Chapter 25 part 2
Thank you very much for the reviews! =)
JCBoLt, sorry but I cannot add a chicken in this chapter. They are in the wilderness and food is scarce. So it does not make sense for a chicken to appear.
ElpahabsKilljoy124, thank you for your compliment! =)
James Birdsong, you're back! =)
Elphaba-WWW, hey, where/when did you kill her?
BookWorm741, LOL… Fiyero got his hands full. I like that. I think your review inspired a certain scene in this chapter.
Maddy-Fae, remembered my last PM? I was asking you to wait till end May before you read this story (so that you can finish reading all at one shot). =)
This is actually part 2 of chapter 25 btw (that chapter that becomes too long for easy editing).
The other thing that Elphaba would do besides taking care of Nessarose was to pore over the big ancient book that they had taken from the Wizard, the book that she called the Gimmerie.
"What are you doing?" he asked her one day when she had Nessarose in her left arm. On her right, she had converted a small crate as a table for the Grimmerie and she flipped the book with her right hand, placing her fingers on each new page that she turned to.
"I'm looking for something," she said, her eyes not leaving the book.
"What are you looking for? Put Nessarose and the book down and come to me," he tried to command her. Nessarose whimpered in her sleep at that moment and Elphaba put the book aside and hummed a song to her again.
"She wants me to be around," she told him as she stroke Nessarose's hair.
"You're cold, and you are tired. You need to rest," he told her.
"I'm fine."
"You're not. You have not been sleeping well. Don't think I did not notice that. "
She finally looked at him.
"Fiyero, what if there is a solution in these pages? What if there is something that can banish Nessa's nightmares?"
Fiyero did not understand. She was expecting a spell for sweet dreams to be found in a book that contained powerful spells like the spell that could grow wings ?
"Nessa needs me, Fiyero. I can't fail her," she continued. He heard the word again even though she did not say it loud. She had told him a few days earlier that a healing spell could only heal physical injuries and Nessa's nightmares were more than that. It was in her mind, and she could not heal that. And he heard the unspoken guilt in her voice. That she was unable to get rid of the nightmares that was plaguing her sister no matter how powerful she was.
Just then, Galinda came in and announced that they were stopping for the day.
Fiyero went down, and helped Pip as he tied the horse to the nearest tree that they could find.
"She's stubborn, isn't she," Pip asked, slightly amused.
Fiyero shrugged, and changed the topic. "I'll take the first shift." Pip nodded his thanks and climbed into the wagon to sleep.
Fiyero spent the next four hours moving around so that he could keep warm and awake. He peeped into the wagon and saw Elphaba as she stretched her right arm and then continued to look at the book. He leaned against the tree, fingering a corner of the green cape absentmindedly as he planned out their route for the next day. He estimated that they would reach Kiamo Ko in less than five days. He hoped that the weather would not turn bad before then. When he next peeped into the wagon, Elphaba was leaning against the wall of the wagon, her eyes closed.
When his shift was over, the prince climbed into the back of wagon and woke up his friend, who was sleeping next to Galinda. Pip rubbed his eyes and stood up without a word. He clapped Fiyero's shoulders before he moved out of the wagon and took the next shift.
Fiyero looked at Elphaba. Nessarose was still leaning against her sister, but she was sleeping soundly. Fiyero moved to Nessarose and gently eased her onto the floor. He then moved the book and the crate away. He leaned against the wall of the wagon and shifted Elphaba body to rest on him. The green girl was so tired that she did not even stir. He smiled to himself. Oh yes, she would definitely blew her top when she woke up, but he would worry about that later. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, his wife in his arms.
He dreamt that they were in a clearing and Elphaba was asleep in his arms. There was a fire in front of them, and Fiyero felt warm for the first time in many days. She had let her hair down, and he run his fingers through her silky tresses, enjoying the moment. Suddenly, Elphaba opened her eyes and asked, "Fiyero, what if I am the one giving off the heat?"
He opened his eyes. There was no fire burning in front of him, but the heat was still there. Elphaba was running a fever.
They tried to keep her as warm as possible, but Elphaba's fever did not break. She slept most of the time, stirring occasionally. When she was awake, she was tired, and hardly took in any food. Fiyero could not tell if her fatigue was due to the journey or exhaustion from the string of spells that she had casted recently. Galinda was unable to provide much information. To make things worse, there was no medication on hand to administer. Fiyero wanted to wipe her down, but the water supply that they had was cold, and they had no fire to warm up the water. He noticed that the baby in her stomach was still moving, and that provided slight relief. Galinda took over the caring of Nessarose, singing some out-of-tune songs that scared all the living creatures away from them, although Nessa did not seem to mind.
As Fiyero looked at her sleeping form in his arms, he was reminded once again of the story that his nanny had told him when he was young. The story of the hunter and the faery in the forest. He had forgotten the ending before, but now it came back to him. The faery had previously spurned the advances of a wizard, and the wizard was furious when he found out that she was in love with a mere mortal. One day, when the hunter was out hunting, the wizard turned himself into the likeness of the hunter and pretended to have fallen into the water. The faery panicked at seeing her lover struggling in the water, and she jumped in to save him. When she reached him, the wizard turned back into himself and tried to drown the faery. The hunter came back, and fought off the wizard. He carried the faery to shore, but she had taken in too much water and died in his arms, leaving him with nothing but grief from his loss.
Fiyero hugged a sleeping Elphaba tightly, wishing fervently that his recollection was not a sign of things to come.
It was four days later when they saw the fortress that was Kiamo Ko rose in front of them. To Fiyero, it was a most welcome sight. Kiamo Ko meant that they would be safe, and there would be rest for them and medical attention for Elphaba.
As they approached the fortress, Fiyero could see the whole tribe nearby, all settled down and ready for the harsh winter. He suddenly felt an ache in his heart. He did not realise until then that he had missed home so much.
There were guards stationed around the perimeter of the fortress, and one of them approached Pip who was guiding the horse.
"You are entering the grounds of Kiamo Ko, the fortress of the Arjiki tribe and headquarters of the royal Arjiki family. Declare your names and nature of business."
That was strange, Fiyero thought, for this was never done before.
He quickly went down from the wagon and approached the guard.
"Prince Fiyero Tiggular returning home with his friends. Now report your name," he barked, asserting his authority as the prince of the fortress.
The guard balked but stayed firm. Just then, he heard a shout from behind the guard and looked behind him. Running towards him, with his hands waving in the air, was Marman.
"Your Highness!" he shouted.
The guard looked back at Marman.
"Sir?" he asked.
Marman reached them. "This is really Prince Fiyero. Go back and inform Their Majesties!" The guard ran off.
"Your Highness! I am so glad to see you. We got the message from Drue and sent someone over but Emerald City had been overrun by then and …."
"Emerald City overrun?" Fiyero was shocked.
"Yes, some resistance movement. They stormed into the castle and captured the Wizard and simply took over the City."
Fiyero was interested to hear more. He wondered if this was the distraction that Elphaba was referring to but he knew his priorities. He told Marman about the occupants in the wagon, not neglecting to tell the trusted servant about Nessarose and Elphaba.
Marman waved another guard over and shouted some orders. He then personally guided the horse and wagon.
The King and Queen were there when they entered the fortress.
"My son!" Queen Baxiana rushed forward and hugged her son. She released him and looked at his face, noting the recovering injuries and the blue-black bruises that were now greyish.
"The Gale Force beat you up, didn't they?" she asked.
He nodded, but told his mother that he was fine now. "Elphaba, Pip and Galinda went to rescue us."
"Now where is Elphaba?" the Queen asked, looking behind him.
Fiyero quickly went up the wagon and woke her up.
"Elphaba," he called her. "We're here. We've reached Kiamo Ko." She opened her eyes, her eyes glazed.
"We're safe," she mumbled as she tried to sit up. Fiyero supported her to the back of the wagon, and he lifted her off, carrying her in his arms. There was a slight breeze, and the cape that he had forgotten to take off billowed in the wind. The King shook his head at the unintended theatrics.
"She's feverish," he told his mother. "Marman had called for a doctor."
Pip and Galinda lifted Nessarose out of the wagon.
Fiyero brought her to his bedroom while Marman made arrangements for the nearby guest rooms to be ready. The doctor came, and after some preliminary checks, he could only deduce that the princess had caught a cold and gave her an injection to bring down the fever.
Fiyero took a bath, enjoying the luxury of a warm water bath set up by the servants. When he came out, there was a servant waiting for him, with a message from the King and Queen asking him to join them in the King's study. He left instructions for Elphaba to be left undisturbed and joined Pip in the corridor before they walked to the King's study room. Galinda declined the invitation, saying that she wanted to write a letter to Momsie and Popsicle instead. Fiyero gave instructions to the servants for her wishes to be carried out.
When they reached the study room, the Arjiki King and Queen were there, with Marman, who had brought in hot soup and bread for them. The famished boys helped themselves to the food, their first warm food in weeks and they gave a brief recap to Fiyero's parents. They, in turn, were brought up to speed about the political situation.
The Resistance caught the Gale Force off guard when they sneaked into the Palace through a rarely used corridor. They captured the Wizard and announced to the residents of Emerald City that the Wizard's reign was over and they would set up a new government. While the Gale Force was still loyal to the Wizard, many of the soldiers were actually unhappy with their jobs, and changed sides easily.
Malky, who had disappeared, turned up at Deliadora's place. Infection had set in on his leg by then, and Deliadora had no choice but to amputate that leg. The three continued to stay in Drue's place in town as the small town was not really affected by the regime change.
"There were still riots and looting in the Emerald City. The troops were trying to restore as much order as possible. The Resistance, or rather, the new government, had mentioned that they would remove some of the unpopular laws such as the Animal Banns and the high tax rates," the King told them.
"Westerlot is still there. The poor man is frightened. First, Elphaba stormed into his residence and now he has to deal with people whom he calls terrorists. I simply have to remind him that it is the new government. Just like what happened when the Wizard took over many years ago, just less peaceful. I am fine so long as they leave Vinkus alone," the Queen added.
Fiyero chuckled at the part about Elphaba scaring Westerlot.
"Well," the King said. "I supposed it is good that you managed to get out. I doubt that it will be easy to get you out of Southstairs in this situation. Although I cannot say that I am happy with how things happened. We were supposed to be warned about the political situation and yet we were not aware of this uprising."
Fiyero thought for a while.
"I don't think they ever intend for us to go to Southstairs. From what I have gathered, we are just pawns to bait her to go to the Wizard."
"Do you really think that she is powerful enough to make wings grow on monkeys?" the King asked.
Fiyero looked at Pip, who looked back at him.
"I've no doubt about that, Father."
Fiyero went back to his room after the meeting. The Gale Force had hunted them because of the Wizard. With the Wizard overthrown, the King was very confident that they would be fugitives no more. The thought put a spring into his footsteps as he walked along the corridors of the castle. As much as he liked Vinkus, he did not enjoy the thought of hiding in Kiamo Ko, or the other castle for that matter, for the rest of his life.
He opened the door to his bedroom, and was surprised by how much darker the room was since he had left an hour ago. It was only late afternoon, but the sun set early in the winter day. None of the servants had come in to light a lamp, and the room was shrouded in shadows. He approached the bed.
It was empty.
"Elphaba?" he called out. And then he heard it, a soft moan, laced with pain, coming from the side of the bed. He moved to the side of the bed. There, hidden among the shadows, a thin figure crouched against the bed, her legs tucked underneath her. Her face was hidden by the veil of black hair, and Fiyero was unable to see her expression. One hand gripped the bedsheet, while the other hand was placed at the bottom of her tummy, clutching the hem of her skirt that was pulled up to her thigh. It was only then that Fiyero smelled the faint metallic and sweet smell in the air. He pulled her hand away, and felt the blood on her hand.
Blood and something else.
He shouted for help.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
It was too early. That was all Fiyero could think.
He paced outside his room. His parents, Galinda and Pip rushed to his room the moment they heard his shouts. Someone rushed off to call for a midwife.
Fiyero wanted to stay in the room but was chased out of the room by one of the maids, telling him that it was bad luck for the husband to be around when the wife was in labour.
Galinda was allowed to go in.
And so he stayed outside the room, where he paced, and paced, and paced.
The midwife came, an elderly woman with arthritic fingers and long white hair. Her assistant was next to her, supporting the frail woman under her elbow. She told Fiyero that she had delivered him many years ago. That did not relieve his fears.
The midwife went in, and came out soon after, warning them that it would take a long time.
"The baby is breeched." The word meant nothing to Fiyero, and the Queen had to explain what it meant.
"I'll have to turn the baby around," the midwife told them.
"How?"
She made a gesture with her hands while she tried to describe the process in a few words. Fiyero paled.
Marman asked the servants to place some couches outside the corridor, and the kitchen to prepare some refreshments. Fiyero sat down, the Queen on one side, and Pip on the other. The King went back to work, there was still much preparation to do to ensure that the tribe would be ready for the upcoming winter, but reminded his wife to update him when there was any news.
"Giving birth is a long process, Yero," the Queen told her son as she patted him on his arm. "I was in labour for more than one day before I gave birth to you."
"Elphaba was already weak and she was running a fever, Mother," he reminded his mother as he stood up and started to pace again. His mother looked at him, slightly amused, and decided not to tease him about wearing the floor out.
Night fell, and even Galinda came out.
"They chased me out. They said that it is going to be bloody," she said the moment she got out of the room, as if it had not been bloody before.
"How is Elphaba?"
"She's exhausted, Fiyero," Galinda said. "But she told me to tell you not to worry."
"I'm going to visit Nessa," she added. "Elphie wanted me to take care of her." With that, she went to the guest room a few doors down, where another group of servants were with Nessarose, tending to her wellbeing.
Dinner was served outside the room, and Marman joined them. But Fiyero had no appetite and picked at his food.
"You will need the energy to handle a crying baby, Your Highness," Marman tried to cheer him up.
Galinda joined them later and updated them on Nessarose, who cheered up when Galinda told her that the baby was on the way.
"The stable environment seems to do her good. One of the maids told me that she managed to sleep through just now during her nap," she added. And then she informed them that she had sent off a message to Pip's parents in Gillikin and to Nessarose's father in Munkinland.
The King joined them for supper, and then both he and the Queen retired to their room for the night, but not before telling Fiyero to update them once there was any news. Marman did the same.
Galinda declared that she would be spending the night in Nessarose's room so that she could comfort the girl if she woke up in the middle of the night and found herself in a strange environment. Fiyero thanked her for her thoughtfulness.
Fiyero and Pip brought out pillows and blankets and tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible. But Fiyero was unable to sleep, his eyes opening whenever he heard anyone going in or out of the room. He asked some of them for updates sometimes, and they could only tell him that the baby was on the way.
He was about to fall asleep when dawn comes, when he heard a baby's wails, which woke him up. He sat up immediately and looked at Pip, who was soundly asleep in the next couch. He strained his ear again, but did not hear any more cries, and he wondered if he was dreaming.
He looked at the door. There was no sound from inside.
Was he dreaming?
He tried to sleep again, but the thought that the door could open any moment kept him awake. So he stood up. And paced again.
The door opened half an hour later and the midwife came out, her dress stained with blood. Behind her was her assistant, carrying a little bundle wrapped in a towel with the royal insignia.
Fiyero walked over quickly.
"A prince, Your Highness," the midwife said as she stood aside to let Fiyero look at the newborn. The baby had reddish fair skin, startling blue eyes and thick black hair. Just like the baby that he had dreamt of.
"He's beautiful," he said to no one in particular as he stroked the baby's cheek.
"He is, Your Highness," the midwife said.
He looked up at the midwife. He could not wait to see Elphaba's expression when she saw how beautiful their baby boy was.
"Can I go in now?" he asked.
The midwife looked down slightly.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but the Princess .. she was too weak, and she had lost too much blood…."
Fiyero did not hear the rest of her words.
A/N
BookWorm741, the part inspired by your review was when Fiyero moved Nessa and shifted Elphaba to sleep in his arms (naughty of him).
The bedtime story of the hunter and the faery was actually mentioned in chapter 8 (when Elphaba went to the Emerald City for the first time).
Next, I will be posting a one shot which is a spin off from Chapter 13 of this fic (a AU of a AU LOL). It is about what happen if Elphaba had run away from Shiz when she found out that she was pregnant. I will try to post the final chapter of Changing Fate before I go on my holidays in June.
Please review! Or threaten, if that's what you prefer :P