Chapter Forty: Selfish Choices

One afternoon halfway through the semester, Madame Morrible burst into Elphaba and Glinda's room while the two were practicing their spells. Elphaba froze. Had Morrible found out she'd been doing her own research about Animals? Had she overheard Elphaba say something unpleasant about her? When the woman smiled, it unnerved her even more. "I have news for both of you."

Both of them? It couldn't be what Elphaba dreaded, then. Glinda had no idea. She took a deep breath. "What it is, Madame?"

The woman beamed at them. "The two of you have been invited," she said proudly, "to meet the Wizard."

Glinda's eyes widened "Really, Madame?"

"The Wizard asked me several years ago to send him some of my sorcery students, my most impressive students, and when I told him about the two of you, he asked me to extend an invitation. You are to go to the Emerald City this coming weekend. All the arrangements have been made." The woman handed the two girls several sheets of glittery emerald paper. "If either of you have a problem," she looked pointedly at Elphaba, "just let me know."

As the woman closed the door behind her, Elphaba turned to her roommate. "I don't like this."

"Why not?"

"I can see why she'd send you to the Wizard, Glinda. You're her golden girl. But me? Yes, she never gives me a bad mark in sorcery, but she does not like my personality."

"Maybe it's not about personality. Maybe it's about how smart we are."

Elphaba sighed. Perhaps. But Madame Morrible would never have admitted Elphaba's intelligence if she didn't have to. Why would she tell the Wizard? Maybe she'd ask him when they met.

Fiyero didn't want her to go. Well, not quite. He didn't want her to go without him. She wasn't surprised. "Please, Fae, let me come with."

"No. Are you completely clueless, Fiyero? In the City, a green girl and an Arjiki boy would attract much more attention. Your father has friends in the City. It isn't safe!"

"We could just say I was asked to come along to protect the two of you. I mean, two girls wandering about the City alone isn't necessarily…" He stopped when she glared at him.

"And if they asked Madame Morrible about that, Fiyero? And you know I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

Fiyero sighed and shook his head. "And what were you going to do about us being seen in the City when we thought we'd have to go to, well, get you that 'procedure,' Fae?"

"I didn't really expect to be out in public much," she snapped. She didn't appreciate that he'd brought up something she'd much rather forget. They were in his apartment, sitting on his couch. Elphaba stood up then and walked, though she wasn't sure where. She wasn't going to just leave the apartment, but she didn't want to be sitting next to him. She ended up next to the bookshelf, looking out the window. "And we agreed we wouldn't talk about… that."

He came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't just pretend it didn't happen."

She whirled on him. "I can and I will. We talked about it enough right after it happened."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his face into her hair. "I love you," he murmured.

Elphaba softened. "I love you, too. But you can't come with."

He smiled against her neck. "I figured. I had to try."

"And we're not talking about that other thing. Not now. Maybe one day, Fiyero, but not now."

He kissed her lips. "I'll settle for that."

And so at that Friday, the two girls sat in a carriage on the way to the Emerald City. Elphaba had been excited, until she'd realized that Glinda was expecting to talk the whole way. "So, Elphie, how was last night with Fiyero?"

Fiyero had insisted that she spend the night before she left, since she wouldn't be back until late Saturday and therefore would miss some of the time she'd usually spend in his apartment. "It was the same as it always is."

Glinda giggled. "Elphie, how long have the two of you been sleeping together? I mean, you came to Shiz and you were already…"

"No, Glinda, we weren't. Not in that sense. And it's not your business, but we didn't start sleeping together until after we started classes."

"Wait, I thought, when he told you he loved you, that you'd been…"

"Not until that night. Can we stop talking about Fiyero?" Elphaba wanted a breath of fresh air, time away from him. She needed it. Because if she didn't get it, she'd never be able to let him go when the time came.

Glinda raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry."

"I'd really just rather read my book for a bit. I have questions about the City I wanted to ask the Wizard, but I want to know what I'm talking about."

"What do you mean you want to ask him questions? The Wizard doesn't get questioned."

Elphaba shrugged.

It was late when they arrived at the hotel and they were to meet the Wizard in the morning. Elphaba climbed right into the twin bed near the window. The room set up was actually eerily close to their dorm room. She thought about things she wanted to say to the Wizard, about Dr. Dillamond, about the Animals, and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the two young women were escorted to the Wizard's palace around nine. They sat in the waiting room until eleven. Elphaba had it in her head to get up and walk out when a guard finally came for them at half past. "It's about time," she muttered under her breath.

They sat in front of some strange contraption with a large face. After a few moments, the Wizard came out from behind it and sat at the head of the table at which they were seated. "Hello, ladies."

"Hello, your Ozness. It's such a pleasure to meet you!" Glinda exclaimed.

"Hello," Elphaba said simply, ignoring Glinda's look.

"I have a… business proposition… that I have wanted to discuss." The old man took a deep breath. "Many years ago, I asked Madame Morrible to send students with certain qualifications my way, qualifications in sorcery. At first, she only wanted to send me Miss Glinda here, but she mentioned something about Miss Thropp off-hand and I requested she join as well."

"Speaking of Madame Morrible, sir, there have been some things going on at Shiz…" Elphaba began.

"I know all of it. Nothing goes on at Shiz without my say so and knowledge."

"But Dr. Dillamond…"

"The Goat? Oh, don't fret about that." The Wizard waved Elphaba away.

"You know about that? And you don't care?" Elphaba's throat went dry.

"Who do you think had it all arranged? The Goat was causing trouble, young lady, and we can't have that."

Elphaba could not think of what to say next, so she merely listened. The Wizard proposed that she and Glinda become delegates for the Wizard. They would be in charge of specific parts of Oz – Elphaba the East (though she had no connections there, well, aside from the birth parents who had never met her) and Glinda the North. He'd need someone for the South, another sorceress (Glinda suggested Nessarose at this point). He said the West was uncivilized and useless, so there was no need to watch them (another thing that further horrified Elphaba). When she was finally able to speak again, she asked for time to think. The Wizard told her she could have until she finished Shiz.

The moment they were escorted out of the Wizard's palace, she wanted to run. She didn't know where, but she wanted to. Elphaba looked around, wondering exactly what to do.

"Can you believe it, Elphie? Delegates to the Wizard!"

Elphaba turned to her roommate. "Glinda, we can't."

"Why not? It's amazing!"

"Glinda, did you not understand a word he said in there? He's the one who had Dr. Dillamond killed!"

"He didn't exactly say that…" Glinda looked at the dirt on the street, unable to meet Elphaba's eyes.

"You and I both know what he meant."

"But Elphie…"

"No. I… I can't stay at Shiz. I can't do this. I have to get out of here."

"Get out of here to where, Elphie? And what about Fiyero?" Glinda put a hand on her roommate's arm.

Fiyero… Elphaba swallowed hard. There would be plenty of time to run, to get away. But she only had so much time with him. After Shiz, he'd be married. It wasn't like she'd stay in the Vinkus after that, anyway. She could run then. It felt selfish, and it made her nauseous, but she realized she had no concrete ideas of what to do at the moment, anyway. Sighing, she followed Glinda into the carriage that waited for them. But there was a veil over the world now, specifically Shiz and the City.