Fiyero woke up late the next morning to the sound of the world flying by. He looked about him to find himself in a nicely furnished train cart: alone. Soft, polite chatter was audible through thin walls. Fiyero stumbled sleepily through the glass portal of his compartment- tipping over as the train veered to the side.

Out the windows, Old Gillikin flew by: balded mountains erupted from the spent landscape like serpentine vertebrae. Fiyero turned his gaze to the corridor, and stepped lightly on the red velvet carpeting. The walls were embellished with antique woodcarving that spiraled fluidly over the doors

. Without warning, a small slender arm sprouted from one of the gaps, and yanked him into another apartment. Face in the floor, Fiyero smelled dust and perfume as the door clicked behind him.

"What is this?" Fiyero mumbled wearily, wiping dust from his trousers. He was caught off guard by the girl standing before him. Fair skinned, the girl had hair like the light from the paper sun.

Fiyero gasped; he had never seen hair such as this. Such beauty. Long ago, looks as these were common, but now any of these traits were rare and highly prized.

He was taken aback by the stunning and exotic looks of the girl. Even more beautiful were her luminous ocean eyes. Fiyero was dazzled, and pushed back the urge to stroke her hair. She stuck out a thin and fair arm.

"Hi. I'm Galinda. Of the Upper Runes" She tossed her hair, and sweet perfume curled off of it. Fiyero felt faint.

"Uh, Fiyero. Western Runes" He took her small and brittle hand in his. She shook firmly, and Fiyero was surprised, for she hardly came to his shoulder at full height.

"What brings you here?" Galinda asked Fiyero, as if this was a common place for young adults.

"The same as everyone else, I suppose? Fame, fortune, a new life" Fiyero grumbled. The Galinda girl giggled, a sound like trickling water. There was that hair toss. She was adorable. Fiyero tried not to drool as she took his hand once again.

"Come on Fiyero," She grinned, "I have someone to introduce you to." She winked and pulled him into the hallway.

A/n: Sorry for the delay. I felt guilty about the short (and rather unedited) chapter, but I needed to introduce Galinda. Let me know what you think!

Sincerely,

BrokenRoads