Author's Note: So, I thought I should say something after last chapter, but I didn't won't to dilute its ending, so I decided this was the appropriate place to communicate with all of you who are reading. First of all, I really appreciate all the reviews I have received. Thank you so much for taking the time to review my story. Also, I want to throw out a thank you to my betas Lady Tigelaar and HaChosenOne. They are the absolute best, and they are the ones who keep encouraging me to keep writing and always make sure my chapters come out right. So, thank you so much you two! And, for the story, I'm not promising anything. Just bear that in mind with anything I put up from this point on. And, I'm about to start rambling, so read and review!
Fiyero sighed as he looked across the grass that went on forever. He had just been wandering around the past two days, unable to commit himself to any direction because the one place he wanted to go, he couldn't. So, all he had managed to do was to get thoroughly lost, and he was hoping to stumble on some form of civilization eventually. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he put his head down and kept trudging forward.
Gabriel looked out over the grasslands that stretched to the horizon and evaluated the current amount of supplies he had left. He and his men had searched throughout the Vinkus for the Scarecrow, but they had not managed to find him. He was starting to think that he was searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack, and the other soldiers were complaining about the continuous search. Taking a drink of his water, Gabriel decided that they could keep going for one more day before they would need to go back to the Emerald City. Suddenly, one of his scouts ran up, gasping for breath.
"Sir, we've spotted the Scarecrow," the man said quickly.
Gabriel jumped up and grabbed his gun, "Take me to him."
The scout nodded his head and set off at a brisk pace with Gabriel right on his heels. A few minutes later, they stopped, and the scout pointed to a small moving figure.
"I don't think he's seen us yet, sir," the man said quietly.
"Good. Stay here," Gabriel commanded as he continued to walk in the Scarecrow's direction. Keeping a loose grip on his gun, he called, "Scarecrow!"
Fiyero jerked his head up at the sound of a man's voice, and a small jolt of fear shot through him at the sight of the familiar green uniform.
Resisting the urge to run, Fiyero said, "What does the Gale Force want with little old me, Captain?"
"Lady Glinda sent us to find you," Gabriel replied, stopping a few feet short of the Scarecrow.
"And what have I done that would require Lady Glinda to send out so many men to find me?" Fiyero asked warily, keeping one eye on the captain's gun.
Gabriel shrugged, "As far as I know, you haven't done anything. Lady Glinda just wishes to talk to you."
Fiyero nodded his head, "All right. Lead the way, Captain."
Gabriel grinned, "My name is Gabriel. And yours is?"
"I'm just the Scarecrow," he replied. "I've never had any other name."
Nodding his head, Gabriel motioned for Fiyero to follow him and headed back to the small camp. The other soldiers beamed at the sight of the Scarecrow, and they all began to make small preparations to pack up their belongings so they would be ready to leave as soon as possible.
Gabriel motioned around the camp, "You can stay wherever you want until we leave tomorrow morning. Do you eat or sleep?"
Fiyero shook his head, "No, that's the one good thing about being me. I don't need anything."
Gabriel laughed, "Well, I guess you can do whatever you want."
With a parting smile, Gabriel walked off and started to talk with a couple of the other soldiers. Fiyero looked around the camp and settled down on the ground. This was a complication he had not seen coming, and he wasn't sure he would be able to keep his identity a secret from Glinda for a very long period of time. He closed his eyes and stretched out on the ground as he allowed his mind to float far away.
Glinda took a deep breath as she paced her study. Gabriel had just arrived with the Scarecrow, and she was terrified.
"My lady?" Gabriel asked as he walked inside the room.
"Where is he?" she asked him, placing a steadying hand on the chair beside her.
"We left him in your receiving chamber," Gabriel replied. "He didn't seem dangerous, and he was carrying no weapons."
Glinda nodded her head, "Thank you, Gabriel. If you would not mind standing outside of the room alone in case I need you, I will go see him now."
"I will be happy to assist you," he told her, taking her arm and leading her gently out of the room.
Her head spun with fear and worry as she walked to where the Scarecrow waited. When she reached the doorway, she paused for a moment and composed herself as much as she could before walking inside.
"Hello," she said quietly when she saw him standing across the room from her.
He looked up and smiled, "Good afternoon, Lady Glinda. I'm honored to be called into your presence."
She waved his compliment away, "I have some questions for you."
"I'll do my best to answer them," he replied, his expression turning grave.
"What do you remember of your life before Dorothy found you?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Not much. Just, I spent a long time hanging there, and I wasn't very good at scaring away the crows."
She frowned, "You see, there was a man, Fiyero Tiggular, who was hung on poles in the same cornfield where you were found, and his body was never removed from the field. Do you know anything about that?"
His eyes widened slightly, but he shook his head, "I have no idea, my lady, about what you are referring to. Maybe you are mistaken…"
"I have accounts that record that he was tortured in your field and left there to die," she interrupted, her mouth setting into a hard line. "I will not tolerate being lied to. I will have the truth, one way or another."
He stared at her for a long time as she kept eye contact, his brilliant blue eyes unnerving her. Finally, he let out a small sigh.
"I do know what happened to him," he said quietly. "It's me, Glinda."
She let out a little gasp of surprise and the blood drained from her face as his words sunk in. She took a slow step forward, her hand reaching out to touch him.
"Fiyero?" she whispered, seeing the similarities as she studied his face. "What happened?"
Giving her a small smile, he said, "Elphaba used a spell to save my life, and it turned me into a Scarecrow."
"But you were a Witch Hunter," she replied. "How could you…did she…"
He quickly took a step forward as she shrank from him in horror.
"No, Glinda, it's not what you think," he told her. "I was trying to help her, and I wanted to make sure Dorothy wasn't hurt in the whole mess either. So, I went with the Witch Hunters."
"Elphaba, did she die?" Glinda asked, her voice growing very small.
Closing his eyes, he nodded his head, "I couldn't save her. And, I didn't know what to do, so I tried to disappear."
A few tears slipped out of her eyes as she tried to hold back the raging sob that tried to escape her lips. Slowly, he wrapped his straw arms around her, and she fell apart as a guttural moan tore out of her. He rocked her gently as she wept, clinging to him. At the sight of her absolute despair, his heart broke, and he saw how much she had changed since he last saw her. There were shadows under her eyes and she looked older and harder, just like Elphaba. The thought of Elphaba twisted in his gut like a knife, and he closed his eyes against his own pain. Slowly, Glinda dried her tears and let go of him.
"You're going to need somewhere to stay," she told him quietly. "I put Boq in a room on the third floor, and you can have one beside him if you want."
"Wait, Boq?" he asked, confusion spreading over his face.
"Boq is the Tinman," she replied. "You heard his story when he was leading the Witch Hunters. Do you mind if I put you in a room beside his?"
"No, I guess not," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
She gave him a small smile, "Good. I know you don't need sleep or food, but I feel a little better knowing that both of you will have somewhere to go if you want to be alone. Just, don't tell him who you are. In fact, don't tell anyone, for that matter. There are still a lot of people who see you as a traitor, and I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Don't worry about me," he told her. "But, I won't. I promise."
She took his hand and squeezed it slightly as she led him out of the room.
"Thank you, Gabriel," she said quietly as she walked off.
He gave her a smile and nodded his head at Fiyero, his smile still remaining.
"Does he know?" Fiyero asked Glinda as they walked away from Gabriel together.
She nodded her head, "I think so, but we don't talk about it with so many words. The walls still have ears, and it's just not safe."
He just walked beside her in silence until she stopped.
"Well, here it is," she said. "It's not much, but I think it will do."
Walking inside, he examined the small room and smiled, "It's fine, Glinda. Thank you."
"I have to go, Fiyero," she told him. "I have so much that I have to do today because there just hasn't been enough rain in Oz, and I'm trying to work out a plan to fix the problem. I'll try to come and see you tonight."
"All right," he replied, settling into a chair as she left.
He tried to relax, but he soon got up and wandered over to the window. Looking out over the city, he realized once again how amazingly beautiful the Emerald City was and felt a jerk of pain as he thought of Elphaba once again. He was starting to wonder if he had made the best decision, but when he remembered the way she was slowly unraveling, he knew that there had been no other way. That still didn't make the pain go away, and he turned away from the window.
Elphaba stared up at the ceiling from the bed. She had destroyed half the house before she realized how little he had left behind and she had then retreated to the bedroom. She had lost count of the hours that had passed. She should have known, should have seen it coming. He was never going to stay because he just couldn't stay. It went against nature, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't change the fact that he just didn't belong with her. A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away with a listless hand. Somehow, life would move on, and she was going to wait until it did because she just wasn't strong enough to make things change on her own. She couldn't live without him.
