Disclaimer: Okay. Wicked? Not mine. Boq? Completely derranged. I don't want reviews saying 'WAIT! ------- is really -----?!'. Because that's not how the story goes. So Boq is completely derranged for now. It might clear up. Might not. Read on! -LostOzian
It was unnerving to have the two girls there, but Boq did his best to focus on his work. Their presence was strange, as if someone had turned back the clocks to a time when he would have been considered an intruder. The way the two sat there- finishing their drawing, reading a book together, quietly devouring the dinner brought for them- constantly reminded him of two other girls who had grown up in this house. The smaller girl was even crippled, the way her every move was awkward. They were right at home here.
Boq's hand shook slightly as he held his pen, about to sign for some important grant or another; the meaning had already been forgotten in his distracted state. He stared at his hand in amazement. He never shook! Was it really that strange to have two fugitives, two outlaws about to be transported and sentenced? No.
It was who they reminded him of that was so strange. Especially the black-haired one. She was almost an exact copy of Elphaba, his old classmate, thirteen years dead. He steeled himself with that memory; he had his revenge already, there was nothing that could change it. Little copies show up? Did that mean she was back? No. Death was permanent.
But Elphaba saved you from death. He realized. He had been standing on Death's doorstep, about to die, and she had kept him alive. Was death really forever if that could have happened?
Maybe…maybe this is how she came back to life. Boq set down the pen, afraid that his signature would betray his fear. She dies, only to be reborn in a little girl. So she can keep being a Witch. She can keep causing pain. I'm sure there's some spell for that.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed said Witch stand. He looked up, letting her know he was still watching her. She raised her hands in surrender, lifting the two nightgowns brought by the butler.
"Time for bed, Grinnie," the girl looked to her companion. The littler girl pulled herself up the shelves, teetering slightly as she stood. Like Nessa did, when she showed me she could walk. Of course! If Elphaba could have a little reincarnation, why couldn't Nessa? His captor for years here in the body of a small girl, even more helpless than before. The Elphaba copy turned to Boq.
"Could we change in private? Or…do you like little girls?" Boq froze, staring at the new Elphaba.
"You're too young to know about things like that," he told her. Yet more proof that this was Elphaba, back from the beyond. Elphaba folded her arms.
"Of course, it was silly of me to assume you could…y'know," she smiled knowingly. "It would just make us feel better if we could change in private." Boq searched her face for a moment; it would be just like Elphaba to try and come up with some trick, but she wasn't betraying anything. Boq tightened his grip on her new broomstick, checking the window to make sure it wouldn't open. Watching Elphaba the whole time, Boq shut the door, his paranoia finally starting to subside. There was no way to escape, and he had her broom.
A few moments passed in silence as Boq privately gloated over his victory over Elphaba's spirit. Then he heard someone speak inside the room.
"I'm sorry this had to happen to you, Grinnie." It was Elphaba. She was apologizing to her sister. "I deserve to get caught, but you…you shouldn't be here."
"Don't apologize! It's all right. I never would have wanted to be anywhere else." There was the briefest of pauses. "I can still remember my first day in the orphanage. Helene's bandages were still on, and I could barely move. All of the other children were playing and running, but you…" There was another pause. "You gave up playing and running to help me."
"Grinnie, anyone would have done the same. I can still remember seeing you, legs bloody from where your father whipped you, dragging yourself through the streets. You almost died. You needed me." Boq willed himself to stay still. Grinnie had been abused?! Would Elphaba have allowed that to happen to her sister's new form? How could he think of Grinnie as Nessa; Nessa was a scheming, spoiled brat, determined to get what she wanted, but Grinnie… all Grinnie had wanted was a friend.
"And I needed you," Elphaba's little duplicate continued.
"You…you don't need me at all," Grinnie started crying, her small sobs reaching out in the hallway. "I wanted to help you find your family so badly, that I didn't realize all I was to you was a burden. And now I've gotten you caught."
"No, it wasn't your fault, Grinnie. It was that Toj boy. He betrayed us. I thought he would be a friend, but he was just using us. Though I can't change any of that." There was another pause, broken only by Grinnie's tears. "I have to face the punishment for what I've done."
"You haven't done anything!" Grinnie cried. Boq could imagine the expression on her face; so much pain, guilt. It hurt him to even picture it. "All you wanted was to find your parents!" Find her parents? Elphaba's parents were dead by now; he was governor, after all. But wouldn't Elphaba's reincarnation want the same things Elphaba had?
"I…guess I'm not meant to have my dreams come true," she said. "I mean, Glinda's going to extreme lengths to keep me from finding them. She just doesn't realize what I want is different from what she wants. There's nothing I can do. It hurts, but..." Elphaba trailed off.
Wait a clock-tick! Boq thought. That's not Elphaba! That's…me! Yes, that was what his situation had been exactly! Imprisoned, kept from your dreams just because of one other person wants. Sympathy turned to empathy. Regardless of whether they were finished changing or not, Boq flung open to door to see the two girls. Grinnie was completely changed, the other having not even started. Boq ran to them, drawing them tight in a hug.
The broom clattered to the floor behind him.
"I'm so sorry," Boq said. "You shouldn't have had to go through all that pain!" He placed a hand on the black-haired one's shoulder gently, looking her in the eyes. They were red from withheld tears.
"I promise I'll try to convince Glinda that you're not a wicked witch, okay?" The girl nodded.
"Thank you, sir." Grinnie caught him with a hug in the chest, her tears openly flowing.
"That's…That's so good of you!" she cried as Boq returned her hug. Grinnie really was a darling girl, intelligent, adorable... she should have a better life than this.
Running footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He turned just in time to see the end of her black hair whoosh around the corner. Grinnie held on tighter, maybe even oblivious to the fact her friend was running away. Boq pulled her off of him quickly, panicking. He had let his guard down! Now, she was escaping…with the broom!
"Run, Fiyeraba!" Grinnie shouted after her. Fiyer…aba? "Run!" Boq tore out into the hallway, seeing her turn a corner, trying to go full speed in the unfamiliar passages. Boq kept layering on speed, pushing the name puzzle out of his mind for the moment. He was gaining…gaining… She reached the entry hall, flung open the door. Boq made one final lunge, but she mounted the broom and took off in one fluid movement. He fell down into the dirt of the front garden, Fiyeraba hovering twenty feet above him. Pulling his head up from the dirt, Boq stared at her.
"Fiyeraba?" he asked, barely believing it. Is that why she looked so much like Elphaba? Not a reincarnation, but…
"I'll hate you forever for what you've done to her," Fiyeraba said darkly. Boq struggled to his feet, staring up at Fiyeraba. Fiyeraba. Fiyero. Elphaba. Could it be true?
Fiyeraba started, looking past Boq at something else in the air. She turned and shot off into the night. Boq turned to see Glinda's bubble descending, finally touching ground and bursting with a faint pop. Glinda was watching Fiyeraba fly away. Boq stared at his feet.
"I'm sorry I called you here to see this, Lady Glinda." Boq said quietly. "I didn't know she could escape."
"We should never underestimate her," Glinda said, expressionless. "I don't blame you." Boq looked up. How much did Glinda know about Fiyeraba? Could she tell him if it was true?
"She knew names," Boq said. "Names of people from my past." Glinda looked at him curiously, the barest hint of interest puncturing her indifference. The Tin Man's past had been one conversational taboo in their business relationship.
"Names?" Glinda asked. Boq looked at her.
"I wasn't always made of tin," he said. "Once, I was a college student. Human student. She knew names of people from my class." Boq looked back to where Fiyeraba had flown away. "Nessarose. Elphaba. Fiyero. And she knew my name: Boq." Glinda's demeanor finally shattered.
"B-Boq?!" she exploded, starting to rant. "It was you this whole time?! How could you! You were her friend, and you went and hunted her anyway, like those other idiots did? Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion! You're no better than they are!"
"Glinda, please calm yourself." Boq said tiredly. "The issue now is, how did she know my name? And why does she hate me?" Glinda stood for a minute, taking deep breaths.
"She hates you because you were a part of the Witch Hunt." Glinda said. "It's because of who her parents were. And who her mother is." There was no way around it. Fiyeraba had escaped, leaving Boq here to ask questions that deserved to be answered.
"You don't mean…" Boq started.
"Let's go inside," Glinda said. "There's a lot to explain."