~Chapter 7~
And so we lived for a short few weeks in blissful ignorance of the rest of the world, oblivious to all but ourselves. For the first day or so I forgot all about the Wizard and revenge and focused on nothing but the love Fiyero and I had managed to salvage after what felt like an eternity apart. I needed him like I never had before, and clung to him at night for fear that when I woke in the morning he would've been naught but a dream.
:It really is true that you never appreciate what you have until it's been taken from you.: I thought early one morning as the first rosy fingertips of dawn stroked across the sky. The haunting sense of loss I had felt for so many years still hadn't completely dissipated yet and a shiver ran down my spine. I pulled Fiyero closer to me, determined never let him slip from my grasp again. The tightening of my arms around him must have woken him up, as he smiled at me through half-open eyes.
"Morning, my Fae. What woke you up so early?" he said drowsily.
"Nothing. I was just thinking."
"What about?"
"About how I'm not going to let you slip away from me again. I've finally learned to safeguard those I hold dear to me; I've made more than enough mistakes to learn my lesson by now." He bent his head to kiss me and I raised my face to meet it. It was moments like these that made my life worthwhile again. When I pulled away I pushed myself to my feet and migrated across the room to my tiny worktable. I picked up Chistery, who was sleeping on the open Grimmerie, and set him on my pillow, anxious to be up and doing something. I never was able to sit still for very long.
"What's the matter?" Fiyero asked as he propped himself up on his elbows, watching me intently.
"Nothing's wrong, I'm just anxious to finally get this spell worked out. I figure the more effort I put into this now eventually it'll come together."
"You are running yourself ragged over this spell. What exactly will this all-powerful magic do, Elphie?"
"That's not information I'm willing to reveal at the moment." I replied tersely. I didn't even want to think about what the spell would do, and I most definitely wasn't going to tell Fiyero of the effects when I thought them too hideous to think about.
"Alright then, but you've been working nonstop for so long, I want you to take a day off, for me, just this once. I won't bother you about your work anymore if you just give me this one day."
"I took a few days off not terribly long ago, Fiyero. I can't afford to lose any more time." I said briskly, lifting the cover of the Grimmerie and flipping through the pages.
"That was three weeks ago. Give yourself a day of grace now and then."
I sighed exasperatedly. He wasn't going to give this up without a fight.
"Please, Fiyero, I've already lost so much time and this endeavor is very important to me -"
"But so am I, am I right?" His face took on the sweetest pleading look and I just couldn't resist smiling. The expression on his face made me melt inside.
"Of course you are, but I just don't want to go on being idle for so long knowing I could be doing something that could help me repay my debt to you and your family."
"You are my only family now, Elphie." he said quietly. I looked over at him, puzzled. When I said nothing he continued.
"I understand why you're pushing yourself like this, and if there was anything I could do to help you with it I would, believe me. I can't help feeling like I'm partly to blame for the deaths of my family for disappearing like I did. If I had made some effort to go home to them – but . . ." He lowered his eyes, but he couldn't manage to hide the pain on his face. I knew exactly how he felt. I had lived through the feeling twice and didn't want to repeat it ever again.
"And then, when I heard you'd died, I – I felt like a part of me died with you, like I'd never be whole again. You were closer to me than anyone else has ever been, and when word reached me, I felt like I'd lost you all over again. At least, when you were 'alive' I could keep foolishly feeding my hope that there was some chance of running into you again . . . You probably think it sounds stupid now, I know, but, Elphie, I -" He tripped over the words and looked at me, his eyes sparkling. I was surprised; I had never known him to be emotional, but then again, I hadn't thought I was capable of emotion any longer until recently, either.
I walked to his side and slid my arms around his waist; he returned the gesture and rested his head on my shoulder. For a few moments we stood like that, comforting each other in silence, until a loud thud and a startled feminine-sounding "Ouch!" sounded from outside.
"What the - ?" he said, lifting his face and reluctantly letting go of me. I went to go see what it was but he held me back.
"Stay here. If there's a person out there they'll be sure to recognize you. There's a good chance they won't know me."
I nodded and watched as he half-opened the door. He seemed taken aback by whatever was out there in the morning half-light.
"Fae, I think you ought to come over here and see this." he said, beckoning to me with a hand, using my alias/pet name just in case the person managed to hear what he was saying; you don't get many green-skinned women named Elphaba in Oz, and if seen it would only be a matter of moments until I was identified. A confused frown creased my face, but disappeared when I recognized who the figure outside was.
It was a very flustered-looking, curly-haired blonde woman in an extravagant blue dress who stood there brushing her skirts off and muttering to herself. She hadn't seemed to notice that we were there watching her from the doorway.
"Remind me not to use that transportation spell ever again! Oh, where did I manage to send myself to now? Good, at least I'm still in the Emerald City. Gods forbid if I had managed to land myself in the middle of nowhere. Well, this might as well be the middle of nowhere; I haven't the slightest idea where I am." She turned around to better take in her surroundings when it finally dawned on her that Fiyero and I were watching her have a conversation with herself.
"Who are – ? Wait, your face seems sort of . . . familiar." she said to Fiyero, unable to see him clearly from the shadow clouding his features. He motioned for me to go back farther into the house and for the woman to follow him inside. I sat down on the edge of the bed at the other side of the room and waited for them both to come in.
Glinda, for there was no doubt in my mind that it was she who had botched a spell and landed herself in front of Fiyero's door, sat down on a chair at the small table, the puzzled expression still plastered on her face. Then she caught sight of me as her eyes followed Fiyero perching himself on the edge of the bed beside me.
"How did you – why are you – this can't be possible! You, Elphaba, sitting there in front of me, and I – I thought you were dead, and yet here you are - !" she stuttered out, shock rendering her thoughts to astonished smoky shreds. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth and said nothing. She took a few moments to collect herself before speaking again.
"Forgive my lack of ability to articulate at the moment, but Elphaba, if it really is you and I'm not going utterly mad, how is this happening?" she said, her blue eyes wide and unnerved at the sight of me.
"It's a very long story." I answered, walking over to seat myself in the chair across the table from her.
"I'll make enough time for it if you're willing to tell it."
"You're sure you're ready to hear it, Glinda? Can you keep an unbiased state of mind long enough to hear me out totally?" I asked. I knew there was a lot she wasn't going to like hearing, and even more that she would probably close her mind off to altogether. She nodded grimly. Suddenly she seemed paler than when she first entered the room.
So I gave her the condensed version of my life from the day I sent her back to Shiz without me up to the day I arrived in front of Fiyero's home here in Emerald City. For a while I teetered on the edge of wanting to give her the whole story; I needed her help with the spell so badly, and I knew that without her I would never be able to decipher let alone perform the spell that could finally get me my revenge. However I quickly came to my senses and decided to block out those parts of my narrative that would seem too controversial for her pretty little ears to endure. I couldn't even come close to telling her everything, for fear she would turn on me. She was high in favor with my hated adversary, and if I knew Glinda she would be quite concerned about maintaining her position. I didn't know exactly how much trust I could place in her; we hadn't really spoken in so long, and there was so much about me she didn't know, so much about her I didn't know.
There were times throughout my account when I thought she clearly wanted to just walk out and leave yet forced herself to stay, and others when I could tell she was refusing to listen open-mindedly to what I had to tell. Even so, she sat through it without a sound escaping her mouth, saving whatever comments she had until I stopped speaking, a good three hours or more after I had started. When I had finished I watched closely for her reaction to my story.
"It's so much to take in all at once." she said finally after I had fallen silent, pressing a hand to her temples. "I could use a day or so to think over all of this. There are so many questions jostling for position in my head right now that it's impossible for me to start at the beginning. Would you hate me very much if I asked to speak with you again tomorrow?" she asked, watching me half expectantly, half afraid of what my answer might be.
"Please, just make sure no one sees you here. I'm afraid for your safety and that of Fiyero and myself. Too many people have died as a result of associating with me and I'm not anxious to repeat the experience. I've lost too many to the Wizard already, and if he or his minions see you with me after I supposedly 'died', they'll be after all our heads." I pleaded, genuinely afraid of what she might bring upon herself as well as Fiyero and me if she was followed or even glimpsed near here.
"I understand. I won't be watched, you can be sure of that. If magic ever does one good thing for me it'll be getting me here unnoticed. Thank you, Elphaba." she said quietly as she stood up to go. I moved to follow her to the door. Suddenly she turned to face me again and gave me a hug so tight it squeezed the breath from my lungs.
"I've missed you so much Elphie. Don't disappear on me again. It's been too long." she whispered in my ear.
I wrapped my arms around her as well. "I'll try not to vanish anymore, my friend. I'm sorry for everything."
OK, so I know this isn'n the best stuff I've put up but this is what I've got, for lack of a better way to get my story across. Sorry for the crap this time, but review anyway. It's gonna get better, I promise.
And so we lived for a short few weeks in blissful ignorance of the rest of the world, oblivious to all but ourselves. For the first day or so I forgot all about the Wizard and revenge and focused on nothing but the love Fiyero and I had managed to salvage after what felt like an eternity apart. I needed him like I never had before, and clung to him at night for fear that when I woke in the morning he would've been naught but a dream.
:It really is true that you never appreciate what you have until it's been taken from you.: I thought early one morning as the first rosy fingertips of dawn stroked across the sky. The haunting sense of loss I had felt for so many years still hadn't completely dissipated yet and a shiver ran down my spine. I pulled Fiyero closer to me, determined never let him slip from my grasp again. The tightening of my arms around him must have woken him up, as he smiled at me through half-open eyes.
"Morning, my Fae. What woke you up so early?" he said drowsily.
"Nothing. I was just thinking."
"What about?"
"About how I'm not going to let you slip away from me again. I've finally learned to safeguard those I hold dear to me; I've made more than enough mistakes to learn my lesson by now." He bent his head to kiss me and I raised my face to meet it. It was moments like these that made my life worthwhile again. When I pulled away I pushed myself to my feet and migrated across the room to my tiny worktable. I picked up Chistery, who was sleeping on the open Grimmerie, and set him on my pillow, anxious to be up and doing something. I never was able to sit still for very long.
"What's the matter?" Fiyero asked as he propped himself up on his elbows, watching me intently.
"Nothing's wrong, I'm just anxious to finally get this spell worked out. I figure the more effort I put into this now eventually it'll come together."
"You are running yourself ragged over this spell. What exactly will this all-powerful magic do, Elphie?"
"That's not information I'm willing to reveal at the moment." I replied tersely. I didn't even want to think about what the spell would do, and I most definitely wasn't going to tell Fiyero of the effects when I thought them too hideous to think about.
"Alright then, but you've been working nonstop for so long, I want you to take a day off, for me, just this once. I won't bother you about your work anymore if you just give me this one day."
"I took a few days off not terribly long ago, Fiyero. I can't afford to lose any more time." I said briskly, lifting the cover of the Grimmerie and flipping through the pages.
"That was three weeks ago. Give yourself a day of grace now and then."
I sighed exasperatedly. He wasn't going to give this up without a fight.
"Please, Fiyero, I've already lost so much time and this endeavor is very important to me -"
"But so am I, am I right?" His face took on the sweetest pleading look and I just couldn't resist smiling. The expression on his face made me melt inside.
"Of course you are, but I just don't want to go on being idle for so long knowing I could be doing something that could help me repay my debt to you and your family."
"You are my only family now, Elphie." he said quietly. I looked over at him, puzzled. When I said nothing he continued.
"I understand why you're pushing yourself like this, and if there was anything I could do to help you with it I would, believe me. I can't help feeling like I'm partly to blame for the deaths of my family for disappearing like I did. If I had made some effort to go home to them – but . . ." He lowered his eyes, but he couldn't manage to hide the pain on his face. I knew exactly how he felt. I had lived through the feeling twice and didn't want to repeat it ever again.
"And then, when I heard you'd died, I – I felt like a part of me died with you, like I'd never be whole again. You were closer to me than anyone else has ever been, and when word reached me, I felt like I'd lost you all over again. At least, when you were 'alive' I could keep foolishly feeding my hope that there was some chance of running into you again . . . You probably think it sounds stupid now, I know, but, Elphie, I -" He tripped over the words and looked at me, his eyes sparkling. I was surprised; I had never known him to be emotional, but then again, I hadn't thought I was capable of emotion any longer until recently, either.
I walked to his side and slid my arms around his waist; he returned the gesture and rested his head on my shoulder. For a few moments we stood like that, comforting each other in silence, until a loud thud and a startled feminine-sounding "Ouch!" sounded from outside.
"What the - ?" he said, lifting his face and reluctantly letting go of me. I went to go see what it was but he held me back.
"Stay here. If there's a person out there they'll be sure to recognize you. There's a good chance they won't know me."
I nodded and watched as he half-opened the door. He seemed taken aback by whatever was out there in the morning half-light.
"Fae, I think you ought to come over here and see this." he said, beckoning to me with a hand, using my alias/pet name just in case the person managed to hear what he was saying; you don't get many green-skinned women named Elphaba in Oz, and if seen it would only be a matter of moments until I was identified. A confused frown creased my face, but disappeared when I recognized who the figure outside was.
It was a very flustered-looking, curly-haired blonde woman in an extravagant blue dress who stood there brushing her skirts off and muttering to herself. She hadn't seemed to notice that we were there watching her from the doorway.
"Remind me not to use that transportation spell ever again! Oh, where did I manage to send myself to now? Good, at least I'm still in the Emerald City. Gods forbid if I had managed to land myself in the middle of nowhere. Well, this might as well be the middle of nowhere; I haven't the slightest idea where I am." She turned around to better take in her surroundings when it finally dawned on her that Fiyero and I were watching her have a conversation with herself.
"Who are – ? Wait, your face seems sort of . . . familiar." she said to Fiyero, unable to see him clearly from the shadow clouding his features. He motioned for me to go back farther into the house and for the woman to follow him inside. I sat down on the edge of the bed at the other side of the room and waited for them both to come in.
Glinda, for there was no doubt in my mind that it was she who had botched a spell and landed herself in front of Fiyero's door, sat down on a chair at the small table, the puzzled expression still plastered on her face. Then she caught sight of me as her eyes followed Fiyero perching himself on the edge of the bed beside me.
"How did you – why are you – this can't be possible! You, Elphaba, sitting there in front of me, and I – I thought you were dead, and yet here you are - !" she stuttered out, shock rendering her thoughts to astonished smoky shreds. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth and said nothing. She took a few moments to collect herself before speaking again.
"Forgive my lack of ability to articulate at the moment, but Elphaba, if it really is you and I'm not going utterly mad, how is this happening?" she said, her blue eyes wide and unnerved at the sight of me.
"It's a very long story." I answered, walking over to seat myself in the chair across the table from her.
"I'll make enough time for it if you're willing to tell it."
"You're sure you're ready to hear it, Glinda? Can you keep an unbiased state of mind long enough to hear me out totally?" I asked. I knew there was a lot she wasn't going to like hearing, and even more that she would probably close her mind off to altogether. She nodded grimly. Suddenly she seemed paler than when she first entered the room.
So I gave her the condensed version of my life from the day I sent her back to Shiz without me up to the day I arrived in front of Fiyero's home here in Emerald City. For a while I teetered on the edge of wanting to give her the whole story; I needed her help with the spell so badly, and I knew that without her I would never be able to decipher let alone perform the spell that could finally get me my revenge. However I quickly came to my senses and decided to block out those parts of my narrative that would seem too controversial for her pretty little ears to endure. I couldn't even come close to telling her everything, for fear she would turn on me. She was high in favor with my hated adversary, and if I knew Glinda she would be quite concerned about maintaining her position. I didn't know exactly how much trust I could place in her; we hadn't really spoken in so long, and there was so much about me she didn't know, so much about her I didn't know.
There were times throughout my account when I thought she clearly wanted to just walk out and leave yet forced herself to stay, and others when I could tell she was refusing to listen open-mindedly to what I had to tell. Even so, she sat through it without a sound escaping her mouth, saving whatever comments she had until I stopped speaking, a good three hours or more after I had started. When I had finished I watched closely for her reaction to my story.
"It's so much to take in all at once." she said finally after I had fallen silent, pressing a hand to her temples. "I could use a day or so to think over all of this. There are so many questions jostling for position in my head right now that it's impossible for me to start at the beginning. Would you hate me very much if I asked to speak with you again tomorrow?" she asked, watching me half expectantly, half afraid of what my answer might be.
"Please, just make sure no one sees you here. I'm afraid for your safety and that of Fiyero and myself. Too many people have died as a result of associating with me and I'm not anxious to repeat the experience. I've lost too many to the Wizard already, and if he or his minions see you with me after I supposedly 'died', they'll be after all our heads." I pleaded, genuinely afraid of what she might bring upon herself as well as Fiyero and me if she was followed or even glimpsed near here.
"I understand. I won't be watched, you can be sure of that. If magic ever does one good thing for me it'll be getting me here unnoticed. Thank you, Elphaba." she said quietly as she stood up to go. I moved to follow her to the door. Suddenly she turned to face me again and gave me a hug so tight it squeezed the breath from my lungs.
"I've missed you so much Elphie. Don't disappear on me again. It's been too long." she whispered in my ear.
I wrapped my arms around her as well. "I'll try not to vanish anymore, my friend. I'm sorry for everything."
OK, so I know this isn'n the best stuff I've put up but this is what I've got, for lack of a better way to get my story across. Sorry for the crap this time, but review anyway. It's gonna get better, I promise.