Chapter 4- Sickness

The scarecrow jumped towards Glinda and put his stuffed hand on her mouth. "Please, I won't hurt you. Just don't shout," he whispered. His voice was gentle, comforting and somewhat familiar. She nodded, and he removed his hand. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to-"

Glinda shot him one furious look, sending his apologies away. "Who are you? What in Oz do you think you're doing, sneaking inside my bedroom?"

There was a knock on the door. "Miss Glinda? Is everything alright?" Boq's voice was heard from the other side of the door.

Glinda's instincts told her not to tell Boq anything about all that, that she could trust that strange scarecrow, and so she answered, "I'm fine, I just had a bad dream again, that's all." Looking at the scarecrow, he nodded, as if it was the right thing to say. "Go back to sleep, Boq. I'm really okay," she added, as reassuringly as she possibly could.

"Well, I'm in my room if you'll need me," he called back to her.

"Thank you. Good night."

The scarecrow waited until the sound of footsteps ceased, before asking incredulously, "What is he doing here?"

Glinda's eyes were two huge icebergs. "I think I'm the one who has the right to ask the questions here," was her sharp reply.

"You're right. I'd better explain myself. I didn't even want to come here, to put you in such a danger. I couldn't come in through the front door, so I had to sneak in through your window."

"Why couldn't you come in through the front door, if I may ask?"

"Well, being considered as a dead person, acting according to social conventions would be a problem."

Glinda stared at him. Obviously, he was trying to tell her something, yet she was too tired and shaken to interpret his weird statement. "Who are you?" she whispered. Considered as dead person? What could he possibly mean by that?

"First you'll have to promise me something. Promise that you won't be mad… for not telling you before," he said.

"Mad? Why would I…" and then, without warning, a memory flashed in front of her eyes.

Did you hear that? Water will MELT her? People are so empty-headed, they'll believe anything!

The vision was so realistic, it overwhelmed her. Was it possible? Could he possibly be… "Fiyero?" she asked, uncertain, as thoughts transformed into words. He slowly nodded. She gasped. "Sweet Oz… I thought you were-"

"…Dead? Yes, well, I'm not. And I need your help," he said urgently, looking deeply into her eyes. She was still beautiful, but there was something old and haunted in her eyes now, something that was there since she has lost her best friend. He saw the exact same thing in Elphaba's eyes, right before she drifted into unconsciousness again, so it was easy to recognize now. He kept asking himself whether leaving her alone in the cabin was a smart idea, whether she'd still be alive when he'd get back… "I really didn't mean to scare you, Glinda," he repeated. "There is something else you need to know…"

She instinctively knew it must be Elphaba. Another gasp escaped her. Elphie was alive! Tears filled her eyes. "Where… where is she?" she asked, voice was trembling.

"In the forest," replied Fiyero, "me coming here was dangerous enough. I didn't want her to come into the city."

"And all this time, she was…" said Glinda, obviously shocked.

Fiyero nodded. "We couldn't tell you, Glinda. Please understand. She missed you so much." They didn't even mention her name yet. It looked safer to refer to her as 'she'.

"How is she?" asked Glinda. She couldn't help but wonder whether her dream did have some significance after all, which meant that Elphaba might be in danger.

Fiyero sighed. "Not so good. Living in seclusion is difficult for her. She wasn't well when we first left the Emerald City, and at some point I thought she was getting better. She was sick before we decided to go back here, and it had just gotten worse and worse. And now… I'm afraid she won't last long," he concluded. The sad expression on his face nearly broke Glinda's already broken heart.

"Take me to her," she said.

Fiyero shook his head in protest. It wasn't a good idea. "But the Wizard, and Boq… if someone will-"

"The Wizard is no longer in Oz, Fiyero. I rule the City now." She wondered if she should tell him the truth about the Wizard being Elphaba's father, but decided against it. After all, it was better that Elphaba would be the first to hear the truth. "And as for Boq, or anyone else in this castle, for that matter," she added, "I'll just cast a spell on the castle. They won't be able to remember what happened." Fiyero hesitated. "Isn't that what you wanted? When you said you needed my help?"

"Yes… no… the thing is… I'm just not sure… how much time she has… I thought she might want to see you, before she…" his voice trailed off. He couldn't say it, he couldn't even think about it.

"Please don't say such things, Fiyero. She is stronger than that," said Glinda softly, hopefully, remembering her dream. Was Elphaba stronger than that?

"Not anymore," Fiyero's voice was full of sorrow and pain.

"How could you just leave her there if she's sick?"

"I didn't see any other way. I hope she will be okay until I get back. Anyway, it's a long way to the forest. Do you think you'll be able to-"

"You forget I have my bubble with me," Glinda replied, already out of her bed, looking for a dress in her closet. "Give me a few minutes to change and cast the spell. Then we can go to her."

After changing into a simple midnight-blue dress and taking several books with her, Glinda had cast a sleeping-spell on the castle and she and Fiyero got into the bubble, on their way to the forest. It was a matter of minutes before they got to the secluded cabin and landed in front of it. Glinda was horrified to hear Elphaba's moans of pain, clearly heard against the silenced night.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked as they entered the cabin.

"Well, she's burning up, for one thing. And I can't use water to lower her temperature. It's like she lets all her defensive walls break down," he said, opening the bedroom door.

Glinda's breath was caught in her throat when she saw Elphaba. She lied in bed, covered with old blankets. Her long black hair was a little longer than Glinda remembered, and it fell on the white pillow. Her forehead glistened with sweat. Glinda hurried to her side and put her hand on Elphie's forehead. "Oh my Oz, she is burning up! Is she conscious? Do you think she'll hear me if I…" her voice trailed off as Elphaba's eyes fluttered open, and their gazes met. She looked terrible, but seemed to recognize her best friend.

"Glinda?" she whispered, as if unable to believe it.

Glinda nodded and wiped the tears from her face. "Yes… yes, I'm here… I'm here, Elphie."

"How did you-"

"Shh, don't speak. You have to rest so we can make you better."

Elphaba shook her head. "I can't get better, I won't, I-"

Glinda shook her head, shocked to hear the hopelessness in her friend's tone. It wasn't like her. "Don't talk like that, Elphie. You'll be all right. If I can't to help you we'll go back to the Emerald City and try to help you there, and then… it will be like we always wanted it to be."

"Together…" murmured Elphaba.

Glinda nodded, a small smile curling on her lips. Maybe there was still hope. But just then Elphaba closed her eyes again, her head dropping on the other side of the pillow. "Elphie… Elphaba, listen to me. You have to open your eyes. You have to stay awake! Fight this! It's not your time to go yet!" She started looking frantically through the spell-books she brought with her but didn't seem to find anything there. The written words whirled in front of her eyes. She looked desperately at Fiyero. "I'm not sure these books are any good, and she won't last long here. We have to get her back to the city."

Fiyero didn't seem thrilled with the idea. "Have you lost your mind? I'm not taking her back there, Glinda, people will kill her for sure this time!"

"First of all, as I have already told you, I'm the ruler there now. No-one will dare hurting her. And second, no-one has to know she is there! I have plenty of empty rooms in my castle. I can't help her here! We are running out of time!"

"I don't know, Glinda. I'm not sure it's a good idea to-"

"Yero…" They stopped arguing when they heard her voice.

Fiyero hurried to her side and held her hand. "What is it, Fae?"

"Trust her. I'll be alright there. Don't worry." Her voice was weak yet determined.

"Do you really want to go back?"

"I can't… stay… here…"

"All right… if that's what you want, we'll do it. We'll go…" Elphaba nodded and closed her eyes. Fiyero turned to face Glinda. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do, too. Now help me get her into the bubble. We have to move, now!"