Chapter 32
She listened for their voices, followed broken twigs, flattened grass, traced signs of life and ruin and found them, Fiyero on a pole, his guards beating him violently. She hadn't brought the Grimmerie. Why the hell hadn't she brought the Grimmerie?
She needed to do something.
She was strangely calm. She would question it later, it probably wasn't good, something about shock would apply here, but she was grateful for it now. The despair she was expecting to kick in miraculously absent. No panic tearing at the edges of her clear mind.
No, everything was clear. Clearer than it had ever been. No pesky morals that dogged her every thought.
She would have to do something. Yes.
But she would do anything.
They'd kill him.
And she wouldn't let them.
That was not an option. She was here. She'd end it all, here. Now.
It would cost her.
If not her life, than her clean conscience. Nothing ever came without a price.
She'd never meant for this to happen. But of course, she never meant for any of it all to happen.
Glinda. Nessa. Doctor Dillamond.
But it had happened anyway.
As far as good deeds went...she'd lost faith in them completely the moment she realized Nessa was dead. Good intentions didn't mean anything, in the end.
She'd meant well, yes.
She'd meant so very, very well.
Well, that wasn't going to be an issue this time. She had no good intentions here. She didn't mean well.
Nothing about this was selfless. He would live, because he deserved it. And because she could not live with him dead.
So she would stop them. There wasn't a doubt in her mind.
The price...whatever it was...someone would have to pay.
She didn't have her book, she didn't have the power to stop this many men without it, but she did have something they wanted.
They wanted her whereabouts. He wouldn't speak. He wouldn't give them what they wanted, but she could.
She moved forward, ready to end it all here. Ready to turn herself in.
Ready to try anything, when she spotted a flash of red from the corner of her eye. A figure in a red dress striding through the field, arms at her side.
Morrible.
Oz, she loathed this woman. It took every bit of self control she had to stay hidden, to not do anything she'd regret. Showing herself now, when she didn't know what the woman wanted here, would only hurt her chances of saving Fiyero. Morrible was stronger than she was right now. Without the Grimmerie, without a plan. Without a way to make sure Fiyero would live. Fear, though not for herself, would hold her back. Morrible had come here with a plan. She was in her element. This was her moment.
The house always wins...
"Stop!"
Her traitorous voice ringing through the field. All the guards stilled and dropped their weapons. Elphaba moved back into the shadows and narrowed her eyes.
What...would happen now?
Morrible approached the scene and held up a hand to motion for them to stop all they were doing.
"Take him to the castle."
One of the guards dared to speak.
"To the castle? But Madam..."
"Now! And make sure he's alive when you get there. He'll be useless to us dead ."
Another spoke up.
"But..."
"We need him, to get her. Do you not see? Are you not trained to think, only brawl? We'll issue a warning to the Witch. An ultimatum."
"Ultimatum?"
"Yes, an ultimatum." She addressed the man who had asked as if he was a simpleton. Granted, Elphaba conceded, he probably was. They were all too stupid to think.
"We'll let the little Prince go. If she turns herself in."
Elphaba almost gasped, Fiyero did. He was conscious then at least.
"She won't fall for that."
Fiyero. His voice was strong, even if all the rest of him seemed broken. His lips were bloody and it got worse as he spoke.
"She's smarter than all of you combined. Just end it now."
Morrible narrowed her eyes and Elphaba balled her fists. Death or no, she would step out if that old witch so much as touched him.
"Yes, we aren't denying that, are we? Insipid boy. How you managed to charm your way into the hearts of two women is beyond me. But I count myself lucky that you did, that they were stupid enough to fall for the Prince act. It is because we know this that we need you. It will end soon after that. All of this will. I've been patient enough."
With that, the older witch turned around and stalked off the field. The guards looked at each other until one of them shrugged and dragged Fiyero up.
"Let's move then. I don't want trouble with that woman."
Elphaba waited for them to leave the field and then mounted her broom.
Alright.
If Morrible wanted her, she'd get her.
As soon as possible, lovely people :)
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