I'm back!! Sorry for the long wait!
It was not too long after she had left the safety of Glinda's room, before she heard the first shout from below. This merged into another, and then another, until it seemed as though the whole Emerald City was in a panicked frenzy - unsure what to do about the sudden sighting of the Wicked Witch.
Elphaba tried to quell the internal groan which she could feel coming on, as she reminded herself that this was not something to worry about - it had been bound to happen; she had planned for it. Still, it did incite an anxious edge to her flight. Her fingers trembled despite her attempts to steady them, and the beating of her heart increased in volume, making it harder and harder to properly process her thoughts.
No. Everything was going to plan.
But only part of her believed it. Like it was with everything, she was torn between emotion and reason. She had always prided herself on her ability to follow logic, but although she would never admit it, she did have a tendency to get caught up in the storms of feelings and let them blind her.
The noise was getting louder each second, so it seemed. The only viable competitor to this was her racing heartbeat, and together they blurred all distinguishable sounds together, so she didn't notice anything at first. She could feel pain, she just couldn't determine its cause.
It wasn't until she saw blood dripping from her hand, and felt the wind rushing up against her face that she realised what had happened.
She had been shot.
The next thing that Elphaba registered was a bright light shining directly into her eyes, and a sharp pain in her side. For a few seconds she was too dazed to make out anything, but slowly the world, and its horrifying images, began to reform around her.
The faint sound of voices floated down from a source just above her head; although loud, they remained indistinguishable in the temporary blockage to Elphaba's senses. Despite her inability to comprehend the situation as a whole, from what she could gather, it seemed that she was being transported somewhere - and not gently at that. She could feel her hands, already wet with blood, dragging across a concrete floor, stinging more with each new influx of dirt, or whatever other grim substances were now about to cause an infection that would likely be left untreated.
There won't be any medical care available when they take her to Southstairs.
Oh Oz, so that was what this was all about. Her eyes snapped open again as it suddenly hit her. Unsure of what else to do, she stared helplessly at the guards above her as they blurred in and out of focus, trying and failing to communicate some desperate plea for help.
This really was pathetic now. It seemed she couldn't do a single thing right anymore - she had seriously messed up by coming to the palace, she realised that now. Why couldn't she have just kept herself in check, and all of this could have been avoided? Things had been going so well - despite the obvious inconveniences of being a fugitive - how could she have let something so trivial ruin it all?
Emotions. That was the answer, and she knew it.
The light from above seemed to become brighter, and in a burst of strength, Elphaba tried her luck in struggling. She didn't expect much to come from it, just to send a message that she would not go down so willingly.
"Still, witch," a disgustingly deep voice spat. It made Elphaba feel physically nauseous, although whether it was the guard which caused that, or the fact that she had just been shot, she couldn't quite be sure.
She continued to fight against the soldiers as she regained some of her strength, however it soon became clear that she would not be able to break free. The fall had been too damaging it seemed, and there were currently five Gale Force guards holding her still while dragging her rather roughly into the palace. There was nothing left to do.
She eventually became aware of a change in the temperature of the air around her, as the thick humidity of the outside dissolved into a cool and damp feeling of a basement.
This must be it. Her mind was screaming with the overwhelming desire to get out of here; to evade the fate that she knew was coming for her.
It hurt. Everything hurt.
And then her body's weight left her for a few fleeting seconds, just to come crashing back as she landed on the hard concrete floor.
A lock clicked. And, somewhere far in the distance, it seemed as if she could hear a cackle.
If you're here, thank you for sticking with this story. I really appreciate it. I'll start uploading more regularly when I have more time in the summer :)