Chapter Six: Family Reunion
"I'll pray for your soul," Nessarose promised.
"I'll wait for your shoes," Elphie answered.
--Wicked: The Life and Times by Gregory Maguire
Elphaba stopped suddenly, her back straight. Her mouth curled into a snarl. "Elphie?" Glinda asked, out of breath, nearly collapsing under her gowns, "What is it?"
The Witch's head turned slightly to the left. "I hear…"
The sorceress looked around in confusion. "What? What do you hear?"
"The wolves…Killyjoy," was her green-skinned companion's cryptic reply.
"Killy-Joy?" Glinda squeaked. "Why doesn't that sound like someone I want to meet?"
The Witch ignored her and began walking again, turning sharply to the left. "Where are you going?" Glinda called after her. "Elphie, wait!"
"I don't understand why you were there anyways, Glinda," the Witch muttered crossly under her breath. "Even if Lord Chuffrey Red Gloria did somehow come into possession of a pair of the Quadling Magic Mirrors, why did you have to be there, of all places?"
"You don't have to sound so—disgusted!" Glinda snapped back, the hurt plain in her voice.
"Why were you at my…son's…wedding, Glinda? Sticking your fancy wand in where it wasn't wanted."
"But it was YOU who stopped the wedding, Elphie! It's not fair of you to—Hey, why did you stop the wedding, anyways?"
"Do you really have to ask?" the Witch said, her lips curling into a disgusted frown. "'Shenshen.'"
"It was an odd coincidence to be sure," the blonde noted. "But still, calling off a wedding for a son you've never even met based solely on the fact that his fiancé shares the name of someone you didn't like in university seems a touch extreme, doesn't it?"
"No," Elphaba replied. "The satin bells on the shoulders of your gown are a touch extreme, Glinda. I was outright mad."
"Then why—?"
"I don't know why, except that witch's are known to have their bouts of lunacy."
"Not this 'witch' business again, Elphie!"
"The last I heard, the Munchkinlanders were calling you a witch too, Glinda. Albeit a good one."
"Well the proper term is 'sorceress,' you just can't expect the peasants to—you completely avoided my question!"
The Witch stopped, and held up a hand, gesturing for Glinda to be silent. She listened again for the sounds of her dogs. Killyjoy and his wolfy companions roamed the sparse forests scattered around the Vinkus, and she was certain she had heard growling.
It reminded her of when the wolf had attacked what she thought was a baby, and she had forced her way through the horrific pain of water to rescue it, only to find that it not a baby human, but a baby monkey, Chistery.
And that had been the start of her new family, a family of wolves, bees, the ravens, and the soon-to-be 'winged' monkeys. She didn't know what she would find this time, but anything would be preferable to answering Glinda's question, because it was a question she couldn't answer even for herself. Any maternal instincts or impulses she had came to few and far between to be properly recognized. And so she was at a loss.
Apart from her younger brother and sister she still had never warmed to the idea of children, not even Fiyero's, so it was beyond her why she should care at all for the fully grown son of a lover she hadn't really cared for, or seen in over a three or four or five years. And she didn't.
She had just stopped his wedding.
Elphaba pushed through one last patch of dried bracken and spidery pine bushes with Glinda right behind her, and found herself in the midst of the wolf pack. In the centre of it all was, lo and behold, the son she had been told was named—what was it? Klaus?—and an unconscious blond man who did look a disturbing amount like Glinda now that she thought about it.
"Killyjoy!" she snapped brusquely, and the big dog turned his snarling head away from the two strangers and whimpered up at her. His tale wagged when she scratched him behind the ears, and the other wolves backed slowly away.
"And you!" she said, turning to Klaus. He was holding one of those strange short weapons, the Gale Forces had nothing like it, but she vaguely remembered Heinz showing her weapons of that sort in the Other world. "Don't point that gun at my dogs!"
He looked at her in utterly blank surprise for a solid minute as she made her way through the pack of wolves and looked down at the unconscious Dorian. "I see you met the Gale Force."
Glinda let out a small cry of alarm behind her, and rushed to her son's side. "Dorian! Is he…?"
"Unconscious? Yes," the Witch replied dryly.
"This isn't funny, Elphie!"
"Has the Gale Force been known to coat their weapons with poison?" this was Klaus.
She shook her head. How should she know? "I wouldn't put it past them." I'll ask Liir when we reach Kiamo Ko, he'll know what they use.
Now I'm relying on Liir, how bad have things really gotten? The Witch grimaced at that thought. She turned to the wolves and sent them out to watch for any soldiers blocking their path to the fortress. Then she turned back to Glinda and Klaus, both of whom were watching her with a sort of confusion and horror.
"You can talk to animals now, Elphie?" Glinda asked. "Is this from all your work helping the Animals? I don't understand."
The Witch merely shrugged. "I don't know why they listen to me. Now do you want to reach the safety of Kiamo Ko, or do you want to stand here asking me pointless questions all night?"
So the three looked at each other, and then at the unconscious Dorian. "I'm not carrying him," the Witch said.
"Well I can't carry him!" Glinda exclaimed. "It's all I can do to carry myself in these petticoats!"
"That's what you get for wearing something so ridiculous," the Witch replied. She turned to Klaus, who had fallen silent again. He seemed to have a perpetual glare fixed to his expression, although it was a marked improvement over Liir's vapidity. And at least he looked pretty strong. "You could make yourself useful and carry him, you know."
The glare intensified, if that was possible, and the Witch glared right back. "Or we could leave him here."
"Elphie, no!" Glinda exclaimed.
The black haired man—whom Elphaba still couldn't quite bring herself to think of as her son, stupid transdimensional time differences—crossed his arms and scowled at her. "If we leave that idiot out here to die, we'll be doing Interpol a favour, they've been trying to catch the thief for years."
The Witch turned back to Glinda. "Fancy that, you having a son that's a thief. There must be something about that—inability to grasp the concept of other people's property—that runs in the family."
"I know you're mad at me over Nessa's shoes, but don't let my son die out here, Elphie!"
Why not? Why not add to the legions of angry, accusing ghosts that hovered around her, flickering in the shadows at the peripherals of her awareness. Doctor Dillamond, Fiyero, Fiyero's wife Sarima, the children, Nessa…
She was evil now, wasn't she? She was Wicked.
"I'll take him," the black haired man spoke suddenly, breaking what had been threatening to become a lengthy silence. Although he looked far from pleased.
"I thought you said if we left him out here to die we'd be doing everyone a favour?" the Witch asked.
Klaus glared at her.
"Great. You have issues, don't you?"
"I have issues? You're the one that's green!" he snapped.
"Oh no! Don't start fighting now, you two!"
"SHUT UP!" they both snapped in unison, and poor Glinda jumped.
"N-now now there's no need to…erm," the petite blonde glanced nervously between the soldier and the witch, both of whom were glaring daggers at her, and in the end opted simply to back away.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kiamo Ko appeared before them an hour later, it's sheer black cliffs jutting sharply out against the skyline. "Who are they?" Klaus asked, watching the Winkies that paraded before the entrance suspiciously.
"Vinku tribesmen, mostly. They think one day I'll rescue their royal family."
"So they're…not planning on sticking our heads on those pikes they're carrying, right?" Glinda tittered nervously.
Elphaba was about to respond—when something cold and wet fell onto the back of her hand. She dropped the broom, grabbing her hand as hot, searing pain ran through her entire arm. "Elphie, are you alright?" she heard Glinda crying as she staggered forewords.
No.
She heard the patter of drops of rain striking the dirt on either side of her. The sound sent a wave of terror through her. The cool dampness in the air compounded the fear, and her heart lurched in her chest.
No. No. No.
The Witch recoiled, pulling her thick shawls higher up around her face and cowering beneath the brim of her pointed hat.
In the next instant she was off, tearing across the finally stretch of land that stood between her and the high walls of the old stone fortress. She passed the Winkie militia in a blur of black and green, and left Glinda to explain things to Major Eberbach.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Glinda had known something was wrong the second Elphaba had stopped, and then when the Witch had shuddered and grabbed at her hand as though she was in tremendous pain, the sorceress had lifted her own hand and felt the cool drops of rain falling against her palm.
Then it was no surprise to her when the Witch had all but flown the last few yards, and vanished into Kiamo Ko. "Oh, Elphie," she sighed, bending to retrieve the fallen broom. She held it in her hands for a moment, feeling the worn splintering wood under her hands.
"What was that about it?"
She turned to see the Major glaring at her and shuddered. He had Dorian slung over his shoulder and was regarding the broom with the same cold, hard suspicion that he seemed to regard everything.
She sighed. "It's raining."
His green eyes narrowed at her in annoyance. "Yes…?"
"Elphaba has an allergy," she said softly, feeling the now steady rain dampening her curls and making them heavy against her shoulders. She didn't meet his gaze. Only Elphaba could possibly have a son that was as difficult to deal with as this. Those penetrating, accusing, eyes were the very same. "She's allergic to water."
The Major snorted and marched past her, shaking his head. "Allergic to water? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Sixty percent of the human body is made up of water!"
The good witch hurried after him, mostly because she thought he looked like good protection should the Winkies turn out to be less friendly than Elphaba had indicated. "Stupid or not, that's the way it is!" she chirped, running so fast she tripped over her own skirts and stumbled against the German officer.
He shuddered and jerked away from her so quickly she tumbled right into the mud! She looked at him, and through the rain, saw that he looked absolutely disgusted, before he turned and, still carrying Dorian over his shoulder, walked back towards the Winkies, who must have seen them approaching with the Witch because they were all standing at attention and saluting, which Glinda was certain would suit the Major just fine.
She huffed and hit the mud on either side of her, causing it to splatter all over her already ruined gown. Why did her son have to fall in love with such a jerk?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The Witch fell back against the stone wall in the entrance way, her heart racing in her chest, her breath coming in frantic gasps. It's just adrenaline, she told herself sternly, forcing her trembling limbs back under control.
Water still terrified her, in any form, and she shuddered, shaking the droplets of rain from her shawl, careful not to splash any onto her skin, and turned to wait for her…she grimaced as the word crossed her mind…guests.
"Elphie, is that you?" a haggard wheezing voice called from the stairs.
"Nanny…" the Witch turned to the winding staircase, and she was horrified to see the nearly ninety year old woman shuffling along the narrow stone steps by herself. "You'll fall!" she exclaimed, running up the stairs and clasping the old woman's arms tightly to steady her.
"What?" Nanny shouted. "Fall? Nonsense, besides what's all this commotion down here? I hear you banging doors and things."
"Where's Liir?" Elphaba frowned. "I asked him to watch you! That stupid little idiot!"
"Oh, he's around here somewhere," Nanny replied absently as though she'd forgotten what they were talking about. "Have you tried the fishing well?"
Elphaba's frown deepened at the old joke. "He'll wish he was stuck down there again once I find him!"
"Don't be so hard on the boy," Nanny said in one of her rare moments of seeming lucidity. "He's probably just gone off to watch the soldiers at Red Windmill again. You know how he idolizes them."
The Witch let out a breath that was more like a growl. "Yes, the idiot is perfectly infatuated with my enemies."
"He wants a father—"
"I know that!" Elphaba snapped, she instantly regretted raising her voice to the old woman who had raised her, but Nanny hadn't heard her anyways, and only continued to drone on about Melena and Frex until they reached the bottom of the stairs.
The door crashed open again, letting in the howl of the wind and spray of rain. Elphaba leapt backwards just in time to avoid it and pulled her cloaks tighter. Klaus barged in with the unconscious Dorian, and Glinda trailed unenthusiastically after him, splattered in globs of brown mud from her curls to her slippers. The Witch raised an eyebrow, but decided not to ask.
"I'm just saying, you could have helped me up!" Glinda spluttered, coughing and shaking the rain out of her hair.
"I'm not obligated to help you up, if you didn't wear that ugly costume—"
"Ugly? Major Eberbach, that was uncalled for!"
The Witch looked between them, wondering what she had done to deserve playing hostess to such obviously mad people. Is this my punishment for the death of Sarima and her family? She thought, holding a hand to her temples as though she were dizzy. And they call me insane.
Wait.
She looked up, frowning. "Glinda, what did you call him?" Her gaze flashed to the man. "I thought you're name was Klaus?"
He glared at her. "Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach of NATO Intelligence."
She didn't know what NATO was, but it sounded like the Wizard's Gale Force officers. The Witch scowled, and snatched her broom back from Glinda. "You mean you're a soldier?" she asked with disgust. "Perfect, just perfect. Well, Liir will just love you."
Glinda chose to intervene before the Major could start a shouting match. "Um, Elphie, it's not like that! Soldiers on Earth are different then the Wizard's—"
"You stay out of this!"
"Earth? What's this Earth you're talking about?" Nanny asked fuzzily. "Is that some sort of new tea?"
"Nanny, go back upstairs!"
"I thought you said I shouldn't use the stairs without Liir around to help me. Where is that boy, anyways?"
Elphaba felt her eyebrow twitch and tightened her hold on the broomstick. "That's what I was asking you, remember?" she muttered, turning back to the others who were very inconsiderately dripping water all over her floor. Water. She shuddered again and backed further into the entrance hall.
"Shouldn't we be putting Dorian in a nice bed somewhere?" Glinda called after her, and the—Major's—pounding footsteps followed along the narrow corridor as well.
Great, a soldier.
Soldiers had killed Fiyero. Soldiers had executed Sarima and her children.
"Out of TWO sons, you'd think at least one of them wouldn't be obsessed with soldiers!" she snapped, bumping into Chistery as he scuttled towards her from the shadows.
"Wetch. Watch. Witch," he chirruped, leathery wings twitching and jerking. He pawed at her skirt with clumsy monkey hands and she swatted him away with her broom, as gently as she could given her present agitated state.
"What is that…thing?" the Major breathed in disgust.
"I—I don't know," Glinda stammered shakily. "It doesn't look like an animal or an Animal to me. Elphie…?"
"That's Chistrey," she snapped, turning back to them so sharply that she almost slapped Klaus in the face with her broom. "And this is his home, so you'll treat him with respect!" she'd had enough of people running after him, pulling at his wings and teasing him when Sarima's children were still alive. She wasn't in a hurry to repeat the headaches those incidents had given her.
Somewhere in the cavernous depths of Kiamo Ko more doors banged open and shut, and the Witch heard the familiar plodding footsteps of her son, Liir. Meanwhile, Nanny had shuffled over to Glinda and was peering at her and touching her face with trembling hands. "Oh, Galinda, Galinda, I remember you and your Ama well, my dear, yes I do. And you've gone on to be Glinda the Good, haven't you? Oh my, my, you look lovely, child, and I remember how you were back at Shiz, dear, oh yes, and Elphie—oh, Elphie was so devoted to you—" the old woman prattled.
The Witch shrugged away from the conversation angrily, grateful when Liir interrupted it in his usual bumbling way of crashing through the door.
He looked up at the motley assemblage of strangers crowding the hallway with wide eyes, and finally looked at her in something like disbelief. "Oh my God," he whispered. "You do have friends."
"No I don't!" she snapped. "Liir, attend to Nanny, I won't forgive you for leaving her alone like that!" But the boy didn't move, he only continued to stare at them, mouth agape. She sighed irritably. "What new nonsense is this?"
He looked back at her. "N-nothing,"
"So this is Liir?" Glinda asked.
The Major made a non-committable growl, clearly annoyed at still holding the unconscious Earl and tapped his foot impatiently.
She thought for a moment. "Liir, make yourself useful—"
"—I don't want to," he said, before she even finished. She glared at him.
"Make yourself useful and show the Major where he can put Glinda's son before I castrate you with my foot," she growled.
Unfortunately, he seemed much more awed by the way she had addressed stranger number one, than by her threat. She could practically see the gears working in his brain: a major meant a soldier, like Commander Cherrystone and the other men Liir was so fond of hobnobbing with at Red Windmill. As she expected the boy's eyes, which had been as round as saucers to begin with, grew even wider and inexplicably shinier as they settled on the Major.
"Oh—oh—I mean yes—yes, r—right this way. Are you with the Gale Force? Do you have a rifle? Why is your hair so long? Do you know Commander Cherrystone?" he started asking excitedly. "Why is your uniform different from the soldiers at Red Windmill? Are you from the Emerald City? Do you know Dorothy and her friends? Are you here to arrest Auntie Witch for killing that old lady in Munchkinland? Can I get you a glass of water? You're not allergic to water, are you? I think Auntie Witch is the only one who's allergic to water. She says people know of her in the Emerald City. Have you heard of her in the Emerald City? Were you out in the rain long? Can I get you a towel? What's it like being an officer? Did you have to train really hard? Where did you go to school? What regiment do you belong to?"
The Major's expression was both pained and horrified. He seemed shocked into a complete loss for words. Doubtless it would not be long before the shock wore off and he began shouting again, but then, if he and Liir killed one another it would at least mean two less mouths to feed.
Elphaba patted Klaus on the shoulder and smirked. "Have fun," she said dryly.
To Be Continued in Chapter Seven: Letting Go