Sorry the chapter is a day late! I was out all day yesterday and didn't have time to post in the morning.
cjsparkles4803: I've missed the gummy bear army. They were so delicious last time.
Imaginingdragons: Your questions will be answered soon enough.
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Out of al the ways that could have gone, that was not one of them *smirk*
Indy's Green Hat: *confused look* I don't get what's so funny about that line…
Guest: I haven't finished yet, but I'm aiming for 20 – 25 chapters.
PocketSevens: Thank you! Your reviews always put a smile on my face.
Fiyero groaned as he slowly began to regain consciousness. The first thing he registered when he opened his eyes was that it was way too bright. He shut his eyes with another groan.
"Good morning to you, too."
He opened his eyes and blinked, the princess coming into focus. "What…"
"You were poisoned, and I saved your life."
The captain felt himself being lifted up against the headboard of his bed and opened his eyes yet again. The light was more bearable and he looked over at the emerald-skinned girl. She handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully accepted. "Thank you."
Elphaba hummed and regarded him as he took a few sips. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I… think so. I mean… I feel fine considering I almost…"
"Died," Elphaba finished for him. "Your wine was poisoned."
"Why?"
"You're asking me?"
"… No… I was just…"
"I know. I'm sorry. I… I was worried about you."
Fiyero quirked his eyebrow. "You were?"
"Of course. I do have a heart, you know."
"How long was I…"
"Two days. Your body needed to recuperate from being poisoned."
Fiyero was silent for a moment. "How did you…"
"I used my magic," Elphaba said. "I could feel the poison in your bloodstream and had to stop it before it reached your heart."
"Does using magic take up a lot of your energy?"
Elphaba sighed. "Not as much as it used to. When I was still learning to control it, it took a lot of energy, but now, I'm used to it. It still takes a lot of energy to save a life, though. I've healed worse, though."
"Worse?"
Elphaba nodded, but didn't clarify, so Fiyero dropped the subject. "Thank you." The princess looked confused until Fiyero clarified, "for saving my life."
Her lips twitched. "You're welcome. We can't have the captain of the guard dying on the job, can we?"
The captain chuckled softly. "No, I don't think we can."
"I'll let you get some more rest," Elphaba said when Fiyero yawned. "You still have some recovering to do."
"I was asleep for two days," the captain protested, sounding like a little boy. "I have a job to do."
"A job you won't be able to do from the grave. Now rest." Elphaba gave him a 'no nonsense' look and he relented. He was still a bit tired, anyway. A little more sleep wasn't going to kill him.
After being examined by the palace doctor, Fiyero was giving permission to return to his normal activities. He was glad to finally get out of bed and get back to work, even though he was still getting paid while on bed-rest. Galinda had come by to visit him and Fiyero wanted to take the opportunity to apologize, but judging by how happy she was so excited to see him and how she didn't hesitate in giving him a hug, he assumed she didn't have any memory of the incident, and he wasn't going to be the one to remind her.
When he went back to his office, he nearly walked straight back out when he saw the large pile of paperwork on his desk. Groaning, he walked over to his desk and sat down, already feeling a headache coming on.
Two hours and a splitting headache later, Fiyero decided that it was time to stop. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temple, begging the headache to go away. He got up and made his way out of his office to the parlor. It was completely empty and silent. It was calming, yet alarming to the captain. It was too quiet for him. He picked up the book that was on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch, humming to himself as he started to read.
"Do you mind? Some of us like the quiet."
The captain jumped up and let out a not-so-manly squeal when he heard the voice. Whipping around, he slowly calmed when he saw the princess sitting in an armchair in the corner. "Your Highness! You… startled me."
"It was my intention to startle you," the princess replied, and Fiyero couldn't tell whether she was joking or not. She looked up from the book in her lap and smirked at him.
"I didn't realize you were sitting there."
"Hence the reason why I took the opportunity to startle you."
Fiyero didn't know what to say to that, but thankfully, the princess wasn't finished.
"I was going to go for a walk in the gardens," she said as she put her book down and stood up.
Fiyero looked out the window and frowned slightly. "It's getting dark, Your Highness."
"It's just a walk through the gardens. I'll be fine."
Fiyero didn't look convinced. "I will accompany you."
"I want to go by myself."
"It's getting too dark. If you insist on going, I'll have to come with you to keep you safe."
"I am more than capable of keeping myself safe."
"Your Highness, it's my job to protect you."
Elphaba frowned, but reluctantly allowed the captain to come with her. She knew it was his job to protect her, just as the old captain did, but she was more than capable of going for a walk through the gardens by herself.
Even though it was getting dark, there was enough light to light the pathways through the gardens. Elphaba sped walked, hoping to lose the captain in the process, but Fiyero matched her pace.
"Why do you do this?"
Elphaba blinked. "Hmm?"
"Why do you like walking through the gardens?"
"Why does that concern you? Are you going to adjust your schedule to accommodate this?"
Fiyero recognized that he wasn't going to be able to engage the princess in conversation, and he didn't know why he still tried. She always answered him with cold, sassy responses, and he didn't know why.
"I'm sorry, Captain," Elphaba said with a soft sigh. "I… I know you're only trying to be nice to me, and I haven't been very nice to you." She took a deep breath. "I like walking out here because it helps me clear my head. My mother used to talk me on walks. She would take walks out here by herself before she…"
"I understand," Fiyero said softly. "My sister used to love taking walks in the park by our home. She loved being outdoors. She would always insist that I walk with her. The day she died, I had walked with her through the park. It was something we always did together."
Elphaba's lips twitched. "I believe I would have liked your sister."
Fiyero smiled. "I believe you would have. Although, she would have been best friends with Galinda."
"Oh Oz. Two Galindas?" Elphaba chuckled.
The captain chuckled with her. "I think one is enough."
"I agree."
The two laughed and continued through the gardens. As they neared the west wall, Fiyero heard a twig snap. He jumped around and aimed his rifle. "Get behind me, Your Highness."
"There's nothing there, Captain," Elphaba sighed, rolling her eyes.
Fiyero heard another twig snap and pushed the princess behind him. Elphaba huffed and tried to get around him to see what was making the noise, but Fiyero pushed her back. "Your Highness, please –" A shadow caught his attention and he turned back around, his rifle positioned against his shoulder. "Show yourself!"
A loud roar came from behind the bushes and before Fiyero had a chance to react, a large bear emerged. Gasping, he pushed the princess further back and aimed his rifle at the bear.
"Captain!" the princess exclaimed.
"Stay back, Princess!" Fiyero said, cocking the rifle.
"Fiyero, don't shoot that bear!"
"Hurry back into the palace!"
"No!"
"Your Highness, you must go back into the palace now! It's not safe!"
"I'm fine!" Elphaba shouted as she roughly pushed past Fiyero and hurried over to the bear.
"Your Highness!" Fiyero shouted, running after her and grabbing her arm.
Grunting, Elphaba shook the captain off and went over to the bear, her hand stretched out in a calming gesture. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Your Highness!" Fiyero exclaimed, trying to get to her once more. The bear growled even louder, its eyes gleaming.
Elphaba dismissively waved her hand, casting an immobilization spell on the captain. Fiyero gasped as he tried to fight against the magic holding him back, but it was no use. He couldn't move.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Elphaba said softly, her hand still stretched out.
The bear slowly began to calm down and stopped growling. The princess smiled softly as she lowered her hand. "How did you get in here?"
The bear opened its mouth and Elphaba blinked in confusion. It seemed like it was trying to… talk.
"W-w-w-w-w… w-r-r-r-r…" the bear growled softly.
The immobilization spell on the captain wore off and he grabbed his rifle, shooting at the bear. The bullet whizzed past Elphaba's ear and grazed the bear's side. The animal howled in pain and stood up on its hind legs.
"Your Highness, get back!" Fiyero shouted.
"Fiyero, put that rifle away! You're scaring her!" Elphaba yelled back. She had turned around to face the captain, so she didn't notice that the bear's front paw was raised and ready to strike her. She turned around right when the bear's paw came down and scratched her across the face.
"Elphaba!" Fiyero shouted as Elphaba fell to the ground with a scream. Not wasting a second, he fired to shots into the bear's stomach.
The animal howled in pain as it collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Fiyero hurried to the princess and pulled her away, gasping when he saw the blood on the left side of her face. "Oh Oz."
"Fiyero, what the hell…" Elphaba growled, then noticed the dead animal. "You didn't…"
"You're bleeding," Fiyero said as he gently cupped the princess' face in his hands.
"You killed her!" the green girl cried, slapping his hands away.
"I did what I had to do to protect you."
"You killed an innocent animal!"
"It wasn't innocent! It attacked you!"
"She! She was innocent! You were scaring her. If you had done what I told you to do…"
"If you had done what I told you to do, this wouldn't have happened! I told you to go back inside!"
"Don't you dare blame this on me! You still would have killed her! She was trying to tell me something! She could have needed help!"
"That animal was dangerous, and you need medical attention," Fiyero said, grabbing Elphaba's hand and pulling her away.
"She could have had cubs! You could have orphaned innocent bear cubs! You murderer!" Elphaba screamed, struggling against his hold.
"I am not a murderer! I did what was necessary to save you from getting killed!"
"Let me go!"
"No!"
"I hate you!"
"I don't care!" Fiyero shouted. "Hate me all you want! It's my job to protect you!"
"I don't need your useless protection!"
"I'm not the one with half of my face covered in blood!"
"You can't protect anyone! You couldn't even protect your own sister!"
Fiyero stopped in his tracks and whirled around to face the angry princess. That comment stung, and had opened an old wound that wasn't fully healed to begin with. He saw nothing but hate, anger, and pure resentment in her eyes, but knew that even though she was angry, she meant what she just said.
"You're right," he said calmly, yet his words were seeping with venom. "I couldn't protect my sister. I couldn't save her from getting killed, and I will beat myself over that night for the rest of my life. But I can, and will, protect you. So hate me all you want, but at the end of the day, I still saved your life," Fiyero said, ripping off a strip from the bottom of his shirt and trying to wipe some of the blood from Elphaba's face.
"I don't want you here anymore!" Elphaba hissed, slapping his hand away. "I refuse to be protected by a murderer!"
"I am not a murderer! I did my job protecting you! Hold still!"
"I want you out of this palace immediately!"
"And I want you to stop shouting and protesting and acting like a child! But we can't always get what we want, Princess." Fiyero could feel the green girl stiffen behind him, but his emotions mixed with the adrenaline running through his veins stopped him from fully realizing what that meant. Elphaba pulled him to a stop and forced him to look at her. He could see the tears of pure frustration in her eyes and for some reason, it made him feel satisfied.
"You're fired!" Elphaba hissed, trying to stop her voice from cracking.
"You can't fire me. You didn't even hire me."
"I want you out of here! Now! GET OUT!"
Fiyero paused for a clock-tick. "Fine," he said softly. "You want me to go. Fine, I'll go. But you can't fire me."
"I just did!" Elphaba snapped.
"No, because I quit!" Turning with a huff, he marched back into the palace, dragging Elphaba behind him.
Well… this put a dent in the good ol' Fiyeraba. A big… wide… very visible dent.