Chapter 24

A/N I just thought we could have a little drama before it all ends :) I hope you forgive me :)

The panic that clenches in her chest, wraps its tentacles around her heart, doesn't let up. Not for a moment, as she flees the scene of her near-death, straight into the dark night. Her broom again her saviour, but an unwanted one this time. The rock sitting heavily on her stomach makes her gag, the need to throw up coming in waves too great to fight, but she does because throwing up would slow her down and she can't afford to slow down.

That stupid, stupid, stubborn, pigheaded, brainless, beautiful man.

Fiyero.

How could he?

Why would he?

Oh Fiyero.

Oh Oz, Fiyero.

Why?

Why?

But she knows the answer, as her broom rushes her through the night sky, on her way to whatever will help her. She was headed for the Vinkus at first, to where the Grimmerie is, but it's too far away and Yackle is closer to her than the Vinkus. She wants to go back and get him, but she wants a spell at the same time. Her mind is too chaotic, for the first time in her life, to see clearly. To make a decision.

She wants to go back and find him and do whatever is necessary, anything at all, to make him be okay. She wants to pray to all the deities she's never believed in. She wants to make a deal with the devil and sign away her soul. She wants to beg anyone who could possibly help her to save him.

Save him, and I'll do anything.

She's not entirely sure what the Gale Force will do to him, but she saw him being dragged away and their shouts and cheers didn't promise anything good. So she settled on Yackle's old place instead, hoping to find something there, hoping to find Yackle there, because she knows more than Elphaba does and she needs, she needs...

Something. Anything.

Anything will do.

She lands with a thud, a smash through the wood where the window used to be, her arm raised to shield her face. She doesn't waste time. She's already running behind.

She's already too late.

"Why are you here?"

Her head swivels from left to right, taking in everything but seeing nothing. The fact that Yackle is indeed there doesn't bring relief so much as more impatience.

"I need a spell."

"I know. That answers your question."

"A spell!"

Magic coils around her hands...her power out of control now that her emotions are.

"Quickly!"

Her hair whips around her, wild and manic.

"I don't know..." She falters at that.

"I can't be sure how long he's got left...they might not kill him, but..."

Yackle takes over, watching the green woman spin circles around the room, energy and anger sizzling in the air around her.

"Oh, they'll try."

Her voice is calm. Quiet. It's a way to try and get the younger woman to focus. Two people screaming wouldn't help anyone.

"Then why are you still standing there?! I don't have time for this. Either give me what I need or get out of my way."

Yackle doesn't move from her spot and she doesn't raise her voice.

"And what kind of spell is it you're looking for exactly?"

"I don't know. I don't care. Anything...anything that will save him. That will stop his pain. He's suffering because of me."

She's not calming down, desperation radiating off her, but, worse than that and far more dangerous, is the power she holds within her, unaware of how much she's got of it. And it's as uncontrolled and unguided as it's ever been.

"He's not suffering because of you, he's suffering for you."

"What difference does that make, if it kills him in the end?"

Her hair is still dancing around her, but it's not from any wind. Yackle sees, for the first time, the Wicked Witch that everyone speaks of. She doesn't fear her, but she sees her now. This is the first time Elphaba is willing to be the Wicked Witch. It's a choice she's made, even if it is born of despair.

"It makes all the difference. He suffers willingly, because he loves you."

"And he'll pay for that with his life. I won't let him."

She nearly falls back into that circle of pain and fear and desperation, but she remembers herself then. At least enough to come back to focus.

"Now..."

But she's still too wired up. Too dangerous.

"Now what exactly? What are you looking for? Your book won't help you, even if you had it here. The kind of spell you want doesn't exist."

Yackle knows that she is stalling and she knows it won't work for long, but she needs to, in order to make the younger woman calm down enough to be able to perform a spell.

"I need something to save him from whatever they're doing to him. To stop the pain. To make sure he won't..."

She can't. She can't finish that sentence.

Yackle nods then. She knows, of course. And she doesn't need her powers for that, either.

"Magic can't be trifled with. I understand your motivation but this will only succeed in messing things up even more. By what you're saying now, you'll do no more than turn him into a pillowcase."

"Go away!"

"When will you learn, you stupid, stupid, bull-headed little girl, that some people are willing to help you!"

"Fine. Give me whatever spell you're thinking off but do it now. I don't know..."

Her voice keeps breaking and it's a sensation that's unfamiliar to her. It angers her, this powerlessness.

"I don't even know what they're doing. If he's still even..."

A part of Yackle is glad, in a strange way, to see her former house guest in this state of heartbreak. Because that's what it is, and she hadn't thought that she'd ever see Elphaba like this. She hadn't expected her to find love, in the first place. She was so incredibly introvert, so private, so closed off from the world. But clearly Fiyero Tiggular had found a way through that. For that alone, the boy deserved to live.

"Then I suggest you go and get him."

"What?"

"Get him. Take him home. And we'll do what we can. As long as he is alive, there is something we can do."

"Take him home?"

"He will stand the best chance there. It's his home and he'll receive the best care there."

She didn't add that Elphaba, too, would need those things. What she did need to mention, because she hadn't lied when she'd said magic wasn't to be trifled with and she lived by example, or tried to when she could, was the effect this spell would have. On both of them.

"You must realize what this asks of you."

She could see the green witch was ready to brush her off, to cast aside whatever warning she was about to issue, but Yackle didn't let her.

"Elphaba."

The stern use of her name earned her some attention.

"You must give everything or not even dare to attempt this. It's not a matter of restoring what was taken from him and there are no spells to bring the dead back to life. I have no healing potions that will miraculously heal broken bones. This spell will take from you what is given to him."

She could see another interruption coming, so she spoke quickly, hastily, but clearly.

"He will heal, but you will suffer. Understand what I am saying; It will not, or should not, kill either of you. It's not that simple. I am not talking about your life. It's not one life for the other. It's sharing your energy to give to him, only that requires your soul to touch his. Healing is all about energy. Energy is about souls. His will connect to yours."

She took a few steps forward, not touching her, but close enough to demand attention.

"Do you understand what I am saying? He'll be able to see everything. Everything. There will be no hiding. It is not a simple matter of giving some, but not more than you please. The control will be out of your hands. You say you want to offer yourself to save him? That is exactly what it will take. And there is no going back."

There was no fear in the brown eyes though. What would have terrified her only a few days ago , didn't mean anything anymore. She was past that. For now at least.

"Doesn't that apply to both of us then?"

"It does. But he would be willing. Because he loves you more than is wise. More than is good for him." She stops there but the unspoken question lingers in the air. What about you?

She could see the woman hesitate, but not for long. She might come to regret it later but at least he'd be alive.

"I love him more than is good for him."

And she was out the window without another word.

How could she have failed so miserably?

She had wanted to help. She was supposed to help. She was Glinda the Good to the citizens of Oz, but she hadn't been able to do anything good for her best friend.

And Fiyero...

Elphie had gotten away, but at what cost?

She'd tried to stop them, then to follow them but she hadn't stood a chance against the Wizard's guards and now...

She had not a single clue as to where they were. Where Elphie had gone. Where Fiyero was. If they were even still alive.

She could guess Elphie was, because her death would cause celebrations throughout Oz that would not go unnoticed by anyone, but Fiyero...

What could she do now but wait?

Wait and hope that they would be alright.

It was worse that she could have imagined. But he was alive.

At least he was alive.

When she'd seen him on that pole, she'd felt, for the first time in her life, enough anger to kill. To truly kill without regret. Had the Gale Force officers still been there, they would have paid for this. She didn't stop to blame herself for the thought. They deserved it.

But perhaps so did she. After Dr. Dillamond, after Nessa...everyone she cared for, who cared the slightest bit about her, paid with their lives.

Fiyero.

He would be the last one.

She'd get him home, she'd get him healed and whole. And safe. And then it was done.

No more.

She glanced back at the man lying against her. He wasn't conscious, which was a good thing because even she didn't know how she'd managed the trip on a broom, but she saw, eventually, the tall windows of the castle rise up in the distance.

She chose the window they'd come in the first time, stumbling as both her broom and she lost their balance, and it was as if the whole castle had been on the look-out because within seconds the King, Queen and Drakin rushed inside.

Raina was the first and she stumbled to a halt at the sight of her son on the floor, blood in too many places and his face...

She didn't waste time here, either. They could blame her for it all, they could try and execute her if they wanted. They could do as they pleased, as long as she got to see him get better first. She needed to know he would be okay.

"Hold his arms. Steady."

She spoke to no one in particular, and it was the King that stepped forward. It would have surprised her maybe, had she cared enough to pay attention to details.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't ask what had happened. She wasn't sure whether that was because he could guess or because he knew it didn't matter.

She looked at him for a second, then at Raina. She couldn't look Drakin in the eye. For some reason, she feared his disappointment more than she did Fiyero's parents.

"I need to do a spell."

A voice somewhere in the back of her head said that she should probably be more forthcoming, but it wasn't loud enough and she shut it up with no trouble. They wouldn't care as long as their son lived.

"Just hold his arms. I don't know what this will do exactly and his body..."

Raina stepped forward too, kneeling beside her husband.

"What kind of spell?"

"It's...It's energy. He needs mine, to heal. I don't have to to explain. It will take from me what he needs. It shouldn't hurt him." Of course, nothing should have hurt him, and look what it had come to.

"And you?"

That was Drakin. She was annoyed with herself for the relief she felt at his voice, holding no anger. Both Raina and Liir looked up at that.

"I don't know."

As if it mattered.

She sank to her knees, as close to Fiyero as she dared. She wanted to touch him but didn't let herself. She'd break down if she touched him now, felt his clammy skin against hers, his pulse slowing. She'd never let go.

She frantically searched for the piece of paper Yackle had given her and that reminded her of the old woman's promise. She addressed her words to Drakin, looking at him for the first time since he'd entered the room.

"There will be a woman here later. I don't know how much later but soon. She's the one that gave me the spell. She can help. She will help. Please let her in. If I fail at this or if something happens... She's powerful. Fiyero knows her."

He nodded.

"I would like for you both to be okay."

She didn't say anything at that. She appreciated the sentiment but she didn't agree with it and she'd wasted enough time.

She folded out the paper and sat next to him, the words flowing from her mouth. She didn't see the scared, shocked and surprised faces of the other people in the room. She didn't feel herself fall, or the hands that laid her down carefully, next to Fiyero.

She only felt a pull somewhere, deep inside and a bright flash of light.

A sharp pain in her stomach, her thighs, her head. She felt her legs twitch and something ran down her cheek...water...or blood...

She heard shouting and screaming but didn't know where it came from.

She felt another kind of pain, a different kind, resonating through her entire body, pounding and throbbing and then nothing.

Nothing.

And then...

Please do review...

Oh, and is there anyone who knows how this cover thing works? I mean, I have no clue what I want, to be honest, but I do like the idea. Is there anyone who has an idea for this cover and who knows how to make one?

I don't want to impose or steal away precious spare time, mind you. I'm merely curious. Unfortunately, I'm a complete loser when it comes to computer skills. Finding the on/off button and copy/paste is the extent of my knowledge.

Thanks for reading!