Disclaimer: All rights, excluding the plot of this story, belong to Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz, and Winnie Holzman.
A/N: One word: school. It sure has a way of eating at your free time, doesn't it? At any rate, here is the next chapter! Nothing too exciting, but boy, do I feel bad for Elphaba... Thanks to everyone that reviewed!
Elphaba's recovery only lasted a couple of weeks, but to her, it seemed like an eternity. She was given the standard treatment for her injuries—pain medication and antibiotics in case of infection—and she was thankful that she was in Farin's care, but she simply couldn't stand by and do nothing. Every second of her bedridden first week killed her as she was forced to wait until the Goat told her that she was healthy enough to move around. Leon came to visit her constantly, and they both caught up on each other's experiences since they had last met. Other than that, however, it was boring.
At the start of the second week, Farin came in to tell her that she was allowed to move around for a limited amount of time every day. That day, she wasn't allowed to be up for very long—only about 10 minutes or so—but to her, it felt like a lifetime. It was a sign that she was well on her way to resuming what she had been doing previously, and she was overjoyed at this. By the end of the week, she was able to get up and move around with a bit of help, be it from the crutches that the doctor had given her or from one of the Animals in the camp. Leon was more than willing to help her around, even when she insisted that she didn't need it.
"Come on, Miss Elphaba!" he would say to her.
"No," she would reply, somewhat curtly. "And there's no need for formality here. I'm perfectly fine with you just calling me 'Elphaba'," she would add. And yet, he would continue to do so. Perhaps it would've annoyed her more if she weren't so fond of him, but every time she looked into his blue eyes, she was reminded of someone that she had become particularly close with not too long ago—someone who was now bent on destroying her and everything she stood for. Even so, she couldn't help but wander back to when her life was much simpler; a time when she only had to worry about the ruthless stream of insults day in and day out. Although they did hurt her internally, what she felt then was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Back in the palace in the Emerald City, the full weight of what she had managed to do had come crashing down on her for the first time in all of its ice-cold truth.
Great job, Elphaba, she thought one day while she was lying in bed after her daily walk around the camp. You've managed to take two of the only people in Oz who would've given you a sporting chance and turn them against you as well. She then let her mind drift back into her memories of Shiz, surrounded by the people she had grown to love. Oz, had it really only been a few months since? It felt like a lifetime ago. When she had made the decision to cast that spell back then, she would never have guessed that this was going to be her future, recovering from bullet and whip wounds inflicted by Fiyero, of all people, in an Animal camp while the Grimmerie was locked securely away in the Wizard's palace. She would give anything at this point to turn back the clock, to set things right. The fact of the matter, however, no matter how cruel it may be, was that there was no longer anything she could do. That realization, accompanied with all of the regret, pain, and, most of all, guilt that she had kept bottled up over her time as the Wicked Witch was enough to push her over the limit. For the first time ever since she could remember, she cried. She allowed the tears to flow freely down her face as she buried her face in the bed. Her breaths quickly turned into short hiccups as she continued to cry.
"I'm sorry…" she muttered into the bed, her only solace being that no one was around to hear. "Glinda, Fiyero…" She wasn't entirely sure what exactly she was apologizing for, but truthfully, she no longer cared. Almost as if her very own mind was trying to calm her, the warm memories of Shiz came back, stronger than ever before. She quickly got lost in them, the tears beginning to dry up. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
Elphaba looked up from her book when she heard footsteps approaching. Grinning slightly at the amount of books in the prince's hands, she quirked an eyebrow teasingly.
"Well, well, would you look at that? The oh, so, scandalacious Fiyero Tiggular is studying for once," she remarked. He grinned at her, scoffing quietly as he placed the books on the table rather carelessly.
"Yeah, well, we did arrange to meet in the library for a reason, didn't we?" he replied.
"I suppose so," she agreed. Pulling a book from one of the few small piles that the books had fallen in, she glanced at him once again. "You sure have a lot of books with you," she noted.
"Some people have other things to do than study," he retorted in a friendly manner. Immediately, her face darkened, causing Fiyero to look at her quizzically. "What's the matter?" She looked at him, her face now stormy.
"Some people don't exactly have a say in the matter," she replied, perhaps a bit more icily than she had intended. A look of sudden understanding and maybe a bit of panic crossed the Vinkun's features.
"Oh, no, Elphaba!" he said quickly. "I didn't mean-"
"Some people don't have friends to invite them somewhere," she interrupted, her voice a bit louder than usual. "Some people find studying rather comforting." Her voice was a bit angrier, and her eyes started to dampen. All of a sudden, her face softened and her voice lowered. "Some people aren't normal," she said in a near whisper, turning away from Fiyero. "They never have been, nor will they ever be." She closed her eyes for a brief second before jumping at the sensation of someone touching her hand. She turned back around, seeing that the one that had caused the sensation was none other than the prince sitting across the table, a look of compassion in his eyes. He smiled softly.
"Fae," he started. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking. I just want you to know that you're not all alone. You have Galinda, Nessa, me... We're all here for you." His words helped to comfort her, and she squeezed his hand instinctually. She stared at him for a moment, her lips parted slightly.
"Fiyero…" she said in a soft voice. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." He smiled before she pulled him into a hug, perhaps more subconsciously than consciously. Surprisingly, he didn't immediately pull away; on the contrary, he returned the hug. They stood there for a moment before breaking away, and a small smile graced her features. Maybe she wasn't all alone, after all.
Aww, fluff... enjoy it while it lasts... *evil grin* I'd like to know what you think about the dream sequences. Are they good? Bad? "Meh"? Let me know in that big box below! Thanks for reviewing!