The Wizard sent out a team of his guards with each "leader" to each of the other three sections of Oz. Neither Elphaba nor Fiyero could oppose without looking suspicious when a certain guard was made caption of the troop that would head out to the west. Returning home (a place which the Wizard now referred to as "west base"), Fiyero and Elphaba tread carefully. When several of the top guards attempted to enter the house, Elphaba balked.
"It is our job to protect the Governors, ma'am," the head guard said stonily.
"Someone else can do it, Alapedgio."
The two guards behind the captain did a double take and glanced, startled, at Elphaba. No one had introduced himself. How did the female Governor know this guard's name?
The main guard blinked. "I'm afraid things don't work that way, Elphaba."
Fiyero immediately got in between them. "Do what you wish. You will not follow us much further into the mansion, is that clear? And none of the guards is to be around my wife without another, specifically me, around, understood?"
The captain lowered his eyes. "Yes, sir. But the rules…"
"What are the rules?"
"Well, they state that someone needs to be just outside the room that a Governor is in at all times."
"Fine. At all times, my wife and I will be in the same room, with a few exceptions for minor periods of time."
"Fiyero!" Elphaba exclaimed. "You know I like my alone time…"
"I'll stay out of your way. I won't even look at you. We have large rooms in this house. It'll be fine."
She bit her lip. "If it's for the best."
He touched her hand. "You know as well as I do that it is."
The other guards felt that Fiyero was an overprotective husband, and even Alapedgio was unsure how much the man knew and if he was being overbearing or not. He knew Elphaba had run away once, that could very well be an explanation for his behavior, as well. But anyone could tell Elphaba was mostly an independent person, and the fact that she put up with her husband's obviously controlling actions was unexpected. Of course, Alapedgio made a note to be sure to stay out of the prince's way.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to rest. It's been a long day." Fiyero took Elphaba's hand and headed upstairs.
Alapedgio and another guard followed, true to their posts. Just as Fiyero was about to close the door to the bedroom, the other guard cleared his throat. "We request that you leave the door open, so we can hear any danger."
"And we request privacy, which means no way." Elphaba replied hotly, slamming the door.
The other guard raised his eyebrows and sat down in the hall. "Damn. I guess they must have some pretty steamy plans for the night."
Alapedgio grimaced. "Let's not think about that. If we hear yelling, let's analyze it before we burst in, all right?"
Snorting, the second guard replied, "Gee, I hope they aren't that loud."
"Me, too."
Fiyero and Elphaba actually didn't make love that night. Elphaba was shaken and Fiyero was well aware of it, and thus simply nuzzled with her lovingly. The two fell asleep in a reasonable amount of time, smiles on their faces, having forgotten about any other presence around them but one another.
In the morning, Alapedgio and his companion awoke in sitting positions outside the bedroom at a noise from the stairs. Perria was coming to bring the couple breakfast in bed. He stopped the woman. "If you'll excuse us, one of us needs to enter the room with you, ma'am."
The servant shrugged and allowed Alapedgio to precede her before entering the room. "Oh," she whispered, "Sweet darlings, they're still asleep!"
It was summer and the blankets were kicked to the edge of the bed. The couple slept naked every night, whether or not they had sex. They were both lying on their sides facing the same direction, only most of Fiyero's body was blocked from sight by Elphaba's, face innocent and close-eyed as she allowed Fiyero to have an arm wrapped firmly around her waist. At the moment Perria and Alapedgio entered the room, Fiyero's eyes opened and he looked at them past Elphaba's hair. Not really seeing Alapedgio, he asked, "Perria, is it already time for us to wake up?"
"Well, you don't have to wake up. As you know, you can wake whenever you please, Master Fiyero. This is the time you asked me to bring you up breakfast, though." The woman placed her large tray on the bedside table nearest Fiyero (he refused to call it his "side of the bed" because they slept so close that sides were hard to determine; true, she was always on the left and he the right, but they were always very near to one another and often drifted to one side of the bed or other).
Suddenly Fiyero noticed Alapedgio and tugged the blankets over his and Elphaba's bodies (more specifically Elphaba's body) quickly. His eyes narrowed. "Did you need something?"
"Not exactly. It's procedure to follow anyone who is entering a room a Governor is in into the room, for a Governor's safety, sir." Alapedgio eyed Fiyero warily. Had Elphaba ever even told her husband about what Alapedgio had, well, done to her? He couldn't tell, oddly enough. "Um, look, sir, we need to work out some code names, in a way, so we can refer to you quickly to you, your wife and the other guards without everyone having to know whom we are talking about. It's also a bit confusing, since we cannot just say 'the Governor', as there are two of you."
Fiyero carefully sat up, assuring that Elphaba was still leaning against him slightly. She didn't seem to have felt him move; she just continued to sleep. "Very well. What did you have in mind? Do you need a special name, too? Each of the guards?"
"Most of them just go by numbers. I'm probably going to have a different name, as captain, of course. Think of some fairytale character, or some myth or archetype that best defines you and one that best defines your wife and those should work well. I would avoid using 'the Witch'."
Fiyero raised his eyebrows and glared at Alapedgio. "Thanks. I wasn't considering it, if you were wondering. I don't see my wife as a witch at all."
"I never said you would."
"Can't you come up with these?" Fiyero was exasperated.
"I want to make sure you are aware of them and have no problems with them, sir." Alapedgio elaborated.
"Oh. All right, then. Can you think of any? I'll tell you if I've got issues with them or I think my wife would."
Elphaba stirred then, stretching out and pushing the blanket away (an action which immediately sent Fiyero into a panic). She yawned and almost smiled happily, looking up at Fiyero, but she noticed he was focused on something else. Looking across the room, her face turned darker when she set eyes on Alapedgio, and she assisted Fiyero in pulling the blanket right back up. Suspiciously, she asked, "What the hell do you want?"
Alapedgio quickly reiterated what he'd just explained to Fiyero and tried to take a step closer to the bed. Seeing Elphaba duck beneath the covers and clutch at Fiyero, he backed off. "Sorry. Anyway, did you have any ideas or should I throw some out there?"
"Maybe we should call you 'Beauty'," Fiyero suggested to Elphaba.
"What and you be 'the Beast'? I think it's the other way around, dear."
"Elphaba! You are beautiful! How many times have I told you?"
"Way too many." She poked him, whispering so Alapedgio couldn't hear (though she was unaware that he could), "I think you should be 'Prince Charming', but that would be too obvious."
He rolled his eyes and hugged her against him. "It would be, seeing as I am a prince."
"And quite charming, too," Elphaba teased.
"I didn't think you thought so," he pretended to pout.
Elphaba rolled over. "Shut up."
Alapedgio cleared his throat.
"Could we get dressed and discuss this with you in the living room downstairs, perhaps?" Fiyero suggested.
Alapedgio nodded. "I'll be just outside, sir."
The door closed and Elphaba said softly, "That was something I didn't want to wake up to."
Fiyero looked at her lovingly and kissed her chin. "I know." He got up and started to dress.
Elphaba did the same. In moments, she was behind Fiyero, grasping his hand as they exited the room. Suddenly she felt pathetic and pulled her hand away. She could face this. Fiyero was beside her; she didn't need his hand to reassure herself of such.
As they headed downstairs, Alapedgio introduced them to the other guard who had sat outside their room. "This is Number Five. We don't believe in giving you the real names of most of the guards, as it would be wrong for a guard to have any personal relationship with those they are guarding."
Elphaba coughed indiscreetly. "Oh, really?"
Alapedgio glared at her. She gave him an even fiercer glare in return. Fiyero tugged at her hair. Elphaba slapped him away. Alapedgio said subtly, "Never bite the hand that feeds you."
"First of all," Elphaba said harshly, "he doesn't feed me. Second of all," she grinned knowingly at Fiyero, "he likes it when I bite him, thank you."
Number Five snorted and Alapedgio turned away, opening the door to the living room and holding it so the couple could enter first. Fiyero sat down on one of the smaller couches and Elphaba settled in next to him comfortably, snuggling closer when he put his arm around her. He had a look on his face that said very clearly: mine.
"Can we get this done with sometime soon?" Elphaba asked.
"Yeah, we were planning on taking a hike out to my family's cabin in the Vinkun woods, having a romantic dinner and spending the night… without any servants or anything." Fiyero said.
"We were?" Elphaba cocked her head.
"I was."
"Whatever you two do, we'll have to send two guards with you. I'm sorry." Alapedgio insisted.
"The cabin is just one large room. There is no way." Fiyero argued.
"Then they'll spend the evening outside, all right? It's not as if they aren't trained for all conditions, and it's a warm summer day. As you were saying, sir, we best get down to business so you can leave." Alapedgio couldn't see why such a stubborn young woman would be married to a man who seemed as possessive as Fiyero. What he didn't know was that Fiyero was only behaving that way because of Alapedgio, which Elphaba understood and tolerated. In a way, she wanted him to act that way.
Relaxing back against Fiyero, Elphaba said, "Well, I certainly couldn't be Snow White."
"Perfect." Alapedgio said.
"What?" Both Fiyero and Elphaba said in unison.
"No one would guess. That's what we want."
"And my husband would be…?"
"Well, you already ruled out Prince Charming."
"I think he should be one of the seven dwarfs. That'd be cute." Elphaba ruffled Fiyero's hair.
He grabbed her hands to stop her and kissed each finger. "Sure."
Elphaba smirked. "And I know just which one, too. Dopey."