Author's Note: Okay well I came through this hurricane okay, but now I might be getting a THIRD one THIS weekend. ::screams:: So once again…send it go away vibes. And if you don't hear from me…you know why. One chapter and an epilogue left after this.


Chapter 36

It took four days for Boq and Glinda to coax Elphaba out of her room. Nearly every hour one of them made a trip to her door with food, sometimes accompanied by Liir, Nor, and on occasion even Chistery. Nothing budged her. She seemed determined to starve to death. It wasn't until Boq thought to tell her of Yackle's visit that she would even open the door.

"What?" she snapped at Boq, flinging the door open in his face. She was irritated at the intrusion on her grief and yet curious at the same time. Anything having to do with Yackle interested her at the moment. Over the past few days she had racked her brain as to what Yackle might mean, might be keeping her waiting for. Perhaps Boq had the answer. "Tell me what Yackle said!"

Elphaba grabbed Boq by the shoulders and dragged him into her room, closing the door behind her. It was dark in the room and she could not see his face, but Boq flinched visibly and for a moment Elphaba registered the fact that he was afraid of her, but she was beyond caring. Far beyond caring.

"W-wait!" he stammered, and wrenched himself out of her grasp.

Elphaba cursed loudly.

"Where are you going?" she shrieked as he stumbled out the door.

"I'll be back!"

Elphaba sat on the edge of the bed and held her head in her hands, digging her fingernails into the skin at her temples. It stung a little, but she could barely feel it over the blinding, throbbing pain in her skull. It was as if all the hurt she had ever caused was now somehow trapped inside her body and was coming back to punish her for years of mistakes and misfortune.

"Stop it," she growled to nothing in particular. "Stopitstopitstopit!"

There was a slight grinding noise as someone reopened the door, and Elphaba managed to look up just in time to see Nor entering, Boq trailing behind her like an injured puppy. So he'd brought backup. Elphaba sat up a little straighter and took a deep breath. She knew they would not talk to her if they thought she was insane. They would only trouble her more. She had to somehow reassemble her shell at least outwardly, or they would sense that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

"Yackle," said Elphaba, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "Tell me about Yackle."

Somehow Elphaba could sense Nor's inquisitive look even in the darkness.

"May I sit down?" asked the girl, apparently unfazed by Elphaba's rage.

"Sit, sit," snapped Elphaba. "Sit if you have to. Talk while you do it."

Nor took her time finding her way over to the bed in the dark and sitting down on the edge. Elphaba got up and paced to the other side of the room, not wanting to be too close to either of them.

"Yackle appeared here about…three weeks ago now," said Boq warily. "She was here under the pretense that she could tell people their fortunes."

"Pretense?" said Elphaba, and laughed harshly.

Boq cleared his throat.

"Go on."

"I-I asked her about…about…"

"Your family," said Elphaba.

"How did you—"

"Oh as if it wasn't obvious!" cried Elphaba, then felt bad for being so harsh with him. "Go on."

"She told me that they—nevermind. You don't need to know." Boq's voice was getting louder. He was becoming surer of himself. "The Nor asked Yackle how to defeat the tiktoks. Yackle told her that they need the Clock of the Time Dragon to service their clockwork. If we destroy it, they'll all eventually cease to function. Die."

"If it was three weeks ago why haven't you done it yet?" snapped Elphaba.

"Because we don't know how," said Nor, speaking for the first time. "When I asked Yackle how to get into the Emerald Palace, she said to ask you. She said she'd make sure you got back safely just for that."

Elphaba inhaled sharply. Of course. If Yackle wanted her to redeem herself, what more impossible way could she choose? Absently, she ran a hand through her hair, catching a snarled strand of it around her long fingers and began twirling it. It was a nervous habit she hadn't had since she was schoolgirl at Shiz.

"The Tin Woodman," she said suddenly. "What ever happened to the Tin Woodman?"

"He's secured himself a position on the tiktok security force," said Nor. "He can't get away very often, but they trust him enough to leave him in charge of guarding the Emerald Palace. Very convenient for us. And very precarious."

"It's perfect," murmured Elphaba, excitement running through her.

"What is?" asked Boq.

"We bomb the Emerald Palace. Destroy the Clock of the Time Dragon and as many of those damned tiktoks as we can."

Nor stood up excitedly.

"Lurlinemas Eve," she said breathlessly.

"What?" asked Elphaba.

"It's in a week. It's perfect. The Tin Woodman can place the bomb, and then we go in and detonate it."

"How do we get materials?" asked Boq dejectedly.

"We have sources," said Nor confidently. "And the Tin Woodman can help with that as well. I'm sure our Wonderful Wizard left some things behind when he left. From what I've heard, the tiktoks haven't done much in the way of cleanup of the palace."

"Are we agreed?" asked Elphaba, suddenly eager to get the others out of her room. Her head was pounding again, so hard she could barely hear.

"Yes," said Nor. "I'll alert the others."

The girl got up and made her way to the door, then stopped. The door was part way open and the hall light bled in, burning Elphaba's eyes. She shuddered.

"One more thing," said Nor.

"What?" snapped Elphaba for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Are you willing to help in this operation?"

"Yes!" said Elphaba, louder than she'd meant to. Boq hurried out into the hall, looking nervously over his shoulder at Elphaba and Nor. "I'll do whatever it takes."

As Nor let the door close behind her, Elphaba walked back over to the bed and collapsed on it.

"Whatever it takes to be free," she murmured thickly just before falling into a deep sleep.


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