Could Idina and Elphaba be the same person? Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out!
If it was possible, Galinda was even more nervous for her second fight than she had been for her first one. She had expected to feel less nervous, seeing as she had done this once before and knew what to expect, but that was the very thing that scared her: she didn't know what to expect. Again, as Elphaba had told her, the thing that kept her alive was expecting the unexpected. Every fighter had a different fighting style, and expecting the same kind twice was what got people killed.
The cheers of the crowd drew Galinda from her thoughts, and she looked up before heading out reluctantly. Her eyes scanned the top of the stadium, looking for either Elphaba or Idina. Part of her told her that Idina really was Elphaba; how else would she have known that Galinda was in the fight club? And Idina had only showed up after Elphaba's "death". Was it possible that the green woman had survived her self-inflicted wounds, and had taken on this new appearance so no one would know she was still alive?
"Hello, Galinda. I never thought I'd live to see the day where you and I would be fighting in this arena."
Galinda turned her attention to the familiar voice. "Avaric?"
"I see you're surprised as well."
"Didn't you die a while ago? Don't tell me Morrible brought you back to life as well."
"It would appear that way, wouldn't it? But conversation time is over, and it's time for our fight to begin."
Avaric took a swing at her, and Galinda slapped his hand away. Avaric laughed.
"You're not nearly as skilled as Elphaba was. I heard she took her own life after she killed her sister. Looks like all that skill was working against her the whole time. A fitting end, don't you agree?"
"She didn't deserve any part of that life that you dragged her into, you bastard!"
"She chose it."
"Stop blaming it on her!"
Galinda lunged at Avaric, but with one swing of his arm, he sent her crashing to the ground. The crowd cheered and Galinda pushed herself up onto her forearms. She felt a hand grab the back of her hair and lift her to her feet. The blonde thrust her leg behind her and felt it hit something. Avaric released her and Galinda fled, turning back to look at him only when she was sure she was a safe distance away.
"Why don't you stay and fight me, Galinda?" Avaric taunted.
"I'm not an idiot; I know you can kill me easily!" Galinda shot back.
"That's true, but come on. Take your best shot!"
The blonde shook her head. Giving in to Avaric's taunts would get her killed for sure. All she could do was hope that Idina had meant what she had said: that she wouldn't let anything happen to the blonde.
"Fine! Then I'll come to you!"
Galinda let out a small scream as Avaric came at her. She ran from him again, and the crowd booed. This was not what they wanted to see. Avaric realized that this was going to turn into a game of cat and mouse, so he gestured for the knife, which was thrown down to him. Galinda saw the blade in his hand and her eyes widened.
No, no, no, this is not fair!
Avaric moved quickly, and Galinda wasn't able to get out of his way quick enough. She felt the knife slice through the skin on her raised arm, and she let out a cry of pain. She held the wound, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Avaric hit her across the face and the blonde fell to the ground. She looked up at him and backed up, but ran into the arena wall. Avaric stood over her, a grin on his face and the knife in his hand.
"Say hello to Elphaba for me," he said as he raised the knife.
An object suddenly struck the knife, and knocked it from his hand. The object landed beside Galinda and she saw that it was a golden throwing knife. The crowd gasped, and looked for who had thrown the knife.
"Take the knife, Galinda. It knows what to do; you just have to hold it."
Galinda recognized the voice that had spoken in her head.
Idina?
Galinda looked up into the crowds, but could not spot the hooded woman.
"Do not hesitate! Hesitating gets you killed!"
Galinda gripped the handle of the golden knife hesitantly and pulled it from the ground. She saw that Avaric was coming at her again, and she instinctively threw the knife. It flew through the air and sunk into Avaric's chest, piercing his heart. Her opponent gasped.
"No… this can't be right! You cheated!" he said as he collapsed to the ground. Galinda watched his body spasm a few times before he lay still. Somehow… some way… she had won again.
"Our blonde friend certainly seems to get lucky a lot," Morrible said. She looked at Elphaba, who was leaning up against the wall, arms crossed. "Wouldn't you say?"
"She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't have to fight. This isn't where she belongs," the green woman replied.
"Then stop assisting her."
"She'll get killed if I stop."
"Do you really think you can always be here to save her?"
"Maybe I can."
"You're smart, Miss Elphaba, but even you can't be in two places at once. Now come along. We've spent enough time watching this. It's time to resume your training."
Elphaba sat on her bed, staring at the moon. As she did so, she flipped a golden knife in her hand, always managing to catch the handle no matter how many times she flipped it, or which way it flipped. The green woman sighed, and held the knife still in her hand. She threw it at the wall angrily, and it stuck in the wood.
Liir, who was watching from his place on the floor, looked up at his mother.
"I don't know, Liir. Maybe Morrible's right. Maybe I can't protect Galinda all the time."
Liir's response was blowing a raspberry and Elphaba smiled. She lifted her son off the floor and into her lap.
"You're right. I can't let Morrible win. I have to keep Galinda alive, no matter what it takes."
Liir had found another one of her golden knives, and was chewing on the handle.
"Give me that before you poke an eye out," Elphaba said, trying to take the knife from her son. Liir cried out, and held into the knife tightly. "Liir, let go!" The green woman pulled harder and yanked the knife away. Liir reached for it, letting out small cries of frustration. When he realized that his mother had won, he started crying. Elphaba felt the knife shake and it flew from her hand, sticking into the ceiling. She stared up at it in wonder, and looked back at her son. Liir clapped his hands happily and laughed, gripping his toes.
"This could be potentially bad," Elphaba said, looking back up at the knife in the ceiling. If Liir had magic already, there was no telling what he could do… what Morrible would do.
Galinda looked at the dismal food in front of her, if it could be called that. She knew she was hungry, but she'd rather starve than eat this. The blonde stood up and left the table, walking into one of the other tunnels. What she wanted now was to just be alone… to just escape reality.
"I don't blame you for not wanting to eat that food."
Galinda stopped and turned at the voice. She saw Idina leaning up against the wall, arms crossed.
"Idina… I know it was you who saved me this time. I heard you," the blonde said.
Idina straightened up. "I'll admit, I stepped in this time, but I only provided you with the weapon. You were the one who had to use it. You saved yourself." She approached the blonde and held out a bundle of cloth.
"What is this?"
"Food. You need to stay strong, Galinda."
Galinda took the bundle from her and sat down, opening it. She gasped as her eyes met the sight of fresh fruit and a loaf of bread. She looked back up at Idina.
"Is this all for me?"
"Of course. I figured you didn't get very good nutrition down here."
Under normal circumstances, Galinda would have used proper manners, but she was so hungry that she had barely said "thank you" before she dug into the food.
"I guess you were hungrier than I thought," Idina said with a slight smile.
"Don't you want some?" Galinda asked.
Idina shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'm not the one who needs it."
A silence passed between them, and Galinda looked back up at Idina. "Who are you?"
"Did you forget my name already?"
"No, I mean who are you really? Why do you wear that hood over your face?"
"Why does it matter?"
"I want to know."
"You don't need to know."
Galinda sighed. This woman was certainly just as stubborn as Elphaba.
"It's time for me to go."
"Already?"
"I've spent too much time here already. Finish your food, and then go back to the main tunnel before Fiyero notices your absence."
"Wait—"
But Idina was gone, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Galinda sighed again before finishing up the rest of the food and returning to the main tunnel as Idina had told her.
"Where were you?" Fiyero asked.
"I wanted to be alone," the blonde replied.
"Get in your cell. We're locking down for the night."
Very few things disturbed Madame Morrible, but the fact that Galinda had been receiving all this help disturbed her greatly. She knew that Elphaba had saved her the first time, but tonight… she had been keeping a close eye on the green woman, prepared for her to use more magic. Yet, when that golden had flown into the arena, Elphaba hadn't moved. If the witch had found a way to use her magic discreetly… Morrible intended to find out. She wasn't about to let Elphaba get the best of her.
Elphaba had had a hell of a time trying to get the knife down from the ceiling, but she had finally succeeded, and she held the trophy in her hand.
"Next time, aim for the floor, all right?" she said to her son, who was standing in his crib, gripping the bars to keep himself up. He just watched her with wide eyes. The knife suddenly shook again and went right back into the ceiling. Elphaba sighed and out a hand to her eyes.
"Liir, we are not going to play this game," she said firmly, but her son just laughed. "You get that down right now."
Her son turned his gaze to the knife, and it flew from the ceiling right down into the floor, missing his mother's foot by inches. Elphaba glared at him, but he just laughed again.
"Ha, ha, very funny," she said, yanking it out of the floor. She slipped it back inside her boot before taking them off and sitting on her bed with a sigh. Her body ached all over, and when she lay down, her back screamed in protest. "Dear Oz…"
She heard Liir make a noise at her, and she looked up. He was reaching out to her, and he made the noise again.
"No, you stay there," she said. Liir furrowed his brow and stretched his arms out farther. His crib scraped an inch along the floor. "Okay, okay!" The green witch sighed and got up. She picked her son up and carried him back to her bed, where she set him down before lying down again. Liir crawled down the length of the bed, and then back to his mother.
"Having fun?" Elphaba asked, their eyes meeting. Liir replied by placing a small hand on her face and smiling. Elphaba couldn't help but smile back. She placed a hand on his head, rubbing his hair affectionately. "You're cute, but it's time for sleeping, so go to sleep."
Liir lay down beside her, and Elphaba pulled the covers over them both. She kissed him on the forehead before she joined him in slumber.