Author's Note: This is the counterpart to Glinda's POV "Forgive Me" Read that too please! I don't own Wicked (Insert corny joke about what I'd do if I did.), so don't sue me or the website! And a special thanks to xXCherry-PieXx for the "You're Forgiven" idea!

Reviews make the world go round, that's all I'm sayin'. Now on with the show!

You're Forgiven

As the rude jeers of the witch hunters' crowd faded away, Elphaba felt a huge wave of relief flow through her body.

I'm safe, Glinda's safe, and everyone's happy now!

Now all she had to do was wait for Fiyero to arrive and they could escape Oz forever, together. The citizens of Oz were happy, Fiyero was happy, she was happy, and she was certain that in time, Glinda would be happy too. For once in Elphaba's life, everyone would be happy. What a glorious feeling it was! Now she knew why Glinda was so determined to make everyone happy. It felt wonderful.

A noise above her disrupted her uncharacteristically gleeful reverie, and she froze, suddenly afraid that she had thought too soon, that someone had heard her and knew she was there. She feared that because she was so happy, the universe would try to get even and make her miserable. She feared the worst in everything, and always had, with good reason.

Carefully and silently sinking back into the damp, stinky hay that was her bedding for the night, Elphaba became quieter and more cautious than she had been since she first went on the run. The shuffling noise was getting closer and closer, headed straight for the place where she was hidden. She flinched with each muffled step, and quickly ran through a list of spells she had memorized from the Grimmerie for just such an occasion. Spells that would stun and wipe the memory, but not kill. Deaths would just spread rumors that she was back when, or if, the body was ever found.

She was just about to throw open the trapdoor and cast her spell when, all at once, the shuffling, the steps, and all the noise cut off. That didn't make her relax at all!One could almost literally cut through the tension with a knife.

It remained silent for a moment. Even the spiders in the corners of her tiny trap door room stopped busily expanding their webs, seeming to sense the need for absolute stillness.

"Elphie…?" came a small, heart-broken sob, almost pleading. Glinda! She was the one above her. Elphaba's tension disappeared, almost as instantly as her heart broke.

"Oh Elphie, please forgive me!" Glinda cried.

For what?! Elphaba thought, outraged. What did you do wrong Glinda?! Nothing, that's what!

Elphaba had been right. The universe was out for retribution. Fury and heartache, emotions all too familiar to Elphaba flowed through her body. How could Glinda think she was anything but the best friend ever?! She was amazing! Elphaba longed to reach up through the trap door, grab Glinda's hand and say "I'm here Glinda! It was all a joke! Just a mean joke!", but she couldn't do that. All she could do was send her thoughts upward and pray that something other than hair-care products would reach Glinda's head.

Oh Glinda, you're making this a lot harder than it was supposed to be! This was supposed to be my ultimate triumph, not my ultimate heartache! Please, please, please don't feel guilty!

Glinda's sobs echoed throughout the chamber, throughout Elphaba's ears, and throughout Elphaba's mind. Each sob made her acutely aware that she could, at any time, pop up and make everything happy for absolutelyeveryone this time, like she had always wanted to. Doubts began to surface in Elphaba's mind.

What's the need for secrecy anyway? What would Glinda do with the information? Make an announcement to Oz? "Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I'm best friends with the Wicked Witch of the West, and she's alive! Isn't that great?!"

Elphie almost snickered, but an extra loud sob reminded her that Glinda was still here, and would've been able to hear her had she made any extra noise. Remembering that her best friend was suffering because of her wiped the smile off her face faster than she could say "Ruby slippers."

Elphie reached up as silently as she could and placed her hand on the rotting wood of the trapdoor. If she could just make Glinda feel her presence and not realize she was alive, maybe she would stop that terrible, heart-breaking crying.

Oh Glin… please! Don't cry! Think about all the good times! Like when you tried to turn my blue dress into a fluffy pink ball gown! Think about that!

Galinda dragged Elphaba off her bed excitedly, pulling her out to the divide where brown hardwood met fluffy pink carpeting. Elphaba mumbled a half-hearted protest, but either Galinda didn't hear, or she was purposely ignoring her. Elphaba decided that the latter was most likely true.

"I will now turn your simple frock," Galinda motioned to Elphaba's clothing dramatically and with disdain, "Into a beautiful ball gown!"

Elphaba looked at her skeptically. "Galinda-"

"Hush, I'm concentrating!" Galinda said, staring intently at Elphaba's dress. Elphaba let out a heavy sigh and stood still. Galinda waved her wand all over the place and shouted "BALL GOWN!", pointing the wand at Elphaba.

Elphaba flinched, fearing for the safety of her eyes near Galinda's pointy wand. She suppressed the urge to giggle as she inspected herself all over, pretending to be shocked that it didn't do anything. Really now, what did Galinda expect? It wasn't even a real spell.

Galinda inspected her wand more carefully than Elphaba did, looking at it with confusion. "Let's try this again!" she exclaimed, hardly looking discouraged. She waved her wand even more dramatically and screamed "BALL GOWN!".

Nothing happened. Both of them stayed frozen for a couple of seconds, but nothing changed. Galinda looked frustrated.

"Is this thing on?" She demanded, whacking it against her knee and looking at Elphaba expectantly. Elphaba couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. She bent over double, tears streaming down her face.

"D-do you want m-me to try?" she asked, still giggling madly.

"No, no, I got it!" Galinda smiled stiffly. She whacked it on the bed a few times before tossing it over her shoulder. "Oh just wear the frock, it's pretty!"

Elphaba smiled as she remembered. Glinda was so bright and funny, and her personality was infectious, which made it even harder to sit there in the gloom and let her cry. It was utterly unfair that Elphaba should have to leave unexpectedly in the time when Glinda needed her most. There were so many things she wanted to say! So many things that Elphaba should have told Glinda… So many things she would never get to tell her… So many things she could, if she would just open the trapdoor.

War raged relentlessly in her mind. Should she let Glinda suffer forever, forced to face the people who hated her best friend in exchange for Elphaba's unsure security? Or should she tell Glinda, make EVERYONE happy, and be unsure of her fate and always on the run? Such impossible choices! How could anyone decide?

Such is the way of life, Elphaba thought bitterly, fighting back tears. She couldn't just tell Glinda, because Fiyero would be endangered too. Had only Elphaba's life been on the line, without a doubt she would be up there in a nanosecond, comforting Glinda, telling her that every thing was going to be alright! How could anyone be forced to choose? Sure, Glinda and Elphaba had countless memories, but so did Elphaba and Fiyero.

Galinda and Elphaba sat on a bench at the train station, waiting impatiently for Fiyero. Elphaba would have to leave for the Emerald City soon, and she could already hear the train whistles in the distance. She couldn't see that far, because steam and smoke made a haze that blocked all sight of the horizon, but she knew that they couldn't wait much longer. Galinda took this time to vent her impatience with Fiyero.

"He's always distant and moodified." She lamented. That sparked Elphaba's interest. Fiyero the Winkie Prince, moodified? Distant? Why in Oz's name… Unless…

Elphaba gave herself a mental slap in the face. Fiyero was Galinda's. She had no right to him, and she had no right to think that she had any affect on him.

"And he's been thinking… Which REALLY worries me!" Galinda cried, burying her head into Elphaba's shoulder while secretly, Elphaba's heart soared. Maybe, just maybe, she had gotten through to Fiyero! Maybe he liked her! Maybe he liked her enough to leave Galinda. She mentally slapped herself again. She shouldn't think like that. What if, perish the thought, Galinda could sense Elphaba's happiness? She apologized to Galinda for Fiyero's behavior, and put on a properly appalled face just as Fiyero sauntered up to them.

"Hey Elphaba… Galinda." He smiled. Strange, he said "Galinda" almost like an afterthought. Could there really be hope? He turned himself away from Galinda and toward Elphaba. "Hey… I've been thinking…" He trailed off.

"So I've heard." She smirked. Oh Oz, why did she do that? What if he thought she was a terrible person? What if he didn't like her for it?

Instead, he smiled and fiddled with his gorgeous hair. Oh my Oz, what am I thinking? He's not mine, never has been! "About that day… In Biology… with that Lion cub… and Doctor Dillamond…" He grinned hopefully. His shyness to say things in front of Galinda alleviated all doubts! He liked her, and she liked him! In spite of Galinda, Elphaba felt more than a little happy.

Elphaba flinched a little when she thought of that. That probably wasn't the best memory to have when Glinda was weeping right above her. Why, even though everything Elphaba did with Fiyero hurt Glinda, did she think of Elphaba as her best friend? Oz knows that Elphaba didn't deserve that title.

Elphaba made up her mind. Glinda didn't deserve to suffer while everyone else was celebrating. Who cared if Glinda knew? She wasn't going to tell, and Fiyero and Elphaba were leaving Oz anyway. She hauled herself out of the hay, disrupting a few Mice with her movement. She reached up for the underside of the trap door, intending to knock, revealing herself to Glinda. Seconds before she knocked however, she heard Chistery's voice.

"Miss… Glinda?" Shoot. Her hand was too close to the knocker to avoid making a noise. Glinda would hear anyway. She tried to pull away, but there was still a frighteningly loud noise as her hand made contact with the door. Glinda would have heard, if she hadn't screamed her head off at hearing Chistery's voice. It was very humorous, and Elphaba would have laughed if the knock and Glinda's jumping hadn't displaced an avalanche of dust off the trapdoor that landed in her nose, eyes, and mouth.

Struggling to keep quiet as her eyes burned and she nearly choked, she struggled to hear everything going on above her. Glinda was silent, and Elphaba could imagine, standing in terror of the Monkey. She had always been terrified of Chistery, Oz knows why. Chistery was really very sweet.

"W-what is this?" Glinda asked. Elphaba knew exactly what it was, and inside she was jumping for joy. Good Monkey, smart Monkey, lovely, lovely Chistery! He was giving her the bottle that Elphaba had always slept with under her pillow. It was the only heirloom that Glinda knew about, and it represented fond memories that would surely comfort her when Elphaba herself couldn't.

Elphaba listened for more, intently placing her ear on the other side of the dusty door, hope flooding through her veins. Glinda was speaking.

"Y-you're a w-wonderful Animal, Ch-chistery!" She said, wonderfully brave in the face of adversity. "I p-promise I'll get rid of the W-wizard and we'll all be h-happy! You'll see!"

Glinda you're a saint! I hope you know that! Because you are! You're more wonderful than the Wizard could ever hope to be!

This was great! Elphaba could leave Oz knowing that no one had to suffer the Wizard's tyranny anymore! Glinda would rule of course, who else was fit? She would do a good job too. She underestimated herself. She was considerably smarter than she gave herself credit for.

Elphaba froze as she recognized the sound of Glinda's bubble appearing. It always had a distinctive noise. No, it was too soon! Glinda couldn't leave yet! Elphaba still had to… to… what? Apologize? She couldn't do that! But if Glinda left, Elphaba would be alone again. A fate that suddenly Elphaba didn't think she could face again, no matter how brief it would be. Only a day or two… She could hear sniffling, and she knew Glinda was still crying.

Oh Glinda… whatever you think you've done, I promise you that you're forgiven! Do you hear me? You're forgiven!

Elphaba wished that Glinda could read minds, could tell that she supported her, that "Elphie" was on her side! Tears flowed down her face, burning in more ways than one. She couldn't tell if the dust or her emotions were making her cry, but she knew that she was crying, that Glinda was leaving, and that they would never see each other ever again. She cried and cried, until she realized that no one was there anymore. Not Chistery, not Glinda, and not Fiyero. She let out a loud wail, sinking back into the hay, now overwhelmingly uncomfortable as the damp sank into her clothes, praying that no one could her hear.

"Oh Glinda… Do what's right for Oz, okay? Get rid of the Wizard and for the love of Oz, don't try to clear my name!" she muttered through her tears.

She felt weak and vulnerable, and was only glad that no one was there to witness it. There was Glinda, her best and only friend besides Fiyero, off to do some good for all of Oz. There was Fiyero, always watching out for her, no matter what. And there was her. What had she done? Terrified the citizens of Oz? Gotten the Animal Banns she was fighting made even more restrictive and hurtful to the Animals? She felt that the only thing she had done to help Oz was "kill" herself and give Glinda the chance to rule a kingdom that was without fear. She felt that, out of the two Witches alive, she was the one who was in need of forgiveness. Not Glinda.

Because I knew you…

No. She was doing exactly what she hadn't wanted Glinda to do. She was blaming herself.

I have been changed…

She was forgiven, Glinda had seen to that. And Glinda was forgiven, she had seen to that.

For good.

All that was left was to wait for Fiyero and leave Oz forever. Always together.

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