(AN: Thank you so far for the reviews. To ms. helfire, that is part of her own indecision. She likes both of them, but knows that she can only love one of them, and is somewhat torn. [it's part of my plan for creating some 'fireworks' later on, since, if there is a corn-field scene, it won't be the same one from the musical].)
The Cave
"We have to pack light, remember that," Fiyero said.
"Why?" Glinda asked for the hundredth time as they pushed open the doors into her apartment.
"Because only the two of us will be going," he returned. "Only take what you can carry."
Oh, when did he get so bossy?
They started packing things from her room. Unfortunately, Glinda did not have much in the way of clothing that were fit for a long journey, especially one on the run. Fiyero had opened her wardrobe and started pulling everything out of them. Glinda threw herself on the bed with a slight flump.
Her thoughts were so flustered. Why did I say yes to this? What are we going to do once we leave and, worse yet, if we're even lucky enough to find Elphaba? She had been gaga about Fiyero since she first met him, but that seemed like the right thing to do. Rich, high society Gilikinese girls were supposed to find a rich man to marry, and Fiyero was exactly that...and handsome to boot.
But Glinda felt horribly torn, between what society expected of her and what she felt was something true and meaningful. Her attachment for Fiyero, she noticed with surprise, had faded since she first met him. It was now vague and different, like a toy that a child wants and begs to have, only to find it quite useless and in the way once she had acquired it. Eventually, she knew, she would have to make a choice, between the one her soul-mate and the 'handsome suave'.
Oh, why am I always in these situations?
In the end, there was nothing in Glinda's expansive wardrobe that Fiyero thought would be needful on a long, hard journey. Nevertheless, he found a traveling suit-case and packed in the most expensive dresses he could think of. These were also quite large, so he could only fit three or four into the suitcase.
Once done, he took Glinda by the hand and led her out of the Palace and into the city proper. He found the nearest pawn shop, pawned the dresses and used the money to buy Glinda a pair of traveling clothes. Of course, it was all in green - everything in this city was a hideous, nauseatingly overwhelming shade of green - but the clerk said that it was top-of-the-line, good stuff. Fiyero tried to pick the nicest looking clothes (by his tastes), but also those that were efficient, not just pretty.
"We're not getting them for looks," he told Glinda. "We're getting them because you need traveling clothes."
She just nodded, feeling happy that someone else was making the hard decisions for her. Life was easier when all she had to do was just nod and say yes.
The rest of the day, they walked out of the Emerald City, the western horizon as their compass. They had not gone beyond a mile from the city walls when Glinda suddenly came to a halt. Fiyero turned around.
"What is it?"
"I can't do this," she whined.
"What do you mean?"
"It's my shoes!" she pouted.
He scoffed. "What about the hiking boots I bought you?"
"They're ugly!"
"But you won't kill your feet wearing them!"
Glinda sighed in resignation, then plopped herself onto the ground. Fiyero tore off the heels, then took up the boots and placed them on Glinda's hose-clad feet.
"Better take these with us," Fiyero said, holding up the heels.
"Why?" Glinda asked.
"If we leave them," he said. "Then someone will know we've been this way." He got up, then helped Glinda to her feet and took off towards the west.
"Wait a minute, why would we be followed?"
"Let me see," he said. "We left our 'surprise' engagement party without telling anyone where we're going - you're the Wizard's 'Ambassador of Goodness' and I'm the Captain of the Gale Force. Yeah, nobody's gonna miss us!"
Glinda sighed, then walked after Fiyero. She looked down at her feet and noticed that they were not screaming up in protest. These boots might be ugly, she thought, but they were made for traveling. She laughed aloud.
"What's wrong?"
"I just had this funny thought," Glinda said. "Of Elphaba in heels." She smiled. "She always wore boots like these, I don't think she'd be able to walk in high heels."
Fiyero chuckled. "You know, sometimes I think you were born in high heels, Glinda."
"No need to be unfashionable," she returned. "One must always look their best, as Momsy always told me."
They walked on in silence for a few more minutes.
"What about when it gets dark?" Glinda asked. "Can't we stop at an inn or something?"
"There aren't many inns out in the west," Fiyero said. "But I don't think the Scrow or Yunamata would be interested in letting us stay in their homes, not with me with you."
"Yuna-whata?" Glinda asked.
"The other Vinkus tribes," Fiyero said. "We're not united, we in the west. It's still quite lawless, that's why fugitives often hide out here."
"I see. And, uh, what tribe do you belong to?"
"Arjiki."
"You all have such strange-ified names!"
"Well," he smiled. "I'm sure there'd be people out here that would think Arduenna or Thropp are odd names in themselves."
Silence once again.
"But what about when night falls?"
"We'll camp out under the stars," Fiyero answered. "It wouldn't be the first time I did."
"Oh," she nodded. More silence, just the pounding of their feet upon the earth.
"Glinda?"
"Hm?"
"Do you really want to marry me?"
"Why would you ask that, Fiyero?"
He turned around.
"I..." he paused, trying hard to pick his next words. "What I mean is that you proposed to me and I haven't given you my answer yet. I want to know if you're really adamant about this."
"I, uh," she hesitated. "I mean, the Wizard did say that it would make the people happy and everything."
"But is it what you really want? Will it make you happiest?"
She did not want to answer him fully. Did he still love her, even after all these years? If so, he would probably not be pleased if she told him the truth. But what if Elphaba did not want her either? Where would that leave Glinda if she told her whole heart to Elphaba and she said no?
"I..." she sighed. "I don't know! I mean, we had a good thing going on back at Shiz, right? Why wouldn't it work out now?"
She didn't believe a word of what she said. Or did she?
She was in a long, dark hallway, made of stone. Cold and lifeless were the walls around where she stood. Some will other than her own was dragging her forward, toward something she did not exactly know. She saw a dark figure, crouched over something that was glowing violet.
Oh no, not again!
"Elphie!" she cried out.
But the thing that answered her was not her Elphaba, not the one she knew. Something was terribly wrong. Two red eyes were glaring out at her from the darkness and then she was falling. The walls of stone disappeared and she fell forever.
So far down...
She awoke with a start, her chest heaving and a cold sweat upon her forehead.
"Glinda, what's wrong?"
"Wrong?" she breathed.
"Well, you were screaming just a few minutes ago," Fiyero returned.
"I..." Was it all just a dream? "I thought I was falling."
"You scared me for a second, there!" Fiyero exclaimed. "Thought we were being attacked."
She laughed uneasily. They were out in the middle of nowhere-land Vinkus, east of the river and west of the City.
"Hey!" Fiyero suddenly called out. "You there!"
Glinda turned around and saw a figure clad in black, making a quick escape into the darkness.
"Come back here!"
"Fiyero, what is it?"
He reached into their camp-fire, braving the intense heat, and brought out a flaming branch. With this in hand, he ran off toward the running figure. Glinda rose up and ran after him. Her travel skirt was slashed and could make running easier. But then again, Glinda did not run like a man and was being out-ran by Fiyero and the darkened figure.
"Wait for me!"
The light from his torch was not much, but it showed something of the ground and gave Glinda a light to follow. She made the best she could, and stumbled over a few rocks in her path. The earth beneath her feet must be getting more and more rough.
"Shh!" Fiyero called back. "I saw it go that way!" He pointed to the darkness. With a wave of the torch-brand, Glinda saw the side of the hill drop off into what looked like the mouth of a cave.
They both turned into the mouth of the cave and started walking inside.
"Whoever you are, hold it right there!" the voice of an old woman called out from the darkness of the cave. "I'll hex you if you come any closer!"
"Who are you?" Fiyero asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Just an old Gilikin woman," the voice said. "On holiday here in Winkie land, when I heard that pretty little thing cry out. Is she alright?"
"Yes, I am," Glinda returned. "But still, who are you?"
"Are you armed?"
"No," Fiyero shook his head. Why did he say that, Glinda wondered.
"Alright, come here now."
They slowly walked into the darkness of the cave, Fiyero's torch in hand and Glinda's palms sweaty with fear.
"Name's Mombi," the old woman said, as the light began to fall upon her. Glinda saw that she was rather bent and very old-looking; in fact, she made Fishy-faced Madam Morrible look not that bad by comparison.
"I've heard rumors about you," Glinda said. "You're a sorceress, a witch!"
"And you are a long way from Gilikin, my pretty," the old woman returned.
"I didn't think you'd ever leave either!"
"What I do with my free time is my business!"
"Sorry to disturb you," Fiyero said. "I think we'll just be going."
"Have you seen a witch?" Glinda asked.
"A witch?" Mombi cackled.
"Well," Glinda continued. "She's not exactly a witch. She's a fugitive, but the people of Oz call her a witch. She's dressed in black, flies a broom and has a big black hat."
Another sickly cackle. "Sounds like a witch straight out of a story book!"
"She's very special to us," Fiyero added.
"Us?"
"She had a big book with her," Glinda added. "A magic book."
Silence filled the cave. This did not seem good, though.
"Did it happen to have purple pages?"
"How did you know?" Glinda admitted without thinking.
"It's the Grimmerie, dearie!" Mombi laughed. "But you'd have to be Lurline yourself to find it. That book's been lost for almost a century! And good riddance too!"
"What do you mean?"
"There's something...unnatural about that book, clear as mud."
"How do you know?"
A mocking laugh followed. "Unlike you, ducky, I know how to hold my tongue."
There was an explosion and an acrid smell of sulfur. No more breathing from the third person. Fiyero and Glinda stepped out of the cave, rather weary.
Glinda, however, was shivering. The witch's old words seemed to confirm her worst fears, everything she had been afraid of since she first saw Elphaba take up that horrendible book.
(AN: Elphaba's up for the next chapter. But I don't want to rush this story along too much, there's got to be some more suspenseful chapters.)
