Ah another chapter. Sorry for the hold up but, well life has this tendency to get in the way. Anyone know a good obedience trainer?
Any who. Please review if you would be so kind.
Disclaimer: If I said yes would I get in trouble? No it's not mine, but I have a good imagination.
"We can't get in there."
"Yes we can, we just have to stow away on a train from Shiz, get off and away from the station as quickly as possible, and I know the way to Glinda's. Unless she's moved."
"This is never going to work."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Yes. Stay here and deal"
Elphaba and Fiyero had been doing exactly this for the past week. He suggested and she shot down. She saw some horrible tragedy or other in every step of his plan and he tried to reassure her. Needless to say it wasn't working out. They had been arguing almost constantly and both had won several rounds of this verbal jousting contest. This was the last time. The sudden death 'to go or not to go' and he had put too much effort into this to let go of it when the prize was so close.
Fiyero sighed "Fae really you have to stop being so negative about everything."He loved his wife, honestly he did, but sometimes she got on his nerves with that negative outlook of hers.
"Yero we are not going to pull this off. You act like it's easy to sneak onto a train. There are two Gale Forcers at every door. If we make it on then running o away from the train station won't be too hard, but I am green, and we have a three mile hike from the Shiz gate to Glinda's home. People aren't stupid enough to just go with walking talking green scarecrow."
Elphaba was pacing around the room visions of doom and destruction playing in her head. Not real visions, but her imagination was amazingly detailed and did her no favors.
"then we'll tie a rope around your neck and tell any one who asks that this farmer had some really tough crows, and I figured that a scarecrow made to look like the wicked witch of the west aught to scare anything with half a mind away" he said in such a way that Elphaba really couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
Fiyero was sitting at the kitchen table watching her go back and forth in front of him. She needed time to process everything go over every detail, and be completely sure. Then and only then would she go through with the plan.
"you're going to wear a rut in the floor at the rate your going darling"he said in a sarcastically sweet voice.
"the comment earned him a glare. "I do believe that i'm starting to rub off on you Yero" she said stopping her legs for a short moment.
Elphaba practically fell down into the chair opposite of Fiyero still stumbling every once in awhile. The transformation hadn't been very easy for her. He could see it in her posture; her back was as straight as a board, and the way her fingers were constantly fiddling with something. She was uneasy and couldn't do anything or go anywhere to take breather and get her mind off of it. She really was too conspicuous.
"Fae do you trust me" he asked. She gave him a side long glance with slightly hurt eyes.
"Yero I trust you. It's the rest of Oz that I don't trust. Yero if something happens, you can't stand for more than five minutes at a time, and you haven't been able to run since the night it happened. You would be in serious trouble if a Gale Forcer saw us." She pleaded for him to see reason to understand her fears.
"I didn't ask if you trusted Oz. I asked if you trusted me. Trust me to be able to protect you, and not have to get myself killed doing it. Elphie you said yourself that Glinda should know what happened more than anyone else. Now is your chance." He said grasping her hand.
That had been a slightly low blow but desperate times call for desperate measures. She was falling down the same hole of depression that he had been. Except it had taken him three years to get to where she was in one week. She looked about ready to rip her hair out in frustration, scream, and cry, or break something.
He looked directly at her. 'Come on just look me in the eye and I win this round.'
Elphaba looked up. Her unease showing showing in her flat black paint splotch eyes. She sighed.
"Alright just one more thought. What if we wait for Glinda to go around Oz and do her whole 'encouraging public figure' routine?"
"I told you, i went asking around, she's the throne minister now that the wizard has gone. She isn't going to be traveling Oz for a long time if at all" He said with what was left of his patience.
"Then when do we start this crazy plan of yours" she sighed caving finally. Fiyero smiled at least for now she was more willing to listen to ideas. He kissed her hand gently smiling. Soon they'd be like they had been three years ago only free from all the troubles that had plagued them in Oz. Husband and wife till death do they part, and that's only if death got exceptionally lucky.
"Early tomorrow morning so we can make it to the station before too many people get there, i'd rather be ahead of the crowds then in them."
Early the next morning the couple set out about an hour before dawn. Fiyero slung a rucksack over his shoulder (which held the sewing kit, some small provisions, and bandages because Fiyero was once again horribly disaster prone) and grasped Elphaba's hand tightly and walked seven miles through the Pertha Hills to the train station. They arrived at Station plaza in Frottica just as the gate was unlocked they and the first handful of people were allowed in. Fiyero took the cloak clad Elphaba (who had stuffed her hat in the inside pocket) by the hand and walked away from the small group filtering in.
"There are some small service hatches in the bottoms of the train cars. All we have to do is get underneath get it open and slip in" he whispered
"How do you know that? Have you ever even been on a train before" she hissed back.
"Yes Gale Force used to do security checks and go through them until I said that you wouldn't use a train you know with the whole flying broom stick and everything" he said lightly as they looked for a soon leaving Emerald City bound train. It wasn't exactly had to spot.
The picture of opulence it by far the biggest engine in the station, and was painted bright green with gold metal work. It gleamed almost proudly in the early morning sun filtering through the small windows at the top of the station.
'Now to get under the thing' thought Elphaba sourly. Things weren't looking great at this early stage of their journey and she didn't believe they were going to get much better as the trip progressed.
Fiyero walked calmly to the next to last car. Glancing quickly over his shoulder and to either side conspiratorially before slipping into the gap between the train track and the walking platform he held out his hand to help Elphaba down. That was crossing the line though. Elphaba slid down next to him and whispered "haven't you learned yet that chivalry gets you nowhere with me?"
Fiyero sighed and started looking for the hatch. His Fae just wasn't like many girls he had ever met, and come to think of it that was a good thing.
The space between the bottom of the train and the track itself was small, uncomfortably small if you happened to be crawling around on your hands and knees in a dress thought Elphaba. She looked quickly at the palm of her left hand and wasn't totally surprised to see straw starting to poke through. She sighed 'at this rate by the time we get to the emerald city there will be more stitches then fabric.'
Fiyero stopper abruptly and Elphaba crashed into him. He banged his head on a low slung piece of the undercarriage. "Ow" he yelped pressing a hand against his forehead.
A whistle blew somewhere on the platform. Fiyero grabbed the hatch's handle and yanked once twice and it refused to budge. "Fiyero both of us at once" she said grabbing hold of the handle. Being crushed by a train saw not on the agenda. "1..2..3" Fiyero grunted and Elphaba yanked and put every once she had into pulling it open. Fiyero put one hand on the bottom of the train to brace himself and pulled straining hos muscles.
Doors were closing above them, the trains whistle blew and the hatch door popped open like a cork from a bottle. Fiyero leapt in grabbed Elphaba by her wrists, hauled her into the box car with him, and slammed the floor hatch shut. Seconds later the train lurched forward and began the half a day journey towards the Emerald City.
Elphaba look over at Fiyero who was breathing hard and wearing an adrenalin smile. He flopped backward onto the floor and let out a wild laughed. Elphaba leaned back more gracefully and lay next to her husband.
"You know I think we make an excellent team" he said breathlessly still smiling. Elphaba slowly leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.
"Oh yes but next time we try this how about you don't crack your head on the train" she said matter-of-factly. Fiyero gave her a questioning look. He put his hand to his head and looked uncomprehendingly at his blood stained fingers for a moment before he remembered he had hit his head, and that the wet feeling on his forehead must be more blood. Whoops.
Elphaba pulled the little bag of first aid things from the rucksack and bandaged his head, and Fiyero sewed up the holes on her hands a knees. It was going to be a long trip she decided after Fiyero had fallen asleep.
She looked over at her husband lay asleep next to her under her cloak to keep the chill away. He looked so innocent when asleep like he was still a child. Elphaba smiled and curled up next to him proving a little more insulation to keep him warm. He was brilliant and his plan was pretty good, but she could not shake the feeling that something was going to happen. Feelings like this rarely turned out to be good things, but they were on the train and on their way so turning back was no longer an option. Elphaba draped her arm across Fiyero's chest and stared at the ceiling resigning herself to a day of complete and total boredom until Fiyero awoke. The sooner they got to the EC the better. This life as a scarecrow thing was maddening.