Sorry for disappearing again. I haven't had that much inspiration recently, but I went to see Wicked again on Wednesday (!) and suddenly everything resurfaced, so I decided to come back to this story. I promise I will finish it eventually.

A sudden surge of fear rushed over Elphaba as soon as the words had left her mouth. Was this a bad idea? It was complicated, potentially too complicated to manage, and she wasn't used to having to solve problems discreetly. Certainly not after that whole escapade in the attic. Well, it was done now, and there was no turning back.

"I knew you'd see it my way in the end." The Wizard's haughty tone echoed across the walls, seeming to come crashing into Elphaba's skull in what she was sure was the beginning of a searing headache. But the green girl was far too tired now to play with the ingenuity of words, so, unable to think of an adequate response, she simply scoffed. "Whatever."

The Wizard began to slowly amble towards Elphaba, leaving his place at the far end of the room. "Now, as you are aware, I will need you to use your magic. I was hoping we could start with a spell that-"

But Elphaba had already begun shaking her head in dismissal. "Not yet," she interrupted.

"I'm sorry?" He looked at her in false bewilderment.

"I said not yet," she repeated. "I accepted your offer, is that not enough for now? Before any further business I would appreciate some time to recover from my recent injury. Somewhere that is not a prison cell." She allowed a slight accusatory tone to slip through on the last statement.

"Oh. Of course. I will alert my guards."

Elphaba flinched inwardly at that. Despite her apparent new status in Oz, she could not rid herself of the permanent feeling of agitation she had grown so accustomed to. Especially when it came to the Emerald City officials.

"Can't I make my own way out?"

The Wizard looked up, seemingly in surprise. "I was intending to have them escort you to the infirmary…"

"Yes, well that won't be necessary. I can take care of myself."

He frowned slightly at her, as if she was a puzzle that he was trying to piece together. Noticing this, Elphaba had to fight to suppress a smile; so far, it seemed her plan was working. And so, whether it was to further this impression, or simply because frankly, she had had enough of this conversation, she turned on her heels and left the room.

And the Wizard let her.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

She wasn't sure how many people knew about the sudden change in her reputation, and how many would still see her as the Wicked Witch. She supposed it didn't really matter much - although she knew that she absolutely could not trust the Wizard, she also knew that he needed her powers, so as long as she kept up this pretence, no real harm could befall her anymore.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Elphaba suddenly realised where her absentminded footsteps had been taking her: she was once again in the corridor leading to Glinda's room. Why was it that she always ended up here?

Well, she thought to herself, there's nowhere else to go yet. But still, as she neared the door, she began to slow her pace down, a subtle sense of worry overtaking her. What would she say to Glinda? What could she say? That she was right all along? She knew she could trust her friend with her plans, but this was just not something she was familiar with. Sharing ideas. It unnerved her, yet at the same time filled her with a new sort of excitement. Everything was changing; whether for the worse or for the better, she was not quite sure yet.

But she had come here for a reason, and so tentatively, she reached out her hand and knocked, once again, on the door.

Within seconds, it was flung open, with enough power that the green girl almost wondered how it was still attached to its hinges, and the glittery face of the Good Witch appeared. "Elphie!" She exclaimed.

Elphaba opened her mouth to respond, but before any sound could escape her, Glinda had ushered her into the room in a frantic hurry. Clearly she had not been informed of the recent developments.

Once they were safely inside the room, and Glinda had locked the door, she began her barrage of questions.

"Are you okay? I saw what happened - you were shot? And then they dragged you off somewhere. How did you escape? What happened, Elphie? Do you need my help?"

Elphaba closed her eyes, comprehension of such a rapid outpouring made difficult by her fatigue. Eventually she held up her hand as if to communicate this, and Glinda quickly fell silent.

"Elphie?" She repeated in concern. "Are you all right?"

Elphaba sighed. "I should be," she began, before hesitating slightly. "I did what you wanted, Glinda."

At the puzzled expression on her friend's face, Elphaba clarified. "I accepted the Wizard's offer."

The words hung in the air for a few moments, neither woman speaking as the meaning travelled through the quiet, slowly sinking in. After a while, Glinda sank down onto the bed and broke the silence. "Wow…" She took a shaky breath. "So… You're free now?"

"Theoretically, yes."

But Glinda knew her friend. She knew this wasn't something that Elphaba would do for her own sake - however much Glinda wished that she would value her own safety, she knew that her priority would always be her cause. In a way, this knowledge just increased her affection for the green girl.

"So what's your agenda?"

Taking a few seconds to let her eyes study Glinda's face, Elphaba took this opportunity to sit down next to her. "They took me to Southstairs," she fixed her gaze on the glistening eyes in front of her. "And I doubt they had any plans to release me. So, I realised that I had two options: either attempt to break out, which I knew would be difficult and time-consuming, or create a false persona, where I can silently work against the Wizard and his infuriating regime." She shrugged slightly. "Maybe it wasn't the right decision, maybe it was. But I had to ask myself this: does it really make a difference? I have sworn my life to bring down this dictatorship, and that is what I will do, whether I'm subtle about it or not. And besides, maybe now I'll have more of an influence on people."

She let her eyes slip from Glinda's, and they landed on the floor. They lapsed into silence once again, the weight of the words just spoken being enough to keep their thoughts occupied. It was strange being with Glinda, Elphaba realised. It was like they didn't even need to be talking in order to understand one another.

She decided it was a nice feeling.

Again, thank you for continuing to read this story. It's my first proper multichap so I promise I won't abandon it!