The next few days dragged by for Elphaba. The building in which she remained was not warm by any means and she only had on her thin dress from the ball, and she was cold and hungry. Frex made a habit of stopping by just to taunt her, but he never brought food or anything warm. She was starting to shiver constantly and beginning to have difficulty concentrating on anything, and was becoming very drowsy.

She wanted so badly to use the blade that Glinda had given her to get out and never look back, but if the blonde was to be believed, it would have to wait until the opportune moment presented itself. However, she had taken to sawing through the rope a little at a time in order to be able to get out when the time came. It did not help that her fingers were frozen or that she was shivering non-stop.


Frex had just come back from his daily taunting when Glinda fell into step with him. He was startled, but remained polite. After all, this was the girlfriend of the man who would take Elphaba off of his hands forever.

"Why, Miss Glinda, what brings you here today? Have you a message from Avaric?" There was no answer, so he tried again to start a conversation.

"Fine day is it not?" This time, Glinda stopped and looked at him before she began to chant in a strange language. "Miss Glinda?" Frex began to grow drowsy and shook his head to clear the fog, but to no avail, as the fog in his mind grew thicker, he lost consciousness. He never felt or saw the bubble forming around him, rendering him invisible to the naked eye. Glinda then skillfully navigated the bubble through the busy streets to the private entrance of the Emerald City's most notorious prison, Southstairs.


Oscar stood in his study, attempting to concentrate on the duties that could not be set aside just for the sake of his missing daughter. He was not having much luck and was startled at the sudden banging on the door. He became even more confused when Fiyero burst in breathing hard.

"Oscar, you have to come to Southstairs right now! They have Frex in custody!"

"And Elphaba?"

"I don't know. All I was told is that Frex is in custody and he has a message for you. Melena is already there waiting for us."

The pair arrived at the prison, and Oscar nodded at his Captain of the Guard.

"Where is he? And what of my daughter?"

"I'm sorry sir, but there's no sign of Miss Elphaba. Frex had been dumped in the entrance, unconscious with a note pinned to his shirt. He's now in one of the cells underground. " The captain handed Oscar the note which was written entirely in pink ink.

"Your Ozness, this was also pinned to his shirt." The Captain passed over a light pink rosebud with a silver crescent moon charm tied to the stem with a white ribbon. Oscar took the offerings and quickly skimmed the note.

Oscar, forgive the familiarity, but this note contains matters of mutual interest. My work has overlapped with your desire to find your daughter. She is being held at the abandoned Corn Exchange in the Southeastern Slums of the Emerald City. Frex has sold her to a man who "collects" young women for his own sick entertainment. This man is the one I have been paired with to investigate on assignment for the past year. He has not touched her yet, but I fear time is running out. I have been able to contact your daughter and help her as much as I was able. You must hurry. I fear she is taking ill and I do not know how much time she has before this man decides to collect on his newest purchase.

There was no signature, but Oscar knew who it was from.

Fiyero was confused by the lack of ownership. "Why is there no signature? How are we to know this is authentic?"

Before Oscar could answer, Melena spoke up. "Fiyero, did you see the rose and moon that came with the note?" At his nod of ascent, she continued.

"That combined with the note is used by an elite member of the Gale Force who specializes in delicate undercover work that the normal, male soldiers can't do, such as issues involving children, and women. She is a longtime member and has been working to stop a teenage prostitution ring over the past year. This is her special symbol. She has no reason to lie."

As she finished explaining, the Captain spoke up. "As muc would like to go full tilt towards the Corn Exchange and get Miss Elphaba home, and I trust this note, as I personally know the sender, I must get the same information out of Frex, and in order to do that, he needs to be conscious. I can tell you extracting this information will not be pretty. Southstairs is infamous for a reason."


Elphaba had finally succeeded in cutting almost all the way through the rope. All it would take is a good tug to get the rest and she would be free. As she made the final cuts, she heard the door open to the building and hurriedly tucked the blade behind her where it would not be found. Despite the slow speed of coherent thought, she knew she was in trouble when the person that came through the door was not Frex or Glinda. She knew she was not strong enough to fight him off, not with the lack of food, and being so cold it was difficult to move easily. It could only be one person: Avaric, and for her that meant trouble.