"May it be you journey on / To light the day / When the night is overcome / You may rise to find the sun."- "May It Be" by Enya

"Fiyero, wake up," Elphaba said insistently as she shook the prince's shoulders.

"No," he moaned, burying his face in the cushion of his seat.

Galinda rolled her eyes and said, "Darling, we're in the Emerald City, and unless you want to make an impromptu visit to the Vinkus with a very mad Morrible in pursuit because you couldn't drag your ass off the train, I would suggest that you get up."

Sighing, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Fine. Now, do we have any idea of how we're supposed to reach the palace?"

"I think the armed guards waiting outside are all too willing to help," Elphaba replied dryly, pointing out the window to a group of around fifteen men scowling at the train.

"Well, they look like a friendly bunch," Galinda said as she gathered up her things. "Come on. We had better get out there before they raid the train and frighten all the passengers."

Fiyero stretched as the two girls grabbed their bags, and he followed them reluctantly into the brilliant sunlight that made the green shade of the city dazzle their eyes.

Blinking, Elphaba looked at the guards who were wearing tinted glasses and asked, "Do you have any glasses for us? After our ride in that dim train, the sunlight is nearly unbearable."

"Here," the guard in front of the others said as he handed them identical pairs of glasses. "I apologize for forgetting to offer them to you."

"That is perfectly all right," Galinda said with a gracious smile. "Now, should we journey to the palace? I would not want to excite Madame Morrible with the idea that the train could have possibly crashed and killed all its passengers."

"Of course," the guard replied with a nod of his head, signaling to a few of his men to stay behind to take care of the luggage.

Two carriages waited for the small group outside the station; the guard motioned for his charges to enter the last carriage while he assigned three guards to the first. The rest took up formation around the vehicles, their hands resting on their gleaming guns as their eyes roved their surroundings, looking for any danger.

After Fiyero took his place beside Galinda in the carriage, it started to move, lumbering through the busy streets of the city.

"Does Morrible really think that this amount of guards is necessary?" Galinda asked as she pulled her glasses off impatiently.

Elphaba shrugged and removed her glasses to fiddle with them. "She might feel that we will try to run away. Or, perhaps she's worried that any underground resistance might attempt to attack us."

"Why isn't the Wizard involved in any of our concerns?" Fiyero asked as he sprawled in his seat. "He is the head of the government."

"Most of our dealings have been with Morrible because she serves as his mouthpiece," Elphaba replied. "Besides, he has no magical abilities while Morrible does. He's only a fraud."

"But, even without magical powers, he still managed to convince all of Oz that he is an incredibly gifted wizard, which means that he is just as dangerous an enemy as Morrible," Fiyero said as he raised his glasses above his eyes so that he could meet Elphaba's gaze.

"Point taken," Elphaba said with a slight smile. "I just hope that the rumors of an underground resistance are true. Imagine what we could do with their help."

"We'll get ourselves killed," Galinda said blandly. At Elphaba's pointed glare, she continued speaking, "If Morrible really thinks that we'll be very useful to her, then we will move to the top of any assassin's hit list. No resistance movement would allow the most valuable agents of the government to live. That would be insanity."

"She's right, Elphaba," Fiyero agreed. "Unless we successfully infiltrate a resistance movement and gain its trust, which is very unlikely, we should focus on keeping alive until we have a way to escape."

Elphaba sighed. "One step at a time, then."

The carriage pulled to a stop jerkily, and once she had regained her balance, Elphaba slipped glasses back on and promptly exited the carriage. Galinda and Fiyero took a little longer to join her, the latter still disoriented by the new atmosphere and lack of sleep.

"Greetings," Morrible called from the grand steps of the palace. "I trust that you had a pleasant journey?"

"It was quite uneventful," Galinda responded immediately, striding up the steps with a gracious smile. "We are glad that we arrived here safely and without any excitement."

"Very good, Glinda," Morrible said, already focused on Elphaba. "Elphaba, it is unusual for you to hold your tongue on any matter of conversation."

Elphaba shrugged her shoulders with indifference. "I merely have no interest in exchanging meaningless pleasantries. I apologize if my silence has offended you, Madame. That was most certainly not my intention."

"I'm sure," Morrible muttered as she narrowed her eyes. "Come along, then. The Wizard has been eagerly awaiting your arrival all day."

The three fell into step behind Morrible as they ascended the steps into the ominous yawning entrance of the palace. Instead of finding a contrasting dimness once inside, the palace was cheerily bright, the activity of servants and government officials feeling out of place next to their lethargic procession with Morrible. Some stopped to stare at Elphaba, the usual pointed fingers and whispers following her as she stalked through the crowd; Fiyero glared at any who dared to laugh at Elphaba while Galinda grasped Elphaba's hand gently.

Taking a sharp right, Morrible led them down a narrow corridor, the hum of activity fading away until the only sounds that could be heard were their footsteps on the cool stone floor. The corridor ended with a door, and Elphaba hesitated on the threshold behind Morrible as a wave of uneasiness washed over her. Galinda prodded her back and Elphaba continued into the room with Galinda and Fiyero traipsing in behind her. The Wizard bounded out of his armchair once they were inside, beaming.

"It's so good to see you again, Elphaba!" he greeted her excitedly, taking her hand.

Elphaba stiffened as she said, "Thank you."

"And, you must be Glinda," the Wizard said as his eyes landed on the slender blonde. "You were right, Madame Morrible. She is an exquisitely beautiful woman."

"It's Galinda," Galinda corrected him patiently. "You forgot the 'guh'."

"Have you forgotten our arrangement?" Morrible asked coldly. "You will be addressed as Glinda now."

Elphaba saw that her friend was about to protest and intervened. "You just forgot for a moment, didn't you, Glinda?"

Glinda nodded her head, her blue eyes growing moist. "Yes. Forgive me, please."

"Of course, my dear," the Wizard said, patting Glinda's hand. "And, you must be Prince Fiyero, our new ambassador from the Vinkus."

Fiyero grinned rakishly, running a hand through his dark hair. "I generally just go by Fiyero."

Elphaba rolled her eyes as Glinda giggled; the Wizard smiled in appreciation as he exchanged a look with Morrible.

"Since we are doing away with formalities, I insist that you all call me by my name, Oscar," he said. "I like to think of myself as a father for all of Oz, and you will be the ones to help me build a utopia out of this broken down country."

"While I feel that it is very important that we begin working toward that goal as soon as possible, we are all exhausted by the train ride," Elphaba said quickly. "May we be shown to our rooms?"

"Of course," Oscar replied immediately. "I do not allow servants into this room, but if you step outside, I am sure that you will find servants waiting to escort you to your suites. I hope you have a pleasant and restful evening, and I look forward to beginning our work tomorrow."

Elphaba nodded her head in acknowledgement of his statement and led her companions out the door as Oscar watched, a smile still pasted on his face. Once the door closed behind them, he turned to Morrible.

"This is a mistake," he said, his smile disappearing. "They're just children. It's wrong to use them like this."

"Don't let their youth fool you," Morrible snapped impatiently as he opened a bottle of amber liquid. "They will do anything in their power to remove you from your position."

He sipped his drink gingerly. "Then, why did you bring them here? Surely acting as my employees will only make that goal easier to attain."

"I would rather keep them close and under our control than allow that damned underground resistance to recruit them," Morrible replied. "Besides, our arrangement with Elphaba has given us the upper hand."

"I still don't see how," he said, refilling his glass. "With those two here, what is to keep all of them from disappearing?"

Morrible smiled. "You are forgetting about her sister. As long as Nessa is alive, Elphaba will remain here, and the others will follow her lead. Now, she and the others will resist as much as they can, but there is only so much that they can do. At the moment, I worry most about Fiyero's ability to cause mischief. He has a job that requires him to leave the Emerald City when necessary, and he is still the heir to the Vinkus throne. We will have the least amount of power over him."

"What about Glinda?" Oscar asked grimly. "I'm afraid that you are not fully aware of what she can do merely because she's beautiful. She's more intelligent than she lets on."

"Yes, and more gifted in magic than she realizes," Morrible said. "At the moment, though, she depends heavily on Elphaba. Glinda will not become a problem until she needs her friend less."

Oscar nodded his head as he put his glass aside. "You have done very well, Madame. I trust that you are fully aware of all that Elphaba is capable of doing?"

"She will be your greatest asset and worst enemy," Morrible murmured, her eyes glimmering with smug content. "Depend on the fact that she will wreak havoc upon the Animal community."

Oscar laughed with delight and took Morrible's hand as he said, "Then, we shall have a wonderful year, my dear Madame."

"Yes, we shall," Morrible agreed, a twisted smirk on her face.

Glinda sighed as she collapsed into a heap on Elphaba's large bed; Fiyero grinned in amusement and joined her while Elphaba surveyed her new room.

"I don't like that you're on the above floor," Elphaba remarked to Fiyero. "I don't feel comfortable with the idea that they're trying to separate us."

"At least Glinda is at the end of this hallway," Fiyero offered. "And, it's not like we're separated from each other by being on opposite ends of the palace. It's only a staircase."

"It just makes our secret midnight meetings a little harder," Glinda said as she examined Elphaba's bedding. "But, not impossible."

Elphaba sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I suppose you're both right. I'm just nervous about their plans. We really don't know what they want from us. It's not a comforting thought to know we're at Morrible's mercy."

"I rather like the Wizard," Glinda announced, ignoring the glare immediately directed at her. "Sure, he's planning some bad stuff, but I think he actually cares about making Oz a better place. Perhaps that could be something we can use to our advantage."

"I agree with Glinda," Fiyero said.

"Of course you do," Elphaba muttered.

"Now is not the time for smart-ass comments," Fiyero huffed. "Anyway, I don't think it would be a good idea to completely dismiss the thought of winning the Wizard to our side."

"Maybe you two are right," Elphaba replied, kneading her fists into her lap. "But, for the moment, we need to concentrate on gathering as much information as possible about our surroundings and the present situation. For the time being, we can know that my research has ruled out the idea of the Ozma serving as the figurehead for any resistance. However, even though we aren't planning to do anything right away, we need to keep our eyes and ears open for any opportunities to aid some sort of resistance."

Glinda bit her lip as she said, "We just need to be careful. My father's illness wasn't an accident; he's been involved with groups of people suspected of subversive activity against the Wizard, and I believe he was poisoned as a warning. I doubt Morrible will be as lenient with us since we're a much bigger danger to her than she would like."

"Very well, then," Elphaba muttered, the idea of anything less than a takeover within the year chafing at her stubbornness.

"You'll be our biggest asset, my dear," Fiyero told Glinda fondly. "People assume that you're dumb because you're beautiful, so they'll be less careful with what they say around you."

"The Wizard might also take you into his confidence," Elphaba said quickly. "He was quite taken with you after only a few minutes spent in your company."

"I won't have to do anything distasteful, will I?" Glinda asked, clearly distressed by the idea of the Wizard bestowing any affectionate gesture upon her.

"I think his fondness is more similar to what a father would feel for a daughter," Fiyero said comfortingly as he wrapped his arm around Glinda's shoulders. "Don't remove yourself from the equation, though, Elphaba. He seemed most comfortable with you, and he certainly showed no more affection for Glinda than he did for you."

"As flattering as that may be, I would prefer for him to focus on Glinda," Elphaba replied, grimacing. "I'm not very good at manipulating people; I prefer bluntness."

Fiyero shrugged. "He might like that in you. It was merely something I observed. I have only just met the man. I won't pretend to know all that goes through his mind."

"Well, I feel that it is time for me to go unpack," Glinda groaned as she crawled off the bed. "Fiyero, dear, will you come keep me company?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. "We'll see you at dinner, then, Elphaba?"

"Yes," she answered distractedly.

Fiyero shook his head in amusement as he left the room with Glinda. As the door closed, Elphaba moved to her luggage, opening a small bag. Her eyes landed on the gun Fiyero had given her; she ran her fingers along the gleaming metal as she thought about the future. She hoped that she had not doomed Glinda and Fiyero. For some reason, she could not shake her apprehension at being trapped in the city with Morrible and the Wizard watching her every move; it was a game of secrecy and wits that they were almost sure to lose.