Chapter 37

"Glinda!" Tahj called as he shook the blonde gently.

Glinda had still not regained consciousness from her assault earlier. She laid on the cold marble floor, eyes shut and breathing shallowed.

"Wake up Glinda!" Tahj continued to prod the blonde to wake up. He knew that she was not fatally wounded. She had just been knocked out momentarily and would have one hell of a headache when she finally woke up.

"They took Elphaba." Tahj whispered the name of the woman who had just been escorted away by guards. He felt horrible for not following after them. Elphaba should have been his priority. He was too worried about Glinda though.

"Wake up!" Tahj shouted with a little more force.

The blonde's eyes fluttered. She was coming to.

"Wha…what happened?" Glinda spoke weakly as she brought a hand up to hold her throbbing head. Her eyes were still not seeing everything perfectly.

"Glinda oh thank Oz!" Tahj rejoiced before becoming serious once again. "They took Elphaba. They thought she was trying to murder you!"

Glinda's eyes shot open and she tried to blink back the tears of pain that she felt. "Elphaba?" she asked confused.

"Don't you remember?" Tahj became worried. He knew how serious head injuries could be. "You went over to tackle Elphaba and she used magic to throw you off. You landed on this pillar." He motioned to the dented pillar behind the blonde.

"Why would she do that?" Glinda found it hard to focus on anything for too long. She couldn't quite comprehend the danger Elphaba was in.

"Glinda we need to get to her before the guards do anything!" Tahj tried to explain to Glinda that explanations could come later. They needed to act now if they wanted to save Elphie.

"Guards?" Glinda was still dazed. The throbbing in her head was making it hard for her to understand anything. All she wanted to do was sleep it off. She didn't want to have to move.

"Glinda we need to go!" Tahj got up from the floor and grabbed a hold of Glinda's wrists to pull her up.

Glinda felt herself being pulled up and winced in pain. Her back was hurting her as well as her head. It was difficult to stand without shaking. There was no way she would be able to walk.

"Glinda take my hand." Tahj extended his arm for Glinda to lean on for support. The blonde didn't waist anytime in attaching herself to her friend.

"We need to get to Elphaba before the guards do something bad to her. I heard them say something about Southstairs!" Tahj was frantic. He knew how terrible prisoners were treated in Southstairs. He wouldn't even wish that on his worst enemy.

Glinda tried to understand what Tahj was saying to her but all she heard was a ringing in her ears. She needed to lye down again.

"Uh oh." Tahj reached down to catch a falling Glinda. "You are not going to sleep yet. We need to figure this out."

Glinda pouted. Her injury was causing her to act more childish than her three-year-old daughter. She was left debilitated.

"Glinda please snap out of it. I know you can hear me. We need to save Elphaba." Tahj looked into Glinda's eyes. Eyes that were still half closed and glazed over.

A small smile appeared on Glinda's face. "Elphie." She murmured as a memory came to her mind. It was the only thing that was not hurting her at the moment.

"Yes Elphie." Tahj used the nickname Glinda had said. "We need to save her from bad men." Tahj figured that if Glinda was acting like a child then he should treat her as such.

"Bad men?" Glinda's smile turned into a frown and her eyes opened a little wider.

Tahj could see his words were working. "Yes bad men came and took Elphie away. We need to get her back." He tried to get the blonde to understand.

"Why did they take her?" Glinda asked groggily. She was slipping back into unconsciousness.

"Oh no you don't." Tahj shook Glinda's frame as her eyes fluttered shut. He wasn't going to allow Glinda to fall asleep. He needed to keep her awake so they could save Elphaba.

"I wanna sleep." Glinda whined and tried to swat at Tahj's hands.

"Please Glinda." Tahj hated having to take care of Glinda in her state. He wasn't used to dealing with children.

"No." Glinda grew angry. "I want to sleep!" she opened her eyes to look at Tahj.

Tahj cowered away at the look he was receiving from Glinda. "You can't sleep!" He gained his courage again.

Glinda began to cry. She felt so tired and was hurting so much that she just wanted to lye down and sleep. Why wouldn't this man let her sleep?

"Glinda don't cry." Tahj begged. "We need to save Elphaba. Don't you want to save her?"

"She hurt me." Glinda cried some more. She had the mind of a five-year-old at the moment.

Tahj sighed. He knew this was useless. Glinda would not function properly until she had slept her head injury off. She needed to go see the doctor.

"Fine." He relented. "I am going to drop you by the doctor's and then go and find Elphaba myself."

"Don't leave me." Glinda clung to the man that had been there when she had woken up.

"Glinda you are in no mental state to go with me. We need the doctor to check on your head." Tahj hugged the woman wrapped around him. He felt sorry for her. She seemed so small and fragile compared to his statuesque figure.

"I'm sorry. I'll be good." She whispered.

Tahj didn't know what to do. Did Glinda want to come with him because she wanted to save Elphaba, or because she wanted to stay near him? Did she even know who he was?

"Glinda do you know who I am." Tahj tested. He knew it was a stupid question but he figured it didn't hurt to ask.

"Duh silly face." Glinda pointed an index finger on his nose. "You're a guard!"

"Well yes but what's my name." Tahj grew worried once again. Glinda was not acting like herself. She had regained consciousness completely now, but was still acting twenty years younger than her actual age.

"Um…" Glinda had to think for a moment. "I know!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Tadge!" Glinda mispronounced his name.

"Close enough. It's Tahj." The guard sighed in relief. At least Glinda remembered who he was…sort of.

"That's what I said." Glinda giggled.

"Do you know who Elphaba is?" Tahj tested the waters. Maybe if he mentioned Elphaba and made her think about it she would remember what happened to her.

"Of course! She's my roomie!" Glinda giggled. "We are best friends!" she swooned at the mention of Elphaba's name.

"Roomie? As in you live together here at the palace?" Tahj tried to make sure that's what the blonde meant.

"Palace?" Glinda looked at him questioningly. "Shiz is not a palace."

Tahj's eyes went wide in realization. Did Glinda really think she was in college and her and Elphaba were only friends?

"Glinda we aren't at Shiz. You graduated a couple of years ago. We are in your palace now." Tahj tried to see if any of this rung a bell for the blonde. How come if she could remember his name, she couldn't remember the time? Tahj has met her after Shiz.

"I graduated?" Glinda was still confused. "I don't think so." She shook her head.

Tahj became frustrated. "Glinda how did you know my name then if you think you are at Shiz?" Tahj needed to know. Was Glinda just playing this all up for reasons unknown?

"Your name tag duh!" Glinda acted as if it was the most obvious answer.

Tahj looked down and saw the nameplate on his uniform. Tahj Guff it read. How come if Glinda could see his name was Tahj she had mispronounced it earlier? She must not have been the brightest crayon in the box back in school.

"Do you seriously not remember anything that has happened to you since Shiz University?" He questioned her.

"What do you mean since? I am still there! I have a test in Sorcery tomorrow. Elphaba was supposed to help me study. Do you know where she is? You can't miss her. She's green." Glinda looked around the room taking in the sight of everything for the first time. "Where am I?"

Tahj stared disbelieving at Glinda. She had obviously knocked her head a lot harder than he thought she had.

"Glinda you have to listen to me. Elphaba is in trouble. You are no longer in Shiz. There was an accident and you hit your head. We need to save Elphie though." Tahj tried to engrain all of this information into Glinda's head.

"Elphie's in trouble?" Glinda questioned finally realizing what Tahj was trying to tell her.

"Yes. We need to go help her." Tahj spoke slowly.

"Let me go get Fiyero and I will be right back." Glinda started to walk away.

"Wait!" Tahj yelled and caught up to the blonde. "Fiyero isn't here. He was captured by the mean men as well as Elphaba. We need to save them!"

This got Glinda's attention. "FIYERO HAS BEEN CAPTURED!" She yelled in disbelief. Why would anyone want to capture her boyfriend!

"Yes. Now do you want to help me save them or not?" Tahj questioned. He knew he could use Fiyero to get Glinda to come along.

"Of course! Oh Fiyero." Glinda sighed.

Tahj rolled his eyes. He couldn't help think back to what Glinda had said about Fiyero after their confrontation in the jail cell.

"Let's go!" Tahj reached for her arm and dragged her behind him. They had already wasted enough time.

XXX

Elphaba awoke in a room she didn't recognize. The walls were dark and there was little light illuminating the room. She groaned as she moved to sit up. The memories of how she ended up there flooded back into her memory. She hoped Glinda was okay.

Looking around the room, she spotted a table in the center with one chair on either side. It looked like an interrogation room of some sort. She moved to get up when a voice echoed around her.

"Well well well," the voice chuckled. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Elphaba blinked a couple of times trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. The voice sounded awfully familiar.

"You won't be able to see me." The voice laughed at Elphaba's attempts to locate where it was coming from. "But I can see you Elphaba dear."

Elphaba froze. Who was this and how did they know her real name?

"Wh…who are you?" Elphaba's voice shook as she demanded to know who knew her name.

The voice chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Wha…what do you want with me?" Elphaba looked around for an exit. The room didn't seem to have any doors.

"Now now don't get angry with me. You should be thanking me." The voice spoke again. "If it weren't for me you and your little lover would be in Southstairs right now."

Elphaba panicked. Where they talking about Glinda?

"Leave them alone!" She yelled, careful to avoid saying he or she.

"And why would I want to do that?" The voice barked. "It's so much more fun having two for the price of one."

Chills ran up and down Elphaba's spine. Had this person paid for the two of them?

"How did I get here?" Elphaba questioned and began pacing the room.

"All in good time my pretty, all in good time." The voice spoke words that Elphaba had once spoken herself. This person obviously knew her from before she was considered wicked, or they had researched her well.

"Where is my love?" Elphaba needed to know if it was Glinda or Fiyero that had been captured.

"Don't worry about him. He is being taken care of." The voice echoed off the walls.

Elphaba breathed in a little sigh of relief. Glinda was still safe and sound. She would have rather it have been Fiyero caught than her love.

"Are you happy about that?" The voice was curious. Elphaba seemed relieved when the voice had told her it was a he who was captured instead of a she.

"No." Elphaba lied. She had to pretend she was in love with Fiyero for things to work out.

"Why don't you show yourself?" Elphaba questioned the eerie voice.

"And where would the fun be in that?" The voice laughed. "That would be too easy. No I think I will have my fun first."

"Wha…what kind of fun?" Elphaba stuttered. She was now wishing that she had been taken to Southstairs. At least there she would see her abuser or capturer. They meant the same thing down there.

"All in good time…" The voice trailed off. They were obviously reveling in making the green woman squirm.

"Can I see Fiyero?" Elphaba asked bravely. She knew the answer had to be no.

"When he wakes up I will send him in." The voice replied with no hint of sarcasm.

Elphaba was surprised. Was her kidnapper actually going to let Fiyero go to her? She hoped they made good on their word.

"Thank you." Elphaba managed to spit out. She felt the need to thank the voice for some reason.

The voice laughed in return. "Food is located on the far left of the room, by the trash can. Eat up. Your going to need your strength."

And with that the voice was gone.

Elphaba was left to ponder what to do next. Should she try and escape? Should she trust that she really was better off than in Southstairs? Should she trust the food enough to eat it?

"Glinda I'm so sorry." Elphaba cried into the abyss.

XXX

Tahj and Glinda arrived at Southstairs an hour or two after leaving Glinda's palace. The carriage ride over had been mostly spent informing Glinda of what had happened over the past few years. Glinda didn't seem to remember much after her and Elphaba became friends at the OzDust Ballroom. She kept talking about it like it had happened last week.

"We're here to release Iris Tancredi and Fiyero Tiggular." Tahj informed the guard sitting behind the check in desk.

The guard looked up at Tahj before busting into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Tahj questioned the guard. Glinda clung tighter to Tahj's side. The guard was starting to scare her.

"We haven't received any prisoners in the past couple of weeks. There are no prisoners by those names." The guard continued to laugh. How stupid could the two people in front of him be?

"Are you sure? Can you at least check?" Tahj thought the guard was messing with him. Surely Elphaba and Fiyero had to be here.

"Fine." The guard didn't look too happy about having to check on something he knew he wouldn't find. He wasn't about to disobey a higher officer though.

"And hurry it up. We need to know right now." Tahj replied impatiently.

The guard behind the desk shot him a dirty look before disappearing in the back where the records were kept.

"Tahj?" Glinda looked helplessly into Tahj's eyes.

"Yes Glinda?" Tahj softened as he saw the fear in Glinda's eyes.

"What if they hurt him?" She began to tear up.

"Hurt who?" He questioned.

"Fiyero!" She screamed as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "They better not hurt Fiyero! I don't know what I'll do if they hurt him!"

Tahj rolled his eyes. When they finally met back up with Elphaba the green woman would not like this. Hopefully with some proper sleep and time to heal the blonde would remember whom her heart really belonged to.

"We're getting married! What will I do without a husband?" Glinda cried at the thought of growing up without Fiyero.

"I think you'll manage." Tahj chuckled to himself. It didn't go unnoticed by Glinda however.

"You think this is funny?" She became angry. "My best friend and my boyfriend are in prison! This isn't funny!"

Tahj had to stifle another laugh. He felt bad because he knew Glinda wasn't in her right mindset, but it was still funny nonetheless.

"No Glinda I don't think that is funny. I'm sorry." Tahj apologized which earned a huff from Glinda. The blonde crossed her arms and turned her nose up at Tahj. She was beginning to not like the man she was with.

Before Tahj could offer up another apology, the guard returned with two folders.

"It says here they were supposed to arrive one hour ago." The guard opened up the charts and pointed to the time arrival stamp.

"Do you think they could have just gotten lost?" Tahj questioned and he took hold of the folders.

"No." The guard was annoyed at such a stupid question. "The guards have already checked in and there were no prisoners with them."

Tahj became concerned. Where then were Elphaba and Fiyero if not in Southstairs?

He wasn't the only one to wonder.

"Oh no! Fiyero!" Glinda sighed. "Now who will take me to the dance?"

Tahj narrowed his eyes at Glinda. How could she be so…so…blonde? He held a higher respect for the green woman now. How she had dealt with the college aged Glinda was beyond him. Having Ella had really changed her life around.

"Can I speak with the guards?" Tahj ignored Glinda's little fit and turned his attention back towards the guard.

"They already left for the day. They won't be returning until tomorrow." The guard stated smugly.

Tahj groaned. He didn't have all night to figure out where the two of them had been taken. He needed to get them back right now.

"Thank you." He thanked the guard before exiting with Glinda in tow.