Chapter 3
Glinda
The next morning, we left the cabin very early. I wanted to stay a little bit longer, but Elphie said it wouldn't be a good idea, after all, Fiyero had figured out what she had done and now he was looking for her. She said she hadn't been worried about him earlier because she thought it would take me longer to get back from the Vinkus. But she had been wrong.
I have to admit I didn't like at all how she seemed so worried about Fiyero. I know they were kind of "together" now. But hadn't we just made plans to start a life together? Or at least to spend some time together before she actually decided she wanted to stay with me?
Anyway, at the end, I couldn't convince her to stay any longer.
And so, we flew to the palace. I used my bubble while she flew next to me in her broom. I had offered to take her with me, so she wouldn't freeze while traveling. But she refused, she teased me by saying it scared her to be surrounded by so much pink (pink dress, pink shoes, pink ribbons… essentially pink Glinda, and a pink bubble surrounding her). She also said that she enjoyed feeling the wind while flying and that I should try it out sometime. I only nodded, knowing that there were a lot of new things for me to experience now that my Elphie was back. It seemed like a new part of my life was just beginning.
When we landed on my balcony, I asked Elphie to stay in my room while I made my presence known in the castle. So, after giving her a quick hug, I walked out of the room, promising I'd be back soon. Elphie promised not to leave when she saw how unsure I felt about leaving her side.
I walked to the Lion's office and knocked before letting myself in.
"Good morning, Lion"
"Lady Glinda" he said, getting up quickly and coming toward me, pulling me into a hug. "It seems like a haven't seen you in ages"
"But it's only been a couple of days" I answered, smiling at him.
"I know" he said, looking down and blushing.
"I got your message"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry for interrupting your rest. But I was incredibly surprised to see the Scarecrow again. I thought he had left Oz or something like that, he had really disappeared without leaving any trace. And, when he came to the Palace, he looked perturbed. I feared he had found out about something horrible happening in Oz. And that's why he had decided to come back"
"Where is he?"
"He left early this morning, saying he had to check on some things"
"Did he say where he was going?"
"Yes, the Vinkus"
"Oh, did he say when he'd be back?" He must have gone back to their cave… to see if she had returned to him.
"He said he'd be coming back tonight. Or tomorrow morning"
"Okay, please let me know as soon as he returns" After seeing the Lion nodding, Glinda continued "For now, I'll go back to my room. I had to get up too early this morning to come right away. So I would like to have some quite time alone. Please, don't let anyone interrupt us"
"Us?" the Lion inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Me" Glinda quickly corrected herself "Me, I must still be asleep"
"Of course, your Goodness, no one will bother you. And when the Scarecrow arrives, I'll let you know myself"
"Thank you, Lion. And I'm sorry for not spending more time here, with you. But I'd really like to rest now, considering we have several meetings ahead of us in a couple of days. And that means, several treaties to prepare, and laws to read…" she continued, rubbing her forehead; she had forgotten about all the things that needed to be done.
"Yes, Lady Glinda. But we can talk about that tomorrow" the Lion answered smiling at her.
"Thank you, my friend" Glinda said hugging the Lion goodbye. "I'll see you later"
Right after leaving the Lion's office, Glinda walked back to her room as fast as she could. She just wanted to make sure…
Once she opened the door (which she had locked before leaving), she gave a sigh of relief when she confirmed Elphaba was still there.
"Looking for something?" Glinda asked teasingly, seeing as how her friend had immediately started to check the bookshelf the blonde kept in her room.
"I'm actually surprised you have any books at all" Elphaba answered with a teasing smile of her own "Had I known this, I would have come back earlier. I guess there's hope in you after all"
"Haha, very funny. Well, seeing that I finally gave into your demands, and started reading, you could do the same. You could give in and finally accept how much you love"
"Pink? You are right, Glinda. I should just admit that to myself once and for all. After all, the moment I decided to leave Oz, the first thing I feared was that I would never be able to buy a frilly pink dress to wear whenever I decided to fly on my broom. Do you think the black hat would still look good on me with that outfit?"
Glinda chuckled to herself, imagining Elphaba wearing a bright pink dress while also wearing her black hat and flying on her broom. "I'm sure we can find some pink ribbons to cover most of the hat. And then… you could pull it off"
Elphaba just laughed. "Not in a million years, my sweet. I'd rather fly naked"
"Well, we could manage that" Glinda whispered to herself
"What was that, my sweet?"
"Oh nothing, Elphie. I was just saying you would freeze to death"
"Worth it" Elphaba said, smirking. Then her look of amusement turned to one of sadness. "Did you meet Fiyero, is he here?" she said, looking toward the bedroom door.
"No, he left this morning. I think he went back to the Vinkus" to look for you "but he said he'd be back tonight"
Elphaba nodded "Okay, then he probably went home. I should go back…"
"No!" Glinda answered fast, running to Elphaba and taking her hand. "No, you can't leave. If you do, you'll never be back"
"Glinda, that's not…"
"Please" Glinda said, feeling tears forming in her eyes.
"Alright, my sweet" Elphaba said, pulling Glinda into a hug. "Please don't be sad, I'll stay" After a few moment passed, she added "He should be coming back soon, anyway. And then we'll all be able to talk about this…"
"You mean, about you staying with me?"
"Yes. But you have to let me talk to him alone first, alright?"
"Why?" Glinda said, feeling childish at the way she had whimpered a little after asking that.
"Because… because he didn't want me to come back. We had made an agreement, and I broke it. I was never supposed to see you or come back to this place ever again. He said it was too dangerous, and he's right"
"But I won't let anything happen to you"
"I know, but I broke a promise I had made to him nonetheless"
"Do you love him?"
"Yes" Elphaba answered with a resolution that broke Glinda's heart.
The blonde pulled away from the hug and pretended she was yawning to cover up the reason why there was a tear falling down her cheek.
"I'm still tired, Elphie. I think I'll take a nap"
"Ok, Glin. I can wait for you to get up while reading a book. I'll just sit over here…" she said while walking to a couch near Glinda's bed.
"No, please stay with me" Glinda said, wanting to feel some reassurance that Elphaba loved her too. She didn't know what would happen once Fiyero returned, so she would make sure to take advantage of every second she could share with the green girl, until that moment arrived.
"Sure" Elphaba replied while both women walked to Glinda's bed and laid next to each other. Glinda smiled when she felt Elphaba hugging her, bringing her closer.
The moment Glinda felt Elphaba's arms around her, she started to feel sleepy all of the sudden. Maybe she had been tired after all, or maybe it was the way Elphaba's warm seemed to be surrounding her at the moment.
The next thing she knew, she was waking up slowly to that strong smell of sandlewood she loved so much. She opened her eyes, with a huge smile on her face. It seemed Elphaba had been tired too, because she was sleeping deeply next to the blonde.
Glinda moved a little to put her body in an angle that would bring her even closer to the green witch. And fortunately Elphaba was in such a deep sleep, that she didn't seem to notice any of the blonde's movements.
From her new position, Glinda had the chance to see every detail in Elphaba's face. She was looking so peaceful right now, that Glinda felt like she wanted to keep her this way forever. Elphaba's features looked so calm and… soft… at the moment, and her lips where parted just a little bit. Enough for her warmth breath to reach Glinda. The blonde couldn't help herself and lifted a hand to Elphaba's cheek, caressing it softly. She smiled when she realized Elphaba was still sleep and at her mercy.
At my mercy she thought to herself and then looked at her companion's lips once more, parted just enough to welcome Glinda in, calling her at the moment. Glinda couldn't restrain herself anymore, so she moved her face closer to Elphaba, and brushed the green girl's lips with her own. The touch had been light, but Glinda felt a wave of energy go through her that urged her to get more, SHE NEEDED MORE.
So, forgetting everything else, Glinda pushed herself harder against Elphaba, moving her lips first slowly and then faster against the ones in front of her.
At first, Elphaba didn't react, but then she moved slightly and started to return Glinda's kiss. Maybe out of instinct, but Glinda didn't care to think about that at the moment.
After hearing Elphaba moaning a little, and after an "mmm, roses" escaped from the green girl's lips, Glinda decided to take one more step forward. So once she felt Elphaba's lips parting against her own, she dove her tongue inside her lover's mouth, moaning loudly when she felt Elphaba's tongue collide against her own. She was feeling so much bliss at the moment that she hadn't noticed Elphaba starting to shift against her, until she heard something that shed her heart to pieces.
"Fi… Fiyero?" Elphaba asked, waking up surprised and confused at the contact she was receiving.
"No, Glinda, GLINDA" the blonde said strongly, after parting a little from Elphaba, before colliding their lips again with an urgency she had never felt before. When she felt Elphaba starting to pull away from her, she put her arms around the green girl's neck, pushing her against her. She held for dear life, not wanting to let go.
But Elphaba stopped being so gentle and used more force to pull away from her, succeeding in the end.
Once their lips were apart, Glinda lifted her gaze to see Elphaba looking back at her with wide eyes and a look of complete confusion in her face.
"Glinda, what? What do you think you are doing?"
"Oh, so NOW you remember MY name" Glinda said, frustrated and angry at losing the contact she now craved for so much. Also, remembering how Elphaba had called her Fiyero earlier.
"What do you…? I don't know what you're talking about, but what did just happen? Do you realize…?"
"YES, of course I know what I was doing" Glinda said angrily, getting up from her bed.
"But…"
Before Elphaba continued, Glinda had walked around the bed and was now sitting next to her friend.
"Elphie… I'm sorry but I couldn't help myself. I… I'm in love with you"
When Elphaba didn't say anything but kept looking at Glinda with a look of utter shock, the blonde continued.
"Please, say something" she said softly.
"Glin… you don't know what you're…"
"Of course I do" Glinda interrupted raising her voice "Do you think I didn't think about this enough to know what I'm saying or feeling. I LOVE YOU. I don't really know for how long I've been feeling this way about you, but I've never felt anything deeper. At first, when I realized what my true feelings were, I was horrified and then completely devastated because I knew I had lost you without letting you know how I felt. But then… you came back"
"Glin, I don't know…"
"And I know you feel the same way about me! You just have to see it, Elphie. After all, yesterday you told me I was the most important person in the world to you. Not Fiyero, not anyone else, but me. Were you lying?"
"Of course I wasn't, and you are the most important person to me, but…"
"And the moments we shared, the bond we have. It goes beyond friendship Elphaba, and you have to realize that. It took me a while, but I finally did. Now it's time for you to do the same"
Before Elphaba could say anything else, Glinda had already moved forward to kiss her again. But this time, the green girl reacted faster and moved away before the kiss could take place.
"Glinda, I… I can't. I think you are confused right now"
"No, I'm not!"
"And even if you think you aren't. I can't do this"
"But, Why? Don't you..?
"Because of Fiyero. I have Fiyero. And I love him" Elphaba said, closing her eyes at the last sentence, trying to focus on it.
"But… but, you also love me, right? We could be together. I know Fiyero was important to you…"
"IS. He is important to me, Glinda" Elphaba said, now raising her voice too. "He was the only one who stayed with me until the end. He sacrificed everything for me. If that's not real love, then what is?"
"But what about you? All you are stating right now is how much you think he loves you. But what about you?"
"I decided to run away with him, didn't I?" Elphaba answered.
"So you ran away with him just because of that? Because he loved you so? Because you felt guilty?"
"No! And don't twist my words around. I decided to run away with him because we love each other"
"But still, you couldn't leave me behind, could you?" Glinda said smirking.
"I… that's different… you are my best friend!"
"No, it's not different, Elphaba! When you asked me to go away with you in the Emerald City, you didn't think about Fiyero. You have loved ME longer. And it was ME, not HIM, whom you invited first. I was your first choice, not him!"
"But you didn't come with me then, did you?" Elphaba asked with sorrow in her voice. "You decided to stay and live your dream life"
"Well, so did you!" Glinda replied outraged.
"Look, that's in the past" Elphaba said more calmly "and we shouldn't fight about it. What's done is done. You made your choice at the moment and I made mine. And years later, Fiyero made his…"
"But his decision can't be all that matters!"
"And it isn't. Back at Kiamo Ko, you chose again, and so did I"
"What do you mean I chose again? You never asked me to come with you then! Had you…"
"Well, I can't be begging you to stay with me forever, now can I?" Elphaba asked getting angry again.
"Look, Glinda. Whatever feelings you may think you have, you don't"
"How dare you, Elphaba!"
"And, as I was saying, even if you think they're real. They don't make a difference. I love Fiyero and I'm not leaving him"
"Well" Glinda replied, glaring at Elphaba "I wouldn't be so sure about it, Elphie. After all, if you haven't noticed, you haven't once said you don't love me back the way I love you. I am in love with you, whether you like it or not. And I think you know you are in love with me too. That's why you couldn't leave me behind when you decided to escape with Fiyero. That's why you say I'm the most important person in your life. And that's why when I kissed you earlier, you kissed me back"
Elphaba had started opening her mouth to reply, but Glinda continued before she could say anything.
"Oh, yes. You did kiss me back, Elphie. You kissed me back at the beginning. Or are you going to tell me you always thing about roses when Fiyero kisses you?"
Before Elphaba could reply, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Lady Glinda" the Lion said behind the door "the Scarecrow has arrived. He's waiting for you in your study room"
"Thanks, Lion. I'll be right there" Glinda yelled back, without taking her eyes off Elphaba.
"Okay" they heard the Lion say.
They sat there for a few more seconds, never breaking eye contact.
"I'll go get your boyfriend. So you can tell him you'll be staying here for a while longer. Or are you planning to leave, Elphaba? And break another one of your promises?" Glinda asked coldly.
"You and I have an agreement, Glinda. And I don't intend to break that" Elphaba answered in the same manner.
"Good" Glinda said, before getting up and walking toward the door. Before she reached the door's handle, Elphaba said behind her "But that doesn't change anything, Glinda. I love him"
Without turning back, the good witch replied "Well, we'll see about that". And then she left.