The night had long ago fallen and their dinners settled within their stomachs when Glinda finally decided on what to do. For most of the evening she had been considering whether to retire for the night or hold on just that little bit longer, but as the hours ticked on they brought her closer to her conclusion that rest was the best option. Beauty sleep and all that.
She was just on the verge of informing Murin that she would like to prepare for bed when a sound caught both of their attentions. A sharp, sudden sound, much like a particularly aggressive man chopping wood, (she loathed to mention it but she was just a small girl from a dairy farming village after all).
Then it sounded again. They froze in their movements – Murin by the fire a poker held in her hand, Glinda reclined in a chair nearby. The loud commotion that now echoed throughout the building showed no sign of stopping.
Slowly but surely they recognised the continuing sound as that of hammering on the house's front doors. Shortly after this realisation the sound halted abruptly.
Glinda found herself blinking in confusion at the door leading out of the room.
The lapse in silence lasted only a second.
It was not until the sounds of the ensuing argument echoed through the building that Glinda left her boudoir with the need to know what was happening, leaving behind a maid that was presumably petrified and wielding the poker as a weapon.
Members of the staff, some of which she was sure she had never seen before, emerged to see what was happening. They were pretending to work but Glinda could tell the difference as she walked past as slowly as she could manage – considering her concern – along the corridor.
As the wall gave way to the banister overlooking the entranceway she felt her heart skip a beat causing her breathing to falter. As she forced control over herself her heart began beating double time.
The butler, Adi, stood below attempting to control a very agitated looking figure, the house boy stood trembling away off near a door with which a member of the kitchen staff was using like a shield or barrier of protection, both of their eyes glued to the scene.
The figure they all appeared so cautious of craned their head upwards, the hood obscuring their features falling back to reveal just who Glinda feared it to be.
"Glinda!" The force in Elphaba's voice shook her from the daze the sceptical had instilled in her, re-energising her mind and her muscles.
Elphaba never talked like that.
With a swift movement Elphaba tried to sidestep around the man before with the clear intention of getting up the stairs. The butler made the mistake of trying to restrain her.
Glinda ran down the steps as fast as she could to intervene, stumbling over her skirts in the process.
"Don't touch me." Elphaba ripped her arm from the panicking man's hold.
Placing her body between the man and woman Glinda looked up at a shivering Elphaba, her chest heaved as she unconsciously reached to grip the strap of her bag. Glinda met her gaze; Elphaba looked back with wide, unseeing eyes.
Glinda had never seen her like this either, it caused a sharp and sudden ache to bloom within her chest.
Doing her best to ignore the sensation Glinda turned to look over her shoulder, "You should have been informed we would have a guest."
"But Lady Glinda!" Adi gasped out, his body tense and nostrils flared. The house boy was pulled by the scuff of his neck with a cry through the door to the kitchen.
"I will handle this." Glinda informed putting as much firmness as she could muster into her voice.
"But Lady –
Before he could finish she grabbed Elphaba's hand – shocked at the coldness of the skin – and pulled her towards the parlour.
"But Lady –
"I said I would handle this." The butler tugged at his collar, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he looked around in a panic.
Glinda ignored him as she pulled Elphaba into the parlour and continued tugging her until they stood before the lit fireplace.
She took a breath and a moment to allow her mind to catch up with what had just occurred. Her heart no longer hammering quite as fast.
It seemed bizarre to be standing in a silent room together after the commotion from moments ago still lingering in her ears.
None of the words that had been exchanged between Elphaba and Adi had made it into her memory, she could only assume what had happened but that was not nearly good enough.
She looked up in an attempt to meet Elphaba's eyes, her thumb running over the back of Elphaba's hand in an effort to warm the freezing skin up. And in part to comfort herself.
"Elphie what's happened?"
"I...I need my bag back." Elphaba's gaze turned to focus on the fire, the dip of her chin and her inability to look her in the eye bringing Glinda's attention back to the mixture of worry and panic within her.
"Don't avoid the question." Glinda grasped the hand within hers tighter, "What happened?"
"I need my belongings back." Despite the oddness of her behaviour, or perhaps due to it, Elphaba's voice remained even and yet frighteningly monotone.
She must have had her appointment, Glinda decided. Elphaba was too strong to be distraught over being refused or turned away.
Or perhaps something happened on the way back?
The ache in her chest twisted painfully like a dagger.
No. Elphaba was too strong.
"Elphie!" Her voice was sharp now, surprising even her.
Elphaba's head snapped back to face her, the flickering fire casting it half in shadow, the look could almost be called terrifying.
"Breathe Elphie. You need to relax," Glinda swallowed down the hard lump of panic for the minute, "we...we can talk about this later. Or in the morning. Okay."
She squeezed the hand she still held, just that minute realising she had never released her deathlike grip on it.
"No."
The bluntness of the refusal cut into Glinda's already fragile form like a knife, sharp enough that she released the hand she held and had to put some space between them.
The distance between them made Glinda's skin feel cold, or perhaps that was due to being further away from the fire. She folded her hands in an attempt to stop them shaking.
Elphaba's jaw was clenched now, her eyes boring into Glinda's own. They held that frightening hard sheen.
"I need my things." She abruptly turned with a swish of her cloak, the heavy material teasing the edges of the flames to their side.
Thinking quickly Glinda lunged forward grabbing a hold of Elphaba's arm in an effort to stop her; she staggered as she struggled to get in front of the taller and faster woman.
She just barely managed to halt her escape.
Glinda found herself breathing deeply, the corset she wore digging in and clearly being what affected her movement.
"Move Glinda." The warning in Elphaba's voice did not frighten her, what she was likely to do if she let her out of her sight however most definitely did.
Having caught her breath Glinda responded with a firm, "No."
She tilted her chin upwards in as defiant as gesture as she could manage at that moment, the weight of her dress seemingly doubled.
She flinched as sharp fingers dug into the sensitive skin of her arms.
With a gasp of her own doing the needle like feeling disappeared as suddenly as it had occurred.
Opening her eyes, (she had not realised she had squeezed them shut), she looked back up to see Elphaba staring wide eyed at one of her hands.
It fell to her side as she looked away, her hair falling to mask her expression, this time casting everything into shadow.
Glinda raised a hand and delicately rubbed the abused skin, crescent marks blemishing it. The marks would fade quickly.
What was happening in Elphaba's mind, however, would take some time.
Squaring her shoulders and straightening her posture Glinda stepped towards Elphaba; the taller woman's arms twitched but remained tightly at her sides.
She could so nothing but attempt to help.
"No." Dark eyes hesitantly locked with her own, the pupils larger than normal, "Elphaba, listen to me."
Glinda cupped the sides of Elphaba's face, forcing her unfocused eyes to clear, "You will not run off and do something altogether mad. You will stay here for the night and in the morning your head will be cleared and we can talk about this."
She could feel Elphaba's jaw clench even tighter beneath her fingers.
"Don't you dare refuse. You can hold out until tomorrow at least." Glinda was practically pleading by this point, the determination falling from her face as quickly as she managed to affix it there. Her hold on Elphaba was partly in an effort to calm her and partly in an effort to ground herself, "Promise me."
Elphaba's eyes – she now saw – held an unshed shimmer of wetness, Glinda used the pads of her thumbs to brush under her eyes. Just in case.
"Careful, you don't want to hurt yourself." Her voice was low and soft.
Glinda felt Elphaba relax, her muscles lessening if only by a fraction.
"Please Elphie, hold out for me."
She was well aware that Elphaba had always felt compelled to do as she wished; the event at Lake Chorge was enough proof of that. And while Glinda felt guilty for using that knowledge to her advantage – practically manipulating the woman before her – she would just have to bare the guilt and the pain.
Goodness knows she had done it before.
Elphaba's eyebrows squeezed together into a show of discomfort, she looked away as best as she could before returning her gaze to Glinda, the emotion in her eyes more controlled now.
"I don't make promises."
That made a smile spread across Glinda's face. As she redrew her hands Elphaba caught one and held it in place on her cheek, a look almost mirroring tenderness appearing in her eyes.
It vanished when she lowered their hands a much too short moment later.
Glinda twisted her hand to grasp Elphaba's in her own, savouring the moment for a few short seconds before pulling Elphaba with her once more. She was surprised when Elphaba followed her with no resistance.
She just needed to clear her head, then everything would be fine.
They left the parlour to find the entranceway empty. Now that was a shock. Though Glinda was more than thankful for it.
"A good wash will help you calm down." Glinda stated knowingly as she lead them up the stairs.
Elphaba snorted.
With a smile Glinda shook her head. The worry twisting within shrinking at that sign of Elphaba returning to her usual behaviour. If only for the moment.
"Do you have your –
"Yes."
"I was just asking, I could have leant you some. I still could lend some if you would like."
She was not concerned by the lack of people just curious.
They're probably gossiping somewhere like usual.
"That is not necessary." A beat of silence followed, "I don't want to smell like harlot's chambers."
Glinda's eyes widened and her free hand rose to her chest.
She turned her head to see Elphaba more easily, "And I suppose you would know all about that wouldn't you?"
"I expected a wittier comeback than that." Elphaba replied looking thoroughly amused, a look that truly warmed Glinda's heart.
"And just how do you expect me to retort to that." The things she could come out with!
"It was a jest. Your scent is wonderful."
"Your humour is getting worse in your old age." Glinda sighed, but not in agitation, as they stood at the top of the stairs.
"And you wit is deteriorating faster than even that." Elphaba's lips twitched into a small smile and Glinda felt the last dregs of anxiousness melt away. That was definitely more like it! "Just don't lose your charm."
How quickly she had returned back to her usual behaviour, Glinda just hoped it was not a mask. Elphaba could be quite skilled at those.
"Come on you mean thing." Glinda said with a tug of her arm.
"Like I have a choice."
She led Elphaba to her wing of the house, past the guest washroom and towards her own room.
Elphaba needed complete privacy.
"Where are you taking me? The room was back – what are you planning Lady Glinda?"
"Shush you. And stop over exaggerating words like that." Glinda scolded with a confident tilt of her head, "I thought you would prefer the space and the complete privacy you should have in my bathroom."
"My, you are thoughtful aren't you?"
"It depends." Glinda turned and softly slapped Elphaba's arm, "And don't get smart with me either."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Glinda responded with a small snort of her own.
Once safely in her room and the door firmly closed. Glinda motioned to the door opposite her bed, (where was Murin? The maid should have still been there, not that Glinda was complaining).
"There's the bathroom. I'll get you your oils."
Elphaba raised an eyebrow.
"I said not to get smart." Glinda said with her eyes narrowed jokingly, "You just get ready."
"Just how ready can I get?"
"Elphie." Glinda admonished to which Elphaba looked completely unfazed, "Just do what you need to."
Shaking her head Glinda left her room and made her way swiftly to the guestroom nearby.
The guestrooms in her wing of the house were rarely used and it showed in the furnishings of the one she now stood in – once she had managed to turn the gas lighting on that is. She had been in the guestrooms even less than they had been used.
The black bag stood out starkly on the cream coloured sheets; as far as she could remember Elphaba still had her shoulder bag with her. She should have brought it to the room while she was heading there, it would have been helpful.
Oh well.
Closing the door behind her she moved to the bed and unclasped the bag. She was greeted by the sight of a few clothing items, it was as she stood surveying the depths of the bag that it occurred to her Elphaba had packed for more than one night. It might not appear like that to another but unlike others she had seen Elphaba's packing before.
What has she been planning?
It made Glinda all the more certain Elphaba would attempt to pull off some mad scheme or at least something dangerous to herself if she did not reign her in.
Great, now I'm making her sound like a horse.
Glinda shook her head refocusing on the task at hand.
Moving some of the items to the side Glinda found herself unsure what was what, so she took out any bottle in her sight. There were only a few but they were tightly packed. As she carefully took them out and laid them gently on the sheets of the bed a glimmer of green caught her eye.
Oh it's that strange bottle again.
Elphaba carried it with her? She had never pictured her as sentimental. If anything she never dwelled on memories, the future – and she supposed the present – were what was important to her.
When Glinda had removed the bottle from the bag she felt oddly compelled to hold it up to the light. It appeared to have only a small drop of liquid in it – something she had not noticed the first time she had held it – why keep something that had no use? Careful not to damage the peeling label she returned it to the depths of the bag and quickly gathered up the bottles she had already retrieved in one arm.
Once she managed to return to her room, (it was harder to manage fiddly items than she had thought, it almost made her feel bad for making people carry things for her), she handed the bottles to the waiting Elphaba.
When she had entered the room Elphaba had been standing before her bedroom windows, the curtains bunched in her hand as she looked past the balcony and into the darkness of the night. She had taken a moment to register Glinda had returned.
"Go on then." Glinda rubbed her hands together, "You get cleaned up and I will get you something to eat. Now don't go telling me you aren't hungry. You will eat."
Elphaba did not even attempt to retaliate to her order.
"Don't you mean get your Chef to cook something?"
"Yes, yes, now shoo." Glinda waved her hands in the direction of the bathroom door.
Elphaba released an exaggerated sigh as she faced the door; she remained still until Glinda shoved the back of her shoulders.
She caught the smile that had returned to Elphaba's face just as she disappeared into the bathroom.
"No meat." Elphaba called through the door after a second.
"Yes I know," Glinda called back as she moved to leave the room.
As she started on her trip to the kitchen she found herself mumbling, "No meat, no Meat, Animal, animal."
It all sounded the same.
That was the problem.
Elphaba had left her folded cloak on the back of the chair at Glinda's vanity; luckily Glinda had the foresight to hide it beneath the bed along with her shoulder bag before Murin returned.
She had shyly poked her head around the corner of the bedroom door and apologised for being away for so long. As usual she had helped her prepare for the night but Glinda ensured she sent the maid away earlier than usual, citing she should have some time to herself.
She was thankful Elphaba did not need running water. That would have been difficult to explain.
Murin bowed her head and thanked her and as she opened the door to leave one of the Kitchen maids appeared with a covered dish in her hands.
"You're food Lady Glinda."
She thanked the kitchen maid before she disappeared back downstairs, which was just after Murin relieved her of the dish. She asked the maid to put it somewhere before she finally left the room.
Like clockwork Elphaba came out of the bathroom just after she left, her hair pulled back and the bottles held in one arm.
"You took longer than expected."
"Which was a good thing judging from what I heard."
"I never pictured you as the type to press her ear against a door."
"I'm not, you're all just loud."
"That isn't always a bad thing."
"I suppose not," Elphaba replied with a twitch of her lips.
Glinda felt quite exposed with only the suddenly flimsy feeling nightdress to cover her. She tugged at her sleeves in a childish movement.
The plate, (which she found contained some potatoes, a sauce and a mixture of vegetable), sat on the bedside cabinet nearest Glinda. It was truly amazing what the cook could magic up at any time of the day.
"Here's...here's some food. It's should still be warm." She slipped off the bed, picking up the plate in the process and held it out to Elphaba.
With a roll of her thin shoulders Elphaba used her head to motion to her arms.
"Just dump them on the bed, it'll be alright."
Elphaba did just that only a bit more gently than Glinda suggested. She removed the lid of the plate and clearly intended to leave it on the rug.
Glinda jumped forward and took the lid and placed it back on the bedside cabinet.
The lights had been turned off as they always were by that point in time leaving the room lit only by the cackling fire.
It gave everything a mysterious air which would have been uncomfortable if not for the scent of burning wood; it blanketed the room with a pleasant feeling though it did little for Glinda's nervousness.
"Won't you're husband be arriving soon."
"He has his own half of our home; it's the way of the upper classes." Glinda sat back on the edge of the bed, curling her legs up underneath her.
"A waste of space if you ask me." Elphaba responded, stabbing at a potato.
"And I assume Colwen Grounds is not spacious, I guess it doesn't have more rooms than there are people?" Glinda queried actually rather interested in Elphaba's true home.
"I wouldn't know. I wasn't there long."
"Oh, of course." She ran her hands over one another in embarrassment; she had known that and for some reason felt bad for bringing it up again. Elphaba did not want to go back there anytime soon unlike Glinda, she would love to return home to see her parents.
Elphaba's face scrunched at the plate of food, she was clearly only eating it to entertain her.
The fork scratched against the plate.
The fire spat.
And Glinda felt everything come back and settle heavily on her shoulders. She tilted her head back and squeezed her eyes shut.
She felt rather than heard Elphaba move. A sound to her immediate right signalled a plate being placed down.
She opened her eyes to find Elphaba staring at her with a look of concern.
Glinda shuffled further back on the bed wanting nothing more than to curl up underneath the blankets, "I know I should have offered to go with you."
A crease formed between Elphaba's eyebrows as she folded her arms.
"I thought you were going to leave this until morning."
She could be gone come morning.
"I should have." She was speaking to herself now, her voice low and quiet, "If I had gone with you than what ever happened would not have."
"I would have refused." The crease smoothed, softening Elphaba's features, "The Wizard is not a man you should have to meet, let alone work for."
Glinda did not bite instead choosing to focus on the beginning of Elphaba's sentence. The Wizard, so it was her meeting with him that distressed her so.
Perhaps it was a good thing I did not go, I would not have been able to take a step without an escort. That would have definitely made things worse.
"Perhaps then that would have been the right thing to do, I would have only made things worse. But please tell me you did not get into one of your debates with him." That could only end badly, he could forgive someone for overstepping their boundaries, but Elphaba was not one to step back once she crossed the aforementioned boundary. Whether physical of not.
"Things could not have been any worse." Now it was Elphaba's turn to tilt her head back. She remained that way for a painfully long moment before she lowered her gaze back to Glinda's, her jaw clenched, "He's a fraud. He must be. There was something not right in there, perhaps the rain was created through Sorcery I don't know enough. But I know there is something not right about it all, it feels...wrong."
"Rain? Then he used the same show when I first met him." She had heard of different shows when he met someone, a monstrous beast, a giant head. But she had only seen the one.
"So you admit it."
"I admit nothing. I was just informing you that what you saw was a show. It was not that difficult to figure out; there were gutters along the floor." For once Elphaba looked clueless.
Right, Elphaba knew little about Sorcery.
"Think of it this way, spells can be maintained outside of a...let's call it a bubble surrounding the user. To maintain the spell takes a portion of constant concentration and energy, if he was focusing on generating more rain then he would not be able to maintain the water that passed out of the bubble. So either he is extraordinarily powerful or he instead uses some sort of tiktoc device to provide the water and catch it. Like the fountain near the city centre."
"So he knows no Sorcery?"
"That is not what I am saying. He has done other things to the contrary and I don't believe him to be powerless, why waste energy on showing off? He is a –
"Trickster."
– showman." Glinda stressed the word, "He needs to create an impression. That is all."
"Why defend him?" Elphaba asked with narrowed eyes.
"I am not defending anyone Elphie." Glinda manage to sigh.
"I disagree." She responded with a voice that was steadily rising.
"Elphaba please." The woman in question turned her head, the cords in her neck standing out even in the shadowy light.
"He refused to take my evidence seriously, I know he passed the laws but surely with everything I gave him he could see something wrong in his methods. But he could, or would not. Apparently a scapegoat is just what he needs." Elphaba spat the word, her eyes falling into shadow.
"And you argued back."
Oh Elphie what have you done.
"Of course. I wasn't just going to stand there." Elphaba turned back and Glinda found herself regretting not leaving this discussion until morning, "The only problem now is that he is after me."
"What?"
Glinda felt her stomach drop.
"I refused to hand over my findings to a person who would sooner see them destroyed than use them. I refused to stand down to him."
Now she could see her eyes free of shadow she saw they had become darker and almost frightening.
"Elphie." Glinda's voice was weak, what could she do?
"No. I know what has to be done, I won't –
"One more day Elphie, please. You are safe here." Glinda rose to her feet. She would need to think quickly if she was going to fix the mess Elphaba had made.
"For how long? When will the servants or your husband hand me in? The news is probably already being spread."
"They won't! I won't let them!" Glinda found herself clutching at the front of Elphaba's clothing in one desperate move; she snatched her hands back before they could betray her.
"Think Glinda. Think of what you are saying."
"I won't let them!" She reaffirmed.
She ducked by the bed and retrieved Elphaba's cloak and bag and pressed them into her arms, then with a brief pause laid her hand on one bony shoulder and felt it immediately relax beneath her fingertips.
"Okay?"
There was a tense moment between them before Elphaba gave a short jerky nod. Still, an agreement none the less.
It soothed her frayed nerves just that little bit.
"My plans have been changed; I was due to make a donation to an Orphanage in Munchkinland."
"In spite of what is happening?" She was not entirely sure Elphaba was listening to her but she responded regardless.
"Precisely because of what is happening. I quite enjoy charity work."
Elphaba did not even react. Glinda tried not to let her panic get to her, she would deal with that when alone.
"I'll have to make some excuse of being ill or something. I can't just leave you."
Not to mention you'll probably run of to do something foolish if I left you.
Elphaba's jaw tensed along with her shoulders.
No, she would definitely run off.
She squeezed her shoulder and once again felt the tenseness disappear.
Perhaps she was being manipulative, but this was for Elphaba's own good, she had to be.
"Now get some rest. Everything will be alright." Hesitating Glinda stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Elphaba in a short embrace, she hated to admit it but she could not help herself. She would have lingered longer in spite of her nervousness and state of near undress but thought it best not to.
She saw Elphaba to the guestroom closest to her own, ensured she was securely in the room and, after throwing on a dressing grown to cover herself with, headed towards the east wing of the house.
She needed to speak to Sir Chuffrey even if it was late. If he was home that was. She had been sure he had been home – he had been present at dinner – but why then had the commotion not captured his attention earlier?
That did not matter now. She just needed to find Sir Chuffrey and explain to him what had occurred before someone else did, he would listen to her. But if the news reached him before she had the chance to talk to him who knows what would happen.
