Once again, thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and those that also review, it means a lot. Thank you.
Glinda cupped both of her hands around a chipped cup, absorbing as much warmth as the liquid inside it could offer her. She and Nanny were huddled around a table before a fire in the kitchen, from the drag lines in the brickwork of the floor, it had not always been there.
"It weren't always like this Dearie, not like this at all."
"I heard." Glinda replied, sensing an opportunity to receive some answers she continued, "What exactly happened?"
Nanny chugged a large amount of her own drink – Glinda was not entirely sure what it was, possibly a local tea? The aftertaste was almost fruity and it had a deep indescribable flavour – the old woman seemed unaffected by the temperature of the liquid.
"Get used to it after a while."
"Used to what?" All this time and Nanny had remained the same; if she did not want to answer something she always resorted to the old 'hearing problems' she 'suffered'. Glinda would either have to try to receive an answer again, or wait for Nanny to randomly explain whenever she felt like doing so.
"The cold."
Ah.
Though Glinda doubted that. Stepping into the castle was akin to stepping into a storeroom for meats, far colder inside than out. Maybe it had something to do with the brickwork. Strange though, even the oldest of buildings were built in a way to conserve heat, this one however…
"It is good to see you Nanny, I had no idea what happened to you." And really it was good to see a friendly face, for the most part.
Nanny hummed contently, appearing almost identical to how she was when Glinda had first met her, almost as if she had reached that age and just froze in time. Never to grow another day older. If only the same could be said for –
"And we had no idea you were coming here."
We. Glinda frowned into her drink as she took a cautious sip. She had already scolded her tongue once before, and was loath to repeat it. Returning her cup to the table, she asked another question in the hopes of receiving an answer, "How did you know to come here?"
How had Elphaba? Or the Wizard's assassins?
…Though she had her suspicions, ones she could not bear to acknowledge, not yet.
"How did you?" Nanny responded, mimicking Elphaba's habit of cryptic answers before adding, "To be honest I don't rightly remember anymore."
"How long have you been here?" Glinda asked, diverting her attention elsewhere upon catching the sound of shuffling outside the door. She eyed the door wearily, afraid that the beast from before had found her again, as Nanny pondered over her answer or whether to acknowledge it at all.
"Don't rightly remember that either." The old woman finally replied, her bleary eyes focus on the ceiling in thought.
Finally certain the door was not about to burst open in the wake of some furry creature, Glinda returned her full attention to Nanny, "You should have sent word. When you first arrived."
"So what?"
"I would have…" But Glinda found she could not finish her sentence, for what would she have done? Would she have come running, so soon after her marriage? Would she have risked her standing as she was now? Without the years upon years of growth? No. Probably not. "I am here now. That is what matters."
Nanny hummed again, abandoning her cup on the table as she stood, waddling towards the very same door Glinda had been focused on before, leaving behind a lantern beside the door.
"Old bones need rest," she muttered to herself as she yanked the door open revealing the, thankfully, empty and dark corridor.
"Where am I supposed to go?" Glinda jumped to her feet; picked up her cup, placed it back down and picked it up once more.
Nanny shrugged her large shoulders as she moved down the corridor into the darkness, her voice echoing back, "Anywhere. Don't rightly matter where, no one in these rooms anymore anyway."
Hesitating for a moment, Glinda took after Nanny, a cup held in one hand, two bags clutched in her other. The old woman, however, moved surprisingly fast even in the dark and as such, was already gone. Leaving Glinda alone in the empty, cold building, jumping at the faintest sound of scurrying in the distance.
She had found a suitable room after a few false starts the night before, glad that she had the good sense to seize the lantern from the kitchen before wandering away too far. From the light layer of dust, and the neatness of the rest of the room she assumed it to be an old guestroom that had not seen just that, a guest, in a long time before the previous occupants of the castle had left.
Still, residing in an unfamiliar dwelling, enveloped in cold air and sheets she was certain were for summer weather, had all resulted in a terrible night's sleep. Thankfully bad enough that she was not plagued by any dreams, let alone her nightmares.
She left the stowing away of her few belongings until the morning, placing them in their usual places. The book, however, she left in its bag along with the two wooden figures and hid it in a gap between bed and bedside table, confident it could not be seen unless one were purposefully hunting for something concealed. She could not be certain why she decided to hide the book, only that a prickling feeling in the back if her mind encouraged her to do so.
With a grumbling stomach, and the growing realisation that she had not eaten for a significantly long amount of time, Glinda left her room to wander in the general direction she thought she had travelled down the night before.
Even with the sun high in the sky, the corridors of the castle were dark and narrow. Glinda wondered if she should keep the lantern with her, just to fight back the shadows during the day as much as the darkness of the night.
Ignoring proper manners, Glinda still wore her travelling cloak, anything to gain even a little bit more warmth. She wrung the edges of the cloak beneath the clasp with a hand, her pale skin growing pinker the longer she walked. She cast her eyes about, just in case the beast from the night before came bounding out of the shadows to maul her again.
She eventually found Nanny in the same place as the night before, with thankfully no furry creature in sight.
The old woman was fussing over a pot of some gruel looking substance, digging out a ladleful to put into a bowl, the appearance of the gloop took Glinda back to her first days at Colwen Grounds.
Nanny turned with a jump, surprise written across her face. "Oh!" She exclaimed, pressing a meaty hand to her chest, "I forgot you were here."
It didn't take her long to calm, and soon she was gesturing roughly with her thumb over her shoulder.
"Bowls are in a cupboard over there, go get one."
Glinda did just that, though it took some time as there were many different cupboards and Nanny was not supplying any help in finding the correct one. Glinda's nose scrunched in distaste at the worn, wooden bowl, not that she had a choice in the matter as that was all there was. She returned to the table where Nanny roughly spooned some of the substance into the bowl, sending globs splattering across the stained kitchen table, before thrusting a tarnished spoon in her direction.
Glinda shuffled her chair closer to the lit fire, not caring that it scraped noisily against the floor as she did so. She ate the food cautiously, pausing before each swallow as she had to force herself to continue eating the 'food'. Even the growling hunger that rumbled in the pit of her stomach was not a strong enough motivation for her to eat with enthusiasm, not that the food was unpleasant. It did have an odd aftertaste, one she could not decide whether she liked or not, but other than that it did not really taste of anything. It was the texture that left her feeling ill. Despite that, she was not about to ask Nanny what it was, sometimes it was best not to know.
Glinda waited until they finished before attempting to ask Nanny any questions. She was too slow, however, as the old woman beat her to it.
"Why did you come all this way?" Nanny inquired as she spooned another hefty amount of the substance into her bowl, licking her chapped lips as she did so, "You never seemed the type to travel so far."
"Nor did you." Glinda, though still hungry, pushed her bowl away from her, careful that neither her cloak nor dress were soiled by the food. It seemed coarse enough that it would eat clear through the decent material of her clothing, "Where is Elphaba?"
"Oh her?" Nanny said offhandedly, shrugging off the comment as if it were not the one, clear reason that Glinda was there. Not that Nanny would be aware of that, of course. "Probably doing something sinister and secretive, don't see her so much anymore."
Glinda doubt the old woman saw much of anything anymore.
The book had been correct, a fact that should have lightened Glinda, but for some reason it didn't. Perhaps it was the knowledge of just how powerful it was, what it could do in the wrong hands that still weighed her down. Or maybe it was something else, something she could not quite grasp.
"Where is she?" Glinda tried again, not in the mood for any of Nanny's games. Glinda had already wasted enough time, even if she had left with a semi-decent length of time between her and whoever it was The Wizard had sent. Swiftness was still key.
Nanny huffed, swallowing a large mouthful of her breakfast, one of her eyes narrowing at Glinda – not that Glinda was all that bothered about offending her in that moment. "In the tower." Nanny snapped, gesturing aggressively over her shoulder again, "The one over in that direction."
Ah. Now that should have been something Glinda had realised herself, for had she not seen a light last night high up the castle walls? She had been unable to tell, but it was entirely possible that the source of the light was indeed in a tower. She had not been outside in the daylight in order to check.
Nanny promptly returned to shovelling the food into her mouth, choosing to ignore Glinda, which the young woman was more than alright with.
Glinda stood to her feet and left the kitchen with quick steps, unsure where she was going. She only knew that there would be a lot of steps to climb. Her faint guide to the tower her weak, incomplete mental imagine from the previous night. But she had always been skilled at filling in the details.
It made her stomach churn.
The open rafters, the crows perched on them letting their droppings fall carelessly; the air that was far colder than any she had felt in recent memory. The array of refuse and papers left strewn around the room with no care. The leak that found some way through her clothes and cloak to drop down the back of her neck, leaving her shivering and jumping at the feeling with a sharp shriek.
A moving heap of black cloth in the corner of the room sent her stumbling backwards, she caught herself on the edge of a soiled desk, barely avoiding sending a half full bucket of water (to catch the leak?) flying in her surprise.
The cloth grew in size, until she realised that it was not something terrifying or otherworldly, beneath the ragged material there was indeed the shape of a person. A familiar one at that.
"Elphaba?"
"What have I told you about using that name?" Elphaba turned, her words dripping with venom. If she was surprised to see who it was that disturbed her, Glinda could not tell as the other woman's eyes remained narrow, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Galinda Arduenna."
"I've already told you, I go by Glinda now." Her words were flat, automatic, as she found her mind buffeted by an array of thoughts and feelings.
Elphaba's face remained emotionless, her eyes however burned with conflicting emotions. Emotions that made Glinda's heart tighten, not in the way it once did, but rather with a sense of undeniable dread.
"Elp –
Glinda tried, only to be cut off by Elphaba's rapid change of expression. Her mouth downturned and forehead creasing in rage.
"Do not use that name." She gestured aggressively to the window, which Glinda now saw had no glass, allowing a strong gust of wind to hit them at that moment, sending hair and clothes awry. "They wanted a witch and so a witch I became."
What had happened to her Elphie? For the woman who stood before her was even more fearsome than the one she had met at dear Nessie's funeral. The one before her was every bit the embodiment of 'The Witch' that Glinda had heard of, but had never believed existed – not truly.
"Elphaba…"
"The Witch!" Elphaba snapped, "That is who I am now!"
And, Glinda realised with trepidation, that she was.
"Why are you even here?" Elp – The Witch snapped as the crows above cawed, their dark, beady eyes glaring at Glinda.
This time when Glinda felt her heart constrict it was for entirely different reasons, "The Wizard has sent a group to dispose of you."
"You?"
Glinda's lips parted, her eyes widening in surprise. How could Elphaba even think that? "No. Of course not. I don't know who they are, only that they are on their way here."
Elp – The Witch – she reminded herself, for the woman standing before her was a far departure from the woman she knew – tilted her head back, a short bark of humourless laughter leaving her.
"You expect me to believe you?"
The blonde's hands tightened into fists at her side, her lips pressing into a thin line, "You think I would travel this far simply to lie to you. I haven't even washed yet!"
And that was simply revolting, but she had more important things on her mind than proper hygiene – as disgusting as that was to even acknowledge.
The Witch snorted at her, moving like a predator sizing up their prey, her hand trailing over the cover of some oversized book as she paced before her. "How do I even know you are real? A figment perhaps, it wouldn't be the first."
The Witch murmured to herself, as if she was crazed. Glinda's ire wavered then, for perhaps she was. Perhaps her mind had been damaged – had she not thought something similar not too long ago? It was difficult to remember sometimes.
So, Glinda did the only thing she could think of when confronted by a reality that frightened her. She ignored it. "It wasn't an easy journey." A basic fact that should show Elphaba, who she still knew was in there somewhere, just how far she was willing to go for her. Belated effort or not.
"Some people will do anything to get what they want."
The words were not what Glinda expected, but Elphaba had a habit of being a tad too rough with her word choice at times. Almost like a form of self-defence, it was not something unfamiliar or uncommon to her.
"Exactly. I needed to warn you, and…and you left before I was able to tell you just –
The Witch shook her head almost violently, her smile cruel, "Anything to get your precious title."
A cold, icy feeling that had nothing to do with the building washed over Glinda from head to toe. The blonde tried to bring moisture back to her suddenly dry throat, small pinpricks pressing into the corners of her eyes.
"No. No, no, Elphaba that isn't –
"That name is meaningless now. You should know that, residing in luxury and fear as you do."
The Eminence? Is that what she thought Glinda was here about? Had she not just told her the reason? The very important, life threatening reason?
Glinda took a step forward, her hand rising between them as if to reach out. The look in the other woman's eyes was enough for Glinda's hand to drop back, uselessly to her side.
"The title is meaningless to me. I was going to fix what I could, I only accepted to stop the position from being abolished." Perhaps a white lie, but was the purpose of them not to bring comfort to a person. To hide a truth that could be deemed painful? "I already told you."
"Still keeping to the same lies, I see." The crows' calls were louder now, almost as if they too were just as hateful towards the smaller woman. A few hopped down, sending black feathers flying about as they perched on tables and chairs. Glinda took a step back, feeling hounded, but it was not enough to calm her rapidly building nerves nor the tension filling her small frame.
"It is not a lie Elphaba!" Glinda all but spat, her face twisted with her sudden rage, with her desperation to get through to Elphaba, through to that sensible woman she once knew. Not this – this bitter creature standing before her. At the very least she needed to get her to understand just how much danger she was now in, "That group will be here soon. They will kill you if you remain here."
The Witch charged then, the distance between them shrinking as the moved in to Glinda's personal space. Her towering from bring forth a feeling of cowardice and outright fear in Glinda, "Get out." She snarled, as Glinda found herself retreating backwards until she teetered dangerously on the top step of the stairs leading into the tower, "You are no more welcome here than the others are."
Glinda had enough sense still about her to pick up on that word – others?
"Elp –
But she was cut off; barely catching herself on the wall to her left as The Witch pushed her hard enough to force her down some of the steps. The door slammed then. Leaving Glinda in darkness, her breath coming out in short pants, her heart beating a fearful tempo as she heard the slide of a lock.