AN: HEY, GUYS, CHECK IT OUT! I FINALLY FIGURED HOW TO SEPERATE THE AN FROM THE ACTUAL CHAPTER AND ALL THE DIFFERENT POVS FROM EACH OTHER! *ahem* ...Uh, so...*coughs* ...And in other news: Things kind of start to fall into place a little bit more this chapter, a few more pieces of the puzzle get discovered and put together, and a tiny bit more of the mystery behind the Suddenly-Not-so-Wicked Witch of the West (better known to all us Wicked fanatics and geeks as Elphie, yay!) gets solved. Enjoy, my pretties, and please review. Rose Emeraldfay and Bremela, you are my two most faithful readers and loyal followers, as well as active reviewers I love you both (as over-the-internet-friends) so, SO much, and I always look forward to hearing from you both! Your reviews make my day and cheer me up when I'm down! This chapter is dedicated to you.

Gratefully yours,

Maggie


Dorothy let out a small gasp, but the Witch-Fae, apparantly-seemed not to notice. Hesitantly, as if almost afraid to do so, Dorothy voiced her realization in a soft whisper. "She's in love..." The Witch-Ugh! Dorothy thought. Stop calling her that! You just figured out that her name is Fae and you can't even bring yourself to put that knowledge to use by calling her by her real name!-turned around, her eyes blood-shot from crying and at least one tear still left and the trails left by the other ones fresh on her (oddly so, but still) beautiful emerald colored cheeks.

She wiped away the last of the tears with her arm and sniffled. "What was that?" she asked, sounding a bit stuffy, probably from the runny nose that usually came along with crying. "N-Nothing." Dorothy said. Fae narrowed her eyes slightly.

She was breathing in gasps through her slightly parted lips. She studied Dorothy intently for a moment before her gaze softened and her breathing quickened. She was sweating now. "Ugh," she said, running the back of her hand across her forehead, wiping the sweat off. "Just...st-stay here," she told the young farm girl.

"Don't-don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." She left the room, closing the door behind her. Dorothy watched the door for a moment before whispering softly to the empty space in front of her, "I promise not to leave, Fae."


Elphaba rushed down the hallway, fanning herself with her hand by the time she was headed up the next flight of steps. She hurried into her room and closed the door. She went to the wardrobe and flung the doors open, hastily scanning its contents.

After a moment of debate over what would provide the most freedom of movement while at the same time allowing the air to make contact with her skin so she would cool off, she pulled out a black nightgown, followed by her black dressing gown and satin ballet-flat style slippers. She changed quickly out of her dress and into the nightgown, then put her slippers on.

Taking the dressing gown with her out of the room, she slipped her arms through the arm holes on the way out the door and tied the strings as she went down the hallway, having pulled her hair into a loose, messy braid, tied and held together on the end with a sapphire blue ribbon made of silk that reminded her of Fiyero.

She opened the door to the room she had left the farm girl in and closed it behind her, pausing at the top of the stairs to take a deep breath before she went down. She found the girl exactly how she'd left her in the same spot, gazing off into the distance.

The older woman cocked her head, watching the young teenager curiously and wondering what was running through her head that could require such deep, intense thought, especially at her age. Surely she couldn't have been older than what? 14? 15 at the very most, probably.

"Dorothy?" she said, snapping the brunette out of whatever reverie she was lost in. The latter gasped as her head whipped around. She stared at Elphaba, those milk chocolate eyes of hers wide. "Y-Yes?" she said. Elphaba studied her intently for a moment, then blinked an shook her head, making her way to the window. "Nothing," she said as she stared out past the sprawling landscape at the horizon. "Now," Elphaba said, turning back to Dorothy.

"What was that you said earlier?" She raised one raven eyebrow. "N-Nothing, ma'am, I just...was talking to myself, is all." Elphaba tilted her head to one side. "Dorothy," she said, sitting down in the high-backed chair next to the wooden table. She looked back at the girl, her eyes having softened quite a bit, and her expression suddenly kind. She smiled wearily.

"I know that wasn't it. I can see right past that kind of thing. I've always been able to, and I put that ability to use. I'm not going to hurt you, okay? Please, just tell me what it is you said earlier." Dorothy seemed to hesitate. "Promise not to hurt me?" she asked after a moment. Elphaba gave one slow nod. "I promise."

"Swear?" Elphaba chuckled a bit. She put her right hand over her heart and held up her left. Smiling, she stood up and looked at Dorothy. "I, Elphaba Chloe Thropp, swear upon my mother's grave that I will not harm you." she sincerely.


So her name was Elphaba, not Fae. Fae was probably just a nickname that somebody had given her at one point or another in her life. "Um..." Dorothy began, trying to clear her head. "I...I just...realized something, is all, and I was...I was voicing it to myself...that's all." Elphaba sighed as she sat back down. "Please," she said, "Dorothy, please. I'm tired, I don't feel well, I've been through a lot recently-and I don't just mean in the time since you've been in Oz, I'm talking about the past...3 years, and..." She broke off into a sob and put her hand over the pendant, which now lay exposed just below her mostly bare collarbone.

Dorothy shifted a bit. "You're in love...aren't you?" After a moment, Elphaba sniffled and looked up, her eyes blood-shot again. "Wh-Why would you say that?" she asked as she wiped a few tears away from the corner of her eye. Dorothy shrugged, no longer afraid of the green woman in front of her. "Some of the things you've done lately...it's just kind of obvious. In fact, that realization I had earlier? The one I was voicing to myself? That's what it was. That you're in love.

"You're Fae, aren't you? That name that was in the one letter...it was for you, wasn't it? You're Fae. And you probably wrote-or started to write, anyway-that other letter. That other name, Fiyero?" Elphaba winced slightly at the mention of this name, but Dorothy kept going. "He's the one you're in love with, isn't he?" Elphaba shook her head, but not so much in denial as much as just utter sorrow and depression. "Yes," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I am...I am truly, deeply, and madly in love with Fiyero..."


AN: So, what do you think? I received a small critique last chapter, saying I should try to make the paragraphs smaller, so I did my best to work on that this time, but I wanna know what everybody thinks. Like I said, a bit of the mystery was solved, but now the question arises: Why did Elphaba have that flash of intense heat and panic? Is she ill? Coming down with something? Was it just nerves? Or was it something else entirely? I'd love to hear what you guys think, so feel free to send in your guess. Also, the reason I chose Chloe as her middle name is because when I was looking online for a good name that would fit her but was also kind of Ozian (even though I know Chloe doesn't sound very Ozian) I found this site called "Behind the Name" with all kinds of names (Ancient Greek, Irish, Celtic mythology, etc., etc.) and their rough translations and meanings, and "Chloe" was in the girls' ancient Greek names section, and according to the site, Chloe means "green sprout" in ancient Greek, and this being Elphaba...well, you get the picture. Also, if you want to see what Elphaba's nightgown and dressing gown look like, I'll be posting links on my profile, so be sure to check that out, too. Okay, ramble over. ;)

Unidentifiably (as in my mood is currently unidentifiable) yours,

Maggie

PS:

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Elphaba's hair ribbon, slippers, the idea of putting her in a nightgown and dressing gown, and...Oh! And the idea of making her middle name Chloe.