Note: I do not own any of these characters. They are the property of Gregory Maguire.
Boq leaped to his feet. "Who's there?" he demanded. "Show yourself!"
"Take it easy Boq. It's only me." Fiyero revealed himself from behind the rocks.
"Fiyero?? I thought you'd been killed."
"Well, I am very much alive though I have seen better days." Fiyero replied.
"It's good to see a friend." Boq remarked.
"I agree with you there Boq." said Fiyero. "I'll be right back."
Fiyero disappeared behind the rocks and ran to Elphaba and Glinda. "What is it?" Elphaba asked.
"You scared us half to death when you climbed down into the cave. I had to hold Elphaba back." Glinda piped in.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. I have a surprise for both of you."
He grabbed both of them by the hand and practically dragged them to the outcropping. They quickly climbed the rocks and found themselves face to face with their old friend Boq.
"Biq?" Glinda gasped.
"It's Boq." He sighed. "But yes it's me."
"Oh Boq! It's so wonderful to see you!" Elphaba exclaimed.
Boq hadn't noticed her and nearly collapsed in disbelief. "But...but...y-you're supposed to b-b-be..."
"Dead. So I hear. You shouldn't believe everything you hear." Elphaba stated. "I see you're still infatuated with our dear Glinda." she observed.
Boq's face turned a brilliant shade of red and he lowered his head.
"I'll take that as a yes." Elphaba giggled.
"Oh you're impossible Elphie!" exclaimed Glinda.
"How did you come to find this place?" Fiyero questioned.
"Well, after the alleged melting of the Wicked Witch of the West I decided to go to her castle and see for myself and to pay my respects. I figured I would wait until the initial fervor died down before beginning the journey. I've only been traveling about a week."
Elphaba was touched that Boq would travel such a great distance to pay respects to her memory. They had been schoolmates and he had obtained valuable documents for her to aid Doctor Dillamond's research. She never realized that he considered her to be a close friend.
"Why are you looking at me like that Elphaba?" asked Boq.
"I'm just surprised that you would travel all this way just for me."
"We'd been through so much I felt you deserved at least that much." he replied simply.
"I never knew you were so thoughtful Boq." Glinda said.
"You remembered my name!" Boq cried.
"There's hope for the world yet." Elphaba remarked sarcastically.
"This world is full of strange surprises." Glinda responded. She had a strange look in her eyes, one that none of them had ever seen before.
"I think we should leave them alone." Elphaba whispered in Fiyero's ear.
He nodded and led her into the back of the cave where there was a slightly smaller space. Glinda and Boq began to have a long talk.
"I'm glad it was Boq who found our cave and not the Wizard's men." Elphaba told Fiyero.
"So am I." he replied as he held Elphaba. He began absentmindedly twirling a section of her long, midnight hair around his blue diamond finger.
"What are we going to do?" Elphaba wondered out loud. "We can't stay here forever. Eventually we will have to come out of hiding."
She took Fiyero's hand in her own, a river flowing through a green meadow. "For once I would like to be able to live a normal life." She looked deeply into Fiyero's eyes. "To raise a family."
He kissed her tenderly. "We have our whole lives ahead of us Fae. We will be able to live them the way we choose someday."
Elphaba sighed heavily. "I'm just tired of sitting around, unable to change what's been happening."
Fiyero knew how much she hated feeling weak and powerless. Her frustration was taking a toll on her. She was starting to look thin as if her emotions were eating away at her.
"Fae you need to relax. Right now there is nothing you can do but wait. Don't let it get to you. Here, eat some of this." He handed her some bread and fruit. "You're going to worry yourself sick."
Elphaba accepted his offering even though she wasn't very hungry. She felt as though a crowd of munchkins were dancing in her stomach. She ate some of the fruit to make Fiyero happy. As she ate she gazed at him, deep in thought. Her eyes began to trace the pattern of diamonds on his torso. She would never get over how beautiful they made him.
"What are you thinking about?"
Fiyero's soothing voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Nothing it's just...I don't know how you put up with me. I'm hot-headed, irrational..."
"Beautiful." Fiyero supplied.
Elphaba made a face. "I'm being serious."
"So am I." he replied.
"Anyway, we seem to balance each other out. You're level-headed and laid-back while I'm just..." She let the sentence hang.
"You're fiery and strong-willed. I've never seen anyone as passionate about justice as you are. There should be more people like you in the world." Fiyero said.
"Minus the green skin." remarked Elphaba bitterly.
"No. Green skin and all." he said sternly. "It's not the packaging that matters. It's the person inside."
"Always the romantic." teased Elphaba.
"I'm just getting warmed up." Fiyero replied mischievously. And he covered her with kisses.
Boq and Glinda stared at each other in total silence.
"Why did you remember my name?" Boq asked quietly.
"I-I don't know." Glinda paced nervously, unsure of what to say. "It's like something just clicked in my head and suddenly I didn't see an annoying little boy. I saw a sincere, caring man."
Boq looked at Glinda and said, "I've never stopped loving you. There wasn't a day that passed when I didn't think of you. I wanted so badly for you to see me as a person."
"Oh Boq! I feel awful about the way I treated you! I was young and self-absorbed. I've grown so much since Shiz. I guess I realized there's more to life than killer good looks."
Boq burst out laughing. "And what, may I ask, is so humoracious?" Glinda demanded.
"I'm just happy to see you haven't changed completely. There's still a tiny seed of conceit deep inside." Boq answered.
"Hmph!" Glinda crossed her arms huffily.
"C'mon Glinda. I was only teasing. Lighten up." said Boq as he tickled her.
"S-stop!! I'm v-very t-t-ticklish!" Glinda squealed.
He loved the sound of her high, tinkling laughter. It reminded him of wind chimes in a gentle summer breeze. They collapsed in a fit of giggles.
"How adorable." Elphaba remarked, interrupting their reverie.
Boq sprang to his feet. "We were just...she...I..."
"It's ok. You're allowed to have fun. Don't stop just because I'm here." Elphaba told him.
"And just what were you two doing all this time?" Glinda wanted to know.
"If you must know we were having a nice chat." Elphaba replied as she shot Glinda a 'not now' look. Glinda's eyes twinkled with anticipation.
"It's getting late and I want to get an early start tomorrow. You are all welcome to join me. I don't know if it would be too painful for you to return to the castle Elphie." Boq said.
Elphaba thought for a moment before saying, "I would like to know where Chistery is. I hope he's still alive."
"I'm sure he is Fae. He's smart. He probably flew to safety once Dorothy showed up." Fiyero replied.
"There's only one way to find out." Glinda said. "Now if you two gentlemen will excuse us we have some girl talk to tend to." Once again Elphaba was dragged to the far recesses of the cave.
Glinda plopped herself onto the sandy ground. Elphaba sank down wearily opposite her.
"So what really happened back here?" she asked, her eyes aglow with curiosity.
"Nothing happened. We just talked."
"Elphie, you never were very good at lying." Glinda reminded her.
"You're right. I hate when people lie. But I really don't think it's any of your business."
"Fair enough but we're best friends. We are supposed to tell each other everything!" Glinda whined.
"Some things are better left unsaid." responded Elphaba.
Glinda let that sink in for a minute before asking, "You really love him don't you?"
"I do." Elphaba said softly. "I want so badly for our life together to be stable but I don't see that happening anytime in the near future."
"Things will get better Elphie. And you and Fiyero will have a wonderful life together." Glinda told her quietly.
Elphaba could only shrug her shoulders dejectedly. "We should really think about getting some sleep." Elphaba said, changing the subject. "We need to leave early if we hope to make it to Kiamo Ko before winter settles in." Elphaba shuddered at the thought of snow.
"I'm going to sleep by the warm fire." Glinda announced.
Elphaba, who didn't fare well in high temperatures, opted for the cool solace of the inner sanctum where she drifted into a fitful slumber.
