AN: Today is Wicked's 21st anniversary, and even though this year (and for the past 3 years, really) it has brought me more pain than joy, especially as November approaches, the Broadway production is still my favourite thing in my whole life, and it's probably the most important thing to me as well. Last year I started writing and publishing the fanfiction Beyond The Curtains, which means so much to me, because it is loosely an autobiography (because part of the reason why Wicked and Elphaba matter so much to me is because it feels like a biography), also you guys seemed to love it. I am so sorry to disappoint, but here is what happened: I wrote ten chapters, I got to the point of Elphaba and Glinda's first year at Shiz (before Fiyero got transferred and before they became friends), and then I had to get a new phone. I had a Samsung and got a Redmi, I used my notes app to write and it was not compatible, so I lost EVERYTHING! I mourned it for a few months and then didn't feel the strength to write it all again. Then 2024 came and got on my Top 5 worst years ever (as I was anticipating, but it was even worse than I thought it would be) so I just left it behind. Last week I decided to make Beyond The Curtains my ultimate canon universe and add to it by writing one shots and short stories, all of which will be set in that universe, not necessarily in chronological order. I wrote the first chapter of what I planned to be a three chapter short story; I wanted to finish all three before publishing, but I decided to publish the first one today in honor of the 21st, despite not feeling like celebrating it this year. It was a tough year for me, but writing this was therapeutic; also Idina Menzel doing everything she's doing and working so hard for democracy and Jordan Litz's staring in a movie and watching his beautiful baby girl grow are filling me with joy, so here it is!
Disclaimer: the way I describe the characters looks is based on people of my life, especially Elphaba, Fiyero, Glinda an Shell, but for the OC of Illa I was actually inspired by Adina Porter in American Horror Story: Apocalypse, so that's exactly what she looks like. Oh, and I believe I have said that before, but the way I describe Elphaba is exactly like my profile picture!
Content Warning: mentions of intimacy, light use of curse words and mentions of struggle with mental health and self ending thoughts. It doesn't get too dark nor too mature, but for safety reasons, this chapter is a High T!
Life in the Rose Kingdom was so different than in Oz. During her years as the Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba helped dozens of Animals and Rebels to cross the Great Deadly Desert on her broomstick, often to the Rose Kingdom. She never spent more than a few hours upon arriving, though, only staying for a quick stretch and dinner, usually offered to her by sympathetic citizens at no cost, and then she would be back, as her business was in Oz.
That little girl with the dog took her broomstick to the Wizard. Once Fiyero got back to her, it took a while to figure out what to do next. They spent the next few days thinking about how they would leave Oz, as Elphaba didn't have The Grimmerie anymore.
"You don't remember the spell you used?" Asked Fiyero one day, after pointing out that Kiamo Ko was full of broomsticks that they could enchant, only for Elphaba to say she couldn't just do that.
"I didn't even know what I was saying", she responded. "I was in a hurry and I was terrified. The only way out was a window and I had just accidentally given wings to dozens of poor little monkeys, I was trying to do the same thing to myself and then the broom started floating!"'
"I think that what you're saying is that your power is your intention. Your spells give you what you are asking for, literally. Even if it isn't what you were expecting."
"But what about those monkeys? I didn't ask for them to become winged minions to the Wizard and Madame Morrible!"
"Well, you said you didn't know what the words on The Grimmerie meant, so you didn't know that that was what you were asking for, but it was." He immediately regretted his choice of words. "But you should never think that that must mean you are truly wicked inside, because you are not. You are just as much of a victim as those monkeys!"
Elphaba was silent for a few moments, and then she started sobbing hopelessly. Fiyero didn't miss a second to comfort her.
"It's not fair to you!" She cried. "You had an amazing life. A high ranking position, money, a title. You were going to be king and you were going to marry Glinda, and..."
"I'm gonna stop you right there!" He said. "I am offended that you are implying I did not choose what happened to me. You know I only got my position through nepotism, and I only wanted it in the first place to be the one who was going to find you first, to keep you safe!"
She looked up at him with red eyes and wet cheeks, silently sobbing.
"I never wanted to be king. I was the first born son, but not the first child. My older sisters will be far greater rulers than I could ever be, at least than what I could be without you by my side as my queen."
She sobbed once more. "And as for Glinda, you know we weren't even in a relationship at all before she announced we were getting married. We were nothing but friends, I am not missing out on getting married to someone when the only person I ever wanted to marry is right in front of me right now!"
"Fiyero, I..." She attempted.
"I knew what I was getting myself into when I joined the Gale Force. I knew what I was getting myself into when I ran away from the Emerald Palace with you. I knew what I was getting myself into when I made love to you in the woods. I knew what I was getting myself into when I pointed a gun at Glinda to get you free. I knew what I was getting myself into when I awoke as a Scarecrow on that cornfield and asked Dorothy to take me to the Wizard with her. I knew what I was getting myself into every time I pretended I didn't have a life before the Scarecrow or that I thought you were wicked and when I pretended I didn't know that the Tinman was Boq or when I didn't beat him when he screamed for all of Oz to go after you. I wouldn't have done any of the things I did if I cared for status or titles. All I cared about was you, all I could think of while I was doing all of those things was you. I would die in an instant if that meant you would be safe, I made that decision!"
"And I'll never forget that!" She said, full of love in her eyes.
"I don't regret anything, and I would do that all over again for you. I would spend the rest of eternity as a Scarecrow stuck at this abandoned castle if that meant I could be with you. I love you!"
As if he hadn't made that clear by his actions before, but that was actually the first time Fiyero had said that out loud. He had thought of saying that several times in the past few years. Before being arrested for helping her escape and pointing a gun at Glinda, The Good, after kissing her for what he thought would be the last time. In the woods while he was declaring his devotion to her just a few days ago, at the station at Shiz before she left for the Emerald City, when they rescued that Lion Cub so many years ago... There were so many moments Fiyero thought of saying those three words to her, but didn't have the courage to. And now, there was nothing stopping him, he finally said it. But he didn't know that Elphaba was even more afraid of being true to her feelings than he was. When she heard those words leave his burlap mouth she started sobbing all over again and made herself small and vulnerable in his arms.
"I love you, too!" She cried into his chest. "So, so much!" She began to recompose. "I will not rest until you are living the life that you deserve, I promise you that!"
He kissed her forehead. "You don't have to do anything, then."
She ignored that. "I know where to go," she said, "I just don't know how to get there without a broomstick."
"Where?" He asked.
She stood up and went for a map. She showed him the Rose Kingdom, lying there, beyond the Great Deadly Desert. She explained to him that she had been there several times before, helping refugees. She was known there and people would help them rebuild their lives. But the Great Deadly Desert turns you into stone if you touch it, so the only way to cross it is by flying.
"We are very far from the Eastern border." He said. "If we found a way to fly right now, we would have to fly all over Oz."
"We could be spotted." She said.
"And shot down!" He concluded, knowing how the Gale Force worked. Lucky for them, Fiyero also knew how to get closer to the Eastern border unnoticed.
He took her through the tunnels of Kiamo Ko, and she wore a cloak to cover her face. They walked for a few hours and emerged near the Capital City of the Vinkus. The plan was to board the back of a cargo train going to the Glikus, the nearest place in Oz to the Rose Kingdom.
The capital lights were beautiful at night, even if far away, Fiyero thought. Everyone in that city was mourning, as they thought he was dead. He chose all of this, he reminded himself, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the pain he was causing his family, his people... his poor mother. He was her only son...
Even if he wanted to cry, he couldn't. His body didn't work like it used to anymore. That was frustrating, he couldn't deny it. 'At least I'm alive, and at least I am with her.' He thought to himself. As the train arrived very slowly, he took one last look at his former home before jumping with Elphaba on the last wagon.
"I can't believe we did it." She held him. Her hug was enough to remind him why he was there. They laughed and closed the wagon door. That wagon would be their home for the next few days. They found a haystack in the corner and made themselves a bed there. They had candles, matches, water and bread to last a week, as Elphaba was the only one of them left with bodily functions. Almost immediately she fell asleep on his chest, and spent all of the next day like that. She was exhausted, she barely had any time to rest since running with Fiyero from the Emerald Palace. It had been almost two weeks since that day, and ever since she had lost her sister, thought she lost Fiyero, lost the shoes her father made that were the only thing she had left of her family, faked her and Fiyero's death, saw her best friend for the last time while breaking her heart beyond repair, got her only memento of her mother stolen and waited inside a hole for over a day, just to then free her flying monkeys and her beloved Chistery to keep them safe and be left wondering what to do now. She was exhausted, completely drained, physically and emotionally, she deserved to sleep for a month straight if that wouldn't kill her, but as dehydration and starvation were still a thing for her human body, one full day would be enough for her, he thought.
Fiyero was exhausted, too. Not physically, as that was no longer an issue for him, but mentally he was a wreck. He couldn't sleep, but he found that watching the most magnificent creature he had ever seen rest on his chest for hours on end was therapeutic to him. She was peaceful for the most part, but every other hour her expression would change from a blank one to a frown, a frown that would deepen along with her increasing movements; she would moan and breathe harder in a sign of distress and her feet would move in circles, as if she was running. She was plagued by nightmares, he remembered. She had mentioned before that she had at least one nightmare every night. Sometimes she would have a nice dream before or even after a nightmare, but they weren't guaranteed, nightmares were certain to show up every night. Most were just mildly distressing while some would wake her up in tears and sweat, but it didn't matter how bad they were, they would always happen, every night. It had been years since she had mentioned that information to him, she had said that she struggled with that from infancy, but now he figured they must have gotten worse, given everything she had been through. He wished he could walk inside her head and fill her mind with poppies and snowflakes and the smell of books and trees and rain, like he knew she liked and that would make her mind get at ease, even if just for a few minutes (her mind was never quiet, he knew that as well), but he couldn't, so he just stroked her head and held her tighter while he mumbled a lullaby into her ear. That seemed to help, as she held him tighter in response and went back to a blank expression.
They spent the whole day like that. Sunlight came into the wagon and went away while Elphaba was still sound asleep on his chest. It was night again when he woke her up so she could drink water and eat.
"You let me sleep for a whole day?" She asked as she stretched her body after sitting up.
"I did, you needed that!" He assured her. "And there's nothing better to do, anyway."
"You are so lovely to me, thank you for that." She said as she locked lips with him. "But you are wrong, we could have had so much to talk about these past few hours!" She informed him, as she drank some of the water, her mouth as dry as the Great Deadly Desert.
They laid next to each other, talking about their lives, about themselves, making each other laugh and even cry with their jokes and tales. She would drink water and eat bread, and she would light candles as needed and away from him. When she was tired she would lie on his chest and sleep, when she was awake they would talk and make up for last time, letting each other know every detail of their lives since Elphaba rebelled against the Wizard. Sometimes the train would stop for a few hours, that was when they would remain quiet as ghosts so as not to draw attention to their wagon. They would stay there, looking into each other's eyes and soaking into each other's presence, and when the train started again they went back into conversation.
They kept that routine for a few days until the train stopped at its final destination. Fiyero knew it was their final stop because, when he was a child, his father would make him recite how long every export took to get from the Vinkus to every other country in Oz. Most exports took two days to get to The Emerald City, three days to Gillikin, five days to Munchkinland, and a week to Quadling country and the Glikus. They arrived perfectly at night, which allowed them to leave the wagon without being seen.
They disappeared into the woods like they once did and Elphaba took the lead. "I spent quite some time here in the past years, I know where to go." She was the Wicked Witch of the West, because that was where she first ran away to, but she spent an equal amount of time in every part of Oz, and the Glikus was the main route out of there. Fiyero had never been to the Glikus before, so he decided to trust her, even though he already trusted her with his life.
It was a night of Full Moon, Goodness Gracious, they could see the way they were going as clear as day. Walking through the woods, they were following the Yellow Brick road into the Capital City of the Glikus without actually walking on it, to avoid being seen. Soon they sighted city lights at the horizon, they would finally be able to rest soon.
Once at the city they started taking the back streets to reach the city center. "Where are we going?" He asked.
"To the HQ of the Glikus, that was where people like me from all around Oz would meet here. Every capital city has one of them," she said.
"Have you been to all of them?" He asked.
"I have," She confirmed. "The Emerald city likes to think I am some sort of leader, or the mastermind behind all of this, but I am just famous, or infamous. I was never particularly important, my main role was to take people across the Desert to safety and be a spokesperson, as I was the only one the Wizard knew, but there were people doing far more serious and important things, people I have only ever heard of and things I can only imagine," she confessed. "I don't know how things are now that the Wizard left and Madame Morrible has been arrested, but as far as I know Glinda hasn't stepped up to the throne yet, at least not officially, so I imagine everyone is sitting at the edge of their chairs," she said, as they walked some more. Fiyero was so much taller than her, and she wasn't short herself. She was taller than average, not by much, she wasn't the tallest girl around, but she was still taller than most other girls, and she had very long legs. But Fiyero was very tall, so tall that Elphaba usually only stood up to his collar bones while wearing boots with heels, like she had on right now, albeit being short heels; but his legs were still much longer than hers. Some time ago he would have to mind his pace to not casually walk ahead of her because of his height, but now, things are very different. The spell did not change his proportions, but it changed his strength and his agility. Elphaba, with her very long legs, naturally had a quick pace, which was usually not an issue for him, but now it was a struggle to keep up with. His height and frame were now a disadvantage, as it made his boneless structure even less stable. Walking was a challenge, especially after he had spent days lying down with her on his chest on that train, not that he's complaining about that part, but that train ride almost made him forget how to walk. Elphaba didn't seem to notice his struggle, and he did not blame her, she was used to him being active and athletic, playing sports, standing on his feet and dancing all night and out walking her and anyone else just by keeping his pace, she was also completely covered by her cloak, trying to not be seen by anyone and keeping close to the shadows, she probably couldn't even see him, not even with her peripheral vision. It was fine, he thought, it's probably best if she didn't notice it, or else she might feel guilty for making him like that, and he didn't want her to feel guilty for saving his life, not anymore than he already knew she was.
They walked a little more and then stopped at a dark alleyway. There were stairs leading to an underground door right to their right, there were no lights coming from that direction. "Follow me," she said as she carefully walked down those steps and knocked on the door on a particular tune. After a few seconds someone opened the door. It was dark and they couldn't see the person inside, nor did they think the person could see them, but that didn't seem to matter, as the shadow just took Elphaba's hand and guided them inside. He was holding onto her hand for dear life as they blindly walked through the dark room until they reached a door with a warm light peeking from inside. As they walked in, Fiyero noticed four people inside, besides the shadow that took them there. Two men and two women. As the shadow moved closer to the light source, a fireplace in the middle of the room, he noticed the shadow was a third woman, Elphaba was still wearing her cloak.
"Who are you? How do you know our password?" Asked the now visible woman, who had dark features and very curly black hair, typical from the Quadling Country, and seemed to be in her late fourties. Elphaba raised her hands to take the cloak away from her face, but before she even reached the cloak the people in the room gasped, noticing the emerald tone of her skin. She finally removed the layer of dark brown fabric from her face to reveal that she was, indeed, who they thought she was. Eyes were wide, hands were covering faces, some people even sat down to admire the dead woman walking. There was absolute silence for a moment.
"H-how?" The silence was finally broken by one of the men.
"Reports on my death were greatly exaggerated!" Said Elphaba, finally back to her sarcastic humour that he loved and missed so much. He couldn't help but chuckle at her remark. They stared at her silently for a few more seconds until a younger woman clapped her hands and said, loudly, "HA, told you!" Everyone turned to look at the girl with pale skin and auburn hair. "I knew you weren't dead! How could you? No corpse was shown to the public, only your broomstick. 'Oh, there was no corpse to show, she melted because that little girl threw a bucket of water on her, there was nothing left'," she said, with a voice of mockery. "My ass! How many times have we seen her fly back and forth from the Rose Kingdom under the rain? It would rain for days and she would still do it. Now you're telling me that a little bucket of water would take our Fae from us?" Fae? That was how Fiyero called her once, huh. He would bring that up to her later. "People are so empty headed they'll believe anything!" She completed it.
"Ha, I said just that about that idea." He spoke his mind, finally saying something for the first time since they got here.
"Wait, aren't you that Scarecrow that worked for the Wizard with the girl to kill Fae?" Said the older woman. As the people finally seemed to notice his presence, they all turned to him and those sitting stood up. He was scared.
"Wait, no!" Said Elphaba, putting her body in front of his. It was her turn to give her life for him if needed.
"What are you doing? He's the villain!" Said the older woman.
"He helped to supposedly kill you." Said one of the men, who looked like he could be the son of the older woman.
"And was condecorated by the Wizard for it! He got fame, glory and fortune for supposedly murdering you!" Added the other man, who seemed to be around the same age as the other one.
"Are you being taken hostage?" Added the final girl with pale skin and brown hair, who could easily be related to Elphaba and Nessarose, judging by her looks. "Or vice versa?" Assuming she was smart enough to be the one who kidnapped someone here.
"No, no, no!" She replied to all of the remarks. "No to all of that!" She reached for his hand and held it tight. "He's on our side, he's always been. He gave me the idea to set up a chance for that girl to throw a bucket of water on me so I could pretend to melt. He said that he had reasons to believe that people would buy that story with no questions, and he was right! It's thanks to him that I am here!"
"Why would he do all of that for you?" Asked the older woman.
"Because," Elphaba took a deep breath, "he's my boyfriend!" She said with confidence.
Everyone seemed even more taken aback by that remark than by the fact she was alive. The Scarecrow, of all people?
"The Scarecrow, of all people?" Asked the redheaded girl.
The couple was left speechless for a second. "Well, huh," Fiyero chuckled. "I wasn't always this handsome, you know?"
"Don't say that!" Elphaba lightly scolded him, with a warm soft voice.
"This is way too confusing!" Said the red headed girl.
"And it's a long story… if you don't mind us telling!" Replied Elphaba.
They all sat down around the fireplace, Fiyero keeping his distance from the flames. He was the embodiment of fire, everything pointed to it: his name, his personality, his warm features, even the stars of his birthday. It was one of the things that made him and Elphaba so compatible, they both had fire burning in their cores. A different kind of fire, but still. And now if a flame even touched him he could be completely engulfed and turned to ashes in seconds. The very thing he was made of was now his biggest weakness… life had a twisted sense of humour sometimes.
They started telling their whole story. They talked about Shiz, about Glinda, about how they were roommates and then friends and then best friends, how Elphaba and Fiyero saved the Lion Cub, how he joined the Gale Force to protect her, how he was never in a serious relationship with Glinda, how they ran away together, how he sacrificed himself for her and she turned him into a Scarecrow to save his life, how Glinda also thinks they are both dead but has nothing to do with it and how they spent the past seven days hitchhiking on a cargo train and now they were there, telling that story to them.
"Wow!" Said the brunette girl.
"That's one hell of a story!" Exclaimed the redheaded girl.
"Fae, you have no idea what you just avoided by coming here!" Said the older woman. Fiyero thought she was probably the leader.
"What happened?" Asked Elphaba, worried.
"Glinda hasn't spoken to the public yet, not since the Wizard's departure. She hasn't publicly announced she will be the Wizard's successor, but her coronation has been scheduled for next week."
"Yeah, I've heard about that." She said.
"Her last public appearance was when she sent that girl back to where she came from. People have been rejoicing about your alleged death on the streets for days now. They probably won't stop until she's crowned next week."
Elphaba moved her gaze to the ground. She was almost 30, but she had been looking like a little girl these past few days, so vulnerable and scared, like she needed her mother's lap. Elphaba knew they were not rejoicing her death, but that of the Wicked Witch of the West, and they were not the same person. Actually, the Wicked Witch of the West didn't even exist at all, but that didn't matter to her, because the citizens of Oz didn't know that. For them her name was a curse, she was only the Witch. She used to dream that one day all of Oz would celebrate because of her, she just didn't imagine it would be because of her supposed death. That hurt! That destroyed her heart. No one wants to be so hated that they have to leave the only home they ever knew forever, especially not someone who was only trying to do the right thing. Elphaba knew Oz was rejoicing, especially in the Emerald City and in Munchkinland, but hearing that actually being said hurt like losing all of her loved ones again. Fiyero put one of his arms around her and his other hand on her thigh, she leaned into him and laid her head on his shoulder, she needed that affection.
"We were planning on avenging your death during the coronation!" Said the boy who looked like the older woman.
"What?" Elphaba raised her head.
"There was a plot to assassinate Glinda, The Good on her coronation day!" Said the older woman.
Elphaba and Fiyero looked into each other, horrified.
"No!" She stood up. "That can't happen! She's not gonna do any harm, she's not responsible for my supposed death!"
"We were going to use you as a martyr, your death was gonna be the catalyst of a coup d'état, regardless of who was the head of state."
"This can't happen!" Elphaba cried. "Spread the news among the rebels that I am alive and well!"
"That's too dangerous!" Protested Fiyero.
"It's not for the general population to know, just the rebels. They won't make it public, they know how to be discreet!" She assured him.
"What if they don't believe it?" Asked the pale boy.
"How did you spread the plan around so quickly? Let's do that again." Elphaba suggested. "Let's schedule a meeting, bring all of the leaders here, as soon as possible. Let them see me and know for themselves, and let me tell them in person that no harm shall be done to Glinda, The Good!"
•••
Their stay at the Glikus Headquarters had just become longer than they expected. Regular passenger trains could get all of the leaders to the Glikus in a fraction of the time it took them to get there from the Vinkus in a cargo train, but it would still be at least a three day wait until they were all there. The owl letter delivery system used by the rebels was very quick and emergency meetings were taken very seriously amongst them, she knew they would come. Meanwhile they were provided with a room to stay, a nice bath and a warm meal for Elphaba. She was soaking at the bathtub when she heard a soft knock at the door.
"Come in," she said, after taking a nervous breath.
"You didn't even ask who it was," said the voice from behind the door.
She chuckled. "I know it's you, Fiyero!"
He peeked his head in. "What if it was someone else?"
"Who else could it be?" She asked him.
"I don't know, maybe one of those young boys? They admire you, and you are rocking that hourglass figure!" They laughed.
"Don't worry about them," she reassured him, "they are together!"
"Oh!" Fiyero felt so silly for not realizing that. "Now that you mentioned, it does make sense," he said, sitting down on a chair next to her bathtub. Elphaba took a nervous breath. It wasn't the first time she was nude in front of him, but it had happened so few times that it still gave her butterflies.
"Why did they call you Fae?" He asked her.
"We don't use real names here, that's my code name!"
"Why Fae, though? I called you that once, I remember that."
"I know, and I loved it. That's why!" She answered with a smile. Fiyero smiled back at her.
"I was trying to be affectionate, I'm glad I succeeded," he said. "I barely had time to be affectionate to you since all of this. I promise that'll never happen again!" He held her hand.
"You were very affectionate that night in the woods!" She wiggled her eyebrows at him. They giggled.
"And you were very wicked, huh?!" They giggled again, he kissed her hand.
"Everything will work out just fine. The meeting will work as planned, Glinda will be safe and before next week we'll be far away at the Rose Kingdom, then we'll have plenty of time for affection!"
"What's with all of that optimism, my melancholic little Drama Queen?" He teased her. "I barely recognise you."
"Ah, shut up!" She laughed as she threw a little water at him with her long finger tips. "It's not optimism, it's a feeling. I'm just sure of it, you know?"
"Why?"
"Because I've had my quota of horrors, life owes me peace now!"
Later that night they laid together at the mattress on the floor, face to face, looking at each other's eyes. Direct eye contact was always a struggle for Elphaba, but he made it so easy, so natural. Fiyero, on the other hand, was a huge fan of eye contact, especially with Elphaba, and when they were this close and this intimate, with their foreheads touching each other and their noses rubbing together, Elphaba wearing only her drawers for comfort, and otherwise nude from the waist up, their legs tangled up together and their eyes staring deep into each other it felt like their souls were connected and turned into one. They loved this position, it made all of their troubles melt away for that moment.
"Your eyes are still so full of stars!" She said to him. They were not human anymore, they were painted on burlap, but he could blink, close his eyelids and move his eyes around like an animation, but she could still see his soul, those were the same eyes, in a different source. "They are so green, like a tree."
"I prefer to think that they are green like you!" He said.
"Now you stop that!" She replied, but she couldn't help but smile.
"No, I'm serious. Haven't you heard?"
"What?" She asked.
"Beauty is the eye of the beholder!"
She giggled and went on to kiss him. There wasn't much she could do on that aspect, his lips were also painted on now, and moved like an animation. Kissing him now felt nothing like kissing him before felt, at least not physically, because the feeling in her heart was the same. But although Fiyero also felt the same feeling in his heart, he couldn't help but be bothered a bit by the act.
"Isn't this bad for you?" He asked her.
"What?" She asked.
"Kissing me like this?"
"Fiyero, don't say that!"
"I have no lips, no saliva, no tongue… just rough burlap."
"Don't think about that, it's really not bad," she reassured him. "It feels like practicing on a pillow!" She affirmed.
"Wait, you, Elphaba Thropp, practiced on a pillow?" He teased her.
"Every girl did, okay?!" She laughed. "I just never told that to anyone until now."
"I can't believe it!" He laughed.
"How do you think I was that good of a kisser on my very first kiss ever?" She joked. She didn't think she was good, but he said she was, so she went with it. "I practiced on my pillow every night!" They both laughed.
"Makes sense," he accepted. "And you were, indeed, very talented on our first kiss. I almost didn't believe it was your first!" He laughed.
She jokingly slapped his shoulder as she laughed. "Quit that!" She giggled.
"But how were you kissing that pillow to make you that good of a kisser?" He asked her teasingly.
She took a nervous breath again. "Like this…" she said, as she got on top of him to give him a real kiss, like so many girls gave to their mouthless pillows, to show him that it was possible. Fiyero's hand instinctively went to the back of her head, tangling his fingers onto her very long, very thick hair at the nape of her neck as his other hand found its way to her lower back, and later even lower. It felt good, he wasn't gonna lie, but he wasn't feeling out of breath like you are supposed to. The weight of her body was not pressing him, and there was nothing tingling in between his legs. It felt wrong if he thought about that too much, sometimes he wished he was actually brainless, life would be easier that way.
Once Elphaba was done she made herself comfortable on his chest. "Wow," he breathed out, "what a lucky pillow I am," he said.
"Don't say that about yourself!" Elphaba worried.
"I am just joking, don't worry about that!" But he didn't laugh.
Elphaba looked at his face again and gave him a gentle kiss on the lip. "I will fix that, I promise!"
"I love you, Fae!" He said.
"I love you, too!" She kissed him goodnight and went to sleep
•••
The day for the meeting arrived. Leaders and high ranking members of the rebels were all at the Glikus Headquarters waiting to know what was so important they had to drop everything to travel across Oz for.
The older lady, who Fiyero had learned went by the code name of Illa, was, in fact, not the leader. The real leader of this whole organization was a Jaguar from Munchkinland that went by the code name of Onça. Onça was not out on the action, she just took decisions and made orders, there were people doing important things for the group that Elphaba had never met. That didn't mean that Illa wasn't the local leader, as they were all waiting for her command to start the meeting.
"Ladies and gentlemen", Illa started, causing everyone to sit down and become quiet, "I fear that this organization is about to commit the worst mistake of its existence!" Some people murmured to each other, all eyes looked at her, puzzled. "We must call off the assassination of Glinda, The Good immediately!"
People went ballistic. Everyone was talking over each other, revolted at the idea. Illa was trying to be heard over the protest, but Onça stood up and made her voice clear and loud.
"Now you listen!" She said, with a deep, raspy feline voice. "I am from Munchkinland, I grew up seeing the lifestyle Fae led. The daughter of the Governor, she went to college, she had opportunities people like me could never dream of. Sure, she was mistreated for being different, but she had no idea what it was like to have no rights, to not be considered a member of society, to be spit on, to be silenced… and she still chose this life for her. She could've been a powerful, respected member of high society, but she chose to be seen like one of us by all of Oz and what did she get for it? She was murdered! And Glinda, like everyone in that Emerald City, is responsible for that!" She was applauded by humans and Animals for her words.
"No, she's not!" Said a voice from outside of the room. Elphaba opened the door and entered the meeting as if everyone was expecting her to be alive and well, Fiyero coming right behind her. "Because I am not dead!" She proclaimed as soon as she was fully standing inside of the room.
Gasps filled the room. Eyes were wide looking at her.
"Huh!" Someone gasped. "The witch of witches!"
"No, I didn't come back from the dead!" Elphaba humbled herself.
"How is it possible?" Asked Onça.
"I was never dead in the first place, and the only two people who were interested in my death are no longer in the picture!"
"Then why does everyone in Oz think you are dead?"
"Because that's how we wanted it!" Elphaba explained.
"Who is we?"
Fiyero fully walked into the room, everyone gasped again at the sight of the Scarecrow. What was he doing here? Was he making Elphaba hostage? Was he a hostage?
'Here we go again!' he thought, as he realized they would spend the next few hours explaining everything all over again.
•••
"That story is… insane," claimed Onça.
"To say the least," claimed another person.
"But it's the ultimate truth," said Elphaba.
"How can you be so sure that Glinda also wasn't plotting your death along with Morrible and the Wizard?" Asked Onça. "After all, she's the main beneficiary of all of this!"
"She would never do that," said Elphaba.
"How do you know?" Onça stared at Elphaba. "That man beside you gave his life for you. He ran away with you, he was willing to die and kill for you, he helped you escape and is running away from Oz, from a life of prestige, fame and riches, for you, and you didn't even have to ask!" She pointed out. "He considers you more important than all of those things. Glinda had the opportunity to do the same for you, twice, you even asked her to, but did she? No!"
"You don't know her like I do!"
"Where is she now? She might be heartbroken, but if she's such a close friend why did she believe that water would melt you? Isn't she supposed to know you better than that?"
Elphaba just stared at her.
"Wasn't she your roommate? Surely she has seen you coming out of the shower before!"
Elphaba and Fiyero looked at each other, she was not fully wrong, but Elphaba knew more than that.
"She has her own sorrows to carry. Her parents…" Elphaba paused, wanting to respect her friend's privacy. "Let's say she would rather die than disappoint them. Everyone wants to be loved, I once wanted what she has now, and everyone has their price, and I am not a saint. Just a few days ago the Wizard almost convinced me to join his side, he knew my price!" She admitted, everyone seemed shocked by her confession, but no one interrupted. "I was seduced by his promises, and I know he could make them happen, because everyone in Oz believes everything he and Morrible say, that's how I became the Wicked Witch of the West in the first place. I was tired of running, of taking care of everything and everyone, I was tired of longing for the life I wish I was living, and he knew that and used it against me, and it almost worked, but lucky for me, I got a chance of being reminded why I rebelled against him in the first place. Glinda wasn't as strong. She doesn't have anything to fight for, maybe now that she'll step up to the Wizard's place she'll be able to do more for all of you."
"Then why did you make her promise to not clear your name?"
"Because that's the only chance she has to be a good leader," she said. "By clearing my name she will inevitably associate with me, no one will believe her if she claims I was good, the damage is too far done. The people will turn against her, say that she's like me, and she'll become the Wicked Witch of the North. It's better for everyone if I'm dead and far away."
"If you're far away to never come back, then you'll never know what happened to Glinda!"
"I will," she said, "because I won't leave until I'm sure that you won't attempt anything!"
"And what will you do if we don't cancel the attack?"
"Have you not seen how these people are parading my death? Have you not seen the mobs with pitchforks and ropes and stones hunting me down before I faked my death? What do you think they will do if I just show up in the middle of the Main Square in Downtown Emerald City alive and well and just curse all of them?"
Everyone just looked at her with eyes full of disbelief.
"They will murder you," said Onça.
"Not just that, they will lynch me!" Elphaba completed. "They will beat me, rip my clothes, pull out my hair, break my limbs, hang me and then burn my body at the stake!" Everyone stared at her in horror, Fiyero looked down, the memories of what happened to him, not too different to what she was describing, still fresh on his mind.
"What are you implying?" Asked Onça.
"If you refuse to call off the assassination, I will do just that. Then you will have a real martir to avenge!"
"I won't let you do that!" Fiyero protested, standing up protectively next to her.
"I love you more than anything in this life, but you have no say in what I do!" She shushed him.
"You wouldn't do that!" Questioned Onça.
"Try me!" Insisted Elphaba. "I won't let you murder my best friend in my name. I've lost too many people already!"
The room went silent for a few moments, the people looked around each other and then Onça asked the couple to leave the room for a few minutes.
"You wouldn't do that, would you?" Fiyero asked after a minute of silence while they were alone in the next room.
"I don't know what I'm capable of doing if yet another person I love dies because of me! I might lose my mind completely… again!"
"Elphaba, I went through that. They ripped my clothes, pulled my hair, put me up on a pole on a cornfield and beat me until I was left on the brink of death. I lost consciousness and now I'm here." Elphaba looked at him with sorrowful eyes. "That pain, it's out of this world, I have no words to describe it. You would beg for them to chop off your head already, just so that it would stop!" A tear ran down Elphaba's face as she thought about how much the man she loved suffered for her. "I will jump on a fireplace before I let you go through that!"
"No!" She rushed to him, engulfing him in her arms, so tight she made his torso flat. She cried a little bit into his chest. "You are all I have. If I die, you'll have a family to get back to. If you die, I will have nothing left!"
"Huh, don't be so selfish, Elphaba!" He said. "Don't go thinking I could just go back to my family as if nothing happened if you died. You are the most important thing to me, if you die, I have nothing to go on for!"
"Why do I ruin everyone's lives?" She cried. "Everything that I touch dies!" She sobbed. "First my mom, then my father, and then Nessa, then you and now Glinda. And it was all my fault!" She sobbed some more.
"Hey, hey, hey. Shush…" he said softly, with a low, smooth voice. "None of that is true. Your mother didn't chew milk flowers because she didn't want another baby like you, it was your father, and it was not your fault, it was his. You were just a child and you didn't choose to be born different." He reassured her. "And your father, he had a heart attack, and you can't know if it was related to you, all you have is what Nessa told you, and she wasn't on good terms with you. In reality, she never treated you nearly as good as you treated her, you gave up your life taking care of her, giving her nothing but love and devotion from the moment she was born, and she was nothing but an ungrateful brat. All you wanted was to build a life just the two of you, without the pressure of your father and what did she do? Took away Boq's heart with magic she didn't know how to use, forcing you to find a way for him to live without it so that he wouldn't die and then she put the blame on you, as if you had ill intentions." She sobbed into his chest once more. I'm sorry if this offends you, but you deserved a better sister!" She buried her face deeper into his chest. "As for me, what happened to me was not your fault, we have already talked about that. I consciously chose everything that happened to me, I knew what I was doing, and I would be dead for real if it wasn't for you. I did not die because of you, but I am alive because of you!" He kissed the top of her head. "And as for Glinda, she is alive and well, and that won't change anytime soon, I promise you. As you said so yourself, you've had your quota of horrors, life owes you peace now!"
Elphaba raised her head to look at him, eyes red and face wet. "That doesn't change the fact that everyone's life would be better if I was never born!"
"If you were never born?" He laughed. "If you were never born the Wizard would still be out there, oppressing everyone and caging Animals. If you were never born Glinda would still be Galinda, with no cares beyond the surface and with nothing more important in life other than being the wife of a wealthy, high class man and the mother of his children. Can you imagine someone as full of life and colours as Glinda living a life like that?"
"No." She shook her head.
"And as for me, I would still be a careless fuck boy, probably stuck to a loveless arranged marriage with no purpose in life other than to do what I'm told to, leave my kingdom to be ruled by a council and slowly kill myself as I seek for some meaning to my life." She looked away from him. "Elphaba, you are the meaning of my life! I am nothing without you. Human or Scarecrow, I'll be with you forever, for better or for worse!"
She kissed him softly and held him tight. "I love you so much!" She said.
"I love you, too!"
They were in silence for a moment and then the door for the room of the meeting opened.
"Come in!" Said Illa.
They held each other's hands. They were nervous. The life of a dear friend was being decided by a jury Glinda didn't even know existed, and she didn't even know her fate was at game. She was probably on her bed, sound asleep right now, all the way across to the Emerald City, at the Emerald Palace full of guards, just waiting for her coronation day, deciding if she was going to wear a green gown, to go with the aesthetic of the city, or her familiar sparkly blue gown, to show that she hasn't changed and that she was still the same Glinda everyone knew and loved, blissfully unaware of the fact that that could be the last thing she ever wore.
As Elphaba and Fiyero entered the room her heart felt like it was going to break out of her ribcage and run away, but she kept her poise.
"We have come to a decision!" Said Onça. Elphaba's heart skipped a beat in anticipation. "Under your threats of sacrifice, we have discussed everything that is at game and we have decided to not go through with the assassination of Glinda, The Good!"
The relief of the weight of the world being lifted from her shoulders was so big that Elphaba's legs completely failed under her, she had to sit down and catch her breath. A tear of relief ran down her face.
"Under one condition!" Continued Onça.
'This can't be real!' thought Elphaba. "Anything!" She said.
"We are glad you are alive, and you deserve to live a happy and peaceful life. We are not taking any chances of you not surviving." Said Onça. "We will leave Glinda in peace, however under a very watchful eye, under the condition that you trust us that everything will be alright and leave Oz with the Scarecrow tonight!"
"How will we do that?" Elphaba questioned. "I don't have my broomstick anymore, nor my book. I don't know any spells from memory. How will we cross the Great Deadly Desert like that?"
"You are well aware that every woman is a witch," said Illa. Elphaba knew that very well. She was a witch, Glinda was a witch, Madame Morrible was a witch and Nessa was able to cast a spell on her first try using the Grimmerie, that's a witch right there. But for Fiyero, that was news. So his mother and his sisters were witches, too? "Sorcery was heavily controlled under the Wizard's rule, most of us didn't have access to an education on the use of magic like you or Glinda did."
It made sense for Fiyero now. If every woman is a witch, a tyrant wouldn't want women going around with enough powers to take over him. That was why Madame Morrible's seminar only took a select few of the most talented witches every year, and that was why the very first thing the Wizard asked for Elphaba to do to prove her powers was to create winged minions for him, and that was why Glinda got a position of prestige alongside the Wizard so easily and that was why Madame Morrible was his second in command. It all made sense for him now. Every magic must be under his immediate control.
"But we can try!" Said the redhead girl, whom Fiyero had learned went by the codename Leaf. "There's plenty of women here, if we all work together, maybe we can make a broomstick fly!"
"At Shiz, Madame Morrible taught Glinda and I some magic in our own language. It wasn't as powerful as the spells on the Grimmerie, but I think we could do something if we all work together!" Said Elphaba, standing up from her chair. "I was never as powerful as her, she could cast spells without saying anything, even Glinda was becoming more talented than me, as she stayed under Morrible's guidance. She was a horrible person, but a talented witch, I must admit, and she had lots to teach." Elphaba confessed. "I will need all of the help you can give me!"
"One or two broomsticks?" Asked Leaf.
"Oh, I have no idea how to ride one of those!" Said Fiyero.
"Just one, he'll ride with me!" Elphaba smiled at him.
They went outside into the woods, all of them. They laid the broomstick onto the ground and the women, human and Animal, formed a circle around it.
"We should all hold hands, so that we create a connection," said Elphaba, so they all held each other's hands and closed their eyes. "You all must put all of your energy into that broomstick," she said."Picture it flying and taking us safely to the Rose Kingdom. Don't open your eyes and don't let another thought cross your mind. Just focus really hard on that broomstick flying!"
All of them followed Elphaba's guidance, being careful to not taint their spell with thoughts of something else.
"Girls, repeat after me," said Elphaba. "This broomstick will now fly!"
"This broomstick will now fly!" They said in unison.
"It'll levitate up to the sky!"
"It'll levitate up to the sky!"
"To safety it'll guide…"
"To safety it'll guide…"
"Our witch sister and her mate to their hiding."
"Our witch sister and her mate to their hiding."
"To her command it will fly…"
"To her command it will fly…"
"And she'll never be left behind!"
"And she'll never be left behind!"
"So mote it be!"
"So mote it be!"
They kept concentrating, focusing all of their combined powers onto that broomstick. They felt the wind blowing onto them and then one of the men pointed out, "it's working!" The men gasped.
"Fae, it's flying!" Said Fiyero.
Elphaba opened her eyes to see the broomstick levitating at around her shoulder's height. Very carefully the witches let go of each other's hands, but the broomstick kept flying.
Elphaba laughed, with her eyes wide as her hands found their way to her mouth. "It worked!" She couldn't believe it. "It worked!" All of the witches held each other in celebration of their success. They couldn't believe they were actually able to do something like that, and Elphaba couldn't believe she was finally able to do exactly what she meant to do with her powers.
"I need to test it out first." She said, hopping on top of the broom, making sure it could handle her weight.
"Be careful!" Said Fiyero, worried.
"I'll be alright!" She assured him as she pointed the broomstick upwards and defied gravity.
She flew all the way up to the sky, above the tall trees of the forest, becoming one with the night. The moon was her mother and the stars were her sisters. She was once afraid of flying, she was scared of heights and could only do that for the first time due to the adrenaline rush that being chased and left with no way out but a window gave her. But over the years flying became second nature to her, this feeling of freedom was unlike any other, not to mention that that power saved so many lives, not just hers, but that of countless Animals and rebels that she took across the border, and now it was saving not only her and Fiyero's lives, but also Glinda's. She was born to fly.
She went back down to the floor feeling renewed, a smile spread across her face. "It's as good as my old one!" She declared. People cheered for her.
"You must go now!" Said Onça. "And we promise nothing will happen to Glinda, and people won't know you are alive."
"We swear on our lives!" Said Illa, raising the tip of her right fingers to her shoulders.
"We swear on our lives!" Everyone else did the same gesture. Swearing on your life was taken very seriously amongst them.
"I will be forever in debt for what you did for me tonight!" Said Elphaba.
"Live your life, be happy." Said Illa. "That's more than enough."
They all went into a collective hug with Elphaba as the victim, Fiyero also joined them.
"You must go now!" Said Onça. "The sun will rise in a few hours, and you must get to the Rose Kingdom before it happens!"
"Thank you, all of you," Elphaba said as she hopped back onto the broom, "forever! I hope life in Oz gets kinder!"
"Thank you for all you did for us, for Fae," said Fiyero as he walked towards the broom. "I am so glad that she had so many people taking care of her for all those years!" He proclaimed as he sat behind Elphaba, holding her body tight.
"It was the least we could do," said Illa. "Now go, before you can't anymore!"
"Goodbye!" Cried Elphaba as she rose to the sky again.
"Goodbye!" Waved the people standing on the ground.
Elphaba felt Fiyero's grip tighten around her and his face sank into her shoulder. He wasn't used to this yet, he couldn't hide he was scared, even though nothing would happen to him if he fell. Elphaba caressed his hand that was resting on her belly to reassure him.
"You don't have to be afraid, I know what I'm doing!" She soothed him.
"I know, I know!" He said.
"Do you trust me?" She asked.
"With my life!" He said.
"Then open your eyes and take a look." As he slowly opened his eyes he could see the lights of the city from above. They were so far up in the sky it seemed like they were standing on the moon. All of their problems were so far away already.
They took one last look at Oz, the only home they had ever known, and to where they were never coming back. They kissed their homeland goodbye before turning away and facing the Great Deadly Desert into their new life.
•••
Life in the Rose Kingdom was so different than in Oz. It was quiet there, life was breezy. Oz was so full of people, the Capital City of the Rose Kingdom was smaller than the capital of any country in Oz. It wasn't lacking on anything, though, it was full of all the things Elphaba liked: hypnotic nature, great libraries, wonderful museums, breathtaking old architecture, top notch public transport (even though she walked to most places or took her broomstick) and widely available art and culture all around. It was just… quiet.
The people at the Rose Kingdom were very hospitable, truly the kindest, most welcoming people in the world. That was why Elphaba took most refugees there in the first place. They welcomed the couple with open arms and helped them build their lives from scratch. They were given a place to live and a job to work by the humans and Animals Elphaba brought there, who felt like they owed her their lives.
Most people there were Flower People who were varying degrees of humanoid. Some were exactly like regular flowers, thrived on open air and exposition to the elements, but could speak and had human connections to each other. Some were almost human, with faces, arms and legs, a human life cycle and everything. They lived in houses and went to school and worked on jobs and did everything humans and Animals did, and they were the majority of the population of the Rose Kingdom. There were also a lot of Flower People in between those two, as well as regular flowers that had no conscience and depended on the care of the others to thrive. Those flowers were the most beautiful Elphaba had ever seen in her life, she was sure there was something special about the soil of the Rose Kingdom. And there also were plenty of humans and Animals, not only the refugees from Oz, but descendents of people who immigrated seeking better life conditions there long ago, from neighboring kingdoms and even from Oz, especially during the Great Draught.
Elphaba had never had the opportunity to see the place around during the day, and even though she always preferred the night, and she still did, she was truly taken aback by the beauty that surrounded her when the Sun came out. The smell of flowers was so relaxing during the day, and the polen never caused her allergies here. Oz was full of rivers, lakes and waterfalls, and Elphaba must admit that she still preferred those over the salty waters of the sea, but seeing the ocean for the first time was such an exciting experience. Also, the ocean breeze along with the mountain climate made sure it was never too hot and the mornings were always foggy and the evenings were always dark and gloomy, just like Elphaba liked, but the Sun always came out and shone bright during the days, just like Fiyero preferred.
The Summers were kind and gentle and welcomed Fiyero's birthdays with a smile, the Winters were dark and cold and started much earlier than in Oz, now embracing Elphaba's life like a family member. During the Autumn the most flower of the Flower People got ready to hibernate, and the most human of them changed colours and shed their petals, and during Spring the most flower of the Flower People woke up again and bloomed, and the most human ones grew their petals back and had their children.
Elphaba's insecurities about her appearance slowly started to fade away as she lived there. Most people around thought she was beautiful. She never understood why Flower People would stop her and say they thought she was so beautiful, until one day Yby, an Orchid and her new friend and coworker, explained it to her.
"You are different from other humans," she said. "We don't think humans are ugly, no, not at all. But you are particularly beautiful for Flower People, because you're green!"
"Really?" Elphaba couldn't believe her ears.
"Yes! It reminds us of the body of a flower," she said. "You have a long, curvy body as well. It reminds us of the shape of a flower. Your hands are narrow and delicate and your fingers are long and bony, it looks like thorns on a rose," she continued, "and your hair is so long and silky, just slightly wavy at the tips. And it's so dark, and when you go out in the sun it gets those red highlights, like those flowers with black petals that are not actually black, but just a very dark shade of red. You remind me of a Queen of the Night Tulip, and those are very rare!"
Elphaba always thought of the words of everyone around her. Fiyero always said she was beautiful like a flower, and he loved to give her flowers as a gift. She loved red flowers, especially Poppies. Fiyero was the first person to make her start to think she might be beautiful, but when a whole society says so, she slowly started to see a different person in the mirror.
Fiyero also learned very quickly that that was his place. As he got a job at a flower field, he soon developed a passion for taking care of plants. Working the soil, burying the seeds, watering the sprouts, working to make better plants each time, even developing new species along with other botanists, that brought him such joy and peace he never knew existed. His mind was quiet here.
Another thing the Rose Kingdom was was magical. Every woman is a witch, regardless of being in Oz or not, but when you live in a place like the Rose Kingdom, where sorcery is not heavily controlled by the state, you get witches with powers beyond anything Elphaba ever thought was possible. Almost everything there was run by sorcery, a lot of women got jobs at running electricity, sending images of live and old theater to boxes at people's houses, running instant mail delivery systems, treating water, keeping the weather just right in every region for every flower species, running the public transport and by healing people when it wasn't their time yet. Sorcery could be a very lucrative business in the Rose Kingdom, and there were strict laws around it, just to make sure people wouldn't use it for the wrong reasons. But it was clear that those witches could do anything they put their minds to. Anything!
"Would you like to be human again, Mr. Fiyero?" Asked Ursula, Elphaba and Fiyero's Grizzly Bear neighbor.
It was the height of Summer of Fiyero's 29th birthday celebration, less than a year after they had arrived at the Rose Kingdom.
"Why, of course I would!" He laughed. "But I have accepted that there's nothing to do to reverse this."
"Why?" Ursula asked.
"Because the spells of the Grimmerie are irreversible," said Elphaba. Ursula already knew the whole story, what happened to Fiyero and how truly limited Elphaba's powers were, but Elphaba didn't know the whole truth.
"In Oz, maybe. But there's nothing a coven of Rose Kingdom witches can't do!" She assured them.
Elphaba and Fiyero looked at each other, speechless.
The next thing they knew all of the male guests had gone home and Fiyero was lying down on the floor of his living room, surrounded by candles and four witches, Elphaba, Ursula, Yby and Urucuma, a Fox that was also a friend of Elphaba's, all standing around him. Ursula took the lead, guiding the other women on what to do. Fiyero was instructed to close his eyes and focus on what he looked like as a human and on his human sensationss: the feeling of air filling his lungs, the sensation of things touching his skin… he did just that.
That was a tricky spell to work, the four of them spent quite a few minutes chanting non stop. The room was filled with wind and a white light, even though it was night and all of the doors and windows were closed. After a while Fiyero's Scarecrow body started levitating and after a moment he was engulfed in light, but the witches kept on chanting, asking for his original form to be restored, with no faults and no injuries.
After a while the ball of light slowly came back to the ground and gradually lost its light. As the light faded away it revealed a man with blond hair sun kissed skin, but motionless.
"It worked!" Celebrated Ursula.
"Did it?" Said Urucuma, worried.
"He's not breathing!" Cried Elphaba, falling down to her knees and immediately starting Chest Compressions on him.
Ursula stopped Elphaba. "Stop, you will hurt him like that!"
"He will die if I don't!" She cried!
"Just be patient!" She reassured her. They all turned to look at his face, waiting for a sign of life to show up. As Elphaba started reaching back for more Chest Compressions she was scared away by the biggest gasp for air she had ever seen. His back went up as far as it could, and his eyes shot wide open and then closed again. He fell back down on the floor breathing very heavy and very fast, he was exhausted.
"Fiyero!" Elphaba was quick to put his head on her lap and caress his face gently. He was still clear shaven, his skin was so smooth and warm. His hair was so golden and was still styled back with grease, like it was mandatory at the Gale Force, albeit a little messy from being pulled and ripped, but there were no bald spots in sight. Elphaba liked this style, but she preferred his hair clean and soft, like it was when she first fell for him. He still looked the exact same as he did the last time she saw him in this form, with a very tall frame, lean muscles and a defined jawline. He slowly opened his hooded, almond eyes, with eyelashes so blond, to reveal those deep green eyes that connected to her soul. He looked like the Sun, and she was the Moon.
"Fae!" He smiled at the first thing he saw, his very favourite thing in the whole world. His wife!
She laughed and she cried, and he laughed and he cried as well. He reached his hand up to her face and pulled her down to kiss her. The position wasn't favourable, but his lips were so soft, despite being very thin; they could open and move and they weren't dry anymore. Now he had teeth to gently bite and a tongue that still knew exactly what to do, but it wasn't long until they remembered they had an audience.
Fiyero tried to sit up, but was too weak. The time spent as a Scarecrow took a toll on him.
"Let's help him sit up, he's too weak right now!" Said Ursula. She and Elphaba held him up and slowly moved his upper body up. Fiyero looked at Elphaba full of love in his eyes, and she looked back at him with just as much devotion.
"Hi!" He said, smiling.
"Hi!" She laughed back.
Suddenly Fiyero's expression changed to one of extreme pain. The arm that was held by Ursula went straight to his stomach as he moaned in pain.
"Fiyero, what's wrong?" Elphaba cried, frightened. Immediately after she could hear the noise coming from his belly, it sounded like a lion!
"I am so hungry, what the hell!?" He cried. "And thirsty, too!" He never felt this deprived of fuel before. He was so hungry it hurt, and it hurt bad, and his throat was so dry it felt like it was sticking to itself. He wasn't feeling like that just a few moments ago.
"Urucuma, bring some water and some bread for him," commanded Ursula. "It's best if he starts slow, he's feeling all of the months that he didn't eat or drink all at once, he could get sick!"
He laid his head on Elphaba's shoulder and she lightly stroked his face. Urucuma gave him a bottle of cold water and he drank it in seconds, despite protests, failing to breath.
"Do you need more water?" Asked Elphaba. He just nodded, panting, as he gave the bottle back to Urucuma, who didn't waste her time to bring him more of it.
He drank the second bottle slower this time, it seemed like he was finally feeling satiated. He took a deep breath and properly thanked Urucuma for bringing him water.
Elphaba broke small pieces of bread and fed them to him as he leaned into her, still feeling too weak to sit up on his own. She didn't mind it, though, she could take care of him for the rest of their lives if she needed.
He slowly felt strong enough to stand with the help of his wife and his neighbor. Yby and Urucuma were tiny, there wasn't much they could do to help balance the statuesque Fiyero, but Elphaba was just tall enough to hold his body up, despite not having a lot of muscle mass and not doing much more than walking around as an activity. Ursula, on the other hand, was just as big as any other female Grizzly Bear. She stood at Fiyero's height and was even stronger than him. She did most of the work of carrying him to the dinner table where they sat him down on a chair. "Eating a full meal now will help you restore the energies you need!" She said, as she started to prepare a plate full of everything available for him.
Elphaba was standing next to him, he pulled her body close to him and held her tightly with both arms, taking in her smell, his favourite smell in the world, one he hadn't felt for so long. She smelt like a forest during a rainstorm and a warm cup of tea, and he had almost forgotten how it was like by now. He couldn't get enough, he was inebriated!
"Thank you so much, Miss Ursula. You have no idea what you just did for us!" He said, as she put a plate in front of him. She was a momma bear, always taking care of everyone.
"It was no problem," she said, "and I couldn't have done that alone. I had the help of three very powerful little witches!"
"I always promised him I would fix that," said Elphaba, "but I had no idea where to start, nor where to go with it. And I was so scared…" She confessed. "If it wasn't for you," she cried as she walked into her direction and held her tight. "You always take such good care of us. Thank you, thank you forever!"
"What were you afraid of, my sweet?" She asked as she patted Elphaba's back.
"That if we turned him back, he would be exactly as he was the moment I turned him into a Scarecrow," she said, wiping tears, "and that would cause him to immediately die from his injuries, and I would lose him forever!"
"If it's not someone's time," said Ursula, "even death can be fixed with enough wisdom."
"Really?" Asked Elphaba.
"Here no one dies before their time. Fiyero is strong, he's young, he's still got plenty to live," she assured, "and so do you!" She hugged Elphaba tightly.
As Fiyero ate the most delicious meal he had ever had in his life, prepared by Elphaba and Ursula, he slowly felt his body getting stronger and stronger, until he almost felt normal again, whatever that meant. The feeling of his muscles moving, the taste of the food on his mouth, the feeling of water wetting his throat and the sensation of his heart beating on his chest, so full of life and health, almost brought a tear to his eyes.
Once they were sure Fiyero was finally strong enough to walk on his own and that he was feeling fully well, the three guests decided to leave, giving some privacy to the young couple.
Before they went, Fiyero and Elphaba showered them with tight hugs and endless thank yous. The couple stood at the door watching their guests, friends and saviours until they left their front yard.
"Now you come here!" Said Fiyero as he closed the door, turning to his wife. He gave her no time to even think about protesting, he locked her into his arms and passionately kissed her. She wouldn't have protested anyway.
They made out like there was no tomorrow, their tongues finally free to meet each other, his body full of intoxicating sensations. He guided her to the couch and laid her down, slowly lying on top of her. They made out for what seemed like hours until Elphaba went up for air.
"It seems like you're all full of energy, huh?!" She said, teasingly, in a gaspy voice as he longingly devoured her neck and collar bones.
"Hum, you are the source!" He said, almost inaudibly, as he kissed his way back to her mouth, claiming her lips back to their rightful place.
Not too long after he was the one who had to come up for air. They looked into each other's flushed faces, swollen lips and heavy chests. Both thought they were so lucky to be with the most beautiful person in the world. How they loved each other!
"Best kiss of my life!" He gasped.
"Ditto!" She said. They laughed and immediately captured each other's lips back again.
Fiyero stood up and reached out his hand for Elphaba. "Let's go!" He said.
Elphaba, still lying on the couch, hungrily eyed him down, head to toe and opened a wicked grin. "What for?" She asked, teasingly playing dumb.
"We still need to check if every part is still the same!" He joked.
"The clothes are still the Scarecrow ones," she laughed, "we're gonna need to buy you new ones!"
"Well, I'm not thinking of wearing any clothes right now!" He laughed.
She held his hand and threw herself on his arms so quickly he almost tumbled down. She pressed her ear to his chest and lovingly listened to his heart beating strong and steady on his chest for a moment, her new favourite sound! They kissingly made their way into the bedroom where they passionately made up for lost time… once again!
