Guys, it's chapter 30, can you believe it? Because I certainly can't. Thiiiiirtyyyyy chapters… mind-blowing lol. Lot's of Fiyeraba coming our way in this one... I hope you'll enjoy.
Thanks for your reviews, as always. Keep them coming;)

Started writing: 10.02.2020

Finished writing: 11.02.2020

Chapter 30
Revelation

"Keep still."

Elphaba rolled her eyes.

She couldn't quite believe that she was in this situation again after such a short time.

"It was a terrible idea, Galinda, I've changed my mind; I'm not going."

But Galinda pretended not to hear her.

It was the last day of this school year, and, of course, the students of Shiz University couldn't let the opportunity for a party slip. So, today was the big Holiday Ball; a big event, according to Galinda, that couldn't be left unattended, not even by a party pooper such as Elphaba herself.

And Elphaba had been foolish enough to let herself be persuaded to come.

Now she sat on a chair in front of the mirror and let Galinda fuss over her like there's no tomorrow.

"You're going to look swankified," said Galinda as she fixed a strand of hair on the back of Elphaba's head.

"I'm going to look foolish," said Elphaba.

"Fiyero won't be able to keep his eyes off of you," Galinda giggled. "And his hands."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Are you so desperate, or why do you keep making those dirty jokes?"

Galinda blushed. "Elphie! I'm merely teasing you."

She turned around and adjusted Elphaba's dress; a dark blue one with a high neckline and a lace embroidered bodice. The skirt reached down to the ground, and Galinda had only been able to persuade her into wearing high-heeled shoes because she would've thought it a pity to get the beautiful skirt dirty when dragging its hem over the ground.

"Oh, Elphie," Galinda breathed, stepping back. "You're going to be the most beautiful girl at the entire ball."

She stopped, reconsidering, and added, "After me, of course."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror, though, and she was surprised by what she saw. She did look beautiful if one didn't take the green into consideration. Her black hair was flowing down her back in waves, a few strands from the front were fixed to the back of her head with two of Galinda's hairpins. She even wore some jewellery; silver earrings with small sapphires set in them and a matching necklace.

"How much time do we have?" asked Galinda and Elphaba threw a quick look at the clock on the wall.

"Half an hour."

"Half an hour?" the blonde shrieked and hurried into the bathroom. "Half an hour until the boys are here? Oh Oz, I'm never going to be ready by then."

Elphaba rolled her eyes, retreating to the windowsill with her book.

"Who's taking you, by the way?" she asked as she arranged her skirts around herself and opened her books.

Galinda stuck her head out of the bathroom door.

"Liam," she said and blushed and giggled.

"The red-head?" asked Elphaba.

"Exactly," Galinda rushed back into the room and to her shoe cupboard. "He's so cute, Elphie, you wouldn't believe it."

The green girl arched an eyebrow at her. "I know him."

"And you agree with me," said Galinda insistently.

She pulled on her shoes and fixed her matching cream-white dress over them. It was a new one, of course.

Twenty pages of her book and half an hour later, Elphaba was startled at the sound of a knock on the door.

"Galinda, hurry up," she said, climbed from the windowsill and smoothed out her skirt.

"I am, I am," whined the blonde.

Elphaba opened the door and smiled at the familiar face.

"Fiyero."

He didn't answer her. He just stared at her with wide eyes and swallowed hard.

"Fae, you- I mean, this… Sweet Oz, Fae, I don't know-" he stammered and before she knew it, he stood right before her hand pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Fiyero!" sounded Galinda's voice from the bathroom. "Keep your hands to yourself; I've spent an eternity on that makeup!"

Elphaba laughed quietly. She let her forehead sink against his -something that was only possible because of the high-heeled shoes she was wearing- and smiled.

"Fae, you look… I don't even know what to say," Fiyero raised a hand to trail his thumb across her right cheekbone. "I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you."

Elphaba blushed. "That's nonsense."

But he shook his head. "No, it's not. I think you're… stunning."

He cupped both her cheeks and kissed her again. It was a quick kiss this time, and he smiled at her from sparkling blue eyes.

"I'm ready, I'm here, I'm not too late," exclaimed Galinda and pulled the door close behind them, handing Elphaba her shawl.

Fiyero grinned. "Wow, Galinda. You have excelled yourself."

The blonde tossed her hair back. "I know."

She nudged Elphaba in her side. "She's a sight for sore eyes."

"Or for blind ones," said Elphaba.

Fiyero kissed her temple. "You're crazy."

"Ouch," Elphaba covered her cleavage in fake hurt. "That stung."

Fiyero took her hand in his, fingers intertwining as they followed Galinda downstairs.

"Look, there he is," said Galinda and pointed at a red-haired boy on the other side of the room. "Isn't he a cutie?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Sure, Glin."

She wrinkled her nose at her own choice of words and turned to Fiyero. "Did you hear that? She's rubbing off on me."

Fiyero grinned. "I like 'Glin' though."

They watched together as Galinda and Liam met in the middle of the room, kissing each other's cheek.

"That's so posh," whispered Elphaba and squeezed Fiyero's hand.

"I find it adorable," but he grinned.

"Liam," said Galinda as they stopped in front of them. "These are my friends Elphaba and Fiyero. Elphie, Fiyero; this is Liam."

Fiyero shook the red-head's hand, and Elphaba smiled somewhat shyly at him.

"I know you, don't I?" Liam knit his brows at Elphaba. "Aren't we in the same History class?"

Elphaba nodded. "I think we are."

"Yeah, I remember… you were the one that stood up to Master Athington."

Elphaba was slightly baffled. "I-I was."

"Master Athington was fuming when he shook off the spell—he was the last one to wake up again."

"Guys," Galinda was rocking back and forth on her heels, seemingly impatient. "The party."

Liam took Galinda's hand with a grin. "Let's go, then."

He opened the door of the building.

Summer made the days long again, and the sun was still shining when they made their way across the campus.

"If it's terrible," whispered Elphaba into Fiyero's ear. "We are going to leave earlier, aren't we?"

"Who says we won't leave earlier anyway?" he winked at her and Elphaba slapped his arm playfully.

"You and your dirty jokes," she laughed. "You're just as bad as Galinda."

Fiyero arched an eyebrow at her. "Galinda makes dirty jokes?"

Elphaba nodded. "And they aren't good, believe me."

He shifted closer to her side, one arm wrapping around her waist. "What did she say?"

"That you wouldn't be able to take your hands off of me," Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Damn right, that girl," Fiyero grinned. "She knows her way around boys, I tell you."

Elphaba gently nudged him in his side.

It didn't take them long to reach the Ozdust Ballroom, and when they stepped inside the huge hall, Elphaba couldn't contain a gasp.

Everything was covered in light purple, and green shawls and the high ceiling was decorated with thousands of small lanterns that made it look as though they were looking at the night sky.

"I'm going to get us something to drink," Fiyero announced and let go of Elphaba's hand. "I'll be quick."

Galinda grinned at the green girl. "Do you still think it was a terrible idea?"

"We've just arrived, Galinda, it's going to take me a little bit longer to figure that out."

But in truth, she was fairly sure that she would enjoy this ball. With Fiyero on her side, almost everything seemed to be enjoyable to her.

"Here you are," sounded Fiyero's voice and he handed her a glass of punch. "It's something with strawberries and mango, I think."

He took her arm and led her to an empty table on the right side of the room. Galinda and her date were nowhere to be seen, probably already having the time of their lives on the dancefloor.

"Look," said Elphaba when they sat down, gesturing at the people around them. "They're all staring at me as though they wanted to kill me. The girls, I mean. They're so jealous; it's coming off them in waves."

Fiyero smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "And the boys are all staring at you because you're blindingly beautiful."

Elphaba tilted her head to one side and sipped her drink.

For some time, they watched their fellow students whirl each other around on the dance floor. Then Fiyero suddenly turned to her and asked, "Fae, do you know how to dance?"

Elphaba knit her brows. "Yes, I do. My father taught me when I was little."

He stood up, reaching out to take her hand. "Wanna dance?"

She smiled. "But I must warn you; I haven't danced in a long time. Your feet might suffer a few bruises."

"I'm gladly taking that upon myself."

They waited until the song was over before he pulled her with her on the dancefloor and put one hand on her hip, taking her hand with the other.

Elphaba couldn't tell for sure what she'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this; Fiyero was a good dancer, a great one, actually. He led her in circles, whirled her around and made her feel as though she'd known this dance her whole life long. She didn't step on his feet once, and when the music slowed down, Elphaba sank against him and held him close as they swayed to the music.

Her chin was resting on his shoulder, his hands were on her hips.

"I would never have guessed you could dance like this," Elphaba whispered into his ear, and Fiyero chuckled.

"I love dancing, actually," he told her. "My father taught me when I was young, and then I had some lessons… You're not a bad dancer yourself though. I think you couldn't have done much better, actually."

Elphaba smiled. "You're such a sweet-talker, Fiyero, it's unbelievable."

But she snuggled closer and breathed in his scent.

"I have never danced like this before," she said after a while, and when she turned her head, she found his eyes piercing into hers.

"Neither have I," Fiyero smiled. "Not with such a good partner."

He gave her a quick kiss, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear that had loosened itself from her hairdo.

"Fiyero…" Elphaba started slowly. "Would you say we're… a couple?"

He stopped for a second and his brows knit together, "Of course, we are. What else would you call this?"

He kissed her again.

"I just," Elphaba smiled against his lips. "I wasn't sure, you know? If you really wanted it."

Fiyero tilted his head to one side and led his hands slide off her hips to take her hand, "Of course, I want it. I told you before, Fae; I won't change my mind."

He stroked her head from her forehead, smiling.

"You know what?" he said, pulling her with him. "Let's go. I could use some fresh air."

"Let me just tell Galinda; she would be furious if we left just like that."

She let go of his hand and turned around.

"I'll meet you at the exit."

Quickly, Elphaba made her way through the dancing crowd over to the table with the drinks. There, so close to her red-haired partner that it could easily have been mistaken for her being on his lap, sat Galinda and laughed at a joke Liam made.

"Galinda," Elphaba said as she approached and the blonde looked up, cheeks glowing. "Fiyero and I are going to go now."

Galinda grinned at her. "Oh, are you? Have fun, Elphie, is all I'm going to say. If you're half as good at it as you are at dancing, you're going to have the night of your dreams."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable, Glin, you know that?"

Before her blonde friend could answer, she turned around and left.

Fiyero awaited her at the exit, her dark blue shawl in his hands.

"Are you really going to need this?" he asked when he draped it around her shoulders.

Elphaba shook her head. "No, but Galinda said it's some sort of accessory."

She tucked her hand inside of his and let him lead her outside.

The sky had turned black during the time they had been inside the Ozdust, and the stars were shining bright along with the moon.

"I had a really good time tonight," Elphaba whispered after a few seconds of silence, and she squeezed his hand. "Thanks to you."

"So, did I, Fae. You were incredible, always are."

She blushed and hid her darkened cheeks behind a veil of her hair, but he tucked it behind her ear.

"I mean it, Fae," he said softly, pushing open the side gate to the campus. "Sometimes, I cannot believe how lucky I am."

Elphaba laughed quietly. "How lucky you are? Fiyero, I'm the lucky one. Who could believe that I, the weird Vegetable, would be Fiyero Tiggular's girlfriend?"

Fiyero shuddered to a halt and took both her hands in his, his eyes piercing into hers.

"Fae, you're not weird," he said in the most serious voice she'd ever heard from him. "Not in the least. You're funny and beautiful and clever and breath-taking and… and…"

Elphaba arched an eyebrow at him as though it would distract from the deep blush on her cheeks. "Running out of compliments there, are we?"

Fiyero did not laugh.

"I love you, Fae."

Elphaba fell silent.

There they stood in the middle of the Shiz University campus, a day before they'd all leave for the summer holidays; a Vinkun Prince and a green-skinned girl, alone out here, in the middle of the night. And he was telling her he loved her.

"Fae?"

Elphaba closed her eyes for a second before looking up at him, into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes. Worry, confusion was dancing in them.

"I-I," Elphaba swallowed hard. "I love you too."

"Dear Oz," uttered Fiyero with a grin. "For a second, I thought you were going to run away or something."

"Run away?" Elphaba smiled. "No, that was the last thing I thought of."

Fiyero tilted his head to one side. "What did you think of doing?"

"Kissing you."

He grinned. "You can still make up for that now, you know?"

"That's what I was thinking."

She had to stand on tiptoe to cup his cheeks with her hands, and it was only because of his steady hands on her waist that she didn't topple over and collapse on top of him as she leant forward and pressed her lips on his.

His body was warm against hers; his lips were soft and gentle. Elphaba felt her knees shake. She never wanted to let that feeling go.

When Elphaba woke up the next morning, it was with a huge smile on her face. And that even though they were all leaving today.

She snuggled deeper into the pillows and closed her eyes again, listening to the quiet, even breathing next to her.

"Are you awake?"

Elphaba started, sitting up straight in the bed.

"Sweet Oz, Fiyero!" she slapped his arm and let herself fall into the pillows again. "Yes, I am. As you can see."

"Uh," said Fiyero with a grin. "Grumpy Fae, I like it."

He sneaked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer for a kiss.

"I could get used to this," he told her, stroking her hair out of her forehead.

"You mustn't. We're leaving today, remember?"

Fiyero groaned. "Right."

"It's unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" exclaimed Fiyero. "You mean; it's total shit. I mean, I love holidays, but I don't like the idea of being away from you. For two months."

He kissed her again, with desperation this time. "I don't like it at all."

Elphaba sighed. "Me neither."

"I could visit you," Fiyero drew circles on the back of her hand. "At the end of the holidays, if you want me to."

"Of course, I want to see you," Elphaba's cheeks glowed with excitement. "But I'd have to tell my parents of us first. And ask them, of course."

Fiyero knit his brows together in a faint frown. "You haven't told them yet?"

Elphaba sat up straight. "Should I have? Oh Oz, I'm sorry, Fiyero. I should have, of course, I should have. I'll tell them straight away, I promise."

"Hey," he squeezed her hand. "I'm not mad, Fae. I never thought about that, actually. I told my parents a rather long time ago, but I didn't think about yours."

The green girl curled her lips. "When did you tell them?"

Fiyero averted his eyes for a second.

"It must've been," he started slowly, his thumb falling still on the back of her hand. "The day I walked in on you sleeping on Nathaniel's couch."

Elphaba's eyes widened. "You knew that you were in love with me on that day already?"

He nodded, smiling. "Yes. I saw you sleep on that sofa and you looked so peaceful, so beautiful… It was all up with me at that moment."

Elphaba didn't know what to say.

"How about you?" said Fiyero quietly. "When did you know?"

The green girl breathed in deeply. "I think it was the day of the Lion Cub when I freaked out and you took matters in your hands and… on that clearing in the woods… I don't even know what happened."

"That's a pretty long time, don't you think? For us to be in love?"

Elphaba nodded.

When later on, she made her way back to her own room, she couldn't help but think about their conversation. Yes, they were in love for a long time now. Three months if her calculations were accurate.

The green girl opened the door to the dormitory and slipped inside.

"Look who's here," said Galinda with a huge smile. "Elphie. And she's wearing the same dress as yesterday."

"Don't even think about it, Glin. We didn't have sex. No matter how much you wish we had."

She looked around the room. They had packed their stuff yesterday afternoon shortly after lunch so they wouldn't have to hurry up this morning. The shelves and closets were empty; the beds stripped off.

"By the way," sounded Galinda's voice from the other end of the room. "Madame Morrible wants to see you in her study after breakfast."

Elphaba knit her brows. "Madame Morrible?"

Galinda nodded.

She pulled a pin curler out of her blonde hair as she said, "Something about an assignment over the course of the holidays."

Elphaba groaned. "See? I told you; that woman loathes me."

She made her way to her suitcase and picked up the stack of clothes she'd left out for today, quickly changing into her blouse and skirt and thin leggings.

"Are you ready for breakfast?" she asked when she'd put her fancy dress into the suitcase, smoothing out the wrinkles in her blouse.

"I am," answered Galinda and took Elphaba's arm. "Let's go."

It would be their last breakfast together before the holidays, Elphaba noticed when she pulled the door close.

"Good morning, Miss Elphaba," said Madame Morrible with a sweet smile. "Have you already packed your things? Ready to leave now, are you, missy?"

Elphaba closed the door behind her and tried not to frown at the peculiar things in Morrible's study. Like the big old book on the wooden podium and a strangely milky crystal ball.

"Of course, Madame," she answered and sat down as the fish-woman offered her to sit. "May I ask why I was beckoned here?"

"You may," Madame Morrible giggled -if that's what you want to call it. "And I can answer you right away; There's something I want you to do over the course of the holidays. Something that will replace the exam that you were ought to write. But I found it would be such nonsense to let you write an exam in Sorcery. It's hard to answer any questions if they are all unanswered by even myself."

Elphaba knit her brows. "And what should I do, Madame?"

The Headshiztress sighed in satisfaction, stroking over the cover of the old book before her. "You know, Miss Elphaba, ever since our little talk after Doctor Dillamond's terrible parting" -she placed a hand on the centre of her chest as if in grief- "I have noticed your continuous improvement, and now I think you might be ready to practice some spells."

She opened the book in front of her with two fingers, almost as though she was afraid to touch it. "Have you ever heard of the Grimmerie, Miss Elphaba?"

The green girl could feel her heart picking up pace.

"Of course, Madame," she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

"Well," the Headshiztress clasped her hands in delight. "I want you to practice reading some spells out of here. It's an ancient book as I'm sure you already know and I'm only handing it to you for the cause of studying, Miss Elphaba, not for the cause of fun. I hope I'm right to place my trust in you when I hand it to you."

Elphaba's eyes widened. "Hand it to me? Oh, Madame Morrible, thank you. I couldn't be more honoured."

Madame Morrible shushed her with a wave of her hand. "Now, now, dearie. Just so you know; it is extremely hard to read a spell, and it can be very dangerous when you pronounce them wrong. So, I believe some demonstration is in order. So, I can be assured that you won't burn down your home."

She laughed, and it didn't sound nice at all. But Elphaba ignored that; she was so excited. Her fingers were itching as the Headshiztress pushed the Grimmerie towards her and turned a page.

The letters were dancing across the page, forming into new words, new sentences with each blink of an eyelash.

"Try and read one," said Madame Morrible. "Don't despair if it doesn't-"

Trailing her finger across the page as though she wanted to capture the dancing words and hold them still, Elphaba began to read out a spell.

It was hard to pronounce, though not hard to read. Her tongue twisted at some words, some strange sequence of letters and vowels, but then it was done, and the crystal ball on the table began to twitch and dance across the tabletop.

"Oh, look!" exclaimed Madame Morrible in delight. "Miss Elphaba, such a talent! You got it right at the very first try! How gleeful, how peculiar, how… how worthy of a letter to the Wizard."

Elphaba's eyes widened. "The Wizard?"

"Of course," said the Headshiztress, shuffling around papers and documents on her desk. "I will write to him right away. He'll be thrillified to hear of your talent."

She looked up and into Elphaba's eyes.

"Meanwhile, my deary" -she said it in a sincere way this time, not in her usual faked sweet tone- "You will practice reading more spells at home. The Grimmerie will be in good hands, won't it?"

Elphaba nodded as if by an invisible hand and took the thick book, pressing it close to her chest.

"Of course, Madame Morrible," she breathed and couldn't contain a grin.

"Well; Shoo! Shoo! Miss Elphaba," the fish-like woman waved her hands at her. "Have a safe journey and some calm days at home."

And Elphaba clutched the Grimmerie and slipped out of the woman's study. "Goodbye, Madame Morrible."

She ran the whole way back to her dormitory, panting hard and gasping for air when she opened the door.

"Galinda! Fiyero!" she stumbled into the room, grinning broadly at the confused faces of her friends. "You won't believe what just happened."

Galinda let her toilet bag fall to the ground as she hurried across the room. "What is it? Sweet Oz, what happened?"

Elphaba laughed -in both relief and felicity- and said, "Madame Morrible asked me to try and read a spell from the Grimmerie. So, I did, and she was so excited, telling me she'd write to the Wizard and tell him of my talent."

"Oh, Elphie!" Galinda pulled her in a deep hug. "I always knew that you were something special."

She stepped back and tilted her head to one side. "And also; what's a Grimmerie?"

Slowly, Elphaba crossed the room to the sofa and sat down beside Fiyero, who pulled her into a kiss. She arranged the Grimmerie on her knees, stroking over the cover.

"The Grimmerie is an ancient spellbook," she explained. "It's very powerful. Some say the most powerful one there ever was."

Galinda's eyes widened. She rested her arms on the backrest of the sofa behind Elphaba and tried to catch a glimpse of the book. "And Madame Morrible gave it to you just like that?"

The green girl nodded. "I think it's some sort of test; to see if I can be trusted."

"Open it," breathed Galinda excitedly. "Oh, Elphie, open it."

Slowly, Elphaba opened the book, turning over some pages.

"What funny writing," said Fiyero, tilting his head to one side.

"Wait," Galinda raised a hand. "Let me just… A- Ker- Da-"

"Galinda, no!" Elphaba slammed the book shut. "If you're not pronouncing the words right, it can be extremely dangerous. Madame Morrible only let me have it because I didn't set her study on fire when I tried."

The blonde waved a hand. "But there's a Reverse spell for every spell, isn't it?"

And, surprisingly, it was Fiyero who answered.

"No, I once heard that the Grimmerie was so dangerous because of the irreversibility of its spells. It's this 'Fight fire with fire'-thing. You can only weaken spell when causing damage with another."

Both the girls were looking at him with wide eyes.

"What?" Fiyero exclaimed with a raised eyebrow. "Surprised I know something you don't?"

Elphaba laughed and leant forward to kiss him.

"No," she said with a chuckle. "But proud, I would say."

Elphaba would never have thought that saying goodbye to her new friends would be this hard. Galinda even shed a few tears, but Elphaba wasn't the crying type. She held her roomie close as the blonde sobbed into her shoulder and sniffed against her dress.

"Oh, Elphie," Galinda cried. "You must write to me every week, okay?"

"Of course, Galinda."

She hugged her friend deeply and then stepped back to turn to Fiyero.

"Fae." He leant down to close her lips with his.

Her fingers entangled with his sandy blonde hair, his hands wandering down to her waist where they stayed until they broke apart.

"I'm really going to miss you," Elphaba said quietly, resting her forehead against his chest. "I can't even imagine being apart from you for such a long time."

She snuggled deeper into his embrace, breathing in his scent.

"Neither can I," Fiyero took hold of her chin to gently force her to look at him. "But as Galinda said; We're going to write to each other. It's not as good as this, obviously, but we'll cope for the time being."

Elphaba laughed a tearful laugh into the fabric of his shirt.

"It's not as though this was our last year at Shiz," she heard him say. "There's still three years ahead of us."

She nodded. "You're right. You'll tell me about your exam results, right?"

"Of course, I will," he kissed the crown of her head and eventually stepped back from her embrace.

"Goodbye, Fae, have a safe journey."

Fiyero kissed her once again, and she felt his eyes on her back as she hugged Galinda for a last time before climbing into the carriage.

She watched them hug and exchange a few words, and when the carriage began to roll away from them, she waved at them as furiously as they waved at her.

She didn't cry, but she also couldn't say she wasn't feeling mournful. She missed them already. More than she'd ever thought she would.