(NOTE): Hmm. Not many reviews. For this or my other story,(. Ah well. Might as well continue what I started (I'm gonna get a little too descriptive again). BTW I just got a little kitty...and his name is Fiyero!
All night, Fiyero, Elphaba, and Glinda with Liir flew as swiftly as they could towards the Vinkus. They had been careful to go around the Emerald City instead of through it, but as they passed it, they could hear cries of shock and fear running throughout the city.
"The Wizard must've found out that you're gone." Fiyero whispered as he flew closer to Elphaba. She didn't say anything. She just kept her eyes on Glinda's bubble as best she could in moonlight, as if she was afraid Glinda might accidentally drop Liir. By morning, they had reached Kumbricia's Pass. They found a small cavern in the Great Kells and stopped to rest. Elphaba landed right after Glinda's bubble touched the ground. Glinda placed her godson into his mother's arms.
"He was a darling the whole trip." Glinda said as she made her way inside the cavern to look around. "He never cried once." Elphaba smiled up at Fiyero as he landed next to her.
"Here." she said, holding Liir out to his father "You haven't held him yet." Fiyero almost trembled as Elphaba placed the baby into his arms. As soon as he looked into his eyes, Liir gave out a delighted laugh, as if he knew that this was his father. Fiyero felt as if his could cry tears of joy. Looking at her husband holding their precious child, Elphaba felt the same way.
"He's perfect, Fae." Fiyero said. "He's absolutely perfect." Their moment was suddenly broken by Glinda calling out, "Come on, you two! We have to rest if we wanna get going tonight! Elphie, take off that terrible apron and curl it up so we can lay Liir down on it!" The two parents looked at each other, grinning, and rolled their eyes before heading into the cave. It was smaller than Chistery's Cavern, but the entrance was wider and there were large stones slabs scattered around the floor. Glinda was sitting on one of them, combing out her shining golden hair. Elphaba noticed that it was longer than she had last seen it. It was also more wavy now than curly. She saw that she was wearing a simple blue dress, but even so, she still looked very lovely. She looked sadly at her skin, knowing that it would soon turn back into the grass green color that she was infamously known for. And how will Liir react to that? she thought. Noticing that something was bothering her, Fiyero looked at his wife.
"What's wrong, Fae?" At hearing this, Glinda looked up at them, tucking the small comb back inside her dress pocket.
"Nothing, Yero." Elphaba answered "I'm just a little worried that's all."
"About what Elphie?" Glinda asked "About the Wizard?"
"No. About Liir. When I turn back into myself, will he be afraid of me?"
"Of course he won't, Elphie!" Glinda said "You're his mother!"
"Except he doesn't know that." Elphaba said.
"Fae," Fiyero said, putting an arm around her "he's only a few months old. He doesn't know that people aren't usually green. To him it won't make any difference." Elphaba smiled at him gratefully.
"You're probably right."
"Of course he is Elphie! Now come on! Take off that ugly apron and curl it up on that rock."
"And I'll go find something to eat." Fiyero said handing Liir back to Elphaba "There's got to be some food around here."
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Fiyero didn't find much, but there was at least enough to sustain them for the day. They gave Liir a few sips from the bottle with special milk and he fell asleep instantly. His parents slept on the stone slab right next to him, while Glinda tossed and turned on hers, trying to get comfortable. Elphaba never thought she would be happy to sleep on hard rock, but it made her feel free. She was no longer trapped all alone in a room with a locked door and window; she was in an open cave with her family surrounding her, free to come and go as she pleased. For the first time in a whole year, she felt content.
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As the sun went down, Fiyero woke up to find himself next to a familiar, green figure with beautiful black hair. The potion had worn off, and Elphaba was back to her normal self. He smiled as he nuzzled his face in her now straight black hair. He felt her move around and she turned to look at him with her usual rich brown eyes. She brought a hand up to her face and sighed.
"Well" she said "now I really am back." He nodded as he leaned in and kissed her.
As Glinda opened her eyes, she tried to suppress from squealing as she saw Fiyero kissing an emerald green Elphaba. She waited patiently until they broke apart and quietly got up.
"That's much better." she said referring to Elphaba's appearance "Now let's just see what little Liir thinks about it." She made her way over to Liir, but as she passed by, Elphaba caught her arm.
"No, Glinda. Don't wake him up yet. Let's just reach the Lower Kells first." Glinda sighed.
"Okay, Elphie. But I'm telling you, I don't think Liir is going to mind that..."
"Oh, I know." Elphaba said, standing up. "I just think it would be a little more safe if he was still asleep while we...what's so funny?" She realized that Glinda was giggling.
"Nothing." she squeaked out "It's just that, with that plain green dress on, you almost look as if you're...not wearing anything!" Elphaba looked down to see this was true. The color of the dress was almost exactly the same color as her skin. She turned as she heard Fiyero snicker.
"You had better cut that out" she warned him "or this'll be the only way you'll see me 'not wearing anything' ever again." That caused Fiyero to shut up and Glinda to laugh even louder.
"Well...come on then." Fiyero said, standing up and grabbing his broom "Let's get going." As he hopped onto his broom and flew out, Elphaba let out a laugh to almost match Glinda's.
"Come on." she said to her friend as she grabbed her own broom and followed Fiyero out. Glinda gently lifted the sleeping Liir up, along with the apron, and emerged out of the cave in her large, pearly pink bubble.
Since the Lesser Kells were close by, it didn't take them long to reach it, even in the dark. Elphaba followed Fiyero as he circled around the mountains a few times, as if he was looking for something. He seemed to have found it when he swooped down to land near the base of one of the smaller mountains. He gestured for Elphaba and Glinda to stay put as he walked towards two large boulders and squeezed himself through the crack between them. Slightly curious, Elphaba looked back at Glinda, who had just landed, and asked her where Fiyero was going.
"He's just gone to get Boq. Boq told us to meet you out here when we got back. He's...still a little nervous about you, you see. You understand." Elphaba nodded. She knew that Boq still didn't know why she had turned him into tin. He probably doesn't remember. She straightened as she heard a clanking sound coming from in between the two boulders she watched as her husband emerged with a lit torch andTinman Boq following behind him. Elphaba smiled gently when she saw him, but his face remained unreadable.
"Boq," Glinda said putting a hand on Elphaba's shoulder "I believe you know, our friend, Elphaba?" Slowly, Boq nodded.
"It's...it's good to see you're...alright." Boq said, trying to force a smile. His eyes then caught sight of the baby in Glinda's arms, and his smile became genuine.
"And this" Glinda said, walking towards Boq and holding Liir out" is her and Fiyero's beautiful baby boy, Liir." Boq slightly hesitated as Glinda gave Liir to him. He was clearly nervous about holding a delicate baby in his hard, tin arms
"He's terrific, Fiyero." Boq said, looking at Liir's father. "He's just great. I couldn't be happier for you. Or...Elphaba." He looked back to her, his smile fading slightly. Before anyone else could say anything, they heard an urgent chirp from above their heads.
"Mistress!" Fiyero held the torch up and they all looked to see Chistery flying above their heads. The little monkey flew straight to Elphaba's shoulder and gripped it tightly. "Chistery is happy Mistress is free! Chistery missed Mistress!"
"And I missed you, Chistery." Elphaba said, nuzzling her nose in Chistery's fur.
"Is Wendara here, too, Chistery?" Glinda asked. Chistery suddenly frowned.
"No. Wendara not coming."
"Not coming?" Boq asked as he handed Liir to Fiyero, his face now serious "What do you mean?"
"Wendara and Chistery fly over Great Kells. One moment, Wendara Sparrow, next, Wendara human. Wendara fall and get hurt bad. Wendara...not wake up." A long silence followed. Everyone was too shocked to say anything. Ephaba broke the silence.
"I should have known." she said softly "I should have know that she would turn back into a human when the potion wore off."
"Elphie.." Glinda started.
"No, Elphaba, it's my fault." Boq said unexpectedly, causing everyone to look at him. "I thought I had this all planned out, but I apparently didn't. It was me who overlooked this. I'm sorry." Elphaba looked at his apologetic face and saw that he was being sincere.
"Thank you." she said "But this doesn't change anything."
"Wendara knew the risk she was taking when she agreed to this." Fiyero said "We all did, or else she wouldn't have done it."
"But why?" Elphaba asked "Why did she do it?"
"The Wizard had practically killed her father." Glinda answered "When the Emerald City was built, the Wizard gotten all the emeralds from the Glikkus by ordering the men to mine nearly every single one of them out of the Glikkus Canals. Wendara's father had been one of them. One day, he had issued a warning to the Wizard that one of the mines was very likely to collapse, but the Wizard, of course, had paid no heed to him."
"And the mine collapsed," Elphaba finished, catching on "killing her father." Glinda nodded.
"Yes. This was all before she was born, but Wendara still felt hatred for the Wizard, for allowing her father to be killed. That is why she took the risk, Elphie. She chose to do this. She wasn't pressured and she wasn't forced. She was aware of the risk." Even so, Elphaba still couldn't help but feel guilty. As if he knew what she was feeling, Chistery rubbed his head under his mistress's chin.
"Chistery is sorry, Mistress. Blame Chistery." Elphaba smiled at the monkey and scratched his head.
"We should go in now." Boq said to, heading back towards the cave "Elphaba, I'll you to the room you, Fiyero, and Liir will be sharing. Would you care to join us, Miss Glinda?" They followed him through the crack between the boulders down a long tunnel, past a man, who Elphaba assumed was a guard, looking a little timid when he saw Elphaba. There were a few torches lit on either side of the wall as they made their way further down. As they walked on, Elphaba couldn't tell if they were going into the mountain or under it. As she made a mental note to ask, she noticed they had just stepped into a large room that showed the entrances to many tunnels leading in different directions. There were several long tables in neat rows throughout the room. "This is the Main Room." Boq explained "This is where we eat and have our meetings. It's also where all the tunnels to the different rooms meet. Most of them are hallways that lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms. The one on the far left leads to the kitchen and the one on the far right leads to the armory."
"Armory?"Elphaba asked, beginning to feel drowsy.
"We'll explain later, Elphie." Glinda said. Boq led them down one of the shorter tunnels. There were three decorated blankets (which served as doors) hanging against the opposite and back walls. Boq pointed to the room on the back wall.
"That's Glinda's room. The one on the right is where your room is and the one on the left is mine. If any of you need anything, just knock. " He stood awkwardly for a moment. "Well, goodnight." He turned to walk into his room.
"Boq!" Elphaba said. He turned to look at her. "Thank you." Not quite knowing how to react to this, he nodded and made his way inside his room.
"Well, I'm a little tired myself." Glinda said "I think I'll go to bed, too. Sweet dreams!" She hugged both of her friends, kissed Liir's head, and walked into her own room. Fiyero led Elphaba inside and laid Liir down in a wooden cradle at the end of the small double bed. Too tired to actually take in the full scope of the room, Elphaba collapsed onto the bed as Chistery hopped off her shoulder. Fiyero lied down beside her and gripped her hand as they drifted off to sleep.
(NOTE): Don't worry, we'll get some actual 'action' later.