This year has been crazy and my interests have been all over the place. I've recently gone back to Wicked though, so here's another chapter to this story in case there's anyone out there who's still interested :) I've left it in a place where it could be the end should I decide I don't want to continue, but otherwise I have another plotline I might want to add. Sorry for such a long wait, but I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway.

After a while, when the spell that had settled over them was broken, Elphaba suddenly became aware of the pain in her arm. It seemed that, with all the excitement of the previous few hours, she had forgotten all about her injury, and now it had decided to repay her by releasing all this pent up pain at once.

She gasped in response, and Glinda quickly turned her gaze over to the green girl.

"Elphie?"

"I'm fine," she choked out. "I'd forgotten I'd been shot."

Glinda didn't seem impressed, and shook her head slightly before springing into action. "We need to get you to the infirmary."

Elphaba was reluctant but, unable to do anything else in her present state, she complied. "All right. I think I can walk."

With help from Glinda's steadying hands, she slowly rose to her feet and took a step. Grimacing slightly in response to the sharpness that seemed to activate with each movement, she soon found her footing, and began to slowly make her way towards the door.

Almost as soon as they had exited the room, they were met with whispers and stunned stares. One servant even dropped the tray he was carrying, the crash of smashing porcelain punctuated by a cry of, "it's the Witch!"

Clearly, the Wizard had not informed the palace residents of the recent developments.

"Ignore them." Glinda's soft whisper floated in the air, and Elphaba silently nodded. Everyone here was clearly too shocked to pose an actual threat, so unless the Gale Force were called, there was no reason to act as if anything was out of the ordinary.

The Wizard no longer had an incentive to capture her, after all.

That was strange to think.

She must have lost track of herself, for before she could truly take any more in, she found herself in the midst of a buzzing waiting room, with shiny wooden floors and dazzling tiled walls that seemed to leer at her in a way that left her decidedly uncomfortable. Perhaps she had just lost too much blood.

Thankfully, it seemed the Wizard had informed the palace's medical staff of her new status, and she was quickly ushered into a small room at the end of a plain-looking corridor, with Glinda trailing behind, slight hints of concern littering her features. She was told to sit down on a chair across from the sturdy, yet small, desk against the wall, while the good witch lingered apprehensively in the corner.

The doctor seemed nervous, and Elphaba could tell that, in spite of the Wizard's message, she remained uneasy around the Wicked Witch. Or, the former Wicked Witch. It was evident in the unnerving silence that consumed the room, and the gently shaking hands that inspected, cleaned and bandaged Elphaba's arm.

She supposed she would have to get used to this. It wasn't like the whole of Oz could suddenly abandon this belief system that had been forced on them; not as long as they remained trusting of the Wizard.

The Wizard. That was still a problem she had to deal with.

The citizens did begin to accept her, but slowly. At first, it was as if everyone was tripping over themselves to be overly nice, in fear of a sudden change of heart that would result in their attack. It was infuriating, really, this sugary courtesy.

"Why can't they just treat me normally? Like any normal person!" She had ranted to Glinda one evening. They were hauled up in the latter's room, and their conversation had wandered in the direction of the recent events. Glinda had just lightly shaken her head with a smile as she observed her friend.

"Because you used to be their worst fear, Elphie. You have to remember that."

"But I'm not anymore! Can't they accept that?"

"You overestimate the intelligence of the average person. Plus, they were brainwashed by propaganda…"

Elphaba huffed in response, sitting down on a chair with a hand covering her face. "It's just so exhausting, being nice. How do you do it full-time?"

"Sometimes I wonder that, myself," Glinda agreed. "You can't expect everyone to immediately forget their fears. Imagine if you were suddenly told that the Wizard was good, now."

Elphaba's gaze was stern. "That's different. I've actually seen what he's done."

The blonde woman smiled sadly, in understanding. "Just give it time."

So she did. And change was still slow. Elphaba made the decision to purposely go out of her way to win their trust, despite the fury she felt each time she had to fake a smile, or bite back a sarcastic retort, but she could tell that she was winning them over, little by little. Tentative acquaintances began to form: a faint smile as they passed each other in the palace halls, or a hand shake while being introduced. It really made a change from her time on the run.

And, of course, in the Ozians' fear of her, they had remained unwilling to comment on her skin, which was immensely refreshing to notice.

But none of this made her new job easy. She had had to explain the situation to her branch of the Resistance, who were sympathetic, but over time she did notice a newfound distance that emerged between her and her old friends, which saddened her to no end. Was this really worth it? She had spent so much time with the Resistance that they felt more like her family than anything else, and to forsake that affinity for her own safety seemed like no more than a failure.

And yet one thing continued to convince her that she had indeed made the right decision.

Glinda. They had become more close than ever, and Elphaba could by no means deny that what she felt around her was worth any reproach from others in the palace. They would spend late nights talking over just about anything and everything, as if they were still in their dorm at Shiz. Around one another, all worries seemed to falter in their importance, and they could laugh, smile and simply enjoy each other's company.

It seemed they both had truly forgotten what it was to be accepted as an equal, and absolutely nothing could override the pure joy that it brought them.

Thank you once again for reading :)