10. The Brothel's Obscurity

Elphaba had to admit that she liked Fiyero's grandparents. They were kind yet honest; they didn't beat around the bush or cover up their thoughts in any way. Fiyero complained about that, but Elphaba thought it was refreshing and much like herself. She'd always thought that things would be much easier if everyone would just say what they were thinking.

She walked back from their farm on her own, having laughed at Fiyero when he'd tried to walk her back. "It's a five-minute walk," she'd pointed out to him, "and once you'd get there, you'd have to leave again right away. Just stay here. I can get back on my own."

He'd protested, but she hadn't budged and she'd waved sweetly at him before starting down the road. The sun was shining and she inhaled deeply. It was a nice spring day. She remembered often watching other children outside in the sunshine on days like this one, going on walks with their parents, and she remembered wishing she was one of them. She sighed, wistful, but she'd accepted her fate long ago. She wasn't born for the rose and pearl. No loving family for her, no luxury, no easy life, and no happy ending.

That was also how she knew that whatever this was she had with Fiyero would never last. She was interesting to him now; a challenge, something new. She did believe that her story had impacted him, but she also believed that that was one of the reasons for his interest in her. Soon, as she had predicted that afternoon, he'd grow tired of her and move on and she'd probably never see him again. That was fine. It always went like that. She was grateful to have had anyone care about her at all – Oz knew there had never been many people in her life who had.

Fiyero's grandparents had spent the afternoon asking her questions about herself, her life, her friends, and her hobbies, and she'd enquired after Fiyero's life in return. Kevon had been happy to share his grandson's most embarrassing moments with the green girl and Calinne had fondly recalled the drawings little Fiyero had sent her, the way he'd played with the animals whenever he'd come to visit the farm with his parents, and the rebellious teenager he had been. Elphaba liked hearing about Fiyero's life before she had met him, even though the prince himself had constantly (and quite dramatically) grunted, moaned, and buried his face in his arms as his grandparents talked.

The fact that he had introduced her to his grandparents seemed to suggest that he was serious about their relationship – or at the very least about their friendship – but Elphaba still had a hard time grasping that concept. She wasn't used to other people caring about her without some ulterior motive. Galinda and Lulu were practically the only exceptions to that rule. She just couldn't fathom why Fiyero would take an interest in her, of all people. With his background, he could have any girl he wanted – a rich duke's daughter, a beautiful society girl... why would he want her? It didn't make any sense and she hated things that didn't make sense because she couldn't predict them.

Galinda was giddy over the fact that Elphaba had met his grandparents, insisting it was 'a big step in their relationship' and thus confirming Elphaba's own suspicions; but the green girl still didn't believe that Fiyero had had that intention when he invited her.

"What relationship?" she asked with a snort. "It doesn't mean anything." It couldn't.

Galinda just smirked knowingly. "Keep telling yourself that, Elphie."

"It doesn't," Elphaba insisted and her blonde friend giggled.

"Oh, Elphie," she said, shaking her head. "He's a guy. You're a girl. He claims you've changed him; I know he's changed you. You guys kiss and you spend a lot of time together – far more than regular friends would. Now he introduced you to his family. How can you not see that what you two have is a relationship?"

The idea unnerved Elphaba and she brushed Galinda off, refusing to talk about the subject any longer. She needed to think about this first and sort out her thoughts for herself.

Fiyero, meanwhile, felt torn and uncertain about what to do. He was submitted to lots of questions from his grandparents and once they found out that his intentions towards Elphaba were, indeed, serious, they were delighted despite their worries. The prince continued to visit Elphaba as often as she would let him get away with and invited her over a few times, too, for tea or dinner with his grandparents, who seemed to like her more with each visit. Sometimes Galinda or Lulu would join the Elphaba and Fiyero on a walk through town and he got to know them better as well, wanting to learn more about the people important to Elphaba now that she had met some of the people who were important to him. He loved spending time with her in any way and tried to do so as much as he could, knowing he would have to return home at some point and not yet knowing what would happen to their relationship then.

He hadn't received a reply from his parents yet. Fiyero knew it always took a while for mail to travel from this part of the Vinkus to his parents at Adurin Iir, but he was still surprised. After everything he'd written to them – the explanations, the apologies, and the assurances that he really was changing now – he'd have expected a quick reply. When he voiced those thoughts to his grandparents, they told him to be patient.

"There'll be a reply," Calinne assured her grandson. "I have no doubt about that."

Kevon grinned at the prince. "Maybe it's just taking them a long time to process all your news and come up with something to say in reply."

"Ha, ha," said Fiyero, rolling his eyes. "Very funny, Grandpa."

On his way back to his grandparents' farm one day after spending the afternoon with Elphaba, he was actually contemplating sending another letter to Adurin Iir, if only to ask his parents if they had even received his first letter. As he neared the farm and saw the carriage in the driveway, however, he slowed, staring at it for a while. The royal carriage. His parents' carriage.

Taking a deep breath, he closed the rest of the distance between himself and the front door and slipped inside, already bracing himself for what he would find. He'd expected a letter – a surprised, perhaps slightly suspicious, but also hopeful letter. He hadn't expected his parents to actually show up.

When he opened the door to the living room, however, it was to find his grandmother sitting there, a cup of tea raised to her lips; and in the chair across from her was his mother, Queen Elora. She caught sight of him and she lowered her teacup and saucer to the coffee table, a smile gracing her lips as she rose to her feet and moved in for a hug.

"Hello, Fiyero," she said, embracing him. Stunned, he hugged her back and when she pulled away, he was unnerved to find tears standing in her eyes. She smiled a little sheepishly as she wiped them away. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said, laughing a little. She hugged him again. "It's just that your father and I have waited so long for this."

His shoulders slumped. "You didn't have to come all the way here," he complained. "I suppose Grandma already filled you in on all the details?"

Lori grinned at him. "Of course, but I still want to hear it all from you."

He looked around apprehensively. "Please tell me Dad isn't here."

"He's not," his mother said as she sat back down and took her teacup again. "I left him in charge. There were some military matters that needed attending to and he's always been better with such things than I am."

Fiyero sat down as well, rubbing his eyes. "I suppose now we talk, then?" he asked wearily. "I must say, I'm already sick and tired of talking. Even the mere talking in itself is almost enough for me to start re-considering this whole thinking thing."

Lori ignored most of that. "Yes," she said simply. "Now we talk. And once we're done talking," she continued, "I think it's time we start discussing the future of your relationship with Miss Elphaba, followed by a way to free her and a time for the two of you to return to Adurin Iir together."

The next night, Fiyero arrived at The Fish's Lair (he, too, had taken to calling it that, rather than its actual name) to find the door locked and everything closed off.

He frowned. In all the time he'd been in Reins, he hadn't seen the brothel closed even once. He knocked on the door, but no-one answered. There also came no reply when he called up to the windows, which were all closed as well.

Bewildered, he went to one of the pubs instead, only to find that the tightly shut brothel was the main topic of conversation. Everyone was wondering what had happened.

"The Fish's Lair has never been closed," a man said. "Not that I can remember, anyway, and I've lived here for three years."

"I can recall one time," another man declared. "About four or five years ago, I think. One of the girls had died then."

"I remember a long time ago," an older man chimed in, "when there was an outbreak of scarlet fever. Morrible kept all the girls confined to the house for a week or so."

None of these stories did anything to reassure Fiyero. "There's no disease outbreak here now, though, is there?" he asked. He was clutching a glass of beer, but hadn't so much as taken a sip from it. "So what is going on?"

"Maybe there's a different kind of infectious disease among the girls and Morrible doesn't want it to spread into town," someone speculated. "Or maybe something happened to one of those girls."

"It must have been something bad, then – like a death, as you said before," the older man said to the man next to him. "Otherwise she wouldn't close her doors. Oz knows she doesn't care if one of those girls is sick unless it's threatening for her business."

"I suppose we'll find out," the barkeeper cut the conversation short and shoved some more beer across the bar in the direction of the men. The conversation soon moved on after that, but Fiyero found himself unable to let it go.

On his way back from the bar, he wandered past the brothel again and tried to peer inside, but there wasn't so much as a crack anywhere that allowed him to see into the building. He knocked and called again, too, but there was still no reply. Eventually, he walked back to his grandparents' farm, worried and with a thousand questions running through his mind.

"It's never been closed before," he told his grandparents as he paced up and down the living room. "What if something happened?" He was worried sick about Elphaba and the stories about death and disease from the men in the pub didn't exactly help ease his worries. Was she ill? Or worse? Had something happened to her or to one of the other girls? How would he ever find out?

"Just be patient," Calinne advised him. "Morrible will open her doors again sooner or later. I'm sure Elphaba is fine, dear. The place could be closed for a lot of reasons."

Despite her and Kevon's reassurances, Fiyero hardly slept that night and he ventured back into town the next day in search of Elphaba. The brothel was still closed – although that wasn't so strange now, it being daytime on a week day – and he meandered over to the library, half hoping to find Elphaba there. She was nowhere to be found, though, and the librarian said he hadn't seen her all day so far, either. The prince then aimlessly walked around for a while until he got the idea to find the hidden park she'd taken him to a few times. It was the only other place he could think of where she might be – if she was out at all. Perhaps she was staying inside, in which case he probably wouldn't get to see her at all.

She wasn't in the park and he went back to the tavern he'd been the night before. It was mostly empty now and he asked the bartender for a beer, inquiring after the brothel again.

"I did hear something this morning, actually," the bartender said as he shoved Fiyero's beer over to him. "Some men who came in early for a few drinks – they could use them, too; they'd been busy all night searching for one of Morrible's girls who had gone missing."

"Missing?" Fiyero asked, his heart pounding in his chest. "What happened? Did they find her?"

The bartender nodded. "It's not entirely clear what happened yet – although maybe Madame Morrible herself and the other girls know – but they found her early in the morning in the river. She was dead."

Fiyero could have sworn his heart stopped for a moment, his beer completely forgotten. He leaned forward, hardly able to breathe, his throat constricted and his chest tight. "Which one?" he asked urgently. "Which girl was it? Was it Emerald?" Oz, he couldn't even allow himself to think of that possibility. Even if it wasn't Elphaba herself, though, he hoped to Oz it wasn't Lulu or Galinda. She wasn't extremely close to any other girls, but he knew that even if the girl who died was someone she hadn't had much to do with, it would still have a major impact on her.

He'd be there for her, if she needed him. Right now he just needed to know that it wasn't her body they'd retrieved from the river that morning. "Was it Emerald?!" he repeated, almost shouting.

The bartender frowned at him, unimpressed but slightly annoyed with the prince's outburst. "I don't know, mate," he said. "I have no idea which girl it was. You're going to have to ask Morrible, or one of the men who found the girl. They all went home to get some sleep now, but you might catch them again here this afternoon, or perhaps tonight."

Fiyero abruptly rose and left the tavern, leaving his beer on the bar untouched. He couldn't wait that long. He had to go back to the brothel to try and figure out what exactly happened.

Stop! Cliffy time! *Hammer dance*