Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked.
A/N: So this chapter came a little later than I anticipated. I didn't mean to make you wait this long for the next chapter, but life kind of got in the way. This chapter-in my opinion, at least-is fairly dark, but I hope you enjoy reading it all the same!
It turns out that a lot can change in the course of a year. Friendships can be made and broken. Trust can evaporate in an instant. In Elphaba's case, she was made into the enemy of the entire Land of Oz. It had been about eight months prior to the present day when she had evaded capture from the Gale Force, but it came at a high price. The night she had fled, the camp that she had been staying in after almost dying from a gunshot wound was invaded by the Wizard's men. They had come in the dead of night, setting the entire encampment ablaze. By the time that morning had come, there was no living soul anywhere to be seen. The news had traveled quickly, and it had not gone unheard by the green witch. She had mourned for the loss of her friends, and had since found shelter in an empty castle in the Vinkus. Its name was Kiamo Ko, and although it wasn't technically abandoned (for it still belonged to the royal family), it might as well have been. From the castle, she continued to execute her daily duties as the leader of the Animal resistance, managing to somehow avoid being caught by the Gale Force.
It was springtime in the grasslands of the Vinkus, and it was quite a sight to behold. At sunrise, the sun cast a burnt orange color across the sky, the flowers below reflecting it beautifully. Everything seemed to a silhouette at this time of the day, which only added to the effect. It was as the witch was looking out on this picturesque scene from high up in the castle that one of her Animal friends, a flying Monkey named Chistery, came into the room.
"Miss Elphaba?" She startled at the sudden voice, trying to suppress the memories that had suddenly flown into her head at those two words. She had thought that, given time, they would stop flooding into her mind every time that she was addressed that way, but she was wrong. They were still as strong as ever—she had just gotten better at hiding it. She turned around with a grin after realizing that it was Chistery. He hadn't been able to speak at all when the two met shortly after she became an enemy to all of Oz, but throughout the year, he had begun to regain his speech. By now, he had almost regained it all, and she was reminded of that every time she heard him speak.
"Yes, Chistery?" she asked before seeing the look on his face that made her grin immediately disappear. He looked worried and perhaps a bit frantic, like he had something bad yet important to say. In an instant, her expression changed to copy his. "What is it?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice.
"T-The Gale Force," he said, resulting in her eyes going wide as she made the connection between that and his expression. "T-They're getting closer to the castle." Her expression became unreadable a moment after he said this, and she lowered her head, ensuring that her face became obscured by the shadow cast by the brim of her hat.
"I see," she said softly, biting her lower lip. In all honesty, it was a miracle that this didn't happen sooner. The Wizard's army had been hunting her since the beginning, and she had thought that she would've been dead or, at the very least, in prison by this point. It surprised her that she had lasted this long in the first place. Even still, she knew it had to end sometime. "Thank you. I'll deal with them now." She dismissed Chistery as she turned back to the window, although truthfully, she wasn't planning on doing anything. What would be the purpose? What would she do afterwards? She certainly couldn't stay at the castle if the Gale Force knew where she was, and it's not like her life would be any better if she escaped. Every last Ozian would still be out for her blood, and the Animals would still be oppressed by the Wizard's wrongdoings. Her former friends would still not know of her true nature. They would live on, dedicating their lives to…
To killing me, she thought sadly. Her eyes watered a bit as she closed them. It may have been a year, but that didn't make the pain any less raw. She still thought of them every night. She knew that she was most likely just torturing herself further by doing so, and yet she didn't care. She knew that she was responsible for turning them into the people that they were now, but that didn't stop the pain. It wouldn't stop if she ran away. It wouldn't stop if she stopped the Gale Force before they got there. No, she knew exactly what would stop it. She looked down at the edge of the woods a little ways away, waiting for the soldiers to appear.
It was about half an hour later when the first men came out from the lining of the trees. The sun had risen more by now, but it was still relatively dark out due to fairly dense cloud cover. Even so, the torches carried by them were more than sufficient to give their position away. Elphaba watched them move closer with every step they took. A fleeting thought went through her mind: she still had a chance to get away. She could flee from the castle and move to another location. She shook her head at this idea, but it still sounded appealing. She almost forgot why she wanted to stay in the castle when she saw him.
He was wearing his green uniform, his golden aiguillette gleaming in what little sunlight was radiating through the gray skies above. She could see that he had a very determined look on his face, outlined by the yellow-orange light of the flame given off by the torch. She watched him with a vacant look as her mind receded into the memories of her past. Snapping out of her trance after a few fleeting moments, her features twisted into a sad expression. She lifted her hand up as if to reach for him but stopped suddenly and slowly lowered it as she whispered his name into the air.
"Fiyero…" It was then that her reason for staying was made all too clear once again. She did nothing but cause harm to those who love her; she was a menace to society. That was why she needed to stay. No more running away. No more tears. It was time for her to pay for her errors. Putting that familiar unreadable expression back on her face, she whipped around and walked away from the window.
It only took about five additional minutes for the hunters to arrive. When they broke through the castle entrance, they were surprised at what they saw: the Wicked Witch of the West standing in the middle of the room like she was waiting for them. She stood strong with a fiery, defiant glare on her face. It looked familiar to Fiyero for whatever reason, but he shooed the thought away quickly enough and focused on the task at hand. They all knew that the Grimmerie, which was currently kept hidden in the palace of the Emerald City, was the source of the Witch's power; without it, she was helpless. With this knowledge in hand, it was almost humorous to see her looking so strong at brave. Almost. She still had this intimidating air about her even without her power, and even he had to admire how so utterly determined she looked with the knowledge of what she must have known was about to happen. Fiyero was the first to find his voice.
"Well, well, look at what we have here," he taunted. "Is the Witch giving up that easily?" She sneered at him, a movement that made him recoil inwardly.
"I'll have you know that I'll never surrender to anyone. Especially not the likes of you," she spat, trying to mask the hurt she felt at Fiyero's hostile tone. His eyes narrowed threateningly.
"We'll see if that's true soon enough then, won't we? We can either do this the easy way," he said, holding up a chain used by the Gale Force to capture criminals, "or the hard way." He gestured to the gun that he was carrying. "Your choice." The Witch narrowed her eyes.
"As I said," she said in a dangerously low tone, "I will never surrender." She was attempting to appear stronger than she was truly feeling at that moment, and she wondered if it was convincing enough. A second later, she got her answer.
"Very well then," Fiyero responded in an unfeeling tone. He nodded to the group behind them, which then immediately stormed into the castle. A few men seized her, and her feet were off the floor before she could respond. The young Captain walked over to her and withdrew his gun. The next thing she knew, the butt of his gun was slamming into the side of her face. She glared at him angrily after she had recovered from the momentary shock. "As I said," he said in a low tone, mocking what she had said just moments before. "The easy way or the hard way. Although the Wizard would prefer you to be captured, I'm certain he won't mind if things go a little bit…differently." Internally, she recoiled at the last word, realizing exactly what he meant. It hurt so much to hear such things come out of his mouth, but even so, she kept her face in that stony expression that she had used so many times before. She would not break down now; no, if she was going to die, she was going to die with dignity. Taking her silence as an unsaid answer, Fiyero lifted his gun.
In Elphaba Thropp's last moments, she recalled all of the times in her life when something went wrong. She had always stood by and let it happen, and not once in her life did she complain. She didn't complain when her own father beat her simply because she was green. She didn't complain when her peers bullied and beat her. She didn't complain when she was labeled as a Wicked Witch by her childhood idol. And now, as she prepared to take her last breaths in the cold, empty royal castle of the Vinkus, she certainly didn't complain when the ice-cold steel of the bayonet pierced her stomach and came out on the other side, covered in a bright-red layer of her own blood.
Mmm, delicious cliffhanger, my favorite... Please remember to leave a review, and thanks for reading!