Elphaba bolted upright, awoken very late at night by a metal scraping sound. She looked up confusedly, and saw Oveel with keys in his hand, finding out which one worked in the door to her cell. Her face broke into a grin, and she stood up, grabbing the Grimmerie and clutching it tightly.
He looked up at her, a grim expression on his face, clearly not liking himself for what he was doing. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered to her.
She eagerly watched his hands, waiting for him to find the right key. He tried another one, and the lock clicked. He took a hold on one of the bars and with a grunt, pulled the door open. He motioned for her to come with him.
She hesitated for a moment. Should she grab her broom and try to make a run for it? He registered the look in her eyes quickly and leaned forward to grab her wrist. "Oh, no," he said warningly. He pulled her out of the cell, gripping tightly for fear that she would run.
She held on to the Grimmerie with one arm and let him hold on to her other, not appreciating it. She understood, though. He walked her briskly towards the front entrance, where he had been keeping guard for so many days. She followed behind him, nervous. When they turned the corner, he brought her to the wall and walked alongside it, carefully staying in the shadows. She readjusted her grip on the Grimmerie. They walked to the front entrance, and Oveel peered around the corner, looking for anybody. He saw no one, and he turned back to Elphaba. "Be careful," he said nervously. "It's going to be…really bad, if we're caught."
She nodded, aware of the danger they were both in. He turned back around and quickly walked out of the front entrance. She followed him, looking around, taking in everything.
You could hardly see anything, it was so dark, but Elphaba could tell it was beautiful still. The palace was right next door, and it was huge. Oveel hurried her, and she managed to tear her eyes away from the palace and look at her feet, focusing on not tripping. They walked quickly across the city square to the palace, and Oveel stopped them in front of it. "Okay," he whispered, looking up at the palace nervously. "There's a side door, at the kitchen. I don't think anyone will be in there…but they might. I guess I should go first…"
She nodded. "All right," she whispered, agreeing.
He took her to the side of the palace, and there was a side door as he had said. He stationed her next to it, and carefully turned the knob to the door and swung it open slowly, still holding on to Elphaba's wrist tightly. He peeked inside, then turned back to her. "There's no one. Put your cape around you," he whispered. "Try not to let your skin show at all."
She twisted her arm quickly out of his grasp and fell back a step from him. He started to lunge for her, but she pulled the sides of her cape around her face with her one arm that wasn't holding the Grimmerie and stepped forward again. "Better?" she asked, muffled a bit by holding her cape around her.
He stared at her for a moment. "Yes," he murmured. He put his hand on her back to lead her, and walked through the large kitchen. Their steps were loud, it being so quiet in the palace, and he cringed at every noise they made. They got to the kitchen door and he opened it, looking out. It was silent. He was surprised – there were many people living in the palace…though he suspected many of them were sick or taking care of the sick. He quietly shut the door to the kitchen again.
"Okay, stay here," he said to her quietly. "Watch out the door, I'll motion to you whether or not it's safe."
He couldn't see her face, but she nodded her head. He turned back around and opened the door, walking out it and leaving it open. It was a big room to walk across, and he tried to stride confidently, looking as if he were supposed to be there. There was no one there to see his act though, as he had suspected, and he walked to the landing of the stairs, feeling overly cautious. He looked up the grand staircase, and, seeing no one, turned back to the kitchen. He motioned with his hand for Elphaba to come, which she did, letting her cape fall back around her shoulders to grasp the Grimmerie with both hands.
He grabbed on to her shoulder again. "What are you doing?" he hissed, trying to arrange the cape around her. "We could be caught!"
She fought his hand for a moment, not liking him fussing with her cape. "If we're seen, we'll be stopped anyway, and they'll find out who I am. It's not going to help anything."
He sighed, letting her cape down again. Not looking at her, he started up the stairs. She followed closely.
They climbed them quickly, nervous about being caught. When they reached the top of the stairs, both out of breath, there was a long hallway which went in both directions. He looked back and forth for a moment, not sure of where to go. Elphaba watched him nervously. "Where do we go from here?" she asked quietly, knowing he didn't know.
He bit his lip, and decided. "We'll go to Lillany's room. I know she knows where Glinda is, and she won't tell on us."
She nodded, and followed him to the left. There were many doors and rooms, and Elphaba figured it must be the quarters of everyone who lived there. Oveel counted doors as he went, and finally stopped after about ten rooms. He hesitated for a moment in front of the door, and was about to put up his hand to knock when Elphaba reached in front of him and turned the knob, making the door swing inward.
Lillany was asleep, and Oveel and Elphaba walked into her room hesitantly. Elphaba didn't know her, and didn't want to trust her, but supposed she had to. Oveel walked to her bedside and shook her gently. Elphaba hung back by the door, ready to make a quick escape if need be.
Lillany awoke drowsily, and sat up when she saw Oveel, embarrassed. She caught sight of Elphaba and her eyes widened. She got out of bed quickly, standing next to her bed awkwardly in a nightgown, looking from one to the other, not saying anything.
"We need your help," Oveel explained to her. Elphaba inched closer to the door, not sure of what Lillany's plan was. If she screamed, it would be pretty much over for Elphaba. But Lillany didn't say anything, just continued to look at them nervously.
"Elphaba needs to see Glinda. We don't know where she is, though, we were hoping you would. Can you help us?"
Lillany looked down for a moment, biting her lip. "Yes," she whispered.
Elphaba breathed a sigh of relief, and Lillany walked around her bed to the door, followed closely by Oveel. Elphaba let both of them pass before following.
Lillany led them to the very end of the hall and up a staircase. This was the floor that Glinda's room was on, and only hers. There was a beautifully carved door leading into the room, and Lillany pointed it out. "This is it," she whispered to the two. She stepped back a few steps, as did Oveel, leaving it to Elphaba.
She walked to the door, holding the Grimmerie tightly, and stared at it for a moment. What if there were other people inside? They would recognize her. Should Lillany go in first? No, she decided, Lillany would need an excuse and she didn't have one. No, if she was caught, she was caught, and hopefully the other two wouldn't get in trouble for it. She turned to them. "You should probably leave…" she trailed off.
Oveel shook his head. "No, I have to make sure everything's okay. Besides, I have to be sure you don't run off," he told her. Lillany just nodded, having no real reason to stay, but curious all the same of what she was going to do.
Elphaba turned back around and opened the door to Glinda's room, bracing herself for anything that might happen. The room smelled of the sick and the dying, which made Elphaba's hair stand on end. There were no extra people in the room, which she noted gratefully. The huge bed in the middle of the room had a lump in the middle, which Elphaba figured to be Glinda. She walked tentatively towards the bed, having not thought of the fact that Glinda could already be dead.
She wasn't. Elphaba pulled back the large (pink) comforter to reveal her breathing friend. Her face was flushed, she could tell even by only the moonlight, and when Elphaba put a hand on her forehead, it was hot. Elphaba took in a shaky breath and knelt on the floor in front of her bed, flipping through the large book to the marked page where the spell to make Glinda better was written on it. She set the book down in front of her and began to recite from the book.
Oveel and Lillany crept to the doorway, watching Elphaba, mesmerized by her. They couldn't ever begin to understand her, but it was beautiful, in a way. She kept reciting the same words over and over, getting more passionate each time, and they were both hoping with her that she would be able to stop and Glinda would be better.
Elphaba continued to recite the words, growing desperate. What if it didn't work? She stopped abruptly, hearing a rustle above her. She looked up in anticipation, holding her breath as she watched Glinda, as if she made the smallest noise it could ruin the spell she hoped she had just cast.
Glinda groaned a bit, and after a bit of effort, sat up in her bed. Elphaba let her breath out and closed her eyes, putting her hands to her face.
Glinda furrowed her eyebrows and crawled over to the side of her bed. "Elphie?" she whispered, confused.
Elphaba took her hands from her face and looked up at her. She nodded.
Elphaba and Glinda stared at each other for a moment, neither one certain of what to do. "What happened?" Glinda asked.
"You got sick," Elphaba whispered to her.
Glinda nodded. "Did you…did you save me?"
Elphaba slowly nodded, and Glinda carefully got out of bed, her legs weak after not walking for a few days. Elphaba stood up hurriedly, and took her elbow. Glinda stared at her for a moment, and then threw her hands around her neck. Elphaba stood still for a moment, but then put her arms around Glinda as well.
Lillany and Oveel watched with wide eyes. Lillany had never known that Glinda and Elphaba were friendly with each other, and while Oveel suspected it, he had never known for sure. They stood awkwardly, not sure of what to do, and finally backed out of the room, closing the door with them. Neither Glinda or Elphaba turned around to look.
Glinda drew back from Elphaba, her eyes shining with tears. "I really missed you," she told her emotionally.
Elphaba nodded. "I know," she said. "I missed you too."
"I'm sorry, Elphie. I'm sorry for behaving the way I did, I'm sorry for taking you back here, I'm sorry for the poor conditions I gave you…"
"I know," Elphaba said again. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Fiyero. And me."
Glinda shook her head. "I don't care anymore, Elphie," she said. "It doesn't matter."
Elphaba gave her a small smile, and Glinda pulled her back into a hug. "How did you get here?" Glinda asked her curiously after a minute.
Elphaba stepped away from her, and noticed for the first time that Oveel and Lillany weren't there. "One of your guards, and one of your maids," she said to Glinda. "They got me in here."
Glinda smiled. "Security must be greatly relaxed," she said, eyes sparkling.
"It is, I think," Elphaba said seriously. "There was nobody in the palace around when we walked through."
Glinda raised her eyebrows. "They must need my direction more than I thought," she remarked.
Elphaba smiled and nodded, and they stared at each other for a moment, but the silence became awkward. "What are you going to do now?" Glinda asked her quietly.
Elphaba looked down and shook her head slowly. "I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know if I can go back…too many people in Oz know I'm alive, and once they find out you let me go…I don't know what I'm going to do. Or what you should do."
Glinda looked away, swallowing. She knew she had ruined everything for Elphie in her own selfish needs to have attention from her best friend again, and she hated herself for it. She blinked back the tears ready to form, and Elphaba rushed to her side. "No, Glinda, don't cry…" she hugged her best friend, and Glinda let her.
"I'm so sorry, Elphie."
…
A/N: I'm actually kind of happy with this chapter…I don't know why. The writing is better than on most of my chapters, I think. Whatever, tell me what you guys think! And I hit 150 reviews! Exciting.
BernieR: Don't worry, I try to update more quickly than once a week, I was just really slow last time! I made this chapter a few pages (though you can't tell on fanfiction) longer, my last one was too short. Have fun on your vacation, by the way!
SinfulPurgatory: Thanks! The set sounds very cool. What part do you have in the play? Good luck with it!
Viva-taquitos: Lol! Yes…I'm a Dickens…haha sorry, your review just made me laugh!
Zafr0: Haha, yes, see Fiyero…and then sing with him…oh, so hot! Sorry...Norbert fanatic moment…and anyway, yeah, I agree, Fiyero and Elphaba were born for each other! Though Fiyero and Glinda were a really cute couple…but still…the scarecrow and the Wicked Witch of the West? That is the most awesome pairing ever…
Jemima: Lol. By the way, is your name really Jemima? I keep wanting to ask you, because it's a really cool name!
Whogirl: Yeah, I agree (about Oveel). I was contemplating it because there were a lot of places I could go with it, but then decided against it because a) I don't think she would do that, she's not wicked (haha, yes, I do think I'm clever) like that, and b) I tried to imagine what I would write, and it sounded really terrible. Seriously, though. What would he be doing, walking around all hypnotized, doing whatever she told him? It would sound really stupid. So yeah…that was my thought process. Just so you know. ; )
Panra: Ah, I see. I think I've seen a commercial about the Sith. Anyway, hooray for Oliver! Very good impression. : )
Ari: Thanks! Glad you didn't see it. : )