Elphaba stayed in one of their guest bedrooms in the back, reading the Grimmerie. It was kind of boring, but better than sitting out there with Amaurine and Rojaro, fielding questions about the past week or so from them. She was unsure of whether or not she should be answering the questions thrown at her. Dr. Dillamond had said nothing about not telling anyone where she had been going, and she didn't want to be rude, so she told them when they asked – how far does Sillnin live, oh my, that encounter with Kint must have been terrifying, Dr. Dillamond is such a nice goat for doing all of this, etc. Elphaba thought them intrusive, and it made her dislike them – Amaurine, at least.
She found that she had been reading the words on the page without actually seeing any of them, and brought her eyes towards the window. It was dark, for it was late.
Dr. Dillamond hadn't come yet.
She twiddled her thumbs nervously. He had said he'd come today, hadn't he? Something she had been avoiding all day, she let herself think of the worst. Had he been caught on his way over here? What if they had discovered where she was? What if they had discovered he had been hiding her? She took a deep breath and tried to put all of that out of her mind. She couldn't remember his exact words, too preoccupied with the fear of going to a new person's house. He had said to stay there until he came. Wasn't he supposed to come today, though? He knew that she didn't want to stay in the same place for too long, why would he take longer? Did he just have to think of someone for her to stay with, or did he have to go and ask them? As far as she knew, he hadn't asked anyone so far, just sent her to them. She had only stayed with two people, though – well, three, if you counted the current house. She flopped back on the bed, the Grimmerie still on her lap. She liked the room, it was spacious and bright, with very blue walls and a green chair in the corner, a yellow blanket on the bed. She sat up again and crawled to the head of the bed, her arms hanging over the headboard. She squinted out it to no prevail. It was too dark to see anything, though the moon shone down a little light on the backyard.
Elphaba sighed and closed the Grimmerie, deciding to go back into the living room. She got up and went back out the door, leaving the Grimmerie on the bed. She walked down the long hallway and back into the living room.
Amaurine and Rojaro were on the couch talking in hushed voices when she got out there, and they immediately stopped when they saw her. She barely noticed that she had interrupted them.
"Did Dr. Dillamond come yet?"
Amaurine opened her mouth to say something but Elphaba suddenly put her hand up in the air, shushing her – she had heard something outside. Unbeknownst to her, Amaurine and Rojaro exchanged guilty glances. Her head was cocked to one side, and she listened intently to what was outside of the front door. Her lips were parted slightly as she tried to hear.
She was about to ask them if they had heard anything, also, when a yell from outside stopped her breath and made her heart jump into her throat. "National Guard! Open this door at once!"
Elphaba wheeled around to face them, her eyes wide, the pitch in her voice an octave higher. "You told them!", for there was no doubt in her mind that they, themselves, had told the National Guard.
Her heart was pounding and she could hear the men on the other side banging on the door, as it was still locked. The expression in her eyes was wild as Amaurine and Rojaro both stood up, looking sympathetic.
"We had to," Amaurine explained softly. "We couldn't let you get away with this. And we couldn't risk our lives to save you for one night."
Elphaba was shocked still as Rojaro walked slowly to the door, his hands out in front of him, obviously scared of Elphaba. "Now, it's all right," he soothed her. "If you just go with them and explain everything – "
Elphaba watched, panicking, as he unlocked the door. The moment he did, though, she let out a frantic scream. "No!" She pointed to the lock with her long, green fingers and the door locked again. She ran to the door and grabbed her broom and pointed hat.
"Rojaro, grab her!"
Elphaba felt Rojaro's hand start to grasp her arm, but she twisted out of his hold firmly, shoving her hat on top of her head and running, running back to the room she had just spent the last hour in. She skidded on the clean, wooden floors and almost tripped, but kept going. She heard a loud bang behind her as Rojaro got out of his shocked state and unlocked the door.
"Where did she go!"
"Come, follow me!"
Elphaba bolted inside the room and heard the door slam behind her of its own accord. She leapt on top of the bed and dropped the broom next to the Grimmerie, standing on top of the bed and getting her fingers under the glass pane of the window. The window probably hadn't been opened for years, but with a heave, shoved the window up, opening it.
The pounding of many feet came to the door then, and Elphaba bent down to grab the Grimmerie and the broom. She shoved the Grimmerie under one arm and held the broom in both, and, was dumbstruck for the smallest fraction of a second as she watched the door open. She turned back around before she could see anybody and stepped onto the ledge of the window, not wasting any time. She felt them close, too close to her, and heard many shouts. She gave them no time, and, gripping the broom tightly, jumped out of the window.
In the air, she jumped on top of it (having no time to do that when she was still on the ground), and it took her high up from the window. Her heart was still beating at way more than twice its normal rate, and her breathing had not yet returned to normal. She dared to look back down at the window she had just escaped from.
Her silhouette framed by the light of the moon, she cackled at them.
…
That night, Dr. Dillamond lay in bed, worried that Elphaba would have already left Amarine and Rojaro's. He had told her to stay there until he came, but he knew she was impatient. He needed to ask someone else to take her, and did not know who would.
The door to his house opened, and Dr. Dillamond sat up, hearing the perpetrator come in. He quickly got out of bed, brushing his clothes off. It had to be Elphaba, but what had happened? Why was she here? He went around the bed to the door, opening it hurriedly to greet her.
He gasped in spite of himself when there was not a green young woman in his living room, but three National Guardsmen. He swallowed, trying to keep calm. "Hello," he said, trying to sound surprised but not scared. "What brings you here?"
There were more men there, and they came in from outside at that moment – there had to be at least eight, now. Dr. Dillamond attempted a smile.
"What do you know about the Wicked Witch?"
Dr. Dillamond caught his breath. He had known it was about her, but didn't want to believe it. His chin trembled with fear for his former student. "Has she been captured?" he asked quietly.
The man remained expressionless, and Dr. Dillamond could tell nothing. "What do you know about the Wicked Witch?" he asked again, sounding slightly more impatient this time.
"Has she been captured?" Dr. Dillamond demanded angrily.
The guard who had been speaking sighed impatiently, and jerked his thumb in Dr. Dillamond's direction to his men. As the men took a hold of him, he could only pray that he had helped Elphaba.
…
A/N: Oh, I liked this chapter, I think. Hooray! So now the story shall take a turn.
Anna Marie Raven: (I know you didn't review this chapter) You were right about the capture of Dr. Dillamond. : )
Blufair: Oh, no, no, don't apologize! I love it when you analyze my characters, I certainly can't (analyze them)! I love your reviews! Thanks so much!
Elphabafabalaelphiefae: Oh! I didn't know they were from Rent, but now I see it! Very nice job. : ) And thanks!
Anonymous-cat: You were right about my characters. : ) Hooray for spotting that one! Thanks!
Defyingravity: Thanks so much! Nice name. : ) And of course! Criticism is always appreciated, how else am I going to improve? I knew there was something wrong about that sentence, thank you for correcting me!
Kennedy Leigh Morgan: Aw, thanks, I'm glad you liked that part! I liked it, too. Hooray for Nessa!