Authors Note: Thank you for MyLittleElphie for reviewing. I always lool forward to your reviews here and on Reading the Signs. For Ess Tee, well, what is in a name?
Thank you for heatqueen for reviewing again also. I look forward to your reviews. So much so I check whenever I post the story multiple times. I never would have guessed you liked vulnerable Elphie (I'm making my way through Moment of weakness myself, atm)
As for the woman, well, that really not much of a mystery. You cant leave a spider spinning webs for too long before it catches something.
I hope you enjoy. This one is a couple days late but its because its about twice the size of the normal chapters. Most chapters will be this length, unless my reviewers think they should be shorter, then Ill cut them.
As always, read, enjoy, review.
"So how do you know our contact? We were just told to keep going north." Elphaba asked. She was walking slowly, still recovering from her injuries. Barrington was carrying her pack (which made Glinda slightly envious).
"Quicksilver left me a note with instructions. He knows I know these lands best and I know who supposed to be here and isn't." he replied.
"Still watching over them I see."
"Of course. Though I do worry if we run into someone. A hander kerchief over the face is not much of a disguise. "
"I wasn't going to wear those maunt veils in the condition they were in."
"Good point. Your Goodness Glinda?"
Glinda perked up. "Yes?"
"I understand why Her Goodness is on the run but how did you become so, and together?"
Glinda smiled. "It's a long story. You sure you want to hear?"
"We've got time, and I'm curious."
"Well, it all started the first day of school."
"Oh, I didn't think he wanted that long of a version." Elphaba warned.
"No, I'm intrigued." Barrington countered.
"She was causing a commotion like she normally does-"
"Says the one who came in riding a mountain of luggage pushed by servants." Elphaba grumbled good naturedly.
"We got paired rooming together through no fault of my own-"
"I'm pretty sure you raised your hand."
"That was Boq's fault."
"Sure, blame the Munchkin."
"Always do." Glinda replied mischievously. Elphaba sighed.
"Walked into that one."
"At first we loathed each other-"
"Dearest darlingest Momsie and Pospsicle." Elphaba sing-songed in a high pitched voice. Glinda glared at her.
"I do not sound like that."
"Yes you do. Now how did you describe me again? Oh, yes, unusually and exceedingly peculiar and all together quite impossible to describe."
"It still fits."
"This was a letter to her parents." Elphaba explained to a confused Barrington. "She has a habit of thinking out loud when she writes."
"Hush. I do like how you described me in a very flattering way to your father, though. Highlighted one of my best features."
"It wasn't meant as a compliment then." Elphaba paused a beat. "And how did you know? I never showed it to you."
"Uh…" Glinda giggled nervously, and changed the subject. "Needless to say, it was a trying time."
"You and your 'friends'," Elphaba air quoted, "used to stalk me around camps and make snide remarks."
"Did not. It was a small campus. And you used to jump out and scare me whenever possible."
"Just because you didn't see me standing behind you in class and I said boo does not qualify as jumping out at you. And then, dear Oz, she got that annoying boyfriend who almost ran me over. "
"Oh, Elphie, he apologized like a bazillion times for that. And he seemed to grow on you after a while." She said slyly before she could stop herself. There was an awkward pause for a second, and then Elphaba said,
"The hat."
"Oh, you mean the one you kept forever? Must not have traumatized you too badly."
"Hat?" Barrington asked again as he became lost.
"Oh, yes, the witch's hat." Glinda answered. "It was a present from my grannie, but I thought it would be funny to give it to her as a prank." Glinda trailed off at the end and looked down. "I was not very nice back then." She said quietly.
Elphaba reached over and gave Glinda's hand a small squeeze. Glinda looked at her, and Elphaba gave her a small smile which was returned.
"And then I went and made a fool of myself trying to dance." Elphaba said.
"No. You were…enthusiastic, and just needed some practice."
"You saved me then."
"No, sweetie, you saved me."
There was a silence as the two women looked into each other's eyes. A conversation seemed to pass between them, one only they were privy to. Barrington knew better than to break it.
"And then," Elphaba continued, voice thick with emotion, "she decided to give me a makeover."
"Oh, you should have seen her wardrobe, Barrington. Nothing but frumpy dark colored frocks. They had to go."
"Little did you know it would all go to waste."
"Ha! That's what you think. Even as the Wicked Witch you still looked fabulous. Dark tight dress with a dark purple cape. Gorgeous. Scary, but gorgeous."
Elphaba stopped walking and turned to look at Glinda in horror. "Oh my Oz, you're right. What did you do to me?"
"Glindafied. Well, technically Galindified, but that's semantics. It's part of you, now, Elphie. You can never be rid of it."
"Kill me now." Elphaba said. Glinda could no longer keep a straight face and giggled, causing Elphaba to chuckle.
"Anyway, since we had to wait to go shopping-"
"And by shopping she meant drag me to every boutique in Shiz and fuss over every outfit."
"As I said, shopping. Anyway, we first dealt with the cosmetics."
"It was terrible. Imagine, Sir Barrington, me with this silver, sparkly stuff around my eyes-"
"That's called shadow dear."
"Plus something else on my eyelids with even more glitter-"
"More shadow, honey."
"And then rouge on my cheeks and bright pink lipstick. I looked like a clown." Elphaba finished laughing.
"Not fair!" Glinda pouted. "I'd never made up an emerald girl before. It was a learning experience. Plus, we found out that pink goes good with green."
"And then, on the shopping trip I mentioned before, she tried to buy me all pink clothes."
"Not all. Just some dresses."
Barrington let out a bark of laughter that startled them both. "I'm sorry Your Goodnesses. I just got an image of Her Goodness Elphaba in Her Goodness Glinda's pink coronation gown."
He laughed again and Glinda joined him giggling.
"Oh she tried, Barrington, to magic all my clothes into ball gowns. Luckily she was untrained at the time. And the fit she threw afterwards was adorable." Elphaba replied.
"It wasn't a fit. It was an expression of disappointment."
"Uh-huh."
Glinda pouted and Elphaba smiled at the memory. Even now the two women still walked hand in hand without realizing it. Glinda's face slowly morphed into a mischievous smile. Elphaba's began to falter when she realized why.
"Oh no. "
"Do it."
"No."
"Doooo it."
"No."
"Do it!"
"Absolutely not."
Glinda pouted. "You almost had it then."
"Not like you."
"May I enquire?" Barrington asked and Elphaba sighed.
"The toss-toss."
"Toss-toss?"
Elphaba looked at Glinda who humphed.
"You want me to toss my hair like this?"
"It looks good to me."
"Still so awfully far to go." Glinda sighed and shook her head. She pulled out her wands and tapped her head. Her hair sprang into her famous curls. She took a melodramatic breath.
"There are many ways to toss your hair." She started and Barrington shot Elphaba a look. His only answer were raised eyebrows and an amused smirk. "There most basic is the hair flip, or as Elphie has dubbed it, the toss-toss."
She took a breath again and then tossed her hair using her hands, and beamed at them.
"No." Elphaba said. "Sound effects."
Glinda humphed again. "That was for demonstration purposes only. But fine." She flipped her hair again. "Toss-toss. Smile."
"I see." Barrington said, voice indicating he did not.
"We all have social tricks or tics to either draw attention to or away from us. I specialize in drawing attention, while Elphie, well, one could say she specializes in the latter by choice. Her skin draws attention to her enough."
"Thanks, Glinda. And I wouldn't say I specialize in the drawing attention away from me."
"Not consciously, but you do. First, you try to put people off by yelling at them. If that doesn't work, you overwhelm them with information and opinions; very well researched and thought out opinions, I might add, so it works. After that you always try to be too busy so people are discouraged from engaging you. No one wants to interrupt you reading or writing; you shoot them that death look. Finally, if all else fails, you sneak away to some secret place. That, Elphie, is your social interaction style. Except for recently, when you actually engaged people. Which was nice."
"That is…very well observed and thought out."
"Social interactions are a specialty of mine. I won't say they're a science but there's an art to them."
"And how, Miss Glinda, do you draw attention to yourself."
"By being the best dressed person around. And hair flips." She giggled and they chuckled along with her. Both Barrington and Elphaba were cheered by Glinda's presence, something Elphaba knew was part of her art.
"Now, there are more advanced hair flips and some derivations, like the hair jiggle, but the basic is best for beginners. It teaches the three E's."
"Three E's? This is new."
"No, but first one should always learn the basics. This is the theory behind it."
"Oh, I'm all ears."
"First E: Examine. Examine the environment and your objectives. Is it to get someone's attention, like a scandalacious prince? Is it to make everyone too distracted to notice you did not really answer their question? Is it to assert superiority? The objective matters, as does the environment. If you're looking to be the center of attention, an emerald calamity can steal your thunder." She said, eyes twinkling with mirth.
"All my interactions with you are starting to make sense."
"Next, Execute. The examination phase is important because you have to set up the situation and execute the proper flip. Is it exaggerated to catch attention? Sultry to mesmerize? Subtle to enhance credibility? All this can be affected by environment and objectives. But you have to hit it perfectly."
"I never knew so much went into a hair flip."
"Most don't. That's why I am a master at it." Glinda replied, and gave a subtle hair flip to emphasize superiority. Elphaba laughed. "Finally, Engage. You have their attention, now you need to engage them to capitalize on that. The flip and smile, classic and versatile. The flip and hip wiggle to capture a heart, or at least inflame it." She stopped there and giggled.
"So, you were trying to teach me the flip and wiggle? Why?"
"Because, Elphie, you are exotic. An exotic beauty can be very sexy to men, and the best way to boost a woman's confidence is to be wanted by men. Not the best way to give confidence, but it is a good boost to get the ball rolling. And I seem to remember some boys being enraptured when you got it right the one time."
"I don't know if that's because they thought I was sexy or they were wondering what the hell I was doing."
"Oh, it was sexy. Fiyero told me so later." A small, devious smile spread across her face. "Seemed to work well enough on him, didn't it?"
"Glinda!" Elphaba said, shocked, but Glinda gave a small cackle. Elphaba could not help but break into a smile afterward.
"Excuse me, Your Goodnesses, but you didn't answer why you both are on the run." Barrington interjected.
"Oh, we didn't, did we?" Glinda said, surprised.
"It's alright. It was nice to hear of your past together. But I still wonder why how you came to be here."
"Well, to make a long story short, my house got raided by the Gale Force."
"For Her Goodness Elphaba?"
"No, I don't think they knew I was there." Elphaba answered. "I think it was more political than anything."
"Really?" Glinda asked.
"Yeah. I mean, you were causing a lot of trouble for the Administration and the Throne Minister. Not that they didn't deserve it, but he probably thought he either had to discredit or silence you. Hence the raid."
"But the why did they ask about the…you know."
"Duran said that the Gale Force is not really working for the Minister; that they're serving someone else. Whoever is pulling their strings probably thought you had the Grimmerie and used it as a cover to get it."
"Huh. Why didn't they do it earlier, then?"
"Most likely a night raid on a popular figure wouldn't go over too well with the people. He must have thought he had nothing to lose."
"But who is the Gale Force working for?"
"That's the question, isn't it?"
That left them in silence for a while. Eventually, the two women lapsed back into shared history. Elphaba was happy because it kept Glinda's mind off all the walking and its implications. Glinda was happy because it kept Elphaba's mind off the previous day. Both were emotionally exhausted and needed to recharge. The reminiscing was perfect.
In Wittica a letter arrived at Minkos Manor by priority mail. The porter took it and sought out the recipient. She was among a gaggle of other socialite women but the porter knew it was important enough to interrupt.
"My Lady," he said, "I have an urgent message from the Emerald City."
"Thank you." The woman said with a smile, taking the letter. She politely excused herself from her circle of associates and read it. Afterwards she called the porter back and began to pen a letter.
"Get a coach ready. I'm going to the station and the Emerald City with all possible haste." She said then dismissed the porter. Finishing the letter, she signed it with a kiss and tucked it into an envelope. She sealed the envelope with wax and her signet ring; a house flanked by pines. She walked to her room and changed into traveling clothes, stuffing some others into a bag. As she left she tenderly placed the letter on her love's desk and strode out the door.
The two women and Barrington were standing in a clearing waiting for their contact. It had been a half an hour and Elphaba was getting impatient, while Glinda was relishing the rest. After lugging that pack for hours she was absolutely positive this was not the life for her. Glinda was currently sitting with her back to a fallen tree watching Elphaba pace and twitch.
"Elphie, please come sit. You're making me jumpy." Glinda said pleadingly.
"Well, if the contact was here on time I wouldn't be pacing. I don't like this at all."
"Elphie, you're being paranoid. Please sit." That plea did not gain any traction, just like the first, so Glinda switched tactics. "Look, Elphie, I got the book out. Don't you want to read it with me?"
Elphaba stopped pacing and scowled. "Now is not the time, Glinda." And then resumed her pacing.
"Chapter One," Glinda read, "The first element we will cover is air. Air is the lightest and most elusive element. It also has the least potential for destructive miscasts so it as the ideal element to start from." Glinda looked up just in time to see Elphaba resume her pacing. She smiled.
"First, an examination of pure elemental air spells. Whether it be a simple levitation spell on an object from the sorcery traditions, the summoning of a wind by the shamans of the Vinkus, or a spell to create a bubble, the elemental invocation has the same feel and sound with the long ah sound twice in conjunction with one another. For instance: Ahben tahkay ahtum entay ditum entayah…" Glinda trailed off. She looked wide eyed at a shocked Elphaba.
"Elphie…"
"I know. It's the flying spell from the Grimmerie." She came over and sat down next to Glinda.
"That's my bubble spell, Elphie." Glinda said quietly, pointing out another.
"I've never seen that one before." Elphaba pointed one out.
"It's Vinkun. I've interacted with some of their shamans. And these are light levitation spells, commonly referred to as the telekinetic subset."
"If one were to switch these with stronger connected elemental magic," Elphaba continued to read, "the strength would vastly increase. Please see Appendix B for examples."
Elphaba immediately flipped to the back. Finding the spell, she took out her wand and muttered the chant. A larger boulder across the clearing began to levitate.
"Oh, wow, Elphie! Let me try!" Glinda whipped out her own wand and soon there were two large boulders hovering in the air. They gently set them down. "That's so much easier than then the ones I learned."
A clump of bushes at the edge of the clearing exploded and a large Lion burst into the glade.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I was – whoa!" the Lion went flying through the air and back out of the glade.
"Glinda." Elphaba chastised.
"Sorry." She bashfully replied. "I panicked."
"Is it safe to come back in?" the Lion asked from outside.
"Yes. Our apologies." Elphaba answered and the Lion strode back into the glade, but was soon thrown clear of it.
"Glinda!"
"It wasn't me this time."
"No, it was me." Came his voice, and he reappeared. "I was startled. I did not realize who I was picking up."
Both women got a sense of déjà vu when they saw the Lion clearly for the first time.
"Do we know each other?" Elphaba asked cautiously.
"We've met." The Lion replied in the same manner. "Nasty business at Kiamo Ko."
"You!" Elphaba yelled and the Lion withered. "The Lion cub we rescued."
"Really?" Glinda asked. "The Cowardly Lion?"
"I resent that title." He sniffed. "The name is Brrr."
"Oh, how the strings of fate hum with a funny tune." Elphaba murmured distantly. Glinda glanced at her and saw her eyes were starting to lose focus. She inhaled sharply; that was the sign that Elphaba was becoming overwhelmed and slipping into her mind somewhere. When she came back she would not be completely right for a little bit and usually ended up doing something rash. She grabbed Elphaba's hand to help bring her back to reality. The eyes refocused and she gave Glinda a small smile.
"Hm?" Brrr asked, not noticing the exchange.
"I saved a Lion from an experiment, and the Tinman and Scarecrow from death. And they came to murder me." Elphaba answered with an amused smirk.
"Elphaba, stop being morbid." Glinda admonished and Elphaba dipped her head in apology. They were still holding hands. That drew the confused attention of Brrr.
"Oh, I see." Though it was apparent he did not, "I was much younger than and easily persuaded."
"It was only five years ago." Glinda replied.
"For Animals that's like a decade." Elphaba informed.
"Oh."
"Anyway, I'm guessing you're our new guide." Elphaba said.
"Yep. I'm taking you as far as southern Settica, to a little safe house just south of the Gillikin River. Cute thing. From there I'll hand you off."
"How long will that take?"
"About a week on foot." He answered and Glinda grumbled at this comment.
"This is where I'll see you off." Barring interrupted. Elphaba nodded and shook his paw carefully.
"Thanks for everything." She said. He turned to Glinda who wrapped him in a hug.
"I promise we'll come back when it's all over." She said sniffling.
"I'll look forward to it." He replied. With another farewell, he turned back and went the way they came.
"Well now, we have a few hours before dark. There's a nice cozy sleeping spot we can make if we hurry." Brrr said.
"Let's get going." Elphaba replied.
The cloaked woman made her way into the dank mansion. She had bypassed all the guards into Southstairs, and did the same with mansion's guards. She took a seat in the parlor knowing the woman's penchant for tea. A little while later the woman strode in but did not startle when she saw her.
"That was quick." The Madame said.
"You letter said as soon as possible." The woman replied with no inflection.
"So I did. I have a task for you."
"Who is it?" she asked with still no inflection.
"I'll get to that. It is a seek and capture. The person is not to be harmed. She has something very valuable in her possession, or knows where it is."
"So find and return with the target and her possessions. Understood."
"Yes. I attempted to scry for them but had no luck. It will be the old way; tracking magic."
"I see. We have something of theirs, I imagine?" the Adept's voice was still emotionless.
"Yes. Here." The Madame tossed her a tiara.
"Expensive. Must be a rich woman. Name."
"Glinda Upland."
"Glinda?" there was a slight change in the Adept's voice and the Madame caught it.
"Is that a problem?"
"No." the Adept's voice was back to emotionless. "Just surprising."
"That's to be expected. Go. Time is of the essence."
The Adept got up and left without a word. She left like she came, and when she ascended from the prison she found a suitably high roof. Taking out her wand and muttering a chant, a thin wisp of fog revealed her prey's movements. The freshest was heading out of the City. She muttered another spell and jumped off the building. As her feet gently touched ground she began her hunt.
"So, what have you been up to these past five years?" Glinda asked Brrr. They had been traveling for several days now and she was trying to keep up her spirits. Elphaba and Brrr were not getting along, sticking in the middle several times. She could only thank the stars she had started Agoy before this so she was hurting too bad.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Trying to find food and shelter. After Dorothy left I really did not have anything going for me besides mild fame. And being an Animal that did not get me far; even with the Animal laws repealed. So, as I was trying to capitalize on my mild fame some, old Resistance members approached me. They weren't too happy that I helped kill their hero. They figured that I could be of some use to them to make amends. I did, since I had nothing better to do. They accepted me, eventually, and I've been helping out ever since. Seems most of the Company got stuck like me; even the Tinman running Munchkinland seems to be getting screwed. Some reward, huh?"
"Considering you chaperoned a little girl on an assassination mission I say you didn't come out too bad." Elphaba retorted acidly.
"Look, witch, it's not like it was my idea of a fun time either." He snapped back.
"Enough! Both of you!" Glinda yelled and they looked at her shocked. She leveled a glare at Brrr. "Her name is Elphaba, Miss Elphaba to you, or Miss Thropp if she prefers it. She is not to be referred to as witch. Got it?"
"Yes." Brrr quivered a bit under her glare.
"And you," she turned her attention to Elphaba, "you need to stop picking at this. It's not like you weren't exploited by the Wizard too."
"Fine."
"Good. Now that's done we can stop. I have a headache and need to take a break from this pack, walking, and you two."
The Adept stopped at a clearing in the woods. There was a several day old fire pit and freshly disturbed ground. Looking around, she counted fifteen such areas, and splattering of dried blood.
"Guess we know what happened to the White Skulls." She muttered to herself and continued to follow the trail. It led to a cave but she did not enter. The trail went north out of the cave afterward, and she went with it. Whoever was helping Glinda was good. The Adept continued the hunt.
Every night the two witches cuddled close and studied the book. As they practiced the levitation spells they began to get a feel for the elemental magic. It was stronger and harder to control than what they were used to. The book only lightly touched on how to discover the links to elemental magic in spells they already knew, and how to discover the stronger elemental magic intonations in general. It was more of a dissertation on the topic than a text book. That did not stop Elphaba and Glinda. They were both strong sorceresses.
Elphaba, being the consummate student, required them first to master a component before moving on. While this frustrated Glinda, she followed Elphaba's lead. She was the top student at Shiz for a reason. As such, by the time they reached their destination they had not moved on from the levitation spells. When the caught sight of the safe house they were pleasantly surprised. They had assumed it would be a back room or little shack somewhere; they had not thought it would be an actual house. It was a little cottage in the woods.
"Told you it was cozy, didn't I?" Brrr said, and opened the door. "It should be well supplied enough until your new contacts get here."
"And how will we know if it's them?" Elphaba asked. Brrr went to answer but he was cut off.
"Because we'll be sitting at the table having an excruciating conversation about alcoholic beverages." Said a man with a smile. He was older (mid-forties if Elphaba had to guess) and had a soft look about him. Even dressed in his traveling clothes one could tell he had impeccable taste and at least a bit of wealth. His blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail held by a crest.
"You obsess over it too much. If it gets you drunk it works." Said a rough female voice. As the second occupant of the table turned around Glinda noticed it was a she. Closer to Glinda and Elphaba's age, her short brown hair and rough tunic and trousers had given them the impression she was a young man; as did the lean musculature of her body. She moved with supple grace to clear the rapier at her hip away from the table legs. As she smiled slightly Glinda found her lean face was somewhat attractive.
"You're late, Brrr." She said.
"We had to make many stops. I'm not cut out for these long trips." He replied. They knew he was covering for Glinda, who many of the stops were for. Cowardly, maybe, but he was a GentleLion.
"Well, they're here in one piece. And what a piece they are." She continued.
"What of it?" Elphaba asked testily.
"The two most famous witches in Oz together on the run. Almost unbelievable."
"It would make a great play." The man interjected. Glinda could tell Elphaba was getting angry at the teasing.
"That's great but how do we know you're our contacts?" Elphaba shot back.
"I know them." Brrr answered. "They're good, and that means I'm off. Running behind for supper."
"Farewell, Brrr." Glinda said politely. She never really warmed up to him over the week.
"Goodbye." And with that he was gone.
"Now, as my irritated friend asked, who are you?" Glinda asked sternly. The pair smiled.
"My name is Wynne." The woman said.
"And I am Robiere."
"Not Robiere Sharit, the Wittica Symphony founder and owner?" Glinda wondered.
"The same. Though I do own a number of theaters and smaller companies, too."
"I saw you once in Frottica."
"And you'll see me there again. We are to help you get there, or some part of the way, at least."
"We're going home?" Glinda asked breathlessly.
"Yes my dear." Robiere smiled. "But first, news. It has been an interesting week in the outside world."