To the right, to the left
We will fight to the death
To the edge of the earth
It's a brave new world
From the last to the first
Elphaba could see the blonde ahead of her, but when she moved towards her, Galinda kept moving farther and farther away.
"Galinda, wait! I'm sorry!" she tried to call out, but what she heard instead was, "You have no idea what it's like to be me, so stop pretending like you understand!"
No. I didn't mean that, the green woman thought. That's not what I said.
Elphaba finally managed to catch up to Galinda, but just as she did, the blonde suddenly fell through an unseen hole. Elphaba lunged forward and grabbed Galinda's hand, straining to pull her back up.
"Hold on!" she said, but it came out as, "Just go. Run back to your equally rich and snobbish husband, and you two can congratulate each other on being masters of the universe."
The blonde's hand suddenly slipped from Elphaba's grasp, and the green woman's heart dropped.
"No!"
"Elphaba! Elphaba!"
The green woman woke with a gasp, sitting straight up. "Galinda!"
"So you've decided to rejoin the land of the living," Nanny said. She was sitting beside Elphaba's cot.
"Galinda... I need to help her!" Elphaba gasped. She threw the blanket off herself, and swung her legs over the side. Her right leg bent fine, but her left knee exploded in pain when she tried to bend it. The green woman cried out before straightening it again.
"You're not going anywhere. The Tin Man gave you a good beating; you won't using that knee for a while."
"Is it broken?"
"Broken? Ha! Shattered is the better word to use."
"Well, fix it!"
"I can't just fix something like that. You'll have to wait until it heals."
"But that will take months! I have to get to Galinda now!"
"I'm afraid you will no longer be seeing Miss Galinda," a cool voice said. Elphaba and Nanny looked up, and Elphaba let out a low growl as Sir Chuffery approached them. "I must say, that was quite a superb fight."
"You set me up. You knew I wouldn't stand a chance against the Tin Man," Elphaba said darkly.
"And yet here you are, alive, if not well."
"No thanks to you."
"Elphaba, you've been doing this long enough to know that spectator intervention is against the rules. Which is why I was very disappointed when Galinda gave you a little… boost."
"What did you do to her, you bastard?"
"I did nothing. She merely performed her required duties as my wife."
Elphaba was puzzled for a moment, but then the realization hit her. "You bastard, you raped her! I'm going to murder you!"
The green woman leapt off of her cot, but the minute her left leg hit the ground, it collapsed underneath her weight, bringing Elphaba crashing to the ground.
"Careful, Elphaba. You still haven't recovered from the fight with the Tin Man. You wouldn't want to sustain further injuries, would you?"
Elphaba glared up at him as he walked away. She let out a yell and slammed her fist into the ground. "Damnit!"
"Get back into bed, Elphaba, before you make a bigger fool of yourself," Nanny said, helping the green woman off the floor and back onto her cot.
"I swear, Nanny, I swear I'm going to kill Sir Chuffery with my own two hands," Elphaba growled.
"I'm sure you will, dear. But for now, rest, and leave everything to old Nanny."
Galinda stood in the shower, feeling the warm water run down her back. She was trembling slightly, the events from last night still haunting her.
How could he do this to me?
Galinda just wanted to wash him away, all of him. She didn't want him on her, and she had already spent an hour in the shower trying to rid herself of him.
Elphaba would never do anything like that to me. I need to see her.
The blonde realized just how true this was, and it made her eyes fill with tears.
I need Elphaba.
When she finally gathered the courage to step out of the shower and get dressed, Galinda found that going to see Elphaba would be more difficult than she had anticipated.
"I'm sorry, but I have orders to keep you here," one guard said as she tried to leave.
"That's absurd!"
"Those are my orders."
Galinda felt her anger rising, and she'd finally had enough. She grabbed the guard's collar. "I'm through being nice, Ozdamnit! Now, take me to Sir Chuffery's fight club!"
The guard was too flustered to protest, and immediately led Galinda to the carriages. She climbed in one and they took off, heading full speed for the fight club.
Elphaba winced as she tried to bend her left leg again. She sighed and gave up, convinced that her kneecap really was shattered.
"Elphaba."
The green woman looked up at the sound of her name and saw Galinda standing beside her cot.
"Galinda, are you all right?" she asked.
Galinda nodded. "No," she said, her eyes filling with tears.
"Come here."
The blonde climbed onto the cot with Elphaba, and curled up in her open arms as the tears started down her face.
"It… it was so awful, Elphaba!" Galinda sobbed.
"Shh. He's not here now. It's just me."
No further words were passed between the girls; Elphaba just held the blonde, rocking back and forth slowly as Galinda sobbed into her.
Night fell over Oz, and Elphaba looked out at the stars. She turned her attention back to Galinda, and saw that the blonde had fallen asleep, one hand still clutching Elphaba's shirt; the other hand was near her face, and Elphaba smiled slightly when she saw that the blonde had her thumb in her mouth. The blonde would be humiliated if she knew, but Elphaba thought that it was perfectly acceptable under these circumstances.
"Elphaba, what is she still doing here?" Nanny asked shrilly as she appeared beside the bed out of nowhere.
Elphaba jumped, her heart racing. "Don't do that, you old bat! And keep your voice down!"
"You're young; you'll live," Nanny said, waving her hand dismissively. "Miss Galinda should have left by now; if Sir Chuffery finds out, you'll both be in more trouble, if that's even possible."
"'If' being the key word here," Elphaba said. She felt the blonde stir and looked down at her.
"What time is it?" Galinda asked, rubbing one eye sleepily.
"Night time," Elphaba replied.
"I should have been back by now," Galinda said, and Elphaba saw a haunted look in her eyes.
"You won't have to go back," the green woman said.
Galinda looked at her. "What are you talking about?"
"You can stay with me. I'll protect you from that monster."
"Ha! Miss Galinda can't stay down here; she would never last in a fighter's world," Nanny said. Elphaba glared at her.
"Elphaba, I can't stay. That will only bring more trouble," Galinda said.
"How can I let you go back, knowing what he did to you?" Elphaba said angrily, and for the first time, Galinda saw tears glistening in Elphaba's eyes. "I couldn't protect you the first time; I won't let that happen again."
"But you can barely stand!"
Elphaba was about to respond when they heard a door bang open. Galinda inhaled sharply and looked up fearfully. Elphaba tightened her grip around the blonde, and pushed her partially behind her protectively.
"All right, that's enough," Chuffery said, approaching the bed. Elphaba scowled at him. "Galinda, it's time to come back home."
Elphaba felt the blonde start to tremble. "She's not going anywhere with you," the green woman growled.
"You're already in enough trouble, so move aside and stay out of this," Chuffery said.
"You'll have to kill me first."
Chuffery sighed and Elphaba knew what his next move would be. She released Galinda and pushed away from her, hitting the ground a split second before Chuffery pushed the button. The green woman clenched her teeth as she felt the electricity course through her body. The pain stopped, but Elphaba refused to give Chuffery the satisfaction of causing her pain, so she started laughing.
"Is that it? Is that all? A little shock?" she said. Another wave of electricity traveled through her body, and when it stopped, the green woman just laughed again. "You'll have to do better than that!"
Galinda watched as Elphaba continued to take wave after wave of electric shocks. She knew that if she continued to endure them, she would be killed.
"Stop! Leave her alone! I'll go with you!" Galinda cried. As much as she really didn't want to, Galinda wouldn't be responsible for Elphaba's death.
Chuffery finally stopped and Elphaba lay still, occasional spasms coursing through her body. The rise and fall of her chest could barely been detected, and Galinda feared for her life. The blonde got off of the cot slowly, her eyes never leaving Elphaba. She stepped over the green woman, and felt Chuffery grab her arm in a vice-like grip. Her gaze traveled to the cement as he started to drag her away.
"This… is… war…"
Galinda looked back at Elphaba, but the green woman's eyes were closed, and she wondered if she had really heard what she thought. Elphaba was the last thing the blonde saw before Chuffery dragged her away.
"Elphaba. Wake up, you green thing!"
A slap to the face jerked Elphaba from her sleep. "What?" she hissed, her sharp eyes searching the darkness for the offending voice and hand. They eventually fell on Nanny, who was standing beside the cot.
"Here, Nanny has something for you," the woman said with a toothy grin. Elphaba looked down at the small glass bottle in Nanny's withered hand.
"What is it?"
"How should I know? Drink it."
"Wait, you want me to just drink some unknown liquid that you—"
Nanny had already opened the bottle, and shoved it into Elphaba's mouth. The green made a muffled noise and almost choked on the liquid that was running down her throat. She pushed Nanny away, and the bottle fell to the ground, shattering. Elphaba coughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"What was that? Oz, it tasted awful!"
"Animal urine."
Elphaba had to swallow to suppress the vomit that was starting to come up. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"You do look a little green."
"Very funny. Now, would you mind telling me why—"
The green woman stopped as she started to feel a fiery pain in her knee. She clenched the afflicted area as the pain increased. It felt as though a fire had been lit in her left knee. "Nanny, what the hell have you done?" she asked, her eyes watering involuntarily.
"You'll thank me… in a few more minutes."
The pain slowly started to ebb away, and Elphaba released her knee. She bent and unbent it a few times, surprised that it hardly hurt.
"My knee… it's healed," she said in awe.
"Didn't Nanny say she would take care of everything? But you didn't trust me, did you?"
Elphaba got out of the bed hesitantly, putting her feet on the ground. She stood up slowly, a smile crossing her face.
"I know what you're thinking, Elphaba," Nanny said. She reached into her dress and extracted a key. "Tonight only."
Elphaba's smile grew wider as she took the key from Nanny. "I'll make it count."
Galinda sat on the edge of the bed, listening to Sir Chuffery's breathing as he slept beside her. Her eyes wandered to the vase of flowers sitting on the bedside table. She knew that if she broke that vase, it would reward her with sharp, broken pieces. And what would those pieces bring her but blissful death? Galinda stood up and started to reach for the vase.
A green hand grabbed her wrist. "Don't you dare think about that for one second."
Galinda looked up, hardly daring to believe her eyes. "E-Elphaba?"
The green woman smiled, her verdant skin almost glowing in the moonlight. "I said I would protect you… and I intend to keep that promise."
"Elphaba…"
The blonde stood up and fell against the green woman, embracing her tightly. "Take me away from here, Elphaba, even if it's only for one night."
"Your wish is my command."
Elphaba laid Galinda down slowly on her cot. She barely remembered the return back to the tunnel, yet here they were, alone in the silence. She felt Galinda wrap her arms around the back of her neck and pull her down for a passionate kiss. Their kiss deepened, and Elphaba soon felt Galinda tugging at her shirt. She broke their kiss only to help the blonde remove her shirt, and went back to what she had been doing.
"Elphaba… touch me," the blonde breathed.
Elphaba looked at her. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You could never hurt me. Please, just help me forget."
The blonde helped the green woman remove her clothing, and she was soon bare underneath her lover. Elphaba removed the rest of her own clothing, and slowly ran her trembling hands down Galinda's beautiful body, stopping when she reached that forbidden place between her legs. Elphaba looked back into Galinda's eyes, asking permission. What she saw in those sapphire eyes was complete trust; trust that Elphaba would never use the blonde the way Sir Chuffery had. Elphaba's heart rate quickened as her hands ran down Galinda's body again. The green woman leaned down to kiss the blonde again as her hands found their target and began to work.
Galinda couldn't remember a time when she had been happier. Elphaba was so gentle with her, and when the blonde hit her climax, the green woman's name was on her lips. After the heat had passed, Elphaba looked down at Galinda, panting. Droplets of sweat caused strands of Galinda's hair to stick to her face, and she smiled weakly.
"You're trembling," she whispered.
"I'll be fine," Elphaba replied. She lay down slowly, her head coming to rest just below the blonde's throat. Galinda put a hand oh the green woman's head.
"I love you, Elphaba."
The green woman didn't reply, and Galinda saw that she had fallen asleep. The blonde smiled before she too gave in to her own exhaustion.