"Ugh. My back hurts." Elphaba stretched the moment the door was closed, her palms on the table. She stayed in that position as she breathed in and out.
Fiyero put his hands on her hips from behind and wiggled his hips."If I didn't know better, I'd think that you're propositioning me."
"Yero!"
Her husband laughed as he pulled her into his embrace. "Come here." He pulled her to a chair and kneaded her stiff shoulders. "You were so tense throughout dinner just now."
"Was it that obvious?"
"Not really. "
"Am I really getting fat?"
He laughed again. "You'll always be beautiful in my eyes. "
She narrowed her eyes at him. "So the answer is yes."
"You're not eighteen anymore. It's unreasonable to expect you to still look like an eighteen year-old who has not given birth before. And I'm not as trim as when we first met. And you're not fat."
"You're still handsome though, " she told him, and he stopped massaging for a kiss.
"Love you. "
"Love you too, Yero."
"And thank you for keeping your cool throughout dinner. And for treating her as a friend all these years. "
"She is a friend, just not one of my closer friends. I guess I'm just not in the mood to see her flirt today. "
Fiyero kissed her neck and she sighed.
"You should know by now I'm immune to her charms. It's her personality, and also part of her job to make the people around her happy for information to flow. Why would I be attracted to her when I have you? "
Elphaba giggled and lifted her head and kissed him.
"It's not you I'm worried about. It's Liir."
"Liir? She didn't flirt with him. "
"Did you see the envy in his eyes when she talked to other men? The way his eyes followed her? I think he has a crush on her. "
"Liir? But she's old enough to be his mother. "
"I don't think it matters to him. Can you talk to him, Yero? I know we agreed not to intervene in our children's lives, but I can't stand the idea of him being hurt. I'm not against the idea of him seeing someone older, but I'm not convinced that she wouldn't have any ulterior motive if she reciprocates his feelings. "
Fiyero nodded. "I'll observe them during breakfast tomorrow, and I'll find time to talk to him. "
"Thank you." She got out of the chair and kissed him on his cheek. "I'll see you later. "
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Manek's room. He told me during dinner there's a monster under his bed."
Many years ago.
"The horses came yesterday, " Fiyero's father said when they sat down for breakfast. It took a while before Elphaba realized what he was talking about. She turned to Fiyero.
"Can I go over and look at them today?"
"How about tomorrow? There's some work I have to finish today. "
"I can go on my own. It's not as if I don't know my way around. "
"Can you just wait for one more day? I'll go with you. Moreover, the stable hands should still be settling them in. You'll just get in the way."
She pouted. "Alright."
"Good morning, Your Highness," the stable hands greeted him the moment he entered the stables.
Elphaba spun around.
"Fiyero, what are you doing here?"
"Catching you red handed? I just knew that you would not listen."
She blushed. "I'm not getting in their way. "
Fiyero laughed and he kissed her temple in front of everyone, and she blushed harder. She had allowed this man to touch her intimately at night. Last night, she had held onto him so tightly until her nails had left marks on his back, but yet sometimes she could blush like a little girl when he kissed her during the daytime, or when she caught him looking at her in a certain way.
"So have any of the horses caught your eye?" He asked.
She shook her head. "They all look similar. No I don't mean they look the same physically, but they all look equally good and well behaved. "
Fiyero nodded. "We are very stringent in our selection for horses. Only the best for Kiamo Ko. And our horse master has been with us for years. He's very good at his job and knows what we want. Our horses have to be strong as we can be on the road for days. Why don't I get him to pick a few horses for you to choose from?"
Fiyero went to the horse master, and very soon there were three horses, all saddled and ready.
"Would you like to ride any of these horses?"
Elphaba tried out the first horse. The horse responded to her commands and trotted around the field. But Elphaba struggled as she tried to get down, and Fiyero had to help her. He pulled her to him, his hands wrapped around her and he kissed her temple after she had thanked him.
"I think this horse might not be suitable for you. It's too tall, " he whispered into her ear. "I won't be able to focus on my work knowing that some other men will be touching you every time you get down. I'm the jealous type just to let you know"
"I can get down on my own. " She pouted.
"Really? So was just now just a ploy to get me to hold you? You don't need a reason to hold me or kiss me, not even in public. " As if to prove his statement, he kissed her on her lips, his tongue slipping into her mouth as his fingers buried themselves in her hair.
"Checkmate. " Crope said as he moved his piece across the board and Tibbett whooped with delight. The two had been trying to teach Elphaba Vinkun chess and the green girl had been losing badly. Still, she very much preferred their company than those of Avaric and Sarima. Of course, her preferred company was Doctor Dillamond, Fiyero and Boq's teacher from Shiz University, but Doctor Dillamond only taught in the mornings; his afternoons were spent planning on Shiz's teaching materials for the next semester.
She rubbed her face with a hand.
"Let's stop for the day, " Crope suggested
"Let's not play this anymore. "
"That's what you said yesterday, and two days ago. You'll come crawling back soon enough. You'll persevere, and before you know it you'll start winning. Come on, we are just training you so that you can beat Fiyero."
"Nobody can beat Fiyero," Tibbett added.
She pouted.
The door to the library opened, and Fiyero came in.
"Hi," he said and Elphaba blushed. She remembered last night, her hand stroking his manhood. The way his eyes hooded as he grew hard in her hands. His mouth on her clit, on her breasts, fueling her. Fiyero was a considerate lover, attentive to her needs. They laughed over awkward moments, falling back into their insatiable needs just as quickly, as if he could not get enough of her. On some mornings, she'd be woken up by his touch and kisses, which would escalate into another round of intimacy. Only that she could not, would not, call it making love. It was just physical, fulfillment of physical desires, two people making the best of the situation.
Sometimes he'd talk about things - his growing up years, the Vinkun landscape and she'd talk about Nessa and Nanny. But there were topics that they avoided - her father for her and Sarima for him.
"Did your father let you off early today?"
"Kind of. Would you like to take Munchkin out for a ride?" He asked, referring to her horse.
"It's my turn to play with her," Tibbett interrupted. "Both of you are terrible friends - you only have eyes for each other."
"Alright. Let's go for another round." Elphaba said as she set up the chess board again. "Be careful what you wish for. I might just win this round."
But Fiyero put a hand on her arm. "You can continue with them tomorrow. There's something that I want to talk to you about."
"You want to tell her that you love her and you worship her body," Crope teased them.
"We already knew that" Tibbett added. "We saw the hickey." He pointed to his neck.
Elphaba turned red again and she pulled up her collar to cover up the love bite, but Fiyero remained unfazed.
"Stay for dinner," he told his friends.
"That goes without saying. The cook is preparing my favorite roasted chicken tonight." Crope gave a chef's kiss.
They changed their clothes and went out to the stables. Elphaba put the saddle on her horse, a brown horse that she named Munchkin as Fiyero watched. He gave a nod when she was done, and she knew that she had done it right. They took their horses out of the stables and rode side by side.
The sun was setting.
"It's beautiful," she said. "It's the same sun but it looks so different. How I wish that Nessa is here to see it."
Fiyero smiled at the look on her face. "She can always come visit."
"Nessa?"
"Why not? If you're worried about the stairs, we can always arrange for one of the rooms on the ground floor to be converted into a suite for her. We can hitch a cart to a pair of horses and the three of you can sit at the back and enjoy the scenery. It's not as if we are in a rush to go anywhere."
"Three of us?"
"I assume that Nanny will want to come too. I'm sure that she'd like to see how you live and that you're being well taken care of. We can always alternate the arrangements - they'll come over one year, and you'll go back to Munchkinland the following year."
Elphaba smiled at the idea. "That sounds like a great idea, Fiyero. Thank you."
"Race you there?" Fiyero asked, pointing to a tree in the far distance.
"Sure."
Elphaba spurred her horse on, and when she reached the tree she turned around, laughing, and saw Fiyero's horse trotting leisurely.
"You let me win on purpose," she said when he finally reached the tree. Fiyero laughed and pulled her in for a kiss.
"When my wife wins, I win." Elphaba pushed him away, pretending that it was Munchkin that turned away. She could not explain it, they were living together as husband and wife, but she always found it uncomfortable that he could address her as wife so easily, that just because she was his wife she was entitled to his affections.
"Didn't you say that you have something to talk about?"
"How are you getting along with my mother?"
"She's smothering me. She brought in the seamstress today so she could order more dresses for me. And ribbons. And hats. She's like a child trying to dress up her new doll. But I'm not a doll."
"She likes you. She never has a daughter."
"I feel like I'm her doll. So why are you asking all this?"
"Can't I just check in to make sure that my wife is happy when I'm not around?"
There's that word again.
"Didn't you have something to say to me?" She changed the topic.
He nodded. "I'll be going on a joint patrol."
"A patrol?"
He nodded. "The Glikkun force is coming for a visit, and Papa thought that it'll be good if I represent him this time. We'll go South, towards the Thousand Year Grassland and back. "
Her heart lurched.
"I want to go," she blurted.
"What?"
"I want to go too."
"Why?"
"Because.." She did not know why. "It's time I see other parts of Vinkus, beyond Kiamo Ko and Red Windmill. You talked about the wilderness so often. I want to see it with my own eyes. " She came up with a reason after much grappling.
Fiyero's expression softened.
"You'll get to go some other time, but not this time. "
"Why?"
"It's not going to be a comfortable trip. We'll be riding hard. It's going to be tough on you. And there are wild animals out there. "
"I can do it."
"It'll be dangerous. "
"I'm not going alone. Didn't you say that it's a patrol? I'll be surrounded by people. You'll be there too." She turned back to where they came from. "You were testing me just now, weren't you? Testing how well I can saddle Munchkin, how fast I can ride."
"It did occur to me that you'd want to go," he said softly.
"I passed, didn't I? I'm ready to go."
Fiyero thought for a while.
"I'll talk to Papa about this. But I can't promise anything. "
"How's your honeymoon?" Elphaba looked up from her book about Thousand Year Grassland and saw the last person she wanted to see. Sarima looked perfect as usual. On that day, she had a white dress, fitting as usual, and had curled her hair. They fell in loose curls, curvy like her hourglass figure.
"How's life being married to the most scandelecious prince? "
Elphaba did not reply.
"You don't have to pretend. We all know how much sex you have been having. Sound travels, you know, especially at night when the surrounding is all quiet. " Elphaba turned red.
"You were a virgin when you married him, weren't you? All innocent and naive. It's not your fault of course, the Munchkinlanders are known to be super conservative. I guess no one told you about the birds and bees, and how to please a partner. How to touch yourself. You don't always need a partner, do you know that? That is such an outdated idea. I don't suppose Fiyero has told you that either, it will make him dispensable." Sarima chuckled. "I've been friends with Fiyero for so long, and afterall it's not your fault that you're so ignorant about the art of making love. And of course we had so much fun together." Sarima looked at her from top to toe. "You know what, I can teach you what to do. I can show you how to touch yourself, how to please him until he can't get enough of you. So how about that? A few sessions. You and me, or maybe the three of us together if you're feeling more adventurous."
It was not difficult for Fiyero to notice that something was wrong when he returned to his room at the end of the day. The Gikkuns had arrived that morning, and he had been busy the whole day making sure that they were settled in and preparing for the trip tomorrow.
"What's the matter?"
She didn't respond.
"Elphaba?"
"Nothing."
He laughed. "That's not a 'nothing' face. Tell me what's on your mind. "
She spun around. "I had a very interesting conversation with your lover today. "
"With who?"
"Oh yes, I forgot. You have many lovers. "
"Had. That's in the past. I only have one now." He tried to kiss her but she moved away.
"So who is it that made you so mad?"
"Why didn't you tell me that everyone can hear me?"
"Of course everyone can hear you. We're not deaf."
"At night, Fiyero. At night, when we're…" she buried her face in her hands. "This is so embarrassing. Everyone. "
He finally knew what she was talking about. "You're not that loud. So maybe someone did hear us. Sound travels. What's wrong with that? It's just like hearing someone talk or laugh. Do you remember your first night here? When we came back from outside and you heard some noises and thought that someone was injured?"
She nodded.
"That was someone making love."
Elphaba dropped her jaw and turned red. She remembered insisting that someone was in pain.
"Who…?"
"I don't know who it was. Maybe it's one of the guests. But it's not uncommon to hear sounds at night. Making love is part of a healthy relationship. What's wrong with that?"
"Then why is she still here?"
"Who?"
"Sarima."
"Sarima? We grew up together. And she's still my friend though I have a wife now And she's with Avaric now. They are free to come and go whenever they want."
"So how many lovers do you have?"
"Now? One. You. "
"That's not funny, Fiyero. I know I'm not the first one. How many women will come up to me and talk about how much fun you had in bed. "
"Elphaba, this is not a competition. "
"You only say that to the one who's losing. "
"Losing? Are you losing? What are you losing?"
"She wants you, Fiyero. She wants you so badly she's willing to teach me in exchange for sharing you. "
"Sarima? What is she planning to teach you?"
"Don't tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about. That you didn't know what she has in mind. She's always in and out of Kiamo Ko. Did you meet her in a secluded corner of the castle and realize what you've been missing? Someone who knows how to please you? Someone whose company you're missing so much? You did say before that it's possible to take lovers."
"It's possible, but it doesn't mean that I'll do it. I have a wife. "
She groaned again.
"What's wrong?"
She didn't answer. Fiyero thought of something, but he decided to keep it to himself. The information was not for him to share.
"I don't know what is worse, her thinking that she could come up to me and negotiate, or that she could go straight to you and I will be none the wiser."
"It's over between Sarima and me. What do I have to do to make you believe me?"
What about other women? But she knew that it was not her right to ask. She was just what he always said she was - his wife. A political arrangement.
She made for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I think I need some time alone."
He caught her arm.
"It's late. " He did not want her to wander around the house when the Gikkun soldiers were under the roof. He did not want impulse to drive her to the stables and Munchkin or any available horse either.
"Elphaba, believe me. There's only one person that I want now."
He cupped her face and kissed her gently on her lips.
"I'll go to one of the guest rooms tonight if you still want some time alone," he offered. "Just promise me that you'll stay in and not overthink."
She did not ask him to stay.
"Goodnight, Elphaba."