Glinda's senses were awake before she was the next morning. She felt warm and soft and safe. She heard gentle breathing and quiet birdsong. She could smell…something. A little bit of her perfume, more of Elphaba's oils, and something else…

She grinned and pressed her face into what she now remembered to be Elphaba's bare chest. For a while she simply lay there, still not completely awake, and focused on the sensations. Her legs were intertwined with Elphaba's. Thin arms were wrapped around her torso, keeping her close. One hand still moved ever so slowly, drawing endless circles across the small of her back.

She tilted her head up to look at Elphaba, but the green girl was fast asleep, her lips parted just a little. Glinda resisted the urge to kiss her awake and instead glanced over at the window. After a moment's concentration, the curtains slid shut, keeping most of the sunlight out of the room.

Glinda adjusted herself and nestled down once more. Elphaba's arms tightened unconsciously around her, and she barely had enough time to smile before she was asleep again.

Elphaba didn't know what time it was when she woke up later that morning. In fact, there was a lot she didn't know. She wasn't even sure if she was awake. All she knew was that everything felt so impossibly good, and she was almost disappointed when her eyes opened.

That is, until she caught sight of Glinda wrapped around her, covered with nothing but the thin sheet she had grabbed last night.

"Good morning, my sweet," the green girl breathed. Glinda burrowed her face further into Elphaba.

"Shh. We're not awake yet."

"What time is it?"

"Not important."

Elphaba lifted herself onto her elbows. "We have to get up some time."

The blonde lifted her head and scowled up at her. "Yeah? Says who?" She slid a leg over Elphaba, running her toes up a toned green calf before settling into place on her hips. Glinda leaned over and pressed her lips just beneath Elphaba's ear. "Maybe I want to keep you here all day long."

Elphaba shivered, but Glinda placed a finger over her lips before she could protest.

"It's a Sunday," the blonde whispered, kissing her way down Elphaba's jaw. "I could do it, you know." She held herself up with one hand and let the other drift down, running lightly over her breasts, grinning when the green girl arched and whimpered.

"We can't," Elphaba gasped. "I've got to—I told the others—the boys will wonder—"

"Let them wonder." Glinda's voice dropped and she slid her hand lower. "Besides," she said, her fingers meeting slick heat. "Something tells me you don't really want to leave."

"Oz," Elphaba breathed, her eyes fluttering shut.

"But if you really want to go..." the blonde said innocently, pulling her hand away.

Elphaba's hand shot down and gripped her wrist. "Glinda," she whispered, "Please."

She smirked but brought her hand back, giving the green girl exactly what she wanted.

Elphaba didn't even think about leaving for the rest of the day.

The change was subtle that Monday morning, when they met the boys for breakfast. If Boq and Fiyero noticed a different sort of glow between the girls, they didn't address it. Crope and Tibbett knew no such boundaries, but Glinda would wave their questions off with a sweet-voiced, "I don't know what you're talking about," and Elphaba's hand would creep further up her thigh as if to say, Oh, don't you?

It was exhilarating and new, and Elphaba thought she could get used to this. Unfortunately, she never had the chance.

An hour later found them all in the back of the history classroom. Glinda was focusing intently on Elphaba's hand, tracing her fingers over creases in her palm, trying to find all the most sensitive spots. Boq and Fiyero were getting into a slightly intense yet friendly argument over the latest topic for their literature papers. Crope and Tibbett were ripping pages out of their notebooks and folding them into various shapes, occasionally flicking them across the tables at unsuspecting classmates.

Normally they would have paid very little attention when Nikidik walked into the room and started the lecture. But as the professor wheeled a cart to the front of the class and called for quiet, the entire group stopped what they were doing and sat up a little straighter.

"Master Avaric, come help me unload this."

Elphaba watched as Avaric and Nikidik pulled the tarp off the cart, revealing intricate chains and locks and thick metal bars. They pulled the cage off the cart and placed it on Nikidik's desk for everyone to see. As Avaric took his seat again, Nikidik leaned on the cart and gazed across the room. He smirked when he caught sight of Elphaba.

"As you may recall, a few weeks ago we discussed Sir Lamren's invention of the cage, and how it was being revolutionized. Does anyone remember why?"

Elphaba wasn't surprised when Pfannee spoke up. "The Wizard was funding a line of improved cages to hold Animals."

"That's exactly right," said Nikidik. "And here I have the latest from Oz's engineers. Now—"

"What does this have to do with history?" Elphaba asked, cutting him off. Nikidik narrowed his eyes.

"This is an important part of our modern society, Miss Elphaba," he said. "And current events are important to history."

"True, but this isn't current events," the green girl argued. "Current events would be looking at the stripping of Animal rights from a neutral standpoint. This is just propaganda."

"Hold your tongue, Miss Elphaba, or I'll have you removed from my classroom." Nikidik's eyes were cold. Reluctantly, Elphaba crossed her arms over her chest and sat back.

Glinda's hand found hers. "Look at the cage," she whispered. "It's so flawed. The lock is out in the open instead of being covered. An animal wouldn't even notice, but an Animal would be able to free themselves in a matter of seconds. And the bars are too wide. Most Animals could slip right out." She glanced up at Elphaba. "These engineers are absolute idiots. Think of all the money and effort the Wizard is pouring into this, only to have such mediocre results."

The green girl's lips twitched and she gave Glinda's fingers a grateful squeeze before turning back to Nikidik.

"Now, this particular cage is meant to hold smaller creatures," he was saying. "It couldn't fit…oh, say, a Lion or an Ape or…I don't know, a Goat."

Nikidik's eyes met Elphaba's. Somewhere in the classroom she heard Pfannee and Milla and Shenshen giggling. Her fingers curled into fists and the blood rushed to her ears, but she didn't even have a chance to respond.

"And how exactly would you get an Animal into a cage?" Glinda asked calmly. Beneath the tables, her thumb brushed over Elphaba's knuckles, soothing her. "Professor?" she added innocently.

"That would depend on what type of Animal you were trying to capture, Miss Glinda."

"Oh, I don't know," the blonde said. "How about a Lion, since you brought it up."

"Well that would be easy," said Nikidik. "You would just play to the creature's desires. Lions are carnivores, yes? Simply place their favorite type of carcass into the cage and one will be sure to wander in."

"Great idea," Glinda said. "Except I think you missed a few vital details. Like the fact that Lions—and even lions—are hunters, not scavengers. Unless they were desperate, they wouldn't bother with an already dead meal. In fact, they would be far more likely to go after the idiot who was trying to lure them into a cage in the first place."

Nikidik glared at her and started to protest, but the blonde wasn't stopping there.

"Obviously you couldn't handle a larger Animal, but I'm still curious, Professor. Let's try a far less dangerous Animal. One that could fit in this cage, for example. How would you capture an Animal like that?"

"I don't appreciate the tone you're taking with me, Miss Glinda."

"What, no answer?" Glinda asked. "Do you even know how to use a cage at all? Or do you just like it because it's new and shiny?"

There were a few snickers across the classroom. Crope and Tibbett were beaming at Glinda with their hands over their hearts. Elphaba stared at the blonde—taking in the cool glint in her eyes, the arch of her brows, the way she held herself, confident and fierce and stubborn—and had the sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss her senseless.

Nikidik fidgeted. "Fine, then. Say I were to trap a…a Fox, in this cage. It's simple. I would use some sort of bait, some incentive for the creature to go in and investigate. Then it would be as good as mine."

"Yes, simple. Like your brain, I would think." There was a dangerous edge to Glinda's voice now. "But you are forgetting a few key parts yet again. See, a Fox would sense something was wrong. Even if you were to disguise the cage, he or she would undoubtedly figure out that it was a trap. A Fox, just like a Lion, is not some dumb creature. It would be just as difficult to get them or any other Animal into a cage as it would be a human." She had been getting louder and louder with every sentence, but now she lowered her voice. "Well, most humans. Some of us, clearly, are more simple-minded than others."

Silence reigned over the classroom. The boys looked like they were resisting the urge to applaud. Nikidik was furious. Glinda just looked smug.

"This is surprising, Miss Glinda," the professor said, regaining composure. "I was informed when I arrived at this school that you would be no trouble at all. That you were—how did she put it?—a dimwitted young blonde who could not think for herself, but merely repeated what others told her."

Glinda's eyes flashed and her cheeks flushed red, but she stayed still. Elphaba, on the other hand, snapped her head up to glare at the professor. He went on, unfazed.

"I wasn't sure. You seemed quiet enough, and smart enough to at least pretend you know what's going on."

"How dare you, you—"

Nikidik ignored Elphaba. "Now I suppose she was right. Tell me, do you really think all that, or are you simply spouting the nonsense you hear from your deranged vegetable of a girlfriend?"

The blonde said nothing. Nikidik smirked. "I thought so. Only brave for a moment or two at a time, I suppose. A rather pathetic display, if you ask me."

Glinda's hand slid out of Elphaba's and her shoulder hunched. It was subtle enough that no one else noticed, but the green girl snapped.

"Shut up!" The cage door burst open, slamming into Nikidik. "Shut up, you miserable excuse for a human being!"

Nikidik pushed the cage door away and strode to the back of the classroom, stopping just in front of their table. He leaned forward so that he towered over the seated green girl, but she stood up so they were level. The air was charged. The room was still.

"You have no authority here, Miss Elphaba," Nikidik said.

"Clearly, neither do you."

"I am the teacher of this class. If I say something, it is fact. It is law."

"Then the authority you claim is built from nothing but insecurity and weakness," Elphaba growled.

Nikidik stepped closer. "You are in the minority here, therefore you are powerless and insignificant. You can go on about your pathetic ideas all day long, but that doesn't change the fact that both you and the little blonde brat are—"

There's nothing quite like the sound of flesh hitting flesh. It was short, relatively quiet, yet the entire room heard it.

Nikidik stumbled back, a hand flying up to his already bleeding nose. Elphaba lowered her fists, breathing hard.

"Class is dismissed," Nikidik muttered. No one moved. "Get out!" he shouted.

Students scrambled to grab their things and run out of the room. Nikidik's eyes met Elphaba's. "You. You're coming with me to see the headmistress."

The boys and Glinda jumped to their feet.

"You're the one that antagonized her!" the blonde said. "You can't just—"

"You have no say in what I can and can't do," he said, turning on her. "Now shut up before I send you to Morrible as well."

"But—"

"Grab your bag, green bean. We're going."

Elphaba slammed her things into her bag, her blood running cold as she caught sight of Dillamond's journal. She glanced up at the others. Boq met her eyes, a panicked understanding filling his gaze. He opened his own bag and took a half step forward. If she could pass it to him, just real quick, before—

Nikidik grabbed her arm and started dragging her out of the room. She jerked back, but his grip stayed strong, and Elphaba had no choice but to be led out the door.

"No!"

Fiyero and Boq lunged forward, grabbing Glinda before she could run after them. The blonde twisted in their grip, desperately trying to break free. "What are you doing?" she screamed. "Let me go! He can't take her to Morrible! Do you realize what will happen? Let me go!"

The table and chairs next to them flew back, crashing across the classroom. Crope and Tibbett rushed forward and tried to help keep the blonde still.

"Calm down!" Fiyero said, shouting to be heard over the air that was suddenly rushing around them. "There's nothing we can do now!"

"Glinda!" Boq yelled. "Glinda, listen to us. Freaking out like this isn't helping anything."

"Then let me go! Let me go help her!"

"We can't!" shouted Tibbett. "We promised Elphaba we'd protect you!"

"If you go after her," Crope said. "If you try to stop Morrible, it'll only make things worse."

Glinda sank a little and the room started to quiet down. Fiyero shifted so he was hugging the blonde instead of holding her back, and the others let go. She nearly collapsed, but Fiyero caught her and kept her steady.

"No matter what Morrible does," he whispered, "Nothing would hurt her more than you going in there."

"Come in."

Nikidik pulled the door open and shoved Elphaba inside. Morrible paused at the sight of her. Slowly, she pushed aside the paper she had been writing on and folded her hands on top of her desk. She raised an eyebrow when Nikidik walked in behind the green girl.

"Causing trouble again, Miss Elphaba?"

"I don't see where the 'again' comes from, Madame Morrible," she said coolly. "I've never been reprimanded by any of the other teachers."

"And yet here you are, apparently having attacked Professor Nikidik." Morrible glanced at Nikidik. "Shouldn't you be heading to the infirmary?"

"You're a sorceress," he protested. "Can't you fix this?"

Morrible narrowed her eyes at him. "Healing spells are not my specialty. I can mend surface wounds, yes, but this would be dealing with bone structure. Now go. I will deal with Miss Elphaba."

Nikidik scowled, but he turned and left, shutting the office door behind him.

Elphaba simply looked at Morrible, waiting. The headmistress gazed back, silent. Her eyes gleamed and her lips twitched up into a smirk. The air in the room grew heavy. There was something about being here, finally standing face to face with the woman who had been haunting her for months now—not fleeing from libraries, not slipping past her on a crowded sidewalk, not jumping out of a shabby inn window and running through dirty side streets. Just standing here, silently studying each other. Every tense encounter, every close escape, it all was leading up to…

"Have a seat, Miss Elphaba."

Elphaba walked forward but didn't sit down. Her mouth was dry and her throat was tight, preventing her from speaking. Not that it mattered, really. Her mind was completely blank.

"Give me your bag."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Elphaba gripped the strap of her bag. "You have no right to—"

Morrible waved her hand and Elphaba was pushed back into the chair. At that moment Grommetik appeared, wheeling by and yanking the bag from Elphaba's grasp.

"Hey!"

The headmistress took the bag from Grommetik, looking utterly bored. She set it on her desk and started digging through its contents. Elphaba's heart pounded, but she could do nothing to stop her as she pulled out the old, faded journal that had been searched through so many times it was starting to fall apart.

Morrible met Elphaba's eyes. She turned to the fireplace and, without any hesitation, tossed the journal in.

"No!" Elphaba leapt to her feet, but she was forced back with another wave of Morrible's hand. The headmistress turned back to her, eyes cold and dangerous.

"You have meddled with issues that are way over your head, Miss Elphaba. You know what happened to Dillamond, what has happened to Animals and their supporters all over Oz. I am sparing you now, but consider this your final warning. The next time you choose to defy me, much more than a book will be burned."

Elphaba tore her eyes from the burning journal. "I'm not afraid of you," she said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, but you are," Morrible crooned. "If not for yourself, then for your pathetic little friends. Now get out."

She hesitated, glancing once more at the fireplace. Dillamond's journal—months of hard work and late nights, endless research, the last thing she had of her old mentor—was crumbling to nothing but a pile of ashes, right before her eyes. Elphaba knew she should be relieved. Morrible could have just as easily tossed her into the flames.

But as she stood from the chair and forced herself to walk out of the office, she couldn't help but feel as though a part of her was burning right along with the research.