The next week, it was announced who was to be the new ruler of Oz. When the announcement reached their ears, it startled both Elphaba and Fiyero, who least expected it to be…

"Glinda of the Arduennas?" Elphaba read aloud from the morning paper.

"What?"

"You heard me. Read it."

Fiyero grabbed the paper from her and scanned it eagerly. "We have to see her."

"I know that. But what are we supposed to do: knock on the Palace doors, say, 'we're old friends of Glinda, let us in'?"

"We have to reach her. She's missed you, Elphie."

"What do you know?"

"I know what she told me. Back in the days at the corn exchange, I ran into her once."

"You ran into her and didn't tell me?" Elphaba was livid.

"Well, I didn't think it would be best to tell you. You tried so hard to keep us all away."

She sighed, unable to argue with his reasoning. "Well, that doesn't matter now."

"She probably thinks I'm dead. She probably assumes I went back to the Vinkus and got that plague and died." Fiyero laughed. "Then again, she did almost know about us."

"What do you mean?"

"As much as I tried to hide it…"

"You never were a good liar, Yero my hero."

"I resent that."

"Continue with your story."

"Oh, yes. She had some sort of inkling of what was going on. She knew I was having an affair, though I denied it."

"She's good."

"She said it was because my wife wasn't with me but I looked so happy."

Elphaba blushed at this. "Were you?"

"Happy? With you? Of course."

She smiled and put breakfast on the table. "Finish talking and eat, my hero."

"And then I accidentally spilled about the oils."

"You WHAT?"

"Don't get mad. I think I covered for myself quite well."

"That's what you think. But we both know you're pretty obvious."

"Well, Glinda was speculating about how you kept so clean and it just came out. I backed up and said that's what elderly people in the Vinkus used, but I don't think she believed me."

"Probably because she didn't, knowing how little talent you have for hiding things."

"Anyway, when I was about to leave, she said to me, 'If you should see her, tell her I miss her still.'"

Elphaba almost began to cry at that moment. "She said that? And you didn't tell me?"

"I told you, you didn't want anyone in your life. You barely even wanted me around."

"Oh, I wanted you. Believe me, I wanted you."

He grinned. "Still want me?"

"Not now! You have to go to work!"

"In an hour. We have time."

"Very funny."

"Well, we should try and contact her, as I was saying."

"How?"

"You should write to her."

Elphaba thought about this for a moment. "How many letters do you think the Palace gets on any given day?"

"We'll just have to make this one extra-noticeable."

"I'd go the opposite way. If it's noticeable, they'll find it suspicious."

"Who is 'they'?"

"I don't know. But they'll be checking her mail. She can't read a million letters a day! I mean, hell, she can barely read!"

"That was cruel."

"That was true." She retorted.

"We'll put it in a plain envelope in plain handwriting. The only thing that'll be any different from the hundreds of letters she gets a day will be what's written inside."

"She might never read it."

"We'll have to take that chance."

"But…"

"But nothing. It's either that or doing nothing. At least this way there's a chance she'll read it."

"True."

Dearest Glinda,

Before I say anything else, allow me to apologize for not contacting you in these past seven years.

I'm sure now that you're starting to take a guess at whom the writer of this letter is. In fact, knowing how impatient you are, you've probably already checked the return address and the signature. So I guess you've already caught me. Elphaba.

You're probably asking yourself and this inanimate letter a ton of questions right about now, and I shall do my best to answer them.

I cannot tell you what I've been doing these past seven years, or at least five of those seven. These past two, I have been grieving the man I loved, or so I thought. But he is alive and well. And here comes another surprise. Well, perhaps not a surprise, to you. For the past six months, I've been living with Fiyero, our old chum from Shiz. Remember him? I know you do. You ran into him two years ago, if he recalls correctly.

We've been lovers for a while now. Since the age of twenty-three, to be exact. We have a son.

Maybe it's wrong of me to tell you all of this at once. You're probably sitting there with your mouth hanging open, drooling, right about now.

I'm sorry. Perhaps it's better if we have this discussion in person, don't you think?

Please write back. I know you must be angry with both Fiyero and me. With Fiyero for not revealing his relationship with me two years ago, and with me for never letting you know where I was or what I was doing. But I'm writing now, is that enough?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your old friend,

Elphaba Thropp

Glinda of the Arduennas sighed as she opened yet another letter. Would this be another letter praising her beauty? Would that dreadful Boq ever stop soliciting her attention? Would her subjects ever stop suggesting not-so-subtly better ways to govern her people?

Her eyes scanned the letter wearily. Immediately, she knew this was unlike the previous four letters she'd opened that day. Quickly, she turned over the paper and looked at the signature. She gasped. "Elphie?"

AN: For anyone reading my other stories, they're updated, too! This is for a merry Christmas! And a happy new year. And by the way, I've even got a whole new story!