Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; I'm merely borrowing them for the ride.
Background: This story was inspired both by the book and the musical. I took the things I liked better from each one.
Author's Note: I apologize profusely for all the language mistakes that I'm sure I have made. English is not my mother tongue and this is my first attempt at writing, so please bear with me ;).
Feedback is very welcome; good, bad or in between...
I uploaded three new chapters on this update, so be sure to read Chapters 19 and 20 before this one!
Chapter 21 – Giving In
They had been walking for the better part of three hours now, and Glinda could see how tiredness was taking hold of Elphaba. The blonde woman hadn't uttered a word since they had left the clearing, too immersed in her thoughts, but now that she had processed most of those feelings in her head, she had become very aware of the fact that Elphaba had been carrying her for hours, and she was sure the poor woman had to be feeling really tired.
She couldn't believe how selfishly she had been acting. Of course she had tons of reason to be mad at Elphaba, there was no question about that, but her friend had risked her life to help her, not only at Southstairs but also before. The burns in Elphaba's arms spoke for themselves. Glinda knew that even though it was going to be difficult, she had to put her feelings aside for the time being, at least until they got to that mauntery Elphaba had talked about.
"I think I need to take a break." Glinda said quietly, startling Elphaba who had been lost in her thoughts as well and hadn't been expecting any words from her companion.
"Are you feeling dizzy again?" Elphaba asked.
"Yeah." Glinda lied. She knew that Elphaba needed to rest for a bit, and she was sure the green woman wouldn't consent unless it was for someone else's sake. Elphaba nodded and went towards a bunch of stones that where beneath the shadows of some trees, helping Glinda down so she could rest against them.
Shell and Liir kept their distance from the four women sitting some feet away from them; they stood alert, looking out for potential threats. The long walk had been a silent one, with Liir still pissed for having been told what to do. "So what's the story with you two?" Shell asked trying to break the ice, he wasn't sure he could stand another two-hour walk with the sulking boy as his only company.
"I don't really know." Liir shrugged. "I grew up with her, back at Kiamo Ko." Shell had a pretty good idea of what the real story between Elphaba and the boy was, but he chose to keep it to himself, simply nodding at Liir's words.
"What about you two?" Now it was Liir's turn to question him.
"Well, as you might have guessed, she's my sister." Liir assented. "And that's pretty much the story, I hadn't seen her in years." At Liir's disappointed look, Shell tried to elaborate a bit more. "She was alright. As far as sisters go, I mean." He smiled fondly at memories of his childhood. "I don't know what happened to her, she has changed." Shell looked sadly at her sister's resting figure. Liir didn't feel like contributing to the conversation, as far as he knew, Elphaba had always been like this, bitter and detached.
Half an hour later Elphaba approached Glinda. "Are you feeling better?"
"What?" The blonde woman, who had been dozing off, opened her eyes and looked at Elphaba with confusion.
Elphaba eyed Glinda carefully. "Your dizziness?"
Glinda's eyes opened wide in recognition, and she nodded quickly. "Oh yes, I'm feeling better now. Much better."
Elphaba didn't take her eyes off Glinda's face. "Glinda?" She said drawling the blonde's name.
"Yes?" The smaller Witch tried to look innocently at Elphaba.
"You were feeling dizzy, right?" Elphaba's tone held a warning in it.
"Would you have stopped if I hadn't been feeling dizzy?" Glinda asked, and Elphaba considered the question before answering.
"No, probably not."
Glinda stuck her chin up in defiance and answered. "Then I was feeling positively nauseous."
Elphaba couldn't help but smile at her friend, and she didn't even felt annoyed at the snickering coming from the other two women sitting close by, maybe some bridges could be mended after all. "Come on." She said, picking Glinda up in her arms again. "Let's get going before it gets dark, we should be there in an hour or so."
Glinda tried to look dignified while being carried around as a baby. "I can walk, you know?" She said huffily, and Elphaba looked at her with a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"Oh, but I thought you were feeling positively ill, Miss Glinda." And this time it wasn't just a snicker but a full out laugh what they heard behind them.
Glinda held onto Elphaba and rested her head in the other Witch's shoulder, allowing to be carried in Elphaba's arms. She smiled to herself and just whispered. "You terrible mean thing."
To be continued…
Well, that's it for now. I'll try to update soon.
Please, let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading!