinkus.
Elphaba smiled gratefully. He knew very well how dutiful she felt toward her sister. Even though they were grown women now with families of their own, Nessa would always be the little sister she felt bound to look after.
But Nessa would not hear of it, and insisted they left as soon as she could find them a new carriage.
Elphaba worried about her sister the whole way home.
When they arrived there was a letter waiting from Dillamond informing them Nessa had reinstated herself as Governor.
Elphaba was surprised but not willing to keep the title from Nessa if it was something she wanted. She spent all her time in the Vinkus after all, and her father had originally wanted Nessa for the position.
She hoped her sister throwing herself into a distraction would be healthy.
.
Not a week later she read in the newspaper that Nessa had issued an order for everyone from Munchkinland to return, declaring them not free to travel without her consent.
Elphaba went to see her immediately, leaving Fiyero at home with their son, but the woman she found was crazed and controlling, a shell of Nessa, a distorted funfair mirror version of every bad quality her sister had ever had.
Boq was with her, acting more like a servant than her husband.
Elphaba left brokenhearted and feeling helpless. She worried for Munchkinland, for her sister, and for her niece, being raised among such anger and fear.
With her own upbringing always in the back of her mind, Elphaba made sure Liir always felt loved and wanted.
Knowing his destiny was to be King she amused Fiyero by insisting he begin education in almost every subject imaginable before he was even old enough to start school.
She kissed her son extra hard when she returned, kissed his cheeks, his forehead, his mop of dark hair, and held him so tight he wiggled free and ran away to Fiyero.
.
When she heard Glinda was visiting all the provinces in her capacity as Grand Vizier, Elphaba dreaded her arrival in the Vinkus, despite Fiyero's reassurance.
She knew as soon as she saw her Glinda knew, and would be angry.
But she thought getting the Wizard to declare her a Wicked Witch to all of Oz was a bit of an over reaction.
Thinking back over all the incendiary, anti-Wizard things she'd written to Glinda in their time as pen pals, Elphaba couldn't believe she'd been so stupid.
.
They saw the mob one morning, a day or so away from Kiamo Ko on foot.
A great advantage of this castle over the other was the strategic panoramas it provided.
They were lucky they'd decided to make the most of the good weather and spend a few weeks there with Liir, avoiding the press.
Very few in the Vinkus had believed the rumors about their Queen, but they really took hold with the rest of Oz.
Most of Munchkinland was skeptical, remembering her as strange but not dangerous.
But there were enough believers to form a mob.
She recognized some Vinkans among them without surprise. As she had predicted, not everyone had taken kindly to the King replacing their beloved Queen Galinda with a practical but far less charming green woman.
They evacuated the Animals still hiding at the castle immediately, giving them enough head start to disappear.
Fiyero grabbed a musket from an archaic display in the Great Hallway, declaring he'd fight to the death for her and their son.
Elphaba shifted Liir on her hip.
He clung to her, terrified.
"We appreciate the sentiment, Yero my Hero, but I think I have a better idea."
.
Her pretense of melting had been very convincing, she thought.
The biggest challenge of the whole plan had been convincing Fiyero to leave her there and flee with Liir.
Right up until the end she was terrified he'd break his word and do something ridiculous like come swinging in on a vine to defend her.
As he opened the trapdoor Elphaba saw first her husband's beautiful face, then her son's, a mirror of the concern on his father's.
She thanked her father's Unnamed God that they were there and safe and whole.
As they crept down the stairs they froze, hearing Glinda's voice.
Elphaba peered ahead and saw Glinda sobbing, muttering apologies to Elphaba, clutching her mother's green bottle.
Well, good, she thought.
Maybe it'll inspire her to try and do something good for Oz.
Something I would have done if I could.
It pained her to be unable to help the Animals any more and to leave Oz in the state it was.
But if Glinda was here, and if their friendship had meant anything to her, there was hope.
"I'm sorry too," she whispered too quietly for Glinda to hear, as they slipped through a secret passageway off the staircase to take another way out.
But Glinda turned anyway, and she hoped the sentiment of her words, if not the words themselves, had reached her.
In the courtyard they commandeered a carriage.
At the edge of the desert they met a Camel willing to help with passage.
And so Elphaba set off with Fiyero and Liir across the desert, to a new life.
She mourned briefly for the end of her husband's lineage, for her son's loss of a birthright he was too young to even know he was loosing.
Fiyero had just begun to be a great King with her help, and as much as she'd changed him for the better and tempered his pride, she knew he would find the adjustment to being a commoner difficult.
He'd never known what it was like to not be special.
She could help him there.
Mostly though she looked forward to a fresh start. A life where she'd never been an abomination or an adulteress or a Queen or a Governor or a Witch.
Now she was just a wife, a mother, unapologetically smart, and, inescapably, a green woman.
Time would tell if their new land found that fact of her personage as abhorrent as the land they were leaving.
Maybe they wouldn't.
.
The End
A/N:
Hope you enjoyed! I really don't have the time to be writing fic but I just couldn't help putting this one down once it was in my head. I knocked it out tonight and since I don't have time for it to be a multichapter, I did it as a oneshot with a quick round up of the events of the rest of their lives rather than start it and not update it. Feel free to imagine the parts in between the moments I covered in more detail. :) If you enjoyed, please say hello in a review.