"Oh, this is just wonderful!"
Glinda was beaming as she dragged a somewhat terrified Fiyero after her on the thickly frozen lake near the town.
They had agreed to flee from all the pre-Lurlinemas stress and go on an ice skating date.
Fiyero had protested but Glinda had, as always, won the argument.
Trembling, he now set foot on the frozen water.
To his surprise, he didn't land flat on his face right away, he attempted to walk on the ice and managed to shakily glide a few metres before he ungracefully fell on his behind.
"Ow!", he yelped and Glinda skated to his side immediately, helping him up again.
"Are you all right?"
"I am, but I tell you, I'm not made for the ice and snow, so much is sure."
As if to prove his point he started to flail about with his arms, losing his balance and falling again.
"Ow!"
After a couple more falls and a fair amount of cursing, Fiyero demanded a break.
They sat on the margin of the lake and watched the busy bustling on the sleeky surface.
"You'll get the hang of it eventually", Glinda assured her boyfriend but Fiyero wasn't listening to her.
"Fiyero, what is it?"
She followed his gaze and discovered the source of his distraction.
In a notable distance, amongst the various booths and snack stands, there was a cart with a handwritten sign on it that read 'Antique Books'.
Fiyero pointed at his feet.
"Do you mind if I take these death traps off for a while and go look about the booths for a moment? It won't take long, you can wait here."
"But what do you want to go to the booths for?"
"I think I've found the perfect present for Elphaba."
With that he freed himself from his ice skates and put on his walking shoes again.
Then he left Glinda sitting alone on the little bench.
Soon after Fiyero had left, Glinda was bored out of her mind - she wasn't used to sitting without anything to do for such a long time.
The 'moment' Fiyero had talked about was stretching forever.
She was listlessly clunking together her heals of her ice skates, making the vats sound a plinky noise every time metal met metal.
Then an idea struck her.
Why was she taking all these sorcery classes if she never used her powers for something useful?
She took the collapsible training wand out of her pocket, where she was carrying it at all times for emergencies.
The she started to think of a spell she could use that would provide her with some skating fun as long as Fiyero was absent.
"Maioram vitentia eis eis turnum sautis!"
Glinda felt her feet tingle and the ice skates vibrating lightly.
She got up and stepped on the icy surface od the lake.
The effects of the spell were immediately noticable.
Her gliding had become much faster and she slided backwards, occasionally working in some pirouettes effortlessly.
A nice spell!
But suddenly, after another pirouette, the vibration on her feet became stronger and stronger until it almost hurt Glinda.
Oh no, she thought, what did I do wrong this time?
But she hadn't really got any more time to think about the answer to this question as her skates ran wild.
She slithered across the lake in a breakneck speed, furiously performing pirouettes and jumps that made the people watching her go dizzy.
But the spectators didn't suspect anything unusual, they admired Glinda's obviously professional skills and commented on her increasingly dangerous maneuvers with assorted 'Ohh's and 'Ahh's.
No one heard Glinda's desperate calls over the speed she had obtained now, the vats cutting deeper and deeper into ice layer on the lake the faster she went.
"Help me!", she screamed, "the ice is going to break!"
But the audience was so mesmerised by the show, nobody took notice of the danger at hand.
Except for one person who came running along the rim of the lake, shouting Glinda's name.