Ever After

Human Again

I am so sorry, for those who cared, that this took so long to get put up. Now that it has been I think I like it, when do I ever know? So read and tell me what ya think.

Books were everywhere. Iisen Lier's library was monolithic, bigger even, that the one at Shiz. It was located just below the living quarters and took up a good portion of the north wing. A whole tower, this one accessible through the library only, was devoted to magic. Spell books and rare trinkets and talismans were spread over the room. Elphaba had been astounded by it. Apparently the royal family had been collecting magic artifacts for generations, the Vinkus had been one of the few remaining places in Oz where such "archaic" items were used, needed or revered.

After a full week spent in that very tower though, Elphaba was getting sick of all the literature and the objects that weren't being very helpful. She'd scoured through at least half of the books, and Fiyero had been searching the other half, occasionally with Tierney's help. But not one of them contained a spell for turning something into a human. Evidently people hadn't had much use for it, sorcerers were always turning people into toads and such, but very few toads seemed to have deserved the rank of being a people.

Needless to say Elphaba was not a happy witch, and her sour mood was beginning to rub off on her fiancé.

"Elphaba, look," Fiyero said. "Why don't we call it a night? We've been in here a week straight and you need some real food and sleep."

"That's not important right now Fiyero," she replied, not even looking up from her book.

"Yes it is," he insisted. "You can't turn me back into a man if you're too tired anyway."

"Well it won't matter whether I'm tired or not if I don't find a spell," she replied irritably. "You would think with all these books we'd find something useful for a change."

"Hey calm down, okay. It's gonna be alright. This is just taking a little longer than we expected is all. It's nothing to get worked up over." Fiyero said, doing his best to soothe her.

Unfortunately she was already worked up and he wasn't helping.

"No it's not alright! Okay! It's just not! The spell was never meant to turn you into a Scarecrow to begin with. The solution is so simple. This is the one thing I've ever done I have the chance to rectify and I am going to do it!"

She'd at least looked up from her book this time. Though from the way her temper was threatening to flare Fiyero almost wished she hadn't. He'd heard it said sometimes that when a person got mad they got fire in their eyes. With Elphaba that description was almost literal, he could practically see the flames in her irises and sparks flying from her fingertips.

"Look sweetheart…

"Don't you dare 'sweetheart' me Fiyero Tiggular!" Elphaba raged. "There are worse things than being a Scarecrow, and there are plenty of spells for that in these books!"

"CALM DOWN!" Fiyero yelled back at her.

Both were nose to nose now. Toe to toe. And neither of them was accustomed to giving an inch. Fiyero because he'd never really had to and Elphaba because she'd quickly learned that it was the only way to be when you're green.

However, Fiyero's hollering surprised them both. Elphaba's temper was to be expected, her sarcasm and lack of patience were practically legendary. But Fiyero had rarely cared about anything enough to fight over it. They'd never had an actual fight either.

After several deep breaths Elphaba was at least able to stop herself from really losing her temper and making things worse. Fiyero had been wise enough to allow her a moment to do so. She was right after all, there were much worse things than being a Scarecrow. He shuddered at the thought, though he didn't actually believe she'd carry through with her threat.

When Elphaba did finally speak again her eyes were cold and calculating, though on closer inspection Fiyero could see some of the caring love she was so capable of. And also guilt. She had something up her sleeve he just didn't know what.

"Fine. Go downstairs and I'll meet you in an hour for lunch and I promise I won't come back up here until tomorrow."

Well that had been easy. If he hadn't been so relieved he would have thought it too easy.

"Okay then, I'll have Magda make something good. Do you want to eat in the room or in the dining hall?"

"Kitchen's fine if it's allowed," Elphaba replied shortly.

"It's allowed. I'll meet you there one hour from now," he agreed, sensing that she needed some space for at least that long.

"I'll see you then."

As he retreated from the tower and out of the library he shot a grin over his shoulder.

"Don't be late," he jibed; only half-kidding.

"I won't be," she promised in return. And she wouldn't, he deserved that much. He was only trying to help her and he was the one stuck in the straw boy act.

Truthfully Elphaba was hatching a plot. A not entirely un-deceptive plot and that was why she hadn't put up a larger fight over the issue of a break. She'd had to sacrifice the battle to hope of winning the war.

After three days of searching magic books she'd realized that the chances of finding a proper humanifying spell were slim. The books in this library weren't quite that advanced, there were some good ones of course but transformation spells were generally more complex than uttering an incantation and letting the magic happen.

The Grimmerie was the only book she could think of or knew of that detailed the kind of sorcery needed for such a feat as to turn an already bewitched man back into a man. Unfortunately she'd left the book with Glinda, she hadn't truly believed she'd need it because she hadn't been entirely convinced of her future at that point.

So the Grimmerie was in the Emerald City and she couldn't very well waltz over there and just borrow it for a bit. Fiyero would probably lock her in a bedroom just for thinking about it. And yet she was.

She waited until she heard the door snick shut tightly and until she could no longer hear Fiyero's footsteps echoing down the hall before rushing over to the opposite side of the room and pulling out an old manuscript she'd found days before. There weren't any spells for turning Scarecrows into humans but that didn't necessarily mean that it wasn't useful.

She sifted through the pages until she found the particular two she was looking for. She had come across them and filed them away for later use, an idea already sprouting in her mind. After carefully disentangling the pages from the leather ties that bound it to the rest of the manuscript and reading them through thoroughly a couple times she rolled the pages up and placed them in one of the deep pockets in the gown she was wearing.

Elphaba spent the rest of her designated hour searching for anything else she might find useful and then as promised went down to join Fiyero for lunch.


Elphaba slowly rolled away from Fiyero's sleeping form. The sun had set hours ago but she'd had to wait until everyone else in the palace, including her fiancé, was sound asleep, even if it cost her precious time. She was finally sure he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, she was able to slide out of the bed and pad her way into the bathroom to change.

She pulled a pair of black trousers out from the closet and a heavy, matching shirt. To her dismay she'd acquired a rather large wardrobe since her arrival, Gwyn had been rather insistent that she have several outfits to choose from and "several" had ended up taking up half of Fiyero's closet. The trousers had been an odd choice she'd admit, women in Oz didn't often wear them, not because it was frowned upon so much as dresses were "in" and pants weren't. However, trousers would suit her mission that night just perfectly.

Once she completed the outfit with black boots, she took her cloak (which had been washed) off its hook and shrugged into it. She stole a glance into the mirror and briefly imagined she'd resemble a shadow once she pulled the hood up. That was good, shadows were hard to see and follow.

Elphaba quietly crept back into the main room and to the bed where she pulled an already-prepared note out from beneath her pillow and laid it on top of the mattress where she should have been laying. Were Fiyero to wake up she didn't want him to panic and she thought the note would sufficiently allay his fears. Allay them long enough for her to return anyway.

With a final, long, glance at the man she loved she fled the room. She'd wasted enough time already.

She ran down the halls of Iisen Lier, her steps barely whispering against the rug in the corridors. Finally she reached her destination: the library. Once inside the gargantuan room she made her way through the darkness to the tower where she'd left one of the neatly folded pages from the books she'd been looking through earlier. Behind the cushions of the oversize chair that had become 'hers' in the past week, was nestled a broom and a necklace. Both had been enchanted, though for different reasons. The broom was to be her new steed, since her old one was currently prisoner to the Wizard or one of his cronies. The necklace would be a gift, once she found the recipient.

Without looking back she crossed to the window and gently pushed the pane open. She tucked the necklace and paper deep into a pocket and, grasping the broom tightly, leapt from the window ledge. Wind gushed past her cheeks and through her hair as he ground came rushing up at her. She quickly pushed the broom beneath her and willed it upwards. The magicked broom pulled them both out of the dive and with in seconds she was soaring over the treetops with only the stars for company.

Oh but it felt marvelous to be flying once more! She hadn't realized how much she'd missed it, missed the rush and the freedom and for a little while she indulged in reveling in the feeling. But she'd be coming upon her first destination soon and would have to return to paying attention.

She'd intended to fly directly to the Emerald City, but then realized that not only was that dangerously stupid but it would certainly take too long, and time was a commodity she couldn't afford to waste. She absolutely had to be back before dawn, or the whole thing would be for naught. So she'd decided, distaste or not, that going back to the City by portal was her best option. And she had to get to the Emerald City; the Grimmerie was Fiyero's only chance of being human again.

Once of the pages in her pocket contained an incantation for an invisibility charm, which she intended to use to sneak into Glinda's and borrow the Grimmerie for long enough to get another spell and drop her 'gift' off. Unfortunately invisibility charms were notoriously frenetic and didn't last very long, it was also dangerous to layer them; one wouldn't want to disappear oneself entirely after all. Which was why she was going to wait until she got to the City to use it.

She was coming up on the little valley where the portal she and Fiyero had used was located, and she dipped in the air to hug the treetops even closer. Her boots brushed the taller trees and she had to dodge a few of the tallest entirely. Eventually she ducked through the branches and landed neatly in the meadow where she and Fiyero had ended up after their little 'hop', rather more gently than the previous time she'd landed there too.

Just as she'd remember the enormous tree with the tube-slide gap in its trunk towered near a pond. The light wasn't quite as good as it had been a week ago, the sun had set already after all, but the general effect was the same.

Broom firmly in hand she approached the portal tree and stepped through the whole, praying as she went that her scheme would work and that portals weren't one-way-only. As soon as all of her was inside the whole she felt the familiar vacuum sucking, ripped-off-her-feet feeling and the portal engaged.

Minutes later, or was it seconds, popped out the other end. This time she was prepared for the sudden onslaught of gravity and deftly maneuvered her broom to defy it. Elphaba found herself hovering just below the face of the Clock of the Time Dragon, according to the barely-moving hands she had a little over three hours now to complete her task.

She pushed the broom to float to the shadows between buildings and gracefully dismounted. Around her emerald gleamed everywhere, it was in the walls and the streets, even the water in the fountains was green. But that was to her advantage, she'd blend in perfectly, a dark green shadow creeping through the night. Not even that, once she got her spell worked.

She tugged the bit from the manuscript out of her pocket and hissed the words out. As soon as her lips finished forming the last syllable she felt the spell take effect. It was an odd feeling being erased from sight. She watched the broom, which she'd continued to hold, disappear first, and then her hand and then slowly the cloak until all of her was gone. Entranced at her handy-work she waved her fingers before where her eyes should have been and saw nothing.

"Wicked," she whispered, delighted in spite of herself.

Now that she couldn't be seen she ventured out into the street. The Time Dragon Clock was located in the center of town, the Emerald Palace was just across the street and unless she was mistaken she was currently standing in the alley next to Glinda's apartment building, her best-friends room would be the suite at the top facing the palace.

Fearless from her invisibility to the world she sat on her broom and glided to the top window of the building and tried to peer inside. It wasn't any use; the rooms were dark and the curtains drawn besides. Elphaba gave a gentle tug at the windows and found it to be locked; its companions were as well. She'd have to go through the main door.

Seconds later her feet hit cobblestones once again and she strode to the main entrance. A lonely doorman stood behind the gold and glass of the door. He was half asleep and she breezed through it, leaving the guard confused but oblivious in her wake.

"The wind these days."

Elphaba heard him mutter as he returned to his post and she jogged to the stairs. Not bothering to wasted time climbing them all she mounted the broom and sped to the top floor. It was not an easy feat in the switch-backed stairwell, especially on the broom that wasn't quite as aerodynamic as the last one had been, but she made it and in good time.

She found the outer-penthouse suite to be ludicrously decorated in pink and knew she had the right place. But she'd known that anyway, from her activist days (that weren't so far behind her) she knew the ins and outs of the various homes of the Wizard and his stooges, and she hadn't been above knowing the floor plan to the home of the woman who had been her best-friend.

The entrance to the apartment was locked of course, but a quick unintelligible spell solved that and she walked inside to find…an empty apartment. Anger coursed through her veins.

"Glinda what in Oz? I leave you alone for a week and you run out on me!" She seethed, not so much at Glinda herself but the fact that she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

With a swirl of her seemingly non-existent cloak she turned and exited the room. This time as she crossed the thresh-hold she noticed the envelopes that lay before the doorway. She stooped and picked them up, she was almost startled to see them hovering seemingly by themselves in midair but it passed and she read the backs.

Forward to the Emerald Palace C/O Glinda the Good

The words were printed in gold above the original address which was the location where she currently standing. She'd moved to the Palace? Well that was going to put a wrench in her spokes. The palace was huge and even if she did know the floor plan she had no idea where to find her friend.

Unfortunately she had nowhere else to look and trying the rooms of the Palace was as good a place as any.

Elphaba went back into the apartment, closed and relocked the door and found herself leapt out another window heading straight for the Palace, once again grateful for the spell that that was making travel relatively easy for her. She soared over the gates and the courtyard heading to the west side and higher toward the first window she jumped out of, almost four years before.

As she approached the high tower she noticed something different, the airless feeling she'd had since working her charm had disappeared and suddenly she realized she could not only see the broom but her own hands grasping the neck as well.

"Oh sh…

She urged the broom faster, cursing it's slowness and resolving she may as well look for her old one while she was there. But that was the least of her worries, below her guards stood at attention and should they look up the moonlight was bright enough to let them see her easily. The window (still broken open since the last time she'd used it) drew tantalizingly close as her all too visible hair fought the wind and flew in her face.

"Come on!" She whispered, desperately begging whatever god was listening to put some favor on her just this one time.

Just as the clock in the square tolled three o'clock she burst into the attic, skidding to a stop and breaking against the wall.

Elphaba sank to the floor gasping for breath that she hadn't realized she'd lost, and thanking whomever or whatever had seen her through the ordeal.

"So much for six hours of invisibility guaranteed," she mumbled, quoting the stupid spell book that had given her the charm in the first place. At least it had bought her enough time to get there.

She eased to her feet and for the first time looked around he room, removing her hood so it wouldn't interfere with the view. It was the same as she remembered, but as she turned her eye caught a new addition. The hat. She'd left it for Glinda and now it adorned the spot the cloak she now wore had once occupied. She had to smile at that.

Upon closer inspection she found her mother's bottle next to the hat. She looked but didn't touch wondering if it were at all possible…it was; the broom was in the corner where she'd found it what seemed like a lifetime ago. She nearly giggled with glee, this was something only Glinda would do and it was to her fortune that the reminiscing blonde had returned the objects to an appropriate spot.

Carefully Elphaba replaced the new broom for the old one, which she considered better though it was slightly charred at the ends. Now if only the Grimmerie was there as well. It would have to be since it would seem Glinda had deemed this place not only worthy enough (worthy that was a thought) but safe enough to house her effects. Her eyes traced the room before falling to a floorboard that was slightly out of place. It seemed a little too easy, for it to be there but it was. When she pulled the board loose there it was, the Grimmerie, in all its old glory.

She tugged the ancient book out of its nook and flipped it open; searching for the spell until she found the one she was looking for. A humanifying spell. It seemed by the illustrations and the funny words to be all she'd hoped for and more. She couldn't explain how she could read the funny language of the spell book but it just made sense to her. Carefully, she tore the page from the book; wincing as she realized that this was the third precious book she defiled that day.

It's for a good cause, she reminded herself and tucked it away.

Elphaba replaced the Grimmerie to it's resting place almost reverently, wondering if it would be better to just take it with her. She decided against it though, she'd trusted Glinda with it because Glinda would need it now more than she. There was no reason to take it and betray that trust.

Her main goal was nearly complete now and there was only one thing left there to do. And that wouldn't get completed in the attic tower; she'd have to venture into the main building, with or without the charm.

She ducked into her hood again and made her way down from the room into the looming corridors of the Palace, wandering as quickly as she could through the halls looking for a trace of pink or any other clue that might have lead her to her friend's rooms.

The corridors were dark, and she met no one on her way through them but she stayed close to the walls and darted around corners anyway. She was nearly ready to give in and simply leave the necklace with the broom or Grimmerie in the attic when she came across an elaborate set of doors that exuded Glinda.

The elaborate handles were made of pink quartz and a twisted 'G' that must have been a lock of some kind was set above it. Elphaba decided there was no harm in peeking in to see if she was correct in her destination, she'd been lucky enough for the majority of the night. She pushed at the latch and the great doors swung open enough to allow her in.

Inside she found an elaborate and large room. A fireplace that held smoldering coals occupied most of the right-ish wall (the room was circular so she couldn't designate direction perfectly). Before her were elaborate glass doors, with trim to make it look like a large puzzle, loomed and she imagined they led to a balcony.

Finally to her left, her eyes fell upon the huge pink monstrosity that contained Glinda herself, sleeping soundly and snoring daintily. Elphaba smiled at the memory it brought. She'd once shared a room with an enormous pink bed (though not as extravagant as this by any means) and there had been many nights she'd been kept awake by that dainty snoring. It had seemed almost hellish at the time but now she only looked back with fondness, she supposed time and distance did that to memories.

Wraithlike Elphaba approached the bed, and it's sleeping contents. She stopped at the nightstand at silently lay the necklace on top of it, she fished out the page from the spell book, which had become a note paper as well, the message was simple:

I've been changed for good.

When she'd scrawled the words out she'd worried they wouldn't impress Glinda enough to keep it with her, but eventually decided they were plenty. The necklace itself wasn't extraordinary, especially when compared to any of the other accessories she knew her friend possessed. It was a tiny silver chain with miniscule pink beads; the charm was a tiny piece of green glass Elphaba had picked up in the Quadling Country at one point when she'd been an activist. It was the charm on the charm that was important, it was directly linked with her crystal ball, which Gwyn and Tiernan had managed to have salvaged from Kiamo Ko, and would allow her to keep an eye on her friend from a distance.

She didn't expect any trouble for Glinda, all of Oz loved her, but tables turned quickly she'd learned, and she wasn't going to risk leaving Glinda in a lurch. Especially if the would-be Good Witch didn't learn to use the Grimmerie properly. It was the kind of thing Fiyero would probably think silly, and also worry about if he knew she'd been close enough to the City to actually give it to Glinda. But Elphaba needed the connection to the only friend she'd ever had, whether or not she was supposed to be dead.

Elphaba stole another look at her friend, one for the road. Glinda didn't appear anymore worse for ware. She was sleeping peacefully enough; her perfect curls caught the moonlight and released it against the pillows, her skin flawless as ever and her expression smooth. In sleep, covered in pink from head to toe, literally, Elphaba imagined, Glinda looked like a little girl. Elphaba supposed neither of them were old enough to be grown up yet anyway. But daylight and duty aged them both beyond their years, it was only night that brought youth and innocence anymore.

Caught in her ruminations and reminiscing Elphaba failed to keep track of time. So when her gaze accidentally fell on the bedside clock she was startled to find she only had an hour to get home if she wanted to get back by sunrise.

She'd thought that finding the Grimmerie and getting the spell would be the hard part, but she found that leaving Glinda behind for the second time was the second hardest thing she'd ever done. Leaving her and Fiyero behind four years ago had been the first.

"Elphie," A tired, high-pitch voice spoke from below her.

Oh Oz, Elphaba thought. She'd been caught.

"You should have left the flower in, it was pretty. I told you pink goes good with green."

She's still asleep, she realized, daring to steal a glance at Glinda. She was surprised to find blue eyes staring back up at her, but they didn't hold much coherence.

"Go back to sleep, I'll wear it tomorrow." Elphaba assured her softly, attempting to make her fall back asleep. It worked; Glinda was out like a light clock tiks later.

Sad as she was to say goodbye once more Elphaba bid a silent farewell and slipped through the balcony door. Once on the balcony, she mounted her broom once more and flew as high as she could as fast as she could, the more familiar seat did seem to do her bidding a little better. Once she was high enough to be nothing but another dark spot between stars she raced toward the square and dive-bombed the Clock, remembering she didn't have the luxury of invisibility this time.

With no further mishaps though she disappeared through the clock for the final time, and then was off toward her new home.


A silvery streak was just forming over the Kells when she landed on the balcony that led to Fiyero's bedroom. She cautiously went inside, hoping he'd slept through the night and hadn't woken up still. She found him in nearly the same position she'd left him in, sleeping soundly.

Slipping into the bathroom she secured the broom behind her clothes and stripped from her outfit, replacing it and hoping nothing looked like it had been used. She slid back into her nightclothes and, armed with the page from the Grimmerie, went back into the room.

She discreetly made her way to Fiyero's side of the bed and unfolded the paper. Her last thoughts before she focused on the spell were prayers that Fiyero would wake up whole, and that he wouldn't wake up until the spell was over.

"Akele nemhan a mut a mut akele nemhan. Akele nemhan a mut a mut akele nemhan. Aqui digi teri um!" She chanted passionately, searching for that power she knew she possessed, the power that had turned him into a Scarecrow in the first place.

Nothing happened when she finished. Fiyero lay motionless except to snore, which he'd been doing to begin with. Elphaba's heart sank and she wondered if she ought to try again. This had to work; it was their last hope. Tears gathered in her eyes as she realized she'd failed him again. Her abilities had always caused more harm than good, and this would be the final testament to that.

One single tear barreled over her eyelashes obstinately, despite her attempts to keep it at bay. She half expected him to wake up at that moment but he remained in his oblivious slumber.

Defeated, depressed and absolutely exhausted from the effort to fight it all away she settled onto her side of the bed. She wasn't sure she deserved a side of the bed; she certainly hadn't managed to do anything to earn it, or his love, at all. But she was too broken and tired to care now. It didn't matter anymore.

When he woke up she'd have to tell him that she'd tried all she could and there was nothing else to try. She'd have to face that disappointment too, and then she'd leave. There wasn't anything else to do and she certainly wasn't going to remain and be the terrible reminder of the life that she'd stolen from him.

She didn't think she'd sleep, she didn't care. But finally the enervation overtook her and she succumbed to slumber, though it was far from blissful.

Hurry up and review so I can post the next chapter will ya, I hate cliff hangers just as much as you do. I haven't actually decided what to do about the predicament yet so input would be much appreciated. Theoretically more will be posted by Tuesday evening or Wednesday at the latest. Thanks for reading!