Wicked is still not mine, in case there was any dispute.
Of course there wasn't. -LostOzian
"This is a terrible occurrence, your goodness." One of Glinda's advisors said to her as the small group surveyed a map of Oz. Suspected points where Fiyeraba would visit- Kiamo Ko, sites in the Vinkus, Dorothy's house- were marked with little red flags. "A child doing a deed such as this…"
"She's twelve, maybe thirteen years old. The same age Lady Dorothy was when she killed the Witches. I'd say that this Little Witch made her own decisions with full knowledge of their consequences." Another responded to the first. "I'm just sorry she dragged another child into this." Glinda stared at the map, trying to keep from betraying anything. She did have to tell that she found Fiyeraba in the orphanage and had discovered her magical powers, but the secret of her parentage was safe with her.
"We still don't know her intentions." A third man inserted himself in the conversation. "Maybe she just wants to be a witch like Lady Glinda and can't manage a bubble." Glinda's mouth twitched in a smile. No, she knew why Fiyeraba had made a flying broomstick. This probably never would have happened if she hadn't told Grinnie about how Elphaba evaded capture.
"Gentlemen, I believe this should be handled as efficiently as possible." Glinda addressed the various ministers and heads of departments. "We have to do something she wouldn't suspect. Now, the theft of my spell book is regrettable, but I do have many copied notes; almost the whole book. I could lay a simple trap for them, and this will all be over before breakfast." A few of the men nodded, but several looked skeptical.
"What do you expect to do, Your Goodness?" one asked her. Glinda pointed on the map just outside the Emerald City to the south.
"We know she turned south, and she'll have to land so we can't track her by while the sun is up." Glinda looked up. "She'll be right in the middle of Witch's Field."
"You're sure you can do it?" someone said. Glinda looked the man in the eyes.
"If I disenchanted them, I can re-enchant them just as easily." She turned to the Captain of the Guard; trying not to think of the fact the girl he was going to capture was a certain Captain of the Guard's daughter.
"Ready your men. Watch from the City walls until you can see they're both asleep. Then go and get them, and bring them back to me for questioning. Dismissed."
The Captain left to set up a squad for this mission. Glinda stared at the map solemnly. If her little trap failed, there was nothing to protect Fiyeraba from feeling the wrath of angered citizens and employment of the law.
I'm sorry... but I have to. Glinda thought as she left to prepare her notes.
Fiyeraba brought the broom to a gentle landing right outside the Emerald City. Most of the inhabitants were too shocked by her sudden appearance to have organized themselves. They were safe for the moment. Fiyeraba stepped off the broom, letting it fall so Grinnie could stand. The little girl shook visibly, leaning against the city wall for support.
"Don't get too comfortable, Grinnie," Fiyeraba warned, looking out over the sea of poppies that almost met the palace walls. Her mother's poppies. Travelers avoided this section of the Yellow Brick Road with superstitious fervor, despite the fact Glinda had taken the magic out of the bright red flowers long ago. It was the best starting point for their journey to find Fiyeraba's parents. On a whim, Fiyeraba searched for traces of her parents. She did feel a hint of Fiyero, but he felt different. He was lighter, like he had made less of an impression. Strange...
"C'mon," Fiyeraba said at last, taking the broom over her shoulder. They couldn't fly in the daytime; people would see them too easily in the light. "Let's go." Grinnie pushed off against the wall, teetering slightly as she gained balance. Fiyeraba took her arm to make sure she didn't fall, and set out into the sea of red flowers.
The morning was growing to be a beautiful one. The sun was chasing away the last cold tendrils of night, replacing it with a comforting glow. The poppies brushed their ankles gently, bobbing slightly as gentle breezes stirred their heads. Fiyeraba took a deep breath, the dizzying scent of the blooms making the scene start to blur in a relaxing haze. She took a few more steps before she realized Grinnie wasn't beside her. Turning, she saw the younger girl had fallen again, but seemed like she wasn't trying to stand up again. Fiyeraba stood over her, taking Grinnie's hands.
"Fiyeraba, I'm tired," Grinnie said from the ground, rolling over and breaking Fiyeraba's grasp. "In a minute…" Fiyeraba blinked, realizing for the first time how tired she was. But they had to keep going! If they stayed this close to the city, they would be caught.
"Grinnie, we have to go…" Fiyeraba took Grinnie's arm, fighting the smell as she tried to pull her up. Had her arm always been this heavy? Fiyeraba dropped Grinnie's arm, her legs going weak and head starting to sink to her chest in spite of herself. A moment later, she was lying beside Grinnie, staring up through the poppies at the paling sky. Half-formed thoughts raced around in her head. When had the poppies been re-enchanted? Was Glinda the one who did it? Did the Good Witch intend for her to stay at the palace and never find her mother?
Will I ever wake up? Fiyeraba thought as she, too, was forced to submit to the magical sleep.
Fiyeraba blinked, seeming to have woken up. Was she really awake? Someone was holding her hand, an adult's hand from the size of it. It felt solid enough. The hand tugged, helping Fiyeraba to a standing position. She held back surprised amazement at her the face of her helper. Her expression was calm and refined, with long black hair meeting with a tattered and heavily patched black dress. The woman stared into Fiyeraba's eyes as the girl stared back, thinking sluggishly of where she had seen those eyes before. When I look in a mirror…
"It's ironic," the woman said at last, bending down and touching one of the poppies, never letting go of Fiyeraba's hand. "This field was first used by the Witch of the West to prevent a girl from reaching the Emerald City. Now, they're being used by the Witch of the North to keep another girl from reaching the Witch of the West." Fiyeraba smiled slightly; that was ironic, but her still-drowsy mind was trying to think of explanations. Why wasn't the woman tired? Practically reading her mind, the woman responded.
"These are my poppies, no matter who enchants them. I'll always be immune, but you won't." She reached into her pocket, drawing out a snowflake the size of her palm. The little ice crystals glittered as the sun caught in its facets.
"Glinda had freed Dorothy from the poppies' spell by making it snow," she explained. "I won't be that cliché, but this should keep you awake until you make it out of the poppies. Its magic won't work by the time it melts." Fiyeraba took the snowflake, feeling her skin prickle in shivering goose-bumps. It was so cold. The woman let go of her hand as the last traces of sleep evaporated in the snowflake's chill.
"Good luck," the woman said, and turned to leave. Fiyeraba's unclouded mind realized who it must have been.
"Mother?" she called after her, but found herself lying on the ground again. She could feel the snowflake's freezing form in her hand, making her fingers numb. She sat up, the dreamy smell of the poppies kept at bay by the ice magic. Teeth starting to chatter, Fiyeraba lifted Grinnie out of the poppies, watching as the cold spread to her friend.
"Fiyeraba!" Grinnie giggled, blinking sleep from her eyes. "I fell asleep. I'm sorry," Fiyeraba shook her head, her body starting to shiver. At least I'm awake, she thought.
"We have to go, or else we'll fall asleep again." Fiyeraba lifted Grinnie onto her back, starting to run through the flowers. The movement helped Fiyeraba stay warm, but she felt the snowflake starting to melt. Her brain felt rushed into activity, explaining everything as she ran.
The snowflake makes me cold, meaning I can't fall asleep. The running became rhythmic; Fiyeraba's even stride adding speed. Running warms me up, so the snowflake works harder to cool me down again. Someone shouted after her. Fiyeraba felt Grinnie twist around to look; Fiyeraba didn't dare turn back, even to see who was there.
"Men in shiny shirts!" Grinnie reported. Fiyeraba said as nasty word she shouldn't know under her breath. Guards. Their little nap had lost them time, and the Emerald City guards were right behind her. She could only hope Glinda hadn't disenchanted the poppies yet. She could feel the snowflake growing weak, the tiny points at the ends breaking off into little crystals. Glancing between her hand and the forest edge, Fiyeraba tried to think of how much time she had left. Already she could feel the odor of the poppies trying to soothe her, slow her down.
I can't stop! Fiyeraba thought. If she fell asleep, it would mean the end of all of her dreams. She would never meet her mother; never find out what it felt like to be like a normal child with a bond between your parent and you. Never find out how she came to an orphanage, what had happened to her father. There were so many reasons she needed to go on!
Finally, the poppies began to thin just as the snowflake turned to slush in her hand. Fiyeraba kept running a few steps to make sure she was far away, then turned back to look across the poppy field. She could just make out the tall forms of five people on the other side of the field. Letting Grinnie down, Fiyeraba opened her hand to examine the watery mess of the snowflake. The snowflake that saved her journey.
The snowflake her mother gave her. Fiyeraba knew that this would probably be the only time someone else could come and save her. Her mother had just risked her life to make sure Fiyeraba could keep searching. There must be countless reasons they couldn't leave the field together. Grinnie, the fact the field was almost wide open, the daytime. Fiyeraba blew on the snowflake gently, the melted ice turning to glittery smoke.
"Thank you," she whispered. She just needed one little push to start to soar. They'd never get her again.
"We waited until we saw the second one fall, and then left to get them." The corporal in charge of capturing Fiyeraba and Grinnie reported. "By the time we got there, the black-haired one had her friend on her back and started running. We even sent Jibo in a few steps to make sure the poppies were working." The corporal glanced back at the man called Jibo. Jibo seemed ashamed, like he had just made sure the Little Witch and her friend escaped. "They were." Glinda curled her hand into a fist at her side. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid! How in Oz had Fiyeraba and Grinnie escaped the poppies?! It had been foolproof!
Wait… Glinda turned, looking out the window to the sea of red in the distance. Elphaba had probably thought Dorothy couldn't get out of the poppies the first time…Then I went and… Glinda hung her head. How could she have thought Elphaba didn't want Fiyeraba to find her? That was the whole reason she left Fiyeraba at the orphanage with her last reminder of Fiyero. Somehow, she must have released her daughter from the poppies. But she couldn't tell the guards this was her doing.
"I guess the Little Witch is smarter than we think," Glinda said quietly. She couldn't do anything to protect Fiyeraba now. She was on her own. "Proceed with caution; never underestimate her abilities. She'll always have something we won't think of." That's all Glinda could do. Evading capture meant to the rest of Oz that Fiyeraba was a threat. There was nothing Glinda could do to save the girls now.
"Ozspeed, Fiyeraba," she muttered as the other men left.