There won't be any more big things happening in the upcoming chapters, but I felt like the girls' story wasn't entirely finished yet; their lives have changed so much now and they'll need to get used to that. Also, I felt like Fiyero and Elphaba still had a few steps left to take in their relationship.

Guest: I get what you mean - I do. I like being relatively realistic in my fanfics, but... well, I'm just a cheesy Fiyeraba sucker who has a hard time doing things to any of Wicked's main characters that will have some kind of permanent effect on them. Emotionally traumatising Elphaba that way, after everything I already put her through in this story, just seemed too cruel (which I know is ironic, coming from me, but true). I'm glad it's not off-putting enough for you to stop reading, though!

18. The Castle's Sanctuary

Elphaba would have loved to see Morrible's brothel – along with preferably every other brothel in the Vinkus – forcibly closed; but unfortunately, that was not the case. Morrible seemed to know what was good for her and so instead of fighting the king and queen's new policy regarding businesses like hers, she played along, complying with the rules in order to keep her business and her profits. Elphaba and Galinda were both horrified to learn that most of the girls decided to stay at The Hidden Depths, even though they were able to leave whenever they wanted now. Only Shenshen and Falin did leave, however.

Even so, Elphaba was happy and grateful that Fiyero had convinced his parents to do this – and that they had convinced the council. Life would be a lot easier for girls like herself now and it was a great relief to know that at least in the Vinkus, young orphaned girls would be given more options from now on than to go into prostitution in order to stay alive. Fiyero had told her proudly that she had done what she had always dreamt of doing: something important, something to make Oz a better place. She'd disagreed, insisting it was all his doing, but he reminded here that it never would have happened if it hadn't been for her and she'd reluctantly accepted that.

On top of everything, she was staying in an actual castle now – along with Galinda, who couldn't stop squealing and gasping at the brilliance and extravagance of it all; and Lulu, whom the king and queen had sent for and who had instantly left the mauntery she'd been staying at and travelled to Adurin Iir. The girl had a room for herself in the castle now, right next to Galinda's, and the royal family's own doctor had examined her and was keeping an eye on her and her unborn child. Galinda had been shocked to learn about Lulu's pregnancy, but she, like everyone else in the castle, kept a close eye on the younger girl and helped her with everything she needed.

With her two friends in separate rooms just down the hall, Elphaba felt a little like they were still at Madame Morrible's – in the good sense of the word. The familiarity of it made her feel more at ease and she knew that went for Galinda and Lulu as well. None of them were used to living like this and any semblance of their old lives, no matter how terrible those lives had been, was welcome now. It made them feel more grounded and less like everything was spinning out of control.

Lulu confessed after about a week of staying in the castle that she felt distinctly out of place there. "Don't get me wrong," she hastened to say. "I think Fiyero and his parents are wonderful for allowing us to stay here, and I'm so grateful, but... I feel like someone made a mistake and brought me here instead of someone else. Like I'm living someone else's fairy-tale."

The corners of Elphaba's mouth turned up at that. "Tell me about it."

Galinda giggled. "It's probably even worse for you, Elphie. You're actually in love with the prince – you might get to live here someday!"

That thought still caused panic to instantly squeeze Elphaba's chest shut, so she refused to acknowledge it. "Not very likely."

"I get what you mean, though," the blonde continued. Even Galinda, who loved pretty things and was ecstatic to be here and experience all this luxury, had to get used to it. "But we'll be fine. We have money now – we can build our own lives!"

"How?" Lulu asked, sounding a little lost. "How do we even go about that?"

Elphaba shook her head. They were a sad group together, she thought, looking at her two friends. All three of them had been so busy surviving all their lives that they didn't know what it was like to be really living. "One step at a time, I guess." That reminded her of what Fiyero kept saying to her and she inadvertently smiled at the thought. He was so sweet and he was trying so hard. She wished she was able to give him what he wanted... she was just still mostly convinced that what he said he wanted wasn't actually what he wanted – or if it was, that it wasn't what he needed or what was good for him. She wasn't good for him. They were still together and she regularly spent the night in his room – or he in hers – but emotionally, she still had a hard time opening up to him.

"Here's the plan," said Galinda, taking charge. "We all stay here until after Lulu's baby is born. Right?"

"Right," Elphaba agreed. "There's no way we're leaving you before the baby is born."

Galinda made a show of coughing and muttering under her breath, "There's no way you'll be leaving here at all."

Elphaba narrowed her eyes at her friend. Galinda looked back innocently.

"What?"

The green girl menacingly pointed at Galinda. "You know what, missy."

"Anyway," Galinda continued with a toss of her hair and an innocent smile in Elphaba's direction, "we'll be here for a couple of months at least, and then… then we can do whatever we want. We could – Oz, we could go to university, study something, or… or get a job – a real job, as a waitress or in a store. We could travel to the Emerald City to see everything there. Go on dates." She giggled almost maniacally, the excitement of the idea of being able to do whatever she liked making her feel dizzy and light-headed. "We could do anything!"

"I'll have a baby to care for, though," Lulu reminded her.

Galinda waved her hand dismissively. "It'll be fine! We'll help you raise her, don't worry!"

"Her?" Lulu echoed dubiously and Galinda nodded.

"Well, of course. I'll need it to be a girl so I can buy her all kinds of pink and girly things! Oh, I can buy things for you baby now!" she exulted, dancing around the room. "I can actually use my own money to buy things! What kind of job do you think would suit me? Maybe I could work in a dress salon, or a make-up store… I could go study something to do with fashion and beauty!"

"I could see you doing that," Lulu confessed.

Elphaba shook her head. "Am I the only one whose head is spinning right now?"

"No," said Galinda, stopping her dance to look at her friend. "Of course not. But there's no need to worry now. Not for another while yet. I think we deserve a break, don't you?"

She did think that. She thought about Galinda's words as she left her friends to wander the castle, unsure of where to go – unsure that even if she did know where to go, she'd be able to find her way there. She eventually found herself in a sitting room with a burning fire in the fireplace. Only once she approached, feeling cold after her excursions through the chilly castle in her thin dress, did she notice the person sitting on the couch before the fire and she jumped.

"Fiyero!" She put a hand to her heart. "I didn't see you there."

He smiled, but he looked a little sad for some reason. "Hey, Fae."

She frowned and sat down beside him. "What's wrong?" She squinted and studied the bruise on his jaw, which seemed to be multiple shades of blue, black, and purple now. "Does that still hurt?"

"It's nothing," he brushed her off, even though she knew it had to be painful. He cupped her face with one hand and softly traced her cheekbone with his thumb, running it over the spot where the cut from the whip had been. It was mostly healed by now – better than his bruised jaw, anyway. "What about you?"

She shook her head only slightly, not wanting to lose the touch of his fingers on her skin, but Fiyero pulled away anyway. He seemed anguished for some reason and she shifted, nervously tucking an ebony curl behind her ear.

"What's wrong?" she asked again, mentally bracing herself for his answer. In her mind, it could never be anything good.

He heaved a deep sigh. "I, um… I overheard you talking," he confessed. "In Lulu's room. I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear – I wanted to check up on her to see how she was doing, with the baby and all, but then I realised you and Galinda were both in there with her, and… well, I heard some things. Not everything. Just… a little."

"What?" she prompted and he sighed again. Then he turned to face her.

"Look," he said with a forced smile that was probably meant to be reassuring, but just looked pained. "I know… I know I've always been in this more than you have. Which is something that was quite impossible for me to imagine before, what with my previous… philosophy, I guess you could say… but it's true. I wanted to deny the way I felt about you, you know that, but I just couldn't. You turned my whole life upside down, Elphaba, and I guess I can only be grateful for that because I know it changed me for the better." He took a deep breath. "But… but I don't want to pressure you into anything you don't want."

She looked confused.

He pressed on. "I feel like every step in our relationship so far has come from me. And I don't blame you for that," he hastened to assure her. "I understand why, too – or I thought I did, anyway. Now, I just… can't help but wonder if this really is what you want. If I am really what you want."

She recoiled slightly, frowning. "Why would you doubt that? What did you overhear?"

He shrugged helplessly. "Galinda was teasing you about getting to live here at the castle someday, and all you said was 'not very likely'. And I know the idea of marriage, or any kind of long-term relationship, scares you, but… I don't feel like I've really given you a choice in all this." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, not looking at her.

"Of course you did," she said fiercely, making him glance at her cautiously again. "And besides, I did initiate some steps in our relationship. Remember that night at your grandparents' house?"

A mischievous twinkle appeared in his sapphire blue eyes. "Of course."

She blushed, but sobered quickly, biting her lip. She sighed and leaned against the back of the couch. "You know where I come from, Yero, and you've been so patient and understanding throughout all of this, but… well, I still can't fathom the idea of you actually wanting to be with me. You're trying to convince me and you have no idea how much I appreciate that, but I think you're making a mistake. I'm not good for you. I never will be. And I don't think I could bear you realising that one day and resenting me for it."

He looked shocked. "What?" He took her hands in his, squeezing them. "Fae… I could never resent you," he promised her. "Ever. If this doesn't work out, at least we'll have tried. We have nothing to lose," he pleaded with her. "We only have a lot to gain. Please, Elphaba, just give me a chance."

"I am," she said honestly. "But I can't promise you I won't still have doubts, or even that I won't run away. This whole thing terrifies me, Yero, and you know I don't get scared easily. I should run away, but I can't – I couldn't before and I can't now – and that scares me more than anything, because it means you're wrong. I have so much to lose if this doesn't work out. I have you to lose. You wormed your way into my heart somehow and now you refuse to go away, but this is all new to me and I don't know how to deal with it. I just… I need more time."

"I'll give you all the time in the world," he told her. "I will. I won't push you into anything, anything at all. If you never want to get married, that's fine, too."

She raised an eyebrow at him pointedly. "No, it's not. You need a wife, Fiyero, and you need an heir."

He sighed. "Fine, but we're in no rush. This isn't about the Vinkus or about my parents. It's about us, about you and me. I love you, Fae. And if you don't love me, or not enough to try to make this work – if you don't want this, for some reason… then please tell me now, because the longer we're in this, the more it will hurt."

She looked at him, studying those bright blue eyes of his. She saw hope there, and anxiety, and love, and she just couldn't imagine how he could feel this way about her. He was genuinely afraid of her answer, she realised. This really did matter to him – even more than he was letting on. He loved her. He wanted a life with her. And she wasn't sure she could give him that, but Oz dammit – she loved him, too, this silly, handsome, brilliant, amazing man, and hadn't she always prided herself on her way of facing her fears rather than running away from them?

"I do," she whispered, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again to meet his gaze. "I do, Yero. I do want this and I do love you. More than I've ever loved anyone else."

The hope in his eyes was so real, so overwhelming, that it broke her heart. "Really?"

She nodded and he actually sagged with relief, drawing her into his arms and clutching her to his chest as if he was afraid she'd vanish if he let go. She hadn't realised how deep these doubts had gone for him and how badly they had affected him. Even though he'd shown and proven it to her time after time, she still hadn't fully realised how much he cared.

"I love you," he breathed into her hair, his voice choked. "I love you, Fae, I love you so much. We'll make this work, I promise. One way or another, we'll figure it out. Thank Oz… I don't think I could bear it if you'd said no." He chuckled weakly and then pulled away to look at her. "You're the first girl I've ever loved, too, you know," he reminded her. "This is just as new to me as it is to you, and it scares me… well, maybe not just as much as it scares you, but a lot nonetheless. I'm terrified to mess this up, but you've managed to crack open that armour of pretence I had around myself and I really don't know what I would do if you walked away now."

She laughed softly. "We're actually two peas in a pod, aren't we?"

He smiled, stroking her hair away from her face and kissing her lips. "We are. But maybe that's why we go so well together."

It was strange, he mused, how much he had inadvertently come to depend on her and on their relationship. What he had just told her was true. He was scared, because he had never felt anything like this for anyone before. He was afraid to ruin it, but he was also afraid of the thing itself – of the things he felt for her and how powerful they were, of the whole concept of love and being in love and how much power she held over him without even knowing it. One touch or kiss from her turned him into a mushy puddle. When she smiled – that genuine, dimpled smile he loved so much – it felt like the sun was coming out. If she walked away from him now, he would be absolutely devastated.

And if she could read your mind right now, she'd definitely walk away, shuddering at all the cheesiness, he mentally scolded himself.

It was true, though. She had him in the palm of her hand and yet she had no idea.

He reached out to pull her deeper into his arms, settling her in his lap and slowly, tenderly running his fingers through her raven curls. She shivered a little, her eyelids fluttering shut, and he couldn't help but smile. Maybe, he thought, however impossible that seemed, he affected her just as much as she affected him.

She slipped her arms around his neck and curled around him, nestling her head under his chin so she could listen to the sound of his heartbeat; and he held her, content to keep doing just that for the rest of his life.

Feel free to send me a review! (Or a dentist bill because your teeth cracked from all the fluffy sweetness. I won't promise I'll pay it, though, since I technically don't have a job anymore after this weekend.)