Chapter Four

Welcome Home

Dear Elphie,
I'm unsure how much longer I can stay here. Every day I think about joining you. The longer I stay, the more my life feels like a prison. I can't take the terrible things they say about you in Emerald City, Elphie. I want to be with you. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to be apart of the rebellion.

As Elphaba Thropp turns the corner from the elevator, Glinda's letter from all those years ago hits her full force. One of many that she had read over and over again, but as she stared at Glinda she couldn't help but wonder. Is what she said about Oz true? Has it really changed at all? How could she trust that Glinda wasn't cursed or spelled to say what she did? How could she know that when she returned to Oz she wouldn't be met with an execution? She was already here with Dorothy, a girl who tried to kill her once before - as dim-witted as she was. She and Fiyero were treating the burns that felt like acid for weeks. She was lucky that it didn't scar, though she didn't understand how anyone thought it could melt her.

Still, even if it was just ten days, ten days could do a lot of damage. Every terrible memory she has was from Oz. But so were her better ones, Most of which, included Glinda. And while her gut still said this was a trap and she couldn't just go back so easily, her heart was begging to return to Oz. She couldn't let the Wizard play her like that. Nothing in her life had ever been so easy. How could this?

But she was staring at Glinda and it was always hard to think straight when she did. The way Glinda's eyes sparkled in the winter light. The way she buried her nose in the fake furs of her vest. The way her nose wrinkled in the breeze and how her blonde curls bounced on her little shoulders. If there was anyone in all of Oz that could have Elphaba on her hands and knees, it was the bubbly, beautiful girl before her. She accepted Elphaba for who she was and Elphaba's heart sank at the thought. She had left Glinda alone in that world, to think two of her closest friends were dead and in just the three minutes she spent with Glinda, she had already experienced the anger that was boiling to the surface. She had so many pent-up feelings and it was all Elphaba's fault that the blonde felt that way at all. If anything, going back to Oz would at least give her a chance to fix a relationship she thought she would never have the chance to fix at all. If anything, she couldn't leave Glinda again, wondering why Elphaba would choose not to be with her. Elphaba knew that Glinda probably thought about their last moments together as much as Elphaba did and if not, more. She couldn't have Glinda wondering about that forever - she couldn't let her love feel so abandoned. Glinda, my love. It repeated in her head and then more confidently, I love you Glinda. The words circled her head a million times over as they had for years now. She had known she was in love with Glinda since they were in school together and she had made horrific choices because of it. One of which included interrupting Glinda and Fiyero's wedding, which led to Fiyero leaving with her though she hadn't planned that at all. She never had the chance to tell Glinda how she truly felt and then she thought she was going to die and didn't want to leave Glinda with that as her dying word.

So she walked forward and in the daylight, she squinted her eyes. She approached the two girls standing on the sidewalk and Glinda hardly acknowledged her appearance since they had just fought. Instead, she kept a straight face and turned on her heels in towards the square. From there, they walked in silence, down the streets of New York, so tense that it was almost diplomatic. Then, a few blocks down the sidewalk, Glinda asked, "Should we be looking for Fiyero? Do you know where he is?"

Elphie bit her lip, feeling the sting of another lie that Glinda was facing, "A few years back he moved away with his fiancee, Sarima. She was the princess of a foreign country. I doubt he would be looking to come back to Oz."

"Very well." Glinda sped up the walk as they approached the square, not bothering to even look back at Elphie, who stayed two steps behind.

The next thing the three girls knew, Glinda and Elphie had their arms locked to Dorothy, feeling the familiar warmth of magic slip through their bodies. Elphaba couldn't remember the last time she had done magic or how bad she had missed it. In her first year in the human world, she had tried magic over a dozen times without real results. She could do some, small tasks if she was lucky. Magic was much harder to attain and at one point she had traveled the world looking for another magic user. It took her a year to find someone who truly had magic in them and they told her that magic was dangerous in their lands and that it always came with a price. So feeling it now, she hadn't realized how much she had missed its warmth.

"Welcome back to Oz, Ladies," Dorothy announced the words and Elphaba opened her eyes. Before her, the familiar city built itself around her. Green building burst into the skyline with the castle, being the biggest and longest among them. In the same instance, the cold brushed over their shoulders as snow fell in the city around them. Green and gold wreaths hung around the square and Lurlinemas music sung in the distance. The holiday season was in full blast and while it only felt like hours to Dorothy and Glinda, it seemed that days had passed in Oz since their last visit.

Finally, people came into their midst, a crowd of them shopping around the square. The magic swept around them in circles of colors, making their presence all but known to the crowd. People stopped in their footsteps and stared as the figures came into view, three girls connected by their arms. For a moment, they all just stared and the guards approached from the outskirts of the castle, coming to see the view. Each of them released each other's arms. The longer people stared, the easier Elphaba became uncomfortable in her own skin which had most definitely come back to its original color. All of a sudden a flush came over her, if a darker green was considered a blush (Glinda always thought it did). Nervousness was a cloud over Elphaba's head as if she would be stoned right there for her so-called crimes, but that was not at all the fate that met her.

A guard finally approached Glinda, "Your majesty." He came to kneel before Glinda and Elphaba practically choked from shock. "Welcome home."

Glinda smiled gratefully down at him and then tapped him on the shoulder, "Oh come now, you have no reason to kneel. How long have we been gone?"

The guard quickly came back to standing and Elphaba then noticed his Vinkus descent, "Sorry Miss Glinda, it just felt like I should give you a better welcome than just a hello." The boy smiled and Elphaba knew he couldn't have been long out of Shiz. "It's been two fortnights since you left for your quest."

Glinda giggled, "Well thank you Ian, but no need at all." Glinda caught a glance at Elphaba and Elphaba just stared at the interaction in awe. What really had happened since Elphaba left? Glinda then turned back to the guard, "I've never been away that long, did everything go okay with the council?"

Ian smiled down on her, "It went really well, there was no trouble at all. Most of us were just getting ready for Lurlinemas. Crope did his best to take care of things, though, he's no you."

Glinda then took the moment to look across the crowd of faces who had still gathered, "Oh, well hello everyone." Many people smiled, waved, and shouted hellos to the Queen. She then cleared her throat and noticed that anyone not looking at her, was staring at Elphaba. Glinda let a blush cover her face when she noticed the way Elphaba had bit her lip in anticipation. Something between worry and nervousness. Glinda can't remember the last time Elphie had been in front of a crowd. Then she realized that Elphaba might be worried considering Oz was nothing like this when she left. "Well, I guess now is a good of a time as any." She whispered and then took Elphaba's hand. Elphaba looked at her with a worried glimmer in her eye. Glinda gave her a reassuring smile and rubbed the back of her green hand. "Citizens of Oz, it is my honor, to introduce all of you to Miss Elphaba Thropp."

For a minute they were silent and Glinda could practically feel Elphaba shake. Then it happened. The silence turned to cheers and the cheers turned to praise of Elphaba. Glinda watched as Elphaba's face grew an even deeper blush, her smile growing. Glinda held her hand and Elphaba clenched onto her like she was afraid to let go, "What did you tell them?" Elphaba asked, hardly above a whisper.

"We'll talk later," Glinda whispered back. After the applause ended, Glinda led them on and the crowd parted to let them through to the castle. Her, Dorothy, and Elphaba walked passed the large castle doors and the guards stayed at their posts outside. Inside, the doors closed behind them and the heat of the castle burst through their clothes. Glinda took a breath and let the warmth heat her back up. Slowly, she shed her scarf and jacket from herself, putting them on the coat hanger next to the foyer. Then she turned around and saw Elphaba. Beautiful, green-skinned, Elphaba staring at her and just struck with everything that happened. The sight made her giggle, "Why, Elphaba Thropp I don't think I've ever known you to be speechless."

Elphaba shook her head out of it and coughed, "I-I'm sorry, I'm just trying to take it all in. You're the Queen of Oz?"

Glinda's smile turned into a blush that she hoped coming in from the cold would hide, "Well, I guess so yeah but I usually avoid the formalities."

Elphaba cocked an eyebrow, "Miss Glinda Upland of the upper uplands, most popular girl in all of Shiz and the public eye Glinda the Good - Doesn't like the formality of being the QUEEN?"

Glinda scratched the back of her head and swallowed, all of a sudden feeling very tense, "I guess you could say things have changed."

"I'm just gonna... go…" Dorothy noted and before either girl could break their eye contact, Dorothy was gone.

"Elphaba Thropp if it's not the work of the Unnamed God -" Glinda and Elphaba both broke out of the trance and looked over at the grand staircase that led up and to the east and west wings of the castle. There at the top stood Crope, Tibbett, and Boq, watching them from above.

"There is no unnamed God," Elphaba said so matter-of-factly and in seconds the three boys were down the stairs and grabbing her into a group hug. It took her a minute to catch up, but as soon as she did, she hugged them back. Glinda stood back as they hugged and when they finally, eventually, let go, Elphaba took the moment to look at them. "Boq..you're not a...you're back to you're old self I mean…"

Boq backed up and brushed his hair back, smirking. "I'm not a tin man you mean?" He laughed and looked over at Glinda, "I have her to thank for that. She spent three years helping me find a way to change back. She's honestly the best sorcerous I know." The group looked over at Glinda, who couldn't help but blush again. Elphaba gave her this smile that all but reassured her of her ability. Before she could say anything, Boq shook Elphaba's attention back to him, "But hey, this isn't about me. It's about you! You're - You're alive!" Boq cheered,

Glinda's smile faded again and she scratched at her forearms. The thought of Elphaba being alive was thrilling, but she was also incredibly angry. She had anger that she never knew she had because she hadn't known that Elphaba was alive. That all these years, Elphaba could have been with all of them, but she chose not to be. She chose to be alone in a world she didn't belong to, not even in her own skin, then to be with her family. She chose Fiyero over Glinda. Glinda just didn't understand how she could possibly stay away from all of them for this long.

Elphaba smiled at her old friend Boq, "Yes. I am alive and I'm so sorry that I've been gone so long. It's a long story and I just-"

"There will be time for that, later," Crope said, patting her shoulder, "Right now I think we should just be glad you're here and that we're all together, right?" Crope shot Glinda a look of suspicion.

"Yeah, uh, right." Glinda nodded, taking a few steps closer to the group, but still obviously uncomfortable.

Tibbett swallowed all of a sudden realizing the tension, "Hey boys, why don't we let Glinda give Elphaba the tour, maybe let them have a moment." The boys back off and turned to a corridor nearby, "We'll see you guys at dinner."

And just like that, the two girls were alone in the vastness that was the Emerald Castle. Glinda swallowed and she could've sworn it echoed and Elphaba cleared her throat, "Would you perhaps, want to show me around, your Majesty?"

Glinda rolled her eyes, a bit of a smile hinting at her lips, "Please don't call me that, Elphie." The nickname slipped before she could remind her brain that she was mad at the green girl.

"Well you called me Elphie, so I think we're making a little headway." Her lips curled in a way Glinda knew all too well.

Glinda bit her lip and let their eyes meet again, this time allowing herself to take a step closer. She brushed her hair behind an ear, "I'm just. I'm a little confused is all. There's a lot of feelings and we've got a lot to talk about.. but.. I am so glad to see you." She breathed out in relief and pulled Elphaba into a tight embrace, "You have no idea how many times I dreamt about this." She whispered into Elphaba's ear, taking in the smell of fresh oils.

Elphaba wrapped her arms around Glinda's waist and held her like she was going to disappear. And they stayed like that. Frozen in one another's arms, holding each other and taking in the other's presence. It was all they had been thinking about for six years of time, wishing just to be able to see the other again. And here they were together. Before Glinda knew it, tears were streaming down her cheeks and onto Elphaba's shoulder. When Glinda let go, she had to wipe her face clean and that's when she realized that Elphaba had started to cry. "I'm so sorry," Elphaba said.

Glinda was quick to wipe Elphaba's face off, "Ephie stop, it's gonna burn."

Elphie smiled weakly, "You're worth it."