Chapter 17

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" Fiyero asked from his position on the back of the broom.

"Because you love me and want to protect me even though I am the most powerful witch in all of Oz," Elphaba responded from her spot on the front of the broom. She rarely brought up her prowess but when she did it was often to make a point about men feeling the need to protect her.

"You're right. I love you. Remind me why again?" This time he was jerking her chain.

"Yero, I told you that you didn't need to come. I know flying doesn't exactly make your digestive system play nice," she took a peek over her shoulder and in the moonlight he looked almost as green as she did. Quickly, she cast another spell to help quell his uneasiness.

"I spent my life riding on horses and trains and never once had a problem. Something about flying though…" he trailed off.

"It is definitely not for everyone. Do you see anything? I'm a little surprised we haven't encountered lights or smoke," Elphaba frowned. They were past the capital city and hugging the tops of the trees in an attempt to stay hidden.

"The next town isn't for thirty miles. They are probably holed up there. On one hand they seem organized and on the other, they don't. Who burns down the capital city? Once you've taken hostages, there'd be no good point in destroying buildings and supplies," Fiyero almost shook his head but thought better of it.

"Yes another good point. Perhaps the burning was an accident. You and I both know how quickly dried out wood goes up in flame," she said. The Gillikin had some of the oldest buildings in all of Oz right behind the Emerald City and older buildings, not made of stone, meant for fast spreading fires. The remainder of Oz broke down with Munchkinland's buildings being the next oldest with the Vinkus and Quadling Country bringing up the rear. Tribal living did not exactly require permanent structures and the Vinkuns and Quadlings were slow to take up permanent residences. Even now, most of Quadling country was farming with no major industry.

"Good point. I see smoke in the distance. I certainly hope that no one is burning that town down to the ground was well," Fiyero shook his head.

"Let us hope not. Hang on," she told him. She sped the broom up until they reached the edge of the woods. Their cover would be lost after they exited the forest but the only way to see what was going on was to investigate.

"Can we drop onto a roof and see if we can see anything?" Fiyero wondered.

"I can try and get us close to the town square with that building that has tiles on the roof. It's the only one that will hold our weight," she said. Being a smaller town, most of the buildings had thatched roofs which were not meant to take the weight of humans just the occasional snow fall.

Carefully, she navigated the broom to the roof in question, glad it was late and most people were asleep. They landed on the chimney and carefully eased themselves down to the rooftop. Scanning the scene, they noticed that despite the rest of the town seeming to be asleep, the middle of the town was all hustle and bustle under multiple tents that had been set up. A fire had been started in a ring of stones that must have been gathered from nearby and they watched as someone came out and burned what looked like bloody rags.

"They're in need of medical help. We should probably make ourselves known," Elphaba said.

"We don't even know who is running the show. If we go down there, they could see it as an affront. We're not getting killed because someone wants to prove they're loyal to the revolution," Fiyero pointed out. She knew he was right but then she got an idea. Having seen that look before, her husband raised an eyebrow. She started chanting and soon they found themselves encased in a bubble. Carefully, Elphaba guided it down to ground level and promptly scared the bejesus out of one of the men who had come out of one of the tents for a smoke.

"Princess Elphaba!" He croaked.

"No need for alarm. We have come to see what has been happening. The Vinkus has been overwhelmed with refugees and the capital city…" she trailed off.

"I'll get Philador, please wait right here," the man ran off back into the tent and a handsome young Gillikinese man exited a few moments later. He bowed and said,

"Your Highnesses, thank you for coming. I am Philador, leader of the accidental revolution. I had wanted to alert the Vinkus but things have been moving fast and I have to admit, I'm new at this."

"The Vinkus has been overrun with refugees and we saw what happened to the capital city. We'd like to offer assistance but we need to know what is going on and what happened to the leaders of Gillikin," Fiyero said, making sure they saw his rifle. The Prince was one of the best shots in all of Oz and everyone knew it.

"We intend no harm. Regrettably, the capital city disaster is a long story. Please come inside and I'll explain," Philador promised. Elphaba looked at Fiyero and he nodded. She popped the bubble and they both followed the man inside the tent.

To Be Continued…