Chapter Twenty-Three:

Ten Years Later…

Glinda came back to Mockbeggar Hall after a very tiring and long day. She walked into the foyer and was immediately bombarded with questions from Chuffrey.

"Is it true? Is Nessarose Thropp really dead?" he asked.

Glinda met his gaze and she sighed. Putting both of her small hands on her hips in a glittering blue gown she answered him.

"Yes, she's dead. I saw what was left of her myself."

"What exactly happened?" asked Chuffrey as he followed Glinda as she made her way to her bedroom.

But Glinda didn't want to answer him; she didn't want to tell him what she had seen. A lump was forming in her throat as her eyes turned watery and her heart began to break. She didn't know why, but she was upset about this whole thing.

"She was crushed by a flying house," answered Glinda thickly. Her hand reached the doorknob to her bedroom. Suddenly she felt Chuffrey's hand on her shoulder.

"While you were gone, the Wizard sent someone over to say that he wants to speak with you."

Glinda sighed hard. She felt exhausted and really did not feel like dealing with the Wizard today. She didn't even want to think about what the Wizard could possibly want to talk with her about right now. Probably about Nessarose, or maybe worse… Glinda's heart ached as she thought of the next possibility maybe he wanted to talk about Elphaba. Glinda had heard about the awful rumors that the citizens of Oz had been spreading about Elphaba, or commonly known as The Wicked Witch Of The West. It had been hard on her heart and memories to hear what they had to say about her. With each new harsh rumor Glinda had taken more and more pills. It had gotten so bad that she had blacked out a few times in her bedroom and stayed that way for hours.

"Glinda?" Chuffrey's voice snapped her back into reality.

"What?" she asked sharply, putting a hand to her head as a dull ache began in her temples.

"What happened at the Center Munch?"

The girl with the blue and white-checkered dress, the yapping dog, the scared Munchkins all came back to Glinda's mind. Suddenly the blonde felt sick and her stomach churned.

"I really don't want to talk about it," finalized Glinda as she opened the door and went inside her room. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. She crushed the glittering fabric of her dress against the wood. She breathed in and out unevenly. Her hands found her twinkling tiara on her head and Glinda tore it out of her curls and threw it on the floor, disgusted with herself and the life she lived. The tiara shattered, the diamonds and silver flying everywhere.

"Glinda? What's going on in there?" she heard Chuffrey call out. But as usual Glinda ignored him. She wanted to tear off her beautiful dress and gouge out her own eyes at the sick feeling that was passing through her body. One more friend dead, whose to say that there won't be more dying in the future?

"Glinda if you don't answer me, I'm coming in there!"

Let him come, thought Glinda bitterly, and maybe then he'll actually fool himself and me included into thinking that he cares about me.

"Go away!" cried out the blonde in a cracked voice. Her world felt like it was spinning round and round and she was powerless to stop it. Mistakes that she had made in the past with Fiyero, with Elphaba just might come back to haunt her.

She feared what would happen next. What would Elphaba do once she's learned of Nessa's death? Glinda figured that she probably would come to Colwen Grounds to visit her father, but what if Elphaba took the drastic approach to this? What if she decided to kill this Dorothy Gale child? It was true that Glinda had given the child Nessa's shoes as protection, mostly because she didn't want to deal with Nessa's supporters fighting over them. But what if Elphie took the gesture the wrong way? An even worse thought popped into Glinda's head, what if Elphaba came after her for revenge? Too preoccupied with her own thoughts, Glinda did not see that Chuffrey had came barging in, in fact she kept staring ahead in her own little trance.

In her mind, right in front of her eyes it seemed that Elphaba was standing there. She looked truly wicked with her homemade spun black dress, her emerald green skin gleaming with anger, her eyes which were once warm and gentle towards the blonde were harsh and cold, and her black hair was concealed by a witch's hat.

"You!" she snarled with one curved green finger point at Glinda, "You traitor, Glinda! How could you do this to me, to Nessa? To Fiyero?"

Glinda's mouth quivered terribly as she tried to answer her. But Elphaba looked at her, her dark eyes glinting with satisfaction.

"Yes, Glinda… I remember everything. I remember what happened at the Corn Exchange, how you killed Fiyero just because you were jealous of him. I remember, and I'll make sure that you're punished for it."

"Elphie, please!" pleaded Glinda putting her shaking hands in front of her face as if to protect herself, "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me."

A fireball was produced in Elphaba's hand as she shook her head, "Don't worry my sweet. This will hurt just a bit."

She looked like she was about to strike when Glinda felt a hand slap across her face.

The blonde closed her eyes and breathed in heavily, scared to death to open them and see the never-ending blackness that she pictured Death to be like.

"Glinda, open your eyes, will you?" demanded Chuffrey.

Hands trembling, Glinda cautiously opened her eyes one at a time. Her sight searched for any sign of Elphaba but the image that her mind had created was gone.

Relief flooded into the blonde like oxygen. Her whole body relaxed as she realized that it had just been a bad hallucination, one much worse than any previous ones she had been having.

"No more pills anymore," said Chuffrey softly but firmly as he disappeared into her medicine cabinet, and took all of her medicine away.

He stood at the doorway as he was leaving, "A carriage will await for you in a few moments to take you to see the Wizard."

Then he left her alone to pick up the pieces of her broken soul and spirit before she left to go see the Wizard.

I'm sorry if this chapter is not the greatest. it's more of a filler for the next chapter. Elphaba and Glinda finally reunite, but will Elphaba really remember what happened at the Corn Exchange? Also I would like to take this time to remind you all to send in your nominations for the Sixth Annual WickedGreg Awards. It's hosted by bluediamondsonagreenfield and I'm super excited to participate this year! As anyone who has won a 'legit' award would say, it's an honor just to be nominated. :)

Hope you are all having a very merry holiday!

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