Glinda picked silently at her sandwich, tearing off little pieces of crust, balling them up, then setting them back down in the paper wrapping. Across the table from her, Elphaba wasn't doing much better with her dinner. The blonde sighed.

"Say something. Please."

Elphaba's eyes stayed on her untouched food. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Just…talk."

"There's not much to say."

"Then come here." Glinda stood and held out her hands. Elphaba took them and allowed herself to be led across the room to her bed. Glinda sat down and pulled the green girl forward so their knees were brushing against each other. Elphaba gently tugged her hands loose and let them fall at her sides. She had yet to meet Glinda's eyes.

"Elphie," Glinda breathed. "I know, I know this is hard. But please…you've barely said a word all day. You won't even look at me for more than a second. You're starting to scare me. Please, let me know you're still here?"

She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose. "I'm here. I promise, I'm here. I'm just…scared."

"Morrible isn't here. She can't hurt you here."

Elphaba shook her head. "That's not what I'm afraid of."

Slowly, Glinda reached out and grabbed her hand. The green girl tensed and let out a shuttering breath. Glinda stroked her knuckles. "You don't have to be afraid of this."

But I do, Elphaba thought, her eyes still closed. She had too much to lose already. She took a step back and tried to tug her hand away, but the blonde tightened her grip.

"Don't. Don't pull away from me," she pleaded. "I'm nervous too, okay? But don't let that fear get between us. I can see you putting your walls up, I can see you shutting me out. But haven't we been through too much together? Please, Elphie. I don't want to lose you. Especially not because of this."

Elphaba's eyes opened and met Glinda's. She tore her hand free and brought it up to cup the blonde's face, and then she was kissing her.

Glinda shifted, pulling back just long enough to bring her legs up and kneel on the bed, evening out their heights. Elphaba's hand stayed on her cheek and Glinda covered it with her own. She licked her lips and opened her mouth to speak, but Elphaba leaned in and kissed her again. She stepped closer, bringing her other hand up to rest on the blonde's waist. Glinda let her own fingers find Elphaba's face, brushing back to tangle in her hair. Her lips moved tentatively against Elphaba's, afraid of going too fast and losing the contact. She had imagined this for far too long to let the moment shatter now.

Elphaba stopped but stayed close, resting her forehead against Glinda's. Her eyes fluttered and she was breathing heavily. "I-I can't…I don't want to…I'm so afraid of you getting hurt."

"Because of this?"

"This. Me. Any of it."

Glinda squeezed her fingers. "It'll hurt worse if you push me away."

Elphaba swallowed hard. "I don't think I could if I tried."

"Good." Glinda wrapped her hand around the back of Elphaba's neck and pulled her in once more.

With everything that had changed in the last couple of days—finishing the research, Dillamond's death, kissing Glinda—Elphaba was sure that her entire life would be different.

For once, she was proven wrong.

She still woke up early every morning. She still went to her classes, ate at the café with Glinda and the boys, and studied in the library. She still enjoyed walking around campus, usually with her nose in a book. She still despised Professor Nikidik and she still got into it every once in a while with Pfannee or Milla or Shenshen. Really, it was all entirely normal. If you just took a quick glance at her life, nothing had changed.

But there were small things, tiny little details, that made all the difference in the world.

Some things were bad: no more Birds following her around campus or late nights with Dillamond's journal. Professor Nikidik had started doing his best to antagonize her during class, trying to provoke or humiliate her in front of the other students. Morrible kept a close eye on her and Glinda, although thankfully she had yet to act suspicious of Boq or Fiyero.

But other things were so incredibly, impossibly good that Elphaba wasn't sure how she had ended up so lucky. Their circle of friends was closer than ever. She and Glinda were nearly inseparable, almost always intertwining fingers or brushing hips or nudging shoulders. The boys caught on immediately, but while Boq and Fiyero simply accepted it, Crope and Tibbett spent an entire dinner trying to get the girls to admit they were officially a couple. Their antics went on and on until, finally, Glinda got fed up. She grabbed Elphaba's chin and leaned up to kiss her fully on the mouth.

Fiyero handed Boq money while Crope and Tibbett simply smiled and said, "Thank Oz. It's about time." But Glinda was focused only on the dazed, far-off look in Elphie's eyes.

It wasn't a rare thing. As confident as Elphaba was in every other part of life, she was often overwhelmed in this setting. Glinda often found herself having to take the lead, not that she really minded. It was amusing—and also pretty adorable—to see the green girl with her eyes closed, lips swollen, chest heaving breathlessly, and Glinda never failed to lean in for more.

The girls didn't jump into bed together right away. They didn't drag each other into empty classrooms or push each other up against closed doors—well, Glinda did once, just to hear Elphaba's heart skip a few beats as she pressed their bodies closer together. For the most part, their relationship stayed the same. They simply stopped fighting what impulse had been begging them to do for so long. When Glinda hugged Elphaba, she let herself stand on tiptoe to kiss the green girl's jaw. When Elphaba squeezed Glinda's hand, she let herself tug the blonde closer and wrap her in her arms.

They got lost in each other's eyes and memorized the sound of each other's voices. They accidentally fell asleep in each other's arms more than once, and eventually it just became habit to share Elphaba's bed. They studied in the companionable quiet of their room and made each other laugh when the day had been too stressful. Above all, they remained best friends.

They were innocent, pure. A sharp contradiction to the increasingly grim world around them.

Elphaba continued to work with Boq. There were a few other notes in Dillamond's journal, other theories and experiments he had thought of but never had the chance to start. They looked into other scholars and their opinions on Animal rights, and they tried—however desperately—to find someone who would support their theory of equal sentience enough to help conduct the experiments. They were met with little success, and instead found more problems every time they sat down together.

The Wizard had released a new set of Animal bans, and the effects were starting to show across Oz. Munchkinland was hit particularly hard. Both Boq and Elphaba heard about it in their latest letters from home. Boq's father told him about how they were forced to sell part of their farm to afford the newly increased taxes. Nessarose wrote to Elphaba about the Eminent Thropp leaving for negotiations in the Emerald City and being gone for nearly three weeks.

He was livid when he returned home, Nessa said. I've never seen him this way. He won't tell me much. All I know is that he's furious with the Wizard.

Boq started working more shifts at the boys' library and sent as much money as he could home to his family. He slept less, ate less, and hung out with the group less. It was this, along with many other growing concerns in their lives, that led to Fiyero pulling out his coin purse one day and grabbing Boq by the elbow.

"Come on," he announced to the group. "We're going to the Peach and Kidneys, and dinner's on me."

"But I have to—"

"No arguing, Boq. I already hired the carriage and everything."

Crope, Tibbett, and Glinda started begging. Elphaba nudged the Munchkin in the back and Fiyero practically dragged him out of Shiz. Together, they managed to get him into the carriage and started into town.

Elphaba avoided looking out the window, worried that she might catch a glimpse of some side street that would spark too many memories. Glinda caught on to her slight tension and snuggled just a little closer into her side. Boq loosened up after only a few minutes and, for a while, everything was okay.

Instead of being greeted by a flutter of wings and the cheerful click of a beak, they were ushered into the Peach and Kidneys by a middle-aged Munchkin woman.

"My name's Taeryn and I'll be serving you this evening," she said as she led them to a table. She took their drink orders and turned to leave, but not before Elphaba stopped her.

"Is Ayla here today?" she asked. Taeryn's eyebrows knit together, confused at first, then concerned.

"No," she said shortly. Elphaba grabbed her elbow before she could turn away again.

"Wait, please. I'm a friend, and I don't get to see her often."

Taeryn glanced around the mostly empty restaurant before leaning in closer. "She doesn't work here anymore. She was fired just last week, along with the Hare who worked in the kitchen."

"Why?" Glinda asked, but the Munchkin woman just shook her head.

Something clicked in the back of Elphaba's mind. "The Hare in the kitchen…who took their place?"

"A young Munchkin lad. Sweet boy, but he's hopeless when it comes to cooking. They've all but sentenced him to dishwasher duty for life." Taeryn pressed her lips together. "I shouldn't be telling you all this. I'll…go get your drinks now."

"I don't understand," Glinda said as she walked off. "The Peach and Kidneys is a privately owned business. They can choose who they want to employ. So why get rid of Ayla?"

"Because they're afraid," Fiyero muttered. "The bans might not be able to reach them, but the Wizard can. Besides, public opinion of the Animals is lower than ever. They were probably losing business."

Elphaba barely heard their conversation. She'd focused her gaze across the table at Boq, kicking his shin to get his attention.

"Ow! What?"

"What have you heard from your family lately?"

"I don't know. The farm's still struggling. They lost two workers last week."

"Why?"

"Supposedly a bunch of Munchkins are getting offered jobs in the Emerald City and throughout Gillikin."

"Offered? What kind of jobs?"

"I have no idea. Why?"

Elphaba leaned in closer. The others had stopped talking to listen now. "Remember the Gorilla I told you about?"

"The one from the café?"

"You know who they replaced him with?"

"Yeah, a Munchkin…" Boq's eyes widened. "You don't think—?"

"First then, and now with Ayla and that Hare. If the Wizard is getting rid of the Animals, someone has to replace them as the lower, working class."

Boq's fist tightened on the edge of the table. "The taxes, the workers leaving, it all makes sense. No wonder the Eminent was pissed."

"Wait," Crope said. "What's going on? You think the Wizard is, what? Planning to attack the Munchkins next?"

"Why should he stop with the Animals?" Elphaba said. "Once they've been squashed out of society he'll need another target, and it's not like he's ever cared for Munchkinland."

"He's never cared for the Vinkus, either," Fiyero argued.

"Yes, but he's left you alone," Boq said. "For now."

Tibbett shook his head in disbelief and Boq started talking again, but Elphaba couldn't hear it. Blood was rushing in her ears and she felt her emotions stirring, boiling into magic that started to trickle down her spine.

"Elphie?" Glinda reached for her hand.

"I need some air."

"Elphie—"

But Elphaba was on her feet and out the door before anyone could react. She hurried out into the street, walking purposefully, though she had no idea where she was going. This was nowhere near where she had met Dr. Dillamond just a few short weeks ago, but somehow it still felt just as foreboding. She rounded a corner, worked up and fuming, and almost tripped over something small, brown, and fuzzy.

"Mama!" a little voice cried, trying to flutter away. Elphaba staggered back.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I wasn't paying attention, I should've…" She trailed off as she looked at the creature she had almost stepped on. It was a little Owl hatchling, almost small enough to fit in Elphaba's palm. And swooping in behind her, looking ready to kill, was…

"Elphaba?" Ayla landed and brought a wing around the young Owl. "What are you doing here?"

"They replaced you." It wasn't an answer, but Elphaba couldn't think straight. All she could see was the way Ayla's feathers stuck out of place and how her eyes had lost their mischievous, happy glint.

Ayla tilted her head. "You shouldn't be surprised by this."

"You shouldn't be so accepting!" Elphaba clenched her fists and sucked in a ragged breath, struggling to maintain control. This wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

"There's nothing to do about it now," Ayla said. There was a touch of warning in her voice, but Elphaba ignored it. She was tired of being warned.

"There's everything to do about it. We can protest, we can fight, we can—"

Ayla stepped back, ducking further into the shadows of the alleyway. Her wing tightened around her daughter. "Don't, Elphaba."

"But—"

"Stop. This isn't some prank you can pull on your classmates. This isn't tormenting your roommate for a while before calling a truce. You're in over your head, here."

"I'm not going to give up just because—"

Ayla snapped her beak. "Don't you get it, Elphaba? You're on the losing side. There's nothing we can do. War is coming, and if you're not careful you're going to get caught in the middle of it."

"What if I want to fight?" Elphaba demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "This cause is worth fighting for."

But Ayla shook her head. "You're a fierce girl. I've always been able to tell that much. But this…this will destroy you. Don't ask to be put on a battlefield, Elphaba. You may just get your wish."

Elphaba stared at the Owl. Her head was bowed, her wings hunched over. Her daughter huddled in close, looking downright terrified of the world around her. Elphaba realized, with a cold, sinking feeling, that Ayla had already accepted defeat.

"Elphie?" Glinda's voice called, not too far away. Elphaba ignored it, but Ayla was already stepping away.

"Wait!" Elphaba stepped forward. "Don't—don't—"

The Owl shook her head. "Get out of here. Go to your Glinda. Keep your head down. There's nothing else you can do."

"But—"

"Goodbye, Elphaba."

With a rush of wings and feathers, she and her daughter took off, leaving Elphaba stranded in the alleyway, unable to offer an explanation when Glinda found her.