AN: Ugh, sorry for the late update... again. I'm kind of struggling with all kinds of stuff at the moment, emotionally... and I only have three more chapters for this pre-written, so that's a problem :P. I'll try my hardest to keep up! (At least I have already almost finished my next fic, so I can promise you no hiatus or update delays there!)
Pfft, you guys are all so suspicious... (Though Rebeccaseal, your review made me laugh so hard!) There's really no need for that!
Okay, maybe there is.
16.
She wasn't immediately worried when a stable boy told her that Fiyero had not yet returned. Her meeting with the two kings had taken up most of the afternoon, but she knew Fiyero liked to stay out riding until dusk set in. She figured he would be back in time for dinner.
When he wasn't, King Humberto and Queen Danna sent out search parties again, fearing something might have happened to him.
"It doesn't have to be anything bad," Humberto said, although no-one was sure if he was trying to convince the others or himself. "Last time, we were worried sick, too; and he turned out to be fine. Relatively fine," he corrected himself. "Maybe his knee hurt him and he fell?"
Elphaba was biting her lip until she tasted blood, more worried than she would admit even to herself. She just hoped someone would find him soon.
Darkness fell across the Vinkus, and there was still no sign of Fiyero. The king and queen told Elphaba to get some sleep, assuring her that their guards would find the prince and bring him back home safely, but Elphaba was too anxious to even think of sleeping. Instead, she paced up and down the room, biting her lip and glancing out of the window every few seconds in the hopes of seeing Fiyero there.
By the time dawn came around, Elphaba was fed up with it. She stalked down the stairs and to the library, hoping to find someone already awake.
Kevon was sitting in an armchair by the window and she approached him.
He looked at her, frowning slightly. "Elphaba, did you sleep at all?"
She shook her head. "I'm not just going to sit here and wait, Kevon," she said. "I'm going out there to look for him myself."
Kevon sighed and nodded. "Humberto set out already, too. He left about an hour ago." He rubbed his forehead. "I just don't know what could have happened."
"He could have gotten lost," Elphaba said immediately, "or kidnapped by someone for ransom, or maybe his horse threw him and he's lying somewhere, hurt – or worse. Maybe his horse ran off and he's been walking out in the freezing cold all night, or maybe he has already frozen to death by now. Maybe he fell down a ravine or was taken or killed by the people who are against the Vinkun government, or perhaps even against the Vinkus opposing the Wizard and the Animal Banns..."
Kevon blinked. "Have you been thinking about this?"
"All night long," she admitted. "What else could I do?" She looked at him, pleading with him to understand. "I can't be widowed after only having been married for a few weeks," she said quietly. "I do love him, Kevon. I do."
"I know you do." Kevon gave her a small smile. "Go. I'll let the others know where you've gone."
She left the room and hurried down the stairs and outside, to the stables. Before long, she was mounted and racing off towards the Thousand Year Grasslands, which she knew was Fiyero's favourite place to go horseback riding. She hoped he had gone there last night; maybe she could find a trace of him somewhere.
She searched for hours, combing out the grasslands. She found horse prints in the sand near the forest, but she had no way of knowing whether or not they belonged to Fiyero's horse.
She eventually returned to the castle, defeated. When she got back, however, it was to find the others all sitting together, the atmosphere tense and their faces worried. Humberto and Kevon were standing at a desk, talking quietly to General Detery of the Vinkun army, which alarmed Elphaba.
"What's wrong?" she asked immediately and Humberto sighed.
"Someone has just stopped by," he said tiredly. "He claims his comrades have Fiyero."
Elphaba's eyes widened. "He's been kidnapped?"
"Elphaba..." Kevon looked at her seriously. "There's something you need to know."
"Last week," Humberto said, "the Vinkun troops freed a large group of Animals from the cages the Wizard's Gale Force was keeping them in."
She looked confused. "But... isn't that great news?" she wanted to know. "And what does that have to do with Fiyero being kidnapped?"
"A Glikkun soldier was killed in the process," Kevon said softly. "And the Glikkuns swore revenge."
Icy cold shivers ran down Elphaba's spine. "You think the Glikkuns kidnapped him?"
"We can't say for sure what the nationality of this man was, Your Highness," the general explained. "Given the demands he gave us in exchange for Prince Fiyero's safe return, however, we can assume that he is either a Glikkun or a sympathiser of the Glikkuns."
"Which demands were that?"
"They want us to accept the Animal Banns and implement them in our law system," Humberto answered her. "This man is returning tonight at dusk to hear our decision."
Elphaba chewed the inside of her cheek, trying not to worry about Fiyero, but focusing on the political side of things instead. "So whoever has Fiyero is on the side of the Emerald City regarding the Banns – they're followers of the Wizard. But do they really think we are going to stop fighting the Animal Banns because they kidnapped one man?" she wanted to know. "He is the crown prince, of course, but he is still just one man. They should know we would never abandon our entire cause and endanger Vinkun citizens in the process for one man, not even for the crown prince." Her stomach twisted in knots at the mere thought of something happening to Fiyero, but she knew how these things worked – she'd studied politics for three years at Shiz. It took more than the kidnapping of a man to change entire law systems.
"With all due respect, Your Highness," General Detery said, "the only ones endangered if we accepted these conditions would be the Animals."
Elphaba turned to him, her dark eyes flaming. "Are they not Vinkun citizens, then?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sorry, I must have missed that memo."
The general sighed. "Your Highness, the Animals are a minority of the Vinkun population –"
"What does that have to do with anything?!"
"I'm only saying that maybe it would not be such a bad idea to sacrifice –"
"I suggest you stop talking right about now, General," Cyara spoke up from behind the man. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your days as a newt, of course."
General Detery scoffed. "What do you –"
"I've seen Elphaba doing magic before," Cyara pointed out. "She's very good at it."
Detery took one glance at the fuming green girl and wisely shut his mouth.
"We're not abandoning them," Elphaba stated, clearly bearing no contradiction, even though she was not the one making the decisions. "We can't let the Animals down. We can't let anyone down. This fight is more important than anything... more important than Fiyero," she added softly.
"Your Highness," the general spoke up again, "he is the heir to the throne. Next in line would be his children, and unless you know something the rest of us don't, that means there will be no heir if something should happen to the prince."
Elphaba could feel her cheeks burning at his insinuations, knowing that nothing had even happened between her and Fiyero; but Cyara rose to her feet, scowling.
"Excuse me," she said, waving a hand at the general. "What do you mean, "no heir"? Am I invisible or something?"
"With all due respect, Your Highness," Detery began again, his tone condescending, "I really do not think it would be wise for the Vinkus to be ruled by a woman alone."
"That's it," Elphaba declared hotly, slamming her hands onto the desk and looking at King Humberto. "I want him out."
Cyara crossed her arms, clearly agreeing with the green girl. Kevon did not say anything and Humberto rubbed his brow tiredly.
"Elphaba," he said wearily, "we need him to come up with a strategy –"
"All he's done so far is insult my cause, my sister-in-law, and my gender," Elphaba pointed out. "I think we can come up with a strategy by ourselves."
Humberto hesitated, then nodded.
"General," he said, "thank you for your services. You are dismissed."
The general did not look happy, but he nodded and saluted. "Yes, Your Majesty." With that, he left.
Elphaba didn't even blink, and she certainly did not falter. "You want a strategy? Here is a strategy." She placed both palms on the desk and looked at Humberto. "Tonight, when that man comes back, you're going to tell him that we will accept his conditions and implement the Animal Banns."
Humberto looked shocked and Danna stepped up behind Cyara, a worried expression on her face. "Elphaba..."
"When he leaves," the young witch continued without acknowledging that the queen had spoken, "I'm going to follow him."
Cyara gasped. "What?"
"He will most likely lead me to his comrades," Elphaba explained, "or even to Fiyero himself."
"I realise that," the princess said with a frown. "But it's dangerous."
"Cyara is right, Elphaba," Kevon said solemnly. "These men are not to be played with. If they really do sympathise with the Wizard, you know what they are capable of. You've seen some of the Animals that have fled to the Vinkus from other parts of Oz."
She nodded – she had. "Which is why we need to take action as soon as possible. But first we need to get Fiyero back."
"Elphaba –" Danna began.
"We need to get him back before we do anything else," Elphaba cut her off, looking at her intently. "If we don't, they'll kill him."
They all fell silent, knowing the green girl was right.
"I won't let you go alone," Humberto spoke up. "If they discover you, you could be killed, Elphaba."
"I know we were not very acceptant of you in the beginning," Danna said softly, placing a hand on Elphaba's shoulder, "but you're our daughter-in-law. We do care about you. We don't want anything to happen to you."
Elphaba shook her head.
"I appreciate the sentiment," she said honestly. "I do. But someone has to do this. We have to save Fiyero."
"I know," said Humberto, "but that someone does not have to be you."
"Who else?" she asked rhetorically. "You and Danna are the king and queen of the country – you cannot be missed. Neither can Cyara – if someone does happen, or already has happened, to Fiyero, she will be the heir to the throne." She looked at them. "I'm not important," she stated simply. "I'm the crown princess, but I don't have any power without Fiyero. I can be missed. Even more importantly, I might be the only one who can be inconspicuous whilst still having the best chance of ending this well. Even if they do catch me, they won't see me as a threat; they'll merely see me as a girl desperate to save the man she loves. They don't know about my magic."
Cyara's eyes lit up. "So that's your plan."
Elphaba nodded. "I can master it now," she said. "You've all seen that. Three years of studying sorcery does that to you." She smiled faintly. "I can take them if I have to. I think that if anyone can bring back Fiyero safely, with the least risk involved, it's me."
The others all looked at one another. They all knew Elphaba was right, but they were all reluctant to admit it.
Cyara was the first one caving, wrapping her arms around her sister-in-law in a tight hug. "Be careful."
Elphaba was a bit startled, but she returned the hug tentatively. "I'll try my best."
She was apprehensive and she worried about things possibly going wrong, but she knew she had to do this. No matter what, she could not turn her back on Fiyero.
She loved him too much.
Favourite lines?