"Hey. You okay?" Fiyero asked, concerned, and the flicker of anger in his eyes told Elphaba that he was referring to the scene her father had caused a few days before.

"I'm fine." Seeing he was unconvinced, she reached her hands to cup his face, looking deep into his eyes. "Fiyero. I'm okay, I promise. I'm just a little nervous."

"About…?"

"Meeting your family."

For a second, Fiyero looked surprised that she would be concerned about that.

"I promise, you have nothing to worry about," he chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "Just don't call anyone a Winkie and you'll be fine."

Elphaba shot him a confused look and he looked sheepish all of a sudden.

"Oh… I guess it's still not common knowledge," he said, rubbing his neck uneasily. "Winkie is an Ozian word from before the Vinkus became a province of Oz, when it was nothing unusual for us Vinkans to be considered… well, an inferior people. So, you know. It's a little offensive."

Elphaba winced. The word was universally used by the people of Munchkinland; she'd heard it since childhood and never thought twice about the message it carried. Now, suddenly, she felt disgusted and ashamed, realizing she'd unintentionally been using a racial slur her entire life.

"It's not really such a big deal," Fiyero said hastily, probably sensing her discomfort. "I've heard many people use it and I've never corrected them…"

"Why not?" she asked, and he looked surprised by the question.

"I… I actually don't know." He took a while to think about it. "I guess… I guess I just didn't really want to draw attention to the fact that I was… you know…"

Seeing him struggle, Elphaba covered his hand with hers and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

"Different?" she supplied sympathetically, and Fiyero nodded slightly with an embarrassed expression.

"Anyway," he added, clearing his throat, "it has always been important to my parents. They always said it was our duty, as the royal family, to uphold the Vinkun traditions… My mother especially. When I was a kid, she'd take me along to visit her mother, who only spoke Vinkun; and we'd spend hours just talking, exchanging stories…" He chuckled, still somewhat flustered. "And even after grandmother passed away, my mother had me study Vinkun with a tutor. Believe it or not, at that time I actually enjoyed studying."

Elphaba smirked teasingly.

"That must have been really long ago, then."

Fiyero pretended to sulk for a minute, but eventually resumed telling Elphaba about his homeland and family for the remainder of the journey. Eventually, as the sun was already nearing the horizon, their carriage rolled through an elaborate iron gate, through a well-tended garden filled with a variety of wild plants, towards a surprisingly modest-looking castle built out of creamy sandstone; before pulling to a stop by the front wall, partially overgrown with ivy and moss.

"Here we are," the driver announced, bowing elegantly and helping Elphaba off the carriage. "Welcome to Vinkaar, Miss."

"Thank you, Zeiko. Would you please carry our luggage upstairs?" Fiyero requested, then turned back to Elphaba and reached for her hand, smiling apologetically. "Would you mind waiting here for just a moment? I'll just let my family know we've arrived and be back for you in a second."

As he rushed away, smiling at her over his shoulder, Elphaba hesitantly sat down on the stone bench under a willow tree, trying her best to blend into her surroundings; until a rustling sound coming from behind the nearby briar bush alarmed her.

"Are you a fae?"

"Excuse me, am I a what?" Elphaba asked with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, staring at the bush, which had just spoken to her in a child's voice.

"See, she doesn't even know…"

"That's just what she wants you to think, dummy!" argued a second, nearly identical voice.

"Shut up! I'm older!"

"Yeah well I'm smarter!"

"Are not!"

"Am—"

"That is enough."

Startled, Elphaba rose to her feet, before realizing that the third voice belonged to Fiyero.

"Sorry about that." He trotted up to her and crossed his arms, glaring at the briar bush. "Come out now, you two."

The bush rustled reluctantly before two children, seemingly a boy and a girl, emerged from behind the leaves. They both looked to be about nine, maybe ten years old; and were very alike, with olive skin and wavy chocolate-brown hair.

"We'll talk about that later," Fiyero sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and sent Elphaba a tired smile. "Elphaba, the little devils are my brother and sister, Zefiyr and Safiya."

The twins muttered a hello under their breaths, eyeing Elphaba curiously, and she responded with an awkward wave.

"And my parents are waiting for us with dinner," Fiyero added, extending a hand to Elphaba, who suddenly felt a lump form in her throat.

"Okay. Ah, merciful Oz," she said, smoothing out the invisible ruffles on her skirt as they walked towards the castle. "Wait, how should I even address them? Should I bow? Ah, I should have thought it through before—"

"Hey!" Fiyero exclaimed and grabbed her hands to stop them from trembling. "Deep breaths. Don't panic. It's not like they're royalty or something."

She sent him a cross look and he frowned slightly.

"Okay, bad choice of words, but still. No need to bow or do any other fancy thing. Just relax, alright? I promise, they're going to love you."