Again, many apologies for not updating sooner. I'm already in the process of writing the next chapter, so hopefully I'll be able to update in a week or so this time...

Many, many thanks to Throppsicle for beta-reading for me. You've been a great help. Also, I owe my undying gratitude to Ridiculous Mavis for helping me with this story as well. If you guys haven't read either of their stories yet, I highly suggest you do; they're both phenomenal writers.

Glinda and Elphie are not mine. I'm just borrowing them to fulfill the wishes that were crushed by the nonetheless brilliant writers of the book and the musical.

I wake up with a sigh. I hadn't meant to fall asleep. With a frown, I move my head from its resting place against Glinda's shoulder. I twist my head a few times in either direction - my neck is cramping up from lack of movement all night.

The rain hasn't stopped. I can't help but worry that it might not stop anytime soon. Something has to be done about it.

The Grimmerie! There could be a weather spell in the book, something that could stop the rain. Why did I not think of this sooner? If I had, Glinda wouldn't have had to go out in the rain. She wouldn't have come to me crying and absolutely terrified. She wouldn't have had...to...strip her clothes off and huddle next to me to get warm and dry.

My mouth goes dry as that particular memory comes to mind and my eyes are inexorably drawn down to look at the girl in my arms. Even now the sight of her, gold hair matted and tangled, skin covered in tiny scrapes and cuts from the bushes and brambles she's encountered in the woods, causes my breath to catch in my throat.

My gaze travels from her face, down the line of her jaw. It follows the curve of her neck, the graceful slope of her bare shoulder, down the softly formed muscles of her arms, until my eyes come to rest on my own hands, wrapped possessively around her slight frame.

Long, bony, sickeningly green fingers curl around the blonde's arms. My own arms, scrawny, gangly, that same shade of sickly jade, encircle her as if she is mine to claim.

She is not. She is not mine. She can't be mine. These arms, binding her so jealously to my person, have no right to hold her so.

I release her quickly, my hands clenching as I fight the urge to touch her again. Thankfully she doesn't wake, despite the sudden movement.

As I move away from Glinda, I wrench my eyes away from her sleeping form, training them instead on the old, leather-bound book on the ground nearby. Just focus. There's no point thinking about something you'll never be able to change.

I am careful not to disturb her as I rise. I walk softly over to the Grimmerie, and I'm glad to find that it remains mostly untouched by the rain - thankfully, I must have placed it far enough under the overhang for it to escape the water. Actually, I suppose we're just lucky I didn't drop it somewhere along the way; if I had lost it, it would have fallen straight back into the hands of those tyrants. The Wizard and his witch - Morrible. I could never have forgiven myself if I had allowed that to happen...I give a shudder at the thought of what they could - what they would - do with the ancient tome.

But, back to the current question...how to stop the rain. I open the worn leather cover, soothed by the familiar sound of rustling pages. I let my eyes sweep across the first sheet. The script here isn't like any normal book; it shifts and flows, and is written in no language I've ever seen before. Yet, something about it seems so achingly familiar... It tugs at my mind; my heart. I remember this...some buried part of me knows these words, and though I've never seen them in my life, I know what they mean.

The first page: Levitation. The incantation is inscribed below. A bit mundane for a spell straight out of the legendary Grimmerie, isn't it? Though, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. I suppose at one point it must have been regarded as nothing more than a typical sorcery textbook; it probably has the more challenging spells further into the text.

Flipping the pages, I skim for a weather spell, but with no luck. I find spells to make plants move, to give oneself gills, to summon dragon...but not one mention of a spell to control the weather, and nothing on making one impervious to water.

I keep looking, though. There has to be something of use in here. How to Conjure Fire...How to Enhance Eyesight... How to -

"Elphie?" A voice says form behind me, and I jump slightly, startled. Glinda walks to my side and sits down. I was so engrossed in the Grimmerie I didn't hear her walking up behind me. I'm lucky it was only her. I need to stay on guard; the Gale Force could be nearby even now.

I flush as I look over at her; she has my cloak wrapped around her, but the rest of her clothes are still laid out on the ground not far away. They must not be dry yet.

She leans her shoulder against mine. I try not to react, but I can't help but gulp once, nervously. Peering over at the book in my lap, she squint her eyes and tilts her head.

"Can you really read that?" Glinda asks. "All I can see is a bunch of squiggly lines."

"It's not...reading, exactly. It's more like I just...know." My brow furrows as I try to explain. "I don't recognize the language, exactly, and I can't tell precisely what's written verbatim. "But I do know the basic meaning behind the symbols. Like this here," I say, gesturing to the yellowed page. "This page gives an incantation that freezes time within a set space."

"Like you did that day in Dr. Nikidik's class?"

"Exactly," I reply, allowing myself a small smile. "Although it wasn't strictly intentional then."

Glinda nods in understanding. "So," she says, "what are you looking for now?"

"I'm looking for a spell to stop this damned rain," I respond, nodding in the direction of the offending weather with a scowl. "We're stuck here until it stops, and the Wizard has his Gale Force hunting for us right now, no doubt."

I can't help the spark of hurt I feel as I mention the man. He lied. He lied to me. He lied to all of Oz! He let us all believe that he was magical, and that he was doing good - and all the while, he was persecuting defenseless Animals, manipulating people into believing that they were...that they were wrong, they were beneath us. That they deserved to be driven out of their homes. I never saw any of it. I just went right on believing in him, like everyone else. I never thought for a single clock tick that he would do anything so cruel.

I swallowed every lie he fed me, right up until I found the truth staring me in the face in the guise of a Monkey screeching in pain as bloody wings tore from the skin of his back.

A hand touches my arm and I glance up to see Glinda looking at me, with an expression that is equal parts understanding and concerned. I look away for a moment before setting my jaw; I need to push these thoughts aside for now. "So," I continue, "we need to find a way out of here soon, before they find us. We made a fair distance on the broom, but we need to get further away from the City if we don't want to get shot or captured."

Regret hits me immediately when I see the look of terror on Glinda's face. Why did I mention that part? I fumble for words to reassure her. "I-I mean, I don't think they'll hurt you if they find us! I'm the one they're after, not you."

But rather than calming down, the look of panic on her face only grows in response.

I try a different tack. "Anyway," I say quickly, "I think we probably have a few more days before we have to worry about them catching up to-"

I stop abruptly at the sound of heavy boots marching nearby. A sick feeling settles in my stomach. I was wrong.

They're already here.

"Elphie?" I hear Glinda speak from behind me, voice high with fear. I try to ignore her, now flipping furiously through the Grimmerie. There has to be something in here!

In the background I hear a voice, and the marching stops. "They've been here," a man states. "The witch and her accomplice have been here, no less than a day ago. They can't have gone far; at some point they would have had to take shelter form Morrible's rain."

Morrible! Of course, I should have realized it was her! After all, she told me herself; weather is her specialty. And she knows about my allergy - of course she would think to turn that against me!

Knowing this, I don't even need the Grimmerie. During one of Morrible's lectures last year, she explained how to dispel magic wrought by others. There was an incantation... "What was it?" I curse under my breath. I know she said it. Why can't I remember?

I can hear the leader order the men to search the area. Boots crunch through the leaves strewn across the ground, and I hear some of them getting closer. What was that damn incantation?

Okay. It started with an S. "Sol...Solvi..." The sound of footsteps getting ever closer distracts me, and I try to ignore the fear gnawing at my gut.

"Solvi alicus per..." I start uncertainly. Then, finally, it clicks. I've got it!

"Solvi alicus, permi effica de sisto libera," I chant furiously under my breath, my voice thrumming softly with power, "stavingen essra umsont fael dula!"

I can feel the rain begin to cease as I continue to chant. Unfortunately, the soldiers also seem to have noticed. "They're still here," one of them exclaims.

I waste no time in rising to my feet, never faltering in my incantation. Snapping the Grimmerie shut and tucking it under my arms, I hurry over to where the broom lies, propped up against the wall of the overhang. I grab it and turn toward Glinda, who faces me, petrified, with a look of such abject fear that the dread I'm trying to suppress begins to bubble up again.

I shove it back down before it can overwhelm me and, still chanting, I motion for Glinda to get on.

For a moment she doesn't move, frozen with fear. I step over and grab the girl's arms, pulling her roughly toward me and gesturing again for her to mount the broom. She seems to snap out of her fearful daze for a moment and does as I indicate, and I get on behind her, wrapping my arms around her to grasp the broom handle. I kick off just as a young officer spots us, and I hear a shout followed by the sound of gunfire. I urge the broom on faster, and for a moment my concentration breaks, causing me to stumble over my words. Immediately I feel the moisture gathering in the air.

I quickly resume the spell before the rain begins to fall, and soon we are beyond the range of the Gale Forcers' guns. I relax a little now that we are out of immediate danger; but it doesn't last for more than a moment.

As soon as I let my guard down, a searing pain strikes me. My head is throbbing, it feels like someone has reached into my mind and is squeezing with all their might, choking all conscious thought into oblivion and leaving a screeching ringing sound reverberating in my skull.

Caught off guard, my breath catches at the sudden assault and I struggle to keep my voice steady as I recite the incantation. The broom dips slightly as I fight to both chant and fly at once through the pain in my head, and I can vaguely hear Glinda say my name. She's afraid. Concerned.

For herself?

For me?

This thought and any others are blown away when the pain intensifies and, all of a sudden, a voice invades my consciousness.

"Why Miss Elphaba, my dear! How very nice to see you again," says the familiar voice, dripping with a sugary tone of mock sincerity. "I'm afraid we parted over somewhat of a misunderstanding in our last meeting. You see, you've made a rather fatal mistake. I only wish to offer you one last chance to change your mind."

My mind is too clouded by pain and the deafening screeching noise to form a reply. Keeping my eyes trained ahead and the words of power flowing from my mouth, I send her as much contempt as I can muster.

I wince as my response angers Morrible and the pain increases more still. "Foolish girl," the voice says knowingly. "You don't really believe you have a choice, do you? You always were my most intelligent student; surely you can see how this will end."

White spots are appearing in front of my eyes, and this time I don't respond. After a moment's pause in which the screeching pain does not relent, the voice sounds in my head once more.

"Very well, Miss Elphie. I shall play along with your little game for now... Just know that in choosing this you are dooming not only yourself, but your precious Glinda as well. And when you see the light leave her eyes, know that you have only yourself to blame." With those final words, the pain in my head goes white-hot, ripping an agonized noise from deep in my throat.

Everything fades to black, and the last thing I hear before the last of my consciousness slips away is Glinda's voice.

"Elphie!"