A/N: A shout out to James Birdsong. Glad you liked it!


Chapter 17

"Altan! It is good to see you my friend! Tsavi, glad to have you back," Elphaba smiled as the Griffins landed next to the Princess. Tsavi landed on the wall nearby.

"Glad to be back Princess," Tsavi smiled. The eagle was definitely glad to be back. It had been an interesting time with the Griffins.

"It is good to see you Princess. I am sorry for our late arrival. Kelebek was not well and could not travel until today," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear it. Are you feeling better Kelebek?" Elphaba asked.

"Much, thank you Princess," she smiled. No longer the smallest Griffin, Kelebeck had blossomed into a full-grown Griffin.

"I hear that you have dragons incoming," Altan said.

"We do. One seems very excited to move here from their homeland, which has become less than friendly to their kind. We have not met the others and a show of strength will hopefully be enough to ward off any troubles," Elphaba explained.

"Is Queen Zixi here?" Bahadir wondered.

"She said she was going to talk to you and then return but we have not seen her in almost a week," the Princess admitted.

"That is troublesome," Lale spoke up.

"We would agree," Fiyero had come up behind them, the troops were ready, and he wanted to join his wife.

"Prince Fiyero, it is good to see you. She did in fact stop by to see us but then she said she had business she needed to attend to in the capital," Filiz told them.

"We have yet to figure her out. I certainly hope she is back before the dragons arrive," Elphaba said.

"Well without her, we will stand by your side and Bonescraper. How is Chistery?" Altan asked.

"He is well. They are relaying the message from the Gillikin, when the dragons can be seen. They should arrive just before them, so we won't have a lot of leeway," Elphaba explained.

"Then we'd best prepare. Where do you need us?" Altan wanted to know.

"Right here. The sooner they see you, the better. Do you need food or drink?" Fiyero asked.

"A little something may be a good idea," Bahadir let them know.

"I'll have the men bring something over," former Lieutenant Ash smiled and then headed off to get sustenance for their guests. Not long after he left, Zara and Emir approached and Kelebeck had a huge smile on her face.

"Young Zara!" the youngest Griffin was glad to see her.

"It has been a long while. I'm not so young anymore. This is my fiancé, Emir," Zara smiled as she introduced the young man next to her.

"It is an honor to meet you. You must be special to have won the young Duchess's heart," Altan smiled.

"I am the lucky one," Emir smiled back.

"Well when is the happy wedding day?" Lale asked.

"Things are a little on hold until things are all settled with our new visitors," Zara admitted.

"Understandable," Altan nodded. A few soldiers arrived carrying food and drink for the Griffins.

"Rest up. Hopefully we'll hear soon from Chistery and his brethren," Elphaba said. They had no idea how soon they would hear and what was coming.

To Be Continued…