Sitting in the shadows in an alcove near the kitchen, Elphaba considered turfing them all out but seeing as it was such a cold night, she thought they might have to stay. Not that she cared whether they froze or not but she didn't need an army coming up to the castle on the Wizard's orders because she had left them to die.
Ridiculous, all of this. It wasn't as if she didn't know what they were up to. The Wizard wanted the book and couldn't find another way to get hold of it but to send some unsuspecting idiots up here and hope they'd get rid of her into the bargain. He was prepared to do anything to get the book.
Soft shuffling footsteps alerted her to someone else's presence. Turning around, she saw the intruder she hadn't bothered with yet. The scarecrow. He stopped and looked at her, half in shadow. Close up, his face had a curious crosshatch pattern to it.
'Can I help you?' Unable to think of much else to say, she asked the question half heartedly.
He shrugged; his eyes still on her. 'Depends if you want help.' His voice had a soft, almost muffled resonance. 'You don't strike me as someone who wants other people's help.'
It was true, she conceded. She had never wanted anyone's help if she could help it. Looking straight into his eyes, she gave a start. There was something familiar about him, something she couldn't quite place. His voice perhaps sounded a little familiar. Curiosity struck her and she leaned forward slowly, wanting to get a closer look at him. Did she know him?
'Have I met you before?'
A flicker of a smile gave it away. It was his eyes. Dark almond shaped eyes. The one thing remaining of his former beauty. The rest of him had changed to a figure of straw clothed in a blue tunic and grey trousers. His boots were scuffed and his hat was shabby but he stood tall, like he always had.
Incredulously she rose and took a step towards him. He didn't move. She took another step and another. Until she was so close she could take his hand, lean forward and kiss him.
She did none of those things but she very much wanted to. For so many years she had thought about him but was unprepared for this, an unconceivable reunion. 'It is you, isn't it?' She whispered.
His breath mingled with hers as he leaned in and rubbed his straw cheek against her green one.
Fiyero was back in Kiamo Ko.