Nor and Liir were on their way to the stables when they saw someone riding into the compound.

"Isn't that Sarima?" Nor asked as she shielded her eyes with a hand to get a better look. Liir nodded. He knew who it was the moment he saw her. It was the way Sarima rode her horse, languid as if she had all the time in the world, and as if she knew that every man in the vicinity was looking at her and lusting after her.

Sarima rode up to them and slid down her horse so elegantly. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail and her bronze skin shone. She was wearing all black, as usual, with pants that clung to her legs. The top three buttons of her blouse were undone, showing plenty of cleavage. Liir swore that he could see the shape of her nipples through her blouse. He gulped.

"Good morning, Miss Sarima."

"Good morning, children. Is your father in?"

It was Nor who replied. "He's in the library, Miss Sarima. With Mama."

Sarima nodded. "Can someone help me with my horse?"

Nor nudged Liir.

"I can do it, Miss Sarima." He tore his eyes from her tits and took over the reins.

Sarima smiled and patted him on his cheek. "Thank you, Liir. You're such a dear. Look at you. It's just a few months and you've grown taller. You are going to be as tall and handsome as your father when you grow up." And Liir blushed.

"Are you hungry, Miss Sarima? I can ask the servants to prepare some food for you," Nor suggested.

Sarima chuckled. "Thank you dear, but I had my breakfast. I may stay for the night though. I'll see you children later." She waved goodbye with her fingers and walked towards the castle.

"Stop drooling," Nor smacked Liir on his head as he stared at Sarima's retreating back.

"I was not drooling."

"You were."

"I was not," Liir whined as he jerked the reins and pulled the horse to the stables. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to ask her out."

"Oh really, Liir." Nor rolled her eyes. "You are too young for her."

"She's beautiful. She's confident. She's smart. I'm sick of the brainless and gigglish girls our age."

"She's old enough to be your mother. She's older than Mama."

"That's not important to me."

"She thinks that you are a child."

"I'll show her that I'm a man." He puffed out his chest as he passed the horse to one of the stablehands.

Nor looked around when they left the stables and walked into the bright sunshine. There was no one around.

"You can't date her, Liir."

"Why not?"

"You mean you didn't know?" How could he be so oblivious?

"What do I not know?" Liir asked.

"Sarima … how do I say it?" Nor twisted a finger around her hair. "Sarima and Papa…they…" Oz, how should she phrase it?

"What about them?"

"They are… Sarima doesn't just work for Papa, you know." Maybe he was not her biological brother. That would explain why he was so stupid.

"You mean they are friends?" Liir asked.

"Yes!" Nor snapped her fingers and startled Liir. "They've been friends since young. It will be so awkward for everyone if you date her." She draped an arm over Liir's shoulders.

"But…"

"Don't worry, Liir, one of these days you'll find a girl your age whom you like."

"Like how you've found the right guy?"

"Geram is not my boyfriend!" Nor tried to smack him at the back of his head again and he blocked her with an arm.

"Hey I didn't say it's him; you admitted it!" And Liir ran away laughing.


Many, many years ago.

Elphaba woke up, still in Fiyero's arms.

"Where am I?" she asked, momentarily confused.

"You're back in my, our room," he corrected himself. "You were so tired you fell asleep."

"I …" she opened her mouth.

"It's alright," he told her and he ran his hand through her straight, silky hair. "I had a good nap too. I think we should get out of bed though. I'm hungry, and I cannot feel my arm anymore." And he chuckled when Elphaba quickly got out of bed when she realized that she had used his arm as a pillow. "I suppose I got to get used to having you sleep in my arms."

They had a simple lunch at the dining room, cold cuts and sandwiches. Fiyero's parents were nowhere to be seen, and a maid told him that his father was in his study and his mother had gone back to rest in her room after sending off the last of the visitors.

"Was your father present at the ceremony?" She still could not bring herself to call it their wedding.

"No." He shook his head. "He had no role to play during the wedding ceremony, but he attended the celebration after that. He was seated next to my mother during the celebratory dinner."

Elphaba could not recall seeing either of them. She could not remember much of what happened that day.

"I can bring you to his study if you'd like to meet him."

"No, I didn't mean that. I'm sure he must be busy." She shook her head furiously. She was tired, too tired to meet any more new faces. It seemed that her chance of leaving this place became more and more remote with every passing second.

"There are still many parts of the castle that you have not seen. So where would you like to go next?" Fiyero asked when the food was cleared.

"I don't know," Elphaba confessed. "Do you have a library?"

"A library? Of course, we do. I hardly go there though." Fiyero brought her to the top floor. He opened the oak doors and smiled when he saw the awe forming on her face.

"It's big," she said to no one in particular.

"Yes, it is. This area was used as my classroom when I was younger while the lower area was used for entertainment or discussions. Come here." He led her to the steps which segregated the two zones. There were a few couches and a pianoforte. "That's where my grandparents, and now my parents entertain their guests."

"Can I walk around?"

"Of course you can."

With his permission, Elphaba roamed around the place. There were tall bookshelves all over the place , filled with books of different kinds. Elphaba took a few books from the shelves and made her way back. Fiyero was standing by a window, looking out, and she sat on one of the seats. She had not intended to stay here and as such, had not brought her books along. She missed her favorite books, and she wondered if she should arrange for them to be sent over, and stop short when she realized what she was thinking. Was she resigned to her fate? Had she given up so soon?

"What are you thinking?" Fiyero intruded her thoughts as he sat next to her.

"Thinking? No, I wasn't thinking." She replied hastily.

"Not thinking?" He chuckled . He looked at her with a smile.

"You were daydreaming, and daydreaming is thinking too. So what were you thinking?"

She shook her head. "Nothing in particular. Maybe I'm just tired."

"Let's go back to our room then." He suggested, and her eyes fluttered closed as if he had cast a spell on her.

She forced her eyes open. "I'd like to stay here longer if it's alright."

"Sure. I'm sure I can find something to do." He took a book from the shelf and joined her.

Elphaba skimmed through the books, and went back to the shelves. And when she did not come back after a while, Fiyero decided to look for her.

He found her at the shelves facing the lower zone, or rather, on one of the shelves. There were many more books on these shelves, stacked to the top, many of them with thick spines with faded words. The green girl had her feet on one of the middle shelves, and she was clinging onto the upper shelves precariously with one hand while her other hand kept pulling at her skirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm stuck."

It was only when he moved closer that he realized what had happened - her skirt was caught by a hook on the shelf. There was already a little tear.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"I was trying to get the book." She pointed to a book at the top shelf.

He let out a sigh.

"Let me help." He tried to untangle the skirt from the hook, but it seemed to be wound tightly around the nail. "How did you manage to do this?"

Before she could respond, a door at the other side of the room opened and they heard the sound of laughter floating in, before a woman entered the room. She was dressed in a black riding suit that clung to her hourglass figure and had long, black hair tied up on a pony hair.

"Fuck," Fiyero swore.

The woman looked behind her, and a man appeared and grabbed her waist. He turned her around before he kissed her and she giggled.

"Who's that?" Elphaba whispered.

"Fuck," Fiyero said again.

The woman pushed the man away with a giggle, and she walked off and sat on one of the couches. She looked at the man again and beckoned him with a manicured finger. He gave a wolfish grin and went to her, his hands on both sides of her and she pulled him in for another kiss. He kissed her neck and his hand went under her blouse and squeezed her left breast.

The woman threw her head back and moaned. Her hands went to the man's belt, loosening it while he continued to kiss her.

Fiyero looked at E. "Come down now. We really ought to go."

Elphaba nodded. She could hear the urgency in his voice. For a moment, she forgot about her predicament and she stepped on one of the lower shelves, and the sound of fabric ripping stopped her in her tracks. She looked at her skirt. It was no longer caught by the nail, but there was now a tear, all the way from knee to groin.

The couple stopped what they were doing.

"What's that sound?" The man asked no one in particular.

Elphaba quickly bunched the skirt together to cover up her exposed legs.

The man stood up. "Is anyone there?"

Fiyero gestured to Elphaba and she put her other foot down.

The creak of the wood echoed around the room.

"Who's there?"

Fiyero gestured urgently to Elphaba again. If she was fast enough they could move away from the shelves and be out of the room before they were discovered.

Elphaba had no idea what exactly happened, but there was a loud crack and then suddenly there was nothing under her foot and she was falling backwards. Fiyero shouted and he tried to catch her, but she crashed onto him and they fell to the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of her, and Fiyero groaned in pain.

"What do we have here?" A voice came from above. Elphaba opened her eyes. The couple that was making out on the couch earlier was standing before them. The woman had bronze skin that shone, with kohl around her eyes and blood red lipstick. She was beautiful. The man was sniggering.

"Well, well well. Fiyero. You're married for only one day and you're already banging a maid in the library?"

Elphaba looked down, and it was only then that she realized that Fiyero had an arm around her waist and his other arm around her exposed legs. She vaguely remembered that he had tried to grab her to break her fall. She quickly pulled the skirt to cover her legs.

Fiyero said. "She's not a maid. She's my wife, and we're not doing whatever you think we're doing. Ugh." He groaned again.

The man laughed out loud. "Of course I know who she is. Her looks are too unique to be mistaken for anyone else. My name is Avaric, and this - " he pointed at the gorgeous woman - "is Sarima - Fiyero's wife if he has any choice in the matter."

"Fuck you, Avaric."