The present is an empty space
Between the good and bad
A moment leading nowhere
Too pointless to be sad
But time enough to lay to waste
Every certainty I had
-The Past Is Another Land, Aida

"Yero, look!" Varina ran into the kitchen, brandishing a newspaper. "It's the weirdest thing." She opened the paper up as he pulled her into his lap and kissed her cheek . "The Wicked Witch of the West rose again... or it's her ghost, or maybe she didn't die in the first place, but the important thing is that's she's back and she's killed a whole bunch of people."

Fiyero sucked in a breath, feeling like he was going to throw up and barely able to process any of the information, just barely squeaking out, "What?" as he gently pushed Varina back out of his arms, just in case he did wind up throwing up. It was a definite possibility.

"After Lady Glinda died, the Witch killed a bunch of General Vuyron's men, really brutally and then she burnt down half of a village in the West. The Gale Force captured her though. They don't plan to execute her, though. The paper says they're trying to reason with her and try to get her to use her magic for good." She chewed the edge of her lip. "You've gone pale... are you alright? I didn't mean to upset you, I just thought you would want to know since you told me you're originally from the Vinkus." She reached forward and held his hand. "You didn't have family in Red Windmill, did you? That was the name of the town."

He choked out, "No, no, none of my family lived in that part of the Vinkus." He would later think to be glad that his parents and younger siblings all lived in a castle in the northern part of the Vinkus, but at that moment all he could think of was the fact that Elphaba had managed to kill so many people or, alternately, that she had been captured. He wasn't sure which part of it disturbed him more.

"Did you maybe have friends there, though?"

Friends? He hadn't had normal friends since Shiz. "I don't think so, I hope not."

"Well, that's comforting, at least." She said. "Can I get you anything? Tea or something else?"

He said yes so she would have something to do, so she wouldn't be so focused upon him. Varina was a wonderful girl. Very pretty with long auburn hair and gray eyes, and soft curves. And intelligent, too. He'd picked her up once when he was drunk in a bar, but luckily, even drunk he still had decent taste in women. The apartment wasn't much to look at, but it was comfortable and cozy. His job left something to be desired, but it was something to do so he couldn't complain much. He had a place to live and a job and food on the table, and Varina. He'd made a perfectly respectable life for himself in months. He could live a nice, humdrum, unremarkable life in Ev with Varina, a sweet, lovely, pretty girl.

A sweet, lovely, pretty girl. Who's only flaw was that she was not Elphaba.

OK, so that was a pretty big one.

God, Elphaba. What in the world had happened to her? His Elphaba had never killed, much less burnt down an entire village.

And she'd been captured? Impossible, she couldn't be contained by anyone- well, except maybe him. He'd done a pretty good job of cutting her off from the world- something he now pretty sincerely regretted, even if it was for their own good. And that had driven her into a deep, dark depression. And that had been when she was with someone she loved, or at least claimed to. What in the world would happen to her when she was locked up, surrounded by people she hated?

He left for Oz, knowing Varina would be fine without him, but also knowing Elphaba couldn't be.

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She laid on her side, staring at the wall. The sink dripped incessantly, getting on her last nerve. She considered asking one of the guards on duty to fix it, but knew that would only result in laughter. She'd never been much of a handywoman. As a child, there was always a servant at her father's mansion, or a maintenance man at Shiz. She'd never bothered repairing anything at Kiamo Ko, and in Ev, Fiyero had always taken it upon himself to do things like fix leaky sinks.

She glanced over at the guards, laughing over something or other and decided to just deal with the dripping. Pretend it was rain, something natural, something free... yeah right.

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"Miss Witch," an amused laugh accompanied by a knocking on the cell bars. "I'd like to speak with you."

She didn't roll over to look him in the eye. "So speak, I can't stop you."

Vuyron unlocked the cell, walking in. He sat down on the cot and grabbed her shoulder, gentle but firm, and forced her to roll over. "I have an offer to make you."

"What's that?" She asked, bored and knowing she didn't really have a choice but to listen to him, anyway.

"Your freedom." She sat up, but he continued on without giving her a chance to question him. "You're far too powerful to rot in this cell- if I intended to let you do that, I would just kill you. I still can," he reminded her. "But no, I want to offer you the chance to work with me, not against me. You could have anything you wanted. Anything."

Wonderful, you could be wonderful...

"No," she murmured, remembering long ago days when the Wizard had made her a similar offer.

He didn't take that for an answer- he never did. "Now, won't you hear me out, first?" He circled her, pulling her up with the same gentle firmness as before. "No?" He sighed. "It would be so much easier if you would... but I guess we can do things your way." He looked over at the guards, signaling them to come over. All the gentleness of his touches were dropped as he roughly shoved her to the floor of the cell. "Do what you want with her, just make sure she stays alive." He looked at Elphaba. "Remember my offer."

The only one who'd ever... touched her was Fiyero. And this was nothing like his gentle caresses, as much for her pleasure as his own. More so, probably. No, the hands groped over her body, roughly, exploring every inch of her, stripping her of the rags that had once been her dress. They took turns plunging into her brutally, painfully. Eventually, eternities later they both grew tired, spilling their seeds inside her, making her feel used and like she would never be clean again.

Some time later Vuyron walked into the room, her still laying in a heap, naked and filthy on the floor. "Will you listen to me now?" He helped her slowly stumble to her feet and he wrapped a silk robe around her, tying it shut. "Come with me, then." He offered her his arm, as if she were a court lady and they were going for a walk around the palace. She didn't take his arm, despite the fact that she was sure she wouldn't be able to walk by herself.

He didn't care, resting his hand on her back instead. She squirmed at the touch, yet another unwanted touch.

"No handcuffs?" She said with a calm, clear voice.

"I don't think it's necessary. Do you really think running would do you any good?" She scowled at him, knowing she wasn't in a physical state to run, and even if she could've there was nowhere for her to go, anyway. He lead her through the palace, eventually stopping at a door and opening it. A large bedroom was inside, decorated in light blue.

"What's this?"

"Your room." He smiled. "If you'll accept it, anyway. If you don't like the blue, that can be changed. Forgive me for not knowing your favorite color... though I had a feeling you weren't a pink kind of girl."

She frowned, remembering a young, living, happy Glinda, in a pink dress, running around their dorm room. No, Elphaba definitely wasn't a pink kind of girl.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

He didn't hide his intentions from her. "I want you to work with me, not against me. In return, I'd be willing to give you whatever- comfort, respect. In return, all I ask for is for you to help me. Then this will be all over, you can have a life. You would never have to be a fugitive again, you could just be a young woman. You don't even look like you're twenty-five, yet, are you?" She didn't comment, telling him she wasn't even twenty-four yet. "Anyway, I'll leave you to get settled in. The room is guarded for your protection- and magically sealed, as your cell was."

"Wait!"

He smiled, turning back around. "Yes?"

She chewed her lip, not wanting to ask the question, not wanting to appear weak, but knowing that it was impossible for her not to appear that way to him, "Why did you tell them to do that to me?"

"Because you need to know that I can make every single wish come true, as well as all of your nightmares."

Despite herself, she let herself enjoy the room, or even more so, the bathroom that attached to it. She plunged herself into the water, scrubbing the grime and sweat and dirt from her skin until her skin was raw and the water was tinged pink with blood.

The next morning, she awoke to find Vuyron standing over her. "I see you've enjoyed your room, I'm glad." He sat on the edge of the plush bed. "Have you thought about my offer any more? I meant what I said, you can have anything you want. You'll be safe. When was the last time you were safe?

It was tempting. It could all be so easy. She could be safe and taken care of, never having to hurt again.

Then again, Fiyero had been more than willing to take care of her and keep her safe, and she hadn't been able to live that way with the man she loved. What made her even consider the offer from a man she hated? "No, I won't work with you."

He groaned, his composure slipping, just slightly. Then he beat her himself, not asking for the guards to do it. When she was exhausted, he dragged her roughly back to her cell.

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