Keep up Your Strength

Glinda felt her blood pulse throughout her body as she sped down the hallway. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her night gown after hearing that her best friend was in trouble.

Now as she frantically made her way to Elphaba, passersby caught a glimpse of pink silk and tousled curls, and wondered where the beautiful Mrs. Glinda was headed to in such a hurry.

Glinda thought back to several minutes before. She had awakened to a gruesome scream. The sound had instantly caused a chill to come over her body.

There had been times before that Glinda had received a fright, but those feelings of surprise had subsided after a few seconds.

This time was different; the horrible feeling sunk into an endless pit in her stomach, and it was currently causing her to feel uneasy.

Without calling for a messenger to find out what exactly caused Elphaba's uncharacteristic outburst, Glinda decided to go to her best friend.

Now, as she was nearing Elphaba's suite, she was regretting the fact that she was going into this situation unprepared. For all she knew, she could be walking into a disaster zone.

Fiyero sat there. He was too shocked to speak, so instead he decided to comfort his love another way. He reached out and took her into his arms. He felt the familiar warmth of her body against his.

She was trembling and her cheeks were blistered from the tears that tumbled down her face. He noticed that she didn't wipe them away, and that could only mean one thing. She had stopped caring.

She no longer cared that the tears left raised sores on her face, that she was running out of breath, or that she was losing touch with reality.

He had to do something, so he did something she least expected. It was something that he knew had a way of bringing her focus around. He kissed her. Not just a small kiss, no, a deep kiss that drew her breath into her chest and took a little bit of his breath as well.

The usual excitement that came from their interaction was replaced by desolation. He could taste her sorrow and he sensed that she needed him to comfort her more.

Fiyero placed a tender kiss on her lips and then one on each of her swollen cheeks. He bit his lip to keep from crying when she looked up at him.

Her black orbs broke his heart, and he was sure that no matter how long he lived, he would never forget the way he felt in that moment. That last thought terrified him; her look wasn't something he wanted to remember. In fact, he wished that he had never witnessed it.

Desperation threatened to take him over, but he fought it with another ardent kiss. Her cries mixed in with his soft comforting words, "Sweet Fae. That's it, cry it out. Everything will be okay."

He was a hypocrite at this very moment. Here he was telling her not to worry all the while he was filled to the brim with his own concern. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her subside.

Fiyero smelled of sandalwood and she let his scent cloud her mind. She had grown to love that scent. It reminded her of tender moments consisting of stolen kisses while strolling along the gardens.

But mostly it reminded her of the times they had been close and the precious little boy that had been created from the powerful joining of their bodies.

Thinking about Liir was too much for her to handle right now, so she immediately began sobbing again. She was choking on her tears because they came too quickly and she wondered if that was what people meant by drowning in their sorrows.

Her cheeks were anesthetized from so many tears; it was as if the tears had burned right down into the nerve endings.

She had to get him back, she had to, or else she didn't know how she would go on. Without him, life would be over. Even Fiyero wouldn't be able to quell her grief.

Suddenly, an intense amount of pain made her hands shoot up to her cheeks. Fiyero reacted immediately by going to the bathroom to get her aloe oil.

He sat behind her and helped her to lay back. Her head rested on his lap and he warmed some of the aloe in his hands before gently applying it to her cheeks. The first little bit was painful, but his hands eased away the soreness.

Glinda finally arrived at Elphaba's door. She hesitated before reaching out to turn the handle. Then, after taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.

She didn't see anyone. "Fiyero? Elphie?" She called out while walking further into the room. She spotted them and the sight made her apprehensive.

Elphie was lying on the floor, and Fiyero was rubbing oil onto her cheeks. She had an air of sadness around her and in that moment, it was as if she was just an empty shell.

The blonde ran to her best friend and knelt down on the floor, "Oh Oz, Elphie, what's wrong?" Glinda gasped when she saw the horribly burned cheeks.

No wonder Fiyero had gotten out the aloe oil; those burns were so awful and Glinda knew that they were extremely painful.

She hadn't experienced Elphaba like this before, instead of her usual mean green self, she looked, fragile.

"Elphie, what's wrong?" She asked again, practically pleading with her for an answer.

Elphaba couldn't respond; she simply reached over and took Glinda's hand.

Fiyero didn't look much better off than Elphie. His usually strong brow was furrowed and his eyes were unusually clouded.

"Okay, someone needs to tell me what's going on." She said looking desperately to Fiyero for a reply.

"Liir is gone." Fiyero managed to say, before hanging his head. It was as if he had finally admitted it and the horrible truth was upon him.

His tears came rapidly and he balled up his fists. Glinda stared at her two closest friends; they were devastated and understandably so. They had something very precious stolen from them and Glinda was determined to do whatever she had to in order to get him back.

Fiyero rose from the floor, angry at himself for letting his tears fall, and then even more upset because he was feeling guilty about crying. He was supposed to be the strong one yet here he was crying.

He went to the bathroom to compose himself and left the two women alone.

Glinda immediately wrapped her arms around Elphaba. It wasn't the first time they had ever embraced, but this time Elphaba held onto Glinda tight.

Glinda kissed Elphaba's forehead and began to rock her. It was what Ama Clutch used to do when Glinda was upset.

Glinda leaned back a little bit, and was shocked when her hand hit something cold. She turned to look at what she had touched.

It was a hunting knife that was elaborately carved and there were even a few rubies throughout the design.

She picked it up and handed it to Elphaba, "Fiyero must have dropped this."

Elphaba gasped, and jerked around to face Glinda, "That's not Fiyero's! That's, that's" she stood quickly with a fire in her eyes.

Then she growled through her teeth, "Nessa." She marched into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaving Glinda staring in disbelief.

Nessa sat in the middle of the meadow. She stretched out in a yawn and looked over at the sleeping baby beside her.

The huge branches of the tree that she leaned against shaded her from the sun and she figured it close to noon. She was exhausted from walking all night long and also worried that Liir was too demanding of her time.

He was crying every couple of hours, and she was running out of food for him. She had collected some milk from a cow when they first came to the meadow, but that had been several hours before.

Now the cow was no where in sight and there was only enough milk for about three more feedings.

Nessa reached out and stroked Liir's cheek. The baby made a sucking a noise as he turned his head to the direction of the contact.

The late night journey hadn't been easy. Nessa had to stop several times in order to make sure that no one was following her, but once she had escaped the Emerald City. She was able to be less paranoid.

This afternoon, she was starting to feel a little bit nervous again. She knew that Elphaba and Fiyero had awakened to find Liir gone, and there was no doubt that they would send people to find him.

She was nervous because she wasn't ready to give up her power yet. It felt great knowing that she was the only one who knew where Liir was and who controlled whether or not he would ever see his mother again.

Nessa gathered up the baby in her arms and nuzzled him.

She only wished she had stuck around to see Elphaba's world get turned upside down. How amusing would it have been to see her scurry around desperately begging for answers and searching for the little boy? Oh well, she could imagine the scenario in her mind and that was good enough for her; at least for now.

Nessa placed Liir back down on the grass and then stood to explore her surroundings. There was an overgrown patch of daisies only a few feet away and a tall apple tree as well. First she plucked a daisy and tucked it behind her ear, then, she grabbed an apple.

She shined it on her skirt, and then she took a generous bite. The juice ran down her face and she realized just how hungry she was. She devoured the apple in a few seconds and then tossed the core a few feet away.

The meadow was expansive and it would be several hours until she would be able to stop to rest again. She figured that she would travel into the thicker part that merged into forest, that way she could set up camp and try to find a more satisfying meal.

Elphaba paced back and forth in the tiny bathroom. Her hand throbbed from holding onto the knife so tightly. She couldn't believe that Nessa would do something like this.

Sure, she knew that her sister was selfish and extreme, but this was far beyond anything Elphaba would have ever thought she was capable of.

The green woman continued her repetitive walk from the door to the bathtub several times, until finally Fiyero grabbed a hold of her arm, "Fae, I know you don't think so now, but knowing that Nessa has Liir is good news. At least he's with someone we know instead of some crazed stranger."

Elphaba turned to look him in the eyes, "But that's just it, she is just some crazed stranger. I don't know her anymore. What kind of sane person would kidnap her own nephew? That doesn't exactly help to prove that she's a stable and trustworthy person.

Fiyero brushed her hair out of her eyes, "No matter what, I promise you I will find our son. I'll bring him back, and I promise that I will take care of Nessa."

"You don't have to promise me that, because I know you'll do anything to find him, but I really want to be the one to handle Nessa. I want to deal with her and take care of her myself." She said while taking his hands into hers.

She lightly brushed her fingertips against his and then placed an assuring kiss on his lips. His eyes were beginning to regain their trademark determinism, yet she could sense that he was upset about her telling him that she didn't want him to deal with Nessa.

Instead of dwelling on that last fact, she went to the door, but before she had a chance to open it, she felt two strong arms intercept her. One last kiss was thrust upon her lips before she set out to enlist the royal army in the search to find Liir.

The soldiers were all in top shape and decked out in their emerald uniforms. Glinda almost lost sight of Elphie, whom, when surrounded by the see of green, blended in quite well.

One man, who was dressed differently from all the rest, stepped forward and approached Elphaba. His stance was rigid and he had his arms stiff at his sides. His jacket was elaborately designed and had the seal of Oz in gold on his left side.

"On the behalf of the city of Oz, I vow to lead these soldiers on a search to find your child." He looked at his men and motioned for them to be at ease. The sudden movement was loud as the men stepped out and crossed their arms behind their backs.

"Thank you captain, uh, uh," Elphaba started but then stopped when she realized the man hadn't introduced himself.

"Ronan. I am the leader of this regiment." He motioned with his arm to show that he meant all of the 2,000 men.

"So Captain Ronan, what are you plans for the search?" Elphaba inquired.

"First we shall spread out in a circular pattern. We will search within the city, and after that, we will extend our hunt to the surrounding areas. Does this plan sound reasonable to you?"

"Very much so Captain. Thank you for your dedication and for volunteering to help." Elphaba said sincerely.

"Of course. I have a young son myself, and I know that I would expect nothing less if he were to be the one missing." The man stepped back and fell into line. His voice resounded as he called for his men to fall out.

"Wait!" Elphaba yelled and went after the captain, "please promise me that when you find them, don't let your men touch her. I am to be the one to deal with her. Do you understand?" She said in a question even though it was more a demand than anything else.

"It shall be done."

Fiyero was also suited up to march with the soldiers. He knew there was no way that he would stand by and do nothing while his son was missing. Liir was counting on him. Before he left, he embraced Elphaba.

They didn't kiss, for she wasn't a big fan of showing affection publicly. Instead he stroked her cheek and took a hold of her hands. This was enough to bring her a feeling of warmth and she allowed small smile to creep up on her lips.

Fiyero resisted the urge to join his smiling lips with hers and instead brushed back a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Bring him back Yero my hero." She whispered softly so only he could hear.

"You better believe it Fae." With that he placed a discreet kiss on her earlobe and marched off to join the men.

It had been a little over three hours since the soldiers headed out to scan the area for traces of Liir's whereabouts and Elphaba was growing anxious.

There wasn't a word yet about their progress or if they had found any helpful clues.

She paced back and forth in the usual way she did whenever she was worried about something. There were dolls scattered all over the floor and she had to be careful not to step on their little cloth hands and button-eyed faces.

There had to be close to a dozen of them. Some were on their backs, others were piled on top of each other, but they were all recently abandoned by Raina.

Raina had discovered that her mother was fixing some lunch in the kitchen, so she had scurried off to watch her.

Elphaba looked down at the forgotten dolls and felt her tears emerging. She wiped at them with the back of her sleeve and was happy when she successfully kept a rebellious tear from touching her already injured cheek.

The dolls were all about his size, and a couple of them wore outfits that he had outgrown. She bent down and picked up one that wore a yellow cardigan and black knit trousers. He had worn that the day of the annual Oz picnic.

She had called him her little bumblebee all day long, and the thought of the nickname caused a little chuckle to escape.

She stood there, not feeling anything for the doll, yet holding it exactly the way she would have held a real child. She simply ran her hand over the sweater, recalling that day when they were all together.

Suddenly she felt a small tug on her skirt, and she looked down to see a bouncy blonde staring back up at her. Raina outstretched her arms indicating that she wanted to be held and Elphaba lifted her up.

The little girl smiled, pleased to be held by her Auntie, or Tee, as she called her.

"Hello beautiful girl, Tee was wondering if she was going to get to hold you today. Were you helping mommy cook lunch?" Raina simply pointed to the direction of the kitchen.

"Oh, you want me to go in there? Okay, let's go see if lunch is finished." She shifted Raina onto her hip, and walked into the kitchen.

Glinda stood there with her hair pulled back into a bun, and wearing an apron. She arranged the food on the table and then lit a candle in the middle. The food looked so good, and Elphaba realized that she was starving.

She sat Raina down in her high chair, and then sat down to fix her own plate. She got mashed potatoes, salad, and a bit of steamed salmon. She went to take a bite, but then she dropped her fork.

Glinda was confused as to why she didn't take a bite, "Elphie, what's wrong? You don't like the salmon? I could cook something else."

"No, it's not that, the food looks and smells incredible, it's just, I feel bad for eating it."

Glinda moved closer so that she could take a hold of Elphaba's hands, "Elphie, its okay to eat. You won't be any good to Liir or Fiyero if you starve yourself. You have to keep up your strength."

Elphaba knew she was right. She took a bite of the salmon and began eating rapidly. She was shoveling in the salmon and potatoes at practically the same time.

Glinda smiled, she was glad to see that Elphie was still feeling well enough to devour her lunch. In fact, she recalled seeing Elphie eat quickly, during lunches at Shiz, consuming the food at a fast pace in order to do more important things.

Meanwhile Raina smeared her potatoes on every surface within her reach and discovered that they made a really fun hair decoration. By the time lunch was over, Raina was a mess.

"I better give this little mashed potato artist a bath." Glinda giggled as she lifted the little girl from her high chair and stripped off her food covered clothes. She was wearing only a little cloth diaper and Glinda tickled her belly as they walked off.

Elphaba wiped her mouth and went to the sink. She spook out loud, "Fiyero, please let me know something. Not knowing is killing me, and I can't stand the suspense."

Fiyero wiped the sweat from his brow and looked over at Ronan. The captain was stone-faced and focused on his surroundings. Fiyero was getting frustrated until he spotted something up ahead.

There was a discarded apple core, and an area of grass was disturbed. It was obvious that someone had passed through the usually deserted area.

Ronan commanded the soldiers to spread out and search for Nessa, the men did as they were told and soon they almost all disappeared.

Fiyero took out a piece of parchment paper, and scribbled a little note. He handed it to one of the men and told him to take it to Elphaba. The man jumped on the back of his horse and galloped back towards the city.

It wasn't much, but he knew that she would be anxious and he knew that this small clue would help to calm her a little bit.

There was a knock at the door and Glinda got up to answer it. She came back a few seconds later with a note and handed it to Elphie.

Elphaba took the note into her shaky hands and tried to unfold it. She was terrified that inside the message would be her worst nightmare. She peeled back the parchment and spotted Fiyero's penmanship.

It was short, but thank goodness, it wasn't what she had feared:

Found some clues. We're checking the area now. Please don't worry. Just think about how much of a relief it will be when I come home with Liir. I can't wait to be with you again, I already miss your touch. Promise me that you'll stay safe.

Love, Your Yero

Elphaba put the paper to her lips and then placed it in her pocket, "They found some clues, he didn't say what, but it must be promising if he decided to write me a note to tell me about it."

"That's good news. Well now that you've heard from him, you can probably sleep for a little while. I'll stay up and wait for more word. I promise to wake you the instant I hear any more news." Glinda said as she realized that Elphaba was yawning and her eyes were extremely heavy.

"I'll sleep after Fiyero returns with Liir." She answered, then cursed at herself under her breath when a yawn slipped out.

"Elphie, please try."

"Glinda, you are my best friend, but right now, please don't argue with me. If it was Raina missing, do you think you could simply go to sleep?"

Glinda looked towards the direction where Raina slept soundly in her bed, "You're right, I wouldn't be able to. I'm sorry Elphie, I won't mention it again."

"Thank you for caring about me Glinda. I really appreciate all of your support during this." Elphaba said even though it was out of character for her to ever admit that kind of thing out loud.

"Elphie, I love you. You are the closest thing I've ever had to a sister. I'm so sorry that this is happening to you, but I know that it will all work out in the end and you will get through it. Any minute now Fiyero's going to come through that door carrying that pudgy little boy of yours."

Elphaba watched the door and hoped that it would fling open.

Nessa sat back against a hollowed out log. Her shoulders were burning and her feet were aching. Liir was asleep so she placed him on the ground in front of her. She rested her eyes for a second, and allowed the darkness to close in.

Ronan was the first to spot Nessa and Liir. He motioned for Fiyero to follow him, and the two men quietly sauntered over to the place where Nessa was currently sleeping. Fiyero reached down and took Liir into his arms, but panicked when he saw Ronan reach for his gun.

He quickly stepped in front of Nessa and Ronan put his gun down, "I didn't think you were going to go along with her orders. We must take care of her ourselves."

"No, I made a promise to Elphaba, and for as long as I live, I will never break my word to her."

Fiyero handed the baby to the captain and crept up on Nessa. She looked so peaceful, and for a moment, he saw an uncanny resemblance to Elphaba. The way she had her arms crossed across her chest and the way she puckered her lips was exactly the way Elphaba slept.

He decided not to waste anymore time so he reached out and covered her mouth with his hand.

Her eyes flew open and she started flailing her arms about. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet.

"It's over Nessa. We have Liir and now I'm taking you back to Elphaba."

She didn't protest, she simply laughed. It was a loud hearty laugh that made Fiyero uneasy.

He took Liir back from the captain and placed a huge kiss on his forehead. He was burning up.

"Nessa, what did you do to him?" Fiyero screamed.

"Nothing. I've been taking very good care of him. Probably better than Elphaba does." She smirked.

"Take her away. Put her on the back of the horse with Captain Ronan, and I'll ride with Lex." He pointed to a red-haired man sitting atop a horse. The men quickly travelled back to the Emerald City, not stopping to let the horses have a rest.

Fiyero grew more worried every second he looked down at Liir. The little baby was hardly moving and his temperature was rising.

They stopped in the courtyard, and he looked up to see Elphaba and Glinda sitting on the balcony. Elphaba ran down the stairs to get to them.

In only a matter of seconds she was standing there taking Liir from Fiyero. "Oh no, he's burning up." She kissed the baby's forehead. She looked worried.

Elphaba held Liir up and examined him for any bruises or signs that he was hurt. When she was satisfied that he wasn't wounded, she pulled him close.

"Glinda, call for the doctor immediately."

She kissed Liir and handed him back to Fiyero.

She then approached her sister. That woman, she was infuriating. Elphaba raised her left hand and slapped her sister. Then she repeated the act with her right hand.

Hand prints were beginning to appear on Nessa's cheeks. She looked genuinely surprised that her sister had struck her.

"I can't believe you! You, you. Ugh!" Elphaba was livid. Her fists were balled up at her sides and Nessa was just waiting for those fists to connect with her face.

Elphaba grabbed Nessa's hair and pulled her down to the ground. She ripped out a handful of strands in the process and tossed them to the side.

She wanted to hurt her, to make her suffer. She wanted revenge. She took her pulled her back up, realizing that it was easier to deal with her face to face. She grabbed her by the throat and tightened her grip. Nessa gurgled and tried to remove Elphaba's hands.

Elphaba didn't care that Nessa was beginning to turn purple; she wanted to be rid of her. She watched as Nessa's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and felt her fall to the ground. Nessa didn't get up.