A/N: Hello everyone! I'm finally updating. Sorry for the long wait, but exams, an inordinately busy summer, and a rather severe case of writer's block have hindered my progress on this poor story. I also have difficulties with internet access over the summer, so I'm not sure when the next update will be. Sorry in advance. Thanks for the positive reviews! I love each and every one of you, my gentle readers.

Disclaimer: Although I have been trying desperately to get some sort of legal rights to Fiyero, I still do not own him or anything related to Wicked. Ah, well. Maybe next month I can kidnap Norbert Leo Butz.

Chapter 2

Elphaba's legs ached and her lungs heaved in protest, but she ignored them. She recognized, in some clinically detached section of her brain, that she couldn't keep running much longer or she would collapse, but she couldn't stop. She had to find safety somewhere in this unwelcoming city, some place where she could stop and let her jumbled thoughts realign themselves, a place where she could study these new pieces to the puzzle that had become her life and see where and how she could fit them together.

In her haste to find a safe haven, she didn't notice the "tall" munchkin in her path until she had run straight into him, sending both of them careening down toward the pavement, the stack of papers in Boq's hands creating a brief halo around them as they soared in every direction.

"M…Miss Elphaba!" he stammered, frightened by being presented so suddenly with Elphaba's startling physiognomy. "I…I was…I mean…did I…I mean, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Boq," she said, hoisting herself from the ground and beginning to gather the scattered papers.

"Oh…okay…well, I was just…on my way to see N…Nessa."

At Boq's words, the thoughts that had been temporarily halted by their collision ground into action once more. Nessarose. Her sister, or so she had always thought. She had dedicated her life to helping this girl whose disability she had always blamed on herself, but now….Was she really to blame? If the Clock of the Time Dragon was right, then how did Nessarose fit into the picture? Was she still her sister? Did they share a father?

Elphaba was once again filled with the imminent need to find a solitary shelter, and without a word to Boq, she was off once again, leaving Boq to stare in bewilderment at the now rapidly disappearing green and blue figure.


Elphaba finally found her sanctuary in the rarely used bell tower of Shiz's Chapel to the Unnamed God. Once there, she began to pace, in a vain attempt to walk away her problems.

She did not want to believe the things the Clock had shown her, but she couldn't seem to doubt them. She knew, somehow, that what it had shown her was true. She could feel it somewhere deep within herself, in the same way that she could feel a burst of magic about to break forth. However, deciding that, ultimately, she had to believe the clock brought forth a whole new set of problems, the most important being the question of her identity. If the man she had always believed to be her father was, in truth, no relation, then where did that leave her? Did she still owe him her loyalty? Did the fact that he had given her food, clothing, and orders her entire life make her obligated to him? Did having a different origin change who she truly was? Did it change more than her legal identity?

Elphaba was interrupted once again by the sound of footfalls on the steps leading up to her tower, followed by a high, girlish giggle. With a feeling of mounting frustration, Elphaba realized that her sanctuary was not as isolated from outside knowledge as she had thought. Before she had the chance to remove or hide herself, the couple entered the room. The girl's shining blonde hair and brilliantly pink cupcake of a dress were unmistakable. Galinda had brought Fiyero, her newest soul mate, to the tower for a bit of quality time.

Galinda spotted her first.

"Elphie? What are you doing up here?" she asked, perplexed as to why she had found Elphaba, alone, in Shiz's most popular secret meeting point.

"Yes, Elphie," Fiyero added, equally intrigued, "what brings you to the haven of the not-so-studious?"

"I…I was just…I have to go." And with that, she began to bolt for the door.

"Elphaba, wait!" Fiyero said, blocking her exit as he did with his considerably larger frame. "What's the matter? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I just have to go. Have a nice…oh, what am I doing here?"

She was gone before they could stop her. Galinda gave Fiyero an apologetic look before turning to follow her obviously distressed roommate.


Galinda scoured the campus for hours before returning, defeated, to Crage Hall, where she found Elphaba lying on her bed, staring expressionlessly at the ceiling.

"Where have you been all this time?" asked the disgruntled blonde.

"Here. I'm sorry about running out like that. I had a few things I needed to think through alone."

"Oh. Umm…do you want to talk about it?" Though her words were perfectly sympathetic, Galinda did not sound very sure of her own conversational skills.

"No, I don't think so. I doubt it would help."

"Well, if you change your mind…"

They lapsed into silence for several minutes. Elphaba continued to stare at the ceiling while Galinda went through her nightly ritual, applying an absurd number of creams and cleansers to her already flawless skin and carefully wrapping up her hair so that it would emerge, perfect and shining, the next day.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Elphaba broke the stillness of the room.

"What would you do if you found out you were someone else?" she asked her still primping roommate.

Galinda stared at her, bewildered by the abrupt question.

"I mean, what would you do if you found out you weren't the person you always thought you were?"

"Oh, Elphie, that's nonsense," she replied. "How can you be someone else? You can't be anyone other than who you are. Right? If you were, you wouldn't be you."

Elphaba was never certain whether, when Galinda spoke like this, she had true insight or if she were truly confused.

"I suppose you're right, in a sense." Elphaba was uncertain how much she should reveal to her not-always-dependable roommate. "But what I mean is, what if you found out after years of believing you were Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands, Beloved By All Who See Her, that you were really, let's say, the daughter of her maid, and some kind of accident or misunderstanding had led you to grow up with what was in reality a false identity?"

"The daughter of a maid! Why, I…what sort of accident?"

"I don't know. This is just supposition."

"But what does this have to do with what was wrong with you this afternoon?"

"It does. Now, will you answer the question?"

"Well, I suppose," she answered slowly, "if I found out I was the daughter of my maid, I would...just die."

"Galinda, please, do you honestly think that?"

"Why, Elphie, it's just too horrendifying to think about. Can't I have another supposition?"

"No."

"Then I…oh, I don't know! You know I'm no good at thinking!" And with that she threw herself down upon her bed, putting an end to any conversation the two might have, at least for the night.

"All right, then," Elphaba responded, frustrated with Galinda's inability to take herself seriously. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back before curfew."

"Elphie?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't more help. Be careful, all right?"

"All right."