Thank you all for the reviews, and I apologise for the huge time between the last chapter and this. Somehow life seemed to get in the way, and every time I sat down and started to write something would come up.

Anyway, you've waited long enough for this, so here you are!

Chapter Nine: Meeting the Parents

As the door closed quietly behind them, Elphaba paled. Fiyero, watching her closely, squeezed her hand before leading her forwards towards the two thrones placed at the far end of the room.

"Mother, Father, this is my girlfriend Elphaba Thropp."

A smiling faced middle aged woman smiled at Elphaba, and held out her hand to the trembling girl.

Elphaba stepped forwards and took the woman's hand shyly. She curtsied deeply, and murmured a greeting.

The tall man with the serious face then inclined his head towards her, and she curtsied again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesties, Fiyero has told me a great deal about you, and about his sister Clyara."

Both of Fiyero's parents smiled at the mention of their younger child.

The queen spoke gravely, but her eyes were smiling.

"Clyara hero-worships Fiyero, and he cares for her deeply. She was very worried to think there was someone else for him to love."

Fiyero and Elphaba looked at each other and laughed, as Fiyero spoke.

"I somehow don't think that is going to be a problem, mother, I had to ask Clyara to leave, she wanted to stay with Elphaba!"

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, and the footman appeared once more.

"Your Majesties, Princess Clyara wishes to join you. Will that be acceptable?"

The king and queen smiled, and nodded to the footman.

"Send her in, Draven, thank you."

The footman bowed and left, and a moment later Clyara appeared in the doorway. She ran and kissed her parents, before turning to Fiyero for a hug and kiss, and hugging Elphaba, who lifted the little girl up and swung her around before setting her back on her feet.

At this point a maid knocked at the door of the throne room.

"Your Majesties, your Highnesses, Miss Elphaba, dinner is served in the magnolia dining room."

The king and queen stood up, and the king offered his arm to his wife. Fiyero offered his arm to Elphaba, and together they left the throne room with Clyara holding on to Elphaba's free hand.

When they reached the dining room and were served, Fiyero saw the look of dismay on Elphaba's face at her glass of water.

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and called the waiter over to him.

"Magden, Miss Elphaba has a slight water allergy. Could you possibly bring h a glass of cider?"

The waiter nodded and hurried off, to return a moment later with the cider.

Elphaba thanked him, blushing, and the turned back to her meal.

Once they had had some time with their meals in silence, Queen Sulid smiled at Elphaba and began to question her gently about her childhood and her life at Shiz.

Elphaba answered all her questions truthfully and with a hint of sadness, as she recalled her loveless infancy.

The queen had to brush tears from her eyes as Elphaba finished her tale, just as they finished their meal.

Later on, Fiyero and Elphaba stood in the room that was to be Elphaba's. A door led to the ensuite bathroom, and another door led to Fiyero's room. The household staff had put her in this room so she would be close to the person she knew. There were two doors, and each door could be locked to ensure privacy, if it was wished.

Fiyero saw that Elphaba looked a little subdued, and wordlessly put his arms around her and held her tight.

She snuggled into his embrace, and lifted her face to kiss him.

"Fae, what's wrong? Is it still what happened at dinner?"

She nodded into his chest.

"It's just I'm not used to people asking me about my past, without judging me. That's all Yero, I swear."

He hugged her closer, and then carried her over to the sofa.

He kissed her, and she returned his kiss hungrily. For a few minutes, they continued to wrestle playfully, kissing each other over and over again.

Elphaba was still unused to the fact that anyone could love her unconditionally, without her having to do anything in return.

Fiyero broke their kiss, and then took Elphaba outside to the gardens. Still holding hands, they reached a shady spot underneath some trees, by a river. Fiyero spread the rug which he had collected on their way out on the ground and sat down on it.

They stayed that way for several hours. Sometimes they kissed, other times they spoke in low voices about anything and everything. Most of the time they just relaxed, happy to be in each other's company.

As the clock struck 10:00 pm, Fiyero moved from Elphaba's side and sat in front of her, turning her gently to face him.

He put his hand into his pocket, and removed something that she couldn't see, hidden in the palm of his hand.

"Elphaba," he began nervously "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you all of this, but I need to say it to you. I love you. I have loved you from the very first moment I set eyes on you in that Life Sciences lesson, and I think that I will always love you. I can never imagine not loving you, at least. You are like a vital force that keeps me going throughout everything, and however hard things may get in the future I believe that our love will hold strong through any challenges. I spoke to my parents this afternoon, and they are in agreement."

He broke off, looking at his girlfriend's face. Her eyes were fixed to his, and she was blushing deeply. He swallowed the last of his nerves, and took the plunge.

"What I'm trying to say is, Elphaba Thropp, I love you more than life itself. Please would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

He opened the velvet ring box which had been concealed in his hand and held out a gold ring, with a diamond set in the centre. It was very simple, but breathtakingly beautiful. Fiyero had planned to buy a more fancy, decorative ring, but this had called to him as soon as he saw it. He had known it would be perfect for Elphaba.

Elphaba had tears in her eyes as she nodded, momentarily speechless.

"Yero, my darling, how could you ever think I would say no? Of course I will marry you."

Fiyero slipped the ring onto her finger, and then gathered her close for a passionate kiss. She returned this deeply and then broke apart.

Fiyero looked at his beautiful fiancée and couldn't believe his luck.

"I couldn't be happier" he whispered in her ear as they held each other close in their arms.

AN: Again, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I hope it was worth the wait. Please review, and just to say I'm looking for a beta reader so if anyone is interested please send me a message, I would love to hear from you. That would also help me get chapters up quicker, so if that is any incentive?!