*sing-song voice* It's good to see me, isn't it? No need to respond - that was rhetorical!

I had the most amazing time in London. We aimed for three musicals in four days; we ended up seeing five. Matilda, Wicked, Les Miserables, the Phantom of the Opera, and The Lion King. They were all epic and beautiful and right now I'm having withdrawal symptoms.

More good news - while in London, I've almost finished writing chapter 21 of this fic, which will be the final chapter!

15. The Couple's Dilemma

They found themselves in the bed not long thereafter, both of them dressed in their nightclothes. The bed wasn't quite as big as Elphaba's back at The Hidden Depths was, but it was more than big enough for the two of them. Fiyero pulled her close and she didn't resist, instead turning to face him and kissing him again.

"Not that I'm complaining," he mumbled against her lips, "but what's gotten into you? You seem a little more enthusiastic than usual tonight."

Guilt flooded her, because she knew he was right and she knew her enthusiasm was mainly fuelled by the knowledge that this would all be over soon. She grinned at him, though. "I don't know," she said, trailing her fingers down the side of this face. "I guess I'm just happy to be away from Morrible, if only for one night." That was true, too. "It feels less... controlling, you know?" She blushed a little. "Even though your grandparents and your mother are just down the hall..."

Fiyero chuckled and planted another kiss on her lips. "Well," he said. "I know for a fact that Grandma and Grandpa's bedroom is all the way on the other side of the hall, far out of earshot; and my mother is probably the most heavy sleeper in all of Oz, so..." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She watched him with those enormous dark brown eyes of hers, a mischievous twinkle creeping into them, and he blinked at her a few times. He recognised the look in her eyes, but it confused him a little. "Fae?"

She kissed him in reply, her arms winding around his neck as she pressed herself closer to him. His own arms encircled her waist as he kissed her back. He loved the feeling of having her in his arms. It made him feel more settled, somehow, like he could take on the whole world. Her kisses were fierce and passionate and he soon found his common sense wandering away from him, clouded by the feel of her skin and the scent of her hair. His fingers travelled to the hem of her nightgown almost as if they had a will of their own, but then lingered there as he forced himself to stop.

She drew away from him slightly, just enough to be able to look into his eyes. "Don't stop," she whispered.

He shook his head. "Fae, I told you I didn't want that from you," he said firmly. "That's not why I want to be with you."

"I know," she said, smiling a little sadly. "You're sweet, Yero. I know that's not why you want to be with me." She bit her lip. "I guess I've known that for a while now," she confessed, lowering her gaze. "I just had a hard time believing it. After the life I've led… I still do, a little."

He stroked her cheek. "We'll keep working on that," he promised her.

She let out a soft laugh. "One step at a time. I remember. And I love you for it." It slipped out before she could catch herself and her eyes widened. She hadn't meant to say that. She did love him, she was fairly certain of that by now, but she couldn't – and she certainly hadn't intended to tell him. Her telling him she loved him was an even bigger step than her telling him she thought she might love him and she was meant to be pushing him away right now, not pulling him closer.

The grin that spread across his face, however, almost made it all worth it. "You do?"

She nodded shyly, figuring the damage was done now. "I do." She moved in to kiss him again, laying the palms of her hands against his bare chest, but he stopped her.

"I don't want to take advantage of you," he said, eyeing her worriedly.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Less talking," she told him, repeating his words from the other day back at him with a smirk. "More kissing."

He scowled at her. "I'm serious."

"So am I." She kissed him again. "I want to, Fiyero," she assured him. "I know you would never take advantage of me. Not like all those other men. You're different." She felt her cheeks burning a little. "The only way I've ever done this is as a survival strategy," she confessed, meeting his startled gaze. "For work – nothing more. I want to know what it's like to do it because I want to... with someone who actually cares about me. Loves me," she corrected herself when she saw the look on his face. She gave him an imploring look. "Please?"

He closed his fingers around her wrists, however, stopping her from moving. "There's one thing I've been wanting to ask you for a while," he whispered. "I just never knew how."

She tilted her head a little to the side inquiringly.

He took a deep breath. "You were sixteen when you came to Madame Morrible," he began. "And you'd never... you know... before, right?"

She recognised where he was going with this, but she decided to let him ask the question himself and she shook her head. "No."

He nodded. "So... your first time..."

She sighed, pulling away from him a little to sit back on her knees. "Virgins bring in a higher price," she muttered, not really wanting to talk about this. "When a new girl comes in, Morrible usually takes a week or so to have the other girls explain how things work around there and what the girl should and shouldn't do in her... work. During that week, she informs every customer coming in that she has a new girl and they can offer her a price. The highest bidder gets the girl's first time."

Fiyero stared at her, horror and sadness and sympathy warring in his bright blue eyes, but she shook her head at him.

"It doesn't matter," she told him, cupping his face between her hands. "It's in the past and it doesn't matter now. If I stopped to think about every man I've been with, Yero, I'd drive myself crazy. It could have been much worse – that's all I'm hanging on to. I could have ended up like Delani."

He winced and she tilted his chin up, making him look at her again. "But I didn't," she reminded him. "I'm still here. I suppose a lot of the things I've been through horrify you, but I don't want to let any of that overshadow what we have now. I can't let my past drag me down."

He took her in, absorbing her words, and then he nodded. He pulled her back into his arms and dropped a kiss to her hair, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment. "You must be the bravest girl – woman – I've ever known," he mused quietly.

She let out a short laugh. "I'm not brave, Fiyero," she corrected him. "I just did what I had to do to survive."

"But you didn't let it break you." He looked at her again, running his thumb along her cheekbone. "You're amazing," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her again. "I don't deserve you."

"You're confusing things, Your Highness. It's the other way around."

He shook his head. "Nope. It's definitely me not deserving you." He ran his fingers through her hair and she looked up at him. "I won't say anything else about it if you don't want me to," he said quietly. "Let's just... consider this a second chance at your first time."

She couldn't help the smile that lit up her face. "I'd like that."

Her hands went back to his chest and he hauled her to him and kissed her deeply, trying to convey everything he felt and thought and wanted to say through his kisses and his touch.

Over the course of the next few days, Galinda noticed the growing distance between Elphaba and Fiyero – it was so palpable that she almost thought she might be able to measure it if she had some measuring tape. She tried once again to convince Elphaba to change her mind and to tell Fiyero everything, but the green girl wouldn't budge, not even when Galinda enlisted Lulu to help. The younger girl was horrified to learn about Morrible's threats, but didn't want Elphaba to throw away her happiness for her.

"I'll find a way out," she tried, but Elphaba just shook her head.

"No," she said flatly. "That's the end of it, Lu. I'm not risking your freedom over this – over anything. Especially not now, after what you told me," she said with a significant look at Lulu's stomach.

The other girl flushed and didn't protest anymore, knowing her friend was right. Instead she offered a meek, "I'm sorry."

Elphaba smiled at her, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "It's not your fault."

It went on until one night, there was a commotion in the hallway – a door slamming shut followed by the sound of people shouting. Galinda recognised Elphaba and Fiyero's voices and she unceremoniously pushed her current client away from her and padded over to the door in her undergarments, opening the door just a crack and peeking out into the hallway. Elphaba was there, slumped against the wall, looking upset; and Galinda opened the door wider, not caring about anyone seeing her in her scarce clothing.

"Elphie?"

Elphaba glanced at her. "It's over," she said, her voice breaking. "I did it. He's gone. He's going back to the Vinkus with his mother tomorrow."

Galinda bit her lip. "Oh, Elphie…" She made to step out into the hallway, but Elphaba shook her head.

"Don't," she said. "I want to be alone right now. Please. Just… go back to what you were doing." Her look intensified into a glare as she directed it at the handful of other doors that had opened, the other girls and some of their customers peering at her. "All of you," she snapped, suddenly losing her temper. "The show is over!"

The doors hastily closed and Galinda said quietly, "I'm here if you need to talk, Elphie," before watching her friend nod and disappear back into her room. The blonde sighed, closing the door again as well and returning to what she was doing, wondering if Elphaba was okay.

She went to see her friend when her last customer had left. Elphaba was staring out of the window, her back to the door, but she turned a little when she heard Galinda come in.

"Hey," the younger girl said quietly. She stepped up beside Elphaba and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

The green girl didn't answer the question. Instead, she said, "I don't want to stay here, Glin. I don't think I can," she admitted, hugging herself. "I hate it here. I always have, but now… I never fully realised how much control she has over our lives and I don't want that anymore." She looked at Galinda, her dark eyes sad but determined. "Delani got a hold of her savings somehow to give them to Lulu," she said. "If she could do it, so could we."

Galinda was startled. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we need a plan," said Elphaba grimly. "I'm going to tell Morrible about what happened with Fiyero – although I'm sure she already knows – and I'm going to convince her to let Lulu go. After that, you and I are going to leave as well, Glin. One way or another. I can't stay here a moment longer."

"You want to steal our savings from Morrible?"

Elphaba shrugged. "Why not? It's our money, after all. She has no right to keep it from us." She took Galinda's hands in hers. "We could leave, Glin. We could get away."

Galinda shook her head. "But –"

"If we don't do this, Glin, she's not going to let us go for another six years," Elphaba interrupted her. "I can't do this for six more years. I just can't. I don't think you can, either."

Galinda didn't say anything, because she knew her friend was right. "And then what?" she asked. "When we're free? Are you going to go after Fiyero then?"

Elphaba hesitated. "Maybe," she said doubtfully. "But I don't think so." Her shoulders slumped. "He's better off without me, anyway."

"That is not even remotely true," said Galinda sceptically, but Elphaba ignored her and so she returned to the topic at hand. "What if we get caught?"

"We won't," said Elphaba. "It makes no sense for both of us to risk ourselves. We'll do it not too long after Lulu gets away from here. We'll make sure our bags are packed and ready; you'll stay in your room and I'll go downstairs to try and get the money. If she catches me, she won't know you were even involved in the first place. We'll just have to figure out something else if that happens."

"All right." Galinda took a deep breath. "I'm proud of you, Elphie."

Elphaba grumbled something under her breath. "Say that again once we're actually out of here. Why didn't we do this ages ago?"

Galinda shrugged. "Because we didn't have enough savings – or courage – then," she said. "Because Morrible has spent all this time controlling us so tightly that we didn't dare to even think about stepping out of line. Because she, and our lives so far, convinced us that we would never get anywhere without her – that we'd just end up in the gutter, dying of starvation, if we left."

"We won't, will we?" Elphaba asked, only half joking. Galinda recognised the veiled uncertainty in her voice and her need for reassurance. Elphaba was usually the strong one, but right now, the blonde thought, she just needed someone else to tell her that things were going to work out or she might not find the courage she'd need to see this through. Galinda was actually proud of her friend for showing her vulnerability for once and she hugged the green girl.

"Of course not," she told her. "We're stronger than she made us think we are. We can do this, Elphie. You and me, together. As a team." She kissed her friend's cheek. "I love you, you know. You're my best friend. I don't know what I would have done without you all these years."

Elphaba smiled, more genuinely this time. "I love you, too, Glin. You know the same goes for me." She nodded, decided. "Let's do this together." She was ready to take control of her own life.

Since you guys are still reviewing so enthusiastically (thanks so much for that!), let's see who shall be the 200th reviewer of this story, shall we? :)