Elphaba felt her head spinning, a thousand thoughts and feelings flashing through it at once; and she was unable to express any of them, unable to utter a single word as Yero took her hand and led her to the dance floor, as he placed his hand on the small of her back, as he drew her close, as he expertly led her through one dance, then another and another, until her knees got weak, until the dizzying feeling in her head left her breathless. She had always thought herself to be quite smart and imaginative, but she could in no way fathom how she could have found herself in this situation, in this particular here and now, in the reality where she could not in any way possibly ever fit in. Because this – this was not what Elphaba did. Elphaba cooked and cleaned and scrubbed dirty floors. She served her sister and suffered endless insults from her stepmother. She spent hours on her own, reading in her room in the attic, and lived in fear of anyone ever seeing her. Elphaba did not wear beautiful gowns, walk around palaces in jeweled shoes, attend grand parties. She might reluctantly befriend stubborn boys she met in the woods, but she certainly did not dance with breathtakingly handsome princes. And yet here she was now, looking at the most perfect face she could ever imagine, and very slowly putting the mismatched pieces of reality together.

She could not manage to utter a single word before Yero… the prince… prince Fiyero… whoever he was, offered her his arm and led her out into the moonlit palace gardens, away from the gawking crowd; to a small gazebo overgrown with climbing vine. He looked down at her, smiling, and she felt like she was eternally drowning in his gaze.

"You have beautiful eyes," she said finally, slowly, as if she had just made the greatest discovery in the world. "I have never seen them before."

He let out a half-stifled laugh.

"I can't believe it's you," he whispered. Carefully, he lifted his hand to caress her cheek, and her eyes involuntarily fluttered shut for just a few seconds. "I have thought about you endlessly, but you… you are so much more than I could possibly imagine."

"I am more than you could imagine?" She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "You. Yero. Prince Fiyero."

He looked apprehensive for a moment. "It doesn't bother you, does it?" he asked, running his thumb up and down her cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was just afraid you would run off…"

"It's okay," she said quietly and placed her hand on top of the one he held on her cheek. "I probably would have."

Her heart broke at the pained look in his eyes, and it hurt her, too, that she had to tell him this, but the least he deserved from her was the truth.

"Look, I… I really care about you," she said, frowning at how pathetic these words sounded compared to what she was trying to say. "But, Yero… Fiyero… We both know this can't last forever."

"Why—"

"You are a prince," she stressed, "and I'm—"

"You are an intelligent, caring, kind, beautiful woman—"

She winced at the last attribute, feeling it pierce through her heart like a dull knife.

"Fiyero, you must know, this…" she gestured to herself. "I normally look nothing like this."

"I don't care," he said immediately, sticking out his chin, and if Elphaba had had any doubt that he was the same stubborn boy she had met in the forest; in that moment, they would have been gone. "Fae, do you really think I would have spent countless nights, in a forest, blindfolded, for a girl I cared about because of her looks? I never showed up in that clearing because I hoped you were pretty. I did it because I l—"

Ding!

Startled by the first chime of midnight, Elphaba violently tore herself away from the prince.

"I must go," she cried out, and, without awaiting his reaction – she ran.

Ding!

Out of the gazebo.

Ding!

Through the gardens.

Ding!

Down the stairs.

Ding!

Suddenly, she was pulled to a stop as one of her heels got caught in the middle of the cobbled alley.

Ding!

She tried to pull it free, but to no avail.

Ding!

"I'm sorry, Glinda," she muttered, and, with a forceful jolt, got her foot out of the jeweled slipper.

Ding!

She kicked off the other slipper and ran, barefoot, down the alley.

Ding!

Through the gate.

Ding!

Down the road.

Ding!

Into the forest.

DING!