Chapter 26

Faba

"Please let me go."

"No."

"Can I at least have my dog back?"

"No! Now shut the hell up, kid. You're not leaving this room until I get what's rightfully mine." And then came more sobbing. Sweet Oz. Faba didn't think her ears could take it anymore.

"You wicked old witch!" Dorothy cried. "I didn't do anything to you! I didn't even want the shoes! Miss Glinda gave them to me! She said – she said that you couldn't have them! She said you were an evil – well, I don't think Auntie Em would like me saying the word Glinda used to describe you."

Faba let out a gusty sigh. "That's Glinda for you. Look, kid, Dorothy, is it?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Dorothy. I am literally at the end of my chain. I'm going to give you one last chance to give me my sister's shoes before I personally rip them off your feet."

"But I can't!" Dorothy protested. "They won't come off! They're stuck! Oh, run, Toto, run! Good boy!"

Faba whipped around to see the dog bolt out of the room. "Chistery!" she shrieked. "Catch it! Hurry!" Obediently, Chistery chased after the dog, and soon both were out of sight.

"He got away!" Dorothy exclaimed with wonderment. "He got away!"

"Which is more than you will, my pretty," Faba growled. "You and your dog! You've been more trouble than you're worth! Now, I'm going to lock you in here, and I'll give you an hour to make the right decision. If you have not made the right decision in an hour, I will come back in here, and I will kill you if I have to. I can't wait forever to get those shoes!" And she slammed the door angrily behind her.

Faba went down to the foyer of Kiamo Ko in a vain attempt to escape the noise, but alas, Dorothy's sobs were extremely loud. Chistery was there, and he knowingly put a hand on her lap.

She smiled down at him. "We're going to get through this, Chistery. You hear me? Here, why don't you say my name?"

Chistery cocked his head at her in confusion.

"I know you know it. It's not that hard to say. Come on, just three sounds: El Fa Ba. Elphaba. Come on, Chistery."

"A. Faba."

"Close. Ellllphaba."

"Afaba."

Faba sighed. "Well, at least you can say my nickname. But seriously, Chistery, you need to start trying harder. If you don't, you will never-…" Faba stopped abruptly when she saw who had just entered the room. "And what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Faba, everyone's concerned about you!" Glinda said desperately. "Well, not everyone, obviously, but Lukas and Aiistia-…"

"Of course, Lukas," Faba interrupted. "He sent you here, didn't he? To see if I would move on? Love him? Marry him? Tell him to get his head out of the Ozdamned clouds."

"Lukas didn't tell me to do anything," Glinda insisted. "He only told me that you were a bit … out of control. Which I see that you are. Come on, Faba! They're just shoes! Let it go!"

"I can do whatever the hell I want! I am the fucking Wicked Witch of the West!" Suddenly, she felt Chistery tug on her dress. "What is it, Chistery?"

He handed her a note. Confused, she took it. But when she opened it, she could not have been less prepared for its contents. He was alive. He didn't blame her for what had happened to him, and he had a plan. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, but then she remembered that Glinda was still there, looking at her worriedly.

"It's Fiyero, isn't it? Is he …?"

"We've, um, seen his face for the last time." Ugh. She hated lying, especially to Glinda. "Look, I'm sorry about everything."

"What did you do?" Glinda asked. "You were right. He never loved me; he loved you. I'm the one who should be apologizing …"

"Don't. It doesn't matter anymore. You're a good friend, Glinda. My best and only."

"And my best friend out of all the many I've had over the years. You basically changed my life, Faba. It's cliché but it's true."

Faba smiled and took her friend's hand. "Embrace the clichéness. You changed my life too, you know that?"

"How could I have changed your life?" Glinda asked, shocked.

"You taught me how to feel. I'll never forget that."

"Oh, Faba!" And then Glinda pulled Faba into a hug. It was nice, and it seemed to go on forever until they heard noises from upstairs.

Faba pulled away. "Go, Glin. No one can know you're here!" Glinda nodded and immediately dashed behind a curtain, too terrified to protest.

What happened next was a blur for Faba. She played her part as the Wicked Witch almost in a hypnotic state, taunting Dorothy and her friends and chasing them around the castle. She finally cornered them, and then set her broomstick alight. No. She couldn't set him on fire! Not with the way he was now! But she had to, and she did, and Dorothy panicked, throwing the water on top of both Fiyero and Faba. Perfect. Faba descended into the floor, shrieking and moaning the whole time. They were buying it. They were totally buying it! Dorothy's expression of amazement said as much. It was all over. Finally.

Faba was actually sleeping when she was jolted by a pounding on the trapdoor. "It worked!" she heard from above.

She yawned and hoisted herself out. "Fiyero! You lucky bastard, I thought you'd never get here! Do you have any idea how lucky you are that the spell actually worked?"

"I'm happy to see you too, Faba," Fiyero said pointedly.

She rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry, Yero. It's just … you scared me." It was only then that she fully registered his new straw appearance.

"Go ahead, touch! I don't mind! You saved my life!"

Faba smiled with admiration. "You're still beautiful."

"No. You don't have to lie to me."

"It's not lying!" she insisted, grinning even wider. "It's just looking at things another way."

Meanwhile, in Gastile, Lukas Valentinis slipped outside after a Resistance meeting to get a newspaper. The headline shocked him to his very core: "The Wicked Witch of the West Is Dead."