"I don't know why we need to go to town," said Fiyero reluctantly. "Castle makes everything you need."

"Everything I need, yes," said Elphaba. "But I finally fixed that loom I found and I have some patterns in mind that I would like to weave. I didn't like the conditions I was weaving in before, but I enjoyed weaving for the sake of weaving."

"Say weaving again."

She stuck her tongue out. "Weaving."

She adjusted her satchel and placed the hat she found when sorting through the clothes in the castle on top of her head.

It was a hideodious hat on its own, black and comical, securing under the chin with a ribbon. The nicest part about it was the band that trailed over the back like a veil, but the hat itself looked like it was made out of the skin of some creature.

And yet, it suited Elphaba completely. She fastened a light cloak around herself and mounted her broom.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked.

Fiyero sighed and slung his own satchel across his body before standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her middle. Chistery spread his wings, signaling he was ready.

Elphaba took off, the broom coming up to smack Fiyero's rear. He never got used to that.

The way to town was even faster by broomstick.

"Look! It's the witch!" someone shouted as Elphaba came in for a landing.

She hesitated only slightly before touching down on the ground.

"We'll be quick," she said, though her expression was worried.

Fiyero held her broom and went with her inside the dress shop. He'd never seen the inside of one before and was surprised to find that the only actual dresses in the store were in the window display. The rest seemed dedicated to the craft with bolts of fabric and walls teeming with spools of ribbons and threads.

The woman behind the counter gasped and ran away. Elphaba rolled her eyes and went to the larger spools of weaving yarn next to bundles of vibrantly colored knitting yarn.

"Ooh," she hummed and grabbed some of the yarn, placing it in the wicker market basket she brought along before selecting her loom yarn.

She also selected some smaller spools of sewing thread.

Fiyero was trying to figure out why there was such a difference.

Elphaba skimmed through pattern books as well, selecting two. When she finally made her way to the counter, the woman running the shop dashed back to the front out of breath.

"Apologies, madam," she said, fanning her flushed face. "This is for you."

She held out a beautifully patterned babushka. Elphaba looked shocked, tentatively taking it.

"What for?" she asked.

"You saved my younger brothers," said the woman. "Mother thought you should have something in thanks since you refused money."

Elphaba blinked owlishly and ran her thumbs along the patterned scarf. It was a vibrant shade of blue, the dye of which could only be made from flowers grown in the Vinkus and only in May, and decorated with pink flowers.

"Thank you," she said softly and folded it neatly into her satchel. She cleared her throat and set her purchases on the counter. "I would like to buy these, please."

Fiyero couldn't help but smile. And she had been so worried. Never mind the fact that he secretly had been as well.

Now, he didn't know much about how much things really cost, but judging from Elphaba's expression, the woman had given her a discount. Rather than argue, she simply paid the amount she was told, thanked the woman, and stepped out.

"M-Miss Elphaba?" said Chistery, tugging on her skirt.

"Hm?"

Chistery pointed to the bookshop across the street.

"May we?"

"Well, I don't see why not," she said.

"We have a library full of books at home," said Fiyero.

Elphaba smacked his chest, sending stray straw out of his shirt, and followed Chistery inside.

Since Elphaba was around, Chistery's education had grown to the point where he was starting to read books by himself. It wouldn't be long before his vocabulary surpassed Fiyero's.

He just never really got school and it sure as hell didn't get him, either. Books were well and fine as long as they were interesting like adventure stories or mysteries, but there were less painful things to do with his time. At least when he was human anyway.

"Chistery, you may pick two," said Elphaba.

He nodded and scampered off to the children's section.

Elphaba skimmed the bookshelves herself while Fiyero held onto her things and let his mind wander.

A scream cut the air. It came from outside. Fiyero dropped everything, startled. Elphaba ran past him in a blur to see what the commotion was. A crowd was already gathering. Several of the men that had harassed Elphaba the first time they came into town were leaning against a wagon full of furniture that had collapsed. Their leader was on the ground, trapped beneath it.

The horses that had once been attached were skittering around, still tethered to each other and unable to go in the directions they wanted.

Elphaba ran over, so Fiyero followed.

The man's friends were doing all they could to keep the wagon from crushing him further. The wheels were splayed out, the axel had broken. Fiyero took an empty space and squatted, grabbing onto the bottom of the wagon. Being a scarecrow didn't give him any great strength, but he didn't have the pain register that would make him stop when he reached his limit.

The loaded wagon raised just enough for Elphaba to seize the man by his vest and drag him out a safe distance. Others finally rushed in to ease the wagon onto more level ground.

Fiyero turned to Elphaba. She crouched over the man who had been so cruel to her from day one and held her hand over him. She muttered under her breath and he made a strange little jolt.

He fell limp and his pained groans eased to discomfort.

"Avaric!" his friends shouted and ran over.

"Get off him, you freak!" one of them snapped, grabbing Elphaba and shoving her back.

"Don't speak to her that way!" Fiyero growled, helping her to her feet.

Avaric coughed and his friends helped him stand.

"Take it easy for a few days," said Elphaba. "I helped the worst but your muscles still need to recover. I can bring you something to ease the pain—"

"Don't talk to him!" One of the men swung a hand to slap her.

Fiyero grabbed his wrist just before it could make contact. Elphaba had flinched and cowered, raising her arms defensively.

"She and the scarecrow helped!" said another man. "I saw it with my own eyes."

"And she saved our children," a woman chimed in.

"What's going on here?" Mr. Abolar demanded.

"Let's go," Elphaba whispered.

Fiyero followed her back into the bookshop. She picked up her things just as Chistery came over with his selected books.

"What happ'n?" he asked, handing her three books.

"We should leave," said Elphaba, not saying anything about the number.

"But we helped," said Fiyero.

"Yes, we did," she said, checking the pricing on the books and drawing out exact change. "Now it's time to go before someone decides we shouldn't have intervened."

That wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

Elphaba found the shopkeeper outside and handed her the money.

"We purchased these," she said, showing the titles of the books.

The woman just looked at her open-mouthed and nodded, taking the money.

"Leaving so soon, Lady Elphaba?" said Mr. Abolar. "Lord Scarecrow?"

"Don't want to overstay our welcome," said Elphaba. "No one else is hurt?"

"No, not a tick," he said.

"Then we should be going," she said. "There's a storm in the air."

Sure enough, there was a distant rumble of thunder despite the sunny day.

"Oh, of course."

Fiyero barely had time to hop onto the broom before Elphaba took off. He held onto her tightly, so he wouldn't fly off the back end. He could feel the pole that kept him upright was weak in spots.

He kept quiet until they were safe inside the castle. By then, the wind had picked up and the sun had decidedly vanished. They'd had to fly lower as they got closer.

"Why did you want to leave?" he asked. "Better yet, why even help that guy? He's an ass."

"Yes, but he was an ass in trouble," said Elphaba, giving Chistery his new books. "Check that the windows are closed."

She hurried up the stairs and Fiyero followed.

"He didn't deserve your help."

"It's not about deserving," she said. "We could go back and forth all day about the ethics of saving the life of someone who constantly makes life worse for others, but in the end it's not about if he deserved it."

"It's not?"

"No," she said, hiking her skirts up so she could run up her tower stairs. "It's about being in a position to help someone and doing it. If I pick and choose who I help based on whether they were nice or mean to me, then I wouldn't help anyone at all, and if I'm in a position to help and simply don't, what sort of person does that make me?"

She made a good point and he hated it.

"Fine," he said. "But it isn't fair that you helped and some people immediately started jumping down your throat instead of being grateful! I'm not saying there should be a parade, but a, 'Thanks for the help' would be nice."

"It would," she agreed, stepping into her room.

She waved her hands and the massive curtains closed. Despite their weight the wind still kicked them up.

Fiyero helped her fasten them down, but his pole must've been weaker than he thought. A huge gust of wind sent him toppling backwards. With a loud crack, his middle snapped in two and his body collapsed.

"Fiyero?!"

Baubles of light appeared above him and he found Elphaba kneeling over him.

"Oh, your pole snapped," she gasped, touching his chest.

"Not surprised," he said. The numbness was worse than the dull sensations he normally felt. His hands still worked, but his lower half might as well have been part of a real scarecrow if it weren't for his feet twitching. "That wagon was heavy, I'm amazed I didn't snap right in the square."

She sighed softly. "And yet you helped."

"It's not noble like you," he muttered. "I only helped because you were helping."

"Well, I think that if you're doing good then it doesn't really matter what your intent is," she said. "Whether you do it out of a genuine want to help, because someone asked you to, or even if it's a selfish reason, as long as the help is given I don't think it matters to the person the reason. Sit tight, I'll go see if I can't find some glue."

Fiyero frowned and stared up at the lights she conjured. She had a point and they could go around in circles about whether or not she should help. She didn't owe anyone anything. Did he for that matter?

Yes, he decided.

Scarecrow or not, he was still their prince. It was his duty to care about their needs and to help where he could. And despite his limited power in his banishment, he had a way to help this particular village and when his curse was broken, he could implement it across all of the Vinkus.

But where would he even start?

Elphaba seemed to have a lot of ideas, he should probably ask her.

"Here I am!" she panted. "I found some glue."

It was a chore to undress him and Elphaba kept wincing like she was afraid to break him further. When his arm snapped, she actually screamed.

"It's fine, Fae," he said. "I can't feel a thing."

"I know it's just—" she furrowed her brow. "Fae?"

He blinked and winced, not intending that to slip out. "Well, Elphaba is a mouthful…"

"It's the same number of syllables as your name," she said pointedly and globbed glue onto his middle piece.

"I just think we're at the point of nicknames," he said. "And El would work just fine, but I was reading a book about fairies the other day, trying to see if there was a way I could track down the Bog Fairy, and I read—"

Elphaba joined his pieces together and started wrapping them so he wouldn't rejoin crookedly.

"—read about a race of sprites with green skin called the Fae," he said.

She stilled and looked at him.

"There are others like me?"

Her eyes were shining with such hope that Fiyero was tempted to lie, but he knew it would be found out the instant she asked to see the source so she could go about finding them.

"No, they left Oz over a thousand years ago," he said. "No one has seen them since. Most believe they died out if they even existed at all. They were supposedly in charge of bringing spring to Oz, but now the weather mostly works on its own."

Her shoulders dropped.

"Oh," she said softly.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's alright," she said and fixed his arm. "And I suppose as far as nicknames go it's fine."

"I could always call you Ellie."

She sent him a look.

"Start calling me 'Ellie' and I'll go back to calling you Pumpkinhead."

"Noted," he said, grinning.

Elphaba sat back on her heels.

"Can you move now?" she asked.

Fiyero looked down at himself, raising and lowering each limb before getting to his feet. He still felt a bit clumsier than usual, but he was sure he'd be fine.

"All good," he said, putting his clothes to rights.

Elphaba helped him restuff himself with straw.

"This all seems like a pain," she said. "Why not just wear the clothes as they are?"

"I dunno," he said. "Just feels more… normal I guess? To not have myself be only a pumpkin head on a stick."

She twitched her eyebrow in concession and buttoned his shirt back up.

"There we go," she said. "Right as rain."

A cold wind pushed through a gap in the curtains, making her shiver. She removed her hat and cloak, replacing the cloak with her favorite shawl.

"It's so chilly for June," she complained.

"Mountain weather," said Fiyero. "It snows nine months out of the year snd hails the other three."

Elphaba chuckled softly and they walked down to the kitchens together.

"I can't believe I've been here almost ten months already," she said softly.

"Ten months?"

"It was September when I came here," she said and her expression tightened.

"What's wrong?"

"My sister's birthday is coming up," she said. "And the anniversary of our mother's death."

"Oh." He looked down then back up. "Why don't you arrange a visit then? I've never met your sister. And what sort of husband would I be if I didn't call upon your family?"

She snorted and looked at him.

"You aren't my husband, Fiyero," she said. "Me showing up on your doorstep in a wedding dress is not a binding ceremony."

"No, but your family thinks I married you," he said. "And from what you've said your hometown sucks. It'd be fun to go in fancy attire and freak them out."

She smiled slightly. "I'll think about it and I'll send a letter gently probing about what her birthday plans are and mention I'd like to come around for a visit."

"I suppose that's more polite than just dropping in unannounced," he huffed.

Elphaba chuckled.

The rain seemed even louder in the kitchens, but the larger windows likely had something to do with it. Elphaba glanced at the kettle, then got out a saucepan and a bottle of milk.

"What are you making?" Fiyero asked.

"Hot chocolate," she said, finding a bar of cocoa in the cupboard. "Seems like a good day for it and chocolate is one of my favorites."

"Yeah, I was a chocolate fan when I was a human," said Fiyero. "But I really liked spicy foods. Ever since I was a kid. When I was little, my dad tried to give me a hot pepper as a joke and imagine his shock when I ate the whole thing and asked for a second one."

Elphaba laughed. Fiyero liked her laugh. Growing up, all the ladies he grew up around always laughed like they were trying to swallow it down or trained themselves to laugh like the tinkling of bells.

It wasn't long until she had a large, steaming mug of chocolate. She jumped at another crack of thunder.

"Are you afraid?" Fiyero asked.

Her expression became guarded.

"Of course not," she said, scowling slightly. "It's just the sound of lightning. Yes, I was afraid of it when I was really little, but I dealt with it in my own way."

"What about Nessa?"

"Father held her when she was scared, naturally."

And clearly that same comfort wasn't extended to Elphaba.

There was another crackle and boom that rattled the windows. Elphaba closed her eyes and her grip tightened just slightly on her mug.

Fiyero stood up. "Here, come with me."

She tipped her head and followed him up to the music room. Castle lit the fireplace for them and the lamps as well.

"Much quieter, yeah?"

Elphaba listened. Thunder rumbled, but it was muffled.

"Yes," she said.

"It's the tapestries," said Fiyero. "For the acoustics. Music sounds better if your next measure isn't fighting with the echo of the previous one."

He sat down at the piano. It was a beautiful instrument, black with paintings along the sides, set in with mother-of-pearl. He often played, but these days only when he was sure Elphaba couldn't hear. Now… it felt different.

Fiyero flexed his fingers, which creaked softly. He played a gentle melody that added to the thunderstorm outside rather than trying to hide it completely.

Elphaba curled up on one of the low settees against the wall, tucking her skirts around her.

The music filled the room. Fiyero closed his eyes and could, for a moment, pretend he was like he used to be. He didn't allow a moment of silence to remind himself, playing one song after the next.

"You play beautifully," said Elphaba.

He glanced at her.

"Do you play anything?" he asked.

"No," she said. "My mother played the piano and I think she planned to teach me, but Father wouldn't let me or my sister near the piano. Too passionate, he says."

"Well, I agree that it's passionate, but I don't think that's a good enough reason to avoid it."

"I agree, but I never knew enough to learn just to spite him," she said. "Of all the things to do behind his back, magic seemed more important to learn."

"Fair enough," said Fiyero. "You know… I could always teach you. If you're not too busy with your other projects."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

She fell silent, listening to him play. It was easy to get lost in the music. That was something he had always done. At any event. He didn't mind going to the theater if they were seeing something funny and he always enjoyed the ballet. He also liked galas and balls, often dancing until the orchestra played the final note.

Elphaba was right in a way. There wasn't anything stopping him from dancing in this form. What she didn't seem to understand was that he enjoyed dancing with a partner. Well, if she was so insistent he could enjoy that in this form, she could be his dance partner.

He turned to say as such and faltered.

She had fallen asleep. Her eyes were closed at least. Her expression was relaxed and her breathing soft and even. Fiyero debated about leaving her alone to go do his own thing but something was stopping him. He didn't want to leave her. Let her wake up alone in a dark room.

He would stay until the weather eased or she woke up.

Whichever came last.