Hey guys! Guess what? Yes, that's right, I finished this chapter early and therefore am posting it a day in advance. This is in part because of the amazing response I've been getting from reviewers. You guys are awesome! It's also because I had no school today (only one more final tomorrow and I'm done for the year!) and therefore had way too much time on my hands. Anyway, this chapter is very important, but it gave me a bit of trouble. Hopefully you'll like it.

Fiyero stared dumbly as the Witch spoke, not quite registering that she was adressing him. She seemed to grow annoyed with his lack of response and barked, "Didn't you hear me you idiot, I said get some water."

Finally Fiyero seemed to come back to reality, and he darted for the watering pail. All thoughts he'd had about the Witch being just another person went right out the window. The woman was just so intimidating. He picked up the pail and carried it over to where the Witch was now kneeling in front of the stone table, trying not to slosh the water over the sides as he went. The Witch was now placing something Fiyero couldn't identify on the table. And was that blood staining her green fingers?

Fiyero dragged the pail along, trying to get a closer look. Now that he had a better view he could see that it was some sort of small animal. No, not animal. Knowing the Witch it was probably some sort of Animal. There was a large gash across the creature's head, which was bleeding profusely. It was unconscious, and lay limp on the cold stone as the Witch set it down.

Not even looking at Fiyero, the Witch pulled off her cloak and dipped it into the bucket of water. Fiyero was surprised by the fact that the Witch's hands seemed unharmed even as they were submerged. She took the now wet cloak and began to clean the blood from the creature's wound and then pressed the black cloth against the gash to stop the bleeding.

Fiyero watched in awe as the Witch doted upon the creature like a worried mother. Her actions were so gentle and her face so full of concern that Fiyero seemed to forget who she was for a moment. Now that her face was not contorted with rage or malice, Fiyero could see that she was not as terrifying as he'd initially thought. He could also see that she was also not as old as he'd initially thought. In fact, she appeared to be around his age, if not younger. This revelation startled Fiyero far more than anything he'd seen so far.

How was it possible that the Witch was only a young woman? For some reason, it seemed to make more sense that she would be a bitter old hag, or at least middle aged. The fact that she looked like she should still be in college unnerved Fiyero somewhat. What could she have possibly done to turn all of Oz against her when she was still so young?

After a moment the Witch turned and addressed Fiyero again, "Hold this in place. I need to find a spell."

Numbly, Fiyero held the damp cloak in place as the Witch moved toward her spell book. Now that he was so close up, Fiyero could see that the Animal was a Bear cub. It was quite small, and so Fiyero assumed it was still very young. He tried not to be disgusted by the blood that matted the creature's fur.

He could hear the Witch began to chant from his right, and he realized that she was once again casting a spell. He sat still for a few moments, expecting something magical to happen, but nothing seemed to have changed. However, the Witch seemed to think otherwise as she moved back toward Fiyero.

"Remove the cloak," she ordered, kneeling down beside the table. Fiyero tried not to shiver from how near the woman was to him. Her very presence still made him uneasy. However, he wasted no time in carefully removed the makeshift bandage from the creature's head.

It was with some shock Fiyero registered that the gash that had been bleeding heavily mere moments before was now nonexistent. It seemed to have healed almost instantly, and Fiyero realized that this had probably been the purpose of the Witch's spell.

Fiyero was suddenly elbowed out of the way as the Witch knocked him over to check on the cub. She ran her fingers gingerly over the spot where the wound had been, seemingly satisfied with her work. She dipped the now bloodstained cloak back into the pail of water and attempted to clean the cub's fur. She seemed completely oblivious to Fiyero's presence now. He simply stared at her as she doted upon her patient, unable to believe what he was seeing.

A few moments later the small creature began to stir, and then emitted a groan. The Witch's eyes lit up as she realized the cub was beginning to come around. The small Bear opened its eyes slowly, and then looked around as if trying to take in its surroundings. Its eyes landed on Elphaba and it sat up, looking rather confused.

"Miss Elphaba?" the Bear asked in a childish female voice, her small eyes still darting around the cave, "What happened?" Fiyero couldn't get over how strange it was to see completely articulate words coming from the creature's mouth. He'd never actually heard an Animal speak before, but this Bear cub sounded just like any human child.

What was stranger was that the cub had called the Witch by the name he'd seen earlier. He wondered how the Witch knew this Animal, where the cub had come from, and why it knew her name. Up until this point he hadn't really spared much thought to what the Witch did when she went out all day. Perhaps the rumors of an Animal settlement nearby were true. If that was the case, had the Witch actually befriended these creatures? Did she care for all of them the way she seemed to care for this young cub?

"You almost gave me heart attack, that's what happened," the Witch responded sternly, but relief was evident in her voice as she scooped the still confused Bear into her arms. Fiyero continued to stand forgotten on the sidelines as the Witch began to chide the Animal, "I told you not to play by the ravine. You see what happens when you don't listen?"

The Bear looked a bit surprised by this news, and seemed to suddenly notice the dried blood that still coated her fur. Her eyes widened, "I fell in." It wasn't a question, but more of a dawning realization, "But nothing hurts."

"Small favors," the Witch said, placing the Bear back on the table. The cubs eyes began to wander again, until they finally landed on Fiyero. The Bear looked surprised by the other presence in the room.

"Who's your friend Miss Elphaba," she asked innocently, eyes still trained on Fiyero.

The Witch seemed to freeze as she turned to face Fiyero, and it was apparent that she'd only just remembered he was in the room. She looked completely taken aback, and obviously had no clue how to answer the cub's question. She and Fiyero simply stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments.

Ready to try anything to get rid of the tension in the room, Fiyero decided to answer the cub's question himself, "I'm um…I'm Fiyero." He finished lamely, unsure of what else to say. It was evident this Bear had no idea that Fiyero was the Witch's prisoner.

There were a few more moments of awkward silence before the Witch finally seemed to regain her composure. Turning back to the Bear cub, she said, "Come Lorgen, your mother is probably worried sick. We need to get you home."

Without sparing another glance toward Fiyero, the Witch scooped the Bear, who was apparently named Lorgen, up and rushed from the room. Lorgen didn't seem to register the Witch's obvious distress, and she waved goodbye happily as she was carried out, "Bye Mister Fiyero!"

With that, the boulder slid back into place and Fiyero was on his own once more. Blinking stupidly, he tried to process the rather odd things he had just witnessed. Not only had the Witch been fussing like a worried mother, but she'd been fussing over an Animal. An Animal which, Fiyero noted, had not seemed like an uncivilized beast at all, but rather like an extremely furry child.

Dropping back onto the stone seat behind him, Fiyero wondered what this meant about the Witch. In all the time he'd been here he had only seen her act like the witch that all of Oz made her out to be. She was completely and utterly terrifying; from her cold eyes down to her eerie cackle. Sure, Fiyero had been curious when he'd found out small bits of information from her past, but never had he thought she could appear so…human.

In the last few minutes, Fiyero had actually seen the Witch show real, genuine emotion. She had been completely and utterly devoted to the small Bear, and had saved the young cubs life. Fiyero hadn't known that the Witch's magic could actually do something good. He'd only heard stories of how she used it to terrify and destroy.

Another thing that still unnerved Fiyero was how young the Witch had been. He couldn't shake the image of her wiping the blood off of the Animal's fur, her eyes soft and her concern overwhelming. He couldn't shake the feeling that in that moment, he'd seen the real woman behind the mask. He hadn't seen the Wicked Witch of the West, he'd seen Elphaba. Apparently this was an identity the woman tried to keep hidden from everyone other than whatever Animals she had befriended.

Fiyero was still lost in thought when the Witch re-entered, looking windswept and completely exhausted. She froze as she realized he was still sitting in the middle of her living room and the two locked eyes for a moment. Fiyero could tell she was trying to slip back into the menacing persona she'd kept on for the entire time he'd been in her presence, but it seemed she was too tired to manage it. Her presence did not instill the same fear in Fiyero that it usually did.

He was curious now. Why did the Witch insist on trying to become what the Ozians thought she was when it was now obvious to Fiyero that there was more to her than that? He wanted to say something, to question her on this, but he couldn't seem to find his voice.

"Go back to your cavern," she ordered, but there was no force behind her words. Her voice was not the shrill one she usually used, but rather a voice that sounded much more normal and seemed to mirror the Witch's exhaustion.

Fiyero found he couldn't move. It was as if his feet were cemented to the floor. He wanted answers, and he was not going to leave until he got some. The Witch seemed to grow annoyed with this defiance, and she immediately began to move toward her spellbook. Fiyero realized this and vaulted out of his seat, managing to slam the book shut and hold it just out of the Witch's reach. She looked about ready to kill, when suddenly Fiyero said something that stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait…Elphaba"

So…yeah. If you yelled at me for the last cliffhanger, you're probably going to be coming at me with a knife after this one. Anyways, what did you think of the chapter? I hope the situation with the Bear cub was realistic. I needed someway to show Fiyero that Elphaba is capable of emotion, and it also plays a part in the rest of the story. Anyways, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Your response is what gets the chapters up quickly!

S.P.