A/N: Hello everyone! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I want to warn you in advance about the lack of length in this chapter. It was giving me loads of trouble writing it the past few weeks, plus I'm trying to draw things out a bit. Yes, I'm sorry to say this fic is beginning to draw to a close. Please R&R and I'll love you forever! It's because of you guys this fic's being written! Muchas gracias to the lot of you!

Next issue: to all of you who read and/or review fics by Dardreamer731, if you don't already know Hurricane Frances is about to wreak havoc on the stae of Florida and also possibly on her home, so she asked me to let you know that her updates may be sporadic for a while, to say the very least. Wish her the best of luck and hopefully she'll come through this relatively unscathed!

Now, on to the chapter!
-Lindsay-

Chapter 38

It was relatively easy to get to the Palace from where we were; it was only a matter of getting there as inconspicuously as possible. Flight was out of the question; the windiness of previous hours had died down, but there was still a distinct lack of cloud cover. No wind meant any last lingering people on the streets would be more likely to let their eyes wander. If someone looked up and the thing in the sky wasn't a hot-air balloon or a giant floating pink bubble, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out who and what it was.

"If we're not going to use it, you are having me carry this broom because...?" Fiyero asked in an undertone.

"Because if we're seen we might have to get our sorry tails out of here before anyone, especially anyone belonging to the Gale Force, can get to us. We are not flying this thing there. It would be taking an unnecessary risk."

"But when we flew over the City before there weren't terribly many Gale Forcers lurking about."

"They don't necessarily have to be Gale Forcers, Fiyero; anyone can look up and yell. Exactly how many green women have you ever seen shooting across Oz on something most people use to clean their kitchen floors?"

"Point taken."

So we walked, Fiyero following where I led, careful to keep to the side streets and away from anywhere there could likely be lingering denizens of the City. After much meandering down various alleys, the square opened up in front of us and the enormous emerald monstrosity of a palace loomed menacingly above, it's cold green walls shimmering faintly in the moonlight. I glanced quickly around the square, scanning for any remote signs of life before entering it. As my gaze traveled it soon fell upon the wooden platform still standing defiantly in the center, mocking me. It may have lacked the noose that had once been swinging from it, but my heart still grew heavy at the sight; Oz's emperor or whatever he called himself must have seen fit to make it a permanent addition to the square, and public executions a permanent addition to his reign.

::He will be no different from the Wizard.::

Blinking twice to clear my head, I moved on in a wide arc, beckoning Fiyero to follow me around to the opposite side of the Palace, avoiding the towering front doors lest we be seen in so obvious a location.

"There should be a servant's entrance near here; we shouldn't have any trouble getting in. The dungeons and holding cells are beneath the palace, and the only way to get there is down a staircase on the servants' level. There!" I said, spotting the handle of the door I'd been referring to. It was locked up for the night, and I laid a hand on the knob, murmuring a simple spell under my breath. When I finished the door swung open in front of me.

"How do you know all this?" Fiyero whispered, glancing nervously around behind us.

"I've broken into this place before." I said, my words clipped and businesslike. I started to continue on inside, but stopped when I realized Fiyero was still standing frozen where he was outside. Looking back, I saw he had a look in his face like that of a hunted animal, eyes darting to try and take everything in all at once.

"What's wrong with you, are you daft? Come on!" I hissed, grabbing his hand and pulling him after me, since he didn't seem to be able to do so on his own.

"I feel like someone's eyes are boring into my back; Fae, we shouldn't be here, we'll be seen..."

"No, we won't. Let's go, we have precious little time as it is, and standing here waiting for you is not a wise use of it." I stared ahead determinedly, refusing to let go of his hand as we walked on down hallway after hallway, passing the kitchens and servants' quarters among other things, searching for a staircase that would take us underneath the building to where Boq was being held.

"Where the hell are we going? If we keep this up much longer we're bound to be heard or seen..." he said as I pulled him down another corridor. I stopped, finally catching sight of a grimy door in a little alcove off the hall, one of the few things I'd seen in this palace that wasn't green. It was tarnished metal and bolted shut in three places.

"That's where we're going." I replied. I repeated the spell I'd used on the outside servants' door, and it worked just as well on this one despite the extra locks, swinging silently open though the rusty, ill-kept hinges rightfully should've screeched ominously. I tested the first step with my foot, wincing as it creaked; the sound seemed to echo at ten times the volume in the silence of the deserted halls. Stepping as gingerly as I could, I started my descent.

"What are you doing? That thing's as loud as -"

"It's not as if we have a choice!" I whispered fiercely. He was beginning to try my patience. Even so, reluctantly he followed, each stair groaning under his weight.

"At this rate the entire palace will know we're here." he muttered after what felt like lifetimes filled with nothing but the strained creaking of the stairs and the sound of our own breathing, but nevertheless we made it down unscathed and undiscovered. My feet soon connected with the cold stone of the floor and my eyes adjusted to the dim light, a welcome change from the near-total darkness of the corridors upstairs. I could make out rows of cells lining the walls of the dank room, the majority of which were empty, but every once in a while there would be one inhabited by a tired and despondent-looking man or woman; most of them were sleeping, propped against the wall or tossing in restless dreams, and the few that weren't were awake and alert, scrutinizing my every move, watching me, disinclined to let the others on to my presence. I was highly grateful for their silence.

I traveled down the line of cells, looking for a face I recognized. As I neared the last few I was beginning to fear that we wouldn't find Boq at all here, my eyes sweeping desperately from one tiny barred chamber to the next when I heard a voice quietly call out Fiyero's name. I spun around, catching sight of the person it belonged to. Fiyero had reached through the bars that fashioned Boq's cell door and the two men were gripping each other's wrists so tightly their knuckles went white.

"Fiyero, how in Oz did you - Elphaba, get yourself out of here! Do you have any idea what -"

"Stop prattling away like an idiot; I'm getting you out of here. Where is your family being held?" I muttered, tracing the lock with my fingers, about to begin the spell.

"They've all been killed. All but milla and Clarinda, my oldest. They're being held elsewhere in the palace, and they'll die tomorrow morning if I don't tell the Force where the two of you are." he murmured. Neither his voice nor his face showed any emotion whatsoever.

::We're too late - I can't believe I let this happen again...::

"Gods, Boq, I'm so sorry..." Fiyero trailed off, looking from his friends face to mine.

"You should never have done this for us," I said softly, staring into Boq's face, my own blank and hard, "not if it would've cost you this much."

"I couldn't betray you. Not when you and Fiyero have gone through so much already. Not now that I know you've done nothing to deserve it. I couldn't live with myself if I let them hurt you any more."

"Be quiet. I'm going to unlock this thing." I said, refusing to answer his last response.

"Elph-" he began, but Fiyero shushed him, leaving me free to perform the spell. The lock opened within the moment, but as Boq began to push the door open he froze when he heard the stairwell groan and male voices floating down from it.

There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.

Trapped.

::They've finally found me. After all this time running, they finally have me where I can't escape...::

I felt one of the twins stir; I brought my hands up to rest on my stomach. My heart plunged.

::And at the worst time imaginable...::

"This better be good this time, boy, I swear. If you're leading me to another false alarm..." said an oily voice, toned with a familiar hiss.

"It's not, Commander Cherrystone, sir. She was seen by one of the officers, coming in through the servants' door. I was told to alert you." said another horribly familiar voice; it cracked here and there, indicating youth and confirming my fears.

"Then why are you dragging me down here?" Cherrystone growled.

"I have a feeling this might be where she is, sir. Supposedly she was friends with that man we've been trying to force information out of, the Munchkin." Liir replied. The sounds of the voices grew louder; they were coming to the end of the staircase. My heart pounded so hard it felt as if it were going to burst through my chest. We had no chance to escape; there were no windows in the dungeons, so the broom would do us no good now.

::Now what fresh hell have I gotten myself into?:: I thought desperately, reaching out on impulse and clutching Fiyero's lower arm, smoothing my face into an expressionless mask. I heard Cherrystone mutter something incomprehensible under his breath and then inhale sharply as he entered. His face molded into a malicious smile when he caught sight of me, grinning like a rabid animal about to toy with it's prey. Liir, on the other hand, was trembling slightly, hands clenched, and gave me a look that seemed like a bizarre cross between hatred, pity, and something that bordered on sympathy; he said nothing. I didn't know what to make of it.

"So you are worth keeping after all, boy. For once in your life you've gotten your facts straight. Go fetch me Mesraez, Nicoley, Sagrel and Timmar. Now!" he roared when Liir didn't move fast enough. The boy jumped, caught off guard, and then practically scampered back up the staircase, his footsteps echoing off the stone. He seemed somehow anxious to get out of my line of sight, like he was ashamed to be seen with Cherrystone all of a sudden, afraid of me or of what I would think of him now. I knew it wasn't probable that he'd feel like that, and it was probably just my eyes wanting me to see such a thing, but something in his expression wanted me to believe otherwise.

"That son of yours, witch, he may be a bumbling idiot, but once in a blue moon he has his moments. It's at times like these I'm glad I didn't shoot him when I had the chance." he said smoothly as he watched Liir hurriedly scramble away, still smiling his perverse grin. Not taking my eyes from the Commander, I gently squeezed Fiyero's arm, anticipating the shock he would feel in learning that his last surviving son was working with the very people who'd been trying to kill me, on the very first time he clapped eyes on the boy, no less. He laid his hand over mine and curled his fingers around it, seeking condolence through the gesture, gazing at me for a moment through dolorous, forlorn eyes.

Cherrystone glanced over to Boq, his cell door still half open, and smiled a little wider before looking back to me. "A friend of yours, witch? On a rescue mission, are we?" he asked. I said nothing. He turned back to Boq. "Well, Munchkin, it seems we didn't need your information after all. The witch played right into our hands. I suppose you'll be free to go soon enough, but I fancy your wife and daughter for myself. They'll be staying here indefinitely, or at least until I tire of them."

"Son of a bitch - !" Boq began, but was soon cut off as Cherrystone slammed the cell door shut, narrowly missing Boq's hand as steel clanged against stone, the door locking itself as it closed.

Once he was through grinning cruelly at Boq's expense, he focused his gaze on Fiyero, recognition clicking on in his head. "And what have we here? So he really is your lover then, witch, this Winkie? He must be the one who got you in such a state." Cherrystone laughed softly, derisively, narrowing his eyes and curling his lip into a sneer as he looked me up and down, taking in my swollen abdomen, throrughly enjoying himself. "I can just imagine what sort of hideous hellspawn that child will turn out like, so before it has the chance, we'll just have to rid Oz of the little monstrosity-to-be, won't we? But to do that we'd have to do away with the mother as well; what a delightful turn of events this is coming out to be. Killing two birds with one stone; it'll make the whole ordeal so much simpler."

My insides were twisting, contorting themselves with the hatred that had also begun to distort my expression. Cherrystone did naught but laugh, giddy with vile glee, practically beside himself.

"Where is that half-wit moron of a boy? LIIR!" he roared up the stairs, and was met with an answering yelp, accompanied by five sets of footsteps echoing with it. I was surprised the staircase was able to hold up so much weight. When Liir reentered the room, he trotted to Cherrystone's side, carefully avoiding my eyes; the four other Forcers stood behind them, each one's eyes glittering maniacally. They reminded me forcefully of burly attack dogs, coming when called and ready to lash out at the master's order.

"Timmar and Sagrel, take the Winkie to the holding cells on the third floor. I'm not sure how long we'll need to keep him here, but for the time being it'll do." One soldier shoved me aside so my back hit the wall, and I was soon grabbed by the arm and held back in a vise grip by another soldier. One of Cherrystone's attack dogs seized Fiyero's upper arm, but he would not come quietly. He fought the two men, trying to get back to me, but the smarter of the soldiers grabbed the back of Fiyero's neck, pressing his fingers into the sensitive spots on either side, cutting off his air. Fiyero had no choice but to go lest his windpipe be crushed. I tried to twist my arm free, to follow him, though I knew it would be in vain. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to witness. The only man who'd ever been open -or crazy- enough to love me taken away to eventually be killed all to my own fault. I half-wished he'd never even met me; then neither of us would have had to be put through this. Well, I'd still be hunted like an animal, but at least Fiyero wouldn't have had to go through it as well. The harder I fought the more the Forcer holding me back tightened his grip, causing bruises to raise on my skin.

I shouted after them, enraged and afraid, "No, you can't hurt him! He's never done anything to deserve -"

"The worst crime the Winkie committed was falling in love with you!" the commander shouted in a deafening, furious roar, then brought his voice back down to it's normal oily volume, "That alone is reason enough to kill him, but now that he's went and gotten you pregnant, his death is a given! It's only a matter of how the job will be done!"

"You can't kill him -" I was growing more desperate by the moment.

"No, we can't. Not so soon, anyway. He might be useful to us yet." Cherrystone's face still hadn't lost it's rabid sneering grin. "Mesraez, you and I will be in charge of the witch. We'll take her up to the high-security cells, the one we kept Glinda the not-so-Good in. You do remember where they are, don't you?" The soldier, Mesraez, the largest of the four men Cherrystone sent Liir to summon and possibly the stupidest, took a moment or two to think about it first before nodding an affirmative. "Good. Nicoley, I need you to get that sorry excuse for a Munchkin out of here. Tell his Ozness that the Munchkin's information is no longer necessary, and that he'll be given a full report on the staus of the situation quite shortly." The soldier Cherrystone was referring to nodded and pulled a key ring from his pocket. Once Boq was out of the cell he tried to hold back, he began to say my name as if to tell me something else, but was cut off as the soldier half dragged him out of the room; Boq's strength was no match for the man.

Cherrystone took hold of my other arm and jerked me after him up the rusty stairs, chuckling darkly to himself all the while.

Once again I felt the invisible, imaginary shackles closing around my throat, cutting off my air, leaving me with less and less room to breathe...