I had a lovely chat with Fae the Queen about a certain part of the story concerning Fiyero and Elphaba's relationship as to how he was suddenly really ok with Glinda and Elphaba being back together with no issues what so ever. What I should have done in the story is do a chapter with Fiyero and Elphaba that shows a shift in their once romantic relationship that moves towards a friendship when they are staying at Kiamo Ko during their month stay at the castle. It will be a flashback. The beginning part set in present time take a couple weeks after Rain was rescued. So here it is!
Elphaba gives a chuckle as she is watching Fiyero play with Tiger Cub outside of the compound. The young Animal gives a squeak when Fiyero gets him on his back and starts to tickle his stomach with a deep laughter. Those two have been going at it for about an hour and neither one seems to tire just yet. He still hasn't given a name to him yet but Fiyero says he will think of one soon. The green woman's eyes sparkle greatly when the Winkie Prince gives a surprised shout when the Tiger Cub squirms out and suddenly leaps at his face. The two go tumbling backwards with Fiyero giving off another round of loud laughter. Elphaba takes this moment to be thankful that she still has the blonde in her life when there was at one point that she was afraid she had lost him for good. It happened not too long after they arrived to Kiamo Ko
*******************************Flashback starts*********************************
Elphaba sniffles greatly while she is sitting in a red, plush resting chair. Her arms are resting on the top of her thighs with her hands hanging limply between the space between her legs. She is hunched over slightly with her blood shot eyes staring listlessly into the roaring fire in the stone fireplace before her. It's been little over a week since Glinda has died in her arms or has it been more. The green woman doesn't know really she has lost track of time ever since that horrible moment happened to her. She really doesn't care at all because it feels like her life force has been sucked out of her. She has no will to do anything even with Fiyero trying to attempt to get her to move out of her seat or eat food. Her true love is gone and never coming back. Elphaba just wants to die just so she can be reunited with the good witch. Because she has been in her grief stupor she hasn't picked up on the hurt Fiyero has been feeling for she is acting like the two of them aren't in a romantic relationship. She would pull away from each touch or every time he would lean in for a kiss to comfort her, her head would turn away and she would push him away. All the repressed guilt she has in her has surfaced and the poor Winkie prince is suffering for it.
"It's all my fault." Elphaba whispers as feels her face go on fire yet again as a set of fresh wave a tears roll down her cheeks. She is pretty sure that her face is raw now from her own tears going down her skin. Her shoulders start to shake again while she brings her hands to her face as she begins to sob heavily. If she only had gotten on the train with Glinda this would have all ended differently. The good witch would still be alive and the two of them would still be together not her with Fiyero. Elphaba has admitted to herself that she only used Fiyero to get rid of the images and all of her times she has had with Glinda but it never worked. The guilt she felt every time she is with him she felt so dirty as if she is cheating on the good witch even though they lost contact with each other since that day they parted. Fiyero finally realized the rumors at Shiz were true when he saw the reaction Elphaba had with Glinda's death.
"It's not your fault. How could it possibly be your fault?" Fiyero asks as he walks into the room with a small try in his hand that is filled with some finger food. He was busy in the kitchen making some food to force feed the green woman because she has been barely eating ever since they got here. Elphaba picks her head up with a loud inhale of breath when she hears his voice. She wasn't expecting him to pop up so soon after she has yelled at him to leave her alone a couple of hours ago. Elphaba pulls up the sleeve of her long sleeved shirt over her hand to safely wipe away her acid like tears.
"I left her. I left her on that train in the Emerald City. I should have just gone with her." Elphaba replies as she pushes off the chair to walk towards the fireplace. She puts a hand on the cool surface and hangs her head slightly in thought. Fiyero gives a soft sigh as he walks towards the unoccupied chair and sets the tray on the arm rest. This conversation was bound to come up sooner or later. A conversation he has been dreading because he feels like he knows what the outcome might be and he rather get the hurt out now so they can all heal.
"Fabala, you did what was best for her." He responds before slowly walking towards her. Elphaba gives a slight scoff before she lifts her head up with her hand falling off the fireplace. All she thought about was the injustice of what the Wizard his plans were and that she has to make a difference in Oz. Glinda was just an afterthought after she made up her mind. She can't imagine how the blonde felt when she left her just after they got married.
"I did not. I based the decision on what I needed to do. I abandoned her. If I would have just let it be then her and I would still be together, still married." Elphaba reveals to Fiyero that her and Glinda were married. The Winkie prince stumbles slightly in his walk when he hears this. He never knew that the two witches were married. Glinda never said anything about marriage when she returned back to Shiz alone. She just explained what had happened and that was it. The blonde never was spotted wearing a golden band on her left ring finger. She must have taken it off when she was on the train.
"Married huh? I never would have guessed." Fiyero replies as he puts a hand on her shoulder. He frowns slightly when the green woman shrugs her shoulder to slide his hand off of it. Their relationship already has begun to change and he is trying to not let it bother him but it's so hard after being with her for so long. A tiny thought creeps up into his head. Did he ever have her heart in the first place? Did he ever replace Glinda in her mind? Elphaba gives a watery chuckle as she tries not to cry at the memory of their wedding day. It was a whim really but an idea that she truly wanted to get done.
"Yeah…" Elphaba says breathlessly before she turns around towards Fiyero with another soft sniffle. He can see a spark of life come back into those soulful, brown eyes at the memory of her wedding day. His blue eyes look down slightly with the frown appearing on his face. A memory of Glinda brings her more comfort then he ever could in the whole time they have spent together. The Winkie prince puts his hands into his pockets with a hint of a tear in his eyes. It's clear that Elphaba is still much in love with Glinda. How could he have competed with the bond those two had.
"Fiyero, why are you crying?" The raven haired beauty questions when she notice a tear rolling down his face. The Winkie prince quickly wipes away the tear before looking towards her with a sad smile. He didn't even realize that the tear escaped. He has tried to ignore it but the truth has always been there.
"I just had a realization. I never had your heart in all the years we've been together, did I?" Fiyero asks in a soft way. Elphaba exhale shakily at hearing the question and her throat tightens up as she swallows a bit. She doesn't want to answer that question really. She has hurt so many people and she really didn't want to add Fiyero to it in fear that she will lose him as well. He has been so good to her and he has been a real comfort when she need it but he could never have replaced who was in her heart. Nobody ever could no matter how hard they tried.
"Fiyero…" She starts off as she takes a step towards him but the blonde takes a step back with his hand up in the air to tell her to stay where she is at. The green woman grips her hands tightly with a fresh set of tears sizzling down her cheeks. She doesn't want to be alone now. She hopes that the two of them can still be friends in time. Fiyero inhales deeply before looking to her with a half smile on his face.
"You don't need to say anything. The look on your face when you think about her is enough of an answer." He responds with his voice wavering slightly as he is trying to keep his emotions in check for this conversation. Elphaba is breathing heavily while she swallows hard because it is so hard to see him struggle not to cry in front of her. She does love him, there is no doubt about that, but she was never in love with him. Glinda has and always will be her true love. Nobody else can replace her no matter how hard the person tries to.
"Fiyero, I'm so sorry. The last I wanted to do was hurt you in all of this. I do love you but I'm not in love with you. I…I never was." That last part was so hard to push out of her lips for she knows that will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. She wishes she could comfort him as she watches his eyes squint greatly as he is trying not to cry in front of her from hearing this admission. Fiyero breathes softly through his mouth while he looks up to the ceiling in thought. He didn't want to hear it but he had to so he can move on.
"Right, I understand Elphaba." The Winkie prince whispers as he looks towards her with one tear rolling down his face. There is a silence that hangs between the two of them before Fiyero walks towards Elphaba. The green woman watches trepidation because she thinks this is the part where he kicks her out of his home and she will be alone again. She inhales sharply when he leans in and places a loving kiss on her forehead. He truly is a saint in disguise.
"Eat the food, you need it." He whispers again as he looks down at her before he silently leaves the room. When she hears the door close does Elphaba go down to her knees with her hands covering her eyes as she starts to cry again. That was one of the hardest thing she had to do. Why is it that she always has to break somebody heart? She just hope that he can forgive her in time and that they can be friends.
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A couple of weeks went by and Elphaba barely saw Fiyero during that time. She might catch him in the kitchen finishing making food for the day but when she entered he would quickly leave the room not soon after she entered. So because of that the green woman has spent most of her time with Prince and Calypso to pass by the time. The two Horses kept telling her to give him time and he will come around eventually. She hopes that what the two of them have said will be true.
Elphaba gives a soft sigh as she picks up a rock that is by her boot. She looks at it for a couple of seconds before throwing it as hard as she can away from her. She is just enjoying some quiet time on the outside since there is nobody to talk to inside the castle yet. Elphaba ignored the clouds that have been darkening since a couple of hours ago. The green woman gives a hiss of pain when she feels a rain drop hit her exposed hand. She looks up towards the sky and gives a hard swallow when another drop hits her on the cheek. She ignores the sizzling pain as she turns towards the castle with fear pounding in her chest. In her ignorance Elphaba wonder far enough from the castle that she might make it back in time, even if she runs, before it starts to rain. She has to try. The green woman gives a huff as she starts to make a beeline towards Kiamo Ko.
"Please let me make it." Elphaba whispers to herself as she feels the drops hit her clothing as it starts to rain faster. The castle is getting closer and closer with each step along with hope that she will make it inside safely. Horror fills her when the green woman manages to trip up by a rock on the uneven ground. She falls down with a loud grunt.
"Damn it." Elphaba curses out loud as she looks up to the sky and her eyes widen in horror when she sees a torrent of rain drops heading straight for her. She will be covered in horrible burns when the water hits her. The green woman closes her eyes in defeat. Maybe her body will give out soon after and she can be reunited with Glinda.
"Really now, you should have known better then to come out here with nothing to shield you from the rain." Came Fiyero's voice from above her. Elphaba opens one eye and looks up to see him standing over her with an umbrella in his hand along with a shake of the head. When he saw how dark the clouds from his window and knowing Elphaba was outside he acted quickly to get her just incase she lost track of her surroundings.
"I…you saved me." The green woman says in shock as she stands up slowly. She is surprised to see him out here saving her ass from the rain. Fiyero has a confused look on his face when she says this. Why wouldn't he try and save her.
"Uh..yeah…you think I would let you melt out here? Somebody has to look after you." He replies with a slight smirk on his face. Her eyes move back and forth as she remains quiet for she doesn't know how to respond to that cause he is actually talking to her. Fiyero cocks his head to the side slightly.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"You don't hate me?" She finally spits it out with a crack in her voice. The Winkie prince gives her an odd look at the question. Why would he hate her? He gets closer to her but not too close so it wouldn't be an awkwardness between the two of them.
"Why would I hate you? You think of what happened between us I would hate you now? Then get that notion out of your head right now, Elphaba. I will never hate you." He says strongly while he grips the handle very tightly. What he says is true because even though it hurt to hear those words he needed to hear it so he could move on from her. He can slowly feel his love for her turn away from romantism back towards a friendship again. He just needed to clear his head the past couple of weeks and he felt bad when he wouldn't say anything to her but it needed to be done for him to get over her like. He also has made a promise to Glinda before she died to protect Elphaba. The Winkie prince will make sure he keeps that promise. The green woman feels a huge smile appear on her face at hearing those words being spoken to her. Fiyero doesn't hate her.
"Now, come inside and I'll take care of the burns you did receive plus you need to get food. I know you haven't been eating still." The Winkie prince responds with a smile appearing on his face. It's good to see her crack a smile in these dark times for her. Elphaba nods her head before she walks with Fiyero towards the castle with the safety of the umbrella. She is glad that he is speaking to her again.
***********************************End Flashback*******************************
"Whoa!" Elphaba yells when an orange blur hits her in the stomach and she goes backwards but making sure she has a tight hold on the Tiger Cub so he doesn't go flying off her with the momentum. He really jolted her out of her trip down memory lane.
"Go…got you." The Tiger Cub squeaks out while he stands up and hovers above Elphaba's face with his tail swishing happily. Elphaba gives a grunt as he picks him up and sets him on the ground next to her. Boy, is he really starting to pack on the pounds. It was like a boulder hitting her in the stomach. The wind got knocked out of her for sure.
"Yeah…you did." She rasps out while holding her stomach but she doesn't get up just yet. She needs to recover from the surprise attack. The Tiger Cub sits by her side with a purr while Fiyero quickly runs over to check up on the downed witch.
"Ares, you need to be more careful. You can't run at her at full speed." The Winkie prince admonishes when he gets close enough. Ares's ears go flat against his head when he gets a slight talking to about what he has done. He didn't know that he hurt his friend. Fiyero goes to her side and holds a hand out to her with an apologetic smile. Elphaba grabs his hand and with a helping hand stands up with a grunt.
"Ares, huh?" She points out that she heard him calling the young Animal by a name. She isn't going to make the tackle he made a big deal. The blonde scratches the back of his head in a sheepish way. He thought it would fit him well. It's a warrior's name and the Tiger Cub definitely has a warrior spirit in him. The green woman casts a glance down to Ares before giving a smile. After that hit he gave her that defiantly suits him.
"I like it." She replies with a smile on her face to show her approval. Fiyero and Ares seem to perk up at the same time when she says her agreement on the name. That was actually kind of cute. The Winkie prince gives a wink towards the Cub before looking back towards the green woman. Elphaba's smile grows a bit bigger as she is thankful that he has remained in her life after all that they have been through together even after she broke his heart. She doesn't know if she would have been able to get through the tough times if not for him being by her side. Elphaba watches him bend down and pick up Ares with some effort. She hopes that the two of them will be friends till the very end.
Thus endeth the special chapter. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope it showed how Elphaba and Fiyero's relationship started to shift into a deep friendship. Now I'm going to let my left thumb rest for the rest of the night and I will see you all on Wednesday for the next update. Until then!
DWK