A/N: First of all, I'd like to explain one thing that I don't think was very clear in the last two chapters: The battle did not take place in the city. It took place just outside the gates, so the fire couldn't spread to where they were. I completely forgot to add that in there, and I ignored the burning city during the battle!
I'm not very fond of this chapter, unlike the last few. Since the climax is over, things are winding down, and this kind of thing is the hardest for me to write. I tried not to make this cheesy, but I think I failed...oh, well, please read anyway! I don't know where this chapter title came from, either...it wrote itself.
---------------------
Chapter Twenty-Six: Shattered Hope, Shattered Life
Glinda paced feverishly back and forth, allowing her shoes to thunk heavily on the wooden floor to project her agitation. She was worried, very worried, and she was having trouble thinking straight. Two words kept racing each other through the blonde's head; with each beat of her heart, Glinda heard them again. Elphaba. Fiyero. Elphaba. Fiyero.
It had been nearly five hours since the battle's climactic conclusion. Five hours since it had begun to rain, to pour so hard that Glinda, terrified for her green friend's safety, had slogged through the mud herself and picked up the still figure, shielding her bare skin as well as she could, and rushed her to the nearest house, right outside the city gates. Luckily, the house was vacant, probably owned by some airhead Munchkinlander who didn't realize that the spells around the city prevented any fire from being able to spread beyond its gates; therefore protecting his house all along. In fact, only about an hour after the downpour started, the fire had burned itself out, unable to go any farther then it had spread by then. The city was one great, smoking ruin.
Glinda had made the abandoned house her base. A still-unconscious Elphaba lay in the next room, where a Tiger physician had been periodically examining her. Fiyero's straw body, rescued by the Lion, lay on an empty table in the adjoining kitchen/living room. Since Glinda was in the living room, she made sure she averted her eyes every time she passed that way, so she would not see what was left of her old fiancée.
Elphaba. Fiyero. Elphaba. Fiyero.
The Wizard was still alive, and he was in the house's second bedroom. However, his prognosis wasn't good. The bullet had caught him very close to the heart. He was also asleep…and might never wake up.
The surviving Ozians had either fled to the woods or taken refuge in buildings just outside their ruined home. The Animals had also taken shelter in nearby houses and barns. A good number of them were in the barn that was on the property of Elphaba's sickbed, wanting nothing more than to be close to the woman they considered their leader. Wanting to be the first to know her fate.
Glinda struggled to hold the tears in as she tirelessly stomped in a circle. If she let herself cry now, she thought she might never stop. And she knew the Ozians would depend on her now to help them rebuild. She would have to be their ruler, at least for a little longer. It was ironic; Glinda had never wanted to be the monarch in the first place. She had done it only out of an obligation to accomplish what Elphaba never could, because she'd thought her friend was dead. Now that Elphaba might die again, it was the same scenario all over.
The door swung open, and Glinda turned to see two very wet Lions (neither one the Lion) and an equally soaked Chistery. A draft blew in, blowing some stray pieces of straw around the room. It tugged at Fiyero's sleeve, drawing everyone's attention to the still figure. Suddenly Glinda felt nauseous.
"Close it! Close it!" she shrieked, and then she collapsed on the floor, sobbing.
The door shut with a bang, and Glinda felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up through her tears, she saw Chistery watching her carefully. He patted her on the back and offered a hand. Bemused and upset, Glinda took it and allowed the Monkey to lead her to the couch.
"There, there, Miss Glinda," he said in a surprisingly gentle voice.
Glinda wiped her eyes on her skirt and took a few deep breaths. "Thank you," she whispered. She looked up at the Lions, who were standing rather skittishly, looking uncertain as to what to do.
"I'm sorry," she said, clearing her throat. "What-what do you need?"
The larger Lion spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, "Lady Glinda, we have just come from the site of the battle, where we have given ourselves the task of moving the injured Animals indoors. We found this where the Wizard fell, and Chistery here thought you would recognize it." And the Lion produced a small, green bottle of elixir.
Glinda took one look at it and burst into fresh tears. Both Lions shied away nervously.
"Give me," Chistery held out a hand expectantly. The Lion gratefully handed over the bottle and he and his partner backed out the door, muttering something about getting back to their work. Chistery set the bottle down on a small table and patted Glinda consolingly.
There was a squeak as the door to the Wizard's bedroom opened, and the Tiger doctor exited. Glinda looked up hopefully.
"He's awake," the Tiger began, "But he won't make it through the night."
Glinda nodded sadly. "May I see him?"
"I suppose so," the doctor said. Glinda gingerly grasped the elixir bottle and followed the doctor into the bedroom.
The Wizard looked up as his visitors entered. He smiled faintly.
"Hello, my dear."
"How are you?" Glinda asked softly, taking a seat beside the bed.
He grimaced. "I've been better. But I don't feel much pain, thanks to the miracles of the doctor. If you're going to die, you might as well do it with a little style." He gave a grim chuckle. "Tell me – what happened to everyone? What happened to Helga? Where is Fiyero? Where is my daughter?"
Tears filled Glinda's eyes as she recounted the story of the battle's conclusion. By the end, the Wizard was crying silently as well.
"I always loved her," he said quietly, seeming to forget about Glinda for a moment, "Yet I also always knew our aims were wrong. And I knew that in the end, I couldn't follow her."
Glinda didn't say anything. She felt as if she ought to comfort him somehow, but she couldn't honestly say she was sorry. Not when Morrible had tried to kill them all so many times, not when she had felt no remorse for Boq's death, not when she had killed Fiyero…especially not when her demise might have led to Elphaba's own.
"And…Elphaba," the Wizard said, tears pouring down his face, "My daughter. So strong-willed…such a beautiful young woman…so stubborn." He chuckled, "I am proud to be her father, even if it didn't last very long. I just wish I could say goodbye."
"Here," Glinda said softly, pressing the elixir into his hands, "I think this belongs to you."
He looked down at it. "Yes. This started it all, I suppose you could say." He clutched it in his gnarled hands, "I am bound to it, as is Elphaba, however much each of us wants to forget it. It is a part of our past."
Glinda opened her mouth to respond, but the Wizard let out an exclamation.
"Elphaba!"
Turning quickly, the blonde saw, with a jolt of surprise, the Tiger doctor and the Lion in the doorway. The Lion was carefully holding Elphaba, and the Tiger appeared to be protesting something.
"You really shouldn't be moving her, sir. She is very, very ill! She shouldn't be here! It might push her over the edge."
Glinda jumped up. "What is this?" She hurried over to the door.
The Tiger opened his mouth to reply, but the Lion cut in with his deep voice.
"She's awake."
Glinda gasped and looked down. Sure enough, Elphaba's green-brown eyes were open and gazing up at her best friend. Elphaba's mouth twitched slightly, and Glinda felt tears of relief well up and clog her throat. At the same time, elation filled her, and she took Elphaba's hand gently.
"You're alive!" she gasped.
Elphaba nodded very slowly.
"Is she all right? Can she not speak?" Glinda asked the Lion.
"She already said one word to me," the Lion said, "but I could barely make it out. She asked, 'Wizard?' I took that to mean she wanted to know how he was. How she knew he was still alive I don't know. The doctor didn't want me to tell her, but I thought she deserved to know, and then she sort of pointed at the door, and I knew she wanted to see. I…um…I was too afraid to argue." He blushed.
"Oh, Elphaba…" Glinda sighed. Her initial excitement at her friend's consciousness evaporated. Just because Elphaba was awake now didn't mean she was safe from death.
"Elphaba?" the Wizard asked from the bed. The small knot of people moved aside to allow the man to see his daughter. "Can I see her closer?" he asked, tears in his eyes. His breath was coming in gasps now, and it was only because his time was short that the doctor consented to allow the Lion to take Elphaba over to the bedside. The big cat crouched down so the father and daughter were at eye level.
Elphaba carefully stretched out a green hand and placed it over her father's. A single tear trickled down her cheek, but she showed no sign that it caused her pain.
"Elphaba, dear…I wish I could have been a better father to you," the Wizard whispered, "If I had known you were my daughter I would never have alienated you like that. I'm so, so sorry….I want you to know that I love you."
Elphaba smiled. Her mouth tried to form words. They came out in little more than a hiss, so that those crowded around the bed could only just make them out.
"I…forgive…you…Father."
The Wizard's eyes widened in pleasurable surprise, but then he smiled and closed them. His head lolled over, and his hand loosened on Elphaba's. He was dead.
The green bottle slipped out of his hands, and Elphaba moved just quickly enough to catch it before it fell off the bed. She gripped it like a lifeline, gazing at her dead father. Then she burst into tears and slipped into unconsciousness once more.
---------------------
A/N: This chapter was difficult to write, because I didn't want to make it too cheesy, but it was important to me to have Elphaba call the Wizard her father before he died. I also thought it would add feeling if Elphaba watched him die. Hopefully, the next chapter will be easier to write. Review?