Chapter 8

Fiyero sat on the bed beside Elphaba for a minute or two, then kissed her gently before she laid down on the bed. He remained there, watching her as she resisted surrendering to the sleep she needed. He felt an overpowering desire to protect her from further harm. It hurt him to know he could not remove the cruel curse from her himself... But that was something he was simply going to have to live with. Now he understood how Elphaba must have felt when she'd discovered her own spell had turned him into a man of straw. Disappointed in herself, ashamed, angry. And most of all, she must have felt like a failure. Fiyero wished he could go back to the days when he did not really understand this.

"I swear Ivy, from now on I am going to protect you much better than have so far. I'm going to take care of you... help you though those days you're sure to have where you can barely get out of this bed. We aren't going to stay here forever. We are going to live in the city, where there will be so many things to do that there will never seem to be enough hours in a day. I'll get a job... A good job, so I can get everything we possibly need, plus extra things to spoil you with. You deserve to be spoiled, even if you don't think you do."

Elphaba began to protest, but Fiyero shushed her gently. She lay quietly, listening to the rest of what he had to say. Her eyes were fixed on his, where she saw all of the emotions swirling inside of him.

"You have done nothing else for your entire life except try to take care of the people you love. Now it is your turn to be taken care of, Ivy."

He reached out and tenderly grasped one of Elphaba's hands, squeezing it gently in his own. "I love you, Ivy, and I'm so happy you finally believe me when I say that. I will be here to love you every day, and be here whenever you need me. There is nowhere else I'd rather be than with you." Fiyero sat quietly after this, and once a moment had passed in silence, Elphaba decided it was safe for her to reply.

"I love you, too. You're right when you say I didn't always believe you. But that's my fault, not yours. Thank you for all the things you said. I will try to do a better job of letting you take care of me. That's the best I can promise. At least we have our trip to the city to look forward to."

Elphaba then admitted she could no longer keep her eyes open. As she drifted off, Fiyero stayed there, unable to make himself leave the room. Elphaba's slumber was uneasy, and once or twice Fiyero saw her face darken with pain when she moved. He cursed the wizard, wishing there were a way to find him and get even. But as Elphaba had said, it was quite certain no one would ever see the wizard again. He had accomplished his first and only act of true magic. Fiyero's blood boiled as he thought about the fact that the wizard had taught himself that spell to come and wreak vengance upon his own daughter. It was a comfort to know the Emerald City was no longer under the wizard's control, that they could go there and try to build a happy life. Sooner rather than later, they were going home.

It was almost exactly three weeks later that a carriage arrived to take Elphaba and Fiyero to the city. Travion had sent a note ahead to tell them he would be the one coming to pick them up. This had made Elphaba somewhat nervous, but part of her was still anxious to meet Glinda's fiancee. Travion arrived very early, just past dawn. Elphaba was an early riser, so she was ready and waiting for their guest. Fiyero was, as usual, still fast asleep. Elphaba went to rouse him as soon as she heard the carriage approaching, so Fiyero was still in the bedroom getting ready when Travion rapped on the door, which left Elphaba to answer it. She approached cautiously, but the warm smile that immediately lit up Travion's face upon seeing Elphaba put her instantly at ease. She noticed he was carrying a small sack in his hand, but felt no curiousity about what was inside.

"Come in," she invited. "Fiyero isn't ready yet. Is it all right if we take a little time to get started back to the city?"

They each took a seat in the living room near the fireplace as Travion replied. "Of course. I got here early so we won't have to rush. It's so nice to meet you, Elphaba. Glinda has talked of almost nothing but your visit since she returned home. Of course she adores making all the plans... Don't let her be too pushy. It's your wedding too, you deserve to have a say."

Elphaba smiled slightly, but then voiced a concern she had been harboring for some time. "Travion, you don't mind having this joint wedding, do you? It's was all Glinda's idea, but still I..."

He laughed gently. "Of course not. If I did I would have had to speak up before now. It's what Glinda wants, it has added to her joy in looking forward to getting married. I've never seen her so excited. She wants to give you a very special day. She said you'd probably be worried about the expense, but believe me when I say it isn't for you to worry about. Glinda's parents are financing the whole thing. They haven't questioned a penny Glinda has spent. I would guess they assume all the extravagances are for her. So many seamstress bills may be hard to explain, but I think they are enjoying this whole thing as much as Glinda is. They simply don't care what it costs."

"You mean no one knows it's supposed to be a double wedding except for us four? That will be a little strange, don't you think?"

"Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you think no one will be aware. Glinda said she doesn't intend to explain things to her parents until you arrive. They will be there helping with all the arrangements. She's anxious for you to meet them. My parents won't be coming to the city until the ceremony."

Elphaba rose from her chair and began to pace. "She didn't say they'd be there too! She knows how I feel about strangers. I was nervous enough to meet you today, and there will be the dressmakers... and now her parents. I can't go... Fiyero can go alone. I can try again another time. She knows I hate dealing with so many strangers!"

Travion frowned and stood as well. He wanted to offer some comfort, but knew better than to attempt to touch Elphaba in any way. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "She should have informed you. They're her parents... She was very excited that they were also coming to visit. She didn't mean to surprise you, I'm sure. She didn't think of letting you know. If you'd like, next week I can bring the dressmakers to you, here. If that would make it easier."

Elphaba sighed. "It would, but Fiyero and I have been looking forward to this since Glinda left. She'll be disappointed if we don't come. I'm sorry for my outburst... I guess I'm more nervous about all of this than I thought."

"Join the club." Travion laughed gently as he saw Elphaba's puzzled expression. "I love Glinda, and of course I'm looking forward to marrying her, but I'm not the most outgoing person, either. I'm glad it's the bride people fuss over more. I don't think I could stand it. I was nervous to come here too."

"You were? Why?"

"Well, I've never met you, either. Glinda speaks of you so often, and I can see how she loves you both. So if for whatever reason we couldn't get along, she'd be very disappointed. I didn't want to let her down."

"You didn't even mention my skin color," Elphaba said without anger. "You're more diplomatic than most people, at least. You weren't even surprised when you first saw me."

"I was, a little. But Glinda told me all about you months ago. And I knew I had nothing to worry about, considering the two of you are best friends. She's been a different person since she found out the two of you were still alive and well. She sent something for you, she said it's to complete your disguise." From the small bag Travion had brought in with him, he produced a long light brown wig. Elphaba frowned at it, but took it and went into another room to ready herself for the journey. Fiyero soon emerged and introduced himself to Travion, making small talk as they waited.

After some time fussing with pins to get her own hair out of sight under the wig, and taking a brief instant to cast the spell that masked her skin color, Elphaba returned to the living room. Fiyero saw her first, and couldn't keep from frowning. "I can't even tell it's you under there," he said with disgust. He knew he was stating the obvious, and under other circumstances the whole thing might even have been a bit humorous. At the moment, nothing seemed very funny.

Elphaba approached Fiyero, taking his hands in hers. "I know you don't like it. But it's necessary, so we have to live with it. While you're feeling unhappy looking at me, think of all these stupid pins I'll have poking me in the scalp for who knows how long!" She made an unhappy sound, but then shook off her mood and told Travion she was ready to leave whenever he was. Fiyero went to fetch the suitcase he had forgotten in the bedroom, and they were all set. As the three walked toward the door, Travion glanced at Elphaba, then shook his head.

"You looked much prettier before," was all he said.

After two days' journey, Travion, Elphaba and Fiyero arrived in the Emerald City. All three were weary from the trip, but were in good spirits. The carriage was parked in the nearest available space, and they disembarked and walked the remaining half-block. Elphaba and Fiyero looked around at everything within their sight, to see what had changed during their absence. Nothing seemed very different, and no one took great notice of them as they strolled down the sidewalk. They were all glad, since they had expected Fiyero to draw some impolite stares at the very least.

Elphaba stopped short and pointed toward a very large, very pink house several yards down the way. "I guess that must be where she lives," Elphaba said softly, fighting to keep a smirk off of her face. "Leave it to her to want even her house to be pink!"

Fiyero laughed, but Travion seemed very subdued. "It was green at first, like all the rest of them," he said, in a whisper so low he could barely be heard. "But the first thing she did was hire painters to do it over in pink." He could have explained further, but it was unnecessary. They all knew why it had been done. Still, the sight of that manor sticking out like a sore thumb made Elphaba smile, and she planned on wasting no time in teasing her friend about it.

Not five minutes later, they had arrived. One of the maids answered the door, and ushered them immediately into a parlor. Elphaba smiled to herself as she realized the woman didn't give either she or Fiyero a second glance. They sat down and waited, hearing Glinda's voice echoing from somewhere at the back of the house, talking seriously about something. They looked to Travion, wondering if he knew what was going on.

"It sounds like the dressmakers are here already. She won't put you in their hands right away... I suppose she'll have to give you the grand tour first, so you'll know where you'll be sleeping, at least."

Glinda then entered the parlor, and enthusiastically greeted her friends. She was a bit surprised by the totality of Elphaba's disguise, because though she had prepared herself for seeing it, actually doing so was another matter.

"You can say it, I don't look anything like myself," Elphaba whispered, sounding sad and a bit angry at the same time. "Fiyero said pretty much the same thing." She glanced at him and frowned. But Glinda smiled and hugged her best friend a second time.

"You did what you had to do, that's all. How was the trip?" Elphaba said little in reply, so Fiyero and Travion volunteered the information instead. Glinda then offered to take them on a grand tour of the house, which made Travion wink in Fiyero and Elphaba's direction. He stayed on the lower level, prowling in the kitchen for something tasty to have for an early lunch.

Glinda took great pleasure in showing her friends every room of the house, not because she was trying to show off, but because she was overjoyed they had finally arrived. When she showed them into the bedroom they were to occupy, Elphaba looked so relieved Fiyero began to worry. Once they had returned to the hallway and Glinda was a few steps ahead of them, Fiyero took Elphaba aside. "I saw that look on your face in there. How bad is the pain?"