(AN: I'm back with a vengeance! I'm doing a little extra work on this story in addition to my others. Enjoy the new chapter!)
(I do not own Lord of the Rings, just mentioning it a little since this story is based on what happened after my tales Another Journey...)
Separated Again
"This isn't good," Fiyero said.
"Well, hello 'captain obvious'." Elphaba snapped, both annoyed and sarcastically.
"I don't think we should be away from each other." he added.
"You think?" she returned.
"What's gotten into you?"
"What, now there's something wrong with me?" she asked, rising to face him.
"No, that's not what I..."
"It's not like I've not had trouble adjusting to not being green," she snapped, forcing him into a corner. "But I'm also carrying your child, we're trapped in some world we've never even heard of, with no way of getting home, but on top of that, they just took Glinda!"
Elphaba collapsed onto the bed, burying her face in the goose-feather pillows. Muffled sobs came from her head.
Fiyero sighed. What exactly had gone wrong? What had he said that put her off like this?
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Could you give us a minute, please?" Fiyero called out.
In hindsight, that wasn't the best thing to say to one of the Burgundian guards.
The door to their room opened.
To Fiyero's relief, it was not a guard.
Instead, an old man stood in their doorway. He was clad in gray and wore a cloak of wolf-skin upon his back. A wide-brimmed hat obscured the face, but a long, white beard protruded from out of the rim of the hat. He leaned upon a tall staff of ash wood.
"Gandalf!" Fiyero said, excitedly.
"Hmm?" the old man asked. There was a bit of silence as he mused. Elphaba rose from where she lay and turned to look at the new-comer.
"No," he said at last. "I'm not Gandalf. I'm a friend, I'm here to help you."
The old man pointed out the door, where the two Ozians saw, to their complete surprise, that the two guards lay slumped against the side of their door, as if asleep. There was no blood to show that they had been slain, and it seemed unlikely that this old man could have taken them both on by himself.
"Follow me," he said. "The way is clear. We must escape."
"What about Glinda?" Elphaba asked, anxiety rising in her voice. "We can't just leave her here."
"Don't worry yourself, Elphaba Thropp," the old man said, pointing to his concealed face. "She is perfectly safe, and I will return for her, or send someone for her if I cannot."
Elphaba looked shocked that this stranger seemed to know both her name and their predicament. It was, however, the least likely that he could have known her name since she was not from this world, and therefore the most shocking.
"Just who are you?" she asked.
"You youngsters always have so many questions," the old man replied. "Just follow! All will be revealed in due time."
Elphaba exchanged perplexed looks with Fiyero, then they both shrugged and walked after the old man, who was now making his way down the hallway.
For one so old and bent that he walked with a staff, he seemed to have no trouble out-walking them.
"Hurry!" the old man said. "They are sleeping for now, but they will wake soon enough."
"Just a minute!" Elphaba said as they turned a corner. "Tell me who you are."
"I'm a wanderer, like Gandalf." the old man said. "I've seen much that everyone else either cannot see, or chooses not to see. For, I am your rescuer."
"There's a door ahead!" Fiyero said.
The hallway they were in terminated in a locked door. The old man passed the head of his staff over the door and it slid open, leading them into the courtyard of the castle. Beyond, they could see, all was in a great mist and fog.
"The mist will conceal our escape." the old man said.
He then walked down the stone steps, with Fiyero and Elphaba in hot pursuit. They came to the gates of the castle, which seemed to sit open.
"Sir," Elphaba called as they crossed the moat. "Please stop avoiding my questions and just tell me who you are!"
"In good time, Elphaba!" he said. "Now is not good time." He turned away from her and whistled.
A neigh came from the other end of the castle, and Elphaba and Fiyero turned to see Nessarose riding out after them. She rode over to where they stood and reared on her hind legs, neighing loudly.
"Good!" the old man said. "Now follow me, we must get out of sight of the castle. Into the mist!"
The old man set off on foot again, leading them away from the castle. Elphaba put her hands around Nessarose's reins and pulled her along. Fiyero offered to take the reins, but she almost snapped at him again.
"Since when have you cared for Nessa?" she asked.
"How about when you ran out on us?" he responded.
She hung her head, and Fiyero almost thought he saw her start to cry.
But the mist was growing thicker.
"Here we are!" the old man said, coming to a stop.
"Where exactly are we?" Fiyero asked.
"Why, the middle of nowhere, Fiyero." the old man replied. "Now head north, into the land of the Danes. There you will meet a man of the Hammer who will help you."
"Wait, where are you going?" Elphaba asked.
"Away." was all he replied.
"Where?" she asked again.
"Do you always have to know everything?" the old man asked, chuckling. Turning his back on the two Ozians, the old man slowly walked off into the mist.
Maybe it was a trick of the sun and the mist, maybe it was their own minds...
Maybe things were done differently in this world...
But the old man seemed to vanish into the mist, fading like sand in the wind.
"Wait!" Elphaba called out into the empty mist. "What about Glinda?"
But he was gone.
The little blond was escorted by the soldiers to a large room, richly adorned, according to the standards of this day and age, Glinda reminded herself. This room looked little better than the eastern tower of Kiamo Ko. Aside from the large bed and the tapestries that swooped down from the ceiling to create a canopy around it, and some of the small furniture here and there, it was relatively empty.
"My lady," one of the guards announced. "Here is the young woman."
"Very good, soldier." a woman's voice replied. "You are dismissed."
The guard nodded his head and he and his fellow left the room.
Glinda was now alone with the queen of the Burgundians.
"There you are, my dear." the queen said, stepping out from behind a wardrobe.
Glinda gasped as the stately woman seemed to appear out of nowhere.
She was reminded fearfully of Madam Morrible.
A thinner, younger and slightly more attractive Madam Morrible...
That is, if she even had any hair beneath that head-piece of hers.
"Don't be alarmed, my dear." the queen said. "I'm not going to eat you."
Glinda made a noise that was half-way between a sigh and a giggle.
"Come closer, dear." she said, waving Glinda forward. "Let me have a look at you."
With fear clutching at her throat, Glinda walked forward slowly, trying to put into practice all the rules of etiquette she had learned as the Wizard's public speaker. She kept her eyes down and did not look directly in the queen's direction.
The queen carefully examined Glinda from top to bottom, taking in each part of her figure. Glinda was a little ashamed, she hadn't washed since Emyn Arnen (or had they washed her when they brought her in to the houses of healing after the last battle ended?) She probably stank something terrible.
It was then that she noticed a heavy odor emanating from the queen herself.
Did she ever bathe?
"Hmm," the queen mused, after taking all of Glinda in. "A little short and thin, but not a complete waste."
What exactly did she mean by waste? Glinda felt her chest rise in offense at the queen's callous remark.
"It is my belief, my dear." she said to Glinda. "That you will make a fine wife for my son Gothorm."
"Y-Your majesty, if I may..." Glinda began.
"Please, call me 'Grimhild.'" the queen insisted.
"My lady Grimhild," Glinda continued. "If I may ask, why am I to marry your son? I am not from your country and not your subject."
"Oooh, I know, dear." Grimhild returned, her lips pursing into a very fake pout. "But it will all be arranged. Besides, this is how it must be."
"How what must be?" Glinda queried.
Grimhild sighed as she began pacing around Glinda in a tight circle.
"The world as we know it is changing," she said, placing a hand over her chest and fingering something on her neck. "The faith of our fathers is being driven away from the land of the Rhine by this new god from Rome."
Glinda saw a tiny amulet between the queen's fingers.
It almost looked like a little hammer.
"Oh, it would be enough for us to just live and let live," Grimhild continued. "But it is not so for the priests of this new god. They would have the whole world worship Him. It's impossible!"
She let go of the amulet and placed her hands gracefully before her, clasped together.
"The children of the Hammer," she continued, her voice rising in harshness. "Cannot allow this weak god to take away everything our fathers have given us!" She turned to Glinda, her face easing up.
"My son, Gothorm," she said. "Is a proud son of the Hammer. He will instruct you in the ways of our forefathers, and you will bear him many fine sons to carry on the legacy of our fathers' gods."
"What?" Glinda gasped, throwing her hands over her mouth.
"My husband, the King, would not approve." the queen said, completely ignoring Glinda's outburst. "He sees in this new god a chance to become more powerful, so he makes his subjects worship the god of the cross.
"But it's all in hand," she continued, walking towards the narrow window of her room. "I will personally see to it that his own son and heir, my Gunnar, bows down to the Hammer! And his sister Gudrun as well. Your coming to us is the work of the gods, and I will not neglect this blessing of theirs."
Glinda swallowed hard.
Not since Oz had she felt so like a little, insignificant piece on a game-board.
Like she was just a tool in some one else's greater scheme.
The idea was ridiculous! How was she to be married off to some man she never even met? She might not even like him!
And yet something else erupted inside her.
Elphaba and Fiyero had their 'very own happy ending' with each other, and she was left with nothing.
They found love, but she had to remain alone.
During their trials in Middle Earth, Glinda always had a tiny hint of pride in her.
It was the realization that, even if Fiyero had chosen Elphaba over her, she, Glinda, was still considered beautiful by everyone else in Oz.
That made her happy, that made her willing to allow Elphaba and Fiyero to mingle.
But now Elphaba was not green anymore.
A tiny part of the old Galinda was still struggling to stay alive, still fighting to be number one, the popular one, the pretty one, the loved one.
And that part wanted Elphaba to be green again, so Glinda could go back to being the uncontested beautiful one.
(This is probably going to either go over the heads of the Wicked fans or anger many, since I seem to be ripping on Christianity here. But I'm not. I wanted to give Grimhild more motivation to what she did, because in the legend, her actions didn't seem to have much motivation. Her motivation is keeping her children pagan. Don't worry, I will try not to respect one religion over another [kind of hard to do when you delve into Nordic legends and such])
(Oooh, what's happening to Glinda? What just happened with our other two heroes? All shall be revealed soon, just wait...and review, if you so desire)