Tale as Old as Time
Are Rescued
"Kay, Ellie, the skeery part's over," Danilo told his older sister who had burrowed beneath her blankets to hide when Glinda began telling them about the "princess's" adventure with the mountain cat.
"Are you sure?" Came a muffled question from beneath the duvet.
Danilo looked up at his mother for clarification.
"Yup, no more scary parts for a while," Glinda assured them. "Get up here."
She shifted from the rocking chair to Danilo's bed. Elianora squirmed out of the covers and leapt across the gap between the two beds to snuggle with her mother and brother.
"Are you sure you want to hear the rest of this tonight?"
The duet of "Yes's" left no room for argument so Glinda wrapped an arm around each of her children and plunged back into the story.
When Glinda woke up the following morning she felt slightly hung over. Though she knew she definitely hadn't been drinking the night before.
As consciousness slowly took more hold on her, her senses were assaulted. Her bed was warm and it was tempting to just turn over and return to sleep. The pounding of water nearby aggravated her headache, making that temptation all the more strong. Her stomach protested the idea however, and the tantalizing aroma of food being cooked close by helped the option of waking for the day win the battle. She pried her eyes open, blinking away the fog clouding her vision.
Her magical fire was still crackling merrily in front of her. Boq was hunched over it, fidlling something in a food tin. The horse was munching at a pile of grass and branches. Boq looked up from his cooking and grinned when he saw she was awake.
"Good morning."
"Is it?" Glinda asked. Her hand went to her forehead as if she could rub her headache.
Boq frowned. He'd hoped they could have called a cease-fire to their bickering in lieu of recent events, but Glinda's tone indicated otherwise.
To his surprise Glinda seemed to realize she was being snitty again and expression and tone softened while she tried to make amends.
"Sorry," she apologized. "You might have noticed, I'm not much of a morning person."
"That's all right," he replied, his smile returning. "Headache?"
She nodded.
"There are some painkillers in the med-aid kit but you have to eat something with them or they'll make you sick," he told her as he pulled the cooking tin away from the embers. "The rain stopped earlier this morning, enough for me to go fishing. I used a bit from the food pack to make a decent soup out of it I think. Careful though it's hot."
He poured some of the stuff into the lid of the tin and handed it to her.
"Um," she began self-consciously when she tried to sit up and the blanket fell away just a little from her bare skin. "I need my clothes first."
"Oh!" Boq exclaimed embarrassed. He'd pulled the garments off the line when they were dry and piled them neatly on a rock near enough to the fire that they'd stay warm but not catch any stray sparks.
"Here," he said, setting the tiny bundle on her blankets. "I just -I'll just...go...check on the horse…"
He scuttled to the mouth of the cave and resolutely watched the horse chew on his collected meal. Glinda kept one eye suspiciously on him as she threw her clothes on faster than she ever had in her life. Not that she thought Boq would peek. But still, his presence made her just a little uncomfortable.
"Okay," she said awkwardly when she finished.
Boq turned back towards her and tried to be casual as he joined her once more in front of the fire. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Glinda daintily took a few bites of her soup. Truth be told she was getting tired of fish, but she wasn't about to mention it when it was the only thing available.
"Is it still raining then?" She asked, attempting to slough of the smothering silence between them.
"Yeah," Boq replied. "It started again as I was bringing in food for the horse."
Glinda looked at his shoulders and noticed more rust built up there than she remembered from the night before.
"You'll have to be careful, you'll run out of oil," she admonished.
Boq managed to look sheepish despite his tin features.
"Why do you rust so quickly?" She heard herself ask before she could think to stop. "I mean usually it takes time for things to corrode over so much, and you seem to just freeze together at the slightest bit of water."
"I think it's because I'm not made of ordinary tin. I'm enchanted Tin. I suppose water is to me, what fire is to someone with normal skin."
Glinda bit back a comment on who that should have reminded him of, hoping averting her eyes and picking at her soup wouldn't give her away. She didn't want to fight anymore, and Elphaba -or the Witch as Boq preferred- would obviously remain a subject of contention.
"What time is it?" She asked finally, searching for something –anything- to say to break the sudden stifling silence.
"Nearly the thirteenth hour now I imagine."
"What! You let me sleep until one?"
"You needed it," Boq shrugged. "And with the rain we wouldn't have gotten far anyway, I thought it would be better to let you sleep."
Glinda couldn't really argue with that logic, much as she may have wanted to. So she returned to eating with a newfound interest in the food. The silence returned but it wasn't quite as awkward, so when the rocks began to creak it startled everyone in the cave.
The horse began to snort and prance as the floor began to blur and shift.
"The forest is moving again!" Glinda shouted, dropping her tin and scrambling away from the twisting tendrils of flame from the magic fire. She only succeeded in getting herself tangled in the pile of blankets that had been her bed and was very glad when she felt Tin hands pull her from danger and carry her to the mouth of the cave. Boq set her down next to the horse and sandwiched her between them, effectively shielding her from the rocks that were now falling from the roof of the cave. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that gleaming Tin and falling rock wouldn't be the last thing she saw.
When it finally stopped the horse, the Tinman, and the Good Witch were all standing in the middle of a rocky clearing between trees. There was a pool of water nearby that was all that was left of the falls that had sheltered them the night before. It was no longer raining, though there were dreary clouds moving in.
"Well," Glinda said. "I suppose that means we should set off."
Boq, who was still marveling over the fact that they'd made it through the shift alive at could only nod in agreement. He helped her gather the things strewn about the rocks and replace them in the pack, and then took it to tie to the horse.
"Oh no!" Glinda cried in horror, the presence of only one horse reminding her of the worst part of the disaster of the night before. Her own horse had run off, taking the Grimmerie into the unfathomable forest with it.
"What's wrong?" Boq asked, baffled at her horrified expression.
"The book, it's gone!"
"What book?"
"The spell book," her voice had dropped to a devastated whisper. "The Grimmerie."
"I don't understand it's just a book. You must have hundreds of spell books."
"Yes," Glinda admitted her eyes downcast as she tried to fight the rise of emotion and the tears that came with. "But that one was special. Grimmerie's are so rare, I've searched for ages and there simply isn't another book like it. It's a treasure, one that I was entrusted with," she said carefully, unsure if she should reveal just who had entrusted it to her. "And I've failed."
Though her words were diplomatic, and would have been sufficient for those with only a passing interest Boq wasn't fooled, and he wouldn't settle for any more cryptic explanations.
"Who gave it to you?" He asked not unkindly, but his suspicion colored his words.
She looked up now; her expression set in its regrettably familiar mask of aloofness, refusing to reveal her true feelings. Her eyes betrayed her though; Boq could see the utter heartbreak she was trying so hard to hide clearly in their crystalline depths.
"Elphaba," She said simply.
Boq flinched, but the anger that normally rose up in him at the thought of the green witch dissipated before it even took form, he was too engrossed by the rare glimpse of Glinda. He'd known for sometime now that she hid behind facades; he hadn't realized that he'd been as duped as everyone else by them. He'd been easily placated by the surface emotions she displayed and hadn't noticed that she meticulously chose which one to put at the frontlines to shield the rest of herself from sight.
"What are you staring at?" She demanded, anger sparking to her eyes and Boq was disappointed to see she'd managed to cover the reflection of her innermost thoughts and feelings with it.
You, he thought.
"Nothing, it's gone now," he said.
Glinda's eyes narrowed suspiciously, layering more anger to hide their expressiveness behind.
"Let's get moving," she said firmly.
Boq offered her a boost to the horse's back but she declined, opting to vault up herself instead before dispassionately guiding the huge animal to a rock so he could climb up behind. Boq was happy with that arrangement; he wasn't all that fond of the horse to begin with, so being a passenger was some one of a relief. In addition to that fact it was a perfectly acceptable excuse to put his hands on her waist to stay balanced. No he did not have a problem with that arrangement at all.
Rumors of the lost travelers from Oz spread like wildfire through the kingdom. For the most part they remained reasonably close to the truth –As far as anyone could tell anyway, thanks mostly to the fact that the original information had come from the Dragon's who, by nature, made themselves so clear that one wouldn't soon get their stories mixed up. Whatever the reason Elphaba was grateful, it made organizing a search party infinitely simpler.
"There's a storm moving in," A Wolf by the name of Gerad reported to Elphaba, as several teams set off into the Enchanted Forest and a few more started down the road out of the square. "It's going to slow us down."
"It will slow them down as well," Elphaba reminded him, tucking several charts into her cloak where they would be safe from the threatening sky. "And they'll be easier to find if they stay in one spot."
"You're sure they're lost? Not just trying to send a message across the border to see if it works?" Gerad asked.
"Glinda wouldn't let the Grimmerie out of her sight if something hadn't gone wrong," Elphaba said definitively. "Though as to what happened, your guess is as good as mine. But remember; if you do find them don't let them know I'm the one who sent you out. I don't want undo problems to be caused."
"Yes mother," the young Wolf drawled.
"They're more than likely in the forest," Fiyero interrupted, reining his horse to stop next to Elphaba. "We can only guess where they are but I hope you sent teams to Looking Glass Lake and Marble Edge."
"I though you couldn't come!" Elphaba said, her delight breaking through the anxiety she'd been hiding since the day before. "And yes I did."
"Today's not looking like the day after all," Fiyero explained. "And Voreil said she'd let me know if the egg so much as twitches."
"What about the falls?" Gerad cut in, he obviously wanted to get going.
"Which ones?"
"Mazzerie and Mourning?"
"Yes to the first, I though Mourning Falls was a bit of a long shot."
The Wolf shook his head, "Not if the hose ran off before the late shift last night. I'll head over just in case."
"You won't make it back before the thirteenth shift," Elphaba pointed out.
"I'll swing back through Hildenborgen; the twenty-second quarter will put me right at the pass."
"Alright," Elphaba conceded. "Be back by high night or I'll send a party after you."
"No worries Milady," Gerad's tongue lolled in what Wolves approximated as a grin before he loped off into the forest, leaving Elphaba and Fiyero alone at the edge.
"You know flying's not really necessary," Fiyero suggested in a too-casual tone.
"Yes it is," Elphaba returned. "The faster we get Glinda and whoever's with her to the city the safer we'll all be."
"You won't be able to see much through the trees."
"I'd rather regret trying than regret not trying," Elphaba said firmly.
"Just be careful," Fiyero finally stopped trying to hide his concern.
"I will," She promised, mounting her broom and rising to be eye level with him.
"Where do you need me?" He asked.
Elphaba sighed, "Head to Marble Edge, I'll meet you there before the thirteen and we'll cover the south pass on the way home."
"Glad to hear you can be reasonable."
You be careful too," Elphaba admonished.
"Hey I'm not the one who's flying into invaded territory and a storm at the same time."
"Yes and yet you have an alarming propensity for running into trouble anyway," Elphaba shot back
"I'm not entirely sure what all those words meant but if you're trying to ell me I'm accident prone you can just say it plain."
"You're accident prone," Elphaba told him. "So be careful."
"I promise," he laughed and kissed her swiftly. "See you in a couple hours."
"See you."
She leaned forward on her broom and pulled it upwards while Fiyero nudged his horse and together they took off.
"What way are we going?" Glinda asked after almost three hours of not-quite-comfortable silence.
"You're driving, I thought you knew," Boq quipped.
"Northwest," he added quickly when Glinda shot him a tired scowl. "We got pretty far southeast last night."
Glinda grimaced. That had been her fault, if she hadn't thrown a tantrum and run off they wouldn't have gotten even more lost than they already were.
"Do you think we'll make it back?"
"I don't know anymore," Boq replied honestly. "Right now I'd be happy to find any form of civilization," he paused, thinking. "Sorry, I know that's not exactly what you want to hear."
Of course that wasn't what she wanted to hear. But she supposed she ought to have been used to that. It wasn't as if it were a recent development.
"No," She said softly. "I guess you were right. I can't fix everything with a wand and a smile."
Boq –who had hoped for a compliment at the mention of being right- felt suddenly ashamed of himself.
"I forgot to mention that it sure makes us all feel better," he said, trying for a smile.
"Glad I could help," she replied dryly.
They settled into silence once again, heading more or less the same direction for another hour or two without any undo interruptions. Of course that was too good to last.
"Oh my Oz. Boq look!"
Glinda pointed to a short rise not one hundred yards ahead. Boq looked and saw the object of her horror: a large, ginger-gray wolf that was impatiently picking his way down to the faint "trail" they were following. He seemed to notice they'd spotted him because he paused long enough to throw back his head and howl triumphantly.
The two Ozians looked around fearfully, remembering that wolves hunted in packs and realizing that he was probably calling his friends to dinner. Their great horse began to prance nervously, Glinda gripped the reins tighter in an attempt to keep him steady until she figured out what to do.
"What do we do?' Boq asked, his eyes fixed on the wolf.
"I was gonna ask you," Glinda replied quietly, oddly calm. After facing death in this forest so many times already this singular canine failed to scare her out of her wits.
"We can't outrun it, not in this forest," Boq said. "If we got close enough without losing the horse I'd have a chance to take care of it with my ax."
"What about your revolver?"
"No bullets."
A very unladylike word slipped passed Glinda's lips; Boq's eyes widened in surprise.
"Do we charge or wait?"
"Wait. We'll use our height against him," He directed.
"Best defense is a good offense," she said.
"Would you listen to me for once? It's my job to protect you, I know what I'm doing after all."
"I guess we'll see won't we?" she snarked struggling to keep the horse still.
"Keep him steady, it would be very bad if I fell off halfway through."
"Oh really? I hadn't realized," She snapped.
"Here we go! Hold on!"
The wolf lept down the last of the rocks and dashed at them.
"Turn the horse around now!" Boq roared.
The Good Witch gave their mount a hard kick and hauled on the left rein with all her weight. The horse spun as the wolf reared on its hind legs and Boq swung his axe down.
"Whoa! Hey!" The wolf –or Wolf rather- yelled, darting backwards.
Shocked, Boq dropped his weapon mid-swing, lost his balance and fell from the still moving horse, nearly taking Glinda with him to the forest floor. She managed to stop the nervous horse from her awkward position half-hanging off its back while clinging to the reins and its mane for dear life at the same time.
"What in Oz name was that about!" The livid witch screamed at the Wolf.
"Well I don't know how things work where you come from but here-abouts we don't attack our rescuers with axes!"
"Where I come from 'rescuers' don't stalk their rescuee's!" Glinda cried.
"Hush up!" The Wolf ordered. "This isn't a part of the forest where you want to go tramping around making a lot of noise. If you two would stop bickering for eight seconds you would have heard me tell you that."
"What was the howl about then?" Boq demanded from the spot where he'd landed on his back and not managed to get back up.
"A warning; there are quite a few wild animals in this part of the woods who would love to eat you. I was claiming you as mine just in case. I'm surprised you haven't been caught yet with all the noise you've been making. I've been able to hear for almost a half an hour!"
"Sorry."
"Don't tell me that, I wouldn't have found you so quickly if you hadn't. You would have been sorry to be dinner though I suppose."
"You've been looking for us?" Glinda whispered her question, feeling slightly embarrassed for snapping at their would-be rescuer.
"There's a whole party looking for you actually. I'm the only one out this far though. We're lucky, we can make the half-eighteen and then it's only a few klicks to Hildenborgen."
"A whole party? Are you from Drammenheim? We were supposed to arrive there nearly a week ago."
"Drammenheim? Well yeah, but we didn't know anything about you until yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Boq asked suspiciously. "What happened yesterday?"
"Get on your horse, I'll explain as we go. We need to get moving or we'll miss the shift.
Boq wasn't certain about this Wolf character but even he could tell that the storm they'd faced the past couple of days was returning and it would do no good to get rusted over again. He clunked to his feet and with the help of a fallen log he climbed up behind Glinda once more.
"What happened yesterday then?"
"Your other horse was discovered in the Queen's stables. We found your magic book and the Sorceress gathered people to look for you."
"The Sorceress? How did she know it's my book?"
The Wolf shrugged. "I suppose she knows you."
Glinda's eyes narrowed. "How, who is she?"
"Her secrets aren't mine to tell. You'll meet her soon enough anyway; we'll be to the palace by high night."
Glinda shot Boq a worried look and halted the horse.
"What are you doing? You don't want to miss the shift trust me. We'll be hours away from Hildenborgen then and gnomes have been sighted in these border areas."
"We're not going anywhere with you. We don't know who you are and there are an awful lot of missing pieces to your story," Boq said firmly in an effort to assert himself as the one in charge.
Glinda glared at him.
"Somehow I doubt you were this brave before you were encased in magical metal."
"Magical metal?" Boq asked archly.
"No offense, but you absolutely reek of spell work."
It wasn't possible of course, but Glinda would have sworn that the heartless Tinman's mood darkened at the mention of it.
"You're going to have to take a chance on me. Seeing as wandering around an enchanted forest hasn't really done you much good so far. My name is Gerad and I was sent to find you and see you to safety. I'm not at liberty to say by whom and honestly I don't know why. I can tell you that I'll be taking you to our capital city where you'll meet our Head Sorceress and quite possibly our Queen. I'm also your best bet of getting there alive. Is that enough information for you?"
Glinda ignored Boq, who was gesturing that he wanted to discuss it in private before they decided, considered her options and nodded.
"I suppose we don't really have much of a choice do we? Lead on then Gerad," she said, making an effort not to let Boq catch her eye. Even without looking she knew he was glaring daggers at her back.
Glinda was surprised at how easily Gerad seemed to pick his way through the forest, she couldn't tell one tree from another but he led them easily down a path only he could see. He must have gotten them somewhere for it wasn't long before they came to a halt when they reached a road in a clearing. The only problem was that it didn't go anywhere, after twenty yards in either direction it just stopped.
"What now?"
"We wait. The shift will come any minute now. I don't suppose either of you has a time piece?"
Both Ozians shook their heads.
"I thought not but it doesn't matter."
True to Gerad's word they only had to wait a few minutes before the forest around them began to blur in the tell-tale sign of a shift. Gerad stood as near to their horse as possible and Boq (who had forgiven Glinda for not consulting him by now) wrapped a metal arm around Glinda's waist, telling himself it was to be sure they wouldn't be separated in the shift.
When the forest stopped whizzing by and the trees and shrubs once again became distinguishable from the rest, Gerad darted away from the slightly anxious horse and Boq, not wanting to press his luck, removed his arm before Glinda had even though to say anything about it.
Upon further inspection, what had previously only been a section of road was now a complete path and the little meadow they'd been standing in now open to a much larger break in the trees where a little town was settled.
"I give you: Hildenborgen," Gerad said with more flourish than was really necessary.
"You have no idea how nice it is to see civilization," Boq said, marveling at the sight.
"I do," Glinda countered.
"We'll go into town. There's an inn where we can get some food and you can get cleaned up. The forest will shift again in a few hours, putting the town at the base of Drammenheim and we'll set off again and be back to the castle by high night," Gerad informed them.
"Whatever you say," Glinda said, wishing she knew more about the Queen and Sorceress and wondering why they hadn't been mentioned in the letters she'd received.
Once they got moving again it took only a few minutes before they entered Hildenborgen. The village was quaint, with tidy farms scattered around the main town, which consisted mostly of cottages and small shops with apartments over them. It reminded Boq of the province where he'd grown up.
As they passed down the cobblestone street the setting sun cast a warm glow to light their way. The clouds from the ever approaching storm turned the dying light magnificent shades of purple, blue, pink and orange. Most people were home for the night, light beaconed invitingly from un-shuttered windows. Inside families were sitting down for dinner. Gerad led them past a boutique, a black smith's shop and a famers market, to the town square that was overlooked by an assembly hall and the inn he'd told them about.
"Well here we are."
Boq carefully slid down from the horse and turned to offer a hand to Glinda who surprised him by accepting it. He pulled their only bag off the horse's rump as a middle aged woman scurried out of the entrance followed by a little boy who could only have been her son.
"Bless my soul if it isn't Gerad! Home at last," She cried, rushing towards the Wolf as if he were a lost pet she'd discovered. Gerad seemed quite happy to let her hug him and scratch the fur between his ears.
"Hello Hilda, Reidar," He said when the woman had finished fawning over him. He shifted his amber gaze apologetically to Glinda and Boq and Hilda realized that he had companions.
"And who might this be? Not the lost travelers everyone's been going on about?"
"Two and the same I'm afraid," the Wolf intoned with no regret whatsoever. "I was hoping we could get a good meal and some warm water to wash in before I cart them off to the palace later tonight."
"Sure thing, you've caught us between harvests so we aren't busy a'tall," Hilda informed them happily. "Reidar will take care of your horse, you just follow me."
The young boy, Reidar, gently took the reins and led the hose –which was nearly twice as tall as he- down the alley between the inn and the next building, presumably towards the stables.
Hilda held the door and Gerad trotted in with Boq and Glinda following uncertainly at his heels.
"Now I'll have Raef get on some dinner for ya but I 'spose you'll want to get cleaned up first."
Glinda nodded gratefully.
"Right then. I'm afraid that in all my years I've never met a Tinman but I'd guess you could use some oil and a good buff," she waited for Boq's nod of assent before continuing, "Gerad why don't you take him over to Gelane's and explain what he needs. And tell Gelane to join us for supper when he's through."
"Yes ma'am," Gerad said with a bark.
"And don't you be cheeky with me."
Gerad only looked at her with wide, innocent eyes.
"Oh go on with ya," Hilda said, shooing them towards the door.
Boq followed the Wolf hesitantly, looking back at Glinda helplessly. She shrugged and tried to smile encouragingly. He was loathe to leave her unprotected but he supposed that they may as well accept Hilda's hospitality, they had to trust somebody in this foreign country.
"Don't you worry about your lass," The Inn Matron told him. "I'll take good care of her an' you'll be back in no time least-ways."
She ushered Boq out with a smile and then turned to Glinda.
"Come on m'girl, there's hot water upstairs for a bath."
A bath had never sounded so enticing, Glinda decided as she followed Hilda up the worn wooden steps.
She took in her surroundings as they went and was pleased to note that the upper level of the inn was just as neatly kept as the lower. The entire thing was a bit rustic compared to what she was used to, with it's plastered walls and exposed wooden beams, but Glinda found it comfortable and endearing.
"Now they say you're from Oz?" Hilda began conversationally.
"Yes," Glinda answered, donning her 'diplomat voice' for the occasion.
"So's our Gerad, but I suppose you'll have fonder memories of the place than him."
"Gerad's from Oz?"
"Yes. His mother managed to get across the border with him when he was just a pup. They wandered into town one winter night about two years ago. She left Gerad with us and went back for her imprisoned mate and their other pups. She didn't come back," Hilda said sadly. There was an edge in her voice and at the back of her thoughts Glinda realized that she was trying to determine whether or not she'd supported that kind of thing in Oz.
A haunted look crossed her features as she remembered Elphaba, Dr. Dillamond, and the countless Animals she'd released from Southstairs to try to let them go back to their old lives. She tried to mask it but couldn't as more memories flooded her mind, a Lion who had been caged, a Fox beaten to death for attempting to escape, a Monkey who struggled to speak, a mute Wolf –and a small pack that hadn't survived Southstairs to be released.
"Unfortunately I'm sure many of my memories are fonder," Glinda whispered as she wrestled to put the awful images back in their place. "Things are slowly improving there," she told Hilda unhappily. "But it's still a hard place to live for those who are different."
"Well improvement's more than anyone here would have given them hope for. The border closed after the last Ozma died," Hilda explained as she led Glinda into a room and began to ready a bathtub for her. "The traders stopped coming but escapees began flooding in –all of them Animals. They said a human couldn't have survived to get through the forest, eventually a few did. But there wasn't really a reason for humans to leave. From what they tell me of the Wizard though it's only a matter of time."
"It would have been," Glinda admitted. "But the Wizard is gone now, as are the rest of the people responsible for the atrocities that riddle our recent history. We're working to reverse things."
Hilda looked at her appraisingly and Glinda stared back, willing herself to pass the woman's scrutiny. It must have worked because her expression turned to one of approval.
"Well I'm glad," she said with a smile. "Now what's a pretty thing like you doing wanderin' around the forest of Ev."
"I was coming to open up the trade lanes again actually," Glinda replied, glad for the change of subject. "My caravan was attacked at the border and my bodyguard dragged me into the woods to keep me safe."
"That's your metal companion then?"
"Yes. He's a man really, but was enchanted several years ago."
"I see," Hilda said as she rushed about the room readying a bath for her guest. "That happens often her. The forest has its own magic, many people who come out have to go to the Sorceress to be set right."
"The more I hear about that forest the more grateful I am to have gotten out of it alive," Glinda commented.
"I'd imagine," Hilda chucked. "There we are," she said as the tub finished filling. "Now there's soap and a cloth around this side. Just leave your clothes on the floor; I'll be back in a few minutes with a towel and a change of clothes. My daughter Lyla's about your size, she should have something that will do nicely."
"Oh that's really not necessary," Glinda protested.
"Yes it is, you can't be wearing' these rags to the palace –no offense- it's not the first time this has happened and it certainly won't be the last; Lyla won't mind."
"Thank you then," Glinda said.
"'Pleasure's mine m'girl," Hilda replied with a smile. "Oh! Bless me, I still don't know your name!"
"Glinda," she supplied.
"Well if that ain't as pretty as you are!"
Glinda blushed. There was a time when she would have basked in the flattery but it had been a long time since anyone had genuinely complimented her without wanting something in return.
"Right, I'll leave ya to your bath and just lay the clothes on the bed with a towel for when you're through."
"Thank you again."
Hilda waved her off and skittered out of the room, pulling a privacy shutter closed behind her. Glinda waited until she heard the door shut in the main room before stripping off her dirty clothes and climbing into the tub and sinking down into the steaming water.
It was glorious! She indulged in simply soaking for a bit before finding the soap and cloth and beginning to wash.
Hilda trundled in with her towel and clothes just as she finished rinsing her hair and then hurried back out, humming as she went.
Glinda finished and dried before wandering into the main room to get the borrowed garments. She was very pleased with Hilda's choice; laid out on the bed was a simple yet elegant blue skirt made of a soft, thick material Glinda had never seen before, and a cotton shirt to go with it, as well as her own –astonishingly clean- undergarments. She hadn't even seen Hilda take those! Much less had time to wash them. But she wasn't about to complain.
"Glinda dear," Hilda knocked on the door but didn't enter. "Dinner's ready."
"I'll be right down!"
Hilda left, and Glinda stopped examining the clothes and put them on.
Boq was amazed at how much easier it was to move once Gelane the black smith had finished with him. He hadn't felt so limber in months –and hadn't looked so polished since his first buff to see the Wizard.
He sat down at the dinner table with Gerad and gelane though he wouldn't be eating anything.
"So how in Ev did you get turned to Tin?" Gerad asked him.
"It's a long story," Boq sighed. "Basically I managed to get on the wrong side of a witch and had to be enchanted to survive."
Gerad seemed to realize he was uncomfortable with the subject and didn't press for details.
"Is that why you're here?" Gelane asked. "To have the Sorceress turn you back?"
"No," Boq replied. "I'm here to make sure Lady Glinda returns to Oz safe and sound."
"Lady Glinda?"
"Yes. I'm her personal bodyguard," Boq said, unable to keep the pride from his voice.
"Oh. I thought you were married or something," Gerad said with an air of disappointment.
"No," Boq replied, wishing there were a chance of that in spite of himself. "She doesn't like me all that much I'm afraid."
Gerad snorted, "That's a load of pig swallop if I ever heard it."
He eyed Boq, "Though you may just want to bring up having your 'enchantment' fixed with the Sorceress, that might speed things along a bit."
Boq refused to think about the implications of what the Wolf said and instead let the arrival of dinner distract his new friends and allow him to organize his thoughts.
"No I'm afraid you've got it very backwards my friend," he told Gerad. "Just a few days ago she-
He'd lost his audience. Hilda had placed another setting of dishes across from them and Glinda appeared at the top of the stairs.
"I wouldn't be so quick to give up on her if I were you mate," Gelane whispered as he followed Boq's line of vision.
Boq couldn't help the goofy grin that lit his tin features as he watched Glinda descend the stairs. She looked somehow younger than she had when he'd left her with Hilda an hour ago. Maybe it had been the bath but she looked more relaxed, freer –And it wasn't just because her washed hair hadn't been restricted to her trademark tight-curls or because of the absence of her usual overwhelming gowns. She actually smiled at him as she sat down. He couldn't help it, he fell in love with her all over again.
"I know I was a mess but seeing me clean can't be all that astounding Lieutenant."
"You look beautiful." The words slipped through his mouth before he could stop them.
"Thank you," she said, but her eyes narrowed just a little when she did and Boq's hopes returned to their hiding place.
He sent a "ya see?" look to Gerad and Gelane who merely shrugged and went back to their meals.
"How's everything?" Hilda asked, appearing behind Glinda.
"MMM" Gerad mumbled without looking up from his plate of venison.
"Wonderful, thank you," Gelane said, failing to look up as well.
"Hilda I've lived off fish and berries for a week and your bread is a gift from Lurline."
"I thought you might think so," Hilda laughed, and left them to their supper.
Glinda ignored propriety and finished in record time though both Gerad and Gelane were done with their seconds and onto thirds before she had.
"Are you gonna eat seconds or can I have yours?" Gerad asked.
"Be my guest," she said and giggled when Gerad buried his face in his plate with renewed gusto. Boq smiled as he watched, wishing they wouldn't have to return to reality when dinner was done.
Later when the food and dishes had been cleared Glinda and Boq joined Geraad, Gelane and the few other guests by the enormous fireplace at the other end of the common room. Gelane and the other two men took out their pipes and settled on the hearth while Boq and Glinda settled into comfortable chairs and Gerad claimed his cushion on the floor.
"Hilda said you were attacked at the border," Gerad started the conversation after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"That's right, we came through a pass and were attacked before we even reached the edge of the forest," Boq said.
"You didn't come out into the forest?"
"No, we came onto a road in the grasslands."
"There's no pass there."
Boq glanced at Glinda to see how he should explain their arrival.
"I made on," she cut in, figuring they may as well be honest with their rescuer. "I found a spell and sent a letter through the pass it created, I was hoping to re-open the trade between Ev and Oz. So after a few months of correspondence I agreed to a meeting. We received directions and set a date to come through and kept it."
"Who sent the letters?" Gerad asked, his voice shaded with suspicion.
"An ambassador called Sonnensora?"
"Sonnen…No wonder the Sorceress didn't know what you were doing here! Sonnensora isn't an ambassador at all."
Glinda's face fell, "I was worried you were going to say that. Who is he?"
"A wizard."
"A very bad wizard," Gelane added pleased that he knew what they were talking about now.
"And a fairly powerful one, he's capable of more than parlor tricks anyway."
"He and his group of stooges have allied themselves with the Gnome King."
"The Gnome King?"
"The kingdom to the west belongs to the Gnome King," Gelane explained. "They've been trying to invade for years. It's all we've been able to do to keep them out. Now that Sonnensora's joined them it won't be long before they succeed and then it'll be war."
"We don't have the military power to start and offensive strike," Hilda joined them with several pints of beer.
"But we have a few tricks up our own sleeves," Gerad countered.
"We hope," another guest countered.
"Why would Sonnensora want to ambush Glinda though?" Boq asked.
"He probably intercepted your first letter and then wondered how you got it through. If he could create a pass as you say you did he wouldn't have a problem taking over countries with or without the gnomes," Gerad explained. "He probably set up the attack intending to hold you hostage for the spell. You said you were traveling in a caravan? That was your escort?"
"Yes," Glinda said, forcing herself to swallow the lump that rose in her throat. "There were nineteen guards sent with me, counting my driver. As far as we know no one else survived."
"We'll know when we get to Drammenheim if any others were found," Gerad assured her, trying to provide some comfort. "The book we found, that was where you found the spell?"
"Yes."
"Then we're lucky it didn't fall into the wrong hands."
"It's not very readable," Glinda said, trying to reconcile herself with the disaster that had almost occurred. And trying to convince herself that even if her trust in Gerad and the elusive Sorceress was misplaced it was doubtful that they would be able to decipher the Grimmerie.
"All the better then," Gerad replied.
The group fell again to silence, giving Boq and Glinda time to absorb the information they'd received.
"You're Sorceress and Queen," Glinda said. "What do they want with us?"
"Probably the book," Gerad admitted candidly. "They probably hope to find away to keep the gnomes and wizards out of Ev for good."
"Will they let us return to Oz?"
"I can't say."
Glinda bit her lip. She had nothing to bargain for their freedom with but the Grimmerie, and she couldn't possibly just leave that here. And if there were any survivors from the attack she'd have no way to send them home to their families. Even Boq deserved to go home after all she'd put him through. She was the only one who really needed to remain in Ev. But that wasn't terribly comforting.
The room rumbled, interrupting her garbled thoughts.
"That'll be the shift," Hilda said quietly.
"We should get going," Gerad told his charges.
They bade their thanks to Hilda once more and goodbye's to Gelane and the other two before following Gerad out the door. Outside Reidar was waiting with the horse. The wind had followed the shift and was buffeting the little down ferociously.
"We'll have to hurry or we won't beat the storm before we reach the mountain!" Gerad shouted over the gale.
"Mountain?" Boq shouted.
Glinda pointed upwards. Once again Gerad had put them precisely where he'd said at the base of Drammenheim.
"The city's in the basin! Once we reach the mountain there's a pass to get there. Let's go!"
Hilda, Reidar and Gelane stood watch at the door as Glinda and Boq mounted their horse and galloped after Gerad down the road and out of the city.
A/N: Thanks for your patience with updates and for your feedback, it means so much!