Chapter 27

Elphaba slowly opened her eyes. Her lids felt so heavy, as if she had been sleeping for days. She sat in bed and took in her surroundings, disoriented. It took several minutes for the previous night's events to sink in. She was home, at last, safe again with her family and friends. An enormous sense of relief was filling her. Thank Oz it was all over.

A sudden shudder went through her, reminding her that the air in the room was chilly, and she wasn't wearing much. She found Fiyero's shirt on the edge of the bed and put it on, then laid back again. She didn't know what time it was; she assumed it was morning from the sunlight that filtered into the room through the drawn curtains. She smiled at the sight. No more rain.

The door suddenly opened and Fiyero entered the room, carrying a tray. Their eyes met, and a slow smile curled on his lips. "Hey, you're awake."

She nodded through a yawn. She couldn't believe how tired she still felt. "What time is it?"

"It's time for lunch, actually," Fiyero put the tray on her nightstand and sat beside her. "But I thought you shouldn't skip breakfast."

Elphaba smiled gratefully as he poured her some coffee. "Thanks," she said, taking the mug. She carefully sipped it, then said, "I can't believe I slept for so long."

"You needed it."

"Where is Dawn?" She took another sip of her coffee. It was strong and sweet, just as she liked it. She felt better already.

"Back at the fair. She and Dyre wanted to go again, so Glinda and Boq took them there."

"Why didn't you go too?"

"Because I wanted to check on you," he looked at her, amused, "Is this my shirt you're wearing?"

"Well, I was a little cold when I woke up."

"I can take care of that," smiled Fiyero and pulled her into his arms.

"Which reminds me," she started, looking a little embarrassed all of a sudden. "I'm sorry about yesterday," she smiled sheepishly. "I didn't mean to fall asleep-"

Fiyero smirked. "Yes, well, that had never happened to me before." She frowned, which made him laugh. "Hey, I'm only joking. You were exhausted, I can't blame you, after everything you've been through."

"Well, I'm fine now. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"I'm looking forward to that," he replied, winking. She looked away. "Why Miss Thropp, I believe you are blushing!" he said, with that annoying victorious note to his voice. "Looks very nice with your complexion, I might add."

"Fiyero, I really missed you, but don't make me regret for not turning you back into a scarecrow when I had my chance," she threatened, pulling off her most threatening Wicked Witch of the West's expression.

It didn't have the desirable effect, though. Fiyero didn't back away but rather smirked and tightened his embrace. "Just kidding," he murmured into her ear. "So… do you feel strong enough to get up now? A lot of people already came here earlier to ask about you."

Elphaba chuckled. "Good news spread fast," she said, biting into a piece of toast with butter and strawberry jam.

"They were journalists and reporters mostly. We let Glinda handle them."

Elphaba smiled. "Naturally."

"She promised to quiet everyone's doubts and speculations tonight on a press conference at the city's square."

That made her laugh. "That is so like Glinda!" But not so much like herself. She let out a tired sigh. "Do I have to be there?" she asked, as if she was a child trying to get away from a class.

Fiyero laughed. "Yes. You have to be there. It's you they are coming to see. Everyone was so worried about you." She shrugged. He knew that she wasn't convinced. There was another thing he needed to tell her, but didn't know how to begin it. "We have to do some serious thinking, you know."

"What do you mean?" asked Elphaba and took another sip of her coffee.

"This morning after breakfast, the Wiza- I mean, your father," he corrected, flashing an apologetic grin at her.

She smiled. "That's okay. We'll all need some time to get used to that, I guess," she said, "you were saying?"

"He came to talk with me after breakfast. He wants to go back to his world. He said that his home is there, and that he cannot under any circumstances live his life here, as much as he wants to rebuild his relationship with you," he finished and glanced at Elphaba.

It took even less time than he expected. She exploded. "Surely he doesn't think I'll move there with him! What was he thinking, this is absurd!" she said furiously. The thoughts were racing through her mind. Who that man thought he was? He promised he wouldn't do such a thing!

"That's not what I was about to say, Fae, let me finish," Fiyero said gently.

Let other people talk for a change. This was what he really wanted to tell her. She offered him a faint smile. "I did it again, didn't I?"

He nodded, and then went on. "He said that he understood your need to stay here with us. His request was… um… somewhat different," he said carefully.

Now she was curious. "Different how?"

"He wants to take Morrible and their son with him," he finally said. Elphaba couldn't help but notice the disgusted tone in which he pronounced the last two words. "And here it goes back to us, since Morrible is imprisoned under Glinda's orders, and if you let me I would kill that scum to whom they call your brother for what he-"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Elphaba cut him off, gently touching his arm.

He flashed a small, apologetic smile at her. "Sorry, I got carried away."

"Yes, a little." Nonetheless, she knew that he meant every word of it. "Where is Luke right now, anyway?"

"With Morrible. He refused to leave her side. He stayed there with her when your father came to get you back and from what I understood, they had a long, serious talk. He is very ashamed of what he did to you, but I suspect that he said that only because you're his sister."

"Fiyero-"

"What?" he cut her off. "A man cannot change that much so fast! You must agree with me here!"

"I do! I'm just… I don't know. I guess I didn't yet realize how complicated this whole thing was. I mean… the Wizard and Morrible were lovers, for Oz's sake!"

Fiyero shook his head. "Shocking. I know. I couldn't believe that either. I told him I'd talk to you about it. Glinda said that she would let Morrible go, if that is what you want, so it's up to you now."

She sighed and considered her options. Should she let Morrible out? And what about Luke? Should they get him imprisoned too? Brother or not, he planned to kill her to revenge his mother's imprisonment, no doubt about that. And above all, she wasn't sure of her feelings towards the Wizard… her father. Obviously, he had changed greatly. She could see that through the long conversations they had on their journey back to the Emerald City, and the way he treated Dawn. Her instincts told her that he was honest in his promise to never hurt her again.

"Where is my father now?" Elphaba asked eventually, amazed at how easy it suddenly was to call him that.

"He is with Morrible and Luke, I believe. He went out right after our conversation."

"I need to speak with him," she said. Fiyero detected the great urgency in her voice, "I want to go there and talk with him, with both of them. Then I'll decide what we should do."

"Okay. I'll go with you."

"But first I need a bath," she said practically, in a Galinda-like way, and jumped out of bed. "Wanna help?" she asked with a slight smile and glanced over her shoulder. Then she turned her attention to her dresser and chose one bottle of oil. Fiyero got up. He didn't have to get any closer to know that she chose the lavender one. He smiled. "I'm at your service, Madam," he bowed. "I'll oil your back."

Elphaba smiled. It was that same irresistible smile that Dawn had, he thought. It made him smile too. "Come on, then," she said and pulled him into the bathroom after her.