Chapter 10

The blanket had fallen to the floor sometime during the time that they were asleep, and a kind of clammy cold had filled the room. The torch was still burning somehow, bluish now, and Elphaba wondered whether Glinda's magicked flame was meant to simulate the cycle of daylight in the world above. She sat up and pulled the blanket back over them, shivering a little. Fiyero stirred, smiling at her drowsily. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead gently.

"Sleep well?" he asked, his breath warm against her cheek.

Elphaba shrugged, searched for some indifferent response, then shook herself. There was no need to hide from him any longer. She would have to get used to that.

"Yes."

Fiyero sat up a little and kissed her neck, working his way down to her shoulder. She closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy his touch for a moment longer.

"Fiyero."

He ran his fingers through her hair and down her back. Elphaba sat up, pulling away from him, but allowed him to keep an arm around her waist.

"What?"

"Fiyero…what are we going to do? We don't even have enough food to last two more days, and even if we did, you can be sure the tiktoks will give us no peace now that they know where we are."

Fiyero sighed, his eyes distant. Elphaba reached up to trace the pattern of blue diamonds on his face.

"I don't know, we could try to move up into Kiamo Ko…It's not as safe, but at least there wouldn't be the danger of getting trapped. The rainy season will be here soon…there's too much chance of a flood for us to stay here much longer. And we could try to hunt tomorrow…today. Listen, the others are awake."

Elphaba smiled a little at the now all-too familiar sound of Glinda chattering incessantly in the main room. She leaned over and kissed Fiyero again, then threw the blanket aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing a little at the cold. She pulled on one of the white Scrow robes, then wove her hair back into a loose braid. Fiyero came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Elphaba turned and caught him in a bone-crushing hug.

"What was that for?" he asked, smiling.

"You saved my life yesterday. I just realized I never thanked you." She buried her face against his shoulder and laughed. "Yero, my hero."

He pulled away and grinned at her, his eyes shining with tears.

"You okay?"

Elphaba's face fell slightly, and she shrugged.

"I'm far from 'okay.' It'll take a hell of a lot more for me to be what you'd call okay. I'm not even sure it's possible anymore."

"Elphaba…"

Fiyero sat back down on the edge of the bed and tried to pull her down beside him.

"Fiyero," she protested, "The others are awake, they'll be—"

He wrapped his arms around Elphaba's waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"They'll still be there in ten more minutes. Talk to me."

She slid off his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him desperately.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked, her voice muffled against his neck.

"Ask yourself that question."

"Well I would," said Elphaba dryly. "but we're currently not on speaking terms."

Fiyero laughed and kissed her temple.

"What?"

"Nothing. I love you."

"What was it like?" Elphaba asked slowly, "in the ruby mines?"

Fiyero sighed deeply and tightened his arms around her waist.

"Awful…" he whispered. "I don't …I can't really remember…except…pain…and…." He took a long, shuddering breath, then let it out slowly. "I'm sorry. I can't talk about this yet." He shivered.

In a rare moment of tenderness, Elphaba kissed his forehead and ran her fingers through his hair. Then she got to her feet and pulled him up beside her.

"Come on. We need to figure out what we're going to do."

In the main room, Glinda was attempting to magick the dry wheat crackers into something more edible. Gerema was standing off in one corner, her face unreadable. Boq was hovering over Glinda's shoulder, looking on nervously.

"Really, Master Boq, I don't see what you're so worried about. It's quite a simple task, really. There's hardly anything that could go wrong…"

There was a small "pop" noise and the pile of crackers shattered into a multitude of crumbs.

"Hmm…" muttered Glinda in dismay, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Gerema sighed loudly from her place in the corner, and Glinda rounded on her.

"What?" asked Glinda indignantly, "You think you could have done better?"

Gerema only shrugged.

"I do not pretend to have any sorcery training. I simply think it would have had a better outcome if you had simply left the crackers as they were."

Glinda daintily turned up her nose at Gerema and made one of the little "hmph" noises that seemed to be her specialty.

"Well…" She searched unsuccessfully for some witty comeback, then threw up her hands helplessly. "Breakfast. I'm sure it still tastes the same…" She gestured for the others to eat the cracker crumbs.

Gerema turned up her nose and sat down on the creaky old sofa. Boq tore his eyes away from the mess on the table and jumped slightly as he caught sight of Elphaba and Fiyero for the first time.

"Good morning." Fiyero greeted, acting as though nothing was amiss.

Elphaba gave him a look, then walked to the other side of the room, keeping her face carefully neutral. Glinda let out a few giggles, then quickly got control of herself after seeing the others' disapproving looks.

"Did you two…sleep well?" asked Glinda, then dissolved into another fit of giggles. Elphaba gave her a look to kill, and Glinda quickly stuffed some cracker crumbs into her mouth, then broke into a coughing fit.

"Right," said Fiyero, ignoring Glinda's predicament. "We have some…things to figure out."

Boq took a handful of cracker crumbs off the table and sat down on the sofa. Gerema got up and walked to the other side of the room, where she stood leaning against a wall. Boq looked slightly taken aback at her sudden departure, even more so when Elphaba sat down beside him in Gerema's place.

"Things?" asked Boq, "Like the fact that we have no food besides this…this…" He gestured to the crumbs on the table.

Fiyero looked around to see if someone else would take control of the discussion. When no one did, he cleared his throat.

"I think we all know we can't stay here much longer. We're no longer safe here now that the tiktoks know where we are. It would be all too easy for them to surround us and trap us down here. We'd suffocate, or starve. And even if we managed to remain hidden, the rainy season will be starting any day now. If a tunnel were to cave in…" He trailed off and looked around the room. Everyone was watching him with rapt attention. Fiyero turned to Gerema. "I'd be willing to attempt to hunt this afternoon if you'll come with me."

Gerema nodded curtly.

"When shall we leave?"

Fiyero shrugged.

"As soon as you can be ready."

She nodded again, then walked off down the hallway, presumably to gather the necessary equipment. Fiyero turned back towards the bedroom, Elphaba close on his heels.

"What?" he asked when they were out of earshot of Glinda and Boq.

"I'm going with you," said Elphaba firmly.

Fiyero sighed and shook his head.

"No. I won't let you risk your life any more than you already have."

"And I won't let you take foolish risks!" Elphaba snapped.

"Elphie, it's not a foolish risk. It's a necessity. If we don't hunt, we'll starve. That is a fact and you know it."

"Fiyero…" She trailed off, her expression softening. "I…I need to go with you this time. I do trust you, but…if something were to happen…"

Fiyero sighed and took her gently by the shoulders.

"Elphaba, life is risky. You're just going to have to accept that." He paused, then shook his head helplessly. "All right. Come with us then. But you have to promise me you'll stay calm this time."

Elphaba nodded solemnly, then followed him back out into the main room to gather the others.

Okay so…some fluffiness for you. Goodness knows they deserve it. Review please!