AN: Sorry for the late update! I've had a very busy couple of days and I kind of lost track of time.
Cassidy, that's okay ;) and, well... who knows? Maybe you'll get your happiness... (Then again - maybe not, heheh.)
I finished writing this story a few days ago and it will be 18 chapters in total, so you still have a few to go!
13. To Save a Green Girl
"Let me go!" She struggled, but Avaric just kept dragging her through the hallways until they reached their rooms on the first-class level. He threw her onto the couch and closed the door behind them before turning around, looking at her with barely concealed rage in his eyes.
"How dare you," he said, his voice dangerously low. "How dare you use that sinful magic on me. How dare you tell me that you won't marry me. How dare you," he spat, slowly approaching her as she inched away from him, "insult me, hurt me, disgrace me; and then run off to that Oz-forsaken Winkie prince!"
"He is a better man than you could ever dream of being," she shot back at him. "I love him."
Avaric grabbed her arm again and dragged her to her feet. He pushed her in the direction of the bedroom and for a moment she was afraid that he was going to try doing the same thing to her he had tried to do to her before; but he just forced her inside and then slammed the door shut behind her, effectively locking her up.
She pounded on the door with her fists. "Avaric!" she yelled. "Let me out!"
He didn't even respond.
She sighed and leant against the door, looking around the room. Perhaps she could use this opportunity to take some things of value with her, just in case.
She opened the wardrobe and changed out of her nightgown, instead wearing the dark red dress Fiyero had first seen her in and loved so much. There was only a handful of things of value to her that she had left behind when she fled the room the day before. Her mother's green glass bottle was one of them and she stuffed it into the bodice of her dress. She also took a bracelet Nessarose had given her once – the only thing she had ever gotten from her sister – and fastened it around her wrist. Those were, really, the only things of sentimental value to her.
She hesitated when she laid eyes on the emerald-inlaid hair clasp Avaric had bought her, but she eventually secured her hair in a ponytail with it, figuring that if nothing else, it would be worth a lot of money. Fiyero had seemed certain his parents would support him in helping her, but she couldn't be sure. At least this way, she'd have some leverage; she could sell the hair clasp and use the money to take care of herself, if need be.
When she was done, she took a deep breath and moved back to the door. She knocked on it. "Avaric?"
No reply. She pounded harder. "Avaric, let me out."
He didn't say anything. She wasn't even sure he was still in the room – perhaps he had left to spend the rest of his evening in the common room, drinking and playing cards and smoking cigars.
Then, however, she heard another pounding sound – one she hadn't caused herself. Not this time. It sounded like it came from the other side of the room.
"Avaric!" a voice yelled – a voice she knew only too well. "I know you have her in there! Let her go!"
"Fiyero!" she shouted. "I'm in here!"
A loud bang made her jump away from the door. "Silence, you witch!" Avaric screamed.
She tried to listen. She could hear the other door being opened and Fiyero and Avaric talked heatedly, but she couldn't hear what exactly they were saying. She tried the doorknob and pushed against the door uselessly, but it wouldn't budge. She even tried conjuring up her powers, but she didn't know how.
"Fiyero!" she yelled again, her heart pounding in her chest. What if Avaric hurt him? She knew Fiyero could stand his ground, but Avaric was taller and more muscular than the Vinkun prince.
She heard a dull thud and then nothing. She held her breath, straining to hear something, anything; but it stayed completely silent in the other room.
"Fiyero?" she whispered.
Then the door opened to reveal him and she launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly before letting go of him to look him up and down. "Are you alright?" she asked him almost frantically. "Did he hurt you?" Then she glanced over his shoulder and saw Avaric lying unconscious on the floor. Her eyes widened. "Did you do that?"
Fiyero grinned tiredly. "I have my skills with a candleholder." He pointed at the item in question and she laughed and kissed him deeply.
"Are you okay?" he asked when she pulled away and she nodded.
"He didn't even touch me," she said. "He just locked me in there." She looked up at him with anxious, dark eyes. "What is going on, Yero?"
"I'm not sure," he said, immediately growing serious himself, "but a man I talked to said that the ship is sinking."
She sucked in her breath, eyes wide.
He squeezed her hand. "We'll be okay, though." He kissed her forehead, holding her close. "I'll make sure you will be okay."
They encountered Boq and Galinda on their way out. They were both very concerned when they heard about Avaric; but that concern was nothing compared to the worry they felt when Fiyero told them what he had heard. By the time they reached the lower decks, people from the third class were already rushing up, claiming the entire third-class floor was slowly filling with sea water. Ship staff members were instructing the guests to put on life-jackets, which they all did, and to proceed to the decks, where the lifeboats were.
"There aren't even enough boats," Boq said, looking anxious. "There are only enough boats for half the passengers on this ship."
"And the water is freezing," Elphaba added.
"We've got to get to the lifeboats, then," Galinda said in a high voice. Her blue eyes were wide and she was clearly scared. "Before they're all full and we'll drown or freeze to death!"
Fiyero nodded curtly. "Let's go."
"Wait!" Elphaba cried. She looked at the others. "I've got to warn Nessa!"
"Elphie –" Galinda began, but the green girl shook her head.
"You go on to the lifeboats," she said. "I'll catch up with you." Without waiting for a reply, she dashed off.
Fiyero cursed under his breath and ran after her. "Go!" he yelled at a baffled Boq over his shoulder. "Take Galinda to a boat and keep her safe! We'll be right behind you!"
He followed Elphaba up to the first-class deck, where she stormed into a room. "Nessa!"
The girl was sitting in her chair, having tea with the governor. They both looked startled when the pair came in.
Frexspar's eyes narrowed when he saw Fiyero. "You," he hissed at him. He glanced at Elphaba. "Avaric told me what happened. How you disgraced us. Elphaba, how dare you –"
"There's no time!" she interrupted him. She looked at her father pleadingly. "Father, Nessa… the ship is sinking. The lower levels are already filling with water. You have to go up to the lifeboat deck, before it's too late!"
"What?" Nessa asked, staring at her sister. Frex just snorted.
"Elphaba, I don't have time for this," he said gruffly. "It's an unsinkable ship. You're just trying to distract me from the fact that you left Avaric for him!"
"Do you really think I would have come back here if it weren't for something important?" she shot back. "I wouldn't take the risk of you taking me back to Avaric if I didn't have a good reason, Father! You have to listen to me!"
"No." Frex rose to his feet. "You're talking nonsense. Nessarose, go to your room," he ordered the younger girl. "I have to deal with your sister and her prince."
"I'm telling you the truth!" Elphaba shouted, nearly desperate now. She brought her hands down with a wild gesture. "Just listen!"
The teacups, the vases, and the mirror on the wall suddenly all shattered. Nessa shrieked and protected her face with her hands from the flying porcelain.
Elphaba was breathing hard, horrified at the way she had lost control. Nessarose peeked at her sister cautiously from between her fingers and Frex was staring at the mirror on the wall – or what was left of it – in shock.
Fiyero was completely in awe of what had just happened – this was the first time he had seen Elphaba's magical powers in action – but he tried not to be too enthusiastic, realising there were more important matters at hand. He stepped forward to place his hand on the small of Elphaba's back and she turned to face him, her eyes even bigger than usual.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to… I just lost control. I'm sorry."
"Hey!" Fiyero cupped her face to look into her eyes. "It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay." He kissed her forehead. After he pulled away, she slipped her fingers into his and he squeezed her hand gently, keeping it in his own as they both looked at the governor and his youngest daughter.
"Elphaba," Frex said in a low voice.
"Father," Nessarose interjected quietly. "Fabala only loses control of her magic when something is very important to her. Surely you must know that. After Mother died, or to protect me from the children who were teasing me… sometimes to protect herself. Don't you see? If she's losing control of her powers over this, I think she must be telling the truth."
Frexspar stared at his youngest daughter for a long time.
Then he raised his gaze, colder than Elphaba had ever seen it, to meet her chocolate brown eyes.
"Get out," he said flatly.
She immediately started to protest. "Father, please –"
"Get out!" he yelled, drops of saliva flying off his lips. His eyes were almost wild. "You are a disgrace! Get out before you infect Nessarose with your stupid ideas and your sinful magic! Get out!"
When she didn't move, he grabbed her arms and forced her out of the door himself, closing and locking it behind her and Fiyero. She pounded on the door, but he would not let her back in.
"He's going to let her drown," she whispered. She looked up at Fiyero incredulously. "He's just going to let her die, Fiyero…"
He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his neck, shaking. Nessa was her little sister. She had taken care of the girl all her life – she couldn't leave her now!
"Fae," Fiyero said softly. "We have to go."
She shook her head wildly. "No. I'll find a way," she said desperately. "I will. But I can't go without Nessa!"
"We have to." He forced her to look into his eyes. "Elphaba, the ship is sinking," he said. "We need to get to the lifeboats or we will both die as well. Your father has made his choice about Nessa."
Elphaba stared at him, then turned around to stare at the closed door. As the truth got through to her, her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
"Nessa," she sobbed, and Fiyero drew her back into his arms, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her as she cried. "Nessa, I'm so sorry… please forgive me!"
"It's not your fault," Fiyero whispered in her ear. "It's not, Fae. You mustn't believe that. It's your father's fault and no-one else's." He tilted her head back and gently brushed some loose strands of ebony hair away from her face. "And who knows?" he continued softly as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "They might still make it. Maybe by the time your father realises the danger they're in, there will still be lifeboats. They're not going to refuse the governor of Munchkinland and his crippled daughter, Fae."
She knew he was just saying that to make her feel better; but somehow, it worked. She sniffled, but nodded.
He took her hand in his and looked at her. "Let's go."
She followed him.
Review? *puppy dog eyes*