Chapter Thirty-One: A Change in Plans

He didn't want to return to Shiz. Having Elphaba in his bed, in his room every night for a full week was something he never wanted to give up. She was so passionate, so overwhelming that sometimes he lost his senses. Fiyero knew he should be spending more time with his parents during the holidays, but he found he spent most of it alone with her. By the time the trip was over, they'd listed every part of each other's bodies at least twice and their little game was still just as enjoyable as the first time. "You're not perfect," he told her late one night, "because perfect would be boring. You're perfect for me, though."

For her part, she opened herself up in ways she hadn't before. She told him about the first time her father had raised a hand to her – she'd been six. "Not even Nessa or Nanny know. I never told them. I couldn't."

"Nanny never knew?"

She shook her head. "I'm not one to ask for help. You know that. And he never got that angry in front of the old woman. He wasn't stupid. It only happened once every few months, anyway. It wasn't a big deal."

"It is, though. Fae, our parents are supposed to protect us and love us, not hurt us. I understand why you have such a hard time trusting anything good. You never knew good, or love, and the people who were supposed to love you, to take care of you, they didn't do that. I could kill him."

"Well, I probably won't ever see him again. It's over and done with, Fiyero. There's no point getting all worked up over it. Besides, I'm working on trusting you. I'm here now, and that's what matters."

He smiled at that. "Maybe you're right. I just don't like thinking of how people have been so cruel to you for something that has nothing to do with the person you really are inside. Something I personally find to be beautiful, too. It's like you glow, like you're exotic and sensual and ethereal."

"Enough with the compliments or I might get scared." She told him honestly. "You know I'm not used to it."

At least she was telling him when she was getting uneasy. That was a step in the right direction, right? He'd like it if they could get to a point where she didn't have to be afraid, but he understood that would take her more time. "You're going to have to get used to it at some point," he replied, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "but I'll stop for now."

She looked out the window. "We'll be back tomorrow. I… I had a good time, though. It was nice, peaceful."

He wanted to tell her they could have that forever, but he bit his tongue and only smiled at her. "It was. And you didn't have a nightmare the entire time, either."

"I've gotten more sleep the last week than I have in a long time, and that's pretty strange since you like to keep me up."

"But we also slept late."

"True."

"I'm glad you had a good time. You deserve some peace. We both do. Come back over the winter holidays? That's three weeks of peace."

"Mmm," she rolled her body towards him, "but three weeks in your bed. I'll end up sore or pregnant or both."

He laughed. "We're careful. And I'll be gentle. Besides, you can always refuse if it's too much."

"Oh, but you know I'd never do that." She gave him a look. "Yes, I will come."

"Great." He kissed her. "Did you ever imagine we'd be together like this?"

"I never imagined you at all. I never thought I'd be with anyone. Until you showed up, I was set on… I don't really know. I know I wanted to figure out what happened to Dr. Dillamond and exact my revenge on whoever killed him. But this? I didn't know."

"Killed him?" This was the first she'd spoken of her old professor in a long time.

She clenched her fists. "Madame Morrible told everyone it was a lab accident, but when they found him, he was covered in blood. That sort of thing doesn't happen by accident, and he was very careful. I used to be his lab assistant."

He didn't like the darkness that fell over her features when she talked about this, so he tread carefully. "That sounds terrible. Are you certain?"

"Oh, I know. Madame Morrible didn't like him. I don't know if she would've done it. I don't see the old woman having that much gumption, but anything is possible."

"And you were going to do what, exactly?"

"I don't know," she sighed, falling back against him. "It was a silly notion. I was angry. I had meant to look into it some more, but then this whole thing happened with you and I got… distracted. I told you, this is scary. I don't like losing focus."

"You were just shifting your focus, not losing it." He assured her.

"Maybe," she said uneasily. "Still, something should be done. He doesn't deserve what happened, and someone needs to pay for it."

"That isn't your job, Fae. You're just a student right now."

"No one else is doing anything."

How had this never come up? Clearly it was upsetting to her. After all that time, she'd still kept mostly to herself about things. It heartened him that she was opening up now, but he couldn't help but be concerned that she would do something drastic, or that she had done something he didn't know about. She'd tell him, wouldn't she? He liked to think that she would, but there was no guaranteeing anything with her.

A week after they got back, she told him, "I can't go with you over the winter holidays."

"What? Fae, I told you, it's totally fine. You have nowhere else to go and I want you with me. I thought we'd talked about this."

"That's not it. Fiyero, my great-grandfather wants to see me. He's dying. Well, he has been for a long time."

"You mean your great-grandfather, the Eminent Thropp?"

"Yes, that one. And apparently, my father wrote him a pretty terrible letter about me after we left this summer demanding that my mother's family disown me as he has. If he were to do that, I wouldn't be able to finish at Shiz because he'd stop payment, and I've only got one semester left. I need to try to fix things."

"I'll come with," he said immediately.

"Fiyero…"

"We're supposed to be engaged, remember? Shouldn't your fiancée be there to support you? And even without that, I was there. I saw what your father did. I don't know if your mother's family is anything like your father, but I want to be there with you for this. Unless your great-grandfather is as bigoted as your father about people from other parts of Oz."

"Well, I barely ever saw him growing up, but I don't think he is. But, Yero, you'll need to keep to yourself. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Suddenly he'd gone from three weeks alone with her to having to be formal and keep her at an appropriate distance. It was a concept he was not pleased with. But as long as he was with her. "I can do that."

"I don't know if you can," she said, eyebrows raised.

"You realize that you're the problem half of the time…"

"I was teasing, love. And you're absolutely right. It takes two. Although it's my family, so my motivation to keep my hands to myself is a bit stronger than yours."

"I'll be good," he promised.

"I know you will." She smiled at him. "I'm sorry I ruined our winter."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but I want you to know that I really was looking forward to it. I know the spring isn't as long, but I promise we can go to Kiamo Ko then."

"And what about summer?" He cursed himself as soon as the words had come out of his mouth. They hadn't discussed what would happen when they graduated, and he knew better than to push.

"I… we can talk about that another time." She looked sheepish. "That's a loaded question."

"I know. I didn't mean to ask it like that."

"But you did ask. And I'll give you an answer. Just not right now."