Glinda was feeling rather ebullient despite the pouring rain; Elphaba had not only consented to go to the ball following the Ozma's coronation without any sort of coaxing from Glinda, but had been more than cooperative during the rest of their shopping trip. She did know that Elphaba had been goaded into attending by Pfannee's consistent snobbiness; regardless her motivation, the important fact was that Elphaba was going.

On the other hand, Elphaba, who failed to share Glinda's zest for social gatherings, was mourning the loss of her sense of reason.

Fiyero found the entire situation rather amusing and couldn't resist teasing Elphaba. "Fae, I didn't know Pfannee had become such a pleasant character and that you enjoyed her company enough to attend the ball."

Elphaba glowered at him from across the dinner table. She was sorely tempted to cast a spell to mute him. "I would enjoy her company as much as you would a fire's if you were still a scarecrow," she said menacingly.

"Do you have to be so sour, Elphie?" asked Glinda.

"How do you think I got my color?" retorted Elphaba.

"You'll make a charming belle of the ball, Fae," added Fiyero, undeterred by Elphaba's comment.

"Ha!" laughed Elphaba forcefully.

"It's not impossible," said Glinda with a gleam in her eyes.

"Remember when you tried to make me popular?" reminded Elphaba. "You were hardly successful."

"That's because you didn't stay around long enough!"

"I had more important things to do, things that could actually be accomplished!" Seeing the look of hurt on Glinda's face, Elphaba regretted her harsh words. Changing her tone, she said, "Just don't try to undertake any more 'projects' involving me." She gave Glinda an apologetic look.

Accepting the silent apology, Glinda continued the conversation. "Whether or not you're the belle of the ball, you're sole reason for going is to give Pfannee cause to eat her words. Therefore, we have got to make sure there's nothing about you she can pick at."

"Considering the type of person she is, I know she'll find something to pick at," said Elphaba.

"She's going to have a difficult time finding any flaws then," said Fiyero, breaking his silence after letting the two women settle their conflict.

"I know of one she can find right away; I don't know how to dance," stated Elphaba matter-of-factly.

"Easily remedied," said Fiyero with a careless wave of his left hand. "If everyone here is through," he added, motioning towards the remainder of their meal, "Then, we can proceed immediately with the basics."

Glinda nodded her head in agreement. Rising from the table, she rang the bell that signaled the maid to clear the dishes. Elphaba pushed herself away from the table with a sigh and stood up. Glinda then led the way to her very large and impressive ballroom. One side was completely paneled in glass with a pair of doors leading to a well manicured garden. The rest of the ballroom consisted of marble in two distinct, but coordinating shades of blue. There hung a grand chandelier in the center of the room, and there were several small but elegant lamps attached to the walls. The effect was stunning when Glinda turned the lights on; even Elphaba admitted the room was quite a sight.

"Let's start. Elphie go stand with Fiyero, move in front of him. Closer; how do you expect to dance with him that far apart?" instructed Glinda.

"Why do I feel like I should be on display at a fair?" grumbled Elphaba as she allowed Fiyero to move her hands into the proper position.

"Just follow my lead," said Fiyero.

"Exactly," said Glinda. "We'll worry about your footwork later. Now begin, one, two, three, one, two, three..."

Elphaba moved slowly and awkwardly. She hardly found the movements difficult, they simply felt...strange. She felt exposed; she was an amateur compared to Fiyero and Glinda.

"Elphie, why don't you stop a minute? Maybe it will help for you to watch me and Fiyero," said Glinda, gently intervening. Elphaba willingly stepped back and allowed Glinda to take her place.

"And, one, two three, one, two, three, and turn," said Glinda as Fiyero gracefully spun her around. "See, Elphie, it's not hard." Elphaba continued to watch as the pair proceeded to execute several more complicated steps. The two continued to glide across the floor. They looked beautiful together.

---

The Tinman threw down his invitation to the Ozma's coronation ball in disgust. It was signed by Ginda the Good. Glinda...he never got his chance to express his true feelings for her. Now he never would be able to since he was now this...thing. He remembered the passion he once had for her, but he could no longer feel it. He had gone to the Wizard with high hopes, but it was as Elphaba had said, he was fraud. He pretended to be satisfied for Dorothy's sake; the girl was so innocent and naive.

Elphaba...she'd done this to him. Why? He'd never done anything to merit this kind of curse. Certainly, he'd never been on good terms with her, still he was not one of the people who had relentlessly teased her in school. Although it meant there was little to no chance of him being reverted back to his original form, he was still glad to learn of her death. He had hoped that she suffered much; melting seemed an extremely unpleasant way to die.

Now she was back, and possessed the trust of Glinda and the Ozma no less. It was likely a publicity ploy on the Ozma's part. He couldn't muster any reason for Glinda to trust the witch. That's what she was a witch. She destroyed and hurt anyone she came in contact with. It wouldn't be long before she would come in search of him to finish him off. He'd kept out of the public eye since Dorothy left; although, treated as a hero, he still found his condition humiliating. Women talked cheerily with him, but not one would ever bother to take a romantic interest in him; again, his thoughts fell back on Glinda.

Would it have made a difference in his life if he had confessed his feelings to her early on? No, he realized, it wouldn't have. She'd never cared for him back at Shiz, and afterward she was too busy fulfilling her role as Glinda the Good to even spare a thought for him. Yes, she did have a kind word for him the few times they actually came across one another, but nothing more. His mind had always been on her though, every minute of the day. He'd loved and worshipped her. She had returned the bane of his existence back to the city.

"For once I'm glad I'm heartless; I'll be heartless killing her!"

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AN: Finally, I present to you the villain! Also, I introduce the cliffhanger! Mwhahahaha! Once again, I can't resist popping in a musical lyric. Thanks so much to Lady Bianca for helping me out with Boq's mindset, and to Yvi, who does such a great job of editing my chapters and sends me nice emails. A note to Lady Bianca: I will be using your suggestion about Pfannee's behavior in the next chapter, I promise. I know I said I'd be using it in this one, but as you know, my chapters have a way of not turning out the way I plan. Lots of thanks also go to my readers, especially those who take the time to review and provide constructive criticism. --Lan

P.S. If anyone could suggest a better title for this chapter, I'd be much obliged.

P.P.S. For once, I'm going to actually post the disclaimer instead of saying it's located in chapter one.

Disclaimer: Wicked, The Wizard of Oz, and their characters belong to their respectful owners Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz, and L.F. Baum.