Hi, everyone! I'm SO sorry that this chapter is so late (as Nelly so kindly and patiently kept reminding me). I'm still trying to get the hang of college life.
Ozian-in-Australia: Yes! Elphaba can officially be the Vinkun Queen of Hiding True Feelings!
Guest: I have many story ideas, but I just don't know which one I want to do next.
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Yes, that was a reference to you! ^_^
cjsparkles4803: As much as I would LOVE to be the Chill-less Lordess of Cliffies, I don't want Maddy to come after me. *Nervous chuckle*
"Okay, so let me see if I understand," Galinda said slowly. "You want to take Elphie into the mountains to see if the rumor of the wizard that lives there is true and solve his riddle so he can cure her?"
"Well, when you say it like that…" Fiyero muttered.
"Fifi, you clearly didn't think this through."
"Yes, I did. All we have to do is go to the Maialian Mountains, which is, in fact, only half a day's journey from here," Fiyero said proudly.
"All we have to do?" Nessa asked, raising a critical eyebrow.
"Yes. The book even included a map of where the wizard lives," Fiyero said as he handed it over to the brunette.
"How convenient," she said as she examined the map, clearly still not believing him.
"What do you think, Elphie?" Galinda asked, looking at her best friend.
Elphaba shrugged. "I think that it's the craziest, weirdest idea I've ever heard."
"So… you don't think it would work?" Nessa asked.
"I don't want to get my hopes up over something this silly. I mean, how weird is it that there's apparently this super old wizard-guy that lives secluded in the mountains who will only grant you one wish if you answer his impossible riddle correctly?"
"But it could work, Fae," Fiyero insisted, taking his girlfriend's hand.
"And it could very well be just an old legend," Elphaba said as she pulled her hand away. "I'm going to lie down."
"Fabala…" Nessa started.
"I'm fine, Nessa," Elphaba said, not even bothering to turn around as she walked out of the parlor.
The friends exchanged a look and sighed. An hour later, the prince went to go check on his girlfriend. He walked up to her room and slowly opened the door, peaking his head inside. Elphaba was lying in the bed, her face facing him.
"You can come in, Yero," she said suddenly, startling the prince.
"How did you know it was me?"
Elphaba slowly turned around to face him with a small smile. "Because I know you."
The prince chuckled slightly and walked in, helping Elphaba into a sitting position before sitting down next to her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and the prince immediately responded by wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. "Did you have a nice nap?"
"Yeah," Elphaba said through a yawn.
"Seems like it wasn't long enough."
Elphaba glared up at him. The prince chuckled again and gently pulled her closer. The couple stayed like that until Elphaba decided to break the silence. "Do you really think it would work?"
"What?"
"Do you really think it would work?"
"What would work?"
"The… wizard."
Fiyero rubbed her arm. "I'm positive."
Elphaba was silent for a moment. "And when did you plan on going there?"
"Whenever you feel ready."
"Yero, your birthday is tomorrow and I leave two days after that."
"Then we'll go the day after my birthday. Fae, look at me."
Elphaba looked up at him.
"You could be cured. You won't die and you can come back to Shiz. Don't you want that?"
"Of course I do, but, Yero, something like this won't come free. The wizard will probably ask for something in return. And… some things… you just have to accept."
Fiyero looked at her. "Fae…"
Elphaba held up her hand to stop him. "I've been sick most of my life, Yero. I barely remember being healthy. I… I've accepted that my life isn't going to be very long. I know how much it hurts, but it's the truth."
"But you have the chance to fix this now."
Elphaba shook her head. "I don't want to waste the rest of my time on something I don't even know will work."
Fiyero looked like he was about to burst into tears. Elphaba gently cupped his face in her hands and pressed her lips against his. Fiyero quickly responded and deepened the kiss.
"Let's just make use of the time we've got," Elphaba whispered against his lips.
"I wish we had more time together," Fiyero mumbled, their noses mere centimeters apart, causing their breath to mingle.
"I know, Yero. I do, too."
Elphaba smiled and kissed him again. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Fiyero gently pulled away and stood up. "I'll let you get some more rest before dinner."
"Stay," Elphaba said as she pulled him back.
Fiyero looked at her for a moment before climbing in the bed with her. He pulled her into his arms and rubbed small circles the back of her hand. Elphaba snuggled closer to him and pressed her lips against his again. She began to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt and he suddenly stopped the kiss.
"Fae… what are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Elphaba asked, raising an eyebrow.
"But… are you ready for this? Do you really want to do this?"
"I don't want to waste any time, Yero."
"Fae, that's not a good enough reason," Fiyero said as he pushed away.
Elphaba looked at him. "Do… Do you not want to?"
Fiyero bit his lip. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You talk as though I have no concept of pain," Elphaba said, rolling her eyes.
"Fae…"
"Please, Yero," Elphaba said, looking into the prince's eyes. "I… I want this."
Hazel eyes met chocolate and the prince sighed, getting out of the bed. Elphaba's eyes followed him and she frowned when she saw him heading to the door.
"Where are you going?" she asked, trying to stop her voice from quivering.
Fiyero locked the door and walked back to the bed. "I'm pretty sure you don't want Galinda or your sister coming in here."
Elphaba smiled slightly. "Nessa would be horrified."
"She'd kill me," Fiyero said, climbing back into the bed and helping Elphaba under the covers before shimmying in after her. He looked into her eyes before kissing her again. They quickly flew into the passion of the moment, kissing and caressing each other. Elphaba succeeded in taking off Fiyero's shirt, which was carelessly tossed to the floor. Fiyero had managed to take off Elphaba's skirt without breaking their kiss.
"Will you be alright?" he asked when they finally pulled apart.
Elphaba nodded, pulling Fiyero back against her. Fiyero went to work unbuttoning her blouse and smoothly took it off.
"Fae…" he whispered, running his hand over a fading scar on her chest.
Elphaba looked up at him expectedly.
"You're beautiful," he said huskily, exhaling loudly.
A few minutes later, the couple laid in each other's arms. Elphaba was breathing heavily, making Fiyero think that he hurt her.
"I'm fine," she said, still breathing heavily.
Fiyero turned and reached over to the nightstand, grabbing her inhaler and handing it to her. Elphaba wordlessly took the medicine and her breathing slowly began to even out. She handed the small device back to the prince and moved closer to the prince for warmth.
"Thanks," she whispered.
It took Fiyero a bit too long to realize that Elphaba wasn't talking about the inhaler. Mentally slapping himself, he started to draw shapes on the green girl's stomach, causing her to giggle softly.
Someone tried to open the door, causing both of them to jump. "Elphie!" It was Galinda. "It's Galinda! Dinner's almost ready! And have you seen Fifi? Is he still in there with you?"
"I'm fine, Glin," Elphaba called back as she and the prince quickly started to dress themselves.
"Is Fiyero in there with you?"
"I'm coming out in a bit," Elphaba said as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"That doesn't answer my question!"
The green girl looked back at the prince to make sure that he was dressed before opening the door. The blonde was standing on the other side with her hands on her hips. "Hey, Glin."
"Are you alright?" the blonde asked skeptically, glancing over Elphaba's shoulder at Fiyero, who was sitting in an armchair, pretending to read a book.
"I'm fine."
Galinda didn't look convinced, but she simply shrugged. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"Thanks."
The blonde nodded. "And Elphie?"
"Hmm?"
"You may want to… fix yourself up a bit better… you know, so Nessa doesn't find out."
Elphaba looked down and realized that her blouse was inside out and her skirt was on backwards. All the blood rushed her to face and she looked up at her giggling friend. The blonde skipped away and Elphaba turned back to her boyfriend, who was still pretending to read. He looked up and her and gave her one of those lopsided grins that made her want to slap and kiss him at the same time. She simply sighed and rolled her eyes before closing the door and fixing her clothes.
The prince's birthday the next day was a relatively small event. Fiyero woke the whole castle up at the crack of dawn, exclaiming that the sooner everyone got up, the sooner his birthday could start.
"You're such a child, Yero," Elphaba groaned as Fiyero's guided her out of her room. She was still half-asleep and all of her body weight was practically leaning against Fiyero, but it's not like he minded.
"I'm the birthday boy. I'm allowed to be over-excited today," the prince grinned.
As soon as breakfast was over, Fiyero dragged everyone into the parlor to open presents.
"This was from your grandmother," Navon said as he handed Fiyero a wrapped package.
Fiyero took the present as if it was a sacred object and slowly unwrapped it, revealing a plethora of tissue paper. He gently removed the paper and pulled out a pure gold pin with the family crest on it.
"It's… beautiful," Fiyero said as he gingerly took it out of the box.
"She would have wanted you have it. It was her grandmother's," Navon continued.
"Thank you," the prince said as he got up and hugged his grandfather.
The widower king smiled as he hugged his grandson.
The rest of the day passed very quickly. Defek, Cherry, and Khynel came over that afternoon. Within the first half-hour, Galinda and Khynel had struck up a conversation (which consisted of Galinda batting her eyelashes and giggling at everything Khynel said). Nessa was talking to Defek and Cherry, while Elphaba and Fiyero sat on one of the many benches in the garden.
"Yero," Elphaba whispered as she swung her feet.
"Yeah?"
"I have something to tell you."
Fiyero blinked and looked over at his girlfriend. "Yes?"
"I… I had a dream last night."
"What was it about?"
"It was of… us. We were… together. And we… we had a child."
Fiyero looked at his girlfriend. "Fae…"
"And we were together in the gardens together. We were all running together. We were running and laughing and… happy. But… it didn't feel like a dream. It felt like a… vision."
Fiyero's heart leapt into his throat. Did… did this mean…
Elphaba turned and looked at her boyfriend and smiled slightly. "I… I think it's going to happen."
"Fae, does that mean…"
"We… can go to see the wizard tomorrow."
The prince looked positively gleeful. He smiled at his girlfriend and kissed her cheek.
"Who knows, it might actually work."
Fiyero knew that Elphaba still didn't fully believe that it would work, which he completely understood. It did sound like something that was too good to be true, which it was, but that didn't mean that it wasn't true.
"You'll be fine, Fae," the prince said, putting his arm around his girlfriend as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
If Galinda had known that the mountain was going to be this hilly, she would have worn a different pair of shoes... that weren't three inch heels. The carriage had dropped them off as far up as it could go, so the trio was stuck with walking the rest of the mile and a half up the hill. Nessa had stayed at the castle with the king and queen, saying that going up the mountains wouldn't be an ideal situation for her or her chair. Raal and Amalie were a bit nervous about sending the three young adults into the mountains alone, but Fiyero convinced then that they would be fine and would be back by dinner.
"Are we there yet?" the blonde asked, brushing her hair away from her face.
"We've been walking for ten minutes," Fiyero pointed out.
"It feels like ten hours."
Fiyero rolled his eyes and looked over at Elphaba, who looked like she was starting to get tired. "Why don't we rest for a moment?"
It was more of a statement than a question, so the three friends sat on a nearby rock. Fiyero encouraged Elphaba to take a few deep breaths (or as deep of a breath as she could) before they continued on.
"Let's take another break," Galinda said after another ten minutes of walking.
"We'll… never get there if we do," Elphaba said a bit breathlessly.
"I think you need another break, Fae. We're getting higher in altitude. It's going to be harder for all of us to breathe if we don't rest periodically," Fiyero said.
Finally, the three of them managed to reach a cave with a door, and they were sure the wizard lived there.
"Hello?" Fiyero called as he knocked.
A few clock-ticks later, a middle-aged woman answered the door. Her black hair was tied back in a bun and her dark brown eyes stared at the three travelers. "Who are you?"
"I am Prince Fiyero Tigulaar. We have come to seek the wizard's help," Fiyero said, not knowing why he was afraid of this woman.
The woman narrowed her eyes. "My father is very tired. He will not be seeing anyone today." She moved to close the door, but Fiyero stopped her.
"Please," he practically begged. "We've come a long way and –"
"I don't care!" the woman exclaimed, frowning. "You people all think you can come up here, give some story about how you've traveled across Oz seeking my father's help. I'm tired of people using him for being so generous!"
"Please. We need help for our friend," Galinda said, stepping forward and slipping her hand into Elphaba's.
The woman looked at Elphaba for a moment before sighing. "My father is tired. He doesn't have any time for…"
Elphaba broke into a coughing fit and Fiyero was at her side in a heartbeat. When Elphaba pulled her hand away, Fiyero was shocked to find her hand covered in blood. The green girl's knees buckled, but Fiyero was able to catch her and gently lower her to the ground, placing her head in his lap as he stroked her hair away from her face.
"Please," he whispered, looking up at the woman.
Footsteps were heard from inside and a moment later, an elderly man with a long, white beard, long hair, and dark blue eyes hidden behind thin-rimmed glasses came out of the shadows.
"What's this?" the old man asked.
Fiyero took one look at the man and realized that he was the wizard. "Please, she needs help."
Elphaba moaned and the wizard invited them into his cave. He told Fiyero to lay the green girl on the couch while he went to get something. His daughter looked at the strangers in her home, obviously not pleased.
"What can I do for you?" the wizard asked, coming back into the room with a large spell book and placed it on the table.
"My girlfriend… she's sick," Fiyero said, never letting go of Elphaba's hand. "She has a lung illness and she's going to die soon if nothing can be done. Can you heal her?"
The wizard opened the middle of the book and nodded. "I can."
Fiyero let out a relieved breath and flashed Galinda a wide smile.
"But first, I must ask you a question."
Fiyero knew what was coming; the impossible riddle. He just hoped he would be able to answer it.
"I am free, yet priceless. You can't own me, but you can use me. You can't keep me, but you can spend me. Once you lose me, you can never have me back. What am I?"
Fiyero repeated the riddle over and over in his head, wondering what the answer was. He looked at Galinda, but she looked just as stumped as he was. He looked down at Elphaba, but she was asleep (at least, he hoped she was asleep). He didn't know the answer and was about to give up, but then something the green girl had said to him earlier flashed into his mind.
Let's just make use of the time we've got.
That was it! That was the answer to the riddle. "Time," Fiyero said confidently, looking up at the wizard. "The answer is time."
The old man looked impressed, and nodded with a smile. Galinda squealed and wrapped her arms around the prince, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.
"Stand back," the old man said, approaching the green girl.
Fiyero and Galinda stepped away and the wizard stood over the green girl. He muttered a few words under his breath, waving his hand over Elphaba. The green girl was soon wrapped in a bright, white light, and Fiyero and Galinda shielded their eyes, but the wizard kept chanting. When the light finally died down, Fiyero and Galinda looked over at Elphaba. She still looked the same, except the blood was gone from the corners of her mouth, but her chest wasn't rising or falling.
#NiaHasNoChill Now would be a great time to tell you all that Maddy has declared me the Princess of Cliffies. Next chapter is the last one!
