BANG
Elphaba ran for her life.
BANG
That one was closer. They were getting closer. Too close.
BANG
Elphaba kept running knowing that if she stopped she would be dead within 30 seconds.
The Gale force were after her and though there were at least 25 people chasing her Elphaba didn't panic. Well not too much anyway.
She had an advantage, She knew this forest like the back of her hand. She knew every tree, flower and animal living here. She also knew the best escape routes. She knew her knowledge of the forest would be useful one day she just didn't think that day would come quite so soon. This forest was alive bursting with energy and colour. It pained her to think that she didn't get enough time to appreciate the beauty of this place but she put that thought in the back of her mind to deal with later.
The gunshots continued behind her and the adrenaline pumped through her body. Her biggest problem was the wind in front of her. It slowed her down considerably but lucky for her, though it may not look it her dress was very aero dynamic and the only thing she had to hold was her broom with The Girmmerie attached to it and her hat, which though she probably shouldn't have been wearing and should her been left in a safe place for her to pick up later, she couldn't quite bring herself to leave anywhere. Besides she thought slightly bitterly where is a safe place for the Wicked Witch of West's hat
It was her only reminder of her old life before becoming a known fugitive. When her biggest worry was the Animal Rights, not how long she was going live and though she would only admit this to herself and no one else she felt like it in some way gave her a connection to Glinda... and Fiyero.
At his name she almost stopped running, lucky for her her body wasn't as stupid as her mind and she only stumbled for a minute before regaining her composure. She wondered if he was with the Gale Forcer's chasing after her now and if the looked the same as she remembered him.
The rare times she when into the city to get food or to steal fabric and pins so she could repair her dress or something along them lines, she would look and listen out for news of him and Glinda. When she found out about him becoming captain of the Guard she felt mixture of fear of how much he had changed and pride of how much he had achieved in such a short space of time. She was curious over what Glinda had told him of their meeting with The Wizard and how often he thought of her. Not very often, she guessed when she heard that it was rumored that he was going to propose to Glinda soon. The day she overheard that piece of information she went into the forest and tucked herself in between some exposed black willow tree roots and dry sobbed (well, okay maybe one or two tears escaped) until the next sunrise came and she heard hunters coming to search for animals.
She finally slowed her run until she stopped beside huge oak tree and before they had the chance to get two feet closer to her spot she manged to scramble up the tree and sit in one of the highest branches of it. Suddenly she realized she was missing something... she checked herself out and didn't see anything different, when it hit her. Her hat. She looked down. Good thing she wasn't afraid of heights. And there it was lying to the right of the tree in the middle of the forest floor. Her pointy, black (unfashionable as Glinda had once told her but Elphaba still insisted on wearing it anyway) hat. The wind must have blown it off. She momentarily debated whether or not to go and retrieve it.
The gale forcer's were barely ten paces away. She gave a small sigh before quickly and quietly climbing back down the tree and grabbing the hat. So much trouble an inanimate object could cause she thought while climbing back up the tree, but before she could reach the top a stray branch caught onto the hem of her dress. She held onto the tree and the hat with one hand while she attempted to pull herself free.
The branch seemed to get even more tangled in her dress if that was possible and the gale force was only 5 steps away. She could hear their footsteps and their guns still firing. She yanked harder.
4 steps
She was still quite far up the tree but if one of the men chose to look up she was a dead witch.
3 steps
With a quiet cry of glee the branch let go of her dress almost if it gave up trying to capture her. Thank you tree she thought sarcastically I wish some people would give up on trying to capture me.
2 Steps
Elphaba quickly scuttled up the rest of the tree back to her broom. The branch had an ideal view. She could see the forest beneath her, but if in the rare chance a member of the guard did see her then she was far enough up that she could easily fly through the remaining few branches into the night sky.
1step
Then suddenly …
"STOP!" Elphaba winced slightly. She knew that voice, apparently he was with the Gale Forcer's. Of course he would be Elphaba thought he's Captain of the Guard, he will always be with them and not you "Hold your fire" he ordered "Listen" He said, They seemed to do he said, cocking their heads to side. Her heart and breathing stopped.
"I don't hear anything sir" one of the men said.
"I thought that I heard..." his eyes searched the trees and for a moment Elphaba could have sworn that he looked straight at her. He shook his head and took a deep breath before yelling out for a group of 7 to go left, another group of 8 to go right and a group of 10 to continue straight ahead. He, himself was included in the last group continuing straight ahead.
He let the other men go forward and search for her when he collapsed to the ground. Elphaba got a good look at his face. It was the face of a desperate man, his features all seemed turned down as if nothing could him happy. Elphaba wanted to reach out and make him smile but she knew she couldn't.
As Elphaba continued her stare she saw that Fiyero hadn't changed that much appearance wise since Shiz. He still looks like the man I fell in love with Elphaba thought startling herself with her admittance of her love for him although looks can be deceiving she knew that better than anyone.
"Where are you Elphie?' he spoke out loud too quiet for her to hear but Elphaba was learning how to lip read. It was turning out to be quite a useful tool as she could look from trees to see people and could understand what they were talking about without ever having to step out of the forest. She was teaching herself so it was very difficult, but she was getting better at it and she could understand certain words. Her name, not her birth name but her public name was easily recognizable to her now, the three W's in Wicked Witch of the West were simple for her to read. She couldn't make out all of what Fiyero said but she understood "Where ... you Elphie?"
Why would he call her by that name? She thought he would think differently of her after all these years, after all the rumors about her.
She grimaced, she really couldn't go down next to him... could she? Of course not her mind told her it would be suicide but she wondered if it would be or whether it would be the best thing she could ever do in her life.
She had made the decision to go down and see Fiyero again. Maybe it was stupid but she had to try. If he talked to her, great, if he decided to fire his gun at her, not so great, but all that meant was more running until see could reach the edge of the forest and take of on her broom with no trees to stop her.
As she slowly made her descent she saw that the branch that had stopped her earlier. It wasn't bare like she first thought, it was covered in green leaves that, when the branch was attached to her dress, would have let her blend in with the rest of the tree. It looked like a better hiding place if she ever needed one, Elphaba only just now understood that the tree was attempting to help her not hurt her. She had almost reached the bottom and was ready to jump to the ground when she noticed a member of the guard approaching Fiyero.
That snapped her out of whatever spell she had put on her and she quickly climbed back up the tree to the highest branch. What in Oz was she thinking? Fiyero would never want to talk to her. To him he was just an old college friend who'd gone bad. Before she could change her mind she hopped on her broom her hat on her head, The Girmmerie attached and flew off into the cold dark winter's night.