No, guys, don't worry. I already killed Elphaba in my previous story. Most of you have some theories; you'll find out soon enough if you were right!

11. The Freedom's Price

Fiyero went to The Fish's Lair a final time, not knowing what else to do. When the door still didn't open upon his knocks, he counted the windows, found Elphaba's, and then started tossing pebbles against the glass, hoping to attract her attention.

He was just about to throw another pebble when the window opened and a blonde head peeked out. When she saw him, her blue eyes widened. "Fiyero?"

"Galinda," he said, relief coursing through him, only to instantly be replaced with worry again. Why would Galinda be in Elphaba's room? "Where is Elphaba? Is she all right?"

"She's –" Galinda glanced behind her and sighed. "She's fine," she told him. "She's just... busy right now."

"Busy with what?" he demanded. "I heard that one of Morrible's girls died – is that true? Who?"

Galinda hesitated. Someone said something from behind her and she said over her shoulder, "It's Fiyero."

Her head disappeared and Elphaba appeared at the window instead, looking tired and drawn, with dark circles under her eyes. Her face was pale and her curls were gathered together in a messy bun. "Fiyero?"

"Fae." He finally let out the breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding, relaxing a little. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she said, although it didn't sound convincing. "Listen, I'll... I'll talk to you later, okay? Galinda," she said sharply, turning away from the window. "Not so much. We do want her to wake up again in the morning, you know."

Galinda said something from inside that Fiyero couldn't understand and he frowned. "Fae... did one of the girls really die? Someone said that. Are you okay?"

She quickly glanced back at him over her shoulder. "It was Delani," she said, biting her lip.

Fiyero flinched. She'd told him all about the other girls by then and he knew Delani had been a sort of friend to Elphaba, or at least someone who had been nice to her. He could only imagine how hard this must have hit her and her friends.

"I'm fine," she continued, "but I can't talk to you right now – we have to take care of Lulu. Tomorrow morning," she promised him. "Ten o'clock, at the park. We'll talk then, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

But she had already disappeared back inside and closed the window.

When he saw her sitting in the park the following day, she looked even wearier than the day before, but she managed a small smile when she noticed him and she rose to her feet. "Fiyero," she sighed and much to his surprise, she wrapped her arms around him. She had almost never initiated any form of physical contact before and so he was baffled for a moment, but he understood that she needed comfort right now and so he quickly put his arms around her in return. She stayed like that for a while, her cheek pressed against his chest. Then she pulled away, biting her lip.

"Let's walk," she said. "I need some air to clear my head."

They crossed the park, but when they neared the small bridge over the river, Elphaba slowed. Fiyero glanced at her in concern, noticing how tight her jaw was, how tense her posture, and how large her eyes, and he asked, "Fae?"

She took a deep breath. "Delani killed herself."

He was shocked. "What?"

The green girl huddled in her thin cardigan, shivering, but he suspected it wasn't because she was cold this time. She took a few steps until she was standing on the bridge and looked down into the water. "The night before we were closed, Delani went out and never returned," she said quietly. "After she was gone for a night and a day, even Morrible got worried – or maybe suspicious was more like it. She closed the brothel and some of the men in the village helped us look for Delani. They found her early this morning. She drowned herself in the river."

There were suddenly tears in Elphaba's eyes and without thinking, Fiyero drew her into his arms, holding her to his chest as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry, Fae," he whispered.

She closed her eyes for a moment. "Thank you," she whispered back, burying her face in his shirt. She was shaking a little, but she didn't let her tears fall. "It just... it came as a shock. To all of us." She pulled away from him and laid her hands on the wooden railing separating them from the river. He kept his arm around her shoulders protectively, standing beside her.

"We all saw that she was unhappy," she continued, "but we didn't think it was this bad. Lulu... she's completely devastated. Glin and I have been trying to help her ever since it happened, but she's so upset Morrible even gave us potions to sedate her. She was completely freaking out. She's better now, I think, but still." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out again. "I mean… we can all understand why Delani did it, but I guess we're feeling like we failed to look after her. Especially Lulu. She thinks she might have prevented this, if only she'd known, but how could she have known? Or any of us, for that matter? There were hardly any warning signals. We're all sad and withdrawn every now and then – it's as much part of this life as the rest of it is, I think."

Fiyero looked down at the water and suppressed a shudder. "Have you ever considered...?" he asked hesitantly, a little afraid to ask.

Clearly, however, Elphaba was anything but afraid to answer. "Plenty of times," she admitted candidly, which scared him a little. "Me and every other girl in that house, I think." She looked up at him and, seeing the fear in his eyes, softened. "Never seriously, though," she hastened to reassure him. "I think... I think I felt like I always still had enough to live for. If only Galinda, or Lulu, or my dreams of the future..." She trailed off and stared across the river, past the farmlands in the distance, to the horizon. He waited for her to speak again, not daring to interrupt. He only gently covered her hand with his in a silent gesture of support.

She seemed lost in thought as she said, "I always knew that one day, I would find my way out of that place; and I would leave it and never come back. I think that is what kept me hanging on for nearly three years, and my whole life before that as well. The hope that things would get better. The possibility of a future that was brighter than the life I was living. That's the only thing keeping us all going." She shook her head. "I guess Delani just felt like that kind of future wasn't really possible for her anymore," she said sadly. "She resorted to substances a long time ago and she's worked for Morrible for years, but she still had a long way to go and she hadn't even managed to save that much money – mainly because she spent most of what she earned on potions. She had a very difficult time coping with what we do and accepting the life she led."

Fiyero nodded. He could understand that.

Elphaba was quiet for a while and eventually, Fiyero said hesitantly, "Fae?"

She turned large, questioning eyes on him and he took her cold hands in his own, squeezing them gently and rubbing some warmth into her fingers as he spoke. "Promise me that you won't ever..." He couldn't finish his sentence, but he didn't have to.

She shook her head. "I would never, Fiyero," she said gently. "Not while I still have something left to live for. I won't say I'm happy, really, but I'm not doing as badly as Delani was. Not by far."

"Promise me," he insisted and she conceded, if only because she knew it would make him feel better.

"I promise."

He nodded and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers in a kiss that was firmer, less soft and more eager, than any of the others had been. She didn't hesitate, though – she kissed him back right away and slid her arms around his waist as he tangled his own fingers in her hair. When they finally broke apart for air, he cupped her face and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"I'll save you," he promised her, his voice thick with pent-up emotion. "One way or another, whether you like it or not, I'm going to get you out of there – or at the very least help you do so – and I won't leave you until you're safe and sound and as far away from that fish and this kind of life as you can get. Okay?"

She had to smile a little at that despite herself. "Okay," she agreed softly and then she allowed him to kiss her again.

When Fiyero came to the brothel the next night, he smiled charmingly at Madame Morrible. "Hello, Madame. It's good to see that you are open again," he said pleasantly. He could see that it was busy in the common room: men were sitting around, talking, drinking, and playing cards, and he recognised Pfannee, Shenshen, and two of the younger girls – Nalenne and Falin, if he was correct… or was that Olia? – sitting with them in short dresses, giggling as the men groped them. He knew most of the girls by name now, having seen them in the common room or with Elphaba a couple of times.

He looked at Morrible again. "I hope nothing bad has happened that forced you to close," he said, carefully watching her face for any kind of reaction, but she kept her features annoyingly neutral.

"Not to worry, Your Highness," she said, smiling that smile at him that looked more like a smirk. "There was some trouble, but it has all been resolved now. I'm afraid Jade and Sapphire are indisposed at the moment, though… but you didn't come for them, anyway, did you?"

He gave her a sheepish look. "Not exactly." Inside, he was fuming. 'Indisposed'? Delani was dead and Lulu was probably still frantic. He wouldn't call that 'indisposed'. He didn't want to antagonise Morrible, though, so instead he said, "I'm here for Emerald. All night, please."

"I could have guessed that." Morrible studied him. "You really did take quite the liking to her, didn't you? With your reputation, I'd have thought you'd gotten tired of her by now."

Fiyero shrugged, acting casual. "Well, she's quite something."

"Yes." Morrible kept watching him, though, and it made him uncomfortable. Was she suspecting something? He wondered what would happen if she found out about his relationship with Elphaba. Would she even care? Would she try to discourage it or even punish Elphaba for it? What did it matter to her, anyway, as long as he kept paying for Elphaba's company?

"From eight to three, that will be two gold pieces, then," said Morrible and Fiyero handed her three, winking at her.

"To thank you for your discretion and for indulging me," he explained. "I realise I've been imposing on you a lot lately. Sometimes I get like a little boy with a new toy, playing with it for hours on end all the time and then eventually growing bored of it, so I'd like to thank you for your patience, Madame."

She looked pleased. "Why, thank you, Your Highness," she said, batting her eyelashes at him (which was a horrible sight, really). "You can count on my continuing patience and discretion, I can assure you that; and once you do grow tired of Emerald, I have several more girls I could recommend to you to keep things interesting."

"I cannot wait," he said with a small bow. She gestured for him to move on and he walked past the bar and through the doorway, up the stairs. He could find his way to Elphaba's room blindly by now if he had to.

When he opened the door, she came sashaying towards him with swivelling hips and fluttering eyelashes, but she quickly dropped the sultry act when she saw it was him. "Yero! I wasn't expecting you," she said, flushing a little.

He grinned at her, eyeing her suggestively. "I could tell," he teased. "Do continue what you were doing."

She poked out her tongue at him, her cheeks an interesting shade of purple, and he chuckled before sobering again. "Morrible is growing a little suspicious," he said. "I got her off my back for now, but she might find out what's really going on at some point."

Elphaba sighed. "We'll deal with that later," she said tiredly. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, anyway. I don't have the energy to think about it right now."

He nodded, understanding. "How is Lulu?" he asked.

Her face fell. She ran her fingers through her hair in mild frustration. "Not too great," she said. "She's holding up, but she's having a hard time coping with Delani's death. They were even closer than she and I were and she already misses her a lot... she's also scared, mostly that things will get so bleak and hopeless for her that she'll be tempted to make the same decision someday. I told her that wouldn't happen, but she's still afraid."

"I can imagine," said Fiyero, feeling bad for the poor girl.

Elphaba glanced up at him through her curtain of black hair. "Delani gave her everything she'd saved," she said quietly. "All of it. Lulu found it under her pillow – Delani must have put it there, probably because they were such close friends and she didn't want her death to be entirely for nothing. I'm not sure how she got her savings away from Madame Morrible, but somehow she managed and she gave it all to her best friend."

Fiyero sucked in his breath. "Really?"

She nodded. "It's not that much," she said. "Combined with Lulu's own savings, though, it's enough for Lulu to be able to take care of herself for quite a while. She's going to try to buy herself free, if Morrible allows her to. She doesn't want to end up like Delani and now she finally has the chance to escape this life. I just really hope Morrible will let her go."

"That's amazing," said Fiyero, not entirely sure of what he could say. He was genuinely happy for Lulu and he knew Elphaba was, too; but he also recognised the wistful look in her eyes. "You'll get there, too, Fae. You'll be free one day."

She smiled half-heartedly at him. "I hope so."

"And you know my offer still stands. I'll set my parents on Morrible if I have to if it meant I could free you somehow."

She exhaled slowly through her nose. "Thanks, but... no. I can't take the risk, Yero. If something goes wrong, she'd kill me – probably not literally, but the consequences still wouldn't be pretty and she might go after Lulu or Galinda in an attempt to get to me. Not to mention the fact that she'd probably go after you as well in some way... I can't. Not yet, anyway."

"I understand. And maybe you're right and it would end badly." He took her hand. "I'm just saying that if you change your mind... I'm ready to take the chance if you are."

Her smile grew more genuine and she shook her head. "No," she said softly. "But thank you."

She would get out. She'd find a way. She just didn't want him to risk himself in the process. He'd done enough for her already and this was her burden to bear.