Chapter Twelve:
Glinda opened her eyes to find herself still in the Corn Exchange. The bright morning sun glared through the open glass roof and everything was a bit hazy to her eyesight.
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," remarked Elphaba as she sat, already dressed in a common black dress, in the torn up armchair across from the couch. Glinda sat up slowly, and rubbed her eyes.
"I don't remember much from last night. What happened?"
"Well," said Elphaba, "You showed up in the middle of the night, drunk as anything, and kissed me after you found out that I was alive. Then you proceeded to start crying when you saw that Fiyero and I were in a relationship, and then I ordered you to leave and you passed out on me."
"Oh, sorry," apologized Glinda sheepishly. "I have a tendency to do that when I have too much to drink."
"Ah," said Elphaba with a wry smile.
Glinda pulled the covers around her tightly and yawned, "What time is it?"
"Noon," answered Elphaba briskly.
Glinda now looked around the shabby room. Glinda could tell it used to be a storage room from the bags of grain stacked up against the walls. The beautiful cracked glass skylight brought in limited sunlight. She looked at the stacks of books, food, tables and crates that were on the floor. But what really caught her interest was the skull of the elephant that had pink roses exploding from it, and underneath that a small oval looking glass.
"Where did you get that?" asked Glinda getting up slowly, for she had a major headache and pointed to the glass.
"Oh, that?" Elphaba sounded bored as she looked up from her book, "Turtle-Heart made it for me, the glass blower that my family knew back in Quadling."
"It's beautiful," admired Glinda glancing at her own reflection, "Why did you keep it?"
The question threw Elphaba off guard.
"It's special, and I always liked him."
Elphaba would say nothing further on the subject.
"Where's Fiyero?" asked Glinda once she figured out that Elphaba was done talking about the looking glass.
"In a meeting across town," said Elphaba as she flipped a page through her book.
"Elphie?"
"Yes?"
Glinda paused, trying to think of the right words to say to her friend, "Are you angry at me for kissing you last night?"
Elphaba looked at Glinda in the eyes now, "Course not. I just wasn't expecting it. I wasn't expecting to see you ever again, Glinda. I thought everyone knew that when I left."
"Oh," said Glinda simply.
"Madame Morrible was supposed to contact everyone. I heard through the grapevine from Fiyero that she contacted Sir Chuffrey to tell you the news."
Glinda immediately knew why she had never heard the news.
"Oz damn it!" she swore as she in a huff sat back on the couch.
"What, you mean he didn't tell you?" Elphaba sounded truly shocked.
Glinda shook her head, her curls swaying, "No. After we kissed he forbade me ever to see you again or speak of you. That's why he can't find out that I've been here. I need to stay hidden for a few days and then I'll just show up somewhere unexpected, I promise Elphie." She paused, "I just- I just had to know that you were okay."
"Oh, Glinda," Elphaba looked at her sympathetically, "Thank you."
It was silent for a bit.
"What happened after I left at Shiz, and I mean really Elphie?" asked Glinda as she crossed her ankles and played with her hands in her lap.
"Morrible called me into her office and explained to me that the Wizard wanted to meet with me. So I packed my bags and went to the Emerald City. When I met him I was so excited," Elphaba smirked, "But then I found out that he was nothing but a manipulative old man who wants nothing more than to stay in power. He has no magic; it's all an allusion, a trick Glinda. He has no real power."
"So then what happened?"
Elphaba's face turned emotionless, "I left, I refused his proposition and hid out here planning against the government and taking part in a group that will rock the foundations of Oz to its core."
Glinda filled in the blanks, "You're planning to kill someone?"
Elphaba nodded slowly, glad that she picked up on it.
"Who?"
"Can't tell you that, my sweet."
"Why not?" asked Glinda looking at her curiously.
"Because it's a secret," answered Elphaba.
Silence lingered for a moment; "You'd tell me if you were planning to assassinate me, right?" inquired Glinda, feeling a bit fearful.
That got a dry, witch-like cackle out of Elphaba.
"Of course, my sweet. Of course I would. But I can assure you that it is not you that we are planning to kill."
Glinda smiled, "Good."
Elphaba set down her book, and made her way to the kitchen part of the room where a wooden table stood, "Want some lunch, or breakfast in your case?"
Glinda nodded and Elphaba brought over some bread and chunks of cheese. They sat for a while and ate.
"So, can I ask what in the world your silly blonde mind was thinking last night when you left Chuffrey, packed your bags and came looking for me?" asked Elphaba after they had finished eating.
"Well," started Glinda, "It all started when I was in our estate here in the Emerald City getting ready to present a speech about the bans on Animals, and-" she stopped when she noticed Elphaba glaring at her, "What, Elphaba?"
"Please tell me that you are not one of those supporters of Animal bans, Glinda?" whined Elphaba, sounding like her eight-teen year old self again.
"Elphie that has nothing to do with the story of how I got here, so hush up and I'll tell you about that later."
Elphaba closed her mouth.
"Anyways," said the blonde pointedly, "I was on my third bottle of alcohol when the guard called for ten minutes, and then Chuffrey came in, probably from screwing one of the maids like he usually does… but I digress, we exchanged some heated words, both slapped each other and I left the room in a drunken crying mess, and packed my bags. I just figured it would all be all right once I got away for a bit. Needless to say I was so drunk I couldn't walk straight across the cobblestones so I stopped here, exhausted, made my way up the stairs and found you two."
"What did you and Chuffrey talk about, those heated words?" asked Elphaba, interested. Her green face was scrunched in the act of listening, and Glinda half waited for the day that Elphaba would pounce on her like a cat.
"Each other's relationships. Him screwing everything in sight, and me… waiting for you," Glinda admitted, her heart anxious to see what Elphaba had to say to that.
"Oh," said Elphaba, "Glinda we've already talked about this and-"
"Yes, I know we've talked about it but you haven't given me one good reason why we can't be together!" shot back Glinda. Her expression softened, "Don't you love me?"
Elphaba's mouth opened and closed multiple times and Glinda felt the yearning to kiss her all over again. Though she couldn't tell if it was from actual yearning or the effects of alcohol.
So the blonde got up and kissed Elphaba once more, putting her hands on the sides of her beautiful green face. She pulled away after a while and looked into Elphaba's eyes.
"Are you telling me that you do not feel something when I kiss you? Because I feel alive when you kiss me. I feel safe, like Chuffrey can't hurt me anymore. Can't you see that I need you or I'm going to kill myself?"
Elphaba sat there, and wiped her lips after a moment. Glinda was trying so hard to understand why Elphaba was refusing her, why would she torment her so?
"Glinda, I need you to listen to me, please," begged Elphaba as soon as the blonde turned her head away, "I- I don't know if I love you that way. I don't think I know anything anymore."
She got up from the chair and walked right past the blonde. Suddenly Elphaba paused in her walking and put a hand over her mouth. She ran to the sink and threw up in it. Glinda saw the way Elphaba held her stomach after she threw up. Glinda knew that that had been no ordinary stomach bug.
"You're pregnant, aren't you?" stated Glinda in a question but her tone of voice told Elphaba that she already knew.
Elphaba looked oddly ashamed of this fact, and she begged, "Don't tell him, Glinda!"
Glinda narrowed her eyes in confusion and put her hands at her hips, "Why not?"
"Because I don't plan on keeping it," said Elphaba harshly.
That struck a cord with Glinda, who had lost three children at her young age of twenty-three.
"What are you planning to do?" asked Glinda cautiously.
Elphaba shrugged, "Give it away to the maunts of Saint Glinda's chapel, or an orphanage."
Glinda bit her lip and didn't say anything.
"Don't look at me like that, Glin," said Elphaba sadly as Glinda exchanged eye contact with her.
"Children shouldn't be left alone, Elphie," whispered Glinda.
"Glinda, I can't," said Elphaba dismissively.
"You should and you know damn well why you should," snapped Glinda moving towards Elphaba quickly. She stood mere inches away from her.
Elphaba stood still and silent, "Not a word, Glinda I mean it. Or I'll go away like a puff of smoke and you will never see me again."
"So that's why you won't be with me, " said Glinda in a out loud analysis of her thoughts, "Because you're pregnant."
"Glinda," started Elphaba, "That's not the only reason."
"But it's one of them," said Glinda softly as she reached out and touched Elphaba's hand.
"Glinda…" whispered Elphaba softly as their eyes locked.
"Don't worry, Elphie. I won't tell," said Glinda quietly.
Elphaba nodded in thanks, and didn't flinch or let go when Glinda clasped her fingers between her emerald ones.
"Miss Elphaba?" Glinda teased.
Elphaba's face broke into a rare smile, "Yes?"
"I missed you," said the blonde earnestly. Elphaba looked at her with a funny expression on her face.
"I missed you too," said Elphaba as she lightly kissed Glinda's cheek and sat back down in the armchair, already engrossed in her book.
Glinda stayed near the sink for a bit, and then with a small smile on her face she returned to her place back in the couch where the two young women sat in peaceful and satisfying silence.
"Glinda?" asked Elphaba a while later, her eyes never leaving her book.
"Yes, Elphie?" Glinda was busy skimming through an old book of Elphaba's from Shiz to not notice that Elphaba was standing in front of her.
"I know now." Elphaba's voice sounded so sure.
"I know now that I love you, Glinda Upland."
Glinda's cerulean eyes snapped up to met Elphaba's.
"Really?" she asked breathlessly. This had been the moment she had been waiting five years for.
Elphaba nodded and brought her lips to Glinda's. Glinda threw the book out of her hands and it landed on the floor with a thud. She felt the power behind Elphaba's kiss and she moaned. Their hands entangled in each other's body and hair as their kissing reached a more passionate level. Elphaba was now sitting on top of Glinda's lap, kissing her fiercely as Glinda leaned back on the couch.
"You're different, you're so different than him," muttered Elphaba as her hands made their way across Glinda's stomach, "But that's what I love about you."
Clothes were unbuttoned and pleasure was fulfilled as the two women engaged in activity that was up until now only thought to be for husband and wife.
Afterwards they got dressed and held each other's hands.
"No one can know, Glin. A secret romance with a prince is much more forgiving than a secret relationship with Glinda the Good… I still love you though," said Elphaba softly as she let go of her hand and walked over to the kitchen to make dinner for the two of them. Glinda sat there on the couch, bewildered and confused. She just had her wildest dreams come true and now she had to keep hush about it?
In a word she felt betrayed.
So close to a happy ending. So in the next two chapters let's just say that Glinda is very drunk and does something... quite mad and crazy. But I believe that she actually would have done whatever is it due to the circumstances of Elphaba not loving her. Any guesses what that could be? Hint: One favorite pairing will not like me for this. And it's an event that happened in the boo, but with a twist... Sorry in advance!
Until next time!
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