Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: Okay, uberly long wait. My apologies. I've been ridiculously busy lately. I remember I had something else I wanted to say here, but I can't remember what it was right now. So anyway, here's the chapter and anonymous review replies at the bottom. usual request: Review.

Part 3 Chapter 6

Xorthion the mage was practically thrumming with anticipation as he glided down into the meadow. He hadn't wasted any time when he had felt that door in the back of his mind open for the second time in a week. He had been more than happy to slip away from the Goblin King, he hated sitting through those meetings where he was often talked about and talked at as opposed to actually being addressed. This wasn't anything new for him though, not with His Majesty anyway.

He was pretty sure where he would find her even if she hadn't told him where to go. The location she had given him gave him hope. The grove was a special place for the couple. When they had been together all those years ago this had been a favourite place of theirs; they had often slipped away to spend an afternoon there or watch the sun rise or set from the peak of the rolling hills.

The young man glided in and landed in the knee-high grass neatly and looked around, the sun reflecting off his unusually pale skin and hair, his golden eyes glinting in the cheery light.

"I haven't set foot in this place in years and yet it's just as I remember." A familiar alto stated clearly. Xorthion turned around and looked up to see her sitting on the top of the hill where they used to sit together, beside the rose bush at the very peak. She twirled a flower absently in her fingers, her elbows resting on her raised knees and her coat spread around behind her almost like skirts. The scarlet hair that he so loved was confined to a loose ponytail that hung over her shoulder. She looked up at him with those breathtaking silver eyes.

"It's been untouched by the war, at least it looks that way. I can tell that it's been protected and maintained, both physically and magically. Was that you?"

Xorthion nodded.

"Yes." he said. She nodded to him once in gratitude, her bright eyes boring into his.

"Thank you." Rhonaraye said, her tone sincere but otherwise difficult to read "And thank you for agreeing to meet me."

The unspoken words 'without an ambush' hung between them, though he knew she wouldn't insult him by stating it out loud even if she did still mistrust him so. It would hurt if she did.

"You know that I've wanted this for a long time." The golden-eyed young man said. He didn't move towards her, waiting for an invitation from her to do so. She didn't move. He looked at the rose in her fingers. She noticed his gaze and held up the flower.

"You always leave me one of these. They always find me somehow." Raye remarked.

"That's because they were for you. Don't you remember?" Xorthion asked, watching her carefully. He could tell by her expression that she briefly relived the moment years ago when the two of them had stood on the very spot she now perched. He had shown her the bush, plucking a single blossom and presenting it to her as a gift: a token. She had been stunned, but pleasantly so and accepted it with a sort of shy joy. It had been one of those few, golden moments in Xorthion's life when everything had seemed perfect. However, in the present, things were anything but.

"A short while ago we captured Sir Chuffery, I'm sure you know that." Raye eventually replied, changing the subject.

"I'd say that you're welcome to him, except I wouldn't have inflicted him on you, not in a thousand years." Xorthion said with a slight little nervous laugh.

"His conversation was repulsive of course, but…it had its interesting points amongst the offensive blather." She remarked as she looked down at the rose again "In the process of attempting to threaten me he inadvertently said something rather strange, something I thought impossible but which would explain a few things if it were true. Tell me, how long had you been in the Goblin King's…service, before I met you?"

"As long as I can remember." He answered honestly. He wouldn't lie to her. Never again. "He is my first memory. The only father, or father-like figure, I'd ever known."

"And when did he bind you?" Rhonaraye asked as she met his eyes again, her shining slightly. Xorthion froze. She knew? She knew. How…?

"I don't know." He replied carefully "When I was very young."

"What did he use? Blood? Skin? Bone?" she asked

"All three." He said "I was born with six toes on my left foot. One was taken, for the bone. The scar on my back isn't from an accident, a strip of skin was used and the blood from both wounds, too, I'm told, but I was too young to remember anything more than being in pain."

Rhonaraye flinched at the listing of each injury involuntarily.

"All when you were a child…" She whispered in horror, remembering the traumatizing experience she'd had when someone had attempted the ritual on her "How could I not have sensed that tie…"

"I didn't want you to, and neither did he. It's deep."

"Of course it is! It was when you were a child! The coward! There's no way he could have imprisoned you otherwise." The redhead hissed. The hard rage in her voice made him blink, taken aback. He hardly dared breathe as she stood and started walking down the hill, stopping a short distance from him.

"I had no idea. I'm so sorry…all this time you really didn't have a choice, you were trying to tell me that. I'm so sorry… Did, um…Did he, um," she paused and collected herself slightly "What did he do? I mean, how bad are the compulsions? I can only imagine a bind sealed that deeply…but, did he ask you to…" she was too embarrassed to finish the question, but she didn't need to. He knew where the inquiry was going.

"Nothing between us was a lie, I swear it!" Xorthion insisted vehemently as he closed the gap between them and put his hands on her shoulders. He didn't shake them, though. She searched his gaze, not quite believing him yet as his golden eyes bored into her silver ones "Please, believe me! Look, a month before I met you, the King let me go. I begged him for the chance to explore the world and my own power and he agreed because he knew he'd always be able to call me back! I didn't know anything about binding back then, I didn't know there was any other kind of life other than perhaps that of a farmer or servant. He allowed me to go on the condition that I never enter a large city so that I wouldn't find out otherwise; he just didn't want my trial-and-error process going on where it could damage his precious property. When I met you, I was just what I said: A traveler. Nothing that happened between us was a lie,"

He moved to brush a stray strand of hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear before thinking. She let him. In fact, her unscarred hand moved to cover his, holding it there. Her penetrating gaze searched his face for a full minute before she finally spoke

"I believe you," She whispered. In a motion that was surprisingly swift she slid her head forward and pressed her lips to his. The hesitance lasted only a moment before the kiss deepened, her hand moving to grip the back of his head while one of his hands formed a gentle grip in her hair, her free arm wrapping around his neck while his encircled her waist.

It was their first kiss in 5 years and they certainly made the best of it. Neither knew how long they'd stood like that before the need for oxygen ended it, even then they didn't let go of each other and touched their foreheads together.

"Does this mean that you love me again?" he asked her, kissing her neck and cheek. She pulled back just far enough to look him in eye

"I never quite learned how to stop." She confessed in a whisper before moving her lips to his again. The second kiss was as passionate as the first and turned into a tight embrace after their lips parted. Rhonaraye smiled into his neck as he inhaled the scent of her hair. She had been able to live her life without him and be content, but she hadn't felt as complete as she did right at that moment. No one else could make the weight she carried on her shoulders melt away or make the rest of the world disappear, even if it was only for a moment. She didn't need him to live, but she wanted him. She wanted him more than anything, and she loved him more than anyone had yet to guess. She had told the truth in that even when she hated him she had never been able to stop loving him; it was a complicated emotion, love, one that seemed to be easily entangled with its opposite.

"We'll get you out of his hold," Rhonaraye breathed into his ear "Together we'll find a way to break the binding. I won't leave you in his clutches like that, not now that I know…Lurline I'm so sorry, I should have known! I will free you, if it's the last thing I do!"

"No," Tristan said as he pulled back to cup her face lightly with his hands, "No, don't you see? You freed me long ago. He wanted me to attack you three days before you and Jack left for the forests."

Rhonaraye searched his gaze with a sort of desperate hope as her four fingered hand moved up his chest to his shoulder.

"I want to trust you," She said quietly just before their lips met again. The pair devoured each other's lips until Rhonaraye frowned and stiffened, something clicking in her head about what he had just told her. Her hands moved back to his chest to push him back gently, but firmly.

"Wait, wait…Tristan, wait." She said breathlessly when he resisted pulling away. Both of them were breathing audibly, their bodies still pressed against one another, but the expression on the redhead's face told the other mage that something wasn't right.

"What did you say before?" she asked with a slight frown.

"That you saved me. He wanted me to attack you and I wouldn't do it. I never thought I'd be able to withstand the compulsions…"

"Not that…when, exactly, did you say you accomplished this?" she asked him. Suddenly he realized his miscalculation, and worse, she saw it in his face.

"No, no, no, no! Wait, Rhonaraye!" He pleaded, gripping her more tightly in an attempt to keep her from pulling away from him as she shook her head. She shoved him away and stepped back, still shaking her head, her silver eyes shimmering. She held out her maimed hand in a stopping motion when he reached for her.

"Let me—"

"Explain now!" she half-screamed, a tear sliding down her cheek. She wasn't about to be caught by the same thing twice, "Explain to me how you killed one of my best friends in cold blood and set a trap for me and Jack when you were free to disobey him!"

"You weren't supposed to be in the cabin! Just—" the other mage cut himself off, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Rhonaraye's eyes widened

"Just Jack?"

"Jack and…Kynot. They were supposed to separate you and Jack and divert Kynot to the safe house—someone had to go! You have to understand that! He was going to make sure of it!" Tristan said, his volume rising as she turned her back to him and hugged herself tightly as one hand clamped itself over her mouth.

"Rhonaraye—" he said as he moved forward and put a hand on her shoulder

"Stop it!" She hissed, whipping around and slapping his hand off her "Just stop it! Lurline, if you were bound and under compulsions then that-that would have been him doing it with you as a-a bystander! But you!" She shoved him, hard, tears streaming down her face as a nearby shrub burst into flame "You were free? You did it ALL ON YOUR OWN!"

"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?" The other mage bellowed, his own temper and pain coming to a boil as the wind picked up around them

"TELL ME!" Raye roared, "I expected you to TELL ME! It was never about the damned spying! I was a spy! I'D lied to people for masters who didn't give a shit about me! I would have understood! It was never about THE SPYING!"

"The King demanded blood! It had to be somebody and I'd be damned if it was going to be one of us!"

"We could have defended ourselves! Nothing can beat us when we're together, you've said so yourself!"

"You don't understand anything, do you? It wasn't just the binding! He was all I'd ever known, he was my master and I was devoted to him!"

"And I was devoted to the rebellion! Right from the beginning! Remember how you hated that? I would have done anything for them and they exploited that until I told them where to get off! If I thought something was wrong I didn't do it!"

Thunder boomed overhead and lightning crashed across the sky as clouds gathered in response to the mages' turbulent emotions.

"What about Mirisee? You butchered her throat like she'd been in an abattoir!"

"I had a choice between them and you." Xorthion snarled. Rhonaraye froze as the rain from the storm clouds started to fall.

"What?" she asked— almost fearfully— after a pause.

"Everything had gone wrong. Kynot had gotten back instead of you, Mirisee hadn't managed to save either of you, but they left them and took you prisoner. The Goblin king offered me a trade. I took his offer and killed them. Jack was unconscious. There was no way he'd survive anyway, he was too badly burned. He'd be in pain the rest of his life. I was interrupted just after,"

"Please…" Raye pleaded as she shook her head slowly in horror, not wanting to hear any more of this "No more…"

"He wouldn't accept it! He wanted more."

"Sweet Lurline, this is twisted," The redhead breathed, unconsciously backing away a step

"So before she could wake up and tell them what I'd done I…well you know what I did. It was quick, I swear to you. And when he wanted more I-I put my foot down!" Xorthion told her, emphasizing the last statement with a step in place with one foot.

Rhonaraye closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath before meeting his eye again

"You should have lied." She croaked "I would have believed you, I wanted to so badly... You should have told me that you didn't break the bind until you rescued me or afterwards. I wanted so much to…" she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, sniffing. He crossed the distance between them and rubbed her arms slightly

"None of that will matter soon! I have a plan, a plan that will free both of us! You'll see, we can put everything behind us, start afresh! You'll see! It'll be a fresh start for the world! And this time, we'll be the ones calling the shots!"

"Calling the shots?" the redhead repeated

"Yes! I found something. Just you wait, I'll free us both and end the war in one swoop! All it will take is one spell and a little dragon power and we will rule! No one will ever tell us what to do again!"

For a moment he just stood there, looking at her, silently pleading with her. She took a moment to collect herself before pushing past him, hanging her head slightly to hide the tears continuing to escape her iron control. After a few steps up the hill she stopped, swooped down to pick her staff up from the long grass and turned back to him. She looked defeated, wilted almost, her expression pained.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you." She told him quietly as she took another deep, shuddering breath "But I guess we really can't go back," With that she seized the edge of her long coat and pulled it in an upwards swirl, disappearing into the rain before he could stop her.

For a moment the unusually pale, golden eyed mage stood there dumbly. Then the next he let out a shrieking roar of rage and anguish, igniting the entire meadow in one swoop before dropping to his knees. The flames died with the motion but the damage had been done. What had been green and lush was now black and crumbling. When he looked up he saw that the only thing to survive the carnage was a single rose still stubbornly clinging to life from the bush.

He let it be.

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Rhonaraye materialized with her discreet puff of smoke in her workroom, leaning against the wall. The muscles in her jaw worked as she struggled to keep her tears under control even as they slid freely down her cheeks. Her mental guards against her brother were still up so that if he got anything it would hopefully be dampened. Slowly she sank to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest.

There were those whose senses she couldn't dampen telepathically, however, for a few minutes later there was a snuffling and scratching at the door. A dog whimpered and the mage waved her hand to allow him to enter. Killyjoy trotted over to his mistress and whined as he nuzzled her. He always hated it when she was upset. The massive dog flopped down and she relaxed her knees to one side so that her familiar could half-crawl into her lap, large though he was. She wrapped her arms around him and silently held him close, her frame shuddering silently as she waited to run out of tears again.

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The Thropp/Tiggular clan was careful to lay low immediately after the Wizard's arrival. That, combined with the mage's own solitary personality, meant that no one had noticed that Rhonaraye had even gone anywhere. In fact, she even met with her mother and brother in a secluded corner of the library for their routine research get-togethers. However, she did seem distracted and distant.

Candle had joined them as well, so had Zach. He was enjoying the day off from school and was rolling around with Killyjoy. The redhead watched them distractedly and frequently lost track of the conversation, something which the others noticed but said nothing about. Her current mood unnerved them. Sullenness or outright sulking was not entirely out of character for her, neither was the silent treatment. But this depressed withdrawal was completely new.

"…Nari? Nari!" Liir said, trying to get her attention. She jumped slightly

"What?" she asked

"We were wondering what you made of this," Elphaba said, sliding a book under her nose "It seems to be something mage-related,"

"Rhonaraye frowned slightly and peered more closely at the text. It took her a minute to settle the moving runes into words, a skill that she lagged slightly behind Elphaba and Liir, but then shook her head.

"No. It's not what we're looking for. That has growing properties and was designed for plants, not things with blood." The redhead stated as she shoved the volume away.

"Okay, so what we do know is that we're looking for something old, something water-based, something buried in legend. There has to be some kind of riddle or a map or something that would lead us to it!" Liir said.

"Maybe. I don't know…" suddenly Elphaba froze, mid-sentence. She looked at her children. They could practically see the gear fall into place. "What if we're in the wrong section?" she asked.

"What?" Raye asked wearily

"We know what the properties are that we're looking for. The reversal of spells is only the most extreme. If we think this thing could be real we should be looking for more subtle side-effects. This thing is supposed to have healing properties. If there is a body of water that has all these qualities then chances are good that there will be some minor run-off, even just with water evaporation. This thing is supposed to have healing properties…"

"So we'd be looking for areas with unusually hardy populations: low incidents of disease, slightly longer life expectancy than normal," Rhonaraye continued

"I'm betting that water would be good for plants too," Liir added, catching on. "And you're right, there probably would be run-off, but not much. I'd be surprised if the affected people had any idea, considering how closely guarded the legend has been,"

Just then Candle, who was reading a storybook to Zach made a "grr"ing noise in the process of her tale. Rhonaraye frowned

"What are you reading?" she inquired.

"The Time Dragon! Like the clock," the little Mule explained "How he dreamed Oz into existence,"

"Can I see?" Raye asked. Candle shrugged and handed her the book. She flipped through it with a frown briefly before closing the book, clearly deep in thought. She handed it back to the Quadling as she stood.

"Please excuse me, I have something I need to look up," she said distantly as she rose to her feet and walked down the rows of shelves "I'll be ready to go to the conference in time,"

Elphaba opened her mouth to say something but then closed it and sat back in her chair. Liir exchanged a glance with Candle.

"She's shutting me out again. Something's wrong," he said "But she won't tell us until she's ready to, I know that much by now," he said. With that, they started combing through records instead of storybooks.

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The Conference was held in an abandoned mine. Ironically enough, it was the same one that Jack and Rhonaraye had escaped from all those years ago, an irony not missed by Madame Morrible. The Fish-like woman sulked as she waited with the Wizard. Actually, she'd been in a permanent Sulk since the war broke out. Nothing had gone her way in the past few years. The Wizard had lost faith in her and she her power over him. And that-that infuriating Goblin had returned! Would he never cease to be the bane of her existence?

The pair had a long and colourful history that no one but the two of them knew the entirety of. All they knew was that the pair had grown up together or something, but both had done their best to humiliate and destroy the other at every opportunity since they had reached adulthood. It was a complicated and mysterious relationship that no one had ever really been that interested in unraveling.

Next to Morrible sat Dorothy's replacement on the council; the idiotic, Cowardly Lion. He was shivering, living up to his embarrassing given name and jumped at the slightest sound. On her other side was the Wizard, a very much broken man these days. He had at least made an attempt at shaving, albeit a poor one and thankfully he had showered so the worst of his odor was dampened. He had lost a considerable amount of weight over the past few years, his clothes hanging off him. His stare was dimmed with depression. He looked brittle.

The same could not be said of the Vinkus King as he arrived. While not any kind of body builder, it was clear that this was a man who had made exercise a part of his routine for most of his life. One could see his resemblance to Fiyero, Ijiri and Liir for that matter. He had a similarly shaped face and there was a familiarity to his features for those who knew his descendents, at least the male ones. The King took a seat at the other end of the circular table. Members of this meeting were trickling in slowly, as was expected when various distances needed to be covered and allowing time needed for stealth.

After Morrible had been waiting for an hour they were finally all assembled.

There were also representatives from Gillikin present; two nobles who never arrived in anything less than some kind of finery. Apparently a tendency towards peacock-like clothing choices was cultural for them. Meh. Whatever. Kynot was representing Nastoya who could not make the long journey. Once they were all settled they got straight to the point with a refreshing lack of diplomatic tap-dancing. They made the usual opening updates on the various fronts (Vinkus=good, Gillikin=acceptable, Emerald City=supposedly good but considering the source's history it was unlikely to be retaken any time soon) but what everyone clearly wanted to know was the details on the attack at the base and the fall of the portal. The Press Secretary was quick to pounce on this apparent defeat.

"So, Miss Throular, what exactly happened at the Northern Border?" Morrible demanded imperiously.

"Well, what do you want to know? There was a fight and we lost." Rhonaraye informed her in a dry, somewhat hostile tone. There had never been any love-loss between the two. The Red-haired mage had mistrusted and heartily disliked the "Press Secretary" from before the two had met and Morrible was still sour about the girl's defiance, rebellion and above all that she hadn't managed to harness any of that power for her own means.

"Yes, but I would like to know why." Morrible snapped

"You have the reports right in front of you and I would have thought you would all have read them." Elphaba said calmly. The Green woman was of course, supporting her daughter fully. She had a grudge against Moribble almost as deep as the Goblin's.

"We have." The Vinkus King said.

"We haven't." The Gilikinese argued. The two nations had found a rift forming between them in recent years. The Animals also began slipping barbs at the Gale Force officers that were present and the Wizard, though surprisingly quiet was nevertheless as helpful as a spoiled grapefruit. The discussion deteriorated from there as Rhonaraye and the other two from the Animal council tried to tell them that they didn't have the forces or the strength to keep this up for another three years. They had the support from the Vinkus and Elphaba of course, but the Gale Force, Morrible and the Gilikinese refused to agree with them, not even on the possibility of sneak attacks and/or Guerilla Warfare, insisting that the Animals were just Bloodthirsty and Battle hungry. The arguments began going in circles (as Raye pointed out to them) until Morrible finally went too far with an accusation.

"Well, it doesn't sound as though you put your best effort into the fight Lady Mage."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raye demanded

"That it seems whenever you and that other sorcerer get into a fight, we don't seem to see any victories."

"Have you considered the fact that it might be because our own magical forces are spread too thin?"

"Magically you don't seem to know what he's doing most of the time. I thought the two of you had some sort of connection." Morrible sneered. Liir and Elphaba exchanged looks. The two of them had experience with both women and could tell where this was going.

"Yes, that connection would be that we're both mages. The Lady Glinda and Elphaba are both witches, but they don't read each other's minds. Besides, on the subject of being 'in touch', where exactly were you when that self-centered, self-righteous psychopathic Rust Bucket went and betrayed us to the Goblin King? He used to be your agent didn't he? And what about little Dorothy? I seem to remember you boasting that you had her under control."

"That was an isolated incident that I could just as easily point to you for." Morrible replied. Rhonaraye jaw set itself stubbornly.

"Play with fire and you'll get burned, Morrible." She said coldly, the temperature dropping a few degrees around the press secretary in deliberate opposition to the element she had referenced, reminding the other woman subtly of the power at the young mage's disposal. The redhead sat back in her chair

"Besides, speaking of connections," she said tauntingly "I'd like to know what your story is with the Goblin King. You two really do seem to know a lot about one another, care to enlighten us?"

It was clever timing for such a question in the conversation and both women knew it. Morrible's argument involving Xorthion had been effectively combated and shut down. Bringing up that angle again to more appropriately combat this barb would seem petty to these diplomats, who were not the ordinary gullible citizens of Oz and many of whom already disliked her. The Press Secretary glared daggers at her one time student and pursed her fleshy, fishy lips.

"Check your arrogance, girl."

"Coming from you isn't that rather like the pot calling the kettle black?" Raye quipped

"I was young once, you know. You and I are not that different. If you're not careful you could end up like me, you know." the Press Secretary said with a slight leer. The change in the redhead was instantaneous. Her hands suddenly smacked the table as she leaned forward, not quite out of her chair. The stance was subtly predatory and her expression was hard, her mouth in thin line and her gaze steely.

"I'm nothing like you, Morrible. And maybe I should rephrase this, don't push me." she said, her tone lethal.

The others in the room watched the two women cautiously. Both were dangerous and both had their claws out at the moment. To change the subject the Vinkus King cleared his throat.

"I hear you have made an impressive capture recently," he said. Elphaba nodded

"Sir Chuffery," She told the grandfather of her children. "Would anyone like him?"

"He's all yours," The Vinkus king remarked, only half-joking. Liir smiled slightly before turning to the GIllikins

"Have you had any word from your informants?" he inquired.

The meeting continued like that for another hour or two before the subject of resources and casualties came up.

"We can't keep this up," Elphaba finally stated "Our magical forces are spread too thin as it is in battle. I'm not even sure if Rhonaraye and I can afford to stay in one base together for much longer; too many other places need our protection,"

"Rhonaraye and Liir are always welcome in the Vinkus," The king offered, jumping at the chance to have his grandchildren stay with him. Elphaba didn't seem to mind the idea of her children being in the care of their powerful grandparents in the well-guarded palace stronghold of the royal family, far away from any current fighting. She said nothing though but smiled in a sort of wry conspiratorial manner at the King. The twins themselves were less gung-ho about such a plan.

"Wrapping us in cotton balls would rather defeat the point of using either of us at all. I can't stay in my room while a fight is going on," Raye said firmly, but not harshly before amending "But if the Vinkus called for aid I wouldn't hesitate to come of course,"

"Of course," The King agreed.

"This is all very touching but can we please get back to business now?" One of the Gillikin delegates drawled.

"Agreed" Liir said with a cordial nod. He opened his mouth to say something more when he suddenly went rigid, his mouth hanging open. His twin stiffened and in an instant he felt her mental presence again through their bond. It was a comforting rock to cling to as he struggled with this vision.

Liir's eyes took on the white flame again as they rolled upwards and he began shaking. There was a commotion as people leapt to their feet, most to get away from him but others (like his grandfathers and mother) were looking straight at him.

"No!" Raye and Liir cried at once. With a sweep of her arm the mage erected a barrier of lightning between them and her brother as the white fire flew from his eyes. The flame itself wouldn't hurt them, but he couldn't let them stop him, his power wouldn't allow it. If only he could explain

"He needs to finish the vision!" Raye said for him. He was grateful for that. That gratitude was his last cohesive thought for several minutes.

When he opened his eyes again he saw them all looking at him, some with concern, others with anticipation and some with slight disdain at this apparent 'attention seeking'. His sister lowered her barrier and his mother cautiously approached him

"What did you see?" she asked. Liir swallowed shakily

"I…think we should get comfortable." He said, looking around at each of them "We have a lot to discuss, and a lot to prepare for. There's going to be a battle before the months out, during the solar eclipse. It's going to be big."

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By the time they finally left everyone's tempers were frayed and almost everyone was snappy and tense, terrified. However, one member seemed eerily calm, and if it was a show it was a damn good one. The redheaded mage seemed detached, distracted, weary. She apathetically noticed the Wizard watching her mother and brother longingly as they walked away from him. He saw her watching and for a moment their gazes locked, his broken and pleading, hers indifferent and stone-like. Rhonaraye knew that she should feel something for the man who had sired her mother, even if it was disdain for the atrocities he had committed, but she felt nothing. This was starting to become a pattern, this complete lack of concern, first with her own actions and now with members of the family. Somewhere in the back of her mind it concerned her but she just couldn't muster up the emotion.

Elphaba and Liir were still talking politely with the Vinkus king. Raye knew they were concerned about her but that wasn't anything particularly new, it was their job. However, once they had rounded the corner she picked up the pace to catch up with someone else. Discreetly the young woman sidled up with the Eagle, Kynot and subtly redirected him with a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded indignantly

"You and I have to talk." She stated.

Reviewers:

GoodWitchesofOz: We'll be getting back to some more physical fighting soon, no worries. They'll also be some slightly different drama in the next chapter too...hopefully. She'd be a traitor for going to see Tristan because as you saw she sort of is fraternizing with the enemy, even if it wasn't full out fraternizing at first, people tend to get really over-dramatic and paranoid during times of war, that's sort of what I was trying to get across.
has been ticking me off lately too! Mostly with the fact that the search engine never seems to actually work. Anways, Glad to hear from you! BTW, did you get an account?

FriFro: I'm always glad to hear that I can help make someone's day! I haven't actually heard of Tarzan the musical (have the disney movie though!) but I'll bet it was amazing! I'm glad you had such a good time. I wish my classes got field trips like that! I was actually lucky enough to see Billy Elliot recently, that was pretty cool too:)