Chapter 2
Night had in fact fallen by the time the friends arrived at the castle. Elphaba instructed the men to land in the garden until she had circled the building and found Glinda. Landing had been tricky and unfortunately for Boq, he'd landed in a bush, a rose bush to be more specific. The poor man did everything he could to prevent his mouth from letting out the screams that had welled up inside his throat as Besim and Fiyero helped him untangle himself.
Meanwhile, Elphaba had found the room she was looking for and silently landed her broom on the balcony. The doors that led into the room weren't open but the lights inside had given away the occupants. She tried the handle to find them unlocked. Old habits die hard, she chuckled to herself.
"Honestly I…" Glinda didn't get the rest of the words out as she realized that someone had entered the room. King İzmir stood up from his seated position next to the Good Witch upon her sentence not finishing.
"Sorry to drop in like this but…" Elphaba didn't finish the sentence before Glinda was out of bed and almost tackling her to the floor.
"Wow Lin. It's nice to see you too," the green skinned woman held her friend with one arm and Liir with the other.
"Elphie, the most awful thing happened while you were gone," Glinda pulled back and got a look at her friend. She was tired and her skin was a lighter shade of green than usual.
"Are you feeling ok?" She asked.
"Tired but I'll be fine. We came as quickly as we could. Fiyero, Besim, and Boq are awaiting my signal down in the garden. Can we let them in? The weather is about to turn for the worse and I wouldn't want them caught out in it," Elphaba explained.
"Yes, of course. Let them come. No doubt you had a strange encounter of your own you wanted to discuss," King İzmir said, a look of worry had crossed his face.
"Indeed we did," Elphaba gave him a nod before returning to the balcony and gave a low whistle. A few minutes passed and the three arrived on the upper veranda and upon seeing Boq, Glinda grew nervous.
"Oh no what happened to you?" She asked. The poor man was covered in cuts and scrapes and his clothes looked a little worse for wear.
"I landed my flying rake into a rose bush. It's very dark down there and I…" he didn't finish his sentence as the King began to chuckle.
"Reginald!" Glinda called him by his first name, which made the laughter stop.
"I'm sorry but I can't help but see the look on Mr. Tumnin's face when he gets out to look at the roses!" Apparently it was funny to both Glinda and the King as she began laughing as well. The four friends looked at each other, wondering what the joke was.
"He's the gardener who has a very short temper and it's funny," Glinda explained when the laughter calmed down.
"Ah. Well now that we're done laughing at me and my misfortune, I believe we need to discuss the events of yesterday," Boq tried to regain what little respect he had left.
"Yes of course. Something very odd is going on and I have a bad feeling about it. I'm so glad you arrived when you did. Although what happened that made you fly back here?" Glinda wanted to know.
"Someone tried to kill us with a tornado," Fiyero said bluntly.
"There's only one person I could think of with that kind of weather capabilities and she's been turned into a rabbit," Elphaba pointed out.
"Yes well add shape-shifting to the list. Someone disguised as me tried to choke Glinda," İzmir explained.
"Let me see," the 'Wicked' Witch said. Glinda pulled the pink scarf from around her neck. It was unusual for her friend to wear a scarf but she'd had other things on her mind. Her friend revealed the bruising that showed up on her neck and Elphaba realized how close she'd been to death.
"The servants think that she has a sore throat and we're trying to keep it that way so they don't ask too many questions," İzmir told them.
"Good cover," Boq could feel his own throat tighten. He should have been there to protect her.
"A little healing spell should rid you of those bruises," Elphaba gave a slight smile and quickly cast the spell. The bruises were gone and Glinda smiled.
"I think we all should get some sleep. Tomorrow once we've all had some rest and a bit of breakfast, we can make a battle plan. I have a very important council meeting in the morning," the King said.
"Yes, an excellent idea. I'll show them to the guest rooms down the hall," Glinda smiled and showed her friends out the door and down the hallway. With the servants in bed for the evening, no one would notice they were there until the King told them. Besim was given the first room, Elphaba, Fiyero, and Liir the second room, and Boq was the last room. Glinda followed him inside and shut the door behind her.
"Let me see those scratches," she gave a slight smile and quickly murmured a spell similar to the one Elphaba had said earlier. Within an instant, his tiny wounds were gone. The next instant found the two with their lips on each other's.
"I've missed you so," he said quietly.
"We haven't been apart that long," she teased before kissing him once again.
"Doesn't matter. I can't take this," Boq could see the look on her face. She wanted to be with him but right now it wasn't in the cards.
"Sleep well," Glinda gave him a slight smile and then ducked back out into the hallway. In the shadows, a figure lurked. He'd seen the event and knew that was the key to getting his revenge.
To Be Continued…
