When Curyn awoke her head was full of drowsy mist. Groaning she rolled over on what felt like a warm comforter. What in Oz's name? Gently the blonde pulled her heavy lids open. Her burned hands were bandaged tightly and smelled like some kind of healing salve. There was a small cut in her side that had also been dressed. Was it some kind of stunning drug that she'd been injected with then? She sat up to find herself in a small but well furnished bedroom. Stretching she checked the wooden door to find it locked. Thick, muggy air poured in through the barred window and outside Curyn could see wet, misty expanses of bog. Was she in Quadling Country? Selky's sword lay untouched on the bedside table. Her head pounded with confusion and a wicked headache.
***
"Isn't this an amazing find?" Nessa gushed enthusiastically as she wheeled down the halls of the old manor house they'd possessed in Qhoyre. "I was sure we were going to end up in tents hunkered down in the awful swampy brush." When she wasn't plotting evil Nessarose seemed so much like the happy schoolgirl she'd once been.
"It is nicer than camping," the Raven admitted. "It was very kind of you to offer me that bedroom in the south tower." These thanks were out of courtesy; the Raven wasn't actually using her room.
"I trust you locked your prisoner away in the cellar?"
"Of course. Where else would I put her?"
"Well whatever the case she'll have some company soon."
"Company?"
"I've tricked those two Ligers into coming here. When Elphaba sees the display I'm going to make of them…"
"You're going to kill Cubs?"
"You said yourself that they were two large to be called Cubs anymore," Nessa reminded her sharply. "Don't tell me you've got a soft spot for baby Animals. If you've lost your ruthless, cunning edge I have no more need of you."
"You mistook my reaction," the Raven informed her stonily. "I was simply awe stricken by how far you were willing to go."
***
"What do you make of this?" Caya demanded, thrusting a note in Elphaba's face.
Selky's alive and we're going to find her. Please don't worry; we're old enough to take care of ourselves.-Shay and Izo
"Sweet Oz," the green girl gasped, collapsing into a chair.
"Elphie what is it?" Glinda demanded.
"Izo and Shay ran off on some wild goose chase because they think Selky's still alive," Caya snarled. "Brrr's already out searching from them, but it looks like they left in the middle of the night. They've saved up enough money in that bank of theirs to hire a coach; they could be miles away by now."
"This can't happen again," Elphaba whispered.
"Elpha! Glinda!" Chistery cart wheeled through the open window and landed on the floor with an undignified plop. His words stumbled over one another in his hurry to explain and ended up as nothing but gibberish.
"Breathe, Chistery, breathe," Glinda told him. The Monkey took a few deep breaths and held up a very wrinkled piece of paper.
i know where shay and izo are but to find them you must move Quickly. tHey are being held by nessarOse. if you use the Yellow bRick road you may bE able to reach them in time…be careful. –the raven
***
"The note was a nice touch," Nessarose congratulated. "Since you said to follow the yellow brick road they'll assume that you mean Gillikin or Munchkin Land. Most people don't know that a short bit of the road leads to Qhoyre." Her eyebrows knitted together. "I don't understand your odd handwriting though. Why capitalize random letters and leave all the rest lower case?"
"That's how I was taught," the Raven shrugged, hoping her employer wouldn't discover the ruse. "Do you have a problem with it?"
"No," Nessarose shrugged, not wishing to offend her greatest ally.
***
Elphaba had become a fierce whirl of activity. Having lost her daughter to Nessarose's treachery she was not about to let Caya and Brrr go through the same thing. Her quick mind had immediately puzzled out the riddle hidden in the Raven's message; Qhoyre. Anyone who interrupted the green witch as she marched about was promptly chewed out. "Where is Fiyero?" she demanded of no one in particular. "He should be here by now."
"Fae!" the Winkie panted. "The Ozian Army is on its way to Quadling Country as you ordered. They'll be there within the week."
"Good," Elphaba hissed without sparing her husband a glance. "Chistery!" She turned on the Monkey. "Get my broom." The winged primate nodded and fluttered off.
"Elphaba that was rude," Boq chastened.
"Sorry Chistery!" the green girl called after her Monkey friend. Her words were full of distraction.
"It's ok Mrs. Elpha!" he replied, tottering up the staircase.
"Elphie I'm coming." Glinda's words were sharp and fervent. They left no room for negotiation. Elphaba, however, didn't like to be told what to do.
"No you aren't." These words mirrored her friend's tone.
"Glin you can't go!" Boq agreed, grabbing his wife's arm. "What are you thinking? What about the baby?" His hands subconsciously ran over the back of her dress, feeling the raised scars there.
"I trust Elphaba to keep me safe," the blonde replied, her eyes burning. "But I'm not letting her go alone whether you like it or not." The green girl took one look at the passionate, instinctual emotions on Glinda's face and nodded. There were some things words could not convey.
"She's coming," Elphaba announced, turning away. She couldn't look at her friend anymore; couldn't imagine that this mission might bring about the blonde's death.
"But Elphaba…" Boq's eyes were wide with confusion. "You aren't in charge of me. I'm not letting her go."
"Then you are holding me against my will," Glinda replied, turning to face him. "Please Boq. Let me do this."
"Can he at least come with you?" Fiyero suggested. "Can I come with you?"
"No," both women replied at the same time. "This has to be done alone."
"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?" the Winkie questioned.
"Our main goal is to rescue Shay and Izo," Elphaba assured him. "But we'd also like to take out Nessarose before the army arrives. Fiyero I need you to make sure that Caya, Mar, Jaybo, and Chistery are here for the war council. Boq, you and Brrr need to start making plans to evacuate Munchkinlanders." At that moment everyone in the room seemed to realize exactly how momentous the coming week would be. "Oz's darkest day may be upon us within hours," the green witch announced solemnly. "There is no room for error or hesitation. No one in the history of Oz has ever conquered two of its quadrants, yet Nessarose has taken the south for all intents and purposes as well as Munchkin Land." She paused. "I want you to let Oscar out of his room. He could be useful."
As Glinda and Elphaba turned to go Boq caught his wife's arm and pulled her into a deep kiss. One hand gently caressed the small, almost unnoticeable bump emerging from her flat stomach. "Be safe," the munchkin whispered. "I love you."
Yay Gloq mushiness!
I would like all my readers to know that I am co-authoring a Hunger Games fan fic called 'Nobody in the Mist' with my friend (who is totally new to this site), Tinted Windows…the story has been published under her name instead of mine but I thought you guys should know…please review it!