Incommunicable Emotions
Chapter 7
"Ring of Fire"
"Why, Elphaba Thropp, of course. The Wicked Witch of the West."
Elphie still stood in the center of the room, unable to tear her feet from their current resting place. Glinda came up behind her, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder. When she was not rebuffed, she pulled Elphie into an embrace, trying to soften the sharp edges of adrenaline.
"Elphie..."
"We need to leave. Now. If she's sending Grommetik after us, then that means we don't have that much time. Glinda, come on!"
Glinda stayed rooted to the spot, her arms around Elphie's waist. After a few more stiff moments, Elphie turned around and hugged Glinda tightly. "I'm sorry if I scared you, my sweet. Once you set things straight with your...your husband, we'll leave, perhaps for Kiamo Ko."
They sat on the bed, Elphie planting soft kisses on Glinda's forehead, cheeks, mouth, neck, anything to calm her down and stop the silent flow of tears that scared her so much more than the others.
"Glinda...if I hadn't left you...do you think you would have still married?"
Just as the words left her mouth, the sounds of Chuffrey's keys scratching the locks reached their ears. Elphie dived into the closet, shutting it softly behind her.
Chuffrey walked into the room, looking calm and relaxed. In his hand was a cloth sack filled with something heavy seeming. Before Glinda could inquire about it's contents, Chuffrey brought a hard fist down on the top of Glinda's head, and there was a moment of pain, then a rushing darkness.
"Ah, yes, thank you. I'll take...lets see, two lengths of rope...and do you have Combusto? Yes, I'll take some Combusto, please. Guaranteed fast flames, right? Ah, very good." Chuffrey's sausage fingers grabbed the sack, and he whisked them away, already planning the night's barbeque.
Elphie almost roared with rage as Glinda was struck, but decided to bide her time in the closet, so she could leap out when least expected and most affective.