A/N: Ultimate Queen of Cliffies, I am still alive and well. But if it makes you happy, I was freaked out by Boo Radley after finishing chapter four of To Kill a Mockingbird at 1am. Galinda of Canada, you go girl (FYI I am talking about you catching the ref, NOT about you screaming at me) :] woodland59, thank you for not actually exploding on me. Hahaha alright on with the show.
Glinda blinked. "You're kidding right?"
Elphaba shook her head. "Serious as a grave, Glin."
"Lurline no don't say that!" Glinda gasped. "Miss Elphaba Thropp of Nest Hardings, you are not going to commit suicide on my watch!"
"Then don't watch," said Elphaba simply, taking up the bucket and putting it in position. She needed Dorothy to kill her and see her die herself, lest they thought she ran away. Killing herself before Dorothy confronted her would only make her look like more of a coward than the Cowardly Lion. 'Evil, mean witch kills herself in fear of being apprehended by a ten year old child' yeah, that'd be a nice touch to add to her ego as Oz's most feared, ruthless, tyrannical Wicked Witch of the West.
"I can't leave, Elphie please..." begged Glinda, but the green witch would not listen. She grabbed Glinda fiercely by the elbow, thrusting her out of the room, followed by a rather heavy leather-bound Grimmerie, which Glinda stared at in wide-eyed shock. "Elphaba, you know I can't read this..."
"Then you've got to learn," said Elphaba. "Look, whatever you do, don't clear my name."
"What? No!"
"Promise me, Glinda, as my dying wish!"
"Elphie, I - "
"Promise!"
"I...I p-promise..." stammered Glinda finally. Why did she say that? "But Elphie - "
"Glinda, Nessa's getting stronger inside my head, I don't have enough power..." Suddenly Elphaba collapsed against the doorframe, weak from the spiritual tempest. "...to overcome Nessa...once she takes me again...I won't be able to break free anymore...I've got to do this for your safety...for everyone's safety."
Glinda clutched Elphaba's green gangly arms, her eyes now filling up with tears. "Lurline, why must you be so stubbornly thoughtful of others? Why can't you be selfish for once?" she cried, "Why can't you be like me?"
"Glinda, you're not selfish..." said Elphaba meekly, breathing heavily as if trying to stay conscious. "You're the most generous, caring, big-hearted, optimistic person I've ever met. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."
"You were exaggerating, Elphie," said Glinda, with a dry laugh. "But I'll be all that for you, if it'll make you happy."
"I'll be over the moon," replied Elphaba with a smile. "But I've already done that, because I wasn't exaggerating one bit."
Glinda returned the smile sadly, and dove into a hug. "There's so much we could've done...and only now when we're at the end do we realize how much we've missed."
"Don't think that, Glinda," said Elphaba, pulling back leaning against the doorway. "Don't think about the way things might've been, Glin. Think of all the things we've shared and seen instead."
"If only 'sorry' could turn back time..." whispered Glinda miserably.
"I wouldn't be your friend today," finished Elphaba. "Things happen for a reason, Glin."
Before Glinda could reply, Elphaba doubled over, pain written across her face.
"Go Glinda!" she gasped. "Go now and leave me!"
"No!" cried Glinda. "Please...Elphaba you can do it! Don't leave me!"
Seeing Glinda's obstinate refusal to move, Elphaba whistled for Chistery, who came at once. His mistress bent down, whispered something into his ear, and before she knew it, Glinda was being dragged off in a flurry of wings and fur.
"NO!" she screamed out in anguish, kicking furiously. "NO! Elphaba please! PLEASE DON'T! ELPHABA!"
Elphaba watched expressionlessly as the blonde screamed and kicked and cried as she was torn from her friend, a pang of agony shooting through her. Unable to bear the prospect of seeing her friend's state of agony any longer, she turned her back and slammed the door.
"They'll never bring us down," Elphaba finished, wishing the statement could've been true.
Alright, Nessa? You win.
And she fell back into the darkness.
They were at the castle gates. Had Glinda succeeded? Or was she being held captive by the Witch? Or worse, already...dead?
Screwing up his courage, Fiyero pushed aside his doubts and entered the castle with his two companions. It was strangely empty...but that only made it even more foreboding. With shadows lurking in every corridor, unseen presences vanishing at every corner. Fiyero had known every nook, every room in this castle when he was a kid, yet now it seemed...alien to him.
They found Dorothy locked in the East Tower, where she was huddled in a corner, with no more tears to weep.
"Dorothy!" cried Brrr, rushing over to her and nudging her up. Boq followed suit and helped Dorothy off the floor.
"S-she's got...she's g-got..." started Dorothy, trembling all over. "S-she's got Glinda!"
"What?" Fiyero strode over in a furious rush. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know, I heard screaming downstairs!" blurted Dorothy. "It sounded like Glinda's!"
It's funny how a Scarecrow could dash out of the room after slowly wobbling his way down the Yellow Brick Road. But Fiyero did just that, determined to save his friend at all cost.
Glinda screamed until she lost her voice, kicked at the door until her toes broke, pounded at it till her fist had splinters, scratched it till her fingernails bled. She even slammed her whole body weight against the door multiple times, but it only served to dislocate her shoulder eventually.
Exhausted and broken, Glinda sunk to the floor in a helpless mess, wiping her tears with a bloodied hand, not even trying to ignore her screaming toes, her aching shoulder, or her throbbing hands. No injury compared to the injury of her soul. It hurt...it hurt so much...just the very thought of never seeing that radiant green face, or hearing that satirical chuckle, broke her heart into a thousand pieces.
Then there was a loud bang on the door, but not from her side of it. It was from outside.
Glinda backed away from the door, thank her sensibility, for it came flying open with a crash, showering her in wood splints and dust. Any other time, she would've screamed her head off at the dirt on her dress, but considering now her gown was already in tatters from her struggle, she didn't care less.
She looked at her rescuer, panting and heaving at the doorway.
"Fiyero?" she rasped, her throat dry from screaming.
"Glinda!" he cried, rushing over and kneeling down beside her. Upon seeing the mess she was in, his eyes widened in disbelief. "What...what happened to you? What did she do to you? Oh my Oz, that is not the way toes should bend..."
Glinda laughed dryly. "Oh, don't worry. I did this to myself."
"What?" exclaimed Fiyero, surveying her in utter shock. "Why?"
"Elpha - " she began, but stopped, scrambling to her feet as if nothing were broken. "Oz, Fiyero, we have to save her!"
"Who?"
"Elphaba!" screamed Glinda, pushing past him and staggering out of the room. "She's going to – "
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the castle.
" – kill herself."
