Isn't this a wonderful update to read on Christmas day? (Let me tell you a secret: it's not. Not really, anyway.)

Anyway, we're almost at the end of this story!

37. Do You Hear the People

Danna came alone, which alarmed Fiyero slightly. He knew his father would have wanted to come look at his granddaughter just as badly as his mother did and that Jorge would only be absent if something extremely significant had occurred or something very important had come up.

Elphaba must have come to the same conclusion, because after watching Danna smile and coo at Ebony for a while – surprisingly, Danna said nothing about the baby's skin colour, for which Fiyero was grateful – the green girl asked bluntly, "So what's going on? Why isn't Jorge here?"

Danna sighed, placing the baby back in Elphaba's arms. "We were hoping you wouldn't ask questions. We don't want you to worry," she explained. "You have enough going on at the moment, what with little Ebony…"

"Mum," Fiyero said firmly. "Answer the question. Whatever it is, we can handle it."

"Riots," Danna admitted, clearly reluctant to do so. "As you know, we have recently brought out the truth about your parentage, Elphaba; and, well… the people don't seem to be taking it well."

Fiyero stiffened. "Why not?" he demanded. "What's their problem with her?"

Ebony, sensing her father's distress, started crying; and Elphaba shushed her gently before placing a calming hand on Fiyero's arm. "Yero…"

"No, Fae. They have no reason not to like you!"

"Not all of them have a problem," Danna assured her son. "Most of them are completely fine with it, but there's a small group of people who had hoped to get someone different on the throne – a resistance group…"

"A resistance group?" Elphaba echoed, surprised. "Really? And they don't want me on the throne – don't they know that I've been part of them for a long time? That I killed Morrible?"

"They do know," Danna said. "Everyone knows. But some of the groups rebelling against the Wizard had their own ideas about who they wanted to rule Oz – one of their own. They'd planned on overthrowing the Wizard and Morrible at some point, anyway, and they wanted to plant someone of their choice on the throne. That is why they don't want to accept you."

Elphaba nodded slowly. "I see."

"Don't worry," Danna assured her. "It'll all be fine. Jorge and the others will take care of it. For now, you two should just focus on your family. If we need you for anything, we'll let you know. Okay?"

"Okay," said Elphaba, a little hesitantly. Fiyero squeezed her shoulder.

"It'll be fine, Fae."

However, in the weeks after that, things failed to settle down completely; and then Jorge sent Elphaba and Fiyero a letter, asking them to come to the Emerald City so that they could be presented to the people. Perhaps if they see you, they might be less opposed to the idea, he wrote and Elphaba thought he might be right – or she would have thought so if the prospect of facing a bunch of sceptical Ozians didn't scare the wits out of her. Nevertheless, she didn't let that show.

Fiyero wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea, either, but he agreed reluctantly that it was probably for the best; and so Fiyero, Elphaba, and eight-weeks-old Ebony set out in a carriage for the Emerald City. They were joined by Galinda and Boq, who didn't want to miss out on anything.

"And besides," Galinda had said, tossing her hair over one shoulder, "I need to visit Momsie and Popsicle again soon, anyway. It's been a while."

Fiyero had raised his eyebrows. "And you can't visit them without Boq?"

The Munchkin had flushed and Fiyero had grinned at the pair of them. "Seriously, when are you two going to get married and find a place of your own? It's about time. All of Oz is probably waiting for it," he'd teased them.

Galinda, however, had merely scoffed and said, "Look who's talking!", at which the prince had wisely shut up.

Upon their arrival, they were whisked away by Jorge, who showed them to their rooms and then took Elphaba and Fiyero to a room he had made into his office during his stay at the Palace. The green girl was a little reluctant to leave Ebony with Galinda, even though she knew her best friend would care for the baby like she was her own, but she also recognised that Ebony needed to sleep and it would be highly impractical to keep her around all the time. Galinda promised to look after the tiny green girl and Elphaba tried to concentrate on what lay ahead.

"The plan is as follows," said Jorge. "The two of you – even little Ebony, if you are okay with that – will appear on the Emerald Square tomorrow afternoon for a press conference. I, along with some other government officials and advisers, will present you all to the Ozians and they can ask you any questions they want. That way, they can get to know you a little better and they will see you with your family, which could never hurt. You might want to think about the things you would want to do as the princess of Oz and tell the people a little bit about those, too, so they will know what they can expect from you… although I strongly advise you to talk those things over with me before the press conference. We don't want to make things worse, so you need to be very careful."

She nodded. "I know. I guess that sounds like a plan."

She was worried, though. Fiyero could tell, but he didn't know what he could do about it. He was worried, too; he just tried not to let it show, knowing it would only upset Elphaba more.

He watched her as they returned to Galinda and Boq's chambers and the dark-haired witch took Ebony from her friend, cooing softly at her daughter, a smile lighting up her face for a moment. Galinda assured them that everything had gone well and they thanked her before returning to their own rooms. Elphaba put the baby down in the bassinet and stood watching her for a while, both arms wrapped around her own waist, clearly thinking.

Fiyero slid his arms around her waist from behind, feeling her tense a little as he startled her, but then she relaxed against his chest and he whispered in her ear, "What are you thinking?"

She chuckled. "I think you know very well what I'm thinking," she teased him lightly. "You always read my mind. Tell me – what am I thinking?"

He smiled against the skin of her neck, pressing a soft kiss to the spot. "I think you're thinking about the press conference tomorrow," he murmured, "and that you're worried about something going wrong, something happening to yourself or me or Ebony, or the people not accepting you."

"Mm." She turned in his arms. "I told you you'd know what I was thinking without me having to tell you."

He laughed softly, guiding her away from Ebony's bassinet and over to the bed. "You should get some rest," he said, stroking her cheek. "It's going to be a long and probably emotional day tomorrow and you're still recovering from giving birth."

She rolled her eyes. "It's been two months. I think I'll live. Besides," she slipped her arms around his neck, "I'm not tired yet." She leaned up to kiss him and he happily complied, pulling her flush against him and tangling his fingers in her long hair.

The Emerald Square was packed. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of Ozians had come to watch Elphaba and to hear for themselves what she had to say. It was disconcerting, to say the least, and it multiplied Elphaba's nerves by ten.

She and Jorge had made up a whole speech for her to give, carefully weighing every word so she would not offend anyone or leave a negative impression somehow. She was relieved and happy with the conclusion of the speech, however; and despite her nerves, she was confident that she could do this. She carried Ebony in her arms as she went outside, Fiyero right behind her. Jorge, Vaenna, and General Raeden, the only three rulers who were currently also in the Emerald City, came behind the prince. They would support Elphaba, back up her claims, and help her win the people over. They introduced her, briefly talking to the people, before stepping back and ushering Elphaba forward.

By the time the green girl was halfway through the story, Fiyero looked like he was about to burst with pride and Boq was nearly deaf because his girlfriend was squealing so loudly into his ear. The people, however, seemed impressed. Elphaba told them about her life so far, what had happened in the throne room that day, and how grateful she was to be given this second chance. She also talked about the fact that she was, in fact, the princess of Oz.

"Despite that fact, however," she continued, glancing back over her shoulder at Fiyero and Ebony for a moment, "I don't feel like I would be fit to rule you all. I have no experience with such things and although I have studied Politics at university and would love to be of some importance to Oz, I feel like these shoes are too big for me to fill. I have just given birth to my daughter, Ebony, and I have been together with Prince Fiyero for quite a few years already. I don't think I am the person you need to help Oz get back on track. I want to focus on my family." She smiled. "Besides, I'm sure you'll agree with me that ever since Madame Morrible attacked the Wizard, Oz has been ruled rather well by a few people whom I believe would make a great government, put together. King Jorge of the Vinkus; General Raeden of the Glikkus; Duke Laheni of Gillikin; the Sorceress of the South, Vaenna; and my own father – the one who raised me, Governor Thropp of Munchkinland."

Judging by the cheers and applause that followed, the Ozians agreed with that and after answering a few more questions, Elphaba and the others went back inside the Palace, where she collapsed into a chair and said, "I am never doing such a thing ever again."

"Elphie!" Galinda cried as she came storming after the green girl, having been in the audience with Boq. How she'd gotten back so fast was a mystery to Elphaba. "You were amazing! Oh my Oz, I can't believe you're not going to rule! When did you decide that?"

"Officially? This morning," she admitted. "But I'd been thinking about it for a long time already. I don't want the responsibility of ruling Oz. I want to make a difference, but not like that – I wouldn't be a good ruler, anyway. I'm too erratic. Too much of a commotion." She made a face and Galinda giggled.

"Elphaba," General Raeden began. "I know this is early and it hasn't been established yet that Oz will actually be ruled by the province leaders soon, but just in case it does, we have a proposition for you."

Vaenna was smiling when she said, "We'd like to make you our Grand Vizier, Elphaba."

Her head spun. Grand Vizier. The very same job Morrible had told her the Wizard would offer her – the job she'd been wanting for years already. "Really?"

"You're a very intelligent young woman," the general said. "Smart, diplomatic, and with a keen eye for detail."

"You may not be the biggest people person around, but you do have a way to win them for you," Jorge added, "and the decisions I've seen you make so far were both sensible and brave. We think you would be the perfect person to have in a high government position, Elphaba... and you'd still be able to live in the Vinkus, if you wanted to," he added. "You'd have to visit the City occasionally, but you could mostly work from any other place in Oz."

She nodded, smiling. "Thank you. I'd love that," she said honestly.

Someone came up to General Raeden, whispering something in his ear, and the man excused himself and left the group. Elphaba gave his retreating back a slightly worried look, but Fiyero distracted her, perching on the arm of the chair and gently placing Ebony in her arms before sliding his own arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I think that went great, Fae."

"I think so, too." She sighed and looked down at her daughter's face, tracing Ebony's features with the tip of her index finger. "But it's not over yet."

He chuckled. "My little pessimist," he teased her.

"She's right, though," General Raeden reminded him grimly as he re-joined them. "In fact, I just received word that an attack on Elphaba was planned this afternoon. It was stopped by the security guards we posted around the square," he hurried to reassure everyone upon seeing the worried looks on their faces. "The situation has not been resolved yet, however. I've been told that the Gale Force is still holding the suspects at gunpoint, but they haven't managed to arrest them yet. We'll need more soldiers, but there are rumours about more resistance members heading this way…"

Elphaba sat up, her heart pounding. "What?"

"It will be fine," the general assured her, but he didn't sound very confident and Elphaba shook her head, rising to her feet and handing Ebony over to Galinda.

"I'm coming," she said.

"Elphaba, no," Jorge objected. "It's you they're after."

"He's right, Fae," Fiyero said, worry clouding his azure blue eyes. "I won't let you endanger yourself like that. The Gale Force can handle it."

"But I might have a magic spell that can help!" she insisted. "You're right – it's me they're after. Don't you think I've done enough damage already? Don't you think enough people have put themselves in harm's way for me by now?"

Fiyero grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Stop that!" he said firmly, waiting for her to meet his gaze. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Elphaba, anyone who has died or gotten hurt trying to protect you knew about the risk they were taking. It's not your fault. Besides, if it hadn't been for you, so many more people would have been dead or injured – especially Animals! You saved so many lives, Fae."

"But –"

"Elphie," Galinda said firmly, rocking Ebony back and forth. "Don't. We all know you and we've told you so many times before that you have done nothing wrong. Don't go out there out of some twisted sense of guilt. Think about your daughter."

Elphaba bit her lip. "But I am. Glin, I really think I can help," she said pleadingly. "I have magic. Especially if reinforcements are on their way, they'll need me."

Galinda looked torn. So did Fiyero, but he knew his girlfriend and so he finally nodded. "I'm coming with you."

She wanted to protest, but recognised it would be hypocritical to ask him to let her go whilst not wanting him to go, and so she kept quiet and just nodded. "Thank you."

"We'll be back soon," Fiyero told the others and he, Elphaba, and General Raeden hurried out of the room.

Next update will probably be on Monday, since I have quite a busy family day on Sunday. A very merry Christmas to all of you! :D