Here's chapter 37!
Enjoy, everyone~
-Essence
Chapter 37
Melena stumbled through Colwen Grounds, not caring if she had been seen or not. She needed to get out of here and fast. Her worst fears had been realized.
She had actually killed someone.
She had to get to her daughter someway, somehow. Looking around, she quickly spotted a wooden structure where she could see the heads of horses poking out of several, small windows. She furrowed her brows and went straight for the stable.
Melena then saw a Munchkin boy leaning against the door, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he picked at his teeth with a stiff piece of hay.
"I need a horse," she said, trying to sound as normal as possible. She hid her bloody hands behind her back, hoping he hadn't had the chance to see them beforehand. She figured this was the stable boy by the way he was dressed and the dirt and grime that caked his face and hands.
The boy looked up at her and stuck the piece of hay between his teeth. "What do you need a horse for this late in the day?"
"Does that matter?" Melena asked, a bit annoyed.
"Well, these horses are usually reserved for carriages and such. They aren't really for riding…"
"That doesn't matter. I've ridden wild horses before."
The stable boy stared at her with a certain gleam in his eye, not sure if he should believe her or not. He then shrugged and opened the large door for her, eyeing her as she slid past him and into the stable.
"You can pick anyone you'd like," he said, leaning back against the far wall as Melena looked at the several horses that were in the stalls. They neighed and nickered at her, nibbling at the air next to her as if they were expecting her to give them some treats.
Unlike the lie she had just told, Melena has actually never ridden a horse in her life. She would normally ride by carriage but her gunshot wound told her otherwise. She needed to get somewhere where they could offer some bandages or something to get the bleeding to stop and a horse is her only option right now.
"This one," she said, picking a light brown mare at the very last stall. She turned her back to the stable boy, trying to hide the grimace of pain that appeared on her pale face.
"Ah, Hazel. She's a good one." The stable boy expertly set up a saddle and reins, only used to doing that type of thing for himself and not others. Almost no one in Colwen Grounds ever bothered riding these horses, usually reserving them for pulling carriages and official events.
"Okay," Melena breathed.
The Munchkin looked at her, both his brows raised. "Are you okay? You sound like you're in pain."
"Just give me the damn horse," she hissed and hurriedly mounted the horse like she's seen others do. The boy gave a shout of surprise as the mare reared back, startled by this sudden weight on her back. Melena clung to the horse's mane, her belly wound throbbing with the harsh movement.
"Hey, you don't just—"
Melena didn't let the boy finish as she kicked the mare's side, sending it into a frantic run. She lowered her head as the horse burst through the wooden door, the stably boy stumbling after them, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Melena ignored him as the mare carried her away from Colwen Grounds, dust flying into the air as the horse thundered away, leaving a very bewildered Munchkin boy and a broken stable door. They had escaped.
The pale woman breathed into the mare's brown mane as they made their way onto the Yellow Brick Road, knowing it would be a while to the Emerald City.
She took her hand off her wound, not knowing it was there in the first place. It was shiny with blood and she gritted her teeth as the horse's run jostled her around the saddle. She didn't need to have her hands on the reins as the horse already knew its the way through the Yellow Brick Road due to having been the carriage horse for numerous trips to the Emerald City.
She wrapped her arms around her shot wound, willing the bleeding to stop but knowing mere will will not heal her now. She closed her eyes and let the horse carry her through the Yellow Brick Road.
This was one of the times that she just wished she could just curl up and die and if she didn't get help soon, she will do just that. But being the woman she was, she wouldn't let herself just give up like that. She needed to get to her daughter before she could get into more trouble than she could possibly afford under the current circumstances.
How in the world did she get to be Magic Grand Vizier in less than a day? she asked herself, not really wanting to learn how her wayward daughter had managed to reach such a high position in such a short amount of time. As she gazed into the setting sun in front of her, she gave into her thoughts, too weak to say anything out loud.
Maybe the vision I saw had something to do with that, she thought, remembering seeing the Emperor and Madame Morrible in Zafryna's glass. Before she could think of anything else, however, she slumped forward on the saddle, her eyes fluttering closed as a sudden lightheadedness clouded her brain.
I must be losing a lot of blood, she thought weakly. This is just wonderful. I hope this horse knows the way to the Emerald City…
She then collapsed against the mare's back, the rhythmic clopping of its hooves the only last thing she heard before slipping into unconsciousness.
***
Mantu woke up to the sound of rustling, his sensitive ears catching the faint noise. He bolted up, his heart racing in alarm. He then looked at Frynda, who was still asleep curled into some sort of fetal position, her chest rising and falling in rhythm.
The elf looked around, not seeing anything unusual before sitting back down on his nest of dried grass. He scratched his head, wondering if he was starting to hear things he wasn't supposed to.
That's absurd, he thought. My ears are working just fine. It was just some animal trampling through the grass, that's all.
He wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on top of his knees, his bright green eyes darting around. His gaze then rested on the curled up form of Frynda, the girl's auburn hair falling loosely to the ground as she snored softly.
I'm being paranoid, the elf thought. I'm being paranoid. Stop it, Mantu, you sound like some demented parrot. Stop it.
He let his back rest against the grass with a frustrated sigh. Go to sleep. You need your rest to go to the Animal Village tomorrow with Frynda.
A shiver passed through his body as he thought of the Animal Village. He then shook his head and turned to his side, his eyes narrowing at his cowardice.
Stop it, Mantu! He scolded himself. Frynda will be right there next to you. She's not going to let anything happen to you as long as you're with her. Stop this and go to sleep.
He forced his eyes to close and soon he fell back into an uneasy sleep, unaware of the faint light that had appeared not to far away from where he lay. It stilled for a moment before melting back into the night, oblivious of the girl and elf sleeping just a few feet away.
***
Glinda returned with a couple of rocks she had managed to scrounge up from the ground. She dropped them in front of Elphaba and sat down with a huff, setting the ball of light next to her. Elphaba had managed to gather some flint from around her while Glinda was away.
"Why don't you just use magic to light the fire?" Glinda asked her as her love assembled the rocks in a circle before tossing a few pieces of dried grass into the middle.
"I'm not going to risk it," the green woman answered simply. "I mean, I could, but…"
"I know what you mean, my love," Glinda told her gently. "Just do what you have to do."
Elphaba gave her a small smile before hitting the two pieces of flint together. After a few tries she managed to spark the dried grass, immediately setting it on fire. Hurriedly she added a few more pieces of dried grass, managing to control the small fire with occasional pokes of a long stick she had found a few feet away from their 'camp'.
Glinda watched as her green love grabbed the skinned hare by the legs and thrust the stick into it. She flinched, cringing at the way Elphaba took all of this with an easy stride as if she did this every day.
"Poor bunny," she whispered.
"My sweet, how many times do I have to tell you? It's dead."
"I know, I know. I hope you didn't cause it too much pain when you killed it," Glinda muttered, being her usual, sensitive self.
Elphaba chuckled as she held the body of the hare over the fire, occasionally turning it so it could roast on all sides. "Don't worry; it was just a quick snap to the neck. It let out a few kicks, but—"
"Ugh. Spare me the details, please," the blonde huffed.
"Well, you asked for it."
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did."
"No, I—"
The blonde was cut off as Elphaba leaned forward and captured her pink lips in a kiss. Glinda couldn't help but kiss her back, her hand reaching up to caress a green cheek.
Elphaba suddenly broke the kiss, handing the stick to Glinda. The blonde took it with a look of disgust, suddenly not having much of an appetite.
She looked at the roasted hare, her blue eyes narrowing. She could see the faint smoke still rising up from the small body and she gave Elphaba a look that said 'do I have to?'.
"Eat it, Glinda," Elphaba told her. "I could hear your stomach from here."
"But…"
"Just do it. What else are you going to eat instead the hare I so graciously got for you?"
"You."
Elphaba laughed. "Oh, so you'll resort to cannibalism to spare the pain of having to eat an already dead animal. That's very fair."
Glinda leaned closer to her. "That's not what I meant."
Elphaba let out a gulp when she saw the blonde's blue eyes dance as the light of the fire flickered in them. Glinda was so close now that their lips were barely brushing. Elphaba shivered as she felt the hot air against her skin as the blonde started to kiss the corner of her mouth, along her strong jaw line then down her neck.
"G-Glinda—"
"Shh, Elphie…" Glinda murmured against her love's green skin as she kissed her way back up to nibble under Elphaba's ear, eliciting a small moan from the green woman.
The pair slowly leaned backwards into the dried grass. Glinda pushed herself against Elphaba as she kissed her slowly and sensually, her hands roaming all over the green woman's body.
"Glinda Upland, you are seducing me, aren't you?"
Glinda could only smile as she nipped at the base of her green love's neck. She ran her hands through Elphaba's raven black hair before reaching over to cup one of her breasts.
"Mm, my sweet," Elphaba whispered, her voice thick with lust. "Do you want Adagio to wake up?"
"He's out like a light, Elphie," Glinda told her, her voice muffled against Elphaba's skin as she gently bit at her earlobe, careful not to burn her love's sensitive skin with her saliva.
"He'll surely wake up if we keep like this," moaned Elphaba, shivering as one of the blonde's hands wandered its way up her dress.
Glinda stopped and looked deep into her brown, chocolate eyes. "That's why I'm seducing you, my love. You're much quieter when we make love."
Elphaba smiled, genuinely impressed with the blonde's logic. She looked up at those sparkling, now dark cerulean eyes and reached up to caress her cheek. "Touché. Continue please."
***
Zafryna picked at her lunch, her head resting on her hand as she stared blankly at the wall opposite of the big table she was sitting at. She let out a frustrated sigh and pushed her plate away, suddenly not having much of an appetite.
"What's wrong, Zaf?"
"Everything."
Zafryna looked up at the young woman in front of her. She was staring back at her with hazel eyes full of concern.
"Everything can't possibly be wrong, Zaf," the young woman murmured, sitting down in a chair next to the yellow-skinned woman. "Now tell me what's wrong."
"They left me here."
"It isn't the first time they've done this to you."
"I know!" Zafryna hissed. "That's what's making me so fucking angry! They keep doing this to me! They keep putting all this responsibility on my shoulders that I'm not even sure I could take!"
"I'm sure the Great Witch has her reasons—"
"Melena."
The young brunette blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Her name is Melena."
The woman looked at her, her head tilted to the side as she studied the distraught girl. Calmly she reached out to take one of the yellow hands into one of hers.
"Zafryna, listen to me," she whispered. "I know you hate this and your sisters don't make this any easier for you—"
"You got that right," Zafryna snorted.
The woman narrowed her eyes and squeezed her hand. "Are you going to listen to me or not?"
Zafryna sighed and ran her free hand through her pale yellow hair. "I'm sorry, Inett. I'm being such a bitch to you right now. Go ahead."
"Thank you, Zaf," Inett told her and patted her hand. "And trust me, I have my bitchy days too."
Zafryna smiled. Inett was the only one she could talk to in times like this. She was the resident cook and since Zafryna had always been talented in the kitchen, she had given her pointers and the two have grown quite close in the past few years.
Inett then pushed the plate back so it was in front of Zafryna again. "Eat your lunch first, Zaf. You can't possibly reject this delicious pasta you made yourself."
"I'm not hungry," Zafryna mumbled.
"Zaf…"
"Alright, alright. I'll eat it." She forcibly thrust her fork into the creamy white pasta and twirled it, wrapping the long noodles around the metal utensil. She took it out and gave the bite a look of disdain before shoving it whole into her mouth.
"There, happy?" she said to Inett, her mouth full.
"More or less," Inett chuckled. "Now, why don't I go get us some ice cream while you eat that and we'll talk in the kitchen, okay?"
Zafryna nodded, putting another forkful in her mouth.
Inett chuckled and turned around, glad that Zafryna's willing to at least talk to her. She was concerned that her yellow-skinned friend might be closing in herself again; something that must be avoided at all costs. Zafryna had the tendency to become severely depressed and sometimes she would shut down and lock herself in her room with just her looking glass to keep her company. During these times she won't eat or drink anything until she would become dehydrated and there was a case that she had become seriously ill.
Inett turned around, faced Zafryna once again and looked at her straight in the eyes. "When I come back I want to see all of that food gone," she teased her, wagging her finger at the girl.
"Yes, ma'am!" Zafryna gave her a salute and shoved another forkful into her mouth, causing Inett to laugh as she disappeared into the kitchen.
***
Elphaba closed her eyes, breathing in the warm, musky scent of the grass around her. She felt Glinda's soft mumbles against her bare skin as her naked lover nuzzled herself deeper into her chest. Elphaba tightened her protective grip around the girl's shoulder and waist, pulling her closer to her bodice.
"That was amazing," Glinda whispered to her, her voice laced with exhaustion. She snuggled into her Elphie's chest, twirling a strand of her straight, black hair through the fingers of one hand and caressing a green cheek with the other.
"I could say no less, my sweet," Elphaba sighed. "I would ask for a repeat performance, but…"
"Elphaba Thropp, are you asking me to make love to you again?"
"No, I'm not asking you. Would begging be more appropriate?"
Glinda suddenly whirled around so quickly that Elphaba didn't have time to react as her love pinned her down to the ground. Glinda gazed into her startled brown eyes, a mischievous gleam in her own blue ones.
"Oh, I'm going to make you beg, Elphaba Thropp," she purred, leaning down to nibble under her love's green ear.
Elphaba's only response was to smile wickedly as she succumbed to her desire once again.