Disclaimer: None of the "Wicked" characters and probably most of the geography from the play are mine, etc. and none of the book characters are either if they show up. Don't sue meeeee ;)
A/N I have indicated that this is generally a play-based fanfic, however I am planning to incorporate a lot of the elements and details from the book into the story as well. It's a bit of a mash-up of Ozness really. There's just so much to go on with this material. Enjoy!
Chapter One: Fireside
The dagger that she gripped in her green hand was shining in the light of the slowly dying cooking fire, which crackled a few feet away. Her palm was sweaty, and tremors ran through her body as she steeled herself for what she had known was coming – she couldn't avoid it any longer. It had to be done.
"I don't know if I can…I'm not sure I'm ready, Fiyero."
"Elphaba, you have to. We've talked about this, and you know you'll regret it if you don't do it."
She looked dolefully at her companion across the low, jumping flames, and sighed.
"I guess you're right. I need a change. Okay – here goes…" she said, cringing as she brought the blade up to her shoulder. With her other hand she gathered her long, dark brown hair into a thick bunch; it was wavy with the evening humidity, and strands of it that were tinged with silver and gold glowed in the firelight. Before she could change her mind, she brought the dagger up behind her head, and sliced through her hair as deftly as she could.
The clump that came away was twenty-four years and three feet of growth. In the split second where the sound of metal on keratin filled her ears, she regretted the decision, but the immediate release from its weight set her instantly at ease. Her head was suddenly infinitely lighter, though she was unsure whether it was freedom from her hair, or all of her past and its memories woven in its strands. A small grin formed on her face, and she tossed the cut tresses onto the fire, sending up a flurry of sparks into the patch of sky over their little clearing.
"There! Now, minus the Oz-awful smell of burning hair, don't you feel worlds better now?" said Fiyero, smirking. He poked the coals cautiously with a water-soaked dead branch, sending up more sparks.
"Actually, yes. I admit it, you were right all along." Elphaba replied sheepishly.
She laid the blade gently down beside her and stood, making her way over to the other side of the fire where the remnants of her meal were waiting for her. She flopped unceremoniously beside Fiyero and grabbed her tin of vegetable stew and dabbed a mildly stale chunk of bread in it. A sideways glance at her companion confirmed a suspicion she'd had – he watched the food as she lifted it to her mouth with an intense longing, even subconsciously licked his cotton lips.
She stopped mid-bite, and lowered the last piece of bread, turning to Fiyero and meeting his gaze with her own, and felt the guilt roil inside her. "I wish… that I could fix it – fix you, I mean. I never meant…"
"I know, Elphaba. You know that I don't blame you. You saved me in the only way that you could." Fiyero said, interrupting her before she spiraled too far, "I'll get to eat and do human things again one day." He squeezed the knee that jutted out towards him from her cross-legged stance, and tried to smile reassuringly.
"Please… eat your food. You need to keep up your strength, and there's not much left in the pack before we need to find more."
"I know that you're right again, but it's just hard to not feel responsible for turning you into a scarecrow, Fiyero."
"Well, that's magic for you; always unpredictable. You get what you asked for, but never really in the way you'd thought of or planned. Such is life."
A log in the fire broke in two with a loud sap-induced pop, sending sparks flying into the air above and making the pair of them jump. Despite knowing the origin of the sound, Elphaba still felt the need to do a quick visual scan of the trees around them. Sensing nothing, and only really being able to see the glowing spots left behind by the fire's sparks, she settled again warily. Fiyero slackened his grip on the dagger he'd grabbed from the other side of the fire and put it back in it's sheath beside him. It had been two days since they'd seen anyone, human or Animal alike, but they were still too close to the Emerald City to be off their guard. If word got out that the Wicked Witch of the West was still alive, the shaky peace accords that were happening across Oz would be in jeopardy of collapsing.
"We need to get away faster, 'Yero." Said Elphaba, looking and feeling the exact opposite of her big, bad, "wicked" public persona, hunched by the dying fire and hugging a blanket around herself for warmth and comfort.
"I know we do. But we're doing our best, given that we're on foot, in dense woods, and, you know, totally magic-free." He put his arm around her, hoping that the straw could somehow at least insulate her from the cold night air.
"Except of course for my straw-filled behind. 'Cause everyone knows my behind has always been magical."
Elphaba snickered at his huge grin and put her head on his chest. "Oh, yeah, definitely. How could we forget about that?"
Fiyero chuckled and kissed the top of her head. He brushed his hand along the new edge of her hair which hung just below her jaw line, feeling but not feeling it as it brushed against the fabric of his skin. The smile faded from his face. He held her tighter, feeling the pattern of her breathing slow as she fell into an exhausted sleep in his arms.
Eyeing the burning coals with respectful wariness, he repositioned the water bucket a little closer to him to keep it between himself and the nearest embers, and settled down with his companion to await the dawn as she slept against him.
Bit of a short beginning, but there is more to come! This plot has been simmering in my brain for months and months now, so time to let it out to play methinks. Let me know what you think - comments and reviews always appreciated!