Chapter two.
Hello guys! As you know I'm not really into the swing of writing at the moment, life is busy and my attention isn't so focused on wicked - I've gone into a hibernation of sorts haha! Though I might be back in summer, dependent on whether I get back into the swing of things. Anyway, I had this typed up for a while, and it's no use to me just sitting and gathering dust, so enjoy the next chapter! I am so very sorry for the wait! And I apologise for typos, my ipad is in a strop with me and refuses to let me know what's wrong!
The dungeons were not a pleasant place, Elphaba could tell this from the moment the large wooden door was opened to her and she was ushered through. The first thing she noticed was the smell, something akin to rot and urine. It clung to her nostrils and burned. She retched when she first entered, the stench may have been better suited to a barn or one of the back streets where people decided to relieve their bowels.
The second thing she noticed was the chill in the air. Autumn was well under way by now, which gave a refreshing crispness. One thing that was not refreshing was the sheer cold down in the cellar. It was below street level, and open, barred windows at intervals allowed the cold to creep in.
She was lead down the stairs, hands still cuffed behind her back. The cells were set out side by side, bars allowing anyone to look in. Most had a sparse layer of straw on the floor, which seemed to equate to bedding, a place to sit and a toilet. Some of the prisoners sat in the corner, shuddering to themselves, whilst others threw themselves at the bars, demanding to be let free.
Elphaba was lead past them all, a large proportion being elderly women. Accused of being witches no doubt. She tried not to make too much eye contact, it would only cause more upset for all parties involved. Her boots paddled through a wet puddle and she looked down in disgust, the light from the torches on the wall did not cast that far, so she was left rather curious as to what she'd just squelched through. She hoped it wasn't excrement.
The pace slowed and eventually came to a standstill in front of a cell in the middle of the corridor. She felt the restraints being removed from her wrists and then meaty hands giving her a shove. The door was promptly slammed behind her. She glanced around, eyes already adjusted to the dark, one pointed she noticed was that each cell had three walls, which allowed a bit more privacy, she supposed that was a good thing.
She set about making a lump out of the straw on the floor, that could constitute for a bed. It looked semi-fresh, which was one blessing. She then realised that she didn't even have her cape to use as a cover, and she wasn't feeling too great about sleeping on that pile. She eyed it suspiciously, then all thoughts about sitting on the heap fled as a rat scurried into it. She grimaced and moved into the corner of the cell, leaning against the wall.
She'd stood there for an unknown amount of time, the sun was quite high up in the sky from the window she could see through. It would probably be about four o'clock. She grunted and paced around for a little while, she needed to keep herself busy. That's when the shouting kicked up again, followed by the clunking of boots.
Elphaba moved further back into her cell. She suspected that it would be another prisoner. The boots came closer, and through the bars, she saw that it was just a group of guards. They were chattering about lunch and other things that Elphaba did not care to mention. Behind them were three more people. Another guard, and next to him, the Witch finder, they were discussing something. The little blonde followed behind them. Elphaba's heart rate sped up.
She stumbled forwards and kicked a bucket beofre scowling at herself for the unusual act of clumsiness. She moved a hand to her hair, unconsciously smoothing it down. The loud clatter of the bucket had attracted the attention of the blonde. The two men were much too engaged in conversation to notice. She spun around to the location of the noise and noticed Elphaba up the bars, hands holding onto them tightly. The green skin of knuckles had turned white.
Glinda shouted to the two men
"Carry on, I'll be up shortly, I just need to pop back and get something" The witch finder responded with a non-committal wave of the hand and 'okay, sweetie'
She waited until the end door had shut behind them before moving closer to the bars. Elphaba remained pressed up them. She attempted to figure out the blonde's facial expression. She wore a look of curiosity, not disgust. A good sign so far, thought Elphaba.
"Hello there, I'm Miss Glinda. Might I ask your name?" She spoke up. Her voice was soft, and she was very well spoken. It was refreshing compared to the gruff and hacking voices of the people she lived with. Glinda's voice sounded pure.
"Lovely to meet you, My name is Elphaba , though I don't suppose that matters any more now does it?" It was a bitter statement, but the last part was delivered with a slight smile, trying to poke a bit of fun at a dire situation.
"It matters to me." came the quiet reply. Elphaba was rather curious with that response.
"You don't know me, for all you know, I could be responsible for those crimes. I could be evil. Would you want to be seen talking to a wicked witch?"
"Yes but you aren't, are you?" the blonde calmly replied.
Elphaba shook her head. No. Of course she wasn't responsible. Not many other people seemed to realise that though.
"I dont suppose you know how long i'll be down here do you?" Glinda shook her head. The witch finder dealt with people as he pleased, it could be three days or three months, depending on his current mood. Better not to tell Elphaba that though, keeping her spirits up is what Glinda would do.
"I should quite hope to be out of here soon, I have a class to teach tomorrow." Realisation dawned on Glinda then, this woman was the one that had caused a slight stir in the community, the first female teacher. She looked into brown eyes. She almost regretted it, for she found that she didn't want to look away. She was drawn in. Glinda knew that it was not likely for Elphaba to be leaving this dungeon alive. The idea was quite upsetting.
"I shall plead your case, you're making a good change." Elphaba looked at her then, noticing the slight hint of regret in her tone.
"What of you? You don't seem like the type to enjoy executing innocent women" She smiled as she said that. Glinda couldn't help but return it. She let out a steady stream of air then. Elphaba had an air about her, something that Glinda felt she could trust.
"Truthfully, I had wanted to travel. Just explore, make money where I could. Live in a nice cottage away from this madness. He's going to push me into this job soon. I don't have a choice, what could I say?"
Elphaba looked at her then. "You could say anything you want. It's your future."
Glinda looked away then.
"If you'll excuse me for a few seconds, I must pop away. I'll be back shortly" Elphaba nodded as Glinda hurried away. As promised, she was back moments later, walking with purpose. Elphaba watched her walk towards her cell. She glanced around a few times then removed a blanket from a bag, quickly shoving it through the bars. She then pushed a bottle of milk through the bars.
"It's all I could get for now, bear with me. Just don't let father see them." Elphaba gratefully accepted the items.
"Thank you, a kindness like yours is not frequently offered to people like me"
"Oh do stop that, I'm quite certain that you are not wicked." Glinda retorted. Elphaba smiled.
"I tick all the boxes though, and being green certainly doesn't help" She offered a verdant hand then, for Glinda to inspect. Quite unexpectedly, the blonde took it, lacing their fingers together. Elphaba shuddered at the feeling, and Glinda's heart stuttered.
"I had meant to ask. But you are quite the pretty thing aren't you. Bad witches are ugly. And you aren't old. That's two points of evidence." Glinda said quite matter of factly. Elphaba had never been called pretty before, quite the opposite actually. The comment made all of the blood rush to her face. She was certain that she resembled an excitable pine tree. She looked down then.
"You're quite the looker yourself" it was said in an odd tone, and she realised that her giddy voice sounded a bit like a prepubescent boy. She cleared her throat and Glinda smiled. Elphaba was rather uncomfortable with the conversation and so attempted to alter it.
"So, have you ever travelled before?" Elphaba had asked.
"Not far, since mother died, the witch finder has been quite adamant about me leaving the town. He doesn't want me to get attacked by witches. I'd just like a taste of freedom, It'd be nice" Elphaba watched her with an intense gaze.
"Why not run away?" Glinda scoffed before noticing that Elphaba was not smiling. She was deadly serious.
"Oh, I – I couldn't possibly. I'd have no where to go, no one to go with. I wouldn't know the first thing, I'd be dead in days" She crouched to the floor then, and Elphaba copied thee action, both sitting opposite one another. Elphaba only continued to stare. She reached forwards to lift the blonde's lowered chin. Her fingers then brushed her cheek and Glinda bolted upright.
"Oh, my, I'd better get going. Its terribly early, I mean late. The witch finder – Yes, I was supposed to meet him a while ago. I'll get going now then. To meet the witchfinder. I'm really quite late." Elphaba smiled at the blonde as she wondered away still mumbling to herself. She didn't realise that Glinda was mentally berating herself for the way she was responding to Elphaba's nearness.
The rest of the day passed in an almost blur for the both of them. Never fully mentally engaging in what they were doing, as their minds were very-much preoccupied. Elphaba's eyes absent-mindedly watched the boots that trudged by every now and then. Glinda tried to focus her attentions on her step-father's prattling, but always found her mind drifting back to that green girl living in the dungeons beneath them.
That night, Elphaba lay beneath the patchwork quilt she'd been given, curious sounds drifted from the window and the bars in front of her. The occasional shouting of late night revellers. She didn't expect to get much sleep that night. Glinda was also in the same predicament, though she did not lay upon filthy straw. In the plush bed, she often fell very quickly into sleep, though tonight, her mind seemed to be slightly less compliant. It once again drifted back to Elphaba and those four words ' why not run away' They looped over and over in her mind. What she would give for a taste of freedom. What she would give to release that green girl from the fate her step father had aligned.
In her mind's eye, all she could see were those brown eyes. She didn't seem to phased by the prospect of what lay before her, but Glinda could see it. A well hidden fear of the unknown. She managed to fall into a fitful sleep after that. A few floors below her, Elphaba did not have such luck. She remained vigilant for the night.
Glinda rose when the sun was creeping up. It wasn't too early, as not to cause suspicion, but early enough to select some breakfast before her father appeared. She took bread rolls, and some other small foods, which were bundled into her bag. She made tea and rushed down to the dungeons. Once again the guards happily watched her strut by. They all believed she was gaining experience with the prisoners. What the did not know couldn't hurt them.
She arrived at Elphaba's cell to notice the green girl wrapped in the blanket sitting in the corner. She looked tired. Glinda approached slowly, Elphaba looked up, a smile on her face. She stood then, but left the blanket around her shoulders as she approached the bars.
"Good morning" came glinda's vioce. Elphaba responded with a shy 'hi'. Both were still quite embarassed with yesterdays happenings, and couldn't seem to meet one another's eyes. Glinda looked up then, and their eyes connected briefly, Glinda looked away as a blush coloured her cheeks.
"I brought you some bits" She said as she pulled the food from her bag. Elphaba was rather grateful for the foods, and began to eat. Glinda then handed her the flask of tea, which received a very warm reception. Elphaba had never tasted better.
"Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without you, Perhaps I would have frozen without this last night" She gave the quilt a shake and Glinda chuckled.
"You hang on to that, just don't let my father see it. He wont be pleased otherwise. He mentioned yesterday, you'll be going for an interview with him in two days time. He'll decide your fate then" Elphaba swallowed the lump of food in her mouth then. A pensive nod came forth.
"The sooner I'm out of here the better" she tried to smile, though it looked to be more of a grimace.
"Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" The blonde asked. Elphaba still had rather large bags under her bloodshot eyes. The smell of ammonia was enough to prompt watery eyes.
"I got enough" she replied. It was a blatant lie, but Glinda wasn't going to push further. Elphaba was still sipping at the tea and nibbling at the bread she'd brought down. Evidently, she was slightly eager to get the liquid into her system and poured a good dribble of it down her face. Glinda watched with a mixture of amusement and slight sorrow or the green girl.
"Oh you messy thing" she said as she leant out and moped up the dribble with her thumb. Her hand remained in place for a few seconds, a few more than was necessary. Elphaba remained, looking into those blue eyes, she swallowed the small amount of tea that had made it into her mouth with a loud gulp That seemed to bring the blonde back into the real world. She gave a forced smile and removed her hand, not without hesitation. The skin was beautifully soft.
Elphaba was still looking back She gave a weak smile in return. Both seemed to be a bit caught up in the moment. Elphaba cleared her throat then.
"I guess I was thirstier than I thought" to which Glinda chortled. They both managed to snap out of it then, and a hint of normality was regained. She spent a good section of the day down there, it was Sunday, which meant her day off. She hadn't any other obligations, and felt her time would be best spent with the beautiful green girl. She didn't know why, there was just something that drew her to the odd creature.
They spent the day with general chit chat, and Glinda got a good insight into Elphaba's life.
"How did you find yourself in this town then?" Glinda said. Elphaba had gone quiet for a few minutes then sighed. She wanted to keep the conversation going, and Glinda seemed trustworthy enough, goodness she'd helped her survive the first night in here.
"My family weren't the happiest to have given birth to a daughter with green skin, as you can imagine. I was raised in a very unionist household by my father, mother died whilst giving birth to my younger brother shell, then theres my sister, little Nessa. Father kept me until I was eighteen and got arrested, after that he was no longer obligated to care or me, so tossed me out. I wasn't the most compliant of children though, and I was green. I suppose he had good reason." She'd delivered it with a stoic voice.
Glinda listened to the story and leaned up the bars, a look of sadness on her face for the green girl.
"That couldn't be reason enough to kick you out though, surely" Elphaba gave a shrug of her shoulders in response.
"What of you?"
"Well, I was raised here, my parents sent me to the best private schools, preparing me for university. It all went quite well, we were a solid family unit, then whilst I was ten, father caught a disease. There was nothing the doctor could do. We tried, oh Elphie we tried so hard to save him -" Elphaba slipped her hand through the bars and took Glinda's in her own, rubbing comforting patterns with her thumb. "- A few years later, mother met the witch finder, or Croft as he's known to his friends. Mother adored him, and he adored us in return. Everything went well, but then he had told us that he wanted me to take the throne. There was nothing to be done, and here we are now"
She gave a sad smile and looked down to their joined hands. Elphie gave them a squeeze.
"I suppose we both haven't had too much luck now, have we?" she tilted Glinda's face up with her hand. "I'm always here If you need someone to talk to" Glinda was grateful for that. She hadn't had many friends that would be so kind as to keep her secrets.
She remained with the green girl, talking about nothing and everything until the guards called her up for lock-down. She smiled at the green girl then put her hands through the bars to give her a hug. Elphaba noticed that the cell wasn't as cold that night. When the chill began to creep in, she would imagine the blonde's arms around her, and everything didn't seem as bad.
Glinda appeared briefly the next day, her father was running her ragged in preparation for her ascension to the throne. She managed to run in for fifteen minutes, handing a small cake over to Elphie.
"This is the best I could do, Unfortunately it's a flying visit today." Elphie looked down.
"I'm just grateful you came" Glinda moved forwards then, after quickly glancing around before wrapping her arms around the green girl. She returned the embrace seconds later. They remained that way for a while, Glinda rocking Elphaba. They parted after Glinda felt she had given Elphaba enough strength.
"Don't be afraid, Elphie" Elphaba tried to ignore the warmth that spread through her at the pet name and the closeness of the blonde. She leant down and quickly pulled Glinda close for a few seconds more, nuzzling into blonde hair.
"I'm not any more" she responded. Glinda looked up then and into those brown eyes.
"I'll be there tomorrow, Miss Elphie. Don't you worry, I'll be there." she called the last sentence as she rushed back down the hall.
Elphie spent the rest of the day pushing hay around the floor and trying to ignore the screams of the women who'd been left down here for too long. That evening, when the darkness had cast into the dungeons from the window, Elphaba pulled the blanket out from a nook she'd hidden it in and settled down for the night. It still had a slight perfumed scent to it – the essence of Glinda. Somehow, it helped her to sleep.
She woke with the sunrise the next morning, and the sound of clomping boots approaching. She hurried into an upright position and shoved the blanket back into the little nook. Just as it was hidden, the door to her cell banged open with a terrible screech.
"Witch, the Finder will see you now." came another gruff voice. She slowly trailed behind him, hands once again bound behind her.
She was pushed through another doorway, and stumbled. She looked around and noticed that she was in the room she was first led into a few days ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Her eyes adjusted and she noticed the witch Finder on his throne in the centre of the room. Glinda stood to his left and gave her an encouraging smile, so naturally, she smiled back, heart beating just a little bit faster.
"Is something funny, witch?" The finder had barked. Elphaba spun to look at him then, smile quickly replaced with a scowl.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You were smiling, clearly you're finding this situation hilarious. Does death not scare you?"
"I've no clue what you mean"
"A stubborn streak, answering back does not bode well. Those with a stubborn and turbulent reputation are often witches miss. Also from questioning, I am to believe that you have little contact with your family? I'm sure you're aware that the devil encourages discord. And he's blessed you with intelligence, tell me, how many children did you sacrifice for that, witch?" He was leafing through a stack of papers as he read these facts at her. Elphaba was taken aback.
"With all due respect, have you any idea how ridiculous these accusations are sir? Elphaba had shot back. Glinda was staring at the man on the throne, getting quite irate.
"Father, I don't believ-" Glinda was cut off with a flick of the man's hand.
"Not now love, I'm interrogating. Bring in the familiar"
A guard then pulled in a small white cat that resided at the boarding house that Elphaba lived in. It occasionally visited her room, looking for scraps. Elphaba obliged, and paid the price of having white cat hair all over her capes. It was a compromise that she didn't mind too much.
She watched as the men drew a blade closer to the small cat. She twisted in her restrained and shouted out
"You monster! That is an innocent animal!" she was absolutely livid. Glinda's mouth fell open.
"Father, let that cat go, it has done no wrong" Glinda said. He looked at her calmly and nodded.
"Set it free, though I think I have enough evidence to conclude that you are a witch. Do tell me, are you going to confess now?" Elphaba spun back to him after watching the cat leave the room unharmed.
"I am not a witch" She insisted. Glinda approached the man in the throne.
"This woman is innocent, I can feel it. If I am to take this job, I must have intuition, and I am certain that she is no witch." the man looked at her for a few seconds.
"I shall perform one final test, If my daughter is correct, you may leave immediately. If not, the stake will await. Bring in the blessed water. Glinda would you care to do the honours?" Glinda was set in her belief and took the bowl of water. Elphie was no witch. She ascended to where the green girl was standing, a small smile on her face, which quickly turned into a confused look as her fingers dipped into the water. Elphaba had shook her head the slightest bit and looked down. Glinda asked no questions, the finder was still closely watching her.
Glinda's wetted fingers were pulled out of the bowl, and a small cross was made upon a green forehead with her thumb. She waited for a few seconds, then Elphaba's face began to contort. An angry red blister in the shape of a cross was forming where the water had been. Glinda gasped and the bowl landed with a clatter. She withdrew and stepped backwards.
"Please, Glinda! Its not like that!" Elphaba shouted, she broke free from the guard's grip and was promptly tackled to the floor, her punches were silenced by a swift kick to the face by one of the guards. Elphaba looked up, nose bloodied, with an eye that would more than likely bruise.
Glinda was still moving backwards, and felt as though the wind had been sucked from her lungs. She stumbled back when she'd reached the stairs. Her step-father wore a smug look. Her head began to shake slightly, she'd placed such trust into this woman. Trust that was easily thrown back in her face, apparently.
"To the dungeon with it. In three days time, It will face the stake. Prepare the pyre!" Elphaba was dragged backwards, eyes never leaving the blonde until the door slammed behind her.