West
So. This is based on the song 'West' composed by Scott Alan. You can find it on his album 'Keys: the Music of Scott Alan' sung by the lovely Julia Murney. You should really listen to it, it's really beautiful and I love it to pieces. Also, this is dedicated to geekgirl18l , my beta, who insisted I write fluff. I tried, but being the angst addict I am, I had to mix it up. Here is your West and the flangst and happy ending I promised you.
Disclaimer – I do not own any characters or places mentioned in this story. I do not own Wicked (though I wish I did)
Winter was coming to Shiz.
It was apparent to all who attended the school and those who lived in the town surrounding it. Leaves, still brilliant hues of red and gold, lay scattered on the ground. The trees that they came from were skeletal and bare without them.
Some animals were changing, thickening their fur and becoming darker in preparation. Glinda Upland couldn't help but smile vaguely at this. The animals were like the Ozians – or was it the Ozians who were like them? - Who, just like she herself, were adding on more and more layers of clothing onto themselves just to keep warm. Tearing her eyes away from the people and creatures, she turned her view upwards.
In the skies above her, birds and Birds alike flew in V formations, flying off south for the approaching cold season.
Once again, Glinda couldn't help but be reminded of something (or in this case, someone). She smiled vaguely once more, but this time, her smile was different. To the normal person, the blonde wouldn't look any different. However, looking closely one would be able to see that her smile was tinged with sadness.
However, no one would ever be able to get close enough to see her melancholy.
Immediately, she stopped smiling. Moving on from the place she had stopped, Glinda continues on her walk around the school campus grounds.
A cold wind blew by, and Glinda shivered as it whipped around her. Winter was apparent through other ways than the animals and trees, Glinda thought.
The wind was cold and it whipped through the air with a vengeance. The ground as well was paved in white, the frost sparkling in the sun of the Saturday afternoon; it was just cold enough to ensure that the frost could not be melted by the sun. There was no green in sight.
'And how true that is,' Glinda thought to herself. 'In more ways than one.'
A flock of geese flying overhead honked noisily, and immediately Glinda was reminded of the green woman who had captured her heart who was like the birds herself; she had flown off. However, she did not go south.
She went west.
It had been months since the entire ordeal had taken place, but it was still hard to believe that it had actually happened. They had spent one short day touring around the Emerald City before going to see the wonderful Wizard who had wanted to meet with Elphaba.
But as it turned out, the Wizard was corrupt and he was destroying what Elphaba had come to fight for. So they had ran, taking the Wizard's precious treasure, the Grimmerie, with them. Somehow, they ended up cornered in an attic, and when the guards broke through the barricaded door and grabbed Glinda, they had fallen onto the floor in fear and wonder as the green woman rose into the sky on her broom, proclaiming that she was heading west before leaving out of the window and into the sky, leaving an enchanted and heartbroken Glinda behind her with only a brief kiss pressed to her lips and the whisper of 'Hold out, my sweet' lingering in her ears.
That was the last time Glinda had seen Elphaba, and since then, she had wondered and thought about her every day.
'Do you have any friends there, Elphie?' Glinda asked mentally. Her question, as usual (and as expected) went unanswered. 'Have you saved any Animal's lives like you swore you would?'
Her eyes flickered with sorrow as she reached the dorm building.
'Do you ever wish you had stayed behind? Do you ever miss me?'
Another icy burst of wind broke Glinda out of her lament, and she shivered again, her hair no longer in the tight curls they had once been in but instead loose, slightly wavy and free.
"You wouldn't miss this weather, that's for sure." The blonde murmured to herself, pushing the door to the building open while smiling reminiscently. Elphaba had always hated the cold weather, winter especially. She despised the snow and wetness that came with the season, instead opting for the dryness and warmth of the indoors. During the holidays when Glinda came indoors from wherever she had been, she would walk in to see Elphaba, jack-knifed in front of the fireplace, pouring over an open book. She would only pull away from the seduction of the words to get up, smile at Glinda, and press an uncharacteristically tender kiss against the shorter woman's forehead.
It was those moments that Glinda missed the most, and ached for with every fibre of her being. Elphaba never left her; not completely. Sometimes during the days, the green girl's face would not enter her mind, and she would forget that her Elphie was gone. Yet it was when she would return to their room later on after classes, expecting a hug and a smile from the woman she had grown to love that she would remember Elphaba claiming the western skies as her own as she walked into a freezing and empty room. Whenever that happened, Glinda's heart would break just a little bit more.
Sitting in that empty room, Glinda would remember her temporarily forgotten pain, and the anger that always came with it. She was furious with Elphaba leaving her all alone to deal with Nessa and Morrible, but she was more angry with herself.
For not being brave enough to go with the green girl when she had asked her to.
'But the chance is gone now.' Glinda reminded herself bitterly. 'The chance is gone and there's nothing you can do about it.' The reminder was emphasized by the chill of the dorm room as Glinda stepped inside.
"She's gone to find herself." Glinda murmured, squeezing her eyes shut, raising a hand to her forehead as she tried to rub away the pain that came to her temples.
"She's gone to do what she wanted – she's gone to save the Animals that she loves and has devoted her life to."
"But what about you?" her mind whispered. "Doesn't she love you? Didn't she tell you she loved you every day since you both confessed? Why did she leave you then?"
"She didn't leave me!" Glinda whimpered, sounding for the entire world like the heartbroken little girl she felt like sometimes on the inside. Taking a deep breath, Glinda repeated what she had just said. "She didn't leave me. I made that choice."
Glinda had changed. Before her trip to the Emerald City, she had been a silly little girl – less silly since Elphaba had come into her life, but still somewhat childish and naive. She used to fantasize about their perfect life, and what could happen in the future. She fantasized about how she would be the epitome of beauty and popularity. The fantasies were just like the ones she had had pre-Shiz, but this time, Elphaba was by her side instead of a handsome suitor, and Glinda had morals and goals to use her influence for.
After Elphaba had gone, her changes had developed even further. Now she wasn't as naive as before, and wasn't as childish. Now, she could accept her mistakes as a whole, and be an even better, more mature, more grown up woman. She could accept the fact that Elphaba was gone, and accept the fact that they were both alone do to Glinda's single, split-second decision.
'But that doesn't make you hurt any less.' Her mind whispered yet again, the voice quite audible in the painful silence of the darkening room.
That rung true- even if she had adjusted to the idea, it never stopped hurting Glinda. She still smiled, but it was never real anymore. She would still socialize, but her heart was never really into it, for it was aching underneath the plastic grins and pleasantries. Pain and heartache permeated her senses almost every minute, causing her to go through her days feeling numb other than the pain. It caused her to start surviving instead of living her life.
The only times Glinda ever felt anything else... the only times her senses were renewed and she could experience joy once more (if only for a brief period of time) was when she was sitting all alone in their dorm room (just like she was now) and allowed herself to imagine and fantasize.
Glinda closed her eyes, lay back down on their pushed-together beds, and allowed herself to be enraptured by her new fantasy of what her life could have been like out west.
"Isn't it beautiful, Elphie?" Glinda breathed, her loosened curls fanning behind her. She didn't notice, and didn't care, for her eyes were glued on the brightening sky around her.
"It is." Elphaba smiled, gazing upwards just like Glinda was.
Glinda grinned herself, and squealed as she felt cold water lap at her feet.
They had stopped by a lake for the approaching daybreak, and upon Glinda's insistence, they had gone to the sandy lakeshore before going to bed. Glinda stood upon the shore while Elphaba stood next to her.
Sometime before they had gone to the lake, Glinda had slipped off her shoes. Now she stood upon the earth barefoot, the sand underneath her feel cool and soft from both the night temperatures and the constant lapping of the tepid lake waters.
"It's so relaxing." The blonde sighed, completely at ease for the first time since their narrow escape. "Just listen to the sound of the water."
The sounds of the constant motion of the lake soothed Glinda almost more than anything else in the world; the number one spot was currently held by Elphaba's touch. If Glinda was ever to see an ocean, she imagined that this was surely what it would sound like.
"We should get to bed soon, my sweet." Elphaba's voice murmured softly into Glinda's ear, startling the woman out of her thoughts. Somehow, the white-capped waves had entranced the tiny woman, making her become lost in her own observations as she stared at the water and its gentle motions.
"We'll want to get as much sleep as possible so that we'll be ready to go when it becomes night again."
"Alright." Glinda smiled once again, her heart beating faster as Elphaba smiled at her in the way that was reserved for her and her alone.
"Let's go get some rest." Elphaba said quietly, wrapping an arm around Glinda's shoulders and pulling her close as they headed back to where they had decided to bed for the night.
Glinda woke up to the sun streaming straight into her eyes.
Yawning, she sat up, stretching her arms above her head to loosen the muscles in her body that had been made stiff by sleep.
It was sunset now; Glinda could tell by the yellow tint to the light that had woken her up. Not only that, but on the horizon, she could see the amazing shades of the sky, beautiful pinks and purples and oranges and blues, a myriad of colours.
'Whoever said that the Vinkus is a savage and barren land' Glinda mused, 'has obviously never been here before; if they had, then their mind would have been changed immediately on seeing a beautiful sunset like this.'
The sheer beauty of the moment made the blonde woman giddy. She felt like sharing such a peaceful and gorgeous scene with someone she loved – and who better (and who else, for that matter) than Elphaba?
Never taking her eyes off of the picturesque landscape before her, Glinda reached back, groping blindly for the green woman who had fallen asleep next to her.
When Glinda's hand met only air instead of soft flesh, Glinda stilled. Whirling around, she twisted her body to face where Elphaba had been, and sure enough, the green woman was not there.
"Sweet Oz." Glinda breathed, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates as she feared for the worst.
They were on the run, after all, and while it was not likely that the Wizard had sent a full battalion after them once they were out of the Emerald City, he had definitely spread an alert about them that had worked its way through Oz and beyond.
What if Elphaba had been captured by some Ozian seeking to gain fame and fortune through eradicating half of Oz's new mounting threat?
Or, what if Elphaba had been attacked somehow by some wild, crazed animal?
What if Elphaba was hurt, and couldn't call Glinda for help?
Or, worst of all...
What if she had just grown tired of Glinda's company, and had decided to fly off on her own?
"Glinda?"
Glinda (who had gotten to her feet somewhere along the line) whipped around at the sound of the voice. She sighed, relieved, as she saw that it was Elphaba, dragging bits of firewood behind her.
"What are you doing?" The green woman questioned, arching an eyebrow at the frantic blonde.
Glinda felt a blush creeping up her neck and into her face.
"Nothing, Elphie." She smiled nervously, thankful that the lights of the sunset disguised the colouring of the blood in her cheeks.
"I... I was just stretching. That's all."
Glinda stretched her arms over her head, linked them together and leaned over on her right stretching the muscles in her side.
"See?" She grinned.
Elphaba's eyes lingered on Glinda for another moment before she coughed and looked away.
"...I brought some firewood." Elphaba stammered, and Glinda couldn't help but giggle. The pinkish orange glare could hide Glinda's blush, but it couldn't hide Elphaba's, considering the woman flushed a healthy dark green.
The sun also couldn't hide Elphaba's eyes, and how they managed to wander.
And for the second time in her life, Glinda found herself lighting up a fire. Well... that wasn't entirely true. Elphaba was the one who had set up the wood, while Glinda had been the one to ignite it with a spell she remembered from their sorcery classes back at Shiz. It was a simple spell, but Elphaba praised her for it anyways.
Soon after the fire had been built, they were eating what roasted vegetables and plants they could (for Elphaba was a vegetarian and had coaxed Glinda into becoming one as well) and watching the sun go down while keeping warm and waiting for the night to arrive.
"Were you cold at any time, my sweet?" Elphaba asked.
Glinda shook her head.
"No, Elphie." She replied. "I was warm enough. It's hot out here in the Vinkus, isn't it? Especially now that it's just about turned summer; I didn't even need to use the blanket!"
Elphaba nodded, and before biting into her meal once more, eyed Glinda's bare shoulders. Glinda giggled once again as she heard the green woman mumble something around her mouthful of food that sounded suspiciously like 'I could tell.'
As Elphaba resumed eating, Glinda couldn't help but watch her love idly. Her thoughts from before when she had just woken up, came to mind and Glinda couldn't help but wonder why she had had those strange and worrisome ideas.
'Well, it's obvious!' Her mind said. 'You care about her! That's why all those worst-case scenarios came to mind.'
'But what about that last one' She argued silently. 'Why did I think that Elphie would leave me?'
The part of her brain that she was debating with seemed to soften.
'Remember that it's not true.' It said to her gently. 'She wouldn't ever leave you all by yourself. Not after all that you've gone through with her. Not now and not ever.'
Finally at peace with herself, Glinda barely registered the sound of Elphie's worried voice calling her.
"Huh?"
She blinked back into focus to see Elphaba's face peering at her with concern.
"Are you alright, Glinda?"
Glinda smiled and nodded.
"I'm fine, Elphie." She told the verdant woman, whose concern dissipated slightly but still remained.
"I just became lost in my own thoughts." She said, and Elphaba seemed to accept this answer more than her previous one as she nodded to herself.
A moment of silence later, Elphaba asked another question.
"What were you thinking of?"
"You." Glinda answered without a second thought.
The blonde nearly started giggling again as Elphaba responded with a stunned but pleased 'Oh.'
'If only our former classmates could see you now, Elphie.' Glinda thought fondly. 'If they could just see how you act around me, maybe they wouldn't have hated you so.'
'But they would hate you even more, now.'
Glinda's smile dropped.
'All of Oz hates you now, just like how they all hate me.'
"It's a beautiful sunset."
"P-pardon?" Glinda snapped back to attention, her eyes moving back over to Elphaba.
"It is... or rather, was, a beautiful sunset." Elphaba repeated, watching as the final tiny sliver of fire made its way past the horizon line. All of a sudden, she turned to Glinda, and crooked a finger at her, beckoning the blonde to come over.
Quickly, Glinda scrambled over to Elphaba, seating herself next to the taller woman immediately. In an unexpected gesture, Glinda felt Elphaba's arm drape over her shoulders and tug her closer. Surprised by the sweet gesture, Glinda laid her head on Elphaba's shoulder.
As they watched the sunset together, one last thought steeled itself in Glinda's mind.
'I don't care if Oz hates us. As long as there are moments like these, it makes all that hatred worth it.'
"Are you ready, Glinda?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, Elphie."
It had finally grown dark enough for them to take off. They only flew at night, for the darkness of the night cloaked them and gave them the protection they needed to survive.
Holding out the broom, Elphaba motioned for Glinda to get on. The woman did so with no complaints, and a second later, Elphaba mounted the broom herself, situating her body right behind the tiny blonde's.
"Time to defy gravity yet again, my sweet." Elphaba murmured into Glinda's ear, nuzzling the blonde's hair and pressing a kiss to her temple before kicking off of the ground hard and taking off straight into the air.
Glinda felt the familiar sensation of her stomach lurching as they took off. She felt it settle as they soared higher and higher.
It had been uncomfortable the first few times being so high in the air, the first time especially. Then again, the entire Gale force had been aiming for them with sure and steady hands.
At least until she and Elphaba had zoomed out of the window, leaving all of the guards, the not so wonderful Wizard, and their old lives behind.
Now though, Glinda couldn't love the sensation any more. The wind streamed through her hair, sweeping it backwards as they flew (Mysteriously, Elphaba's trademark hat ((the one Glinda had given Elphaba back when she had been referred to as Galinda)) managed to stay on, only the top half cocking back with the wind's force). Yet Glinda was glad that her hair was windswept backwards, for it gave her a better view of the once unknown world around her.
Whenever they flew, Elphaba made sure that they flew high. They would rise higher and higher until they were above the clouds. The green girl claimed it was for more protection, saying that they never knew when people's eyes could be wandering upwards. Glinda liked being above the clouds for another reason.
For when there were no more white banks of floating fog obscuring her vision, Glinda could look around herself and see stars; bright, shining stars in every direction.
It was a gorgeous sight, and just seeing the millions and millions of pinpricks of light made Glinda's heart swell. The stars made the cold (which was always there, no matter how tightly her shawl was wrapped and secured around her) and the sometimes stinging winds bearable.
Elphaba's presence didn't make it so bad, either.
Though the two women moved at high speeds (which Glinda disliked, wishing she could slow down to observe her surroundings every so often) the stars never seemed to move. Sometimes, when the stars seemed especially bright, Elphaba would slow down the broom's pace just a little bit and point out the constellations she had seen in some of the many books she had read. The verdant woman would draw pictures out for Glinda, connecting the stars to create the image as she recited the myths, stars and legends behind each constellation.
When Glinda would see one that she recognized their roles would be reversed. Instead, it would be Elphaba listening to Glinda as the socialite told her of the constellations her beloved Popsicle pointed out to her as a child. Most of the time though, it was Elphaba talking and Glinda listening.
Almost.
Try as she might, Glinda couldn't listen to the tales of the brave and tragic Ozians all the time. Sometimes, Elphaba would be telling her about them, and Glinda would lose track of herself. She would become lost in her admiration and love for the green woman, and drown herself in the moonlit sparkle of passion in her love's eyes as she spoke of the celestial bodies, just like she was now.
"...and that one is of the Faerie Queen, Lurline."
"Hmm?" Glinda blinked.
"Lurline." Elphaba repeated. Glinda knew that Elphaba knew she had been spacing out.
"Where?" Glinda shifted the angle she was sitting at on the broom, squinting at where Elphaba was directing her gaze to.
"You weren't listening, were you?" Elphaba chuckled.
While Glinda knew that Elphaba knew she had been spacing out, Glinda also knew that Elphaba would not be annoyed.
"Unfortunately, no," Glinda said apologetically. Tipping her head backwards, she grinned up at Elphaba's face teasingly.
"Sometimes I wonder where you go." Elphaba admitted, slowing the broom down so that it would be safe enough for her to be able to glance down at the blonde in her arms.
"I'm always here." Glinda replied earnestly. "I never leave."
"But your eyes glaze over. Your body might stay here, my sweet, but your mind leaves."
Glinda laughed softly, and Elphaba gazed down at her, puzzled
"It's like I said, Elphie." She explained. "I never really leave you. I just get... distracted."
"By what?" Elphaba asked.
"For all the intelligence you might possess, Elphaba, sometimes you can really be dumb." Glinda said affectionately. "I get distracted by you."
"Ohh..." It dawned on Elphaba right then, and Glinda beamed. Taking one hand off of the broom handle (the other clutching onto the polished wood tightly) Glinda leaned back, resting on Elphaba's front. Just like before, she tilted her head backwards and smiled, meeting Elphaba's eyes as she did so.
Gently, ever so gently, Glinda stretched her arm up and ran her fingers along the wide brim of Elphaba's pointed cap.
Right then no words needed to be spoken to know that they loved each other.
Dropping her hand back to her side, Glinda placed it on the broom handle again, this time on top of the green hand that rested slightly above her other hand. Elphaba spread her fingers out, and though they couldn't hold each other's hand, the simple motion of Glinda planting her own fingers on top and in the gaps that Elphaba's hand made was good enough.
"So," Glinda spoke up again, "Tell me more about this Lurline."
"She was, as legend has it, the Goddess of Oz. Apparently, she was the Fairy Queen, and a sorceress with radiant beauty."
"That reminds me of someone I know." Glinda purred.
"Yes, I thought Madame Morrible would come to mind."
"Elphaba!" Glinda gasped, horrified.
"I'm joking, Glinda."
"Besides," Elphaba smirked, "I think Morrible reminds us all of a blowfish. Or maybe, since she can talk, a Blowfish?"
As they flew off into the night, their howls of laughter echoed back behind them.
All the while, their fingers remained interlocked on the broom handle, a silent gesture of their love.
Glinda's eyes remained shut as the images finally faded from her mind.
She was reluctant to leave it all behind.
The fantasy was breathtaking.
The fantasy was perfect.
The fantasy was everything to her.
The fantasy was...
Nothing, compared to the real thing.
Slowly, Glinda's eyes opened. The night sky flashed through Glinda's mind once more before she was faced with the real thing before her, just outside of the window.
In the end, Glinda had to remember that the fantasy existed only in her mind.
And now, with Elphaba and any chance of making that fantasy a reality now gone, Glinda had to learn how to live with her decision.
She had to learn to once again love living out east.
Though it was painful, Glinda forced her utopia out of her mind and began to think of her new life – alone.
Because though she missed Elphaba (and sweet Oz she missed Elphaba)...
This was her life now.
Rising from her bed, Glinda padded over to the window, gazing at the night sky where snow was beginning to drift down gently from above.
If Glinda had gone out west... would there still be snow? Would there still be nights and afternoons spent curled up by the fireplace and sweet kisses pressed to her forehead?
Glinda didn't know, and couldn't find out.
Until she was older.
No matter what people would think Glinda would head out west and find her Elphie. But right now, Shiz was her home for good.
"I'll find you again one day, Elphie." Glinda whispered into the night air as she threw open the windows. It was freezing outside and snow was drifting into the room, but Glinda felt warm.
"I'll find you, and until then, you'll be alright."
Elphaba could take care of herself. She could and would be happy out west. She was a big girl, and in the time they had spent together, she had taught Glinda to be one too.
Yet though Glinda was a big girl now, that didn't stop her from whispering one last sentiment for Elphaba into the wind before she closed the window and drifted back into sleep.
Click
Glinda's eyes snapped open. Someone was sliding the key into the lock of the door. In the dark, Glinda was frozen with fear. The only thing she could do was lie there, paralyzed, as the knob slowly turned.
Quietly, the invader stepped into the room, opening and closing the door behind them. They moved quickly and purposefully around the floor.
'Odd,' Glinda thought, though she was still frozen in fear. 'It's as if they knew where everything is.'
'...Wait.'
Only one person other than Glinda knew where the spare key sat. Only one person knew the room like the back of her hand.
That would mean...
"Hello there, Miss Glinda." A voice chuckled by the blonde's ear.
Glinda's heart skipped a beat.
Elphaba.
"...Elphie?" She breathed, slowly sitting up to look. There, silhouetted by the fading moonlight was Elphaba, smiling.
"Elphie!" Glinda repeated, this time her voice choked with a sob. She threw her arms around Elphaba's neck.
Her heart was overwhelmed with happiness and her eyes were filled with tears.
The words Glinda had whispered earlier that night rang in her ears, and Glinda knew that somehow, Elphaba had heard them.
And Glinda was glad.
'Just know I'm here with open arms if you find yourself back home.'