Hello all! Welcome to SotN chapter 14. It's the aftermath of what happened in the previous chapter. The only thing that was harmed was the poor bed. This chapter has Glinda, Nessa, Fiyero, Rain, and Ares along with a special appearance by somebody else. You will have to wait to the end of the chapter to see who it is. This chapter is more geared towards Nessa and Fiyero. He says something that catches her off guard. Anyways, I'll stop yapping and let you all enjoy this chapter. Until then!

Chapter 14

Glinda stares listlessly at the charred remains of the bed she once shared with Elphaba. Not anymore, it looks like. She is entrapped in disbelief of what had just happened. It all feels like a nightmare right now. She is waiting to wake and Elphaba will be there to reassure her it was just a dream, nothing more. She is standing in the doorway of the bedroom watching Nessa and Fiyero sift through the rubble of the former bed. Nessa had smelled the smoke a few minutes after the green woman had left. She ran out of the room to see what was causing it. She eventually found the bed on fire, just in time before it spread everywhere, and she used her magic to put it out.

"I can't believe she did all of this," Fiyero murmurs quietly as he picks up a broken headboard to look at it. He was in the vicinity of what was going down and when he smelled the smoke as well, he came running to make sure the people he loves were ok. The dark-haired woman had to fill him in on the situation as Glinda wasn't in the mood to speak. He just can't wrap his head around it. He looks behind him to see the good witch still standing in the doorway. The hand prints on her neck are starting to turn a mean purple. It's just not something Elphaba, in her right mind, would do. She'd rather cut off one of her own limbs before she would harm one hair on her wife's head.

Rain and Ares are standing by her side for support and protection. Their eyes are sharp with their ears flat against their heads. If either one of them laid an eye on Elphaba she would receive bodily harm, and that's if she is lucky. The Winkie prince turns his head back around when he hears a sigh emanating from his girlfriend. Nessa crouches down while shifting through the ashy debris.

"Believe it. If I wasn't there…" Nessa trails off with a shudder; she didn't want to think about if she hadn't been there with Glinda at that moment. She looks up when she feels something land on her shoulder. Her boyfriend softly smiles as he gives her shoulder a loving squeeze.

"I'm glad you were, Nessa. We could have lost them both," Fiyero replies as he lifts his hand off the shoulder to wipe away the tear rolling down the dark-haired woman's face. They will get through all of this. They always do. It didn't bring much comfort to Nessa at hearing this but she appreciates his effort to keep some positivity in all of this.

"I know," She replies softly as she pushes away a small, charred board to reveal a glittering wedding band that used to rest on her sister's left ring finger. The pink diamond mockingly twinkled up at her. Elphaba must have used it as a magic catalyst to burn the bed and as a symbol as well. It's the end of her marriage. Who knows where the green woman has run off to?

"Did you find something?" Glinda finally speaks up when she notices Nessa inspecting something. The dark-haired woman picks up the ring and discreetly pockets it before standing with a grunt. The blonde doesn't need to see it right now.

"I didn't. It's all ash and burnt boards. You can stay in my room until you get a new bed and the room spruced up," she responds, the ring burning a hole within her pocket. She won't feel comfortable knowing that Glinda will be all alone after all that has happened this day. The good witch looks to her with her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She is trying to hold it all together, to remain strong, even though the rug has been pulled out from under her feet.

"Ok," she whispers, her voice wavering with a deep sadness. Her throat tightens up when she feels Rain give a comforting nuzzle to her hand. She is just hanging on by an emotional thread. Her knees start to shake with her bottom lip trembling; she is near her cracking point.

"Glin?"

At hearing this, Glinda falls to the ground while covering her face as the tidal wave of bottled up emotions bursts through the dam. Both Ares and Rain nearly growl at Nessa and Fiyero when the two of them start to come towards Glinda to bring her comfort. The two Animals are still running on high emotions because of the day's events. They relax when they realize it's just their human companions, not somebody trying to hurt their devastated friend. Fiyero scoops her up into his arms before holding her close to his body. The blonde grips his shirt tightly as she buries her face into his chest. She is letting everything out, effectively staining his shirt with her tears but the Winkie prince doesn't care.

"We are all here. You're not alone," he whispers to her hoping it will bring her some kind of comfort. Nessa swallows hard as she watches the heartbreaking scene before her. How can she fix all of this?

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Nessa doesn't know how long it took for Glinda to fall asleep but she eventually passed out on her bed. Her face is tear-stained and her eyes are all red from the crying. Her face is buried deep into Rain's black and silver furred chest. Her arm is holding onto the thick body. Rain is curled around her as best as she can be with her head resting comfortably on Glinda's shoulder. Her eyes just closed a few minutes ago. The good witch appreciated her presence for it reminds her of Silver's comforting presence.

Ares has planted himself a few feet from the closed door; his amber eyes are focused on it. He is making damned sure nobody will bust through here to interrupt the much needed calmness. He hasn't moved an inch for hours even with Fiyero saying that he needs to rest. All he got was a soft growl as an answer but his adoptive father just lets him be. The Winkie prince then cast his eyes towards the window to observe Nessa standing by it, looking out with a heavy heart.

"Nessa, come here," he calls out to his girlfriend. She needs to relax now too. They can't do anything right now and if she can get some sleep, it will do her some good as she will have the energy to tackle the issues with a fresh mind. She gives a heavy sigh as she turns to him with a sniffle. Her lips turn up slightly at seeing her boyfriend with his arms open to her. It's very inviting to sit on his lap. The dark-haired woman walks towards him before sitting down on his lap and then resting her head on his chest. She gives a soft giggle when she feels him wraps his arms around her and then he kisses the top of her head. The dark-haired woman has never felt so complete before. It's different from what she had with Glinda. She can actually have a future with Fiyero. With Glinda, it was very special, but the good witch's heart always belonged to her sister. It never would have lasted forever.

"I love you."

Hazel eyes widen slightly at hearing these three words being uttered. Nessa leans back to look up and she is breathless at the love being showered down at her from those stormy, blue eyes. It doesn't seem real. A light blush appears on his cheeks when he doesn't hear a response back. Maybe saying that at this time wasn't the brightest idea he ever had. The two of them must be on two different emotional pages especially after all that has happened.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it, not when all of this is happ-"

His rambling was cut off by a soft kiss on the lips. Well, this is a good sign for sure. He didn't screw this up. Nessa nuzzles the side of his face with a soft chuckle. She is stunned, to say the least, to hear those words being said to her. The two of them haven't been dating for a long time but it feels very right.

"I love you too," she whispers against his lips before pressing hers against his again. The two lovers kiss for a few more seconds before they break apart, love sparkling in both of their eyes. Nessa then snuggles up against his sturdy body with a smile on her face. She feels his strong arms hold onto her tighter, which makes her heart skip a beat. This really has never felt so right before. She keeps thinking it because it just doesn't seem real at times.

"Sleep, I'll protect you both," Fiyero whispers into her ear before kissing the side of her face. With his comforting presence and radiating warmth mixing with mental exhaustion, the dark-haired woman feels her eyes start to close. Before the darkness starts to set in does she see an outline of, what seems to be, a silver-colored wolf slowly appear by Glinda's side of the bed. She will never forget those brilliant emerald eyes looking at her as if to say 'Don't worry; I'll protect Glinda.'

She watches as the astral silver wolf rest its head on Glinda's hip before the world goes dark and sleep takes her into the dream world.

Awe…Silver is still watching over Glinda even in death. I do say that Nessa and Fiyero do make a cute couple here. The two deserve each other for sure. Next chapter is where Glinda reveals the secret she has been holding in all this time to everybody. Have to wait to the next update. Until then!
DWK