The Witch of the Emerald City
Kirra White Tigress

Chapter Twenty-four:

A wave of air rippled over her, a flash of inescapable pain following, and then….

Nothing.

Liira's body hit the ground, pain shooting from her shoulder down the rest of her arm. She bit back a cry of pain and instead let the sensation pass on its own. All of her senses were trained on her injured arm—she could barely hear or see clearly. The green girl closed her eyes in her own defeat, trying to force herself to hear the reactions around her, if there were any at all.

She heard something clatter to the ground before she heard a name whispered. Liira forced her eyes open and fought to sit up—the pain in her left arm was unbearable. But she had to see. She had to take a look at what had happened. Otherwise she would only be trapped in silence….

"Elphie…."

The green girl froze with rising fear. This wasn't good. She glanced to her right, to where Elphaba and Glinda were. She could see the blonde on her knees, clutching something close to her. A body…. Panic coursed through her now. What the hell was going on? Why was she holding Elphaba's body?

Elphaba's body….

She risked her life to save mine….

Liira brought a hand to her wounded arm and lightly touched it. There wasn't any blood—only pain from where she had made impact with the marble floor. Her eyes went to the soldiers, who most likely were watching this in confusion or their own fear caused by their quick change of heart.

But they, too, were not moving.

They stood trapped, frozen in place as if affected by a Paralysis spell. The looks of fear and fury in their eyes bore holes through Liira's—she had to look away. But she noticed even from this distance that the trigger had been pulled. Elphaba had pushed her daughter out of the way, stepping in front of Glinda as well, and….

Why? Liira thought, her mind still numbed by all of this. Why did she do it? She could have let me take the hit.

The Witch really is Good after all, her own mind replied, and she left it at that.

"Elphie…. Please…."

Her attention went back to the heartbreaking sight nearby. She couldn't see the wound—the black clothing concealed too much—but the looks of pain in both their eyes told all.

Glinda gently stroked her former-lover's hair, her eyes shining bright with tears that she refused to shed. "Why did you do it?" she asked, her voice trembling in the still silence surrounding her. "You didn't have to do anything. You could have just stayed where you were."

The Witch allowed herself to smile, though she still looked pained. "Would you rather me let Liira die?" she countered. She brought a hand up to touch Glinda's face, wincing slightly. "I'll be okay. It's just a scratch; it's nothing."

"You've always made things sound simpler than they really are. I've always hated you for that…." Glinda sniffed, evidently still trying to keep the tears back to spare the Witch anymore pain. Finally after a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I don't think any of this is fair, Elphie. You always appear in my life for just more than a minute before taking yourself away from me. And now…." She bit her lip—it seemed she was trying to use her own pain to get past the unbearable thoughts that apparently tried to consume her mind. "Please stay. Just this once? I promise I'll never take advantage of you; I'll be the person you've always wanted me to be. Just don't die!" she pleaded.

Elphaba's smile faded slightly at the sight of Glinda's desperation. She let out a breath and forced herself to sit up—Glinda's eyes widened in fear as the green woman did this. Still the Witch did as she wanted, no matter if it sped up the coming of her death. Her dark eyes bore into the blonde's, trying to get her to understand. "I can't control these things, and neither can you. It's about time you accepted that," she said. Then her gaze softened, and she leaned forward to kiss her lover softly. "Know that I will always love you, Glinda. From now until the end of eternity."

Glinda kissed her back, knowing this would be the last time she would ever do so. "I love you, too," she whispered against her lips. But then the contact was broken as Elphaba's head fell back, her body going limp…. The blonde's eyes widened as panic once again took over. She shook her head, not wanting to believe what was right in front of her. "Elphie," she said sternly to try to call her back to consciousness. But the green woman remained still, breathless, lifeless. Glinda suddenly began to break down, whispering her lover's name over and over again like a mantra.

Liira could only watch as the blonde's heart broke once again. There was nothing she could do to help her now. She couldn't bring Elphaba back—to bring a person back from the dead would require another life to be taken, and even then it was proven impossible. Magic could not create. It could only savage the broken pieces and reconstruct. So even then, there was no hope of the Witch ever coming back….

Why must life be this way?

She stood up, ignoring the pain that blazed through her shoulder; Glinda did not look her way. Her focus went to the Grimmerie that lay only a few feet away from her. From here it didn't seem to be damaged in any way—this was good. The green girl picked it up and brushed it off before carrying it back to the ruler of Oz. Without a word being said, Liira knelt in front of the distressed blonde and went to open the large tome.

Glinda looked up upon seeing the pages being turned in front of her. She instinctively pulled Elphaba's body close to her, her blue eyes hardening into azure diamonds. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Looking up a spell," Liira responded.

"Why are you using this… this evil… thing?!" the blonde spat, her eyes leveled at the ancient tome. As she spoke, the more protective she seemed to grow toward her dead lover, who still lay in her arms. "This book killed my Elphie! What good is it to try to use it again?"

"She used a Time Sealing spell to save our lives—"

"And it killed her!" Glinda shouted. Her eyes went to Liira's, cutting through them easily. "This damned spell book has too dark a history to be trusted, Liira! It destroyed Elphaba; it destroyed my life…." She bit her bottom lip again, her anger dissolving into nothing but pure anguish. "It could destroy you. And I don't want that to happen. You're the only one in my life I have left…."

Liira ignored her. Instead she continued leafing through the pages, trying to find a spell that would break the one already placed over the area, a spell that could help them. There wasn't any use listening to Glinda now. Yes, her heart was battered to the point where it was now bleeding. But she was too delirious with the pain of losing two people she loved to be taken seriously. If they were going to get through this, then it would all have to be up to the Witch of the Emerald City.

The words suddenly became easier to understand. The green girl stopped at one page and paused to decipher the swirling text before going to another one upon finding no luck. Every once in a while she'd look up to check on Glinda. The blonde now had what seemed to be a dead look. Her mind had replayed the entire situation too many times in her head that it was evident that she was beginning to give up. Liira sighed, her gaze returning to the fragile pages. "I'm sorry," she said to break the silence and hopefully bring the blonde out of her trance.

The blonde looked up from her intense study of Elphaba's features, her dull blue eyes lighting up just a bit. She tilted her head to the side just slightly in her confusion. "About what?"

"For everything," Liira replied. She turned a page and skimmed through it, trying to find a way out for them faster. "I'm sorry your life is so ruined. But it can't be helped. Fate cannot be changed one way or another."

"I know," Glinda said quietly. She sniffed, then brought a hand up to dry the tears that threatened to fall. "I know these things were meant to happen. But… it still hurts. Everything I've come to love has in the end been taken away from me. I don't see what I've done to deserve this…."

Liira lifted her gaze to the blonde once again, frowning. "You don't deserve this kind of pain, Glinda. No one does," she said. She set the Grimmerie to the side—the spell could wait right now—and she moved closer to the older woman. She gently placed her hand over one of the blonde's to both comfort her and regain her attention. "What happened to you is not your fault, whether you believe it or not. Everything happens for a reason." She paused for a moment before adding, "You could be letting better things into your life by letting them go."

The blonde looked back down at Elphaba. She frowned, caressing a green cheek softly. "What could possibly be better than her?" she asked, her voice almost inaudible. She sniffed again, but she didn't do anything other than just sit there and stare at the Witch in her arms. "She meant everything to me. She could never be replaced…. I promised myself I'd never let her go…."

The green girl's mind struggled to come up with a way to console the blonde, but she knew that there was no use. Glinda had clearly reached her limit—her heart could never be healed again. She glanced back at the Grimmerie. Perhaps there was no use in even looking through the book trying to find another path. Even magic had its limitations….

Or maybe she wasn't looking hard enough.

She took the book back into her hands, and she turned back a few pages. Her eyes fell upon a spell that she had discarded just moments ago. It was a good one, but the effects were risky. What if it only made things worse? What if everything was screwed up even more than they were now?

But what if it worked and things were made better?

It's all based on the choices you make….

Liira looked back at the miserable blonde, and that single glance made her decision for her. It would have to be this one…. Her blue eyes went back to the text, where she then began to read aloud. It felt strange speaking in this tongue for a moment, but then she eventually got used to it, and so she chanted louder. It eventually caught Glinda's attention—she could feel her confused and worried gaze on her as she read.

After what seemed like an eternity, she closed the book, satisfied. She looked at the blonde and smiled. "We've got fifteen seconds," she said. "Then everything will be back to normal."

"Wait," the blonde said, her eyes widening. "What?"

The green girl saw the effects immediately. Behind Glinda, the soldier's actions seemed to rewind themselves, slowly at first before moving faster and faster. She caught the blonde's panicked expression, and she smiled to reassure her. "I'll see you soon," she said, though she wasn't sure if that would be the case.

"Liira, what are you—"

"Goodbye."

Everything went still before fading to black.