Thank you all so much for your reviews. I received 2 PMs on theories about the West Tower and Elphaba, and that will all be explained in the next chapter.
The next morning, Glinda awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. Humming, she turned onto her side and slowly opened her eyes. She quickly registered where she was and pushed herself up.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in," Glinda said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.
The door opened and a maid appeared. "Good morning, Miss Glinda. Did you sleep well last night?"
"I did, thank you," Glinda said, rubbing her eyes and covering her mouth to yawn.
The maid smiled and went to the wardrobe. "What would you like to wear today?"
"Anything's fine," Glinda answered, stretching and pushing the covers away from her body.
The maid laid out a light blue blouse and a matching long skirt before going to draw the blonde's bath. After her bath, Glinda insisted to the maid that she was capable of getting ready herself and thanked her. The maid curtsied and hurried out of the room. The blonde put on her clothes and brushed out her curls before deeming herself ready for the day and walking off to breakfast.
"Good morning, Miss Glinda," the Wizard smiled as Glinda took her sleep. "Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning, Your Ozness. I did, thank you," Glinda smiled as Fiyero stood up and pulled out a chair for her.
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Glinda looked up at the Wizard, who, though he was smiling, still looked tired and sad. He would sigh and nod as Morrible went over his schedule for the day with him, hardly touching his food. Fiyero seemed to develop a deep interest in his toast, avoiding Glinda's gaze the entire time. The blonde herself only ate little nibbles of her breakfast, not feeling especially hungry.
After breakfast, Fiyero went to meet the guards now under his command. Morrible and the Wizard went off to get started on their day, leaving Glinda alone to her own devices. She went exploring, since she wouldn't start officially working until after her induction ball. She started with the gardens. She walked the path and admired the flowers and other plants. She spoke to the gardener about the flowers and was surprised to learn about flowers that were only grown in the Emerald City Palace gardens. It was still warm out, and the blonde enjoyed her time in the sun before the inevitable cold winter months came. She visited the stables and was surprised to only see four She walked back inside and walked around the palace for a bit, lost in her own private thoughts. She was pulled from her private musings when she realized that she didn't know where she was. She looked around. Morrible hadn't shown her this part of the palace. Confused and slightly worried, she walked down the hall and saw a single door at the end of the hallway. She curiously hurried to it and reached for the knob, but paused. What if someone was on the other side of the door? What if she wasn't supposed to be there? In her defense, the Wizard gave her access to the entire palace, but she was forbidden to go to the West Tower. All she knew was that she was nowhere near the West Tower, since she had walked in the opposite direction. Sighing, she reached for the knob and pushed the door open. There was a large painting in a golden frame of a tall woman with long, wavy, dark brown hair hanging on the wall. Her brown eyes twinkled and a soft smile graced her lips. Her purple dress seemed to flow behind her like a waterfall and her hands were locked in front of her, resting lightly against her abdomen.
"Miss Glinda?"
Glinda jumped at the sudden voice and turned, but relaxed, seeing the maid that had helped her get ready that morning. "Oh, hello."
"If you don't mind my asking, miss, what are you doing in the east ward?" the maid asked, cautiously stepping into the room.
"I was just exploring and got a bit lost. This is a gallery of some sort, is it not?"
"Yes, miss," the maid nodded.
Glinda nodded. "Could you tell me who this is?"
The maid paused, as if wondering how much she was allowed to tell Glinda. "That is the Wizard's late wife, Lady Melena."
Glinda nodded. "Are there more paintings of her?"
"Yes, miss. The Wizard, when Lady Melena was alive, had many paintings done of her. He… he loved her very much. Ever since her passing, he's never been the same. He's always sad, rarely smiles, constantly locks himself up in his study…" The maid stopped, realizing that she had probably said too much.
Glinda nodded faintly, half distracted. She walked around and saw more paintings of the late queen; one with walking through the gardens, another one of her sitting at the piano, her fingers dancing across the keys, one with her sitting astride a white stallion, another of her in her wedding dress, and the wedding portrait of her and the Wizard. "Did… did they have any children together?"
The maid paused even longer than before. "Yes, miss. They did. Twenty years ago, Lady Melena gave birth to her firstborn child, a daughter. The kingdom rejoiced with the birth of the princess. I remember it well."
"What happened to her?"
"Shortly after Lady Melena's death six years later, she was… lost."
Galinda gasped softly. "Lost? What do you mean by 'lost'?"
"I cannot say anymore about that, miss. I've said too much already."
Glinda nodded slowly. "How did she die? Lady Melena, I mean."
The maid was obviously surprised about how inquisitive the blonde was, but didn't vocalize any of her opinions. "She… she got very sick. There wasn't much the doctors could do. It was eight months after the princess' sixth birthday, and two months before her wedding anniversary."
"Oh," the blonde whispered. She now understood the sad look in the Wizard's eyes. Even though it was fourteen years ago, she could still understand the grief the Wizard was feeling. Lady Melena must have been very important to him. And to lose her right before their wedding anniversary, followed by the loss of their only child shortly after… that must have added to his grief. "I… I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name," she said, turning back to the maid.
The maid seemed to smile a bit. "Salmya."
Glinda nodded. "Salmya, I… I was wondering if you could… tell me what's wrong with the West Tower."
Salmya seemed to stiffen a bit at that request. "I'm sorry, miss, but it's not my place to speak about what happened… in terms of the tower."
Glinda nodded, understanding, but still curious. She would find out… eventually.
"M-Miss Glinda, Master Fiyero is looking for you," Salmya whispered, clearly beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Oh, yes, of course. Thank you," the blonde nodded, following the maid out the room, but not without casting one final glance at Lady Melena's portrait.
Fiyero was waiting in his room, pacing. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he mumbled a quick 'come in'.
The door opened and Glinda stepped in. "Hi, Fifi."
The prince turned and smiled. He never had the heart to tell Glinda to stop calling him 'Fifi'. In all honestly, he hated the nickname that she had given him within seconds of meeting him, but he did love her, as a sister, if anything.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" the blonde asked, slowly stepping into the room.
"Y-Yeah. I just, um… wanted to make sure you were alright."
Glinda giggled. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."
Fiyero nodded and awkwardly shifted his weight, a habit of his that Glinda found extremely cute. "That's good."
The blonde smiled as she slowly approached the prince and wrapped her arms around him. The prince stiffened slightly, but didn't protest.
"How are you settling in?" Glinda asked, resting her head on the prince's shoulder.
"I'm fine," Fiyero said. Gently, he squirmed out of Glinda's grasp and turned around to face her. "Glin…"
"Oh, sorry," the blonde flushed, stepping away.
"No, I'm sorry," Fiyero said. "I'm sorry we didn't work out. I'm sorry we're not the 'power couple' anymore. But I still care about you, Glin."
"I know. I'm like the sister you've always wanted," Glinda said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
Fiyero slowly shook his head. "But… I'm happy that I'm here with you, Glin. I'm glad we get to work together. I do love you."
"But, you're not 'in love' with me… anymore."
Fiyero bit his lip. The breakup had been mutual, but Glinda was obviously more upset than he was. "I… Glin… it's not you, it's… you deserve someone who is crazy about you, and I… I'm so sorry, Glinda."
"No, it's okay. I get it," Glinda nodded, stepping away from the prince. "I... I'll see you later." She hurried out of the room before the prince could see the tears in her eyes.
Later that evening, Morrible stood by the window, her hands locked behind her back as she looked out over the gardens. "Enter!" she called when someone knocked on the door, and she knew exactly who it was. "Did she eat?"
She heard a soft whimper from behind her and she turned, seeing a young maid covering in food particles. Her whole body was shaking in fear as she refused to meet the older woman's gaze. "N-No, M-Madame. She did not."
"I can see that," Morrible said, scanning the maid over. "Very well. If she doesn't wish to eat, she will not eat."
"B-But, Madame…"
"You may go and get cleaned up now," Morrible said swiftly, shooing the maid off.
The maid curtsied and quickly hurried away.
Morrible sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's time."
What do you think it's time for? Reviews are most appreciated.