Chapter 6

Elphaba finally looked back at her friend, only to find her smiling. After an instant of confusion Glinda spoke. "Then let me fix it," she said quietly. "There is a counterspell in this book. After what I just did, that will seem much easier. But what would Fiyero say if we talked to him about this?"

"He'd say he doesn't want you to," Elphaba admitted. "But I can talk to him. Maybe he will come to understand why this is so important to me. He deserves to be normal again. He's already stuck in the middle of nowhere because of me. If we can't leave here I at least want him to be able to look at HIMSELF in the mirror."

Glinda frowned, then tried her best to explain what was troubling her. "I understand why you'd want Fiyero to go back to the way he was. But even if I do that, he wouldn't come back to the city without you. It's not safe for you as things are... So what would you say if I could make it possible for you to leave here, too?" A small smile played at the corners of Glinda's mouth, which grew to a full grin as Elphaba reacted with excitement.

"How? I mean... I'm sure you're talking about a spell, but I never found one that would make me look normal. Have you?"

"No, not anything permanent. From what I can tell, the spell can mask someone's true appearance. I found it while I was traveling here. I knew it would be just the thing for you!"

Elphaba frowned, then set her jaw as she grew angry. "If you don't know how to make the change permanent, I don't want to do it. I have to look at myself every day and know that I look like this because of... of HIM. He almost succeeded in killing me... I don't want to be reminded of him every day!"

"But Elphie," Glinda began, her voice quiet and a bit frightened. "Fiyero loves you the way you are. I heard that nickname he calls you by. It's very sweet. You like it, don't you?"

"Of course I do. I know what you're getting at, and it's not going to change my mind. I want you to find a permanent solution for me. But Fiyero comes first."

"I hope you can get him to agree. I don't know if you can. And he's not going to like what you've asked me to do. You don't have to change yourself to make anyone else happy. The masking spell is enough. You'll be able to go out in public, and no one will ever know it's you. That's all you need, Elphie."

"It isn't for you to decide! You aren't the one that's had to live their life looking like this. You haven't had to deal with people staring at you, laughing at you. Everyone loves you. That's why you have the life you have, and I'm here. It would be nice to see the city again. Even with everything that happened there, I miss it sometimes."

"You'll get to go back, Elphie, I promise. There's no way I'd have my wedding without you and Fiyero there. You just have to come! Please?"

Elphaba crossed her arms in front of her and fixed a level gaze on Glinda's face. "Only if you find that spell." Her voice was filled with such anger it made Glinda flinch.

"Elphaba, I didn't come here to argue. I just saved your life, and this is the thanks I get? Are you trying to make me sorry I came here? I haven't seen you in six months, but nothing has changed. If you weren't so obstinate, you'd get along better with people, you know!"

This gave Elphaba pause. She relaxed her posture, then sighed. "I'm sorry, I don't want to fight either. I am glad you made it in time... that you were able to save me. But this... This life isn't enough for Fiyero. He's so unhappy, and there is nothing I can do to fix it. For everything to be all right again, I HAVE to look normal! I think he would love me no matter how I look. Can't you understand why I want... why I NEED the change to be permanent?" Elphaba looked ready to cry, which only upset Glinda more. She had so rarely seen her best friend act this way, and hardly knew how to respond.

"Elphie, I know you feel to blame for the way things are. But making yourself look 'normal' won't undo any of that. I can help Fiyero, and I can help you. His change will be permanent, but yours doesn't need to be, even if you think it does. Fiyero loves you the way you are. You're unique, and even if you don't think you're beautiful, he does. Isn't that enough?"

Elphaba still wasn't convinced. "I know he loves me," she granted. "But why will you 'cure' him, or whatever you want to call it, but all I'll get is a FALSE face, and as soon as I am in private again, I still have to be GREEN. Tell me why!"

At that point, Fiyero entered the room carrying a tray laden with enough food for all three of them; Tall glasses of iced tea, several hot sandwiches for each, and small ice cream sundaes for dessert. When he looked up and saw the contrary looks on both Elphaba and Glinda's faces, his own smile faded. "You're arguing," he began, sounding mystified. "You should be happy to see each other. What happened?"

Elphaba turned her face away without making a reply, so Glinda found herself forced into the explanation. "I told Elphie I found a spell to return you to normal, and one to mask her appearance when she's out in public. That will be enough to make it safe for you to return to the city. But she wants me to change how she looks permanently. I said no, and that's when the fighting started. What do you think I should do?"

Elphaba turned her face back to Fiyero's expectantly, awaiting his answer. Fiyero didn't reply to Glinda directly. Instead, he set aside the wealth of food he had brought in and knelt beside the bed, taking one of Elphaba's hands in his. "Ivy, what is this all about? I thought you'd come to accept the way you look, that you knew I love you just as you are. What happened?"

"I know you love me, very much," she replied gently. "But I don't see why she will make you look normal, but she expects me to live the rest of my life looking like this! You get to have your life back, and I'll be stuck being the same old me!"

Fiyero nodded slightly, understanding now. He reached for Elphaba's other hand, and cradled them both in his as he began to speak again. "You are beautiful the way you are. Glinda wants to make me look as I used to. I know you regret the way the spell you cast altered my appearance. I don't mind looking like this, but it will make you happy to see it undone, so I will let it be. But Ivy, changing how you look will make you something you aren't. You had to fight so hard to discover who you were in the first place. The color of your skin is one thing that has helped make you the amazing person you are now. A temporary change when you're in public I can understand, we have no choice about that. But if you force Glinda into transforming you permanently, I will have much less respect for you. Do you want to make her feel used, the same as the wizard made you feel? Because that's what you'd be doing. Using her to get your way. You're a better person than that. You're better than HIM, Ivy."

Elphaba set her jaw again, this time out of determination. "I won't be like him." Her eyes moved from Fiyero's to Glinda's and back again. "I refuse to be like that. I'm sorry, Glinda. Come sit here closer to me, and we can all eat lunch. You must be starving too."

Glinda took a seat on the end of the bed, even though the single chair on the left side of the bed was unoccupied. She smiled, watching Fiyero as he carefully brought them their lunches from the tray. Suddenly, her smile faded, and she gasped. "Oh. sweet Oz! I forgot about the coachman outside! I was so anxious to get in here, I just left him..."

Fiyero chuckled. "It's fine, Glinda. I saw him out there when I opened the door, and while you two were in here talking I invited him in. He's in the kitchen feasting too."

"Thank you. I swear, sometimes I can still be such a scatterbrain!" Elphaba laughed softly to herself, but said nothing. They ate lunch there together, chatting and laughing. Glinda shared a story or two more about Travion, and Elphaba decided he seemed to be a man she could like very much... if she ever got to meet him. As they all at last finished their food, Elphaba confided this to her friend. "I hope I can see him in person one day. He sounds so gentle and friendly. He makes you very happy, I can see that. When will the wedding be?"

"We actually haven't set a final date yet. We were waiting until I found a way for you both to be there. Once I knew you were still alive, I had to... Well, I never expected to be able to invite you in person like this. You will come, won't you?"

Elphaba glanced at Fiyero, who instantly saw her desire to go to the city for the ceremony. He was just as eager, and it made him happy to think of being back in the city as well. He hoped it would feel like old times, before everything had gone wrong. "Of course we'll come," he said with a smile. "Just let us know when to be there. We haven't got a carriage, though... How will we get there?"

Glinda waved off his concern. "I don't have only one carriage, I have two. I can send one of mine, or maybe Travion would even make the trip to pick you up. I think he'd like that. He's been extremely anxious to meet you. If you don't have formal clothes, don't worry. The wedding is going to be at my house anyway, not in public. Come as you are most comfortable. There will only be a handful of guests. The two of you, my parents and Travion's, that's about it."

Elphaba and Fiyero were both surprised by the fact that Glinda was going to have such a small-scale wedding. It drove home the fact that she had changed quite a bit since they had been forced to leave the city. It put Elphaba at ease to know she'd be dealing with a minimum of strangers, because disguised or not, she tended to be very shy around new people. They spent a few more minutes animatedly discussing the wedding plans, when Elphaba suddenly looked wistful. Fiyero sensed it was something he could not help with, so he busied himself cleaning up after their huge lunch, once again leaving the two women to talk in private. Glinda wasted no time in getting to the point.

"You wish you could get married too, don't you. Elphie?"

Elphaba looked up, a bit startled and dismayed. "Am I really that obvious? I'm sorry... I'm very happy for you, really. I just wish... Fiyero and I have only talked about marriage once or twice. Out here there are so few people anyway, and we decided we couldn't risk letting anyone else know we were still alive. So there would be no one to marry us. We don't talk about it anymore, because it makes us both too upset."

"I'm sorry for being so thoughtless, Elphie. That didn't even occur to me. Travion and I are being wed by a lay-person, we decided that was more appropriate considering the low-key occasion. It's someone my family has known for years. I plan to order the Gale Force to stop their search for you and Fiyero, so by the time you arrive for the wedding, things will be that much safer for you. So you can both come, and try to have a good time. We will figure out a way for you to have a wedding too someday."

"That would be nice," Elphaba said with a sigh. "It would be nice to have something go our way for a change. I'm really tired, Glinda. Would you mind if I took a nap for just a little while?"

"Of course not," Glinda replied softly, instantly rising from the edge of the bed. "I'll wait for you to wake up before I leave, so I can say goodbye to you. I'll go keep Fiyero company. Call me when you wake up."

Elphaba nodded, then turned onto her side away from the door as Glinda exited the room, closing the door softly behind her. She went and joined Fiyero in the kitchen. The coachman had finished his lunch as well and returned to his post, so the two friends were alone. Glinda offered to help Fiyero clean up, but when he declined she simply took a seat at the small table. "That was a short talk," Fiyero said, turning back to the sink full of dishes and soapsuds. "No fighting this time, I guess."

Glinda smiled gently. "No, she was tired, she's taking a nap. Fiyero, she was telling me she wants..."

"To get married," he finished, then sighed deeply. " I knew that had to be it, after you had mentioned your own. I was wondering how long it would be until she told you. We both want that, but there is no way right now, and we have to accept that. Maybe someday, but not now."