"When you got cut you said you were fine," Fiyero muttered as he tied a bandage around the green girl's middle.
"I am fine," Elphaba growled stubbornly through gritted teeth.
"Elphie that's a bad wound," Glinda chastened. "You've got to tell us when you're hurt."
"It's really nothing," the witch insisted, attempting to stand up. She winced and fell back to the ground. The foursome had escaped into a large secret cave, the entrance of which was concealed by a curtain of hanging leaves. Inside the floor was carpeted with thick moss. All in all the 'bunker' was quite comfortable.
"Why do you have such a problem with people taking care of you?" the blonde witch chirped in exasperation.
"Because it's stupid for you to take care of me when I don't need to be taken care of," the green girl hissed.
"Everyone needs to be taken care of sometimes," Fiyero told her softly. "You don't always have to be the strong one." Elphaba averted her eyes; she'd heard that before.
"She's gonna have to be the strong one," Caya announced, entering the cave. A newspaper was clutched tightly in one hand. "Madame Morrible has informed the public that Glinda the Good was kidnapped by the Wicked Witch of the West. She knows about Fiyero too. That scumbag has proclaimed herself the temporary ruler of Oz until Glinda's rescued."
"Well we've got to regroup and make a new plan," the Winkie prince sighed. "Elphaba's not going to be fit enough to fight anytime soon."
"We can't just sit here coming up with ideas while Brrr and the others sit locked away in cages!" Caya shrieked. "Do you know how scared Brrr is of cages? He was scarred by what happened to him when he was a Cub. Every time he hears the word 'cage' he just about has a panic attack."
"We'll get them out soon," Fiyero reassured the agitated Tiger. "But it won't do them any good if we get captured too." With a huff of aggravation Caya stomped to a corner and flopped down.
"What's gotten into her?" Glinda wondered.
"She loves Brrr," Elphaba explained. "People snap when the ones they care about are in danger. I know that from experience." The green girl shifted a little closer to Fiyero as she spoke.
"We've got to get out of here," the Winkie prince decided. "Morrible will have men turning this area upside down searching for you."
"That'll be simple," Elphaba scoffed. "The broomstick can fit four if we squeeze."
"You're in no shape to walk let alone fly," Glinda insisted. "We've got to find another way." And at that moment another way presented itself.
"M..iss El..pha?" came a stuttering voice from outside the cave. "Are y..you in there?"
"Chistery!" the witch exclaimed, a smile lighting her face. "Chistery we're in here." The flying Monkey stumbled into the cave, his cumbersome wings getting caught in the leaves. "It's so good to see that you're speaking better!" the green girl told her old friend.
"Yes I've been pract..icing," Chistery told her proudly. His concerned eyes took in Elphaba's wound. "What happ..ened?"
"The Gale Force," Fiyero answered darkly. "Chistery do you know where the other flying Monkeys are?"
"Yes," the Animal replied. "We all live in Ki..amo Ko."
"Do you think the other Monkeys could come and carry me?" Elphaba wondered.
"Of course," Chistery responded. "They would be very ha..ppy to help you."
"Thank you!" the green girl exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again."
"You too," the Monkey told her before heading off to rally the others.
***
Elphaba felt good to be back in a place she'd once called home. The castle in Kiamo Ko was well furnished and quite clean, due to the fact that Chistery and his fellow Monkeys had been living there. Traveling while cradled beneath a flying Animal had been quite an experience; the green girl had found it thrilling but Glinda was terrified. Fiyero and Caya had taken the broom.
Now the witch and her blonde friend were seated in front of the castle's roaring fire. Elphaba was propped up on pillows to accommodate her side wound and Glinda was clothed in her trademark bubble gown. Caya spent all her time brooding in her bedroom while Fiyero slept late after staying up all night working on plans. Therefore the two girls were left alone sipping hot chocolate. "Does that hurt?" Glinda tentatively asked her green friend, pointing at her bandage.
"A little," Elphaba admitted with a shrug. "But Caya's as good at stitching wounds as she is at stitching clothes." The short conversation crumbled into loaded silence. "It seems like forever since we've been alone together," the witch observed. "Maybe we should have a post-Shiz secret sharing session."
"I like that idea," the blonde chirped enthusiastically. "I'll go first." She paused to collect her thoughts. "After you went through the trapdoor that little green bottle you kept under your pillow was left behind. I noticed that it looked exactly like one the Wizard offered me a drink from after you and Fiyero…left. When I confronted the Wizard about it and told him it was your mother's he…well…he had one just like it." Elphaba arched an eyebrow, unsure where this was going. "I don't know how to tell you this but…the Wizard is your father."
"What?" the green girl screeched.
"That's why you're so powerful," Glinda explained. "You're a child of both worlds." Elphaba squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught of emotion; happiness, anger and sadness coursed through her body.
"What was his reaction?" she whispered.
"He was devastated," the petite witch informed her friend. Elphaba's face darkened with fury. "If you'd seen his face you wouldn't be mad."
"I suppose not," the green girl sighed after taking a moment to collect her escaped emotions. "My secret is that I feel bad now that Fiyero's not a scarecrow anymore. I mean mostly I'm happy about it but… He's back to being beyond perfect and I'm back to wishing that I could be beautiful for him."
"You know Fiyero doesn't care," Glinda pointed out. "I've seen the way he looks at you." Her tone was weighted with well hidden longing. "And besides you are beautiful; you're beautiful in the most brilliantly unique way possible."
"That doesn't stop me from wanting to be…not green," Elphaba sighed. The blonde girl took a moment to work up the courage to spout her next words.
"I think I might still have feelings for Fiyero," the petite ruler confessed in a rush. "I'm happy for you and I know I shouldn't love your husband but that doesn't change the fact that I do."
"Poor Boq," the green girl murmured.
"You aren't mad?" Glinda inquired incredulously.
"A small irrational part of me is mad but a larger part knows that it's not your fault," Elphaba informed her.
"By the way," Glinda began, remembering something. "Why did you turn Boq into the Tin Man."
"I came to Nessa and enchanted her jeweled shoes so she could walk," the green girl explained. "Then Boq told her that he was going to your and Fiyero's engagement ball to tell you his true feelings. Nessa got mad and tried to cast a spell on Boq to make him fall in love with her. Unfortunately my sister didn't possess any magic talent; she mispronounced the words and ended up shrinking Boq's heart. I used another spell to allow him to live without a heart." Elphaba's eyes were full of suppressed pain at the mention of her dead sister. The blonde witch placed a comforting hand on her friend's arm and she smiled gratefully.
"Do you have any other secrets?" Glinda pressed after several minutes.
"Yes," the green girl replied with a sheepish grin. "When I was in hiding I flew to the Emerald Palace to check on you at night. You caught me once."
"I remember," the blonde chuckled. "That's when you told me you were married to Fiyero."
"I wanted so badly for you to be there," Elphaba informed her. "At the wedding I mean."
"Caya's gone!" Fiyero shouted from the top of the staircase, cutting off the secret sharing session. "She took the broom."
"She went to find Brrr," the green girl realized, her eyes filling with dread. "Why in Oz does she have to be so reckless?"
"We'll go after her in my bubble," Glinda assured her friend. "You stay here."
"But…"
"No buts," the blonde insisted sternly. "You are too badly hurt. Don't worry; we'll probably stop Caya before she gets to the palace." Despite Glinda's assurance Elphaba felt a lead ball of doubt drop into the pit of her stomach.
Sorry for another slow chapter but I figured the cliffy ending made up for it….