Fiyero didn't tell anyone he saw his betrothed. He couldn't, since his family piled extra paperwork and outings for him to complete. He knew it was just to keep him busy, so he didn't realize his fiancée had arrived. But he knew. And he would enjoy harboring that secret.

He didn't know what he thought of her. She had been visibly exhausted from traveling and startled by the presence of him and his friends, and knew it wouldn't be fair of him to base his opinion of her on that first interaction.

He heard about her through eavesdropping on the maids, that she would be busy with her own wedding preparations. He wondered how he was going to communicate with her, but figured she'd catch on quickly, being immersed in the Vinkun language.

He heard that she had her kemis and kapa fitting, and that his grandfather had gotten cross with her for staying in town. He had been surprised that she was able to stay in the town after her fitting. He figured that since she wasn't an official member of the royal family yet, she only had her attendants with her and not the royal guard. She was probably walking around without anyone knowing who she was.

He was looking over the seating chart when a knock at the door pulled him from his task. He glanced up, and couldn't hide his surprise at his visitor. "Sarima."

"Fiyero," she began as she entered. "You don't have to marry that Munchkin girl if you don't want to."

He blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"You don't have to marry that foreigner if you don't want to."

"It's a bit too late for that. The contracts are signed and she's here."

"It's not too late to send her back."

"I take it you've met her."

"Yes."

He decided to see how long he could play this game. "What's she like?"

"Weird."

"She's from Munchkinland. I expected her to be different."

"She speaks with a horrid accent. Her Arjiki is horrible."

"At least she learned Arjiki, since we refuse to learn common Ozian."

"If she really cared, she would've –"

"Sarima –"

"Just… think about this. I know I've given you a hard time about your duties, but I really mean this when I say it; you don't have to go through with this if you don't want to."

"Sarima, what are you trying to tell me?"

The look on her face was his answer.

"Sarima, I cannot marry you. You are my brother's widow. Your three children are my niece and nephews. You consummated your marriage with my brother."

"It's not outright forbidden."

"It's ethically questionable, at best. Sarima…" He stood and took her hands, not knowing if that was the best move. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

Sarima pressed her lips against his. No warning, no explanation, no time wasted. Nor did she waste any time deepening the kiss.

Fiyero froze, shell-shocked, as his brother's widow pressed her lips against his. But what shocked him more was the fact that he wasn't repulsed by the kiss. Once that sunk in, the repulsion quickly hit, and he jerked away. "Sarima –"

"I've always loved you, Fiyero. Ever since we met as children, I always knew Eszno and I would be married, and I loved him. I loved him with all my heart, but I also love you."

"I cannot love you the way you want me to. You cannot love me the way you want to. I am going to be married in a few days."

"You have the power to call off the wedding."

"I am not going to. It is my duty to bring together the West and East. Was it not you who drilled dutying into my brain following Eszno's death?"

"I didn't mean –"

"I will marry the Munchkin girl. I am doing my part in all of this. If you have a problem with it, then it's your problem to deal with. On your own… in private."

"I've seen her, you know. The Munchkin girl is ugly."

"I –" He stopped himself. He couldn't reveal that he'd also seen her. He'd already begged Chancellor Filith to not tell his parents that he went on an unguarded ride with his friends, and to also not say anything about escorting his betrothed to the castle. He didn't feel like reopening up that can of worms.

"You what?"

"I don't care."

"You don't care that you're marrying a monster?"

"She's not a monster. She can't be a monster." He hoped his correction didn't let it slip that he'd seen her. "I've had enough of this, Sarima. Leave me alone."

"I was supposed to marry you!" she spat, her eyes blazing.

Fiyero's blood ran cold. "What?"

"I wanted you, but Eszno wanted me. You knew this. You also knew that as the crown prince, Eszno had to get married first. All those times we had to have sex, I was thinking about you! I wanted Irji, Manek, and Nor to be yours so bad!"

Fiyero didn't want to look at her, yet he couldn't turn away. "Excuse me?"

"Fiyero, I won't let you –"

He felt his face heat up. "I do not need permission from you to do anything! You are out of line and I am sick of it! I am giving you one more chance to leave on your own before I have the guards come collect you!"

Sarima only backed down when she realized Fiyero's threat wasn't an empty one. "Fine," she hissed. "Learn the hard way. But don't say I didn't try to help or warn you."

Fiyero turned away. He didn't see her bow, but he heard her hissed, 'my prince', and her retreating footsteps. He didn't hear the door close, and when he turned around, his sister had replaced his sister-in-law. "How much did you hear?"

"Mostly yelling," Hannalyn said, though she stayed in the doorway. "I've figured there'd be a lot of tension going around the family this week."

"Things were more civil between us during Eszno's memorial week."

The princess chuckled softly. "I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

"I don't care if it is or isn't." He turned to her. "What's wrong with her?"

"Fiyero –"

"No. There's something wrong with her. She still blames her actions and attitude on her grief, but I know that's not the full truth."

She shook her head. "I don't know what's wrong with Sarima."

"Well, she has to talk to someone here, and you're the most likely option out of everyone else."

"I honestly don't know. Sarima is –"

"She's sick. I no longer want her anywhere near me."

"Fiyero, she's the mother of the future Chieftain. She's not going anywhere."

He locked his arms behind his back, leveling her a glare. "I don't want her anywhere near my betrothed. I don't trust her to avoid her on her own. I knew our progress was too good to be true."

"She wouldn't try to hurt her. Or vice-versa –"

"No, Hanna. I'm not wavering in this. Sarima is to stay away from my wife."

"You didn't even want to marry the Munchkin girl."

"That doesn't mean I want her hurt. She's being forced into this the same way I am. Regardless of my feelings, that's the truth."

Hanna's face changed. Fiyero didn't recognize any other emotion other than a fleeting shadow of pride. Her lips twitched. "That's very mature of you, Yero."

"I figured that it's time I start to grow up, considering I'll be married in three days."

Hanna nodded. "Yes. I suppose that's for the best." A pause, then she continued. "I've seen the Munchkin girl. She's… pretty, I suppose."

He scoffed. "You know it's too late for me to care about her looks."

Hannalyn lifted her head, her gaze straight ahead, then glanced at her brother. "I know looks aren't everything, but you must admit that they are important."

"Looks can be deceiving." He met her gaze with a slight smirk. "Too much maturity now?"

Hanna sighed and shrugged. "I don't know anymore, Fiyero. I just... don't know."

Fiyero watched his sister leave, and allowed himself a few more moments to himself before deciding to take a walk to blow off the rest of his steam. He had barely rounded the corner when his niece and nephews nearly knocked him over.

"Uncle Yero! Uncle Yero! There's a green woman in the castle!" they shouted, then started taking all at once.

He was able to let his surprise at them practically jumping him make them think that he was surprised at the potential green woman they saw. "A green woman? That's impossible."

"It's not! We saw her!" Nor exclaimed.

"Are you sure you didn't imagine her?" he asked, pretending to still not believe them. "She's not one of your imaginary friends?"

"No imagine! She really exists! We saw her! Amma saw her!"

"Why is she here? Is she a new maid?" Manek asked.

"Maids don't go wandering freely around the palace," Irji frowned.

"Then why else would she be here, smart one?"

"Perhaps she's here to be a scarecrow for the gardens. No crow would go near her," Nor giggled.

"But she was going towards the library, not the gardens."

"She'll scare away the bookworms. No more holes in books."

"Come on! Amma said we could go outside before dinner!" Manek said, tiring of the green woman talk and tugging on his siblings' arms.

"Bye, Uncle Yero!" Irji said, waving as the three hurried away.

Fiyero watched them go, waiting until they were probably already outside before hurriedly sneaking to the library. Hunfter found him and trotted alongside him, seemingly sensing that they were going on an adventure.

If he was honest with himself, he figured that since she'd been there for two days, he could introduce himself. He knew the tradition of not meeting until the Ritjana Feast, but he couldn't wait until the night before the wedding to see who he'd be marrying.

He knew the castle library was big, and that's what contributed to him never venturing farther than the first few rows of stacks. Hunfter didn't share his inhibitions and bolted away, sniffing everything his nose encountered.

He allowed himself to get lost in the stacks, and lost track of his dog. He heard voices outside the window and looked out, seeing Sarima outside with the children. The table was covered in books, but what caught his eye was the newspaper with the Munchkin wedding on the cover. How did it end up there? The last time he saw it, Hanna was showing it to him, but that was months ago. Had his fiancée found it?

He heard Hunfter's bark and followed the sound as best he could, considering the library was echoey. He wasn't completely sure, but thought he had made a complete circle when he found himself going back to the table. But this time, it was occupied. He couldn't see the person's face, but knew who it was, and approached.

Hunfter turned to him and grunted, startling the woman, who whipped around to face him. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Fiyero took her in, from her green skin, chocolate eyes hidden behind thin-rimmed, black glasses, and headscarf. He cleared his throat and gestured for the dog to come to him. Hunfter trotted over to him and sat, smiling between the two.

"It's you," she said, realization in her eyes. "The man from the forest."

Oh, her Arjiki's not as bad as Sarima said, Fiyero thought, his eyes widening slightly, but they quickly returned to normal, and he smiled. "It's you. The woman in the carriage."

"What are you doing here?"

Ah, so she truly didn't know who he was. Fiyero figured there was no harm in playing this game for a bit longer. For all she knew, he was a simple worker. "I could ask you the same. Though, I helped you get here, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." She seemed to struggle with her response, so he continued. "You have come here from Munchkinland."

"Yes."

"To wed the prince."

"You know a lot. Yes, unfortunately."

He frowned slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I have been here for two days, will be married in three days, and I still have not met the man I am being forced to marry."

Yes, you have, he thought playfully. "Oh. That is quite a predicament."

"I've met his family, and while they haven't been the most welcoming, I am putting on a brave face, for this 'bond between the East and West'," she hissed bitterly, turning to the window.

Funny, that's exactly what my grandparents said to me. "So… you have no desire to marry the prince?"

"No one will speak of him, and I haven't seen anything of his likeness. I will not meet him for another two days, and will be expected to wed him less than twelve hours later," she grunted. "Unfortunately."

He wanted to keep playing, but could see how distressed it was making her. "What would it take to make this situation less unfortunate?"

She glanced at him, then fully turned to face him. "What could you possibly do to help me?"

His lips quirked. "Well, perhaps I could start by introducing myself, so you won't feel uncomfortable marrying me in three days."

He couldn't help but smile at the meticulous, individual relaxation of her facial features as the realization sunk in. She stepped back, and Fiyero thought he might have scared her. No, she had no reason to fear him. He hadn't given her a reason to fear him. Besides, he wasn't scared of her.

He smiled and bowed, flourishing his hand. "I am Prince Fiyero Liir Tigulaar, grandson of the Grand Chieftain of the illustrious Arjiki Clan, Highest House of the Vinkus, His Grandness, the Chieftain Marilott Tigulaar. But you don't have to say all that."

She snapped back to the present and bowed. "Your Highness."

He took her hand, causing her to look up at him. "To you, I am Fiyero. Just 'Fiyero'. Will you tell me your title so I may create an appropriate shortening of it?"

Despite herself, Elphaba breathed out a soft chuckle. "I am Her Excellency, Elphaba Melena Thropp of Nest Hardings, Thropp Eighth Descending, Great-Granddaughter of His Eminence, Peerless Thropp."

Fiyero nodded. "Your Excellency."

"I suppose you can just call me 'Elphaba'."

"Elphaba," he tried, noting how the Munchkin name sounded weird in his Vinkun accent. But he was relieved to finally know her name. He saw the twinkle in her eyes, but it was overshadowed by her nervous smile. "As for my absence, I must apologize for that. My family has kept me very busy."

"Is it considered bad luck for the royal groom to meet the bride before the wedding?"

He laughed. "Not in the Vinkus, but my family has placed extra duties on my shoulders to make sure that I don't have time to meet you before I'm supposed to. But I have always been a curious cat with a mischievous rule-breaking streak."

The dog perked up at the word 'cat' and looked around, sniffling and growling.

"No, Hunfter," Fiyero said, scratching the dog's ears. "Expression."

The beagle relaxed and went back to Elphaba, stepping on her toes and licking her hand.

"Hunfter is a hunting beagle, but sometimes, he behaves more like a house pet," Fiyero chuckled. "He's very affectionate."

"I can tell," Elphaba smiled, scratching the dog's ears. "Has your curiosity been satisfied?"

He flashed her a hopeful smile. "Only if you are less against this whole arrangement we find ourselves in."

"I… I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I know you did. But I am not offended. Quite the opposite, in fact. I value honesty." He tilted his head. "So you really are green. It's not a trick of the light."

Elphaba bristled, but he continued as if he hadn't noticed.

"It's exotic. I've seen many different skin tones, but never one like yours."

She didn't know how to take it, but since it didn't sound like an insult, and he'd been nice to her so far, she decided not to get defensive. "Thank you."

"While I'm happy we met beforehand, Elphaba, perhaps it would be best if we kept this meeting between us. And at the feast, it would be best if we both act like we haven't met yet."

"I agree with that plan," Elphaba nodded, already becoming distracted.

Fiyero sensed she was probably done with this meeting and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Until then, Elphaba."

She nodded and he left the library. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had visually confirmed that his wife wasn't a monster. Her skin was different, but he didn't see that being a massive problem for him. Now that the overall fear of not knowing who she was had ebbed, he felt better. He didn't hate her. He couldn't hate her.

That's the end of 'PART 2: Fiyero's Vinkus'.

The next chapter starts 'PART 3: The Vinko-Munchkin Alliance'.