a/n: thanks to everyone's reviews. I really appreciate them.

disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters I made up and the title for this chapter.

Chapter 9: A Green Hand

Fayba woke up to the sound of the train's steam engine. She had no idea how tired she felt until she sat in her seat. She barely got any sleep the night before, with arriving so late at Shiz and constantly waking up because of the stress of her mother dying. She hated having so much stress and pressure, knowing that this was the only chance to save her mother.

She became very nervous when she stepped off the train. If she were recognized by just one person, it would be all over. She would never make it to Robber's forest without a mob following her. Fayba quickly went to the market to find something to eat as Miss Libree instructed her to do so. It was early in the morning so there weren't as many people selling food as there would be if she came in the middle of the day.

"One loaf of bread please," Fayba said, keeping her head low, trying to not cause too much suspicion. The woman handed her a loaf of bread as she gave her the money. It surprised her how fast she ate the bread. She didn't know she was that hungry. Fayba walked toward Robber's Forest as fast as she could. If she could get there before anyone saw her, she would be safe. Safe. She smiled at the meaning of the word. She would never be safe until she was back at home with her mother. Many people have died while travelling in Robber's Forest so going in there wasn't the safest thing to do. Fayba didn't care though. She had to save her mother. She couldn't lose her, not now. She wasn't strong enough to lose her much less run Oz on her own.

Fayba stopped walking once she saw a sign. It said 'Entering Robber's Forest, turn back now!' She walked slowly into the forest, making sure the ground didn't open up and eat her. She looked behind her, seeing a bit of the market through the trees. She had come this far and she wasn't going to stop now. She began to take faster walks, growing confidence in every step that she took. This isn't so bad. She thought. She hadn't run into any criminal or any tree that wanted to kick her out. This was going good.

Fayba pulled out her map and continued walking. She assumed that if she walked straight that she would make it to the castle. Okay so reading a map wasn't her strongest skill but this seemed simple. It's not like she had the yellow brick road like Dorothy had but she had a map so she could figure it out.

She had been walking for about two hours when she heard a twig break behind her. She stopped moving and looked around. Seeing no one, she continued, assuming that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. As she continued to walk, she started paying more attention to her surroundings and she was soon certain that someone was following her. She began to pick up the pace, taking glimpses behind her every so often, hoping that the person would slip up and show themselves and she would put a spell on them, using her wand that was now in her hand. She wasn't looking at where she was going and bumped into a tree. The tree's eyes opened and stared down at her.

"Who goes there?" the tree demanded.

"I'm sorry, my mistake," Fayba said, trying to escape the tree. She walked around the tree quickly as it started to yell.

"Intruder! Intruder!" the tree screamed.

Fayba became frightened and did the only thing she could think of doing, she ran. She heard footsteps behind her, and trees shouting all around her, as she ran faster than she ever had in her entire life. She wasn't looking at the ground and didn't see a root of a tree sticking out and she tripped over it, falling to the ground. Fayba tried to pick herself up quickly, but she wasn't quick enough. She felt someone putting their hand on her shoulder and she screamed, quickly turning over to face the person who had been following her.

"Fayba don't worry, it's only me. It's only me," the person said in a reassuring voice. Fayba looked up, seeing Lance, kneeling beside her. Not really thinking, she pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back, trying to calm her down. After a couple of seconds, Fayba finally registered what was going on and promptly pulled away.

"You scared me half to death," she said smacking him in the shoulder.

"Ouch! Why do you have to hit so hard?" Lance asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, picking herself up and brushing the fallen leaves off herself and her bag. The trees had stop shouting once they saw Fayba fall, feeling that they had accomplished their goal in scaring her.

"I should be asking you the same question," he said, also standing up.

"I asked you first," she replied.

"What are we, 5 years old?" he asked.

"Hey, I am very mature for my age and I only stoop down to the immaturity of a child when I am around you," Fayba huffed, walking away.

Lance chased after her. "You still haven't told me why you are here," he replied, walking beside her.

"You first," she said, not wanting to let Lance win at anything.

Lance sighed. "I snuck into the cafeteria last night because I was hungry and I saw Miss Libree coming in quickly and putting food and water into a bag and I was curious. So I followed her to your room then followed you two to the train station. By the way I saw her take cookies, can I have one?" he said and Fayba rolled her eyes. She reached into her bag and threw one at him. "Score!" he said, biting into the cookie. "So anyways, I sweet talked one of the ladies who worked at the train station into giving me a free ticket on the train that you went on and followed you. So what are you doing here?"

"Of course you flirted with someone. You can't go a day without flirting with the opposite sex," Fayba mumbled, getting annoyed at Lance.

"Was that a hint of jealousy in your voice that I heard?" he said smirking.

"No it wasn't!" Fayba denied, shocked at what he was accusing.

"Uh-huh. Anyways you haven't answered the question. What is the daughter of the leader of Oz doing in Robber's Forest?" he asked.

"None of your business and shouldn't you be getting back at Shiz, you left without a trace, people are going to be looking for you."

"First of all, I left a note for Conlan, telling him to cover for me and-"

"And he will do it, just like that. No questions asked?" Fayba questioned, shocked because she had to almost bribe Jasmine into helping her.

"Of course, we're best friends, and besides he owes me."

"Why does he owe you?"

"Last year when I was dating Jasmine, I found out Conlan likes her. Of course, he didn't tell me but I could see it in his eyes. So, being the nice friend that I am, I dated Jasmine the respectful time I dated every other girl, I even treated her a bit better than usual, but dumped her. Conlan was there to be the shoulder that she cried on. It brought them closer and now I have been trying to bring them closer ever since," Lance said, proud that he discovered something on his own.

"Well shouldn't you be going back to Shiz so that you can bring them closer and leave me alone," Fayba said, trying to get rid of Lance.

"You don't want me to leave," Lance said, standing in Fayba's path, making her stop.

"And why's that?" she asked looking directly into his eyes.

"Because if I leave, I might slip up and accidentally tell Madame Torrible that you're in Robber's Forest," he said.

Fayba looked at him shocked that Lance could be the cause of her failing in finding Elphaba in time. "Fine, say whatever you want," she said walking around him, hoping that he wouldn't see that she was really shaking inside. She walked faster, thinking that maybe she could find Elphaba before a search party comes looking for her.

"You need me," he called after her.

Fayba stopped walking and turned around. "Why would I need you?" she asked, not really caring what his answer was. She just wanted to find Elphaba.

"You've been travelling for almost two hours in this forest and you have created three different circles that you have walked through at least twice. I don't think you came in here to play ring around the rosy with trees that get angry when they spot an intruder. I can help you," he said. "All you have to do is tell me why you came here."

Fayba narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't sure if she should trust him. Pete told her not to tell anyone but she was running out of time and she couldn't afford wasting any more of it. "Fine you can come. I'm trying to find the castle that is in the middle of this forest," she said, handing Lance the map.

"Why?" he asked, looking at the map, trying to figure out where they were. He looked at her when she didn't answer. She seemed very tense about telling him. "Why?" he repeated.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone. No one, no matter what," Fayba said, still scared to tell him.

"Okay, I promise," he said, hinting her to move on.

"Elphaba was good not evil. Everyone was just tricked by the Wiz and Madame Morrible. Miss Libree had the curse and Elphaba cured her. She didn't die by a bucket of water. There was a plan for her to escape and leave Oz to start over. She and Fiyero loved each other and left and I believe they are living in that castle. I have to find Elphaba to save my mother." Fayba said in one breath. She stopped talking and looked at Lance. He didn't seemed fazed by what she just told him. He looked like his normal usual self, calm and relaxed. Fayba looked at him strangely. When she was told this, her head was spinning and she was anything but calm. Lance nodded and looked back at the map.

"This way to the castle," he said pointing left. He started walking but Fayba stayed where she was.

"That's it? That's all you have to say? Not you're crazy or I always knew you were one of the Wicked Witch if the West's followers," she said, running up to walk beside him.

"Why would I say that? It makes more sense that Elphaba wasn't evil, just misunderstood, like you said in your presentation. I believe you. You're here because you love your mother so much that you will risk your own life to save her's. No one could be evil and do something so good," he said, still looking at the map.

"Hey could I ask you a question, I know it's random but it's been bugging me for a while."

"You can ask, it just doesn't mean I'll answer it," he said, folding the map and putting it in his pocket.

"How come I never heard of you before I came to Shiz? I mean I remember seeing your parents at many events my mother has held but you never came to any of them. Why?"

Lance shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to go and my parents let me stay home."

"Really?" Fayba said, surprised at the answer. "My mom made me sit through a twelve course meal once when I had the flu and my face was paler than my white dress."

"Well I guess my parents thought parties weren't meant for me." He said, still walking.

"I guess," Fayba said. "Hey, could I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"What do you plan to say to your brother when you see him?"

"Who?" Lance asked, confused at the question.

"You know, Fiyero."

"Oh well, I'm not sure what I'm going to say to him. Never thought about it before. Up to a minute ago, I thought he was dead. What do you plan to say to Elphaba?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I plan to tell her the reason why I'm here and then beg her to save my mother. I will tell her that we can go in the night so that she wouldn't be discovered and then she can go back home and not to worry because her secret will be safe with me." Lance nodded and neither of them said anything else for a while, both just focusing on getting to the castle.

They had been walking for most of the day and they still didn't arrive at the castle. It was sundown and Fayba was getting worried about not being able to find the castle before nightfall. Lance was staring at the map as they continued to walk.

"We're lost," Fayba groaned. "Why did I bring you along again? Oh ya, so that I wouldn't travel in a circle but I swear that we past that tree at least twice," Fayba continued to complain.

"We are not lost. We just don't know if we are going in the right direction," Lance reassured.

"Uh that's the definition of being lost," Fayba replied.

"Just give me a second to look at the map," Lance said, sitting down on a tree stump. "Okay, we are here, we just have to keep going straight and not turn right, I think," he said, scratching his head. He then looked at Fayba who was staring at a rock. "What is it?" he asked getting up and standing beside her to see what was so special about that rock. He couldn't see anything unique about it though. "What's wrong?" he asked. Fayba didn't answer. She just took out a piece of paper from her backpack and unfolded it, revealing a drawing. Lance looked closer and saw that it was a picture of that rock and the trees behind it.

"This was the last thing that my father drew. He came in here to catch a criminal that ran into the forest. They say that he fell and hit his head on something hard, like a rock." Lance took a closer look at the rock and sure enough, there was blood on the side of it. "They say that the trees pulled him out of the forest because they don't like intruders. I guess he drew this before the trees noticed him. The person who found him said that he wanted me to receive this picture. He died seconds later. I always thought that he was trying to tell me something by drawing this picture."

Fayba walked closer to the rock. She knelt down to where the dry blood was. She then lied down where it was clear that was where her father's head would have been when he drew the picture. She looked at the drawing then up at the tree that was above the rock. She then sat up quickly, looking at something in the tree. She looked back at the picture and stood up, walking closer to the tree. Lance followed behind her, wanting to know what she saw.

"I always thought this was a leaf, blowing in the wind on the tree," she said, pointing to the picture for Lance. Lance took a closer look at the picture then looked up at the tree. "But look up there, it looks like there is a-"

"Necklace on one of the tree branches," Lance finished for her.

Fayba nodded. "I think he wanted me to find that. I have to get it."

Lance looked at her. "You can't get it, it's in the tree and I don't think the tree is just going to let you climb up."

"We'll see about that," she said, putting the drawing back into her bag and handing it to Lance. Before Lance could stop her, she knocked on the tree's trunk.

"Who dares to disturb me!" the tree demanded, opening his eyes and looking at Fayba.

"Uh, hi Mr. Tree, sorry to disturb you but-"

"What do you want intruder?" he demanded again, not looking pleased to see her.

"Um I don't know if you remember but years ago my father was here and he drew a picture before you and your fellow tree friends dragged him out of the forest." The tree's face expression suddenly changed from annoyance to guilt.

"I remember," he said in a less angry voice.

"Well it looks like there is something in one of your branches that he wanted me to find so I was hoping that you would let me climb up and get it," Fayba said, holding her breath, waiting for the answer.

"Alright, but only because your father was a good man," he said, which surprised both Fayba and Lance.

"But you dragged him out," Lance said.

"We did that because he was too far in the forest for anyone to find him, but he wanted to draw something first. I'm just sorry that he didn't survive," the tree said. "Anyways the past is past, now climb up before I change my mind," the tree said to Fayba. She nodded and quickly climbed up.

"Be careful," Lance called.

"Ya, ya, I know," Fayba said, grabbing the branches to pull herself up. She got to the branch that the necklace was on and she began to slowly crawl on it, towards the end of the branch. She reached for it and was able to grab it without losing her balance. She found that there was a locket, connected to the chain and she recognized it immediately. She opened up the locket and looked at the family picture that was taken when she was six. The same picture, only bigger hung in the ballroom of her home.

"What is it?" Lance shouted up at her.

"It's the locket that my father carried with him everywhere. He said that as long as he had this, we would always be together. He must have lost it when he fell," Fayba said slowly, as she put the necklace around her neck. She wiped the tear that rolled down her cheek and looked up. She then pulled up her body, shocked at what she was seeing over the trees. "Lance, I see it! I see the castle! If we walk straight we can get there in no time!" she shouted. She quickly climbed back down to the ground. "Thank you," she said to the tree.

"No problem," he said, closing his eyes. Fayba grabbed her bag from Lance and started walking quickly. Lance had to jog a bit, just to keep up.

---

Fayba and Lance made it to the castle just when it was getting dark. They were hiding in the bushes that were surrounding the castle. She was looking for an entrance to the castle that she could go to without being spotted.

"Okay so I think I should go in and you wait out here," Lance whispered to Fayba.

"Stay out here? Why can't I go in?"

"Because it would be easier to sneak in with just one person than two and since Fiyero is my brother, I think they would be more sympathetic towards me instead of you."

"Uh Fiyero has never met you so what makes you think that they would believe you and besides I should risk it since it's my mother is the one who is dying, not yours," Fayba said, getting angry that Lance would even think about leaving her out here.

"I think I should go in and that's that. Just stay here," he said.

Fayba mumbled a spell and pointed her wand at Lance. Lance then fell forward into a deep sleep. "Sorry Lance, I need to do this. I can't risk your life, it wouldn't be fair. Hopefully by the time you wake up, I would have already talked to Elphaba," she said to the unconscious teenager.

Fayba stood up, ran to the side door of the castle, and opened it with her bobby pin. She took one last look at the bushes that hid Lance's unconscious body before she went inside. She walked up the stairs as quietly as she could. To tell the truth, she had no idea if she was even walking towards Elphaba or farther away from her but she lived in a castle all her life, how hard could it be to find her? After five minutes of aimless walking, she realized it was harder than she thought. She closed her eyes and touched her necklace, hoping that her father would help her.

She then heard a woman's voice humming a song. She recognized the song because her mother always sung it to her when she was a child. She decided to follow the voice. It was a long shot that it was Elphaba humming but then again everything about finding Elphaba was a long shot. She walked closer and saw a bedroom door, opened slightly. She was sure that the humming was coming from in there. She walked sideways, having her back to the wall so no one could sneak behind her. She stopped walking once she reached the door. She looked in slightly, seeing a green hand picking up a hairbrush. "Elphaba," Fayba whispered. She was about to step into the room when she heard someone yell.

"Hey! Who are you!" the voice shouted. Fayba looked in the direction of the voice, seeing a guard running towards her. Fayba started to run in the opposite direction as fast as she could, looking behind her, unfortunately not seeing the other guard, crossing her path, grabbing her.

"We have an intruder," the guard said holding her as the other guard caught up to them. "What should we do with her?" he asked the other guard.

"Bring her to the tower until we get further instructions from the masters," the guard said.

They began to pull Fayba, as she tried to struggle free. She came this close in finding Elphaba to save her mother and now she was going to fail. She shouted and struggled but it was no use. The guards were too strong and they brought her to the tower and threw her in. She walked to the window that had bars through them. She left her bag with Lance so she didn't have her wand. She was trapped. Her only hope now was that Lance would wake up and rescue her. Yup, she was screwed.

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