Hello again! I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but I'm supposed to be studying for an anatomy exam, so clearly this took precedence. Thanks to all the peeps who read and reviewed, and to those who answered my question. It's cool to hear that my writing has changed. As I said I can't really tell, but I figured it probably should have after such a long time. Hopefully it's for the better.

Hope you like this one. I feel a bit unsure about it as far as the characterizations go, but hopefully you'll find it enjoyable.

If Fiyero thought their travel situation had been tense before, it was nothing compared to what had resulted from adding the Lion into the mix. Fiyero's heart went out to the Lion, it really did, and he supposed he might even owe the Cat his life, but after only a day of travel Fiyero was already beginning to regret asking him along.

The Lion had practically attached himself to Fiyero, a fact that Elphaba and Glinda seemed to find endlessly amusing, to Fiyero's growing annoyance. The large Cat seemed wary of Glinda and was absolutely terrified of Elphaba, despite the fact that she had shown him no ill will since he'd joined their party. In fact she seemed to have the most patience for the bumbling Animal, yet the Lion continued to act as though she were about to off him at any moment. Fiyero was rapidly growing agitated.

They did their best to travel under the cover of darkness. There was no telling if the Gale Force was still out looking for them, but it seemed very likely now that Glinda was involved as well. Still, thus far they had seen no sign of soldiers, and they were hoping to keep it that way.

Their first stop for rest had passed rather uneventfully. They made camp as dawn was breaking. The Lion put up a fuss at first, apparently too terrified to sleep when Elphaba was keeping watch, but upon seeing that his protests were going largely unnoticed he eventually gave in and settled for sleeping with one eye open. They still opted not to give Glinda a shift on guard duty, and she didn't seem inclined to argue. No one would say that it was because they didn't trust her skills as a sentry, but they all knew that was the primary reason.

So they split an eight hour rest into three shifts between Elpaba, Fiyero and the Lion, and afterwards they ate a quick meal and continued on their way again. For all their personal squabbles, it was strange how well the group could get along when they needed to. There wasn't a lot of speaking, but the ever-present threat of capture served to keep them working together.

When they stopped to sleep again after the second night of travel, Fiyero decided that he would finally find some opportunity to speak with Elphaba alone. They still hadn't spoken about the kiss back at the Animal camp, and Fiyero didn't want to leave the matter unresolved for much longer. He needed to know what was on Elphaba's mind.

Elphaba always volunteered the first watch, without fail. She never said anything, she simply watched quietly while the others prepared their makeshift beds and then she took up her post. Fiyero curled up on the ground as well and waited until Glinda and the Lion had fallen asleep. Once he heard their breathing grow even beside him, Fiyero crept silently from his spot on the grass.

Elphaba started and whipped around as Fiyero approached her, but visibly relaxed when she realized who it was. She seemed a bit confused by his behavior. "You should get some sleep," she said, "You have the second watch in a couple of hours."

Fiyero nodded, but responded, "Actually I just wanted to talk to you for a minute." Elphaba seemed to grow uncomfortable at the suggestion. Fiyero continued, "Look, about what happened at the camp. I'm sorry I- Well I mean, I just wasn't really thinking. I didn't mean to step out of bounds like that."

Elphaba studied him for a moment and then shook her head. "It's alright," she said. She didn't offer anything else, to Fiyero's disappointment. Not sure what else to say, he fell silent, and the two stood there like that for almost a minute.

Fiyero was still searching his mind for the proper way to break the silence when Elphaba spoke up. "You confuse me," she said simply. Fiyero glanced over at her in surprise but she wasn't looking at him, she was staring straight ahead.

Fiyero watched her for a moment before responding, "Well, I can't say I've exactly got you all figured out either."

Elphaba smiled a bit at that, and turned to face him. Her face grew serious again as she said, "Honestly though, I don't understand you at all. Back in the caves, back when- well, back when I was holding you prisoner, to not dance around it, I should never have agreed to let you get that close to me. Looking back on it, I realize that was completely out of character, but at the time it didn't seem strange at all, and that confuses me."

Elphaba spoke about the matter casually, not letting her voice betray any emotion. She was as offhanded as though they were discussing the weather. Fiyero wasn't quite sure how to respond, but he was glad she finally seemed ready to open up and talk about some of what had happened between them. He tried to hide his eagerness and thought carefully about what to say next, not wanting to ruin this chance.

After a few moments he said, "For what it's worth, and I know you may not believe me when I say this, I never lied to you."

At the pointed look Elphaba gave him, Fiyero added hastily, "Okay, so I never told you I was engaged, but that wasn't really a lie. Everything I said to you, I truly meant."

Elphaba looked at him for a moment and then replied, "You never mentioned that you were a prince either."

Fiyero was surprised by her comment; it was certainly not what he'd been expecting. He supposed at some point over the course of all that had happened she'd managed to piece together that particular aspect of his identity. He supposed he should have figured that out when she'd showed no surprise that his family owned a castle. He was once again unsure as to the proper response. "It never came up," he offered lamely.

Elphaba hardly seemed thrilled with this answer. "So now I've 'captured' the crowned prince of the Vinkus and Glinda the Good. Oz only knows what Morrible and the Wizard are saying about that," she sighed.

Fiyero supposed he hadn't really thought about that. Come to think of it, he did wonder how all of the events of the past few days were being explained to the general public. However, he pushed those thoughts aside, wanting to get back to their initial conversation. "Look Elphaba, I still- I don't know, I still have feelings for you," he said quickly.

Elphaba looked down at her hands. Fiyero could tell he was making her uncomfortable again. After a moment she said, "You know, I used to listen to Glinda talk about you all the time back at Shiz, after your families had decided you two would be married. We were roommates you know."

Fiyero hadn't known that. She was changing the subject again, but Fiyero knew so little about Elphaba's past that he was distracted and waited for her to continue.

"After, well, after I became the Wicked Witch of the West, I wasn't sure I'd ever see Glinda again, and I never imagined I'd actually meet you, let alone kidnap you. It's very strange trying to reconcile you with the Fiyero I used to hear so much about. You're not really quite like how Glinda used to describe you in college."

Fiyero winced. He could imagine how Glinda might have described him back then. "I'd like to think I've changed a lot since college," he said, though in the back of his mind he realized that might have been a fairly recent development.

"I imagine we all have," Elphaba said, and then fell silent.

They stood like that for a few more moments before Elphaba spoke again, "What's your castle like? Kiamo Ko?"

Fiyero was slightly upset they'd veered so far from what he so desperately wanted to discuss, but he decided to let it go for now. He supposed this was progress at least. "Well I haven't spent a whole lot of time there. We don't live at Kiamo Ko, though we did stay there a few times when I was younger. That's why I think we should be safe there. The only people at the castle full time are the guards, and they're loyal to my family, not to the Wizard."

Elphaba nodded. "If you don't stay at Kiamo Ko, where does your family live?"

Fiyero was slightly abashed as he answered, "We have another castle."

Elphaba only stared at him for a moment before smirking slightly. She shook her head and said, "Of course you do."

Fiyero continued, encouraged by the easy conversation, "I think you'll like it though. It's sort of old and ominous."

"What are you implying?" Elphaba responded. For a moment Fiyero thought he might have offended her, but he realized that she was smirking and her eyes were bright.

For a brief, fleeting moment Fiyero was tempted to kiss her again, but he shook his head to clear the thought away. Given the way that scenario had played out the last two times he knew it could only make the situation more difficult.

Instead he decided to play along, "Well, just that if you happen to be a discerning witch in the market for an evil lair, it's a prime piece of real estate."

Elphaba's eyes narrowed a bit at that, but she was smiling. Fiyero went on, "When I was younger and my cousins used to stay with us, we used to take turns locking each other in the north tower."

Elphaba's eyes lit up. "There's a tower?" she asked.

Fiyero was amused by how enthusiastic she seemed. "It has a spire and everything," he joked.

Elphaba seemed about to respond again, when suddenly her face grew serious and she held up a hand, signaling Fiyero to be quiet. Startled by the sudden change, he obeyed.

A look of concentration passed over Elphaba's face. After a moment she whispered, "Do you hear that?"

Fiyero strained his ears and after a moment he heard the sound she was referring to. It was the sound of boots on leaves. His heart rate quickened.

The look on Fiyero's face seemed to give Elphaba her answer. "Stay here with Glinda and the Lion. I'm going to take a closer look," she said.

And before Fiyero could respond, Elphaba had hopped on her broom and flown off.

So yeah my primary concern was the bit of banter at the end there. Is it too soon for banter? I mean, I like banter so I hope it didn't seem too out of place. Anyway I'm still making decent progress, so hopefully I'll have the next one up soon!

S.P.