Clutching her knees to her chest, Elphaba shivered in the cool, moist air as she peered around the large dark space. The water that Dorothy had drenched her with had soaked through her dress, making the cloth heavy and extremely cold against her skin; goose bumps trailed up and down her body as she attempted to conserve her body heat. It felt like she had been trapped there for days, wondering when Fiyero was going to return for her, but it could have only been a few hours. Tensing with worry, Elphaba hoped that Fiyero hadn't been discovered, or worse, killed. She hoped he would hurry; her feverish, glazed eyes searched the darkness for a way out of the suffocating prison. She couldn't breathe, and her body refused to give her any rest in either merciful sleep or preferable death. Desperately, she dug her fingernails into her legs, feeling her broken nails bruising her skin as she gasped slightly in pain. The walls were closing in. Surely, Fiyero hadn't forgotten about her and left her to fade away in the darkness underground. So much time couldn't have passed. Or, maybe time had stopped, and she would there forever, trapped forever in an inescapable prison, suffocated by the dark. Her mind raced. Time…time…death…
A knock on the trapdoor above her head pulled her out of her nightmare as the heavy wood was lifted.
"Elphaba?" Fiyero called softly.
She lifted her head, "Fiyero?"
Quickly, he reached down and attempted to help her as she pushed her body out of the dark hole.
"It worked," Fiyero said softly, hugging her to his chest.
She reached out a hand and touched his rough burlap cheek, tears forming in her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Yero."
"No. You did the best you could. You saved my life," he told her, brushing her tangled hair out of her face.
"You're still beautiful," she whispered.
Looking into her eyes, he said, "You don't have to lie to me."
A slight smiled crept over her face as she replied, "It's not lying. It's looking at things another way."
Shaking his head, Fiyero pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I love you."
She relaxed into his pleasantly warm, straw arms, "I love you, too. I was so afraid, Yero. I needed you, down there in the darkness. I couldn't…I thought I was going mad. I missed you too much."
"You're delirious, Fae," he whispered, his gloved hands resting over hers.
Her eyes closing, she smiled softly, "Yes, I am. But that doesn't make what I said any less true."
As they sat together on the cold stone floor, Fiyero smiled sadly as he watched her, her chest rising and falling in an even rhythm. Neither of them had ever thought their lives would end up like this, but they didn't care. For the moment, it was enough that they could simply hold each other in their arms as time stood still.
