Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter. I'm trying to keep it going at a reasonable pace; I don't want to rush it, but I don't want to drag it out. I think it'll be a while yet, though.
As for those of you who didn't want the wedding to happen...It's happening. Poor Rilt ;P I didn't go into much detail about the wedding, because I didn't want it to happen much myself!
In the brief moment of enticing hesitation before he kissed her, Fiyero wondered what on earth possessed him. He barely knew the girl, but something about her lifted his lonely spirit, and ignited a spark in his unhappy heart. He felt guilty that he had so abused his freedom, when she had none.
A heartbeat passed, and he leaned down towards her. She could feel his breath on her face, and the urge to run almost overpowered her. Seeing the fear in her dark eyes, Fiyero pressed a gentle kiss on the corner of her lips before drawing away again, gauging her reaction. She leaned towards him as though magnetically drawn to him, her eyes half closed.
He kissed her again, fervently this time. Her kisses were clumsy and inexperienced, but her arms snaked around his neck and her fingers tangled in his dark hair. He rested his hands on her waist, noticing the gentle curves that her too-big dress had previously hidden. An intense shudder of heat rushed up their spines simultaneously, and a wave of belonging swept over them.
After a few moments they broke apart and she grinned at him sheepishly. He did not remove his hands until she shook out of reach, bashfully brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Thank you," Elphaba murmured, subconsciously raising a finger to her lips where the feeling of his still remained.
"My pleasure," Fiyero replied. The sun had set completely, and Elphaba stood up, stretching her harlequin arms above her head.
"You have a big day tomorrow," the young man sighed, standing up beside her. "You had better get off to bed and get a good sleep."
Elphaba wrinkled her nose but nodded, linking her pinkie finger with his.
'If I had been born normal,' she thought, 'I would be marrying him tomorrow.'
The young pair parted in the main foyer of the house, and Elphaba hurried up to her bedroom like a madwoman. She closed the door quietly behind her and sank to the floor, leaning her back against it. A tiny smile broke across her face, quickly expanding into a jubilant grin. She began to sing softly to herself, a new, lively sparkle in her mournful eyes.
Dancing around the room, she changed into her nightclothes then twirled and fell onto her bed, cocooning herself in the feather duvet. The fear of her wedding was reduced to a dull pang at the back of her mind, and, for the first night in her life, Elphaba fell asleep with a smile on her face.
"Elphaba! Get up!" Eissa shrilled, striding purposefully into the large bedroom and throwing open the curtains. The weather seemed to echo Elphaba's feelings on the events of the day, as rain poured with abandon from the charcoal grey sky. For a few moments, she ignored the older woman as she bustled around the room, before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. A thrill of horror rose in her chest as she spied her Aunt taking her wedding dress out of the wardrobe, setting it out at the end of the bed.
"You'd better be up and washed in five minutes. Melena, Nessarose and the Glinda girl will be in presently to help you get ready." The Eminence snapped.
"It's Galinda. With a 'Ga'." Elphaba shouted at her retreating back, rolling onto her stomach and pulling the duvet over her head.
Nessarose and Galinda were decked out in a pale mint green, a colour Elphaba had deliberately chosen to anger her aunt. They entered the little chapel attached to Colwen Grounds, smiling at the assembled guests. Elphaba and her father, Frex, waited outside the huge doors. She fidgeted from foot to foot, picking the petals from the amnesia roses that made up her bouquet. Frex slid an arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek encouragingly.
"You'll be alright, Fabala." he soothed, liking his arm through hers. "You know I don't approve of this marriage, and I don't want to give you away to anyone but the man you deserve…"
"I know, Father." the girl replied stiffly, squeezing his hand.
Elphaba's stomach jolted uncomfortably as she heard the string quartet strike up into the familiar wedding march. Inhaling through her nose, she allowed her father to lead her into the main hall of the chapel. The young woman planted one foot stoically in front of the other like a mechanical doll.
She spied Rilt at the other end of the aisle being supported by the best man, Galinda's father, Tush. Some of the guests smiled at her, others glowered disapprovingly. She glimpsed Fiyero out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't stop her head turning to look at him. She gave him a tiny grin, and he winked and poked his tongue out in reply. Frex followed her gaze, and jerked her elbow.
"Come on," he whispered, almost pulling her the rest of the way down the plush red carpet.
Rilt took her soft skinned, youthful hand in his own withered one and they repeated their vows. To Elphaba, each word felt like a nail in her coffin. When the old man croaked 'I do', she realised that her life was now at an end. When he planted his puckered mouth on hers, she couldn't help but compare the cold, shrivelled lips of Rilt with the warm, supple ones of Fiyero.
Once the register was signed and they had left the chapel, Elphaba pulled a small flask of alcohol out from under her dress, where it had been attached to her garter. Taking a hearty swig, she was sure that this would be a routine for the rest of her married life.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of bright lights and bottles of sharp tasting liquid.
The next morning, the newly married girl was awoken by an unwelcome drumming on her head. She groaned and batted her hands at the source of the noise, before realising that it was inside her head. She sat up slowly, massaging her temples.
To her surprise and delight, she was alone, and only a few spots of blood on her white sheets and on her nightgown indicated that there had been another person in the room. A flash of gold on her left hand brought a sudden need to vomit upon her, and she dashed into the en-suite bathroom.
"Elphaba!" a low voice cried from nowhere, and a soft hand pulled the hair back from her face. "That's it, get it all up," Fiyero soothed, rubbing gentle circles on her back.
"Wha-wha-what are y-you doing here?" she croaked, retching again.
"I came to say goodbye,"
"Goodbye?"
Elphaba sat up too fast, and her head began to spin. Slumping against the cold tiles on the wall, she gripped the young man's hand desperately.
"I have to go back to the Vinkus, now that the wedding is over. There's no reason for me to stay." Sadness coloured his tone as he talked of leaving.
"Yes there is! I need you here! My parents and siblings are going away, and Galinda is going back to the Pertha Hills…You're the closest thing to a friend I'll have in this hell!" the girl said, her voice choked in the back of her throat. A dry sob issued from her mouth, and the world swam before her eyes.
"I have a bride to find," the young man murmured, holding her hair back again as she continued to throw up. Elphaba leaned back against him, and Fiyero kissed her temple comfortingly.
"Promise me you'll write?" she croaked, gazing up at him with bleary eyes.
"I'll write all the time. I feel like I've known you forever already! It's very strange…"
"You're beautiful, you know that?" Elphaba smiled lopsidedly, one brown orb sliding out of focus. Fiyero chuckled self-consciously, knowing that this was very, very, very out of character.
"You're still drunk," he stated, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She giggled girlishly, and nodded.
"No I'm not…" The contradiction made him laugh, and once she had brushed her teeth, he helped her back to bed. She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, and every now and then she would whimper softly in obvious fear. Fiyero kissed the top of her head, and sang quietly to soothe her.
When Elphaba awoke again, she found Fiyero leaving the room. He turned to her and waved, and she smiled in return. They both knew, through some obscure twist of fate, they had not seen the last of each other.
Review? :P