Hey there. I'm not going to lie, I think I may be losing momentum on this a bit. I have another chapter written after this one, but I haven't managed to write anything else since my last update. It also seems as though interest in this fic is waning anyway. Is it because I changed the direction of chapter 19? Some people seemed a bit miffed by that, and I'm sorry if that put you off reading the rest of the story.

But either way, onwards for now. I kind of like the way this chapter turned out, and I think it's a scene that needed to happen if the story is going to continue to progress the way it is. Hope you like it.

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Fiyero felt as though no time had passed at all when he was shaken awake by Elphaba's hand on his shoulder. Sitting up, still groggy, he pulled himself to his feet and offered his "bed" to Elphaba, who by this time looked completely worn out herself. She accepted without a word and lay down, her eyes closing almost immediately. Fiyero's eyes lingered on her, perhaps for a few moments too long, before he turned and slumped against a tree.

After that he had nothing to do but wait and watch the trees of the forest silently as Elphaba and Glinda slept behind him. The sun was high in the sky now, but there was still no sign that they'd been followed, which was a blessing. Fiyero was unaware of how much time had passed, but after a while Elphaba roused behind him. It took their combined efforts to finally drag Glinda back to her feet, but afterwards they set off towards the Animal camp once more.

It was no more than three or four hours before the trio reached their destination. Fiyero could see the familiar sight of the tents in the distance. He felt a sense of relief that he was returning with Elphaba and not with bad news. He wondered if Taison had made the journey back all right. He would have to be sure to thank him again.

Some of the Animals saw them coming when they were still a fair distance away, and Elphaba's presence meant that their arrival this time was met with enthusiasm rather than distrustful silence. Some of the Animals still shot nervous looks toward Fiyero and Glinda, but Elphaba's presence meant that they were more excited than anything else.

Glinda, who was used to being the center of attention herself, and had imagined Elphaba's life to be a reclusive one filled with thankless toil, seemed taken aback by the enthusiastic greeting her friend was receiving. The Animals, who were mostly cut off from the rest of Oz, were vaguely aware of the name Glinda the Good, but had no idea what she looked like. So Glinda and Fiyero stood back, ignored for the most part, and watched as Elphaba greeted dozens of smiling faces. Once the excitement had died down, she turned to address Filo, who had appeared at some point amidst the commotion.

"These are my friends, Fiyero and Glinda. I hate to ask this of you, but if there any way you could spare them a change of clothes, and give us some provisions for our journey? I would be indebted to you for it." said Elphaba.

Filo trained his eyes on Fiyero and said, "Master Fiyero and I are already acquainted. As for you Miss Glinda, my name is Filo. It's lovely to meet you."

Glinda, who seemed to be in a bit of a daze, jumped at the mention of her name and responded, "Oh? Oh, yes! It's lovely to meet you too."

Elphaba looked between Fiyero and the Panther and said, "Well then, I suppose I have you to thank for Fiyero's mysterious appearance in the Emerald City?"

Filo merely smiled in his slightly cryptic way, before responding, "Of course it would be no trouble at all to help you on your journey, Elphaba. Surely we owe you more than some food and a change of clothing?" he turned to Fiyero and Glinda and continued, "Why don't you two come with me while we give Elphaba a chance to catch up with everyone? We'll see if we can't find you something to change into."

Fiyero nodded and started after the Panther. Glinda, who still appeared a bit dazed by her surroundings, followed wordlessly behind Fiyero. They were led to a small tent filled with linens and clothing of varying sizes. Filo browsed the shelves for a moment, before pulling out a few articles of clothing and tossing them to Glinda and Fiyero.

"I'm sorry if they're not the best fit. We make due with what we have here, and most of our clothing comes from donations from our own people or from whatever Elphaba can manage to scavenge for us," Filo said.

With that, the Panther turned and retreated from the tent, leaving only Fiyero and Glinda standing there alone. Fiyero suddenly felt awkward.

"I'll uh, I'll just go get changed outside," Fiyero suggested, motioning toward the tent flap as he examined the slightly mismatched shirt and trousers he'd been handed. He didn't wait for a response before slipping out.

Fiyero moved around to the back of the tent and then glanced about to make sure there was no one in eyeshot. With some measure of relief, he pulled off the now-grimy clothes he'd been wearing for the better part of a week. The new clothes were not exactly the height of fashion and they hung a bit loose on his frame, as Filo has warned, but they were clean and dry and that was Fiyero's only real concern at the moment.

Not sure what to do with the clothes he'd been wearing, Fiyero stood holding them while he waited an appropriate amount of time for Glinda to finish changing. After several minutes had passed, he returned to the front of the tent and called, "Hey Glinda, are you finished changing yet?"

When she didn't respond, Fiyero became a bit concerned. "Glinda?" he called again, slightly louder. Still no response.

Tentatively, Fiyero pushed the tent flap aside and peered in. Upon seeing Glinda, Fiyero's first instinct was to bolt in the other direction.

She was sitting on the floor. She seemed to have simply sunk down where she'd been standing. Her face was in her hands and her body was shaking as she sobbed. The ill fitting blue frock that she was now wearing, which was about a size or two too big, completed the sad picture of the usually-composed Good Witch. Fiyero was at a loss.

"Glinda what's wrong?" he asked, knowing it was the proper thing to do even though he was fairly certain he already knew the answer.

He was surprised when his question was not met with anger. He'd expected her to start yelling, maybe slap him once or twice. Yet instead she didn't even raise her face from her hands as she choked out, "I understand."

Fiyero wasn't sure what to make of it. Carefully, he asked, "What are you talking about?"

She raised her eyes to meet his. They were red and puffy from crying. She wasn't wearing makeup, another product of the fact that they'd fled the Emerald City in the middle of the night. Fiyero registered that this was the first time he'd ever seen her without it. He noted that she still looked just as lovely and the thought made his heart ache slightly.

Glinda continued, "I understand how you could choose Elphaba over me. She's so much stronger than I am, she always has been. She fought for what she believes in, and all of those Animals adore her the same way the Ozians love me. But she doesn't have to pretend to win their affection. I'm just an act. I'm weak. I understand."

Fiyero was absolutely shocked. He'd never known these insecurities existed in Glinda. The bubbly blond had always seemed so cheerful and confident. He knew that Glinda and Elphaba had been friends, but he'd never expected that his former fiancée could harbor feelings of jealousy towards the 'Wicked Witch of the West.'

Fiyero felt terrible. He kneeled down next to Glinda and put is arm around her shoulder. She leaned against him, her chest heaving as she began to sob again.

"Glinda I'm so sorry. I truly never meant to hurt you. I do love you, just not the way you want me to," he said softly. This didn't seem to comfort her very much at all.

Fiyero continued, "I care about you Glinda, you're one of the kindest, most beautiful women I've ever known, but you have to understand. We never chose each other; we were betrothed. I had feelings for you, that wasn't a lie, but I never knew they weren't really love. They weren't like what I feel for Elphaba. And I truly wish I could have figured that out before I ended up hurting you."

"But I loved you," Glinda whispered. She seemed to be calming down a bit, though tears were still streaming down her cheeks.

Fiyero smiled sadly. "I know. I'm sorry," was the only response he could give her.

They stayed like that for a while longer, neither sure what else to say. Glinda's breathing had returned to normal though, and she seemed to have recovered from her earlier outburst.

After some time, Glinda finally broke the silence, "I respect your decision." Fiyero turned to face her, a bit surprised by the sudden declaration. Glinda continued, "I won't lie and say that this doesn't hurt terribly, or that I've forgiven the two of you for going behind my back. But…if you truly want to be with Elphaba instead of me…if you love her, I respect your decision."

Fiyero could only look at her for a few moments. She looked completely defeated, and he could tell that it was a difficult thing for her to say. He was suddenly overwhelmed with compassion for the blond woman, and he pulled her into a tight hug. After a moment she responded, and they clung together for a few long moments. They knew they were officially saying goodbye to the relationship they'd had.

When they finally broke apart, Glinda's eyes were shining again, but she did not cry. Fiyero smiled at her and said, "Glinda, you really are too good."

They were still there, kneeling together on the floor of the tent, when a loud scream split the afternoon's silence.

So this is what I meant about my portrayal of Glinda. I tend to think of her as a bit more mature after Defying Gravity, a scene that still took place for her in this fic's universe. I also think she would be envious of Elphaba's strength and conviction, especially after it wins Fiyero away. So that's just a bit of explanation for why I chose to write this confrontation the way I did. Thanks for reading!

S.P.