There was this odd sense of peace once she left him. It didn't pain her as much as she thought it would to finally let him go. She promised she would be there even though they would never be together again. She still wanted to be close to the boy who first showed her how it felt like to be loved. Maybe he was the reason it didn't trouble her so much when Fiyero said he loved her. Without him she would have never had the chance to be happy growing up, nor would she let herself be with Fiyero so easily. She owed him a lot and knew that in a way she would never let him go. He was her first love and that would never change. What she felt for him would always be love, but not in the way she felt for him once. Not the same she feels for Fiyero now.

They both lost someone which in any other case would bring them together, but she knew they needed to heal separately. Elphaba didn't want him to confuse their renewed friendship with anything else.

No one stopped her when she returned. The kings guards outside the palace glanced at her in awe as she maneuvered her broom back into the window before they went back to keeping people out of the palace. Her broom dropped to the floor coming in and her hand brushed her wind tangled hair back. She considered putting something on her head so her hair wouldn't be a mess whenever she flew…and she knew she would fly again, because the experience as she soared through the sky was something she wanted to continue doing. It gave her peace and a feeling that nothing else mattered even when everything around her was crumbling apart.

Elphaba hurried out of the door and went to see Fiyero. He looked up and grinned widely when she entered.

"I thought when you said you'd be back that it would be quickly - where did you go?" He asked cheerfully and Elphaba went over to him, instinctually placing her hand on his.

"I had to go see a friend—Where is your mother?" She asked when she noticed she was not there.

"With my father, having a meeting with the wizard." He responded playing around with her fingers as he intertwined their hands. "I think they are deciding on what to do with the wizard, so it's less of a meeting and more of an impromptu trial with the Uplands."

Elphaba pressed her lips together, "He deserves the worst." She muttered.

Fiyero shrugged. "He might, but not everyone in Oz knows about the plans he and Morrible had so throwing him in a dungeon might not be the best idea."

"It's a start for what he's done."

"A start is getting the people to slowly alienate off of the Wizard so someone else could rule…The man has no idea what he is doing, Morrible was essentially running the entire country."

"He let her run the entire country. He is a fraud and the people need to know. Who knows how many people or Animals have gone missing or are changed? They need to know."

"I know you might not agree with me but I don't think telling the entire land about it is the best idea. There would be those who wouldn't believe it and others that would riot. It would be chaos and that's the last thing we need at the moment."

"They might overthrow the wizard." She argued and Fiyero nodded.

"Yes, and they might also rebel against every other leader. There would be a nationwide rebellion and no one would know who to trust. We could throw the entire land of Oz in a civil war."

"And the people would know the truth." She said sourly, Fiyero stared at her sadly, his good hand coming up to her cheek.

"Elphaba, you're hurting right now and I understand why. I understand why you would want him to suffer the consequences of what he has done, but throwing him in a jail cell and then telling everyone why is not going to help anyone. Yes, they might know the truth but at what cost?"

His words sunk in and she turned away letting his hand fall back to his side.

He spoke truthfully and wisely. There was no way telling the entire land of Oz the wizards plans would help them in any way. No matter what the old man deserved, it was against the wellbeing of the entire country to throw it into a giant chaotic mess.

"The people adore the Wizard don't they?" She said in a resigned tone. "They wont believe anything we say."

Fiyero grunted in agreement. "He seems like a hard guy to like."

"Like a…" She paused, an idea popping into her mind at that moment. "I'm going to go find your parents…"

Fiyero tried sitting up, "You're leaving me again?"

Elphaba turned back to him and made sure he stayed laying down, leaning down to kiss him deeply, parting slightly to look him in the eye. Fiyero looked back with a disheveled look.

"You are going to be a great king one day…" She whispered into his lips and Fiyero smiled lovingly, his hand rising again to her cheek.

He stroked his thumb gently his eyes never leaving hers. "The last thing we need is Oz to be thrown into chaos... That doesn't make me a great future king... "

Elphaba wanted to laugh, but she chose to simply smile at him. Didn't Fiyero realize what he was capable of?

She stopped his hand on her cheek and held it, "Didn't you hear your own words? A great king does whatever it takes to keep his kingdom running smoothly, and an even greater king thinks about the people even when they are not under his reign...I want the worst for the wizard for what he did to my family and friends and it takes a wonderful man to see past the bad things so the people won't suffer. So yes, I do think you will be a great king someday."

Fiyero eyes shined as he smiled, "You really believe that?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Would I be listening to you if I didn't believe in it?"

He shrugged again. "You don't really listen to anyone, Elphaba just does."

She laughed. "Elphaba does, and it doesn't ever go as planned. Sometime I need to listen to someone else instead of what I want to do and right now I need to go to your parents and suggest a solution that I would never have thought of if not for you."

Fiyero blinked and pursed his lips together in thought. "What are you thinking?"

She brushed back his hair. "You rest, I'll tell you later."

He frowned, "Why not tell me now?"

"Because I can tell you later." She answered waving goodbye.

"Let me come with you." Fiyero swung his legs to the side of his bed and rapidly Elphaba sped back to his side.

"What are you doing?" She scolded him, "Lay down!"

"Woof." Fiyero said with a chuckle, letting her push him back into the bed.

Elphaba pulled the sheets back on him, covering him from his toe to his chest. "Don't be stupid. You're hurt so rest."

Fiyero frowned. "I want to be there!" He complained and Elphaba let her hand rest on his head.

"Rest. You will only hurt yourself more."

"Nothing that is going to kill me." He argued and Elphaba glared at him softly flicking his forehead lightly.

"You stubborn man, just listen to me and stay here." She told him and Fiyero bit his bottom lip.

"I'm not so sure you'll return." Fiyero remarked softly.

Elphaba sighed tiredly. "I will return." She told him surely. "I'm not going far I'll be in the palace with your parents."

Fiyero's hand lifted to bring hers down to his chest. "Promise me you'll return."

She felt the quickening of his heartbeat underneath her hand, and she saw the panic in his eye.

"I promise."

He relaxed almost immediately. "Okay…then, I'll stay and rest."

His face contorted briefly and Elphaba groaned. "You hurt yourself, didn't you?" She said pointedly.

"Yes." Fiyero said sheepishly.

"You idiot." She smiled kissing him softly. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, just hit a bruise on my thigh." He muttered wincing slightly as he moved his leg.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "If you would have just listened that wouldn't have happened. Now really, rest and I'll check on you later."

"Yeah, yeah." Fiyero replied as Elphaba left.

Elphaba shook her head walking through the halls, hearing the loud voices coming from the throne room.

She could hear the voices but was not able to make out the words they said as the walls were made to absorb most of the noise made within. The large door was shut closed and the dark haired man was sitting outside of the room covering his ears with his hands, his eyes pressed shut as he muttered something underneath his breath.

In an instant her hands fisted beside her and Elphaba stomped straight towards him, he didn't notice her until she grabbed him by the collar and he scrambled to stand from the force of her pull.

He was handsome; he was tired; and he was frightened, but Elphaba pushed him back without a care. She held back before when she recognized him in the throne room. She had let him go when he stood at Galinda's door, but he was in front of her and nothing was here to stop her.

"You killed my friends family." She hissed and the man pulled at her hands but he was unable to shake her off.

"I did what I was ordered to do; I had no choice."

"You always have a choice." She said sharply, pulling hard on his collar.

"You say that because you actually had a say in your life and you know who you are. You have no idea what I'm going through right now, no idea what it's like separating memories and trying to figure out which are real and which are not...You look at me like a monster and you can be right for all I know, because I don't know…So I'm sorry if I did what I was ordered to do."

Her hands loosened their hold on him and immediately he started to fix his collar. Elphaba took a step back. He was right and she knew it. She knew who she was: she was the green girl from Munchkinland, the green freak everyone looked at twice, and that was who she was. Intelligent; fiery; stubborn; hard headed; and impulsive. Every decision she made was her own choice, no one had forced her to do them and no one would make her change who she was.

The man stared at her warily as she backed away.

"I don't know you and I don't wish to know you, but a few of my friends died; and you killed one of my friends parents. One of them made the choice to end their life but the others did not have any choice at all. You do." She said poking him in the chest, "You have the choice to start over. Go out and help make the world better and stop sitting here and feeling sorry about yourself, it's pathetic."

He scowled. "I'm not feeling sorry for myself, there isn't any myself. I don't exist; I'm some made up man by some horrible person who decided that this is what I was supposed to be. I don't know if I like the things I do because I do, or because I was made to like them. I don't know if I killed those people because I was made to or because that's who I always was. I'm confused …I'm not this, and I'm not that…" He trailed off, looking broken down.

"If you don't know who you are, then find someone who does. Find your family and be someone good."

"I have no family. Morrible made sure that her soldiers had nothing to hold them back, or tie them down. "

Elphaba looked at him in alarm. "And what did the wizard do?"

"Nothing," He shook his head slowly. "We never took orders from him. It was always Morrible. "

Her eyes widened but she knew what to do. "Start by doing something good now. Follow me. "

He peered at the door and shook his head. "I can't go in there. "

"Who said? "

"The King and the Uplands."

"Why?" She asked.

"I tried to apologize to Miss Galinda, and they told me to get away and leave and if I tried to escape I would be shot. " He swallowed visibly as he stared at the door.

"Right now it's more important that you go in there and tell them about Morrible."

He shook his head. "What for? They know how horrible she was?"

"Not entirely, so get in there and tell them what she made you do, tell them about what she did to your families and anything else about her." She demanded and he stared at her suspiciously. He probably thought she was actually trying to get him shot.

"You sound as if you want to protect the wizard from all this?" He asked her carefully and she rolled her eyes.

"Personally I don't care what happens to him; he could die for all I care, but the wellbeing of Oz is more important than what I feel, so if you want to start doing something good in your life get in there."

The man looked tired, his eyelids drooping but he gave a small nod and followed her inside.

There were men and women scrubbing the entire floor, the place where Avaric had shot himself was were most of the cleaning was concentrated. She closed her eyes for a moment and turned her attention to the crowd on the opposite side of the room.

Galinda was the first to notice her as she was sitting in a wheelchair a few feet away from the others. There was a pang in her heart simply looking at the wheelchair. Elphaba fought back the tears that pricked at her eyes; this was not the time or place. Galinda smiled, her smile not reaching her pensive blue eyes, waving to her and Elphaba managed a small smile back as the others turned to see her.

"Elphaba!" The Queen called out, lifting the sides of her dress to hurry over to her. Again the Queen squeezed her in a tight hug.

"You shouldn't have disappeared like that." Elarra told her, rubbing the back of her head as one would do to a child.

"I had something to do." She said, closing her eyes and feeling comforted by Fiyero's mother.

"Fiyero told me," She whispered into Elphaba's ear. "I am truly sorry Elphaba, we'll make sure he pays for what he has done."

Elphaba sniffled and pulled away. "That's exactly why I'm here…He can't be." She said, looking behind Elarra's shoulder at the Wizard who hid behind two guards and was arguing with who she knew was the king, and Mrs. Upland. It was a sight to see, Mrs. Upland was waving her hands around as her husband —who looked on proudly, stood by letting her do all the talking.

Elarra was looking at her in puzzlement, "What do you mean, Elphaba?"

She glanced back at the dark haired man and he blinked as she nudged him forward.

"I believe I warned you against coming near my Galindy." Mrs. Upland cautioned taking a step in front of Galinda, who seemed to go red.

The man held his hands up as he took a step forward. "I'm not going near her—so please don't throw another lotion bottle at me!" He flinched and backed away when Mrs. Upland dug into her purse.

"Mrs. Upland, If I may, he wants to testify against Morrible." She spoke up for him, secretly wishing she could see Mrs. Upland throw something at him.

"Please, I just want to —"

"And keep your eyes off of her you degenerate!" He turned his head down to the floor and Mrs. Upland turned to her giving her a once over.

She didn't know if she should look away like the man was, or if she should look her in the eye. It was an odd position to be in for her.

"You must be Miss Elphaba Thropp," Mrs. Uplands said a bit more cheerful.

That change of tone was quite a relief to Elphaba. "Yes." She answered and Galinda's mother smiled in acknowledgement.

"Aurelie Upland, I'm glad to meet you Elphaba." Aurelie strolled over to her and kissed her cheek making Elphaba freeze, something that caused Galinda to giggle.

"It's...wonderful to meet you as well." Elphaba forced herself to say after a moment and Aurelie smiled beautifully before she frowned. "Eyes to yourself you despicable man."

"Momsie." Galinda said in complete embarrassment.

"Galinda, this man and every other man and woman who worked for these horrible people have no right to even look at you."

"I worked for these people." Galinda pointed out and her mother shook her head.

"You were a spy on the inside, not like this man who did it willingly." Aurelie starting to glare at the man again and he shrunk back despite his almost two feet height advantage over Aurelie.

"With all due respect Mrs—Aurelie…He had no control over what he did any more than the wizard ran the country. He is not at fault."

"What the wizard did is wrong and he has to pay for it. We are pleased that he would testify against Morrible but my Galindy has already told me what an awful tart that old bat was."

Elphaba already admired the woman, but she needed to hear what he had to say. "Hear me out, Mrs. Upland.… "

"We know he can't be punished. We know what that entails." Galinda's father's voice boomed across the room.

"We all do." The King said.

Elphaba didn't know what to say. "You do?"

Elarra smiled softly. "We are only reigning over the entire Vinkus."

"Child's play, right?" The King chuckled making Elphaba's eyes go round.

"I did not mean to assume that you didn't - "

"Elphaba dear, it's ok." Elarra calmed her. "He can't be publicly punished but something has to be done."

"I'm leaving. That's what's going to be done." The Wizard finally said something. Everyone looked at him.

"I have decided with the suggestion of Mrs. Upland to leave Oz, indefinitely." He said clearly, his eyes flitting to Elphaba for a split second.

Galinda's eyes widened in alarm. "That's not a possibility your Ozness."

"Stop calling him that Galinda." She scolded and Galinda frowned.

"Elphie, you have to hear him out first before anything is done against him."

She shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest. "I already heard what he has to say and I don't care for it. The harm is done and nothing can change that."

"Nothing can change what he's done but that doesn't mean you can't hear him out?"

"I don't think that's the best idea Galinda."

"I agree, he should leave."

"I said not to look at my daughter!"

"I was only - "

"Don't take another step!'

Elphaba droned them out, their voices all mixed with the other, arguing. She didn't know whose voice was whose. The only thing she understood at the moment was feeling lightheaded as as everyone spun in her vision. She lifted her hand and she stumbled back. She felt hands surround her and more voices before she took a deep breath and pushed it away. Her vision cleared and she felt suffocated by all the figures crowding her.

"I'm fine." She breathed being crushed into a hug by Elarra.

"Elphaba?" Elarra asked full of worry.

"Elphie?"

"I'm okay." She assured them through closed eyes. "It was nothing. It happens sometimes." She forced a smile on her face though Elarra didn't seem to buy it.

"I think the best thing to do is to let you rest while - "

"No." Elphaba cut her off. "I want to be here."

Elarra took a deep breath and held her hand gently. "I admire that you want to help, but I want you to rest. Let us take care of it sweetie."

"I have to help, I have to do something." Her words were rushing out of her mouth in a flurry and Elarra nodded.

"I know sweetie," She smiled at her. "but you don't have to be the one who does everything. "

"Our Galinda will accompany you. She shouldn't be up either. "

"Momsie!"

"Shush baby," Aurelie quieted her, gently running her thumb over Galinda's cheek. "listen to your mommy.

"Both of you go upstairs. We will handle this. You don't have to do everything yourselves. Go rest Elphaba."

Elphaba swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded into her hands.

"Good." Elarra said. "Whatever we decide I promise that I will talk to you - look at you, you're sweating." Elarra was wiping at her head in concern.

"It's nothing." She said faintly.

"It will be nothing if you take care of yourself. If you keep believing this is something only you can do by yourself it will not be okay. Rest sweetheart. We know what to do."

Elphaba sighed, she didn't know if it was from relief that the burden was not on her shoulders or because she was tired of being here. Either way the chemicals used by the workers continually scrubbing the floors made her nauseous, so she was glad as Elarra gently guided her and Galinda out. "Come on, I'll take the both of you to the room."

Galinda seemed to be having a grand time as she rolled herself in front of them yelling, "Whee!" whenever she got some momentum in her chair. In a way it helped Elphaba watching her spin around and get gently reprimanded by Elarra who had decided to take control of Galinda's chair so she would behave.

Galinda pouted and sighed, letting her head rest on her arm.

Elphaba snorted as she watched her act like a child forced to stop playing.

"Elphaba honey, can you get the door." Elarra said and Elphaba nodded opening the door to the room Galinda had been in earlier. Her eyes immediately turned to the bed, how she longed to rest but she couldn't. Not until she knew what they were doing.

"Here, I'll let you two rest in here. I reassure you Elphaba that everything will be okay, confide in me."

She swallowed with difficulty. "Okay."

"Okay." Elarra gave them both a kiss on the head and left.

Elphaba dropped onto the bed and Galinda wheeled herself over.

"Scoot over." She said, pushing herself out of the chair. Elphaba noticed how she struggled to do it and she helped Galinda sit beside her.

"It's okay Elphie. I trust my momsie and Fiyero's mom." Galinda said cheerfully, trying to find a comfortable spot.

"So do I, I just don't like not being there."

"This is way better. We've been there and we've done things and now I want to rest and let someone else take care of it. I haven't felt this relieved to be treated as a child before." Galinda sighed leaning her head against Elphaba's shoulder.

Elphaba's eyes began to water and she raised her hand to see tears on the tip of her fingers. She felt Galinda's head move.

"Elphie…You're crying?"

"I see that." She chuckled.

"Do you want me to go get help? Was it your talk with Sanevan?"

"I don't need help and it wasn't my talk with Sanevan. That went well, actually…It's just with everything that's happened I haven't felt so comfortable or safe as I do at this moment."

"Why does that make you cry?"

"I shouldn't feel so comfortable or safe. My sister died, my father died, My friend died and so did others and I'm sitting here, in a room like a child. I get to live while they don't."

"Don't think about that."

"I have to… I will never see my sister again. I wont be able to tell her how much I love her and I wont be able to talk to her…We changed the course of our lives but I have to think...If I never would have left would she still be alive? Would I have been more helpful in Shiz or working with Morrible like you did to stop her? Or if I never wanted to meet who was behind the resistance at Shiz, would Boq have been killed? Would Avaric be alive right now if I had been more persistent and gone myself?" She asked herself that every second, thinking of what could have been if she had done things differently.

"Elphie…"

She continued, "They are dead, and…they don't get to grow up, they don't get to get married or start families. I wont ever see my sister grow old, I will never get to see her have kids— and she wanted kids." She choked on the last words.

"Elphie, stop this." Galinda said through quivering lips.

"Avaric will never be able to be an idiot again, he wont be able to make his stupid remarks and he will never be able to get you to forgive him."

Galinda squeezed her arm. "I forgave him. I forgive him."

"And he doesn't get to be here for that." She answered in anger. "That's all he wanted."

Beside her Galinda made a small noise, "Why Elphaba? I didn't want to think about that why can't you just go to sleep?"

"I can't sleep. Not with all these thoughts and not without wondering if you forgave him because he's dead or because he earned it."

"He earned it." She said surely. "He gave his life for me and I'll forever be grateful. I don't know if my answer is the same if he had survived. I might have been grateful to him but its different if he were alive."

"That's stupid and meaningless. What's the point if he's dead? What's the point of forgiving when he can't be here to know that?"

"It's easier now that he's gone. "

"How?" It made no sense to Elphaba.

"It just is. Right now I don't see the boy who almost took advantage of me, I think of him and remember him as the boy I grew up with. As the friend I used to tell everything to."

"Now he's gone." She stammered. "Just like my sister and just Boq, and Sanevan's parents and—"

"Stop." Galinda said again.

"What for..."

"This is pointless as well. Elphaba, they didn't survive this and it kills me as well to know I will never be able to forgive him, thank him, in person. He saved my life but I can't worry about that when so many other people are hurting right now. There are so many people out there that have been affected by this and they have a chance to live a new life. Or their old life if they want. This isn't just a new start for them. It's a new start for me, and you, and everyone else. We get to try again in our lives. Things will change now and we wont have to be afraid to do what we want."

"I want to go home." She said softly, resting her head between her knees.

"Go home then, rest, get things in order but not right now. Right now Oz needs to be fixed and our parents - we - are the ones that get to do that."

"You do it," She grumbled. "I'm not the person people will listen to."

"I need you, my parents need you, Fiyero and his family needs you."

"And I'll be in Munchkinland doing my job there."

"You're just going to leave me like that?" A voice came from the door and Elphaba straightened despite her headache. No headache hurt as much as Fiyero's heartbroken expression as he leaned against the entrance of the room; his hand in a tourniquet against his chest.

"No, I wont leave you like that," She was quick to let him know. "but I do have to go home and lay my sister to rest, straighten thing out as I'm in control of Munchkinland….Shouldn't you be resting? "

Fiyero stared intently at her as he came over to her.

He placed his other hand on her. "It's us now… Not I, or me…Us. Ours. I'm not letting go ever Elphaba, are you going to? "

She smiled through her tears and she kissed his hand.

Beside them Galinda began to sniffle, tear tracks down her cheeks as she saw the two of them.

Elphaba shook her head slowly. "No way."

He smiled with joy.

"Whatever happens to Oz is going to happen. Whatever plans my parents, or Galinda's parents have, we might be a part of it, or they might not let us do anything. To be honest, I rather not. It would be difficult being with you in Munchkinland and having to be somewhere else at once. "

Her eyes widened. "Fiyero, you don't have to go to Munchkinland with me!"

"Yes, he does." Galinda said quickly.

"Yes, I do." Fiyero spoke at the same time. "Never is never, right?"

She eyed their tangled hands, and looked up at him slowly. "That's right." She answered and Fiyero smiled.

Next chapter is last chapter! :D