I'm glad you were all creeped out by that note. That was, obviously, my intention. :P And I love hearing all your suspicions!

Guest, thanks for pointing that out - I changed it now.

14. Journey

"Fabala?" Nessarose sounded concerned, even through the phone. "You never call me this early in the day. What's going on?"

"We're coming to Munchkinland, Nessa," Elphaba said curtly into the phone, clutching it between her ear and shoulder so she had her hands free to pack a large sports bag for the twins. "We're leaving in half an hour or so, so we'll be there late this afternoon. There will be seven of us, is that okay? We can share rooms."

Nessa was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was trembling. "What happened, Elphaba?"

"I'll tell you later." The green woman moved as if the devil was on her heels, tossing clothes and toys into the open bag on Fawn's bed without even caring to fold or arrange them properly. "Once we get there."

"Elphaba, at least tell me if you're all right. And the twins? Is anyone hurt?"

Elphaba paused, just long enough to take a deep breath. "No," she said. "No-one is hurt. Don't worry. Something happened, though, and I need to get away from here as soon as possible. Is that okay?"

"Of course," said Nessarose. "I'll make sure everything is ready. You're in luck, too – Father left for Quadling Country early this morning, so you won't have to face him."

"Great." Elphaba exhaled slowly, but she didn't feel any calmer. "Thanks, Ness. I'll see you tonight." She pressed the 'end call' button and placed both her hands on the bed, letting her head hang down as she took a few deep breaths. Those words, those images, were playing before her mind's eye over and over again. You look so pretty when you sleep. He'd entered her house, he'd made his way up and into her bedroom, and he'd stood there watching her for over half an hour while she slept, completely oblivious. He could have killed her if he'd wanted to. He could have done anything he wanted – she hadn't even been aware of his presence. And if he could get to her, then he could also get to the twins.

She didn't even realise she was crying until some drops of moisture fell down on the bed between her hands and she inhaled sharply, quickly wiping the tears away and sniffling. As if on cue, Xalo called, "Mum?"

"Yeah, sweetie?" she called back, working hard to keep her voice steady.

He came into the room, studying her. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I thought I heard you crying."

She forced a smile, even as she mentally cursed him for being so perceptive. "I'm fine, Xalo," she said, sitting down on the bed. He crawled up beside her and she hugged him. "I just have a lot on my mind. That's all."

"Auntie Galinda said we should be extra nice to you because someone is trying really hard to scare you," Xalo said, looking up at her. "Is that true? Is it like yesterday at the party when that man – Mr Avaric – accidentally locked you in the closet when you're afraid of small spaces?"

"Yeah," she said softly, running her fingers through his hair. She felt a flicker of irritation at Galinda for talking to the twins about this; but then again, she supposed they must have noticed something was going on, too, and she hated lying to them. As long as they all took care that they wouldn't find out the true scope of the threat and became terrified themselves, they could know bits and pieces of the truth. "It's a bit like that."

Xalo nodded earnestly. "Don't be scared, though," he said. "Fiyero is here to protect you, right? And you can protect yourself. You have magic. Does the person who's scaring you also have magic?"

"Probably not," she said with a small smile and he beamed at her.

"Then you can totally take him!"

She laughed and hugged him close again. "I love you, my little monkey."

"I love you, too, Mum." He squirmed away from her. "Can I bring my new video games to Auntie Nessa's?"

"Auntie Nessa doesn't have anything to play them on," Elphaba reminded her son. Frexspar hated everything to do with technology; it was a miracle he even had basic things like a microwave and a washing machine in his house. He and Nessa had no television or computer, although Nessarose had gotten herself a mobile phone and a small laptop at some point so she could at least call and video chat with her sister every now and then.

He heaved a deep, disappointed sigh. "I forgot about that," he said glumly.

She nudged him playfully. "You and Fawn can play outside together. Remember the big garden? And the lake nearby? Maybe Fiyero will take the two of you rowing on the lake once he gets there, if you ask him nicely. And we can all bake a cake together and have a picnic, play board games... Auntie Nessa will be so happy to see you again and spend time with you two."

"She's nice," Xalo admitted, getting up from the bed and moving back over to the door. "But I'll still miss my video games."

Elphaba chuckled, feeling a little better; but as she watched her son leave the room, her smile faded. If something happened to him, or to Fawn...

She shook her head and rose to her feet again, continuing to pack a bag for the twins. They'd go to Munchkinland without notifying anyone. Frex and Nessa weren't celebrities of any kind and she'd kept them firmly out of the public eye, even better than she had the twins, mostly since they didn't have that much contact anymore. No-one who knew about her would know where her sister lived, if they even knew she had a sister, and that information couldn't be found anywhere online. They'd all be safe with Nessa for a little while and in the meantime, Fiyero would stay here at the Palace for a couple of extra days and discuss things with the head of security so that by the time they all returned, the building would be completely safe and no-one could get in anymore without their knowledge without a dozen alarms going off. That's what she was hoping, anyway.

When she carried the bags to the living room, it was to find Oscar, Galinda, and Fiyero already there, talking solemnly. They all looked up when she entered and she gave them a faint smile, even though she knew they were all worried about her. She looked terrible, too – she'd merely slipped into a pair of old jeans, a faded sweatshirt, and a pair of worn ballet flats before she'd started packing, not caring about her appearance since no-one outside of her family would see her, anyway. She hadn't even brushed her hair, just piled it on top of her head in a messy bun.

"Ready to leave?" Oscar asked and she nodded.

"I'm ready."

"Elphie," said Galinda, rising to her feet. "I've cleared your schedule for this week, but I wasn't sure what to do with your speech on Wednesday. Personally, I think it would be best to cancel it, especially since you'd have to drive all the way back here for it; but I know it's a very important event, so I wasn't sure."

Elphaba nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Glin. I really should do the speech, but…" She bit her lip.

Understanding, Galinda said gently, "I do have an idea, Elphie. I got a call from someone the other day asking you to speak at the opening of the children's hospital in the northern district of the City. It's next Thursday, so almost two weeks away, and it would be just as great an opportunity as the City Hall speech would have been. You could do that one instead and I'll just call the charity gala organisers the day before the event to let them know you're ill and can't come the next day."

"I think that's a better idea," said Fiyero, glancing at the dark-haired witch. "I don't like you being out in public at the moment, Fae."

She sighed, but relented. "I guess you're right," she said reluctantly. She nodded at Galinda. "You can do that. Thanks, Glin."

"Not a problem, Elphie." Galinda smiled at her friend. "Now, since you'll be in Munchkinland, I'm going to spend a lot of time running everything here and the rest of my time at home snuggling with my boyfriend this week; but if there's anything, anything at all, that you need my help with or that you think I should know, call me right away, okay? I want you to text me the moment you arrive at Nessa's tonight, too."

"We will," Oscar answered before Elphaba could say anything. "Don't worry. We'll keep you posted."

There would be two guards coming with them, although they were dressed in normal clothing and didn't carry any visible weapons. They didn't want anyone to know Elphaba was leaving the Palace; they couldn't risk her stalker following her to Munchkinland. Fiyero knew he'd feel better once he himself got to Munchkinland as well, but for now he really needed to stay here. What had happened last night couldn't happen again and he had to make sure security was tight enough to ensure that.

As one of the guards, who would also be driving, came to pick up their bags and tell them they were leaving, Elphaba got up as well; but Fiyero called her back. "Elphaba?"

She looked at him over her shoulder and he said, "It would be best if no-one saw you leaving the Emerald City at all."

She furrowed her brow. "I know."

"You'll be taking your own car – the one with bullet-proof glass and blinded windows," Fiyero continued. "Just in case, you know? We don't want anyone to see inside and realise who's in there."

She nodded, unsure of where he was going with this and mildly annoyed with the way he was skirting around the issue. "Get to the point, Fiyero."

"You can't open a window until you're safely out of the City – preferably not at all until you get to Munchkinland – and you can't stop," he blurted out and she stiffened, suddenly understanding what he meant. He gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Fae, but –"

"It's fine," she interrupted him, straightening her back and lifting her chin even though she could feel her heart pounding in her throat at the thought of being confined to a car for hours and being unable to open a window. Travelling had always been a struggle for her; technically, she could also fly to Munchkinland and it would take less than an hour, but there was no way anyone would ever get her into an airplane without using force. She travelled by train sometimes if she had to, but for long distances, she still preferred the car because she could make it stop so she could get out of it if she needed to and because she could keep a window open.

She had to, though, for her own safety and for her children, so she gritted her teeth and added, "Really. I'll make it work."

Fiyero looked concerned, but she just flashed him a glare, snapped, "I'm not made of sugar, you know," and then stomped out of the room.

Galinda sighed. "Don't take that personally," she advised the bodyguard. "She's putting on a brave face, but she's terrified – both about riding in a car with closed windows and about this whole stalker business – and when Elphie gets nervous or scared, she snaps."

"It's fine," he told the petite PA. "Do you want me to go get Fawn and Xalo?"

"I'll go," Oscar said and quickly hurried off in search of the twins.

"Do you think she'll be safe in Munchkinland, Fiyero?" Galinda asked, biting her lip, and Fiyero shrugged.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I'm inclined to say I'd rather have her stay here because the Palace is more secure, but the fact that someone stood in her bedroom for half an hour last night proves me wrong about that. To be completely honest, I don't think she's safe anywhere right now. I'll fix security here at the Palace as soon as possible, but that, too, is only a temporary solution. We need to find out who is behind this, Glin."

The blonde nodded. "I know," she said, her shoulders slumping a little. "But we've been talking around in circles like this ever since you got here. We need to find out who it is, but we don't know how; and in the meantime, these creepy things keep happening... you were stabbed, Fiyero. I don't know if this guy knows yet that you survived, but if he does, he's not going to like it. You be careful, too."

Fiyero flashed her a grin. "I'm not that easy to kill," he said, attempting to lighten the mood, but Galinda just frowned at him.

"You would have been killed if Elphaba hadn't saved your life with her magic," she pointed out tartly. "You would do well to remember that."

He sighed, deflating as well. They were all on edge and none of them were in the mood for jokes or lightness right now. "I know."

Oscar returned with the twins just then and Fiyero and Galinda went outside with them to say good-bye. Galinda hugged the entire Thropp-Diggs family tightly and told them a thousand times to be careful. Fiyero had a quick talk with the guards accompanying them and then shook Oscar's hand before crouching down beside the twins.

"Now," he said in a conspiratorial voice. "You both know your mum is a little scared of driving in a car without the window open, right?"

They nodded and he continued, "So I'm going to need you two to look after her for me and make sure she's not so scared. Can you do that?"

More nodding.

Fiyero grinned at them. "Good. I'm proud of you two," he said, ruffling their hair with both his hands. "Take care of each other and of your mum and listen to her and your grandpa, okay? Don't go anywhere on your own. I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Will you take us rowing on the lake then?" Xalo asked hopefully and Fiyero nodded.

"Promise."

Fawn's face lit up at that, too, and the twins both gave him a quick hug before clambering into the car. Fiyero straightened up, only to come face to face with Elphaba, who had her arms crossed and was glaring at him.

"I don't need them looking after me," she sneered. "I don't need anyone looking after me."

"I know," he said lightly. "But it makes them feel better if they feel like they have a bit of responsibility – like the important job of taking care of their mother. Didn't you always want to feel important at that age?"

She was still glowering at him. "I was important at that age," she reminded him. "I was responsible for caring for my little sister in a wheelchair, remember?"

He grimaced – he'd forgotten about that for a moment. She huffed and he rolled his eyes, pulling her into a hug as well before she could protest.

"You're ridiculous," he said into her hair. "I know you can take care of yourself, but there's nothing wrong with allowing other people to take care of you every now and then, too." He pulled away, ignoring the bewildered look on her face. "Good luck," he said solemnly. "Benn and Rodger, those two guards you have with you, will be there to protect you if needed; but you should be fine. They'll also keep me updated on the journey and on your stay there – what you're doing, how it's going – so you don't have to bother with contacting me personally."

Now she was frowning again. "What makes you think contacting you personally would bother me?" she asked and he shot her an impish grin.

"I knew you'd take a liking to me eventually."

She glared daggers at him once again and he chuckled before stepping away. "Safe journey."

She was still glaring when she got into the car, and even after the door closed and he couldn't see her anymore, he was fairly certain she simply continued to glower at him through the blinded windows.

Hey, would you look at that - no cliffy! I wish I could say the same thing about the next chapter... (Actually, I don't.)