Wanli8970: Okay, I'll give you that one. But it's not even going to be remotely close to 'The Search'.
As impossible as it sounded, Fiyero was hoping to avoid the princess. It was very clear that she didn't like him. Okay, maybe he had been a bit rude, but she had scared him, made him look like a total klutz, insulted him, and didn't even ask him if he was alright. But he still wanted to avoid her as much as possible… and considering he was the captain of the royal guard, it didn't seem very possible.
After breakfast, he went to finish up more paperwork and gave the guards their assignments. He stayed in his office, and one of the maids brought him a cup of tea. He was never much of a tea drinker; he preferred his two strong cups of coffee in the morning to get him going. He took one sip and ended up swirling it around his cup until it was stone cold. He ate lunch and decided to do some more wandering around the palace.
He wandered around and soon successfully got himself lost. He tried to retrace his steps, but found it hard since he didn't leave a trail of some kind for himself. He heard footsteps and a familiar voice that he knew could only belong to the princess. He looked around for a place to hide and slipped into the first door he saw. When he was sure the footsteps had died away, he looked around, trying to figure out what room he was in. The walls were lined with paintings, mostly portraits, and he immediately knew what room he was in.
The captain walked around, taking in all the paintings. They were all of past monarchs, some with their families and some of the royal children. Fiyero smiled as he walked through the large room, observing the paintings. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice the door open and footsteps approaching him.
"I see you've found the portrait gallery."
The captain jumped and whipped around. The princess was standing directly next to him, her features seemingly softer than the day before. He quickly bowed, muttering a soft "Your Highness" before straightening.
Elphaba looked at the current portrait they were standing in front of, her great-great-great grandfather, Wizard Eadred the Brave. She looked back at Fiyero, who seemed to be waiting for her to say or do something, but his gaze wasn't meeting hers. "I… I want to apologize for yesterday."
Now she had Fiyero's undivided attention.
"I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. And I'm sorry I startled you. And judging by the fact that you thought Galinda was the princess, I'm sure I was the last image you pictured."
Well, she's not wrong, Fiyero thought, but didn't dare to voice that. "No apologies are necessary, Your Highness. I'm sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean to –"
"Stare?" Elphaba interrupted. "I know you didn't. And I overreacted. I… tend to do that sometimes."
Fiyero simply nodded, not knowing how else to respond.
"I… I was wondering if we could… start over."
Fiyero had hoped she would say that. Hoped, but not actually expecting it to happen. "Of course, Your Highness."
Elphaba smiled. "Thank you. And since we're starting over, I believe introductions are in order."
The prince bit back a blush when he realized that Elphaba probably didn't even know his first name. "Fiyero Tigulaar," he said with a slight bow.
"Well, Captain Tigulaar, thank you for indulging me," Elphaba said with a slight nod.
"Of course, Your Highness," Fiyero said with a bow and watched as Elphaba turned to leave. Maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe the princess wasn't so bad after all.
The following days leading up to the ball were quite eventful. Fiyero watched as maids and servants hurried in and out of the grand hall with decorations, table clothes, chairs and the like. The Vinkun had never been to a ball, and didn't know what to expect, but the blonde lady's maid was more than happy to fill him in.
"There's a lot of music and dancing and maybe some singing and food and fancy gowns and fun and merriment," the blonde rattled off a few hours before the ball. "His Ozness comes out and makes a short speech to start off the evening and then everyone dances until dinner. Then after dinner, there's dessert and then more dancing."
"Wow," Fiyero said, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
The blonde giggled. "Don't worry, Captain. The balls are very fun. Lots of important people come from all over Oz."
"I look forward to it," the captain smiled.
Galinda curtsied and excused herself to tend to Elphaba, hurrying down the hall. Fiyero decided that he should probably get himself ready as well. He returned to his room and took a quick shower before putting on a slightly fancier version of his uniform. He combed his hair and gave his reflection a once-over and an approving wink before making his way out. He heard the chatter of the many voices from the grand hall and gulped down his nerves before going inside.
He had never seen so many people in one room before and honestly, it scared him a bit. And not just because he was the head of security. He wasn't exactly the most social butterfly in all Oz, and he just hoped he wouldn't make a complete brainless fool of himself.
He soon found himself to be the center of attention, since everyone wanted to meet and talk to the new captain. He did his best, shaking hands with businessmen, merchants, and nobles, as well as talking to their wives and showering them with the compliments he knew they wanted to hear.
Suddenly, everyone was interrupted by the sound of a trumpet and quieted down.
"And now announcing His Royal Ozness, Wizard Oscar and Her Royal Highness, Princess Elphaba," the herald said as the doors opened.
Everyone clapped as the Wizard and Elphaba entered together. Men bowed and women curtsied as they walked past. The Wizard looked very nice in his navy blue suit, matching pants, and a slightly lighter tie. But Fiyero's gaze was locked on Elphaba. She looked completely stunning in her off the shoulder, midnight blue gown with shimmering, silver sleeves. The skirt of the dress had a layer of tulle over it and for some reason, Fiyero loved the way it brushed against the floor as the princess walked. He was pulled from his thoughts when the Wizard immediately went to the front and gave a short speech and the ball officially began.
Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time dancing and mingling. Fiyero got pulled into many dances, at least four of them by Galinda. He was beginning to develop a fondness for the blonde. She reminded him a lot of his sister. The same curls, cerulean eyes, even their giggles were strikingly similar. Or maybe it was just the Vinkun's imagination, trying to fill a void that was left empty for too long.
He finally managed to escape the dancing and decided to take a rest. He leaned against the wall by the dessert cart, mindlessly swirling a glass of wine he grabbed from a passing servant. He finished off the glass and sighed, his mind reeling.
"Tired of dancing?"
He looked up to see the princess approaching him. He bowed swiftly and placed the empty glass on the table. "A bit, Your Highness."
"You were dancing with Galinda," Elphaba said, watching her friend dance with a nobleman's son. "I'm surprised you're still standing."
The captain chuckled softly. "She does love to dance."
"She loves these balls, admittedly more than I do."
Fiyero looked over at her. "You don't enjoy them?"
"Not particularly. All the fancy dresses and the people and everything just… isn't me."
Fiyero never thought he would ever meet a princess that didn't like being a princess. He had a short, yet painful memory of his sister dressing up in a pretty dress and putting a tiara in her hair and making everyone call her "Your Royal Highness". She loved everything princessy.
"Galinda is much more princess-like than I am. She loves the spotlight and the attention and the fancy gowns and everything. Without her, I probably wouldn't be able to get through any of this."
"You are very close to your lady-in-waiting?" Fiyero asked, figuring it was a safe question, since Elphaba brought up the topic in the first place.
"She's my best friend," Elphaba answered, still watching Galinda. "She's from a very well-to-do family in the Gillikin."
"How did you meet her?"
"Her parents were very good friends with my mother. They would come to visit often and bring Galinda. We would play together and one day, Galinda declared me her 'bestest friend', and the rest is history."
Fiyero smiled at the thought of a little Galinda and a little Elphaba playing together.
"When her parents died in the cholera outbreak, my mother requested that she come live with us here in the palace instead of being sent to an orphanage. She came, under the guise of training to be a lady-in-waiting."
"How old was Galinda… when she came to live here?"
"Seven. She's a few months older than I am."
"And your mother…"
The way Elphaba stiffened when he said 'mother' told him not to finish that question.
"I apologize."
"It's alright," Elphaba said, probably more to herself than to Fiyero. She looked up at him. "Dance with me, Captain?"
Was that a question? Fiyero wondered. It sounded like a question, but the way she was looking at him clearly told him that it wasn't a question. "It would be my pleasure, Your Highness," Fiyero said with a bow as he offered Elphaba his arm.
Elphaba took it and allowed Fiyero to lead her onto the dance floor. A slow waltz had just started and the two began to dance.
"You're a very good dancer," Elphaba commented.
"I guess you could say that I went through a 'dancing through life' phase," Fiyero said, lifting his arm for Elphaba to turn.
The princess looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but decided not to voice her question as they continued to dance. The waltz ended and Fiyero and Elphaba bowed and curtsied, respectively, and walked off together.
"Thank you," Elphaba said. "I'm not really one for dancing, but this was rather enjoyable."
Fiyero smiled. "It was very enjoyable, Your Highness."
Elphaba was about to say something else when gunshots rang out from outside. Everyone in the grand hall went dead silence as more gunshots rang out, followed by an agonizing scream. Fiyero turned to two of the guards standing by the door and nodded for them to see what had happened. As soon as they left, everyone in the room screamed as a rock was thrown through the window, shattering the glass into a million tiny pieces on the floor.
Galinda ran over to Elphaba and clutched her arm, clearly terrified. "Elphie," she whispered.
Elphaba looked down at her. Galinda only called her 'Elphie' in private, mainly due to the fact that in public, she was working and it would be inappropriate. But when Elphaba looked at her, she saw something in her eyes. Something she hadn't seen since the blonde came to the palace for good all those years ago. She had looked so scared and upset, and Elphaba had wanted nothing more than to make all the blonde's negative fears and emotions go away. This time, Elphaba wrapped her free arm around the blonde and pulled her closer. "It's okay, Glin," she whispered.
Fiyero looked down at both girls and ushered both of them towards the Wizard, who immediately wrapped his arms around Elphaba.
"Secure the perimeter!" Fiyero commanded the extra guards who came when they heard the gunshots. They saluted him and ran off. The Vinkun planted himself in front of the royals and Galinda, ready to protect them if need-be.
"The perimeter has been secured, Captain!" one of the guards said when he returned.
Fiyero nodded, but didn't move.
"Whoever threw the rock ran away, but two of the guards are chasing after him. We suspect that he is the one who fired those shots."
"Was anyone hurt?" Fiyero asked.
"We don't know yet, sir."
At that moment, another guard ran in and saluted. "The… culprit… got away, sir. We lost him under the cloak of darkness. I apologize."
Fiyero sighed. "Okay. Send out a group to go after him, quickly! No one was shot?"
The guard paused. "Deon, sir."
"Is he…"
The guard lowered his gaze and nodded faintly. Fiyero bit back a sob. Deon was one of the lesser officers, but he was also the funniest. He made Fiyero feel more at ease during his first few days here, especially when he told jokes over dinner. "Bring his body inside. We shouldn't leave him out there."
"Send everyone home," the Wizard said. "It's not safe to continue the ball."
"Yes, Your Ozness," the herald bowed and made the announcement. Guards escorted everyone to their waiting carriages and made sure they got out the gates safely. Fiyero escorted Oscar, Elphaba, and Galinda back to their rooms.
"I'm staying with Galinda for a while," Elphaba said once the Wizard was gone and Fiyero was about to drop Elphaba off.
Fiyero blinked in surprise, but didn't question anything as he led the two of them down to the second floor. Galinda was still clutching Elphaba arm and half of her face was buried in her shoulder. For some reason, Fiyero suspected that this wasn't the first time Elphaba stayed with Galinda after something had happened. Maybe not an attack like this, but something else that would elicit this type of reaction from the blonde.
"Will you be alright?" Elphaba asked once Fiyero dropped them off.
"I'll be fine, Your Highness," Fiyero said with a bow. "Good night. Good night, Lady Galinda."
"Good night," Elphaba said softly, watching Fiyero walk down the hall and went into her room, closing the door behind her.
#NiaHasNoChill is making a comeback! MWAHAHAHA!