A shoutout of thanks to my reviewers who continue to keep me in good spirits:
Kittycutie: Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see!
ElphabaFanatic: Don't worry, the luck isn't completely Sue-ish. The amazingly good fortune will be addressed later.
Maureen Olivia Lockhart: I love getting your reviews and you have been reviewing this story since the very beginning. This is very encouraging! (the same to you, ElphabaFanatic!)
Well, here's Chapter Eight! I luff you guys!
Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Wicked. Do you think I could bribe (coughcough blackmail) Maguire and Schwartz to give it to me...?
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"Ok. We are traveling with Glinda because…maybe it would be better if she explains it."
"I'd be glad to," Glinda said, "Ayenna and I were already planning to go to the Glikkus. You see, we are looking for someone there."
"Who?" he asked curiously.
"My parents," Ayenna interjected.
"Yes, her parents, my best friend and her husband," Glinda said, "I haven't seen either of them in seventeen years. I believed them to be dead, as did all of Oz. But we have reason to believe that they are hiding in the Glikkus."
"Who are they?" Dhert asked.
"Her name is Elphaba and his is Fiyero," Glinda said, skirting the question.
"So, we are going to try to find them?" asked Dhert.
"Yes," Glinda and Ayenna said at the same time.
"Why are they in hiding?"
Glinda and Ayenna exchanged a nervous look. Even Ayenna wasn't sure they should trust him that much.
Dhert picked up on their anxious silence, "It's ok. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Both girls looked relieved.
They all looked out the window as they went through the Emerald City's Northern Gates.
"Look! We're in the Gillikin! I'm Gillikinese, you know," Glinda said giddily.
"Yes, I know," Ayenna said, not adding that her curly blonde hair made it obvious.
"Now, Ayenna, would you care to answer some of my questions? Who is this young man, and why is he here? A lover, perhaps?" Glinda asked blithely.
Ayenna blushed, "No, he is a coworker. My boss's son, to be exact. In a lovely turn of fate, my boss asked me to go the Glikkus with Dhert here to report on some riots between the natives."
"Ah, that is a nice coincidence," Glinda said.
"Ayenna, I understand that we will be searching for your mother, but will we still be doing our jobs for the paper?" Dhert asked.
"Yes, we have to keep our jobs," Ayenna answered without hesitation. She knew that if this all turned out to be some wild goose chase, it would be a good idea to have a job to come back to.
They settled in for a long ride, and not another word was exchanged for several hours. Ayenna was dying to ask Glinda more about her mother, but she knew she couldn't in front of Dhert. So, she kept her silence and contented herself with staring out the window. They were riding on the Yellow Brick Road. By the time evening came, Ayenna was hungry, tired, and sick of the bumpy carriage and the incessant noise of the horse's hooves that were pulling them. The driver had maintained a stony silence and a scowl the whole ride, and Ayenna knew that he didn't want to be there.
That makes two of us, Ayenna thought. She longed to stretch her legs and get something to eat. However, this section of the Yellow Brick Road was quite deserted. All that was on either side of the carriage was dirt.
Ayenna heard her stomach rumble, and so, apparently, did Glinda. The Good Witch pulled out some crackers and proffered them to Ayenna. She gladly took them and ate them quickly, quieting her stomach. Dhert also accepted some crackers and made short work of his also.
Glinda next produced two water bottles from one of her voluminous bags. Ayenna, although she was very thirsty, shied away from the water. She wasn't thirsty enough to poison herself, after all.
Glinda saw Ayenna's reaction, and she slapped herself on her forehead.
"I'm sorry, Ayenna, I didn't think about the fact that you might have the same allergy as your mother. Here, I have juice, too," these were the first words to be spoken in hours.
Ayenna took the juice gratefully and sipped it.
"What allergy?" asked Dhert, sitting up.
"I'm allergic to water," Ayenna said, answering his inquiring gaze.
"Water? How can you be allergic to water?"
"It's just the way I am. It makes my skin blister and could probably kill me if I got wet enough."
"I hope you don't mind my asking this, but how do you bathe?"
"That's fine, it's natural to be curious. I rub oil into my skin as a substitute for water," she said.
"Oh."
They lapsed into silence again, and one by one fell into light slumbers. The night wasn't a pleasant one. Glinda had told the driver that they weren't to stop for the evening, and the tiniest pothole in the road would jolt them all awake. The seats, while comfortable for a while, were not comfy to sleep on. None of them really ever fell asleep, and the morning dawned with them feeling more exhausted then before they went to sleep.
"We've almost reached the end of the Yellow Brick Road, Miss Glinda," the driver grunted, the first words he had said.
"Thank you, Tobadias," Glinda said, then she clapped her hands together and smiled, "We shall soon be at Shiz! Elphaba, Fiyero, and I went to school there many years ago. Oh, how I miss them. And Nessa, sweet Nessa. And poor little Biq, too. It's a good thing we haven't tried to have a reunion. Hardly anyone would be alive or in the condition to come to it…" Glinda was obviously remembering those days because she was staring out the window with a glazed look in her eye, completely oblivious to where she was.
About forty-five minutes later, the carriage came to a halt, and they thanked Tobadias, grabbed their bags, and got out of the carriage. It was an enormous relief to be able to stretch their sore legs after the long ride. Without another glance at them, Tobadias whipped the horses and rode off back toward the Emerald City.
Dhert and Ayenna turned to see Glinda staring at the enormous building in front of them. An arch with gold lettering told them that it was Shiz University.
"I should very much like to go back and see my old home," Glinda said quietly, but she seemed to get a grip on herself and shook her head, "But we need to get to the Glikkus. I don't have time to waste on dusty old memories. Let's go, children."
They walked over to the deserted train station and sat down on the benches. Glinda glanced at the clock.
"It is only two o' clock. The train won't be getting here for half an hour. She gazed back at the imposing school, "Maybe we do have time…"
Ayenna knew that Glinda wanted to go tour the school, but she didn't want to risk missing the train, and she told her so.
"You're right, you're right, dear. It's just, we all had such fun there. It was the last time I saw many of them."
Ayenna was glad that she had talked Glinda into staying there when the train came in ten minutes early. She knew that had they been at the school, they would have missed it. However, she wasn't sure she didn't want to miss it. Never having seen a train before, it frightened her. It made a horrible racket and belched black smoke into the sky. It reminded her of a scaly black monster, and she was afraid that stepping into it would be willingly walking into its mouth. But she was no coward, and she climbed on when it stopped with only a moment's hesitation.