Hey, guys! First off, thank you for the reviews I've gotten for this past chapter. Second, a couple of notes about the reviews.
The Lonely Goatherd: I like your name. Are you a fan of Heidi? Cuz it sounds like something out of that movie/book. Lol, I'm glad I have you hooked. I love writing things that others find interesting and entertaining.
Dittobird: Yeah, it is kinda bizarre to have Glinda in Elphaba's place. But this chapter should explain why I've done that. With the way I have things planned out, and considering that Glinda would have to have done some of these things, it does tie together.
matchmakergtpie: I thought it was sad, too, when I read about it in the play's script. (Yeah, I found it online. But I'm pirating the lyrics out of the CD booklet! Lol.) Write more on yours!
L.M. Ward: You're name is interesting and familiar sounding, too, but I can't place why. Oh, well. Anyway, I hope you were sincere on your review. It's okay if you weren't, but what you said could either be taken sincerely or sarcastically, and I'm not quite sure which. Anyway, I'm hoping you like it, or if you don't now that you will in coming chapters.
CanaceErinn: Hey, I'm glad you lke it and I hope I'm answering the question of what if? well enough with this story.
I change a bit with how the song in this chapter is sung. Hope you like it just the same, though.
Anyway, enjoy!
After Glinda flew off to the Wizard's palace, Elphaba sat alone in one of the many rooms of the abandoned castle. This was her solace. Her home. Her prison. How could she have thought Glinda would be happy here? Sure, they were together, the best friends they'd been since the night of the Ozdust Ball, but . . .
"That doesn't change the fact that Glinda needs others," Elphaba murmured sadly. She stared out the window, letting her eyes glaze over as she gazed at the clear, blue sky. If Glinda succeeded, and the wizard believed her, then there would be someone on the inside. He'd be all the easier to take down, assuming communication didn't become more difficult.
And they had to take him down. The citizens of Oz needed to know exactly what this man had been doing for months, if not years.
"When did Dr. Dillamond say the drought had happened?" she whispered. Dr. Dillamond . . . What had happened to him? All Elphaba knew was that he was forcibly removed from teaching at Shiz. As he was dragged from the room, he shouted that things weren't as they seemed, that the students weren't being told everything.
"We certainly weren't," Elphaba growled. They hadn't been told that their "wonderful wizard" was actually a power-mad, greedy, selfish jerk who had no real power at all. He just used others, as if they were toys, and then tossed them out when he no longer needed them.
"Just look what he did to me!" she cried, standing up and pushing herself away from the window. "I discovered who he truly was, and automatically, they turn everyone against me. And not one person, not one of my friends believed me over him. Except Glinda." But then, Glinda had been right there. Everyone else, everyone else she knew had believed the Wizard. She could see it in their faces the few times she had flown low enough to discern their expressions. She knew it by the fact that none of them ever tried to contact her. Never tried to make their presence known, or to help her out. They weren't interested in her side.
Admittedly, she didn't have many friends in Oz. But Boq had been a friend to her. She'd made a point of treating him nicely after he invited Nessa to the Ozdust Ball. Yet, Glinda herself told Elphaba she'd seen Boq's face when they flew from the Wizard and his guards.
"I don't have a single person on my side," Elphaba realized. A cold shiver shook her spine. "No one wants to believe me over the Wizard."
"Oh, I don't know about that," a voice said from behind her.
Elphaba whirled around, surprised.
"Fiyero!" She ran up and hugged him. "What are you doing here!"
She tightly hugged him for a few seconds longer until she realized his hands had yet to settle around her shoulders. She coughed uncomfortably and pulled away, shoving her hands behind her back. "Um . . . Thank you. For coming. Why did you come?"
"You didn't have to pull away, you know."
"You weren't hugging back. It was too forward of me, anyway," she said. She looked away so he wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes.
"You didn't give me the chance. I was surprised. I didn't expect you to hug me."
She glanced at his face. Something in his eyes told her he was being honest. So she didn't press the issue. "Why are you here?"
"I was worried about you. And Glinda. I wanted to make sure you two were okay."
"I'm all right. Glinda . . . I sent her back to the Wizard. She can't deal with the solitary life I lead."
"What're you having her do? Be a spy?"
"More or less. She's used to the popularity and she had it before I came along. So it's better if she tries to get in the Wizard's good graces again. Then she'll be an insider. We can bring him down from both directions."
"It's a good plan, but . . . are you sure Glinda's the one to help you achieve it?"
"Why wouldn't she be?" Elphaba asked defensively.
"Well, it's just that . . . she's kind of a flake, you know?" he asked uncomfortably. "I mean, she's great and all, but, she usually has her head in the clouds . . ."
Elphaba sighed. She didn't have the energy to argue. She'd let Glinda's actions prove him wrong. "If you've just come to insult my best friend, I think you should leave now."
"No, wait, I-- I didn't mean any of this the way it's sounded." He went up to her, so that their clothing bushed against the other. "Please. Look at me."
She did. Defiantly, she brought her gaze up to meet his, expecting to see his blue eyes staring mockingly down at her. Instead, a loving gaze of two clear blue pools encompassed her. Quickly, she dropped her eyes.
"Elphaba . . ."
She reached her fingertips up and placed them over his lips. She knew what he would say, but she wanted to say it first. To see if he'd respond similarly.
"Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight . . . I need help believing you're with me tonight. My wildest dreamings could not foresee standing beside you, with you wanting me . . ."
She gazed into his eyes as she continued singing, "And just for this moment . . . As long as you're mine, I've dropped all resistance and crossed some borderline. And if it turns out," she turned her face away and stepped back, "it's over too fast . . . I'll make every last moment last. As long as you're mine . . ."
She drifted to the window and stared out again. Fiyero walked over and took her hands in his own. "Maybe I'm brainless, maybe I'm wise. But you've got me seeing through different eyes. Somehow I've fallen under your spell and somehow I'm feeling it's 'up' that I fell . . ."
Their voices rang together aand Elphaba's heart soared. "Every moment, as long as your mine, I'll wake up my body and make up for lost time. Say there's no future for us as a pair . . ."
Fiyero completed this line, as Elphaba hoped. And he gave the exact response she hoped to hear, making her heart soar even higher. " . . and though I may know, I don't care!"
"Just for this moment, as long as you're mine, come be how you want to and see how bright we shine! Borrow the moonlight, until it is through . . . And know I'll be here holding you, as long as you're mine!"
They ended in a tight hug, Fiyero's hand stroking Elphaba's long black hair. Finally, they pulled away and Fiyero looked at his love. "What is it?"
"Heh. It's just . . . For the first time, I feel . . . Wicked."
Fiyero laughed softly. "You've finally settled in to your reputation?"
"Only if it means being Wicked with you," she answered coyly.
"Come here," he requested.
She stepped forward and they kissed, long and passionately. When they broke apart, they smiled at each other. And that was when they heard the squeak.
Elphaba and Fiyero turned their heads to where the sound had come from. And there, they saw Glinda standing in the doorway, Elphaba's broom in hand, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Glinda! It's not --" Elphaba tried to say, pulling out of Fiyero's arms. But what could she say? How could she explain this?
"You -- You -- You Wicked witch!" Glinda screamed. "You knew how I felt about him! You knew! All these months, ever since Shiz! You knew, but you went after him anyway! How long have you been laughing behind my back?"
"Glinda, we--"
"Save it, 'best friend,'" she snarled. "You know, I'm glad the Wizard did what he did to your 'precious' Dr. Dillamond! You know what he is now? A goat! That's right! A smelly, stupid, non-talking goat!"
"What? No!" Elphaba cried, taking a step closer to Glinda.
"Don't!" she screamed, throwing the broom at the emerald girl. "I don't care if I never see either of you ever again!"
She ran out of the room and out of the castle, Elphaba close behind. But not close enough. For once Glinda ran into the woods surrounding the castle, Elphaba lost her.
After nearly an hour of searching, Elphaba fell to her knees on the forest floor. She could hear the raindrops above and knew it was starting to rain. She should get inside, what with her allergy to water. It had an effect similar to bee stings. It caused her throat to swell and her pores seemed to close, not allowing her skin to breathe. That was when her lungs would constrict. That was why being out in rain or snow, or even drinking water could be fatal for Elphaba. It made her life interesting, she had to admit. But it was not a particularly fun handicap.
This day, however, she truly did not care. If she died right here on the forest floor, it would be a fitting end for hurting Glinda the way she had.
Elphaba stared up at the leaves and sky, welcoming the rain.
