Fiyero. He was the only thought that kept her sane as she searched angrily through the book for something, ANYTHING that might save him. She chanted, spell after spell, with her own words mixed in. How would she even know if the spell had worked? She didn't even know what she was reading! With a cry of frustration, she threw the useless prize to the ground. The wizard could take the damn thing, for all she cared. The tears burnt her skin like coals as they fell from her face and on to the book where they seemed to simply disappear… Whatever gods are out there, please… Just take us away from here! Please!

Almost as if on cue, the book began to wave in and out of reality before everything went black.

Iroh felt the footsteps before he heard them. He quickly assumed a sitting up position and began clapping aimlessly at nonexistent objects in the air.

"Crazy old man," the guard muttered before walking away. Iroh smirked and pulled his hair from his face. He was almost ready.

He had just resumed his exercises when he saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath, prepared to engulf an attacker in flames, as he whirled around to see… a green girl? He hadn't seen anyone with green skin in years… Decades even… And she didn't look conscious.

He would have to hide her somehow.

When she woke up, she was lying on cold stone. She opened her eyes just enough to see the steel bars of a prison cell and began her inward panic. I must have passed out. Have I been captured? Did they take the book? She instinctively grabbed her side where the book had last been and found that to her relief, the book was still there. If they had captured her, they would have taken that for sure. So… where am I?

Iroh turned and looked at the young lady who had appeared in his cell with curiosity. Her breathing had changed, but she was still acting as though she were asleep.

"So who do I have the pleasure of sharing this cell with, young lady?"

There was no use pretending anymore. The old man knew she was awake.

She opened her eyes and sat up, careful to hide the book as she did so. He seemed trustworthy, but after all, he was in a prison cell. So are you, Elphaba!

"I'm Elphaba. Where am I?"

"You are in a prison cell. Lucky for you, you are in one of the finest the Fire Nation has to offer."

"Fire Nation?" Is he off his rocker?

"You're not from around here, are you?"

She gave him a look of confusion before answering. "I'm from Oz…"

"You are a long way from home. How did you come here?"

The confusion was only building. Instead of answering, she walked to the door and tried to see down the hallway and out the door, but apparently they were far from daylight.

"Why are you here? What did you do?"

There was a glimpse of sadness across his face as he answered. "I saved those who will save the world and my nation declared me a traitor."

"At least you saved them…" The bitterness crept into her voice without her consent. "I only tried… and failed. I couldn't save any of them. Every damn thing I did only backfired. Every last bit of it. I will never do a good deed again."

"Those are harsh words… I'm sure you did not fail everyone…"

"You don't know what happened. You don't understand."

"You're right, I don't. But you only truly fail when you let them defeat you. Only then do you fail because then, you fail yourself."

"Who are you?"

He smiled. "Dear Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West… I am the dragon of the West."

Her eyes grew wide as she realized the implications. She rushed to give him a hug and rejected the tears that threatened her cheeks. "Fiyero… I'm so sorry…"

"What?... I'm not Fiyero, lady. But he's here."

"Where? How do we get out of here to go find him?"

"Today is the Day of Black Sun. In ten minutes, there will be the solar eclipse. So what we have to do…"

And for the first time in her life, Elphaba had hope.