AN: Say bye-bye to the fluff! (Not completely, though. And the fluff will return next chapter, so it's not that bad.)
Fabala123: You actually think I'd mind you dedicating a chapter to me? Of course not - I'm honoured! Thank you so much! I just read and reviewed it, and it seems like it's going to be a great story!
20.
He asked her if she regretted it, a few minutes afterwards. And again a few minutes later. And then he asked if she was really sure that she didn't regret it.
"Even if I did," she pointed out to him, "you do realise we can hardly go back now, don't you?"
That made him anxious, but she rolled her eyes. "I don't regret it, Yero. I love you. I wasn't ready before, but I was now." With that, she burrowed into his side, hissing softly when she accidentally hurt herself. Fiyero had tried to be very careful with her – and his – wound, but her pain medication was really wearing off now and her side was starting to burn once again. He gently stroked her hair, promising himself that he would take her to the royal family's own doctor the moment they would reach Adurin Iir. He knew she was strong and she could take a lot, and she kept reassuring him that she was okay; but he wanted to know for sure.
"How long do you think it will take for someone to come and get us?" he asked quietly after a while. "I mean, I don't know exactly where we are..."
"Didn't you keep track of how long it took your kidnappers to get you to their cabin?" Elphaba asked teasingly.
He stuck out his tongue. "Well, I was more busy worrying about the fact that I was being kidnapped in the first place, to be honest." He grinned at her. "But no, I have no idea. They blindfolded me, too."
She nodded, wrapping her arm around him a little tighter. "It took me a while to find you. I think I must have followed that man for at least about three or four hours. It was a just after noon when they sent someone to Adurin Iir, so if that person takes four hours to get to the castle and talk to your parents, and then your parents – or whoever is coming for us – take another four hours to get back here..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm not that stupid, you know," he said, pretending to be insulted.
"Not that stupid, no," she agreed cheerfully and he tickled her, but quickly stopped that when she squirmed and then gasped in pain.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly.
She rolled her eyes fondly. "You are such an idiot."
"But you love me for it," he said cockily, only to add, "Right?"
She laughed and kissed him. "Right."
The innkeeper knocked on the door about half an hour later to bring them dinner, which they gratefully accepted. They ate in silence and then settled back down on the bed. Now all they had to do was wait for someone from Adurin Iir to arrive; but if Elphaba was right about the time it had taken her to get here, Fiyero mused, that could be another few hours. He sighed and shifted a little. He just wanted to go home already.
He stared out of the window, where the snow was still falling steadily. He was glad that at least they were out of the cold now. Last night had not been pleasant... although, he mused, it would have been, if they'd been inside instead of out and neither of them had been hurt. And he was glad she had opened up to him about her mother.
He looked at her, fast asleep again right next to him. He would like to talk to her a little bit more, but he didn't have the heart to wake her just because he was feeling a little lonely. She needed her rest. Besides – she would probably not be too keen on discussing the things he had in mind. He really wanted to talk to her more about her family, her mother's death and her father's treatment of her, and Nessa... partly out of pure curiosity, but also because he wanted to understand her. She was his wife now, he loved her, and they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. He really wanted to know everything about her, but he understood that he would have to be patient for that.
And so he stayed where he was, watching the snowflakes drifting by on the wind as he waited – either for Elphaba to wake up or for someone from Adurin Iir to arrive. He eventually lay back down, exhausted by everything that had happened.
He must have fallen asleep as well; because the next thing he knew, he awoke with a start to find a man pressing him down to the mattress. He recognised him as one of the men who had guarded him in that cabin in the woods and his eyes widened. He tried to struggle, but found that his ankles and wrists were tied and he was gagged. He'd always been a heavy sleeper, but he could not believe he had slept through them doing this to him.
"Good morning, Your Highness," the man said mockingly. "Or perhaps I should say "good evening". That wasn't very nice, what you and your little wife did to us."
Elphaba. His head whipped around, only to find her pinned down as well, by one of the other men.
And he was pressing a pillow over her face.
Fiyero tried to scream, but the gag prevented him from doing that. He struggled, but the man on top of him was heavy and the ropes were restricting him.
"Don't bother, Your Highness," the man sneered. He exchanged a grin with his partner, who climbed off Elphaba. Her face was pale and she didn't move, and Fiyero swore his heart stopped for a moment. He instinctively tried to call out to her, but of course that did not work, either.
"Say goodbye to the Vinkun-Munchkin alliance," the second man chuckled. He nudged Elphaba. She did not move and he nodded, satisfied. "That'll solve things. This will be much easier with the alliance gone."
His partner, still holding Fiyero, nodded as well. "Let's get out of here. We'll send Vorn back to Adurin Iir to tell the royals what happened and that they can choose between joining the Wizard's anti-Animal campaign or losing their crown prince." He looked around. "You did not leave any traces, did you?"
The other man snorted. "What do you think I am, an amateur?" He moved over to the window and opened it, glancing left and right. "The coast is clear. We can take this way out." He looked over his shoulder. "Careful with the prince."
"Should we let the royals know somehow that their princess is dead?" the first man asked, but the second shook his head.
"They'll find out soon enough," he said. "We'll just let them find her in here."
Most of their conversation did not even get through to Fiyero. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Elphaba, desperately watching her for any sign of life, but he knew it was fruitless. Who knew how long they had been smothering her already by the time he woke up?
She had only been his wife for a couple of weeks. All in all, he'd maybe known her for two months at most, the first weeks of which he hadn't even liked her. And yet in that short period of time, he had grown closer to her than he had ever been to anyone else. She made him want to do things he wouldn't even have considered before – things like settling down, putting other people first instead of himself, making sacrifices if he had to. He loved her.
He could feel his throat clogging up and his eyes stung with unshed tears, but he refused to cry. He didn't want to give them that satisfaction.
The man holding Fiyero down suddenly frowned. "Wait a clock-tick."
"What?" the other asked and his friend gestured towards Elphaba.
"Check her pulse, will you?"
The second man sighed. "I pressed a pillow over her face for nearly two minutes. There's no way –"
"Just do it."
He grumbled, but complied, moving over to the bed. Fiyero watched anxiously as he bent over Elphaba, peering at her face intently. He moved his hand to her neck in order to check for a heartbeat there... and then he was suddenly flung backwards and against the wall.
The other man cursed, but Elphaba was already on her feet and chanting another spell. The man leapt off Fiyero and swiftly snatched his weapon off the side table where he had left it, pointing it at Elphaba. Fiyero wanted to shout a warning; but before he could even make a sound through his gag, the man had already fired.
Elphaba's arms reflexively shot up to protect herself and her magic kicked in at the same time. There was a rush of wind and the air shimmered for a moment, a light flashing so brightly that Fiyero had to squeeze his eyes shut.
When the opened them again, Elphaba was still standing in the same spot, seemingly frozen; and the man was lying on the floor, clearly dead.
I have just completely finished writing my next fanfic, Until Death Do Us Part, so there won't be any hiatuses (is that a word?) in that one.
Also, thank you all for the congratulations on my book! :) It will be available on , which is a Dutch website, but it delivers all over the world - so if any of you are interested, you'll be able to buy it, too, once it's really published.