Glinda stared out the window of the carriage. It had been freezing cold for weeks, and the sky was a pale, dreary gray, but not so much as a flurry had made its way to Shiz yet.

"Do you think it's ever going to snow?" she asked. Fiyero followed her gaze out to the sky.

"I hope so," he said. "If it's going to be this cold all the time, we might as well have some fun with it."

"Just not today, okay?" said Boq. "I did not let you all drag me out here just for it to snow on us."

Tibbett folded his hands together and closed his eyes. "Dear Lurline, please let it snow so Boq can be extra grumpy on our day out." Boq kicked him. "Hey!"

"Relax," said Crope. "You need a break from studying. Both of you do." He aimed this last part at Glinda, who shrugged and looked back out the window.

"I just don't understand why we had to go all the way off campus," Boq grumbled.

"I can't keep making those fires," said Glinda. She gave a small, apologetic smile. "Morrible's keeping an eye on me. And without them, it's way too cold to be out around campus." It wasn't a lie, Glinda reasoned silently. It just wasn't the whole truth.

The whole truth was that she was starting to get nervous around her friends again. In Morrible's classroom, the only magic she could pull off was angry and uncontrolled. She didn't want that to happen around her friends, but she couldn't just hide away from them again. She needed them.

So she compromised: no magic when she was with the boys.

"We could always hang out inside," Boq argued.

"Yes. Like in the library, where Boq will ignore us and go back to studying." Crope nudged the Munchkin. "It's one day. Just enjoy yourself."

"I heard the town put up decorations already," said Fiyero. "And all sorts of new merchants are here for the Lurlinemas season."

"Yeah, I'm still broke."

"Window shopping," Crope suggested. At that moment, the carriage slowed to a halt.

"We're here!" Glinda hopped down from the cab first and stood on the sidewalk, bouncing a little on her heels.

Shiz had decorated. Garlands hung from the rooftops, spotted with baubles of gold and red. Many corners had short little spruce trees that were decorated the same. Sprigs of holly hung over doorways, and candles sat flickering in windows that had been painted with white to look like frost. A few shops had even dared to set out little figurines of Lurline and Ozma.

"Pretty bold," Boq said, nodding at a little Lurline in a nearby windowsill. "If the Wizard knew…"

"I like it," said Glinda. The figure was wearing a little velvet dress and its face was hand painted with the utmost delicacy and care. "The Wizard can't control everything. And besides, it's pretty."

They wandered through the town. No one really felt like buying anything, but just looking around was entertaining enough. It was just a little too early in the season for the streets to be crowded, but they certainly weren't the only ones out shopping. A mother picked up milk and fresh bread and stopped with her two little girls to look at the dolls in the window of a toy shop. An older man was sifting through racks of winter clothes, asking the woman at the booth which hat would be a better Lurlinemas gift for his wife.

A short, plump woman with silvery hair sat at a table on the corner, passing out little cups of hot cider to anyone who passed by. She called out to Glinda and the others as they passed, beckoning them over.

"Oh, come, come, you kids must be freezing. Please, have some cider. No, no, no gold. It's my treat. A little holiday spirit to go around."

"Thank you," Fiyero said, passing cups around to the rest of them. The woman's eyes sparkled.

"Oh, it's my pleasure. You're from the Vinkus, aren't you, lad? This weather's pretty different than you're used to, isn't it? You kids must be from the university. Having a little fun before the end of this semester comes around?"

Glinda smiled. "We are. We figured this is our last chance, before it gets too cold." Fiyero handed her a cup, and she passed it back to Boq. The woman's gaze followed her, and her head tilted to the side as she saw him.

"A Munchkin, huh?" Her eyes were sad. "We don't see many of you around here anymore."

Boq stiffened and said nothing. Glinda put a hand on his arm.

"Boq here has got top marks at the boys' college," Crope said, wrapping an arm around him.

"Master Boq, is it?" The woman's smile returned. "Shiz should be honored to have you, then. Don't worry, dearies. I don't mean any harm here. It's a shame, really. Shiz used to be home to all sorts of interesting people and Animals. We've lost our color, so to speak."

Glinda wrapped her fingers around her cup, warming them. "It is a shame."

"Well, then, what are we to do about it?" The woman leaned back. "I just sit here, try to be kind to everyone who passes by, but that's about all I can do. You kids, though. You've still got energy. You've still got a future. What can you do about it?"

The boys all looked at each other, but Glinda only stared forward, watching the woman. She gave a little wink, then turned and waved her arm at someone coming up the block. "Oh, Miss Avery, how are you? You and your girls look lovely today. Please, please, come and get some cider. It's too cold to be wandering out here without something warm to drink."

Fiyero tugged gently on Glinda's sleeve, and the group wandered off, leaving the corner.

"She seemed…friendly," said Tibbett, tossing his empty cup in a nearby bin.

"Do you really think she meant it?" Fiyero asked. "I mean, that we can do something about it?"

Glinda scowled down at her shoes. Elphaba and the boys had all tried to do somethinglast year, and look where it got them. Absolutely no good had come of it.

Except, maybe, the fact that it had brought them all closer together. She looked up again.

"I think Elphaba would have liked her," she said quietly. The others nodded.

"I don't know," Boq said lightly. "I think she would have disagreed about the whole I'm old, I can't do anything anymore part."

Crope chuckled. "Fair enough. I can just picture Elphie with gray hair, whacking Morrible in the face with her cane."

Glinda laughed out loud at the mental picture, but she was cut off by the sound of someone crying out, coming from a nearby alley.

"What the…"

Maybe it was because she was thinking of Elphaba, but Glinda took off before the others could even react. She ran around the corner and into the alley, skidding to a halt when she saw two men in the corner. They were towering over someone, but Glinda couldn't quite make out who it was. She hurried forward anyway.

"Hey!"

The men spun around, and Glinda caught a glimpse of a Bird of some sort, huddled against the wall.

The men looked amused. "What do you want?"

"Get out of here. Leave them alone."

"Or what, blondie?"

Glinda glared. Without thinking, she thrust an arm out, sending the men crashing back into the wall. She raised her other hand and summoned flames, barely noticing that they were a vibrant shade of green. "Take a wild guess," she growled.

The men scrambled to their feet and ran off. Glinda stared down at her hand and shook the fire away, mentally cursing herself. She had sworn she wouldn't do this. The boys were just behind her. The last few weeks were getting better, but if she kept doing this, if she lost control around them…

"Mama?"

"Hush. Stay behind me."

She looked up at the Bird again. It was an Owl, brown and spotty, and shivering behind her must have been her daughter. Glinda blinked.

"A-Ayla?"

The Owl tensed. "…Glinda?"

"Oh, Oz, what are you doing here? Are you alright?" Glinda had moved forward, but Ayla wrapped a wing around her daughter and hopped back further into the corner. Glinda stopped and knelt down instead. "I won't hurt you, I promise. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Ayla stared at her for a long moment. Her eyes were harder than Glinda remembered. "We're fine," she said eventually. Her voice was flat. "What are you doing here? Where is Elphaba?"

Glinda opened her mouth, then shut it again. She looked at the ground.

After a moment or two, she heard Ayla shift. Her voice softened a little. "I see. I had…wondered…if that would happen."

"She's fighting," Glinda said. "She's trying to make Oz a better place."

Ayla clicked her beak. "It's too late. For some of us, at least."

"It doesn't have to be." She looked up. "Shiz might not be safe, but there are other places. You could leave, find somewhere you don't have to deal with people like that. You and your daughter can live peacefully—"

"For how long?" Ayla snapped. "Until the Wizard's men march into that place, and then the next? There are no safe places, and there never will be."

"You don't know that! That's why Elphaba is fighting! That's why—"

"If you really believe that, then why aren't you with her?"

Glinda winced. Behind her, she heard the boys' footsteps coming into the alley. Ayla lowered her head.

"Perhaps you're right," she sighed. "It's time for us to leave Shiz. But you don't understand, Glinda. You couldn't possible understand what it's like, being forced to leave your home."

"I'm sorry," Glinda whispered, but Ayla just turned away, ushering her daughter forward and out of sight. Glinda stayed on the ground, jumping a little when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Glinda?" Boq's voice was gentle. "Maybe…maybe we should head back, now."

She nodded a little, sniffing, and he helped her to her feet. "I'm sorry," she said again, her voice cracking.

"Don't worry about it," Crope said easily. He stared down the alley where Ayla had disappeared. "It's getting too cold to be out here anyway."

Elphaba sat on her makeshift bed, running Ama Clutch's scarf through her fingers.

It was the morning after the bank, and Peric was peering down at her from his nest. She knew he was waiting for an explanation of the night before, but he said nothing, and she refused to look up and meet his gaze. They stayed that way until almost noon, when Malky slipped in through a hole in one of the boarded up windows.

He made his way down to the ground and set Elphaba's bag—now empty—beside her.

"Most of the money will go toward our cause and our allies," Malky said, sitting down in front of her. "The rest will be used to fund charities for the poor and homeless in the city, to help them through the winter."

Peric glided down and settled beside them. "What do we do now?"

Malky's whiskers twitched. "They are…pleased with us," he said slowly. "So pleased, in fact, that they've decided to have us continue to work together."

"You're staying," Elphaba said.

"If you wish otherwise, I can speak to them, see what—"

"No." She looked over at Peric, who lowered his head a little. "No, we worked well together."

Malky's tail flicked and she swore she saw him smile. "Very well. As for what happens now, we have some time off. But first…" He looked over at Peric, and then the two of them turned toward Elphaba, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Fae," Peric said softly. "Just tell us. What happened last night?"

"I…don't really know." Quietly, she told them about what happened on the rooftop. She described the Wizard and everything he had told her. "I can't tell if he was just trying to get a rise out of me, or if he was serious."

Malky lowered himself until he was half-crouching, half-laying down. His pupils narrowed as he listened. Peric folded and unfolded his wings, hopping from foot to foot. He spoke first.

"I'm serious, Fae. Go visit her."

Elphaba looked away. "You act like it's so simple."

"It is. You're worried about her, you want to see her again, so just go."

"What if I'm just putting her in more danger?"

"You won't be." Malky looked calmly between the two of them. "You're talented enough to not be caught. It's obvious you care about this Glinda. You have time off, anyway. If you stay here, you'll only drive yourself crazy worrying about her."

"They'll be expecting me to go," she muttered, but Malky shook his head.

"I don't think so. You ran away from Shiz. I doubt they expect you to ever return—especially while Morrible is there."

Elphaba frowned at the ground, but Peric clicked his beak, grabbing her attention. The two stared at each other wordlessly. Malky looked between them, then quietly rose to his feet and wandered off, giving them space.

When he was out of earshot, Peric hopped forward and nipped at her braid. "Go. You know you want to."

Of course she wanted to, but… "How do I know she even cares anymore?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, how would you know? You've never even met her."

Peric shifted from foot to foot and tucked his head back.

She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" He twisted his neck around and picked at his wing. Elphaba scowled. "Peric."

He huffed a little and looked up at her. "Fine. Remember when I left for a week to hunt?"

"Yes."

"I…may or may not have gone to Shiz."

Elphaba clutched the scarf in her hands. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just…looked around."

"You saw her?" The words barely came out. She swallowed and tried again. "Peric?"

"I followed her around campus for part of a day. She…she was sad, Fae. It was clear she missed you."

Elphaba sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "Oz. She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

Peric laughed—actually laughed—in his strange, huffing way. "Of course," he said. "You volunteer to face a dozen armed guards alone, yet when it comes to a short blonde girl, you're terrified."

She tried to scowl, but it didn't quite work. Peric nudged her.

"Stop making excuses and just go, already."

Elphaba bit her lip and looked down at him. Slowly, she nodded.

"You're right. Okay. I…I need to start packing."

Once she made her decision, Elphaba was immediately anxious to leave. She hurried around the corn exchange, tucking food and her oils and whatever else she needed into her bag. It didn't take long to prepare, but that meant she had nothing to do but pace in front of her bed as she waited for nightfall. Malky and Peric sat together on the second floor and watched her with a mix of exasperation and amusement, which she tried valiantly to ignore.

When it was finally dark enough for her to slip away, she double checked her bag, wrapped Ama Clutch's scarf around her neck, and tugged her hat down low. As she was shouldering her broom, Peric flew down beside her.

"Take your time," he told her firmly.

"It's been months," Elphaba muttered. "No amount of days is going to make up for that."

"You can try. Besides, I'm sure there's something you can do to make up for it."

Something in his tone made her blush furiously. She glared down at him, but he simply clicked his beak and hopped out of kicking range.

"Good luck, Fae," Malky called. She nodded up at him, then made a face at Peric.

Then she kicked off from the ground and flew easily out the single open window. Within seconds she was high above the city, out of sight of anyone below.

Elphaba tilted her broom, angling north, simultaneously eager and terrified to find out what awaited her at Shiz.

Glinda felt as though she only had two states of being these days. Well, no, three. One was when she was with the boys, and she was almost herself. The other two were exhausted and angry. And today she was exhausted.

She mused about all of this during Nikidik's class. She had found that if she copied down the notes from the board, she didn't actually have to listen to him. She would just study the material later with Boq, anyway.

She couldn't remember the last time she slept through the night. It didn't help that it had been storming off and on all week. Winter had officially arrived at Shiz, though it refused to actually snow and instead sent pouring, freezing rain, complete with thunder and lightning.

It also didn't help that she was still thinking about Ayla. Was she alright? Did she really leave Shiz? Was it true what she said—that if Glinda really believed in Elphaba, she would have gone with her?

But Elphaba didn't ask. Glinda didn't have a choice. Did she?

She was too tired for this. Glinda pressed her palms into her eyes, willing the sting away. She wished the day was over already. Even her empty room seemed inviting right now.

The bell tolled across campus, chiming the hour and releasing them from class. Glinda slid her books into her bag and bit back a yawn. All she had to do was get through her sorcery class, then another hour with Morrible, and she would be free for the weekend. The boys hadn't made any plans yet, which worried her a little. She was exhausted, but if she didn't have something else to do, she was likely to not leave Elphaba's bed all weekend.

Not healthy.

Glinda walked into the sorcery classroom and set her bag down at her desk. Morrible strolled in a minute later.

"Good afternoon, class. Everyone can have a seat. Today will be more of a research day."

Glinda watched as Morrible walked around the front of the class, her eyes scanning the room.

"As I'm sure you all know, finals are approaching in a few weeks. You will of course have your practical exam in this class, like usual." Her eyes met Glinda's for a moment, her lips curling into a smug little grin. "But instead of the normal written test, I want each of you to independently research and write a paper on a topic of your choosing. I expect these projects to go beyond what we have learned in class thus far. You have today and the rest of the weekend to choose a topic. Well?" Her eyes darted around. "What are you waiting for? Begin."

There was a flurry of movement as students began pulling out books and journals. Glinda hesitated, wondering if she was really going to get through the period without casting magic. When Morrible didn't head her way, she allowed herself a smile and pulled out her textbook.

She thumbed through the book, scanning the page headings for any ideas. Perhaps she could write about fire magic. Her little pink flames had been one of the first spells she cast on her own. Maybe she could research different properties of the spell, and why it changed color from time to time.

But then she remembered the last weekend, and how she had conjured those green flames so naturally, with the boys just a few yards away. She shook her head and kept flipping through the pages.

The School of Restoration.

Glinda paused, letting the book fall open. When they had first learned healing spells last year, she was terrible. She had failed and failed, and Morrible had kept her after class until she lost control and burned herself.

And then she had stumbled back to Crage Hall, ashamed and furious and miserable, and Elphaba had silently tossed her a jar of her burn cream. It hadn't seemed like much at the time, but it was one of the first friendly interactions between them. Glinda set her chin in her hand and gazed down at the book. It was weird, thinking about how far they'd come. And a part of that journey, however small, was because of a healing spell.

Glinda had gotten better at it by the end of the semester, of course. She hadn't tried casting a healing spell since last year. She twisted in her chair and looked at the supply shelves on the back wall of the room, where the dummies used to practice restoration magic were stored. She was suddenly curious as to whether or not she could do it.

Morrible passed by her desk, and Glinda turned back around, resisting the urge to try. She would have to practice some other time, just to see.

The rest of the class passed quietly, and when the bell chimed across campus and she followed Morrible back into her office, Glinda felt slightly less anxious about the hour ahead of her.

"Sit, my dear. We're only going to be talking today."

Glinda's face stayed blank as she eased herself into the chair across from Morrible.

"Now, I would like to discuss your final. You will be taking the practical exam and writing the paper like the rest of your classmates, do you understand?"

She frowned. "I never expected anything different."

"Oh, but it will be different," said Morrible, leaning forward across the desk. "I will, of course, be holding higher expectations of you."

"Why? Because I've been doing so well this semester?"

Morrible's gaze was cold. "You would be doing well, if you took any of this seriously."

"I don't know why you're surprised," Glinda said. "I told you I wanted to study architecture."

"Yet you decided on sorcery."

"You decided on sorcery. I had no choice."

"You had every choice, Miss Glinda. I merely presented your options. Don't object. It's useless arguing about it now. What's done is done, and you are a sorcery student until the day you graduate from Shiz. Or, of course, until you take a certain offer of mine."

"No."

"We shall see." Morrible's eyes gleamed. "But I did not bring you here to discuss that. Not today. Instead, I would like to talk about your paper. Have you chosen a topic?"

"Yes." Glinda shifted in her chair and hugged her bag closer. "I'm going to research healing spells."

Madame Morrible scoffed. "Really, my dear, you'd be wasting your talents on such a simplistic field of study."

"Restoration is one of the main schools of magic," Glinda argued. "And healing spells aren't simple, they're vital. Besides, you've only taught us how to treat minor surface wounds. There's so much more to it—bone structure, organ systems, ailments you can't see, like disease or poison."

Morrible made a disapproving noise. "I believe it to be a waste of time. We have doctors for a reason. Your talents as a sorceress would be wasted if you studied healing."

"You said we could choose what we researched," Glinda said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I choose this."

"Fine. Whatever." Morrible waved her hand. "You are dismissed for the day. But don't expect any help from me on this project. I personally know only basic healing spells. The rest is unimportant to me."

This topic suddenly seemed perfect to Glinda. "Don't worry, Madame," she said evenly. "I have never wanted your help, and this time is no different."

She grabbed her bag and hurried out of the office before the headmistress could respond. The door slammed shut behind her, but Glinda just rolled her eyes and continued out of the sorcery building.

Already the sun was fading around campus. Glinda was still exhausted, but now she wasn't quite ready to go back to her room. Once she was there, she wasn't sure she'd find the strength to come back out until Monday. She paused at the end of the path she was on, then made her decision. She turned away from Crage Hall and wandered further away from the central part of campus.

Her feet left concrete as she wandered off the sidewalk and toward the trees that dotted this part of campus. She could never quite remember how to get to Dillamond's memorial, but somehow she always made it.

She had come here once, over the summer, when the empty room had felt just a little too heavy, and she had run, nearly screaming from Crage Hall. Now, months later, nothing seemed to have changed. The jar of blue and grey flames had yet to go out, and the lily petals remained beneath them, untouched, not even withered. The dark, polished stone was still in its place, nestled safely between the tree roots.

She had never known Dr. Dillamond the way Elphaba had, but somehow this place was still soothing to her. Glinda knelt before the tree and brushed some loose dirt off the stone. She wondered if Dillamond knew they had made this for him. She wondered if he knew how much Elphaba had fought for him, was still fighting for him. She wondered if he knew where Elphaba was now, and if he was somehow watching over her.

Glinda shook her head. Religious sentiment. Elphaba would have been offended. Sighing, she shifted around to sit next to the stone, her back against the tree. She could fall asleep here, if it weren't so cold. Oz, she could probably fall asleep anyway. She was so tired…

And it was dark. Darker than it had been a moment ago. Glinda blinked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

There was still some light in the sky, but not much. She should head back to Crage Hall. She would freeze if she stayed out here, and the dark campus was unnerving. Glinda crawled to her feet and rubbed her arms, shivering. She pulled her bag higher on her shoulder and started back to the main part of campus.

She was still trembling, even as she entered Crage Hall and trudged up the familiar path to her room. She clumsily put her key in the lock and stumbled inside, letting her bag fall from her shoulder the moment she was through the door. She kicked it to the side, but then paused.

Slowly, Glinda looked up, blinking in the darkness. Something was different, as if the room was as alert as she suddenly was. As if there was a sort of energy, one that hadn't been there for months. As if the very walls were waiting, holding their breath.

As if she wasn't alone.

Glinda shut the door behind her. She couldn't make out the shadow huddled at her window, but she didn't need to. She didn't need to see the long, raven-colored braid, or the slender green fingers, or the dark, rich depth of the eyes she could feel watching her. She knew who it was just by the feeling in her chest—as if her heart had vanished, leaving her in order to run into the arms of the figure that was now standing up straight, staring openly at her.

"You're okay." Elphaba's voice was lower. Raspier. It fit all too well with the tattered cloak and wide-brimmed hat that shrouded her face.

"You're here." She was here, right? Glinda took a half step forward. She reached out, uncertain, for Elphaba, but then her arm retreated, wrapping around her waist instead.

"I can't stay." Elphaba moved closer, too, until the girls were nearly touching. She clutched her broom with both hands and tried hopelessly to tear her eyes away from Glinda's. "I can't stay," she said again. "I have to—"

"Why did you come here?"

I needed to make sure you're okay, was what she wanted to say. But her throat closed up and her mouth was dry and the only words she managed to get out were, "I needed to…"

Something flickered in Glinda's eyes. She raised a trembling hand and, ever so slowly, eased the hat off Elphaba's head.

"You can't stay."

"I can't stay."

"But you're here."

Elphaba said nothing. She leaned to the side and set her broom on Glinda's bed, her eyes never leaving the blonde's face. When she straightened again, her chest nearly brushed against Glinda's.

"I'm here."

Glinda let the hat fall from her fingers. It felt, suddenly, as if Elphaba had never left. As if the entire semester had been a dream.

And it also felt as if she wasn't there. Maybe she never had been.

Glinda's mind spun. Her knees shook beneath her and she felt herself swaying dangerously. The room blurred out of focus until the only thing she could see was the green swimming in front of her. "Elphie," she breathed.

Then everything went dark.