Chapter 25
The hum of the train on the tracks had a hypnotic effect on several of its passengers, lulling them to sleep with the monotony of the motion. As it approached Gillikin Station, the slower tempo nudged most of those same patrons awake.
Rodderin yawned and stretched. He looked over at Dr. Frinly who had taken off his glasses and was rubbing his bleary eyes.
"Looks like we're almost there," Rodderin said.
Dr. Frinly just nodded in reply.
"Are you anticipating any problems once we arrive?" he asked.
"Not if Jerrius, Garold and Kahrin were able to pull off their end of the deception," Dr. Frinly replied. "I'm hopeful we'll be able to get to Glinda's without incident."
"By the way, why Glinda's? Don't you have some other contacts in Gillikin like you seem to have in other territories"
"Actually, at the moment, Gillikin is the one land of Oz where I no longer have any contacts. The one man who was my contact died years ago, and I never found an occasion to replace him. But that's not the reason. I'm worried about whoever was able to dig deep enough through the false paper trail, deeds in pseudonyms and what not, to discover my identity. I have to tell you Rodderin, I took great care to make sure my affiliation with The Resistance remained a secret, yet someone found out. My greatest fear is that my contacts may be compromised.
I risked Jerrius, Garold, and Kahrin because they were close and had the resources we needed to get away from The Emerald City, but until I find out who exposed me, I can't risk going to any of my other associates. Glinda's place seems like the logical choice. For one, she's still in prison, so they can't accuse her of helping us to escape. She's not one of my contacts, so our mystery man can't make that connection. Also, I'm hoping that she told someone of her association with us, and that we'll be welcome when we get there. If not, we may have to continue on to Fliaan."
Rodderin took a deep breath and blew it out as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Listen Rodderin, I haven't told you yet how deeply appreciative I am for what you've done. We're all indebted to you. You threw away your security, your livelihood and quite possibly your freedom in order to help us. If there's ever anything you need, as long as it's in our power to help you with it, we will."
"Well, I do need one thing," Rodderin replied.
"You name it."
"Well, I can't very well go back to my prior life now. I was hoping I could work for The Resistance. I've always been supportive of the group. Their outlaw status was the only thing keeping me from trying to join in the first place. But now, well, I guess I'm an outlaw too. So there's nothing holding me back anymore. Do you think there's a place in the group for me?"
"There's always a place for enthusiastic newcomers. Especially people like you who've already proven their loyalty and worth. Welcome to The Resistance. I'll speak with Fiyero about it when I see him again."
Rodderin smiled appreciatively. "It's funny isn't it? I spent my adult life upholding the law. Now I'm defying it. The turnaround is ironic. It's interesting how your perspective of right and wrong can change depending on the circumstance. Life isn't black and white. There's so much grey in there, and it's all open to interpretation."
"You're right about that young man. The good thing is, you're one of the people who recognize that fact. There are so many people out there who see no grey at all. They're so unwilling to examine their beliefs, and challenge what they've universally accepted as right and wrong. Those are the types of people we've been fighting. They're the ones who've suppressed the Animals and denied them their rights. The hardest thing is to change someone's mind. Especially when they feel that their world would be upset by examining the merits of a different point of view."
The train slowed to a crawl as it entered its platform in Gillikin Station. Within moments, it was at a complete stop. The passengers rose in unison and began gathering their belongings.
"We're here. I'll go get the coach. Can you get Elphaba out to the front of the station?"
"I sure can."
"Wait a few minutes before you wake her up. I'll see you out front," Dr. Frinly said. He put on his knit cap and exited the compartment hastily.
Fiyero had been napping, arms folded in front of him, head leaning against the window, when an unexpected shift of the train on the track woke him up. He blinked his eyes, then looked over at Glinda who was staring out the window with a troubled expression.
"Hey young lady," he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.
Glinda looked at Fiyero and smiled. "How was your nap?"
"Good enough I guess. What about you? Did you get any sleep?"
Glinda shook her head. "I can't sleep. I have a thousand thoughts rushing through my mind right now, and I'm afraid sleep is the casualty."
"What are you thinking about, if you don't mind my asking?"
Glinda looked at Fiyero disconsolately. "I've been thinking about Elphie. Wondering where she is, if she's alright. I've been wondering how we're going to find her, and what her reaction to me will be if we do."
Fiyero sat upright. "Glinda, we'll find her. You heard the guard. She escaped with Dr. Frinly. Now if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that Dr. Frinly will take care of her. And eventually, when he determines it's safe to do so, he'll let us know where they are. So don't worry. We'll find her."
Glinda sighed. "I miss her."
"I know you do."
Glinda shook her head and looked out the window again. "You know, I had standing arrangements with my attorney to have him represent Elphie as well. I insisted that we go on trial together because I felt it was the only chance she had. Back there, in The Emerald City, when you were trying to get Boq to pardon us, I was hopeful that you would get through to him. That he would pardon both of us. When he only pardoned me, I almost spoke up."
"Why didn't you?"
"The guard," Glinda said. She looked back at Fiyero. "In spite of my initial enthusiasm for being released, when he said that Elphie had escaped, everything changed. No prisoner, no trial right? Even if they do find her, I'm afraid they'll just take her back to that awful interrogation room, only this time, she won't make it out. Lurline help us if that happens."
Fiyero just stared at Glinda as she continued. "We have to find her first Fiyero. The only way for me to help her is to be out here, pooling my resources to try and locate her before the authorities do. That's why I kept quiet. I can't help her in there."
Fiyero nodded and put his hand on her knee. "Like I said, we will find her. I know it's hard, but try not to worry. She's in good hands."
Glinda put her hand over Fiyero's. "I won't be able to rest until I know for sure that she's safe." Glinda and Fiyero held hands briefly. "But thank you Fiyero. Thank you for being such a good friend."
"I made a promise to protect you both. That's what I'm going to do," he replied.
Glinda smiled at him and nodded.
"So, how much longer before we get to Gillikin?" He asked
"I'd say a little less than an hour now."
"Good. I'm getting anxious to get back and get going on this."
"You and me both," Glinda replied as she turned to look out the window once again.
Dr. Frinly walked amongst the carriages that were lined up, waiting to take the traveling public to their destinations. He spied a group of men, standing around talking and decided to walk up to them.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Malu," he said.
The men stopped talking and turned to look at him. "Who's asking for him?" said one man.
"Vicor Narin requires his services," Dr. Finly said.
The one man looked at the others, then back at Dr. Frinly. "Come with me."
Dr. Frinly followed the man past the line of carriages, across the road from the train station and to a small house, tucked quietly back from the main road. The man knocked on the door. When it opened, he repeated Dr. Frinly's request. "Vicor Narin requires your services."
The man, whom Dr. Frinly assumed was Malu, nodded and motioned for him to follow. They walked around the back to a large barn. Malu opened the barn door. On the left were four horse stalls. On the right, there were three models of carriages.
"Which one would you like?" Malu asked.
Dr. Frinly looked over the carriages. "That one," he said pointing to the carriage in the middle. It was small. Black with a single passenger bench, room enough for three, and a hood to cover them.
Malu walked over to one of the stalls and pulled out a horse, which he quickly attached to the carriage. He allowed Dr. Frinly to hop inside, then he took his position in the driver's seat. The man who brought Dr. Frinly over waited to make sure everything was alright. As the carriage left the barn, he closed the doors, then headed back to the station.
The carriage pulled up to the front of the station where Elphaba and Rodderin should have been, but they weren't there.
"Where are they? They should be here by now," Dr. Frinly said. He was starting to get worried.
"Do you want to go look for them? Maybe they misunderstood where you said you'd meet them," Malu suggested.
"Maybe I should," Dr. Frinly said. He jumped out of the carriage and was just about to head back to the train when he spotted Rodderin carrying Elphaba.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't wake her up. I tried," he said.
"That's ok, let's get her in the carriage," Dr. Frinly said. He got back into the carriage, then allowed Rodderin to pass Elphaba to him.
Rodderin climbed into the carriage, while Dr. Frinly placed Elphaba on the seat between them and held onto her.
"Where to?" Malu said.
"Glinda Upland's Estate," Dr. Frinly said. He was waiting for a reaction, but none was forthcoming from the driver. Malu was the consummate professional. He never asked about Dr. Frinly's identity, and he never questioned the destination. He just took them there.
Glinda's estate wasn't too far from the train station, which was a relief to Dr. Frinly. He was anxious to get Elphaba to a place where he could begin to treat her for her injuries. As they came upon the grounds of the estate, Dr. Frinly became slightly alarmed at the sight of several people milling around the grounds.
"It's getting a bit late for this type of activity don't you think?" Rodderin asked, becoming alarmed as well.
"I don't………wait!" Dr. Frinly said. He took a closer look at the two men closest to the front gate. With a relieved sigh he said. "Don't worry. I know those two."
The carriage came up to the gate. "Linc! Zeph! Hello!" Dr. Frinly shouted, waving his arm from the carriage.
Linc and Zeph looked out at the approaching buggy.
"Dr. Frinly?" Linc said with obvious surprise.
"What are you doing here?" asked Zeph.
"Listen you two, I have Elphaba here. She's been injured. Can you get us inside?" Dr. Frinly asked.
"What's wrong with Elphaba?" Zeph asked.
"No time to explain," Dr. Frinly said. "We need to get her inside. Can you help?"
"No problem. Glinda's head of staff, Tanon, is here. He knows who we are and why we're here. Just tell him you're with us." Linc said.
"Thank you very much. Both of you," Dr. Frinly said. He nodded at Malu, indicating that it was ok to move on.
"Who are they?" Rodderin asked.
Dr. Frinly smiled. "My man, this is your lucky day. Those two are members of The Resistance. It looks like several of them are here. They must've heard about Glinda and Elphaba being taken to prison."
"And they're here to help get them out?" Rodderin asked
"I'm sure that has something to do with it," Dr. Frinly replied.
The carriage pulled up to the front of the house. Rodderin quickly jumped out as Dr. Frinly gathered Elphaba up and handed her over. Rodderin took Elphaba carefully in his arms as Dr. Frinly jumped out of the carriage.
"Dr. Frinly!" Iriiq said as he approached the carriage.
"Iriiq. It's good to see you," Dr. Frinly replied as the men briefly hugged.
Iriiq looked at Rodderin holding Elphaba. "Sweet Oz, is that?..."
"There's no time to explain. We have to get her inside," Dr. Frinly said.
Iriiq nodded. "I'll pay the driver."
"There's no need for payment sir," Malu said. "I have standing arrangements with certain people to provide transportation whenever the proper code is voiced. They pay me quite well for my services and discretion."
Iriiq pressed a nominal amount of money into Malu's palm. "Thank you for taking care of my friends."
Malu nodded, then snapped the reigns and headed back out.
"Come on, let's get you inside," Iriiq said.
The group quickly ascended the steps of Glinda's long veranda with Iriiq leading the way. Iriiq burst through the front door. "Tanon! Tanon!" He called.
Tanon was in the living room when he heard the front door open. He was already on his way to investigate when he heard Iriiq calling him. Walking gingerly around the corner he saw the group in the foyer. "What is it? What's going on?"
"Tanon, this is Dr. Frinly. He's a friend of ours," Iriiq said.
"And who is that?" Tanon asked, pointing towards the still form in Rodderin's arms.
"That's Elphaba," Iriiq replied.
"What? But how? What happened? Where's Glinda?" Tanon's threw the questions out rapid fire.
"Please, we have to get her into a bed. Is there somewhere we can take her?" Dr. Frinly asked.
"Oh, uh, yeah!" Tanon said, feeling a little dumbstruck. "Come on, I'll take you to Glinda's room."
The group headed up the stairs to a pair of double doors at the top. Tanon opened the doors allowing the group to enter the bedroom. Rodderin entered first. Glinda's bed was to the right of the doors as they entered. Rodderin quickly walked around to the far end of the bed and gently eased Elphaba down.
"Let's get that coat off of her." Iriiq said. "He unbuttoned the coat and pulled Elphaba up as he removed it, taking the gloves off next. "Ozma, what happened to her?" He asked.
"She was being beaten in the prison," Dr. Frinly said. "If it wasn't for our friend Rodderin here, she would have been killed. He took a great risk by getting us out of there."
Iriiq looked at Rodderin. "Thank you. Thank you for your help. She's very precious to us."
Rodderin just nodded.
"I don't mean to interrupt," Tanon said. "But where's Glinda?"
"I'm not sure," Rodderin said. "Last I heard, they were taking her to the main square. Apparently, they brought some water from the Truth Pond back. I guess they were hoping to free her from The Witch's spell."
Iriiq shook his head in disgust. "I swear. The things people will believe."
"So no one has any idea where Glinda is?" Tanon asked again.
"No, I'm sorry. My guess is she's back in her cell by now," Rodderin added.
"Ok, listen, I want to help Elphaba because I know that's what Glinda would want, but is there any chance that anyone would know you're here?" Tanon asked.
"I don't think so," Dr. Frinly said. He was already busy examining Elphaba's injuries. "We specifically chose to come here because Glinda was in the custody of the guards at the time. There's no way they can link her to the escape, or us to her. As far as they're concerned, we're on our way to The Glikkus right now."
"Ok, that's good. I'll have Kerrick check in on Glinda in the morning," Tanon responded. "Is there anything I can get you? Anything you need?"
"If you can get me some aspirin and a glass of water, I'll try and revive Elphaba and get her to take them," Dr. Frinly replied.
"Oh hey, before I forget, I have something of hers. She packed a box and said that she wanted to have it available when she arrived at Mt. Runcible. Fiyero brought it with him. I think he put those pills you prescribed for her in there," Iriiq said.
"Really? That would be the best possible news," Dr. Frinly said.
"Excuse me Tanon, but do you have any Ammonia Carbonate?" Dr. Frinly asked.
"You mean smelling salts? Not that I know of, but I'll check around. Maybe someone on staff has something."
"Thank you. I'd really appreciate it if you could find some."
Tanon nodded then he and Iriiq left the room. Dr. Frinly continued checking Elphaba over. "It doesn't seem like anything's broken. That's good, but these cuts and bruises will need to be tended to. If those pills are in that box, it will be a great help."
Rodderin began taking off Elphaba's boots while Dr. Frinly finished looking Elphaba over. Within moments, Iriiq returned, a bit out of breath from running between the staff housing and Glinda's house.
"Here you go," he said.
Dr. Frinly took the box and opened it. Inside were simple items. Her bathing gels, a change of clothes, a book and …….the pills. "Ah ha!" He exclaimed extracting the bottle.
Tanon returned with a glass of water and some aspirin. "I didn't know if you still needed these," he said, indicating the pills. "And I'm sorry, I couldn't find any smelling salts."
"That's ok, thanks for trying," Dr. Frinly said, taking the glass of water. "I don't think I'll need those," he said indicating the pills.
"No, but I might," Rodderin said. Tanon gave him the pills.
Dr. Frinly sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook Elphaba. "Elphaba, wake up dear. I need you to open your eyes."
When Elphaba didn't respond, he looked at Iriiq. "Help me get her up will you?"
Iriiq nodded, then slipped his arm behind Elphaba's shoulder and eased her up. Dr. Frinly held her face in his hands and spoke to her a little more harshly this time. "Elphaba. Elphaba! Wake up! I need you to wake up and take these pills. Right now!" He gently patted her cheek. "Elphaba, wake up!"
Elphaba's eyes fluttered open half way.
"Good girl," Dr. Frinly said. "Now listen to me. I need you to take these pills. Do that for me and I'll let you go back to sleep, ok?"
Elphaba groaned in response. Dr. Frinly put a pill in her mouth, then held the water up for her. She took slow, shallow sips, struggling to swallow the pill, which she eventually did. The process was successfully repeated for the second pill. After the second pill was swallowed, Iriiq gently eased her back down again.
"That's my girl," Dr. Frinly said, stroking her cheek. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. For the time being, they were all safe.
Glinda and Fiyero were already on their way back to her estate when a lightning bolt appeared followed by a loud crack of thunder.
"Oh my! That was loud," Glinda said.
"Yeah, I guess we're in for a downpour," Fiyero responded.
"I just hope we get to the house before the rain comes. I've had enough of water lately."
Fiyero chuckled, thinking about the Truth Pond waters, but unaware about Glinda's near drowning experience at the Rialaan River. Glinda glared at him which quieted him instantly.
He cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said.
Another lightning bolt followed by the roar of thunder had Glinda squirming uneasily in her seat. Their ride back was dotted by ever smaller intervals of the same display of nature. As they approached Glinda's estate, she finally allowed herself to relax a bit.
The members of The Resistance who were milling around the grounds earlier had retired to their quarters, so Fiyero and Glinda's arrival went largely unnoticed. The carriage pulled up to the front of the house, Fiyero hopped out and helped glinda down, then he paid the driver and sent him on his way. They climbed the steps and walked through the front door.
"Tanon?" Glinda yelled as she entered the house. It was late, but she was hoping her head of staff would be up anyway. "Tanon, are you here?"
"Glinda!" Tanon said "Oh thank goodness. You need to come up here."
"Tanon, what's going on?"
"Just come up here, right away," Tanon said with urgency.
Glinda and Fiyero exchanged glances then hurried up the stairs.
"Tanon, what's going on? You're tone is beginning to scare me," she said.
Tanon didn't say a word. He opened the doors to her room. Glinda looked at him, feeling confused. He motioned for her to enter with his head. Glinda walked slowly into her room. As she walked past the doors, she saw Rodderin at the foot of the bed, and Dr. Frinly on the opposite side. Her eyes slowly moved down to the bed where she spotted Elphaba lying on it.
"Elphie!" She cried and hurried around the bed. Dr. Frinly intercepted her, holding onto her arms.
"Hold on there young lady," Dr. Frinly said.
"Let go, I need to see her."
"Glinda, calm down. She's sleeping."
Glinda stopped and looked at Dr. Frinly. "She's only sleeping," he repeated. "I need to explain what's going on here, then I promise, you can have all the time you want with her."
Fiyero came up behind Glinda and put his hand on her shoulders.
"Just tell me she's going to be alright," Glinda said, looking down at the sleeping woman.
"She's going to be just fine," Dr. Frinly said in a consoling tone. "I'm glad you're here because she's going to need a lot of care, and I'm going to turn that care over to you."
Glinda looked at him expectantly.
"First of all, she's been hurt pretty badly."
"I know. I saw them bring her back from the interrogation room."
"Then you understand the severity of her injuries. Now, as I said, she's going to be just fine, but we we have to follow some stringent care guidelines." Dr. Frinly went to the nightstand next to the bed to retrieve the bottle of pills. "Glinda, these pills are very potent. They help her sleep."
"Huh, that's putting it mildly," Fiyero quipped taking his hands off Glinda's shoulders.
Glinda and Dr. Frinly looked at him.
"It's the truth. She slept through the entire attack on the safe house. I had to carry her out of the burning structure and she never woke up."
"Doctor, is that safe?" Glinda asked concerned.
"Don't worry. It's true that the pills put her in a deep sleep, but they have unmatched healing qualities, and it's important that she continue to take them right now," he said, putting the pills in Glinda's hands.
Glinda nodded.
"Now, she'll most likely sleep through the night. When she wakes up, I want you to give her another two pills. Just keep repeating the process until the pills are gone. I believe there's only a few doses left."
"Does she have to take them right away?"
"Well, it doesn't have to be immediate, but the sooner the better. Elphaba's an amazing healer on her own, but the pills amplify and accelerate the healing process. Do you think you can remember to do that?"
"I'll do whatever it takes to help her," Glinda replied.
Dr. Frinly smiled and patted Glinda on the shoulder. "I knew I could count on you. Now then, I'll leave you to her."
"Come on Doctor. I'll show you where you and your friend can stay," Fiyero said. "We have a lot to talk about."
"Indeed we do," Dr. Frinly said as he and Rodderin exited Glinda's bedroom. Fiyero looked back at Glinda, gave her a wink, then closed her double doors.
Glinda looked at the pills in her hands, then back over to Elphaba. She slowly made her way around the bed and put the pills back on the nightstand. As she watched Elphaba sleep, she felt herself welling up with emotion. Swallowing hard, she slowly sat on the edge of the bed next to her love.
"Elphie," she whispered. "I was so worried about you. I'm so glad you're safe. Dr. Frinly says you're going to be just fine. I hope that's true for the two of us as well." Glinda took a ragged breath, feeling the tears starting to form in her eyes. "Oh Elphie, please forgive me. I need you in my life, and I don't know what I'd do if you woke up and told me you didn't love me anymore." Glinda cried. She put her hand over her mouth and tried to squelch the tears, but they ran freely.
Glinda kicked off her shoes and brought her legs up onto the bed, carefully snuggling against Elphaba's shoulder. She wiped her tears, and kissed Elphaba's shoulder. "I love you Elphie. I love you so much."
The rain began to fall. Glinda listened to the soft patter against the roof for a while. Emotionally and physically exhausted, it didn't take long for Glinda to allow the soothing sound of the rain to lull her to sleep.