Here's the next chapter. Sorry that I haven't updated for so long. I'll try to finish this story up since it's almost finished. Maybe ten, fifteen more chapters.
Elphaba crouched on the roof of the Wizard's Palace, watching as Fiyero was dragged forward in front of Madame Morrible and Glinda. It had been two weeks since Elphaba had escaped from the Wizard with the help of Fiyero and she had heard of horrible things being done to him in order to try to coax her location out of him. He hadn't known where she was, so he obviously hadn't said anything, but she had a feeling that he was trying to make things as hard for the Wizard as possible.
The day before, Elphaba had received word of Fiyero's execution, which had been scheduled when it became apparent that he either didn't have any location about her whereabouts or wouldn't tell them. He was to be executed by firing squad at eleven o'clock in the morning, but if Elphaba could help it, he wouldn't be killed. He had risked his life to save hers, and now she would do the same for him. She wouldn't let another death rest on her shoulders.
Madame Morrible was searching the skies, expecting Elphaba to come and rescue the man who had saved her life. Glinda was also searching the skies, but she had an anxious and hopeful expression on her face, almost as if she was glad Elphaba hadn't shown up yet.
"Well, we have to commence with the execution," Madame Morrible said reluctantly after fifteen minutes. "Stand him up against that wall over there. Fiyero Tiggular, late Captain of the Guard, is to be executed due to high treason. Is there anyone here that objects of this charge or punishment?"
"I do," Elphaba said, standing up on the roof and drawing all of the attention to her. "Don't have your soldiers shoot at me or I'll deflect the bullets back at them and make sure they hit their marks."
"What do you want?" Madame Morrible asked.
"Set Fiyero free and I'll trade myself for him," Elphaba said. "I'll give myself over to you without any struggle as long as he can go free and take my things with him. But you have to promise not to seize him as soon as you have me in your custody and not to go searching through my things. I want to see him walk out of the gate free."
Madame Morrible looked at her contemplatively as the soldiers in the courtyard turned to face Elphaba, pointing their guns at her. "Fine," Madame Morrible finally said. "You come down here, give your things to Master Tiggular, and he'll be set free when we take you into custody. I promise that you'll be able to see him walk free and that we will not pursue him once you have been executed."
"Good," Elphaba said, grasping her broom tightly in her hand and flying down to the ground, touching down lightly near the group of soldiers that were surrounding Fiyero. The group of soldiers parted at a wave from Madame Morrible and one of them cut the restraints from his wrists, although the guns still remained pointing at both Elphaba and Fiyero. Elphaba handed her things to Fiyero with a sad look in her eyes.
"Elphaba, what are you doing?" he whispered urgently, taking her satchel and broom from him.
"Don't question me," Elphaba said. "When they let you go, get out of here as quickly as you can. There should be someone outside the walls who will be able to help you get to a safe spot that Madame Morrible won't be able to find. Honestly, I don't trust any promises that she makes."
"You're sacrificing your life for mine," he whispered.
"Just as you were going to do for me," Elphaba said. "Now go." Two soldiers came up behind Elphaba, tying her hands behind her back and shoving her through the crowd of soldiers to the platform Madame Morrible, Glinda, and the new Captain of the Guard was standing on. She glared up at Madame Morrible, who smiled down at her smugly. Motioning for the soldiers to step back out of hearing range, Madame Morrible shook her head.
"Oh, Miss Elphaba, things could have turned out so much differently for you if you had just listened to what I had to say," Madame Morrible said. "Didn't you listen to anything I told you while I was teaching you? In order to rise in the ranks, you have to do what your superiors tell you to do, and in your case, your superiors are the Wizard and I. Look at how well Miss Glinda has done, and that's all because she listened to what I had to say."
Elphaba looked at Glinda to see an indifferent expression on the blonde's face. When their eyes connected, tears started to form in Glinda's eyes and the blonde looked away towards Fiyero, who was being escorted to the gate. They all watched as he ran out of the gate, the soldiers watching him as he began to disappear from sight.
"I never wanted what you or the Wizard wanted," Elphaba said calmly, turning to face Madame Morrible. "You always manipulated others for your own gain, and I always wanted to do what was best for others. It's not right, what you do, and while I may be the most hated person in all of Oz, I know that what I'm doing is right. People may not see that what you're doing is wrong right now, they'll see it eventually, and when that time comes, you're going to regret everything."
"That will never happen," Madame Morrible said smugly. "Do you want to know why? Because when you die, all rebellion from the Animals will die out in Oz because they look up to you. When they see that their leader is dead, they'll give up. This is the end, Elphaba. You are the sole person standing between the Wizard and total dominance over everyone in Oz. And you are about to be terminated."
She stood up straight to address the soldiers. "I want to see the Witch suffer!" she yelled. "Do what you wish with her, I don't care. When you are finished, line her up against the wall and shoot her."
A soldier stepped forward at the wave of encouragement from Madame Morrible and, with a large grin on his face, hit Elphaba in the middle of the back with the butt of his rifle. She groaned in pain, falling to her knees as the force pushed her forward. Suddenly, she got another knock to the back. Looking up, her eyes connected with Glinda's, who had tears running down her face. No one noticed the moment of connection between the two young women, that space of one second where they seemed to look into each other.
Forgive me, Elphaba mouthed as she got another hit, this time to the head. Glinda covered her mouth with her hands, choking back a sob and preventing herself from screaming. A soldier pulled Elphaba to her feet, yanking at her arm mercilessly. Another soldier punched her in the face, knocking her backwards into three men. They laughed as they grabbed her, throwing her to the ground, their boots connecting with her body.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Twenty. Thirty. An hour. Two hours. Finally, the crowd of soldiers was satisfied with what they had done to the Witch and stepped back to reveal the bleeding and broken form of Elphaba. With a wave from Madame Morrible, two soldiers hauled her to her feet and supported her as they turned to face her towards the platform.
"Glinda," she whispered, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to remain upright and conscious. "It wasn't what Fiyero said at all. There was… there was nothing between us after I left. He… he had no contact… with me, nor I with him. I-I'm sorry."
The Good Witch gasped, shaking her head and turning away from Elphaba, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Madame Morrible ignored this, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. She smiled down evilly at Elphaba. "Enjoy the last few moments of your life, Elphaba," she whispered. "Take her to the wall and shoot her on my signal!"
Elphaba didn't struggle as the soldiers lifted her by the arms and carried her to the wall, shackling her hand with a chain that hung from a hook far above her head. She closed her eyes, letting the chain bear all of her weight. Whispering under her breath, she heard a yell from Madame Morrible and the obedient shots from rifles as the soldiers fired at her. There was a brief feeling of weightlessness before everything went black.
Sorry that I haven't updated in so long. There's been a lot going on, and all that stuff coupled with writer's block doesn't result with quick updates. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter:
ghostly bender
-greenTARDISgal-
ev80
Once again, thank you for reviewing and please continue to REVIEW. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.
ReallyObsessiveWriter
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