...Elphaba sat gazing intently into the distance. A small troop of Gale Forcers were leading yet another prisoner to the Wizard. She was too far away to be noticed but she had a talent for stealth nonetheless. As they drew nearer she saw the prisoner was female. "I bet they'll be very entertained by her," thought Elphaba wryly. She shuddered in spite of herself. The group was about to pass her hiding place when she noticed the woman's curly blonde hair. Elphaba's eyes widened in shock. It couldn't be. Not her. Anyone but her.

The Gale Forcers stopped about ten feet away, throwing the prisoner to the ground. The leader brandished a menacing whip.

"Now then, tell us where she is!" demanded the soldier sharply.

"I-I don't know." a small, high-pitched voice answered. It was a voice Elphaba would have recognized anywhere.

"Liar!" CRACK! The whip cam hurtling down on the small figure's back. Elphaba flinched at the woman's pitiful yelp. Her hands clenched into fists so tight her nails were digging into her flesh.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is she?"

She could only sob, her tiny figure shaking.

"Answer me!!" CRACK!

"She's dead! Why do you have any reason to believe she's alive? If I thought she had survived don't you think I would have searched for her?" she asked. WACK! A thick-gloved hand collided with her face. She was sent sprawling across the arid ground.

Her body lay still. Elphaba couldn't stand much more of this. She was visibly trembling, her body aflame with rage. "If she won't talk then we'll have to give her a little incentive." A cruel grin materialized on the leader's face. "Strip her and tie her to that rock." He gripped the whip tighter. "She'll talk when I'm through with her." He moved to where the woman was tied. As he raised the whip Elphaba leaped toward him. "GLINDAAAAAAAA!"

She jolted awake, her body covered in sweat. Her skin was burning from it.

"What's wrong Fae?"

She turned to look into Fiyero's face, etched with concern. It had all been a horrible nightmare. She still could not shake the cold feeling in her heart. "Something terrible is going to happen to Glinda. I've got to help her!" Elphaba leaped to her feet. Fiyero grabbed her hand to stop her. She wheeled and faced him with the iciest glare he had ever seen. "Let go of me. I won't let her die!"

"Elphie, listen to me. You can't go back. They will kill you for sure this time. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

Elphaba jerked her hand from his grasp. "Oh, but you can stand the thought of Glinda being tortured to her death just fine!" she spat out fiercely.

"No, I don't want her to be harmed just as much as you do, but you can't just..."

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do. She's the only person who ever truly cared about me, except for you. I am not going to stand idly by while she is put through unspeakable misery because of me." Elphaba's voice trembled with emotion. "I would die for her just as I would die for you." She looked Fiyero straight in the eye, daring him to stop her.

He just sighed and said, "Then I'm coming with you."

"Fiyero, if they find you with me we will both be killed. I don't want to be the cause of your death."

"I'm not letting you go alone."

He grabbed herby the shoulders and pulled her towards him. "Let me help you. You need to stop being the strong one all the time. Your life would be so much easier if you could learn to accept help from those who love you."

"I wish I could Yero, but it's like I've been destined to lead a life of pain. Every time I try to do some good it gets thrown in my face. I'm tired of being the blame girl. I don't know what I did to deserve this life." She shook her head sadly. "It doesn't matter now. What's done is done and there's nothing I can do to change it."

Fiyero hugged her tightly and rubbed her back gently. He wished he could take her pain away and set her free.

"Elphie I..."

"Shhh...," she put a jade finger on his lips. She kissed him deeply, hungrily. For a moment the world seemed to stop spinning. She pulled back abruptly. "Sweet Oz! Glinda! We have to hurry!" She grabbed her broom and dashed out of the cave with Fiyero following close behind.