My dear Elphaba!

I want to begin by apologizing. I still don't understand your decision to go see your father, but it was your decision to make. I'm so sorry about how I reacted and how we left things off. I just hope that you are safe and doing well.

My parents send their best wishes. They were a little upset to see me arrive alone (did I ever tell you they like you more than me?), but they respect your decision (unlike Zefiyr and Safiya, who are very upset with you). We are all still hoping to see you later this summer – especially my mother, who is unreasonably excited to chat with you in Vinkun.

My dear Fae, I selfishly hope that you miss me as much as I miss you. I know you can handle yourself, but if you're ever in the mood for being saved, I'm always ready to rush to your rescue. I am, after all, your prince charming, my princess.

Ámia't q'raíh (Love you always),

Fiyero

•••

Dearest Fiyero,

I owe you an apology of my own. I'm sorry for being so distant in the last few days before I left. I'm not used to people wanting to protect me, so when you do, I feel like you see me as weak – even though I know that's not the case. Thank you for being so patient with me, k'ámir.

Please, give my best wishes and sincerest apologies to your family. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint all of you – I probably won't be able to make it out west this summer (maybe it's for the best, as I'm afraid my Vinkun would not satisfy your mother's expectations). Our father is gravely ill; he has been delirious for the past few weeks, and I don't think he's able to recognize his surroundings anymore. I know I can't help him, but I need to stay, for Nessa's sake. She's been handling it all very bravely, but I can tell she's scared. I can't let her get through this alone, not again.

Yero, you know perfectly well that I miss you terribly and I can't wait to be with you again. However, if you call me your princess even one more time, I will refuse to speak to you for the remainder of my days.

Kyé t'ká'ai q'raíh (does that make any sense?),

Elphaba

•••

My dear Elphaba!

Please, don't feel that you're disappointing anyone by being a caring older sister and overall wonderful person. We all admire your strength and we're keeping you and Nessa in our thoughts.

As for your language skills – my mother would be delighted to hear you so much as introduce yourself in Vinkun. You know how passionate she is about protecting our language, since it's visibly going extinct on account of everyone here speaking Ozian. Anyone from another culture taking even a remote interest in learning Vinkun is a dream come true of hers – especially if it makes her idiot son into a teacher.

Speaking of which – if you were trying to say something along the lines of "I'm always yours" (which I sincerely hope you were!), you were almost correct: it would be "Ká'ai téha q'raíh". Your language-learning skills never cease to impress me (seriously, Fae, is there anything you can't do?).

I hope I possess at least a third of your talent, since I'm apparently going to have to learn sign language. If you refuse to speak to me when I call you that thing I'm not allowed to call you, I'm going to need another way for us to understand each other. I mean – how else am I supposed to communicate with you when we're married?

K'alla sá'ai téha (this one, I'm sure, you can figure out for yourself),

Fiyero