Wow, I am SO sorry for taking so long to update. I've only been in school for less than three weeks and I feel like it should be summer again by now. Junior year is evil, and I've been kind of stressed out. I've got tons of stuff to do, plus all of my work, and I just found I might not be able to do swim team this year because it'll conflict with play practice because they changed the stupid meet schedule and play practice is already conflicting with SAT classes, and I had to change my piano and voce lessons around to make them fit and…and…this is an incredibly long run on sentence.

Well anyway, this chapter is actually a bit longer. I'm not sure how great it is, as I pretty much wrote most of it during a rather loud study period in a cramped, windowless room that smells like musty books and the rest sentence by sentence over the course of a week. Please let me know what you think.

Fiyero did not go to his room that night, but rather slept on a couch in the library. As soon as day broke he slipped from the room and left the castle straight away. He knew he should have mentioned his leaving to Glinda; that he shouldn't have just dropped such a bomb on her and left, but he had a feeling that any more conversation between the two of them right now could only end in disaster. Instead, he strode purposefully down the hall and out the front doors of the palace. No one thought anything of this, for it wasn't at all unusual for the captain of the guard to have duties to attend to at any given time.

Though Fiyero knew that no one thought anything of his leaving, he still felt unusually jittery, as though everyone in the palace somehow knew where he was going. He jumped at the slightest sound and was more than relieved when he'd finally put a decent amount of distance between himself and the palace gates.

Once he was sure he was out of sight, Fiyero stopped and sighed. Looking around, he realized that he really had no idea where he was going. Elphaba had disappeared hours ago, and that was more than a sufficient amount of time for a head start, especially on broomstick. She could be anywhere in Oz by now, and Fiyero was just one person on foot. Still, he was determined to find her, and so after a moment he continued walking.

Though he knew it was most likely pointless, he decided that the best place to check would be Elphaba's old hideout. He knew that there was almost no chance that she would return there, not after what had happened, but he needed to start somewhere. Perhaps he would be able to find some miniscule clue as to her whereabouts. No matter what, he had to try.

Fiyero found that there was a sort of urgency to his steps, though he was unsure why. After all, Elphaba could most certainly take care of herself, and she was in no danger at the moment, at least as far as he knew. Thinking on it for a moment, he realized that he was merely desperate to see her again. Their last meeting had hardly been a fitting goodbye. He'd never even had the chance to explain himself. If he never saw her again…. The thought only made him move faster.

It was hours later when Fiyero, slightly bruised from crashing through the underbrush a bit too quickly, emerged at the now familiar clearing that had contained Elphaba's hideout. Taking a deep breath, he tried to steel himself for the disappointment he was sure to feel, but he still could not keep his hopes from rising. Jogging forward, he entered the cave and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

He glanced around only for a moment before heading further inside. His legs guided him from memory, and within moments he was standing in front of the entrance to the cavern. Staring into the now dark crevice, he felt his heart sink into his stomach.

There was no doubt that Elphaba had not returned to the cavern. It was completely dark and devoid of life. The small sphere of light that had once occupied the corner of the room had obviously gone out some time ago, and it meant that this room was no lighter than the rest of the cave. Fiyero had trouble seeing as he made his way inside, and as a result he stumbled over the stone table that had once held Elphaba's spell book. Catching his balance, he squinted into the darkness in an attempt to improve his vision.

After sweeping the main section of the cave with his eyes, Fiyero carefully made his way over to the section where Elphaba had kept him trapped. As he moved into the center of the small space, he realized just how cramped it was. Still, he knew he would begin sleeping here again in a heartbeat if it would just bring Elphaba back.

It was now that the reality of this situation had begun to set in. Though he hated to admit it, he had been clinging to a hope that Elphaba would have returned to this cavern. What was he supposed to do now? He was just one man on foot, and she was a witch on a broomstick. That was hardly fair. Overcome by the hopelessness of it all, Fiyero slammed his fist into the wall in frustration and then proceeded to rake is finger through his hair. Feeling restless, he turned and went back into the main room of the cavern.

Fiyero made his way back to the cave's entrance, now keeping his hand against the wall as he went to keep himself from bumping into anything else. He paused as he felt his hand run over something that felt irregular.

Backing up, Fiyero ran his hand over the spot again. Something wasn't right; this section of the wall wasn't as smooth as the rest. Peering closer, he could see that a small portion of the wall appeared to have been cut away and then fit back in. It was almost unnoticeable if you weren't looking for it, and Fiyero could barely make out the difference in the darkness.

He pressed his hand against the right side of the stone panel, and was pleased to see the opposite side stick out a little. Taking the protruding side, he managed to pull the stone all the way out. As he did so, a couple of papers fluttered to the floor. Curious, Fiyero set the stone panel down and picked them up.

Fiyero's eyes widened in recognition as he went through the papers. They were the same ones he'd discovered hidden under the rock on his first day as Elphaba's prisoner. He turned a familiar emerald envelope over in his hands, reminiscing. That day seemed like years ago now.

Putting the papers down, he removed the rest of Elphaba's belongings from the space in the wall. He recognized the two books he'd seen the first time, and sat down on the floor to examine them. He opened the smaller first, but it was impossible to make out what was written on the pages in the darkness. After a few moments he stood again, gathered the papers, and exited the cave.

Once outside, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight before turning his attention back to the books. Taking a seat on the grass, he once again opened the smaller of the two. Now he could see that the book was a diary, with entries written in a tidy cursive that he assumed was Elphaba's. Fascinated, he flipped through the book quickly, skimming the different entries. It appeared that Elphaba had started the diary before Shiz and continued writing in it until she'd reached the last page some time when she was still in college. After a moment, Fiyero set the book aside, resolving to take a better look at it later, and picked up the larger one.

This book revealed itself to be a binder, filled with what looked like papers and reports from Elphaba's Shiz days. He was a bit impressed by the perfect marks that adorned the top of each page. He wished he could have known Elphaba in college, before she'd become the Wicked Witch of the West. Had she been different then? He imagined she would have been just as passionate and determined then as she was now, just possibly with less hostility.

He stopped flipping through the pages for a moment as he noticed that one of the papers in the binder had a large red 'F' printed across the top. This was in such contrast to the rest of her grades that Fiyero stopped and actually read the paper over.

It was an essay on Animals, and Fiyero could find no fault with it. It was extremely well written, and Elphaba had argued all of her points brilliantly. Puzzled, Fiyero flipped the page over, and finally found the reason for the failing grade. There, scrawled in red pen, was a note from whichever professor had graded the paper. It read "Does not complete the given assignment. You were to analyze the differences between humans and Animals and describe the positive effects of the Animal bans."

Fiyero smiled softly, running his fingers over the page. That was why Elphaba had saved one failing grade among her A's. She'd sacrificed her perfect average for the sake of her beliefs. He'd only known Elphaba for a short while, and yet this seemed exactly like her.

Closing the binder, Fiyero gathered the papers and stood up with a new found determination. It was as though seeing even this little bit of Elphaba had restored his hope. He was going to find her; however long it took, he would find her eventually.

Brushing the dirt off of his pants, Fiyero tried to decide on his next course of action. It seemed like the best place to begin would be the Animal camp Elphaba had been so devoted to. After all, there was a possibility she might have gone back, wasn't there? Taking a deep breath, he tried not to get his hopes up too high, lest they be crushed again.

Despite this, he found his footsteps more urgent than ever.

He reached the town in a matter of minutes, taking in sights that were now familiar though he had only walked this was a handful of times before with Elphaba. He hoped that the Animals wouldn't give him any trouble because she was not at his side this time.

Feeling very apprehensive, Fiyero entered the small camp and kept his eyes down as he went. The Animals eyed him apprehensively as he walked, just as Fiyero had feared they would. He supposed by now they knew what had happened with Elphaba. He hoped they didn't believe he'd had anything to do with it.

Still, despite the unwanted attention, he pressed on. After a few moments he tried to decide how best to go about searching for her. After all, he couldn't very well barge into the Animals' tents, and he wasn't too keen on asking any of them if they'd seen her. He was beginning to feel as if coming here had been a mistake, but it wasn't as if he had any other bright ideas at the moment.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone familiar. It was the Sheep, Calla he believed her name was, that Elphaba had reported to the first time she'd brought him into the village. His heartbeat quickening, he nervously shuffled over to where she was standing. She seemed very surprised to see him there, but Fiyero spoke before she could say anything.

"I'm looking for Elphaba, I was wondering if she passed through here recently," he said, trying to sound confident but failing miserably.

The Sheep's eyes narrowed into a glare as she replied, "I haven't seen Elphaba since the two of you left two days ago. It's very unlike Elphaba not to turn up, and you were with her the last time we saw her. Forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious."

Fiyero wasn't sure how to respond. Perhaps the Animals didn't know as much about what had happened as he'd initially thought. Not wanting to explain everything that had happened over the past days to the Sheep, or tell her that Elphaba didn't want him to find her, he said simply, "Elphaba's not in any danger, I just need to know if she's been spotted. I need to…bring her a message."

The Sheep obviously didn't buy this, and she said suspiciously, "I thought Elphaba said she couldn't let you go."

Wracking his brain for a suitable answer, all he could come up with was, "I uh…I got let off for good behavior."

There was a short pause, before the sheep said curtly, "I've already told you that we haven't seen her. You'd do best to be on you way now."

But Fiyero wasn't paying attention, over the Sheep's shoulder, he'd just seen the end of a piece of black fabric disappear into the schoolhouse. Feeling his pulse quicken, he turned to the Sheep and said, "Right, uh thanks, I guess I'll just go then."

He walked past her, and kept going until he was sure she wasn't watching him any more. Checking his shoulder for reassurance, he then doubled back and shot into the schoolhouse before he was spotted.

Glancing quickly around, he tried to distinguish some green among all of the Animals in the small room. However, after sweeping the whole room with his eyes, he could see that Elphaba wasn't here. He was confused for a few moments, before he saw the Giraffe, Sentra, stocking blankets onto a shelf a short distance away. His heart sank as he realized one of these was a familiar shade of black.

Crestfallen, Fiyero was about to turn and leave, when a small voice called out from behind him.

"Mister Fiyero!"

A bit startled, Fiyero turned and was met with the sight of a familiar Bear cub. She looked cheerily up at him, a small plastic fairy clutched in her right paw. Fiyero smiled despite himself, glad to see a friendly face. He said, "Well hello there Lorgen."

She looked at him curiously, "What are you doing here without Miss Elphaba?"

Fiyero's smile dropped, "Actually, I'm looking for Miss Elphaba. I haven't seen her in a couple of days, and I thought she might have come here, but obviously I was mistaken."

Lorgen cocked her head to the side, "What do you mean? Miss Elphaba came by just yesterday."

Fiyero's head shot up at this, and he looked at the small Cub with wide eyes. Was it true? Could it be possible that Calla had been lying to him? It wouldn't be surprising now that he thought about it; the old Sheep had never exactly trusted him. His voice suddenly urgent, he asked, "Lorgen, do you know where she went?"

The Bear seemed a bit taken a back by Fiyero's sudden change in tone, but nonetheless she responded, "She was talking with Miss Calla. I don't think I was supposed to hear, but I was standing right near them. I think she was going to another camp nearby. Why can't she come here anymore Mister Fiyero? Did something happen?"

Fiyero wasn't sure how to answer her. The small Bear looked so worried that he simply said, "No, everything's fine. Elphaba will be back, I promise. Lorgen, can you tell me how to reach this other camp?"

Lorgen still seemed confused, but answered Fiyero's question nonetheless, "It's not really that far, my mom took me there once to visit my cousin. I think you have to go out of this camp past the hospital and then go straight in that direction the whole time."

Fiyero nodded, feeling his hopes rising once more. "Thank you Lorgen, I promise I'll bring Elphaba back."

Without another word he turned and left the schoolhouse, striding purposefully in a direction he hoped would bring him closer to Elphaba.

So what do you think? I know it wasn't incredibly eventful, but I hope it wasn't incredibly dull. And also, always my biggest fear, was it believable enough? Please leave me a review if you read, as I'd really appreciate the feedback.

S.P.