Author's notes: After a longer leave on my part, chapter 4 is finally here. Because of the way this chapter turned out, I can say with near certainty that there are only two chapters left. . . three if I decide to do an epilogue. And as for our mysterious person that's plotting something diabolical? He/She shall make their identity known in the next chapter. Also, it's been a couple of days since the previous chapter.

The bold text towards the end of this chapter have been directly taken from the musical. It obviously goes without saying that I do not own it, hence the distinction in within the text.

A short series of taps came from the door. Glinda stood and began to walk towards the door. As she turned to tell Elphie to hide somewhere, a look of panic crossed her face as Elphie rushed passed her to the door.

"Elphie are you crazy! You can't-."

Elphie paid no heed to her friend's confused. She quickly came to the door and flung it open before throwing her arms around the person standing there. Whoever it was, returned the hug and slightly lifted Elphie off the ground in the process.

"You came," She whispered into the person's ear.

"Of course I did. You didn't really think that I would leave you and Glinda to do this alone did you?" the obviously male voice replied.

By this point, Glinda had become completely and utterly confused. Who is this guy and why is Elphie so glad to see him? I can't help but feel that I know him somehow. His voice is strangely familiar. . . She stood, patiently waiting for one of them to offer an explanation to her. Shortly thereafter, Glinda became fed up and coughed lightly to grab their attention.

"Can one of you please explain to me what is going on?"

The man gently set Elphie back on the ground, keeping his face hidden. Elphie turned to face Glinda, snickering lightly.

"Honestly Glinda, do you really have no idea who this is?"

"No. . . I don't think we've ever meet."

Taking this as a good opportunity the man stepped forward, still concealing his face.

"Oh but we have Glinda. I look quite different now, but you knew me years ago at Shiz…"

The man claiming that he knew Glinda back at Shiz meant nothing to her at first. There were so many young men there that she had known. She fidgeted awkwardly knowing that the man expected his comment to reveal his identity. It wasn't until she saw something sticking out from underneath his thick coat that Glinda finally realized who he was.

"Fiyero… is it really you…?"

"The one and only," he replied with a smirk.

Glinda slowly stepped forward, unsure of how close she should get to Fiyero. After all, they weren't a couple anymore. Elphie noticed Glinda's nervous behavior and grabbed her wrist, puller her closer to the two of them. Glinda froze when she felt a pair of strong arms pull her into a gentle hug.

"It's good to see you too Glinda. I hope you bear no hard feeling about what happened between us. I still do love you, but only as a friend or sister."

Fiyero's words shocked Glinda. She had never guessed that he would be as happy to see her as she was to see him. Not only that, but that he still cared for her, even if it wasn't in the way he used to.

Stepping back, Glinda looked Fiyero in the face, carefully thinking out her response.

He still cares for me… though it isn't in the way he did back at Shiz. Am I still in love with him like I was? No… no not anymore… he's just a friend now… perhaps one day he'll feel like a brother to me too…

"At first… I did… but now that I can truly see how happy you make each other… I have no reason to be mad…"

Both Fiyero and Elphie's faces brightened as Glinda said those words. They both were afraid that Glinda still bore some romantic feelings for Fiyero and that she was still upset about his decision to leave with Elphie at what seemed so long ago. Elphie was first to break the silence that was beginning to become uncomfortable.

"Glinda, you have no idea how happy we are to hear that. We were so afraid that you would still be upset about what happened…"

"Oh hush. That's in the past and it's long time that I put it behind me. The important thing now is getting ready for tomorrow."

~ The next morning ~

The week-long celebration of the Wicked Witch of the West's "death" was nearing it's conclusion. Glinda had carefully planned out her announcement to end on the final day of the celebration so that no one would believe it to be a cruel trick that someone was playing on the Ozians. Nonetheless, it did nothing to help calm Elphie's nerves. She was nervously pacing back and forth, waiting for Glinda to finally emerge from her bathroom.

"Elphie, will you calm down already? Everything is going to be fine."

"I can't help but worry, Fiyero. Glinda is risking everything by doing this. What if this doesn't work? If the Ozians turn against her like they did me…"

"They won't. Glinda is the highest in authority now. Not only that, but they practically worship the ground she walks on."

"But only because of what they believe happened between us and the Wizard…"

By this point, it was obvious that Elphie was quite distressed over the idea of Glinda loosing everything. Fiyero was just about to cross the room to comfort her, when Glinda finally emerged from the bathroom.

"Elphie, I told you already that I know the risks involved and that I don't care about what they think of me after this is over. You… no both of you are far too important to me to let the Ozians continue believing the Wizards lies."

Elphie seemed to relax a bit after hearing Glinda confirm her dedication to the plan. Glancing out the window, Glinda realized that she was pushing being late.

"We've got to go! They're expecting me to appear soon. You two sneak out the back door and wait in the shadows. You'll know when to appear."

Elphie and Fiyero watched as Glinda conjured her traditional mode of transportation and waited for her to leave before quietly exiting the room and making their way down the stairs. Glinda had conveniently given all the guards in her home the day off so that Elphie and Fiyero could make their way out unnoticed. Upon exiting the door, they realized that there was a stage just around the corner.

"I guess that's where we're supposed to go," Fiyero whispered. "But where is Glinda."

Elphie turned around silently and pointed to something above them. When Fiyero looked up, he saw a small blue bubble floating in the direction of the stage.

No one mourns the Wicked

No one cries "They won't return!"

Glinda flinched as the all-to familiar words reached her ears. She'd always hated that dreadful song. As Glinda slowly floated down to the stage in her trademark bubble, the crowds cheers rose to meet her. She daintily landed on the stage below her and began to greet the Ozians that were crowding to get close to her.

"Glinda, is it true you were her friend?" a voice called from the crowd.

As soon as the voice uttered the question, the crowd became deathly silent, waiting for Glinda's response. Without any hesitation, Glinda gave them her response.

"Yes."

Author's notes: Dun, dun, duun! How will the Ozians react? Will Glinda sucessfully clear Elphie's name? Find out in the next chapter (or two).