The first few days back at the palace ran as smoothly as possible. Glinda and Isabelle were forming a plan to prove Elphaba's innocence to Oz. In addition to that, Elphaba and Glinda picked up their friendship like they had never been separated. Boq and Fiyero became fast friends as their wives spent time with one another. With the parents occupied, Raiden and Isabelle found more time to spend alone.
One evening, a while after sunset, Isabelle was standing in the gardens again. Out of nowhere, her waist was suddenly wrapped in warm arms. She smiled, knowing it was Raiden.
"I was wondering how long before you found me," she said.
"I knew you would be here. You always come here," he replied.
"I love it here. I can just think to myself and it is just so beautiful," she stated.
"True that it is beautiful here, but nowhere near as beautiful as you," he said, kissing her neck seductively.
"I hate when you do that," she replied, playfully. "You know I cannot resist a kiss like that."
"And what will you do about it?" he asked.
"I will make you bend to my will because I know you will not refuse me," she answered, turning around in his arms to face him.
"Oh, really? Well…" he started, but was cut off by a passionate kiss.
The two kissed under the moonlight. It was as if two half souls had found one another and merged in that moment. A second later, Raiden lifted Isabelle off the ground and spun her in a circle in his arms. When he set her back down on the ground, her lips parted from his. She gazed longingly into his gentle blue eyes.
"I love you so much," she said.
"And I love you," he replied.
Within minutes, they had found a comfortable place to sit and snuggle under the night sky. These were Isabelle's favorite times with Raiden because there was no outside complication interrupting their love. It was precious time spent together.
"I cannot believe that I have been in Oz for almost a year," she stated.
"Neither can I. It seems like just a few moments ago I found you on the Yellow Brick Road with you ankle twisted," he said.
"Now here we are, together and happy. I have found my parents and reunited with them. My mother is more amazing than I could have ever dreamed. She is so strong and sure of herself. Oh how I wish I could be that sure of myself all the time," she noted.
"But you are. You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met. You surprise me with something new everyday and I cannot wait to see what our futures bring. No other girl that I have ever known comes close to you in beauty or intelligence," he said.
"The only reason I am so sure of myself is the fact that you are here to reassure me. You are constantly telling me how beautiful I am and that makes me feel wonderful," Isabelle said.
Raiden and Isabelle kissed once again before she rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep in the comfort of his arms. When she woke, she found the sun rising over the horizon.
"Did I sleep that long?" she moaned.
"I could not wake you because you looked comfortable. Are you mad at me?" he asked.
"No, I was just wondering if I had slept that long," she answered.
"Oh," he replied, kissing her nose gently.
"You know our parents are probably going insane right now looking for us," Isabelle said, smiling.
"I know. We can make them wait a little longer," Raiden said.
"Agreed," she said.
Half an hour later, after many kisses, Isabelle and Raiden made their way back inside the palace. After realizing that no one was awake, the two decided to sneak back into their rooms. They reached Isabelle's room first.
"I will see you in a little while," she whispered. They kissed and she gently shut the door behind her.
She sighed as she flopped onto the bed, completely content from spending time with Raiden.
If I feel this happy after just spending a few hours with him, I can only imagine what it is going to be like when we are married. I am in love and happy for the first time in a long time, she thought to herself.
After sleeping for a while longer, she rolled off the bed and began to get ready for the day. Oil was rubbed into her skin and hair. She put on a black and red dress and combed her long black hair. When she was completely done, she walked out the door and down to the dining hall.
In the dining hall, her parents were already sitting in their chairs by Glinda and Boq. Raiden had not arrived yet, so she sat in her seat and waited for him.
"Good morning, sweetie," Glinda chimed.
"Good morning," replied Isabelle.
Just then, Raiden walked in. Instantly, he came and sat next to Isabelle. Underneath the table, she laced her fingers with his to hold his hand. As soon as everyone was situated, breakfast was served.
"So," Glinda said, "where did you two disappear off to last night?"
"We went outside to talk alone," Raiden answered.
"Oh, well you two missed the most wonderful conversation. Elphie, Fiyero, Boq, and I all talked about old times at school," Glinda piped.
"I am sure they had their own interesting conversation," Elphaba said, knowingly winking at her daughter who smiled devilishly.
"So," Isabelle said, changing the subject, "what are we going to do about changing all of Oz's mind about their opinions of 'The Wicked Witch of the West'?"
"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could hold a meeting. Of course I will speak, but I was hoping that you would speak too," Glinda said to Isabelle.
"Of course I will. She is my mother and I want her name cleared so that our lives will be normal," Isabelle answered.
"What do you think, Elphie?" Glinda asked.
"I think that it is the only thing we can do to reverse the Wizard's ridiculous dogma that he drilled into their heads when he ruled," Elphaba answered.
Fiyero and Boq nodded their heads in agreement. If it was one thing that they had learned in the years they had been with Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, it was never to argue with them. Both women were exceptionally strong-minded on their own, but together nothing could stop them.
As plans were made and discussed, Isabelle could not help but let her thoughts drift. She thought of how it would be if she and Raiden ever had to go into hiding because of her skin color. Then she thought of ever having to give up a child. It would break her heart as it did her mother's all those years ago.
After planning, everyone dispersed to go about his or her daily business. Isabelle slipped outside to sit in the garden again. That was the best time of day to go because the fog was just lifting off the flowers and the colors brightly shown through the mists. She sat out there for a while before going back inside. On her way back to her room, she ran into Fiyero.
"Hello Father," she said.
"Hello," he replied. "Where are you going?"
"Just back to my room for a while. How about you?" she asked.
"Your mother is talking with Glinda, so I figured I would walk around for a while. Would you care to join me?" he asked in reply.
"Sure," she said.
Father and daughter set off down the hallway. There was a long silence between the two of them as they passed paintings and tapestries on the walls. Isabelle did not know what to say to her father. She had never really gotten the chance to get to know him because of the time she spent with her mother.
"So, Raiden seems to be a nice man," Fiyero finally said.
"He is. I love him so much," Isabelle replied.
"Sometimes he reminds me of myself when I was at Shiz. I see how he looks at you now and know that I look at your mother the same way," he said.
"I know. Do you really approve of him?" she asked, concerned.
"Of course I do. I know his intentions are true and that he will always love and take care of you," he answered.
"You said that he reminds you of yourself when you went to school. Did you love mom that way when you went to school?" she inquired.
"Well, when we were in school, I would never have admitted it. That was the reason I went with Glinda back then. However, the entire time I only thought of your mother. She fascinated me with her wit, spirit, and enthusiasm for knowledge and learning. Her skin color only made her more beautiful to me. It hurt me to watch others put her down because of it. Eventually, after school was over and she was labeled the 'Wicked Witch,' I realized that it did not matter to me anymore about my pride. I left Glinda and fell even more in love with Elphaba," he explained.
"Did you want to give me up when I was born?" she suddenly asked.
"No, I never wanted to and I know your mother did not either. We wanted to keep you and raise you because we loved you. But, because of that love, we knew you would not have been safe in Oz," he said.
There were a few moments of silence between them. Isabelle could feel the silence of the room filling up with things going unsaid. Finally, as if a barrier were being broken down, Isabelle reached out for her father and embraced him for the first time in her life. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and burning her skin, but she did not care.
"I do not blame you or mom for what happened. I love you both so much and now that I have found you, I do not ever want to lose you again," she sobbed.
Fiyero was surprised by this action that he was speechless. His only child, his precious daughter that was lost to him for so long was now in his arms again. The last time he held her, she was two weeks old and he and Elphaba were leaving her on the doorstep of another to raise her as their own. He held his daughter tightly.
"Your mother and I are never going to lose you again and you will not lose us. We love you and are so happy to have you back again," he said.
A few moments later, the embrace was broken and the pair set off down the hall. Father and daughter were finally reunited.
A/N: Sorry this took me so long. You know how it is with school and extracurricular activities. Plus I turned 18, so I was celebrating that last weekend. I hope this was worth the wait.