AN: Sorry for the long wait! Those of you who also read my other stories already know that my exam week is approaching rapidly; and since I'm pretty much making this story up as I go, it's been hard for me to write it lately. There's just not enough room in my mind for elaborate plots right now. But I promise I'll finish it, if perhaps slowly, and I will probably update more again once my exams are over.

Dude. My name is never ever: Right ;).

Kudos to those of you who reconised one of Aurya's stories as the original Little Mermaid tale - the one with the girl changing into foam on the sea. I agree - it's really depressing.

Ozzie: Thanks to you I have been wasting hours of my life (and time I needed to study) creating Elphaba's with that Disney Heroine Creator. I made her into mermaids, princesses, and brides, until I finally realised what I was doing, came to my senses, and went back to my Statistics book. Thank you very much for that :P.

BlueD, you were already in them ;).

PocketSevens, that made me laugh so hard xD.

EmeraldReine: Your wish is my command.

Chapter 25. Washed up on the shore

The moment Aurya realised her niece was blacking out, she caught her, swimming up to the surface. When she poked her head out of the water, she exhaled strongly, forcing the water from her lungs. She had always found air much less pleasant to breathe than water – if only because the transfer from breathing in water to breathing in air in itself was so unpleasant.

Elphaba, in her arms, immediately reacted to the change, breaking into a coughing fit as her body tried to work the water out of her lungs. She was still unconscious, though, and Aurya made sure to turn her on her side, allowing the water to escape her body, until it was all gone and the green girl went limp again.

Aurya looked around, only to realise that they were, indeed, close to the beach of Adurin Iir; and so she started making her way over there with Elphaba in her arms.

When she saw a figure in the distance, making its way over towards them, she stilled. She observed the figure for a moment, wondering who it was and if he were to be trusted. She had meant what she had told Elphaba – she wouldn't leave her until she knew that she was safe, which meant she would not just dump her on the beach and leave her there for anyone to find.

The figure came closer then, and a wave of relief washed over her when she realised it was Fiyero. She couldn't really think of a better person to find Elphaba.

Slowly but surely, she managed to get close enough to the beach so that the water was shallow enough for her to leave Elphaba there and keep her head out of the water. Since Aurya herself was still in mermaid form, she couldn't get any closer, and so she just swam back and hid behind a protruding piece of rock to watch from a distance what would happen.

Fiyero was just pacing up and down along the beach, walking with long, frustrated strides, staring at the ocean as if it had betrayed him. And to him, it truly did feel that way. Not that the ocean could help it that the girl he loved was trapped under the water and that he had been forced to leave her, but still.

He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering frantically what to do next. Was there anything he could do? Anything at all? The mermaid that had saved him had promised him that she would go back to rescue Elphaba, but what if she hadn't? Or what if she had been too late? Or what if she had indeed freed Elphaba, but something even worse had happened to them on their way back? If Elphaba really was free, wouldn't she have been back by now?

He kicked against a pebble, watching it as it bounced into the sea. He scanned the ocean with his eyes as if by staring hard enough, he could force Elphaba to appear.

Then, suddenly, he caught sight of something black and green on the beach ahead of him.

His eyes widened and his heart rate sped up, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. Only this time, he knew that the thing on the beach didn't even remotely resemble a sea turtle or a pile of sea weed, as he had thought the first time.

Hardly daring to hope, he ran over to the place where he saw the small lump and fell down onto his knees next to it. He felt like crying when he realised that it was really her, but he set his jaw and forced back his tears. Suddenly, a wave of panic crushed him. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Was she even alive?

Trying his hardest to stay calm, he reached out to gently brush some of her raven hair away from her face, stroking her cheek. 'Fae?'

A sigh escaped her lips and she stirred, and he felt like dancing with joy as he watched her large brown eyes slowly fluttering open. He continued to stroke her hair, cupping her face with his other hand. 'Fae? Are you alright?'

She blinked a few times, then realised it was really Fiyero hovering over her, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax. 'Yero…'

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. 'Are you hurt?' he asked anxiously. 'How did you get out of that cave? Are you okay?'

'Yeah,' she mumbled faintly. 'Just dizzy.'

He buried his face in her damp hair and held her close, and she melted into his arms. They stayed like that for a long time, just relishing in the other's presence.

'I'm so glad you're alright,' she whispered finally. 'I was so worried about you.'

'Same here,' he murmured into her hair, trailing his hands down her body as if to assure himself that she was really here. Only then did he notice what he hadn't noticed before, and his eyes widened a little. 'You're not a mermaid anymore!'

She raised her head a little to look at her legs and she wiggled her toes. 'My aunt changed me back.'

'Your aunt?' he repeated. She nodded. 'She saved me.'

She pushed herself up and instinctively turned towards the ocean, searching the surface for any sign of the other mermaid. She smiled when she caught sight of Aurya, appearing from behind a cliff. She waved to let her aunt know that she was okay, and Aurya smiled and waved back before disappearing into the ocean again, reassured now that she had seen for herself that Elphaba was awake and with Fiyero.

Fiyero was staring at the sea in amazement. 'That was your aunt?' he asked in wonder. 'She saved me, too… When I-'

'I know,' Elphaba cut him off softly. 'She told me.' She let out a soft, mirthless laugh. 'In fact, she told me so much over the past hours that I think that might be the reason I'm feeling dizzy right now.'

'You're going to have to tell me all of that later,' he told her, caressing her cheek and smiling as he held her closer against him. 'But right now, I think you should rest.'

'Mm,' was her murmured reply, which told him that indeed, she did need to rest, or she would have protested. She struggled weakly to get out of his arms and to her feet, but he tightened his grip on her. 'Don't, Fae. You're exhausted. Just let me carry you.'

Too tired even to argue, she allowed him to lift her into his arms and she let her head drop against his shoulder, arms going around his neck. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. 'I love you,' she murmured. 'I missed you.'

He kissed her hair, feeling as if a ten ton weight had been lifted from him now that she was here again. 'I love you, too, a chroí,' he whispered. 'I was afraid you might not have gotten away. I'm so happy you're alright.'

She burrowed into his chest, snuggling closer to him, and didn't say anything else. By the time he reached the castle with her, her soft, regular breathing told him that she had fallen asleep right there in his arms.

When she woke up, the first thing she saw was Fiyero sleeping in the chair beside her bed.

She smiled and pushed herself up to a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She was still feeling a little faint, but she supposed that was just a side effect on Aurya's spell and it would pass soon.

She looked to her side. She couldn't help the soft smile that crept onto her face when she saw him like this, draped across the chair with his legs slung over one arm of it and his elbow leaning on the other, face resting in the palm of his hand. She couldn't imagine him being very comfortable right now, but she loved seeing this side of him. She loved the fact that he would allow her to see this side of him – or any side of him, really. She loved that he loved her, and she loved him in return.

She yawned and stretched a little, surprised to notice that it actually felt strange to have legs again instead of a fishtail. It felt a little like it had all been a dream, but of course, it hadn't been. It had all been real. Finally, she knew where she came from, and it felt strange and wonderful at the same time.

Fiyero muttered something unintelligible in his sleep and then moved a little. His hand slipped away from under his cheek, causing his head to bump down against the arm of the chair. He awoke with a startled curse and she giggled softly.

He blinked and rubbed his head, making a face. Then he noticed that she was awake and he sat up a little. 'Fae?'

She smiled at him and he jumped onto the bed with her, hugging her tightly. 'How are you feeling?' he asked, pulling back to look at her.

She softened upon seeing the anxiety in his sapphire blue eyes, realising he had been genuinely worried about her, and she leaned up and kissed him softly. 'I'm fine,' she said softly. 'I promise.'

She could feel the tension leaving his body as he wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against his chest. 'Would you tell me what happened?' he asked quietly.

A chuckle escaped her lips. 'Do you have the rest of the day?'

His grip tightened around her. 'For you? Always.'

She smiled at that, but didn't comply. 'Can we get something to eat first?' she asked. 'I'm starving.'

'Of course!' He jumped off the bed again and helped her up as well. 'It's almost dinnertime, anyway. My parents and Cohvu probably want to hear everything as well – you could tell us during dinner,' he suggested, and she nodded. 'Sure.'

The moment she got downstairs, she was hugged by Lori and Hamold, much to her surprise. 'I was only gone for a day!' she protested, but Lori shook her head. 'Have you got any idea how worried we were?' she demanded. 'Elphaba, if you hadn't gotten out of that cave, you would have been gone forever.'

Elphaba decided not to comment on that – it was true, after all. She smirked when Cohvu came up to her and asked, 'Is me being very worried about you a good enough reason for me to hug you?'

She rolled her eyes and spread her arms in a dramatic gesture. 'Come here, you big oaf.'

He laughed and hugged her tightly. 'Good to see you in one piece, El.'

They sat down for dinner after that, and the Tiggulars and Cohvu spent the next few hours bombarding Elphaba with questions as she told them what had happened ever since she and Fiyero had left, since Fiyero hadn't been able to produce a coherent story when he had gotten back on his own. They were all amazed and shocked, to say the least.

'I'm going back after finals,' said Elphaba. 'To get to know my aunt, and the underwater world, and my… my people.' She choked out that last part. 'Why don't you all come with me?' she suggested. 'I mean, if Aurya knows the spell that allows you to breathe under the water, or if she can find it in her spell books…'

Cohvu immediately perked up. 'Yeah! Awesome!'

'Galinda will be here,' Fiyero remembered suddenly. 'She could come, too.'

'One big happy mermaid family,' Cohvu grinned, and Lori and Hamold hesitated, then nodded. 'Alright,' said Lori. 'I'd love to see this all for myself, because honestly, sweetheart, I'm finding it all a little hard to believe.'

'I think that's the understatement of the year,' Elphaba said drily, making the others laugh. 'I completely understand,' she assured Fiyero's parents. 'It's a lot to take in, and I get that you need to see it for yourself to believe it. I'd love to take you all with me if that's possible… for you to meet Aurya, and to see everything she showed me with your own eyes.'

Lori smiled at her. 'If it's possible, Elphaba, of course we'll come with you.'

'ELPHIE!'

Elphaba made googly eyes and jumped up and down, flapping her arms and squealing, in imitation of her friend. 'GALINDA!'

The blonde scowled. 'There's no need to make fun of me, Elphie.' Then she squealed and hugged the green girl. 'Oh, it's so good to see you! I missed you so much!'

'I missed you, too, Glin.'

'And everything that happened! Elphie, you have a boyfriend!'

Elphaba looked to her side, where Fiyero was standing. 'Of course she would find that more important than the fact that I turned out to be a mermaid princess.'

He laughed and Galinda squealed again. 'Yes, Elphie, you have to tell me everything! I can't believe it, it's so thrillifying! Did you mean what you told me in your last letter? That you're going to take me with you?'

Elphaba nodded. 'All of you, in fact,' she said with a smile.

She was rewarded with another squeal.

Galinda turned to greet Fiyero next, then launched herself onto her boyfriend, apparently attempting to suck his face off. Elphaba rolled her eyes and turned her back on them, raising an eyebrow at Fiyero. 'Since they're going to be busy for another while… what shall we do?'

'Nothing!' Galinda quickly grabbed both their wrists and pulled them with her. 'We're going to sit down, and then you three are going to tell me everything that happened while I was away! Everything! Up until the last tiny detail! Everything about you two,' she nodded towards Fiyero and Elphaba, 'getting together, and everything about the whole underwater-aunt-Sea-Witch-mermaid-princess-thing, and oh, how did your finals go?'

'Elphaba topped the year,' Fiyero said proudly. 'She had to give a speech at our graduation ceremony. It was really beautiful.'

Elphaba just rolled her eyes.

Galinda eyed him suspiciously. 'And you, Fifi?'

He grinned at her, and this time it was Elphaba that was beaming with pride. 'He passed! I knew he could do it, and he did!'

Galinda smiled. 'That's wonderful, Fifi! Congratulotions!' She looked at Cohvu. 'I assume you did, too?'

He nodded. 'Not quite as gloriously as Elphaba did, but I did pass, yes.'

Galinda squealed once again and threw her arms around all three of her friends, hugging them tightly. 'Guys, we're going to Shiz together!' She bounced, then settled down and looked at her friends eagerly. 'Now tell me all!'

Also, for those of you who don't know already: I started yet another new story. *hides away in a corner* It's called 'Blow my mind' and it's just some fluffy Shiz-era Fiyeraba. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd love for you to check it out and tell me what you think :).