The World As We Know It

by elphabaoftheopera

When their long-awaited night of passion results in an unplanned pregnancy, Elphaba and Fiyero must navigate the consequences of the new world they've created. Years later, when Liir has questions about his past that even his Auntie Glinda won't answer, a startling discovery sets him on a journey that alters everything he once knew. Canon-Divergent. AU. Fiyeraba (& Gliyeraba).

8. Flight Risk

Content Advisory: Violence/Weapon Use, Grief

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CHAPTER EIGHT: FLIGHT RISK

"Go there. Stay safe. Swear to it, Elphaba."

"I swear."

"Go."

Glinda watched as Elphaba sprinted out of sight and hardly had time to turn her head back before the guards grabbed Fiyero and thrust him to his knees. Now that the Wicked Witch was out of reach, the barrels of their guns and the points of their spears were now pointed menacingly at him.

"I hope it was worth it, Tigelaar," The Captain sneered.

Fiyero raised his eyes defiantly to him.

"It was."

Fiyero grunted as The Captain's fist ruthlessly collided with his face.

"What are you doing?!" Glinda gasped. "Stop that this instant!"

Fiyero groaned, but he did not fight back. He didn't struggle. The Captain grabbed his chin and yanked it so he'd face forward again.

"No! Stop it!" Glinda pleaded just before The Captain crushed his fist into Fiyero's left eye.

"Not so handsome now, are we?" The Captain remarked, admiring his gruesome handywork. Fiyero still said nothing. "What? You're not even going to fight back?"

Fiyero coughed, the taste of blood on his tongue, and shook his head.

"She got away," Fiyero muttered. "That's all that matters."

"Fiyero!" Glinda called to him.

Fiyero turned his head towards her but The Captain wrenched it back.

"Don't look at her! You don't have the right to look at her!" he growled. "And you know something? While I'd happily draw this out…out of respect for Her Goodness I'll make this quick for you."

The Captain nodded and the guards roughly dragged Fiyero towards the scarecrow post, tying his arms behind his back. They forced him back to his knees, hands tied behind him on the pole, and pulled a sack over his face. The last thing Fiyero saw was Glinda's wide, green eyes before scratchy burlap obscured his vision.

"Alright gentlemen. Let's show all of Oz what becomes of traitors," The Captain commanded. "Royalty or not!"

"Your Goodness?" Glinda heard someone say. There was a gentle tug on her elbow as a guard tried to pull her away. "You may want to turn your back for this…"

Glinda was not listening to him. He was too far away, and her world was moving at too slow a pace as she watched the guards poise their weapons towards her prince. Without thinking, Glinda wrenched her arm out of the guard's grasp and hurried away from him and into the line of fire. Towards Fiyero.

"Halt!" The Captain shouted in a panicky voice as Glinda's glittery figure hastened in front of their weapons. "Don't shoot!"

Glinda's hands were held up in a desperate plea for peace and she skinned her knees as she frantically hunkered to the ground to kneel beside Fiyero.

"Your Goodness—!"

Glinda, not listening, tugged the sack off of Fiyero's head and promptly wrapped him in her arms. Tenderly she held him within her shimmering aura of protection as her soft, manicured hands cradled his head to her chest.

"Glinda…" Fiyero panted. "What are you doing?"

"If you want to kill Fiyero then you have to kill me too!" Glinda said with a quivering shout. "Goodness itself as my witness you will not kill this man!"

The guards stared back at her, dumbfounded. Fiyero trembled against Glinda, selfishly comforted by her embrace. The scent of her perfume was welcome but strange. It seemed almost wrong for something so sweet to grace him in the midst of such brutal terror.

"Your Goodness…this man is a traitor!" The Captain said in a baffled voice. "Why—why you out of anyone should know that!"

"If we resort straight to violence how are we any less wicked than The Witch herself?"

Glinda's voice was steady, but it held a squeaky timbre that let Fiyero, at least, in on her fear. He could feel the heightened, frightened thud of her heart against his ear.

"But this man is the second most wanted individual in Oz. He held a gun to your head! I daresay he's harmed you more than anyone."

"Well then if I'm the one he's harmed should I not have a say in his fate?"

"I—"

"I am not saying he should avoid justice but I am begging you to consider the alternatives. Consider goodness. Not for him…but for your very own souls."

The eyes of the guards shifted between each other uneasily.

"Yes! You see?" Glinda said, catching the guards expression. "Please. The world is wicked enough without fine men such as yourselves creating more of it."

Glinda leaned back and took Fiyero's face in her hands.

"If this man's affliction is wickedness…then should the cure not be goodness?"

"We hold your goodness in the highest regard…" The Captain began uneasily. "But—"

"Besides which, there is still much to consider!" Glinda continued, releasing Fiyero's face but staying close to him. "What if this man has been bewitched? Why, that would be a logical explanation, would it not? After all…" Glinda shot a sideways, pointed look towards Fiyero. "Who in their right minds would choose to be hunted alongside our Wicked Witch when they had the option to live a life of luxury and goodness…with me?"

The corner of Fiyero's mouth twitched, as if he would have smiled in guilty irony were the circumstances not so grim. Further seeds of doubt were sown in the minds of the guards but he Captain held firm.

"We cannot take that chance, Your Goodness. It may not be pretty but eliminating him is in service to the greater good."

"Then…then say he has gone astray and joined The Witch by choice. We must hold out hope for…"

Fiyero watched as an idea lit up on Glinda's face, an expression he recognized well.

"For rehabilitation! In fact, I do believe that Prince Tigelaar may very well make the perfect candidate for The Wizard's new Ozian Rehabilitory Project. Don't you agree, Captain?"

"Er—I suppose I haven't heard of that…" The Captain cleared his throat. "Particular project…"

"Oopsie!" Glinda covered her lips with her fingers. "I suppose I just figured that The Captain of the Guard would be privy to such matters. Silly me for making assumptions on your clearance."

The Captain reddened and cleared his throat. Glinda smiled sheepishly to the other guards.

"We can all agree to keep my little slip between friends, can't we?"

The guards stood up a little taller and nodded energetically.

"The fact of the matter is, The Wizard has very eager hopes in—oh, how did he put it? Squeezing the wickedness and…and corruption out of people for the betterment of Oz! Why…I can think of no finer pupil for his plans than Prince Tigelaar here."

"Perhaps…" The Captain said slowly.

"After all…" Glinda said. "If I of all people can find it in my heart to forgive him…"

Glinda's eyes met Fiyero's.

"…then I believe we all can."

The guards looked amongst each other before The Captain, at last swayed, reluctantly nodded.

"I suppose…" he cleared his throat again. "We could take him to The Wizard to stand judgment? See what he wants to do with him?"

"Yes, oh yes," Glinda gushed, rising to her feet. "What a wonderful idea you've just had!"

The Captain stood a bit taller, a cocky smile forming on his lips.

"Yes! I suppose you're right, Your Goodness," he said. "However, I must insist we restrain him during transport."

"Oh, but of course!" Glinda nodded before raising a bitter brow towards Fiyero. "He is a flight risk after all."

A guard untied Fiyero from the pole but rebound his wrists with rope, blatantly enjoying holding their former Captain captive. Glinda insisted on accompanying them on their journey down the Yellow Brick Road in order to "keep an eye on The Wizard's asset".

She only wished she hadn't worn heels.

"Your Goodness are you certain that you don't want to take your bubble home?" The Captain asked during their journey. "It'd certainly be faster."

"Why, I find it rather exciting to observe the guard," Glinda returned sweetly. "You've heard all about my apprenticeship circuit, yes? I simply love shadowing our citizens in their careers. After all, fine people like you are the real heroes of Oz, don't you agree?"

The Captain, further smitten with Glinda, chuckled.

"If you insist, Your Goodness. Even so, it's about to get dark. This stretch can get spooky at night."

"Oh!" Glinda giggled. "I don't believe in spooks. Besides, we sent young Miss Dorothy on her way down this very path, didn't we? If she can show such courage I'm certain I can too."

"Very well," The Captain nodded. "We shall begin setting up camp. Worry not, we'll keep a guard stationed directly beside the traitor at all times—"

"Oh goodness, no! I wouldn't do that!" Glinda shook her head quickly. "No, no, no! You'll want to keep a wide berth from him," Glinda traced a circle in the air with her wand. "A wiiiiiiiiiide berth. If you know what's good for you, that is."

"Why is that?" The Captain frowned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Glinda said innocently, as if she really didn't understand The Captain's confusion.

The Captain cleared his throat self-consciously.

"Why, yes! Of course it is…"

"Yes, yes. I can tell you sense it too. The regime change in the air," Glinda gestured towards the sky. "The time of goodness is upon us, sir. The Wicked Witch of the East was struck down this very day. Who's to say that a house could not come and strike Prince Tigelaar in the night?"

The Captain gulped.

"Very well. We'll keep our distance…but he'll be watched at all times," The Captain said. "I won't rest until this job is done."

Glinda smiled sweetly.

"I'm sure you'll prove precisely how capable you are."

The sun set and night fell upon their campsite off the side of the Yellow Brick Road. Per Glinda's advice, Fiyero was situated at a spacious distance away. The Captain offered to take the first watch.

"Oh, thank goodness for you upstanding gentlemen," Glinda flattered the guards. "You've all been so wonderful. I only wish there were something I could do for you…"

She gasped in excitement.

"Oh, I know! Perhaps I could entertain you with an evening song!"

Some of the guards smirked, others looked charmed by the offer.

"Why not? We'd take a song. Right men?!" The Captain called.

There were shouts and nods in agreement and Glinda gave a short curtsy.

"Let me just take one moment to preparify myself!"

Glinda turned so that she faced Fiyero with her back to the guards. She subtly signaled for him to cover his ears. Fiyero frowned in confusion and she mouthed to him insistently to cover his ears.

Glinda turned in a graceful circle, wand in hand, and began to sing.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby…"

Fiyero, who had plugged his ears, immediately felt the urge to yawn. Alarmed by this, he plugged his ears harder to further block out Glinda's voice. She began strolling at a leisurely pace around the camp, weaving between the guards and waving her wand in fluid arcs over their head. A shower of a glitzy substance began to materialize and float gently over the heads of the guards. Glitter? Or was it snow?

"Somewhere over the rainbow blue birds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow…"

Fiyero's eyes started to droop.

"Why, then…"

His head began to fall forward.

"Oh, why can't—"

A sharp tug on his ear alerted Fiyero and his eyes shot open to see Glinda kneeling before him, looking perturbed.

"I told you to plug your ears!"

"I did…" Fiyero gave his head a disoriented shake. "Wait—what are you doing? Keep your voice down!"

"Psh," Glinda waved an unbothered hand. "We can be as loud as we want. The fellas will be out for eight hours. Ten tops. Plenty of time for me to get you out of here and return before they're any the wiser."

As Glinda began tugging at the restraints on Fiyero's wrists to free them, he peered over her shoulder to see every last guard sound asleep. They were laying silent and stock still, nary a snore among them, as if they'd fallen into a serene death.

"What did you do to them?" Fiyero gawked.

"I picked up a couple tricks from The Lullaby League," Glinda shrugged, still working to undo the knots. "And then I put my own Glinda spin on it, of course. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful. It's diabolical," Fiyero commented, looking at her in admiration. "It's…you."

Glinda freed the knot at last and unwound the rope from his wrists.

"If only I'd learned it sooner. You were quite the insomniac, you know. You'd just toss and turn and toss and turn…" Glinda paused for a moment. "Though now I suppose I know why."

Fiyero felt a sting of guilt as he and Glinda stood up together.

"Glinda…"

"We should go," Glinda said. She lifted her skirts to step over one of the dead to the world guards. "You and I should get a head start."

"You and I?"

"What? You expect to walk all the way to Kiamo Ko?"

"How did you—"

"Go where I told you about, Elphaba," Glinda said in a mockingly masculine tone. "Where else could it be? You told me about it enough times…not that you cared to ever show it to me."

"Are you sure you don't want—"

"I don't want to talk about it!" she huffed. She began weaving through the guards again until her heels clacked onto the Yellow Brick Road. "Come along now. We need to get to a more secluded area before we board the bubble."

The pair began continuing down the Yellow Brick Road. Save for the noises of the forest, it was desolate. Dark. Fiyero largely relied on the moonlight refracting from the gems on Glinda's dress to guide his step, finding it all the harder to see out of one functioning eye.

"I hope that Dorothy didn't get lost in all this," Glinda remarked after a long silence.

"Who?" Fiyero asked.

"A child. She was in the house," Glinda explained.

"In…in the house? That house?"

"Yes. How odd all of that was. I'm afraid I had no idea what to say when she stepped out of the door with that sweet little dog. What could one say?"

"What did you do?"

"I set her off down this road," Glinda shrugged. "Oh, she was so frightened but I didn't know what else to do."

"Did you see it? The crash?" Fiyero asked.

Glinda was quiet for a moment before responding in a small voice. "Yes. Yes, I saw it all."

"So it's really all true. Nessa."

"It's true, woefully true," Glinda confirmed. "Oh, Fiyero. It was awful. Just awful!"

"Did you see Elphaba? Before the ambush? How—"

Glinda tensely pinched her lips together.

"Sorry," Fiyero winced. "I know I shouldn't talk to you about her…"

"Yes I saw her and yes we spoke. And you may as well go ahead!" Glinda waved a bitter hand. "She talked to me about you too."

"She talked about me?" Fiyero perked up.

"What was it you were going to ask, Fiyero?"

"I was just going to ask…how she was," Fiyero sighed. "She vanished right after it happened. I wasn't sure where she went."

"Well she made a grand old scene as usual—scared the life out of that poor little girl! But…" Glinda shook her head. "Oh, Fiyero…she was crushed."

Glinda grimaced at her own choice of words.

"You know. So to speak."

"Elphaba knew. She knew the house was going to happen—right before it happened. I don't understand how…" Fiyero shook his head. "There's a lot I don't understand about her."

"Well, then…" Glinda said. "Welcome to my world."

They walked for a bit in silence.

"Glinda?" Fiyero spoke up quietly, gently grasping her arm to stop her. "I…never thanked you. For what you did back there. Thank y—"

"You're welcome."

Glinda pulled her arm away and picked up speed down the road, heels clacking double time across the yellow bricks. Fiyero hung back and stared at her, somewhat hurt by her curtness. A moment later, however, Glinda slowed to a stop and turned to face him with a sudden sob.

"Oh Fiyero. Fiyero! I was terrified!" Glinda cried, speeding back towards him and flinging herself into his arms. "I thought you were a goner for sure!"

"You saved me, Glinda," Fiyero said gratefully, pulling back to see her face. "You saved my life."

"Well…" Glinda uttered softly, lifting her eyes to his. "You saved hers."

They held their gaze for a moment before Glinda cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"Elphaba told me, you know."

"Told you what?"

"She told me. About her condition."

Fiyero's face dropped.

"Oh. Yeah. Well—"

"How could you be so brainless?!" Glinda exclaimed.

"It just happened. We didn't think!"

"No kidding you didn't think! You impregnated her first thing, Fiyero! Did you even bother to take your boots off?"

Fiyero's uncomfortable silence was her answer.

Glinda whacked the side of her wand on his shoulder and Fiyero flinched.

"Ow!"

"You'd better do right by her, Fiyero. So help me Oz."

"I will!"

"I don't believe you have any idea what you've been doing!"

"I'm sorry!"

"For all the trouble you've caused everybody Elphaba had better be the love of your life!"

"She is!"

The statement came out of him with such confidence, with such little thought. No thought, in fact. No thought at all.

"She…" Fiyero began again, softer this time, as if only fully realizing it himself. "She is."

"Oh," Glinda uttered softly. "I see."

Glinda tried not to sound wounded, she tried not to feel wounded, but all the same she felt the twist of a new feeling. Jealousy. Being who she was, comfortable accustomed to getting her way, Glinda had never found much cause for envy. Now, she felt it subtly stir in her chest like a sickness. It felt like she was being left out of something—at least, she assumed. She didn't really know what that felt like either. She didn't feel angry, she didn't feel vengeful, but yes. She felt envious.

But whether Glinda was more envious of Elphaba or Fiyero…she could not determine.

"I'm sorry, Glinda…" Fiyero said. He meant it. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say."

Glinda shrugged numbly.

"The heart wants what it wants, Fiyero. I cannot fault you for following yours."

"If it makes you feel any better…I'm blowing it. I'm completely blowing it," Fiyero confessed. "You're right, Glinda. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm totally useless to her. I have no skills. And—hell. I got her pregnant! I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I screwed up so badly."

Fiyero ruffled his hair restlessly.

"It feels like every day I do something new that makes her push me further and further away. I know how I feel about her…but I have no idea how she feels about me," Fiyero complained. "And I don't know what the problem is! I don't know how to fix it! None of my old tricks are working—"

"That's because you can't use tricks on Elphaba! She's not some college hookup or summer fling, Fiyero," Glinda said tightly. "And she's not me."

Fiyero's shoulders slackened.

"Glinda…"

"No, no," Glinda held up her hand. "It's fine, Fiyero. I am not looking to stand in your way. Not anymore. I mean…" Glinda laughed weakly. "The love of your life? How could I possibly get in the way of…the love of your life?"

"It's nothing that you did, Glinda. It's—"

"It's not you it's me?" Glinda filled in icily.

"I'm saying that there's just something about Elphaba that makes me need to be with her…I just…" Fiyero shook his head, struggling to explain. "I can't be without her. I've always suspected…and then when I held her in my arms that first night? I knew. I just knew that…she was it for me."

Glinda was quiet for a moment, inadvertently envisioning the many times Fiyero had held her in his arms. How it had made her feel. Fiyero had become her lifeline in the past few years. She knew it was love she felt for him, that could not be denied…but was it the same? Was it the same connection that he'd just described? As much as she loathed to admit it, Glinda knew the answer. Though she held love for him, she hadn't felt that with Fiyero.

She hadn't felt that…ever.

"What a feeling that must be," Glinda mused, mostly to herself. "To hold the love of your life in your arms…"

She daintily cleared her throat.

"Well then. Have you told her?"

"Told her what?" Fiyero asked.

"Have you told her, Fiyero? Have you told her—really told her—how you feel about her?"

"She knows," Fiyero said. "She knows how I feel."

It was his knee-jerk reaction. He'd said it with confidence. His love for her screamed and echoed in his brain at all hours, in all situations. It seemed impossible to think that she couldn't see, couldn't know, what was so very clear to him. However, a slow frown began creeping to his face as his mind churned through his interactions with Elphaba over the past several weeks.

"I think she knows…" Fiyero said. "I…hope she knows."

Glinda smiled half-heartedly and shook her head.

"She doesn't."

Fiyero looked up at her.

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't know, Fiyero. Elphaba, for all of her wonderful qualities, is as thick-headed as it gets. She doesn't read between the lines, Fiyero. She doesn't see. She's so busy with her prophecies and visions that she completely misses…what's right in front of her eyes."

Glinda trailed off for a moment, and Fiyero watched her eyes go somewhere faraway. She didn't stay there for long, however, and her attention returned to him before he could comment on it.

"So you have to say the words. You have to make her focus and spell it out for her…and even then she still may not believe it. But you have to tell her, Fiyero. That's what your problem is and that's how you fix it," Glinda said firmly. "You both keep telling me how you feel—but for Ozsakes! What you need to do is talk to each other."

"You're right," Fiyero realized. "I'm an idiot—I am such an idiot."

"Yes."

"Oz I need to get back to her and let her know…to let her see!"

"Well let's get you there then."

Glinda turned and continued walking.

"And then there's you…" Fiyero called after her.

"Me?" Glinda turned. "What about me?"

"You're helping me. You're giving me advice even after what I did to you. Oz, Glinda," Fiyero shook his head. "I never deserved you. I never ever deserved you."

"Sure you did," Glinda said. "And I deserved you too. We deserved each other. Remember?"

"Of course," Fiyero said softly. "I'll always remember."

Glinda stared at Fiyero for a long moment. She recalled their first meeting, the OzDust, and how they'd clung to each other when Elphaba was away. She pictured their engagement announcement and inwardly cringed.

Perhaps Fiyero was not the fool among them after all.

Perhaps it had always been her.

"I really did love you, Fiyero," Glinda confessed. "Is that silly of me?"

"No, Glinda—"

"But I need you to tell me one thing, Fiyero, just one thing," Glinda cut him off. "Because it goes over and over in my head and I'm desperate for peace."

"Anything."

"Was—"

Glinda's voice buckled and her eyes glossed over with unshed tears. Fiyero's heart stung at the sight. Seeing Glinda cry was one of the worst feelings in the world, made even worse by him being the cause.

"Was any of it…real between us? For you?" Glinda asked, a single tear trickling down her cheek. "Wasany of it real?"

Fiyero stepped forward and pulled Glinda into a strong hug. Glinda accepted his familiar embrace with a small whimper. The hug was comforting but in an uncannily sad way. Like revisiting a home you didn't live in anymore. The pair held each other for a stretch of time that felt endless, saying everything by saying nothing.

Fiyero at last pulled out of the hug and cupped Glinda's face in his hands. He kissed the corner of her mouth. He kissed her cheek.

"All of it was real," Fiyero murmured. And he meant it. "I really loved you too, Glinda. The things I felt for you were real…and they didn't just go away."

"I know the feeling."

"What I feel for Elphaba isn't necessarily more, it's just…"

Fiyero sighed.

"It's just—"

"Different," Glinda and Fiyero confirmed in soft unison.

Glinda lifted her hand to Fiyero's face and stroked it affectionately with her thumb.

"We were perfect together. Maybe in the end we were too perfect. Too…" Glinda trailed off weakly. "Similar."

Fiyero and Glinda's eyes met in mutual sympathy as yet another similarity they shared was brought to light between them.

"I suppose I can hardly blame you for falling for her, Fiyero…" Glinda said. "It's a terribly easy thing to do."

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

Night had fallen by the time the peaks of the ancient castle began cresting over the horizon. The Monkeys began peeling off, perching themselves in trees and turrets in apparent acceptance of their new home. As they settled, Elphaba's feet landed on the aged stone bridge at the stronghold's entrance. For a moment she stood very still. Fiyero had wanted them to inhabit this castle together. How could she now cross its threshold alone?

She turned back towards the east from whence she came.

"Go there. Stay safe. Swear to it, Elphaba."

Elphaba closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"Very well, Yero."

With a swish of her cape Elphaba turned and stalked towards the castle's massive door before she could change her mind. She flicked her wrist and it flung open noisily so that she may seal herself inside. A cold foyer awaited her. Fiyero had not exaggerated, it looked like the castle had been in disuse for many years. Now, it would house Fiyero's lover…whether Oz or his parents liked it or not.

"There. Happy now? Are you happy, Yero?" Elphaba shouted to the rafters, her voice echoing in the dank space. "I've got a roof over my head!"

And what a roof it was! In stories when one moved from poverty into a castle, the change was a happy one. Elphaba, however, was living no fairytale. The castle's walls, despite their expansive stature, seemed to stifle her. Suffocate her.

No. No.

She could not stay here.

Not without him.

In a chaotic spurt, Elphaba scurried back towards the door. However, as soon as her hand hit the doorknob, there was his voice again!

"Go there. Stay safe. Swear to it, Elphaba."

Very likely his last request of her.

Of anyone.

Elphaba released a sickened groan and rested her forehead against the door. He'd been smart to make her swear to it. He'd correctly assumed that she'd have a hard time staying put. He'd known she'd be anxious to leave.

He'd known that she was a flight risk.

"Fiyero," she murmured. "Fiyero where are you…?"

Hours passed in similar torment. Elphaba had yet to leave the foyer, uninterested in seeing more of her new home by herself. Vicious nausea pervaded her body, but it felt unlike her previous spells of illness. It stemmed from a wretched blend of dread. Terror. Guilt.

Where was her otherworldly intuition now?!

She could detect houses in the sky. She could detect her own pregnancy. Yet, for the life of her, she could not tap into her powers long enough to clue her in on what had become of Fiyero! Her mind was far too clouded, too frightened. She had no clue if he was imprisoned, if he was bleeding, if he was dead.

"I promised," Elphaba groaned. "I promised. But what does my promise matter if he gets himself killed?!"

She'd taken to talking out loud but she wasn't at all times sure if she was speaking to herself or to Fiyero's child in her stomach.

Go there. Nessarose's favorite stockings. Stay safe. Nessarose's favorite shoes. Swear to it, Elphaba.

"There has to be something!" Elphaba shouted madly. "There has to be something I can still do!"

A thought occurred. Perhaps she could do both. Keep her promise but still help Fiyero. Still save him. In a mad sprint she grabbed her bag and ripped The Grimmerie out of it.

"It's not too late," Elphaba muttered to herself, desperately flipping through the pages. "It's not too late. Not like Nessa. Not like Nessa."

"Elphaba, please. Don't leave me!" the phantom ofNessarose screamed in her head.

"Not like Nessa. Not Fiyero too. Please, not him. Anyone but him!"

Elphaba flipped a page and flinched backwards upon spotting something pressed between its pages. No. Such a cruel reminder. Such cruel timing!

It was a poppy. A single poppy. Her poppy.

Clear as crystal memories began playing in Elphaba's mind. Memories of a college boy rushing to the train station, a bundle of hastily picked flowers in his hand. Flowers for her. It had been the most confounding, the most…breathtaking gesture. She'd had the forethought to press one into the novel she'd brought for the train ride, wanting to keep at least one. To make space, as soon as she was on the run she ditched the novel…but not the flower. No. She'd ever so gently plucked the poppy off the page and transferred it to The Grimmerie so it'd stay safe with her wherever she went.

"I remembered, Fiyero…" Elphaba murmured to herself. "I remembered that you brought me flowers."

Elphaba's fingers sprang towards the flower as if to shred the damnable thing. Just in time she stopped herself and, with a hiss, shoved The Grimmerie across the floor and outof her destructive reach. She fell to her hands and knees, wheezing. Retching. But she could not seem to cry. She'd never longed to cry so much, no longer proud over her track record. Anything that may release her from her current limbo would be most welcome indeed.

"Fiyero…" she gasped. "Oh, my Fiyero."

How she'd squandered their time together! Their flicker of time. The amount she'd withheld from him. The things she didn't say. The feelings she didn't act upon.

Elphaba raised her eyes to look at The Grimmerie ahead, eyes locking on the poppy. A single pressed flower may well be the last thing Elphaba had of her Fiyero.

Except of course…

"You," Elphaba muttered vengefully to the child in her womb. "All that's left of him…is you."

She slowly rose to her feet, fingers twitching. She began to pace, misdirected rage providing an addictive reprieve from her grief.

"It should have been me. It should have been me and would have been me if not for you!" Elphaba seethed. "But he died for you, don't you see?! He died for you and now there's only us!"

A crunching shatter sounded and caught Elphaba's attention. A large ornate mirror on the wall now sported a thick crack running horizontal across the glass. It bisected Elphaba's reflection at the abdomen, dividing her into two parts.

"How I pity you," Elphaba spat, glaring towards her middle in the reflection. "I pity you, little brat. I pity you because your father is dead…and your mother is empty."