AN:

Tadaaaaaaaa!

There you go, new chapter! I just finished it in the middle of the night 3 AM NZST and so I can only hope it's not too terrible grammar and spelling wise… I'll probably give it another read tomorrow, but for now I just wanted to update on time. (^_^;) (It's not like I didn't proofread at all…)

The companion chapter in the Elphie-version is: "Haunted"

Happy reading!

xoxo MLE

Chapter Twenty-One: Dream Away

The entire situation was absolutely confusifying and it took Glinda a few moments to clear her head. She just stood there, rooted to the spot, staring at Elphaba who was being restrained by not one or two, but three Gale Forcers, two more threatening her with their weapons. It was quite ridicules, these men'soverzealous attempts to subjugate her physically, for while not as delicate as the petite blonde herself, from a physical standpoint, Elphaba did not possess any more strength than the average female. And between them, appeared out of the blue, was Fiyero, her – no, Elphaba's – knight in shining armour, come to rescue her? Them? She did not even really know. All she could do was incredulously utter his name, while Elphaba looked at him in horror, surprisingly despondent at seeing him.

"Let her go," the ostensibly fearless man shouted at the soldiers with a voice strong as thunder and as fierce as the green witch's.

Her 'Elphabaness' appeared to have started rubbing off on him and for a brief moment, Glinda's lips twitched and hesitantly the corners turned upward at that thought. But that smile was all but wiped off her face and replaced with an expression of sheer terror, when she heard his next words.

"I said let her go! Or explain to all of Oz how the Wizard's guard watched, while Glinda the Good was slain."

The barrel of his riffle was directed at her now, aimed at the spot between her pretty, blue eyes.

This brought her back to a day almost a year ago; a day she wished she could have long forgotten. Unfortunately, that was not the case and the memories of when she had almost died and someone else had lost their life in her stead still plagued her at night. And now this dreadful experience came back to even haunt her in the light of day. Back then Fiyero had been by her side – as it had happened and thereafter, day and night, whenever she had needed him. He had held her and kissed her and made love to her the very first time. Ironically, this time, he was the one at the other end of the gun.

His face looked stern, but knowing him so thoroughly well, she recognised a gentleness in his eyes that did not befit a coldblooded murderer. It was a feint, of course, a distraction. He would not pull the trigger. Not while this ozdamned thing was pointing at her head or any other part of her body. She also knew that pure desperations had moved him to take this step, yet that did not mean that she did not feel horribly exposed, vulnerable and deeply hurt.

She decided to put all considerations for her own needs and feelings aside though, for this was about Elphaba. They might have been angry and fighting only clock-ticks earlier, but Glinda would not even want to start thinking about the horrendous things the Gale Force, the Wizard or Morrible would do to her friend. So she would play along. For Elphie. Goodness knows, this wayward, cynical, green thing would always be her Elphie, no matter what would happen between them.

Fiyero took another step, his weapon now almost touching the blonde's forehead and the good witch whimpered; as much as she trusted him, there was still fairly little acting involved.

"Fiyero. No," she said weakly, her lower lip quivering.

The prince repeated his demand.

"I said, let her go!"

Glinda contributed a glance at their leader, accompanied by some frantic bobbing of her head,

Thankfully, the soldiers complied. They gave Elphaba a rough shove forward and retreated to the background. Relieved, Glinda exhaled – for both, her friend's release, as well as her own sanity. She had been scared of what else Fiyero would have done to convince these pinheads of his determination.

He grabbed Elphaba's broom and pressed it firmly in her hands. When he first told the stubborn witch to get herself to safety, she had shaken her head no and declared that she would not leave without him. Eventually, however, his persistent urging and Glinda's cautious persuasiveness finally prevailed.

As soon as she had disappeared from the scene, an absurd cat and mouse game begun. They were five and he was all by himself. Alternating between pointing his gun at the soldiers and his former fiancée, Fiyero tried to postpone the inevitable, probably to make sure Elphaba had as much of a head start as he could possibly give her. Yet they quickly gained on him and when it was clear that there was no prospect of escape, he surrendered his rifle and raised his hands above his head.

They seized him, malicious grins plastered on their sneering faces, more than ready to show their former captain who had the upper hand now.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Glinda heard herself yell. "In the name of Goodness stop!"

She rushed to his side and fell to her knees.

"Don't you see? He was never going to harm me. He just…" and these words took so much courage to say, "he loves her."

Her words created a tense, confusing atmosphere. The Gale Forcers shifted nervously, looking at each other, while Fiyero turned his head to look deep into her blue eyes. They were sparkling with silent tears and his were filled with endless regret and sorrow.

Holding his hand, the blonde blinked away the wetness that was just about to spill over. She simply could not show such weakness and break down in front of these men.

"Glinda, I'm so sorry," Fiyero murmured just on time before the soldiers' leader raised his voice.

"Take him out to this field there!"

"No!" Glinda protested. "No!"

She clung to the prince as they dragged him away, willing this madness to stop, but one of the men wrapped his strong arm around her slender waist and dragged her away. The dainty woman struggled, hitting him, kicking him, but to no avail.

It was fairly close to dawn already and from outside the cheerful trilling of the one or the other early bird penetrated the poorly insulated window. The young man who had escorted her away had organised a room at a decent hotel for her, but how could she possibly be sleeping? Not even changed for the night, she sat on the bed, the soft quilt wrapped around her bare shoulders for comfort. Her eyes were unfocused, staring, but at nothing in particular. Her ears, on the other hand, were perked up and highly alert, waiting for news about Fiyero or perhaps Elphaba.

For hours, all she kept hearing was the Gale Forcer outside her door shuffling around, either shifting from one leg to the other or pacing up and down the corridor. It nearly drove her insane. Why in Oz could this man not simply stand still? Was that not what soldiers were supposed to do when holding a vigil? Standing at attention without moving or even wiggling a toe?

From time to time her mind would drift off a little. Currently, she was indulging in one of her reminiscences from her time at Shiz University. She had to remind herself to stay aware and attentive, for usually she would close her eyes and, for a little while, leave this plane of existence completely, absolutely beyond reach for anyone who would try to address her. It was a bad habit and she was painfully aware of it. At more than one occasion, her extraordinary daydreams had put her to rather great inconvenience. However, after the divulgement of her future husband and her best friend's secret affair, she sometimes felt as though they were her last lifeline and therefore something she should be entitled to enjoy. She clandestinely wondered whether there was some sort of spell she could use to lose herself in her blissful memories for forever. It was not so much a matter of whether it existed, she mused, but more a question of where she could find it.

The memory of Shiz era Elphaba that was living in her head and whom she still loved oh so dearly, gave her a light mental slap to the back of her head. Such thoughts were not acceptable, of course. Neither the real Elphaba, nor the figment that accompanied Glinda day in, day out would allow her to surrender her body or her mind to actual or even quasi-suicide. It was a little scary at times how vivid and realistic these fantasies were. Would people already consider her schizophrenic? Well, now she was most likely being slightly overdramatic. Besides, having a piece of Elphaba within her, as her voice of reason so to say, was generally not a bad thing.

Pondering dreams, memories and little Elphies in her head, she had, in spite of her best intentions, somewhat lost track of what was happening around her. When she finally snapped out of her passive, reflective state, she realised that there were voices to be heard through the thin door and that they indeed belonged to two of the soldiers.

"What?" one of them almost laughed – since she could not remember this surprisingly gentle baritone, she decided that it was not the man who had escorted her to the hotel. "No, there won't be any need to organise a transport to Southstairs. Come morning, I doubt there will even be enough left to bring back to show to His Ozness."

"Isn't that a little irregular?"

"Not my problem to be honest. The commander's orders, the commander's risk. That's what we've got the chain of command for, isn't that right?

"Anyway, I'm sorry you missed out on the fun. Maybe next time."

"Yeah… maybe when we catch that witch? That would be a more than adequate compensation"

"Ha! You better don't even dream about that. The Wizard and that ghastly, fat hag definitely want the green monstrosity for themselves. You better know that, should anyone in the unit that captures her lay as much as a finger on her, no chain of command could ever save the rest of the sorry lot if they don't stop him."

"A pity. But I'll keep your advise in mind."

"You better. Well, I'm off to bed. I'll send Yonand up to replace you once he had his supper."

By the time one pair of heavy boots noisily descended down the creaking stairs, Glinda sat ramrod straight on the bed, her breathing shallow. Agitatedly, she had been chewing the insides of her cheeks, which she only noticed once she tasted blood. What in Oz had they done to Fiyero? The most horrendous pictures were flickering through her mind, every new image gorier than the previous one. Clasping both hands over her mouth, she unsuccessfully tried to fight back a sob. When the almost inhuman sound escaped her lips, it was merely an overture for a series of muffled cries, hot tears and pained moans.

At this point she might have continued wallowing in all the hurt and sorrow for hours, but her exhaustion and the quiet, tender whispers of her phantom-Elphie convinced her to try and brace herself. A misunderstanding, she thought then; it was not entirely unthinkable that she had merely jumped to conclusions. She desperately clung to this hope, no matter how improbable this notion was.

In the morning – she still had not had a single minute of shuteye – the leader of the small group, accompanied by the man on guard duty, asked for an audience. Glinda was compelled to grand his request. At least he pretended to observe the due courtesy and propriety.

"Your Goodness," he greeted her with a curt nod and she rose to her feet.

"Do you have any news for me?" she asked. "About the prisoner you took yesterday," she elaborated when all she received was a puzzled look.

The man in uniform inclined his head in false regret.

"I'm sorry, my lady. We interrogated him, but the exact nature of this business is something I'm not free to discuss with anyone but the Wizard himself."

The blonde huffed at that and turned her back on the Gale Forcer to look out of the window. The weather was quite decent, she decided, and definitely suitable for travelling by bubble.

"Your Goodness, with your permission, we will set out this afternoon to squire you back to the Emerald City."

"I beg your pardon?"

Whirling around, she fixed the soldier with a firm stare.

"What is this nonsense? Do you expect me to go by foot? Surely you must be aware that such peregrination would take an eternity! Even by coach or train -" she intercepted as soon as he opened his mouth to say something "- the journey would take unnecessarily long. I will return by bubble, of course."

"My lady, I'm not sure if-"

"Shush! What am I? A prisoner?"

She was well aware of the fact that that was more or less what he considered her to be, only he simply did not have the guts to try and take it up with her. The situation had forced him in some kind of limbo where he could not decide whether he was more concerned about the immediate wrath of the beautiful sorceress, the universally beloved Glinda the Good, or whether it was more important for him to cover his ass in case Morrible and the Wizard would consider the blonde's behaviour the previous evening disloyalty or outright treacherous. Personally escorting her back to the palace seemed the most sensible solution, but obviously, he had hoped for her blind cooperation. To his dismay, she was not willed to do him this favour.

"There is no need for concern," she assured him in a contemptuous tone of voice. "I will not run away, nor will I do anything else that would get you or me in trouble. I will dutifully return to the capital, but on my own and by bubble. And now I will hear no more of this."

Defeated and understanding that he was dismissed, the soldier left the room. The man who had been positioned outside her door brought her breakfast and as soon as she had finished her meal, she prepared for her departure.

Before she left Centre Munch, she made sure to circle the field where the soldiers had 'interrogated' Fiyero. All morning she had dreaded the sight that might be waiting for her, but no matter how hard she searched, she could not even find the pole they had tied him to.

Immediately upon her arrival at the palace, Glinda was summoned to the throne room. When she entered through the large double doors, the Wizard was not present, only Madame Morrible.

"Glinda dear," the fishwoman welcomed her with open arms, "how are things in Munchkinland?"

The young witch watched her warily.

"Well," she said slowly and swallowed, "for the Munchkins things could probably be worse, but I regret to inform you that I have not been able to complete the mission His Ozness has entrusted me with. Some unexpected events threw me slightly off course."

"And what sort of events would that be, mh?"

Surprisingly, Morrible did not appear particularly disappointed, but rather excited, which concerned Glinda more than the rage she had expected to ensue. Could it be that she already knew?

"Elphaba made an appearance, hoping to pay her last respect to her sister."

"Oh, what a foolish, loyal thing she is!" the older woman chuckled, clapping her hand almost in the same fashion Glinda sometimes did, which only added to the blonde's bewilderment. "Tell me they finally captured her."

"Only for a clock-tick," Glinda replied evenly and while she expertly maintained the solemn expression on her face, she was surely bursting into full laughter on the inside. However, after this brief moment of glee, genuine dejection took over again. "Master Tiggular was foolish enough to rescue her. The soldiers were forced to release the Wicked Witch and in exchange apprehended him. That's all I know. You will have to wait for their detailed report if you have any further queries."

Morrible's face fell.

"How am I supposed to get anything done if I'm surrounded by nothing but incapable halfwits?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "It is true, if one wishes a thing done well, one ought to do it oneself."

The younger woman, not quite certain whether she was included in Morrible's categorisation of 'incapable halfwits' and should therefore expect a through verbal spanking, decided that it was about time to excuse herself. On the pretext of having to prepare for an imminent return to Munchkinland, she swiftly left the throne room, unhindered by the fishwoman who was still too engrossed in bashing and cursing her useless underlings.

On the way to her quarters, she passed the door to Fiyero's apartments, which had remained sealed and untouched since the day of his disappearance. She carefully assured herself that none of the nosy staff were watching her before opening the door and slipping inside.

Thick dust was covering everything from the carpet, to the floor lamp, to the bed. One of his Gale Force uniforms lay still spread out on the couch and withered flowers in their pots filled with bone-dry soil hung their sad heads. Slowly maundering through the room, she could admittedly not quite tell what she was planning on doing there or looking for. She only knew that she was somehow drawn to this place, probably in an attempt to be a little closer to its former occupant, a man who could very well have already left this world by now.

Her most recent meeting with Elphaba and Fiyero had stirred questions and emotions that had, although never quite buried, taken somewhat of a backseat as of late. Now she once more felt this strong need to demand answers, but there was no one around who could grant them. Except this room, perhaps.

More attentive than before, she let her eyes rake over every inch of the apartment. The prince's quarters were surprisingly clean and tidy, which for once turned out to be a real disappointment. Even the drawers and closets or his bureau did not supply any interesting clues. After an intensive search of the entire place, the green uniform remained the most notable feature her eager eyes could find.

Frustrated, she waved her hands and conjured a light wind that gently lifted the dust and carried it through the window, which she opened with another nonchalant flick of her wrist. Even with the fluffy, grey layer removed, there was still not much more of interest in evidence.

On a positive note, the bed was clean now and ready for her to flop into. She lay transverse across the mattress in prone position, her head and arms dangling down to one side. The blood flowing to her head made her feel dizzy, which was an almost welcome distraction from her gloomy thoughts. Lazily hanging over the edge, she spotted a small box underneath the slat frame, which immediately piqued her interest.

She retrieved the hidden object and briefly felt another pang of disappointment. It was a simple, old shoebox and she highly doubted that a filthy and battered carton like this would contain anything of sentimental or monetary value. As she took off the lid, however, she was more than surprised to learn how wrong she had been.

The first object that caught her eye was the bright, pink flower she had given to Elphaba a long time ago, right after their life-changing dance at the Ozdust. Fiyero must have searched Elphie's belongings before Nessa had them all packed away and sent back home, she concluded.

A deep sigh escaped her lips. He must have already loved her even back then, at Shiz. Why else would he have pilfered this momentous, little token? He had loved Elphaba the whole time and she had never even as much as considered the possibility. Feeling stupidly naïve and short-sighted, she blinked back a few tears. By all indications, her fairy-tale prince had led her on for over a year, mimed the perfect suitor, while his heart had secretly longed for another.

Although Glinda wanted to be angry and curse his name, the current circumstances made this incredibly difficult and so the only person she could direct her wrath at was she herself. She gave the other memento in the box, a fading photograph, a fleeting glance, but could not stand looking at it for longer than a few seconds. Keeping the flower, despite all the bitter and painful memories attached to it, she popped the lid back on the shoebox and kicked it under the bed.

That night, she sat at her vanity and studied her reflection, uneasily playing with the pink flower in her hands. She took one deep breath and hesitantly brought her hands up to pin the clip into her hair. Her lids fluttered closed, giving her a clock-tick to centre herself. Since this simple ornamental object had only gained any true significance in the moment Glinda had first adorned Elphaba's beautiful, ebony tresses with it, it rather presented the green girl than the pretty blonde. Wearing it felt like wearing a piece of Elphaba and therefore was somewhat of a profound experience. She cracked one eye open, then the other. A tiny smile tucked at the corners of her mouth. The very instant that she had looked up, she could have sworn she saw Elphie in the mirror instead of herself and although she now was unmistakably staring at pale skin, golden curls and blue eyes, the thought still seemed strangely encouraging.

Absolutely exhausted, she went to bed, the flower still firmly in place.

"Goodnight, Elphie," she murmured before clapping her hands lightly to turn off the light.

As soon as she fell asleep, a dream began to unfold. It was as vivid as her Shiz dreams, only it took her back to the night of her engagement ball, beginning with the moment that she had rushed through the large double doors and found Fiyero and Elphaba in the throne room. While her earlier dreams had always been snapshots from the past, unchanged and true to her memory, this one took her down an entirely different road. Contrary to what had really happened that fateful evening, it was not her fiancé who fled the palace together with her best friend, but Glinda herself.

Even in her sleep she was aware of the fact that this was nothing but a dream, yet the idea filled her with such excitement that it got her pulse quickening and her heart racing. She followed the narrative of this thrilling fantasy, eager to learn what would be happening next. Being with Elphaba, she felt whole and alive again; so much so, that as the new morning arrived, she decided not to wake up for another day. She would live this dream for as long as possible, afraid it could be a one-time occurrence and her only chance to explore the ifs and whats that she knew would otherwise plague her for a very long time.

AN:

I'm a bit curious: How are you all coping with the switch from Fiyero to Glinda as a POV character? I kinda HOPE that it's a good change because a) I don't want to talk too much about what's happening to him yet and b) because it just gives us some interesting (again – that's what I HOPE) insights in Glinda's head lol I guess Fiyero's storyline would also be kinda really boring right now. You'll see why that might be later when he jumps back into the picture!