Chapter 18.
A/N Yay! I passed the 100 :)
Yes, I am excited. Sue me :D
And now for the 110 :P
Seriously; thanks for taking the time to review. It makes it worth it.
I'm late again. I know! To make up for it, I will post the next chapter in two days.
As he made his way down the staircases as quietly as he could, he tried to think of what to say. How to tell his parents what was going on, what his life was like now, why he'd done what he'd done. What he'd come for.
Nothing came to mind. There wasn't a good way to tell them this. He seemed to be having that problem a lot lately.
He rounded the corner to his parent's bedroom and raised his hand. Why did big, scary moments in his life always include him knocking on doors?
He knocked again when he got no response and then, carefully, opened the door.
His mother was just reaching for a lamp and when she'd lit it and looked at him, he saw her mouth fall open in shock, right as his father reached for a robe and turned to him, disbelief plain on his face.
"Fiyero?"
His mother's voice was soft and inquiring, while his father stammered.
"How...what...how did you..."
He gave them a sheepish smile, closed the door behind him and stepped further into the room. He stopped a few feet from the end of the bed.
"Hi mom." He smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way and then looked at his father,
"Dad."
"How..."
His mother was still staring at him in awe, but his father managed to utter some words, at least. It was a start.
"So I take it the news reached you then?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother move in his direction, but again it was his father that spoke.
"Not till two days ago. We received word that you'd been taken hostage by the Witch."
Fiyero was glad of the business-like manner his father adopted. Ever the King; when he needed answers, he didn't waste time. It struck him that Elphaba would probably appreciate that.
"Yeah. Figures. Look, please forget all that you've heard, okay? Obviously, it's not true."
This time, it was his mother that spoke.
"Then...what...so you were never ...she didn't kidnap you?"
He grimaced. This was the part he'd worried over the most.
"Well...no...but...erm..." Oh, there was just no way to say this that wouldn't sound insane.
"I was with her, though..or I am...That is, I found her. And I was with her. But she didn't kidnap me."
"What?"
His mother again. He couldn't blame her. He'd managed to confuse everyone even more and explain nothing. So he tried again.
"I went with her. I looked for her. Searched for her. For a long time. I was there to meet her when that idiot of a Keegan barged in, guns blaring, He followed me, apparently. I never knew. Anyway, We had to run. Or well, she had to, so I had to."
"Excuse me?"
Ah. Of course, the skepticism would come from dad. It seemed the King had left the building.
"Well, we couldn't stay there, obviously."
"So...you were never a hostage? She didn't put a spell on you? "
That was his mother. He could kiss her for at least trying to work with him, even if it meant questions he really didn't have the patience to deal with.
"No! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Though, I should have known people would cook up something ridiculous like that. Look, Mom, Dad...she's not...,Elphaba is not who you think she is."
"Who on earth is Elphaba?"
His father had obviously had enough. Fiyero focused his attention on his mother, therefore, for the next part of his tale.
"She's...well..the Witch." He grimaced at that. "But she's not a witch. Or, she is, but not a wicked one. I'm not doing this very well. She had a point."
"Who did? What..." His father had finally regained his composure and seemed on his way to actual questions in full sentences again.
"Fiyero. What on earth is going on? If you were not kidnapped, if she did not put a spell on you, then what happened? And how did you get here?"
"We just got here. We flew. I hate that broom, but it really is fast."
He didn't know who to focus on anymore. He only hoped one of them would believe him enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. To give Elphaba the benefit of the doubt.
"A broom?"
He had to wince at that.
"Yeah. Oh, yeah...that part is true too. She enchanted a broom. It flies."
He knew he was making things worse, but what he said was true and he didn't want to lie. And he couldn't spare the time to sugarcoat his way around it.
"Fiyero. An explanation. Now."
It flitted through Fiyero's mind that he'd never seen his father so floundered. He was King, after all. He could keep his calm through everything. Except his son showing up in the middle of the night to tell them he'd run off with the land's most feared terrorist, apparently. He took a deep breath and prepared to get this all over with.
"Right. Okay. Well...it's very simply, really; Elphaba is not wicked. She never was. She refused to help the Wizard in his plan to silence Animals and so he declared her The Wicked Witch. But she's not. She hasn't hurt anyone. She never would."
Except maybe the Wizard. Or Morrible. Or anyone that hurt anyone she cared about, but he thought it best to leave that out for now.
It wasn't enough for the King, though.
"But what does she have to do with you? Why did you look for her? I mean, I thought you were searching for her to arrest her? You only just found out she's not evil? Did she tell you that?"
Pfff. Of course they would say that. How stupid did they think he was? How stupid did everyone think he was?
"What? No. I'm not that stupid, dad. I've known all along. I knew her in school...I...she was Glinda's best friend..."
His mother chose this moment to re-collect her calm demeanor and get involved again.
"Glinda? As in your girlfriend Glinda?"
He winced again.
"Yeah. About that. Erm..." This was not going as well as he'd hoped. Maybe Elphaba had been right back at Shiz and his most intelligent moments were when he said nothing.
"Glinda is not my girlfriend anymore, but yeah, that Glinda. Anyway, they were friends. Best friends. Glinda was there when the Wizard tried to get Elphaba to join him and she refused. That's how I know."
It still wasn't enough for his mother, who seemed determined now to ask every possible question she could think of.
"But if Glinda was there, then why would she hate her now?"
And linger on details.
"She doesn't. She's just playing along."
He could see his father checking out, shaking his head, so he focused on his mother again who looked back at him with a look that said she wanted to understand, but she didn't.
"And that's what you did? You were playing along?"
Bless her heart. She really was trying.
"Well, yes..." but he shook his head and added, "But no."
He saw his mother exchange a look with her husband. They were saying something he couldn't interpret. He took another deep breath and got to the point. He was on a time frame and he needed them to get it. To understand. They didn't have to like it. They could have all the private conversations they wanted about his mental health later but right now, he needed them to listen.
"I searched for her with the Gale Force, but it was never because I wanted to harm her, or arrest her. I just wanted to find her. And I did."
"Why?"
"I love her."
His mother looked up at him, surprised to hear those words coming out his mouth, he was sure, but his father shook his head in anger and disbelief.
"Oh Fiyero, please don't tell me you've gone and convinced yourself that..."
Fiyero shook his head too, but in denial and calm determination.
"Don't try, dad. It's the truth. And it's not the result of some spell. I've been in love with her since Shiz, It's why I searched for her for three years."
Both King and Queen stared at him now and he realized how different he must seem to them now. Last they'd seen him, he was dating a bubbly blonde and leading an army in search of the Wicked Witch. Now, he was standing in their bedroom in the middle of the night, asking them to accept that he was in love with said Witch and that his whole life up to now had been a lie.
He felt sorry for them. He did. But he could apologize later.
"Anyway, we've been together since I left, but a few days ago, she left to see her sister and she was shot and...well..she needs help so we came here."
His mother, who had fetched her robe and was tying the sash around her waist, spun around at that.
"We?"
"Well...yes. She's upstairs." Honestly, how had they missed the 'we' in everything he said?
"She's here?"
"Yes." He took more steps in the direction of where his mother stood, stock still.
"Mom, please." A few more steps and he knew his eyes were begging her.
"Please believe me when I tell you she is not what they say she is. And she needs help."
The panic was returning full fledged, now that he was reminded of why exactly he'd come in the first place.
"I'm so sorry. Mom. Dad." He made sure to look them in the eye.
"I can't even imagine what this must sound like to you, but I assure you everything I have just told you is the truth."
"So what do you expect from us, now?"
"I need you to help her." It was a plea.. "Please. Please just help her."
Raina looked at her son and knew she would. She also knew it was probably wrong and ludicrous in every way, but while her husband had stammered through denials and rebuttals, she'd been watching her son. Closely.
She'd never seen him this desperate.
She had a million questions, but they would have to wait.
It was one of those moments that only mothers experienced; The moment where what you are about to do goes against every last bit of common sense you possessed, but you will do it anyway because it's your child.
"Where is she?"
Fiyero looked at her and she could see the relief in his eyes as clear as though it was written on his face."
"My room."
She turned back towards her husband as she started for the door.
"You stay here." He heard everything she didn't say. Don't do anything till I come back.
She squared her shoulders and reached for the doorknob, motioning for Fiyero to follow her.
"Let's go."
Review, please? It's what makes it all worthwhile.
(I have no clue why Fiyero's mother is named Raina. It came to me as I started writing. If I stole it from you, please let me know and I will change it or give credit where it's due!)