So, the song I used for the previous chapter was What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie. I recommend listening to it while reading the chapter.
Galinda couldn't eat or sleep or perform any other function. She felt so lost without Elphaba. All she could do was stare at the ring on her finger… the last thing Elphaba had given her with her dying breath.
She had held the green woman in her arms, and had been helpless. She had felt Elphaba's life slip away, and she could only watch. Now she could only mourn her lost love. Elphaba had done so much for her… and she had watched her die.
There was a soft knock on her bedroom door. "Galinda?"
"Go away."
The door was opened anyway and Galinda could recognize the sound of her mother's footsteps. She felt a weight on the bed beside her. "Galinda, I realize you're upset, but this needs to end. It's not healthy."
"I don't care."
"You'll make yourself sick."
"Good. Maybe then some illness will take my life and I can be with Elphaba."
"Galinda, do you think she'd want that?"
The blonde sat up angrily. "How would you know what she wants? You never took the time to get to know her! You just wanted her to be what you wanted! This is partly your fault! YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET US BE TOGETHER!"
Galinda's mother looked taken aback by her daughter's outburst. "Galinda—"
"JUST GO!"
Her mother left the room and Galinda looked around her room angrily. She put her hands to her head as more tears started down her face.
"Elphie… why did you leave me? WHY?"
The blonde let out a yell as she finally lost her composure. She stormed through her room, knocking over a table, smashing a vase, and throwing other objects at the walls. She fell to her knees, her eyes falling on the Grimmerie. She clenched her fists angrily. It was because of that stupid book that Elphaba had been killed! Galinda pulled the Grimmerie towards her and opened it. She started ripping out pages, her tears falling on them as she pulled them from the old book.
Galinda stopped, her chest heaving, the pages drifting slowly to the floor around her. She knew this wouldn't change anything, and now the book was destroyed. At least now it would stay out of Morrible's hands. Not that Galinda really cared if Morrible came anymore. Let her come. It didn't matter anymore. Galinda had already lost everything she cared for; her world was already destroyed.
The blonde looked at the unknown writing. "Why was this so valuable anyway? It's a book that no one can even read! If you're such a powerful book, then why don't you bring my Elphaba back? Bring my Elphie back to me!" the blonde screamed before she collapsed, her entire body shaking with sobs once more.
She approached the Time Dragon, seeing its claws on either side of the "XIII" on the clock.
"The hour of death has come upon you, Elphaba Thropp."
The green woman watched as gears started to turn, opening a large set of doors before her. She took a step forward; she was ready to accept it.
"Bring my Elphie back to me!"
The green woman stopped, turning towards the voice. "Galinda? She's calling for me."
The Time Dragon's eyes flashed a warning red. "You cannot go back to that life."
"She needs me still."
"If you go back, you will be living on borrowed time. There is no bind that ties you to her, or that life."
"I can't leave her. Not yet."
The Time Dragon's eyes went red again and the clock in its claws turned to the right, stopping at the "XII". With a snort, smoke poured from its nostrils until it obscured it from view.
"This is what you have chosen."
Elphaba's eyes shot open and she gasped, feeling as though she had been punched in the stomach. Her eyes soon became adjusted to the darkness and when she saw where she was, she almost screamed.
Never in her life had Elphaba imagined she'd be buried alive.
The green woman was tempted to start clawing at the lid, but she knew that would do no good. She had to think. Panicking would only kill her faster. She looked at the lid itself and saw that it was made of wood. That was good. Her eyes fell on a crack in the middle of the lid, most likely from the weight of the dirt. That was better. Elphaba looked down at her feet and saw that she was wearing her boots.
She had everything she needed to escape.
Elphaba aimed a kick at the crack. It grew larger. She kicked it again, with the same result. She kicked it one more time and the wood snapped, allowing dirt to come pouring in. The green woman pulled her shirt up over her nose and mouth as she started to pull more dirt in, filling as much of the coffin as she could, while still allowing herself some room to squeeze out. When the coffin had reached its filling capacity, she pulled herself up over the dirt and up through the hole. Elphaba set her feet firmly on the coffin lid and stood, feeling her hands break the surface. She started moving dirt aside and soon enough, her head surfaced as well. The green woman gasped again, filling her lungs with fresh air. She clawed her way out of the ground and staggered to her feet.
Elphaba tilted her head back and let out a yell as thunder echoed throughout the night sky.
She was alive… and she was free.
Galinda made sure her window was locked as she heard rain start to pelt it. The storm seemed to only be reflecting her mood. She looked down at her ring for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"Elphie, you used to hate the rain… but I guess it can't hurt you anymore. No one can hurt you anymore."
The blonde moved over to her bed and she climbed in, pulling the blankets high. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, but still… it was better than tearing herself apart… or anything else in her room for that matter.
"I'm worried about her. She's been up in her room all day."
"What do you expect? Her fiancé died in her arms. That's not something she's going to just forget anytime soon," Mr. Upland said.
"Well, she could at least—"
"Why can't you just leave her be?"
Mrs. Upland looked at her husband. "What?"
"For once, I am putting my foot down: you leave Galinda alone. She needs time to sort out her feelings. There's nothing we can do for her now."
The café was mostly empty, with very few people milling about. Elphaba was one of those people, sitting alone at a table, her only company being a cup of tea. The storm was really picking up now, which prevented her from running to Galinda, which she would have done in heartbeat, if the prospect of melting were absent. If she only had something to cover her head at least… the green woman's eyes fell on a black cloak hanging on a hook near the door.
"Would you like a refill?"
Elphaba looked up at the waitress. "Sure. Thank you."
The waitress took her cup and walked off. Elphaba looked back at the cloak… the hooded cloak.
She'd never been a thief, but for Galinda… well, she supposed she could make an exception.
The waitress returned to the table, a confused look crossing her face. "Hey, where'd that green woman go? She was just here a second ago…"
Galinda wasn't sure how long she'd been lying in her bed, but she knew that she couldn't take it anymore. She sat up and got out of her bed, allowing her feet to wander. They eventually took her to the piano room. The blonde approached the bench and sat down, running her fingers lightly over the keys.
"Elphie… I remember when you taught me how to play this. It seems so long ago…"
The blonde saw a spot of water hit one of the keys, but she wiped the other tears away. No. She couldn't cry anymore. Elphaba… wouldn't want that. Galinda positioned herself and started to play a tune.
"Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life"
Galinda could feel tears starting down her face, but forced herself to continue on. For Elphaba…
"Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God, he hears you
And pray to God, he hears you"
At this point, the blonde broke down, putting her hands to her face as she started to sob again. She was alone… so alone…
Which is why she was surprised to hear the tune being picked back up and a familiar voice singing where she had left off.
"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life"
The blonde lowered her hands slowly to see a pair of green hands on the keys. Her breath hitched in her throat; she didn't know if she was really seeing what she thought she was seeing.
"As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you begin to wonder why you came"
Galinda looked up at the hooded person who was moving to sit beside her, their gaze down on the keys.
"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life"
The last chords faded away and neither one moved. Galinda reached up hesitantly and moved the hood down with shaking hands. Her eyes wandered over the green face in front of her, and the dark eyes that seemed to be looking into her soul.
"Elphaba…"
The green woman just gave the blonde a smile before she leaned in, kissing her gently. Galinda wrapped her arms around her, starting to cry again, but this time she didn't even know why.
"I made a promise," Elphaba whispered. "And I don't plan on breaking it." She took the blonde's hand and led her from the room, back up to her bedroom. Elphaba closed the door behind her as Galinda sat down on the bed. The green woman stripped herself of her clothes as she approached the blonde, pushing her down gently.
"Elphaba… are you really here?" Galinda asked, looking up at the green woman.
"If not… at least this is a great dream, right?"
Galinda bit her lower lip and she wrapped her arms around the green woman, feeling her fingers slide up her leg and up through her panties. She closed her eyes as she felt Elphaba enter her… a feeling she thought she'd never experience again.
"Elphie… my Elphie…"
"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
Elphaba sat up, making sure that she didn't wake the finally sleeping blonde beside her. The green woman looked down at her left hand and noticed that the skin was slowly starting to dry up and crumble away, revealing the bones beneath. She sighed and closed her hand. It wasn't too bad… she could hide it from the blonde for now.
This is what the Time Dragon had meant by "borrowed time". Eventually, this would spread and she would rejoin the land of the dead. She didn't know how she was going to explain this to the blonde. Elphaba looked over her shoulder at Galinda, and her eyes fell on the diamond ring.
The ring. A vow to be married.
"There is no bind that ties you to her, or that life."
The marriage. That was it. That would be the binding tie. If she could marry Galinda before this destroyed her, then it would reverse the effects… right? "Until death do you part", right? It had to work. It had to.
Elphaba leaned over and shook the blonde gently. "Galinda."
The blonde opened her eyes sleepily and gave Elphaba a smile. "Normally I would be mad at you for waking me… but you're alive," she said, putting a hand on the side of Elphaba's face.
"Galinda… I love you. We need to get married."
"We can't right now, silly. I don't even have a dress."
"Then that's what we'll do tomorrow. We need to get this done soon."
"Mkay, Elphie."
The blonde drifted back into sleep and Elphaba smiled as she pulled her into her arms. She gazed out the window, where the rain had finally stopped, revealing a full moon.
Elphaba Thropp had been born again… and this time, she planned to stay here.
Song used: How to Save a Life by The Fray