I've been waiting to post this chapter *smirk*


Glinda stared at the ceiling as she lay in bed, reminiscing over the previous night. She could still feel the phantom feelings of her fingers against Elphaba's arms, her body pressed against hers, and their lips meeting for those short, blissful moments. It was spontaneous, yet so intimate and passionate. It was perfect. Her very first romantic kiss.

She grinned, turning to face her window as the first bits of sunlight peeked through her curtains. She knew that Ama Clutch would come in a few minutes to wake her, and she soaked up the last memories of the previous evening before it would have to stay a memory.

A knock, and Ama Clutch entered. "Good morning, Duckie."

"Good morning, Ama." She sat up and stretched as Ama Clutch opened her curtains, letting the full sunlight in.

"Did you sleep well?"

She blushed. "Yes." She kicked off her covers and jumped out of bed, giggling as she met her Ama at the window. She loved watching the city come alive in the mornings; the people milling around the street, and the way the morning sunlight hit the emerald buildings just right, making them sparkle.

Ama Clutch went to draw her bath, and laid out her clothes as she bathed.

"I have a ballet exam this morning," Glinda reported as Ama Clutch brushed her hair. "We're being tested on all our class combinations."

"You'll do wonderfully, my little Glinda." She set the brush down and kissed her hair.

Glinda rested her head against Ama Clutch's arm, soaking in the maternal affection before standing and practically pulling her downstairs for breakfast.

After a hearty meal of bacon, eggs, and a small bowl of oatmeal, Ama Clutch escorted Glinda to the opera house. Glinda rushed inside, though she was not in danger of being late. She changed out of her dress into her leotard, skirt, and pointe shoes, then warmed up with her friends.

This wasn't the first exam the girls had with Greyling. They were very used to her method and knew not to look to her for any feedback in the moment. The results of their dancing would be revealed when they made a careless mistake in a later class combination.

Glinda was a quick study with choreography, and quickly reviewed the combinations in her head, marking her arms. The class bell rang, and the girls hurried to their barre spots as Greyling entered.

"Good morning, ladies," Greyling nodded as she sat at the front, placing her cane against the mirror behind her.

"Good morning, Miss Greyling," the girls chorused as they curtsied.

"I will only give a brief stretch today. Then we will proceed with the exam." She nodded to the pianist, who played an abbreviated version of their tendu warm-up music, then the girls stood against the far wall as Greyling called out the groups.

Glinda found herself in the second-to-last group, which she wasn't completely happy about. She'd rather be in the first group and get each combination over with, but she tried not to let being upset pull her focus too much.

Greyling didn't announce the order of the five class combinations they would be doing. Part of the exam was for each group to do all five combinations in a different order, and they had to know immediately which combination went with which song. They had one chance to make their performances as flawless as possible.

"Group four," Greyling called after the first three did their first sets of dances, and Glinda hurried to the center with her group. The music started and Glinda channeled her nerves into focus.

Jeté, temps levé, pas de chat, pas de bourrée, changement, allongé, jeté, changement, rond de jambes, arabesque, step, step, glissade, assemblé, glissade, assemblé, Glinda thought as she danced.

The combination ended and she curtsied with her group before returning to the far wall. Almost an hour later, Glinda found herself doing her final combination, and never felt more relieved in her life.

Temps levé, temps levé, temps levé, passé, temps levé, rond de jambes, ballonné, passé, arabesque, jeté, developpé, piqué, piqué, tendu, step, step, attitude, grand jeté.

She held her final pose, her forced smile not looking as forced as it felt. Greyling nodded and wrote notes in her book. She rang the little bell, and the class came to the center, resting in the bras bas position as they waited for Greyling to finish writing.

"Thank you, ladies," the older woman said as she closed her book. "I will see you again for tonight's performance."

"Yes, Miss Greyling," the girls curtsied, and did the reverence.

They quietly chatted about their performances, calling out their mistakes before Greyling could. Glinda couldn't join them. Thinking about the examination would only make her more anxious.

She knew where she could go and who she could talk to instead.

Elphaba stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe as she took in the sight in front of her. Glinda was in her class attire, fast asleep on her sofa, with one pillow behind her head, the other hugged between her arms, and her shoes loose, yet not completely off her feet. She couldn't help but smile. She quietly closed the door, careful not to wake her friend, and grabbed her book from her desk before joining her on the sofa.

She was a few pages in when she felt Glinda stir, and glanced down just as she opened her eyes. "Hello, Glinda."

"Hi, Elphie," she yawned. "I was waiting for you."

"I figured. You were sound asleep, and I didn't want to wake you."

She pushed herself onto her elbows, removed her pointe shoes, and carefully wiggled her covered toes. "How long were you sitting here?"

"I think a better question is how long were you sleeping here?"

"I knocked, but you weren't here," she admitted sheepishly. She looked up at the clock. "Almost two hours. Greyling's exam wore me out."

"How was it?"

"Alright. She didn't frown as much as I thought she would have. But I think we all passed. If anyone failed, she would've removed them from the studio in the moment."

Elphaba smiled. "I'm proud of you, Glinda."

"Thank you," Glinda smiled as she shifted and placed her feet in Elphaba's lap, her wiggling toes a silent request for a congratulatory foot massage.

Elphaba merely shook her head and complied.

"It's much too quiet in here," Glinda said once she finished, pushing herself up and going over to the victrola in the corner. She knelt, scanning through Elphaba's collection, making a face at each one. "Don't you have anything other than ballet and orchestra music?"

"If I had known you would be critical of my collection, I would've added the latest styles just for you."

"I hear this all day. I'd rather listen to… this."

"What did you pick?"

Instead of answering, Glinda put the record on the turntable, cranked the handle, and lowered the needle. She waited for the static to give way to the music, and bounced when a moderate waltz of strings, woodwinds, and drums filled the office.

Elphaba looked up, her expression unreadable. She squinted, then slowly melted. "I haven't heard this song in years."

"I've never heard it. What is it?"

"It's a traditional Munchkin folk dance."

The blonde danced over and tugged on Elphaba's arms. "Teach it to me."

Elphaba chuckled and placed her book aside, following Glinda to the center of the room. "I'm not a dancer, as I've told you before, but I can show you as best I can. It's meant to be danced in a large group in a large space, everyone holding hands and dancing in a circle, then it breaks off into partners." She swayed to the steady six-eight waltz beat, gracefully moving her arms in circular motions, and Glinda copied her. They danced around each other, then Elphaba took her hands and taught her the partnering footwork.

"You're basically moving in continuous spirals," Elphaba said as she demonstrated, her spiral pattern complete with an intricate footwork pattern, and somehow, she never tripped over her own feet.

Glinda joined her, used to fluid spirals in ballet. "This is fun."

"Get ready, because it's about to get faster."

The tempo suddenly increased, the time signature changing from six-eight to four-four, with the drums hitting every beat. Elphaba led her in the choreography, adding jumps and skips on top of the spirals and intricate footwork.

"The trick is that your feet can never stop moving. Everyone does slightly different footwork, just don't stop turning."

Glinda tried to keep up, but ended up falling back against the sofa in a fit of giggles as the song ended.

"Are you alright?" Elphaba asked, trying to sound concerned while hiding her smile behind her hand.

"That was exhilarating!" Glinda laughed, reaching out her hands to be helped up.

Elphaba obliged. "If there was paint on the bottom of our shoes, there would be spiral patterns all over the floor. It's a popular way to teach the dance to children."

"Let's do it again!"

Elphaba restarted the record and led Glinda in the dance. This attempt was only slightly better than the first, leaving the two girls in a tangled heap on the floor.

"Again!"

"I thought you were tired from Greyling's exam."

"I took a nap. Again!"

"Once more." Elphaba untangled herself and restarted the record.

The girls managed to get through the dance without stepping on each other's toes. They spun, jumped, clapped to the drums, and ended the dance in each other's arms.

"You're… a better dancer… than you give yourself credit for," Glinda whispered, catching her breath.

Elphaba blushed. "Thank you. You're… still just as graceful." She took a breath. "There's… um… a special variation where the group dances around a long tape stick, holding colorful ribbon tapes. The dance creates an intricate braid pattern around the stick. It's only done once a year, during our harvest festival."

Blue eyes locked into brown, and Glinda felt that urge again. Her hand was still in Elphaba's, and she gently squeezed it. She nodded to Elphaba's searching look, granting permission for what she wanted. The green woman gently pulled her closer, and Glinda rose to her toes, their lips meeting for a few, brief clock-ticks.

Elphaba gently pulled away first, looking down at the blonde. "Glinda –"

"What is it?" Glinda frowned, unable to read Elphaba's expression.

"I… we should stop. You should go."

"Elphie –"

"You have a performance to prepare for."

"Not this early, I don't. What's going on?"

"We can't continue like this."

"Like what?"

"Being close, knowing we can't maintain this. It's too dangerous, for both of us."

Glinda's shoulders sagged. She hadn't thought about the dangers, nor the consequences that would ensue if they were caught. She could be sent back home to her parents, and Elphaba could lose the opera house.

"It will hurt, and I don't want to hurt you, Glinda."

Glinda wanted to body-slam Elphaba with all the love and affection that she could, but that would involve hurting her, too, so she was suffering quite a dilemma. "I'm not a porcelain doll. I don't break easily. I've told you before that I'm stronger than I look, and that's not limited to dancing." She reached for her hand, grabbing it even though Elphaba pulled away. "I don't want to hurt you either, Elphie. I love you. I know love can hurt, but… I love you."

Elphaba stared, wide-eyed, at Glinda's declaration.

"If our kiss didn't say it, then let my words say it now. If you don't love me back, I can accept that, and will respect your wish for distance. But you have to look me in the eyes and say it. Say you don't love me back. I will be upset, yes; I'll probably cry and throw one of my pointe shoes at your head, but I will be an adult and accept it. But only if you say it."

Elphaba's lips parted, then her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I can't. I can't say it."

The smallest flicker of hope rose in Glinda's chest. "Then say the other thing."

Elphaba gulped down the lump forming in her throat. It seemed easier, yet felt harder. If she said it, it would officially unlock the dangers she was afraid of. But if she didn't, she would have to say goodbye to the only friend she's ever had. She looked down at her hopeful, expecting eyes, and her resolve melted. "I… love you, too."

A weight was lifted from Glinda's shoulders. She was so light, she felt like she would fly away. She took Elphaba's hands, mostly to keep herself grounded, and felt a jolt when Elphaba gently tightened her grip around her fingers. "We can go slow. Adagio."

Elphaba nodded. "Adagio."

"Will you play the song again?" Glinda asked, her eyes shifting from the victrola to her companion.

"Once more," Elphaba agreed for the second time, trying, and failing, to sound firm as she restarted the record.


The girls' secret romance continued for the rest of the summer. Their various outings ranged from fun, public shopping expeditions, to intimate moments in the opera house. Glinda was surprised at how much privacy they could find. Elphaba had agreed, and even provided an unprompted reason.

"The part of the opera house that you can see is only a small part. I can show you so much more."

"How much more is there?"

"I know every nook and cranny of this opera house. It's a labyrinth."

Glinda was fascinated by how vast the opera house was. It was big on the outside, but now here she was, exploring the opera's secret catacombs and false walls with its mysterious owner. Elphaba always held her close, quelling her fears that, unbeknownst to her, Glinda was exaggerating to elicit that closeness.

"How old is the opera house?" Glinda asked, clutching Elphaba's arm as they explored a new path.

"Two hundred ninety-nine. This January will be its tricentennial."

"Hmm. It doesn't look a day over one hundred fifty."

Elphaba chuckled, lifting her lantern higher. "It was built during the reign of Ozma the Wanderer. It was rumored that she would attend performances, and a secret passageway was built so she could slip in and out unnoticed."

"Like how you slip in and out of your box seat unnoticed?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have a secret passageway. I just use the dimmed lights." Her hands groped along the jagged, brick walls, searching for the loose one. "Ah-ha!" she smiled when she found it and pushed the false wall aside, revealing an old staircase. She reached back for Glinda's hand, and led the way inside.

It was around thirty steps before they reached the other side, and Glinda wanted to find the secret door this time. It took a while, and Elphaba's lantern started to burn out, but she eventually found it and pushed it open.

They stepped out into one of the boxes on the left side of the auditorium. "This must've been Ozma the Wanderer's box. And there's your box, Elphie!" Glinda smiled, pointing to the box directly across from them.

Elphaba smiled at the look of wonder on Glinda's face at their discovery. She had forgotten what it was like to discover the opera house and loved reliving it through Glinda. She had forgotten what it was like to share the things she enjoyed in her life with others.

"This certainly is looking at things another way. I rarely see the stage from the audience's perspective," Glinda said. "It looks… different. It's amazing."

"I know."

Stagehands appeared on stage to clean and set up for the night's show, making Glinda and Elphaba slip back into the secret passageway. They emerged from their starting point at an unused back hallway on the other side of the opera house, and returned to Elphaba's office.

Glinda flopped onto her sofa with a loud sigh, relieved to be surrounded by light once again. Elphaba closed the door and sat next to her. Glinda immediately snuggled closer. At that moment, Elphaba felt that her current comfort and lightness could be worth the potential, future risks.


The Munchkin folk dance music is the "Kingdom Dance" from "Tangled".