Another chapter of another story goes up and other people wait for more to read while they contemplate why they do not have better to do. Or at least that is what I do.
Disclaimer: This I do not own.
She leaned forward more into the light as she heard her name called. Whoever this was knew her name? Then it had to be a friend of hers, right? Not necessarily. The lantern lit up the straw figure and she recognized it immediately as the scarecrow that had escorted Dorothy to her castle. He sat forward and smiled at her as she eyed him warily.
"Don't you recognize me?" He questioned seeing her look at him with fear in her eyes. "Oh, right, the straw thing. Maybe this will help: I love you." Her eyes widened and she looked up and down the scarecrow before her. Chistery looked from the witch to the scarecrow generally confused.
"Fiyero?" It couldn't be anyone else. No one else had loved her. Her father had yes, but not a real love. Something between hate and love was his feeling. Fiyero's was unconditional love that he would admit even when she was the Wicked Witch.
"Yes." He laughed slightly and stood walking shakily towards the land she rested on. He jumped off the boat and landed beside her. "You didn't recognize me?"
"How could I? You're made of straw dear. What the hell happened to you?" His eyes rolled and he leaned back against the wall followed quickly by her.
"Morrible happened to me. I wasn't killed, Fae, just brutally beaten. Then when I wouldn't say anything about your whereabouts I was cursed." She adjusted herself against him and he placed a straw arm around her shoulders.
Chistery moved to sit in the witch's lap and now drew Fiyero's attention. "And who is your new companion?" She smiled, for the first time in Chistery's eyes. He had never seen her smile before. It truly was beautiful.
"This is Chistery, Chistery this is Fiyero." A straw hand shook a paw and nods were exchanged across Elphaba's lap before he looked questioningly at her. "I found him alone one day and..."
"She saved my life." He finished for her quickly jumping into the recount with a proud smile on his face. Fiyero looked stunned and proud all at once.
"Did you?"
"I was just being my-"
"Stop being modest. She saved my life." Elphaba rolled her eyes and looked away, her face a deeper shade of green. Chistery was smiling still as Fiyero reached his cloth hand over to pull her face back to look at him.
"Where have you been this whole time?" Her heart was beating faster as she looked at the scarecrow before her. It was Fiyero. He was really alive then. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. When she didn't answer, the Monkey did.
"She was in the other world. The wizard's world. She lived there and was just telling me the story." Her face flushed with more green and Fiyero pushed her away to look at her.
"Well please don't let me ruin your story." The witch smiled again and leaned back against the wall. Her mouth opened to reply, but she was stopped by Chistery's jumping on her lap.
"Yes. Please continue." She gripped his small shoulders to stop his movements and laughed slightly.
"All right. I will continue, but Fiyero will be lost." She looked over at him for a second for a response and he smiled laying his head back against the wall.
"It's all right. I'll just listen to your voice."
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Elphaba still couldn't put much pressure on her injured leg and had been flying around the church for about a week or two now. Grace and all the other Children would beg for stories daily now and unwilling to resist their pleads she would give in. Not having been told many stories when she was a child made it difficult to do so. So, she made up stories on the spot. Most involving some sort of Prince and princess and an even greater number involving the prince and the peasant girl. The children enjoyed all of her stories and most just loved hearing her voice. Hunk loved them both. Her stories filled him with such hope and feeling that he felt as if he had seen the actual story played out. And her voice was so soothing and sometimes passionate with her telling of these stories that he instantly fell in love with them.
Every time a different child asked for a story telling he would freeze to hear her answer and then drop whatever it was he was doing to listen. As would everyone else around. The witch's story telling soon became an event involving everyone in the church. Even the clergy who usually stayed away from the guests would come out to hear her stories. Everyone seemed to love what she instilled in them with her words.
Today however she had refused every request for a story and had not left the room Hunk and her shared. Now his interest and worry had gotten to him and he stood outside her room door waiting to hear any sound from inside. He knocked lightly and a sharp intake of breath came from inside. Then he heard a ruffle of sheets and a sound much like the clearing of a throat.
"Yes?" Her voice called from beyond the door. Hunk smiled and rested one hand on the doorknob while pressing his side against the wood.
"It's Hunk. May I come in?" He heard sigh and could just picture her rolling her eyes.
"Yes. You may." He pushed the door open quickly and saw her. The covers were pulled up to cover all of her. They were tucked beneath her arms so they covered her curves from his view. Though from the skin showing around her neck, he knew she was naked under the sheets.
He sat on the edge of the bed causing her to move her feet from where they had been laying. He smiled at her and she fiddled with her green hands returning his smiling weakly.
"You okay?" She made a face at his question and leaned back on the pillow.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine."
"No you're lying"
"Prove it." Hunk moved closer to her and leaned over her face. The green witch seemed to shrink back against the pillow as he came closer.
"It shows in your chocolate colored eyes. The look like they're about to melt." She averted her eyes from him and looked behind at the ceiling. He moved to be in her line of sight and she looked at him. "I can tell."
"Fine." The witch finally admitted sitting up straight and clutching the covers tighter around her. "I guess I'm just a little...homesick or something like that." Hunk now looked genuinely understanding and smiled at her.
"Then why don't you go home?"
"I can't. I miss Oz, yes, but I've actually done good here and I wasn't able to there." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and comforted her. This of course was true and he knew it from what she had told him of her life in Oz, but if she missed it then the only solution was to return.
"If you miss it then you just have to go back. I can take care of the 20 or so children and you can return to Oz." She looked up at him thankfully, but still seemed to have a bit of doubt.
"You know very well those children will eat you alive." He laughed and sat back up to look at clearly.
"That may be, but at least I know you'll return to us someday. After all you're not at all finished with your good deeds here. And I have a feeling we'll need your help in the near future."
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"So I did return. That very night. I slipped on the ruby shoes and clicked the heels together three times saying 'there's no place like home.' It worked, I ended up at Kiamo Ko, but Hunk was right. I have to go back."
Both Fiyero and Chistery had listened to the conclusion of her story and were now listening to her speaking to them. Chistery did not comprehend half of what she meant by he was right and she had to go back, but Fiyero had heard this part clearly.
"No. I just found you again I'm not going to let you leave me again." She held up her hand to silence him and then to his surprise smiled at him. It melted whatever heart he had.
"You don't have to. I figured out a way to get back while I was returning here and I happen to know that I have the only way there." Her smile then faded as if something had just returned to her mind. "I had the only way there."
"What do you mean?" Fiyero asked gripping her hands tightly in his own cloth ones. She looked down at the water and then met his eyes.
"Flying up high enough will bring you back into their world, but my broom was taken while I was away." To her surprise the straw man smiled and his cloth hand reached up to cup her cheek.
"I know where it is. A young boy had it. He came from Kiamo Ko with Dorothy and I." Chistery and Elphaba exchanged looks before a look of anger replaced her happiness.
"Liir." She said simply before looking at him again. He recognized the name and nodded slowly. Chistery climbed back up onto the witch's shoulders sensing her about to stand. "Let's find him."
"I just dropped him off at Lady Glinda's. He said that he wanted to speak with her so I brought him to her. What is your relation to him?" Chistery was now looking quizzically at her. Ever since this subject had come up at the castle he had suspected something between her and the boy. If he took the broom he must have been able to use it, which must have meant they were connected.
"I don't know. I was in a coma all right? I don't really know every detail of what happened while I was in it, but it seems I may have given birth to a child." His mouth fell open in shock at this and she clutched her arms around her stomach and looked anywhere, but at him.
"Mine?" Her deep brown eyes rolled angrily at his stupid question.
"Who else could it have been? Please tell me how many men do you think I have been with?" He looked at the floor and then quickly grabbed her hand.
"Come on. We'll just go see Glinda and Liir and get the broom back. No problem. I hope." She followed just behind him with the flying monkey perched upon her shoulders. He seemed very excited to go to meet Glinda, whom he had never met. Fiyero tugged her along to the bridge across which was a pair of glass doors leading into the Chuffrey Estate. "Ready?"
"No way in hell."