Tell me it's not true

.

"Fiyero, what are you looking at?" Elphaba questioned her husband as she walked into their bedroom, dropping her book on the bedside table and she sat on the edge of the bed, watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," Fiyero grumbled, studying his own scalp while pointedly ignoring the amused look that now graced his wife's face. "Glinda told me she found a grey hair and pulled it, and wouldn't show me!"

Elphaba cackled and shook her head. "Honestly! You're what? Thirty-two? Hardly old enough to get grey hairs!" she smirked. Even if the twins are enough to give them to you! she thought. "No, she was most likely pulling your leg and teasing you! Oh, come over here if you're that bothered!" She rolled her eyes when he flopped down onto the mattress and she brushed her fingers through his long strands. Hmm... He could do with a haircut... she thought and then gasped dramatically.

He sighed and crossed his arms as he lay on his front, resting his head on them and he hummed softly at the feel of her brushing. "What?"

"Oh, Yero, it's worse than I thought!"

"What?!" He rolled over and bolted for the mirror again, swinging around with a glare as Elphaba collapsed onto the bed overcome with laughter. "You-" he jumped back onto the bed and pinned her beneath him, making her laugh harder and she squealed. "You're gonna pay for that," he smirked.

"Oh, really? How, exactly?" she challenged through her laughing, squealing again when he tickled her. "Get off!"

He ignored her and doubled his efforts, laughing with her.

"Okay, okay! I give up!" she swatted his arms.

He leaned in closer to her, growling quietly into her neck when there was a knock at the door. "Go away, we're busy!"

"You're not that fast, Fiyero!"

"Ha!" Elphaba burst out at Glinda's statement. "Sorry, my love you're gonna have to hold on to that thought." she grinned.

"No." his voice was muffled into her hair, and he rolled off her. "What do you want, Glinda?"

"Elphie was supposed to come back out to me." she declared as she burst into the room while Elphaba sat up and smoothed out her hair. "Hmm... I take it back... maybe you are fast."

"Be very careful what your next sentence will be," Elphaba smirked over her shoulder and she stood up. "And you, stop antagonising him, please."

"Oh, but it's fun!" the blonde giggled. "He's just so easy to irritate. Now come on! We have so much to do!"

"By 'so much' you mean Fiyero's mother's fifty-fourth birthday ball."

"Yes! And there's still an awful lot of work to do with you."

Elphaba simply rolled her eyes again. "Can I at least see my children before I'm not allowed to be out of your sight for three hours?"

"Oh, Elphie it won't be that long! Maybe... four?"

"I'd rather burn alive." she smirked and left the room.

"You're vertically challenged, how the hell did you see it?"

Glinda grinned at Fiyero, leaning against the wall. "I didn't. And I am not vertically challenged! I am perfectly the right height in these shoes!"

"Take them off and you lose three feet!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes again when she heard the bickering travelling down the corridor and she chuckled to herself. She was stopped in her tracks by a small body colliding with her legs and wrapping small arms around her knees. She looked down with a raised eyebrow at her youngest.

Ashender looked up with the biggest grin and giggled. "Mama!"

"And just what are you doing?" she swung him up into her arms and settled him on her hip.

"Hi...see..."

"And you're the one who has to find them?" she got an excitable nod in response and she laughed. "Alright... Don't decapitate yourself..." she mumbled.

"Mama, go!" he wriggled trying to get down again.

"Why don't I help look with you?" she suggested, setting him down again. "Come on." She allowed him to take hold of her hand and pull her as quickly as he could along the corridor, which, to Elphaba's mind, was still slow, but she was happy to go along with it. Eventually, she stopped when she spotted a nearby tapestry twitching in a nonexistent breeze and pressed a finger to her lips to tell her son not to make a sound. She let his hand go and silently crossed the corridor and pulled it back to reveal Leila trying her hardest not to fidget or laugh, a moment that was broken in seconds. She picked up the squealing laughing child with a wide smile. "Gotcha!"

"That's cheating!" Leila giggled and wriggled in her mother's arms.

"And now you have to help us find Liir," Elphaba told her in an amused tone while she set her down with her brother. The children took off down another corridor and she followed them. A sound of crashing metal was heard moments later, which told her that her son had been found hiding in a cupboard. She shook her head with a quiet groan and hurried to see her children. "Okay, come here," she told a sobbing five-year-old boy when she found them.

Liir untangled himself from the mess he'd caused, rubbing his eyes as he ran to the safety of his mother's arms.

Elphaba hugged him for a brief moment before she checked him over, only finding grazed elbows and knees, which, considering the mess on the floor, seemed a lucky escape for the boy. "It's okay now," she told him. "What did we say about hiding in the staff cleaning cupboards?"

Liir just pouted, still crying and his eyes were closed as he buried his head into her shoulder.

"Liir?" she probed gently. "What did we tell you?"

"Not to..."

"So why did you?"

He shrugged.

"Did you forget?"

He nodded.

"Okay." she sighed. "It's a good thing you're not more seriously hurt," she added in a quiet voice.

"Sorry, mama. I won't do it again."

She'd heard that one before. "I know, baby." she smiled. "Do you feel better now?"

He sniffled and nodded and rubbed his face on her shoulder.

"Thanks for that." she grimaced, and her tone made him giggle. "Right! You three, you need to go and get ready, no more playing now." She stood up and watched the three of them hold hands and run off together. "I'll be coming to check on you in ten minutes!" she called after them and sighed. "How he didn't end up hurt..." she muttered and set about cleaning up the fallen over shelves and buckets, and various tools that had been stored in there. She soon got it cleaned up and then she headed off to check on them as she had promised.

"Your Highness." a maid bowed as the green-skinned woman entered the room. "I've come to get the children ready this afternoon."

Elphaba hid a grimace at the title. She would never get used to that... "Perfect, thank you, Hedda." she chose to say with a forced smile and then left the room again, walking straight into Glinda's perfect, pink talons. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." Glinda grinned and dragged her away. "Besides, I need your help with something..."

"What?"

The blonde said nothing until they were back at her friend's bedroom.

"Glinda, what's going on?" annoyance faded into concern when she saw that the usually bubbly blonde looked defeated. There was no audience to perform for.

"I think I'm gonna lose Anna..."

"What?! How?!"

"Elphie... it's all gone horribly wrong! I'm in way over my head and there's nothing I can do... my ex-husband... he's not been too happy with the attack that happened-"

"Well, I hope you told him where to shove that! It wasn't your fault!"

Glinda just shook her head. "He's had her stay with him for nearly three weeks, I haven't been able to see her."

Well that explains the death grip she had on my three when she got here... "Glinda... it... that must be awful..." she sighed. She couldn't imagine being away from hers for any length of time, she would have fallen apart if her relationship with Fiyero ever broke down. "We won't let him win, alright? You'll have Anna back where she belongs."

She shook her head. "He said as long as we're friends I won't be able to."

It took everything within her not to fly into a rage then. She seethed quietly for a moment, knowing it wasn't Glinda's fault and she would not see her temper. "He's got no right to do that, you're her mother, she needs you. Anyone can see she loves you, anyone can see she's a momma's girl."

Glinda had braced herself for the outburst, and to her relief and surprise, watched as her friend kept her composure. Probably doesn't want Fiyero to ask why she's mad... She nodded at her words, smiling a little. "She is, isn't she..."

"Anna will be back where she belongs, just you wait and see. Now, hurry up and get this torture over and done with so I can go out and perform like a circus monkey!"

Glinda giggled and shook her head. "Oh, Elphie, you still have a lot to get used to!" she declared and with that, she forced her friend into the chair and began to work her magic.

Two hours later, a lady's maid knocked on the door, effectively silencing the giggling and chatting from the two women inside. "Your children are ready for you now, Your Majesty." she spoke as she entered.

Glinda had finished tying her friend's corset and Elphaba nodded, ruffling the skirts to help them flow better. "Thank you, Baxi." she smiled and the young lady bowed out of the room. Elphaba then looked over at Glinda. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think so... there's nothing I can do right now, but I can start again tomorrow."

The two friends hugged and left the room to be greeted by the children waiting for them outside. Elphaba picked Ashender up in her arms and settled him on her hip while the twins went to Glinda, seemingly knowing she was upset about something, and they were then led downstairs.

Fiyero grinned, seeing them, he gave his friend a kiss on the cheek before turning to his wife and kissing her. "You look beautiful," he told her and chuckled quietly when Glinda cleared her throat indignantly. "You're alright, I guess."

"Hey!" she squeaked and hit his arm, causing them all to laugh.

"Okay, okay! You're both beautiful. Better?"

"Much!" she huffed with her nose in the air.

Elphaba chuckled and shook her head. "Let's get this over with so I can go back to avoiding things like this for another two months."

Fiyero grinned again and curled his arm around her waist just as the doors to the ballroom opened and the announcement of their presence was made.

At the sight of their grandmother, the twins let go of Glinda and ran over to her, calling out for her, Eleanora took them both in her arms, hugging and kissing them both.

Elphaba smiled softly, glancing over to Fiyero, who still had yet to repair his fractious relationship with his mother. "Go to her."

He knew it was pointless to argue with her, but he shook his head. "Fae, I-"

"I don't care. Go on. She's your mother, it's her day."

"Tell me why we agreed to this?"

"Because it gave Glinda a break and the children haven't seen their grandmother for a while, and you need to deal with this sooner rather than later." She silenced his groan with a kiss and removed herself from him, handing her youngest over to him before she left with Glinda.

"Do I dare ask?" Glinda raised a perfect brow.

"Nope, it's just something he has to do."

"At least this party won't get crashed." she giggled.

"Ugh... don't." Elphaba gave her a wry smile. "The Scrow tribe are rising up again causing all kinds of hell with the Yunatama lot, and if we don't end it now we would have to put sanctions in place. And they won't listen to Yero, so I have to act all scary again."

"What has he tried?"

"Peace meetings, tried to enforce the treaty agreed within the lands... the problem with that, however, is that these lands are so vast and there are pockets of desert land dotted around. Keeping them under control is easier said than done. And it's a headache nobody needs."

"And I thought I had it tough." the blonde grimaced.

"Oh, you ought to know by now not to underestimate the Munchkin lot. They can be just as bad! Nobody bothers the Quadlings, the Gillikin is your home, the Evians are quiet unless provoked. And the Glikkus are pissed with the Munchkins and often set them off."

"Point taken."

Elphaba smirked and rolled her eyes, looking up when she heard someone else speaking to her. "Yes, Johanda?"

"Your Majesty, I believe there's someone who wishes to speak with you."

That caught her attention. "Who?"

"He did not say, ma'am. He just requested an audience with you."

"Would it be alright if I joined her?" Glinda asked.

"Of course, Lady Glinda."

The two witches followed him out of the ballroom into a meeting room. Elphaba's heart leapt at the sight. "Tibbett! How...?"

Glinda squealed and rushed over to the male she hadn't seen since they were in school together and she flung her arms around him tightly.

Tibbett laughed and hugged back, glancing over her shoulder at Elphaba. "I could say the same about you! Ms I'm going to fake my death and run away!"

Elphaba smirked and shrugged nonchalantly. "It got the world off my back didn't it! And it's Mrs, if you don't mind!"

"And about time too." Tibbett grinned at her as Glinda let go. "How long have you been hiding out here before your big reveal in the city? You have beautiful kids."

"We've been in the Vinkus since the whole witch melting happened." Elphaba told him. "And thank you. Where's Crope?"

"He doesn't know I'm here. He thinks you wouldn't want to see us, or you forgot about us."

"We could never!" Glinda gasped and Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Forget the next biggest scandal after me? Never in this lifetime." she smirked.

Tibbett grinned and wrapped her into a hug. "We missed you terribly though. We never believed a word that old trout woman said."

"Thank you." she nodded, tentatively hugging back for a moment. "Would you join us? I have to be back in there before someone notices I'm gone and come looking for me."

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't ask otherwise!"

The three of them walked back into the ballroom, the Queen Mother's party in full swing by now. The royal children hadn't even noticed their mother and aunt disappear, they were too busy playing with other children in the party. Fiyero was nowhere to be found and Eleanora was in discussion with some minister Elphaba had yet to meet. The young Queen took three glasses from a tray being carried around and she handed two of them to her friends with a smile. "Glinda can I leave you with him while I go looking for Yero?"

"Of course! We'll go and see what the children are doing." Glinda nodded and her friend left, disappearing into the crowd easier than she should have been able to. She dragged Tibbett over to the play area, and she was immediately hugged by Ashender, she lifted him and settled him on her hip.

"Who that?"

"This is Tibbett, he went to school with me and your parents." she smiled.

"Oz, he looks so much like Elphie." Tibbett said, holdinh out his hand for the youngest prince to inspect before the child clutched his fingers into his small hand.

She nodded. "I know. You can't really tell with the twins though... or at least, I can't. Liir! Leila!"

The twins looked up from their drawings and scampered over to their aunt, leaving their friends at the table.

Elphaba watched discretely in the crowd and she smiled softly. She missed school terribly, and she had missed the few friends she had made in her short time there. She shook her head and turned away, spotting Fiyero by a table getting some food together on a plate, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Hi."

He smiled and kissed her head. "Hey to you too." he snaked an arm around her shoulders and kept the plate in his other hand. "Where did you venture off to?"

"Oh, nowhere special. We just have a visitor."

"Who?"

"An old friend. But they can wait." she smiled and pinched a piece of chicken from the plate and popped it into her mouth before he could protest.

"I'd say get your own food but that would be pointless," he grumbled, and she laughed in response. "And yes, mother and I talked. I'm learning not to be an asshole."

"Very good. I'm proud," she spoke sarcastically, giggling when he lightly tugged her hair. "What? I am!"

He hummed in reply and they walked near the back of the room and sat at a lone table together. "After the big reveal, you owe me a dance." he told her, eating his food.

She scoffed. "I do?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, picking off his plate, ignoring his taps on her hand to shoo her away.

He nodded, grinning. "Yes. You can't use Glinda to hide behind."

"She'd sooner drag me out there herself!" she told him, rolling her eyes when she felt his hand creeping around her waist again, she kept a straight face, forcing herself not to react. "What exactly are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" he leaned in close, taking advantage of the brief privacy they were given as the guests paid the young couple no mind.

"Well, I think you should stop it." the corners of her mouth twitched, a smirk wanting to replace the thin line her lips took. "You don't want to start something you won't be able to finish."

"Who said I had any intention on finishing it?" he smirked, silencing any further discussion with a kiss, drawing her close to him.

She sighed and sank into his arms without complaint.

"You've been stressed for a few days." he commented quietly a moment later.

"I'm just worried about the uprising... it's getting worse by the day."

"I know." he rested his head on hers. "I'll have to find out what's happened to the heads of the tribes... try and restore some sort of order. I hate dealing with people who clearly don't know what they're doing."

"How can you be sure they won't attempt to kill you on sight?" she looked up at him. "You're not going alone."

"Fae, they wouldn't risk the pits of hell raining on them because of you." he forced a small smile. "I'll be fine. But if it makes you feel better, I'll get together a few of my advisors and the guards." the look on her face told him otherwise, but what option did they have? "I have a feeling they're rebelling because of the deals with other places outside of the Vinkus."

She nodded. "Could well be..." she sighed again. "I still think I should be the one to go with you. Hear me out! They haven't listened so far, so maybe if I do threaten to cause hell, as you so eloquently put it, maybe they'll listen and stop trying to cause civil war between each other."

"I'd rather they come for me instead of you."

"Think how I feel. Which one of us had the mental breakdown at the thought of the other being dead?"

"Fair point." he sighed and kissed her again. "We'll deal with it tomorrow."

She smiled and reluctantly stood up. "I believe we have been gone long enough." she told him as he stood up with her. They walked through the crowd, hand in hand, and made their way to Glinda and Tibbett, who were still entertaining the children.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Tibbett looked up with a grin, setting Ashender on the nearest chair and he stood up from the floor, and he and Fiyero greeted each other in a tight hug.

"Where the hell have you been hiding out?!"

"Me?! What about you two!" Tibbett scoffed.

"I went home, what's your excuse?"

Elphaba and Glinda shared a smile while the two men caught up with each other. She took her friend's place and her youngest son promptly dropped himself into her lap.

"Like him, mama." he grinned toothily.

"I'm glad." she smiled, hugging him to her chest.

"Would you like to see more of uncle Tibbett?" Glinda giggled, and Ash nodded.

"I think we can arrange that." Elphaba agreed. She looked up when she felt a pair of eyes on her, looking up into the face of an irritated woman she hadn't met before. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Is it proper for a Queen to be sitting on the floor like a commoner?" she replied snootily.

"I'm pretty sure I have no idea, and I'm almost positive I did not ask for your opinion on the matter." Elphaba bit out, glaring. "I couldn't care less what you thought of me sitting here with my son and my friend."

"Lurline, what our King sees in you, I've not a clue! No manners, no grace, and almost certainly not fit for royalty!"

Elphaba stood up again, holding her son close. "I think you should remember yourself and remember who it is you are talking to. I often wonder that with Fiyero myself, but as far as I am concerned, that is not your business and I suggest you leave well alone. Before I forget myself and hex you from here to Munchkinland."

The woman paled, keeping her glare on her as she left the play area.

"Elphie?"

"I'm fine." she carried Ash to his siblings and sat him at the table before she left without another word, Glinda watching on helplessly, she looked around her, Fiyero and Tibbett hadn't witnessed the exchange, still in conversation with each other.

"Will mama be okay?"

Glinda looked back to the table, smiling at Liir and she nodded. "Yeah, just go and get uncle Tibbett for me, tell him I need him for something." she watched as the young heir did as he was told and dutifully bringing her friend to her.

"Where did Elphie go?"

"I need you to go and find her. She had an altercation with someone who didn't agree with her sitting here with the children. And the Oz-awful woman said she didn't know what Fiyero saw in Elphie."

Tibbett scowled and looked around the room. "Who said it?"

"I don't know. She looked like a Gillikinese socialite... Oz I hate those women..."

"So... like you but not like you." he couldn't resist teasing her.

"Hey!" but it got her giggling anyway. "Please do this for me? I'm sending you because he will most likely find the woman first and drag her to wherever Elphie is and demand she say sorry."

"Alright, fine! The things I do for you, Ms Glinda." he smiled. "Where am I likely to find her?"

"The rose garden most likely..."

He nodded, looking down at Liir again when his jacket was tugged on.

"Can I come find mama with you?"

Tibbett shook his head. "Not this time, kid. I need to have a grown-up talk with her, okay? But I'll bring her back very quick." he ruffled the boy's hair and left quickly before Fiyero noticed that he wasn't following him to the buffet table. "Right... now to find my way out to the gardens..." he muttered, looking around him. Ten minutes and several wrong turns later, he got out of the castle and approached a gardener tending to the nearby vegetable patch. "Excuse me, sir, where might I find the rose garden?"

The male stood to his full height and looked to be in his early thirties, he grinned widely at him before answering. "A little to the right, about one hundred yards down that way." he pointed. "Might I ask your name? I don't remember seeing you around here."

Oz-damn he's cute! Tibbett thought and smiled. "Thank you. My name is Tibbett, I'm an old friend of the King and Queen." And it is so weird to say that about my friends!

"Pleasure to meet ya! I'm Falturk." they shook hands, and he waved Tibbett off as he left to find Elphaba.

It didn't take him long to track down the familiar green-skinned woman he had known for so long and he stood with his hands on his hips and pouted. "Miss Elphie! It is highly unfair of you to have such good looking staff and I cannot have a good time with them!" The statement didn't have the desired effect, and Elphaba had barely reacted. He sighed and walked to her, sitting on the bench beside her, putting an arm around her shoulder and gently tugging her close to him.

Elphaba barely registered what he was doing and they sat in silence for five minutes.

"Talk to me, Elphie... I can't help if I don't understand." he sighed when she didn't answer him. "Since when do you let other people think about you bother The Elphie I remember would have torn that woman a new orifice."

"Because the Elphie you remember changed. I'm just so sick and tired of trying to get to everyone that I deserve to be here, to even just be alive."

"Elphie you don't have to prove anything to anyone! That's just one person's opinion. You have me, Glinda, Fiyero and your family who give a damn about you. You've never had to prove anything to us."

"It's almost like she could see right through me like she knew I felt like I didn't belong in there."

"But you do! Oz, I've only seen the pictures in the newspapers and I've only been here for five minutes, and I can honestly say that you do belong in this world, you are Fiyero's equal in every way, you always have been."

She shrugged and sighed. "Maybe so... but why do I feel like I shouldn't be here after all this time?"

"Because you haven't felt at home anywhere. Because until you found your small circle of friends and your literal prince, you were never shown the love and the kindness that you deserve. The road here has been a long and bumpy one, but you do deserve to be here, Elphie. This is your place, this is your home. Fiyero's loved you from the minute he set eyes on you and Oz knows he would do anything for you."

Elphaba managed a small smile then and nodded. "He would." she agreed. "And I would for him."

"I know. Are you ready to go back in?"

She nodded again. "I guess so."

Tibbett smiled and they both walked back into the castle.

"You said Crope doesn't know you're here... where exactly does he think you are?"

"On the lookout for artwork. I am, but I'm also here too."

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Well next time, you should bring him here."

"I know, and I will." they stood in front of the closed doors to the ballroom. "Ready to kick ass?"

"Of course."