I sincerly apologize for not updating in a while. I had a World Competition with my Show Choir that I've been preparing for, and we just got back yesterday. I'M SO SORRY:( Please accept this next chapter as a reward for your patient waiting. I will try DESPERATELY not to go so long without updating again!

Chapter 10: Boq

The interview with Glinda had not gone well. Boq had tried to ease into his questions, but as usual Glinda seemed to make all his well thought out lead-ins disappear from his mind. She had always had an intoxicating effect on him, clouding out every thought inside his head, until he wasn't sure where he was, or what he was doing. But as much as he had tried to show his affection for her, Glinda The Good had never shown any sign of returning that affection, and Boq could not accept that.

His heart had nearly broken when she had pulled away from his embrace, that ice in her eyes that chilled him to the bone. Her voice had been like a knife cutting into him. How had she figured out the truth so fast? Boq had tried to cover it up, but he wasn't sure that Glinda believed that no one had asked him to question her. His emotions overtook him as she had walked away from him again...the log in front of him split nearly in two with the force of his axe. He could feel the rage as it escelated, his anger towards Elphaba growing.

He had to admit that Glinda's words had hit a nerve with him though. It was true, Elphaba had been his friend, and she had trusted him. He often wondered what possessed her to turn him into a man of tin to begin with. He could never understand why she had done that. He couldn't remember a lot about that moment. He recalled walking into the room to see Elphaba, could hear Nessa talking to him, standing up...somehow...and he remembered telling her about Glinda. He had been planning to go see her, to try and reason with her once more before she married Fiyero. And then...darkness...nothing for a long while...and then he had woken up... as a monster.

But now...now he would not rest until he found Elphaba. His guilt had been consumed by anger, and the pain of rejection. He had continued straight to the emerald city, gathering some guards. He sent a message with Grometik to give to his master, explaining that Boq could not wait any longer. He would send his troops into the rural parts of Oz, searcing for any place the Green Girl might be hiding. To his surprise, the strange man and appeared, and told him he had a special way of trasporting the guards. Boq had stayed behind in the Emerald City, knowing that the Witch could recognize him easily if he lead the guards in search of her.

Near the early morning, after a restless night, Boq heard a knock on his door. When he opened it, he saw Grometik. The small tik-tok creature held out a slip of paper, with a single message written on it.

They found something

A few minutes later Boq was hurrying down a small alleyway, looking around for any sign of the mysterious man. Soon in the pale light, Boq saw a cloaked figure waiting silently for him.

"Come with me."

Boq followed the man down some stairs, and through a small door that was hidden in the wall. When they emerged, Boq looked around in amazement. They were in the Ozian jail, they had come through a door that was nearly invisible when closed. As Boq walked silently down the dark hallway, he realized that they were in the section of the jail that was empty, no one occupied any of the cells he passed. Then, they came to last cell, in a darkened corner of the jail. Peering through the bars, Boq could just make out a figure slumped in the corner, holding his head in his hands.

"Where did you find him?"

"In an abandoned castle out near the mountains. The guards nearly missed it, and he was the only person inside. They searched the entire castle and found very little. But he may provide some information. He put up quite a fight, we had to get a bit rough with him."

As the man was speaking, the prisoner moved into the light a bit more. Boq stepped back, his eyes wide. It was the Scarecrow, the same Scarecrow who had helped them vanquish the Wicked Witch and send that Dorothy girl back to her home. Kansy...or something like that. He looked a mess though...the seams on one side of his head had been split, and there were tufts of straw sticking up in numerous places on his body. He seemed to be having trouble focusing, and it took him a moment to realize that they were watching him.

"Sweet Oz, did you have to get so violent?"

"Are you questioning me? Perhaps you have forgotten that we are working towards the same goal, finding the Witch. This Scarecrow may have some of the answers we are looking for. I do not need your help, but if you wish to avenge your past I suggest you keep quiet and listen."

Boq was taken aback, but he closed his mouth and remained silent. The man turned his attention back to the Scarecrow. "Now...I want to know what you were doing in that castle."

The Scarecrow remained silent, staring numbly up at the man. He shook his head, leaning against the prisoner's bars.

"Come now...don't be difficult. I will find out sooner or later. But I would hate to have to harm you further, so why don't you just make it easier on yourself? Now...why were you there? That castle looked like it had been abandoned for a long time before just reccently. Why would anyone, especially a hero like yourself want to live in such a run down place, so far away from the city? Unless...you are hiding something."

"I...wasn't hiding...anything...I merely wanted...to get away." The Scarecrow's voice was weak and defeated as he spoke, his breathing labored.

"Get away form what?"

"Life."

"You see, that is hard for me to believe, for you can never escape life. It is always there, waiting in the darkness. But we'll let that pass for now. You were one of the three who helped vanquish the Wicked Witch Of The West, I would like to know what you know about her."

The Scarecrow was silent, through could see his eyes go a bit wider at the mention of the Witch.

"I am not a patient man Scarecrow. I will find out what you know, believe me on that. Now what do you know about the Witch? Surely you must have heard something about her. Perhaps this would help, in her younger days, she was called Elphaba, though few know that she actually had a life before her wickedness corrupted her."

There was silence again, then just as the man was about to speak, the Scarecrow whipsered something in a hoarse voice.

"The Witch is dead." He stared at the man, locking eyes with him, his expression seeming to say 'I will never tell you anything.'

The man glared at the Scarecrow, who had receeded back into the shadows, turning his face away from the man.

"Very well...until you learn to be more cooperative, you will remain here. Guard him well!" The man shouted to the nearby guard, then the mysterious man turned on his heel and left. Boq stared down at the prisoner, still trying to comprehend who it was.

He had met the Scarecrow on his way to the emerald city with Dorothy. He had been tied to a pole, and Dorothy had been kind enough to release him. There had been something about the Scarecrow that had been oddly familiar to Boq. He had reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite grasp who it was. Along the way to the Emerald City, the Scarecrow had acted slightly worried about something, but whenever Boq would ask him about it, he would not answer him. Then, when the Wizard had ordered them to find and kill the Wicked Witch, Boq had detected on the face of the Scarecrow a look of utter horror. But when they had finally reached the castle of the Witch, the Scarecrow seemed relieved, almost calm as they had climbed the stairs to the Witch's lair. And after the Witch had melted, the Scarecrow had gone with them to the Emerald City, then had just disappeared. Boq had thought that he had moved far away from the City, and he too was wondering what he had been doing in that abandoned castle.

"What happened to you?" Boq whispered softly, turning to leave. He saw the Scarecrow glance up at him, a look of terrible sadness on his face.

"The question is...what has happened to you?" The words rang in Boq's ears as he began to walk down the long dungeon hallway. Even after he was outside of the prison, the cool breeze blowing in face, it seemed as though the wind was chanting the words to his very soul.

"what has happened to you...what has happened to you?...to you?"

Again I apologize profusely for not updating sooner. Please forgive me!