A/N: Chapter Warnings: Character death and Bessa


He was looking down at a schoolbook and notes. He looked up; he was at the library with Nessarose staring at him, "Is something wrong?"

"What?" he shifted nervously

"You stopped mid-sentence" she smiled, "Then just stared at your notes again"

"What was I talking about?"

She laughed, "History, we were studying, remember?" an uncertain look crossed her face

He tilted his head; he was studying with Nessa? "We're studying?"

She blinked; "Boq, you're acting very strange" he looked back down at his notes

He sighed, looking up at her, "I don't feel like studying"

"Why not?" she looked at him nervously

"I just don't"

She looked around for a second before looking back at him, "Then why are we here?"

He looked at her nervous expression, "I…" he watched as she curled some of her long silky hair behind her ear, "I…" Her hand trailed down her neck to the collar of her shirt, "I…" he blinked and looked up at her eyes, "What was the question?"

"Why are we here?" she looked patient, not the least bit annoyed. Then she licked her lip, drawing his attention there … why had she always been so hard to resist back here? Back at Shiz, she was so young and beautiful. Here she was again, before everything … before every lie, before every law. He wasn't bound to her by any means, he wasn't even supposed to be here for her … yet he still found her so hard to look away from. Was he leaning in? Surely not … surely he wouldn't do that … surely not.

Then their lips met, hers were so warm … so soft. She tasted like peppermint, sweet peppermint. She smelled wonderful, she was so warm and he was starting to feel dizzy … so very dizzy …


He was in his room … what was that horrid smell? It was overwhelming; he stumbled out of his room to find the source. There were flies in the halls; all leading to the room the smell came from … Nessa's study. He timidly opened the door, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know anymore, but couldn't seem to stop himself. He slowly walked up to and around her chair; the smell was stronger here.

There she was; her hair in a bun and wearing the dress she had been the day she shrank his heart. Only he was still human, still wearing his servant uniform. There she was, sitting in her chair with the bell in her hand. She was covered in blood; pieces of wood seemed to be sticking out in places that didn't make any sense … bones broken.

She was dirty, bloody, and dead. Why was she here? His uniform already soiled with dirt and blood like he had brought her here. Had he? Had he dug her out of under that house and brought her here? Just to put her back in that chair with that horrible bell she ordered him around with? Why would he do that?

The house seemed empty except for them … with that smell, he could see why. It was nauseating … overwhelming. He had to leave this room; he ran out of it and down the hall, he couldn't bear being in there any longer. Why would he do that? Why would he put her back in that chair? He ran back to his room to find his journals, he had to change something … anything if it meant not being here.


He was standing in a crowd … Nessa was in the center of it, standing. That was strange, she was talking about something … making a speech. Animal rights … an army against the Wizard … was she going to fight with Elphaba? He felt a tug at his sleeve, "Can you help me?" it sounded like a little girl

He looked down at her, she was crying, "What's wrong?"

"I can't find my parents, I'm lost" Her sadness seemed to cast a shadow around them … no, wait, that was an actual shadow. That meant …

"Hold on" he ran away from the girl, Nessa hadn't noticed the shadow, she was reading from a paper. He jumped out toward her, grabbing her arms and pulling her away from where she was. She seemed confused … until the house hit the ground where she had been.

They just lied there, with him having fallen on top of her, their arms around each other, in shock of what just happened. He suddenly let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding before he noticed the scowls directed his way … he had just saved the Wicked Witch of the East. Then he felt his body beginning to fade again.


Suddenly he was stumbling through the halls after entering the Governor's estate, bumping into the walls and having a hard time standing upright. He finally just sat down when Nessarose opened the door in front of him, her eyes widened into worry as she knelt down beside him, "Boq, what happened?"

He looked down at his disheveled clothing, "I don't remember"

She looked at the top of his head, "You don't remember?" he shook his head; she reached out and touched a spot on his head that stung him, she quickly pulled her hand back, "What do you remember?"

"What I remember doesn't make any sense"

"Tell me anyway"

"The last thing I remember is being at the library with you, I told you I didn't feel like studying, and then I kissed you … do you remember that?"

She nodded, her lip trembling, "Yes, Boq, but that was so long ago"

"Then I-I stopped a house from falling on you. That's all I remember"

She stroked his cheek with her hand, "That's all you remember? You don't remember anything else ... anything at all?"

He shook his head, "No, I don't remember anything else"

There was a tear falling down her cheek, "You hit your head, Boq"

"It doesn't matter"


He eventually came across his journals again, but the sparkling tears had vanished and the power faded, though he didn't try to use them. He figured he wasn't in prison, he wasn't made of tin or straw, he wasn't blind, he wasn't keeping corpses, and he wasn't married to someone who wanted to kill themselves because of him. He was with someone who loved him ... really loved him. He could finally let himself be happy ... because honestly, there wasn't anywhere else he would rather be.