Fae's Duty: One Short Night
I sat in Glinda's parlor, drinking tea and gently explaining why I couldn't tell her anything about my work undercover. She obviously had no experience with such organizations; she had a multitude of questions that I could not safely answer.
"So what is the long-term goal of these missions?"
Now that's a big one. How can she possibly expect me to answer that? "I suppose you'll see in good time. Now that you're deep in society, you might even try to stop it if I told you."
"Oh, come now, Elphie. Remember, I was the one who accompanied you to see the Wizard in the first place, surely I wouldn't give you away."
"I can't be sure of anything right now, Glinda. Besides, I'm not even sure of the goal. Now stop asking me confidential questions. I haven't had much news about any of our old friends; how are they?" I hope she hasn't been corresponding with Fiyero or she'll know that was a lie.
"Nessa didn't know what to do once you left. She started praying viciously for your soul; none of us could stand it anymore, and she didn't really hang out with us anymore."
If there was anyone I would have stayed for, it was Nessa. I knew that she would pull me into staying if I had told her beforehand. Trust Glinda to give me a guilt trip!
"Fiyero was wondering if he'd ever see you again. You know, I think he really liked you. Maybe you should go see him out at Kiamo Ko and take a break from your work."
Apparently she hadn't heard from Fiyero. I breathed a sigh of relief; Glinda was so busy rattling off our friends' mental states that she didn't notice.
She went on to talk about Boq, Avaric, Misses Shenshen and Milla, Tibbett and Crope, and various other friends that I barely knew. I just leaned back and let her ramble on; I had already heard the gossip from Fiyero.
Finally she stopped for a moment and looked at the clock. "Goodness, is it that time already? You ought to stay the night tonight… unless you have a mission, that is. You wouldn't object to that, would you?"
I guess it's safer for me than the local inn... though I don't want to put her in more danger. I'm just visiting an old friend. "I don't want to intrude upon you and Sir Chuffrey, but if you insist..."
"Great. I insist. I'll have the servants set up the guest bedroom for you. Dinner should be ready shortly, too."
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We had a relaxing dinner in Glinda's dining room. Sir Chuffrey was away on business with the Wizard, and Glinda dominated the conversation with gossip about Oz and its high society. It meant nothing to me, so I was allowed to just daze off, nodding and agreeing with her when it was necessary.
She must have eventually seen my exhaustion, because she showed me to my room immediately after dinner. "I'm sure you're tired, so I'll let you settle down. The bathroom is right next door, I'm down the hall, and everything else you should need is in here."
I thanked her warmly and wished her good night. I wish I could say that I was worried about our safety, but as soon as I had laid down, I soundly fell asleep.
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Elphie: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……
RS: Don't worry about Elphie. I'm sure she'll wake up sometime soon…