Wanli8970: Um… I don't want to be left alone with Wendy. Please don't leave me with her! She… scares me.
PocketSevens: I love your reviews! They're so funny and refreshing! Please continue them (And feel free to add your own thoughts)
Galinda ran as fast as she could through the palace halls. She skidded to a halt in front of Fiyero's room and pounded on his door. Fiyero opened it a clock-tick later and Galinda accidently pounded on his chest.
"Ouch!" Fiyero said, jumping back and rubbing his chest. "Lady Galinda, what is going on?"
"Sorry, Captain," Galinda said sheepishly, but hurriedly. "But you have to come with me right now. It's… it's the princess."
Fiyero's eyes widened. "What happened?"
"I'll explain on the way. Come on!" she said as she grabbed the captain's hand and pulled him behind her as she ran.
Fiyero was surprised that the petite blonde was so strong, but pushed that thought aside. "What happened to the princess?"
"I saw her through my window. She went for an early morning horseback ride, but when she got to the pond, something spooked the horse and he threw her off. She landed in the pond."
Fiyero blinked. "Is she alright?"
"Captain… the pond is deeper than you think… and Elphaba can't swim."
Fiyero was now on full alert and ran past the blonde, accidently knocking her against the wall. He shouted an apology over his shoulder as he rounded a corner, hurried down the stairs and out the back door to the gardens. He sprinted over to the pond, seeing the horse that Elphaba had apparently been riding. He slowed down just a tad to briefly catch his breath. Taking in a long gulp of air, he jumped in.
The first thing Fiyero registered was how cold the water was. He shivered, looking for the princess. He looked down and saw her lying on the pond floor, her raven hair flowing around her. He quickly swam down and quickly wrapped on arm around her waist, and used the other to push both of them back up to the surface. When they reached the top, Fiyero immediately pulled Elphaba's head above the surface and quickly swam back to the shore. Galinda was waiting with a bunch of towels and warm blankets. She put them down and helped Fiyero pull Elphaba up.
"She's not breathing!" Galinda exclaimed frantically.
"Lay her down on her back," Fiyero instructed as he pulled himself out of the water.
Galinda did as she was told, her hand gripping the princess'. "Stay with us, Elphie," she whispered.
Fiyero hurried over to the princess and felt for a pulse. Feeling none, he began administering mouth-to-mouth. After five breaths, and still no response, he began CPR. Galinda stood off to the side, not wanting to be in the way, but also not wanting to leave. She watched, her eyes filled with worry, as Fiyero desperately tried to get Elphaba to breathe again. "Come on, Elphie," she whispered.
After thirty chest compressions, Fiyero did mouth-to-mouth again. Still not getting a response, he began chest compressions again. "Come on, Elphaba. Work with me, here," he said desperately.
After a few clock-ticks (which felt like a lifetime to Fiyero and Galinda), Elphaba coughed and Fiyero immediately helped her onto her side. He gently rubbed Elphaba's back as she threw up the water that was in her lungs.
"Galinda, blankets," Fiyero said, relief evident in his voice.
The blonde hurried over with the towels and blankets. Kneeling beside her friend, she began to dry her off as Fiyero wrapped her in the blankets.
"Glin…" Elphaba whispered, her voice hoarse as she coughed up a bit more water.
"I'm here, Elphie. And so is Captain Tigulaar," Galinda said.
Elphaba tried to push herself up, but Fiyero pushed her back down. "Please stay down, Your Highness."
Elphaba didn't look happy, but was clearly too weak to do much protesting.
"Lady Galinda, please go back inside and get dry clothes for the princess. And some hot soup and hot tea with lemon," Fiyero said.
The blonde nodded and hurried back inside. Fiyero stayed with the princess, checking her pulse and breathing.
"You're wet," Elphaba said softly, feeling water from Fiyero drip against her exposed skin.
"I'm fine," Fiyero said, trying not to think about how cold he was. The autumn air and the cold water were quick to push that thought back into his mind. "Can you sit up?"
Elphaba nodded and Fiyero slowly helped her into a sitting position, allowing her to lean her head against his shoulder. He gently shook her when he saw that she was beginning to fall asleep. "Your Highness, you have to try to stay awake," he said.
"I'm so tired," Elphaba whispered, beginning to close her eyes again.
"I know, but you can't fall asleep out here. It's too much of a risk. Once we get you inside and warmed up, you can rest."
Elphaba moaned, clearly unhappy.
"Do you think you can walk back into the palace?"
Elphaba paused briefly before shaking her head. The prince smiled softly as he stood up and gently lifted the princess into his arms, carrying her bridal style back into the palace. Elphaba clung to him, shivering slightly as she felt the wind against her skin. When they reached her room, Galinda was ready with a dry dress for the princess. Fiyero gently sat Elphaba down on the edge of her bed and Galinda immediately went to work drying her off some more. She began to help Elphaba take off her dress, but Elphaba glared at her.
"What?" Galinda asked, clearly not in the mood for Elphaba's usual protests.
Elphaba's eyes narrowed before she glanced over at Fiyero. Galinda followed her gaze and gave the Captain a pleading, apologetic look. The Vinkun raised his arms in mock surrender and turned around, hearing the sheets began to rustle behind him.
"Stop it, Elphaba!" he heard Galinda admonish. "There's nothing you have that I don't, so stop it."
"Glin, Captain Tigulaar…"
"Is turned around and not looking."
The Vinkun bit back a snicker.
Elphaba huffed. "He doesn't have to stay in the room."
Fiyero started to walk out, but Galinda stopped him. "You can turn around now," she said a minute later. Fiyero turned and saw that the blonde had helped Elphaba change into a warm, blue, cotton dress with long sleeves. She had also apparently braided her hair and tied it up in a bun. How the blonde managed to do all that in a minute, the Vinkun would never know.
Together, the two helped Elphaba under the covers. "The soup and tea?" Fiyero asked, feeling Elphaba's forehead. Elphaba slapped his hand away and he glared at her.
"It should be ready by now. I'll go get it," the blonde said and hurried out of the room, leaving Elphaba and Fiyero alone.
"You… saved me," the princess said softly.
"I can't keep protecting you if you insist on pulling stunts like this," Fiyero said, but his voice was caring.
"Does this mean… you'll stay?"
"I didn't say that."
"Will you?"
Fiyero was silent.
"Please?" Elphaba gently grasped Fiyero hand and held it in her own.
The Vinkun looked down at their joint hands. Did he want to come back? Did the princess really deserve to have him protecting her? Would he be able to protect her?
"You protected me today," Elphaba said, as if she could read his mind.
"I didn't protect you. I saved you. There's a difference."
"What's the difference?"
"Protecting you would be stopping you from getting hurt… or stopping you from getting into a situation where you could get hurt. Saving is when you're already in that situation, but you get out before you really get hurt." Fiyero sighed. "Your Highness, I –"
"Fabala!"
Fiyero jumped away just as the Wizard hurried into the room, Galinda close behind him with a bowl of soup and a steaming cup of tea. He sat down next to his daughter on the bed and gently pulled her into his arms.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" the Wizard asked as he delicately stroked his daughter's hair.
"I'm okay, Father," Elphaba said, leaning her head against her father's chest.
The Wizard muttered something that sounded like "Thank Oz" as he slowly closed his eyes in relief.
"Captain Tigulaar saved me."
The Wizard turned to look at the Vinkun, who bowed slightly. "Thank you, Captain," the Wizard said, hoping that was a sign that he was staying.
"You're welcome, Your Ozness," Fiyero said.
The Wizard smiled at him and went back to hugging his daughter. Galinda left the soup and tea on the nightstand, curtsied, and walked out, motioning for Fiyero to follow her. Fiyero excused himself and bowed, following behind the blonde.
"Thank you again," she said sincerely after she closed the princess' door behind her.
"You don't have to thank me, Lady Galinda."
"But I do. You didn't just save the princess of Oz; you saved my best friend."
Fiyero smiled softly. "In that case, you're welcome."
The blonde blushed. "Does this mean that you're staying?"
"The princess wants me to, and His Ozness sounded like he wanted me to… and you clearly want me to…"
The blonde blushed even harder.
"But I don't know."
"Please?"
"I'll think about it."
The blonde didn't look satisfied by that answer, and knew Fiyero was only trying to appease her and get her off his back. "Alright. But while you think about it, you should probably go put on some dry clothes."
A cold wind blew in from an open window, quickly reminding the Vinkun that he was still wet. Giving the blonde a sheepish smile, he thanked her and hurried down the hall.
Even if Fiyero wanted to leave, getting sick put a dent in that plan. He ended up spending four days in bed, sneezing, coughing, and eating soup before he started to feel better. He had it easier than Elphaba, who suffered mild hypothermia for a few days. It took her a full week to recover, and even then, she still needed to stay in bed and get her strength back.
He knew Elphaba hated staying in bed and having everything done for her, even though she was a princess. It didn't take a scientist to see that Elphaba was a very independent individual who liked to do things for herself. But he couldn't help snorting in amusement every time he saw Galinda come out of Elphaba's room, looking completely frazzled and exhausted.
Another week later, once Elphaba was in the safe zone, Fiyero went to go visit her. The green girl looked surprised to see him, but brightened when she saw him in his emerald guard uniform. "You're staying?"
The Vinkun smiled and nodded. "I have decided to stay."
Elphaba smiled at him. "Thank you."
"Well, jobs that pay this well are hard to come by. I mean, free room and board, free meals, free clothes, free room service, clean sheets…"
"With a side of a big head and an even bigger alter ego," Elphaba said, rolling her eyes. "Help me up?"
The captain helped the princess sit up against the headboard. "May I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why did you go riding that morning? You don't usually do that."
Elphaba bit her lip. "I… I have confession."
"I'm not a priest, but you can tell me anyway," Fiyero chuckled, then sobered when he saw how serious the princess looked.
She took a deep breath. "I… I went riding to the pond… on purpose."
Fiyero blinked. "Um… define 'on purpose'."
"I went riding to the pond and… conjured up a fake snake to spook Talmar. I… I wanted him to throw me off into the pond."
Fiyero made a sound in the back of his throat that Elphaba couldn't quite identify. "So… let me get this straight… you tried to drown yourself… on purpose?"
"Not exactly. I casted a spell on myself that would allow me to breathe underwater, but since the water was so cold, it began to freeze my body. As I lost body heat, I began to lose energy, which is why the spell began to wear off and I lost consciousness from trying to hold my breath for so long."
"But… Galinda mentioned that you can't swim."
"I can't."
"So… you decided that it would be a great idea to stage an accident and have me come running to save you?"
"It wasn't like that…" Elphaba tried.
"I think it was," Fiyero said, going from shocked to angry. "What if I had left the previous night? What if Galinda hadn't seen you?"
"I knew she would. Her bedroom has a view of the gardens and she always looks out her window in the morning."
"But what if, that morning, she didn't? For Oz sakes, you could have died!"
"But I knew you would come and save me. I couldn't let you leave."
"Why would you do something like this?"
"Because I needed to prove to you that you are a great captain."
Fiyero ran his hand through his hair. "Remember when I called you stupid and then took it back by apologizing?"
Elphaba looked wary. "Yes…"
"I want to take back my take-back. What were you thinking?!"
Elphaba recoiled. "I was thinking about how much I would miss you if you left. I had to figure out a way to make you stay."
"And what if I had failed? What if I had been too late? Then what?"
"I knew you wouldn't be too late. I knew you would come and save the day."
"I am not a perfect knight-in-shining-armor that always manages to save the day, no matter what. You only find those in stories. You. Could. Have. Died!"
"I had to prove to you that you could protect me. I wanted you to trust yourself again. I know you're still upset about what happened to your sister, and I'm sorry for bringing that up before, but this is different."
"This is not different," Fiyero hissed as he started to pace. "I couldn't save Lyanna."
"I'm not Lyanna. And her death was out of your control."
"If I couldn't save my own sister from dying, how did you think that I could save you?"
Elphaba noticed tears in the captain's eyes and pushed the covers away, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. As she pushed herself up, she realized that she still didn't have all of her strength back and swayed, almost crumbling to the floor, but Fiyero still managed to catch her.
"Stop doing this!" Fiyero said, pushing her more forcefully than he intended back onto the bed.
"Doing what?"
"Purposefully putting yourself in danger!"
Elphaba softened. "Fiyero, I understand how you feel. You feel that because of what happened to Lyanna, it's going to happen again."
"It almost did! Did you even think about that? What would happen if I was not only responsible for the death of my little sister, but the Princess of Oz as well?!"
"I… I didn't think about that. I know it was really stupid and inconsiderate of me, but I was desperate." She pushed herself up again and slowly shuffled over to the still-pacing captain. "You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened to your sister. It was an accident."
"An accident I could have prevented."
She gently placed her hands on his shoulders. "Stop that. You couldn't have prevented that. And that's not your fault. You have to believe me."
"How am I supposed to believe a word you say after what you did?"
"Because I did it for you."
Fiyero looked at her through tear-filled eyes and with a raised eyebrow. "You nearly killed yourself for me? And how is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"I… I don't know. I just… I really wanted you to stay. Please, you have to believe me. I'm sorry. I…" Elphaba stopped, feeling lightheaded. She felt Fiyero pick her up and help her back into bed. "Please don't go!" she called desperately when the captain turned to leave.
The captain turned and regarded the princess. Honestly, he was torn. Finally, he sighed. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I'll stay. On one condition."
Elphaba looked hopeful. "Yes?"
"You promise to never purposefully put yourself in danger like that again and you'll listen to me when I'm trying to keep you safe."
"That's two conditions."
Fiyero cocked his head in exasperation and Elphaba chuckled. "Okay. I promise."
The captain smiled. "Good. I'll let you get some more rest now," he said when the princess yawned.
"Thank you, Captain," Elphaba said as she drifted off to sleep.
"You're welcome, Your Highness." Fiyero walked out of the room and down the hall. He was glad he decided to stay. Even though he couldn't protect his sister, he could still continue to protect the princess.
Well, that hurdle is over. But I haven't forgotten about the poisoning. We'll get back to the fun stuff in the next chapter.