"Oveel?" Elphaba asked him. She was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, looking at him. It was early the next morning, and Oveel was at Elphaba's cell trading the trays. He looked at her, warily.
"Yes?"
"Will you do me a favor?"
He straightened and nodded, though hesitantly. "Maybe," he said.
She stood also, and swallowed her pride. "Will you tell Glinda thank you? …from Elphie?"
He looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything about it. "All right," he agreed.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been sure if he would do it, her being the Wicked Witch of the West and all. She nodded. "Thank you," she told him seriously.
He smiled at her, though he looked uncomfortable doing so. She didn't smile back, she knew it would only make him more uncomfortable, and turned around. He walked away.
She was grateful for that…she knew him being nice to her would be frowned upon. She walked to her tray and was a little disappointed. More water. That didn't mean, of course, that Glinda was going to stop giving her anything to drink…maybe Glinda didn't even prepare her food. That was probably it, Elphaba reasoned as she sat down to eat her small meal. After all, Glinda would give her more than just bread, anyway. And she would have given her milk, or tea, or something besides water from the start. Surely, Glinda had more important things to do than prepare her prisoners' meals.
She knew Glinda was mad at her. She had been being a tad difficult…Elphaba felt it was justified, but she could have made more of an effort with Glinda. But she started it, Elphaba sulked. She wouldn't be throwing insults Glinda's way if she wasn't in a jail cell. But she realized, finally, that Glinda really did care about her…she had an odd way of showing it, but she did.
…
Oveel looked around at the few people milling around the Emerald City. It was early, still. He supposed he could leave his guard at the entrance to the jail for a few minutes.
But to do a favor for the Wicked Witch of the West? He knew that wouldn't be excused. It was to tell Glinda something, though…but he thought that the Witch was maybe a little mad. Tell Glinda that Elphie says thank you? Who was Elphie? Was she Elphie? He knew he had heard, once, that her name had been Elphaba…Elphie seemed like some sort of nickname, he guessed. But what was she saying thank you to Glinda for? He had seen Glinda go in once, with attendants, had she said something to the Witch while she was in there? He shook his head, deciding not to try to figure it out. Without thinking too much more about it, he began to walk over to the Good Witch's palace.
When he got to the large, green doors, there were two men outside guarding them. He knew them, though - after all, he did work with them. They smiled at him.
"I need to speak with Glinda the Good Witch," he informed them. They both opened a door, and he walked inside.
He had never been inside of the Emerald City palace. It was a huge room, with many people inside. He was told by his friend to "ring for a maid; they'll tell Glinda you're here". He saw the bell system and rang a small bell, that went to one of the maid's rooms.
He had to wait only a few minutes for a young girl he knew to come down the grand stairs. Her name was Lillany - she had light brown hair, pale skin, and freckles, and she was beautiful. She blushed when she saw him.
"Hello," she said shyly. "Are you here to see Miss Glinda?"
He nodded. "I need to speak with her," and remembering his abandoned guard, "and quickly, if you don't mind."
She nodded, and motioned for him to follow her. He was led into a waiting room, it seemed, it was quiet and had a couch and a few armchairs. "You can sit where you'd like," she told him. "I'll get Miss Glinda."
He saw in the chair, leaving the couch for Miss Glinda. He was actually surprised at the ease he was able to see her with – though he guessed she wasn't as famous as the Wizard, and it probably had something to do with the guards and maids all knowing him.
A few minutes later, Glinda came into the room, followed by Lillany, though she remembered quickly that she wasn't allowed to be in there and exited, closing the door behind her. Oveel stood when Glinda came into the room. Glinda came in and sat on the couch, and he sat in the chair after her.
She smiled pleasantly, and waited for him to speak.
He cleared his throat. "Um, the Wicked Witch of the West sent a message with me."
Her eyes grew indifferent, but her smile stayed. "And what was it?"
"She says thank you. No, she said to say that Elphie says thank you. I apologize if I shouldn't have done this…" he trailed off, realizing he was an idiot for delivering the message. Nobody could know that he was being nice to the Witch.
He was wrong, though. Her eyes got big, and her smile got real. "She said Elphie?" she squealed excitedly.
He nodded, glad to see he wasn't going to get reprimanded. "Yes, she did."
She breathed a happy sigh. "Well, thank you very much Oveel, I appreciate this."
He smiled, and stood, and she did the same. He walked out of the room and into the throng of people. What they were doing, he didn't know. He looked around, hoping to maybe say goodbye to Lillany, but did not see her. He went out the doors, and back to his guard on the jail.
Thinking about it, he realized he should have gotten into some sort of trouble. And why was Glinda so happy about a message from the Witch? Or, rather, Elphie? He knew there had to be something going on that he wasn't supposed to be aware of. He walked into the jail and to the Witch's cell, deciding it would be nice at least to tell her of Glinda's reaction.
…
Elphaba lay on the dirt floor, watching the ceiling and counting by two's quietly to herself. "Two thousand forty eight, two thousand fifty…"
She heard footsteps and sat up expectantly. Footsteps always meant her boredom would be relieved for at least a few minutes.
As usual, it was Oveel. She got to her feet and waited by the bars, watching him. He came to the bars and leaned against them. She was a little surprised by how unafraid he was of her, but pushed it out of her mind. "So? Did you tell her?" she asked, trying to seem nonchalant.
He nodded. "Yeah…she seemed excited…especially that you said it was from Elphie."
She looked down, smiling slightly to herself.
"Who's Elphie?"
She looked up in surprise and shook her head, not saying anything.
He took the hint. He was curious, but, it was none of his business.
He nodded, and put his hand up in farewell. He turned around to walk out.
She smiled as she watched him go. It was hard to thank Glinda…especially when she was so angry at her, but she could thank her for doing her that one favor. She didn't want to be angry at Glinda, anyway.
…
Elphaba heard the footsteps when it got dark that night, as usual. Everything echoed, even against the dirt, in the building she was in. She stood in anticipation.
They were coming from where Glinda had come from the day before…and yes, it was Glinda. She was carrying another glass, which Elphaba was grateful for. She was still thirsty. When Glinda reached the bars she handed the glass to Elphaba. "Tea today," she said quietly.
Elphaba took it and drank from it, then set it on the ground. They stared at each other silently for a moment.
"I really am sorry," Glinda told her softly.
Elphaba nodded. "I know," she said. Glinda reached her hand out, and Elphaba clasped it. They smiled at one another.
"I did miss you, you know," Elphaba said.
"I missed you too!" Glinda told her.
Elphaba jumped all of the sudden and dropped Glinda's hand. Glinda furrowed her eyebrows at her, and then realized: Elphaba had heard footsteps. They both stared tensely at the coming footsteps, the same way that Glinda had come from. There were two sets, and then Elphaba saw them: Fiyero…and Damaran.
The four all gasped when they saw each other, each surprised to see at least one other person, and Fiyero and Damaran stayed where they were, warily watching Glinda, eyes wide. Not a word was spoken for nearly five seconds until Elphaba managed to gasp out, "Damaran!"
Fiyero and Damaran seemed to register Elphaba for the first time, and both of their faces broke into grins. Elphaba's did too, though it was an unbelieving one. Glinda did not smile, though. Her eyes filled with tears, as she remembered the love she had had stolen from her. It had been okay when she had presumed Fiyero to be dead…Elphaba had said he was dead, also! What was wrong with her!
Glinda stared at her friend accusingly, and Elphaba shook her head. "No, Glinda, you have to understand…"
Glinda turned around, though, and walked quickly the way she had come, feeling completely betrayed.
Elphaba watched Glinda go regretfully,then turned her attention towards Fiyero and Damaran. They both ran to her, and she ran to the bars. She clutched the bars, and smiled widely at both of them, happy to see them. No, it was more than happy, she decided.
"Damaran!" she exclaimed, though quietly still. "I thought…how come you're alive?"
He smiled at her. "The arrow they had? It didn't work. It wasn't sharp enough. Are you okay, though? Did they hurt you?"
She smiled, lying. "I'm fine, I'm fine. They didn't hurt me…" She turned to Fiyero, and the two wordlessly sank to the ground in front of each other, and he took her hand and held it. He shivered. It was ice.
"I'm so sorry…that we didn't succeed…that we couldn't save you," he told her.
She shook her head quickly. "No, no, you tried, it's not your fault," she said. He rubbed her wrist, and she jumped back involuntarily. "Sorry," she whispered. He looked at where he had rubbed, and saw how raw it was…it had been where she had been tied with the rope.
"Oh, Oz, I'm sorry…" he said stupidly. "I didn't know…I'm sorry they hurt you, I'm sorry for everything…"
She was shaking her head. "No," she told him. "No." She looked behind her, out the window, and turned back to him, hating the words she was about to say. "You should probably go…I don't know if Glinda told anyone that you were here…I don't want you to be captured, too."
Fiyero nodded regretfully, and looked at Damaran, who had been awkwardly watching them. "Yeah, we should probably leave," he said to Damaran.
He let go of Elphaba's hand, and the two stood up. He pulled her face towards him and kissed her through the bars, which she returned gratefully. She stood, clutching the bars as they left, wishing with all of her might she could go with them.
A/N: All right, corny enough for you? Gosh, I do not like this chapter. Way too sappy. But anyways…eleven reviews last chapter! I haven't gotten so many on a chapter before! It was rather exciting…
Piney: LOL yes, I made this chapter a bit longer…longest chapter so far, anyway. I mentioned that Glinda didn't know what to do with Elphaba…she couldn't just leave her there (or something like that). Basically, just imagine me as Glinda: I don't know what to do with her…I can't just leave her there…LOL I think I kind of know what to do with her, but for a few chapters at least, she's staying where she is.
Animes18: LOL glad you like it! Don't worry, Damaran's not dead!
Bubblesnbrooms: You caught on! Due to lack of inspiration, I was not writing about Fiyero and Damaran, but I suppose I had to. Oh well, it was easy this time, I didn't actually explain anything…
FrederickCharleston: No, everyone just thinks he died. He's still alive!
Countrybuttefly: Yes, I agree, my last chapter wasn't very good. Oh, broken hand! I'm sorry. That sucks.
Gabsgrl: You're right, so I resolved everything, and then unresolved and made it very sappy. Sap, sap, sapping up the works.
PoetryOutLoud: LOL well thank you! Hooray for beingdark!
Kate: I always do (enjoy your writings)! Thank you very much!
Jemima: LOL well as of now, I feel incapable of writing if I don't make you feel sorry for at least someone. I don't want to do that, but that's the way it seems to be going…why must I make all of my characters feel angst! Ehh…
TheAngelfMusic: (Love your name, by the way! I finally get to see the movie this week! So excited!) I'm glad you like my story! To pieces! Very fun…
Whogirl: Thank you very much! Glad (and surprised) it's still holding your interest!