AN: It's good to see me, isn't it?
Elphaba'sGirl: Point taken. I promise I will not make it five... not with this story, anyway *smirks*.
BlueD, you made my day with your Snuggly Booboo Kins story xD. And yeah - frying pans. Who knew, right? ;)
Kudos to TheLilyReviewer for responding the right way (according to the Snickers commercial, anyway :P).
Chapter 10. Leave it all to me
When Fiyero heard the doors open, he lifted his head from where it had been laying down on the straw bag in his cell. He could hear struggles, and a Gale Force soldier barked, "Silence, Witch!"
Fiyero froze. No. It wasn't her. It couldn't be her. Please let it not be her…
"Ah!" One of the soldiers cried out. "She bit me! The little witch bit me!"
Another soldier was audibly stifling his laughter. "You put your hand over her mouth. What else did you expect?"
There was the sickening noise of flesh on flesh. "That'll teach you," the first soldier grumbled. "Now hold still!"
"In here." Fiyero could hear the sound of a cell door opening. "Put her in here."
"She doesn't have her magic book with her, does she?"
Magic book. Fiyero's heart sank.
"Do you see any place where she can be hiding a magic book?" one of the other soldiers asked sarcastically.
The first one sniggered. "Maybe we should feel for it."
"Keep your filthy hands off me," a female voice hissed. A female voice Fiyero knew only all too well.
"It's fine, man. She doesn't have a magic book with her," another voice said. More sounds coming from the other side of the hallway, then a cell door closing.
"Lock it firmly," one of the soldiers instructed. "She's a witch – she can probably pick locks, too."
Someone else snorted. "This is Southstairs, stupid. No-one can pick these locks." The sound of a key turning in a lock. "Have fun here, little witch," the man said with a raspy chuckle. "Tomorrow Morrible is coming to interrogate you – and trust me, it will not be pretty." Fiyero could almost hear the smirk in his voice, and his stomach churned. He knew the soldier was right – if Morrible got her hands on Elphaba...
"Enjoy your time alone… and alive… with your limbs still attached," the Gale Force soldier added. The men burst out in roaring laughter, which slowly died away as they moved back towards the door and left the dungeons. The door closed behind them with a heavy slam.
"Enjoy your time alive, with your limbs still attached," Elphaba imitated the guard in a mocking voice, clearly pissed off. "Don't worry, guys, I'm going to be out of here long before Morrible shows her fishy face." He heard her scurrying around, then muttering something under her breath. There were some more sounds he could not identify; then she muttered something else, something he couldn't understand… and the next sound he heard was an indignant creaking as a cell door flew open.
"That was easy," Elphaba said to herself as she quickly left her cell. She looked around, trying to distinguish anything – or anyone – in the dark, but she could barely see a thing. She slowly started moving, so quietly that her shoes barely made a sound as they hit the bricks of the cold, stone floor. She shuffled around until she found the big doors; then she cast a spell on them and turned around again, eyes searching the pitch black hallways as she walked.
"Fiyero?" she whispered softly. "Are you around here?"
He caught sight of her as she rounded the corner, and he rushed towards the bars of his cell in an attempt to get closer to her. "Fae," he breathed. The moment she heard his voice, she located him and ran over to him.
"Hold on," she told him quietly, pulling the Grimmerie from underneath her cloak and opening it. She whispered a spell from one of the pages and the door to Fiyero's cell opened.
The moment she laid eyes on his back, covered in dried blood and shreds of his shirt, she inhaled sharply. "Oh, Yero…"
"It's nothing," he said as she knelt down next to him and gingerly wrapped her arms around him. It was something, of course, but it didn't matter anymore. Not now that she was here.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered into his neck, and he felt her tears on his skin. "It's my fault, I should have come here sooner…"
He shook his head violently. "No, you shouldn't have." He pulled away a little to look at her. "How are you?" he asked her. "What happened? Are you okay?"
She blew a strand of hair away from her face. "I'm fine," she said. "I… I escaped the hospital. I went to Shiz, to see Galinda. She helped me."
He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she had been sensible.
Her eyes filled with tears again when she saw the state his back was in from up close. "Oh, Fiyero, I'm so, so sorry –"
"Stop," he cut her off. "Stop right there." He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her against him, burying his face in her hair and breathing in her scent. She smelt like woods and a little bit like coconuts, though he wasn't sure where that scent came from. He pressed his cheek against her soft hair, closing his eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered. "I was so worried about you…" He pulled away again. "Why in Oz are you here?" he demanded, suddenly cross with her. "What were you doing, getting yourself caught? How did that even happen?"
She started carefully and gently removing the shreds of his shirt from the wounds on his back, whispering an apology every time he winced in pain. She told him how she had escaped from the hospital and what had happened afterwards.
"And this is part of your plan?" Fiyero asked her anxiously. "Please tell me getting thrown into Southstairs is part of some kind of master plan you and Galinda came up with."
She opened the Grimmerie and searched for the healing spell she had also cast on herself when the energy ball had hit her, then looked up at him with a small smile. "Of course it is. You know me."
"Exactly," he said, only half joking.
"And you know Galinda. She would have never let me leave without a plan."
He had to admit that that was true.
He watched her a bit warily as she stopped flipping through the pages of the Grimmerie and let her hands hover above his back. "What are you doing?"
Her smile widened and she kissed his cheek. "Trust me," she whispered.
He nodded and watched as she started casting the spell. He didn't fall unconscious, like she had; but he felt a sharp pain running down his back and he had to bite his lip to keep himself from crying out in pain.
Elphaba gently moved him to lie down on his side, cradling his head in her lap. He protested that they had to get going, but she shook her head. "We'll be fine," she said. "I cast a spell on the door. No-one can come in from the outside."
"It sounds like you thought this through," he muttered.
As she continued to stroke his hair, she explained to him that she had cast a shrinking spell on the Grimmerie to fit it in the waistband of her skirt, in order to keep the guards from noticing it. She had left her broomstick in the woods nearby and met up with Galinda, who had proceeded to take the green girl with her and into the Emerald Palace for a meeting with the Wizard. Galinda had written him a letter a few days prior - when they had come up with this plan – in which she explained that she had been in Sorcery class with Elphaba, that she could do great things with her magic, and that she would just love to work for the Wizard.
"He bought it," Elphaba told Fiyero. "Or, well, I think he did. He threw me into Southstairs, and if everything went according to plan, Galinda just charmed her way into the government."
"So this was bigger than just rescuing me," Fiyero concluded quietly. "You infiltrated the government."
She grinned at him. "Not bad for a blonde and a Wicked Witch, huh?"
He chuckled. "No. Not bad. Not bad at all. This way, you can work from both the inside and the outside… it's a smart move."
Elphaba kissed his forehead. "My main concern, though, is to get you out of here," she said. "I need to take you somewhere safe so you can heal. Galinda suggested her dorm room at Shiz."
"Fine," he agreed. "I'm fine with anything."
"Good. We won't be able to stay there for long, but for a few days, it's good enough." She helped him up, clutching the Grimmerie under her other arm. "Let's go."
"Wait." She turned large, questioning eyes on him, but before she could say anything, he had pulled her flush up against him and kissed her deeply, his hand tangling in her hair.
When they broke apart, they were panting slightly. "What was that for?" asked Elphaba, her voice breathless.
Fiyero stroked her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I missed you," he confessed. "And I was worried about you. I mean, the last time I saw you up and about and completely healthy was weeks ago, before that energy ball hit you."
"I'm sorry," she began again, but he pressed his finger to her lips.
"Do you ever let anyone else talk?"
She stuck out her tongue at him.
He chuckled and took her hand, squeezing it. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here."
It took them quite some time to make their way out of Southstairs – even with Elphaba's magic at their disposal – and fly back towards Shiz, especially since they had to make their way through the Emerald City first to get to the woods to fetch Elphaba's broomstick; and when they finally did arrive at Galinda's dorm room, the bubbly blonde girl had beat them there.
She squealed when Elphaba and Fiyero came tumbling through the window. "You did it! Elphie, it worked! Our plan worked!" She threw her arms around Elphaba, then Fiyero. Only when he winced in pain did she notice the wounds on his back, and a flash of horror crossed Galinda's face.
"Lie down," she instructed. "On your stomach. No, not on the floor, stupid – on my bed of course!" She flapped her arms in indignation. "Do you really think I would let you sleep on the floor?"
Fiyero chuckled weakly. "You'd sacrifice your fluffy pink bed for me?"
"Of course," Galinda said matter-of-factly. "I let Elphie stay in it for four days, too – I actually slept on the floor. Can you believe it?"
"I wish my bed was still here," Elphaba muttered. "I feel kind of guilty for having you sleep on the floor for that long."
Galinda waved her away. "Don't be, Elphie," she said sternly. "I offered, didn't I? Okay, Fiyero – on your back, I'll go and grab some first aid stuff and treat those wounds. Elphie, I trust you already cast a spell on him?"
Elphaba nodded and Galinda took a good look at her friend. "Oh, dear," she sighed. "I knew we should have waited longer! You were by far not healthy enough to do this!"
"I'm fine," Elphaba protested weakly, but Galinda just threw her a look. "You look as pale as a ghost," she commented, "which is funny, given that you're usually green. You're sweating, which probably means your fever is back, and you look like you're going to crash to the floor any moment now. Elphaba Thropp, I told you we should have waited longer – flying on a broomstick, spending half an hour in those cold and mouldy dungeons, not to mention all the spells you've been casting… using magic drains your energy, remember? I can't believe I even let you do this in the first place," Galinda ranted on.
"Waited longer?" Elphaba glared at the blonde. "And what do you think would have happened to Fiyero if we had waited even longer?"
Galinda faltered and cast a guilty glance at Fiyero's back. "Alright, good point," she conceded. "But still – you do not look well. I'm going to draw you a nice bath, and then I'm going to treat your burns and change your bandage, and then I'm going to put you to bed next to Fiyero and you'll be fine again," she sang, almost bouncing into the bathroom.
Galinda ushered Elphaba into the bath and switched between tending to Fiyero's wounds and checking up on her best friend for the next quarter of an hour. Finally, she bandaged Fiyero up and told him to try and get some sleep, before swiftly hurrying back into the bathroom to help Elphaba. After Elphaba had dried herself off, Galinda carefully tended to her burns, causing the green girl to bite down on her lip in pain. Galinda gently rubbed the cream into the marred skin, then bandaged her former roommate up as well and put her in an ivory-coloured nightgown she found somewhere in her closet. She nearly shoved Elphaba into the bed, pulled open her mouth and pushed a thermometer under her tongue.
Elphaba scowled. "Galinda!" she protested, the words almost indistinguishable because of the thermometer in her mouth.
Galinda tilted her head to the side a little. "What was the routine again? Bathe, burn cream, bandage, take temperature…"
"Fever pills?" Elphaba suggested.
The blonde brightened. "Yes! That's it!" She rummaged through a cupboard and pulled out a strip of pills, taking two and shoving them into Fiyero's mouth before handing the prince a glass of water and helping him up a little so that he could swallow the pills. After that, she helped him back down again and pulled the thermometer from Elphaba's mouth.
She gasped. "Oh my Oz, Elphie!" she shrieked.
"What?" Elphaba mumbled, feeling sleepy now that the adrenaline of their mission had finally worn off.
Galinda shoved the thermometer under her nose. "That's one hundred and four degrees, Elphie!" she cried. "Does that mean your life is in danger? Should I call an ambulance? You're not dying, are you?"
Fiyero, who had been dozing, immediately opened his eyes. "Dying? What?" He tried to struggle himself into a sitting position.
"Stay down, Yero," Elphaba muttered irritably. "I'm not dying. I just have a fever, Galinda, stop overreacting."
"Overreacting?" Galinda started flapping her arms again. "I'm not overreacting! I'm… I'm…"
"Overreacting?" Elphaba supplied helpfully.
"Yes!"
Elphaba smirked.
"No! I mean no!" Galinda cried. "I'm not…" She sighed and glared at Elphaba. "Okay, fine, but… but if that fever gets any higher, I'm taking you to Marlyn! Or I'm bringing Marlyn here, whatever…"
"Fine," Elphaba agreed wearily, and Galinda pried her friend's mouth open and shoved four pills down her throat.
"Now sleep," she ordered. "I'll keep an eye on you both."
Fiyero rolled over on his side to look at Elphaba worriedly. "Fae?"
"I'm fine, Yero," she murmured, snuggling into his side and closing her eyes. Fiyero exchanged a worried glance with Galinda.
"Don't worry, Fifi," the blonde said softly. "Like I said, I'll keep an eye on you both. I won't let anything happen to her. Promise."
Reassured by that – a little, anyway – Fiyero wrapped his arms around the green girl and closed his eyes as well.