Chapter 22
I progressed right away to undo Fiyero's bandages, swallow any fears or misgivings I had about the "medicine" Boq had acquired from Yackle, and pulled the stopper from the blue bottle, tipping some of the stuff into my palms. Out poured a foul looking and even worse smelling concoction; Fiyero covered his nose with his good hand and Boq grabbed a towel, holding it over his nose and mouth to filter the air before he breathed it in.
"Sweet Oz, that's disgusting!" Boq cried, his voice muffled by the towel. I shook my head at him and smiled wryly; he was reacting as if someone had thrown him into some sort of gas chamber. I'll admit, the stuff did smell like a carcass rotting in the sun, but for heaven's sake, it was only medicine, not poison!
Surprisingly, when I smoothed it over the wound, the unsightly inflammation paled almost instantly back to Fiyero's normal skin tone. The substance bubbled slightly, then sank into his skin, leaving no trace that there ever was an infection or inflammation in the first place; the only evidence left was the moderately thin line where the gash was beginning to scab over.
"I don't know what is in that stuff, but whatever it is, it works miracles;" Fiyero said, flexing the muscles in his injured limb, "the pain's been almost completely extinguished."
"I only hope that there won't be any side effects that could end up causing more harm that help." I said, wrapping the bandage back around his arm, securing it there.
"Thank you." I said, turning to face Boq. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't agreed to try and get this for him. You have no idea how much this has helped." I paused, lowering my eyes so he wouldn't see my embarrassment; even so, I felt that my pride could afford to be wounded for the time being; "I believe an apology is in order, but I'm not very good at delivering such things."
"Consider the thanks apology enough; just promise me you won't let Fiyero do something stupid like tear the gash open again once it heals." Boq replied, shelving his own pride for the moment and deciding to be agreeable rather than spit sarcasm at me.
"Are you calling me stupid?" Fiyero laughed, challenging his friend.
"What if I am?"
"Watch it, pal, you just might end up with a similar injury if you're now careful!"
"Boys, please, self control!" I interrupted, stretching my arms out between them.
Boq laughed. "Yes, mother." He stuck his tongue out at me.
"Be careful or I just might make good on that threat I delivered you a few nights ago of cutting your tongue out!" I retorted, a smile twitching at the corner of my mouth.
"Is it safe to take this thing off my face now?" Boq asked, referring to the towel he was still clutching to his face.
"Coast is clear; gods, Boq, the way you reacted to the smell was as if you were in some sort of gas chamber." Fiyero laughed.
"Excuse me, but I don't deal well with stenches that smell like something died and fermented in the desert for a week!" Boq retorted, chortling at his own comment.
"Well, Elphie, another week or so on this stuff and I'll be able to repay you for that song you performed so beautifully for me." Fiyero said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me against him. "Now the question is, how would you like your payment?"
"Let me think on it," I said, "I'll get back to you when I've made up my mind." I smiled, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
"Oh, please, you're making me sick to my stomach!" Boq cried, getting up and striding toward the door.
"If that's the case…" Fiyero said, sliding his lips over mine. I giggled, kissing him back.
"If you two keep going on like this I'll be forced to leave! You don't want to lose my high-esteemed company, now do you?" Boq asked good-naturedly, opening the door.
"Oh, Boq, before you go, would you mind washing this for me?" Fiyero asked, taking the red-and-black scarf from his bedside table and tossing it to Boq.
"This thing is revolting!" Boq said, holding it between two fingers.
"Oh, come off it, it's only a bit of blood."
Boq rolled his eyes. "You call this 'a bit of blood'? The thing is completely encrusted in the stuff!" Nevertheless he folded the scarf, tucking it into his pocket.
"It'd been in service as my bandage for a few days; blood is a given." Fiyero answered, giving me a brief kiss on the forehead; he was acting as if Boq's presence at the moment was no more important than that of the dust under the bed. The man cared nothing for Boq's witnessing our kisses and at the moment I didn't pay him much heed, either; I was enjoying myself far too much.
"Whatever. Can I trust you two to cut with the kissing or will I be forced to leave?"
"Elphaba and I cannot be trusted with something like that. Don't even bother to ask." Fiyero replied, kissing me harder, keeping one eye on Boq until he opened the door, about to go.
"If this is what happens while I'm here I shudder to think what goes on behind closed doors." he laughed and shut the door behind him, shaking his head at the two of us.
"You know, no matter how well Boq and I know and look out for each other and how good friends we've come to be, it's times like these where I just can't wait for him to leave."
"That makes two of us. Well, you've got your privacy and at least the partial ability to use your right arm; life must feel pretty good for you right now."
"It's even better now that I can wrap both arms around you, Fae, without having to fear hurting myself with the motion."
"Since you can, hold me closer; I miss the feel of you." I replied, nuzzling my face into his shoulder and kissing his collarbone, gently running my lips over his neck. He relaxed, leaning into me.
"Boq's lightened up some, hasn't he?" I asked as I laid my head just below Fiyero's shoulder, running my hand through his hair.
"If anything he was in a much better mood today than the last time he clapped eyes on you."
"I know I might've deserved his anger that night but mercifully our fury's cooled off a little since then. I don't need any more enemies. Another friend, however, would be appreciated. I need you to help me make sure I don't lash out at Boq over trivial things anymore. If I manage to do something stupid like that and he turns on me..."
"Don't worry, he's not going to. I made sure he knows how much you mean to me and I know for a fact he won't do anything that might hurt you in some way. He's my friend and he wouldn't do something to intentionally hurt both of us like that."
"I know he's your friend, but I'm still not sure exactly how much trust to place in him, or in myself. The littlest things tend to set me off when they come from him-"
"I'll keep an eye on your behavior. You won't have to worry about that. Can we please get off this topic? I'm little fed up with the man at the moment; there are a few things I have to sort out with him."
"Alright." I wished I knew what he meant by that, but I was disinclined to ask just then, as his lips had begun caressing my throat.
"It's mind boggling how much you can long to be with a person even when they've been living with you in such close proximity for the past few months." he murmured.
"It feels like we're miles apart the longer I have to live without the comfort of being able to stay close to my other half, which is what you've become to me since I've been here. I hate feeling like you'll be punished with pain if I try to touch you." I said, tightening my loose embrace.
"Do I sense separation anxiety, my dear?" He smiled and reached up to smooth back my hair, which had fallen across my face. "Has it been half as hard for you to deal with these past few weeks as it's been for me?"
"If not as much, more. We can be close again; I don't know about you, but I'm just about ready to begin taking advantage of it." I smiled, but pushed myself away.
"Give me a minute or two first, though; I'm smarting a bit." I'd been sweating a little in the late summer heat where his hand had been resting on the small of my back and I needed a moment to grab the oil before I went back to him. I reached for one of the unattractive green bottles and pulled the stopper out, a little apprehensive about it; the bottle was remarkably like the one my mother had been in association with while pregnant with me. I stared at it for a moment or two until Fiyero spoke up.
"What's the matter?"
"I don't much like green bottles, but what the hell; if this is meant to turn someone green I can't actually get much worse, can I?" He laughed and beckoned me back to him. I sat in front of him and he unlaced the back of the sleeveless dress I was wearing, then he took some of the oil in his palms, smoothing it over where the skin had flushed from the sting. He let it sink in for a few moments before he redid the ties and rubbed what little oil there was left on his palms over my bare shoulders.
"Better?"
"Much."
He began to hum what little he knew of the "Unexpected Song" I'd made up for him, and I turned away, pressing my fingers to my closed eyes. He noticed and fell silent.
"I'll keep my mouth shut if you want me to."
"No, it's okay, just let me teach you the rest of the tune. Your notes are a little off. Well, terribly off, which is all the more reason for you to learn how to get it right." The perfectionist in me shone through; as much as I loved Fiyero I wouldn't tolerate his making a mockery of the song I liked so much, however unintentionally it was done.
He broke into a wide grin and said, "I'm yours for the teaching, Fae; sing for me."
I broke back into my old ways, shy and unwilling to showcase myself; "But only if you'll sing with me."
"You said I was the one off; show me the right notes."
I began tentatively to sing the part he'd messed up, and while I sang he sang as well, deliberately exaggerating and screeching every obscene note he could reach.
"You little - !" I cried, pouncing playfully on top of him so he fell onto his back.
"Aack! Gerroff me! Leggo, Vabalah!" he said thickly, the words muffled by my hand over his mouth.
"What was that, Fiyero? Speak up; I can't hear you, dear!" I laughed, not lifting my hand from his face. I shrieked with laughter as he threw me off balance so that our positions were reversed, he the one on top of me. I hurriedly pulled my hand away and the laughter evaporated, causing both of us to become incredibly uncomfortable with the arrangement of ourselves. I was painfully aware of the places our bodies touched and I wanted him off me; I needed to remove myself from such contact with him. But then there was that little piece of me that wanted what we had so long ago, the ability to give ourselves so completely to each other…No, I couldn't. I couldn't let myself want that back, not anymore. It was too late for anything like that to ever come to pass; I just didn't think I could love like that anymore.
"Please, Fiyero, get off me." I murmured, my voice urgent and almost fearful.
He hastily backed off, moving away and nervously running a hand through his hair. "I, uh, I'm sorry, Elphie –" he stammered, embarrassed.
"No, it's alright, you didn't do anything wrong, but it's not – I can't –" I let out whatever air was in my lungs, giving up what I'd been about to say. "I'm sorry, I just – can't speak, not about this." I stood and shuffled toward the table, absentmindedly scratching Chistery's back. A faint sense of heartache echoed throughout me, and so did a bit of something else I couldn't place. Maybe longing, maybe sadness, maybe fear; I couldn't tell.
"I understand."
He tried not to let it show, but I saw how he was just as scared as I was of the intimacy there had been, just as hurt by the fact that it was virtually impossible for us to be as we once were. We could be close, but never as one again.
There was warmth in his eyes as he looked at me; mine were misty with wet and could not focus correctly on anything. I felt myself withdrawing to some place deep within the shadows of my mind where loneliness lurked, riddled with only the "what-ifs" and "what-might-have-beens" to keep me company. As my stare turned vacant Fiyero caught my hands, trying to pull me back to reality.
"Fabala-Fae?"
"Mmmmn, yes?" I said softly, hardly hearing the words.
"Please, don't shrink away. I hate to see you so hurt."
"I hate feeling it but sometimes there's nothing I can do about it."
"Maybe I could do something to ease the pain a little?"
"I doubt it."
"Can I at least try?"
"I guess so." There was no emotion whatsoever in my voice.
Fiyero reached out an arm for Chistery to climb upon; the monkey obliged and sat there, flexing his wings and yawning.
"Are you sad?" the little creature asked me, flitting from Fiyero's arm to my shoulder. He put one paw on my cheek for balance and stroked my loose hair with the other.
"A little." I said, humoring the monkey, wondering where he was taking this.
"Why?"
"I don't know, Chistery. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to."
"You love Yero, right?"
"Very much."
"Give Yero a hug."
A corner of my mouth quirked upward into an almost-smile and I wrapped one arm around his back, grasping his lower arm with my other hand. Fiyero did the same; he didn't let go of me when I went to move away, and actually I rather liked it that way.
"Now kiss him."
I looked up at Fiyero, his mouth twitching at the corners. "Did you teach him to do this?" I whispered, trying not to let the monkey catch on to what I was saying.
"No, I had no idea he could do this. I just figured since he's such a character he'd be able to cheer you up some." he replied.
Chistery tapped my cheek impatiently to regain my attention. "I said kiss him! Why won't you listen?"
I laughed and quickly brushed my lips against his cheek, waiting for Chistery's next command.
"Are you happy again?" Chistery asked.
"Relatively happy, yes." I said, smiling at the monkey sitting on my shoulder.
"Good," Chistery said, folding his arms, "my job is done." And with that he stretched his wings and took off, landing curled up like a cat on my pillow. His position brought back a flash of memory of the cat that had once slept on my pillow when I'd previously lived here in the city…
"Malky–" I whispered, my eyes wide and empty, but as soon as the shock had come I shook my head to clear it of its thoughts.
"Elphaba? Are you okay?"
"Yes, fine, thanks." I shook my head again and Fiyero held me still, running his fingers slowly through my hair, trying not to catch them on any little tangles or knots.
"You know, this would be easier if I had a hairbrush." he said, as if it was the most important revelation he'd ever experienced.
"No, really, you think?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I pulled away. "My brush is in the trunk."
He retrieved it from its place among my clothes and began brushing out my hair, but after a short while he stopped; his arm had seized up and was beginning to trouble him again.
"You'd better stop moving it for a while. You've exerted that arm far too much for today."
"Yes, Mother."
"I dare you, call me that again and you're getting sent to your room!" I said in a mock-serious tone, poking his nose with a finger, a deliberately over-exaggerated scowl twisting my mouth.
"I'm already in my room. This whole rattrap is my room."
"Then you're going to bed early."
"It's three o'clock in the afternoon!"
"Too bad." I said, smiling smugly, and pushed his nose with my finger so his head snapped backward slightly. I yelped as he lunged forward with a ridiculous grin stretched across his mouth, trying to catch me. His hand caught the back of my skirt as I tried to avoid his grasp. Giggling, I was pulled backward until I was sitting on his lap with his arms around my waist.
"If I have to go to bed, you're coming with me."
"What makes you think I'll agree to that?"
"Because you love me."
"I hate it when you're right."
I progressed right away to undo Fiyero's bandages, swallow any fears or misgivings I had about the "medicine" Boq had acquired from Yackle, and pulled the stopper from the blue bottle, tipping some of the stuff into my palms. Out poured a foul looking and even worse smelling concoction; Fiyero covered his nose with his good hand and Boq grabbed a towel, holding it over his nose and mouth to filter the air before he breathed it in.
"Sweet Oz, that's disgusting!" Boq cried, his voice muffled by the towel. I shook my head at him and smiled wryly; he was reacting as if someone had thrown him into some sort of gas chamber. I'll admit, the stuff did smell like a carcass rotting in the sun, but for heaven's sake, it was only medicine, not poison!
Surprisingly, when I smoothed it over the wound, the unsightly inflammation paled almost instantly back to Fiyero's normal skin tone. The substance bubbled slightly, then sank into his skin, leaving no trace that there ever was an infection or inflammation in the first place; the only evidence left was the moderately thin line where the gash was beginning to scab over.
"I don't know what is in that stuff, but whatever it is, it works miracles;" Fiyero said, flexing the muscles in his injured limb, "the pain's been almost completely extinguished."
"I only hope that there won't be any side effects that could end up causing more harm that help." I said, wrapping the bandage back around his arm, securing it there.
"Thank you." I said, turning to face Boq. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't agreed to try and get this for him. You have no idea how much this has helped." I paused, lowering my eyes so he wouldn't see my embarrassment; even so, I felt that my pride could afford to be wounded for the time being; "I believe an apology is in order, but I'm not very good at delivering such things."
"Consider the thanks apology enough; just promise me you won't let Fiyero do something stupid like tear the gash open again once it heals." Boq replied, shelving his own pride for the moment and deciding to be agreeable rather than spit sarcasm at me.
"Are you calling me stupid?" Fiyero laughed, challenging his friend.
"What if I am?"
"Watch it, pal, you just might end up with a similar injury if you're now careful!"
"Boys, please, self control!" I interrupted, stretching my arms out between them.
Boq laughed. "Yes, mother." He stuck his tongue out at me.
"Be careful or I just might make good on that threat I delivered you a few nights ago of cutting your tongue out!" I retorted, a smile twitching at the corner of my mouth.
"Is it safe to take this thing off my face now?" Boq asked, referring to the towel he was still clutching to his face.
"Coast is clear; gods, Boq, the way you reacted to the smell was as if you were in some sort of gas chamber." Fiyero laughed.
"Excuse me, but I don't deal well with stenches that smell like something died and fermented in the desert for a week!" Boq retorted, chortling at his own comment.
"Well, Elphie, another week or so on this stuff and I'll be able to repay you for that song you performed so beautifully for me." Fiyero said, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me against him. "Now the question is, how would you like your payment?"
"Let me think on it," I said, "I'll get back to you when I've made up my mind." I smiled, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
"Oh, please, you're making me sick to my stomach!" Boq cried, getting up and striding toward the door.
"If that's the case…" Fiyero said, sliding his lips over mine. I giggled, kissing him back.
"If you two keep going on like this I'll be forced to leave! You don't want to lose my high-esteemed company, now do you?" Boq asked good-naturedly, opening the door.
"Oh, Boq, before you go, would you mind washing this for me?" Fiyero asked, taking the red-and-black scarf from his bedside table and tossing it to Boq.
"This thing is revolting!" Boq said, holding it between two fingers.
"Oh, come off it, it's only a bit of blood."
Boq rolled his eyes. "You call this 'a bit of blood'? The thing is completely encrusted in the stuff!" Nevertheless he folded the scarf, tucking it into his pocket.
"It'd been in service as my bandage for a few days; blood is a given." Fiyero answered, giving me a brief kiss on the forehead; he was acting as if Boq's presence at the moment was no more important than that of the dust under the bed. The man cared nothing for Boq's witnessing our kisses and at the moment I didn't pay him much heed, either; I was enjoying myself far too much.
"Whatever. Can I trust you two to cut with the kissing or will I be forced to leave?"
"Elphaba and I cannot be trusted with something like that. Don't even bother to ask." Fiyero replied, kissing me harder, keeping one eye on Boq until he opened the door, about to go.
"If this is what happens while I'm here I shudder to think what goes on behind closed doors." he laughed and shut the door behind him, shaking his head at the two of us.
"You know, no matter how well Boq and I know and look out for each other and how good friends we've come to be, it's times like these where I just can't wait for him to leave."
"That makes two of us. Well, you've got your privacy and at least the partial ability to use your right arm; life must feel pretty good for you right now."
"It's even better now that I can wrap both arms around you, Fae, without having to fear hurting myself with the motion."
"Since you can, hold me closer; I miss the feel of you." I replied, nuzzling my face into his shoulder and kissing his collarbone, gently running my lips over his neck. He relaxed, leaning into me.
"Boq's lightened up some, hasn't he?" I asked as I laid my head just below Fiyero's shoulder, running my hand through his hair.
"If anything he was in a much better mood today than the last time he clapped eyes on you."
"I know I might've deserved his anger that night but mercifully our fury's cooled off a little since then. I don't need any more enemies. Another friend, however, would be appreciated. I need you to help me make sure I don't lash out at Boq over trivial things anymore. If I manage to do something stupid like that and he turns on me..."
"Don't worry, he's not going to. I made sure he knows how much you mean to me and I know for a fact he won't do anything that might hurt you in some way. He's my friend and he wouldn't do something to intentionally hurt both of us like that."
"I know he's your friend, but I'm still not sure exactly how much trust to place in him, or in myself. The littlest things tend to set me off when they come from him-"
"I'll keep an eye on your behavior. You won't have to worry about that. Can we please get off this topic? I'm little fed up with the man at the moment; there are a few things I have to sort out with him."
"Alright." I wished I knew what he meant by that, but I was disinclined to ask just then, as his lips had begun caressing my throat.
"It's mind boggling how much you can long to be with a person even when they've been living with you in such close proximity for the past few months." he murmured.
"It feels like we're miles apart the longer I have to live without the comfort of being able to stay close to my other half, which is what you've become to me since I've been here. I hate feeling like you'll be punished with pain if I try to touch you." I said, tightening my loose embrace.
"Do I sense separation anxiety, my dear?" He smiled and reached up to smooth back my hair, which had fallen across my face. "Has it been half as hard for you to deal with these past few weeks as it's been for me?"
"If not as much, more. We can be close again; I don't know about you, but I'm just about ready to begin taking advantage of it." I smiled, but pushed myself away.
"Give me a minute or two first, though; I'm smarting a bit." I'd been sweating a little in the late summer heat where his hand had been resting on the small of my back and I needed a moment to grab the oil before I went back to him. I reached for one of the unattractive green bottles and pulled the stopper out, a little apprehensive about it; the bottle was remarkably like the one my mother had been in association with while pregnant with me. I stared at it for a moment or two until Fiyero spoke up.
"What's the matter?"
"I don't much like green bottles, but what the hell; if this is meant to turn someone green I can't actually get much worse, can I?" He laughed and beckoned me back to him. I sat in front of him and he unlaced the back of the sleeveless dress I was wearing, then he took some of the oil in his palms, smoothing it over where the skin had flushed from the sting. He let it sink in for a few moments before he redid the ties and rubbed what little oil there was left on his palms over my bare shoulders.
"Better?"
"Much."
He began to hum what little he knew of the "Unexpected Song" I'd made up for him, and I turned away, pressing my fingers to my closed eyes. He noticed and fell silent.
"I'll keep my mouth shut if you want me to."
"No, it's okay, just let me teach you the rest of the tune. Your notes are a little off. Well, terribly off, which is all the more reason for you to learn how to get it right." The perfectionist in me shone through; as much as I loved Fiyero I wouldn't tolerate his making a mockery of the song I liked so much, however unintentionally it was done.
He broke into a wide grin and said, "I'm yours for the teaching, Fae; sing for me."
I broke back into my old ways, shy and unwilling to showcase myself; "But only if you'll sing with me."
"You said I was the one off; show me the right notes."
I began tentatively to sing the part he'd messed up, and while I sang he sang as well, deliberately exaggerating and screeching every obscene note he could reach.
"You little - !" I cried, pouncing playfully on top of him so he fell onto his back.
"Aack! Gerroff me! Leggo, Vabalah!" he said thickly, the words muffled by my hand over his mouth.
"What was that, Fiyero? Speak up; I can't hear you, dear!" I laughed, not lifting my hand from his face. I shrieked with laughter as he threw me off balance so that our positions were reversed, he the one on top of me. I hurriedly pulled my hand away and the laughter evaporated, causing both of us to become incredibly uncomfortable with the arrangement of ourselves. I was painfully aware of the places our bodies touched and I wanted him off me; I needed to remove myself from such contact with him. But then there was that little piece of me that wanted what we had so long ago, the ability to give ourselves so completely to each other…No, I couldn't. I couldn't let myself want that back, not anymore. It was too late for anything like that to ever come to pass; I just didn't think I could love like that anymore.
"Please, Fiyero, get off me." I murmured, my voice urgent and almost fearful.
He hastily backed off, moving away and nervously running a hand through his hair. "I, uh, I'm sorry, Elphie –" he stammered, embarrassed.
"No, it's alright, you didn't do anything wrong, but it's not – I can't –" I let out whatever air was in my lungs, giving up what I'd been about to say. "I'm sorry, I just – can't speak, not about this." I stood and shuffled toward the table, absentmindedly scratching Chistery's back. A faint sense of heartache echoed throughout me, and so did a bit of something else I couldn't place. Maybe longing, maybe sadness, maybe fear; I couldn't tell.
"I understand."
He tried not to let it show, but I saw how he was just as scared as I was of the intimacy there had been, just as hurt by the fact that it was virtually impossible for us to be as we once were. We could be close, but never as one again.
There was warmth in his eyes as he looked at me; mine were misty with wet and could not focus correctly on anything. I felt myself withdrawing to some place deep within the shadows of my mind where loneliness lurked, riddled with only the "what-ifs" and "what-might-have-beens" to keep me company. As my stare turned vacant Fiyero caught my hands, trying to pull me back to reality.
"Fabala-Fae?"
"Mmmmn, yes?" I said softly, hardly hearing the words.
"Please, don't shrink away. I hate to see you so hurt."
"I hate feeling it but sometimes there's nothing I can do about it."
"Maybe I could do something to ease the pain a little?"
"I doubt it."
"Can I at least try?"
"I guess so." There was no emotion whatsoever in my voice.
Fiyero reached out an arm for Chistery to climb upon; the monkey obliged and sat there, flexing his wings and yawning.
"Are you sad?" the little creature asked me, flitting from Fiyero's arm to my shoulder. He put one paw on my cheek for balance and stroked my loose hair with the other.
"A little." I said, humoring the monkey, wondering where he was taking this.
"Why?"
"I don't know, Chistery. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to."
"You love Yero, right?"
"Very much."
"Give Yero a hug."
A corner of my mouth quirked upward into an almost-smile and I wrapped one arm around his back, grasping his lower arm with my other hand. Fiyero did the same; he didn't let go of me when I went to move away, and actually I rather liked it that way.
"Now kiss him."
I looked up at Fiyero, his mouth twitching at the corners. "Did you teach him to do this?" I whispered, trying not to let the monkey catch on to what I was saying.
"No, I had no idea he could do this. I just figured since he's such a character he'd be able to cheer you up some." he replied.
Chistery tapped my cheek impatiently to regain my attention. "I said kiss him! Why won't you listen?"
I laughed and quickly brushed my lips against his cheek, waiting for Chistery's next command.
"Are you happy again?" Chistery asked.
"Relatively happy, yes." I said, smiling at the monkey sitting on my shoulder.
"Good," Chistery said, folding his arms, "my job is done." And with that he stretched his wings and took off, landing curled up like a cat on my pillow. His position brought back a flash of memory of the cat that had once slept on my pillow when I'd previously lived here in the city…
"Malky–" I whispered, my eyes wide and empty, but as soon as the shock had come I shook my head to clear it of its thoughts.
"Elphaba? Are you okay?"
"Yes, fine, thanks." I shook my head again and Fiyero held me still, running his fingers slowly through my hair, trying not to catch them on any little tangles or knots.
"You know, this would be easier if I had a hairbrush." he said, as if it was the most important revelation he'd ever experienced.
"No, really, you think?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I pulled away. "My brush is in the trunk."
He retrieved it from its place among my clothes and began brushing out my hair, but after a short while he stopped; his arm had seized up and was beginning to trouble him again.
"You'd better stop moving it for a while. You've exerted that arm far too much for today."
"Yes, Mother."
"I dare you, call me that again and you're getting sent to your room!" I said in a mock-serious tone, poking his nose with a finger, a deliberately over-exaggerated scowl twisting my mouth.
"I'm already in my room. This whole rattrap is my room."
"Then you're going to bed early."
"It's three o'clock in the afternoon!"
"Too bad." I said, smiling smugly, and pushed his nose with my finger so his head snapped backward slightly. I yelped as he lunged forward with a ridiculous grin stretched across his mouth, trying to catch me. His hand caught the back of my skirt as I tried to avoid his grasp. Giggling, I was pulled backward until I was sitting on his lap with his arms around my waist.
"If I have to go to bed, you're coming with me."
"What makes you think I'll agree to that?"
"Because you love me."
"I hate it when you're right."