AU: Thank you so much for the reviews! It's positively amazing to know other people take time to read what you have written - and it's even better to know they're actually enjoying it! So, this is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy that as well! Please review!

Disclaimer: I'm not that girl.

It was not long thereafter that Fiyero heard the sound of multiple horsemen coming from the opposite direction. He hesitated for just a moment before he decided hiding would be the smartest thing to do; with the spell wearing off, he looked more like himself every day, and if someone would recognize him… well, he could imagine the consequences to be quite… disastrous.

So he dismounted and lead his horse off the road, into the woods, where they hid between the bushes and the trees. The riders passed by a few minutes later – about fifteen or twenty of them, he guessed, all on horseback. Their uniforms made them easy to identify as… guards?

Fiyero might not be as smart as Elphaba, but his mind rapidly connected the pieces together and he gasped when he realized what this meant. A band of guards, probably heading towards the Emerald City, coming from the west… coming from Kiamo Ko?

Now don't be paranoid, he told himself sternly. There is no way anyone could have known about Elphaba hiding there – they all think she's dead. It's probably just a coincidence.

Do you really believe that? an soft voice in his head asked him sceptically. He shook his head, as if the thoughts would vanish by doing that. The truth was: he didn't really believe that. He tried to suppress the feeling of dread that suddenly washed over him; he led his horse back to the road, remounted and kicked the animal in the flanks, almost desperate now to get to Kiamo Ko as soon as was humanly possible – if only to reassure himself that nothing had happened to her, that she was safe.

After tying up the horse, he nearly ran up several flights of stairs before reaching the tower chamber. He couldn't help but notice there was something different about the room, although he could not put into words exactly what that something was. It was more like a feeling, really – the feeling someone had been in here.

He dropped to the floor and knocked on the trapdoor. 'It worked!'

No response. Once again, he pushed away the panic that threatened to overcome him, and he knocked again. 'Elphaba?'

Again, no answer. Carefully, he opened the trapdoor and poked his head inside. 'Elphaba? Where are you?'

Now he really got scared. He jumped down into the room beneath the trapdoor and lit the one lantern that was down there. He looked around. There was no sign of Elphaba, but what he did see, didn't reassure him at all. Shattered spears. Smears of blood on the walls and on the floor. A small heap of ripped cloth, blood and… hair and green skin?

'Elphaba!' He was by her side within a clock-tick, cradling her limp form in his arms. 'Fae?' He couldn't even begin to imagine what she had been through; she was covered in blood, almost every visible part of her skin was bruised, and he was certain the soldiers had broken more than one bone in her body.

He tried to wake her, but she didn't respond at all. She didn't speak, she didn't move; he wasn't even sure she was breathing. She was either dead or dying, and there was nothing he could do to save her.

Finally surrendering himself to his feelings, he buried his face in her hair and started crying like he had never cried before. This was supposed to be the start of the rest of their life, their life together, a life that had been happier than the life they had had before. Now it wasn't a start anymore; it was an ending. The end of her life, the end of his hope, the end of everything he loved and cared about.

He sat there crying for what felt like hours, but it was only when he pulled back a little to wipe away his tears that his face levelled with hers… and that he felt her breath against his cheek.

It was faint – so faint it was barely even noticeable, but it was there nonetheless. He pulled back some more, so he could take a look at her face, and carefully caressed her cheek. 'Fae?'

She stirred – again, faint and barely noticeable, but he noticed anyway. Her eyelids fluttered half open for a moment, although she didn't seem to really see him, and he stroked her raven black hair – the only part of her that didn't seem to be bruised or hurt or broken. 'Fae? Can you hear me?'

Her eyes closed again and for a heartbeat, he thought this was the end – that she had died right there and then in his arms. But then a soft sigh escaped her lips and her eyelids fluttered open again, but it appeared she couldn't focus enough to keep her eyes open, or even to really see anything. 'Yero?' she whispered softly, and he felt like crying again, but he composed himself. 'I'm here,' he reassured her, his voice thick with restrained tears. 'I'm here, Fae, I'm with you. You're going to be okay. I promise.' He wasn't sure if he could promise such a thing, since he didn't know the faintest thing about medical care and, to be honest, he wasn't even sure there was anything he could do at all to save her, but it seemed to reassure her. She closed her eyes again and softly mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep.

He sat there for a moment, holding her, wondering desperately what to do next. She needed a doctor, and soon, but where would he find a doctor willing to help him save the Wicked Witch of the West? Even if he could reach one – a doctor, that is – he was sure they wouldn't help him. They'd probably just let her die – or send message to the Emerald City for some guards to come take her in.

Magic was probably the best chance he got of saving her, but she was the one with the powers and she wasn't in any condition to even try and save herself. He couldn't think of anyone else possessing magic who would be willing and able to save Elphaba – except for Glinda, perhaps.

His eyes snapped open. Glinda. That was it! Glinda could save her!

It would be incredibly dangerous, of course. Now that he was almost back to normal, anyone might recognize him as the former Captain of the Guards – the one that was supposed to be tortured to death, not even to mention the chance of the people recognizing Elphaba. Green skin was hard to miss. He might not be able to get to Glinda, and even if he did, she might not be able to help them. And how was he going to get Elphaba to the Emerald City in the first place? On foot, carrying her? By horseback? He didn't really have any other option, but there was a pretty good chance, considering her current condition, that she would not even survive the trip to the City.

And still, he decided, he had to do it. Staying here certainly wasn't going to do her any good; he would much rather risk everything for even the slightest chance to save her than give up on her right now. He couldn't live without her; if she died, then he would want to die with her, and so he was willing to put everything on the line for her. Everything.

Somehow, he had managed to get her out of the trapdoor without hurting her too much, and he had carefully wrapped her up in cloaks and blankets – to keep her warm and protected as well as to hide her skin. He had mounted his horse, Elphaba still in his arms, and left Kiamo Ko right away. He was wearing a cloak himself, the hood covering his face, to keep anyone from recognizing him; he hoped it would be enough.

He was riding as fast as he dared, which wasn't really that fast at all; it was rather difficult to keep himself as well as Elphaba from falling of the back of the horse, and it was perhaps even more difficult to avoid the bumps and holes in the road. Every now and then, he could hear Elphaba whimper softly – a sound that nearly broke his heart, it sounded so helpless and weak, but at least those whimpers convinced him that she was still alive. She didn't wake up, however, which worried him. It won't be long now,he tried to comfort himself. We're almost there. Glinda can save her. Glinda will know what to do. He tried to convince himself of that, even if he wasn't sure at all that she did.

The sun rose and moved from east to west, but Fiyero didn't stop once. He had brought some water with him, of which he drank a bit whenever he felt thirsty; he tried to make Elphaba drink some as well, but she was still unconscious and he couldn't get her to swallow. Finally, after hours and hours of endless riding, the large gates that gave access to the Emerald City appeared before him. Those gates used to be strictly guarded, with the guards interrogating everyone who tried to get past them. Luckily, however, as soon as they had heard the Wicked Witch to be dead, they had opened the gates for anyone who felt like visiting the City; they didn't believe it to be necessary to guard the city anymore, with their greatest enemy gone. This, of course, made it much easier for Fiyero to sneak into the Emerald City and disappear into the network of small, dark alleys, leaving his horse behind at the gates.

What also helped, was the fact that everyone in the entire city was celebrating on the giant square in front of the palace. He didn't encounter much people on his way to the palace, and the few people he did run into, didn't pay attention to him; they were all still chattering about the big events that had come to pass lately. The death of the Wicked Witch of the West, but also the departure of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the exposure of the Wizard's press secretary as a traitor, not to mention Glinda taking over the reign of Oz.

Fiyero crossed the city until he was only one block away from the palace; it was only then he stopped to think about what he had to do next. Since he was still carrying a badly injured Elphaba, sneaking into Glinda's rooms unseen was impossible, especially since he knew Glinda's rooms to be on the second floor. He would never be able to climb with Elphaba in his arms, let alone unseen, and he wasn't going to leave her behind. In the end, he came to a conclusion – not a pleasant one, but probably the only possible one: he had to go through the front door.

Sneaking past the soldiers guarding the front doors of the palace turned out to be quite easy, since there were only two of them; one was asleep and the other one looked positively wasted. Fiyero simply walked past them and they didn't even notice him doing so.

He climbed a few flights of stairs, not meeting anyone on his way up – even the sentries were probably out festivating, he decided - and walked up to stand in front of the giant doors of Glinda's rooms.

The two guards outside didn't particularly like this – unfortunately, these ones didn't seem to have had any drinks at all. 'What are you doing here?' demanded one of them. 'How did you get in?'

Fiyero wisely decided not to answer that last question. 'Please,' he said, his despair unintentionally showing in his voice. 'I need help.'

The guards looked at the man standing in front of him and then at the bundle he was carrying. One of them realized what the bundle was and his eyes widened. 'Is that… a dead body?'

She's not dead! Fiyero wanted to shout at him, but he lowered his eyes and shook his head. 'She is still alive, but…' He almost couldn't get the words out, but somehow he managed to say it. 'But not for long if she doesn't get help. Please. Lady Glinda is the only one who could help us.'

The guards now looked at each other questioningly; finally, one nodded. 'I'll go see if Lady Glinda is available,' he announced. 'Stay here.' He opened the door and Fiyero heard people talking. Finally, the guard came back out. 'The Lady Glinda will see you now,' he announced and relief washed all over Fiyero. 'Thank you,' he told the guards sincerely. Then he entered the room behind the giant doors.

Glinda was already rushing towards them. 'Oh, dear,' she muttered, and then she said, louder: 'Put her on the bed, over there, will you?' She clearly had no idea that the people standing in front of her were her former fiancé and her best friend, whom she both presumed to be dead. 'I'll go get the palace doctor,' she then decided, looking satisfied with that decision.

Fiyero, who had gently put Elphaba down on the bed as Glinda had asked, spun around and grabbed Glinda's wrist. The blonde cried out softly in surprise and Fiyero tightened his grip. 'Glinda,' he said urgently, 'listen to me. You cannot call anyone. No one can know we're here. Understand?'

'Who are you?' she demanded, pulling herself free from his grip with a sharp gesture. 'What do you want?'

'Like I said, I want help,' said Fiyero softly, answering her last – and easiest – question first. Then he took a deep breath. 'I'll tell you who we are,' he continued, knowing Glinda was to find out sooner or later. 'Just don't… don't freak out.'

Glinda let most unladylike snort. 'I never 'freak out'.' She shook her head, quite angry now. 'Who are you, anyway, to tell me what I should or shouldn't do?'

'Your ex-fiancé,' Fiyero told her earnestly. He saw Glinda pale visibly and he pulled back the hood of his cloak so that she could see his face.

'Fiyero…' she whispered, hardly believing her own eyes. Then her gaze fell upon the shape on the bed. 'Then who is…'

Wordlessly, Fiyero went over to the bed and gently unwrapped some of the cloaks and blankets Elphaba was covered in. As soon as Glinda recognized the green girl's face, her face went almost white. She opened her mouth… and let out an impossibly high-pitched shriek that made Fiyero resist the urge to cover his ears. 'Glinda…' he began, but then she suddenly collapsed on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. 'I'm so sorry!' she wailed. 'It's all my fault! It's my fault you died! I'm so, so sorry!'

'Glinda, we're not dea-'

'I deserve this!' the blonde cried, not hearing him. 'I deserve for your spirits to haunt me for the rest of my life!'

'We're not spirits, we're-'

'I'm so sorry!' Glinds sobbed. 'I'm so, so, so sorry!'

'GLINDA!' Fiyero finally shouted. The blonde looked up at him and blinked. 'What?' she sniffed.

He had to use all of his willpower to remain calm – the clock was ticking mercilessly. Elphaba was dying, for Oz's sake! 'What did I say about not freaking out?'

Now she looked guilty. 'Sorry.'

'We're not dead, Glinda,' Fiyero went on. 'We're alive. Now, I'll tell you about all of that later, but first…'

'You're not dead,' interrupted Glinda, clearly not believing what she was hearing.

'Yes.'

'You're alive.'

'We're alive,' confirmed Fiyero.

'Sweet Oz,' Glinda breathed, barely audible.

Then she fainted.