A/N: I did have a request for a particularly long chapter, but I ended up separating it into two, simply so that I could leave it in an appropriate place. So both chapters are now usual length- my apologies. I shouldn't take too long in putting the next one up, however- I'm quite anxious to move into the main body of this story now. If you enjoy this chapter (or if you can think of any potential alterations, of course) please be so kind as to leave a review? You have no idea how appreciated your feedback is!

Chapter 11

As Autumn came to pass in the swift, insistent way it had a habit of doing; it seemed that the incident in the piano room had slipped from Glinda's mind. Either that or she had simply dismissed the encounter entirely, not considering it worth dwelling upon, Elphaba mused broodingly. Quite contrarily, she herself seemed unable to remove thoughts of that day from her mind for more than a few hours.

Glinda had not raised the topic of Avaric's abuse since the day in which she had discovered that it was commencing; neither to ask for further details nor to suggest that something be done about it. For this, Elphaba was extremely thankful- she was quite sure that there was nothing which could be done to resolve the predicament, and she would not have cared for the other woman to have offered pity which was neither practical nor helpful. In fact, Avaric had not touched her in a sexual manner since their wedding night, and his physical attacks seemed not to affect Elphaba much any longer. All she needed to do was close her eyes and think of Glinda until the pain was not so terrible, and she was fine. Elphaba wondered privately what Glinda would think if she knew that she was helping protect her friend from her husband's abuse in such an unconscious way.

Slowly but surely, Elphaba had become increasingly aware of the fact that her feelings towards Glinda had grown stealthily stronger as their time together had progressed. Or perhaps they had not changed at all; perhaps they had been this way all along, and it had simply been a matter of discovering, through time, what they meant? Her love for the blonde woman both comforted and terrified her: comforted, because it was reassuring to discover that she still remained enough of a person to possess such a human feeling as love; terrified, because she hadn't the slightest idea of what to do about the way she felt. It was unlike Elphaba not to have a plan, and yet how could she plan for something she had never before experienced; something which she had been adamant she never would experience? And even now, she felt herself mentally scoffing at the very idea of the fact that she could be in love with somebody. When had she started to believe in those storybook concepts?

Nevertheless, Elphaba couldn't suppress the knowledge that if she didn't do something about her feelings soon, she would be in danger of letting them out in completely the wrong way. Avoidance of Glinda had proven impossible as the blonde simply came seeking her out; but what other way was there of dealing with this fire threatening to engulf her very being?

Nessarose's wedding fell in late November, when the air was beginning to grow colder as the last remaining heat of the year slipped away. Nevertheless, if Nessa had hoped for a Spring wedding, the weather was compliant, as the day in which she was due to wed opened with a pleasant, but not overpowering warmness.

Glinda had, of course, received an invitation to the wedding. Despite the fact she had only ever spoken to Nessarose in passing, she would have been terribly offended had Fiyero and herself not been invited to an event which was promised, in gossip, to be the most spectacular wedding of the season.

And the day was spectacular. Glinda had thought long and hard about her outfit, knowing that everybody present would be dressed in beautiful attire; and finally she had decided on a number of lavender satin which flowed to her knees and displayed just the smallest hint of cleavage. The fit was perfect enough to draw to her figure the eyes of those nearby, but the elaborateness of the cut was modest enough that she would not remove attention from the bride- well, for long, anyhow, Glinda added to herself rather smugly.

Once the ceremony had begun, however, it quickly became clear to Glinda that there had been no danger at all of upstaging the bride. The simple wooden chair which Nessa had possessed previously had been replaced by one of elegant gold, its detail so intricate that it looked to have been woven rather than soldered. While the old chair had caused Glinda to throw the younger woman glances of pity, this one caused her to view Nessa with envy, almost; and she had to remind herself that there was no way in Oz she wanted to sacrifice the use of her legs, even for a pretty chair. If ever there was a way for one to make being crippled look attractive, however; Nessa was certainly able to achieve it. She sat straight in her chair, looking positively regal- or perhaps even celestial- as her dress of stunning lace billowed around her, the gold complementing the white perfectly.

Seats of a rather lesser gold had been constructed in an arc across the Center Munch, and the wedding was invitation only. Stern, uniform-clad guards patrolled the perimeter of the square, welcoming those with invitations and curtly turning away those without them. Glinda had managed to secure for her husband and herself two seats beside the aisle, less than ten rows from the front- something of an achievement when one considered the ridiculous amount of people present.

She craned her neck and cast her eyes across the very front row, looking for Elphaba. This was not a difficult task, as the green woman stood out a mile- while everybody else appeared to have put a great amount of consideration into their outfits, Elphaba was wearing something so shapeless that it resembled a navy blue sack. Despite herself, Glinda raised her eyebrows a little at this- she had been expecting her friend to show up in something similar to the dress Elphaba had worn when they had first met at Pfannee's party. This was her sister's wedding, for Lurline's sake; Glinda thought, suddenly feeling rather exasperated by her friend. But at that very moment, Elphaba chose to glance over her shoulder, and quickly found Glinda's eyes. She smiled- and Glinda felt her irritation melt away entirely. That very smile was something she had seen more and more of as the two of them had spent increasing amounts of time together, and Glinda found herself hopelessly consumed by the notion that it was all she wanted to see for the rest of eternity.

It was not until the ceremony had ended and the reception at Colwen Grounds underway that Glinda found herself alone with Elphaba, and was able to share her concerns about her friend's attire. Elphaba's eyes betrayed a flash of something profound as Glinda questioned her as to the meaning behind her sack-dress, but then it had vanished, leaving Glinda thoroughly confused as to what it had meant. Was it anger, perhaps? Sadness? Or had it simply been a flash of mischief as the green woman considered her own rebellion from the conventions of society?

"It always confuses me as to why these women need to spend exuberant amounts of money on dresses bigger than tents and hairstyles which make them look as though a small animal has taken refuge on their heads," Elphaba explained disdainfully, "Why, if one of them offered me some ink and a pen, I would write the word materialist across her forehead free of charge."

Glinda looked at her sharply. "I hope you realise that I'm one of those women you speak about," she rebuked.

"No," Elphaba said firmly, shaking her head, "You have things those women will never have. You have integrity, an insightful mind and a pure heart. As many frilly gowns as you wear, you will never be one of those women."

Glinda turned to her, her eyes wide and blissful, both surprised and pleased at the rare compliment. She was about to say 'thank you,' when she noticed the way in which Elphaba was looking at her. Her chocolate-brown eyes looked unfocused, somehow- as though she was seeing something deeper than the mere surface of Glinda's face; and her dark-green, almost black lips were parted very slightly, leaving her pointy features a little skewed.

"What?" Glinda asked, her forehead furrowing in concern, "What is it?"

"Elphie?" Glinda questioned when Elphaba continued to hesitate, her voice so soft that the green woman wondered for a moment if she already knew. She opened her mouth to continue, but before she could utter another word, Glinda had grasped her wrist and pointed excitedly behind her.

"Oh look!" she beamed, "There's Nessa, and she's alone finally! Let's congratulate her!"

And then the moment had passed her by, and just like that, not only had Elphaba's opportunity surpassed her, but she suddenly realised that Glinda did not know what she had been about to tell her. She closed her eyes and took a deep inhalation of breath as Glinda waved Nessarose over to them.

"Oh Nessa, I simply couldn't be happier for you!" Glinda trilled, bending to kiss Nessa on the cheek, "You and Boq, you deserve one another! Don't you think so, Elphie?"

"What?" Elphaba asked, the unexpected address taking her by surprise- she had been focused on the way Glinda's golden locks shone in the sunlight as she had bent forwards, "I mean, yes," she added stupidly, managing to establish the answer Glinda's question required of her, "I'm very happy for you, Nessa. You'll make a fine wife."

"And you look positively radiant!" Glinda gushed, "That dress is simply perfect for your figure."

There was a short, awkward silence as Elphaba and Nessa looked deliberately away from one another, neither one of them daring to acknowledge that it was, in fact, the same dress Elphaba herself had worn when she had married Avaric- only for Nessa's benefit it had been cut and altered accordingly. Thankfully, it was at that moment that Glinda realised that her husband was talking to Boq and that she absolutely must run and congratulate him too while she had the chance! And so she disappeared in a flutter, leaving the two sisters alone with one another.

"What an excitable woman," Nessa commented, looking slightly stunned as she watched Glinda skip away from them.

Elphaba smiled a little, throwing her friend an affectionate glance. "Yes, Glinda's quite a character."

"I understand you've been seeing a lot of Glinda lately," Nessa commented, looking questioningly at her, and Elphaba nodded.

"Yes, I suppose I have," she answered noncommittally.

"She has a good soul," Nessa observed somberly, watching as Glinda conversed vibrantly with her new husband. "Spending time with her may be beneficial to you."

"Yes, for someone as soulless as myself; it can only be of benefit for me to be around someone with a soul so beautiful," Elphaba agreed, though her mind was already absent. She was distracted; she had been that way all day.

As she watched Glinda chat blithely to the other wedding guests, Elphaba tried her hardest to comprehend just what it was about her which made her so appealing; for surely it should not be so difficult to work out. A simple biological or psychological equation was all any feeling ever really abridged to, after all. Glinda was glamorous and sociable; she was the ideal woman and reminded Elphaba of all the things she couldn't be. This, coupled with the way in which she felt so comfortable and secure in the blonde's presence simply provided the illusion that she was in love with Glinda.

And yet, there was something else. None of these rational thoughts could begin to explain the blazing fire in Elphaba's chest; the cloud of fogginess consuming her brain, or the sensation of deep longing and sensuality she experienced whenever she encountered the intoxicating scent of Glinda's perfume. Though she was not usually one for metaphors, preferring to express herself in literal terms, she found, frighteningly, that this feeling was one which could not be articulated through use of facts and figures. Conversely, the creative, imaginative side of her mind was what was needed: the side she kept stowed away so compactly. But was that not the part of her which came forth when she played the piano? Had her piano sessions with Glinda perhaps unleashed these illogical, intangible feelings within her?

Elphaba didn't know, but she did know that she had no wish to remain feeling this way indefinitely. She wanted to share this revelation with Glinda, to see whether they could come to terms with it together and work out what to do with it- and at all costs, she wanted to avoid a repeat of her outburst that day in the piano room.

Moving forwards to where Glinda was now talking companionably with a couple Elphaba didn't recognise, she reached out and gently touched the blonde woman on her shoulder.

Glinda swiveled to look at her, her face bearing a genuine, careless smile which reached right to her eyes, transforming them into magnificent, blissful sapphires; and Elphaba felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"Glinda, may I speak to you for a few moments?" she asked, disgusted to hear how insecure she suddenly sounded. Elphaba had been so confident that sharing her personal thoughts with Glinda was the right thing to do under the circumstances; so why did that course of action suddenly seem so insane? She glanced at the couple with whom Glinda had been speaking, who were looking on curiously. "In private," she clarified.

"Of course!" Glinda beamed, then politely extracted herself from the company of her new acquaintances, steering Elphaba and herself to one side. "Now, what is it?"

"There's something I'd like to talk about," Elphaba said, and there was an unsteadiness to her tone which caused a ripple of concern to spread through Glinda. Usually Elphaba was so vocal about everything she felt: she wasn't one to sugar-coat her opinions or spare her thoughts for worry over the feelings of others. Each thought which entered her mind was spoken confidently and assuredly, and Glinda was troubled by the hint of anxiety which was now so prominent in the sure-minded woman's tone.

"Elphie, what is it?" she asked gently, reaching out a hand to take the other woman's, and when she further hesitated, added: "You know you can tell me anything."

"I know." Elphaba's voice had grown even smaller; so much so that Glinda feared it might soon disappear altogether. "I know I can tell you close to anything, but this..." she cast her eyes warily around the crowded ballroom and swallowed thickly, "Could we perhaps find someplace less crowded?"

"Of course," Glinda assured her; and the words had barely left her mouth before Elphaba had nodded once and then turned her back on her, heading for the doors.

Glinda followed close behind her, her feelings a confusion of anxiety, intrigue and bewilderment. Together, they slipped unnoticed out of the ballroom and along a stealthy, unlit passageway which lead to the gardens.

It was twilight, and the heat from the day had assuredly faded, leaving behind it a chilliness which caused Glinda to feel strangely vulnerable. Or was it the mere oddity of the situation which was causing her to feel this way; the ominous feeling that something untoward was about to occur?

The gardens of Colwen Grounds were extremely well-kept and coordinated: each variety of plant kept well within its designated section and meticulously well-ordered. Glinda cast her eyes carelessly over the shrubbery which formed neat borders to either side of them, but couldn't keep them from straying back to Elphaba's silhouette as she swept, slick as a cat, further from the lights of the house and deeper into the infinite darkness.

As they moved further from the house, the order and precision of the garden began to disintegrate, as though the gardener had not paid consideration to the fact that guests might venture this far from the house. Waist-high, manicured hedges transformed gradually into taller, ragged shrubs which appeared, to Glinda, to hold swaths of deep shadow and mystery.

Elphaba walked swiftly, and Glinda followed close behind her; drawn to the other woman as powerlessly as a child following behind a trusted adult.

In the muted twilight, Glinda was unable to prevent herself from casting an appreciative eye over Elphaba's slender form. The sleeves on the sack-dress were long and the unflattering neckline modest enough to display no more than a ghost of cleavage, but as the green woman turned, Glinda found herself drawn to the shadow cast through the trees, which fell between veiled green breasts. Unable to draw her gaze upwards towards somewhere more appropriate as Elphaba reached to take her hands, Glinda caught a slight bounce in her chest area, which gave her cause to believe that the other woman was not wearing any additional support underneath that misshapen dress. Her heart began beating wickedly fast as she drew upon this revelation, the beauty of this improper discovery causing her breath to catch in her throat.

Their palms touched, and a tingling sensation began at the centre of Glinda's hands, sending a frisson of electricity from the route of the touch throughout her body, right to her toes. She wriggled them experimentally, and then wrapped her hands more tightly around Elphaba's, drawing the other woman in closer. As she did so, Glinda felt a slight tremor pass through her, but whether a tremble or mere shiver owing to the coolness of the night, she couldn't tell.

"Glinda," Elphaba whispered, taking one hand away from Glinda's and letting it creep upwards towards her cheek. Green fingers traced a cheekbone experimentally, and Glinda felt she may have been holding her breath. Her skin tingled and, as Elphaba let the hand fall to Glinda's waist, she felt a sudden, protesting heat materialise between her thighs.

The moment felt fragile as glass as Glinda struggled to remember why they were here, outside, beneath this scattering of stars. She felt bare and unrefined: as untouched as a virgin, perhaps, or as though she possessed no skin: naked and shy under the open night sky. One touch more, Glinda thought- one kiss- would be all it would take for her to keel over and melt into the grass.

But Elphaba was hesitant. Her chin was bent, her face close to Glinda's and her lips slightly parted, but her breathing was shallow and rough- fearful. As Glinda looked into the other woman's eyes she sensed her apprehension. But what was there to be afraid of? This moment was perfect; Elphaba was perfect.

Taking initiative herself, Glinda pressed the balls of her feet into the grass and, lifting herself onto her tiptoes, she closed the remaining inches between their mouths.