Sighing, Glinda walked back up the stairs to her room. She had insisted on Avaric taking some time off, having to force him to take the carriage she offered him to take to Traum. She knew that if he would stay in the Palace, he would not stop working, so she gave him specific orders to go home – his parent's house, as he called it.

"So then I said: No Sir," Glinda had to smile when hearing Fiyero play a deep voice. "I am a Scarecrow." He said, turning when she entered her room. Elphaba was sitting on the bed, legs at her side, beaming a smile. "Hey!" The Scarecrow greeted. One could hear the slight insecurity, but she nicely greeted back, easing his conscience.

"Is your hubby gone?" Elphaba teased when Glinda leaned onto the windowsill to catch a glimpse of the Yellow Brick Road.

"Elphie…" she nagged, rolling her eyes. Giving up – and a little embarrassed by being caught – she stepped back from green glass, seating herself next to her best friend. Fiyero smiled at them – then again, he always did. Glinda blinked at him with something between amusement and expectation, hearing him clear his throat.

"The man asked: how come you be a Scarecrow?" He retold in a played low tone, making Elphaba giggle like she hardly ever did. "And I replied with: Sir, how come you be a human? The man found himself not knowing the answer-"

"Though he could have just said he was born and you were not – not as a Scarecrow." Elphaba commented, raising her brows at her boyfriend, to which he nodded. Of course, she was smarter, and all three of them knew the green woman not to have bitten down her comment if she had been there.

"I was going to imply that, but he jumped when Glinda-"

"Glavaric." Elphaba smirked, receiving a slap from the blonde. Fiyero chuckled.

"Right, Glavaric jumped out from behind and the man thought it was a witch's cat – which hardly makes any sense; I don't think anyone has ever seen a witch and a black cat together…" he pondered. Glinda had to smile. Elphaba was really having an impact on him, making him think instead of ignore or accept facts like these. "And I told him that I'd give any witch I'd see a kiss from him." He ended with a laugh, making Elphaba chuckle.

"He ran away, didn't he?" She asked, scratching the cat's head, who had jumped onto the bed, purring as it rubbed against her knees. Fiyero gave a nod, awkwardly scratching his calf with one foot. "Keep your promise then, O mysterious Scarecrow." She said, smirking at her boyfriend.

Glinda rolled her eyes, but smiled, leaning out of the way when Fiyero did as he was told, nuzzling the green witch's face with his, receiving kisses across his painted features. Stroking along Glavaric's back, the blonde turned away, embarrassed and a little uncomfortable at their affectionate display.

"Alright, I get it… guys…" Glinda frowned when the couple almost fell over on her bed, blinking awkwardly at the black feline, who hid behind her. Elphaba chuckled again, releasing her boyfriend with a warm smile. Her eyes had a spark of playfulness as she glanced over to her best friend.

"Didn't you say… any witch?" She asked, mischievously raising her brows at Glinda, who leaned back, shaking her head.

"Na-ah, Elphie, no, that really isn't-" the blonde yelped when straw stuffed arms threw themselves around her, being squished by drabbet in her face, making her laugh, "Sorceress!" She exclaimed, grasping for air. Unable to hold it back, all three of them broke out in laughter when the young witch almost fell off the bed, having to be pulled up by one of her friends on either hand. Glavaric complained at the turmoil, not helping them to calm down.

With Yero at KK, be back in a few days.

E

Glinda frowned at the note. It was all that was left when she had come back from an early meeting – not quite having understood a lot, knowing she could not rely on Avaric to explain it to her. The blonde huffed. She had wanted to spend the time the boy was not there with her best friend – a little alarmed by them having gone by day. She had even declined all appointments for the following days, knowing Elphaba would make her work anyway – she had already pictured herself giving help seeking glances, receiving a groan but still being helped. They could have practised magic or simply spent time together like they had back in their room in Shiz, she thought, a little disappointed. She could not deny her friend the 'escape'; there was hardly anything she could do inside the three rooms she was allowed to be in. That, and Glinda was uncomfortable with her best friend and ex-fiancé expressing their relationship before her eyes.

Glinda sighed, sinking down on her bed. So now what?


Avaric sighed deeply. Why would I ever want to go to my parent's house? He thought to himself, letting the reins in his hands slack, sinking into his lap. There was no hurry about arriving in Traum, the place where his parent's house was.

He felt embarrassed, humiliated even at the thought of having to face his parents, let alone his brothers. Glinda had insisted on him travelling by carriage, though there was hardly anything in his possession he could or wanted to take with him.

Grimacing upon spotting the remotely located house – more of a hut – close to the Great Gillikin Forest, Avaric slowed the horse's pace even further. He would delay his arrival for as long as possible. Then again, if they saw him from afar, it would be very awkward to move along this slowly.

Following the seedy brick road from town, he had turned onto the path of dirt and rocks, leading north, towards the forest. The house was standing in what looked like a field, neglected lawn sprouting from all sides. The walls, partly brick, partly wood from being added on or dilettante repaired were mostly covered in ivy and moss, crawling up the edges until the roof. A weeping willow – somehow withstanding every weather since being planted around Avaric's birth – grew its limp branches over the side of the house, covering the window of the room he had lived in for most of his life.

The path, leading past another, smaller but sturdier house, ended in grass, which had to be crossed in order to reach the hut. Avaric did not turn, knowing that the other residence belonged to his parents, leaving their former property in the hands of their oldest sons.

Freeing the horse of its bridle and giving it a long range to graze and drink from the basin with the water pump in the garden, he took his single bag from the carriage and reluctantly opened the front door. The first floor consisted of a joined-together dining room and kitchen, both to his left, a window above the counter letting in little light. Since the house was almost surrounded by trees, hardly any light illuminated the rooms. Opposite of the door were the stairs, leading up to the bathroom and bedrooms.

Avaric made his way upstairs, turning right to enter the room he had once been dumped in alongside his younger sisters. He assumed for his brothers to have either taken a room for themselves – one being his parent's bedroom and the other Charodilla's, his oldest sister's former room.

Tossing the bag onto the bed where dust rose, he opened the window. The view was mostly blocked by the willow's branches. He liked the tree, having used it to climb out the window and run away when he was younger. From above, he could look over into the woods, noting that the horse and carriage were still there.


Not giving him the chance to settle in, Avaric's brothers had pushed an axe into his hand, ordering him to finish their work upon noticing his arrival.

"As long as you're here, you'll work." Kazbeh, the oldest of the Tenmeadows sons had said. He was very tall, well-built, if not handsome, with an edgy face. His dark blonde hair – lighter than Avaric's – was short at the sides, hanging down an inch from the top of his head like bangs from the end of his high forehead until the crown on his upper occiput.

"Yeah, make yourself useful, Ape!" Gundart, the second in line had commented. He was never the one for smart remarks, speaking without thinking and mostly with long breaks. He was shorter than Kazbeh – still towering Avaric – and sturdier. Oddly enough, his hair seemingly went around every which way on his head, making him look as if having been caught up in a hurricane. It was darker; shady brown, like his sunken and small eyes.

Gundart had grunted, his laugh reminding of a boar, satisfied with their little brother taking over their duties. They had always picked on Avaric, being their father's pride. Though Kazbeh did not seem to resent him, both of them had their fun mocking the boy whenever they could.

After having worked for a whole day and hardly getting any sleep from worrying – worrying whether Glinda would be alright and if it had in fact been a good idea to take a few days off – Avaric was once more spurred on to work. He did not mind doing the hard, physically draining work, though he had to admit that he was not used to it anymore. Leading the horse into the forest, he actually enjoyed being alone, since it would be the only time his brothers would not pick on him. For a moment, he did not regret coming, telling himself it was not so bad.


"Oh, she's every bit of lovely you described her to be, Ape!" Kazbeh greeted his youngest brother upon entering the room. He used the nickname less often than his younger brother, signalling that they were on to something.

"What was it you said again? Surpassing Lurline by centuries?" Gundart joined in. Avaric cursed inwardly for those words to have slipped past his lips. They had pushed him, tricked him until he would start raving about her. Feeling the need to defend his crush, Avaric had noticed the trap too late, resulting in gushing about her, almost endlessly.

"Intriguingly inebriant? Dangerously gorgeous?" His oldest brother circled his palm, indicating the many other attributes Avaric had portrayed, luckily not naming all of them.
"Poetry, he recited. He's smitten by your presence, Your Goodness." Gundart turned to grin at their guest of honour, probably having rehearsed those words.

Avaric wished more than anything that he could strangle both of them to suffocation right now. Sink into the ground, never to be found again. Die on the spot. His face burned so fiercely, he felt feverish. His ice-cold gaze darted from one to the other, avoiding to even glance at Glinda.

The blonde was sitting at the table, wearing a not too formal but elegant green dress and a wide smile. How could she not notice? Perhaps she was merely pretending not to be aware, bypassing the awkward situation of having to turn him down. Just fire me. He dared to hope, unable to imagine continuing his work around her. Though he preferred not being dismissed in front of his brothers, he wished for it to happen already. Dying of shame would be even more realistic – he found it quite desirable at the moment.

"They told me so much!" Glinda beamed with joy, eyes sparkling in the vanishing light of the evening. Avaric felt his heart snap from his veins, tumbling into his stomach. He knew that whatever they had told her would be the worst things possible, the last he would ever consider of telling anyone. Especially her. The blonde's innocent enthusiasm broke what was left of his heart inside of him. Where was the mockery, the derision, the loathing? He was sure the amusement in her tone was not resentful, but could not grasp why.

"And there is so much more!" Gundart raised his brows at his older brother, who gleefully returned the gesture. Avaric's arm twitched, urging him to throw the hatchet in his hand, but he restrained himself. There had been enough drama for one day.

"Av, why don't you go wash up and keep us company afterwards. I'm sure you have a lot to tell, too." Turning to Glinda, Kazbeh added: "He went head over heels about telling us about you when he arrived." He smirked, ignoring the death glare he received from the side. Taking a sharp inhale, Avaric mechanically let the axe drop next to the door, which he slammed close.

"I'm afraid my appetite has been spoiled." He dryly commented, stiffly making his way up the stairs. He gritted his teeth when he overheard his brothers playfully lamenting his absence.

"Then it's all up to us to entertain you, Your Goodness."

"How about that time Avaric ran away, losing his way and accidently going back home instead of further away? Do you remember, Kazbeh?" Gundart did not even try to hide the amusement in his voice. Of course, he knew the story all too well, having reminded everyone of it almost once a week by retelling it over and over when they were young.

Avaric quickened his pace, nearly ripping his dirty shirt off. Silently cursing to himself, he undressed, trying to overhear the laughs from downstairs. After washing up, brushing his teeth and putting on a fresh pair of trousers, he went into his room. Collapsing on the bed, Avaric pushed his face into the pillow, exhaling deeply. How he hated his brothers.

It dawned on him why he would always refuse to go home during the summer and winter breaks at Shiz. Having been allowed to go there had costed him so much – studying day and night, begging his parents for allowance and working extra hard to be in favour with them. It had been his ticket into freedom. He had even managed to skip a grade, voluntarily visiting the summer school and studying ahead of his class.

He had not cared about making friends after the first few years at school after once having brought a classmate back home. He regretted it until this day, ashamed by the mockery of his brothers, responsible for losing his first and – at that school – last friend.

Sighing deeply, Avaric searched his head for possible new jobs. Anything far enough from Traum or the Emerald City – another place he could never go again, he thought regretfully. There was no way he could ever face Glinda again, knowing there were too many stories that were far worse than running away, especially when coming out of his brothers' mouths.