It's the moment of truth

And the moment to lie

The moment to live

And the moment to die

Going without food and water was nothing new for Elphaba. Avaric had inflicted this punishment upon her often; in fact, she even inflicted it upon herself. Better to go hungry than to poison herself with the so-called "food" they were served. Even being imprisoned in her cell was bearable; this whole place was a prison anyway. In here, she didn't have to worry about fights, or about other fighters bothering her. In here, she could just be alone.

The green woman closed her eyes, and just let her mind wander, far beyond the confines of these cement walls, to a place where red lines didn't matter. As long as she had her mind, Elphaba had an escape that not even Avaric could bar off.


She wanted to forget. She wanted to forget that she had ever gone to that fight club, or that she had ever seen Fae, but she knew she couldn't. Galinda knew those dark chocolate eyes and the sharp wit that went with them would haunt her, no matter how hard she tried to forget.

Curse that Fae! How can she suddenly make me feel like this? I shouldn't be thinking about her at all; she insulted me!

Galinda remembered how Fae had cackled at her own crude humor, as if it was all just one big joke. She was a fighter, she had no feelings or regard for any other human—

The blonde suddenly remembered when she had first seen Fae. How she had been reluctant to kill Trei, and how she had even tried to prevent his death. Maybe… maybe she did possess some human traits still. Perhaps, underneath her hard, sarcastic shell… there was hope.

I'll give you one last chance, Fae. One last chance to prove your humanity.


The tunnels were pretty quiet for once. The other fighters were out in the arena, training, leaving the green woman alone in her imprisonment, which was fine by her.

Sudden footsteps caused the green woman to snap to attention, but not because they belonged to Avaric. These footsteps were different; they sounded feminine. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Galinda appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She started to approach the green woman's cell, only to be stopped by the guard before she crossed the red line.

"For your safety, you are required to stay on that side of the red line," the guard said. Galinda pulled out a fifty-dollar bill.

"Five minutes with the green fighter," she said. The guard paused for a second before taking the money.

"Five minutes."

Galinda then did what no other non-fighter had done before: she crossed the red line.

"Watch out!" Elphaba shouted, causing the blonde to jump. The green woman cackled.

Galinda forced herself to keep her composure as she came up to the cell. Fae approached the bars, and leaned forward, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Fae asked.

"He doesn't know I'm here."

"This is very unlike an Upland. Coming down to a fight club and bribing a guard to talk with a green fighter. Shame on you, Miss Galinda."

"Fae-"

"Please, I feel like we know each other so much better than that. Call me Elphaba."

"Do you have a last name?"

"Not one I care to recall."

"Well, this behavior is very unbecoming of you, Elphaba."

The green woman's expression suddenly changed to one to cold anger. "So sorry that I can't meet your high standards. Spending time here doesn't exactly teach you proper social skills."

"You needn't get so defensive."

"What do you want? Honestly, Miss Galinda, what about me intrigues you so much that you would continually come down here, to the lowest, dirtiest slums of Oz just to talk to me?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. I wish I had never laid eyes on you, to be perfectly honest."

"I'll bet that's not all you've laid on."

The blonde could only stare as the green woman's lips curled into a wicked grin.

"I can't believe you!"

"I am rather unbelievable."

"Fine, then answer me this: if this life is so terrible, who don't you just leave?"

The grin slid from Elphaba's face, and a serious look replaced it. "Don't you think that if I could, I would have long ago?" she said softly. For the first time since they had met, Galinda saw a glimmer of humanity in the green woman. So she could feel emotion.

"What's stopping you?" Galinda asked.

"What do you think? Once you're in, Avaric makes sure you never leave. Not alive, anyway."

"Why don't you just run away?"

"Can't. Do you want to know why Avaric had you stand behind that red line?" Elphaba held up her arm, revealing a silver bracelet. "This keeps us here. As long as this is on, we can't cross that red line. It administers an electric shock if we cross it. And if your entire body crosses, the shock is so intense that you burst into flames."

"That's awful."

"You want to know why I don't run? I'd rather be here fighting than a pile of ash."

"Elphaba… you told me that you had as much control over this as I had over choosing my parents. Surely you weren't born into this? What made you turn to this?"

Elphaba sighed. She started to respond, then saw that the guard was moving towards them. "I'm afraid our time is up, Miss Galinda."

Elphaba drew away from the bars, retreating to the back of the cell. Galinda gripped the bars, leaning forward.

"Elphaba, wait! Why are you in here?"

The green woman didn't reply, but just looked down.

"Elphaba!"

"Time to go," the guard said. Galinda reluctantly turned away and let the tunnels, crossing back over the red line. She had gotten some answers, but they only led to more mysteries.

Galinda knew one thing for sure: this was not the last time she and Elphaba would meet.


"Wake up, you miserable green thing."

Elphaba opened her eyes upon hearing Avaric's harsh voice. "I asked for a room with a view. I want my money back."

"Very funny. Get up."

"I'm actually rather comfortable, thanks."

"Get. Up. Now."

Elphaba could tell that Avaric was in a worse mood than usual. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

"Get her ready for transport."

The door opened and two guards came in, yanking the green woman to her feet. One chained her wrists together, while the other dealt with her ankles.

"Nothing but the best for me, I see," Elphaba said. "And where, may I ask, are you transporting me to?"

"It seems Chuffery is still interested in you," Avaric said.

"I thought I made my position very clear on that subject."

"No one cares what your position is! You're a slave; you do what I tell you, and I'm telling you not to screw this up this time!"

This was accompanied by a punch across the face, which Elphaba knew would leave a bruise, but she refused to let Avaric see her pain.

"I see what the problem is here: it's that time of month, isn't it?" Elphaba said.

"Get her out of here."


"Where did you disappear off to?" Fiyero asked when Galinda returned home.

"Nowhere."

"You left the house to go nowhere?"

"I just needed some air."

Galinda headed upstairs, her mind buzzing with new questions. Why was Elphaba there in the first place? Why didn't she have a choice?

And why, in Lurline's name, was her skin green?


"I feel we may have gotten off on the wrong foot last night."

"Even if we had gotten off on the right foot, I'd still hate you."

Chuffery merely laughed at this as he opened a crystal bottle of wine. "Care for a drink?"

Elphaba held up her cuffed wrists, the chains clinking slightly. "No thanks. I'm cutting back."

Chuffery laughed again and poured out one glass for himself before he settled in a large black chair.

"Look, if you've summoned me here to try and convince me to change my mind, then you're wasting your time. I'm not going to be contracted under your services. I won't be paraded around like some… freak show."

"I hardly see you as a freak, Fae."

"Then why do you want me? It can't be just because of my fighting skills; there are a lot of other men there who are much better fighters than me. No, you want me because I have green skin. A real-life emerald."

"All right, so you've figured out part of the reason. I admit, your skin is intriguing, but that isn't all about you that caught my attention. You're the only female fighter I've encountered, and I have been doing this for a long time."

"Yeah, I'll bet. And how many bodies have you buried in that time?"

"You are just set on fighting me, aren't you?"

"It's in my nature."

"I take it you are still refusing my offer?"

"You'd be correct to assume that."

Chuffery nodded and set his glass down. "Then I suppose we are done here?"

"Blissfully."

Chuffery nodded again, and stood. "Good-bye, Fae. Don't think this is the last time we will cross paths."

"I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty of me, and I will do my best to ignore you."

The guards took Elphaba's arms and led her from the room. Chuffery sat back down.

A real-life emerald.

"You may be a stubborn gem, my friend, but even diamonds have breaking points. All I have to do is find yours."


When Elphaba returned to her cell, she found that Boq had already been replaced. This new kid probably weighed ninety pounds soaking wet, and Elphaba had to keep herself from laughing. His name, she found out, was Shell. The green woman shook her head.

"I swear, all you new fighters just keep getting shorter."


"I can't believe this," Fiyero said, setting the newspaper down.

"What is it?" Galinda asked. It must have been important, because Fiyero hardly ever read the newspaper.

"Remember I told you about Sir Chuffery?"

"Yes."

"Apparently, that green fighter, Fae, refused his offer to be contracted. Twice!"

Galinda turned as Fiyero shook his head. If Elphaba had refused to be contracted, then she had been telling the truth all along. She didn't want anything to do with that life.

Could it be that I misjudged her?

"There's going to be a coliseum fight tonight."

Galinda turned back to her boyfriend. "What does that mean?

"It means that one fighter goes against all the others at one time."

"How is that fair?"

"It isn't. It's meant to teach the one fighter a lesson. Guess who's the lucky person tonight?"

"Not Fae?"

"Of course Fae. I'll assume you don't want to go tonight."

"No!"

Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "You know, you've been very interested in her lately. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"N-no. Nothing at all."

"Galinda, I know what's going on here."

"There's nothing."

"Yes, there is."

The blonde held her breath.

"You've been betting on her, haven't you?"

Galinda breathed a sigh of relief. So her boyfriend wasn't as sharp as she had thought. "Yes, that's it! I have been. After all, you told me to always bet on the woman. I just figured that it would be another way for us to get closer, you know?"

Fiyero smiled. "I'm glad to see you taking such an interest in this. We'll go tonight, then, and see if our green warrior can pull through."

Galinda nodded.

You'd better pull through, Elphaba. I still have a lot of unanswered questions.