Now we get into some action! MWAHAHAHA!
Guest: That was a typo and I fixed it. Thank you for alerting me.
Wanli8970: We'll see more mentions of Lyanna. And what's your new theory?
Fiyero didn't know how long he had been asleep. He just remembered waking up to sounds being made from upstairs. Groaning, he turned over and buried his face in his pillow. It was when he heard something crash that jolted him wide-awake that he decided to get up and investigate. Yawning, he grabbed his rifle, just in case, and twirled his emerald robe around his shoulders before going up to the third floor.
Fiyero knew that the only people on the third floor were Elphaba and her father, so he figured that it must have been one of them making the noise. Fiyero heard the Wizard's snores from the other side of his closed door and went to check on the princess. Her door was slightly ajar, and Fiyero peaked inside. It was very dark, but even then, he could tell that the princess wasn't in the bed. He heard noises coming from the attic and frowned. If that was the princess, what was she doing up in the attic in the middle of the night? There was only one way to find out.
The captain of the guard quickly hurried up the stairs leading to the attic and paused at the door. He identified the noises as animal screeches and paused. There were animals in the attic? And why were they making all of this noise? How was he not aware that there were animals in the attic?
Realizing that he could answer these questions later, he pushed the door open. "Freeze in the name of his supreme Ozness!"
In the dark, he barely made out the outline of a hooded figure, wearing a tall, pointed hat with a thick brim. It turned slightly, but didn't seem bothered by the Vinkun's sudden entrance. It simply moved closer to the back of the attic.
"I said freeze!" the Vinkun said, cocking his rifle. The figure froze and Fiyero cautiously stepped closer. "Remove your hood."
A black-gloved hand reached out from under the hood and reached for a lever, and Fiyero belatedly noticed the large cage they were both standing in front of. The figure quickly pulled the lever and the cage opened, releasing around two-dozen monkeys.
"Oh dear sweet Oz," Fiyero muttered. It was much too early to have to deal with this. Sighing, he trained his rifle on the figure, ready to shoot if need be. "Remove your hood!" he repeated.
The figure turned around to face him, and even though Fiyero couldn't see its face, he could tell that whoever it was probably glaring at him. He fired one shot, but the figure ducked out of the way. The monkeys screeched and began flying aro- wait! Fiyero blinked. The monkeys... had wings? And they were flying! That's impossible! Maybe he was having a bad dream. Maybe he had too much food and was having a nightmare because of it. There were no such things as winged monkeys. He looked at the figure and commanded for them to remove their hood, but instead, Fiyero found himself being blasted against the opposite wall. Groaning, he pushed himself up just in time to see the figure grab a broomstick from the corner and mount it, quickly flying out the window after the monkeys. Now on full alert, Fiyero pushed himself to his feet and ran to the window. He aimed his rifle and shot three times, each one missing his flying target.
This was bad. Who was that person, and how did they break into the palace? He had to warn the captain of the gu- oh wait! That was him!
"Captain?" a small voice asked.
Fiyero whipped around, prepared to shoot, then immediately lowered his rifle. "Lady Galinda? What are you doing awake... and up here?"
"I heard the gunshots," the blonde said sleepily. "I was worried."
"Everything's fine," the captain said.
"What's going on?"
Fiyero looked up and saw the three guards that were on night duty in the doorway. "Someone broke into the attic," Fiyero said.
The guards looked confused. "No one was near the palace, Captain," one of them said.
"It was… a hooded figure in a black cloak with black gloves." Fiyero said, going back to the window. "I suspect they came in through the window."
"That's impossible, Captain. We're all the way up in the attic," one of the guards said.
"They flew. On a broomstick."
The three guards and Galinda looked at him like he was crazy.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."
"What was the hooded figure doing in here?"
"I don't know," Fiyero said. "But there were monkeys in the cages. Whoever it was freed them."
"What should we do, sir?" the second captain asked.
"Secure the palace. Rosmic, please escort Lady Galinda back to her room."
"Right away sir," the third guard said, bowing to Galinda and leading her out.
"Captain," Galinda called as she turned around.
Fiyero turned from the window. "Yes?"
The blonde licked her lips. "Is it… will it be… safe?"
He sensed more fear than the blonde let on. "I… I will see to it that it is, Lady Galinda."
Galinda smiled softly and allowed Rosmic to escort her back to her room, leaving Fiyero alone with the two other guards, who he quickly dismissed. He stayed in the attic for a bit longer, looking towards the sky. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking out for. He didn't think the hooded figure would come back… at least, not that same night. Maybe if he could figure out why the monkeys were there, and why they had wings, he could figure out who the figure was and why they were there.
"Captain, I believe you were just having a bad dream," Morrible said, sighing as she flipped through the Wizard's appointment book.
"Madame, I can assure you I wasn't dreaming," Fiyero said.
"And I can assure you that you were. There are no such things as monkeys with wings. We don't even have animals here in the palace."
"Madame –"
"That is enough, Captain," Morrible said dismissively. "You were just having a bad dream. If you'll excuse me." The old woman hurried into the throne room and closed the door behind her.
The Vinkun rubbed his forehead. Was he going crazy? He was sure he had…
Galinda.
Of course! He could ask Galinda. If she remembered being woken up by the gunshots, that would prove that he wasn't going crazy. Smiling, he hurried to the blonde's room and knocked on the door.
"Oh, hello, Captain," Galinda said when she opened the door and curtsied.
"Lady Galinda," Fiyero bowed. He looked over the blonde's shoulder and realized that Elphaba was sitting on her bed. "Your Highness."
Elphaba nodded her acknowledgment and went back to the book she was reading.
"Is there something wrong?" Galinda asked, her cerulean eyes filled with worry.
"May I… speak to you outside?"
The blonde looked back at the princess, who had looked up from her book. "You can go," Elphaba said, trying not to sound as nosy as she felt.
Galinda nodded and walked out, closing the door behind her. "What's wrong, Captain?"
"I wanted to ask you if… do you… remember what happened last night?"
The blonde looked confused. "Last night?"
"Yes. I was in the attic and then you came up and then –"
"I didn't wake up last night," Galinda said slowly.
"You don't remember gunshots coming from the attic?"
"No. What happened in the attic?"
"Are you sure you didn't wake up? Maybe you just don't remember and –"
"I would remember waking up to gunshots, Captain," the blonde said tightly, signaling that Fiyero should stop. "You were probably just dreaming."
"I wasn't dreaming! I was wide-awake! This really happened! There were monkeys in the attic, but they had wings, and there was a hooded figure that freed them and then flew out the window on a broomstick and –"
"Captain!"
Fiyero blinked and realized that he was clutching the blonde by the shoulders, clearly scaring the petite girl half to death. He looked up and saw Elphaba standing in the doorway, giving him a look that, given her magical abilities, should have killed him. He immediately released Galinda, who, in turn, collapsed in Elphaba's arms. The green girl wrapped her arms protectively around her best friend, gently rubbing her back while still throwing mental, sharp daggers at Fiyero.
"I… I'm so sorry," the captain whispered, wringing his hands together. "I don't… I mean… I didn't mean to…"
"I think you should take the rest of the day off," Elphaba interrupted. "Go get some rest, and gather together what's left of your common sense."
That hurt, especially since Fiyero was positive he wasn't going crazy. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he was just really stressed (or had too much meat and wine), and that's what triggered the bad dream. Muttering another apology, he bowed and hurried away, not looking back.
Elphaba looked down and her face immediately softened, seeing her best friend shivering in her arms. "It's okay," she whispered to the blonde. She led her friend back into the bedroom and closed the door.
Galinda clung to the green girl for dear life. She felt Elphaba sit down and sat next to her, but when she tried to remove her arms, the blonde only clung tighter to her.
"Did he hurt you?" Elphaba whispered gently.
Galinda shook her head against her friend's shoulder. "They were so strong."
It took Elphaba a beat to realize that her friend wasn't talking about Fiyero. "No one else is going to hurt you."
"They took everything…"
"I know, but you're safe now."
"I wanted to… I tried to stop them… but…"
"I know," Elphaba whispered gently, trying to stop her friend from going into a panic attack. "I know they hurt you, but they're gone now. And you're safe here."
It took a while for Galinda to stop crying, but when she did, Elphaba had conjured a cup of tea for her. The blonde smiled gratefully and took the teacup. As she sipped the drink, she began to feel herself getting sleepier.
"Elphie…" she whispered as she felt the princess take the cup from her as her body went numb. "What…"
"Just rest, Galinda," the green girl said gently, helping her under the covers. "Everything will be fine. I promise."
Galinda felt herself being pulled out of consciousness and slowly gave in. Elphaba looked at the slumbering blonde and sighed, trying not to look as guilty as she felt.
Fiyero was muttering to himself as he paced around his room. He had run into Rosmic and the other two guards who were on night duty the night before, and they told him the exact same thing Morrible and Galinda had told him; that there were no sounds coming from the attic and that he had dreamt the whole thing. He sighed. Maybe he was going crazy. But that dream… it felt so realistic. There was no way he could have been dreaming. Something was going on, and as Captain of the Guard, he was going to find out what it was.
His thoughts shifted towards Galinda. He didn't mean to hurt her. He didn't even realize what he was doing. What had come over him? He would have to go and apologize to her. Sighing, he made his way to her room. He gulped down his nerves and knocked three times, and was more than surprised to see Elphaba open the door.
"Your Highness," he bowed, not hiding his surprise.
Elphaba's eyes narrowed. "Captain."
"I… is Lady Galinda…"
"She's sleeping."
"Oh."
"Is there something you wanted?"
"I wanted to apologize to her. I don't know what came over me earlier. I was just… so sure I wasn't dreaming… those flying monkeys… and that hooded figure… and the bro-"
"Is there anything else you wanted, Captain?" the princess sighed impatiently.
"Oh… no. I apologize, Your Highness."
Elphaba nodded and heard the sheets rustling behind her. "If you'll excuse me," she said before closing the door.
"Wait!" the Vinkun called.
Elphaba looked surprised, and clearly annoyed, that the captain was still speaking to her. "Yes?"
"If... if I may ask... where were you last night?"
Elphaba scowled. "And what business is that of yours?"
Fiyero remembered how Elphaba wasn't in her bed when he went to check before going up to the attic. "Your security is my job."
"I was sleeping, just like everyone else in the palace... including you. Why would you ask me such a ridiculous question?"
"I... you weren't..."
"I wasn't what?"
"Nothing," Fiyero said after a short pause. "It's nothing. I'm sorry for bothering you."
Elphaba nodded stiffly and closed the door, leaving the captain alone.
Figuring that he could apologize to the blonde later, the captain went back to his room until a maid called him for dinner. When he got downstairs, the guards saluted to him and immediately began bombarding him with questions. He pushed them off, not wanting to talk about his dream any longer. He saw that his plate and glass of wine was already waiting for him and he sat down. Even though he was hungry, he barely touched his food. He ate half of his mashed potatoes and pushed his peas around his plate, and didn't even touch his meat.
He simply listened as the other guards around him talked about whatever subject came to their minds. They tried to involve him a few times, but his one-word responses told them that he wasn't interested in conversation. He took another sip of his drink, belatedly realizing how his whole body was turning numb. He dropped the glass, hearing it shatter against the floor and the conversations around him silencing.
"Oh sweet Oz! Captain!" one of the guards said as Fiyero fell out of his chair.
"Get help!" another one shouted, and the guards began barking orders at each other.
And that was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.
Yes, yes, yes! #NiaHasNoChill
So, anyone wanna try and guess what happened to Galinda that would have caused the reaction she had with Fiyero? If anyone gets it, I'll be very impressed, and you'll get virtual chocolate cake.