Their conversation had finally come to a deadlock. No one spoke. They stared at each other. The tension in the air was palpable. Neither of them was willing to relent. The one of them utterly decided upon forsaking everything that kept them, the other absolutely drawn against such seemingly dynamic displacement of all they had agreed upon.
"You can't do this. Please just think about this before you do it." The voice was soft, pleading, the eyes imploring. But the need, the will, could not be shaken or abated. A hand raised and a sorrowful look crossed the resolute face.
"I have to." And with a blinding suffocating flash of color, silence fell again.
o0o0o0o0o
Wake Up.
Wake Up.
Please, wake up.
The words were a soft murmuring inside her mind. She found herself drawn to their screaming whisper, her befuddled mind wanting to make the sound become a vociferous silence. The noise was agonizing to her muddied thoughts and she forced her eyes to open.
"Glinda! Sweet Oz, are you alright?" The voice, she now realized, was that of Tyuan. His jade eyes stared into her blue and suddenly recollection assaulted her. Shock propelled her upward and Tyuan immediately backed away.
"Give me the letter again." He looked at her, his eyes wary. "Please. I need to see it again." He gingerly handed her the letter, watching as her eyes scanned the page. After rereading the words, she locked his gaze to hers.
"Clear out, men." He ordered. The movement of their feet made him aware of their expedient exit. His tone had made it clear they were not to be within hearing distance of the door, and he waited for their footfalls to stop echoing under the vaulted ceiling of the hallway.
"They're dead. How is this possible?" Her voice was small and uncertain. He opened his mouth to speak, but before words could come from his lips she spun, moving swiftly toward a set of double doors. He followed her without question, listening to the murmur of her thoughts, as she led him through the great corridors until they reached her favored inner sanctum, the beloved indoor garden. As soon as the great doors were shut behind them, she spoke again.
"'Leave your friend, The Witch, out of it.'" She whispered the writer's words questioningly, her voice bouncing in the hollow room. "Whoever that is, they can't be talking about… about…" She hesitated to speak the name. "Her. They just can't be. So what does it mean?" Her crystalline blue eyes bore into his emerald gaze for an answer. He did not speak. "The guy's crazy. Dillamond is dead. I saw his dead body, his blood. He is dead and so is she." She began to pace back and forth and he watched her steps solemnly, knowing there was more to come.
"I watched her die, Tyuan. I saw it with my own two eyes. Not that it made any sense at all. Water will melt her?! That shouldn't even be possible. But then again, she did have a way of making the impossible incredibly real." Her words fell conversationally, the sentences drifting on the air as she spoke. "Still, I heard her screams, saw her pain. Even now, I can't believe that she's really gone, can't believe that something so simple, so accidental, so undeniably impossible could fell my wonderful, complex friend. Yet, I saw with my own eyes as that horrible liquid fell upon her and she melted. MELTED! It doesn't make any sense. Why would this person bring her up? Everyone in OZ knows she's dead. They celebrated her death for crying out loud." Here, her tears finally began to fall. "Even my tears cause her pain. Water will MELT her?!" Her sorrowful words were angry and thick with frustration, and finally unable to contain himself, Tyuan spoke.
"People are so empty head they'll believe almost anything." His whisper was quiet, but in the empty room his voice carried easily to Glinda's ears.
"Fiyero…" Her voice echoed on the name, a haunting glimmer of emotion twisting in the sound.
"The Ozians were right, you know. She really does have an extra eye that always remains awake." He continued as though she hadn't spoken, forcing the words to leave him. Too long a time had already passed. "Of course it isn't an eye in the conventional sense. Still, it never sleeps."
"What?" came Glinda's confused response as she stared at him in wonder.
"You've seen for yourself that she can shed her skin as easily as a snake, although again, it is not in the conventional sense." He spoke slowly, not meeting her tear-filled eyes, his voice calm.
"Tyuan, what are you talking about?" Familiarity at his words danced in her questioning eyes and he continued, acting as though she hadn't said a word.
"A large contigent of rebels, both human and Animal alike, is making sure is well cared for." He watched as understanding leaked into her expression as she finally realized why his words seemed so familiar. She had heard them before, the day the Wizard, wretch that the man was, had named her 'the Good'. The Ozians had shouted them before her ever-smiling face, and she had silenced their fears, believing, then, that they could not be farther from the truth and thus had little to worry about. She had been so wrong.
"Tyuan, what are you saying?" Before he could answer her, crimson smoke unfurled into the room, silencing him.
It was a color and taste both Glinda and Tyuan knew well and it was an incredible shock that he could see it. He looked to Glinda, who stood shocked and frozen as the smoke began to clear. A figure rose like a shadow in the smoke, looking much like a frightening dark angel rising from the depths of the Other World, its black cloak billowing under the torrent of receding fumes. The face, covered by a hood, could not be seen, but it was easily discernible who the rising shadow was. Only one person in all of Oz could make such an entrance.
"Elphaba?" Glinda's voice was full of both doubt and hope, her face contorted by confusion.
"Glinda!" The figure raced forward, stepping gracefully from the smoke, and the hood fell, revealing her beautiful emerald skin. She glanced at Tyuan, who nodded in return, then returned her eyes back to Glinda, who was still staring at her in disbelief.
"Elphaba?" came Glinda's small voice, disbelief coloring her tone.
"Yes, Glinda. It's me." Elphaba's answer was swift and gentle. For a moment none of them spoke and then Glinda erupted into a crazed fit of laughter.
"Ok. Tyuan, good one. Whatever it is you're trying to do, you've succeeded so go ahead and give up the game." He didn't answer her, knowing that Elphaba would know exactly what to say.
"Galinda." The woman's sultry voice was a soft whisper and Glinda turned upon hearing the plea her name had become. Only one person had ever said her name so sweetly, only one had ever uttered in such a way that it was both a beckoning and an underlying threat of safety.
"Elphie?" She whispered, her blue eyes staring at the emerald face. She took a step toward her, her hand reaching of its own accord out in a summons. It was enough to break the walls of time and lies that stood between the two friends and Elphaba flew into the arms of the diminutive blonde girl, tears cascading down her face.
"Oh, Glinda, my girl, I've missed you so much. I'm so sorry about all of this. I should've told you. I'm so sorry." The words fell from her like a river as the mantra of her tears cascaded toward the faraway ground. The two friends held tightly to each other, feeling through their shaking shoulders, the life in one another's veins.
"Now, I know there is an Unnamed God." Glinda said, finally attempting to still her tears as she smiled tentatively at Elphaba. She took in the sight of her, looking her over slowly to mold the image forever into her mind. Tyuan, who remained where he had been this entire time, took in the image with a smile.
The two women stood in stark contrast, giving morbid life to the adage 'opposites attract'. Elphaba Thropp, Witch of the West, was covered in her customary black. Her raven locks poured down her black, spilling onto her shoulders, giving her emerald face a dark halo. Her brown eyes were full of warmth as she spoke quietly with her friends. Upright and alert, she exuded a confidence that came with years of depending solely upon oneself. Vitality made her green skin glow and he smiled to know that she was doing well. The clothes she wore did not strike him as odd, she'd apparently become accustomed to living on the move. Rather than her legendary black dress, the formidable costume that struck fear into all of Oz, she wore a simple black shirt with long-sleeves and black trousers. The belt that held the pants to her waist was the only item of color she wore, and was honestly more a scarf that a belt. It was a deep violet, and was laced with small diamonds. He immediately recognized it as a customary Vinkun love gift. This particular piece was especially elaborate, showing the station of the man that had given it.
It must be a gift from Fiyero. He thought to himself, turning his attention now to Glinda. The small woman was about five or six inches shorter than her green companion and her radiant fair skin seemed luminous against the natural background. Her blue eyes glimmered like precious jewels, lighting her face with joy. She too had forsaken her usual overt ball gown for a simple pleated skirt, pink with white stripes, and white polo shirt, a pink lily embroidered on where a chest pocket would be. Her golden locks were pulled into a long tail, the blonde curls resting gently at the nape of her neck. She looked very much as if she was about to head out for a tennis match, her bare feet rocking back and forth with her excitement. Her bright smile was eager, and yet her eyes held reserve, signaling a strength that came from her rapid maturity since the fateful day at the Wizard's palace, the palace in which they now stood.
"…Elphie, I can't believe it's really you." Glinda was saying as Tyuan once again focused on their conversation.
"I should have told you." Elphaba answered. Tyuan stepped over to them.
"Actually, El, I was going to tell her today. Something's happened here that forced my hand." Elphaba nodded.
"I know." She said, looking over her blonde friend into Tyuan's jaded eyes. The girl spun around, pinning him with an accusatory gaze.
"You've known this entire time?" She asked vehemently.
"Yes. I'm one of Elphaba's contacts within the Emerald City. The Resistance placed me inside the Gale Force to keep an eye on the happenings within the City. It was pure chance that I was promoted the way I have been." He answered smoothly. She nodded.
"So what Ozians said is true." She said turning back to Elphaba, who stared at her, confused. "You really don't sleep. Your eyes are everywhere. Rebels are protecting you, and you really can just become someone new right before my eyes."
"Oh." The green woman grimaced but Glinda didn't notice.
"All that's missing now is Fiyero." Glinda's voice thickened with fresh tears. "He would've loved to see you now." This time Glinda did not miss the look of pain that crossed Elphaba's face.
"Um…Glin…about Yero…" The woman hesitated. Glinda pinned her with a stare.
"What is it, Elphie?"
"We need to talk."