Disclaimer: Nothing in this story aside from the plot belongs to me. All other rights go to Gregory Maguire, Winnie Holzman, and Stephen Schwartz.

A/N: Oh, are you guys going to HATE me after this...

Thanks for the reviews!

Wizard: I agree.

Nia: Well, about that... *chuckles nervously*

Elphaba: LOL NOPE.

It had been about three months since the Witch incident began, and Elphaba was still going strong, helping as many Animals as she could while trying to keep both them and herself hidden from the Gale Force. It was a warm day in late summer, and she had just returned from an Animal camp to her newest hideout, another cave concealed within the forest that she had come to call home in her time as the Wicked Witch. This day, however, was special. No one knew the specifics, but for the past week, she had been telling the Animal inhabitants of the various camps that she had been visiting that she was going somewhere for a few days. When asked exactly where, they would always get a response such as "Oh, I'm just visiting an old friend" or "I'm meeting someone important". While both were technically true, it wasn't the entire truth. Heading out of her hiding spot, she got on her broomstick and flew off.

After about two hours, her destination came into view on the horizon, the sun setting behind it: a large metropolis with tall buildings and many people still moving about. The entire city was covered in a layer of green, giving it the appearance of being chiseled out of solid emerald. In the middle of the city stood the tallest structure in Oz: the home of the Wizard, the Royal Palace of Oz. The Emerald City, Elphaba thought, thinking back to a few months prior when she had been there. Those were different times, she reflected sadly. Diving under the cover of the trees to avoid being caught by the Gale Force, she landed on the forest floor. If I hurry, I can make it before the sun rises, she thought, and she began walking.

After a few more hours of walking through the woods on the northeastern side of the city with surprisingly no consequence, she finally came to the edge. Standing in front of her in all of its grandeur was the Emerald City. Now, the question is, she began, how do I get in without getting either captured or killed? Pulling out the Grimmerie, she flipped through its pages until something caught her eye: an invisibility spell that could turn anything that she wanted to invisible, as long as it was nearby. Studying it further, she found that it was rather weak: it only lasted for five minutes. That should hopefully be enough time to do what I need to do. Laying the book on the ground and closing her eyes, she began chanting quietly.

"Yahru katan quelos ubra, yahru katan quelos ubra..." As she chanted, she felt the magic take effect: a strange, warm feeling passed through her entire body, and when she opened her eyes again, she was pleased to find that it worked. She found that the Grimmerie and broomstick had turned invisible as well as she, but she, being the caster of the spell, could still see them—the only thing different about them was a magical shimmer enveloping them, signifying that it had worked. Putting away the Grimmerie, she got on her broomstick and flew over the walls of the great city, heading in the direction of the palace.

It didn't take very long to get to the palace—only about 30 seconds—but that was the easy part. The hard part was to locate the room that she was looking for. Flying around the palace and scouting for the right window took about one minute in total, leaving her with just three-and-a-half minutes left. When she finally came to the correct window, she stopped in her tracks. There, in the room, were the sleeping forms of her two former companions: Galinda and Fiyero. They looked very peaceful snuggled up together, and Elphaba allowed a single tear to roll down her face as she pressed her hand against the window. She was glad to see that they were ok; although she was sure it would be plastered all across Oz if something were to happen to either of them, she just had to see for herself.

As she looked at Galinda, she was reminded of their time at Shiz University together. The usually-bubbly blonde had always looked so much more tame when she was sleeping, and seeing her like this brought back memories of the two walking into their dorm room at two in the morning after Galinda had dragged the young witch to some party. The blonde was usually tipsy at the very least after things like those, and they always stayed up for another half-hour sharing secrets. Elphaba smiled at the memories and shifted her gaze to Fiyero.

Looking at Fiyero reminded her of the day that they met: how he had almost run over her with his carriage and how he was so cocky at first. Her mind then shifted over to her memory of the day that she rescued the Lion cub. She remembered how it felt when she grabbed his hand, how it felt when they made eye contact, and how it felt when, for the first time, it wasn't broken immediately. Their eyes were locked on each other's for what felt like hours, and it seemed that something changed during that time. All of a sudden, Fiyero seemed much more vulnerable, more sensitive. The look in his eyes softened, and his façade seemed to crumble for a split second.

Elphaba was too lost in her memories to notice the spell wearing off as the five-minute mark came and went, and by the time she subconsciously whispered Fiyero's name, it was too late. Eyes widening in shock as she noticed the slight crack in the window, she whipped her head back to face the bed. As her chocolate-brown eyes shot up to Fiyero's face, they were met with a pair of equally shocked light-blue ones.

...Please don't kill me...Instead, how about you try reviewing? *smiles innocently*