Chapter 22
A/N I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I seem incapable of keeping promises, so I won't make them anymore. The bad news is I lost my job. The good news is I found another. Hence the wait.
He was engaged.
Engaged.
About to be married.
Fiyero and Glinda.
Married.
There would be a party...a public announcement...a Ball... in honor of the good news. She felt the bile rising up in her throat as she steered her broom towards the Palace.
Well, she'd always known it would end, hadn't she? She should hardly be surprised. Or hurt, really.
She'd get over it. As long as he was happy. That was what mattered. That they were both happy. And they were perfect together. Why wouldn't they be happy.
She paid no heed to the tears that pricked at the corners of her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe them away as they fell.
They didn't matter at all. They shouldn't be there and soon enough, they wouldn't be.
She'd be fine.
She was fine.
But her stomach clenched, her throat hurt and her body trembled all the way to the City. When she got there and found herself steering into the direction of Avaric's apartment, she was only mildly surprised.
Her need for knowledge, for truth, for fact, had always been greater than her need for protection.
Engaged.
Engaged.
He was engaged.
He'd be married.
Oz, he'd be married.
She didn't even know why she was so upset. Or surprised. She had to have known this was coming. She knew. She had known.
Why was her mind going in circles? Why wouldn't this damn train of thoughts to oz-damned nowhere stop?
He was in a relationship, after all. In a relationship with her best friend. With the country's most adored woman.
Of course they would get married.
Of course, it would end.
Of course...
She wasn't dramatic enough to think it had all been a lie. She knew Fiyero loved her, cared about her at least. He would have to, to risk all that'd been risking for months now. But still it came as a shock to hear.
Her visit to Nessa had been a colossal mistake. She'd hoped, against all odds and despite knowing better...she'd hoped she'd find her sister there. A sister to listen, to help. She should have just gone to the Palace. She should never have listened to her foolish wish to make amends with Nessa, to make peace. Life spent in hiding had made her desperate enough to crave her sister's sympathy and life spent with Fiyero had made her hopeful enough to think that maybe...maybe...
But she'd been wrong. Asking Nessa for anything had been a mistake, and she knew she would never forget the hatred and pain in her little sister's eyes as she'd look at her. Another thing gone wrong, another good choice not made. Another option to do good destroyed. She would never learn.
She never, ever learned.
Oz, why wouldn't she learn?
And then Boq's words.
The ball that's being staged, announcing Glinda is engaged, to Fiyero.
She hadn't even known about the Ball. That was what made her doubt Fiyero, doubt what was between them.
A Ball...
If Glinda was remotely like she had been at school, surely she had been planning for months. And there was no possibility that she would have kept that from Fiyero. Glinda couldn't keep a secret like that. Not something like that. She was good at her job, she'd certainly been keeping the secret of what had truly happened that night with the Wizard, but something as supercilious as a ball, she wouldn't be able to stop talking about it.
Of course, Fiyero was gone a lot, and maybe Glinda had intended it to be a surprise...
But...engaged...
Someone had to propose to become engaged. And Glinda would never propose herself. There was not a doubt in Elphaba's mind that Glinda wanted to marry Fiyero. She had declared them practically engaged the night they'd met. But she wouldn't propose. She would want Fiyero to propose. She would want it to be perfect. She'd want the fairytale.
So did he? Did he truly propose to Glinda, knowing that he'd been unfaithful? That he was scheduled to meet with his fiance's best friend a day later?
Elphaba had been running in circles, trying to find the answer. As soon as she'd left her childhood home behind for good, she'd resolved never to return to where she and Fiyero met. This was the end. It had to be.
But she couldn't. She needed to know. She always, always needed to know. It was precisely what had gotten her into trouble, time and time again but she would never be free of that particular trait. She needed to know, even if it hurt, even if she would never understand. Even if it meant so much pain she would never get over it.
So here she was again. Avaric's apartment, by the windowsill, trying to talk herself into entering the house. The window had been open, and she wasn't sure what she feared more. Would he be there? She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted him to be. She wanted to talk to him, ask him, yell at him, ignore him completely. But she needed to be alone, needed time to prepare.
She got neither. Instead, a voice rang through the room.
I won't promise, but I will try to have the other next one up before the weekend.
For those who asked, or wondered, about the length of this story...I once spoke of 27 chapters...that no longer applies. Add another 8 to that. If you're still interested, that is.