Chapter Eleven is here! And I would like to thank you guys for the overwhelming amount of reviews. They made my week!
The Phantom's Muse: I know, cute, huh? I love the sarcasm too.
ClarkeWithAnE: I agree, but I suppose we should leave it up to them. Haha.
The-Good-Die-Alone: I'm glad you found it humorous. D
Mosrael Chaos: The way I look at it, in Oz, they lack cameras, so unless Glinda was wearing a signature poofy dress, tiara, and carrying her wand, they are unlikely to recognize her. Besides all that, she looks like an ordinary Gillikinese girl.
elphabathedelirious32: Your wish, well half of it, granted. Enjoy!
Scarlett Dahlin: He did indeed. And it's ok, we all suffer from occasional Glinda-ness. ;D
Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked, or any of the canon characters. They belong to Gregory MacGuire and Stephen Schwartz.
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"He wasn't a particularly good highwayman," commented Ayenna.
"My clothes!" repeated Glinda, pulling at her hair.
"I mean, most highwaymen don't get chatty with their victims."
"My clothes!"
"And I doubt that he even knew how to use that knife."
"My clothes!"
"Oh, shut up!"
"Glinda," Dhert said, butting in, "Why didn't you use your magic to stop him? You are a witch, aren't you?"
"I, uh, didn't want to, uh…give away my identity!" Glinda stuttered, "Yes, that's it. I didn't want to give away my identity!"
Dhert looked unconvinced, and Ayenna gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like a snort.
Ayenna had changed, and she knew it. Sometime around the point when she discovered that she had a mother and who her mother was, who her mother had been, she had started changing. She had stopped being herself, or, perhaps, she had just started. Either way, the quiet, well-mannered girl from the orphanage was gone, replaced with a strong-willed, sarcastic woman. She wondered regretfully why she couldn't have changed color as well.
"Did anyone lose anything important?" she asked.
"I lost my notepad," Dhert said remorsefully, not worrying about his personal belongings that had been stolen.
"You can right on your arm," she replied dismissively.
"Well, it's all right for you," Glinda sniffed, "He didn't take your things."
"He wouldn't have wanted my bags even if he hadn't been too frightened to look through them. All that I have is another frock, some old books, undergarments--"
Here Dhert blushed.
"--and my mother's hat and bottle," she continued, "Trust me, nothing he could have sold. That's one of the few good things about being poor; no one wants to steal from you."
The rest of the day passed uneventfully apart from Glinda's regular sniffles. Ayenna had taken to the front of the group of horses, and Dhert sensed that she had become leader in more than one way. She was calling the shots now.
They reached the foot of the mountains that evening and Ayenna announced that they were stopping for the night.
"But where will we sleep?" Glinda protested, still angry at her loss of power.
"The world is your mattress, 'Oh Good One.' Find somewhere with soft dirt to curl up on."
Glinda chose this moment to start giving her the silent treatment.
Ayenna chose this moment to not care.
Dhert decided to take Ayenna's advice and find a spot to sleep on. He knew that he was in for a rough night having no blanket or pillow. Ayenna, he saw, had pulled out her second dress and wadded it up in a ball to serve as a pillow.
Glinda, meanwhile, was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, glaring straight ahead. She fully intended to stay up all night. Someone had to watch over Dhert and Ayenna. Who knew what kind of animals might come out to prey on sleeping children here? Glinda felt ashamed with herself. She knew that she had been behaving childishly. Still, this new Ayenna reminded Glinda too strongly of Elphaba. It was like being with her old friend again, only Glinda had forgotten what a handful Elphaba could be sometimes. The heat, boredom, and the general nastiness of traveling had made her grumpy. The fact that a sixteen-year-old was ordering her around only helped put her in an even fouler mood. Glinda was also excited but nervous about seeing her old friends again. Elphaba was bound to be angry with her blatant disregard for her wishes. Still, Glinda had missed her friend terribly. Right after Elphaba had "died," Glinda had gone into a serious depression, and it took several years for her to move on.
She didn't realize how long she had been with her thoughts until she saw that the sun had completely set and Dhert and Ayenna were both sleeping. She noticed how far apart they had chosen their beds. It was like they were trying to hide their feelings for each other, which, she told herself, was probably the case.
"Oh Elphaba," she murmured into the night sky.
She wondered how they would find her. After all, when Elphaba did not want to be found, no one could find her. But Glinda had just felt like if she had got them into the Glikkus, everything would be all right. But they had been in the Glikkus for many days, and they had not had even one sign of the green woman or her lover. Glinda wondered briefly if they had gotten married, then she decided it was time to put her thoughts to bed. Despite her attempts at staying awake, she soon succumbed to her tiredness and slept.
Ayenna awoke to Dhert's gentle hand caressing her shoulder. She moaned in ecstasy, and then remembered that she had decided not to love him. She sat up and glared at him to wipe the grin off his face.
"It's time to get going," he said in explanation for his invasion of her personal space.
She glanced at the sun, deduced that it was about nine o' clock, and nodded once.
"We'll have to leave the horses," she said a little sadly.
Glinda and Dhert both knew she was right, but they were rather unwilling to give up their mounts as well, only for a different reason. They had not bonded with their animals as she had, but they dreaded the prospect of proceeding on foot. But there was no other choice. The horses couldn't make it over The Scalps. The mountains were far too steep and challenging for that.
Ayenna couldn't help but feel glad that they had lost their luggage; it would make it much easier to get over these hills. Though where they would go from there, Ayenna didn't know. They weren't so much searching for her parents, so much as wandering. But there wasn't much more she could do when she had no idea where they were.
As one, they stood and surveyed the nearest peak. It was mainly forested, but there were sections that comprised of nothing more than smooth outcroppings of rock. They would have to steer clear of those if they hoped to make it to the top. That is, unless the rocks proved to have something usable as handholds when they got close enough to inspect them.
Slowly, reluctantly, they started their uphill trudge. It wasn't long before they were all panting. The climb was going to be a difficult one. Luckily, Ayenna had noticed that the top was rather rounded, so they could at least have somewhere to sleep if they didn't make it all the way down the other side.
Ayenna was a little surprised when they came upon the first house--well--cottage nestled in among the trees. The fact that there was, in fact, people living on these mountains had not been obvious from the ground. At this cottage, an older woman was puttering about outside, watering her small vegetable garden.
She glanced up, saw them, and waved them over with a happy smile.
"Hello!" she said brightly, wiping hands dirty from gardening on her skirts, "Who might you be?"
The three companions introduced themselves.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you! I get so little company anymore. Henik and I moved up here because we wanted to get away from the world, but he passed away a few years ago, and with it so sparsely populated up here, and my aging body, I don't get out much to be neighborly."
"There are other people living in The Scalps?" Dhert asked.
"Yes, of course. It is peaceful, and at one time, people who wanted to be ignored by the Wizard came to live here."
"Do you know of anyone living out here who is green?" Ayenna interjected.
"No dear, I'm sorry. Looking for the Wicked Witch of the West are you?" she chuckled, "Would you like to come in for some tea?"
"No, we really had best be on our way. Thank you though!" Glinda said, slipping into parlor manners as easily as one could slip into bed with the handsome gentleman from down the corner, you know, the one who lives in that posh place with the three carriages and the stables?
The woman looked a bit disappointed, but they continued along.
They kept up the steady pace and made better time than Ayenna had expected. In fact, they had reached the bottom of the first mountain by nightfall.
Only a billion more to go, thought Ayenna sarcastically, rubbing her aching legs when they stopped and got ready for bed. Ayenna built a fire to discourage any animals that might come hunting in the night and ate some fire-heated vegetable soup from a can. Following this, she fell asleep almost immediately. Dhert was the second to slumber, and Glinda slept just a few moments after him.
An hour or two later, Glinda awoke, thinking she had heard a noise. She was about to drift off when she heard it again. She was instantly awake, fearing the attack of a wild beast. She heard a rustle from somewhere behind her, but before she could turn or react in any way, a strong hand enveloped her mouth. She bit down savagely on the hand and was not surprised when the hand let go of her.
"Sweet Oz!" a voice behind her exclaimed in whisper after a muttered expletive.
Glinda turned quickly, and even by the flickering firelight alone, it was obvious who the hand, voice, and the green skin belonged to.
"Elphaba!" exclaimed Glinda.