As promised!

"I swear to Oz if you-"

"Elphaba-"

"-don't stop touching-"

"Elphaba-"

"- me with that-"

"Fabala-"

"-thing-"

"Elphaba Melena-"

"-I'll cut it off!"

"It's the morning!"

Fiyero threw the bathroom door open, trying to level me with a glare as well as the annoyance that radiated off of him. I put my hands on my hips and gave it right back to him.

"I can't help it." He added, still unwavering in his emotional rage.

"Sleep above the covers." I threw his towel at him.

"It'll still be there, Elphaba." He spat.

"Then keep it on your side of the bed!"

"You should take it as a compliment, you know." He called after the bathroom door was shut once more. I undid my hair from its night braid as Fiyero slammed drawers open and shut.

"A compliment?" I scoffed loudly, "I don't see how waking up with an appendage poking my hip is a compliment, dearest."

"Do you know how many girls would love to wake up next to me in the morning, poking appendage and all?" He barked.

"Oh, yes!" I threw his hairbrush at the bathroom door. "Compare me to your whores!"

The bathroom door flew open again, revealing a red faced Fiyero in nothing but a towel. I turned my head, pretending to be too furious to even look at him. It was only partially true.

"At least my whores didn't win my affections through a bet."

I swear on my mother's grave that I had not intended to do Fiyero any physical harm. Honest to Oz. But I don't have the best aim in the world, so when I whipped around, pitching my own hairbrush as I did, it whacked poor-unsuspecting Fiyero in the brow bone.

"Oh, Oz!" I gasped as he recoiled in shock. I may not have very good aim, but I do have some power in my arm. I swallowed my smile, and pride, and hurried over to his side as he dug around the bathroom for a rag. "Here." I grabbed the one he had been about to use in the shower. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to hit you."

"Sure you did." He huffed as I dabbed the cut. I got him good.

I smiled a little, "Yeah, I suppose." He rolled his eyes. "A little."

"For what it's worth, I like you much better than those whores." He gave me a half smile while his hand held him in place.

How was it possible for me to be so mad at him one moment and then so taken by him another? "Okay, lover boy." I snatched my hand back. "Hurry up, we have a long day. Again."

"I could probably get done quicker if you helped me."

I shut the door on him.

It had only been a whole week since we told the King about our 'marriage'; but, Oz, it felt like we had been truly married for at least a decade. First of all, I do not remember waking up to a penis in my hip the last time we fell asleep in the same bed, so he could save that excuse for the couch. Second, he wakes up just before the sunrises to brush his teeth. I kid you not. I'm sure he thinks I don't notice, but he makes so much noise when he elephant trumps around. I don't know why he does it, but he'll disappear to brush his teeth, comes back to bed, and then wakes up in a few hours to brush his teeth again. Not that I'm complaining that he spares me his dragon breath, but I will complain about all the noise he makes. Actually, I'm pretty sure that elephants move with less noise than the prince. And don't even get me started on these morning baths. All night I have to sleep next to his sweaty body after taking my own bath. I don't care how attractive a glistening Fiyero is. Glistening is only attractive when it's not stinky sweat.

The things we had to deal with outside the bedroom were so much more irritating. Baako kept away from us at all times, but I could see him in the shadows. He'd be whispering with his aides or having the maids run of to run some errand for him. Fiyero told me I was being paranoid, and made horrible jokes about losing the baby from unnecessary stress, but I was convinced Baako was going to poison us. We had beat him at his own game and getting rid of us was the only option for him to keep his power. Because as far as Fiyero was concerned, we were going to take it. I don't know what he was thinking or how he was planning on implementing this dual power plan, but as long as Baako was there, we weren't getting in power. Anyway, I wasn't so sure I wanted to be any of these Tiggular's Grand Vizier. They were all bat crap crazy. No. That's an insult to bat crap. The Tiggulars were their own brand of crazy. The King was spineless, Baako was manipulative, Takoda was temperamental, and Fiyero was impetuous. They would make the most interesting army, let me tell you.

Then there was Razza, Polon, and Cuvo. The three of them were out to make my life miserable. Of course, Polon was my cosmetic man. Razza was our press secretary. Then Cuvo was Fiyero's royal trainer. Basically: Razza told us what to say, Cuvo told us how to say it, and Polon told us what to wear when saying it. They called themselves the Dream Team. I called them a nightmare. Polon fussed over us for the longest time, trying to make sure our shades of whatever matched up. Making sure that my dress was the fashion embodiment of our fairytale. Tweaking Fiyero's cuffs and hems to make sure they displayed utmost regalness. But also a sense of naïvety. Of course, if one damned thing in our wording our posture changed, our whole damn ensemble had to change. If Cuvo had me keeping my weight centered then black was too intimidating; if my weight was on my left leg, then sea-foam made me look like a ghost; if I leaned on my right, then grey made me look like a peasant. If Razza had me say good morning to a group of women who were higher in age, then I couldn't wear something bright - not that I would -, because they might mistake me for the morning sun. There was so many rules that they all agreed with. I was going to go nuts.

Galinda transferring wing, though, was the roughest part. She asked to move to the wing furthest from the center of activity, and she'd been having most of her meals brought right to her. I passed her twice in the halls, and Fiyero and I passed her once. All three times, I was addressed with and curtsey and, "Princess Elphaba."

"We need to get through this quickly." Fiyero came out of the bathroom in his towel again and disappeared behind the changing screen. "I have things to do today."

"Please, you won't even lift your pinky without help."

He poked his head out from the screen, "When it's important, I do it myself."

"Just get dressed."

"Will you help me with my pants?"

"Fiyero!"

Cuvo was a small man from the City. He was a Munchkinlander by birth, but he grew up in the City with his grandmother and her third husband. The King had hired Cuvo when Fiyero had become aware of how attractive people found him. Fiyero has this issue where he thinks his good looks can get him out of any kind of trouble, and that is definitely not the case. So when Fiyero was ten, Cuvo was brought in to shape him up. It didn't work very well, but it kept Fiyero from stealing from the poor shop owners in the village. Then when he hit puberty, Cuvo had to be brought in full time. For obvious reasons. Come to think of it, Cuvo was like Fiyero's personal Grand Vizier. Only, the older Fiyero got, the more phallocentric Cuvo's advice had to become.

Anyway, as we made our way to the room where Polon had set up shop for wardrobe, we found the small man from the City pinching the bridge of his nose on a bench in the hallway.

"Master Cuvo," I curtsied.

He scrambled to his feet and gave us a low bow. "Your Majesties, good morning." I really hated being considered royalty.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be preparing a game plan with Polon and Razza?" I asked.

"Razza and I are working separate from Polon today." I cocked my head. "We thought it best not to tell him that most of Master Fiyero's old conquests will read about the marriage and be in attendance for the celebration. It'll save all of us many hours and headaches."

Fiyero laughed. "That's perfect. I have a headache as it is, so you're doing me a favor."

"I'm not the only one."

My smile faltered, "It was no favor." I shook my head.

"You're a good woman to take such a wild man."

"I'm a lucky woman for such a great man to have fallen for me." Fiyero squeezed my hand.

"I swear the luck it mine." Fiyero brought my hand up to his mouth and left a lingering kiss on it. I smiled again at Cuvo to keep the butterflies in my stomach at bay.

We were formally announcing the marriage to the heads of the Vinkun tribes and to the leaders of the other Ozian provinces. We had to be checked over my Polon before we could walk into the room, though. Of course, he fussed over us. He panicked when he saw Fiyero's brow bone where the hairbrush left its mark, but makeup covered it up just fine. He had us wear navy as a base color with yellow accents, signifying the unity between the Vinkus and Munchkinland. It was quite brilliant to use the provinces' colors symbolically, but I was never going to give Polon that for his ego. I was sure to let him know how much my dressed itched and how strange the yellow looked against the dark blue; but Fiyero had a compliment for Polon for every put down and insult I hurled at my cosmetic man. Fiyero just didn't understand.

The high nobles of the Gillikin wore shades of deep purple. The Grand Duchess wore a floor length gown made out of the same material Galinda usually wore. It was adorned with the prettiest blue and yellow sapphires. I would never put the colors together, but the way she wore it, made everything work together to be a piece of art. She was very lovely, too, which added to the beauty of her gown. The Grand Duke was wearing a customary suit, but his tie and cuff links reflected who he was here with and what he was supporting. Both the Grand Duke and Duchess were extraordinary people. I'd read all about their ascent into power. The Grand Duke had been an emerald miner's son, and he had brought the biggest emerald he could mine to the Duchess in hopes of money to move his family someplace safe. She ended up falling in love with him, and now his family lived in an estate, and the emerald he mined was preciously positioned in her wedding band. Avaric always said most of the tale was romanticized, but the general idea held true.

The Count and Countess from Quadling Country were an even odder pair than Fiyero and myself. The Count's skin was a dark red, almost like roses at twilight. It was fascinating. Nessa use to have night terrors about red skinned folk. She called them demons. The Countess's skin was not nearly as dark as her husband's. It was more pink than anything. Not Galinda's shade of pink, but more like the shade of pink when any of the princes blushed. She was quite beautiful in her own way, even more so than the Grand Duchess. The Count and Countess wore downtrodden clothes. You could see how much they had both grown since they were first fist for them. They held their heads high, though, and socialized with the others as if nothing was wrong. It was very admirable, I thought. I remember my father was fond of the Quadlings, and I wondered if this was one attribute that he values in their people and country. My father was the reason Munchkinland had such strong ties to the Quadlings. Under him, a lot of resources were given to the Quadlings to establish towns for economic and political stability. The relations thinned when he died.

My maternal grandfather was the current Governor of Munchkinland. He was the only one who did not have a woman on his right arm, aside from the King. I don't know much about the governing history of Munchkinland, save what the books tell me, but apparently the title of Governor was passed to my father when my mother was deemed unfit to rule the Munchkins. I have much more memory of my father than my mother, but I don't ever recall her being out of her right mind. In fact, I'd go as far as to say she was more sane than anyone in the Vinkun ruling class. I was young, though. Anyway, my grandfather was dressed in pristine yellow robes, the color of dandelions in the summer. He was a very old man. All of his hair had left long ago, his skin was sagging, and his eyes just looked tired. But he held a smile on his face while he talked to the other nobles.

"My guests," The King smiled and stood up as Fiyero and I joined him at the round table. The Quadlings stared at me. Everyone else made a bowing motion. "I thank you all for making the quick trip here. I know all too well that overnight trips are rougher the older we are." My grandfather nodded in agreement. The Quadlings kept staring.

"We thank you all." Fiyero stood up and sat down awkwardly. The Grand Duchess flourished her fan and giggled quietly at Fiyero's utter ridiculousness.

"Yes," The King watched Fiyero for a moment. It was almost endearing how Fiyero was able to get a crowd of people to fall in love with him, but he was stumbling over himself in a room full of important people. "As you know, I've called you all here over the marriage of my youngest to the eldest daughter of my late friend Frexspar Thropp." Everyone but the Quadlings did their respective traditions when the name of th dead is spoken. The Quadlings just stared at me.

"They're wed already?" The leader of the Scrow asked, a frown wrinkling his forehead. I always admired him and felt horrible lying to him of all the leaders.

"They were wed three nights ago in our gardens." The King nodded. "It was a compromise of sorts," He explained. "A small ceremony in exchange for a grand ceremony." The responsive guests murmured in acceptance.

"We would have loved to see a wedding ceremony," The Grand Duchess put her hand over her heart. "My dear Madame Upland gets letters from her youngest daughter about Polon's designs and styling. I can only imagine what he would create for the unique wedding of a unique pair."

"Well, of course, Polon will be designing all the Princess's gowns for the celebrations." The King assured the Grand Duchess.

"Oh, good." She sat back in her seat.

"She is green." The Countess said in her thick accent. I bristled, but no one else paid her any attention.

"Can't you perform another ceremony?" The leader of the Yunamata asked. "I know we're merging two traditions for the sake of a union between two provinces, but the ceremony is also very important to the Vinkun people. While the Arjiki are well known for their celebrations, which we all love, the ceremony is the one tradition that is the same for all three Vinkun tribes."

Fiyero laced our fingers together and gave me another reassuring squeeze. He knew I was starting to panic. I smiled at the leader of the Yunamata as she explained to me the customary accessories that were to be worn at Vinkun ceremonies. I didn't hear a word she was saying. The King was going to agree with this woman, and Fiyero and I were going to have to wed in a room full of people. I hadn't even told Fiyero how I felt about him, and now I was going to have to tell a room full of people how I felt? My heart started racing, and I did my best to focus on what the Yunamata woman was saying. Something about floral wisps from the Thousand Year Grasslands. In my hair. Then there was something about a black scarf with red roses. What? That doesn't make any sense. Or did it? Oh Oz, I didn't know. I couldn't do this. Fiyero and I did not think this out too well.

"I quite agree." My grandfather told the woman from the Yunamata tribe. Oh no. Please no. "I had hoped to see one of my granddaughters wear their mother's wedding gown. I'm sure Elphaba's cosmetic man could make a balance between Munchkinland and the Vinkus." The Scrow and Yunamata leaders nodded in agreement and looked expectantly at the King.

"I would like to have another Vinkun wedding before I meet my end." Not fair. Cheap shot.

"Wouldn't it be bad to lie to the people of Oz?" Fiyero offered lamely.

"I feel this would hardly be a lie they would revolt against." The Grand Duke laughed and the other, save the Quadlings, joined in.

I smiled, because I didn't know what else to do. "Then, yes," I agreed. What? Elphaba Melena Thropp, what are you thinking? What is wrong with you? Is your dress too tight? What did I just do? "I would be honored if you will have it."

"Of course, my girl!" The leader of the Scrow clapped his hands.

The King let the guests talk among themselves for several minutes as Fiyero and I caked on smiles for the sake of the show. Then he called everyone's attention again. The Quadlings finally took their eyes off of me, only to mutter between each other.

"There is one other important matter that we must make known." The King stood up and so did the Grand Vizier, who had been silently sitting in the background until then. "Their marriage has been traditionally consummated."

Once again, the room broke out into whispers. I would have been so embarrassed if we had actually done anything. My reproductive system was more popular than I had ever been. I shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

"As you all know," The King spoke up. "Currently my eldest son is in line for the crown, but with the possibility of a blood heiress, he will be in waiting." Another squeeze to my hand. "If I were to pass before the birth of the child, my Grand Vizier Yazpik would take my place until the child, if a girl, is old enough to rule or until the sex is proven to be male."

"I wish you the best, my dears." The Grand Duchess told Fiyero and me. I was going to be sick.

"We would appreciate your word that the news of the princess's possible pregnancy remain unspoken, as well as their current marriage. We only ask for your support of the union between the two noble families of Munchkinland and the Vinkus."

"Vinkuns will stick by each other through monsoon and drought." The leader of the Yunamata spoke on behalf of her tribe and the Scrow.

Awesome.

Fiyero sat in front of the fire in our drawing room as I read a book in one of the chairs. He had been tossing pieces of paper and dust into the flames for about an hour, just watching the reaction that occurred. He had disappeared after out meeting with all the leaders, and then he came back in such a funk. I was in the same spot I had been when he came in. He just dropped his stuff off at the door and then plopped down in front of the flames. I stared at him after reading a page or two. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he was so moody, he'd probably just blow me off or give me some stupid answer. So I let him lose himself in his thoughts as I lost myself in the words of my book. Real married couples talk to each other when they're in funks. Thank Oz we weren't actually married.

"I leave those books out, you know." Fiyero broke the spell.

"What?" I looked up at him. He still stared into the flames.

"The books in the library. I'm the one who leaves them out for you to find." He shrugged. "The first two times I just set the books there to come back to, but you would always take them before I could come back. So after that, I would read a book and leave it for you if I like it."

"I've loved them all." All of them. All the books he's been lying out for the past four years.

"Me too."

I shut my book. "Fiyero-"

"Baako offered me Grand Vizier."

"I-" I paused. What? "He did what?"

"I was doing those things I told you I needed to do, and he found me while I was on my way back. He said that he knows there's a chance that our baby could be a girl," I couldn't lie. I think I liked the sound of our baby coming from his mouth. "But there's a chance it could be a boy, letting him retain his title. So I said he was right, but we were just soaking up our relationship right now. He went on, though, and said that if the baby was a boy, or if there was no baby at all, he wants me to take the title."

I sank back in my chair, "Oh."

Fiyero turned around and looked at me like I was crazy, "I told him no."

"You told him no?" Now who was the crazy one?

"I told you," Fiyero maneuvered over to me on his knees. "You are more important to me than some stupid title. I would rather stand beside you or behind you, rather than stepping all over you to rule with someone who used both of us."

I stared at him.

"I want you to give me the chance to woo you." He took my hands in his and kissed my knuckles. "I've fallen so ridiculously hard for your these past weeks, but please don't let me hit the ground alone. Let me woo you like you've wooed me. I will follow you all the way back to Munchkinland if I have to."

"I-" I faltered again for the second time that night. I didn't know what to say. "I'm not going back to Munchkinland."

"Your grandfather is dying, too, he won't rule forever, Fabala."

I shook my head, "My mother and father's will pass the title down to Nessa when she turns of age." I looked down at our joined hands. "I found it the other week when I was looking for a headband for Nessa."

"That's not fair."

I laughed, "Nothing is fair, Fiyero."

Fiyero was silent for a moment as he played with our fingers, formulating some spur of the moment thought that was going to sink us into deep trouble. He couldn't help it, it was in his nature.

"Then let's just go." He tugged me to the edge of the seat. "Let's just blow of all these crazy plans and go somewhere. Anywhere. Munchkinland, the City, anywhere."

"Fiyero!"

"No, Elphaba, you know were going to be signing official papers with a traditional marriage. We're going to be participating in rituals and all these other binding acts; and I know you're not ready for that. So let's just go."

"Fiyero..."

"Come on, Fabala," Fiyero pleaded. "The summer is almost over. I'm sure I could pull some strings and have us enrolled at Shiz at the start of fall."

I didn't open my mouth for an objection this time.

"We can leave tonight, and you know Avaric would let us stay in his brother's dorm for the rest of the season. We could be right on campus and get a feel of it before we attend."

It was Shiz.

"It's Shiz."

He pressed his lips to my fingers pleadingly, and I made up my mind.

Ten reviews because you love my story? Pretty please with a fresh, hot Fiyero? :)