Misunderstood
Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked or any of the characters involved with it, with the exception of the ones that I create.
A.N.: If the chapter name doesn't make sense to you, let me explain. Different people associated with different colors will be in this chapter, so this is alluding to them and also to the fact that all of this is happening in Oz. Sorry if you don't like the way that this chapter uses Elphaba and the person waiting for her. But, I feel that this is best in the interest of preserving the original story line. Not to worry, he will be back again in the next chapter. Please, please, please R&R (when more readers review it really does help me think and write faster, as I am inspired) and enjoy!
Chapter 10: Over the Rainbow
It took Elphaba nearly a week to reach the outskirts of the Emerald City. Pretty good time was made, after all. She arrived shortly after ten at night. No one was bustling around, and the entire city was quiet. Kind of strange, considering this is the capital…shouldn't there be some form of nightlife? Like the Philosophy Club? She was a bit perplexed at this and cautiously flew high above the city, covered by low clouds. As she was looking down at the city, she was hit with a wave of realization. Nor never told me where I was supposed to meet…whoever it is. She silently cursed at herself. How am I supposed to find them now?! It's not like I can just go waltzing in. She flew about irritably, trying to think about where she could touch down before light came up. This probably is not the best idea…with that in mind, she flew off toward one of her old hideouts. Not the one that she and Fiyero had shared, of course. That would be idiotic, and would cause so many repressed memories to flood her mind. No…she went to one that was in the outskirts, by some old slums that Quadlings had set up years ago. She knew that it was the place where she would least likely be found, as no one in their right mind would want to venture into the slums, or anywhere near the Quadlings themselves. They (the Quadlings) had never paid her any mind anyway. They had looked the other way, or had otherwise acted as though she did not exist. Yes, that's the perfect place to go.
She hurried over, since the cloud cover was starting to lift, and quickly found her old hideaway. She touched down softly, taking great care not to wake anyone with a loud landing, and walked inside. It was as she had left it, never had gotten cleaned up after she had to leave it in a hurry. Cobwebs were everywhere, and the place looked like it needed a good cleaning, but the green woman decided that she could settle in for a little while (if needed). As she was looking around, she realized that there was a shadow behind her, one that was somewhat blending in with the natural shadows, but stood out a bit. Fear and a bit of anger coursed through her veins, and she quickly came up with a plan. Acting as though she had seen nor noticed anything, she kept looking about the small dwelling. She heard the person rustling behind her, and she quickly turned about and swiveled so that she had her broomstick across the throat of the person, threatening to choke them. She seethed silently for a moment, then quietly said "I don't care who you are. I don't care what you're doing here. If you do not leave here within the next minute you will be very sorry indeed." To show that she truly meant what she said, she pulled the broomstick more firmly against their throat. The person started choking, and made signs for her to let go. She relented a bit, but not completely. It was enough for the person to hoarsely whisper, "Elphie…wait just a second. Please. I mean no harm." She was slightly shocked. She had not expected him to know her. She looked over at his arms and saw that they were thrown up in surrender. They were a dark, sort of ochre color. She took the broomstick away and held it limply at her side. She felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. Still holding up his hands, he turned around slowly, so he wouldn't startle her. It wasn't enough, as Elphaba gasped loudly and felt her knees grow weak when he was turned around.
His face and neck were covered with scars (not completely), and there was a trail of blue diamonds leading down his neck. A small sob escaped her lips, as he fully faced her. He looked older; there were more wrinkles around his eyes, and on his forehead. His eyes were dull with a deep despair, but were instantly replaced with a joy that outshone everything else. He didn't say anything; he just slowly approached her, drinking in her expressions and emotions flashing across her suddenly open face. She was fighting to keep everything under wraps, shaking her head, trying to will away what she felt. He didn't stop, just kept getting closer and closer. Finally, everything overtook her. Tears started pouring out of her eyes, and she still kept shaking her head, not able to directly look at him. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling very scared and vulnerable. He was right in front of her, looking down at her slightly. He reached a hand up (he had dropped both of them to his sides when she saw who he was), and went to lightly touch her cheek. His eyes were hypnotic, drawing hers to his, and he conveyed so many things to her just through locking eyes. He brushed his fingers across her cheek, along her high cheek bones. "Fae," he said, not breaking his touch. At this, she completely broke down. She had no idea what to do. Her lover, Fiyero was standing right in front of her, calling her name, touching her. How can this be…my mind must be fooling me…he's dead. I saw the blood, everything…her mind was swirling with so many thoughts that she lost touch with reality. Memories flooded her, thoughts, feelings no longer threatening to overwhelm, put her into overload. Lowering her head, tears streaming down and burning her face, she broke away from him, breaking the touch that she had so craved, racing away from the man she had loved. "Elphaba!" He cried out after her, throwing his arm up and chasing her to the door. She got on her broom, kicked off, and went flying high, high up into the night, becoming no more than a black speck in the sky…
Glinda woke up, feeling sore all over, and groaning. She could not remember what had happened to her, what made her feel this way, or how long she had been out. Dear Lurline! Her head was killing her: she felt as though she had the hangover of all hangovers. But from what she remembered, she had not consumed any alcohol copiously as of late. She tried to sit up, but found that her arms would not support her. Her legs wouldn't either, and they felt oh so heavy. It took all over her strength to roll herself onto her side. More groaning ensued, and it was certainly heartfelt. As she lay on her side, trying to get her breath, her hazy memory started to return to her. She had been summoned to the Palace by the Scarecrow and the Tinman. When she had gotten there, guards from the Gale Force, which she had thought to be disbanded, had ushered her into that small room without windows and only with the one door. And then…well then she had ended up here, wherever here was. A bit of feeling was returning to her arms. The blonde found that she was able to start rubbing them to get the circulation going again. Her hands were cold but soon started to warm up. She looked about her surroundings while she was lying down, moving only her eyes, as she found that her head and neck were extremely sore. She was in a small room, not unlike the room that the Tinman and Scarecrow had first taken her. Although, the walls looked to be padded (most likely sound proof), and there were neither windows nor doors that she could see. She was trapped, plain and simple, and she had walked right into it. How could I miss it? What else would they be planning about Elphie? It's not like they could desecrate her body or anything. Of course they would want to get rid of all that had to do with her. Who better to start with than me? Although this could turn out to be an unwise ploy on their part. I am, after all, Glinda the Good, and the Ozians have been looking to me for strength and support. Hmm…this will be interesting to watch. Hopefully I can work this to my advantage. Seeing that there was nothing else to do but sit around, she made up her mind to have the basis of a plan before she fell asleep again. She worked up the strength and courage to prop herself up on her arms, to sit herself up.
She dragged herself over to one of the walls and used it to prop herself up. This took the pretty, but disheveled blonde nearly half an hour, but she finally got it done. Sitting there to catch her breath, she felt herself growing drowsy very quickly and fought it. The room went dark in the space of a moment and stayed that way for a bit. Glinda grew wary, but could not hear or see anything. When the light returned to the room, there was a plate with small rations and a small cup of what was presumed to be water. Glinda took it and ate it quickly, wishing that she had been given more. Her eyelids grew heavy. A few moments later, she lost the battle and fell into a very deep sleep. Glinda the Good would not wake again for a very long time…
The Wicked Witch flew up, up, and up. The air up here hardly moved, and it was very cold. The air was thin and she had to work for her breaths. She could go no higher, so she just sat there, clinging to the small stick below her. Her mind was still spinning, overloaded, threatening to come undone. The Witch realized this, and started some relaxation exercises. Soon, her mind began to slow itself, her heartbeat returned to normal, and she grew less tense. When she felt she was calm enough, she reflected on what had happened. Her reaction was reasonable enough, she figured. She had seen how Glinda had reacted when they had first met face to face after the Dorothy fiasco. Still, she felt uneasy about the whole thing. Shouldn't have others had some idea that he was back? Shouldn't have word gotten to Glinda? Unless he was underground…Nothing more would come to her mind but thoughts like these. She did not reflect on the way that he talked to her, or how he touched her. These thoughts would most likely drive her over the edge again, and she wanted and needed to have a clear mind. The green woman did feel bad about leaving so impulsively without saying anything to him, much less responding to him. How do I even know if I'm going to see him again? Another missed chance at reconciliation and more happiness; another failure and mistake. I can't take much more of this kind of drama. It is wearing on my…body and mind. The sun was starting to rise. It was a lovely morning, most unbefitting for the current circumstances. Having nowhere else to go, she turned around and headed back to the small hideout for the day.
A.N.: I hope that this was a good chapter to read. I worked very hard on it, and I like the way that it turned out. If you liked it or have any constructive criticism, please do say so.