"Oh, sweet Oz," Fiyero mumbled under his breath as he took in the sight of Elphaba and the approaching Monkeys. The castle alarm continued to sound, mobilizing the guards for an impending attack. Fiyero was beginning to regret his choice not to inform the castle staff about what Elphaba had been up to.

"Fiyero, what-" he heard his mother start to say, but he had already sprinted from the dining room before she could finish her sentence. He'd included an entrance on the roof of that castle in the hastily scribbled blueprints he'd given Elphaba before her departure, and he had to assume that's where she'd be heading now. With any luck, he would get to her before she had a run in with the guards. Fiyero wasn't exactly sure who he was protecting from that encounter, but he was fairly certain it wasn't Elphaba.

He took the steps up to the roof two at a time, ignoring the burning in his lungs as he urged his body forward. With a final push, he burst through the hatch that led onto the rooftop just in time to intercept Elphaba as she alighted on her broomstick.

"Fiyero?" she asked in confusion as she noticed him doubled over and gasping for breath on the castle rooftop. The Monkeys she had brought with her were already landing amongst the parapets behind her.

Before Fiyero could catch his breath enough to attempt an explanation, the sound of boots reached them from the staircase below. A few seconds later, Allina burst through the hatch with two guards flanking her on either side, and it was clear there were more men waiting behind her in the stairwell. She took in the scene before her – her son in distress and gasping for air before the Wicked Witch of the West and a veritable army of mutated Monkeys – with wide and fearful eyes.

Elphaba reacted instinctively to the appearance of what she perceived as a threat. Without a moment of hesitation, she dropped her broomstick at her side, whipped her cloak behind her, and positioned herself between the guards and Fiyero, one arm held out protectively in front of him. Fiyero could feel the same strange change in the air that he'd noticed when Elphaba had used her magic on the Gale Forcers in the forest. Realizing what was about to happen, he sprang forward and grabbed her hand.

"Elphaba, wait!" he shouted. Her hand prickled against his skin as though charged with electricity, but Fiyero didn't let go. The action seemed enough to startle her, but she didn't turn to face him. She kept her eyes trained on Allina and the additional guards that were now emerging from the stairwell.

"Okay, everyone just calm down," Fiyero said slowly, releasing Elphaba's hand and moving to stand at her side. She shot him a confused sideways glance.

"Fiyero, get away from her," Allina said, fear evident in her voice. The guards took another step towards them.

"You're going to have to trust me here, Mother," Fiyero said, and Elphaba finally turned to look at him in shock. Fiyero ignored her confusion for the moment and said, "This is Elphaba. She's been staying here at the castle with me and Glinda. She just escorted Glinda back to the Emerald City." As he finished his hasty explanation, Fiyero noted the unease with which his mother and her guards were eyeing the Monkeys now roosting on the castle walls. "I uh- told her she could bring the Monkeys," he added sheepishly.

There was a confused pause at his words, before his mother completely disregarded him and instead turned her attention to Elphaba. "What have you done to him?" she demanded.

Elphaba, for once, seemed to have been struck silent. She gaped at Allina, completely at a loss as to how to answer her question. When Elphaba remained silent, Allina continued, "The guards warned me that something was amiss here. If you've got him under some sort of spell-"

Fiyero cut his mother off before she could finish her sentence. "I am not under a spell!" he said irritably. He realized he had not nipped that rumor in the bud quite as effectively as he'd hoped, and it was going to be even harder to dispel it now that they didn't have Glinda around to corroborate.

"Fiyero, you are obviously not thinking clearly," his mother said. "Do you know who that is?"

Fiyero took a few more steps towards his mother so that he was positioned between her and Elphaba. "I know this seems strange," he said, "but just give me a chance to explain." When his mother's expression remained defiant, he doubled down.

"Okay, look," he said, moving backwards so that he was standing beside Elphaba once more. He reached down and picked up her broomstick from where she'd discarded it, ignoring her look of indignation. "We can either go back inside and discuss all of this like civilized people, or Elphaba and I are going to get on this broomstick and leave." He was bluffing, of course. He had no idea if Elphaba would allow him to ride her broomstick, or even if it could support both of their weight, but he hoped the threat would be enough to shock his mother into submission. In a worst-case scenario, he knew that Elphaba at least had a teleportation spell that could get them off the roof.

The standoff seemed to last an eternity, but finally he saw his mother's shoulders slump in defeat. "Stand down," she said to the guards, and they obediently dropped their spears to their sides at her command. She fixed Elphaba and Fiyero with a hard look and said, "All right then. Let's talk."

Fifteen minutes later found Allina and Fiyero seated back around the dining room table, this time joined by a reluctant and wary Elphaba. She and Allina each sat at the heads of the table, as far from each other as possible, while Fiyero claimed a chair in the center between them. Five guards flanked the table on all sides, blocking the exits. They were making Fiyero deeply uneasy.

To her credit, Elphaba had been surprisingly amenable to Fiyero's request that they explain everything to his mother. He supposed the fact that she had nowhere else to go with her newly acquired Monkeys had played heavily into her decision. He could tell that she too was very uncomfortable in the presence of so many armed guards, but Fiyero assumed she wouldn't have agreed to stay unless she was certain she could take them if necessary.

Allina was still staring at Elphaba with very apparent fear and mistrust. Fiyero had no idea how he was going to convince his mother that he wasn't under a witch's thrall. He had even less of a clue how to explain his burgeoning feelings for said witch, especially when said witch was seated at the table with them.

Fiyero cleared his throat nervously and then fidgeted in his seat as the women on either side of the table turned to face him. "So…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I suppose I should just start at the beginning? It was my job as the head of Gale Force to capture the Wicked Witch of the West. She ended up capturing me instead. We have since realized that the whole thing was a big misunderstanding."

Fiyero could tell by the way his mother was staring at him in confusion and the way Elphaba was glaring at him that his recounting of events was not well received.

Fiyero's mother spoke first. "Fiyero, what in Oz's name are you talking about? There's word out that you're wanted by the Emerald City for conspiring with the Witch. You expect me to believe that you're aiding a dangerous fugitive of your own free will?"

Fiyero opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off when Elphaba spoke up to defend him. "Maybe your son has enough of a brain in his head to make decisions for himself, instead of believing the lies being fed to him. Maybe you should give him more credit," she snapped. Allina turned to face Elphaba, clearly livid at having been spoken to in such a way, but still too wary of her to do anything about it.

Fiyero could see from the look on Elphaba's face that she was tempted to slip back into her Wicked Witch persona as a defense mechanism. That was the last thing he needed while he was actively trying to convince his mother that the green woman across the table wasn't a sociopath. He waved his hands in front of him to draw attention back to himself and said, "What Elphaba means is that she's been unfairly slandered by the Wizard and his press secretary. They were threatened by her and ruined her credibility. You and father have always said that you didn't completely trust the Wizard."

Allina crossed her arms in front of her, clearly not swayed by Fiyero's argument. Changing the subject, she asked, "And where does Lady Upland fit into all of this? The guards informed me that she was with you when you arrived at Kiamo Ko."

"We were all traveling together for a while before she returned to the Emerald City. She and Elphaba are old friends," Fiyero began to explain.

"She was my college roommate," Elphaba grumbled from across the table.

That seemed to spark some sort of recognition in Allina, and she leaned forward to stare at Elphaba as though seeing her for the first time. "You're Elphaba Thropp. The late governor's daughter," she said, as though it had just dawned on her. Fiyero realized that either he or Glinda must have mentioned the identity of Glinda's roommate to his mother at some point in the past. The woman never forgot a political connection.

Elphaba seemed surprised by the sudden use of her name, but she recovered quickly and responded, "Yes, the older one. He never spoke about me much for…obvious reasons."

Now that she had a name and an identity to put to a face, Allina seemed to visibly relax a little. She still didn't seem completely comfortable in Elphaba's presence, but curiosity seemed to have replaced her earlier trepidation. "Why would the Wizard want to create an enemy for himself?" she asked.

Fiyero felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he found himself on the opposite side of a conversation he'd already had once before. Without waiting for Elphaba to answer, he said "Because he's a coward and a fraud. Elphaba has real power, and the Wizard knows it. When he couldn't use her for his own ends, he ruined her reputation instead." Fiyero chanced a look at Elphaba as he finished speaking and found her staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. He hoped that he hadn't overstepped by answering for her.

Allina was now looking back and forth between Elphaba and Fiyero as though another realization had just dawned on her. Yet whatever it was, she had apparently chosen to keep it to herself for the time being. After a moment, she stood from her seat and said, "Very well. Miss Elphaba and her…companions can stay for the time being. I have more questions for both of you, but it's growing late, and I've had a long journey. We will resume this conversation tomorrow."

Fiyero was surprised that his mother had given in so easily, but he knew better than to complain. Following his mother's lead, he rose from his seat and glanced towards Elphaba. She too seemed surprised by Allina's sudden change of heart and was gazing at her in suspicion from her place at the head of the table.

Fiyero moved towards where Elphaba was sitting, hoping that she would catch on and follow him out of the dining hall. "Uh, great," he stammered at his mother, "then we'll see you tomorrow." With that he turned and quickly made his leave. He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to find that Elphaba had indeed followed him out into the hallway.

Without thinking, Fiyero let his feet carry him back towards the north tower. He kept his gaze straight head, but Elphaba's steady footsteps reassured him that she was right behind him. Once they'd ascended halfway up the spiral staircase to the tower, he turned to face her,

"I am so sorry about all of this," he said in a hushed whisper. "She just showed up unannounced. I didn't have any way to warn you about it."

Now that they were alone, Fiyero could see just how exhausted Elphaba looked. She had likely escaped one ordeal at the Emerald Palace just to walk into an ambush at Kiamo Ko. Still, she gave him a tired smile and said softly, "It's not your fault. She's just worried about you."

Fiyero scoffed as he continued his ascent up the staircase. "She's only worried that I'm out to sully the family name," he said bitterly.

Elphaba gave him a sympathetic look as she brushed past him to push open the door to the tower. She swept inside and crossed the room to the table that held her spell book, a look of obvious relief on her face as she ran a hand over the cover. Fiyero followed her into the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

"I don't think I can stay here any longer," Elphaba said, turning to face him. "You guards don't trust me and your mother doesn't either, even after your very chivalrous defense of my character," she said with a smirk.

Fiyero had been worried that she would want to flee, especially after the ordeal on the rooftop. He knew that he would join her should she choose to leave, but he wasn't keen to be back on the run when the Gale Force was likely still searching for them. At least in the Vinkus they were somewhat beyond the Wizard's grasp.

"I know this is a bit overwhelming," he said, crossing the room towards her, "but you're safe here. My mother is not the type to say one thing and mean another. She wouldn't make a move against you after giving her approval for you to stay."

Elphaba still seemed doubtful, but he could tell that her exhaustion was beginning to cloud her sense of self preservation. Hoping to set her mind at ease, he said, "If you want, I could stay here with you tonight. That way I'll be here to play mediator if anything happens." He noted the look of surprise on her face and added, "I can sleep on the floor, of course. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Elphaba seemed to be considering his offer as she crossed the room and removed her hat and cloak. When she was finished, she turned back to face him and said, "I'd like that." She flashed him a sly smile and added, "And you don't have to sleep on the floor."