A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. Trouble indeed. ;)

Chapter 8

Elphaba was reading the last book on the royal library's bookshelves that dealt with spells. She was hoping for a miracle but knowing she should temper her thoughts. Ayla had been helping as much as she could and the two women had bonded over quite a bit.

"Fae," Fiyero's voice broke her from her reading. She hadn't even noticed that he'd walked into the room.

"Yero. What's going on?" The green woman could see the concern on his face.

"We have to pack. A Bird messenger just delivered a disturbing note," he told her.

"What kind of note?" His mother wanted to know.

"Lieutenant Zetti was approached by a Rabbit. He'd been working as a messenger in the city – one of the few jobs he could get before Animal Rights were established. He overheard people griping about Glinda and some of the policies she enacted. While this wouldn't ordinarily be something to frown upon, what came next, certainly is," Fiyero handed Elphaba the piece of paper. The green woman looked at the letter and raised an eyebrow. She then handed it to Ayla. The Queen had a similar reaction.

"She wants to you to pack and go back to the Emerald City because of some guy named Foster is trying to whip people into action? Action that she can't define? Who the heck is this guy that she'd be so worried?" Ayla wanted to know.

"Former Gale Force. I drummed him out myself. Seems he avoided joining the others in their attempt to overthrow Glinda while the Wizard was still alive," Fiyero explained.

"He was smart enough to back down then. Why would he attempt something so stupid again? Glinda has just added a bunch of allies with the Animal Rights being posted. The odds are not in his favor," his mother pointed out.

"Foster is a skilled orator. I don't think he'll do anything himself but incite others… of that I have no doubt. He convinced a couple of his colleagues that the only way to settle their differences was with a fight, instead of following the rules laid down at the formation of the Gale Force. The two duked it out until Zetti broke it up. When the two were interviewed, only one seemed to know about the rules, and the other was completely convinced he'd done the right thing. All three of them were booted from the service that day. I know the second man is dead in the last coup attempt, but there are plenty out there who are willing to follow someone with charisma and believe whatever he says. Seems like a repeat of the Wizard," the Prince frowned.

"The Wizard used theatrics and had Morrible building his reputation. This guy probably has a group that will follow him, just like our Munchkin prisoner. Still, I don't think there are many who have any stomach to repeat what has happened. You said this guy could convince others to do his dirty work… we need to assess what that dirty work may be. None of us in this room can do that. Certainly, no one inside the Emerald Palace could either. What we need is a spy. Let's craft a coded message to Glinda before we alter our plans. Us coming back early will signify that something is amiss. We want no one to know that we're worried about this former soldier," Elphaba said.

"Somehow I don't think that will calm Glinda's nerves," Fiyero gave her a look.

"Glinda needs to steel herself otherwise she's going to give herself a medical condition. We deal with stuff like this all the time. It's bound to happen to those who lead," Ayla spoke up. Fiyero nodded. He understood where both ladies were coming from. Glinda was not alone at the Palace. She had plenty of guards and plenty of non-Gale Force who would protect her. Still, he wondered if this was coming up now that both he and Elphaba were out of town. His focus shifted to Elphaba who was coding a message to her friend. He just hoped it would be enough to allay Glinda's concerns.

To Be Continued…