Chapter 3, Part 1

By only early afternoon that first day, Glinda had tired of traveling. With no one to talk to but the driver, who considered it rude to speak unless Glinda spoke first, there was very little to help pass the time. When they had been nearer to the City, Glinda had enjoyed looking at the world outside the carriage windows. But as they crossed the river, she knew soon they would be in the mountains. And at night no less.

Before the last of the daylight faded, Glinda took the Grimmerie from her bag and began to study. At times, she muttered to herself. More than once, she saw the driver steal quizzical glances at her. "If you want to know something, ask. Otherwise, please keep your mind on your work!" she snapped at last.

Glinda wasn't normally so snippy with the staff of her house. But the Grimmerie was a source of deep frustration for the novice witch. She had spent many hours poring over it in the time since Elphaba and Fiyero had been forced to flee. While she understood many more words than she ever thought she would, there were sections that still looked like nothing more than gibberish. Her fear now was that it was one of those parts that held the counterspell she was sure she'd need very soon.

As dusk crept in, Glinda deciphered a portion of the text that had been stumping her for weeks. She smiled to herself, and felt content enough to put the heavy book away for the night. 'Elphaba was so much more a natural at this,' she mused. 'But maybe I'm not as hopeless as I thought.' It lightened her heart to know that perhaps she was worthy of the trust her best friend had placed in her. The only other person who believed she could develop her abilities was Travion. That was one of the reasons she had agreed to marry him, one of many. There had been grumbling when the engagement was first announced, since Fiyero had so recently disappeared. People said that Glinda must not have loved him, and that was why she could move on so easily.

Glinda allowed this speculation to continue unchecked. It wasn't as if she could explain by saying Fiyero was now living in the outer reaches of Oz... with the one person he truly loved. It would be a lie to say she had not been angry and jealous when she'd first discovered Fiyero and Elphaba's feelings for each other. Before long, though, those feelings had faded, because deep down she had come to understand that Fiyero had not been meant to be with her. He made Elphaba happy, a happiness that was deeply deserved in a life that had previously been filled with rejection and ridicule.

Now, Glinda had found Travion, and she was happier than she had been with Fiyero. Though she had loved the young prince, it had been a jealous, possessive sort of love. Both of them deserved better, and now they had found it. Travion was gentle and understanding, just as Fiyero had been, but he did not cater to Glinda's every whim. She had thought at first this would be a point of great upset. But as time passed, Glinda found she appreciated being treated as her new fiancee's equal. While he did buy her gifts and lavish her with compliments, he also treated her as someone with valid opinions that deserved to be listened to and respected. It wasn't Fiyero's fault he had come to treat Glinda as an object. At the time, that was all she had desired in a mate. But now, after everything that had happened, Glinda's nature had changed, in more ways than even she yet recognized.

Fiyero woke around noon, expecting to find the other side of the bed empty. Elphaba never slept many hours at a stretch. He didn't know why this was, but hadn't yet bothered to ask. Therefore, when he looked over and saw Elphaba was still sleeping, he began to worry. He moved to rise from the bed, and Elphaba almost instantly stirred as well.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I wasn't trying to wake you. Go back to sleep."

Instead, Elphaba slowly sat up, then began shaking her head as if to clear it more quickly of sleep. When she looked up at Fiyero, her eyes were clouded. "I have such a headache," she volunteered. "Maybe I just slept wrong... but it seems like there are two of you standing there."

Fiyero frowned, knowing things were worse than he had feared before they had turned in. Elphaba wasn't one to complain about everyday aches and pains. She would endure silently until whatever ache it was faded away, even when Fiyero offered some comfort. Therefore, he knew what was happening now was likely to be just what he feared. He had heard of vengeance spells... curses, more appropriately. Most if not all of them were also killing curses... Some slower than others.

"Just try to rest," he said shakily. "Maybe you're more tired than you thought."

"Fiyero, don't coddle me, please. We both know the spell must be causing this. We can't know what might happen next. If it makes me suffer anything that's too much for you, I won't blame you for walking away. I'm not flattering myself. I know how deeply things affect you, and I wouldn't want you to suffer more because of me. I think I've done enough of that already."

Fiyero was about to reply when Elphaba suddenly squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers clutching the edge of the thin blanket that covered her. "The light hurts too much," she nearly gasped, half out of breath from the pain. Fiyero saw the light sweat that had broken out on Elphaba's forehead, and for the first time felt truly afraid of what may happen. Before Fiyero could say or do anything else, Elphaba began to slowly get out of bed. It was clear that every move she made caused her pain, but she gritted her teeth and kept moving.

"What are you doing?" Fiyero knew how alarmed he sounded, but could not help it. "Just stay in bed, whatever you need, I can..."

Elphaba made no reply until she was standing at the window, trying with fumbling hands to get the drapes closed. "I'm not an invalid, you don't have to treat me like one!" she snapped. "It's just a headache, that's all." As the heavy drapes came together, she could at last open her eyes and meet Fiyero's worried gaze.

"It's much better now. I'm going to nap a little longer, then I'll make us something to eat."

Once Elphaba had gotten back into bed, Fiyero rested a hand gently on her forehead, then frowned. "I'll be right back. Wait here."

Sometime after dark had fallen, Glinda had nodded off in the back of the carriage. By the time she awoke, she could just make out the dark, vague shapes on either side of her. She knew that very soon they would enter the Kumbric Pass. The journey was nearly half over.

Glinda's neck ached from sleeping in such an awkward position, but at least she had gotten some much needed rest. It helped the time pass faster. Every waking moment, anxiety tugged at her heart. She knew something was very wrong. And they were still so far away.

Between the darkness, the bumpy uncomfortable trip, and her internal anxieties, Glinda felt suddenly, intensely lonely. She wished she had someone to talk to, someone to ease the fears that nibbled at her mind. The lateness of the hour was no help either, since Glinda still didn't care for the dark even at her age. She thought about what Elphaba would say to that and couldn't help laughing at herself. She spent the next several minutes staring out the window of the carriage, into the blackness. She wondered just what Elphaba and Fiyero might be doing... if either of them was getting any rest. Glinda doubted that very much, and all that did was cause her to worry more. At last, she felt sleep tugging at her eyelids again, and let herself be drawn back into dreams she hoped would be better than her present circumstances.