Chapter 3

"CHISTERY! GABRIALUS! WAKE UP!"

Chistery groaned. "What, Mola?"

"We have a serious problem!" she shrieked.

"What?" Gabrialus asked groggily, sitting up.

Mola threw a newspaper into his lap. "Look at that! And Chistery, you lazy head, GET UP!" She went over to Chistery's bed and slapped him across the face.

"Ow!" he exclaimed angrily. "Lur, woman, what is it?" He sat up to face her.

"Gabrialus, why don't you tell Chistery what you just read?" Mola's voice was unnaturally high; it freaked Chistery out.

Gabrialus looked shocked at what he was reading. "Well … um … Oz … this is really fucked up. It says here that Mistress Elphaba killed some dude. She would never …"

Mola looked on the verge of insanity. "Yes, but who? You have to tell Chistery! I can't say it!"

"Um … Prince Fiyero."

"WHAT?!" Chistery exploded. "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" He snatched the paper from Gabrialus and read it for himself, praying that his roommate had read it wrong. But sure enough:

A few nights ago, our honorable Captain of the Guard fought with the infamous Wicked Witch of the West bravely and chivalrously. His Royal Highness, Prince Fiyero Tigulaar, though a strong and courageous warrior, could not overcome the Witch's evil power. A body has not been found, and Lady Glinda is in mourning …

"Chistery, buddy," Gabrialus said nervously. "You alright there? It's just a newspaper story, dude." Chistery suddenly realized he was breathing heavily.

"I'm good," he said, trying to be calm. "I'm good. I just have to … go prevent another meltdown." Then, before either Mola or Gabrialus could say anything else, Chistery bolted for the western tower, running halfway there before he remembered he could fly.

Elphaba had probably already gotten a newspaper, with Chistery's luck; a whole stack of them had been delivered for the Tigulaars. Without a second thought, he rushed into her room like a madman. She wasn't there. Thank Lurline. He saw that day's newspaper lying on her desk, unopened. He snatched it, and was just about to leave when …

"Chistery! Oh!" Elphaba clearly had just come from the showers; water dripped down from her hair and down her back. She quickly covered herself up in the towel she was holding.

"Sweet Oz, Mistress, I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, embarrassed. "I … I didn't know you would be coming back so soon! I was just …"

"Opening my paper for me? I see you're holding it." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well … um …"

Elphaba interrupted him. "Thank you very much, Chistery, but I think I can manage that myself." She took the paper from him and started unwrapping it.

"No!" He grew desperate. "There's … there's nothing good in there! Just … exaggerated stories about you." There. That wasn't exactly a lie.

She chuckled humorlessly. "Yes, let's see what I did this time!" But all superficial joviality fled as she started reading. "Oh. I see." She put the paper back on her desk. "For once, they're not lying."

She was surprisingly calm. But that could change easily. "Yes, they are!" he argued. "You didn't slaughter your boyfriend in cold blood!"

Elphaba sat down, still clad in only a towel. "Yes, I did. Just because I didn't physically kill him doesn't mean his death isn't my fault."

"No! That's crazy talk!" He grabbed her hand. "You tried to save him. I heard you in here, going 'eliky nackem' or whatever you were saying. Look, he wouldn't want you to mope. So, how about after breakfast you join me in a little flight around the castle? Hmm? Whatdya say?"

"Why, Chistery, I …"

"Yes? Good! See you then!"

"You're going flying with her?!" Mola asked over breakfast, astonished.

"Yeah," Chistery said with a shrug. "Why not?"

Mola choked on her coffee. "Why not?! As you yourself said last night, she's a basket case! She could … fall off her broom and die, or crash into something, or …"

"Get some much needed exercise," Chistery cut in. "Studies have shown that exercise helps alleviate stress."

Mola scoffed. "Bullshit. You like her."

"Like her? Of course I like her! Don't you like her?"

"You know what I mean, Chistery." She looked at him knowingly.

"No!" He was shocked. "Not like that! She's a human! An unnaturally good human, but still, a human! Plus, she really loved that guy. I doubt she'll ever venture into the world of romance again, even if the whole country didn't hate her. But most importantly, Mola, she's not my type. We're friends."

"Friendships can change."

He gave her a look. "Are you implying something?"

"Don't flatter yourself!" Mola said, lightly slapping his hand. "Now go! Knowing her, she's probably already waiting for you. That girl can eat like lightning!"

Mola turned out to be right. Chistery found Elphaba waiting outside the main door of the castle, leaning on her broomstick like a staff. She stood up straight when she saw him. "You see I'm a little more decent now," she said with a small grin. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are," he replied, rising a few feet above her. "Let's go."

"Let's." She mounted her broom and rushed past him, flying as high as the second story of Kiamo Ko. He glided up towards her.

"Were you always so good on that thing?"

Elphaba laughed the biggest laugh he had heard from her since shit went down. "Sweet Oz, no! You should've seen my first flight! I nearly collided into a Quoxwood tree! And I had always been squeamish about heights, so the whole time I was just thinking, 'Lurline, please don't let me fall!'"

"But you're not squeamish now, are you?"

"No! Not at all!"

He grinned. "Then follow me." Chistery led her higher, up to the western tower. "This is your windowsill, correct?"

"Yes," Elphaba said nervously. "Why?" She gasped as he sat down on her windowsill. "No. I'm not sitting there."

"Thought you said you weren't squeamish," he teased. "Come on. We're creatures of flight, albeit not by birth, but still! We laugh at gravity!"

"Okay." She carefully sat down beside him. "Oh. I'm not falling. That's … good!"

Chistery and Elphaba did several laps around Kiamo Ko, playfully trying to outdo one another in speed and skill. Elphaba felt guilty that she wasn't thinking about Nessa and Fiyero, but Ozdammit, this was fun! Whenever she had flown, it had always been solo, but now, she had a companion. As they were flying over the courtyard, Chistery suddenly got an idea. "Mistress?"

"Hmm?"

"Let go of your broom."

"What?!"

"Let go of your broom," he repeated calmly. "It'll just fall into the courtyard; you can pick it up later. Trust me." Elphaba thought about it for a moment, then closed her eyes … and let go. She only fell about two inches before Chistery caught her under her arms.

She laughed again; that warmed Chistery's heart. "Chistery! Oh my Oz! I could've died just then!"

"But you didn't." All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Or so Chistery thought until the next morning. He went to her room to deliver breakfast to find that Elphaba was nowhere to be found. On her desk there was a note, concise but informative:

Chistery and Mola and the rest,

I have gone to Munchkinland. I'm going to follow the YBR to find that girl who has Nessa's shoes. I must get them. I'll be back soon, hopefully. Take care of KK.

Best,

Elphaba

"MOLA!"