11. An Escape
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Fiyero said amiably to the two guards standing by the doors that led down to the dungeons. "Governor Nessarose Thropp of Munchkinland would like to visit her sister, who is a prisoner here."
"The Wicked Witch of the West." One of the guards looked at the figure in the wheelchair, clad all in black with only her eyes faintly visible, sympathetically. "She must be such a disgrace to your family's name."
"She is," the girl in the wheelchair declared, trying to sound just like Nessarose. "That is why I have taken up the faith, to try and make amends with the Unnamed God for the horrible curse she has brought over our family. My poor father perished of shame once he heard about what my sister had done."
"That's why she generally doesn't show any hair or skin," Fiyero said in a low voice to his soldiers. "Her faith requires it of her."
They nodded in understanding.
"Why do you want to talk to her?" one of them asked the girl in the chair.
"I want to try and make her see the light," she said in a soft voice. "Perhaps she will listen to me when I tell her to confess her sins and atone for them. She could still earn the Unnamed God's forgiveness, if she begs it."
Fiyero shrugged. "I figured, since the interrogations failed, we might as well try this," he said. "If she confesses... the Governor is her sister, after all."
The guards nodded again. "You may pass," one of them said and the other opened the door.
Fiyero smiled at them. "Thank you, gentlemen." He pushed the chair forward and down the ramp that would lead the two of them to the rows of cells.
Glinda heaved a sigh of relief. "That went well, didn't it?" She smiled widely. "Don't you think my impression of Nessarose was simply wonderful? I could have made name as an actress easily, you know. I have a talent for it."
"You sure have the dramatics for it," Fiyero muttered and Glinda turned around in the chair to glare at him and pinch his arm. He yelped and gave the chair a push. "Don't be obnoxious!"
"Look who's talking," Glinda grumbled, but she stayed quiet as the two of them made their way to the cell Elphaba was staying in.
Fiyero opened the cell door and went inside. She was curled up on her side, asleep, and he gently shook her. "Fae? Wake up, sweetheart. It's me."
Her eyelids fluttered and she yawned as she opened her eyes and stretched, wincing instantly at the pain. He cooed softly at her as he stroked her hair and waited for her to wake up.
Glinda could not help but flinch a little upon hearing her former fiancé talking to her best friend like that. He'd told her that he had confessed his true feelings to Elphaba and that she seemed to return them, and Glinda was genuinely trying to be happy for them – especially for Elphaba, who had already been through so much and could use some happiness in her life – but she couldn't deny that it was hard. A part of her still loved Fiyero and wished he'd come back. A part of her was still incredibly jealous of Elphaba, wishing that she were the one he called "sweetheart". Another part of her had never stopped being upset with him and wanted to punch him in the face again – maybe she'd manage to actually break his nose this time.
She swallowed all those feelings, though, and watched as Fiyero crouched beside the cot Elphaba was lying on.
"Fae," he said when she looked at him and he knew he had her full attention, "we're going to get you out of here."
Her eyes widened. "Now?" she croaked. "Who's "we"?"
"Fiyero and I," said Glinda, stepping forward, and Elphaba's eyes widened even further. Glinda smiled tearfully upon seeing her friend. "Oh, Elphie... I've missed you so much!" she cried, gingerly hugging Elphaba, who, perhaps for the first time since she knew her, actually hugged her back.
"I've missed you, too," the green girl whispered. "But... I mean, how..."
"Don't worry," Glinda assured her, squeezing her hands. "Our plan is completely fool-proof."
Elphaba looked sceptical and together, Glinda and Fiyero explained it to her: that Fiyero had just wheeled in what the guards thought was Nessarose, who had supposedly come to plead with Elphaba to confess, while the real Nessarose was waiting in Glinda's chambers.
Elphaba was astonished. "Nessa is here?!"
"She came to find out if you were really captured, and to try and help you if she could," Glinda explained. "She lent us her chair for this, you know, since she doesn't technically need it anymore."
"So I will wheel "Nessa" out of the dungeons again in a few minutes," Fiyero said with a small grin, "only it won't be Nessa or Glinda – it will be you."
"All covered in black fabric, except for your eyes," Glinda told her friend as she started unwrapping the shawls from her own head and shoulders and draped them around Elphaba, "because you are highly religious."
Elphaba let out a wry laugh. "They'll never buy that."
"They did just now," Glinda said, "and they will again."
"But if I'm in the chair, pretending to be Nessa," said Elphaba, blinking slowly, "then what about you, Glin?"
Glinda smiled. "I," she said, perching on the edge of Elphaba's cot, "am going to sit here, locked up in your old cell, and wait for them to find me."
Elphaba frowned, unsure, and Fiyero explained, "She's going to pretend you – the Witch of the West – somehow managed to escape and lock up Glinda the Good. That'll explain the fact that you are missing from your cell."
"It'll also earn me a lot of sympathy," Glinda chimed in, "which would mean they'll never suspect me of helping you escape. It'll also mean that I have an excuse to tell everyone that I want privacy in my own rooms, because, you know, I'll need to recover from the trauma," she batted her eyelashes, "so no-one will come in... which means you can safely stay there."
"While the Gale Force searches for you everywhere but here because they'll assume you'd have fled the City as soon as possible," Fiyero finished.
Elphaba looked at Fiyero, then at Glinda, and then back at the prince. "That..." She bit her lip. "That sounds almost as if it could work."
"Almost?" Fiyero scoffed. "It's a perfect plan, Fae."
"It is," Glinda nodded, tossing her curls over her shoulders. "I came up with it."
Elphaba raised an eyebrow and Glinda giggled, throwing her arms around her friend once again. "Oh, Elphie, I've really missed you. And I'm so sorry for what Morrible did to you!" Her eyes filled with tears as she finally took the time to study Elphaba. She felt how warm her skin was and she shuddered at the sight of all the bandages she was covered in, only able to imagine what must be underneath them.
"It's okay, Glin," said Elphaba. "It wasn't your fault."
Glinda sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Right. Okay. Let's get you out of here."
They covered Elphaba in the black fabric, making sure not a glimpse of green skin was visible, and then they sat her down in the wheelchair. Glinda kissed her cheek and waved at the two of them as Fiyero closed and locked the cell door. They exchanged one last look. They both knew that if this wouldn't work, they'd all be dead – not just Elphaba, but the two of them would probably be hanged for treason as well, or at the very least locked up down here for many years.
They also both knew, however, that it was worth it. They'd both risk prison or death for a chance to save Elphaba's life.
Fiyero pushed the chair back to the entrance of Southstairs and Glinda sat down on the cot, her back straight so as not to touch more in this filthy cell than necessary. She listened for the door to open and close and she tried to think of pleasant things as she waited for someone to find her.
