Chapter 2: Elphaba's Exile

"We can't stay here," Elphaba said as she grasped Fiyero's straw-filled one and walked through the Clock Gate.

It seemed like one part of her life had just ended. The curtain had fallen and she was ready to begin the next act. The only problem was, she didn't know how or where.

The room they had just stepped into was huge. The ceiling stretched above them like a cathedral. The only thing missing was people. It was completely devoid of life except for the two exiles. The wall from which they came from was covered in cogs and wheels. The clock could be seen but it was mirrored, no one would be able to see that they were in here.

"Elphaba, why are we here?" Fiyero said as he stumbled in a circle, trying to see the entire room.

"There is great magic in this room. I should be able to find a spell that can get us far away!" She knelt on the floor and reached for the Grimmerie; a motion she had gone through hundreds of time. This time was different. She had forgotten that she left it in the tower of Kiamo Ko.

"Elphaba," Fiyero bent down and took her hands in his. "Where would we go?"

She looked up into his cloth face. She felt the straw gloves in between her fingers. A vision of wide open spaces and wheat fields sprang into her mind.

"Kansas," she said.

"What's a Kansas?" asked Fiyero.

"It's the land the Wizard came from."

"You want to go there? Follow that creep?"

"It's a start," Elphaba said and started chanting under her breath, trying to find the right words.

Half an hour passed. Fiyero had fallen asleep.

"Elleka namen ranchen… no… Ak men taven relleka aven… no, wait… Sasnak o tog stel…" she gave a shout of frustration and Fiyero woke with a start to find Elphaba crying.

"Elphy, what's wrong?"

"It's not working, Fiyero! We'll have to stay here until we die! I just wish we could've made it…"

Fiyero helped Elphaba up and they walked around the room hand-in-hand. When they returned to where they had started, Elphaba had calmed down but Fiyero stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Elphaba said, curious.

"A puddle. Look a puddle where there shouldn't be!"

"Don't be silly. That's just my little pool of tears,"

"No, look. It's a puddle, all together and stuff. Tears don't do that!"

"Well what about it? It's just a puddle,"

"Then let's splash in it!"

Elphaba laughed, "Fiyero, I'm not a 7-year old,"

"But I'm as mature as one! Come on!" and he ran to the puddle.

A very strange thing happened then. As soon as Fiyero's boot hit the puddle, he fell in and vanished.

"Fiyero!" Elphaba cried. She rant to the puddle and jumped into it, like a child splashing the curb.

It was a curious sensation. First she felt weighted and she sunk like a brick, descending into the murky depths. Then, just when she felt herself running out of air, it felt as though a geyser was exploding under her feet and she rocketed upwards toward the light.

Elphaba burst from the puddle, shooting into the air. She fell and landed on something very soft, like a mattress; not what she was expecting. The mattress said, "Oof" when she hit, surprising her again.

"Oh! Fiyero!" she exclaimed and got to her feet. She looked down on her now-squashed beau. The straw had been pushed into his head and legs. The disgruntled expression on his now puffed-up face was just too much and she fell over laughing.

"It's not funny!" whined Fiyero.

"Sorry, sorry, let me help," she pushed some of the straws from his legs to his stomach. She massaged it to even out the stuffing a bit more. She then helped him to his feet and hit his head to dislodge some of the straw. He was still a bit lumpy, but walking would fix that.

"Thanks," Fiyero said, smiling, "but I don't think we're in Oz anymore,"

"No," said Elphaba, her smile now fading as she gazed around the bleak brownish landscape. She suddenly turned to Fiyero, "We left our stuff in the clock room! My broom!" She turned to jump back in the puddle but only found a damp patch of field.

"Where are we?" she asked. "Where are we?" she shouted to the sky.