Hamilton was amazing. That's all I have time to say tonight.
Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 36
I was a little taken aback at first. What would the Scarecrow want with me? Then it dawned on me. "Tell … him … I'm … not … letting … that … little … brat … go … until … she … gives … me … those … shoes." SPEAK.
"I … don't think he wants to rescue the girl," Vaia said slowly. "He just said he needed to talk to you. He seemed pretty desperate."
I sighed. "Fine. Send … him … in. And … tell … him … not … to … speak … until … he's … spoken … to." SPEAK.
Vaia scrutinized me for a clock tick, and then said, "Sure, green human girl. He'll be in in a few." She opened the castle door. "Come on in. The Witch will see you. Don't talk until she's had her say, though. She has a muscle disease, so it takes a bit longer for her to get stuff out. Be patient, or you could pay the price."
"Of course," the Scarecrow said as he entered the foyer. "I understand." He moved quite close to me, but then backed up at the look I gave him.
I turned to Vaia. "Leave … us." SPEAK. She nodded and quickly left. Tension filled the foyer as I began to type. Surprisingly, I didn't hear the Scarecrow shift impatiently as unfamiliar people usually did when I was typing something. Maybe sentient scarecrows just didn't feel compelled to do that. Whatever. "Scarecrow … I … know … you're … here … for … one … of … two … reasons. You're … either … here … to … rescue … your … brat … friend … or … you're … here … to … appeal … to … my … inner … goodness … so … I'll … let … the … girl … go. First … of … all … even … though … I … can … only … move … a … few … muscles … I … can … burn … you … to … a … crisp … before … you … can … say … Ozma. Second … I … have … no … 'inner … goodness.' They … don't … call … me … a … wicked … witch … for … nothing. Now … leave … before … I … decide … you'd … start … a … nice … fire … for … me … to … cook … the … Lion … with." SPEAK.
I grew furious when the Scarecrow started laughing once my message had finished. He eventually choked out, "Sorry, I'm sorry. I know you could make me spontaneously combust at any second, but wow, you're bluffing! Sweet Oz, Elphaba, actually listen to what you're making that machine of yours say! Why would you cook the Lion? You could never do that to an Animal. And even if you could, what good would it do you? You couldn't eat him; you can't eat! A-And I'm not here to rescue Dorothy. I'm here to rescue you."
What the hell does that even mean? But more importantly … "How … do … you … know … my … name?" SPEAK.
Now he shifted uncomfortably. "Lurline preserve me; this is going to get me a fireball up my ass." He sighed. "It's me, Fae. It's Fiyero. When the guys had me hanging in that cornfield, you must've cast some kind of spell that, well, made me become this. It had to have been you; you're the only person in Oz with both the power and the inclination. You saved my life."
Admittedly, my first instinct was to shoot a fireball up his ass. I can't believe his gall! Not does this straw man come here with a whole crew to murder me, but to distract me by pretending to be my dead … I couldn't bear to finish that thought. But, in spite of myself, I typed out, "If … you're … who … you … say … you … are … why … can't … I … move?" SPEAK.
He seemed prepared for this. "You are in the advanced stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. You were diagnosed four years ago by Dr. Headly-Silon at Shiz General Hospital, and your deterioration has been one of the most horrifying things I've had to watch."
He seems pretty earnest. But still … "How … did … we … meet?" SPEAK.
"My cart almost ran you over on my first day at Shiz. You hit me on the head with a book and scared the crap out of my poor driver, and then I called you a traffic light. Not my finest hour, I'll admit." Ozdammit, his voice sounds like Fiyero's, and he's acting like Fiyero, but I can't possibly believe this. I wantto believe it, but that's not the same thing. "Elphaba, please. You gotta believe me. We rescued a Lion cub together. You like books, and your dream was to work for the Wizard before you found out what a pathetic phony he is. You help Animals over in Traum, and from my observations, they adore you just as much as the human Ozian population adores Glinda."
Oh my Oz, it's him. It has to be him. But just to make sure … "Do … I … have … any … tattoos?" SPEAK. There. Something only Fiyero and Vaia knew.
He grinned. "You have one of a Goat on your upper left thigh with the initials A.D. in honor of Doctor Dillamond."
And that's when I was certain it was him. Knowing that made me want to run into his arms and never leave them again, but it also made me want to destroy the castle in anger at myself that I had saved Fiyero just so that he could spend a little time with me before leading an unending life alone. The former I couldn't really do without possibly running him over, and the latter was not exactly logical, so I ended up doing the dumbest and most pathetic thing I could have done at that moment, which was to start crying like a complete idiot. Luckily, thanks to my trach, this wasn't audible, but I felt like I had been doing it quite often during the past few months.
"Oh, Fae …" Fiyero swiftly walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me. "Shh. Everything's gonna be okay. We can get out of this, don't worry."
"How? I … have … people … who … want … to … kill … me … in … the … general … vicinity … and … a … ten … year … old … girl … locked … up … in … my … room … just … because … I … wanted … some … old … shoes." SPEAK.
"And I have a plan to work around that, but as a side note, why do you want those shoes?"
I sighed, a little embarrassed now. "I … did … want … them. I … wanted … my … nephew … Frex … to … have … something … of … his … mother's. But … he … doesn't … need … them. All … he … needs … is … us … to … tell … him … stories. You'll … help … me … do … that?" SPEAK.
"Of course, Fae! As far as I'm concerned, this little guy can be my nephew too. 'Cause, after hearing his father talk nonstop on the journey here about how eager he was to kill you, I know Frex Junior doesn't need that kind of influence."
We shared a brief smile. "Uncle … Yero. I … think … Frex … will … like … the … sound … of … that. But … how … are … we … going … to … get … through … tonight?" SPEAK.
"As I said, I have a plan, sort of," Fiyero said. "You know, there's this really stupid rumor going around that water can melt you. I know, it's dumb and doesn't even make sense to anyone with half a brain, but I was thinking we could use it to our advantage."
That gave me an idea. "I … found … a … spell … in … the … Grimmerie … that … allows … one … to … transform … into … water … particles … with … the … appearance … of … the … spellcaster's … choosing. It's … normally … used … as … a … flashy … way … to … get … around. I've … never … used … it. But … I … can … use … it … tonight." SPEAK.
"Sounds perfect! And I've got the perfect place to do it. There's a wine cellar under a trapdoor in the North Tower. Vaia can wait there for you. Meanwhile, Boq and I will rescue Dorothy and the Lion, and you can chase us to the North Tower. There are always buckets of water in there to douse the torches in the morning. I'll tell Dorothy what to do. She'll be the child heroine all of Oz thinks she is anyway. And you can die in peace, with me and Vaia and Frex right beside you. I promise."
"I've … never … done … that … spell … before … so … Oz … knows … what … will … happen. But … you … have … a … pretty … good … plan … and … I … don't … have … anything … better. And … you're … right. I … didn't … survive … this … long … just … to … be … murdered … by … a … schoolgirl." SPEAK.
He grinned and kissed me on the forehead. It felt different, but not different in a bad way. "That's my Fae. Now, I have to get back to Boq before he thinks something's up. Send one of your Monkeys out, and I'll send back a note when we're getting close. See you soon. I love you."
I looked up at him and I knew I didn't have to bother typing out that I loved him too. He gave my hand a squeeze before leaving the castle. I couldn't smile very widely anymore, but I was still smiling as widely as I could when Vaia came back into the foyer. "How'd that go?" she asked me. "Oz, green human girl, you look the happiest I've seen you in … awhile! What's going on?"
"We'll … be … getting … a … note … from … the … Scarecrow … soon. Please … send … one … of … the … Monkeys … out … so … it … can … be … delivered." SPEAK.
Vaia looked at me strangely. "Wow, saying please and everything. What happened to you? You're just like your old self. I like it. Yo! Garu!" Almost instantly, a Monkey flew up to Vaia. "Go out, find the Scarecrow, and wait for him to give you a note. Once you have the note, come back here and give it to me." Immediately, Garu flew out of a nearby window, and Vaia explained, "He likes me. You want a can?"
I raised my eyes. Might as well do something to pass the time.
Vaia soon retrieved my tube and a can of CalMix, and not long into the feeding, she said, "So, I know you want those shoes, but I really think you should let the girl go. First of all, she's scared out of her mind and probably traumatized, but also, you need to get on your ventilator at some point tonight. I mean, one night won't kill you, but it's not a habit we want to form."
"The … Scarecrow's … note … will … explain … everything." SPEAK.
Vaia gave me another bewildered look. "Who is this Scarecrow, your new gentleman caller or something?" When my only response was another cheesy grin, she exclaimed in realization, "Oh my Oz! You only smile like that when you're thinking about Fiyero! You've got to be kidding me! How did … how did this even happen?"
"I … was … stupid … enough … to … do … a … spell … without … making … sure … it … worked … or … not." SPEAK.
"So, you actually turned him into a scarecrow?! Damn! Remind me not to make you upset! So, his note …?"
"Is … his … plan … to … get … us … out … of … this … mess. I … don't … want … the … shoes … anymore. I … just … want … this … over." SPEAK.
"That makes two of us."
Vaia was almost done feeding me when there was a knock on the castle door. It couldn't have been Fiyero and Boq; I hadn't gotten Fiyero's note and I don't think Boq would have gone through the trouble of knocking.
"I'll get it," Vaia said, taking my tube out. "You're almost done anyway." She opened the door. "Oh! Lady Glinda! Hi! Come in, please! You wanna talk to Elphaba? She's right in here, so just make yourself at home, Your Goodness!" And then Vaia practically dragged a very taken aback Glinda into the foyer. She closed the castle door. "Okay, I'll let you two talk; I'll be in the library." She left before either Glinda or I could protest.
"There's a whole mob of people out there who want to kill you," Glinda told me. "Just thought you might want to know that."
"And … what … do … you … propose … I … do … about … that … Your … Goodness?" SPEAK.
"LET THE LITTLE GIRL GO AND THAT POOR LITTLE DOG, DODO!" Glinda shouted. "That's what I 'propose you do about that.' Elphie, I know you don't want to hear this, but someone has to say it: you are out of control! I mean, come on, they're just shoes! Let it go!"
"I'm … doing … what … I … have … to … do. I … am … the … Wicked … Witch … of … the … West!" SPEAK.
"That's no excuse!"
Before I could figure out a way to make Glinda leave, Vaia came back in. "Just got this," she said, holding a note up to me. "Do you, um, want me to acknowledge this?" I looked at the note, and found that Fiyero had written out his plan for Vaia to follow, along with instructions for me to keep this whole thing confidential, and a reassurance that he loved me and that he would see me soon. Perfect.
I raised my eyes, and Vaia departed swiftly.
"It's Fiyero, isn't it?" Glinda said, more of a statement than a question. "Is he …?"
I could have easily raised my eyes and lied to her, but I realized I couldn't lie to Glinda, who had spent a morning in the Forest Library with me even though I had known she'd really wanted to be shopping, who had taken care of me during the period of my illness where I didn't know what abilities I would wake up without. But I also couldn't tell the complete truth either. Even though it hurt me to admit it, Fiyero was right. Except for Vaia, no one, not even Glinda, could know what we were planning. So I typed out, "We've … seen … his … face … for … the … last … time." SPEAK. As my message played, I dreaded her reaction.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. "Oh no," she whispered, her voice quivering. "Oh Elphie, I'm really sorry."
"Don't … be. I … want … to … be … past … this … now. Please … go. You … can't … be … found … here." SPEAK.
"No, Elphie, I can't just let those crazy people kill you!" Glinda insisted. "I know you're gonna die sooner rather than later, and that's really unfairifyed, and for over two years I've wanted to make the Ozian ALS Association one of the charities I support because I want to kick this disease in the pants for what it's done to you, but Madam Morrible wouldn't let me! She was, like, on to me or something. It sucked! So, the least I can do is convince those people out there not to kill you."
"I … appreciate … the … gesture … but … I'm … afraid … they … would … only … turn … against … you. I … can't … let … that … happen. But … you're … right … about … one … thing. Even … if … I … survive … tonight … I'm … not … long … for … this … world. So … I … want … you … to … take … the … Grimmerie. I … trust … you … to … keep … it … safe … when … I'm … gone." SPEAK.
"Elphie, you know I can't read that."
"Then … you'll … have … to … learn. It's … up … to … you … now." SPEAK. As she reluctantly took the Grimmerie, I added, "You've … been … a … great … friend … Glin." SPEAK.
"And you've been the only friend that's really mattered to me." Completely surprising me, Glinda bent down and threw her arms around me in a satisfying hug.
But just then, there was a pounding on the castle door.