AN: Here it is, guys - the final chapter. As always, thanks so much for reading! I'll be just posting RNT for a while until I make some more progress with my new fic, No Way Back, which is already in the making.

25. An Ending

"Do you feel any different?" Glinda asked for the fourth time since first seeing Fiyero, watching the prince critically.

"I never felt any different," Fiyero pointed out wearily. "Otherwise I would have realised before that something was wrong. I didn't. The only things giving Morrible away were those headaches I got in the beginning and her voice talking to me."

"And the fact that Elphie woke up to you trying to murder her," Glinda added helpfully. Fiyero gave her a pained look and she shrugged. "What? It's true, isn't it?"

He stared out of the window. So much had happened during the past months that he felt dizzy even thinking about it.

He still felt horrible about what had happened to Nessa and what he had done to Elphaba. Not only had he murdered her little sister; by shooting her from the sky a few days later, he had also deprived her of the chance to attend Nessa's burial, which had been held while Elphaba had still been unconscious and no-one was sure if she'd be okay. Oscar had recognised an opportunity to try and get into Elphaba's good graces and organised a private memorial service for Nessarose, which the green girl had appreciated. It had given her, Glinda, and Fiyero a chance to say good-bye to Nessa after all. He knew it wouldn't make her grief go away, but at least she could deal with it better.

Sometimes he would wake up to her crying, late at night, and Glinda told him about her own experiences with that. He'd taken her advice to heart and so when that happened, he just held her and let her cry. He knew she was happy that he was there. He also knew she shouldn't be – not when he had been the one to cause her grief in the first place – but she kept telling him that it wasn't his fault.

He had to deal with his own guilt as well, which was proving to be very difficult, but he was trying. He didn't want to burden Elphaba with it, so whenever he felt like talking to someone or crying a few tears of his own, he'd often go to Glinda. The blonde had grown good at comforting both of her friends and somehow this experience, regardless of how horrible it was, had brought the three of them even closer together.

The Wizard, meanwhile, was still working on clearing Elphaba's name, slowly revealing more and more of the truth about the green girl most people knew as the Wicked Witch of the West. Since some people in the Palace had already heard before that things about the Witch were most likely not as they seemed, they found it less difficult to accept these new truths. Oscar blamed Morrible for it all, telling the people she had deceived him with her magic, and the people seemed to buy everything he was saying, which made the work a lot easier. Elphaba was still sceptical regarding the whole thing, but Glinda was sure that the Wizard would eventually succeed in completely clearing her friend's name. She would appear in public for the first time today and Fiyero and Glinda both knew the young witch was probably extremely nervous right now. Oscar had promised her she would be safe; there would plenty of Gale Force soldiers on the square to keep the public in check and Elphaba and the Wizard would be high up on the palace balcony, safe from the crowd, but she had still been anxious about the whole thing.

Fiyero turned around in alarm when he heard Glinda suck in a breath; but then his eyes were drawn to Elphaba and they widened, his mouth slightly agape.

"Oh, Elphie..." Glinda said softly and the green girl fidgeted.

"Is it that bad?"

Fiyero shook his head in amazement. ""Bad" isn't really the word that comes to mind, Elphaba."

She was dressed in a shimmering, silver gown, with delicate beading everywhere and a pair of silver ballerina flats on her feet. Her hair had been brushed until it shone and left loose, tumbling across her shoulders, and a silver head band adorned her head. She genuinely did look like a princess and at the same time, she also looked angelic and innocent – which had doubtlessly been a purposeful move on Oscar's part, given the fact that she was still considered to be a criminal by most of the people. Presenting her as the young girl she really still was would be a way to make the people see that she was not some kind of old hag who went around bewitching people.

"You look so pretty," Glinda told her friend and Fiyero smiled softly.

"Yeah, you do."

She smiled back at him and he moved towards her, drawing her into his arms; but before he could kiss her on the lips, Glinda squealed indignantly behind him. "No kissing! You'll smudge her make-up!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and Fiyero grinned, settling for kissing the top of her head instead. "You, my dear Fae, look absolutely stunning."

She blushed. "Well, thank you, I guess."

"Are you nervous?" asked Glinda.

"Not at all," said Elphaba sarcastically, making the blonde giggle.

"Oh, Elphie, you'll be fine!" She wanted to hug her friend, but caught herself in time and patted her arm instead. "I wouldn't want to mess up your hair or wrinkle your dress," she explained at Elphaba's questioning look, prompting the green girl to roll her eyes once more.

When he came in and saw his daughter, Oscar smiled, tears actually springing to his eyes. "Elphaba..." he said, sounding a little choked up. "You look beautiful."

She didn't say anything, just hugged herself, and he cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

"No," she said, "but I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Fiyero and Glinda promised her they'd be there when she got back and the rest of the day passed in a blur. She was so nervous that she could hardly remember everything that had happened afterwards; all she knew was that the people were wary, but seemed to be accepting her nonetheless, and that Oscar kept on chattering to her excitedly about how well everything went and how great she did and how proud he was of her. She felt terribly out of place, like she was living someone else's life, and she was glad to be able to fall into her bed that night – only to regret it a moment later when pain shot through her abdomen.

Fiyero, who was already in bed and had been watching her, sighed. "When are you going to realise that your wounds have not yet healed and that you need to be careful?"

"You should get used to the fact that I am never careful," she told him as she settled down beside him. He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair and back, allowing her to finally relax a little.

"I wonder what will happen to Munchkinland now," she whispered against his shoulder. "With Nessa gone..."

"You're the rightful heir to the governorship," he pointed out to her, but she shuddered at the mere thought.

"No," she said. "I would never. That was Nessa's future, not mine... and besides, I wouldn't want to rule a flock of people who have been calling for my head for years." She sighed. "Oscar wants me to stay here with him, in the palace, but I don't want to do that, either. I just... don't know what to do. I don't know where to go."

He pressed a kiss to her neck. "How about the Vinkus?"

"What would I be doing in the Vinkus?" she asked, genuinely confused, and he laughed softly.

"Marrying me, for example," he said lightly. "Creating little princes and princesses with me. Becoming the queen of the Vinkus – because let's face it, someone is going to have to keep me in check once I become king. Something like that."

She had frozen completely in his arms and she drew back now to stare at him. "What?"

"Not right away," he said, tightening his grip on her. "But... after a while. If you want to, that is." He looked at her. "Do you?" he asked, obviously trying to keep his voice neutral, but she could hear his underlying anxiety shimmering through. "Want to, I mean?"

Did she? Yes, of course she did. She knew he still felt guilty and he was afraid she blamed him, too; but the truth was that she just didn't. It had been hard for her, in the beginning after Nessa's death, to even look at him; despite knowing that it had been Morrible's doing and not Fiyero's own, she could not help but associate his face with the image of her little sister, shock written all over her face as she collapsed in a bloody heap on the floor. The memory still made her shudder.

After almost losing Fiyero, however, she didn't feel that way anymore. It had been Morrible, not him. He was a victim of that old hag just as much as Nessa was. He wasn't the man who had killed her sister and shot her down from the sky. He was the man who loved her more than anything in the world – or that was what he said, anyway – and the man who would rather die than risk hurting her again. He was the genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow playboy prince who had stolen her heart at Shiz a few years ago and the Captain of the Guard who had spent all this time searching for her because he loved her. She couldn't fault him anything. She could only be grateful that he was still here.

"Fae?" he asked, looking extremely nervous now. "You're quiet. That's not good, is it?"

She chuckled and laid her palms against his chest. "I was just thinking – you know me," she teased. "But yes. Of course I want to."

She could see the doubt in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Am I sure I want to be with you?" She shook her head. "Yero... you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've had a lot of trouble accepting that, but I can admit it now. And after everything that happened... do you really think I want to be away from you a minute longer? Wherever you go, I go. I don't care where we'll be or what we'll be doing, as long as I'll be with you. There," she said, exhaling slowly. "Now that was probably the sappiest thing you'll ever hear me say, so don't get used to it."

He grinned. "I won't." He hugged her closer and kissed her, softly at first, then deeper. "I love you so much, Fae."

"I love you, too." She kissed him back and then snuggled up against him, feeling perfectly content, if only for a moment.

Neither of them noticed that Glinda softly closed the door, smiling a little sadly. She'd walked by when she had heard them talking and she could not help but eavesdrop. She was happy for them. She really was. She saw now that she and Fiyero had never been right for one another and she was confident that one day she would find a man who would be right for her. She'd hate to see her friends go, though. Even if they'd write and visit back and forth, it wouldn't be the same as living in the same palace with them.

Soon, however, Elphaba's name would be cleared and Fiyero would most likely take her back to the Vinkus with him, just like he had promised; and Glinda would be here to make sure Oscar kept his word and to help him rule Oz. Elphaba had told her blonde friend that she had faith in her, that she could do this, and Glinda felt honoured at her friend's trust; but she was also nervous. She sighed. There was still a lot to process, for all of them, but they would be okay. She was sure they would be. If Glinda Upland was anything, it was optimistic.

Heaving another sigh, she moved down the hallway, rubbing her temples as she did so. She'd take a nice, hot bath and then go to sleep, and she would be fresh and peachy again in the morning. All that was left for her to do now was help Oscar finish clearing Elphaba's name, trying to restore the Animals to their rightful positions, helping them regain their voices, encouraging the people of Oz, looking into the matter of the new Munchkinland governor, and carrying out her regular duties on top of that as she prepared to co-rule Oz with the Wizard. She should be able to do that, right?

She sighed. She could suddenly feel a nasty headache coming up.

- THE END –