Later, when everyone had finished eating and Elphaba and the other servants came to get the empty dishes, Fiyero couldn't help but notice how Raman stared hungrily at Elphaba every time she came into the dining hall, either clearing dishes or serving dessert. Fiyero wanted to yell at him and ask what his damage was, but he'd already made enough outbursts for one night, and technically Raman wasn't really hurting Elphaba this time. As everyone ate their dessert, Fiyero only stared at his, it did look good.
"You can eat it Fiyero, I didn't poison it." said Elphaba as she set a large dish of pudding in the center of the table in front of him.
"Oh, I know." said Fiyero, he took a bite, it was sensational, "This is really good Elphaba."
"It should be, Oz knows I spent long enough on it." Elphaba muttered. Suddenly the phone rang loudly.
"Elphaba! Phone!" Frex yelled at her like she was some sort of trained pet. She jumped and instantly went to pick. She came back with the phone and handed it to Frex.
"Hello?" Frex answered as he snatched the phone from Elphaba and shoved her roughly away, Frex listened intently, "Oh...I see...alright, yeah, thanks for the heads up, bye." Frex faced the table.
"Alright, the train stations and roads are closed because of the snow storm." Frex announced, everyone looked out the window and for the first time noticed the large amount of snow on the ground and how much was still falling, it looked like a blizzard. Everyone looked at each other, wondering where this left them. Frex continued.
", Which means, that because this is Lurlinemas, hotel rooms are mostly filled up. So if you want a hotel room, the phone's here. If you don't get one, you're stuck here." Frex said. There was a short pause and then everyone leapt for the phone, not wanting to stay at Frex's too long. Fiyero's father was among them, but soon realized the line for the phone was too long and he'd have to stay here, so he sat back down, grumbling about the circumstances. Raman was the only man who hadn't jumped out of his seat for the phone. He just sat there, staring at Elphaba. She shuddered and backed out of the room quickly.
*****************
It ended up being that Galinda's father, Fiyero and his father, Raman and the leader of Quadling (who didn't speak much English) stayed at Frex's mansion. Fiyero was a little relieved at this though, it meant he got to watch over Elphaba and make sure she'd be ok.
At about two in the morning, Fiyero found he couldn't get to sleep. He was in a large room with luxuries such as a huge closet and bathroom and a bed with expensive sheets and comforter. There were many empty rooms like this in the large mansion. He lay in the bed above the covers and stared up at the ceiling. Finally, he got up and made a random decision to simply walk about the mansion and explore, maybe find Elphaba's room and see if she too were awake. He found himself shivering suddenly and went to the dining room where the fire was. The giant table where they had eaten had been cleared, so now it was just a large empty ballroom with marble floors and a large blazing fire place. He saw Elphaba lying there on the hard marble floor next to the fireplace, laying her head on her arms and a book lay open next to her. She'd probably fallen asleep reading. Fiyero smiled softly and walked over to her.
"Hey Elphaba." Fiyero leaned down and gently shook her shoulder. She jumped and sat up.
"I'm sorry for falling asleep, it won't happen again!" Elphaba said quickly, scrambling up. Fiyero felt his heart ache for her; did her father even let her sleep?! Elphaba looked up and noticed it was Fiyero and not her father, so she relaxed, "Oh Fiyero, I'm sorry, I thought you were my father. Was there something you needed?"
"What? No, I just couldn't get to sleep, so I took to exploring the mansion. Then I got cold and came to the fireplace, where I found you." Fiyero explained, he pointed to the book, "You must have fallen asleep reading."
"Oh, I must have." Elphaba yawned quietly, "But now that I'm awake again, I don't really feel like going to sleep again."
"Me either..." Fiyero said, "We could...talk?"
"About what?" Elphaba asked.
"Anything." Fiyero said. Elphaba smiled shyly and sat down again next to the fireplace. She gestured to the opposite side of the fireplace across from her where he could sit. He smiled and sat down too, and soon they were lost in conversation, chatting and laughing about everything and nothing all at the same time. Elphaba noted how they'd subconsciously moved closer together, Fiyero noticed too, but thought it best not to comment on it.
"So, this place looks a lot like a ballroom when the table isn't in here." Fiyero said, once their laughter had died down about whatever they'd been talking about earlier. He gazed around the dark room.
"Oh, it is." Elphaba said, following his gaze around the large room. At night with the lights off, the room looked even grander, with only the light of the moon and glow of the fire to light up the room. It looked like it'd just popped out of a fairytale. There were large pillars framing the room. The large white windows reached up to the astoundingly high ceiling. An amazing chandelier hung from the ceiling and there was a grand staircase at the front of the ballroom.
"I heard that when my mother was alive, there was a ball held here regularly." Elphaba said, "But no one's danced in here for a long time. Not since I was born."
"We could change that." Fiyero said. He abruptly stood up and offered her his hand, "A dance fair lady?" he asked dramatically. Elphaba laughed.
"There's no music Fiyero." She said.
"So?" Fiyero grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Oh, alright." Elphaba laughed and took his hand. He smiled and pulled her up and led her to the middle of the room. Suddenly, he became nervous and shaky. He'd always wanted to dance with her, ever since he'd noticed her grace. He'd been jealous of those lucky guys at the Ozdust the last time, but now; there she stood, waiting for him to make the first move.
He carefully took her small hand in his and his other hand went to the small of her back, pulling her closer. She smiled shyly at him and let her free hand fall on his shoulder. Hesitantly, he took the first step, guiding her through a slow waltz. Soon they were gliding throughout the entire ballroom, laughing and smiling, his nervousness gone, replaced with a warm, glowing feeling on content and utter happiness. He spun her out and back in and she laughed as she came back to his arms. The absence of music was hardly noticeable because the pair kept perfect rhythm without the music and it didn't seem the least bit awkward. He suddenly put his hands on her thin waist and lifted her into the air and spun her around. She laughed aloud at this and he beamed at making her laugh, it sounded so beautiful and natural that he laughed too. When he brought her back down, she was still smiling at him. He dropped her into a low dip and suddenly his heart stopped as he gazed at her. Slowly, he pulled her back up, they both panted slightly, but neither looking away from the other. She had never been more beautiful. The moonlight was in her hair and the stars were in her eyes, making them sparkle with life. The beams of the moon flooded through the windows mixed with the soft blaze of the firelight, making her glow, her emerald skin taking on a pearly green color. She had a shy smile on her lips and he couldn't get over the feel of her small body in his arms. Suddenly a rush of overwhelming feelings came over him. He found himself leaning forward slowly. It could have been his imagination, in fact, he was pretty sure it was, but he thought she was leaning forward too. For a moment, he thought he might kiss her, and he almost did, when they were interrupted. Fiyero was briefly reminded of Lucas in that instance, this boy, like Lucas seemed to just choose his moments to interrupt.
"Elphaba?" said Kendal, who was standing at the top of the staircase. He'd been watching them for a while now, a knowing smile on his face. She and Fiyero jumped and jolted apart. Elphaba looked down innocently and shyly while Fiyero ran his fingers though his hair nervously.
"Uh...yes Kendal?" asked Elphaba.
"It's time to start preparing breakfast." said Kendal awkwardly.
"Oh!" Elphaba jumped and looked at the grand clock above the staircase, it read 4:30 am, "Why didn't you get me earlier?!"
"I was going to give you more time to rest, but I see you weren't sleeping anyway." Kendal grinned and Elphaba blushed.
"Oh whatever, let's go, breakfast needs to be done by eight." Elphaba said and rushed up the stairs. Then she stopped in the middle of the staircase and turned towards Fiyero, "Um...thanks for talking with me and...the dance." she blushed again and then hurried after Kendal. Fiyero felt himself grinning ear to ear as he wandered back to his room.
************
Raman had watched the beautiful green girl lie down beside the fireplace and read her book. He watched her slowly drift off. He was about to approach her, when a young man walked out and got to her first. She seemed to know him and Raman remembered him from the dinner. He'd been the one who cut off his deal with Frex. He watched her talk and laugh with this prince boy. He hadn't seen her smile, and he decided he liked it, he liked her laugh too. The more he watched, the more he wanted her. Then, the most peculiar thing happened, the boy asked her to dance. She laughed at him at first and informed him that there was no music. He shrugged and asked her again. She laughed again and they began dancing. As Raman watched her dance, he knew now that he had to make her his, he would. She was graceful, and lithe and...perfect. He decided that when she belonged to him, he'd make her cook for him, speak to him, sing for him and dance with him. He stared on hungrily, until he saw something that nearly made him choke. They were in-love. The prince and the green-girl were in-love! The way she gazed at him, he wanted her to gaze at him like that. He decided he'd make her love him now, on-top everything else he'd force her to do. He quickly withdrew himself from the shadowy corner of the room to go and devise a plan.