Chapter 2

In the five months they've lived together, Fiyero kept his promise on being on his best behavior. Elphaba was busy during the summer attending school workshops. When September came, she had a classroom of fifteen little five year olds, plus one teacher's aide. Her students found her interesting not because of her skin color but because she shared a castle with a prince.

On a Friday afternoon after school, Fiyero had come home to find Elphaba in the kitchen stirring contents in a pot.

He stood behind her. "Smells good. You're helping with dinner tonight?"

Elphaba turned. "Say ah."

The prince opened his mouth as she spoon fed him.

"Yum! Loaded baked potato chowder. My favorite especially on a cold night. It's very good."

"I also baked biscuits. It's in the oven. It's just about done."

"You gave Marcella the night off?"

"I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine. So, we'll be eating together? We rarely eat together."

"When I cook, we eat together," Elphaba said as she took the biscuits out of the oven.

"I like that. Maybe you should cook everyday."

Elphaba smiled to herself, placing the biscuits on the counter.

"What's the occasion?" Fiyero opened his mouth to be fed again.

"No occasion. It's just a thank you for allowing me to stay here. It's the least I could do," she said, spoon feeding him.

"I like you living here. It gives me a homey feeling. Shall I set the table?"

"That would be nice. Soup bowls, spoons, bread plate, butter, knives and napkins. We could eat here in the kitchen."

"Okay."

-

"I have a favor to ask," Elphaba said, as she scooped another serving of chowder for Fiyero.

"Thanks," he said. "A favor, huh? That's why you made dinner tonight?"

"No. It's a thank you for all you e done for me."

"So, what's the favor?"

"About that excursion you mentioned before I moved in. I'll take you up on that. The school said it was okay for me to bring my students here to spend the day. We could use the library and have our lessons in there. Along with my teacher's aide."

Fiyero smiled. "Am I invited to join you? I'll take off from work. My dad has this meeting with representatives of the medical and pharmaceutical sectors in the Kingdom for the next couple of weeks. You could do it then."

"But shouldn't you be attending that?"

"It's not like I'll be king anytime soon. There will be lots of other meetings."

"If it's okay with your father. My kids will love that. They're always asking me about you everyday."

"I'll make sure there's extra security here. Also give me the names of the kids and their parents who'll be picking them up, and your assistant. I'll have Marcella prepare snacks and lunch for the little ones and biscuits, finger sandwiches and tea for their moms and dads for the afternoon. Food for all of us."

"It's not a party, Fiyero." Elphaba bit into her biscuit.

"I know, but it would be nice to entertain them."

"So, you miss the partying like Shiz days."

"Sort of. Don't you?" he asked.

Elphaba stared at him for several seconds, placing her half eaten biscuit on her plate.

"Oh yeah, right. You hated them." He reached for her biscuit. "You done with this?"

She nodded.

"Thanks," he said, stuffing it into his mouth. He scraped the remaining soup from his bowl.

"You want more?"

"No, I'm good. I'm stuffed. Thanks for making dinner tonight. If you keep it up. Marcella will be out of a job. And you bake, too. I'm impressed."

"Thank you." Without thinking, Elphaba reached over, with her napkin she wiped his mouth. "Bread crumb."

Fiyero's blue eyes twinkled at her gesture, grabbing her hand. "You'll be a great mommy one day."

It was the first time that Elphaba had showed some sort of caring gesture toward the prince. But then of course, he was just like a little boy who needed to be tended to.

She pulled away. They were getting close, and it frightened her. "Dessert. I made dessert. No bake cheesecake. Blueberry cheesecake," she said, heading to the refrigerator.

Fiyero smiled. She'd make a great wife one day, he told himself. Of course, being a princess, she wouldn't need to cook, clean or do any household chores.

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just thinking," he said. "Been thinking a lot lately."

"About what?" she asked, placing a slice of cake onto a plate.

He stabbed his cheesecake with his fork and fed a small portion to Elphaba. Fiyero then polished the rest of it. He gulped his glass of water. "That was good. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"You ever get lonely sometimes?"

"I can tell you've been thinking a lot. You're asking stupid questions."

"It's not stupid. Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Get lonely?"

"I have my books to keep me occupied. Why do you ask?"

"I mean...for companionship."

Elphaba stood to clear the table. "Hey! If you're feeling lonely, no one's stopping you from asking someone out."

"That's not what I meant. I..."

"If you have someone in mind, go right ahead. I won't be in the way. After all, I'm just here because you asked me to, and that you're afraid of staying here alone in this huge castle." She turned on the faucet to wash their dirty dishes.

""No, it's not that. I..."

"I'm just your house sitter here, correction...castle sitter. You don't have to keep me company. If you're longing for your old ways of dancing through life..."

"Do you ever let anyone else talk?"

"Go right ahead."

By then, Fiyero could feel his temperature rise. "Never mind. Sorry I brought it up. Thanks for dinner. You have a good night."

Elphaba turned the faucet full blast and scrubbed the dishes as hard as she could in anger. After several minutes, she silently questioned herself on why she had gotten upset regarding Fiyero's question. There was no way she had any romantic feelings toward him. Or did she?

Fiyero couldn't believe how Elphaba had suddenly blown up. Did she actually think he was going back to his old ways? Why had she suddenly changed her mood? All he had asked her was if she ever got lonely? Because he was. Somehow along the way, she seemed to have occupied his thoughts in more ways than one. He laid in bed and tightly closed his eyes. Even in darkness, all he saw was her.

TBC - Chapter 3

Author's Note: James Birdsong, since I can't thank you personally, I'd like to thank you so much for your great review! Much appreciated!