Hey guys, sorry this one's a little late. I meant to post it yesterday, but I was busy and completely forgot. Anyways, not much to say here right now. Thanks a ton for the wonderful reviews for the last chapter and I hope you'll enjoy this one.

The two continued walking, still generating a few incredulous stares and whispers as they passed through. Elphaba was pointedly ignoring this, but Fiyero found that rather difficult. He kept glancing around at the Animals on all sides, who would turn their heads away quickly as his gaze fell on them. It was all a rather odd in his opinion. But then, he supposed this camp didn't get too many human visitors.

Fiyero simply followed behind Elphaba as she made her way past a number of tents that all looked exactly the same. He realized now that this settlement was larger than it had appeared from the outside and wondered how Elphaba was even able to find her way around. Finally they stopped before a tent that was slightly larger than the others, and Fiyero, who had not been paying attention, walked right into Elphaba. She shot him an annoyed glare but said nothing as the two proceeded inside.

Fiyero looked around as they entered, and was met with the sight of Animals of all different ages and species occupying what seemed to be some sort of learning facility. There were two bookshelves, each half filled with tattered books that looked worn from use. The first shelf was stocked with brightly colored children's books, while the second held larger, more substantial looking novels and manuscripts. There were a few tables and chairs scattered about, at which were seated the older looking Animals. The younger ones seemed content to sit on the floor, some playing with a few simple toys that were scattered about while others observed picture books. There were a few Animals who were moving around the room to interact with the others, and Fiyero assumed these were the teachers. He watched the scene with interest, not sure what to make of it.

Elphaba, seeing the look on his face, turned to explain as they walked further in, "This is pretty much what serves as the school building in this community. The children come here to learn to read and speak properly, and older Animals who have lost the ability come here to try and gain it back. A few of the older Animals who were educated before the Animal bans were instituted serve as the teachers and pass their knowledge on to the next generation."

Fiyero simply stared ahead, only half taking in what Elphaba was saying. The sight was completely amazing. Any remaining doubts he'd had about the intelligence of Animals went right out the window. None of the children fought or quarreled like the spoiled brats Fiyero had grown up with, but rather seemed content to share what little they had. Fiyero watched as a young Cheetah handed off a small toy horse to an Antelope sitting next to him and marveled at the strange sight.

Elphaba continued to explain as though she were a tour guide. Gesturing to the meager collection of books, she said, "All of the books and toys were donated by older Animals who took their belongings with them when they moved out here. They were the smart ones who got out as soon as the bans started. That was how they managed to preserve their powers of speech and move out here to start a new generation of intelligent Animals."

Fiyero wasn't sure what to say. He knew what had happened to the Animals who hadn't escaped. He'd been down to the dungeons so many times before. He'd seen all of the forlorn faces of so many different species, all crammed into tight cages. He'd ignored their pleading eyes and silent cries for help. After all, they had been nothing but stupid beasts and not worth his time. He hated himself for that now. Ashamed, he glanced down at his feet, suddenly feeling like a traitor even though he'd never even officially subscribed to this cause.

He kept his eyes trained on the floor even as Elphaba marched up to a young looking Giraffe and spoke in a business-like manner, "Hello, Sentra, I trust you're well. How is progress today?"

The Giraffe, who had been stacking a pile of wooden blocks, started and turned quickly as Elphaba spoke. "Oh, goodness Miss Elphaba, I didn't hear you come in," she said quickly. Her gaze lingered on Fiyero for a moment, but she obviously did not have the authority to question his presence and so she simply returned her gaze to Elphaba and continued to speak, "Nothing very new to report. The children are learning as quickly as ever, and the elders are making as much progress as can be expected."

Elphaba nodded, her gaze sweeping over the room briefly before she turned to the Giraffe once more, "Has the Wolf who was brought in last week made any progress yet?"

The Giraffe shook her head, "No, still nothing. We have at least one teacher working with him constantly, but there hasn't been any coherent speech as of yet."

Elphaba sighed, "I suppose that's to be expected. How long did you say he was encaged before you found him?"

"Well, we're obviously not too sure, but based on the severity of his regression, we've estimated that it was most likely almost two years or more," the Giraffe said, her eyes hardening.

Elphaba nodded again, "Thank you Sentra, be sure to notify me immediately is anything comes up.

The Giraffe nodded quickly before moving to assist a small Fawn who was holding her picture book upside down. Fiyero glanced over at Elphaba, who once again began to explain as the two made their way toward the door, "This village is not only home to the Animals who live here, but also any escapees who need help. There was an elderly Wolf found wandering around by the camp last week. We know he's an Animal, but he was in a cage for so long that he's almost completely reverted into an animal. We fear the damage may be permanent, but we're not entirely sure because we've never seen a case this severe."

Fiyero nodded, still in awe of everything that was going on in this room. He had never known that there could be entire communities of Animals living together and helping each other like this. He was beginning to think that perhaps being kidnapped had been more of a blessing than a curse. Sure, he still wanted to return home more than anything, but he now knew so much more than he had before. He was no longer just another one of the Wizard's obedient, brainless minions.

Briefly, Fiyero wondered what he would do if he ever did return to his old life. Surely now he couldn't continue leading the hunt for the Witch and trying to stomp out bands of Animals who were just trying to survive. He'd seen too much; he knew too much. Still, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he most likely would return to his old post. After all, what choice did he have? It was the only way he and Glinda knew how to live, and Fiyero didn't have the courage to oppose everything he'd ever known. Maybe Elphaba was brave enough to keep going when all of Oz was against her, but Fiyero was used to having people admire and respect him. For the first time, he realized that Elphaba was a truly admirable person for everything she did, especially in the face of so much opposition.

He continued to follow her, and for a moment it appeared she would just leave, but she instead veered in the direction of a group of younger children. They looked up and smiled as she approached, calling her over enthusiastically. It was apparent that they were quite familiar with Elphaba, for some even used her name. The green woman bid them all hello, and then took a seat in a blue plastic chair, around which the young Animals formed a circle. One of them, a young Zebra, approached her and handed over a thin children's book. Fiyero stood outside of their little circle awkwardly, quite unsure as to what was going on.

Opening the book, Elphaba began to read, capturing the children's attention instantly. Fiyero was quite surprised by the easy, almost motherly tone her voice took on as she told the story, even changing her voice a bit for each character. Fiyero soon found himself just as entranced as the children, though he didn't catch a word of the actual story.

Soon enough she'd finished, and with a firm 'The End', she closed the book with a flourish. The children gave a polite round of applause, expressing their thanks as they moved away to return to whatever they'd been doing previously. Fiyero got the feeling that Elphaba did this sort of thing quite often. She stopped to talk to a few of the children, even exchanging hugs with a few of them, before she finally stood and turned to leave, motioning for Fiyero to follow. She didn't look at him as she passed, but Fiyero could have sworn he'd seen a smile grace her features as he caught a glimpse of her face. A smile which, he noted, was actually quite lovely.

The thought came so suddenly that it caught Fiyero completely off guard. He paused for a moment, blinking stupidly, before he shook his head and jogged ahead to catch back up with Elphaba. He decided it must just be the shock of everything that had happened in the last few days finally getting to him. After all, surely he had not just noticed something attractive about this woman. She had green skin for Oz's sake. Besides, wasn't he engaged to Glinda the Good, the woman for whom every man in Oz would kill to call his own? Sure, Fiyero had fooled around a bit in college, but he'd been completely faithful to Glinda since they'd been officially engaged. There were so many women he could have at the snap of his fingers, so why on earth would he suddenly start noticing these things about the 'Wicked Witch of the West'?

Fiyero shook his head again, chalking it up to temporary insanity. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd been having...intimate thoughts about the woman or something; he'd simply noticed her smile. It didn't mean he was attracted to her or anything…right? No, of course not. He was only attracted to Glinda. Glinda was his fiancée and the love of his life. Although, a voice in the back of his head told him, he probably hadn't spared as much thought to Glinda over the course of the past few days as he should have.

Fiyero shoved these strange thoughts from his mind and raised an arm to shield his eyes once more as he and Elphaba exited the large tent and stepped back into the sunlight. He wasn't sure where they were headed now, but his curiosity was most certainly peaked. It seemed that they had just begun to walk when a small, but slightly familiar voice called out from behind them.

"Miss Elphaba!" Fiyero turned to identify the source of the voice, and immediately recognized the small Bear cub bounding toward them as the one Elphaba had healed the other day. Elphaba immediately bent down and scooped the Bear up as the cub ran straight into her arms.

"Hello there Lorgen," said Elphaba, her voice light. She was smiling again, and Fiyero forced himself to ignore this, "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine! I wanted to go to school, but mama wanted me to stay home," the cub replied eagerly, looking slightly peeved, "Did I miss story time?"

"I'm afraid you did," Elphaba responded, "But tell you what; I'll let you pick the story tomorrow."

The Bear's eyes lit up almost instantly, "Okay! I already know which one I want to hear!" She clapped her paws together for emphasis, as though this was the most exciting thing that could possibly happen to her. After a moment her gaze fell on Fiyero, and she seemed to perk up even more, "Oh, hello Mister Fiyero! It's nice to see you again!"

Fiyero simply smiled back and gave a short wave. There was a short pause, before Lorgen's ears twitched and she spoke again, "Oh, I have to go. I hear my mama calling me. I'll see you tomorrow Miss Elphaba, Mister Fiyero."

With that, the cub leapt from Elphaba's arms, bounding off in the direction she'd come from. Elphaba stared after her, still smiling as she watched the cub's retreating back. Fiyero was once again awed by the amount of compassion Elphaba seemed to have for these creatures.

Clearing his throat, Fiyero said unsurely, "You know…it really is amazing. I mean, what you do for these Animals. You really are an admirable person."

Elphaba said nothing in response, but looked away as Fiyero spoke. It could have been a trick of the light, but Fiyero could have sworn he saw her cheeks flush deep green as she turned away.

Ok, so that's it. I know it's not really very eventful either, but hopefully you guys liked it anyway. Well, please leave a review if you have the time. I'll try to get another chapter or two up before I leave for vacation.

S.P.