Elphaba'sGirl: I am very much aware of that.
Wicked For Good (Guest): Um… sorry. Monkey (Monqué) was sort of a one-time thing. I only used her to do a "Nia". She's not coming back. :-(
ExoticPeachBlossom: Now that you mention it… maybe. *Sends Elphie glare back at you* But there are many other reasons why there was a cliffy. *Smirks*
woodland59: Arlis is… Arlis. And I know you hate him.
Elphabalover101: I didn't do ANYTHING to you! Nothing bad happened to Princess Elisa! And why do you keep calling me "wicked" like it's a bad thing?
NellytheActress: I AM NOT A WHIMPY QUEEN! AND I KNOW ALL ABOUT CHARACTER DEATH!
I'mFlyingHighDefyingGravity: I don't know how you'd magic spell me. I'm the one with the Grimmerie. *Holds up Grimmerie*. So… HA!
Everyone was dead silent. No one dared to move or make a sound. Elphaba turned and buried her face in Fiyero's shoulder. Fiyero's hand quickly rose and soothingly rubbed circles on her back.
"Yero," Elphaba whispered brokenly.
"It's alright, Fae," Fiyero whispered.
"Lanie…"
Fiyero pulled her closer to him. Hot tears streamed down Elphaba's face. Fiyero hugged her tightly as he tried to kiss her tears away, but they kept coming.
"Look!" Galinda exclaimed, pointing to the cliff.
Everyone watched as Lanie flew up, landing gracefully on the grass. She immediately ran to her mother and quickly wrapped her arms around her.
Elphaba stiffened, but relief swept over her when Fiyero whispered "Lanie" in her ear.
"Oh, Lanie," Elphaba whispered, hugging her daughter close.
"Mama," Lanie whispered back.
Fiyero joined the family group hug. Everyone smiled as they saw the Tigulaars all happily reunited. It was the perfect family moment. Absolutely nothing could ruin it.
"What happened to Arlis?" Castie asked.
Well… almost nothing.
Lanie immediately stiffened. Elphaba gently tightened her grip around her daughter.
"Lanie," the emerald princess whispered, kissing the top of Lanie's head.
Galinda and Castie peered over the edge of the cliff.
"Oh," Galinda muttered, seeing the unmoving body of Arlis lying on the sand of the beach.
"Never mind," Castie muttered.
Moaning, Lanie buried her face in her mother's chest. Elphaba rubbed circles on Lanie's back, trying to comfort her.
"It's okay, Lanie," Fiyero whispered, pulling her into his arms. "We know."
In all honestly, Fiyero didn't have a clue, but he thought he sounded comforting, so he rolled with it anyway.
"He was the only friend I've ever had," Lanie whispered softly.
Sighing, Fiyero held her closer. He knew how lonely Lanie was growing up, and he knew that Arlis was her only friend, no matter what he and Elphaba did to try and stop her from seeing him. Even though she had lied about him for six months, he was still there for her. Well… he was there for her before he turned on her and attacked their castle and separated their family and broke her heart and… everything else.
"You have me," Elisa whispered, kneeling next to Lanie.
Lanie looked up and gave Elisa a watery smile. "Thank you, Elisa."
Elisa smiled as she gently wrapped her arms around her friend.
"Wait, where's the Grimmerie?" Lanie asked, shooting up in her father's arms.
"Ooh, found it!" Galinda exclaimed, running to pick up the book lying in the grass.
"Arlis must have dropped it," Elisa whispered as Galinda handed her the book.
"Wait… Lanie, how did you get back up?" Fiyero asked, looking down at the teenage girl in his arms.
"I flew," Lanie answered simply.
"You flew?" Elphaba asked.
Lanie nodded. "I learnt that spell when I was younger. Remember?"
Lanie scrunched up her nose as she squinted at the strange words. Frowning, she turned the page of the large, brown leather bound book, trying to see if there was a spell written in standard Ozian.
Inwardly, the six year old knew she wasn't supposed to be reading from the Grimmerie. Her mother had warned her that it was a really powerful magic book, not a toy.
Smiling, she found a spell that looked easy enough. She didn't know what it would do, but she was eager to find out. "Avan ta a tum da. Avan ta a tum da. Avan ta a tum da," she chanted over and over again, waiting for something exciting to happen. Suddenly, she felt her feet rising from the ground. Looking down, she noticed how the ground was becoming farther and farther away from her. She smiled as she realized her accomplishment. She was flying.
"Weeeeee!" the young child exclaimed as she swam through the air, enjoying the view. She stopped when she heard soft footsteps approaching the room. Stilling, she listened. The door opened, revealing who the person was. Elphaba.
Lanie stayed completely still and completely silent as she watched her mother walk into the room. One wrong move and her cover would be blown, which would result in a very long, very serious talk.
Elphaba had a soft smile painted on her elegant lips as she slowly made her way into the room. Elphaba walked to her desk and her fingers grazed the desktop, looking for something. She stopped when her fingers bumped into the open Grimmerie.
That's odd, Elphaba thought to herself. I didn't leave this book open.
Lanie watched from above as her mother's face contorted in confusion. If she were caught now, she could be dead for sure.
"Fiyero!" Elphaba called.
Oh, great! Lanie thought.
"Yes, Fae?" Fiyero asked, coming into the room. He stopped when he saw his daughter flying high above Elphaba's head. Lanie placed her pointer finger over her lips, motioning for her father not to blow her cover. Holding back a chuckle, Fiyero turned back to his wife. "You called?"
"Did you leave this book open?" Elphaba asked, her fingers tracing over the printed letters.
"No," Fiyero said, shaking his head.
"Was Galinda in here?"
"Galinda's been out with Castie all day, probably shopping or doing other stuff girls like to do."
Elphaba still looked confused. "Then who…?"
"Fae, maybe you just left the book open by accident," Fiyero suggested, wrapping his arms around his wife in a caring hug.
"Yero, you know I can't read from the Grimmerie," Elphaba said, dramatically rolling her sightless eyes.
"Oh, right. Sorry," Fiyero said sheepishly, kissing Elphaba's nose. He looked up and saw Lanie yawn, tired from floating. Unable to hold it in anymore, Fiyero let out a small chuckle.
"And what is so funny?" Elphaba asked, slowly raising her head. She would have been looking into Fiyero's eyes if she had been able to see.
"N-Nothing," Fiyero managed to say through his laughter.
Elphaba frowned, hating it when Fiyero lied to her. "Yero…"
"One second," Fiyero smiled, slowly moving away from Elphaba. He waited as Lanie's eyes slowly closed. As she fell asleep, she slowly began to descend. Fiyero smiled as Lanie slowly fell into his arms. "I think this little one may know more than we give her credit for."
"A-Are you saying that Lanie read from the Grimmerie?" Elphaba asked doubtfully.
"I believe so," Fiyero chuckled, wiping strands of hair away from Lanie's forehead.
"What was she doing?"
"Flying. Right above your head, as a matter of fact."
"I thought I sensed someone else in here," Elphaba muttered to herself. "But I warned her about reading from the Grimmerie." Elphaba's fingers moved as she traced over the print again. "It's a really powerful book. It can be very dangerous and the spells are irreversible and…"
"Fae," Fiyero said, stopping Elphaba's rant with a tender kiss. "You know at some point, we're going to have to stop overprotecting Lanie and let her go."
"Let her go?" Elphaba repeated.
"You know what I mean."
"Yes, I do," Elphaba smiled, taking Lanie from her husband's arms. "But I'm still going to have a very long and serious talk with Lanie when she wakes up." Elphaba turned on her heals and headed for Lanie's room to put her down for her nap.
"I'm sure she'll be looking forward to that," Fiyero muttered to himself, unable to stop the smile that was slowly appearing onto his face.
Elphaba smiled as she recalled the memory. "Yes, I remember."
"I'm glad this had all worked out, but we still have a problem," Galinda said gently. Everyone looked up at her. "There's still a war going on. We need to think of a way to stop it."
"General Osmium won't stop until he has total control over the mines of the Vinkus, and probably the rest of Oz with it," Elisa spoke up.
"There's no way to stop him?" Fiyero asked.
Elisa shook her head as she began to pace. "Not that I know of. He's not going to stop until he has total power and control. He's so stubborn that way."
"Well… we have the book of spells," Lanie pointed out, holding the book tightly against her chest. "Maybe we could…"
A scream and everyone turned around.
Yes… another cliffy. Review with your favorite lines!
Also, I posted another (Yes, another) story. It's called 'Mermaid Tails of Love and War'. It's a Fiyeraba (Because when do I write anything else? LOL!) Oh, and it's angsty. Very, VERY angsty. I actually really enjoy writing angst. It's so much fun! I don't know why I didn't start writing angst sooner. Check it out!