Good Evening! I hope you've all had a marvellous week! I have to say I'm enjoying this lovely weather we're having here in England right now. It's making me feel very happy and summery.

Ice Creams this week go to Elizabeth, LaurenneTiggular, populardarling, Phases Of Obsession, -greenTARDISgal- and Elphaba1fan.

Sorry, it's another cliffhanger...

Have a great day!

Chapter Twenty Five

She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she took one tentative step after another towards Glinda. The crowd was still chanting her name loudly and she allowed herself a tiny bit of hope that they might actually accept her. She tightened her arms around Liir and finally stepped out onto the balcony.

The crowd went silent.

She could see the shocked faces spread all through the sea of people below her as they took in her appearance. The silence was deafening and the intensity of the crowds staring made Elphaba squirm where she stood.

Finally, someone in the crowd, she couldn't tell who, shouted "That's the Wicked Witch!" and it seemed to break the spell. Everyone joined in with the shouting but it was impossible to tell who was shouting what, it all merged into one.

"...she melted..."

"...look how green..."

"...supposed to be dead!"

She caught the odd snippet here and there and for the most part it didn't sound promising. Eventually Glinda raised her arms up and shouted "STOP!" into the microphone.

The crowd was silent once more.

"Fellow Ozians, this is Elphaba. She is not a 'Wicked Witch' as you have been led to believe. She's my friend and she needs your support." Glinda turned to Elphaba and beckoned her to the microphone, "Talk to them" she whispered, giving her a gentle shove forwards.

"Um...Hi." There was silence.

She decided to bite the bullet and took in a deep breath. "Sorry you all thought I was evil. Honestly, I've never hurt any of you, not intentionally anyway. I'm here because I need your help. The Animals of Oz have had a terrible time recently and it's up to us to put that right. I have come here with a group of Animals who were forced to flee Oz for their own safety and now we need to welcome them home. This is not about me or Lady Glinda or even the Wizard, this about them and you. Will you welcome them home?"

There were murmurs of agreement through the people and it seemed like they were finally beginning to accept her.

"Thank You." She nodded to the crowd and turned back to Fiyero. As she did however, another person shouted out and she froze.

"She must have bewitched Lady Glinda and the Wizard! This Witch burnt down my farm, with my children inside! She evil and should have died a long time ago!"

Frank rushed to the microphone to defend his daughter who had sought comfort in Fiyero's arms.

"No! You mustn't believe that. It was the Gale Force who set fire to the farms, not Elphaba. She's innocent. I'm truly sorry about your children, but if you want to blame anyone, blame myself and Madame Morrible. We ordered those terrible deeds, Elphaba wouldn't harm a fly."

Someone else shouted up "I saw her flying above the city! She was threatening that poor little Dorothy and her companions. The Gale Force couldn't fake that!"

Elphaba took the stand once more. "I had been in hiding for over a year, and the Gale Force was attacking Animals I loved. I came here to take a stand against the Wizard for a fairer Oz. And as for Dorothy, my sister had just been killed, the man I loved had been taken away from me and I thought he was dead too, my son was missing and there was a girl coming to kill me. What did you expect me to do? Roll over and play dead? I'm sorry you've had a bad couple of years and I know you think it's all my fault, but it's really not, I promise you."

She stepped back, allowing Glinda to address the crowd once more. "Ladies and Gentlemen. I hope you have finally seen the goodness inside Elphaba. I know this is a shock, but honestly she's wonderful. She loves with all her heart, she's passionate and caring, and she's a wonderful mother. Little Liir is a lucky boy. I hope you will all join me in welcoming Elphie back into the Emerald City!"

Glinda started clapping, and Frank joined in straight away. Next Doctor Dillamond, Fiyero, Nanny and Toby joined. Even Liir clapped his hands happily although he didn't understand why. Finally, slowly, the crowd joined in. A few held back their applause, those who had been hurt by the deeds of the 'Witch' couldn't quite bring themselves to accept her, but that was ok with Elphaba, they would come around.

She beamed at the crowd and hugged Liir tightly, finally believing everything would be ok.

Frank saw it first. The man whose children had died in the fire had been standing in the middle of the crowd, his hands firmly in his pockets. He pulled his hand out, and the sunlight that shone down upon the city glinted off the silver barrel of a shotgun.

He lifted the gun to aim and Frank called out to Elphaba, but the crowd was cheering now and she couldn't hear him. He moved towards her as fast as he could, pushing Glinda and Fiyero out the way. The cheering finally died down and they heard the man shout out "NO! She's a WITCH!"

The sound of a single shot pierced the air.