DISCLAIMER: in the first chapter...

A/N: Sorry about the delay. Here's another chappie. Hope you guys like it and don't forget to review!

FIYERO'S QUEST

On a bench facing the shimmering pond, Fiyero and Galinda sat, side by side. For a long moment they didn't speak, too lost in their own thoughts to even properly acknowledge the other's presence. They should have been studying for their finals like Elphaba, but the bright sun had drawn them out of confinement.

Meeting there had been by chance.

Galinda forced her gaze away from the horizon and focused it upon the Prince's profile. Though feelings still remained, the blonde was glad to notice that no painful twinge flourished on her chest at his presence.

Maybe it was time now.

"Fiyero?"

He turned slightly and met her light blue eyes. He noticed the changes she had been through, almost simultaneous to Elphaba's own academic revolution. Nothing physical, really. It was in the way she held herself, in her eyes, in the timbre of her voice and the words she used. Fiyero offered his former girlfriend and encouraging smile.

"Remember that night we broke up?" He nodded, apprehensive. "I asked you, then, if you had feelings for someone else." Fiyero faced the pond and sighed. "Who is she, Fiyero?"

Though the Winkie saw, now, his own feelings more clearly than he had that night and subsequent weeks, his reticence to discuss it with Galinda remained unchanged. He didn't want to hurt the sweet girl anymore. He wondered why she had brought that discussion back into the forefront, when they had ignored it until now.

And the words? Never having been good with them when serious matters needed to be discussed, he lapsed into silence. It was easier to be careless, when you didn't care. And Fiyero did care.

That was becoming all too apparent.

Sigh.

"Galinda, I…" He needn't have worried about skirting the issue, though.

"Is it Elphaba?" The blonde had turned away from his startled look, but Fiyero could still see her face. The Price tried searching for evidence of hurt, of accusation on her pretty features. He found none of those things. Galinda seemed to be actuallt blushing, embarrassed to have asked it so bluntly.

He could have lied, of course, but he didn't.

"Yes."

Galinda returned her body to its former position, facing him fully, a really bright smile upon her rosy pink lips. Fiyero didn't know how to respond to her completely unexpected reaction to his admission, though. She seemed happy.

And that was strange.

"Oh, Fiyero! That's wonderful!"

"It is?"

"Of course!" she showed herself indignant at his doubt. "After all…" Seriousness overcame her bubbly persona. "Even Elphie deserves to be loved, to be happy. Don't you think?"

Absolutely.

Galinda grinned.

Fiyero frowned.

"But… Does she feel anything for me?" He had relentlessly sought to garner the green girl's attention for the past two months. And, even if he had managed to catch a glimpse of something deeper from time to time, of interest, Elphaba had only demonstrated her growing annoyance at his persistent attempts. The normally confident young man was reduced to doubts.

"Well…"

Fiyero zoned in on her hesitancy.

"You're hiding something."

Apprehension-filled moment.

Then those blue eyes, wise beyond their years, fixed upon his own cerulean diamond orbs. It was as if she could see deep within his soul.

"I can trust you, can't I, Master Fiyero?"

He nodded, not trusting his inadequate words.

"Remember that vision I told Elphaba had?" Again, he nodded. "Horrible things, she said… Everything she's changed in the past month, everything she is still trying to make different, it's to prevent those horrible things from happening."

Galinda played with her fingers, lost in thought. Fiyero gently took her hand in his, squeezing it softly and willing this simple gesture to communicate all that could not be put into words… Reassurance, support.

"Do you know those eyes Elphaba's always drawing; over and over again?" Nod. "His name is Liir. Her son." Eyes widened, yet he said nothing, afraid that Galinda would stop speaking. "She said he's something she has to loose to prevent those horrible things from happening."

Oh.

"Liir…" There was something oddly familiar about that name; a sound he had heard before, somewhere unknown. "And the father?"

"I don't know." Sigh. "She had to stay away to protect him." Galinda bit on her lip. "I tried to get her to tell me his name once… she got so sad."

A sneak glance sideways.

What?

"Have you ever seen one of these drawings up close?"

"No."

The gillikinese girl withdrew a folded parchment from her delicate had bag. It looked worn and wrinkled. She offered the paper to him and he didn't question why she carried it around.

"It's not the latest version. Elphaba thought this one had come close to reality, but it just wasn't right. None of them are for her." Deep breath. "What do you see?"

A baby boy.

It was not only eyes, but a round face, an easy smile and chubby fingers that reached out to him. Yet, it was those big, inquisitive eyes that caught most of his attention. Liir reminded him of his mother. Was there something else he was supposed to be seeing?

"Who does he look like?" Galinda whispered.

"Elphaba."

"Yes, her too." Even agreeing, she had shaken her head, denying her own words. "Someone else, though. He reminds me of someone else… I just can't put a finger on who."

Understanding dawned. They probably knew the father already.

The drawing was carefully folded and Fiyero sighed.

"That doesn't answer my question, though, Galinda."

"I don't know who Liir's father is and how he will, would, were… well come to be, but I do know that something shines in her eyes when you're near, Fiyero."

Could he stand a chance against someone she loved but refused to have?

Did he even want to?

"And I know that, the only reason she's trying so hard to maintain her distance from all of us, is because she believes that is the only way to protect us."

"From what?" Shrug.

"I told you, she never went into specifics." Fiyero looked dejected and positively lost. Galinda, his hand still enfolding hers, offered him a small caress and got up. "But even if she thinks that isolating herself will prevent her nightmare from coming true, she forgets that that'll make her completely lonely."

He looked up, she glanced down.

"I'm not going to let her be alone." Poignant stare. "Will you?"

Curls bouncing and cream skirts billowing in the soft wind, Galinda retreated back to Crage Hall, leaving the drawing still in Fiyero's hand and his mind filled with too many questions, too many doubts.

He was better off before, he thought.

Then, he had at least believed he had a chance.

Now…

Eyes returned to the pond, transfixed. He was tired of spending hours lost in thought, seeking a road he never managed to find and one he wasn't sure he'd be able to cross. Still he remained.

Waiting.

For answers.

For understanding.

For anything.