AN: I deliberately decided not to go with a war scenario because it didn't really fit the general vibe of the story so far... and because I'm already writing a Fiyeraba war fic with Carlie :3.

Virtual PIE for PocketSevens for being the 300th reviewer! :D (Okay, okay, you can have something else if you want...)

22.

The next day, all of Oz was plunged into chaos.

Kevon told them all about it when he returned from the Emerald City. "The Sorceress of Quadling Country had proof," he said. "Boxes full of files, documents to take away the rights of Animals that were signed by the Wizard; but also letters between him and one Madame Morrible, whom I believe later became his Press Secretary, in which they talked about scapegoats and common enemies for the people. That and some witnesses willing to testify. The rest of the people were shocked – all in all, it became clear that His Ozness only started taking away the Animals' rights because he wanted to prevent the people from turning against him, so he turned them against a minority instead. The other leaders were furious. The Wizard and Madame Morrible have both been taken into custody, as have some other officials who were mentioned in the documents. Even Gillikin is on our side now and the Glikkus is very confused."

"What can we do to help?" Elphaba asked and the old king smiled at her.

"We're going to make this all public knowledge first," he said, "and then we're going to put all the people responsible on trial in the City. It's going to be a long road, but at the end of it, hopefully we will have a more capable leader and the Animals' rights will be restored. That will take a while, though." He patted her hand. "For now, the two of you, at least, don't have to do anything. Why don't you just spend some time together? Relax a little? Oz knows you could use it."

"What about me killing that man?" Elphaba asked quietly, but Kevon shook his head.

"That's all being taken care of," he assured her. "It was self-defence, Elphaba. The king and queen are already sorting all of that out and there won't be any problem. There's not even going to be a trial – some of our guards have taken a testimony from the man who lived and he confessed to trying to kidnap Fiyero and attempting to murder you. He even agreed to tell on his friends in exchange for a shorter prison sentence for him." Kevon smiled. "It's fine, Elphaba. Don't worry about any of that."

Elphaba opened her mouth to protest, but Fiyero linked his arm with hers. "Fae, Grandpa says we can just relax, so why don't we listen to him, hmm?" He grinned at her. "How about a party?"

She swatted at his arm and he laughed. "Calm down, I'm joking. He's right, though. I think we could use some time together, not to mention that it would be good for you – or us, I guess – to take it easy for a while after what happened."

She glared at him.

"And you know that, too."

Her glare intensified.

He shifted, uncomfortable. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I hate it when you're right," she snarled before pulling away from him. She tried to stomp off, but paled at the stab of pain shooting through her when she did so.

Fiyero rolled his eyes at his grandfather even as he made his way over to Elphaba. "So stubborn."

"Said the pot to the kettle," Elphaba bit back.

"Touché," Kevon said, making Elphaba smirk and Fiyero throw the older man an annoyed look.

"Seriously, though," Fiyero said later, when they were reading by the fireplace together, just like that time before their wedding. "You have to admit that this is nice."

She sighed and grumbled, but gave in. "Fine. This is nice."

He chuckled and kissed her neck, which, he found, was a good way to help her relax.

She yawned and he pulled away. "Okay, that's not usually the response I get when I kiss a girl," he teased her.

She looked guilty. "Sorry –"

"I'm joking, Fae." He kissed her lips softly and then pulled back again. "But maybe you should go to sleep now."

"It's the middle of the afternoon!" she protested, but Fiyero just shrugged.

"Hey, when you need sleep, you need sleep," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "One of your self-invented theories you used as an excuse to stay in bed all day before you met me?" she guessed.

He gave her a sheepish grin that clearly told her she was right and she rolled her eyes, chortling. "Oh, Yero. You really are hopeless, did you know that?"

"I know." He kissed her again. "So you're not going to sleep?"

She shook her head. "I think I'll take a bath, though," she said. She stretched, careful not to hurt herself while doing so, but almost smacking Fiyero in the face with one of her arms in the process. She giggled. "Oops. Sorry."

He poked out his tongue at her, but then his face lit up. "I have a better idea than a bath," he told her, before scrunching up his nose. "Unless you're going to scream at me again when I suggest the hot water springs..."

Instead of screaming, however, she tilted her head a little to the side thoughtfully. "You know? That's a pretty good idea."

"You don't have to sound so surprised," Fiyero complained, making her laugh. He held out a hand to here and she took it. Together, they walked – or, well, Fiyero limped – out of the room. They made their way down to the hot water springs, with Fiyero asking a maid to bring them a few towels.

Elphaba shuddered as she shed her dress and released her hair from the ponytail she had been confining it in, shaking it out so that it fell over her shoulders like a blanket. "I can't help but think of that one time every time I'm here."

"Which time do you mean?" Fiyero asked innocently, earning himself a glare.

"The time you spied on me," she stressed. "And I must say that the general thought of someone being able to get into this room without me noticing is not a very comforting one."

"Oh, no, only I can get into this room without using the door," Fiyero assured her as he threw his clothes in a pile on the bench, right next to Elphaba's neatly folded ones. "I don't think anyone else knows. Or maybe they know, but they would just never do it. I spent a lot of time exploring the castle when I was a little boy, so I know most of the hiding places and hidden entrances there are to be found." He grimaced. "So does Cyara, I just realised... but you don't have to worry about her – at least not right now. She has lessons today." Dressed in only a pair of boxer briefs, he hobbled over to the water and stuck in a toe. He heaved a contented sigh and then started wading in.

Elphaba was blushing fiercely. "Couldn't you have kept a little more clothes on?"

He laughed as he splashed around. "Like what? My trousers? Come on, Fae – you've seen me in less than this!"

That only intensified her blush, which she tried to hide by shaking her hair in front of her face, but Fiyero saw it anyway. He cheekily quirked an eyebrow at her and reached below the water. Then he held up his boxer briefs, waving them around in the air. "Is this better?"

"Fiyero!" Elphaba cried, horrified. "Put those back on!"

He grinned at her, but did as she asked. "Fine, fine. No need to get all dramatic about it." He gave her a searching look. "Why is that, anyway?"

She flushed again. "Just... I mean..."

"Is it that you don't think I'm attractive?"

She stared at him. "How could anyone in their right mind and with working eyes think you're not attractive?" she blurted out before catching herself and flushing an even brighter shade of red that made her face look rather tomato-like.

Fiyero grinned. "Well, it's good to hear that my wife thinks I'm attractive," he teased her.

"You knew that from the beginning," she pointed out. "Remember, in this same room? When you told me I was just jealous of you, because I would never be half as gorgeous as you?"

Now it was his turn to flush. "I didn't mean that," he tried weakly.

"Yes, you did," she said matter-of-factly. "And you were right, too – I told you that back then and I'm telling you now."

"I wasn't right," he protested. He rose from the water – thankfully having put his underwear back on – and limped over to Elphaba, wrapping his arms around her. "I was stupid, ignorant, and blind."

"Well, the 'stupid' part, at least, is true," Elphaba muttered and he grinned at her.

"You're beautiful," he told her, running his hands down her arms. "You're ten times more gorgeous than I could ever hope to be, Fae."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop lying, Yero. You're bad at it."

"I'm not lying!" he protested. "I'm just..." He thought about it for a moment. "Looking at things another way."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No," he said indignantly. "It's not. Back then, all I could see was the colour of your skin, and that was superficial and rude of me." He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. "You're so much more than just your skin colour, and even that is beautiful. You are beautiful. And I love you."

She smiled, though it wasn't entirely genuine and he knew she didn't believe him in the slightest. "I love you, too."

"This is the part where I'd throw you over my shoulder and carry you into the water," he informed her, "if, you know, my knee didn't hurt so much."

She laughed and put her head against his shoulder. "I can walk, don't worry."

They waded back in. Fiyero dove under the water and Elphaba floated on her back for a while, looking up at the ceiling, until she suddenly felt his arms around her from behind.

"Is that your father again?" he asked her in a low voice. "The reason you think you aren't beautiful?"

"Partly, I guess." She bit her lip. "I..." She sighed, wanting to tell him, but finding it hard to do so. "I guess it's just hard to think of yourself as beautiful when you've been told your entire life that you are anything but," she said softly. "Not just by my father, but everyone else... children called me ugly all the time. My entire life long, I've been hearing nicknames like "frog" and "artichoke". Even at Shiz, that was what most of the other students saw me as." She shrugged. "It's hard to get rid of that image once you start believing it yourself."

Fiyero's heart ached for her. He never really realised the things she must have been through in her life because of her unusual skin colour – not just the way she had been treated by peers, but also by her own family members... by her own father.

And by him. The more he learnt about her, the more he regretted his initial treatment of her; but he was determined to try his hardest to make it right. He'd spend the rest of his life proving to her that he loved her and that he genuinely thought she was amazing, no matter what.

"Don't look so sad," she said, shaking him from his thoughts. "It's all I've ever known. I'm used to it, Yero. It doesn't bother me nearly as much as it used to."

"But it does still bother you," he concluded. "Right?"

She sighed, but reluctantly admitted, "Yes."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her gently. She leant against his chest, closing her eyes for a moment.

"It's much different now," she said. "With you, and Cyara, and your grandfather... and even your parents accepting me the way I am. It's a huge difference with the way it was at home in Munchkinland."

"I'm glad about that," he said. He rested his cheek against her hair. "Are you happy?"

"Happier than I've ever been," she said honestly. "I mean... the first time I thought I could be happy was at Shiz, when I befriended Galinda and finally felt accepted by someone. But it's never been like this. Your entire family... the entire province accepts my skin, Fiyero. Since we got married, the reaction I've seen most among the people was not disgust or whispers behind my back. It was just curiosity." She smiled. "I never thought it could be like that."

He smiled, too, and nuzzled her hair. "Did I tell you already that you're amazing?"

"Not today," she said teasingly, and he grinned and kissed her again.

"You're amazing."

She kissed him back, but then pulled away from him. "That's enough serious conversations for today." She turned around and swam away from him. "Catch me if you can!"

He chuckled and dove forward to catch his wife.

I am finally at the stage where I can give you all an official summary for Broken Dreams, so... *drumroll* here it is!

Xav Gauchi has had a happy childhood, with loving parents who would give him the world if they could. He is full of dreams and when he gets the chance to make them come true, he takes it with both hands: he leaves his home to embark on a journey around the land of Nalay. He wants to learn more about the kingdom and the people, so that he will make a good advisor to King Aedd once the time comes for him to take over his father's job.

Cenna Torell is equally full of dreams, but she has been forced into an arranged marriage by her father, despite the fact that she is in love with someone else. For a moment, it seems like things will take a turn for the better; but then tragedy strikes.

When Xav meets Cenna and learns more about her life and her past, he tries to help her; but she refuses to let him. Xav, however, does not give up so easily and when the situation reaches a boiling point, Cenna realises that allowing Xav to help her might be the only chance she has of changing her fate.