Glinda knew it was ridiculous, but she couldn't keep herself from trembling as she walked into the café.

Fiyero saw her first. He pulled out the chair next to him and patted it lightly. His eyes were kind as she sat down, but there was something else in his gaze. She glanced around and saw it in everyone else, but she couldn't quite place what it was. Fear, perhaps, or wariness. Something that held them back, that kept them tiptoeing around her.

Glinda stared down at her hands, folded in her lap. She felt guilty—she had all summer, but now it was worse than ever. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and, still staring down at her lap, she spoke up.

"I'm sorry." The boys all turned to stare at her, but she couldn't quite meet their eyes. "This whole summer I've been selfish. I've hurt you."

"Don't be ridiculous—"

"It's true." She looked up at Fiyero, then at the rest of them.

"You miss her," he said. "No one blames you for that."

Glinda swallowed. She wanted to argue, but instead she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Either way," she said, "I'm sorry. And…you were right. I think getting off campus for a day is a good idea."

Crope and Tibbett sat up straighter, grins spreading across their faces. Fiyero touched her shoulder gently and Boq raised an eyebrow. Glinda wondered if he had always had that expression, or if it was just leftover from his time spent around Elphaba. She looked down again.

"Just…can we not go to the Peach and Kidneys?" she asked, her voice small.

"Done," Crope said, nodding eagerly. "We can go shopping instead, and then there are plenty of other restaurants in town."

"It'll be busy this weekend, with everyone arriving for the new semester," said Tibbett. "Think we can get hold of a carriage before then?"

"Consider it done," Fiyero said. "You in, Boq?"

Glinda looked up and met Boq's eyes. His head was tilted to the side as he studied her, but then he smiled a little. "Of course I am."

Two days later, they were standing near Shiz's front gates, waiting for the carriage Fiyero had rented to arrive. Boq was sitting on the edge of the sidewalk and hugging his knees to his chest, with Crope and Tibbett lounging on either side of him. Glinda rocked back and forth on her heels and swung her purse from hand to hand. Fiyero stepped up next to her and watched her movements.

"You're nervous," he said. Glinda stilled and looked down at her feet.

"A little," she confessed. "But I suppose that's why this'll be good for me."

Fiyero nodded. "For all of us."

The carriage arrived then, and Fiyero gave her a hand up into the cab. Glinda stared out the window as they rattled away from campus, counting on the boys to make conversation.

They did. Fiyero leaned back in his seat and brushed his hair back. "One week until we're second years," he said. "It's crazy."

"Have you chosen a specialty yet?" Boq asked. Fiyero shrugged.

"Politics. Since that's what my life will be after Shiz, anyway."

"Noble prince," Crope said, batting his lashes. Fiyero grinned and kicked him lightly.

"Okay. And what about you?"

"Probably business," said Crope. "Or accounting. It'll get me a good job in the Emerald City, and my father will be happy."

"And you'll die of boredom within five years," Tibbett said.

"Not true," Crope protested. "I never said what kind of business I'd work for."

Glinda giggled, and all eyes turned toward her. "Oh, don't ask me," she said. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Same here," said Tibbett. "Why should we have to decide now, anyway? We're barely old enough to live on our own, let alone figure out what we'll spend the rest of our lives doing."

"What about you, Boq?"

Boq looked down at his hands. "I don't know. I want to pair up history and life science, but…"

"But that's entirely too much work," said Crope, pressing his hand to his chest. Boq rolled his eyes.

"But what, Boq?" Glinda asked.

"Well, it's just…my family needs all the help they can get on the farm. And with Munchkinlanders starting to get lower jobs…I'm just not sure if it makes sense to continue studying that…"

The group shifted, and Crope put a hand on Boq's shoulder. "You don't have to decide now. In fact," he said, looking out the window, "the only thing you have to do now is let us drag you around Shiz for a few hours."

The carriage pulled to a stop. "Great," Boq mumbled, but he was smiling as Crope grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the cab and onto the street.

Shiz was a different world during the summer. The stores were emptier, the people moved slower. There was a sort of tranquility without the college running through its semester. Glinda took a deep breath and followed the boys to the first cluster of market stalls.

Crope ran up to her and took one of her hands, swinging it back and forth. Within seconds Tibbett had grabbed the other, and the three of them led the way.

As it turned out, Crope and Tibbett were pretty good at shopping. They dragged Glinda through racks and rows and shelves. Tibbett held a silk scarf up to her hair, then shook his head and threw it around Crope's neck instead. Crope dug through a bin of shoes and came up with three pairs of heels for her to try on, and even a pair of dress shoes for Boq, though he couldn't afford them, and he refused to let anyone else buy them.

Eventually Glinda wandered over to a makeup booth, intent on replacing some of the bottles she had broken earlier in the summer. Crope followed, dragging an amused Fiyero behind him, and all but begged both of them to try a gold eyeliner he found. Grinning, Glinda paid for a jar of powder and a perfume that smelled like wildflowers. She left Fiyero to argue with Crope and turned around to look for the other two.

Boq and Tibbett were standing outside a book shop across the street. Tibbett was pulling books from one of the shelves that sat outside the door and reading the titles out loud. Boq was only half-listening. He gazed glumly down the street and scraped the toe of his boot against the ground.

Glinda made her way over. "Tibbett, I have a question for you," she said, smirking when he turned toward her. "Fiyero in gold eyeliner: yes or no?"

"Oh, hell yes."

"Crope's across the street trying to convince him. I'm sure he'd appreciate help."

Tibbett's eyes flickered toward Boq, so quick that Glinda might have imagined it, and then he was grinning and hurrying off. Glinda looked up at the letters painted over the door of the book store.

"You want to take a look inside?" she asked Boq. He shrugged and followed her through the door.

The interior of the shop was mostly old wooden shelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling. There was a tiny counter at the front, where a gray-haired woman sat and greeted them as they walked in. Glinda gave her a little wave and led the way down an aisle toward the back. The place was overflowing with books—packed into shelves, stacked against the walls, scattered across the floor. There was a smell of old leather bindings and parchment that was all too familiar, and she wondered if Elphaba had ever been in here.

When they reached the back wall, Glinda turned toward Boq, who met her gaze calmly.

"Are you okay, Boq?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a bookshelf. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I'm not the only one who misses her." Glinda sighed and slumped against the wall. "I…know that the way I've been dealing with all this is…well, not healthy. And I know all of you realized that, and tried to help, but I kept pushing you away."

"Understatement," Boq muttered. He looked surprised when Glinda heard him. "I-I didn't—"

"No, you're right," she said. "I can't keep acting like I'm the only person she hurt. Or like she's the only person who's causing pain."

Boq ran a hand through his hair. "You're in love with her. What the two of you have…that's beyond what any of us can even imagine."

Glinda blushed and looked down at her feet. "But that doesn't change the fact that the rest of you have been hurting, and I haven't been helping." When Boq said nothing, she pushed herself up and brushed off her dress. "Everything's going to change this year, isn't it? We all need to take care of each other. That's what she would want us to do."

Boq looked at her for a long moment, then gave a firm nod.

Elphaba had also wanted them to forget about her, to move on, but that part just wasn't an option. Glinda held out her hand and squeezed Boq's fingers gently when he took it. Together, they left the store and walked back across the street, where Fiyero had managed to get away with nothing fancier than a jar of his usual cologne. Crope and Tibbett spotted them and bounded over, rambling on about restaurants Glinda had never heard of for dinner.

They settled on a place a couple blocks down and started walking. Glinda watched as Crope and Tibbett grabbed Boq's hands and walked with him the way they had done with her earlier. She listened to their—mostly successful—attempts to make him laugh, and she let herself smile, enjoying the slow, summer night.

Glinda was exhausted when she walked back to her room that night. She froze just inside the doorway. Part of the reason she didn't leave the room all summer was this: coming back, only to find half of the room still empty—it felt like she was losing Elphie all over again.

She took a deep breath and walked across the room. She set her purse down on her desk along with her shopping bag and continued on to the window. The sun was setting and the night was just cool enough that maybe some fresh air would make it easier to breathe in the room. She unlatched the window and swung it open, leaning out for a moment to stare at the darkening sky.

Everything was going to change this year. She could feel it. Everything had been changing, from the moment she arrived at Shiz almost a year ago. Not all of it was bad, though. Change had brought her and Elphie together, hadn't it? But then again, it also tore them apart.

Glinda slumped against the windowsill. Not for the first time, she wished she had chased Elphaba down that night and refused to leave her side. But it was too late now, and there was no use wishing. She didn't know what the semester would bring. She didn't know if she could handle it. But she had to try. For the boys' sakes, and for Elphaba's, she had to try.

And maybe, just maybe, if there was anything good left in Oz, time would bring her and Elphie together again.

Summer always seemed to blur more than the other seasons, and life at the Colwen Grounds was no exception.

Elphaba rarely saw anyone but Nessa. She didn't really make an effort to avoid her father, but their paths almost never crossed. Whether he was purposefully staying out of sight or just busy, she didn't know. Either way was fine with her.

The Eminent also remained shut away, spending long hours in his office. Nessa would spend at least a few hours working with him every day, but he stayed in there long after she was gone. He had all of his meals brought to him and almost never emerged from the room, and unless Nessarose or one of the servants was coming or going, the door remained closed.

"He used to get up and walk around the castle," Nessa said one day as she came out of his office. "Now he just never leaves."

On the few occasions that she did see her grandfather, Elphaba noticed how much he was changing. His skin, though still dark and leathery as always, seemed just a little too loose on him. His voice was raspier, his eyes were heavier. When he moved he did so slowly, his jaw clenched and his face blank. Elphaba had a sneaking suspicion that he should be walking with a cane, but she also knew that would never happen.

The Eminent Thropp, of course, made no acknowledgement of his weakening body. How could he, really, when every day messages flew between the Colwen Grounds and the rest of Oz: stiff, patronizing letters from ambassadors in the Gillikin, scribbled, roughly translated reports from leaders in the Vinkus or Quadling Country. And then there were the countless papers that came in from all over Munchkinland. There were complaints about the increase of prices and taxes from the Emerald City, farmers' pleas for the return of their workers, and even news clippings about the violence near the border.

The Munchkins who delivered these letters arrived dirty, tired, and hungry. Nessa usually sat with them in the dining hall and, if Frexspar didn't get there first, Elphaba would join her. The messengers didn't speak much, but their very appearance seemed to radiate desperation.

Elphaba knew the feeling.

She took to spending her nights in the library. Sometimes she would have a book or paper with her, but often she would simply curl tight in a chair near the window and stare out at the dark sky. She didn't think about much; she just sat there, letting herself be.

The longer she spent at the Colwen Grounds, the more Nessa seemed to need her. The younger Thropp would come back from working with the Eminent, her mind full of new questions and worries. She would constantly ask for Elphaba's opinions or advice, though at this point the green girl knew less than she did. More and more often, her answer to the questions of what do you think or what would you do was a long pause and a quiet, resigned, "I don't know." Nessarose would get frustrated, but Elphaba couldn't really say anything else. Besides, she had a feeling that Nessa wasn't always telling her everything.

Every day, Elphaba felt herself growing more restless. With every new message that arrived, with every new report they heard, she felt a relentless, anxious aching to do something. But there was nothing for her to do here. She could sit with weary travelers in the dining hall in the hopes that they'd tell her something, or she could listen to Nessa's summary of whatever issue she and the Eminent were dealing with that day, or she could bury herself in endless piles of books about politics and Ozian relations. But none of that did her or anyone else any good. She was beginning to feel trapped, useless, and it reminded her too much of the previous spring.

One morning, when she had lost track of the number of days she'd been at the Colwen Grounds, she woke up early enough to slip out of the castle without being seen. The sun rose around her as she wandered the grounds. She let her feet carry her aimlessly through gardens and stone paths. She passed the stables and the small shack that had once been used to store weapons. She remembered last Lurlinemas, when the Eminent had asked her to walk with him through the grounds, and she had told him why she didn't want Nessa to take on the Eminency. It all seemed so pointless now. Did she make the right decision, all those months ago? Did it even matter?

Eventually she came upon a small grove of trees. She paused and looked around. The castle had faded into the distance. A few feet in front of her, almost completely hidden by the grass that had grown up around it, was an old metal trap. It was clamped shut and looked as though it hadn't been touched since…

"Peric," Elphaba whispered. She knelt down in the grass and ran her fingers over the metal. She had completely forgotten about the night she first met the Bird. What was he doing right now, in the shadows of the Emerald City? Was he okay?

Elphaba frowned and sat back on her heels. She couldn't stay here much longer. She knew, however reluctantly, where she had to go eventually. And really, what else could she do? Perhaps, after an entire summer spent avoiding, it was finally time she stopped putting off the inevitable.

Mind made up, Elphaba rose to her feet, brushed the grass from her knees, and quietly made her way back to the castle.

Nessarose found her not long after sunset. Elphaba was in the library, having just swiped a few books from the dusty shelves and stuffed them into her bag.

"You've got your travelling clothes on," she said, eyeing Elphaba's thick boots and cloak.

"I was just on my way to find you," Elphaba replied, pulling the strap of her bag over her head and into place at the crook of her shoulder.

"You're just going to leave? Without any warning?"

"Don't get so upset. There's nothing for me to do here."

"But I need you."

"You need to focus on the Eminency, on Grandfather," Elphaba said. "Keep learning from him. Do as much as you can to help him."

"And who's going to help me?" Nessa demanded. "You can't just leave, not when everything is—"

"Nessa, I can't stay. I'm no use here. I—"

"Where else are you going to go?" she snapped. When Elphaba shrugged, she let out a noise of frustration and turned her chair so she was facing away. "What, are you just going to wander Munchkinland until you starve to death? Have you even thought this through, or are you just running away again?"

Elphaba clenched her fists. "I'm not running away. I can't just sit here while Munchkinland and the rest of Oz is falling apart. I have to do something."

"What could you possibly do?" asked Nessa. "What could a scrawny, unfriendly green girl even hope to accomplish on her own?"

"A lot, actually," Elphaba said. She let out a breath. "Nessa, please. I don't want to fight with you on this. Please, just understand that I—"

"I don't want to hear it, Elphaba." Nessarose grabbed the wheels of her chair and pushed away. "You obviously don't care enough to stay, and nothing I say is going to change that. So go."

"This isn't about you. I—"

But Nessarose was already gone, letting the doors of the library slam shut behind her.

Elphaba left less than half an hour later. After grabbing some food from the kitchen and fastening her bag shut, she slipped through the castle, doing her best to move silently.

"You'll want to use a side door."

She jumped at the voice and spun around. Her eyes met a dark gaze. The Eminent Thropp was watching her from across the hall.

"I—"

"You are leaving, yes," he said. His voice was low in the quiet hall, and the rasp was all but gone. "If you use the main doors at the front, you'll draw attention to yourself."

"How did you…?" Elphaba fell silent as he stepped closer.

"There's an old servant's entrance on the southeastern wall. No one goes there anymore. Let me show you."

She didn't even think to hesitate as he moved silently away. He led her quickly through the castle, stopping once or twice when they heard footsteps nearby. When they reached the entrance—a small, wooden door placed just out of sight behind a cobweb-covered staircase—the Eminent stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. There was a window across the hall that let the moonlight in, and in its pale glow he looked sicker than ever. Yet his eyes gleamed as if he had never been more alive.

"I know I haven't been as…present, during your stay here. But I have been paying attention."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow but remained silent. The Eminent paused a moment, as if thoroughly debating over what he should say next.

"It seems to me that our…situations…may be similar."

"Sir?"

"You know who you should and shouldn't trust," he said. "And you know that there are some things the Eminent Thropp—current and future—simply cannot do."

Elphaba couldn't have looked away if she wanted to. Slowly, she set her jaw and nodded. The Eminent squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Be safe, Elphaba. And good luck."

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. It didn't matter. The Eminent Thropp backed out of the moonlight and retreated, disappearing back into the castle.

And as Elphaba turned and pushed open the servants' door, she couldn't help but wonder how he possibly knew everything he did—because there was no doubt that he knew everything.

The door led to a stone tunnel, which she followed a short distance before coming out near the back of the stables. Elphaba straightened, sealed the door behind her, and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

She was nearly off the grounds by the time the realization hit her: today was the day she was supposed to be returning to Shiz.

For a moment, Elphaba stood still. She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around herself, and let the thought pulse through her for just a heartbeat.

Glinda.

And then the moment was up, and Elphaba opened her eyes and kept walking.

The Emerald City was waiting.