I posted two chapters today so if you accidentally skipped the last one, go back and read it so everything will make sense. Also, we're half-way through the story! Hooray!

"You're back early."

Castien looked at Fae, who seemed uncomfortable with the number of guards surrounding her. He couldn't blame the guards for being alarmed though. The woman looked like she had flown into a sand storm, which was very likely.

"Yeah," she said. "Could you tell them that I'm not here to assassinate the king? Honestly, I was just here yesterday."

The guards continued to eye her with suspicion until he gestured them to leave.

"I take it that you're accepting the proposal," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "No, I'm here because I heard you threw great parties."

He frowned as he scanned her. It didn't seem like she brought a lot of things. Aside from the flying broom, she had a simple bag slung over her shoulder. She didn't look worthy of the guards' caution. "You know, the way you talk will eventually get you killed."

She laughed and Castien's heart lurched. Fiyero wasn't lying when he told her that she was so much like Elphaba. Honestly, Castien didn't know how to feel about it. The only thing he was very sure about was that he was sorely missing her and it pained him every time he saw Fae and not see green skin.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Tucking her long hair behind her ears, she approached him, her eyes instantly void of humor. "You know, I don't think you like me that much."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine." she said, cutting him off. "I'm a stranger with magic. I practically have a glowing danger sign on my head."

Fae looked down on her magic broom, blinking rapidly. He knew that look from Elphaba. If it was the same for all girls, he didn't know. For Elphaba though, it meant she was stressed about something. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"Me?" she asked. "How could I not be okay?"

He shrugged. "You seem unsettled about something."

"Nothing." She paused. Castien sensed an internal battle on whether she should tell him her problem or not. "It's really no big deal. I lost something on the way here. Just some jewelry."

"Jewelry?" There was something laughable about how Fae, who dressed in worn black dresses and acted so unladylike, owned jewelry.

"Hey, even poor people can have jewelry without stealing."

"I wasn't judging." Without the title of a prince, Castien was one of those poor people himself. He knew how much little things meant and if Fae was worrying about jewelry she probably lost in the middle of her flight from the Badlands, it was a big deal.

But he couldn't really bring himself to comfort her since they weren't friends. She just looked like the dead woman he loved.

"Fiyero is somewhat busy today," he told her. "He has a meeting with the General."

"General?"

The Vinkus was in a very tight spot right now. With Fiyero's refusal to the Wizard's demands, they were anticipating every move that would be thrown at them. The look on Fae's face told him that she expected him to elaborate but he wasn't going to tell the strange woman about their plans.

"I'll ask a servant to show you to your room." Castien started to walk away. "Thank you for accepting the job. The Vinkus owes you."

There were no words exchanged after that. As he left her alone in the room, he half-expected her to call out his name or at least bid him goodbye. Elphaba never let him have the last word back then. He smiled at his fond memories but frowned as he remembered one fundamental thing.

Fae wasn't Elphaba.

As he was about to turn to a corner, a gentle humming reached his ears. He paused in his tracks, chills going down his spine, his heart racing at the familiar tune. The feeling of being useless every time he remembered her was hardly bearable. For a minute, he thought that Elphaba came back to haunt him but then he remembered that Fiyero said that Fae sang exactly just like Elphaba.

He hurriedly walked away, deciding to take the long route towards the office where the meeting was taking place just to make sure his mind was alright before he went back to work. His hands felt like the needed to do something - to be useful. He lifted a hand up and traced the stone walls as he walked while he shoved his other hand in his pocket.

By the time he got to the area, his mind had been cleared up. He straightened, putting a confident smile on his face and entered the room.

"Prince Castien, it's nice to have you back," General Voss said in his usual politeness. His graying hair and the several lines on his face contradicted his large, muscular body. He knew that the general would be retiring soon, but his service meant a lot to the Vinkus. "I'm afraid that I was just about to leave."

"It's alright, General. I'm sure Fiyero will tell me everything."

He nodded a goodbye and turned to Fiyero who sighed tiredly.

"Cas, if I keeled over, you'll take good care of the Vinkus, right?" Fiyero joked, taking the crown off his head.

Whatever humorous reply Castien had wanted to throw back to his brother instantly dried up in his throat when he got a good look of him. Fiyero ran his hand through his disheveled hair while the other was noisily tapping his pen on the desk, leaving thin scratches on the wood.

"Anyway, Fae's here. I asked someone to take her to her room. Still the west wing tower, right?"

"Yeah. It's the only place Galinda doesn't go to anyway."

"You're going to hide Elphaba's doppelganger from Galinda?"

"I just don't want them meet, okay? Madame Morrible works for the Wizard and if Galinda lets it slip that we hired someone to help save Animals all around Oz then we'll be in jeopardy."

"You have a point." Castien never really got over how his little brother, who used to hate thinking above everything, now took everything into account. "We should brief Fae about that. What's our story anyway? I mean, we don't usually let strange people stay at the castle."

Fiyero shrugged. "She's some sort of advisor? Maybe your assistant?"

He nodded. Disguising Fae as his assistant gave her a reason to why she followed them around.

"I got word about refugee Animals in the village having trouble speaking," Castien said. "Do you think Fae could help?"

Lately, there had been issues with the Animals being tortured to the point that they resort to their simple-minded counterpart's sound. It was so horrible that Castien could feel Elphaba fuming in her grave.

"Well, she did mention something about helping Animals get back to their feet...er hooves."

Fiyero looked out the window, thinking hard like he was trying to remember something. There were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. The mountain of papers on his desk signified another all-nighter for him. It was a pitiful sight. Fiyero may be the king but he was still his little brother.

"By the way," Fiyero said, his gaze snapping up to meet his brother's. "I'm going to be busy looking over these plans. Could you show Fae around the castle for me?"

The bright tone of Fiyero's voice made Castien's eyes narrow in warning. "Yero, this woman is an employee and not our guest," he explained. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can't treat her this way just because she looks like Elphaba."

"Well, are you not being nice to her just because she looks like Elphaba but isn't?"

An unfamiliar shade of apathy iced over Fiyero face as he forcefully shrugged his hand off his shoulder.

"I'm just suggesting that we should be at least a little bit wary about her. I mean, how would she have known magic? For all we know, she could be an undercover agent for the Wizard."

"She's not!" he snapped and the frustration in his voice surprised both of them. "I'm sorry. Just do this for me, alright?"

"Yero," he whispered, pleading with him to see reason. "We don't know her well. That's all I'm saying."

There was a long silence between them. The diminutive act of defiance drew unease into Castien's chest. He didn't understand why Fiyero was acting that way. No matter how similar Fae was to Elphaba, she could never be her. Fiyero might think that he knew the woman but Castien knew that he should keep his guard up.

It was best to let Fiyero cool down in situations like this. The stress of being a newly crowned king was most likely overwhelming him. Castien decided to exit the room and leave him alone for a while.

As he opened the door, Fiyero called out to him. "This is an order from your king, Castien. You have no choice but to follow me."

.

Instead of doing his regular job, going to meetings or looking over the paperwork that Fiyero would be signing, he was here, deigning himself to a lowly position of a tour guide. Castien hated the sound Fae's stomping boots as he showed her around the castle. How was she going to save a bunch of captured Animals if she was this loud? Fiyero must have been out of his mind when he decided to hire her.

There was a chill in the air when they entered the courtyard. The sky was filled with gloomy clouds indicating that it will rain soon. The wind blew against them, causing a shiver to go down his back. He wrapped his arms around himself to fight the cold.

"Let me help," Fae said, breaking the silence.

With a languid hand gesture, Fae willed the wind around them to gently caress them instead of the biting cold they had experienced. It was amazing how powerful she was. Even Elphaba couldn't do that…or never had a chance to prove that she could.

"Is that better?" she asked.

He nodded. "Hmmm..."

"So, why isn't Fiyero here?" she asked.

Her desperate need for conversation irritated Castien. He preferred just going about in silence

"King," he mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

He let out a breath. "You will address my brother formally. He is the king of the Vinkus."

"Alright," she said, lifting her hands in defeat. "What kept his Majesty busy?"

"That is solely royal business," he replied as he walked ahead of her. "Only a simpleton would think that I would simply offer anyone information like that."

Suddenly, Fae stopped walking. He glanced back to see what was keeping her and found her looking down on her feet "If you really hate showing me around then you could leave. I don't mind." she said, not looking up.

"Fiyero ordered me to give you a tour of the castle so that's what I'm doing."

"Look, you don't have to put up with me. I'll tell the king that you've done what he said so just go."

"I may not like doing this. Oz knows I have more important things to do than show a witch around the castle but I'm not lying to Fiyero." I'm certainly not getting orders from you.

"You're saying I'm wasting your time?" She finally looked up, glaring at him as the cold came back to assault him. Fae probably lifted the spell to irritate him further.

"Yes, that is what I'm saying."

Her eyes grew darker as she continued to glare at him. For a second, he saw Elphaba in her place. She had the same angry look that could make anyone run for their lives. He felt himself choke up and then he felt angry at himself for being upset.

A mess of black passed by him. The feeling of the past coming back to him was overwhelming but still he followed her as she stormed back inside.

"Where are you going?" Castien asked, keeping his voice as even as possible.

"I don't want to waste your time, your highness." She bowed in a mocking gesture.

"Hey! Come back here!" he yelled after her. This was ridiculous and unfair. The woman irritated him beyond possible levels. How could he even get her to understand that she can't just walk around acting and looking like the dead woman he loved? "Oz! Why do you have to be so-"

She turned back to face him, striding forward furiously. "So what? Stupid? Irritating?"

So like Elphaba, hecorrected her in his mind.

"I'm not going to stay here and take all your crap. I'm through with all this!"

There was an explosion of light behind him followed by a loud boom of thunder. Castien barely registered a tree coming towards him. He closed his eyes and covered his face as he waited for it to crush him. Second, probably minutes later, he opened his eyes and found the tree levitating a mere inch away from his nose.

"Move!" Fae shouted, her arms held out in front of her.

Breath slowly returned to Castien's lungs and he took a large step sidewards. The tree gently landed a few meters beside him.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault." She collapsed on the ground, burying her face in her hands. "I thought this stopped. I thought I could control myself."

"Wha-"

She looked up to him. To his surprise, her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "I am so sorry," she repeated. "I almost killed you."

And just like that…

Something cracked within his chest under the pressure of her agitated apology, washing over together with the harsh chill of the rainy weather. His reflexes told him to kneel down in front of her and assure her that everything was alright. But his mouth moved wordlessly, discovering the his voice was lost in his throat.

He looked at the tree and then back at Fae, who looked like a mess. She wasn't crying but seeing her in turmoil on the ground reminded him of the times whenever Elphaba would lose control over her own magic.

"You're right for not trusting me. I'm leaving. Tell Fiye- tell the King that-"

"You're not going anywhere." Rain started pelting them. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. Harsh weather wasn't a common thing in the Vinkus before. With his arms raised in front of his eyes, he took hold of her trembling hand and pulled her up. "Maybe inside. Come on."

Her damp hair framed her pretty pale face. Looks were never on his criterion for attraction, but he knew that Fae was very beautiful. Elphaba was too and only idiots would think otherwise.

They made their way back to inside the castle. A servant handed him towels before he promptly thanked her. On the other side of the room, Fae stood quietly, her eyes set on her hands, looking at them with disdain. Her brows furrowed as if she was debating whether or not to chop her hands off. She clenched her hands into a fist, her knuckles turning white.

Staring at her ridiculous expression triggered an old habitual reaction. His anger and then later pity was replaced by a sense of comfort and ease. "Ouch," he said, not really thinking before dropping the towel on her head.

His eyes widened when he remembered that only a few moments ago, they were angry at each other and that they weren't even friends.

Thankfully, she seemed to only realize that she wasn't alone at that moment. "Huh? What?"

"Er...that's what your fingers said. They said ouch," he said, causing her to raise an eyebrow in question. "Because you've been holding your hands in a tight fist and it's cutting off the blood circulation…" He stopped his rambling.

Fae unclenched her hands and laughed, the small amount of embarrassment he felt evaporated as she did so. He used to say the strangest things just to make Elphaba smile when she was sad. Maybe other women weren't so different?

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, her head down. "I have this habit of letting my emotions control me. I swear, if you let me keep the job then it won't happen again."

He only heard half the things she had said. His mind went back to the moment where the tree floated right in front of his face. Suddenly, he felt a sudden curiosity about the woman in front of him.

"So how do you know magic?" he asked. "Did you study sorcery?"

She thought for a moment as if she wasn't sure of what to answer him. Her eyes glazed over sadly. "No, I just do. I guess I've never not known it. It's like a second heartbeat. Strange but natural at the same time." She looked up from whatever it was on her feet that she found so interesting and asked, "Did you get that?"

He smiled at her answer. Her words were something out of an old book. "No, but do you usually talk in poetry?"

Fae crossed her arms and chuckled. "I know I'm strange. You don't have to rub it in."

The funny thing was, Castien didn't find her strange at all - in that instance anyway. She was not only skilled, she was obviously smart as well.

"I'm sorry for treating you the way I did." He found himself saying. He was unfair to her, who was only there to help them. Personal problems shouldn't be taken out on other people.

"I get it Castien. I'm not really a likable person," she said.

"No, it's not about y-" He paused, gathering his thoughts. "It's...It's just that."

"That what?"

He sighed. He didn't know how else to explain but to show her. His hand extended toward her, with full intention to grab her arm and pull her out of the room, but he stopped himself and walked towards the door. "Aren't you coming?" he asked, looking back to her.

She stood up hesitantly. "Where are we going?"

"Kiamo Ko has several unnecessary rooms. One of which is full of portraits of past royalty."

"Portraits of past…" Fae looked at him in confusion. "You have a museum of deceased people here? Isn't that a little bit creepy?"

"It is but that's not the point."

"You have a point?"

"My point is that the dead people museum has…" He looked at her and she just stared at him with an amused expression. She was making an idiot out of him, and she looked like she was enjoying every moment of it. "Will you just follow me?"

"Lead the way."

For a few seconds, he was frozen until he realized that Fae had spoken. Castien turned around and started walking. The stomping behind him wasn't the only indication that Fae was following closely.

Was he doing the right thing by telling her that she looked like Elphaba? Castien didn't have time to think it through. He was already there, leading her to the large painting of his best friend.

"How did…? What is that?" she questioned, pointing to the portrait.

Honestly, he expected Fae to stay silent and wait for his explanation. Her sudden outburst left him unprepared.

"A painting, obviously," he said because it was the first thing that came to his mind.

She glared at him with irritation. "You know what I mean."

"Elphaba Thropp- I mean Tiggular. She was Fiyero's first wife. And my best friend."

"Was?" All the annoyance in her face was pushed away in favor of concern.

"She died years ago," he explained. "A powerful curse was placed on her. She died right before my eyes."

"You hated me because of I remind you of her?"

"Really? That's your first question?" he asked her, shaking his head in wonder. "I expected you to ask why she's green"

Fae shrugged. "I thought it was a design of some sort. But let me ask you that before I go on about her unique pigment."

All Castien could do at the moment was gape at her until she glared back with a frightening expression.

Despite initially not liking Fae, Castien told her everything about Elphaba. He was ridiculous for not trusting her in the first place. Behind the magic and the cold disposition, she was a nice person. It was scary how she and Elphaba were so alike so he couldn't help but develop a sort of attraction towards the woman.

Castien knew that there was no use in holding on to her. Besides being dead for a long time, Elphaba never did love him. Her heart always belonged to Fiyero.

But Fae was alive and her closeness made him feel...hopeful. Maybe this was his chance to move on?

"Did you love her?" she asked.

"I did... do."

"Did you get to tell her?"

He chuckled dryly. "I was a dramatic teenager. I gave her a symbolic necklace during her wedding reception. Sounds like an awful romance novel huh?"

"That's not how love stories go," Fae said frowning. "You're suppose to give her the symbolic necklace before the wedding and then elope with her the day before."

"I would have but my white stallion that's supposed to ride us into the sunset came down with the flu."

For the first time in years, Castien found himself laughing so much that his face hurt. Neither of them noticed that someone entered the room until a loud gasp sounded out.

"Elphie?"

Ooooh. I guess we all know who came into the room.

Don't worry guys! Fiyero will have his special day with Fae when his schedule permits it. Let Castien have his fun for now because he deserves it. Remember to review both chapters!