Glinda was utterly disappointed and not at all surprised when she woke up to an empty room the next morning. It was early—she could still see the last tinges of pink from the sunrise out her window—but she climbed wearily out of bed anyway. A few hours of broken, restless sleep were all she was going to get for now. Besides, the sooner she was up and doing things, the sooner Elphaba would be back.

She dressed slowly, meticulously, pulling on her dress and shoes with a calculated sort of grace. She went to the bathroom and grabbed her powder jar, but then stopped and studied herself in the mirror. She held her reflection's gaze for a good long while before setting the makeup down and going back to the room, where she stripped off her dress and grabbed an oversized sweater from the wardrobe instead.

Glinda pulled her hair back into a loose bun and grabbed the architecture book Elphaba had gotten for her months ago. She'd read through the entire thing twice now, but she was bored and lonely and had nothing better to do, so she picked up a sketchbook and settled into her bed, losing herself in the delicate art of building structure and design.

As mid-morning came and went, Glinda started to get restless. She tried not to be worried, not yet, but it was useless. She wondered where Elphaba was, if she was okay, when she would be back. The work in her sketchbook became sloppier and she eventually snapped it shut and tossed it to the side. She pressed her palms into her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. She had to get out of this room, preferably before the worry drove her insane.

She decided to find Boq and the others. They tended to eat lunch early on Sundays, before the café got crowded. Maybe she could relax with the boys' humor and carefree conversation.

As she made her way across campus, Glinda couldn't help but notice there were more people wandering around than was usual for a Sunday morning. The air seemed to hum with a quiet energy, and everywhere students were huddling close and speaking excitedly. Maybe it was the fact that the weather was getting warmer, and it wasn't too bitterly cold to be outside.

Or maybe, Glinda thought as she wandered into the café and found her friends at their usual table, it was something much worse.

Crope and Tibbett weren't smiling. That was the first thing that caught her attention. Their eyes were dark and heavy and a shadow seemed to linger on their faces. It was an expression she had never seen on either of them, even in their rare moments of seriousness, and it quite honestly frightened the blonde. She looked away from them at Fiyero, who had his elbows propped up on the table and was running his fingers through his hair. He was clearly stressed out, another look that didn't quite fit.

Worst of all was Boq, who jumped to his feet the moment he saw her. His eyes were tinged red and his cheeks were flushed. When he spoke his voice was sharp, a tone he had never used, least of all on Glinda. "Where is Elphaba?"

The blonde hesitated, stepping back. "I-in the room, sleeping," she lied. "She was up late last night, and she isn't feeling very well."

"Does she know?" Boq was demanding and urgent, but Glinda was as confused as ever.

"Know what?"

Fiyero grabbed Boq's elbow and pulled him back into his seat before the Munchkin could respond. "Calm down. Glinda doesn't know anything. How could she?"

"How could I know what?" the blonde asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down. She looked at each of the boys in turn, and they all avoided her eyes. "What's going on?"

"We need to tell Elphaba," Boq said, squirming in his chair. "She needs to know."

"If you go in there, she'll bite your head off," Glinda told him. "Let her sleep. Oz knows she needs it."

"But—"

"Come off it, Boq," Fiyero said quietly. "Doesn't she deserve a few more hours of peace? She'll find out soon enough, anyway."

"Find out what?" Glinda all but hissed, fed up.

Fiyero looked up, opened his mouth, then looked away. Boq glared down at the table and cleared his throat. "It's…Dr. Dillamond," the Munchkin said hollowly. "He's dead."

Glinda felt her insides disappear, only to be replaced by disbelief, then sorrow, then, stronger than anything else, panic. Where's Elphaba?

"What do you mean, he's dead?" she asked. "How? When? Why?"

Fiyero shook his head. "No one knows for sure, but the rumors are flying around campus. Apparently he was in town, staying at some old inn. He was murdered in his room, everyone's been saying. Someone slit his throat. They found him in a pool of blood."

Glinda glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. Elphaba should have been back by now. Especially if Dillamond…

She shook her head. "Who did it?"

"No one knows," said Boq. He exhaled and buried his face in his hands. Tibbett put a hand on his shoulder wordlessly.

"Why?" Glinda breathed, but Fiyero just shrugged. Something told her he knew why, but then again, so did she. The research. Animal rights.

Morrible.

"I…think I've lost my appetite," Glinda whispered, pushing away from the table. They all stared at her, but no one said a word as she turned and left. Her vision was starting to blur as she rushed through campus, and she didn't see the trio standing outside of Crage Hall until it was too late.

"Look who it is. We've been searching all over for you, Glinda. Where's the green freak?"

"Go away, Pfannee."

Milla snorted. "What, are you two fighting? Is that why she's not with you?"

"Even if we were, it wouldn't be any of your business," Glinda snapped. She made for the front door, but the girls stepped in, blocking her way.

"What's the rush, Glinda? We just wanted to ask you something."

"Pfannee, maybe we shouldn't…" Shenshen trailed off, but everyone ignored her completely.

"Whatever it is, I'm not going to answer," Glinda hissed. "Now let me through."

"She's cranky," Milla giggled. "I guess she already knows."

"Yes, but does the vegetable know?" Pfannee asked. "Have you told her about it yet?"

Don't say it, Glinda thought, her fingers curling into fists. Don't you dare say it.

"I'll take that as a no," Milla giggled. "Why not, Glinda? Trying to protect her?"

"Or does she already know?" Pfannee smirked. "Is that why she's not here? She's holed up in your room, bawling her eyes out over that stupid old G—"

"Shut up!" The scream tore from her throat, along with all the terror and anger that had been building up, and Glinda felt magic rush through her. The front doors banged open and the wind rippled and swirled around them. The girls shrieked, throwing their arms over their heads and scrambling to get away from the dorm.

It was over as soon as they were gone. Glinda stumbled forward as the last of her energy drained out of her. She realized that her cheeks were wet, though she couldn't remember when she had started to cry. She had to get out of here before someone came to investigate all the noise. She couldn't afford to look suspicious, not now. At this moment, her priority was covering for Elphaba. No one could know the green girl was gone.

Somehow, she made her way up to her room and slipped inside. The emptiness washed over her, forcing her to the ground. She curled up with her back against the door and buried her face in her arms. She wanted to scream again, but she was too exhausted. She wanted to get up and go looking for Elphie, but fear had settled into her bones, pinning her in place.

She's still alive, Glinda thought. She has to be. If she wasn't, then everyone would be talking about her, too. Unless, of course, Morrible didn't want people to know Elphaba was…

The blonde bit back a cry and shook her head. Elphaba was alive. Glinda would know, somehow, if she wasn't. She was alive.

But alive didn't mean safe. What if Morrible wanted information? What if she decided Elphaba was too useful to kill? What if she was questioning her right now, and the green girl was refusing to give in? What if—

"Stop!" Glinda cried, pressing her hands to her ears as if that could block out her thoughts. You should have stopped her, she thought viciously. Why did you let her go? Why didn't you—?

"Stop," she whimpered, grabbing at her hair. This wasn't helping. None of this was helping. She needed Elphaba here, now, but the green girl was gone. She was hurt, or lost, or with Morrible, or…or…

"Please, Elphie," Glinda whispered. "Please. Just come back to me."

It was starting to get dark when Glinda forced herself into the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and redid her bun. Her mind was spinning, but her body just felt numb. Her heart throbbed dully, each beat paired with a desperate, unanswerable question. Where is she? Is she okay? Why did you let her go? Is she hurt? Is she coming back? Why? Why? Why?

Her movements were almost mechanical as she slipped on a pair of flats, grabbed her purse, and wandered out of the dorm. She hadn't eaten anything all day, and she supposed dinner would be a good idea—even if her stomach twisted in on itself at the thought of food.

She spent a good ten minutes wandering around the café, trying to find something that she could force down. When that failed, she settled for gulping down a glass of water and leaving.

Glinda looked up at the quickly darkening sky as she stepped out of the café. I'll be back tomorrow morning, Elphaba had said. The blonde pressed her lips together and forced the tears back down. Nothing made sense. She knew Elphaba was still alive—she had to be—but where was she? Glinda could understand her being back later than she'd promised, especially if something went wrong. But if news of Dillamond's death had travelled back to campus, then shouldn't Elphaba have, too?

What was perhaps most worrying was that she hadn't seen Morrible all day. Glinda had no doubt the headmistress was involved. But could Morrible have known that Elphaba was with Dillamond? And if she knew that, wouldn't she be looking for the green girl today? Glinda had seen no sign of her—did that mean she'd already found Elphie?

The blonde shook her head and screwed her eyes shut. She picked up her pace, determined to get back to Crage Hall as quickly as possible, but instead ran into something warm and solid.

She opened her eyes to see Boq in front of her. He grabbed her elbow to steady both of them. "Glinda!"

"Sorry, Boq," she said, trying to step around him. "I didn't see you."

"Wait!" His grip on her elbow tightened and she stopped, looking down at her feet. "Where is Elphaba?" The panic in his tone almost matched her own.

"I told you earlier, she's in the room." Glinda still couldn't bring herself to look up, but she couldn't twist out of his grip, either.

"She's been there all day?"

"She's been stressed lately. She needed a day off."

"Does she know?" Boq's voice fell, hushed. "Has she heard about…?"

"Yes," she said. "And that hasn't made anything better. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to her now."

Boq stepped in front of her and tilted his head to meet her eyes. "Look, I know she's upset, but this is important. I need to talk to her. I—"

Glinda had had enough. She glanced quickly around, then grabbed his arm and dragged him off the sidewalk and around the corner of a nearby building. "She's not here, okay?"

"What do you mean she's not here?"

"Shh!"

Boq scowled but lowered his voice. "Where is she, then?"

"I don't know!" Glinda's lip trembled and she wrapped her arms around her waist. "She told me to cover for her. She…she went to meet with Dr. Dillamond, late last night, and she hasn't come back."

The Munchkin gaped at her. "But that means…for all we know, she could be…"

"She's not."

"But—"

"Don't." Glinda hissed. "She's not. She can't be."

They stared at each other. Glinda's gaze was fierce, unwavering, yet she looked on the verge of tears. Boq wanted desperately to believe her and, for the moment, he did. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, keeping it up to cradle the back of his head.

"You should get back to the room," Boq said eventually. "Just in case she…"

"Yeah." Neither of them made a move to leave. The Munchkin fidgeted.

"And…stay away from Morrible. If you can."

The blonde's face softened. "I know."

Their eyes met again. Boq's eyebrows came together. "Glinda," he said quietly. "How much do you…?"

She considered the question for a moment. How much did she know, really? "More than Elphaba thinks," she said finally. "But less than she fears."

He nodded. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, then Glinda gently stepped around the Munchkin and left, hugging her sweater to her chest. Boq fell against the side of the building and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. He listened to Glinda's footsteps fade away and, for the first time, realized he couldn't hear the click of high heels against the concrete.