AN: Um... hiiii. *silence* Remember me? The crazy cliffy queen who hasn't updated in forever? Ring a bell? (Okay, I posted Frex Hunters, but I scandalaciously neglected all my fanfics.)

Anyways... I'm not promising more regular updates, because I'm just really busy at the moment and most of the inspiration I get is for my original story and/or some short stories I've been working on... but I'll try my best.

The Wizard Of Wicked: That is hilarious! xD

Wicked4Life: That is amazing. I'm happy for you :). (Btw, did you check out my belated sort-of-birthday-present for you? The new Frex Hunters fix? ^_^)

Amy From Aus: I love that. That is so awesome :).

This ends with a cliffy. For good measure. I mean, this is my comeback after not updating this story for, like, over two weeks. I need to make a statement. It's a nice cliffy, though, for a change.

Chapter 23. The poison

Fiyero, Galinda and Nessa immediately started talking in panicky voices all at once, up to the point where Elphaba actually covered her ears with her hands.

"We should take her to a hospital!"

"But the doctor just said the antidote is very rare!"

"Then we have to go and find it!"

"Okay, here's the plan. Fiyero, you stay with Elphie and get her to rest –"

"She's not going to like that."

"I don't care, Nessa! She's dying!"

"Don't say that!"

"I'm sorry, Fiyero, but it's true!"

"I think Galinda is right. Fabala should be on bed rest immediately. Even if we have to tie her down."

"Guys!" Elphaba shouted over their nervous chattering.

They all fell silent at once.

She scowled at them. "Thank you."

"Now, really, I don't think there's any need for you to panic yet," the doctor tried to reassure them all. "I'm confident that we can make sure Miss Elphaba will be just fine –"

"But you just said it would be a problem if anyone drank the poison," Galinda interrupted him.

Nessa looked like she was about to cry. "You said it poisons someone's body very slowly and painfully!"

"Only if we don't find the antidote," the doctor said firmly. "Which we are going to do. Miss Elphaba, I agree with your friends that it would probably be best to take you to a hospital…"

Elphaba immediately shook her head. "No way," she declared. "I hate hospitals. Absolutely loathe them. And you just said the only thing that could still save me is the antidote, which means they won't be able to help me at the hospital, anyway."

"Fae –"

"No, Fiyero. If I'm going to die, I refuse to do it in a hospital." She crossed her arms and glared at her friends. "I just want to stay here – or go anywhere, really, as long as it's not a hospital – and that's it. No big fuss."

"No big fuss? Elphaba –"

"Stop!" she said irritably. "Stop babying me!"

"I will go now," the doctor said, glancing at Elphaba, "and contact some colleagues of mine to see if I can get my hands on the antidote. In the meantime, I suggest you rest as much as you can, and try to drink a lot of water – moisture can dilute the poison, slowing down its effects, and –"

"Someone get Elphie water!" Galinda screeched, and Fiyero immediately made to run off.

Nessa, who realised her sister was about to murder someone, stopped him by grabbing hold of his arm. "Fiyero?"

He looked at her, and the look in his eyes broke her heart. They'd been through so much together already – much of it because of Nessa, at the very least partially – and it just didn't seem fair that they would have to go through this now. She could see how much Fiyero loved her sister and how it would devastate him if he lost her.

Nessa also still couldn't believe that her father, her own father, whom she had loved, respected and adored, could do something horrible like this; but she resolutely pushed those thoughts away. No use to dwell on that now. There were more important things to focus on first.

"I know you're worried," she said to Fiyero now, "and believe me, I am, too; but you know Fabala. She can't handle us being overprotective and trying to smother her right now."

Fiyero took a deep breath, realising she was right, though that knowledge wasn't very reassuring. "Yeah… I know."

"Let's get her to bed, make her rest," Nessa said softly, "and go from there. Okay?"

He nodded slowly, feeling numb. "Okay."

"Someone has to warn Gazilon," Nessa said.

"I'll go." Galinda, looking pale, seemed to be glad that she could do something to make herself useful. She immediately ran off – a rather impressive achievement, given the height of her heels, but no-one was really paying attention to that right now.

"How are you feeling?" Fiyero asked Elphaba worriedly. He tried to keep Nessa's warning in mind, but he just couldn't not worry.

He smoothed her hair away from her forehead and ran his fingers through the soft, silky strands. Down through her long hair until his fingers reached the tips at her waist; then up to the top of her head to bury his fingers in her hair again and repeat the process. Down… and up. Down… and up. It was something to focus on. Something other than the knowledge that the love of his life was dying.

Suddenly, her long, slim fingers closed around his; and he looked up at her, startled.

"Yero," she said softly. "I know you're worried, but I'm fine for now. Really. I'm not feeling any different at all, except for that headache… and that's not such a big deal," she added when she saw worry immediately clouding his sapphire blue eyes again. "It's just a headache. I'm okay. Don't start worrying before you have an actual reason to."

"You having been poisoned by your own father isn't a good enough reason for me to worry?" he snapped, eyes flaring, and she winced a little.

His anger immediately evaporated – it was hardly her fault, after all. He wrapped her in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I'm just…"

"I know." She laid her head on his shoulder. "It's okay." She let him hold her, knowing that was what he needed right now.

They had all but forced Elphaba into her own bed upstairs. They had all slept in the same room that night; Nessa, Galinda and Gazilon on mattresses on the floor, and Fiyero in the bed with Elphaba. He had held her in his arms as she slept, too worried to sleep himself. Instead, he'd kept a close eye on her all night, somehow afraid that if he didn't watch her at all times, she'd stop breathing and pass away in her sleep.

They had all noticed her looking worse in the morning. She was pale, and despite the fact that she had slept a full night, she looked tired. They could see in her eyes that she was in pain, even though she insisted she was fine.

Galinda and Fiyero had both written to their parents, explaining everything that had happened in Munchkinland and asking them if they could try and find the antidote – even though Fiyero had predicted miserably that by the time their parents received their letters, found the antidote, and managed to get it to Munchkinland, Elphaba would most likely already be gone.

Right now, Gazilon and Galinda were visiting every single apothecary in the proximity of the Governor's mansion, trying to gain more information about the antidote. Nessa had gone downstairs to talk to the doctor, who had come to visit them again. They had all agreed that Fiyero should stay with Elphaba.

"Do you need anything?" he asked her now. "Blankets, food, water? Anything at all?"

She bit her lip. "You," she said.

His heart broke. He hurried to her side and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

"You'll be fine," he murmured into her hair. "Don't worry, Fae. You're not going to die. I won't let you."

She let out a soft chuckle. "I know. And I won't. But I hate seeing you like this."

"I thought I was doing a rather good job hiding my concern," he joked weakly.

She shook her head, smiling. "Yero…"

"Just hold on, okay?" He hugged her close. "You'll be fine." It was almost a mantra by now. Something he kept on telling himself, because he just had to believe it. It had to be true. He didn't know what he'd do if he turned out to be wrong.

Galinda poked her head into the room. "Elphie?"

"I'm fine," the green girl said automatically.

Galinda giggled. "I didn't ask how you were doing."

"No," Elphaba agreed, "but you were going to."

Galinda cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject, clearly proving Elphaba right, which brought a small smirk to the young witch's face. "Well, anyway, Elphie, Gaz and I were thinking something while we were in town just now."

"And what was that?"

"Yes," Nessa said from behind Galinda as she was being pushed into the room by Gazilon. "What was that?"

"Frex," Gazilon said. "He probably knows where to get the antidote, or he even has it himself."

Fiyero's grip on Elphaba tightened in excitement. "You think so?"

Galinda nodded. "He's smart," she said. "He makes all these sneaky plans and he did a pretty good job hiding them from everyone and working them out… I don't think he would have taken the risk of something with the poison going wrong and someone else ending up dead. I think he would have taken precautions and at the very least informed himself about where he could get the antidote, if need be."

"He wasn't prepared for me taking the poison instead of Fiyero," Nessa pointed out, but Gazilon shook his head.

"Maybe," he said. "But we don't know that, because everyone started panicking when you fell down, and we removed Frex from the room, and then he got arrested… plus, it was an acute-working poison. There wasn't much time to do anything about it at all."

"Okay, so let's assume for a moment that Frex knows where the antidote is," said Elphaba tiredly. "What makes you think he is going to share that knowledge with us?"

Nessa raised her chin. "I'm going to talk to him," she said. "He'll listen to me."

Elphaba shook her head. "Nessie… he won't tell you," she said gently. "He's not going to want to save my life. Not even for you."

"Maybe not," Nessa said, near tears. "But I have to try!"

"I'll come with you," Galinda decided.

"Me, too," Gazilon agreed. He looked at Fiyero and Elphaba. "At least… I think you two probably want to…"

Elphaba waved a hand. "Go. Nessa is right – it's worth a try."

"I don't like the fact that everyone is constantly giving us 'privacy'," Fiyero muttered anxiously after the others left the room. "It feels like they're trying to give us time alone to say goodbye or something."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You're so melodramatic."

He couldn't help but smile just a little at that. It was reassuring that she was still herself.

"You'll be fine," he whispered again, burying his face in her hair.

She kissed his fingers and disagreed… but only silently.

"Nessa?"

Galinda pushed the girl's chair in front of Frex' cell. They had agreed that Gazilon would wait outside – they didn't want to intimidate Frex, after all; they just wanted to placate him in order to get him to tell them where the antidote was.

Nessa smiled sadly. "Hello, Father."

"Nessa." He gripped the bars of his cell and looked at his daughter pleadingly. "My precious girl…"

"Why did you do this, Father?" she whispered. "Why did you try to kill Fiyero? And Fabala… she's dying, Father."

His mouth twisted into a smug grin. "I know."

"How could you do this?" Nessa asked him softly.

"Because," he said through gritted teeth, "she is a bad influence on everyone around her. It's her fault Shiz was attacked, Nessarose. Deep down, you know that, too. She has been a disgrace to our family and a bad influence on you, and I will not watch you being poisoned by her black soul any longer."

"So you poisoned her," Nessa concluded quietly.

"I did," Frex agreed. "Because I had to. Nessa, sweet girl… I did it for you. Everything I ever did, I did for you. You do know that, don't you? I only want what's best for you. You're the most important things in my life, Nessa. I love you."

Nessa lowered her eyes.

"Governor Thropp?" Galinda asked softly. "Do you know where to get the antidote to the poison you used on Elphaba?"

He raised his gaze to hers. After a long silence, he said gruffly, "You can't get it. You have to make it yourself by combining several herbs."

"Do you know how?" Galinda prodded.

Frex sighed, then admitted, "Yes."

Nessa sucked in her breath excitedly. "Father…"

He looked at her for a long time. "My precious Nessa… you must understand that I can't let her be around you any longer," he said. "It's better this way."

She shook her head frantically. "How can you say that?!" she demanded. "Father, tell me how to make the antidote!"

"Please, Governor Thropp?" Galinda added pleadingly. "Elphie is my best friend… Nessa's sister."

Frex shook his head. "No," he said flatly.

"Father, please!" Nessa begged him.

"I'm sorry, Nessa," Frex said, gently but firmly. "No. Your sister deserves to die, and that's that."

Nessa and Galinda shared a look.

They had agreed to try it the nice way. Neither of them was willing to hurt someone unless it was absolutely necessary; and so they had agreed to try this first. Nessa had hoped that by pleading and begging, Frex would cave and tell them about the antidote. They had, however, made another plan, just in case the pleading wouldn't work.

Now, they silently agreed to take things to the next level.

"Very well," Nessa whispered. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I, um… I brought you some food," she said. "Some bread and cheese, and even some wine… I thought you might prefer that over the food you'd get here in the dungeons."

Frexspar smiled at Nessa. "That's my darling girl," he said proudly. "Thank you so much, sweet Nessa. You're so thoughtful."

She handed him a small basket with the food and opened the bottle of wine, sniffing it. "This is good wine," he concluded.

"Try it," Nessa urged him. "It was a gift from the Mayor's wife, remember? At that party a couple of months ago? She said it came all the way from Gillikin."

"Ah, yes." Frex brought the bottle to his lips and took a sip. "It is good wine," he concluded, smiling back up at Nessa. His smile faded, however, when he saw the grim expressions on Nessa and Galinda's faces.

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Do you notice anything about the taste of that wine, Governor Thropp?" Galinda asked a little smugly.

Frex frowned. "Well… it tastes a little… spicy, I think the right word is. Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Oh, there's definitely something wrong with it," Nessa said icily.

Frex' eyes widened. "Nessa?" he asked sharply. "Did you put something in that wine?"

Nessa met his gaze defiantly. "Yes."

Frex stared at her in disbelief. He licked his dry lips. "What… what was it?"

Nessa smiled coldly.

"Exinum root," she said. "The same poison you gave Fabala."

Frex' eyes widened even further.

"So, Father," Nessa said, boring her gaze into her father's, "now it's up to you."

"Either you tell us the recipe for the antidote," Galinda said, her gaze hard, "or Elphaba is not the only one who is going to die."