Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked

Chapter 14

Tally angrily stared at the four walls that surrounded her. It was freezing, damp, and the only light came from the crack under the cell door. She was a prisoner for no apparent reason. Despite the situation, Tally was not scared in any way. Even the leader of the Night Hunters (Avaric… was that his name?) did not scare her. The only thing that did in fact worry her was Elphaba. How far away had the river carried her? What if she was injured? She shuddered at the thought. She refused to think that. Elphaba was strong.

Tally let out a loud sigh as she laid back down on the only cot in the small cell. It was very uncomfortable, and she debated if the floor would be more so. She decided against it. Finding no better way to waste time her mind began to conjure up ways to escape, but she could not think of anything that would actually work. The only way out was through the cell door, which was locked. It was also guarded by some of the Night Hunters who probably would not hesitate to shoot.

She cursed silently to herself. This was all Avaric's fault! He had taken her here first, afraid that she would tell Morrible the truth. Of course, Tally had argued with him. She told him that this was unfair punishment and that she had done nothing wrong. When Avaric ignored her, she had asked for Prince Fiyero. Avaric had just smirked and walked away, leaving her alone in the dark cell. Tally silently wondered how long she had been here and she desperately wanted to know for how much longer.

As if the Unnamed God could read her thoughts the heavy door burst open. The sudden light blinded her and she had to squint to see who the visitor was. Tally sighed; it was just some guards.

"This is your new home, but not for long." A dark voice spoke, but it was not directed at her.

"Yeah, in you go, hag!" another snickered, pushing a human figure through the door. Tally gasped. It couldn't be! Could it? The dark figure stumbled, running into Tally, and knocked them both to the ground.

"Where's Averic?" One of the guards questioned.

"I don't know, but we can't do anything to her until we get orders from him."

"I say we kill them both now!" another spoke

"No, we wait!"

The shortest of the guards frowned and angrily mumbled, "Fine."

The guards shut the door, plunging them into total darkness. Tally gently held the human figure in her arms. The person seemed badly beaten and Tally could feel the dry blood on the person's forehead.

"Are you alright?" Tally whispered.

The figure coughed violently before answering. "T-tally?"

"Elphaba?! Oh my Oz! What happened?"

Elphaba slowly tried to sit up, but the dizziness got the best of her, so she simply laid back down. "I don't know. I saw the Emerald City and then someone attacked me from behind. I didn't even hear them!"

Tally sighed, feeling tears in her eyes. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Ok?"

Elphaba smiled, forgetting that Tally could hardly see her in the dark cell. "Where are we?"

"I'm almost positive that we are in the Palace."

"Tally … did you see Fiyero or Liir?"

"No, I'm sorry, but no."

"That's ok," Elphaba said lazily. Her eyelids felt like weights and she was having the hardest time keeping them open.

As if Tally could read her thoughts she whispered. "It's ok, Elphaba. You can sleep. I'll be right by your side. Watching. I promise I'll wake you up if something happens, but you have to promise to wake up. Ok? Do you promise?"

Elphaba was sure she was experiencing déjà vu, but she was not sure. Nevertheless, she answered her friend. "I promise." She lazily closed her eyes and let sleep take over her.

"Oh! Fiyero!" Glinda screamed, forgetting that she was in fact mad at him. She quickly ran to him, horrified that he had just fainted.

"Is he ok?" Liir asked, worried.

"Yes dear. He'll be fine," Glinda automatically said. She gently kneeled down beside the unconsciousness Fiyero and in one quick motion she hit him as hard as she could. Glinda smiled. That felt better, but it would have been nicer if he was fully awake.

Fiyero's eyes slowly but surely blinked open. He found three people staring at him, which was making him very uncomfortable. He locked eyes with Glinda for a brief moment. "Oz … Glinda! I just had the strangest dream," Fiyero told her as he sat up.

Glinda glared at him, quickly crossing her arms over her chest. He stared at her, confused. It had been a dream. Hadn't it? Suddenly, Liir sat down in his lap and hugged him. Feeling left out, Fay quickly ran over and gave him a hug too. Fiyero awkwardly hugged the children back. Oz, he was so confused right then.

Suddenly Liir's soft voice spoke, looking up at him with his big round eyes. "Can we call you Daddy?"

Fiyero paled. So it hadn't been a dream. "Um…" he didn't know what to say, he was still in a little bit of shock. But could you blame him? Seriously, most fathers knew that they were going to have their first child months in advance, but not him. No. He had found out that he got his girlfriend's best friend pregnant years ago and he now had two four-year-olds. Fiyero groaned. Did this have to be dropped on him all at once? However, when he looked into Liir's and Fay's eyes he just could not say no. "… Yes … You can call me whatever you want."

Liir smiled from ear to ear and he turned to him, laughing. "Mummy said I wasn't allowed to call you Daddy!"

Fiyero frowned. Now why would Elphaba tell them that! After all, they were his children too. "Why?"

Liir shrugged. "She thought you wouldn't take it very well."

Fay giggled and pointed at him. "I guess she was right!"

"Hey! I took it well," he said, trying to defend himself.

Glinda rolled her eyes. "Fiyero, fainting is not taking it well." Suddenly, Glinda let out a loud squeal for joy. "Fiyero! Do you know what this means! I'm their Aunt! I'm Aunt Glinda."

He was too tired to argue the fact, so he just agreed with her. "Yes. Glinda is your Aunt."

Fay and Liir smiled at her and Glinda returned it. However, she still didn't forgive Fiyero. He had cheated on her and the two kids in front of her were living proof. Then again, Elphaba had betrayed her too, but how could she be mad at Elphaba? Suddenly, her voice caught in her throat and she chocked back a tear. What if Elphaba was really dead?

"What's wrong?" Fiyero asked, worried by her sudden change of emotion.

Glinda at Fiyero and then at the children, hoping he would get what she was trying to say. After all, she really didn't want to say her name because she was afraid that Fay and Liir would start crying again.

It didn't long for Fiyero to realize what she meant. "Fay, Liir… why don't you stay here with Aunt Glinda for a little bit. Ok?"

Liir eyes grew wide with fear. "Why?"

"I have to go … find … out … I'll be right back."

"Ok, Daddy," Fay told him sweetly and Liir nodded his head.

He couldn't help but smile. That word still felt foreign to him. He shrugged. Guess he was just going to have to get use to it. "I'll be back soon. I promise," he turned to Glinda. "You don't mind. Do you?"

"Not at all. They're safe with me."

Fiyero smiled, satisfied, and quickly left the room. The palace was oddly empty, not even any of the servants were around. This bothered him. Usually the palace was swarming with people, but not today. Probably because they were all out celebrating. Fiyero cursed. No. Don't think that. She is not dead!

Fiyero turned the corner and stopped abruptly. His ears prickled at the sound of two unfamiliar voices down the hall.

"Ugh! Where could he possibly be?" a deep voice hissed.

"How the hell should I know?! I don't have superpowers!" The second voice ominously spoke.

"I guess we just wait."

"I say we kill her now… her friend too."

"Not until we get orders!"

"What if she escapes? After all, she's the one with the superpowers."

The first guard smirked. "Just because she's a hag does not mean she has superpowers. If anything she's a curse! Besides, she can't escape from the dungeons. No one ever has. Plus, she's too beaten up to even try."

Fiyero did not want to hear any more. Without hesitation he walked in the opposite direction, unnoticed. He felt his heart beat quicken as he raced down a flight of stairs. Could they possibly be talking about Elphaba? He wanted nothing more than to see her again, but not like this. What if he found her dead? No. He wouldn't think that. Besides, what were the chances of it being Elphaba? Fiyero knew the odds were unlikely, but he still found himself walking faster. He cursed. How long could a flight of stairs be?

Finally, reaching the bottom of the stairs, he found himself faced with a labyrinth of prison cells. Fiyero cursed. She could be in anywhere. He sighed as he started to search. He quickly searched the left side first, but after peeking in through multiple cells there was no one there. Odd. There was literally no one down here. No guards. Not even prisoners. Usually they had at least someone in the prison. Fiyero sighed. Maybe he was in the wrong place. He peeked in the last cell and no one was there. Great. His hopes immediately disappeared and he felt a cold stab of anger pierce his heart.

Giving up hope Fiyero turned in the opposite direction. Without him paying attention, his feet got caught in the uneven floor and he found himself tumbling forward. He hit a wall head on and he literally crashed through it. Fiyero blinked for a moment. He was now lying in the middle of cold, damp cell. He was very confused, but then he slowly realized that the wall had not really been a wall. It was a secret door. He had worked in the dungeons many times, but he never knew that this secret door existed. However, he had heard that there were cells hidden in the wall—for only the worst prisoners.

A quiet, subtle moment made him scramble to his feet. He squinted his eyes trying to see who had made the noise. And then a soft sound came from the corner of the cell. It was almost undetectable to his ears, but he heard it. And it sent a rush of joy up his spin as a weight was suddenly lifted off his shoulders.

"Fiyero?"