Madame Morrible went personally to free Selky from her prison; she wanted to make a good impression on the potential public figure. "Hello Miss Fallorn," Oz's new ruler greeted with as much warmth as she could muster. "It's an honor to finally meet Oz's hero."
"Hero?" the stunned girl asked quizzically. "How am I a hero?"
"You exhibited extreme bravery," the old woman gushed. "You risked death to let the rest of Oz know where the witch was." Selky's heart swelled at this praise and she attempted to smile at the creepy old lady.
"Did you find an Antelope named Corusca anywhere in the castle?" she asked. Madame Morrible carefully composed her face to look devastatingly sad.
"We found her body," she lied softly. "The witch hung her and the other Animals stolen from Shiz I'm afraid." Tears bloomed in Selky's eyes and she buried her face in Morrible's chest. Awkwardly the former headmistress stroked her hair, which looked disturbingly like Elphaba's. Morrible knew she would have to butter this girl up, lest she get away like the green woman she so resembled "Would you like to have the honor of helping to kill the witch?" Selky looked up, her stricken face frighteningly vengeful.
"What do you mean?"
"The witch is going to be stoned," the old woman explained, trying not to grin at the thought. "I would gladly give you the privilege of casting the first stone." Morrible knew she was offering Selky what any grieving child wants; the chance to get back at what hurt her.
"I'd be honored," Selky replied darkly. Everyone loves revenge.
***
Madame Morrible had designed special cells for the witch's companions. When the Gale Force took Kiamo Ko by storm even the humans they captured were stuffed into cages. These cages were then loaded into wagons which were covered by canvas, so the prisoners weren't visible. Fiyero and Chistery were in one wagon, Caya and Brrr in another, and Glinda and Boq in a third. No one knew where the other flying Monkeys had been taken. Morrible's special cages were made completely of glass with tiny air holes so the prisoners could see each other but not talk or touch. This arrangement was particularly torturous for Glinda and Boq. Their cells were pressed up against each other, yet they could do nothing but stare at one another, wishing for even a single comforting hand squeeze.
The blonde witch pressed a trembling hand against the transparent wall between them and leaned her forehead in to brush the glass. On the other side the Tin Man mirrored her, so they were separated by only a thin barrier. The small witch had so much to say to Boq about how sorry she was for ignoring him at Shiz, and about how very happy he made her, but it all boiled down to three small words. "I love you," Glinda whispered. Though he couldn't hear her Boq was good enough at lip reading to understand.
"I love you too," he told the petite woman softly. Then something extraordinary happened. The Tin Man felt a steady throbbing warmth radiate from the place where his absent heart should have been. The heat spread outward, filling his cold metal body with life. Silver melted away to reveal the munchkin in his servant clothes; the metallic ones he'd served Nessarose in. Amazed the former Tin Man stretched his human body and gazed at Glinda with unparalleled joy. However the witch's return smile was bittersweet; if she'd realized his love for her earlier maybe she could have given him his human life back more than a day before it was taken.
***
Elphaba awoke as the door to her cell opened. Glinda was thrown inside and landed with an undignified yelp. Before the blonde could scramble to her feet she was abruptly encircled with green arms and black fabric. As the two witches held each other their tears mingled. Both women apologized profusely to one another until they weren't sure who was apologizing for what. Nobody could doubt that the two remaining witches of Oz shared a bond no one could even begin to understand; they were soul mates, they were flip sides of the same coin, they were night and day, yin and yang, they were sisters, they were a single soul dwelling in two bodies. They were best friends plain and simple.
"Where are the others?" Elphaba wondered when she pulled out of the infinite embrace.
"The guards took them to another part of the dungeon," Glinda informed her friend. "It's horrendible; all this work and pain and fighting for nothing. Is that what life comes down to? You do so much but it doesn't matter in the end?"
"It matters," the green girl replied firmly. "The Galinda I first met at Shiz wouldn't have been capable of spouting such a deep comment and the Elphaba I was at Shiz wouldn't have trusted anyone to love her. Look how far we've come."
"Morrible said she's going to have us stoned," the blonde sighed. "That must be horrible, to see the people who once loved you hurling rocks at your body until something vital is injured."
"It won't be as bad for me then," Elphaba chuckled bitterly. "The people of Oz never loved me." Their private thoughts gave rise to a comfortable silence.
"I know it's morbid to ask this but…what will you miss most about life?"
"Our friendship."
"But that's never going to disappear," Glinda pointed out. "Our friendship is just going to move to its next stage…wherever it is we go."
"Do you really think there's something after this?" the witch asked skeptically.
"Yes," the blonde replied with utter certainty. "There are some things in life that are too strong to die."
***
Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, Boq, Caya, Brrr, and Chistery were all lined up beside an ominous wooden square. Baskets of stones stood in front of the killing spot where they would all take a turn. The green girl was relieved to be going first; she wouldn't have to watch her friends die. Madame Morrible called her name and the witch filed slowly past the people who had become her family in all the ways that mattered. Chistery gave his mistress a fond smile. Caya, who had never been comfortable with displays of emotion, gave the green girl only a nod as she passed, but her amber eyes said everything. "You are the purest, most noble creature I have ever met," Brrr whispered quietly, his voice profound. "Oz will be a darker place without you." Tears collected in Elphaba's eyes and she squeezed the Lion's paw.
"I'm sorry I thought you were wicked," Boq apologized. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you. Thank you for saving my life; I used to think that dying would've been better. I was wrong." When the green girl came to Fiyero there was nothing to say. She pressed her lips against his for a long moment, letting him feel all the vivid love she felt for him. Then there was Glinda. Elphaba placed a hand against her heart.
"For good," she whispered, the tears spilling over.
"For good," Glinda affirmed with a bittersweet smile. "I love you Elphie. See you on the other side."
"I love you too," the green girl told her friend. "Goodbye."
***
Selky selected a good sized rock from the basket beside her. Madame Morrible stood on a pedestal to the side of the killing square where Elphaba stood on her knees, hand bound behind her back. Wise brown met murderous green as Selky made eye contact with the woman she had hated since she was fifteen. The dark haired girl was shocked to see no pleading in the green woman's face, just bold dignity. Elphaba knew who she was and what she stood for; she wasn't going to spend her last moments begging for forgiveness. Without a shred of fear the witch bowed her head and waited for the judgment she knew would come.
Hate swelled in Selky's chest as she raised her stone. This wicked person had killed her parents and her best friend. Thoughts of Corusca's cold stiff body burned through the young girl's mind and blinding tears of rage blurred her vision. Gritting her teeth she wiped them away. Carnal joy ripped through Selky's heart as she swung, ready to let fly her deadly projectile.
But there were things Selky had seen in the last weeks, things that didn't make sense. What evidence do you have besides what you've been told? Sagely words rang in her stubborn mind. I'd tell you what to believe but you won't listen to me. Don't worry though, you'll figure it out. If the young girl wouldn't listen to Glinda the Good then who would she listen to? Herself? What did she have to say? What did she know? Everything isn't black and white Selky, the world is a blurry mix of grays. Closing her eyes in concentration Selky blocked out everything except her own thoughts.
When her eyes opened again they were made up. Selky was so much like a younger Elphaba and because of that there was really only one choice; justice. Again she raised the rock…
***
…and let it drop. The green girl looked up in confusion and saw Selky walking away. In a crowd emotion travels fast. One person's decision can cause an immediate ripple effect that changes everything. All it takes is one individual willing to defy convention. Slowly the sound of dropping stones filled the air. People looked on the witch and saw more than green skin. Madame Morrible had told them of her wicked deeds, but in the last weeks they had seen all the good Elphaba and her friends were capable of. All it took was a raven haired girl who had the strength to defy gravity.
Yeah I know that was the cheesiest conclusion ever and it probably didn't make anyone cry (except me) but I'm a sucker for happy endings.
Did anyone actually think I was going to kill Elphaba? I tried to make it seem that way…please let me know if I was successful…
There will be an epilogue and if enough people liked this story I'm tempted to do a sequel (let me know what you think about that!)
SHAMELESS PLUG: If any of you guys want to read another long story by me I would recommend checking out 'The Emerald Apple' in the Twilight/Wicked crossover section…I promise it's much more Wicked than Twilight and you will probably enjoy my story even if you don't like reading about teenage vampires…according to my reviewers 'The Emerald Apple' is really good (I like to toot my own horn…deal with it)