Thanks again to anyone who's been reading along so far and thank you so much for the reviews! I can't express how much I appreciate them and reading them really makes my day. I'm pretty fond of this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!
The march back to the palace was one of cheer and celebration for the Gale Forcers. They could hardly believe the scope of their own success. Not only had they rescued their leader, but they'd finally brought the Wicked Witch of the West into custody. The accolades that awaited them back in the Emerald City were beyond their wildest dreams
Fiyero walked with his head down, practically forgotten in the midst of the revelry and in no mood to celebrate. Elphaba was visible from where he was standing, and he was making it a point to keep her in his line of sight. He wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them and explain himself. He wanted her to know that this had never been his intention, that he hadn't wished her harm. Yet though she was physically close enough for him to reach out and touch her, she may as well have been miles away.
They stopped to make camp a little over an hour later, just as the sky began to darken. Fiyero hoped fleetingly that an opportunity to help Elphaba would arise, but he found with a confusing mix of pride and disappointment that his men were more than competent. They threw Elphaba to the ground and she fell roughly onto her side, unable to catch herself with her hands still bound behind her back. One of the guards stepped forward and bound her feet as well.
The men looked to Fiyero for orders but found him dazed and in no state to provide them. They assumed that their captain was still recovering from his ordeal, and Lieutenant Biels stepped forward to take up command in his place.
"We sleep in shifts," he barked. "Ten men on the Witch at any given time. Keep your wits about you and alert me if she tries anything funny."
Fiyero watched helplessly as a group of ten guards closed in around her. One of them gave a kick to her ribs, which she endured silently. Fiyero flinched and turned away.
He made a point to bed down for the night within view of Elphaba to ensure that he could intervene if the guards got too rough with her. Luckily, they still seemed to be wary enough that they didn't attempt anything else. Fiyero kept watch throughout the night while he pretended to sleep. The guards on duty changed shifts four times, but no one else so much as looked at her. Fiyero found himself hoping that Elphaba would be able to pull off an escape, that she would bewitch the guards and disappear into the night, but she only lay on the ground with her back to him, unmoving.
They were up again at first light. The bindings were removed from around Elphaba's ankles as four guards pulled her roughly to her feet and shoved her forward. The guards broke down the camp and the group continued their march towards the Emerald City. Fiyero's mind had been racing all night, but he still had no idea how he was going to get her out of this situation.
Word of the Witch's capture must have reached the Emerald City ahead of the party's arrival. As they approached, Fiyero could see that a large crowd had gathered at the gates to welcome the brave heroes home. He felt his blood run cold at the sight. From the corner of his eye, he could see the subtle way Elphaba curled in on herself in anticipation of what was to come.
As they passed into the city, a wall of sound assaulted them. A cacophonous mix of cheers for the Gale Force and curses at the Wicked Witch rang out through the streets. Some of the bolder citizens took it upon themselves to launch items like small rocks and empty bottles at Elphaba, and the guards made no effort to stop it. Elphaba herself remained stone faced, allowing both the jeers and assorted debris to bounce off of her.
They slowly made their way up to the Emerald Palace, guided the whole way by the throngs of Ozians lining the streets. Finally, they ascended the steps up to the heavy front doors of the palace. The guards on duty moved aside to admit them entrance, each casting a cold glare in Elphaba's direction for good measure.
Fiyero was surprised as the party ushered Elphaba straight towards the dungeons upon their arrival. Prisoners were typically brought before the Wizard, who would pass judgment before any further action was taken. Fiyero supposed they weren't taking any chances with Elphaba.
He watched as they overpowered her once more and managed to force her into a cell. By this point she was hardly putting up much of a fight. Fiyero tried to think of something to say, some plausible reason to keep Elphaba out of the dungeons, but he could think of nothing. He was supposed to be the highest-ranking officer among them, but he found himself completely powerless.
Once Elphaba had been secured behind bars, the majority of the Gale Force officers were relieved of duty. Two of them rushed off to tell the Wizard of their success. The rest of the men stayed behind to guard the cell, and Fiyero remained with them as well. He could think of nothing else to do. He glanced back at Elphaba, who was sitting with her legs crossed and a blank expression on her face. She was not going to give the Gale Forcers the satisfaction of showing any sort of emotion.
There was silence for all of about two seconds before one of the more arrogant guards spoke up. "Didn't think you could hide forever, did you?" he asked, a cruel grin on his face. "We were bound to catch up with you sooner or later. This is what you get for all of the pain you've caused." He sneered and spat at her through the bars, but Elphaba didn't so much as flinch. The other guards began to jeer at her as well, they but were cut off moments later as the dungeon door swung open. They all snapped back to attention as a very anxious looking Glinda the Good swept into the room.
With an extremely high-pitched squeal, she bolted straight for Fiyero and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. "Oh, Fiyero, darling, I'm so glad you're all right!"
Fiyero was startled by the sudden outpouring of affection. He could do nothing but stand still until Glinda was finished, as she'd unintentionally pinned his arms to his sides. Fiyero turned and snuck a look at Elphaba, who had momentarily dropped the disaffected act and was staring at them with eyes as wide as saucers. Her face was a tumultuous mix of emotions. Only Fiyero seemed to have noticed this, as all other attention was fixed on Glinda.
She released Fiyero from her grip a few moments later and turned to address the guards. Speaking in the most authoritative tone she could muster, she said, "I require a moment alone to interrogate the Witch."
The guards protested immediately. "No Miss Glinda! She's far too dangerous. We can't leave you alone with her, even if she is behind bars."
"That's alright. Captain Fiyero can stay with me to make sure nothing happens," she insisted, draping herself across Fiyero's forearm. Fiyero gave a nervous nod of agreement. He was unsure what Glinda was planning, but he was hoping to get her alone before she could speak to Elphaba. He had to convince Glinda that Elphaba hadn't harmed him, that she didn't deserve whatever fate lay in store for her.
The other guards exchanged a look but didn't seem to want to argue with both their captain and his relatively important fiancée. Each of them gave a salute and then excused themselves from the room without further argument.
Fiyero turned to Glinda, intending to appeal to her on Elphaba's behalf, but before he could get a word out, his fiancée turned to the woman in the cell and said, "Oh Elphie, are you alright? What on earth were you thinking?"
"It's nice to see you too, Glinda," Elphaba grumbled, her eyes focused on the floor once more.
Fiyero looked back and forth between the two women, completely at a loss for words. Before he could demand an explanation from either of them, Glinda turned to him and asked, "Fiyero, what in Oz's name happened to you?"
"I-um…I," Fiyero stammered, trying desperately to form a sentence. He wasn't sure whether he was trying to fabricate a lie as to why he'd been missing for a week or ask Glinda why the hell she'd just addressed Wicked Witch of the West as 'Elphie'. He supposed it was whichever of the two left his mouth first.
When Fiyero's pathetic attempts at speech continued to fail him, Glinda turned back to Elphaba and said, "Oh Elphie, I have no idea how we're going to get you out of here! If I let you go, Madame Morrible and the Wizard will know it was me! And I can't ask any of the guards for help. None of them would even consider it! Oh Elphaba…." There were tears in Glinda's eyes now. Elphaba's face had returned to stone.
Fiyero's mind was reeling. Glinda had mentioned Madame Morrible. His thoughts flashed back to the Shiz University card he'd found wedged between the pages of that old Animal Rights book, and he practically felt an audible 'click' as the last few pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
He remembered why Elphaba's name had sounded so familiar to him the first time he'd read it. She was Glinda's college roommate, the friend she'd lost in the Emerald City so many years ago. He recalled the countless letters Glinda had written to him in their college days, first detailing her feuds with her odd roommate, and then their burgeoning friendship. He distinctly did not recall Glinda mentioning that the woman had green skin. She'd only described her roommate as exceedingly peculiar and socially inept. He would have remembered if she'd mentioned the green.
Even so, Fiyero couldn't believe he hadn't connected the dots sooner. Glinda's friend hadn't been killed by the Wicked Witch, as Fiyero had always assumed, she'd becomethe Wicked Witch. Fiyero had spent the last five days held in captivity by his fiancée's best friend. He'd kissedhis fiancée's best friend. He felt a strong surge of guilt. It was bad enough that he'd betrayed Glinda, but he knew that Elphaba wasn't going to look favorably on him for this either.
The three of them turned as the dungeon doors swung open once more and Madame Morrible entered. She was flanked by the two guards who had run off to contact the Wizard earlier. The rest of the guards, who had been waiting outside at Glinda's behest, re-entered the chamber as well.
Morrible glanced into Elphaba's cell with a triumphant smirk on her face, before turning to address Glinda. "Well, my dear, I know you probably wanted time to interrogate the witch," she began, in a tone that suggested to Fiyero that she was privy to more than she was letting on, "but I think it would be best if you and the captain retired now and left this matter to the Wizard. After all, your fiancé has been through a dreadful ordeal. It couldn't have been pleasant, being a prisoner of the Wicked Witch of the West."
At Morrible's words, Glinda's expression turned to one of disbelief, and she cast a shocked look in Elphaba's direction. However, she could say nothing with the guards present, and Elphaba appeared unable to look Glinda in the eye. Fiyero wanted to say something, but he knew he'd have to wait until he could get Glinda alone to explain what had happened.
"I'll need ten men to stay and guard this cell," Morrible commanded, taking charge of the situation. "The rest of you may return to your normal duties. Lady Glinda and Captain Fiyero, please don't worry about this matter any further. It will be sorted out accordingly. Please, go and settle yourselves. You've been through trying times."
Fiyero didn't see any point in arguing. He took Glinda's hand in his and began to lead her from the room. There was nothing else they could do for Elphaba right now, and the sooner he explained everything to Glinda, the sooner they could formulate a plan to help her.
Yet as Fiyero began to walk away from the cell, he felt a peculiar, yet strangely familiar tingling sensation overcome him. It steadily grew stronger, until he found that he could bear it no more and fell to his knees. In an instant, several concerned guards rushed to his side, trying to gauge what was wrong with him. Yet through the fog of pain clouding his mind, Fiyero already knew what was happening. Elphaba had never lifted the spell she had cast on him earlier that morning.
They were still bonded together.
With the remainder of his rapidly waning strength, Fiyero began to scramble backwards as quickly as he could manage. He wasn't sure if the spell could have any lasting side effects, but he wasn't keen to find out. He dragged himself back into range and then collapsed to the floor in front Elphaba's cell, looking up at the concerned faces around him as he struggled to sit up.
Ignoring the ringing in his ears, he gave a weak nod in response to those asking if he was all right. He stood up on shaky legs, wobbling slightly as he righted himself. Glinda seemed shocked by the goings on and attached herself to his forearm. Fiyero really wished he'd had a chance to explain before things had gotten so out of hand.
Seemingly satisfied that Fiyero was not in immediate danger, one of the guards turned towards Elphaba. "What have you done to him?"
It seemed that Elphaba had also forgotten about the binding spell, if the look of shock on her face was any indication. She recovered herself quickly as the guard addressed her, schooling her expression into a smug grin.
"I've done nothing," she said, her voice holding a bit more menace than Fiyero had become accustomed to. "It's the effects of a spell I cast yesterday and never had the chance to remove."
"Then remove it now!" the same guard shouted.
Elphaba kept an air of cool indifference in the face of the demand. Fiyero could practically see the cogs turning in her mind as she sized up the guards. Elphaba wasn't a fool. She knew she had the upper hand, and she would play it if it meant a chance at freedom.
"I can't," she replied, narrowing her eyes. "I don't remember the spell to remove it, and my spell book was left behind when I was so graciously escorted here."
The guard appeared to be growing annoyed with Elphaba's flippant responses, and he started to move closer to the bars of her cell. He was stopped by Madame Morrible, who held out her arm in front of him. The man scowled at this, but he didn't question it as he rejoined the other guards. Morrible stepped up to the bars in his stead.
"I think you had best remove that spell, dearie, if you know what's good for you," she threatened, her voice barely above a whisper. The crowd of onlookers held their breath.
Elphaba stood and moved towards the bars as well, so close that her nose was practically touching Morrible's. "I've told you that I don't remember the spell," she replied, her voice dripping with an equivalent amount of vitriol. "You're supposed to be so powerful. Why don't you remove it yourself?"
Morrible puffed up as though Elphaba had literally ruffled her feathers. "You know very well there's no chance of my finding the counter spell," she responded. "Not when you stole the only spell book capable of assisting me, you conniving little thief." She paused for a moment to let the insult land, and then continued, "I think you're lying. But if you won't remove the spell, then perhaps your death will be swifter than we'd originally intended."
Morrible clearly intended this to be intimidating, but Elphaba only grinned in response. "You wouldn't want to do that," she said with calm certainty. "If you kill me without reversing the spell, then your precious captain dies with me."
A stunned silence met this statement. Even Madame Morrible seemed to have been struck temporarily mute by the audacity of it. Fiyero gaped at Elphaba, his mind reeling. She had certainly never mentioned that particular side effect to him before.
After what felt like an eternity, Morrible regained her bearings and choked out, "You're bluffing."
"Am I?" Elphaba responded, without a moment of hesitation. Her face betrayed absolutely nothing. Morrible sputtered but seemed to have no further response to this. It was clear that she wasn't entirely certain that Elphaba was lying. Fiyero silently hoped that no one was planning to test the theory.
There was another long pause before Morrible spoke again. "The spell book, then," she said through gritted teeth. "Where is the Grimmerie?"
"Somewhere you'll never get to it without my assistance. The entrance to my hideout is well hidden, and only I know the spell to reveal it," said Elphaba.
Morrible appeared to be losing her patience quickly. "Well then? Tell me where it is!" she demanded.
Elphaba crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, but why would I be inclined to disclose that information?"
Morrible's face had begun to turn an impressive shade of purple, but it was clear she had no response. She had no means of forcing the information out of Elphaba, and she couldn't simply kill the green woman unless she wanted to risk making Fiyero collateral damage. Fiyero wasn't convinced that Morrible cared a lick for his safety, but she couldn't exactly make that known with so many witnesses present. They could consider torturing Elphaba, but there was a chance that such a move could also harm Fiyero. Even if it didn't, Fiyero was certainly ready to pretend it did. There was no easy solution to this predicament. Elphaba had them backed into a corner.
Morrible narrowed her eyes. "Then how do you suggest we get rid of the spell?"
"That's simple," Elphaba said. "Release me, and I'll retrieve the Grimmerie and reverse the spell myself.
It was incredibly likely that Morrible had seen this coming, but she still filled with righteous indignation at the suggestion. "What kind of fool do you take me for? We've waited too long for your capture. We're not going to allow you to slither out of our grasp this time."
"Fine," Elphaba said coolly, "then I suppose the captain and I will be getting rather cozy together. Unless you'd prefer to just kill me and be rid of us both."
Glinda couldn't seem to believe that her friend was behaving this way. She was staring at Elphaba with pleading eyes, clearly bursting to say something. Unable to address her imprisoned friend with so many guards present, she instead turned to Madame Morrible and said, "Madame Morrible, you can't-"
"Do not tell me what I can or cannot do!" Morrible snapped, causing Glinda to take a surprised step backwards. Morrible seemed to realize that she'd gone too far as she registered the looks of shock on the faces of the guards around her. She took a deep breath to compose herself, and then said, in a much calmer voice, "Don't worry, my dear. We're not going to let anything happen to our Captain Fiyero."
Fiyero was immeasurably relieved to hear this. He'd grown rather fond of living.
Morrible turned back to face Elphaba. Resentfully, she conceded, "Fine, you will retrieve the Grimmerie and undo the spell yourself." Upon seeing Elphaba's triumphant smirk, she continued, "But don't think we're just going to let you go. You'll be escorted by a full company of guards, and you will be brought back here directly after the spell is complete."
"Of course," Elphaba replied, though it was clear she was not at all worried. If Morrible was concerned about this, she didn't let it show.
Turning away from the cell, she addressed the Gale Forcer nearest her. "You, go and assemble fifty men to escort the Witch. You are to accompany her to her hideout so that she can undo the spell. Do not let her out of your sight. Do not fall for her tricks. Bring her back here the moment she has released the captain from her clutches, and bring her spell book to me as well."
The guard gave a quick salute and hurried off to carry out Madame Morrible's orders. Elphaba watched all of this calmly from behind the bars of her cell. It was obvious that she was already planning something. Fiyero couldn't help but feel that Madame Morrible was underestimating Elphaba, especially if the green woman was once again in possession of her spell book. Yet he held his tongue, firmly on Elphaba's side. He was desperate to atone for his part in her capture.
The guards Morrible had requested entered a few minutes later and stood at attention. "You leave at once," Morrible commanded, before sweeping out of the dungeon.
One of the guards stepped forward with a pair of heavy shackles. A group of ten men surrounded Elphaba as they pulled her from the cell and bound her hands in front of her. Fiyero made sure to remain within range of her, not keen on feeling the effects of the spell again.
Glinda did not seem the least bit happy about everything that had transpired. She looked helplessly back and forth between Elphaba and Fiyero, as if waiting for one or both of them to explain themselves. Fiyero cast an apologetic glance in her direction. He felt terrible about leaving without the chance to speak to her, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Elphaba's face remained expressionless as the guards escorted her from the dungeons and she kept her gaze focused straight ahead. Fiyero couldn't begin to fathom what she was thinking, but he could imagine she was not all too pleased with him.
A few seconds later the dungeons emptied as the last of the guards filed out, leaving only a dazed Glinda standing by Elphaba's now-empty cell.