DISCLAIMER: The characters you recognise from Wicked aren't mine, obviously. But the other characters are.
Chapter 6: What Happens Now?
Kasmira was sitting at the table in the main room of the suite drinking tea and doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper when Fiyero burst into the room.
"You were gone for a time, Yero," she commented. "Did it go well?"
Then she got a better look at his face. "Fiyero, what in the name of Oz has happened? You look terribly bothered."
Fiyero hesitated. "I don't even know where to start," he admitted, sinking into a chair.
Kasmira put the paper down, concerned. "The beginning," she suggested. "Did you see Elphaba?"
He nodded.
"You were there longer than it takes to deliver a letter," she noted. "Did you talk about why she left?"
Fiyero's face darkened at the reminder. Now he knew where to start.
"It was Avaric."
His mother startled. "What was Avaric?"
"He told Elphaba I wanted her to leave. And Elphaba was pretty confusified by the accusation that she didn't want the hassle of being royalty."
Kasmira gaped at him in shock.
"I don't understand," she replied blankly.
Fiyero recounted everything Elphaba had told him about her interactions with Avaric, and reminded his mother of everything Avaric had told him since Elphaba had left. As he had, Kasmira was able to put mostly everything together from there, and was almost as furious as Fiyero had been.
"I want him gone," Fiyero said to her bluntly. "I'm sorry, Mom. I know he worked with Dad for a long time and you guys trust his opinions, but I can't-"
"No, of course not," Kasmira cut him off. "I completely agree, Fiyero. Avaric's overstepped the boundaries of his position, and you mustn't stand for it. Your father wouldn't have, certainly."
That oddly made Fiyero feel a little better.
"Elphaba must have felt completely isolated and rejected when she left," Kasmira said heavily.
The sense of betrayal over Avaric's actions was overwhelming for the dowager queen. He had been a trusted advisor to her and Ibrahim for so long; and that he would do something like that, ruin her son's relationship and happiness, was like a slap to the face.
Thinking of how Fiyero had been the past few months, and then trying to put herself in Elphaba's shoes, was enough to bring Kasmira to tears.
She squeezed Fiyero's hand, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry you both have suffered so much, sweetheart."
"I think Fae had it a bit worse than I did, Mom," Fiyero answered.
Off his mother's quizzical frown, he took a breath and dropped the bombshell he was still recovering from.
"Mom, Elphaba was pregnant when she left."
Kasmira inhaled sharply, her eyes widening.
"I didn't know," Fiyero hastily reassured her, not that Kasmira had suspected otherwise.
"She was pregnant, and thought that you didn't want to marry her," Kasmira realised, her heart breaking at the thought. "It's no wonder she left."
Fiyero couldn't help but agree with her, but he was also finding that the thought of Arora was enough to make him smile.
Kasmira, like he had been, was too caught up in the shock to think of the reality.
"Mom," he said, getting her attention. "I have a daughter."
"A daughter," Kasmira breathed, her own smile springing forth. "You've seen her?"
"Just briefly. She was sleeping," he explained. "But, oh, Mom. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"What's her name?" Kasmira asked eagerly.
If possible, Fiyero's smile grew even wider. "Arora."
"Arora," the dowager queen repeated. "And how's Elphaba?"
Fiyero faltered, looking thoughtful. "She's different…" he said slowly. "She almost seems more fragile. I can't explain it."
"Oh, Yero. She's just had a baby- how long ago?"
"Seven weeks. Almost two months."
Kasmira nodded knowingly. "She'll be sleep deprived, and her hormones will be all over the place. And you suddenly turning up on her doorstep couldn't have helped," she said gently. "Becoming a parent changes you, changes everything."
"Yeah… you're probably right," Fiyero agreed,
Fiyero smiled at her then. "You're always right. She told me she loves me."
Kasmira smiled triumphantly. "I knew she did."
Fiyero decided to let her have this victory.
"Yeah, alright," he rolled his eyes slightly. "We've been invited to lunch. To meet Arora."
"That sounds lovely," Kasmira accepted happily.
She was already caught up in trying to picture what the baby looked like, and thinking about all the things she could buy for her granddaughter.
Fiyero looked at her quizzically. "You're taking this very calmly. Much better than I did," he admitted.
Jolted back to reality, his mother raised an eyebrow. "How do you want me to react, Fiyero?"
Fiyero shrugged. "I don't know. You're not… mad?"
"At who?"
"Me, for getting Elphaba pregnant without being married?" Fiyero guessed. "Her, for not telling me?"
Kasmira paused. "I wish you'd known," she replied honestly. "And obviously, things would be much simpler if you'd been married and this had happened. But, no. I'm not mad."
She sighed slightly. This wasn't how it should have been.
"I'm sorry that you missed the pregnancy and the beginning of your daughter's life. I'm sorry that Elphaba was put in a position where she felt she couldn't tell you. You?"
"I'm mostly mad at Avaric," Fiyero replied honestly. "That he could do that. And I'm mad at myself for not making the time to talk to Elphaba back before she left."
"Yero, you can't change the past now," his mother said gently.
"Elphaba said I should be mad at her. That she deserves it," Fiyero said unhappily.
"You disagree?"
"It doesn't seem... right. To be mad at her, when she just had my baby? When the reason she didn't tell me is because of what Avaric did. Mom, she thought I was going to break up with her. What would you have done in her shoes?"
Kasmira sighed thoughtfully, trying to imagine it. "Yero, I can't answer that. But I can't say with certainty that I wouldn't have done exactly what Elphaba did. Honestly, with the past year that we've had, I'm just choosing to be thrillified with the news that I have a granddaughter."
She smiled. "This is the best news I've had in a long time," she reassured him.
Fiyero smiled and leaned over to hug her. "You're the best mom ever," he informed her.
Kasmira chuckled. "Hmm. Remember that come Mother's Day next year," she answered and he laughed in agreement.
Only after she'd gotten every detail of conversation from Fiyero, did Kasmira broach the subject he hadn't mentioned.
"What happens now? With you and Elphaba, I mean?"
Fiyero sobered. "Uh, we didn't really discuss…"
"Fiyero," she replied exasperatedly. "You love her, she loves you, and you share a child. But you didn't discuss your relationship?"
"We did," Fiyero defended himself. "Just- the past. We didn't get around to the future," he muttered.
"Look, Mom. It was a rough conversation, and we've had so much to talk about. Just let us ease into this, ok?"
At half past twelve, Fiyero was once again ringing the bell at the Governor's house, this time with his mother by his side and feeling remarkably calmer.
The housekeeper let them in this time, and showed them to the living room. As they entered the room, Elphaba rose to her feet rather nervously. She hadn't been sure how Fiyero's mother would react to the news she was a grandmother, although she was sure the dowager queen would react better than Frex had.
Her fears were quickly allayed, however, when Kasmira's eyes landed on her and she broke into a warm smile.
"Elphaba! It's so lovely to see you again, sweetheart," she greeted her, enveloping her in a tight hug immediately.
"It's good to see you too," Elphaba replied honestly, a little taken aback by the unexpectedly warm reception.
Slightly flustered, she turned to her father. "Father, Nessa, this is Fiyero's mother, Kasmira. This is my father, Frex, and my sister Nessarose," she introduced them, and greetings were dutifully exchanged.
Then Elphaba stepped forward to retrieve the most precious bundle from Nessa's arms.
"This is Arora."
Her eyes met Fiyero's. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked him.
Fiyero could only nod silently.
She eased Arora into his arms and watched as he adjusted her carefully, his mother looking over his shoulder proudly.
"Oh, Elphaba. She's absolutely exquisite," Kasmira said softly, placing an arm around her shoulders. "Yero, I do think she has your nose."
"I thought that too," Elphaba admitted. "I thought maybe his eyes too, but I think they're going to go dark. They already look a little darker than when she was born."
She was overcome with emotion, watching Fiyero hold their daughter and gazing upon her in wonder.
"You're not mad?" she asked Kasmira quietly.
Kasmira's face softened and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all this alone," she replied, pulling away. "And I'm sorry for what Avaric did to you. He had no right," she said firmly. She smiled and squeezed Elphaba's hands.
"You've given me a grandchild. How could I be mad about that?" she asked.
Elphaba was reminded vividly why she had liked the queen immediately from the moment they'd met.
"And how are you?" Kasmira asked gently.
Elphaba fought back tears. "I feel like I've done nothing but cry since October," she admitted with a faint chuckle.
Kasmira laughed gently. "Oh, sweetheart. It's perfectly normal," she reassured her. "I was an emotional wreck for the first six months after Fiyero was born. And you haven't had an easy time of it, today in particular."
Frex called for tea, and offered Kasmira a seat, which she accepted gracefully.
She settled herself on the couch next to Elphaba, and engaged her in conversation, remarkably casually for the situation.
"There's something I didn't mention," Elphaba spoke up a few minutes later, after small talk had been exhausted.
"Arora's name," she added as Kasmira and Fiyero both looked to her. "Her middle name, well one of them," she corrected herself. "It's Ibra. For your father."
Fiyero's face lit up. "Really?"
Kasmira was smiling, but rather tearfully. "Thank you, Elphaba," she said quietly, hugging her again.
Although not ready to relinquish his hold on his daughter, Fiyero took pity on his mother after that revelation. Plus, he didn't want her to start crying. There'd rather been enough tears happening today.
"Here, Mom," Fiyero said and handed Arora to her.
Once his hands were empty, he moved to sit next to Elphaba on the other end of the couch, taking her hand in his. He gave it a gentle squeeze, a silent thank you.
"So, Mom. What do you want to be called? Grandma?" he asked brightly, flashing his mother a grin.
She rolled her eyes at the obvious amusement on his face. "I think 'Grams' is perfectly suitable. That's what my own mother went by," she explained to Elphaba.
Elphaba smiled. "Grams sounds nice," she agreed softly.
When Elphaba informed them that Arora had just started smiling in the past week or so, most of the room's attention moved to trying to coax a smile from the baby until lunch was served.
When it was time for lunch, Elphaba placed Arora in a little basket in the dining room so that she could be in the room as they ate.
"She's due for a feed soon," she apologised to Fiyero and Kasmira. "She's been up for a little bit, but she tends to take a while to want food when she wakes up from a nap."
"That's fine. You do what you have to do, dear," Kasmira reassured her.
Conversation throughout lunch was kept light, nothing too heavy and mostly revolving around Arora, which was a safe topic for all. Frex and Nessarose would never tire of talking about her, and Fiyero and Kasmira were eager for any and all details of her short life they had missed. Elphaba marvelled that there were so many stories to tell in only seven weeks.
At length however, as lunch drew to a close, Kasmira decided that enough was enough.
"So, Elphaba, Yero. Have the two of you any idea what you're going to do?"
Elphaba and Fiyero both stilled.
"Do?" Elphaba repeated, bewildered.
"Yes, with regards to parenting Arora. And naturally, that's tied to the issue of your relationship. You seem to have sorted out your misunderstandings at least, if not all the issues of your relationship. Are you going to resume your relationship? The engagement?"
"Mom," Fiyero said warningly.
"It's a logical question, Fiyero," Kasmira said calmly.
Frex put down his knife and fork. "I must admit, I'm rather curious as to that myself."
"We- we haven't discussed…" Elphaba replied weakly.
She met Fiyero's gaze across the table and blushed, lowering her eyes.
"Whilst we're on the subject, I was hoping for a word with you, Mr Tiggular," Frex addressed Fiyero, which caused Elphaba's eyes to whip to her father.
"Father," she said sharply.
Frex ignored her. "Shall we go to my study?" he asked Fiyero, who looked rather unfazed about this.
"Sure," Fiyero agreed calmly.
He left Elphaba with the women, following Frex back to his study and taking a seat.
"Until this morning," Frex began. "I was under the impression that you had dated my daughter, gotten her pregnant and then ended the relationship."
Fiyero winced. It certainly didn't sound good when put that way, and although he'd only known about her for perhaps an hour, the thought of someone ever treating Arora that way… well, he thought Frex had treated him surprisingly well considering.
"And now I find out that you were engaged. To my daughter. Without my knowledge."
Fiyero nodded slowly.
"You're the father of my granddaughter," Frex continued.
"And you're my daughter's grandfather," Fiyero replied.
Frex inclined his head.
"Elphaba is a wonderful mother. But she hasn't had an easy time the past few months," he said. "In addition to the demands of a newborn, there's been the emotional upheaval."
"While I'm under no delusion that Elphaba's had an easy time lately, it hasn't exactly been a happy time for me, either," Fiyero said quietly.
"You broke my daughter's heart."
Fiyero straightened stiffly. "With all due respect, sir, whilst that may be true in some regard; I believe I also taped it back together after you broke it."
Frex raised an eyebrow.
"I met Elphaba in the Emerald City, where she was working as a hotel maid and living in a horrendible hotel under a fake name after she'd run away from home. This home. She was frantically saving every penny for Shiz tuition, because you wouldn't let her go."
Frex's face was like stone.
"Elphaba told me that you hate her. That you blame her for what happened to her mother and sister. And you can deny it, but that doesn't change the fact that a lot of this happened because Elphaba couldn't believe that I love her."
"I fell in love with your daughter a month after meeting her," Fiyero informed the Governor bluntly. "Maybe sooner, but I knew it after a month. I fell in love with her because she is beautiful, and brilliant and the bravest person I've ever met."
"And the engagement?" Frex asked.
"Yes, I asked her to marry me," Fiyero said readily. "I don't regret that. And yes, if things were different, I would have followed tradition and asked for your blessing. But that wasn't an option. If it's any consolation, I encouraged Elphaba to write to you, and let you know."
He shrugged. "The future of our relationship is between Elphaba and I. We haven't discussed it yet. But I have no intention of walking away from Arora, or not supporting Elphaba in any way possible. I love her, and if she's willing, I still want to marry her."
Frex said nothing for a time, but Fiyero was determined not to let the silence make him uncomfortable.
"I feel like I'm only just getting to know my daughter," Frex remarked candidly. "And Arora is my granddaughter. My first grandchild."
"Elphaba and I resuming our relationship wouldn't exclude you from either of their lives," Fiyero pointed out quietly. "I know the Vinkus isn't exactly a close distance, but you and Nessarose would always be welcome at Werillah Ev."
Frex fell silent again, only acknowledging his statement with a curt nod.
"At this stage, I'm not willing to agree to an engagement or Elphaba and Arora returning to the Vinkus," Frex returned finally. "I think the two of you, if you choose to resume your relationship, should ensure all your issues are sorted and you shouldn't rush into a marriage. Regardless of Arora, or your prior engagement."
Fiyero nodded, the weight of disappointment settling on his chest.
"However," Frex continued. "I will extend an invitation for you and your mother to join us for Lurlinemas. It's Arora's first, and I'm sure Elphaba would like to have Arora's family around for that. You may stay here, as opposed to the hotel."
Fiyero felt a spark of something like hope. "Thank you, Governor. I'd like that, and I'm sure my mother would too."
Frex continued. "I can't deny that your relationship is between you and Elphaba. It is for the two of you to discuss, and I won't interfere."
If Fiyero were honest with himself, he could say he hadn't been expecting that.
"If you and Elphaba decide to resume your relationship, after three months, I may grant my blessing upon an engagement. If I am asked and satisfied that you will make her happy."
"Three months?" Fiyero repeated.
All he could think was how much more of Arora's life he would miss in three months.
"Those are my conditions, Mr Tiggular."
Fiyero hesitated. "In those three months, could she visit the Vinkus? Could I visit?"
"I would not stop you from spending time with Elphaba or Arora. As to the Vinkus, if she is willing to make the journey with Arora, yes," Frex slowly agreed.
Fiyero nodded. It wasn't ideal, but he'd take it. He could appreciate that Frex was doing this for Elphaba and Arora's sake.
"Thank you," he said and left the study.
Neither Elphaba nor Arora was in the room when he followed the sound of voices to the living room, although his mother looked like she was having a lovely conversation with Nessa.
"Where's Fae?"
"She's upstairs feeding Arora," Nessa replied.
"Thanks. Mom, the Governor's in his study. You may want to have a chat with him."
Kasmira looked a little surprised, but nodded. "Very well, Yero. Thank you."
She excused herself to Nessarose and headed for the study as Fiyero trotted upstairs.
The door to the nursery was ajar, and Fiyero knocked tentatively.
"Come in."
Fiyero hadn't thought his heart could swell anymore, but the sight of Elphaba sitting in a rocking chair and breastfeeding Arora proved him wrong. He couldn't imagine a more beautiful picture if he'd tried.
"Hi," he said awkwardly. "Do you want me to come back, or?"
She shook her head. "It's fine. I mean, Unless it grosses you out or something."
"Gross is definishly not the word I'd use," Fiyero replied softly.
"It's the word Nessa uses," Elphaba said with a faint grin. "Usually I feed her downstairs and just cover up… but I just needed to be able to watch her today."
Fiyero nodded. "I get that. It's been a big day."
Elphaba smiled slightly. "You can move in from the doorway," she told him softly and Fiyero blinked.
"Oh. Right."
He stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. Elphaba was in the only chair in the room, so he settled himself on a chest next to the chair so he could still see Arora.
"How are we doing, Rora Rose?" Elphaba murmured to Arora.
"Rora Rose?" Fiyero repeated.
She smiled faintly and nodded. "Nickname. Her full name is Arora Nessarose Ibra Thropp. My father came up with 'Rora Rose'."
Fiyero chose not to dwell on the surname. Hopefully, eventually, that would change anyway.
"Your father seems to love her," he commented.
Elphaba nodded. "He does. Which surprised me," she admitted. "Considering he was furious when I told him I was pregnant, and barely looked at her when she was first born. But I guess she won him over."
Fiyero gently stroked one of Arora's tiny hands, watching her long eyelashes rest against her rosy cheek as she fed and marvelling at the sight.
"I can see why," he murmured. Then he looked back up at Elphaba. "It also seems that he cares about you."
Elphaba hesitated before answering. "Yeah… who would've thought, right?" she tried to keep her tone light, but Fiyero just looked at her expectantly.
"I kind of fell apart," she admitted. "About a month ago. I'm just so afraid of failing her," she whispered. "And I have no clue what I'm doing. My father… he's been a big help, actually. What did he say to you?"
"That you're a wonderful mother," Fiyero replied honestly. "Which I had no doubt about."
"He said that?" Elphaba said in disbelief. "He actually used the word 'wonderful'?"
Fiyero nodded. "Yeah. Right before he took me to task for breaking your heart."
Elphaba didn't know how to react to any of that, or how to respond. Thankfully, Arora decided in that moment that she was done with lunch.
"Do you want to burp her?" she offered unsurely.
Fiyero looked startled. "Um, sure."
"You don't have to if you-"
"No, I want to," he cut her off hastily. "I just have no idea how to do that. Or anything, really."
Elphaba wasn't fazed by that, and simply handed him the baby and a cloth and directed him what to do.
"So, your father spoke to me about us," Fiyero began, as she covered herself back up.
"And said what exactly?"
"He gave me conditions for you and me getting back together," he replied, gently rubbing Arora's back and hoping he was doing this right.
Elphaba looked wary. "Conditions?" she repeated.
"He's not willing to grant his blessing on an engagement for three months. He doesn't think we should rush into getting married just for Arora's sake, even with the fact we were engaged before. He wants to make sure we've sorted all our issues out first."
Elphaba gaped at him.
"I think it would have been longer than three months if not for Arora," Fiyero said honestly.
Elphaba chuckled. "I think if it wasn't for Arora, you may not have gotten inside the house."
She couldn't imagine her father being supportive of her and Fiyero's possible relationship without Arora in the picture.
"He also said that he'll only give his blessing if he believes that I can make you happy," Fiyero continued quietly.
Elphaba said nothing.
"Fae?" Fiyero prodded.
"I don't know what to say," she replied honestly. "I don't know what is supposed to happen now."
Fiyero was remarkably composed as he continued to coax a burp from Arora.
"Well, first of all, your father has invited Mom and I to stay here for Lurlinemas. Then, I have to go back to the Vinkus to deal with Avaric."
"Deal with-?"
"Fire him. And try very hard not to punch him while doing so, but I make no promises," Fiyero elaborated darkly.
"Fire him?"
"I don't want him working for me if this is what he's capable of," Fiyero said bluntly. "My mom agrees with me."
He held Elphaba's gaze steadily. "I want to come to Munchkinland as often as I can, I want you and Arora to come to the Vinkus to visit if possible. And in exactly three months now, I want to ask your father for your hand in marriage. I want the same thing that I wanted a year ago, Fae. I want to marry you."
Then he shrugged, still rubbing Arora's back. "I mean, ideally, I'd like to marry you sooner than three months, but I'm going to respect your father's wishes."
Arora let out a little burp, and Fiyero felt ridiculously pleased with himself as he handed her back to Elphaba.
Elphaba slowly rocked Arora rather distractedly, trying to digest it all.
"It can't be that simple," she said. "Can it?"
"Why not?" Fiyero asked. "Fae, I love you. Do you believe that I love you?"
She met his gaze, looking into his eyes for a long moment, before she nodded. "Yes."
"And you love me? As much as you did a year ago?"
Another slow nod, less confident this time. So much had happened in the past year, she wasn't sure if she loved Fiyero as much as she had then, more, or just differently. But she knew she loved him.
"What can be more simple than that?" Fiyero asked. "I want us to be a family. You, me and Arora. For starters."
"For starters?" she repeated.
He shrugged. "Do you want more kids?"
"I- I don't know," she admitted, feeling overwhelmed again.
On one hand, she loved Arora more than she'd ever thought possible. But on the other hand, childbirth had not been fun, to say the least. The midwife assured her that she would soon forget the pain of it all, but Elphaba wasn't quite there yet. Nor had she forgotten her vow to never repeat the experience.
Fiyero could sense it on her face.
"Fae, we don't have to rush into this," he said gently. "I'm just telling you what I want. Which mostly just comes down to never losing you again. What do you want?"
Elphaba got up from the rocking chair, and placed Arora in the bassinet. Fiyero got to his feet, trying to be patient and watching her fuss over their daughter.
"I do love you," she said quietly. "And I have missed you, so much."
"But?" Fiyero asked anxiously.
She turned and took a step towards him. "I'm afraid. Of getting hurt again," she admitted.
"Me too," Fiyero agreed.
"And there's Rora to think about now. Where does that leave us?"
He shrugged. "We try. We take things slow. We communicate. We stop procrastinating important discussions and ask questions, even if we're afraid of the answers."
Elphaba nodded slowly. Then she stepped up to him, leaned up and kissed him lightly. Fiyero cupped her face in his hands as he returned the kiss gently.
"I love you," he murmured.
"I love you too," Elphaba replied. "And you're not saying all this just for Arora's sake?"
Fiyero shook his head. "No. I'm saying it for my sake, because I don't want to live without you."
Elphaba looked into his eyes, studying him closely. And then she nodded.
"Is that a yes? To try again?"
She nodded. "Yes. But we take it slow."
"OK," Fiyero agreed, unable to keep a smile off his face.
When Elphaba retrieved Arora from the bassinet and they returned downstairs, Frex and Kasmira had also returned to the room. Kasmira looked at them knowingly, Fiyero grinned at her cheerfully.
The rest of the day was a lot more relaxed. Fiyero and Elphaba informed their parents and Nessa the decision they had come to, including Frex's conditions. It was agreed that Kasmira and Fiyero would move from The Pinnacle to the mansion the next day and stay for Arora's first Lurlinemas the next week.
Nessa and Kasmira had an enthusiastic conversation about everything Nessa had been planning, and gift ideas for Arora.
They ended up staying for dinner, before which Elphaba invited Fiyero to help her bathe Arora and put her to bed.
"She's less cute when she's screaming at three am," Elphaba warned him as they watched her succumb to sleep. "So, if she wakes you up while you're staying here, I'm sorry."
Fiyero shook his head. "I don't care. I guess I should get used to it," he grinned at her, and she smiled.
Kasmira returned to the hotel after dinner, but Fiyero couldn't bring himself to leave just yet. Frex went to his study to do some work, and Nessa excused herself to her room, leaving Elphaba and Fiyero alone in the living room.
The original plan had been to work out some of the finer details of how this "Relationship 2.0" (as Fiyero put it) was going to work; but Elphaba found she could just not keep her eyes open.
"I promise I'm not usually this boring," she yawned. "Even with a newborn, I can usually stay up past… oh, Oz. It's not even nine o'clock," she groaned as she spotted the time.
Fiyero chuckled. "It's ok. It's been a big day."
She sighed tiredly. "It has," she agreed.
Fiyero placed an arm around her shoulder and drew her to his side. She tensed at first and then relaxed.
"This ok?" Fiyero asked cautiously.
She nodded. "Yeah. It just… it's been so long, and I didn't really think this would ever happen again," she said quietly. "So much happened today and it all went so fast. I feel like I'm dreaming."
Her face sobered and Fiyero frowned. "What is it?"
Elphaba sighed. "Déjà vu," she murmured.
Fiyero's frown deepened. "Huh?"
"It's just the last time I felt this way… the clock struck midnight."
Realisation dawned on Fiyero, and his grip on her tightened. "Fae…"
She looked up at him. "You said you'd find me. If I only left a slipper behind."
Fiyero winced slightly, the long ago conversation coming back to him. He softly pressed his lips to the top of her head.
"I did find you. It just took me longer than I planned," he assured her softly. "And you didn't exactly leave a slipper behind," he reminded her.
Elphaba nodded but said nothing, looking thoughtful.
"So, Shiz," he said conversationally, trying to change the subject.
She stifled a yawn and hesitantly rested her head on his shoulder. It felt so natural, familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time, but Elphaba pushed those thoughts away. She focused instead on thinking she couldn't remember the last time she'd been this content.
"What about it? I can hardly go now, not with Arora."
"No," Fiyero had to concede. "But if you wanted to study something, you still could. You could do it through correspondence."
"Hmm, maybe," she murmured, her eyes falling shut.
"You're going to fall asleep," he said in amusement.
"No, I'm not," she argued. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a second."
"Should I go?"
She shook her head. "No. Just… talk. I've missed your voice."
Fiyero racked his brain for something to talk about, and then smiled as a memory came to him.
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land," he began softly and Elphaba made an odd sound, her eyes fluttering open.
Fiyero didn't falter, just tenderly rubbed his thumb over her hand in her lap. "There was once a girl who was cursed with skin the colour of emeralds," he continued, reciting from memory.
Elphaba's eyes closed once more and let the familiar fairytale wash over her, his voice soothing her.
She fell asleep soon after, but if she'd been awake by the end, she would have heard that there was a different ending than what she remembered.
That after the prince rescued the maiden from her evil father, they were torn apart by an evil sorcerer, who tricked the maiden into going back to her father and pretending that the prince didn't love her. But the prince, eventually, came to rescue her and discovered that the maiden had given birth to a beautiful princess during their time apart. The prince defeated the sorcerer, and made the maiden's father agree to release her.
The prince then took the maiden and the baby princess back to his castle and married her, where naturally, they all lived happily ever after.
AN. Fun Fact- this was going to be the end. But then Maddy was like "I want an epilogue" so... there's an epilogue (which is really just another chapter because it's too long to be an epilogue). See you on Thursday!