Chapter 3- Dreams and Nightmares

Fiyero started having second thoughts about agreeing to Elphaba's plan of going back to the Emerald City. She caught a cold just a few days before they began their journey, but she insisted she would be alright on the way there. She didn't have any intention to postpone that journey. He knew how stubborn she could be so he didn't try to talk her out of it, but now, when they finally got into the forest, she looked really bad. He began to worry about her.

"Fae… you don't look so good," he started hesitantly.

"Well, thank you very much, darling, it's always good to hear a compliment," she replied, trying to flash a faint smile at him, but feeling too weak to do even that. She would never admit it to him, but she felt horrible, like her whole body was on fire. She could hardly walk at that point. She just hoped they would find their old cabin soon. She coughed. He gave her a resentful, I-told-you-so look. "Oh, Yero… stop worrying, I'll be alright. I just need to lie down for a little while…" she murmured, falling to the ground.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero exclaimed, the panic rises within him. He shook her, as gently as he possibly could. She was as light as a rag doll. Oh no. "Elphaba, wake up!" he ordered her, but it didn't sound as firm as intended. "Don't do this to me, open your eyes!"

Even though she heard his voice, she could hardly obey. She was surrounded by darkness, but it didn't feel at all threatening. It felt as if she was floating, soaring… defying gravity… Fiyero's voice came out of nowhere, soft and encouraging. She forced herself to do as she was told, telling herself that Fiyero knew what he was doing. Her eyes fluttered open.

"That's it… open your eyes, Fae…"

"What… happened…" she whispered brokenly, slowly forcing her eyes open.

A frowning and terrified Fiyero looked back at her. "You fainted. We have to get you to that damn cabin. Can you get up?"

"Give me a second, will you?"

He looked as if he wanted to say something, probably to scold her senseless, but he kept quiet. He simply nodded and removed her hair out of her face. Her forehead was burning hot, but he said nothing.

It took her a few minutes to put herself together. She sat on the dry leaves and leaned her head against Fiyero's chest.

"The cabin can't be very far from here," he promised. "Just hold on a little longer."

"I just hope it is still there, and still deserted."

"Can you stand up?"

"I think I can," and she did. Being made of straw, Fiyero couldn't carry her, so she just leaned against him and they walked slowly through the tall trees the rest of the way.

Fiyero was the first to notice the cabin. "Thank Oz! Fae, look, there it is!" he exclaimed, obviously relieved. He didn't want to continue walking in the dark, not when Elphaba looked so sick and exhausted. He hoped no-one lived there, and that they could pass the night there. She definitely needed sleep.

He helped her going inside the cabin, and then into bed. "Will you be alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, I will," she replied and managed a small reassuring smile.

Maybe it was time to say what was on his mind. "I knew we shouldn't have gone to that journey when you are sick."

"Well, it's a little late to regret it now, isn't it? We did most of the way, give me a day or two to recover and we'll go on."

"I wish you weren't so stubborn," he grumbled.

Elphaba laughed softly. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't too."

It was time to tell her. He was thinking about it for a while, well, he was thinking about it forever, but he always feared from her reaction. Somehow he didn't think it would be difficult to convince her. He'd just have to ask and find out. "Fae… after you'll be able to… turn me back… will you…" he hesitated, looking deeply into her tired eyes. She looked back at him questionably, waiting for him to continue speaking. "Will you marry me?" he ended in a whisper. She stared at him in shock and said nothing. He laughed nervously. Maybe he shouldn't have been so confident about her consent? "Well, now would be a great time to say something."

"I… I don't know what to say…" she stammered.

Fiyero laughed at that, clearly amused. "Amazing. For once on your life, you are speechless." They both laughed now. The ice was broken.

"I will be honored to be your wife, Yero," she said quietly, holding his stuffed hand tightly in hers. He smiled. "And I promise I'll do everything I can to reverse this spell."

"I know you will," he whispered and tucked the covers around her. "Sleep now, okay? I'll be in the other room."

"Will you stay with me? Until I fall asleep?" she asked. Fiyero nodded. She smiled and closed her eyes. "I love you, Fiyero," she murmured right before she drifted into unconsciousness.


"This is it. I'll be gone soon," said Elphaba.

Glinda looked at her, her eyes filled with tears. "No. Elphaba, you can't. You can't go when I need you the most! You are my best friend… the only one that ever mattered…"

"It's just my time, Miss Galinda Upland," said Elphaba simply. "But I promise that we'll meet again someday… but not yet."

"Elphie, no!" cried Glinda. "Stop it! Fight this!"

"There is no point. It is just my time…" Elphaba repeated, her voice soft and even; not at all scared. "But I'll remember everything you did for me, Glinda… Always… You were my only friend… I'll miss you… But it's my time to go…" and then she just disappeared.

Glinda screamed. "No! Elphaba! Elphie… Elphie…"

She woke up with a start and realized that it was just a dream… just a horrible dream. She took a deep breath before she got out of bed, wrapped a pink rob around her and went down to the castle's kitchen.


Glinda went back into her room. She put the cup of hot chocolate on her nightstand and crawled back under the pink covers. She was still a little shaken by the nightmare she had about Elphaba. Boq slept three rooms away from hers, further down the hall, but she didn't want to appear silly, waking him up because of a bad dream. It was just a bad dream, after all, she reminded herself. Nothing but a bad dream.

In an attempt to push the nightmare aside, Glinda decided to stick to happy thoughts. Surprisingly, the first thing that popped into her mind was Boq. They had a nice evening together. They sat by the fireplace and talked for hours. She found herself enjoying his company. Suddenly, she noticed how kind he was, and interesting, and intelligent. She even let him kiss her goodnight. The thought of his blushing tin face made her smile.

The curtains moved in the cool night wind, and Glinda was paralyzed for a second. Just the wind, she reminded herself. She closed her eyes in order to make all her bad thoughts disappear, but instead, when she opened them again she thought she saw a figure hiding behind the curtains. "Who's there?" she asked, the panic clear in her trembling voice.

A man came out from behind the curtains. As he approached her bed, Glinda realized that it wasn't a man, but a scarecrow.

She couldn't stop the scream that escaped her throat.