Madame Morrible circled Glinda, studying her so intently that she could feel her gaze burning into her.
"How are your classes going, Miss Glinda?"
Glinda stared at the gold piece hovering a few inches above her palm. "Good."
"Elaborate, please."
"My grades are good and I'm keeping up with my work."
"Even in Professor Nikidik's course?"
Her fingers flexed a little, and the coin moved higher.
"I saw that, Miss Glinda. Keep it still."
She bit her lip. "My history grade is fine," she said.
"Professor Nikidik tells me that you disrespect him and refuse to pay attention during his class."
Glinda had no response. She focused on keeping the coin steady. Morrible paused for a moment, watching her curiously.
"He also tells me that you've been having trouble with a few of your classmates. Do you have any idea why?"
"No," Glinda said through clenched teeth. The coin began to tremble in the air above her hand.
"Steady, Miss Glinda… Perhaps I can jog your memory. I have heard of a disturbance between you and Miss Pfannee the other day. Beside the fountain in the main square, I believe?"
Glinda couldn't help it. She curled her fingers into a fist, causing the gold piece to shoot up to the ceiling. Behind her, Morrible made a disapproving noise.
"I am disappointed, my dear. You can't even maintain a simple levitation spell anymore."
"You're purposefully trying to get a rise out of me!" Glinda protested.
"Exactly. If you can't control yourself in this environment, how will you fare the next time you find you get angry in real life?"
"I—"
"You won't," said Morrible. She circled around to face Glinda. "You need to start taking me seriously, Miss Glinda."
"I have been—"
"We are finished for the day." With that, Morrible turned on her heel and walked out, leaving Glinda to screw her eyes shut and take deep breaths in order to settle the energy running through her.
The headmistress wasn't entirely wrong. After nearly a month of these private sessions, Glinda still hadn't improved. But Oz knew it wasn't for lack of trying.
She picked up her bag and hurried out of the sorcery building. Night was beginning to fall across campus, and Glinda had to fold her arms tightly across her chest to keep herself warm. The sky had been dreary all day—all week, even—and she wondered if it was ever actually going to rain or if the clouds were just going to loom eerily over them.
She slowed down as she neared the main square of campus. Crope, Tibbett, and Boq were standing outside the café. They were looking away from her, heads bent together as they discussed something. Glinda's brow furrowed and she stopped walking. They hadn't noticed her yet, but if Crope looked up just a little more…
She ducked her head and turned sharply, disappearing around the other side of the building. Once out of sight, she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, wondering why her heart was suddenly pounding. After a minute or two she heard Tibbett's voice, however faint, greeting Fiyero.
Glinda slid to the ground, pulling her bag onto her lap and against her chest. If she waited long enough they would go inside and never know she was there. They'd wonder about her, probably, but it had been nearly two weeks since she last ate with them. In fact, the only time she saw her friends now was in class, or in chance encounters like this one across campus.
She was pushing them away on purpose. She knew she was. But it was only for a little while—at least, that's what she kept telling herself. Just until she could be sure she wouldn't hurt them. Just until the sessions with Morrible started to pay off and she could regain some sort of control.
But the sessions weren't paying off. Glinda pressed a hand to her forehead and breathed out slowly. Maybe Morrible was right, and she wasn't taking this seriously enough. But if that was the case, then what more did she have to do?
She had no answers. Staying away from her friends wasn't helping, either, but she didn't want to risk having them around. If she hurt them—even by accident—how could they ever forgive her? How could she ever forgive herself?
Try again next time, she told herself. Tomorrow, or her next class, or a week from now—she would keep trying. Even if she was already doing everything she knew how to. Even if Morrible made it the worst experience possible. Even if she was so exhausted she had nothing left to give. She would keep going.
What other choice did she have?
There were a lot of strange things about a Shiz without Elphaba, but one of the strangest was that Glinda spent much of her time buried in the library.
She wanted to say it felt peaceful, but that wasn't quite right. It just felt…more peaceful. It felt as if the green girl was still there, almost—not in a haunting way, like the way their room felt sometimes. No, it was calmer. As if a piece of Elphaba's soul was still wandering contentedly amongst the bookshelves.
Of course, Elphaba didn't believe in her own soul, and Glinda didn't want to imagine her roommate still here, lest the daydreams start turning into hallucinations. But there was something about the quietness of the old building that made her feel just a little less unsettled.
Unfortunately, it was this new habit that caused her to run in to Boq the afternoon after she hid from him and the others at the café. Run in to, of course, meaning eavesdrop.
She didn't mean to. As soon as she heard the Munchkin's voice, she began shoving her books away and jumping up from her table. But she didn't move quickly enough to make an escape down the hall, so she had to settle for slipping behind a bookshelf and hoping he didn't come close enough to see her.
He didn't. She heard him drop his bag onto a table.
"I don't know what to do, Crope."
Glinda bit back a groan and resisted the urge to bang the back of her head against the closest shelf.
"You can't keep beating yourself up, Boq. This isn't your fault."
"But I promised El—"
"Yeah, we all promised her. But sometimes…" Crope broke off in an uncharacteristic sigh. "Sometimes things change. Even promises."
"What would she say?" Boq asked.
"What?"
There was a small pause. "What would Elphie say? If she could see us now—if she could see what our group has become…I just can't help but feel as though, somehow, we've failed her."
Apparently Crope didn't have an answer. The boys were silent for a long moment before Boq spoke again.
"I just…can't stand seeing Glinda like this."
"I know," Crope said. "None of us can. But this isn't something we can fix. I can't imagine what she's feeling—what she's felt for months now—and neither can you."
"I'm not pretending to," said the Munchkin. "But I still wish there was something we could do…"
"Maybe the only thing we can do is support her, whether she wants us there or not."
"This is terrible," said Boq.
"Love is terrible." There was a smile in Crope's voice as he added, "You'll understand some day."
Boq snorted. "Funny. Speaking of which, where is Tibbett?"
"Probably got lost in the romance section again. Want to go find him?"
"Might as well. We'll never get this project done without him."
Their voices faded away. Glinda shoved away from the bookshelf she was leaning against. She rushed blindly out of the library and across the darkening campus.
What would Elphie say? If she could see us now?
It didn't matter. Glinda's thoughts raced viciously through her head. If Elphaba could see them now—if she was here—then there would be no problem. She had brought them together in the first place, and the only reason they fell apart was because she was gone.
The clouds that had been threatening Shiz all week finally broke free, and within seconds Glinda was completely drenched. She stumbled into Crage Hall, cold and shivering and furious. But she was tired of being furious, and she was tired of being tired.
"Elphaba," Glinda said as she closed the door to her room behind her. "Oh, Elphie. Is this what you felt like? Is this why you left?"
The rain beat against her window, blurring the glass and giving her no answer.
"We're getting close, aren't we?"
Peric tilted his wings, angling down. He landed lightly beside her. "I think so. This is definitely the right district."
All around them, houses rose from the clean, evenly paved streets. They were two, three, sometimes four stories tall, with arching windows and pillars on front porches made of stone or freshly painted wood. She gazed around the neighborhood, wondering what Glinda would say about the design of it all. Elphaba could practically hear her voice, dropping in pitch and speaking faster as she got more excited about rooms and blueprints and the sturdiness of quoxwood versus pine and—
"Fae?"
She blinked heavily and looked down at the Bird. "S-sorry."
Peric's eyes narrowed, but he hopped further down the alley. "Come on. I think we're only a block or two away."
They kept moving, and it took some effort for Elphaba to not stare wide-eyed at the buildings around them. Miles of the Emerald City were filled with filth and criminals and too many workers getting paid too little to afford an actual house, yet here there were people living in mansions, with more food and warmth than some parts of Oz would get in an entire year.
"I think this is it," Peric said eventually, settling on the ground next to her.
She followed his gaze across the road. The house they had arrived at was impressive—three stories tall and made almost entirely of brick. A short stone wall wrapped around the front, and every few dozen feet there was a guard leaning against it.
"Who lives here?" she asked. Peric just shrugged.
"No idea. Malky's letter just said it was someone important."
"Important enough to have…" She trailed off as her eyes narrowed at one of the guards. "Oz. Those are Gale Force members."
"Not all of them," Peric said. "But that is weird. Surely Malky would have warned us…"
"Maybe Malky didn't know."
"Fae, they scoped this place out before sending us. They had to have."
"But maybe the Gale Force wasn't here then. Maybe…I mean, we have a pattern. Maybe the Wizard is…"
The Bird's feathers ruffled and he clicked his beak quietly. "You think he's starting to catch on."
"I don't know."
Peric lowered his head and glared across the street. "We'll tell them when we get back. Right now, it doesn't matter. We need to figure out a way in."
"They'll have a gap," said Elphaba. "Somewhere in the guards there will be a hole we can slip through."
There was. For a few minutes the two stayed crouched and hidden, studying the men along the wall. Eventually Peric nudged her with a wing.
"Over there, the far left corner. He's not paying attention."
She stared at the man. He was shorter than most of the other guards, and probably younger. His head kept tilting back as he stared up at the sky.
"It's not enough," she said quietly as the guard looked down again. "He needs to be more distracted."
They watched him shift around and lean further against the wall. Peric's foot scraped gently against the ground.
"So let's distract him. I'll fly above, just enough to catch his eye. Then you can slip by while he's looking around."
"Without getting caught? They'll see you."
He gazed across the street. "Not if it's dark enough. Can you turn out those lamps?"
She looked up at the flickering lights that dotted the road. If they just went out, the guards would be sure to notice. Unless…
"Give me a second." She eased forward to get a better view and took a deep breath. How many times had she accidentally sent things flying around her? Surely this wouldn't be much different. Her eyes slid shut as she focused on the gentle breeze that was already there. If she could just conduct it, strengthen it, maybe…
Elphaba opened her eyes as she felt the wind pick up. She held it in check, reining in the energy that hummed around her. Peric shifted behind her, tucking his neck in and moving back a step. Above them the lamps flickered and, with a quiet exhale, went out.
She turned toward the Bird. "Good?"
"Perfect."
He pushed off from the ground and melted into the dark sky. Elphaba tugged her hat down low, shifted onto one knee, and focused on the guard, waiting…
A shadow passed overhead. He shifted backward, his entire body turning to follow the movement. Elphaba surged forward and ran, still half-kneeling, across the street. She planted one gloved hand against the wall and vaulted over, cloak flowing around her. There was no noise as she landed on the other side and slipped across the lawn. She stopped at a corner of the house, blending once more into the shadows. Just a few seconds later Peric landed a few feet behind her and hopped closer. At the wall, the guard adjusted his belt and leaned forward again.
She looked down at Peric and nodded. They crept around the house, looking for a back door or servants' entrance.
"Here," he said, coming to a halt. "But Fae—just a reminder. Whoever lives here is in there."
She bit her lip. "Get in, do what we need to, don't wake them up. Easy."
Peric tucked his neck in, shrinking beside her. "Let's go."
Elphaba placed her hand over the doorknob and whispered the spell to unlock it. Just like that, they were inside.
The door opened right next to the kitchen. Peric looked around.
"Imagine how much we could get for these," he said softly, studying the ornate dishes on display.
Elphaba shook her head. "Not good enough," she breathed. "Stolen things can be replaced and forgotten."
Their directions weren't terribly specific, but the point of the mission was clear: they were here to send a message. The Resistance was real, and they meant business.
Peric met her eyes and blinked slowly. Elphaba made her way over to the dishes and reached up gently. She pulled down a plate and studied the hand painted design.
"I wonder…"
She murmured something under her breath. Her fingers ghosted over the dish's surface as she cast the spell, and a trail of color—a dark, filthy green—stained the plate. She grinned and set it down.
Peric leaned in close, his head tilted to the side. She spun the plate between her hands, then moved to replace it on the display shelf. She grabbed another dish and pulled it down to repeat the process.
While she worked, Peric explored the rest of the kitchen. He pulled a milk jar from the ice box and poured it down the drain. He dug his talons into the cupboards and hardwood floor, leaving vicious claw marks. Eventually he left to wander the rest of the first floor.
Elphaba quickly got bored with the dishes and crept into the living room. The furniture had already been torn open in several different places, courtesy of Peric's beak or talons. Her senses stretched through the building, paying attention to Peric wherever he went and straining for any signs of life from the house's residents. Her body moved automatically, drifting over to the tapestry hanging on the wall. It was of a large, golden tree. Dozens of names were sewn into the fabric, from the highest branches to the deepest roots.
She held up her hand, feeling the skin tingle and heat up. Flames sparked to life, darker than usual, and she pressed her palm to the tapestry, dragging it across the tree. She kept tight control over the fire, never letting it completely catch, but it burned enough to blacken the fabric. When she shook out her hand and stepped back, the wall-hanging bore several scorch marks. At first glance, they looked like more claw marks.
Peric appeared beside her and studied her handiwork. She looked down and met his eyes. He nodded a little, and the two moved silently back to the door they had entered through.
Malky greeted them before they even reached the main cavern. He seemed to come out of the shadows—quite an impressive feat for someone with white fur—and he led them down a side tunnel that she had never even noticed before.
They reached a small, dark room. Malky jumped onto a table in the middle and nodded toward a single wooden chair.
"Sit."
Elphaba obeyed, and Peric landed lightly on the arm of the chair. The door swung shut behind them, and then the tall, dark man who had been there her first night walked around to stand across from them. Peric adjusted his talons, his feathers ruffling.
"Report," said the man.
In hushed voices, they explained their trip to the mansion and all the damage they had caused once inside. They told them about the Gale Force officers patrolling the house, and even the man stopped scowling for a moment to look surprised.
While they talked, Malky stretched and settled down on the table, sitting with his tail curled around himself. The man leaned against the wall and did a good job of looking impassive, if not a bit threatening.
There was silence when they finished. Malky looked back at the man, who nodded slightly and pushed away from the wall. He walked out of the room without a single word. He didn't even look at them.
The Cat's tail flicked. "You have done well. Your efforts, as well as the information you've given us about the Gale Force, will do a lot for us."
"What happens now?" Elphaba asked. One of Malky's ears flicked forward, and she felt Peric look down at her.
"You ask many questions, Fae." There was a definite edge to Malky's voice. "The two of you will have the rest of the week off. Enjoy it, and take pride in your accomplishments, but do not allow yourselves to grow arrogant." With that, he hopped off the table and padded out of the room.
Elphaba glanced up at Peric, but he wasn't looking at her.
"You ask many questions, Fae," he said sharply, gliding out of the room. She rolled her eyes and followed.
"Am I not supposed to ask what I'm supposed to do next?"
"Oh no, that would be fine," Peric said, slowing down for her to catch up. "But that's not what you're asking. You're asking what's going to happen next, which isn't really any of your business."
"Sorry for being curious," she muttered.
Peric huffed, but his eye was gleaming. He stretched out a wing to smack her, even as he clicked his beak in amusement. "You should be," he said. "I'm going to bed."
Peric leapt into the air and flew off, leaving her to run up two flights of stairs after him. When she found him back at their quarters he was perched up in his nest with his head tucked under his wing.
"I know you don't fall asleep that quickly," she said, kicking off her boots. When he didn't respond, she grabbed a pebble from the ground and threw it up at him.
He continued ignoring her until she threw the fifth rock, and then he soared down, flying into her chest and knocking her to the ground. She put up a fight, but his weight on top of her and the fact that she was shaking with laughter worked against her.
"You win!" she cried out eventually, gasping for air. Peric tugged at the end of her braid, pulling it apart. "Get off me! You win!"
"And don't you forget it," he said, hopping off. He leaned down and bumped his head against her cheek. "Good job tonight, Fae."
"You too, Peric."
He flew back to his nest, and she sighed happily, rolling over to her bed and stretching out across it.
Elphaba dreamed that night.
Except, the green girl never dreamed. Instead, she turned restlessly on the little straw bed, not quite asleep but certainly not awake. Instead of nightmares, she experienced only a few blurred images and an inescapable feeling of overwhelming dread. She jerked awake, flashes of scorch marks and blonde hair still fading from her vision. Her eyes darted automatically up to Peric in his nest, but the Bird hadn't so much as twitched in his sleep. Breathing out, she forced her curled up body to relax and tried to tell herself that none of it was real.
She tilted her head up to check the watch that lay beside her pillow. It would be just before dawn, the sky paling by the second as it waited for the sunrise. She rolled on to her back and frowned at the torch flickering on the wall.
She needed to sleep. Having almost an entire week off was rare, and she didn't want to waste it being tired and irritated. With another soft sigh she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, counting in and out until her thoughts quieted enough to let her body relax. But just as her eyelids grew heavy and her mind was starting to get lighter, drifting off, she heard it.
"Elphie!"
Elphaba sat up with a gasp. She twisted around, searching the room for the voice. "Glinda?"
"Fae?"
She jumped as Peric flew down and landed gently beside her. "S-sorry," she stammered, "I just…I thought I heard…"
Peric opened his beak, but then shut it again without speaking. Elphaba shook her head.
"It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
"You too, okay?"
"Yeah." But she didn't sleep again. She curled up on her makeshift bed and picked at a piece of straw that poked through the blanket, the sound of Glinda calling her name still echoing around in her head.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Elphaba glanced up from the apple core she was twirling in her fingers. Peric's head was tilted and he blinked slowly at her. Around them, the dining hall was only about half full, making eavesdropping that much easier.
"It was nothing," she sighed. "It just happened once."
"But you're still thinking about it."
She tossed the rest of her apple into the nearest trash bin. "I'm going back to the room."
Peric followed her to their quarters and settled onto her bed before she could.
"I know you didn't sleep last night."
"I said I don't want to talk about it." She nudged him out of the way and slid down into a sitting position, her knees up against her chest.
"It's curious," he said softly. "Because you show up here and don't even mention her. What happened?"
"It's not important."
"Is she—"
"Peric."
He tucked his head into his wing, nipping at a feather. Elphaba resisted the urge to throw her pillow at him.
"It's not important," she said again. Peric stilled beside her, but she wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself. "She's there, she's safe, and I'm here. There's nothing else to it."
"Do you love her?"
Elphaba suddenly became aware of the fact that Peric knew nothing of her and Glinda's relationship past last winter. She set her chin on her knees and tried not to look at him.
"Does it really matter now?"
Peric lowered his head, and she knew he had his answer.
"You should try to sleep," he said. She didn't move. "I'm going to go hunt outside the city. Will you…do you…?"
"Just go," she said. "I'll be fine."
He nipped at her braid affectionately, then turned and flew out of the room. Elphaba straightened the blanket and curled up with her back pressed against the wall.
That night was just as restless as the one before. Not an hour after she and Peric went to sleep, Elphaba woke with a cry, squirming and kicking until she was backed into her corner. Her name echoed through the room, and once again she was sure Glinda was nearby. Her voice had been too close, too clear not to be right here…
"Fae."
She turned to see Peric in the doorway. "I'm fine," she said quickly.
"What's happening?" he asked. "You were fine a day ago."
"I don't know." She shook her head and took a breath. "It's nothing. It will go away."
He moved across the room and settled down next to her. He leaned his head on her shoulder. "When was the last time you saw her?"
How many months had it been? Elphaba wasn't sure she had the strength to count. "When I left Shiz. Last spring."
"Maybe…" Peric picked his head up to meet her eyes. "Maybe you should go visit her."
Whatever she expected him to say, it wasn't that. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes dropped. "Don't be absurd."
"You're obviously thinking about her. Maybe it's just that you're worried. You could see her, make sure she's alright, tell her—"
"Tell her what?" she said shortly. "That I'm part of some secret organization working against the Wizard? That I'm risking my life every other night to vandalize and steal from random people in the city? You're being ridiculous."
"Fae—"
"Besides, how would I even get to her? What am I supposed to do—fly to Shiz and back in a couple of days? It's impossible."
"Don't you want to see her?"
Elphaba tried to swallow and found that her throat had closed up. "That's irrelevant. It's not going to happen. Just drop it, please."
Silence. Peric stared at her, his eyes dim and guarded, until she had to look away. She wondered what decision he was coming to.
"I think I'm going to hunt again tomorrow," he said slowly. "And I think I'm going to travel a bit farther this time."
She raised an eyebrow. "You're allowed to do that?"
"We're not prisoners here, Fae."
"…You're leaving the city?"
"Just for a day or two. I'll be back before we get our next job."
His gaze was still guarded, but she saw some reassurance in there. "Okay," she said. "Good luck, I guess."
He nudged her cheek and said nothing. She focused on the warmth coming from his body and let her eyes slide shut.
It was going to be a long week.