Title: Dead End

Author: Aerohead

Email: in my profile

Website: In my profile

Pairing: Fiyero/Elphaba, Fiyero/Glinda, Glinda/OC

Rating: T

Disclaimer/Dedication: For L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz, and Winnie Holtzman who own this idea that I'm extending. Thank you for giving me the first part.

Warning: spoiler for the ending of the musical Wicked, but that's pretty much about it.

Genre: General, romance (book/play amalgamation)

Summary: AU (during One if By Land time-period) what would happen if Glinda's daughter met Elphaba's under very precarious circumstances.

Author's Notes: Wow, sorry for the lack of updates. After I got back from vacation, I had college visits, then school started, and today's the first day I've had to write. And I should, technically, be reading Paradise Lost for my AP class, but I'm taking a break. So, here's your update. Tonight, though, I have auditions for Beauty and the Beast and if I get in that, then I won't be able to write, like, at all for a while. Don't hurt me!

Chapter Six: Strange Thing, Mystifying

Nissa felt her chest tighten as a servant took away the last of her dishes. She tried to let out her breath, but she couldn't manage it. With a look from Ozma, Nissa stood, trying to look elegant in front of her mother's guest, and walked out of the dining room and towards Fabala.

The taller girl was looking out of a long window, her hands pressed against the glass. Nissa stopped walking into the room, momentarily taken aback. Fabala no longer looked the hard, almost fearless girl Nissa had seen during the past day, nor did she appear to be the broken young woman she had seen the previous night. It seemed as if she were a mix of them, as well as something else, something much stronger.

"Have you ever looked at the Emerald City?" she asked, not turning to Nissa.

Nissa walked over to the girl, nervous, and looked over her shoulder. The morning light was shining through the pale green spires that surrounded the City, making them appear to be shivering. She smiled. "It's a very pretty city, isn't it?"

Fabala pursed her lips. "I suppose; if you believe it to be." She said, rather annoyed with Nissa's answer.

Nissa looked confused. Her nose wrinkled, and she moved so she could look at Fabala. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Fabala turned to acknowledge the question, a small, almost wicked smile playing on her lips. "Can I tell you a story?"

Nissa's eyes furrowed at the question. "What kind of a story?" she asked.

Fabala pushed away from the window and looked at her dark fingernails, considering the question. "It's a fairytale about love, loss, and…a man very much like your father, actually." She said, eyeing Nissa curiously.

Nissa's eyes widened. "You know about my father?" she hissed out, surprised. Fabala laughed quietly; it made her smile widely. She really was pretty. Nissa pouted. She had to work on her beauty. "What's so funny?" she snapped, glaring at Fabala.

"Miss Nissa Upland, everyone knows about your father." She pointed out. "He was a prince, and I am a Winkie."

Nissa blushed, forgetting that; her father had been a Winkie prince, and Fabala was a Winkie by birth if not by looks. "Oh." She said, still slightly annoyed. Her curiosity got the better of her, however, and she looked up at Fabala. "What's the fairytale?" she asked.

Fabala looked around the room, before walking over to the main staircase. Nissa watched her for a moment, before running after her. They sat down next to each other on the steps. Fabala put her hands in her lap as she thought, before starting. "Now…once there was a man who was…I believe the term you would use is 'devastatingly handsome'." She stopped, looking at Nissa. She moved her head to one side, considering the other girl for a quiet moment, before standing. "It's not important." She said.

Nissa stood up as well. She ran a hand over her dress to straighten out the creases, before she ran over to Fabala. She grabbed the other girl's arm, stopping her. Fabala turned around with half-closed eyes, shocking Nissa – she hadn't realized just how…out of the ordinary those blue eyes looked on the dark-skinned Winkie. She stopped momentarily, before taking in a breath and trying to make herself look imposing. After all, Fabala had called her out, away from the others, not the other way around. "What is it you were about to tell me, Miss Fabala?" She demanded.

"About a girl very much like yourself; but you wouldn't want to hear it, Miss Nissa." Fabala said, pulling her arm out of Nissa's grasp easily. Looking over Nissa's head, she raised one dark eyebrow. Nissa, pouting, turned around also. Crope stood, looking slightly uncomfortable. He held a piece of torn paper in his hands. He didn't make eye contact with either girl; instead, he scowled darkly at the floor.

"Miss Fae, may I speak with you for a moment?" he asked brusquely.

Fabala stepped away from Nissa, slightly surprised. Nissa caught the look, and skidded up the stairs quietly. At the bend, she stopped; she could still see and hear them, but they couldn't see her. It had been the place she had hidden during her mother's assemblies when she was younger, and it still seemed to be a good spot to understand what was going on within the Palace walls.

Crope studied the stairway for a moment, before turning to look at a green piece of marble near Fabala's feet. "You left without any forewarning?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. From her point of view, Nissa could see how the light caught the pieces of his hair that had faded close to white; there were premature wrinkles in his face as well, making him seem all the more older.

Fabala shifted back uncomfortably; she was almost out of Nissa's line of sight. "I…didn't mean to, but I had to; nothing else was working…"

Crope held up the piece of paper. "When you wrote to me, you said that at least your father knew….I wish…I wish you had told him, Faeba; I wish you weren't like your mother sometimes." His scowl became more apparent, and he looked up at her. "And I wish you had told me his condition."

"You know?" Fabala asked, panicking. Even from Nissa's perspective, she could see the blush rising onto Fabala's cheeks. She leaned farther, hoping to be able to see the entirety of the action.

Crope sighed and moved towards Fabala. He grabbed her hand and turned it over. A white scar marred her hand; it was the insignia of Saint Aelphaba. "You've seemed to have aligned yourself with a cause unknown to those of your age level." He said, tracing the scar gently. Fabala bit her lip as she watched him nervously. He let go of her and ran a hand over her forehead. "Did I interrupt?" he asked, smiling lightly.

"You have a habit of making elaborate entrances, though." Fabala said coarsely. He laughed.

"It appears I do." His laughter dwindled down, back to a small smile. "You'll have to wait to tell her…I've enlisted some help, and it's arrived, along with someone else, young lady."

The rough tone shocked her, as well as Nissa. "Someone else?" whispered Fabala, her looking unreadable. She was about to push Crope further, when she caught his look, one that Nissa could not make out. She looked at him, her mouth slightly open, before following his gaze up to Nissa. Nissa blushed at the glare from the other girl.

"You may come down now, Miss Nissa." Crope called kindly. Nissa stood and tried to come down the steps as gracefully as she was capable. "You do not, however, have any tact at finding information." He told her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. As an afterthought, he added: "Neither did your mother."

Crope led the two girls through the dining room and into a small sitting room. It was usually where desert was held after formal meals, and the light green décor was covered in white pictures of petite fours. Nissa detested the room. "I would gather Miss Glinda is trying to push this scheme into your favor, Miss Fae, for after I arrived, her own help for you arrived also. I'm assuming, of course, that Miss Dorothy had some hand in this, though I wouldn't take it to heart or head." Crope explained jovially as he easily slipped the piece of paper back into his pocket. He pushed Fabala in front of him.

She stopped, momentarily stunned, as she looked at the companions on the couch. One was the young Maunt from the night previous; Tibbett's niece, Sister Saint Janoah. The other three, however, were people she had never met before. Dorothy, Ozma, and Glinda sat in chairs that dotted the edges of the room; Dorothy seemed quite pleased, while Ozma watched with an academic curiosity mingled with a hint of understanding that seemed none of the other inhabitants of the room shared; Glinda was beside herself with delight. She stood and pulled Fabala into the center of the room. Fabala looked around wildly, and caught Aran's eye; he was standing behind Ozma's chair, looking distinctly put-out about the predicament.

"Oh, this is Miss Fae, the girl who's mother is sick and is in need of assistance in order to find some missing artifacts before we can help her – protocol, you understand, as she is a Winkie, and the Vinkus did secede years ago – and Miss Fae, I'm sure you're well acquainted with at least the names of our faithful heroes here?" Glinda smiled charmingly at Fabala.

Fabala looked down at the floor. "Yes, I am, thank you." She said.

Glinda clapped, clicking her nails together. "Good, good. Now, dears, just…get to know each other and then be off and find those missing artifacts! Oz bless!" Glinda ushered Dorothy, Ozma, and Nissa out of the room, leaving the travelers with their new companions.

After a small silence, Fabala took in a deep breath, and curtseyed perfectly. "It's very good to meet you, Masters Lion, Tinman, and Scarecrow." She said dully.