Thank you, James Birdsong!
woodland59, I didn't realize I left everyone hanging literally. LOL.
The Wizard of Wicked, now I feel so bad right now for following it up with a delayed post!
Again, thank you very much to everyone reading this fanfic (and this last author's note)! I shall be posting the chapter after this shortly :)
The sun had almost completely risen above the snowy horizon.
Once almost all of the mind-controlled guards were rendered unconscious, Boq and Brrr dashed their way towards the entrance to the Tower of Magic. But before they could even set foot in the building, they heard the sound of shaking and cracking. With their jaws dropped, they watched the tower tremble. Boq was taken out of his trance when a brick almost fell on his feet. He had to pull the Lion, who was frozen in terror, so they could run off to safety.
The duo waited for the smoke and dust to subside. They sighed in relief upon seeing some giant bubbles descending from the sky.
"Dorothy!" Brrr called her as they approached the pile of rubble that was formerly the Tower of Magic. "Oh am I so glad to see you!"
Dorothy, with Toto in her arms, hopped off from the rubble and Boq caught her. "Me too!" she replied, giving both Brrr and Boq each a tight hug. "It's so good to see you again!"
Boq looked back at the ruins and found a sorceress whose beautiful face stood out despite her dirty clothes and messy hair.
"Well, it's good to be awake again. I guess," said Glinda.
"It is, isn't it," Boq replied awkwardly. He extended a hand to help Glinda go down.
While the friends reunited happily, Glinda saw from the corner of her eye her long-lost friends, Fiyero and Elphaba. She was about to approach them when she heard the steps of foot soldiers and horses.
"There she is! Get her!"
Two soldiers dressed in purple uniforms heeded the command and each held an arm of an old woman from the rubble. Glinda almost did not recognize Morrible's face because she looked so much older than she was a while ago.
Across the palace courtyard, she also saw soldiers, some in blue uniforms and some in yellow, gathering in front of the Emerald Palace and coordinating with some members of the Gale Force.
Later, a carriage with the Vinkun emblem arrived. Out of it came the Vinkun minister, Alfr, who bowed down respectfully to Glinda. "Greetings and well-wishes from His Majesty Njord Tiggular, King of Vinkus, whose promise of being a helping hand to Lady Glinda the Good in times of trouble and need he shall keep!" He flashed an insignia of the Vinkun king. "I come here as his highness' representative."
Glinda was about to open her mouth to reply but no words came out. Confusion was written all over her face.
"I um… Let me explain, your Goodness," Alfr offered. She nodded. "As you are most probably aware of, the Vinkun king has been requesting for the official documents regarding beryllite. Alongside this, our team had performed its own investigations regarding the said substance."
"And the others?" Glinda asked, referring to the troops coming from the other Ozian countries.
"Ah, yes. Governor Nessarose Thropp of Munchkinland formed her own investigative team as well," he answered. "We were both unable to communicate with the Wizard or any of his viziers, so we sought help from Gilikins, instead."
Glinda tapped her chin in thought. "So, what did you find out?"
Alfr narrated the results of their investigations. He explained how they gathered testimonial evidence from the power plant workers and material evidence from the site. They also came across some forged documents regarding the beryllite, giving no concrete evidence for supporting the existence of such substance. Key officials of the power plant admitted that the documents for the substance was never released nor made. Only a few of them knew that beryllite was actually a human.
"I apologize, your Goodness. Our primary purpose for coming here at this uneventful hour was to arrest the offenders involved in this mayhem," he continued. "The Wizard has not been responding to our reports, but the Munchkin, Gilikin and Vinkun leaders have agreed to not hold justice back. But since you are here, we respectfully ask for your wise counsel…"
Glinda raised her hand. "Can I ask the Vinkun king's help once more?" she interjected.
"Um. Yes. Of course," Alfr replied. "The king honors his promises."
"Tell him to take the lead in all investigations on the beryllite. And everything that must be done after we lost it."
"Good as done." The young minister bowed in acknowledgement before returning to his men.
Glinda sighed in relief after that conversation. Although she did sleep a lot recently, she felt so tired after all the commotion in the Tower of Magic. And she badly needed a bath - she was still wearing her clothes since her trip to Vinkus.
Suddenly, she remembered her old friends. She went around the rubble only to be met by a scene she did not know how to describe – some Vinkun soldiers seemed to be taking Fiyero, who was laid on a stretcher, away from Elphaba. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized he was not just going to be brought to safety. Oh, Oz! They're arresting him!
Alfr approached the green lady. "Elphaba, I'm sorry…"
"Alfr, please give us a little more time," she begged. "An hour. A minute. Anything. At least let me heal his wounds."
"His wounds will be dealt with by our nurses, Miss," A Vinkun officer informed her. "No need to..."
"Okay, then," Alfr interrupted. "Just a few minutes. The king expects us soon." The minister asked the soldiers to lower Fiyero's stretcher gently on the ground and give him and Elphaba some space.
Wasting no time, Elphaba laid her hands onto his chest and concentrated some energy on her hands. Fiyero instantly felt warm and light, listening to her incantation that, in her beautiful but sad voice, sounded like a song. The scratches and light cuts almost instantly healed, while the deeper ones gradually closed. The long red streak, which was a combination of open wounds and burns that ran from his cheek down to his chest, seemed to take forever to heal.
"I'll go with you," Elphaba told him in a determined voice. "I'm sure Alfr would be okay with that."
"I'd love that, Fae," Fiyero responded weakly. "But Glinda needs you here. Oz needs you."
"And you're injured, all because of me. Fiyero, I can't just…"
"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be taken care of in Vinkus." He placed a hand over hers. "And you don't have to blame yourself for this. I did what I thought I must."
"Ugh! Why do you keep missing my point? You'll be in prison, Fiyero!"
"If that's what it takes to keep you from harm, Elphaba, I'd willingly do it again."
"Stop…"
"Others may call us savages but prisoners are actually treated as humans in Vinkus. If that gives you any relief," he half lied – he only vaguely heard that from his father, but he did not really know if it were true. "Besides, whatever torture they give me, I deserve it."
She sulked. "All of these happened because you saved me. How do you expect me to just accept it?"
The healing light from Elphaba's hands suddenly faded. She felt as if her energy had completely been drained.
"Elphaba!" Fiyero sat up and grabbed her shoulders before she fell. "Are you okay?"
"We will see each other again, won't we?" she asked weakly but hopefully.
Fiyero smiled and looked at her intently. "We are going to be together. Always."
Time passed too quickly to their liking. Elphaba remained motionless as soldiers gathered the stretcher and helped Fiyero stand up and walk towards the carriage. Alfr pulled Elphaba to help her stand up.
"I'm sorry, Elphaba. This is all we can do to keep anyone from sending him to the Southstairs," Alfr explained. "Please don't get mad at King Njord. He only means well. If it would mean any help, you can blame me..."
"No, Alfr. I'm not mad at anyone," she interrupted. "I completely…" She sniffed. "…Understand."
"You can come with us, if you want," he offered gently, but Elphaba heavy-heartedly shook her head. "Alright. Should you ever think of coming back home to Vinkus, we would gladly welcome you."
Her reply was only a weak smile and a silent thanks. He gave her arms a brotherly squeeze before leaving.
She tried not to watch the Vinkun carriage as it went farther and farther until it disappeared in her line of sight.
"Oh Elphie…"
Elphaba's head shot up only to find her teary-eyed best friend.
"Glinda! What's wrong?"
The two walked towards each other and embraced.
"I saw it all. I heard everything." Glinda sniffed. "Elphie, why did you not go with him?" She placed a delicate hand on her forehead. "It's like a parting scene in those romantific movies… It's even more heartbreakifying in real life. Oh!" She broke into sobs.
Elphaba pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "This is absurd. Glin, we have more pressing matters to attend to." She pointed towards the ruins left by the collapsed Tower of Magic.
"But… but Fiyero is…"
"He'll be alright," Elphaba said with authority in her voice that took Glinda aback. "The best we could do for him is to make good wherever we are."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot from the Emerald Palace.
"What's going on?" Glinda asked no one in particular.
On cue, a group of flying Monkeys landed in front of the two ladies.
"Your Goodness, some rebels are attacking the palace," said Chistery.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Brrr suddenly said. Glinda, Elphaba, Dorothy and Boq looked at him, not failing to notice his newfound bravery.
Glinda nodded knowingly. She raised her scepter and summoned giant bubbles while Elphaba stepped onto a plank, which she charmed with a levitation spell. The team flew towards the palace.
On their way, Glinda gave a few glances at Elphaba, particularly at the thing she was riding on. Elphaba noticed her eventually and frowned. "What?"
"It looks ugly," the blonde commented frankly.
The green witch merely shrugged. "Well we can't all come and go by bubble!" They laughed.
"Um. Elphie?"
"Yes?"
"Won't you miss him even a bit?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." Glinda tried to discern her friend's expression but she was looking away. Softly, the green lady said "I miss him already."