Fiyero finally had Glinda cornered in the dark hallway of a rickety old
apartment building.
"What happened, Glinda?" He demanded, but pretty little Glinda just stood
there, dumbfounded. He gently shook her, grasping her shoulders. "Please
understand, Glinda, I just want to know what happened when you and Elphaba
disappeared. We were all so worried about you two. We thought Elphie was
just going to meet the wizard, and the next thing we know, you two don't
exist anymore." Fiyero's thoughtful dark eyes searched Glinda's worried
blue ones. When he could find no answer in them, he dropped his hands to
his sides.
Glinda thought he looked so dejected, she had to tell him on everything.
But when she opened her mouth, all that came out was babble. "Well, we.
see, Elphie. and, um. 'Cuz I." she sighed, frustrated. "I've never been
good with words. Come with me." With this, she grabbed Fiyero's large hand,
and led him up frighteningly unsafe stairs.
When she reached the top, she turned to the second door on the left. It
didn't have a number, and the paint was peeling. "Boy," Fiyero thought,
"These girls sure have shitty living conditions. How could they give up all
that they did for this?" Before he got to deeply into his thoughts, Glinda
rapped sharply on the door. There was no answer, and she knocked again,
with what seemed to be a definitive pattern. The door swung open, but there
was no one there.
"Elphie is paranoid about being recognized, especially because of her. ya
know. skin," Glinda whispered to Fiyero, nudging him inside. "Elphaba!" She
called out. "We have a visitor."
When she heard this, Elphaba sprang out, shouting, "Glinda, what have you
done? You can't bring visitors up here! What were you thinking! You - " But
she stopped short when she saw who it was. "Fiyero. Oh my! Is there anyone
else? Boq, maybe?" She looked around, but Fiyero shook his head, slightly
confused and disoriented. "Oh it doesn't matter. It's so good to see
someone from our days at Shiz!" She flung her arms around Fiyero.
"It's great to see you girls, too," he replied. They both smiled. They
hadn't had much contact with a man in so long.
The three friends sat down for tea, and talked for hours. Glinda was so
happy to see Elphaba's unexpected response to Fiyero. She had dropped all
of her insecurities at someone from her past knowing she was still alive.
The girls learned all about the outside world, beyond Emerald City, all
about Boq's marriage to Nessarose, and his new job as a woodcutter, and
about his two silly friends now traveling with the Ozian Circus.
After telling the girls everything he knew, Fiyero asked about what they'd
been up to. Glinda looked nervously at Elphaba, who had gotten very quiet
and serious.
"Well, we've been planning -" Glinda began.
"What we've been up to is of no concern to you, Fiyero," interrupted
Elphaba coldly.
"It seems to me," he reasoned, "that I just told you everything you wanted
to know without hesitation. I asked only one simple question. I don't need
details; I just want to know where you went when you disappeared, and why.
Don't tell me the two of you have simply been living in this shit hole for
the past few years, doing nothing. That you just needed to get away for the
stress of college work."
Glinda looked from him to Elphaba, who was staring hard at him. She got up,
abruptly.
"Well, Fiyero," she chirped, "this has been a great reunion, we should do
this again sometime, but right now, Elphie has something important to do.
Most pressing business, I'm sure as a prince you can understand. Allow me
to walk you back to your place."
Her cheerful façade stared down on him until he reluctantly, and with a
single glance back at the sulking green figure, Glinda led Fiyero outside.
