AN : Just to share - the backstory of Elphaba is inspired by 2 things - that conversation between another writer and I on how Elphaba can have a kid (without Fiyero) and the character Maria in The Sound of Music. I love that movie (the version starring Julie Andrews) and think that a Wicked Sound of Music AU is just the thing - but Wicked'elphaba-fiyero did such a good job with Following The Rules anything I write will pale in comparison.
We've past the halfway mark so let see what happens next.
Day 3
She took a deep breath when she entered the restaurant. It was not yet lunchtime, but the place was already crowded with tourists. She wondered if she would be able to spot her friend easily, if she would recognise her after years of looking at her friend through the phone, through pictures of dazzling smiles and shaky videos.
But all that fears were unfounded when a petite blonde at the back of the room stood and waved as if her life depended on it.
"Elphie!" And Elphaba smiled and grimaced at the same time at the affectionate term.
Glinda hugged her the moment she was close enough, engulfing her in her deathly hug and a cloud of her perfume.
"Oh Elphie," the blonde squealed. "We've finally met again after so many years!"
Elphaba sat down next to her, and she took in her friend. The blonde had always been pretty, with her golden hair, blue eyes and flawless skin, but now she was even prettier, no, she was now beautiful. That was this indescribable elegance and radiance that the photos and videos were unable to capture, and a hint of mischief in her eyes.
"How's your holiday so far? Don't you love Emerald City? Tell me, where have you gone so far? Have you been to Main Street and gone for its shopping? Did you attend the Lurlinemas Parade?"
Elphaba nodded.
Glinda waved her hand and a waiter came over almost immediately, hovering over the blonde as the ladies placed their order. She beamed at the waiter and thanked him, and the young man dropped his notepad. He apologised profusely and picked it up, his face red. Elphaba could not help but notice that he kept turning back to look at Glinda even as he made his way to the kitchen to pass their order to the cook.
"I'm staying at the Emerald Paradiso," Glinda continued. "So where are you staying?"
That question took some time to answer. "I'm staying with a friend."
"A friend?" Glinda was perceptive as usual. "A male friend or a female friend?"
Elphaba quickly changed the topic. "So how have you been?"
The blonde let out an exaggerated sigh. "I'm busy as usual. It's tiring living out of a suitcase, but I just can't bear the idea of dear Avaric flying all over Oz without me. His PA who has worked for him for four years resigned a few months ago, so I took over the work. After all, who knows his business better than me? So now I am gainfully employed again after so many years. It needs getting used to, but of course, having your husband as your boss helps." She giggled. "He is thinking of changing his business model though, so that he can spend more time in Gillikin and travel less. We agreed last time that we will give ourselves five years before we try for children, and it's almost time now."
"Who is Mommy meeting?" Liir asked when Fiyero drove off after dropping Elphaba outside the restaurant.
"She's meeting an old friend of hers," he answered, not knowing how much the boy knew about his mother's background.
"Old?"
Fiyero laughed. "Not old as in white hair and wrinkled face, but she's someone whom your mommy knows for a long time. Their friendship started way before you were born."
"Is that person nice?"
"I'm sure she is, else your mommy will not keep in contact with her for so long. And everyone is always nice to Mommy because she is such a wonderful person, isn't she?"
"I love Mommy," Liir declared.
"Of course. And Mommy loves you too."
"Do you love Mommy too, Daddy?"
He pretended to be busy watching out for the traffic at the junction as he tried to come up with an appropriate answer. He thought of her brief display of vulnerability the night before. "I care a lot for your mommy, Liir. Now, are you ready for your rides?"
There was a thunderous response behind him. "YES!"
While the sky was gloomy, it did nothing to dampen the atmosphere at the amusement park. The place was brightly decorated, doused in colours of the rainbows, shades that no one knew existed, and shine, mirror and glitter everywhere. There were streamers, flags, and balloons floating by the dozens everywhere they turned. The place was filled with sounds of people laughing, screaming (from the rides) and music blasting from the stalls. The air was filled with the smell of popcorn, hotdog, candy floss and barbecue meat.
The place was big, but they had the whole day to themselves and there were height limits imposed on some of the rides, and Fiyero was sure that they would have enough time to try all the rides that Liir wanted to try before the end of the day. Before they started, Fiyero reminded the boy to stay close to him; he would have a lot of explaining to do if he got lost and Elphaba had to go to the police station again.
They started with the tamest ride, the merry-go-round. Liir chose the biggest of the animals and went for two rounds as Fiyero watched from outside.
After the merry-go-round, they moved on to the bumper cars, the spinning teacup, the Ferris wheel, the rapids, the laser plane, the bumper car again, the spider cave, the galactical battleship, the log river ride, back to the spinning teacup before Fiyero lost track of which ride they had gone on and for how many times. What was obvious though, was how much Liir was enjoying himself.
"I want to live here!" He threw his hands in the air.
"Here? In the amusement park?" Fiyero raised his brows.
The boy nodded enthusiastically.
"It wouldn't be fun. You'll be the one working. You'll be on your feet the whole day selling hotdogs, controlling the crowds, helping missing children look for their parents."
"I'll be happy because everyone here is happy."
Fiyero ruffled his hair. "Maybe you're right."
"Do you love me, Daddy?" the boy asked.
"Of course, I do," he replied without hesitation.
They had a late lunch of hotdogs and fries, and orange juice for Liir and coffee for Fiyero. After lunch, they tried out some of the carnival games before continuing. They went on the mini roller coaster, which had a long queue, and Liir screamed with excitement from beginning to end, and the boy requested to go for another round the moment the ride ended. Fiyero silently thanked the Vinkun gods that he was too short for some of the more thrilling rides.
They took a break, and Fiyero took the opportunity to send some photos to Elphaba.
"Got to let Mommy know that you're still with me," he jested.
"Tell Mommy that I didn't lose you!" Liir guffawed.
A message came in. It was from Boq. Although they were no longer working in the same company, they had kept in contact, and Boq never forgot his friend during the Lurlinemas season. Boq had married Milla, and his Lurlinemas message would always come with photos of his family holiday. This time, he had gone up North for a short holiday, and one of the ski resorts had started the winter season with artificial snow on top of what little snow they had at the higher altitude. Fiyero smiled at the funny faces Boq's family made in the photos. He looked through the photos and found one with a snowman and no faces. He forwarded the picture to Elphaba.
Keen to show Liir some snow? he typed.
The two girls were in a men's boutique, being served green tea and cookies while the salesgirl rang up Glinda's purchases; it was taking a long time because there were so many items to scan. Glinda glanced around and she put down the little cup in her dainty hands before walking over to the racks again and picking up a silk tie. Another salesgirl quickly went over and took over the accessory and brought it to the cashier.
"Don't look at me that way," Glinda said in response to the green girl's astonished look. "Avaric can mix and match white and dark pieces without problem, but he's colourblind when it comes to the other colours. I like it when my man dresses well. Especially when I get to be the one who removes those clothes at night." She winked and laughed at Elphaba's expression.
The cashier finally tallied the bill and came over with the receipt. Glinda waved it away without looking.
"Just charge it to the Tenmeadows account and send these things to the Emerald Paradiso before the end of today. I'm leaving tomorrow so don't be late." Glinda spoke in such a royal tone the salesgirl almost bowed. She did, however, hand over a handsome tip to the girls personally instead of adding it to the bill.
"Your manager does not have to know about this," she whispered conspiratorially.
The girl's eyes widened considerably, and they thanked her profusely, but the blonde waved it off.
The chime was so soft she almost did not hear it with Glinda's chattering and the music playing over the speakers. But then it chimed again and again and suddenly she wondered if something bad had happened. She took out her phone and saw the photos loading.
"Who's that?" Glinda asked. Before Elphaba could turn her phone away, the blonde pranced over, and her eyes widened at the photos.
"Who's that cutie?" she asked.
"Liir?" Elphaba pointed at the grinning boy in the photo. "He's …"
"I don't mean the boy, Elphie. I mean the gorgeous man beside him. Is that your boyfriend and his son?"
Elphaba let out a sigh.
"Glinda, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you."
Elphaba took out her handphone the moment she stepped into the amusement park. She had messaged Fiyero ten minutes ago while she was on the way, but there was no reply from him. Neither had he read her message. She looked around the place. It was not packed, but there were enough people to make her wonder how she was going to find them in the crowd.
She called his number, but it went to his voice mail after a while.
"Is there any reply?" Glinda, who had tagged along, asked. Elphaba shook her head.
"Let's walk around. I'm sure he'll call back soon. Maybe we'll find them." She tried to reassure herself, but her heart was starting to pump hard, her mind imagining different scenarios where either one or both of them were missing or injured.
She stepped into the crowd, her eyes looking at every face, and every corner for a familiar sight. She scanned the people in the crowd, in the queues, in the rides, hoping to find either Fiyero or Liir among them.
Her eyes went to the sky, at the plane rides and roller coasters and the Ferris wheel, their flashing lights hurting her eyes, and then her attention was caught by a large, roundish, tanned figure in one of the cabins. It took her a while to realise it was not a person, but a soft toy, a teddy bear, its back to Elphaba as the Ferris wheel turned slowly. And then the man beside the bear turned to adjust the teddy bear, and she realised who it was. She squinted her eyes, and it seemed that there was another passenger in the same capsule in the opposite seat.
"They're up there, the Ferris Wheel," she told Glinda and went off in that general direction without waiting for an answer.
They reached there just as the duo stepped off the platform.
"Mommy!" the boy spotted his mother in the crowd and quickly ran off the deck and jumped into her arms. "Mommy, you're back!"
She squeezed him back hard.
"Hi."
Elphaba looked behind Liir to see Fiyero smiling at her, looking embarrassed at the same time with the teddy bear in his arms.
"Thank you for taking care of Liir," Elphaba started.
"It's no trouble. We have a great time. Right, Liir?"
"Yes, Mommy, we went on so many rides it's ozmazing. We went on the saucer ride three times… "
Someone faked a cough beside them, and then Elphaba remembered that Glinda was with her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. This is my friend, Glinda. Glinda, this is my son Liir, and this is my friend Fiyero."
Fiyero raised his brows, noting that she had finally called him by his name.
"Hello." Glinda stretched out a hand for a handshake. Fiyero took her hand.
The blonde bent down and took the boy's hand. "I'm happy to see you, Liir. Your mommy told me so much about you."
Liir smiled shyly, and he pressed his face against Elphaba's stomach.
"Liir, Auntie Glinda is my good friend."
"It's alright, Elphie," Glinda said. "I'm sure he'll warm up soon."
Liir tugged at Elphaba's dress. "Mommy, we got this teddy bear for you," Liir explained, looking at the soft toy that Fiyero was holding awkwardly. "I have my little teddy, and you should have one too."
"It took me an hour of shooting and some bribery to get this," Fiyero admitted as he passed the gigantic soft toy to her. "Well, I supposed it's good in a way because we cannot go on the roller coaster after that." He chuckled.
"So are you ladies interested to try out any of the rides?"
Elphaba shook her head, while Galinda giggled. "I'm always scared of all these rides. Always need a brave man with me so that I can hold on to him for my dear life."
"Not even the Ferris wheel?" he asked Elphaba.
"Mommy, I can see so many things up there. And the people down here become smaller and smaller until they're like ants," Liir said, putting his thumb and index finger together until there was just a tiny gap in between. "You must see it."
Fiyero took back the fluffy soft toy. "I'll take care of this humongous bear, and the three of you can go up and enjoy yourself."
The two friends and Liir went into one of the capsules. As the Ferris Wheel rotated, they went higher and higher, stopping every time passengers had to get off or board the ride, and the people below grew smaller and smaller as described by Liir.
"Did you notice the way he looks at you?" Glinda asked.
"What?"
"Fiyero."
"What about him?"
"The way he looks at you. Are you sure he is not interested in you?"
"Him? Of course not. I'm just someone who has given him a lot of trouble." She looked around, reluctant to share more in the presence of her son.
"Really? That's not the way I see it, Elphie. You mean you never notice the expression in his eyes?"
"Homicidal?"
Glinda giggled. "Is that what you think a pair of murderous eyes look like? What about you, Elphie? He's handsome, and he can dress well. Don't you find him attractive?"
"What?"
"Do you find him attractive, Elphie? Do you want to kiss him? Do you want to make babies with him?"
"Glinda!" Elphaba covered Liir's ears with her hands. "What are you talking about?"
"I am talking about Mr Yummy. When you mentioned him earlier today, I was imagining some pockmarked, boring, balding guy, but he looks like he just walked out of the poster of a romance movie. And you told me that you have been staying with him for the past few days? And nothing happened?"
Elphaba had to take a deep breath before she answered. "Glinda, for Lurline's sake. My son is here. And for the record, nothing happened. He's just a kind person who has been helping me."
"Mommy, look at the lights. Isn't it beautiful?" Liir leaned out of the window. Elphaba quickly got out of her seat to grab him, and the operator stopped the Ferris wheel at the exact moment to let the passengers get off from the capsule and the capsule jerked and swayed precariously. She staggered on her feet, her hand reaching out for Liir and her other hand trying to grab onto something at the same time. She did not register the beautiful scene outside. All she saw was the empty space outside, the swirling lights. All she felt was the cabin swaying like a tiny boat on a stormy sea, even though the cabin was no longer swinging. She looked down, and all she noticed was how high they were from the ground. She gripped the edge of the chair and lowered her head, but she could not unsee the scene outside, the dark, empty air between them and the safety of the ground.
Fiyero knew something was wrong the moment the capsule door was opened. Liir rushed out, calling for him, while Glinda tried to coax Elphaba to stand up. She put her arm under her shoulders and led the green girl out of the capsule.
Fiyero ran up the steps, two at a step, and was next to her within seconds.
"What happened?" He pulled her to him with an arm, his other arm still wrapping around the teddy bear.
"I didn't know that she's afraid of heights, I swear," Glinda said. Fiyero nodded. He did not know either, and he would not be surprised if Elphaba had no idea too. After all, they had gone up the Emerald Tower a few days ago. He passed the teddy bear to Glinda, and he tried to lift the green girl into his arms.
"I'm alright," Elphaba protested, her voice soft and weak. But he could see how pale she was even under the dim lights, how her breath came out shaky as if she was cold.
"And I'm one of Lurline's little helpers." And she chuckled softly. He led her off the platform, making sure that Liir was following them, and led her to the nearest bench.
Elphaba had given him the vacuum flask that she had for Liir, and Fiyero took it out. The water was replenished earlier and still hot, and he poured half a cup for her. Her hand shook, and the water sloshed within the cup. He wrapped his hands around hers to steady it.
"Mommy, Mommy, are you OK?" Liir wrapped his arms around her neck. Elphaba nodded.
"Your mother is fine, Liir," Glinda said and Liir scrambled to Fiyero.
"I'm not afraid of heights. I'm not," Elphaba said to no one in particular.
"Yes, you're not. Drink up. You'll feel better after that."
She obliged.
"Let's go home," he said. "We'll order delivery or something later."
He stood up. "I'm so sorry I have to cut this short, Ms Glinda," he told the blonde.
"No, it's alright. If you don't mind, can I come along?" Glinda twisted her fingers. "I won't stay for long. I just want to make sure that Elphie is fine."
"Sure."
Elphaba looked alright by the time they reached his place, but Fiyero was taking no chances.
"Don't sit here." He steered her away from the high bar stool at the kitchen counter to the couch. "Here."
"I told you I'm fine."
"Yes, you're fine. But you're still sitting on the couch. Liir," he gestured to the boy to join her.
"How about something light for dinner?" he suggested. "Maybe sushi? I'll have to order way ahead; it'll take them at least one hour to deliver the food."
"Can I have salad, Yero?" Glinda asked. "Got to maintain my figure, you know." She ran her hands down her curves and smiled at him.
Fiyero did not even bat an eyelid. "Sure."
As he called the restaurant, Glinda moved to the couch and sat next to Elphaba.
"Did you see that? He fusses over you and did not even notice when I was flirting with him!" she whispered fiercely.
"Why are you flirting with him?"
Glinda arched her brows. "Are you jealous?"
Elphaba spluttered. "Of course not. But aren't you afraid that Avaric will be jealous?"
"Of course not," the blonde parroted her best friend. "He knows that he's the only one for me. And flirting is like exercise, it's good for the heart. And don't you dare change the topic. No one cares about an acquaintance that much. He must be interested in you."
"He thinks that I'm sick, which I'm not."
"Liir," Fiyero called out when he hung up the phone. "Can you take your shower before the food comes?"
Glinda's eyes followed as Liir ran up the stairs to the loft to get his clothes.
"Is that the bedroom? And is there only one bed?" She put on her most wicked grin.
"For Lurline's sake, Glinda. Yes, there's only one bed, and he's kind enough to let Liir and I have it while he sleeps on the couch."
Glinda ran her hand on the seat of the couch sensually. "Oh, do you mean this couch? Did you come down at night?"
"Come down?" the green girl was totally lost.
"Are you sure you don't have something skimpy? Something see-through? Or do you sleep naked? I can so imagine it – you coming down the stairs in the middle of the night. He'll be asleep, and you drape yourself over him - "
"Glinda!" Elphaba's face turned red when she finally realised what her best friend was talking about.
"Have I ever told you that everyone must experience sex on the couch at least once in their lifetime?"
"Oh my…. Can we talk about something else?" Elphaba was literally begging.
Glinda giggled and then leaned back against the back of the couch. "I bet he didn't even notice what colour my eyes are," she grumbled. "He's so into you."
"He's not into me, Glinda. You're overimaginative."
"Is he gay then?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes.
"The food should be here in about half an hour," Fiyero said as he went over. "So what are you ladies talking about?"
"Nothing," Elphaba replied immediately.
"We were just talking about how well Liir bonded with you," Glinda said. "You have a thing with children. Do you come from a big family?"
Fiyero shook his head. "No, I'm an only child."
"Really? That's unbelievable. How about younger cousins? Or older cousins with children?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "I have a few cousins, but I am not close to them. But a few of my close friends have children and so I'm no stranger to kids."
"Really? I'm an only child too, and I'm not close to my cousins too."
"What a coincidence."
"Isn't it awful to be an only child? There's no one to play with, and my parents have such high hopes for me. I have to be good at ballet, piano, violin, drawing. So where did you study?"
"I went to Shiz."
Glinda did a little dance. "Me too! Which cohort were you from?"
He told her.
"I'm from one of the smaller colleges. Ozma. Studying is not really my forte," he admitted.
"It's still Shiz University nonetheless. I'm from Crage, but I enrolled after you've graduated, else we could have met earlier."
He looked impressed. Glinda blushed. "Well, it's not easy, I have to study hard for it. But that does not mean that I'm a nerd and a geek."
"Of course," he agreed.
"And I nearly didn't get into Shiz. My parents have planned for me to stop studying or to go to one of those women's colleges that prepare girls for marriage. They always think that a girl should just look pretty and be cultured and refined and should not study too much. I applied for a fellowship at Shiz without telling my parents. And I found out that I was offered when we were on holiday. They weren't happy of course, and they threatened to disown me. I ran away, and sought refuge at a nearby mauntery, and there's where I met Elphie." Glinda looked at her best friend and patted her green hand.
"We kind of reconciled after that," she continued. "But I guess my parents will always feel that they have been shortchanged when their friends gushed about how well their daughters have turned out."
"Who said that you didn't turn out well?"
"That's their traditional opinion. Their definition of 'well'," she quoted with her fingers, "is for me to marry the richest man in Gillikin and bear them a few grandchildren." She smiled. "Enough about me. So what did you study in Shiz?"
Liir had fallen asleep after Elphaba had read him his bedtime story, and the green girl sat on the couch with a small light on. She could go to sleep too, but she resisted, telling herself that Fiyero might not have brought the house keys with him when he left to send Glinda back to her hotel. She scrolled through the pictures that Fiyero sent earlier that day, the pictures of her son enjoying himself with the man he thought was his father.
She turned when she heard the door opening.
"Hey." He smiled when he saw her. "You should be resting."
I'm fine." She put away her handphone.
He came over and sat next to her. "No more giddiness? Room spinning? Multiple Fiyeros?" he drew circles around his face with a finger. She chuckled softly.
"I'm really fine."
"Really?" He pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, against her cheek. His hand was warm, and her heart quickened. Was that a sign of vertigo?
"Would you like some tea? Camomile tea perhaps?"
"Yes, that will be nice. Thank you."
"Did Glinda message you just now?" Fiyero asked as he prepared their drinks. "Her husband was there waiting for her when we went back. It was a surprise visit. Turned out he's someone that I've worked with before. It was kind of embarrassing because Glinda has told him that she was meeting her best female friend and I'm definitely not female." He laughed at the memory. "Luckily I have your photo in my phone."
"You do?" she was surprised. She had always passed him her phone whenever he offered to take photos of Liir and her.
"It's just one. Liir took it when he was playing with my phone at the tower. I meant to delete it when I have the time, but it just slipped my mind. I'll do it now." He passed her a cup of tea before sitting down and taking out his handphone.
Elphaba sipped her tea while Fiyero swiped through his handphone. He showed her the photo, her side profile against a blur of tourists in the background.
He was about to delete the photo when she called out. "Wait."
He looked at her, his finger in mid-air.
"I …," why had she stopped him? She hesitated. "Can you send a copy to me?" she asked. Fiyero nodded, and a few seconds later she heard the notification from her phone and the photo was gone from his.
"You know, when you first talked about Glinda, I just assumed that both of you grew up in the mauntery together, but I realised I was wrong when she started talking about her parents. It's strange, isn't it? By right, your lives will never cross, but all it took was one simple action, and she found her best friend."
Elphaba nodded. She looked at Fiyero and wondered if he was thinking the same thing – that it was just one simple action that tied him to Liir.
Fiyero sat back. "We spoke a bit on the way back. She may be sweet and charming, but she's also someone who knows what she wants and is not afraid to fight for it. It's not difficult to see how the two of you are best friends – you aren't all that different underneath."
She laughed. "I'm nothing like her. She's a really nice person. She's empathetic and good with people. Look at you. It's just one dinner, but she already knew so much more about you than me."
He turned to her. "That's because you never ask. So, what do you want to know about me?"
"No," she waved her head, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "I didn't mean that. I just mean that she's charismatic, and she's really good with people. Everyone opens up to her. Everybody loves her. When we were apart, her letters will talk about the people around her, her teachers, her friends, the boys she has to reject, and easy to see that she's very popular. And when we were out today, you could see the way the other people are attracted to her – men opened the doors for her, the waiter hovered over her. There was even a woman who came up to compliment her on the way she matched her accessories."
"She is attractive," Fiyero simply said. "So what were you doing before I came back?" he changed the topic.
"Nothing much. I'm just looking at the photos you took at the amusement park. It looks fun."
"It is fun. Maybe you should join us next time. Just not the Ferris Wheel."
"Maybe," she said. She knew that there would not be a next time. Her holiday would be ending soon, and Liir and she would go back to Munchkinland.
"So where we are going tomorrow?" she asked.
"Are you asking me out?" Fiyero teased her.
"Of course not." She rolled her eyes, hoping that he would not notice how red her face had turned under the dim light.
"I saw that photo that your friend took, the one with the snow. Is it nearby?" she asked.
Fiyero nodded. "It's about two hours' drive away. It's not a very big place, more of a kid's park for children. It'll be perfect for Liir."
"You'll be bored." She nearly smacked herself. He had not offered to go with them. But his answer put her at ease.
"They have a café that serves very good coffee and food, which is not common for a popular tourist attraction. It's worth the trip."
"Is there any train station nearby?"
Fiyero laughed. "No. First, you're asking me out and now you're trying to figure out how to go on your own? It's high up in the mountains though. Will you be all right?"
"I've told you. I'm perfectly fine."
"We'll go, but we're coming down the moment you feel unwell. I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you down if I have to."
"Savage."
"I never know you like that type."
Her blush turned deeper.
"Well, I guess we better quickly finish our drinks then." He was serious, planning again, as if he had not teased her just moments before. Or maybe she had misinterpreted his tone. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
"We can go somewhere else if a trip to the mountains needs some planning," she suggested.
"No, it's alright. It's just a day trip. It'll be fine. Both of you can sleep in the car on the way if need be. And your friend, Glinda," he changed the topic.
"Yes?" She expected him to gush about her. After all, she had heard enough from Glinda and seen enough when they were together to know that men were naturally attracted to her.
"She has very beautiful eyes. It's rare to see that shade of blue for a Gillikinese."
Elphaba nearly choked on her tea.
"Is the tea too hot?"
"No," she gasped.
"Did you overhear our conversation before dinner?" she asked, not daring to look at him.
"Your conversation? No, why?"
Elphaba took a careful sip from the cup. "Nothing. I was just asking." She snuck a peek at Fiyero. He was drinking his tea, but there was a smile on his lips.