Galinda sat at the foot of Elphaba's bed. It had only been a few hours since the parade, but it felt like much longer. She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, but it didn't matter. Time had slowed and sped up too many times that morning; she no longer cared to keep track of time.

She looked up at Elphaba's still form. She was propped up on pillows against the headboard, her hands folded atop her stomach, and her hair neatly cascading on the pillow. Her breaths were slow and shallow, the only indication that she was still alive.

"How long have you been sitting here?"

She looked up at the voice, smiling at her brother. "Long enough to know I've been sitting here for too long."

He pulled up a chair and sat next to her. "How are you feeling? Really feeling? You don't have to pretend to be strong. It's just the two of us."

"I've… been better. This whole day… this whole week has been insane."

"I know." He sighed. "Galinda, I've been thinking… perhaps… it's time you come home."

She frowned. "You mean…"

"Return to Frottica. With all these recent developments, I just want to keep you safe."

"Elphaba has never hurt me."

"I never said she did."

"I've known about her magic since we were children, and not once has she ever hurt me with it, accidentally or purposefully."

He calmly placed his hands on her shoulders, but it did nothing to calm her. "Kaat's missed you, and Mother and Father are beside themselves with worry over you not finding a husband. I –"

"I've already spoken to Kaat, and there's no reason for Mother and Father to worry. I'm happy here with Elphaba and I'm fine with things the way they are."

"It's dangerous, Galinda."

She knew what he really meant. She knew he didn't mean 'it's', he meant 'she's'. "I'm not leaving, Thomi. My answer is 'no', and that's final. If I do not wish to go, His Ozness will not send me away." She surprised herself with how confident that sounded. She knew the Wizard could do whatever he wished at the drop of a hat, but figured if he had wanted to send her home, he would have done so by now.

The eldest Upland sibling frowned. "It's the Wizard's job to take care of his family. And it's my job to take care of mine."

But he doesn't! Galinda wanted to say. I'm the one who cares for her! I'm the one who's there for her, and she's there for me! "And right now, it's my job to return this room to a state of tranquility."

"Will you at least come and –"

"I'm working right now, so I am required to stay with her."

He sighed, realizing he lost the battle, but it only increased his determination to win the war. "Where's Kaat?"

"In the parlor, healing Prince Fiyero's leg."

"You left her alone with him?!" he shouted incredulously, his jaw dropping.

"I left them in a very public room and her maid. Calm yourself. Prince Fiyero isn't going to do anything he has no business doing."

"How do you –"

"Thomi, I am getting tired of this. I'm still working, and you're distracting me. We will speak later." She pushed her brother out of the room, closing the door before he could get another word in.

Once it was quiet again, she redirected her attention back to Elphaba, and reclaimed her position at the foot of the bed. There was still no movement other than her steady breaths, and she moved around to the side and gently took her hand.

She felt useless. There had to be something she could do to help. Some type of spell or potion or…

No. No more magic. Magic got them into this mess, so it was probably best to give it a little break.

"Thomi, I said we'll speak later," she groaned at a knock at the door, but when she opened it, it wasn't her brother on the other side. "Oh. Prince Fiyero." She dipped into a slight curtsy, which Fiyero returned with a small smile.

"Hi. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes." She had started to feel better before her brother made her feel worse. "Are you?"

"Yes."

His 'yes' sounded more genuine than hers, so she accepted it as the truth. "That's good. Are you ready for tonight?"

"Honestly, I'm ready for this week to be over. But you didn't hear me say that."

"I didn't, because I share your feelings."

"As much as I'm ready to move on, I've extended my stay in the palace for the foreseeable future."

"What? His Ozness granted you permission?"

"Given the current circumstances, making a seven-hour journey in a bumpy carriage on a bruised leg wouldn't be the most ideal situation."

"He told you personally?"

"He sent a message via footman. He was looking for Lady Kaatiny. She tried the healing spell, but it was more complicated than she anticipated, and she couldn't complete it without getting tired. I told her I was fine with what she was able to do."

"You're fine?"

"No, I lied to her. It still hurts, but I can push through tonight. And for the remainder of my visit, I've been relieved from my worker status. They're moving me into the guest wing, and I finally get to order room service."

She chuckled softly. "Where's Kaat now?"

"Getting ready for the ball. Your brother came looking for us, and found us right as we were leaving the parlor. If he had entered the parlor a few seconds earlier, he would've seen Kaat kneeling in front of me, and while innocently helping me, it would've looked like something less publicly proper. I don't think he likes me very much."

"Don't pay him much attention. He's very overprotective of Kaat… and me. But he's a harmless teddy bear."

He nodded and looked past her to the bed. "No change?"

"Mm-mm. I feel so useless. I know there's nothing I can do, but I still want to do… something. I must get ready for tonight, but I don't want to leave her. I'm… we're supposed to be getting ready together. Rather, I should be trying to stuff her into a gown as she does her usual huffs and protests."

"I can stay and keep watch."

She looked unsure, but nodded. "Okay. I doubt His Ozness – or anyone else, for that matter – will walk in and catch you. It sounds awful to say he won't visit, but it's the truth. I'll send a maid when I'm done so you can get ready, too."

"Take your time. I have significantly less makeup to apply than you do."

She playfully shook her head, curtsied, and hurried out, softly closing the door behind her.

The prince took the opportunity to look around the room. Though minimalistic (for royal standards), it was cozy, and he could clearly identify some Galinda decorative elements, from the drapes to a few decorative pillows on the armchair. The room suited Elphaba, which made sense, since it was her room.

He pulled the chair from her desk over to the bedside and sat. He reached for her hand, but stopped. Was it weird to want to hold her hand when she couldn't reciprocate or even know what he was doing? Deciding that it was, he awkwardly folded his hands in his lap.

"I'm sorry."

He felt like apologizing was the right thing to do, so he went with it.

"I know this isn't the way you wanted people to find out. I mean, you didn't want them to find out, but this… was probably at the bottom of your list."

He was better at making conversation when there were actual responses to his ramblings.

"I know we haven't known each other for very long, but… I mean… we sorta have, but then there's… your father didn't kill me, so that's a good sign." He took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm really bad at monologues." He didn't know what possessed him to take her hand, but he went with it. It was still warm and soft, just like that night in the gardens.

Elphaba, of course, didn't respond, and the prince gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. The rest of his vigil was in silence, alternating between watching her and lazily flipping through one of her novels as he waited for the promised maid. Sure enough, forty minutes before the start of the ball, said-maid arrived, relieving the prince of duty.

Galinda stood with her family in the ballroom, amicably conversing with her fellow guests while discreetly fiddling with the dance card on her wrist. She accepted surface-level compliments on her sky-blue ball gown, and danced with a few men her parents introduced to her. She did it to humor her parents, but ended up enjoying herself. She found most of the men able to carry stimulating conversations, and handsome features.

She tried to avoid being in the Wizard's direct line of sight as much as possible, which was easy in the big ballroom with a large crowd always surrounding the monarch, couthly fighting for his attention. She couldn't pinpoint a specific reason why she was afraid of him this time, but general fear was enough to fuel her paranoia. She did what he told her to do; whenever someone asked about Elphaba, she lied and said she was exhausted, but recovering.

At some point during the evening dances, Fiyero asked Kaat to dance, and the teenager eagerly accepted, much to the chagrin of the eldest Upland.

"You allowed them to be alone together!" Thomi hissed, plastering a fake smile on when nearby guests glanced over.

"They were in a very-public parlor, and Kaat's maid was chaperoning. If she didn't want to help Prince Fiyero, she wouldn't have. His Ozness already yelled at her for offering to help Elphaba, so Prince Fiyero would've understood."

"His leg was bruised, not broken. And now, he's –"

"Thomi, if I thought Prince Fiyero was an unsuitable suitor, Kaat wouldn't be anywhere near him."

"His reputation –"

"Doesn't define who he is. Honestly, brother, shouldn't you be on the dance floor?" She looked over at the far table, where her brother's love interest was seated with her family.

"I told her I would return once I've taken care of some family business."

"You've taken care of it. Now go talk to Miss Joyie before she loses interest in you. Oz knows, you can't afford to lose a girl who's willing to look past your big –"

"Galinda –"

"If this is part of your plot to get me to agree to come home, you're not succeeding." She gave him a gentle, yet firm, shove in the direction of the table and watched as he stalked off, glancing over his shoulder every so often at his youngest sister and the Vinkun prince.

After the dance, Fiyero returned a giggling and blushing Kaat to her sister, then excused himself to take a quick break.

"Where's Thomi?" Kaat asked, looking around for their brother.

Galinda squeezed her hand. "Shh. Just enjoy the fact that he left us alone for a few minutes."

The girls shared a laugh and made some more rounds, strategically staying away from the Wizard. Kaat danced some more, staying under the watchful eye of her sister.

"Have you danced yet?" Kaat asked, twirling into her sister's arms.

Galinda easily caught and steadied her. "I haven't."

"Why not? You love dancing. You always dance." She took her sister's wrist and looked at her dance card. "I've never seen you with an empty dance card."

"Today was a lot. I want to dance, but can't find the energy."

"You're not having fun, are you?"

She looked at her sister, knowing she couldn't hide the truth from her. She had matured during their years apart, and while she wanted her little sister back, she had to face the reality that she was now a young lady. "Not really. No."

"You should dance with Prince Fiyero. He's a good dancer. He didn't even step on my feet."

"I should hope not."

"Wine, ladies?" Fiyero asked, coming up to the girls with two wine glasses.

"Thank you." The girls accepted the drinks and were able to have a few moments of small talk.

"Ask him," Kaat urged with a nudge, finishing her glass.

The prince blinked. "Ask me what?"

"My sister wants me to ask you to dance. She's completely beside herself with worry that I have an empty dance card," Galinda said, though with a tone that said she actually wanted to dance.

He smiled. "I'd be happy to oblige, if only to rectify your sister's distress." He offered the blonde his arm, which she accepted, and they joined the line for the next dance. "Are you having fun?" he asked as they joined hands and hopped to the side.

"Yes. I admit, I wasn't before, but the party is starting to grow on me."

They kept their voices low, hoping none of the other couples would overhear. "Me, too."

"I just don't like that we have to pretend that nothing's wrong and lie to everyone who asks about Elphaba."

"No one's asked me anything. You've been bombarded all evening?"

"At the beginning, but it's stopped now."

"I'm glad that's allowed you to start enjoying yourself."

"Yeah. I'm trying not to worry about her, but I can't help it. If I don't worry about her, I don't get paid. These gowns aren't cheap, you know."

He chuckled, taking a step to the side and spinning.

"I asked one of the maids to periodically check on her, and send a note. I received one a few minutes ago. She's taking deeper breaths, but there were no other changes."

"Is His Ozness –"

"Aware I'm doing this? Of course not. And I know he didn't request it. He's not thinking about her right now. If he was, he'd be up there with her." She lowered her voice. "It's safer this way. It pains me to say it, but it's safer that he's not with her right now."

"You think we'd be able to sneak upstairs?"

She shook her head, clapping in rhythm with everyone else. "No. Despite the crowd, it's too risky for either of us to sneak off. My brother would call in the Gale Force if he lost sight of me." She glanced over at her brother, who, while talking to Miss Joyie, was giving her the occasional side-eye. Miss Joyie seemed to notice, and offered the blonde some small smiles, but was clearly trying to keep the eldest Upland's attention.

"So the best thing we can do right now is to wait?"

"It's the only thing we can do right now."

2 more chapters!