A/N:I know, I know, I'm the most horrible person in the world for not updating in forever. I had a week of vacation and then my muse decided that they were going to have some vacation time, too. But the next chapter is finally up! I'm sure everyone is itching to know what happens so I'll stop now. R&R. Thanks!
Chapter Ten: Unexpected Circumstances
Elphie stormed back down the staircase she had just come up. She was crying but she didn't want anyone, least of all Glinda, to know that. Glinda had said those awful things to her; it wasn't something that she would do. All those years ago on that fateful night at Kiamo Ko when she had "died", she had really died to Glinda and she blamed her for that. In all logical sense, Elphie had to admit if the situation were reversed she would have felt the same way but she wasn't thinking logically at the moment. Her emotions had the better of her and weren't planning on letting go any time soon. Her best friend, her only friend, had called her a wicked witch. Glinda—bubbly, sociable, friendly, popular Glinda—had called her wicked.
She couldn't even tell you where she was going; it was wherever her feet were carrying her. She didn't care anymore. Boq knew that she was alive; it'd only be a matter of time before everyone else did, too. All she could see were trees—tall and wide, stretching so high up into the turquoise sky that it hurt your neck to look up at them. She sat down with her back to one of the trunks. Daylight was running in through the canopy casting shadows and a magical feel to the wet mist that had settled there overnight. It was peaceful and quiet here, a place where she was truly alone. She couldn't hold back anymore and she didn't want to—she let the tears fall freely down her cheeks, burning them as the went, dropping silently to the soft forest floor.
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Glinda was still livid when Aden and Fae had returned home and she jumped on them fairly quickly.
"Aden, where have you been?" Glinda asked harshly.
"It was late and we didn't want to have to walk all the way through the city in the middle of the night so we just stayed at Fae's apartment. I didn't figure you'd mind." He replied.
"Well, I do." She hotly put her hands on her hips.
Aden turned his back to his mother and faced Fae, taking her hands in his. "Go upstairs, I'll come find you after I'm done here."
She nodded in agreement and proceeded back out into the foyer and up the staircase.
Glinda followed her with her eyes and as soon as Fae was out of earshot began transferring her anger to her son's girlfriend.
"What has she done to you? You always did what you were told, I never had to come looking for you and now you're staying out all night, staying over at her apartment."
Aden was shocked and angry that his mother was doing something like this for no apparent reason. "Don't go blaming this on her. She's done nothing wrong here, and neither have I. I don't know what you're so upset about, she's your goddaughter; you know good and well that you love her, too."
Glinda walked off. She didn't want to hear anymore about anything that had to do with Elphaba. She hated her right now. What kind of a best friend was she to keep that big of a secret from her and cause her so much pain?
Aden knew something was going on with his mother; she was acting very much unlike herself. He dismissed it. He didn't want to deal with her when she was this upset. Running his hand through his dirty blonde hair as he climbed the staircase, Fae was walking down the hall when he reached the top.
"That was fast." She replied.
"Yeah, I don't know what her problem is. I've never seen her this angry before."
"You didn't happen to see my mom did you? She's not in her room." Fae asked nonchalantly.
Something seemed to click in Aden's mind almost immediately and he could tell that it had hit Fae as well.
"Uh-oh."
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Elphaba's tears had finally come to a halt and the small streams of fire left behind on her cheeks were beginning to subside. She began to really take in her surroundings as her wits came back to her. She knew that it had to be noon, if not later, but it still seemed like daybreak from her point of view in the forest. It definitely wasn't the path well traveled; everything was grown up around her. Elphie had no idea how she had made it to the spot she was at. She got up and brushed the leaves, dirt, and limbs off of her usual black dress. Gazing around, she had no idea which way she had came or which way was out.
"Great." She muttered to herself.
She began to walk in the direction that she thought she had come from. She had a fifty-fifty chance of getting that much right at least.
Hour after hour she walked. By now she knew that she had went the wrong way, the forest was so thick that it was close to impossible to move a foot. She cursed and muttered to herself as her dress became ripped for the umpteenth time. She had to be a sight.
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"Something big happened. I can just feel it and trust me, I know how crazy that sounds, but I'm right." Fae said trying to hide her panic. There was no telling what had happened between the two friends. Obviously, it was big enough to run her mother off which was a feat in itself.
"You don't think they had that big of a fight do you? I mean, they're best friends. Although, it does make the most sense." Aden replied.
"I've got to go after her." Fae started down the staircase.
"How? You don't even know where she went." Aden followed suit.
"Ever since I got these new powers, it's almost like we're connected. I'll sense her. If anyone can find her, I can." She donned her cloak and grabbed her mother's broom.
"I'll try and figure out what happened here. Maybe I'll be able to get it out of my mother."
Aden grabbed her arm, pulling her back. He pulled the collar up on her cloak. "Please be careful."
She gave him a mischievous smile, so much like her mother's. "Never."
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After skirting the backside of the palace and getting out of the city, Fae headed west. She wasn't quite sure what made her go in that direction but everything about her mother seemed to revolve around 'west'. She had been flying for a while and hadn't gotten any sort of sighting which didn't surprise her. Elphie would stay well hidden. She began to fly over wooded pines when her eyes became unfocused. Fae tried to shake it off but it just seemed to be getting worse. Her head began to throb and she closed her eyes. An image of her mother sitting in her room flooded her mind. Then came Glinda, and the Tin Man. What was he doing in there? She saw muddy tracks on the palace floor. She heard Glinda yelling something. She felt a wave of sadness pass over her. Oz, her head was killing her! Elphie was walking through the forest and then everything went dark.
Fae tried to keep her balance, but was only partly aware that she was as high up in the air as she was. She felt sick; her head was spinning. What had just happened? Then she was falling. She didn't feel the smooth, knotted wood of the broom beneath her. Had she let go? She couldn't take it anymore and quit fighting to stay conscious. She blacked out right before she hit the ground.
The sweet smell of pine filled her nose. Her body ached as she tried to move. Everything that had happened came back to her and she squinted her eyes tightly shut to keep from being physically sick. Finally, rolling over onto her side, she opened her eyes and saw that she was in a small cabin. As she sat up, the blanket that was covering her slid down her arm to her waist. She groaned and pressed her hand to her head.
"Don't try to do everything at once." A voice commanded as a hand softly pushed her back down on the makeshift bed. She protested.
A tall man came into focus. He had shaggy, dark hair and deep blue eyes. He was kneeling down beside her.
"Here," His voice was tough but almost soothing to her. "Drink this, you'll feel better."
"How do I know I can trust you?" Fae coughed. "You're a complete stranger."
"Let's fix that. My name is Liir. Now drink this." He pushed a cup into her hands.
Whatever was in the cup was the absolute best thing she had ever tasted, but she figured that might have been because she was still pretty out of it. It seemed to relax every muscle in her body, including her mind. She let the warmth of the drink take over and fell back down on the bed. He pulled the cover back up over her.
"Liir," She sighed, trying his name out on her tongue as she drifted back into a dreamless sleep.