AN: Thank you for reviewing! :)
There aren't as much reviews as usual - I kind of expected lots of them, what with the cliffie and all, so I'm going to assume that more of you experience the problem Fae the Queen experienced and that you didn't get an alert when I updated, in which case I hope you'll get an alert now and if you do, please review both chapters - I really want to see your reactions to the cliffie :).
If that was not the case, it's probably just that it was Mother's Day and you didn't have time to read/review and I'm too impatient, which is nothing I haven't heard before, in which case I am sorry for nagging about the lack of reviews :3.
On with the next chap! :) It jumps back and forth a little bit, showing different scenes from different points of view - so it starts right after Fiyero leaves the Throne Room, only this time Elphaba's POV, etc... you'll see.
Elphaba searched everywhere for the magic book. She turned the Wizard's mechanical head and the construction behind it inside out, she broke down any floorboards she could find to see if there were hidden spaces underneath it, she looked everywhere, yet she couldn't find the Grimmerie. The fire was spreading fast and she knew she had to hurry.
When the idea struck her, she didn't even pause to question it. Instead, she picked up one of the iron poles that had supported the mechanical head and chanted softly under her breath. She mounted the pole then, as if it were a broom, and it soared up into the air a few metres, allowing her to see the room at a different level. She looked around and soon found what she was looking for: a small hatch in the ceiling in the corner of the room. It hadn't been visible from the ground, but she could see it now, and she flew towards it and pushed it open. A small smile graced her lips as she discovered the Grimmerie inside.
Clutching the book to her chest with one hand, she steered the improvised broom with the other. There was no window in the Throne Room, so she flew out the door and into the hallway, looking for a window so that she could get out of this blasted place.
Most people were outside already; there were several fires spreading in the hallways, parts of the ceiling had collapsed and there was smoke everywhere. The dark-haired witch sought her way through the mess, moving around corners and speeding up faster and faster, until a sound and an image simultaneously reached her and she abruptly held in the flying pole.
The sound came again. 'Help!' Someone coughed, and when Elphaba gingerly landed, she realised that her first feeling had been right. She had known as soon as she saw the blonde curls.
'Glinda?'
The blonde looked up and burst into tears. 'Elphie! Thank Oz, you're okay!'
The green girl knelt down next to her friend. Glinda was covered in dust and ashes, and tears had left streaks down her cheeks. Her leg was stuck underneath some rubble and she couldn't get free.
Elphaba immediately sprang into action, starting to clear away the debris until she could pull Glinda free. The blonde immediately flung her arms around her friend. 'Oh, Elphie, thank you!'
'We have to go,' said Elphaba urgently, grabbing Glinda's hand and pulling the girl with her. 'This place is about to fall apart any clock-tick.'
'How did you escape?' asked Glinda as the girls ran through the hallways, Elphaba now carrying her pole.
'We were in the Throne Room when… um… this happened,' Elphaba explained quickly. Glinda didn't ask what Elphaba and Fiyero, as prisoners, had been doing in the Throne Room. She knew Morrible and her ways – she had even been there to watch it last time, so she could make an educated guess. Instead, she moved on to her other question. 'What is this exactly? What did happen? One moment everything was fine, and the next, the Palace was rumbling and shaking and there was fire everywhere…'
Elphaba bit her lip, then threw it out. 'I got mad.'
Glinda stopped abruptly and gaped at her friend. 'You did this?!'
'She was about to hurt Fiyero!' Elphaba defended herself, but Glinda still stared at her, then shook her head. 'Remind me to not ever anger you.'
Elphaba smiled. 'Sure, Glin. Now would you come already?'
They started running again. Rubble and dust rained down from the ceiling again as the Palace shuddered and groaned. Then, suddenly, there was a loud rumbling sound above them. Elphaba yelled, 'Look out!' and before Glinda knew it, the ceiling came crashing down.
Glinda fell to the floor and covered her head with her arms. It seemed to last forever, but then the rumbling stopped again and she peeked from under her arms to where she had last seen Elphie. She could barely see anything because of the smoke and dust filling the hallway, and her eyes were tearing. 'Elphie?'
'Here,' came a croaked sound. Elphaba coughed, then asked, 'You okay?'
'Yeah…' Glinda quickly examined herself. She was trembling with aftershock, but didn't seem to have any physical injuries. 'I suppose so.'
A sigh of relief. 'Good. Get out of here, then. If the building collapses, it'll be too late.'
Glinda nodded. 'Let's go, then.'
A hoarse laugh. 'I don't think I'll be able to come with you.'
'What?' Awful visions filled Glinda's mind – Elphie dying, Elphie paralysed, Elphie with her legs cut off by some sharp piece of rubble… 'Why not? Where are you?' She started feeling around with her hand until she grasped Elphaba's slender green one and she scooted closer to her friend. Relief washed over her as she realised that Elphaba wasn't dying, or paralysed, and that her legs were still attached to her body. She was only covered in an enormous heap of heavy debris.
Her heart sank, however, as she realised the true meaning of that. Covered in an enormous heap of heavy debris…
'I'll get you out,' she promised, and she started moving pieces of rubble around, but she knew right from the beginning that it was fruitless. There was too much debris and it was too heavy for her to move on her own. The fires illuminated both their faces as more debris came falling down and Glinda instinctively winced. 'Elphie…'
'Hurry,' said Elphaba urgently. She wriggled one arm free and reached for the Grimmerie, which was lying some distance away from her; she pulled the book towards her and pushed it into Glinda's arms. 'Here. Take it. Keep it safe.'
Glinda's eyes filled up with tears. 'Elphie…'
'Do it!' the green girl snapped. 'There's no time, Glinda! Oz can't be without you – you have to go now! Keep the Grimmerie away from Morrible, and try to make good.' She squeezed her friend's hand. 'You can do it. I know you can. And if you're going to feel guilty about leaving me here, I swear I'll come down from the afterlife to kick your ass and haunt you forever.' Glinda almost laughed through her tears – even after all this time, her friend knew her so well – but she couldn't. She made a choked sound. 'I can't…'
'Yes, you can.' Elphaba pushed the Grimmerie towards Glinda and the blonde clutched it to her chest with her free hand. She kept a tight grip on Elphaba's hand with the other. 'Go now, Glinda. Please go.' Elphaba took a deep breath and a flash of pain crossed her pale face. 'Tell Cyara to make good and that I'm proud of her… and tell Fiyero…' She closed her eyes for a moment, then exhaled and opened them again, looking at Glinda determinedly. 'Tell him I'm sorry, and that I love him.'
Glinda squeezed her friend's hand. 'I will,' she promised in a hoarse whisper.
'Now go.'
The blonde nodded, tears in her eyes, and rose. 'Goodbye, Elphie,' she whispered, before clutching the Grimmerie to her chest with both hands and running off towards the nearest window. She created a bubble around herself and soared out of the Palace and down towards the square, where relieved faces looked and pointed up at her. Cheers went up from the crowd and she smiled back bleakly, before directing her attention back towards the Palace. She kept her gaze fixed on it, her heart breaking all over again as she thought of Elphie. They had been times when they loathed each other and when they had fought, but they had been best friends. She had tried to make her friend popular, teaching her about clothes and boys and make-up, and Elphie had made her see that life wasn't all about clothes and boys and make-up. They had always been so different, but they complemented each other; pink goes good with green. That was why they had been such a perfect team together.
Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been…
Glinda knew she hadn't failed her friend. She had thought so, for a while; she had been ashamed of and angry with herself because she had been too much of a coward to go with Elphie before, and because of everything else she had done – or refused to do – after that… but she knew Elphie didn't blame her, just as she didn't blame Elphie for Fiyero anymore. That's what friends did – forgive each other. It comforted her that everything was good between them now, that they hadn't parted with mean words or with a fight, but it still hurt to no end. She had watched her friend being taken by the Gale Force, watched her fiancé being dragged to his supposed death, watched her best friend being tortured, even torturing her herself, watched her burn to death at the stake… she had watched Elphie being hurt far too many times. She couldn't do this again. She couldn't lose Elphie again. It just hurt too much.
Just as she thought that, there was more rumbling, louder than before, and before her very eyes, the Palace shuddered and collapsed. Glinda watched in horror, tears streaming down her face, as the building completely crashed to the ground until there was nothing left but a heap of smoking rubble. And somewhere underneath that rubble was her friend.
Before she could help herself, an agonised howl escaped her lips. 'Elphie!'
Elphaba felt the floor shudder underneath her and she rested her cheek on the floor and closed her eyes. So this is how I'm dying. I'm not shot down from my broom by the Gale Force or burned at the stake. Not tortured to death by Morrible or even drifting off in my sleep at old age after spending a lifetime with Fiyero. No, I'm going to die because the blasted Emerald Palace crashes down on me, the place I hate most, and it'll be my own fault as well. She cursed her temper and her powers. Yes, her magical outburst had saved Fiyero from getting hurt, but she had also caused the entire Palace to collapse… with her still in it.
The irony.
She sighed and tried to wriggle herself free, but she was pinned to the floor by the heavy debris and she couldn't move. She shifted a little bit and suddenly heard a crackling noise, the sound of paper…
She lifted her head and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the single page lying on the floor. She stretched out her hand and grabbed the parchment, pulling it towards her, her eyes flying across the lines. It was a page from the Grimmerie. The magic book had flown out of her hands when the ceiling had collapsed and it had been covered in debris – the page much have gotten detached then and stayed behind now. She scanned the page with her eyes, hoping desperately that the spell on the parchment would be of any assistance to her in her current situation.
As she read the spell over and over again, a small smile appeared around her lips and her eyes started shining again.
Perhaps she wasn't lost after all.
Fiyero couldn't move. He couldn't speak, he couldn't breathe. He could only stare at the crumbled Palace as the awful truth slowly got through to him.
He only snapped out of it as Cyara squeezed his hand. 'I'm sure she got out in time, Yero.'
He looked at her uncertainly. 'Do you think so?'
'Of course.' Cyara gestured towards what once had been the Emerald Palace. 'Think about it. She escaped the Gale Force for three years. She saved you from a certain death. She escaped what seemed like a certain death herself. She's way too smart to die like this – because of an earthquake and a fire she started herself.'
A small, tiny bit of hope flared up inside of him. 'That's true, isn't it?'
'Of course it's true.'
Fiyero caught sight of Glinda then, and he smiled slightly. He was glad his former fiancée was okay. When she floated closer, however, his smile faded. The other Ozians only saw their beloved Glinda the Good, safe and sound, floating in her bubble; he, however, saw the tears dripping from her eyes. The other Ozians were all talking and screaming at each other at the same time, so when she screamed, the sound was lost in the buzz of the mob; but again, he could hear her.
'Elphie!'
It felt as if a thousand tons suddenly weighed down on him and he staggered, his knees buckling. Cyara took a firm hold of his arm and shook him. 'Fiyero. Fiyero, look at me!'
He did. She grabbed both his shoulders and stared into his eyes intently, just as Elphaba had done only an hour or so before.
Elphaba…
'Elphaba is smart,' said Cyara. 'You know that. She escaped, Yero. I'm sure of that. Okay?'
He stared ahead blankly. 'I need to talk to Glinda.'
Cyara let him go and he ran over to where the blonde's bubble was still floating, a little aside of the Ozians on the square. 'Glinda!' he shouted, and she heard him and descended. The moment she landed, she flung herself into his arms, sobbing wildly. 'Fiyero!' she wailed. 'I'm so sorry! Elphie… and the Palace… collapsing… and then… debris… I tried, Fiyero, I swear I tried, but…' The rest of her words were lost in her hysterical sobs.
Cyara approached them carefully and gingerly laid one hand on Glinda's shoulder. 'Miss Glinda? Could you please tell us what happened?'
Glinda was still sniffling, but she managed to regain her composure a little as she pulled away from Fiyero. 'I was trapped,' she said softly. 'Under some debris. Elphie found me when she came flying past – she was on her way out… she helped me, and then we ran together, but there weren't any windows close and there was fire everywhere and the Palace was collapsing… and then the ceiling crashed down, and this time it was Elphie that got trapped, only the debris was too heavy and I couldn't get her out… and then she gave me the Grimmerie and told me to go, and…' She started sobbing again. 'She told me Oz needed me…' she hiccupped. 'And I had to tell Cyara to make good, and that she's proud of you… and…' She couldn't look Fiyero in the eyes. 'I had to tell you that she was sorry and that she loves you,' she whispered, before breaking down again. Fiyero, however, felt completely numb.
Cyara awkwardly tried to comfort the blonde witch, in which she seemed to do a good job, because after a while Glinda pulled back and gave the other girl a watery smile. 'Thanks, Cyara.' She took a deep breath and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. She looked stronger now. 'I… I have to go. I'm so, so sorry, Fiyero… Cyara, I don't want to leave you both like this. But the people need me now, and I… Elphie wanted me to… to win their trust. To make good…' Her voice trailed away and Cyara squeezed her hand sympathetically. 'We understand, Miss Glinda. Please go and do what you have to do… what Elphaba would want you to do. I'll take care of Yero.'
Another watery smile. 'In some ways, you reminded me of myself in my younger days…' Glinda said softly, taking in Cyara's appearance – the sandy blonde hair, the emerald eyes, the heart-shaped face. 'But I guess I was wrong. You're like Elphie. Strong and independent and always calm and practical in crises and…' She hiccupped and sniffled again. 'Just…' She shook her head. 'Thank you,' was what she finally settled for. Then she conjured up her bubble again and flew off into the sky.
'How do you do it?' came Fiyero's voice, sounding flat and hollow. Cyara looked up into her brother's face and saw the emptiness in his eyes. 'Stay calm and practical? I thought you cared about her…'
Now that was the wrong thing to say. Cyara's face flushed and before she knew it, she had slapped her older brother across the face. 'Don't you dare implicate that I don't care,' she hissed. 'I know you've known her much longer and you two love each other, but she and I have been through a lot together as well and I consider her my friend. Just because I don't wallow in self-pity and grief, doesn't mean I don't care!'
'Then why are you not upset?' he demanded. She folded her arms in front of her chest and glared at him. 'Because I still believe she escaped.'
He shook his head. 'You heard Glinda, she-'
'I heard her. But she's done it before – fake her own death.'
Fiyero looked sceptical, but Cyara could see the tiny spark of hope in his eyes. 'You're being overly optimistic.'
'No. I just have faith in Elphaba. She promised you that she'd try her hardest to get back to you, didn't she? I trust her to keep that promise.'
'Trying her hardest might not be enough,' he countered miserably, but his little sister just snorted sarcastically. 'When was the last time that her trying her hardest wasn't enough?'
He took a moment to think about that and realised his sister was pretty much right. 'But… What if…' He suddenly was on the verge of tears and Cyara wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. 'I know, Yero. I know you're scared, but she's okay. I'm sure she is.'
Fiyero buried his face in his younger sister's shoulder and she just held him, talking to him soothingly. When she fell silent, still neither of them pulled away. That is, until he heard her breath catch in her throat and he pulled back to look at her questioningly. 'What is it?'
She was smiling as she pointed at something behind him. 'Fiyero… Look.'
He turned and saw a cat – or perhaps a Cat – looking at them from a small wall. He opened his mouth to ask sarcastically what a cat had to do with them, but then he looked more closely and he blinked again. The animal's fur was long, fluffy, and silky, midnight black. Was he imagining things, or was there a hint of amusement in its eyes? Its tail flicked back and forth and it sat still as a statue, watching them. The demeanour of the animal was so Elphaba-like that he almost expected to see her chocolate brown eyes stare back at him from the cat's furry face, but instead, its eyes were green. Emerald, to be precise. The exact same colour as Elphaba's skin.
'Fae?' he whispered, incredulously, and Cyara's grin widened. 'I knew you'd find a way out.'
The cat actually seemed to smirk at them for a moment before hopping down onto the floor and walking away, looking over her shoulder to see if they were following her. When she saw they indeed were, she sped up until she was running and went faster and faster, into the Great Gillikin Forest, with the Tiggular siblings right behind her.
'Madame?'
Morrible whirled around, snarling, 'What?!' She was not in the best of moods at the moment. Actually, she was rather furious. Elphaba Thropp and her boyfriend had escaped her again. The wretched girl had somehow managed to break free from Morrible's powerful spell, which worried her to no end. No one should have been able to break such a spell. If Elphaba was capable of this, Morrible could only imagine what else the green girl would be capable of if she set her mind to it.
Collapsing an entire palace, apparently.
That was to top it all off - Elphaba had brought down the Palace, leaving a big giant nothing in the middle of the Emerald City. Morgana Morrible wasn't irritated or angry. She was furious beyond belief. Or perhaps even 'furious' didn't quite cover the bitter, fuming rage she was feeling right now.
The sentry that had called her quickly stepped back, looking frightened. 'Um, Madame… I'm afraid there's some disturbing news coming from the guards on the City walls, Madame.'
'Disturbing news?' she growled. 'What in Oz could be more disturbing than the Emerald Palace falling apart and all of the dangerous criminals inside escaping?'
The sentry paled visibly. 'Um… Well, Madame, you see… there is… this… um…'
'Stop your stammering and tell me already!' she spat at him, and he blanched even further. 'Y-Yes, Madame… The fact is…' He swallowed and then decided to just throw it out. 'The Vinkun army is approaching from the West, Madame. The Quadlings are with them, and I believe I also heard some Gillikins and Munchinland groups being mentioned…' He swallowed again. 'I fear there is going to be an invasion, Madame.'
Morrible blanched first, her face paling until it was sickeningly white, almost green – although she didn't appreciate the irony of that – before flushing, her face turning beet red before deepening even further to some kind of purple. The poor sentry was actually afraid for a moment that she was going to burst. 'Gather the troops!' she screeched, exploding with fury. 'Gather the troops and the Gale Force right now and we'll teach that skunk a lesson! I rule the Emerald City, and it will sure as hell stay that way!'
The sentry sprang into position, saluting. 'Aye aye, Madame!' With that, he ran off quickly, leaving Morrible behind to fume on her own.
When Fiyero and Cyara finally reached a clearing, both of them panting with the long run, the black cat was sitting on a tree trunk, seeming amused. 'What took you so long?'
Only now, when he heard Elphaba's melodious, slightly husky voice come out of the cat's mouth, was he really convinced that it was her. 'Fae?'
'Who else?'
Cyara couldn't resist and bent over towards her brother to murmur in his ear, 'Told you so.'
He was far too relieved to feel irritated. He ran towards the witch and kneeled on the floor in front of her, stroking her silky fur. 'So what happened?'
'I saw you talk to Glinda earlier. I assume she told you?'
Fiyero nodded and cat-Elphaba made a face. 'I need to find her and tell her I'm okay. But that can wait a little while longer. Anyway, when she left, I found a piece of the Grimmerie on the floor with just the spell that could get me out.'
'A shape-shifting spell,' understood Cyara, and Elphaba nodded. 'Exactly. In cat form, I could wriggle myself free and lunge at the nearest window. Thank Oz the cliché about cats landing on their feet is true, otherwise I'd be cat-mush right now.'
'That's not funny, Fae,' Fiyero told her flatly, and she jumped into his arms and rubbed her head against his chest. 'I know. I'm sorry.'
He sighed, cradling her against him. 'That's okay. As long as you're alive, that's all that matters.'
'I promised, didn't I?' It wasn't exactly what she had promised, but she decided it was close enough.
'So what do we do now?' asked Cyara. Elphaba tilted her head a little. 'I overheard a conversation between Morrible and a sentry earlier. Your parents are here, with the Vinkun army. I heard they also gathered some others – Quadlings and Gillikins, Munchkinlanders even. It seems the invasion has begun.'
Cyara beamed at her. 'That's wonderful!'
Fiyero grinned now. 'It certainly is. So, Fae, why don't you change yourself back and we can go and meet my parents and the armies there? I'm sure we'd be able to be of some assistance in one way or another.'
It couldn't be easy for a cat to look sheepish, but somehow Elphaba managed to pull it off. 'Yeah… there's a slight little problem with that.'
Fiyero furrowed his brow in concern. 'What kind of problem? Is everything alright?'
'I'm fine,' she assured him. 'It's just…' She took a deep breath and winced a little in anticipation. 'I don't know how to turn myself back.'
