Galinda paced outside Elphaba's door, her hands locked behind her back, and her face locked in a worried frown. Thomi had tried to get her to bed, but she refused, saying she felt better and wasn't going to throw up all over his nice clothes. The doctor was in the room, as was the Wizard. Lord and Lady Upland were resting in one of the sitting rooms, which left Galinda, Fiyero, Kaat, and Thomi waiting outside (Thomi and Kaat were there more for Galinda than Elphaba).
"Why don't you let the doctor examine you, too, sister? Just to make sure you're alright," Kaat practically pleaded, stopping her sister's pacing by grabbing her arms.
"I told you, I'm fine," Galinda huffed, shrugging off her hands and resuming pacing.
"Your sister's not wrong, Galinda," Fiyero said softly, and the three Upland siblings stared at him. "You used a lot of magic, too."
Kaat blushed at the prince agreeing with her, which made Thomi's frown deepen.
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. You should be packing for your departure back home tomorrow."
"If you won't rest, will you at least stop pacing, please?" Kaat sighed, giving her sister a grateful smile when she conceded. "Prince Fiyero, what happened to your leg?"
The prince glanced town at his torn pants, exposing his right leg, covered in bruises and dried blood. "Magic blast. It looks worse than it feels. It's more sore than outright painful, but I can still put some pressure on it."
"The princess blasted you with her magic?" Thomi blanched.
"She wasn't in control of what she was doing, Thomi," Galinda frowned.
"That doesn't help matters, Galinda."
Their argument was interrupted by the door opening, and the Wizard stepped out, followed by the doctor. The four young adults parted from the doorway with deep, deferent genuflects. The doctor closed the door behind him before they could peek inside.
"Is she alright?" Galinda asked desperately when no one offered any information.
The doctor looked to the Wizard for permission. While he didn't explicitly give it, he didn't make any notion for the doctor to keep his mouth shut. "She's unconscious. Her body will need a lot of time to recuperate from expending that much energy. I don't know how long it will take, but the longer she stays in that coma, the more damage her brain will sustain."
"If anyone asks, you are all to say she's exhausted, but recuperating perfectly fine," the Wizard said sternly.
The four flinched at his tone, but nodded, figuring the Wizard didn't want the truth of the unstable situation to become public knowledge.
"Perhaps I can help," Kaat spoke up in a very uncharacteristic move. "That day in the library, the princess and I found a bunch of old spells, and one of the healing spells might –"
"No!" the Wizard snapped abruptly, glaring at the young girl with fire in his eyes. "No more magic!"
Her eyes widened in shock at being yelled at and her bottom lip quivered, but she simply nodded, her gaze resting on her shoes.
"Thank you, Doctor," he added with a curt nod.
The doctor bowed and left as swiftly as he could. Once he was gone, the Wizard walked down to the end of the hall before turning and leveling a hard gaze on Galinda and Fiyero.
'Come here,' he said with just his eyes.
"We are in sooooo much trouble," the blonde sing-songed in a groan, cowering under his gaze.
"Why would he be mad at you? You saved his daughter's life," Fiyero whispered.
"Doesn't matter. He's already found something to be angry about, and his anger has overpowered his gratefulness."
The prince gulped, feeling this wasn't about to end well for him. The Wizard waited for them to meet him before proceeding to lead the way. Before they vanished around the corner, Galinda glanced back at her siblings. Kaat was quietly sobbing in her brother's arms, with Thomi whispering in her ear as he rubbed circles on her back. The eldest Upland looked up at her with a scowl, and she mouthed an apology before disappearing.
Their destination was the Wizard's office, and they felt the atmosphere immediately change upon entry. The tall, imposing, dark-colored bookshelves and stiff chairs didn't create a comforting environment. The Wizard immediately went over to the window overlooking the west gardens, his hands locked behind his back. No one spoke, even though the tension could've been sliced with a butter knife.
"The sun's back out," Fiyero brought up in a horrible attempt at lightening the mood.
"Say less," Galinda murmured with a soft cough.
He awkwardly cleared his throat and nodded. It felt like an eternity before the Wizard turned to face them, even though it was only thirty seconds.
"Is he in trouble?" Galinda blurted out, nodding towards Fiyero, who shot her an incredulous look.
"No," the Wizard answered a little too calmly.
"Am I in trouble?"
"You will be if you don't stop talking, Galinda."
The blonde bit her bottom lip, but didn't utter another word.
"It has been brought to my attention that there are, apparently, more secrets being kept from me about my own daughter. I want the whole truth." He sat at his desk. "Every last, little detail."
Galinda bit down harder. It felt like the ultimate betrayal to divulge Elphaba's secrets, but she didn't have a choice. She knew they'd eventually be found out and have to pull the wool from over his eyes, she just didn't think she'd be doing it on her own. "Well, Elphaba's already confessed the reason behind her sneaking down to the kitchens – the memories of her mother. She doesn't like using her magic because it makes her sick. I knew how powerful she was, but didn't know the fullness of it until today. And I don't think she did, either."
"Why has she kept it a secret? And why have you never said anything, either?"
"It's not my secret to tell. And she…" She glanced at Fiyero, who offered an encouraging smile. "She's afraid of you."
The Wizard blinked, his face unreadable as the news sunk in. "What?"
"She's afraid that if you found out, you'd force her to always perform and use her magic on command without regard to how she feels afterward. Like… like what you do to me." She played with her fingers. "I like using magic and I like the attention performing brings me, but it's a lot. It doesn't physically harm me - until today, that is - but it's really draining. And… I'm never asked if I want to perform. I just do as I'm told."
She fully expected the Wizard to lash out at her, to yell in her face, to send her back to her parents, but he didn't. He simply stared at her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and while that was normal, this time, it worried her.
"And you," the Wizard said, turning his attention to Fiyero without commenting on anything Galinda just said. "What has she told you?"
"Mostly the same things," Fiyero said. "She's a very private person, and I had to work hard to prove worthy of her trust. But once I had hers, and she had mine, she was able to pull feelings that I had buried down, and got me to work through them. She helped me realize some things about myself, and I hope I was able to do the same for her."
"You have," Galinda smiled. "Trust me."
He grinned at her and turned back to the Wizard. "She has a high emotional intelligence and is very observant of others. I've only known her for a few months, but I'm glad she allowed a friendship between us to develop."
The Wizard asked more questions, which the two answered honestly. Nothing he asked sounded accusatory, more curious. "You two are dismissed," he said after the inquiry. "Remember what I said earlier."
"Yes, Your Ozness," they genuflected and left.
"His office made my father's feel like a playhouse," Fiyero huffed once they were outside, blowing out his cheeks and running a hand through his hair.
Thwack!
"Ow!" The prince grimaced and rubbed where Galinda had wacked his arm with her fan. "What was that for?"
"You are the most brainless person I've ever met! 'The sun's back out'?"
"I was trying to lift the gloomy spirits."
Galinda groaned and ran a hand through her still-wet hair. "Honestly…"
"He never thanked you for saving Elphaba."
"I honestly didn't expect him to. I'm just glad we both made it out alive."
A while ago, Fiyero would have told her that she was overreacting, but the in-person experience effectively silenced him. They'd just rounded the corner when they were almost knocked over by a group of men, who rushed into the Wizard's office without so much as an over-the-shoulder apology.
"Let's go," Galinda said, trying to take Fiyero's arm and pull him down the hall.
The prince stayed rooted to the spot, a mischievous smirk on his face as he looked back at the Wizard's door.
"No… no," she said once she realized what Fiyero wanted to do. "We just escaped. We shouldn't go back. We should tend to your leg instead."
"That can wait." He slowly made his way back to the room, surprised Galinda didn't take advantage of being able to easily stop him. He pressed his ear to the door – the way he did with his father – but couldn't hear a thing.
"It's no use. It's soundproof. However…" She pressed her palm to the door and muttered a single word. "Come on. I can't hold this spell forever."
The two pressed their ears to the door, and now they could hear the voices clearly. They didn't see how many men almost ran them over, but it sounded like there were around four or five of them with the Wizard, all trying to say their pieces at once.
"While we don't know the source of the first shot, we've confirmed that the second shot was from Sergeant Phin's rifle," Captain Tiieg reported.
"Wasn't he one of the young recruits who just passed training?" another man asked.
"Yes. He claimed to have been startled by the first shot, and his gun slipped from his shoulder. As he tried to right it, he accidentally fired into the sky. He is now on probation for the next three months."
"Are you alright, Captain?" the Wizard asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Yes, Your Ozness. Now, there's also the issue of the princess's magic."
All the men started talking at once, only stopping when the Wizard loudly cleared his throat.
"If left out of control like that, she can become even more dangerous."
"If not for her 'display', the parade could have continued as scheduled."
The Wizard sighed. "What do you suggest, gentlemen?"
Galinda blanched as she heard some of the ideas the men had to 'deal' with Elphaba's magic. She didn't even bother trying to fight her tears, but didn't pull her hand away from the door. "This is exactly what she feared would happen. This is why she fought so hard to keep it a secret."
"I will have Alyith draft press statements for damage control. Elphaba is fine, and I will talk to her once she's fully recovered."
On the one hand, it amazed the two how easily that lie came out. On the other hand, it didn't.
"Very good, Your Ozness. Also, in light of today, we all feel it's best to cancel the ball tonight. People will be scared to come to the palace again."
"No one will feel safe, not to mention the cracks in the walls," another man added, and the others hummed in agreement.
The Wizard grunted. "No. The ball will continue as scheduled. Things must carry on as normal as possible. The only difference is that Elphaba will not be in attendance."
"He's not canceling the ball?" Galinda whispered, glancing up at Fiyero.
"You weren't surprised he didn't thank you for saving Elphaba, but you're surprised he's not canceling the ball?" the prince blinked.
"I was hoping that he wouldn't want to leave her side, but then I remembered that he's never been around her when she was sick – fake or otherwise – so this shouldn't have surprised me that much."
They turned their attention back to the men in the room. "Your Ozness, people will think –"
"Canceling will make me seem weak. I shouldn't have to choose between –"
Galinda's hand slipped from the door, cutting off their link. "Sorry. I couldn't hold it any longer."
"Don't apologize. I know what he's choosing between, and what his choice is. At least we both know we're still on the clock for tonight." He made to walk, but stumbled and caught himself on the wall, his other hand gripping his leg. "Perhaps I should take Lady Kaat up on her healing offer, if I'm to be dancing all night."
She gave him a small smile. "Let's go ask her."