AN:

Hey, look, it's chapter 10…

… And I'm so excited, because this chap (and the Fiyero-version's chap 10) is the last chapter for me to review and "renovate" and after this there will be brand new updates! It took me two full weeks to work through the old stuff and now I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapters from scratch.

Companion chapter from the Fiyero-version: "A New Home"

Happy reading!

xoxo MLE :3

UPDATE LOG:

This chapter was updated on: 13-06-2014

Just the usual typos and such...

Chapter Ten: A Visit by Night

The following morning she could not believe how long she had slept. By the time she woke from her surprisingly pleasant dreams, the sun was already standing high on the sky and Crom was in the process of getting dressed.

"You're going out?" she asked curiously, blinking as her eyes had yet to adjust to the bright daylight.

He lifted his head to glance at her and grinned.

"While you, princess Fae, can sleep all day long in my cosy bed, I poor devil have to go to work."

"You work?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Err… yes. How do you suppose I could pay for all this, if not thorough painstaking labour?" he stated overdramatically.

Pursing her lips she considered the concept for a moment.

"Maybe the idea never occurred to me since I obviously can't work. I guess I falsely extended that notion to all resistance members. But bearing in mind that your features are far less noticeable than mine, I can see how you could live a normal life by day and blow up the Wizard's factories and prisons by night."

"Lucky me, right?" he laughed, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"Well, of course. I would give anything to stand on my own feet and feed myself."

"Fair enough."

He nodded his understanding.

"Employment at a bookshop would suit you," he mused. "But maybe hiring the Wicked Witch of the West as a sales assistant would be not particularly good for business."

"Look, I'm grateful for last night and for your offer to extend your hospitality for a longer period."

He looked at her sceptically.

"No, I really am," she assured. "I just wish I could contribute in some way - I don't intend to be a freeloader. I'm not a leech, you know?"

"Oh?" he cocked his head. "So you are thinking about staying?"

"For a little while perhaps."

She blushed bashfully.

"Provided you find a way for me to repay you – without money that is..."

He beamed at that.

"Deal. Don't you worry; I'll come up with some kind of arrangement, if you insist.

"See you later tonight!"

He winked and slipped through the door.

Smiling she stretched her arms before forcing herself to climb out of the comfortable bed. As she went to fetch her clothes, which had been placed neatly folded on one of the chairs by the small kitchen table, she found that Crom had left her three bread rolls, butter, a jar of honey, some cheese and a big, juicy peach. On the plate she found a small note that read 'Dig in!' in Crom's sloppy handwriting. The words were accompanied by a drawing of a little, chubby green character, complete with black cloak, broom and witch hat. Huffing and shaking her head in disbelief, Elphaba put the piece of paper aside. He was so childish. But after a clock-tick, she looked back at the note and chuckled to herself.

Despite her initial scepticism, the previous night had not only been replenishing, but also entertaining. She was reluctant to admit it - even to herself - but she found his company rather refreshing. Of course she attributed this discovery rather to her recent excessive solitude than any kind of compatibly between the two of them.

After a plentiful dinner he had organized a wooden bathtub for her to wash up, while he himself considerately had decided to go for a stroll. Upon his return they had settled down in front of the fireplace for a lively discussion about Religion, Politics and Animals. When it was time to sleep, he had generously surrendered his bed to her and made himself comfortable on the rug in front of the fire.

At first she had refused to fall asleep. As forthcoming as he had been all evening, she was reluctant to trust him. Furthermore, she was not used to be alone in a room with an unfamiliar man by night. To a cynic like Elphaba it almost seemed as if he had tried too hard to be nice. Was he hiding some ulterior motives?

While watching him sleep on the floor, she had mused whether he was waiting for her to get comfortable and planned to try something indecent as soon as he saw a chance. However, this notion seemed utterly ridiculous – after all she was green and unappealing. But what if he would want to do it out of curiosity? Still unlikely. She had even toyed with the idea that he could be some kind of double agent and try to kill the Wicked Witch in her sleep.

In the end, she had decided to dismiss all these concerns and get some shuteye after all. Distrust and attentiveness were key traits for every operative, she knew, however, at times compromises had to be made. And just in case, she knew that her trusty dagger was still hidden under her pillow.

Throughout the day she busied herself reading books she picked off Crom's small shelf. None of them covered a topic that was even the least bit interesting to her, but she was used to reading simply for the sake of it. Truth be told, barely half of the books she usually read were actually particularly interesting.

When the sun was already about to set and Crom had still not retuned, she decided to go for a walk. She had spent just over twenty-four hours in this room and already felt like she was going stir-crazy. That fact alone certainly made her wonder how she was supposed to survive the city life for an extended period of time. Throwing on her black coat and pulling the hood over her face she was ready to leave. Halfway out of the door, she turned back to grab her broom and hid it under the black cape. Just in case.

She had not walked far, when she discovered an area of the Emerald City that contrasted greatly with the rest of the capital in that, that it was almost completely green-free. With exception of the occasional emerald ornament, all houses were built with ordinarily coloured brick. She had never known that such a place existed.

She watched the sun vanishing behind the high buildings and suddenly the street lamps came to life. Much to Elphaba's surprise (although, in hindsight she should have guessed), the light they admitted was not the ordinary warm yellow or cold white, but a fresh green and lent every building, every passer-by even, a vibrant emerald hue.

This novel environment incited her to conduct a bold experiment. She lowered her hood so that her face was exposed. Most people walked past her without paying too much attention, a couple of boys even whistled after her.

Sighing, she placed the hood back over her head and decided to move on. People were so shallow, only taking note of the obvious and too lazy to dig a little deeper. The green light had tricked them into believing that her skin was the same as theirs and their reactions (or lack thereof) once more confirmed that that was all it took to gain acceptance among them.

As she explored the city, she found herself lost in thoughts, venturing further than she had intended.

When she finally snapped out of her reveries, she found herself right outside the Emerald Palace. She scolded herself for being so careless and made to leave, when one of the Wizard's green carriages came into sight. Swiftly, she disappeared into the shadows of a nearby tree.

The large gates opened and without anyone noticing the green witch lurking in the dark, the carriage made its way through. Through the window at the back of the vehicle, Elphaba caught a glimpse of blonde curls. She inhaled sharply and bit her lower lip. Being so close to her old friend made her want to see her just one more time, yet she knew that she should not take such a risk again.

As the thud of the heavy doors resounded through the otherwise silent night, Elphaba was already soaring through the air on her broomstick, circling the palace in search of a particular balcony. After her third lap, she noticed Glinda approaching the large French door of her apartment. She quietly landed on the rooftop of a neighbouring tower and sat down on the shingles.

Elphaba watched the blonde leaning her sparkly magic staff against one of the bedposts, placing her tiara on a velvet cushion on a dresser and kicking off her high heels. She blushed slightly when Glinda, oblivious to her secret audience, shed her gorgeous emerald and silver gown to replace it with a pink, silky nightdress. At Shiz there had been plenty of occasions when a similar sight had presented itself to her, however, the perfectly pale, rosy skin still made her feel tingly each and every time she caught as much as a glimpse of it. It could have been jealousy or admiration; she really would not know how to truly tell the two apart.

The blonde girl took a seat at her bureau, reached for a fountain pen and started scribbling frantically. She wrote for a while, read through her notes and every now and then she scrunched up some paper and discarded it. She continued this process for over an hour and the entire time Elphaba just sat there and watched. Little by little, her stamina waned and her movements grew slower and slower, until she fell asleep, resting her head on the desk. Elphaba smiled. In this position the blonde looked just like Galinda from Shiz, desperately trying to finish her assignment the night before the due date.

Feeling bold, she mounted her broom again, crossed the gap between the two towers and landed on Glinda's balcony. Muttering a simple spell, she pushed the French door open and slipped inside the room.

'Fellow Ozians,' she read as she peered over her friend's shoulders. Another one of her speeches. It seemed like she did indeed write them herself after all. Considering some of the things the blonde had said the other day, Elphaba was not sure how she felt about that. She noticed a date marked with a red circle in her planner – most likely the day of her next public appearance. She made a mental note to remember to attend.

Elphaba wished she could just wake her friend and talk to her, just like in the old days at school. But she had already been too daring in coming to the palace in the first place. Instead, she grabbed a sheet of paper and the fountain pen Glinda had dropped on the floor.

'My Dearest Glinda,

First of all I must apologize for not contacting you earlier. However, please understand that for me communicating with you is a risky as well as heartbreaking affair. So please do not interpret this letter as a reason to expect an abundance of correspondence in the future.

I saw you yesterday by the theatre and I thought it would be extremely discourteous to not at least say hello. For obvious reason I was not able to do so in person, so these few lines will have to suffice.

I am pleased to see that you are as radiant and lovely as always. As for myself, I hope you are not too worried. Believe me if I say that I am doing well enough.

Last but not least, I would like to let you know that I trust you, although I admittedly do not know what exactly you are doing and to what end. Hold out, if you can. Hold out, my sweet.

Forever yours-'

Here she paused, not knowing how she was supposed to sign the note. For someone with sufficient knowledge about the two girls' past, the letter was already as revealing as a business card, but in order to conceal her identity to at least any accidental reader not privy to their relationship, she could not use her name.

Pondering she picked up the paper and paced up and down the room. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she stumbled over Glinda's staff and knocked it to the ground. She hissed and shot a glance at her friend. The blonde began stirring and cursing under her breath, Elphaba fled towards the balcony door, the letter tumbling to the floor, next to the wand.

Glinda blinked a couple of times as she shook off her daze. Examining her room with tired eyes, she noticed the open balcony door and the sheet of paper on the ground. Naturally she assumed that the wind must have blown it there. She picked up the staff and then the paper, stopping dead in her tracks as she recognized Elphaba's neat penmanship.

Baffled, she whirled around, her eyes searching every corner of the apartment, until she realized the obvious. She rushed out on the balcony. Leaning against the railing, she scanned the night sky for a glimpse of green.

"Oh Elphie," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her midsection.

Elphaba watched her from a dark spot in the right corner of the large balcony, concealed only by the shadows. All she needed to do was to take a small step forward, reach out her hand and she would be reunited with her former roommate, her best friend. But she could not. She had made too many concessions already tonight; this was a line she could and would not cross.

She barely dared to breathe, out of fear to give away her position. The heart in her chest was pounding so violently that she was convinced Glinda would be able to hear it.

But she did not. After a while, Glinda retreated into her room and locked the French door behind her. Clutching the letter to her chest, she flopped onto her bed and cried herself to sleep.

Outside, Elphaba let out a sigh of relief, but her heart sank in disappointment.