Chapter 20: Shiz, the Next Two Weeks

The threat of exposure loomed over her. Never before had she understood the seriousness of what they were doing, and never before had she actually wanted it to work this much. She wasn't sleeping well, and every time Morrible even looked her way, she was certain they were about to be caught. She tried not to look panicked, but she wasn't certain it was working. There were times she felt cornered, despite not knowing if anyone knew the truth.

"I'm going to trip and fall," Glinda said one afternoon.

"What?"

"Onto Morrible. In order to keep my powers from flaring, I have to be conscious of touching someone. If I grab onto her by accident, it won't seem odd."

"But she'll know you saw something. She'll ask what it was."

"I'll say it was something else."

"Glinda, you can't! It would have to be something you don't know about her, something she'd want kept secret. You don't know anything else," Elphaba pointed out. "Please, I want an answer, but you have to be careful. There's been enough death over this already."

The blonde collapsed onto her bed. "Ugh! I hate that you're right."

"I wouldn't hate that. If I'd let you try that, it could've gone badly."

"What does Fiyero think of all this, anyway?" Glinda asked. "You never talk about him, or how things are with you."

Elphaba didn't want to talk about him. Since they were always cooped up in that room, it was almost as though their relationship was reserved for privacy. She'd been cautioned never to speak about it, and she'd done well at that lately. "Fiyero thinks the best thing we can do is make sure the prophecy happens."

"And you really want that? A child?"

"I want justice. I want the people who hurt Dr. Dillamond to suffer."

"Elphaba, you understand you'll be a mother. This isn't just some revenge plot, it's your child. Maybe it doesn't feel that way now, but it will. What happens after you've had him or her? Do you just announce it to everyone and hope people follow along?"

"I… I don't know."

"Then I guess neither one of us has completely thought out a plan."

If Elphaba hadn't thought far enough ahead, she wondered if her father had. Somehow she doubted it. He probably would wait for some sort of sign from the Unnamed God to tell him it was time to reveal the child and its parentage. And in the meantime, what would she do? Graduate Shiz? Continue seeing Fiyero? She had too many questions.

"You should ask him, then, Fae." Fiyero told her. "You're right. He may have put us all in danger when he doesn't even know what the next step is. And on a more personal note, I'd like to know if and when I'll be allowed to see my own wife and child." He got up, pulling his shorts on. "In fact, I think I'd like to ask him."

"Fiyero, don't do that!" She grabbed for him, but he was already gathering up the rest of his clothes and headed towards the door. Elphaba groaned and pulled a nightdress over her head.

The door cracked open and Fiyero called out to her father, who was soon looming in the doorway. "Is there a problem?"

"Actually, there is. Would you come talk to us for a moment, Sir?" Fiyero waved her father into the room. "I had a few questions."

Frex looked unamused, but stepped into the room. Elphaba still sat on the edge of the bed, while Fiyero and her father stood looking at one another. "What is it?" Frex demanded.

"What happens once she's pregnant?" Fiyero didn't waste time and got straight to the point. "To her. To me. To the child?"

"She knows the answer to some of this. I'll pull her out of school so her pregnancy is less noticeable. Her great-great-grandfather has a very large estate that would be easy to hide her away on until the child is born."

"And me?"

"You'll go back to your life."

"She's a part of my life. The child will be, too," Fiyero insisted. "She's still my wife. I'd like to be with her during her pregnancy, as a husband should be."

"That's impossible."

"I wouldn't think so. Kiamo Ko is also quite large. She'd be safe there."

"With barbarians?" Frex scoffed.

Elphaba leapt out of bed then, knowing her father might've pushed Fiyero too far. "You know nothing about what the Vinkus is like, what these people are like, Father. You never even bothered to get to know Fiyero. How can you assume they are barbarians?"

Frex turned to Elphaba with a look of shock, as though he hadn't expected her to argue with this. "This child must be born in Munchkinland, in the presence of the Unnamed God."

"I thought you insisted that the Unnamed God was everywhere, Father."

He glared at her. "What is this about?" Frex looked from Elphaba to Fiyero. "Why are the two of you accosting me with these questions?"

Fiyero spoke. "It occurred to me that I only knew part of the plan."

"It's the only part that you have any part in."

"And her?" Fiyero put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"She'll play her part and she can be done, as well."

"Pardon me, Sir, but I don't think that's how childbearing usually works. Fathers should not abandon their wife and child. I want to see this through."

"Why?"

"I have a vested interest. I want Oz to change just as much as you do. And…" Fiyero's fingers tightened on her shoulder when he looked at her. She knew he wanted to say something about how he felt for her, but she silently urged him not to. "And it's my child, too."

"If you ever get around to having one!"

"We will. But I want answers. And I want a bigger part in this."

"She's going to Munchkinland. She will have the child. He will be protected until the time comes. That's all you need to know." Frex frowned.

"And when is the time?" Fiyero pushed.

"I will know."

Elphaba grabbed Fiyero's hand. "You got your answer, Fiyero. Please."

He seemed surprised that she was trying to stop him, and his face softened upon looking at her. "Fae, I need to - "

"No, you don't! We'll talk about it later." She was tense. He shouldn't have called her "Fae" in front of her father. Frex wouldn't like it if he knew they'd come to care for one another.

Frex's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing about the name. "Shall I leave you two?"

She clutched Fiyero's hand as tightly as she dared. "Yes, Father. I apologize."

As soon as the door was shut behind them, Fiyero turned to her in a whisper. "What in Oz was that?"

"Arguing with him about this will do us no good now. He does have a point, Fiyero. I'm not even pregnant yet. And we figured one thing out: he doesn't have the answers, either. You can't fight with him about what's going to happen, Fiyero. My father is a stubborn man. Unless you give him a good enough reason, he's not changing his mind." Elphaba walked a step away from him, hugging herself. "And don't call me that in front of him. Do you honestly think he'd approve of the way we feel?"

Fiyero laughed harshly at that. "Probably not."

"Then don't give him reason to suspect it."

"Fine. But what am I supposed to do? I don't want you locked away for months. I don't want to never see our child. I don't want these little weekends to end just because he's gotten what he wants. How do I change that?"

"I don't know! You think I want it? I'm just accustomed to the fact that my father doesn't budge on things."

"I'll make him."

"Oh, please! I've lived with him my whole life. You can't."

"I can try."

"How?"

"I'll figure it out. Just… promise me something, Fae." He took both her hands in his. "You'll tell me the moment you're pregnant, before you tell him."

"You didn't have to ask. I'm going to avoid telling him for as long as possible. I worry the moment he finds out, he'll pull me from school. But I can hide it for a time without suspicion. As soon as it gets risky, he'll know."

"But I want to know immediately."

"Then you will. As long as you promise not to take me out of school," she laughed.

"I would never think of it!" He smiled back. "You're happy here. And all I want is to make you happy."

"You are such a romantic!" She dropped his hands gently. "How can you be this way when the world out there is so hopeless?"

He wrapped both hands around her waist. "I have to hope, Fae. It's all we've got."

She leaned back into him, closing her eyes as his scent overwhelmed her and he led her back to bed. Elphaba would always be cynical and certain of her own demise, but it didn't mean she didn't enjoy a brief respite from the doom and gloom of the rest of the world. And he always gave her that respite.

She was wandering the campus with Nanny and Nessa several afternoons later when they came across a bird (or Bird) fallen from the nest. Despite Nanny's protestations that it was unsanitary and the bird could be diseased, Elphaba bent to pick up the bird and carefully put it back home. Before she had even touched the poor thing, she saw how broken one of its little wings was and reached gently to touch the other side. But the moment she did, the little bird stretched its wings - suddenly unbroken - and flew away.

Nanny shrugged. "Serves you right." She hadn't seen how injured the bird was.

It wasn't possible. That wing was split almost in two. How had it healed so suddenly? Had she imagined the injury? But her fingertips had buzzed, almost hummed with energy as she'd brushed the feathers. What was happening to her?

Without a logical explanation, she forgot about it for a time. Until that awful day in advanced life sciences.

"We'll be dissecting cat corpses," Dr. Nikkidik announced on one of their weekly lab trips. The girls went on one day of the week and the boys on another. The student labs weren't large enough to accommodate the whole class at once.

Elphaba gasped, and immediately raised her hand. "Did they die of natural causes?"

"What does it matter?" The man snapped. "If you would please set the following tools out at your stations…"

"It matters because this is cruel," Elphaba insisted.

"If you have a problem with my lesson, Miss Thropp, you can take your qualms to Madame Morrible, who approved highly of this experiment, I assure you." He went on again. "The tools you will need are a scalpel, a set of thin tweezers, the…"

Elphaba pulled the tools out as she was told, feeling her mind begin to numb - the only way she could deal with this disgusting task. Yes, Dr. Dillamond had once or twice brought in deceased animals or Animals, but she knew for a fact they had died naturally or of illnesses. But with Dr. Nikkidik, she didn't trust that.

The corpses were on a cart that the man wheeled around to each station. They were in large trays. She reached for hers, grimacing. Elphaba had never been squeamish, but the questionable nature behind this assignment made her queasy. Taking the edges of the tray, she placed it in front of her. It was an orange tabby, and it looked so peaceful, like it was sleeping. It was almost as though she could reach out and pet it's still soft fur.

The cat sprang up, mewling. Elphaba almost fell out of her chair in shock. She yelped as the cat nuzzled against her hand with its cheeks. The entire class of girls turned to look at her, and Dr. Nikkidik turned around. "Oh, dear. I suppose this one didn't get the right dose…"

Horrified by the implication of Dr. Nikkidik's statement, and alarmed by the sudden resurrection of the cat, Elphaba leapt out of her chair. "I think I'm going to be sick." She grabbed her bag and fled into the hall, not stopping until she collapsed in the hallways of Crage Hall. It was only then she noticed that the cat had somehow followed her.

Catching her breath, she pet it for a moment, absentmindedly. It purred and rubbed against her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. The little orange cat continued to pur.

"Elphie!" Glinda must've followed her. She was not as breathless as Elphaba, but clearly rushed. "I saw…"

Elphaba drew the cat protectively into her arms. "I don't know what happened."

"I think I do. Elphie, that cat should not be awake. Even if Dr. Nikkidik was right, whatever they gave them would've made them sleepy or ill, even if it wasn't the right amount to kill them."

She pressed her face into the cat's fur for a moment. "What he did… it's sick."

"Yes, yes, I know. But Elphie… I think… I think you just healed that cat by touch." Glinda sat down next to her. "Perhaps this is your latent power."

She swallowed hard. "No. It's just a weird coincidence, like the bird…"

"The bird?"

"Forget it!" Elphaba shook her head feverishly. How could she have power? She hated the idea of magic, the idea of anything unseen and unproven, partly because those same unproven things had governed her life for far too long. "I'm not…"

"Oh, Elphie, you're as much a witch as I am."

Author's Note: I think at least one of you figured out why I'm not going to be posting much. Anyway, Elphaba's powers have sprung up now for a reason. You'll see next chapter.