Greetings, readers! Here's Chapter 11! You wanted Fiyeraba? Well, I've got some Fiyeraba for you, as well as a little self-ridicule that my long time readers will pick up on.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11

"Give me three causes of the Evish War."

"The Evish War, you say? Well, um, let's see. Ooo! I know! Their leader, uh, Marsell Reance, was trying to take over Ix, but that violated the Treaty of Gastille! A-And Ev was using up too much of Munchkinland's grain supply! Oh, what's a third one? Um …"

"Fairy Queen Lurline. That's your hint."

"Oh!" Fiyero exclaimed. "Reance was oppressing Lurlinists! Putting them in death camps and stuff! Yes! I got this!"

"You sound pretty happy about mass genocide," I said with a laugh. "Should I be worried?"

"No, no! It's just … I think I'm gonna ace this quiz. Which is … a very interesting thought."

"Of course you are! Just like you did the last quiz, and the one before that, and the one before that … You get my point, don't you?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I do. You really think I'm ready?"

"I think you are. In fact, would you like to call it a day? I think we've both had enough studying for today."

He immediately jumped at that opportunity. "Yeah! And I just got an idea! You know, you've been saving my butt for almost a year now, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. So, I'd thought I'd show you. Let's go to the Wilted Rose for a little coffee. My treat." Normally I would have protested him paying, but unfortunately, the foolish part of my brain that had me develop this ridiculous crush on him in the first place had taken over, and all I could do was squeal a little (I know; it was an annoying habit that I was picking up from Galinda) and stutter out an affirmative. We had been studying in the library for most of the day, so it was nice to get some fresh air, however cold that air was.

We hadn't gotten that far from the library when Fiyero nonchalantly plopped himself down onto my lap. "Hey!" I exclaimed indignantly. "What's this about?"

"Your lap looked so comfy," he said, and though I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was grinning. "And it's a looong way to the Wilted Rose. Besides, you let Galinda do it. Why can't I?"

I laughed at the innocence in his voice. "Okay, number one, I let Galinda ride on the back of my chair, not in my lap! And I only let her because she insisted I had to by virtue of us being best friends. Number two, you have perfectly working legs that can get you to the Wilted Rose!" But naturally, this did nothing to get him off my lap.

We arrived at the Wilted Rose, Fiyero got our drinks (an espresso for me, a chocolate latte for him), and we talked for a fairly long while. It always kind of amazed me that everyone in my small group of friends took the time to understand what I was saying, and even when they didn't, all of them would ask me to repeat myself. Personally, I don't think I would be that patient.

"So, you know we're graduating next year," Fiyero said. "Any plans?"

"Off to the Emerald City," I answered. "Even if the Wizard decides he doesn't need me, the EC has so much more to offer. Galinda and I have fantasized about opening a magic shop in Little Gilikin."

"Magic shop in Little Gilikin, eh? Would you be, like, selling magical items, or-?"

"No, we'd be doing magic for a price. For example, if someone wanted to get rid of a pimple or wanted to temporarily turn an enemy into an animal, we would do that for them. Again, for a negotiable price."

Fiyero's eyes lit up. "Oh! Like the sea witch in The Little Mermaid!"

"The what?!"

"You know! The Little Mermaid! One of the fairy tales the Wizard brought over from his world! Didn't your parents read you The Little Mermaid? No? What about Snow White? Or Cinderella?"

"My mother told me the story of the witch and the fox babies. That's a good, Ozian fairy tale. As much as I respect the Wizard, I don't think we need to borrow the culture of wherever he came from. We have our own culture."

"Yeah, the story of the witch and the fox babies is okay, but The Little Mermaid is so much more interesting! A mermaid falls in love with a human prince, so she goes to the sea witch to get legs. But, the sea witch warns her that every step she takes will cut like a knife. Plus, if the prince marries another, the mermaid will turn to foam. And, the sea witch also demands the mermaid's tongue, so the mermaid won't have an unfair advantage with her lovely voice. But the mermaid loves the prince so much that she agrees to all this. She becomes human, and the prince grows fond of her, but he never loves her. And of course, she can't tell him how she feels because, you know, no tongue. So the prince marries another girl, but, twist ending, due to her selflessness, the mermaid becomes a spirit of the air." He looked at me expectantly. "Well? What do you think? Better than the witch and the fox babies? About the same?"

"Worse!" I exclaimed, for once struggling to speak due to emotion. "First of all, I don't think romance should be in fairy tales; children don't understand it, and it sets up unrealistic expectations, especially for girls. Second, the mermaid gives up her tongue, her ability to speak, for a man she doesn't even know. No one should just give that up."

"Oh!" Fiyero exclaimed in realization. "Oh, Fae, I'm sorry. I just … I guess I just forgot. Wow, that was … really tasteless of me. I hope you don't hate me now."

I smiled a little. "I won't hate you … if you give me some of my espresso."

"Your espress-? Oh! Duh! You haven't touched it since we got here!" He stood up and picked up my drink. "Let's see how much I can suck at this." I have to give him credit, he started off well; it was clear he had watched Galinda do it a million times. But then, I felt a splash of lukewarm espresso on my skirt.

"Fiyero!" I shrieked, still a bit in shock.

"Sorry, sorry! Wasn't paying attention!" He examined my skirt. "Well, on the bright side, it can't get any worse. Let's try this again." He brought the mug to my mouth again, this time succeeding in actually giving me some, but he forgot to put a napkin under my chin, which meant my shirt was now soiled too. Since it wasn't hot anymore, I finished the espresso in about three gulps.

"Well, we've made a fine mess," I remarked when we were done.

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah … sorry about that. Here, I can't help your clothes much, but your chin has some …" He took a napkin and carefully wiped my chin. "There. All better. At least in that regard." He breathed in deeply. "So, I admit I've forgotten most of the witch and the fox babies story. I know there's a witch, and she wants to eat the fox babies …"

"She wants to make them into a foxling casserole," I clarified. "And she gets heat from the sun to cook them, but they sing her a lullaby to make her fall asleep. When she does, she drops the heat, and it burns the foxlings' cages so they can escape. They somehow get the moon to block the entrance to the witch's cave." I grinned at him. "And there the wicked old witch stayed for a good long time."

Fiyero stared at me in bewilderment for a few clock ticks until he finally said, "Oh! You want me to say the thing! Okay. And did she ever come out?"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing as I said, "Not yet. But see how simple that was? That's what a fairy tale should be!"

"Hmm. I still like The Little Mermaid better."

"Of course you do." And even though I knew I shouldn't have, that night in bed, I replayed that chin wiping over and over.

Yeah. My nondisabled readers might not know this, but when a guy wipes your face, no matter how proud you are or how pro-disability you are, you immediately want to marry him.

Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!
Cheers,

Elle Dottore