Galinda's arm was draped across her stomach, her leg thrown over her lower body. The sun was pouring into their dorm, washing them in a warm glow while birds chirped loudly outside their window. Galinda stirred in her sleep, mumbling something as she wound her hand in Elphaba's nightgown.

Elphaba, who had been awake for a while, froze, not wanting to wake the peaceful girl. She hated to admit it, but she was dreading the moment Galinda opened her eyes and moved away from her. There was something calming about holding her so close. Something she'd never experienced before.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Galinda remained fast asleep…

"Miss Elphaba…Miss Elphaba, the answer, if you'd be so kind?"

Elphaba pulled herself from her daydream, shaking her head as she tried to regain her concentration. She was sitting in their history class, everyone was staring at her, waiting for the answer to Dr Dillamond's question. Oz, thow long had she been out of it?

Dr Dillamond stared at her expectantly. It was very unlike her to be at a loss for an answer. "Um…"

Galinda poked her side, making her jump slightly before whispering out of the corner of her mouth, "What's the significance of the Sentience Act of 1878 and its impact on animal representation?"

She sighed in relief. Thank Oz for Galinda.

She cleared her throat with a wink at Galinda who smiled down at her desk. "The Sentience Act was meant to recognize the intelligence and rights of Animals, but in practice, it's done little to protect them. While it states that Animals are sentient beings, it doesn't grant them the same protections as humans, nor does it prevent their exclusion from positions of power."

Fiyero leaned forward on his stack of books listening intently, his eyes not leaving Elphaba as she rattled off her answer.

Her voice grew stronger the more passionately she spoke, "In fact, its existence allows those in charge to claim progress while continuing to strip Animals of their rights. Representation is not just about acknowledgement —it's about action," she lightly slammed her fist on her desk, "and until Animals are treated as equals under the law, this act is nothing more than a way to silence dissent."

Dr Dillamond seemed pleased with her response, but looked at her over his glasses anyway as if he were x raying her. "Very good, Miss Elphaba, but please keep your focus on the class from here on…Miss Glllinda thank you for your assistance."

Elphaba's cheeks flushed dark green, she had never been told off by a teacher before as she was normally the ideal student. She wanted to kick herself for allowing her mind to wander to her and Galinda's morning from the previous week. After all, it only happened once, it was nothing to ruminate on.

"Yes, sir," she mumbled back, looking anywhere but at her professor.

Galinda squeezed her knee lightly under the desk, in a way of checking on her, it felt like electricity, shocking her very core. Elphaba offered a weak smile, trying to hide her embarrassment and thank Galinda wordlessly for the contact.

"So what were you thinking about?" Galinda asked as they filed out of the class a little bit later.

Elphaba felt her face flush again and hoped it wasn't noticeable. "Oh…I don't know…my mind just wandered off—"

"Are you feeling okay? That's very unlike you," Galinda pulled them to a stop in the hallway and felt Elphaba's forehead. She tried to hide the shiver that ran down her spine at the contact. "Hmm…normal."

Galinda frowned. Clearly she had been hoping for some sort of explanation for Elphaba's unusual behavior.

"Darling, leave her be. Everyone deserves to be brainless for a bit," Fiyero put his arm around Galinda with a jovial smile and wink at Elphaba. He knew she was far from brainless, but he enjoyed the joke anyway.

As grateful as she had been for Galinda earlier she was now even more grateful for her boyfriend. Anything to distract from talking about what had actually been on her mind was welcome.

But the fact of the matter was Elphaba thought about the morning after Thrumwich Hall every day. It stuck in her brain like a tattoo, marked permanently in her memory. She replayed it when she was feeling stressed out or overwhelmed. She thought about it when she woke in the morning and before she fell asleep, thinking about how much nicer it would feel to be beside the blonde. She thought about it simply to think about it.

Slowly, it took over her mind, permeating most of her thoughts.

"Elphaba?"

She snapped to attention. She had been walking blindly, thinking about her feelings, allowing Galinda to pull her along and hadn't even realized they reached the cafeteria.

Galinda and Fiyero were now both looking at her with concern. Galinda dropped her hand and crossed her arms in front of herself. "You're not telling us something," she sounded cross, but Elphaba knew it was just worry.

She forced a smile, "I—I just can't stop thinking about…the injustices animals are facing." She had to grasp around in the dark for something to say and was glad she found it.

"Oh…" Galinda's face fell, she had been hoping for something more interesting. "It is most upsetifying," she agreed with a nod of her head.

Fiyero hadn't taken his eyes off her, but shrugged as well even though he clearly didn't believe her.

Once they were in the cafeteria they ran into Boq and Nessa who already had their food and were talking at their table. Elphaba looked wearily at her sister, she hadn't checked on her properly in the last week. In fact she hadn't checked on her at all, but not without trying.

After their night at Thrumwich Hall Boq had to get stitches on some of his nastier cuts, something Elphaba knew Nessa wouldn't let her forget anytime soon. And she was right. Nessa had barely spoken to or acknowledged her since the night. Elphaba's chest deflated at the sight of her sister, she felt like she was failing her.

Boq, however, had been more forgiving towards her, or maybe it was that he just wanted to spend time with Galinda. Either way he waved them over to their table with a dopey smile.

"Miss Nessarose, have you been avoiding us?" Galinda sang as they approached.

Nessa shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she avoided eye contact with Elphaba. "I've been really busy," she mumbled back. She shot a glance at Elphaba, but quickly looked away when she saw her sister was already looking at her.

"I would never avoid you, Galinda," Boq said almost dreamily. Elphaba wanted to gag, sometimes he was so obvious about his affection for Galinda it was disgusting. Especially as he was sitting beside her sister.

Galinda looked over at him as if she had just realized he was there, "Great," she said barely acknowledging him. "I'm off to get lunch," she said, reaching out her hand for Fiyero, "Elphie, are you coming?"

She chewed her lip, "I'm okay, I'm not hungry." She sank down into the chair beside her sister, hoping to get her to talk as Fiyero and Galinda walked away towards the food.

For a moment they were silent, only the noise of the other students and the clink of their silverware filled the air. Elphaba didn't quite know how to start, but apologizing felt like a good point.

"Nessa, listen, I am so sorry—"

"You're always sorry," Nessa snapped back, stabbing a potato a little too aggressively with her fork. She still wasn't looking at Elphaba.

Elphaba sighed, Nessa had a point, but also it wasn't like she ever did anything on purpose. She was still learning to control her power, she just needed more time. She told her sister as much.

Nessa finally put her fork down and turned to look at Elphaba beside her, "I just wish it was better already."

"It is better!" Elphaba immediately felt defensive. Her temper flared. How could Nessa be so blind to everything Elphaba was doing? The plates rattled slightly.

"I guess," Nessa responded glumly, picking her fork back up to push food around her plate. Suddenly she changed the subject.

"So, you're spending a lot of time with Galinda," she mentioned casually under her breath so Boq wouldn't hear. He wouldn't have noticed anyway as he was too busy watching Galinda walking around to grab her lunch.

Elphaba froze. Well at least Nessa was talking to her again.

"Well, we've been studying together a lot; sorcery isn't easy," she chuckled, deciding to not mention the sleepover.

She was trying to play it cool, but she too had noticed the increase in their amount of togetherness. Of course they were spending more time with one another now that they didn't hate each other, but even then Elphaba was still surprised by just how much time she found herself in Galinda's presence. Apparently so was Nessa.

Nessa raised an eyebrow almost like she knew what was going on in Elphaba's head. "Well, you certainly seem to be enjoying each other," she quipped. "Things are falling into place for us. I have Boq—" she looked at him affectionately. He was currently shoveling stew into his mouth, Elphaba scrunched her nose slightly at the sight. "—And you have Galinda."

She said it casually enough, but Elphaba couldn't help but think her sister knew more than she was letting on. Whatever it was she felt her cheeks grow warm before reminding herself: No, Fiyero has Galinda.

Fiyero.

Fiyero was another odd development for Elphaba. After spending her whole life getting stared at it didn't bother her too much anymore, but something about the way Fiyero stared at her was unsettling. Like he was trying to see through the green almost, but was struggling still. She would catch him in the moments when Galinda wasn't paying attention, staring at her, with a crooked grin in place.

It drove her crazy.

She much preferred when she caught Galinda smiling at her, then the feelings of uneasiness were replaced with the growing warmth in her stomach she had come to associate with the blonde girl.

"I don't have Galinda," she murmured as the girl in question reappeared at the table, leading Fiyero who had both of their trays.

"Elphie, look, they have the tiny waffles today! I got you three," she clicked over in her heels to slide a plate in front of her. "I thought a little brunch would be fun," she chuckled with a little hair toss. Nessa peeked at Elphaba under Galinda's arm, "I told you so" written all over her face.

Elphaba mumbled a thanks as her face flushed darker. She ducked her head down over her plate, avoiding eye contact with her sister as she cut into a waffle; she wasn't giving Nessa any satisfaction. Galinda was just…uniquely attentive to her…that was all.

————————————-

As much as she enjoyed her new friends' company, Elphaba found herself still craving some of the solitude she was so used to. After classes finished that day she excused herself from her group, leaving a disappointed Galinda with Pfannee and Shen Shen.

It wasn't hard for her to decide where to go. Thrumwich Hall had been on her mind nearly as much as Galinda. Every time they would pass by, she would gaze almost longingly at the abandoned building, wishing to know who had taken up residency in its locked confines.

Not that she wasn't scared.

The events of that night had been enough to shake anyone, but despite the fear of what was living inside Thrumwich Hall, Elphaba couldn't help but think whoever it was would have an interesting insight to the building. She was itching to get back in, but some fear was still holding her back

For now, setting up a reading session outside on its unkempt lawn was the closest she would get. Perhaps enough time near it would embolden her to venture back in.

The afternoon passed pleasantly into the evening, she spent her time finishing the novel she had been working on and starting a sketch for her art class.

The warm air of the day slowly chilled as the sun threatened to begin its descent below the horizon. She knew dinner time was approaching, but she was so enjoying her time alone she barely felt the hunger rise in her stomach.

She had just begun to shiver slightly when she heard footsteps approaching softly in the grass.

"I thought I would find you here."

It was Fiyero.

"You did, did you?" She asked, laying her pencil down as she abandoned her sketch.

He flopped down on the grass next to her with a smile, pulling his knees up to his chest, and crossing his arms in front of them as he observed her.

"You always stare at it when we pass. You're not scared of it?"

She chuckled. "It freaks me out. But I like it."

He paused, "Interesting."

"I want to find out more about animal history at Shiz, I think there's a lot of information there."

Nodding his head, he looked at the building in front of them. "So you want to get in again?"

She chewed her lip to buy time before slowly nodding.

"I can make that happen," he said happily. "If you're down to break the rules again—"

"You know I think it's more of a law, but I'm ready," she said strongly. And she meant it. Her desire to find out what was inside was trumping her fear and anxiety. They decided they would reenter the next night.

"Great," he smiled at her in silence, before suddenly remembering something. "I forgot, Galinda sent me. She said you're not to miss dinner, she's worried you've been gone so long—"

Elphaba rolled her eyes with a smile, Galinda's concern was touching. "And she couldn't come find me herself?" She joked even though she meant it slightly.

"Actually, she wanted to, but I insisted—"

"Why?"

"Can't a man be chivalrous?"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow at him. "I suppose." Fiyero was surprising. He had jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with her, to help her with something she was simply interested in. Something he could potentially get into a lot of trouble over. She hadn't expected him to care for much more than his own desires.

Then again, maybe he was just itching for adventure. Regardless, she would be grateful for his company the next night.

They packed up her bag and made their way back across campus together, chatting the whole way. Elphaba was shocked at how easy it was to talk to him; they never seemed to be at a loss for words.

They reached the cafeteria just as the last light of day drained from the sky and the bugs took up their nightly chorus. Elphaba watched as Fiyero opened the door for her with a slight bow; for a fleeting moment that warm feeling she had grown to associate with Galinda burst in her stomach.

"You found her!"

The girl in question swept towards the two of them, a look caught somewhere between relief and worry on her face as they arrived.

"Elphaba Thropp, I was so worried, don't you dare scare me like that again. You were out so late!"

Elphaba offered a sheepish smile, her heart beating heavily in her chest as Galinda pulled her into a hug. Her perfume washed over Elphaba who breathed in deeply before realizing what she was doing.

She released Galinda, taking a hasty step back. Her feelings were suddenly becoming very discombobulated and she wasn't sure what to make of anything. Everything was so foreign to her.

Galinda looked at her oddly, but plastered a smile on her face when Elphaba apologized for causing concern.

"Thank you for finding her, dearest, I don't know what I'd do without you," Galinda kissed Fiyero's cheek, her eyes sparkling up at him.

He ruffled his hair with a grin, his eyes shooting to Elphaba's briefly. She looked away, the warm feeling growing in her stomach again. Whether from Fiyero or Galinda she wasn't sure.

——————————

The light switched off in Galinda and Elphaba's dorm room as they said goodnight to each other later that night. Silence fell between them, but Elphaba lay awake, staring sightlessly at the dark ceiling, her mind racing with a thousand different thoughts.

Why was Galinda so invested in her? What was Fiyero doing, offering to help her break into Thrumwich again? What was with all the winks passing between the three of them?

She rolled over, facing the window, staring out into the night as she tried to silence her thoughts. Behind her she heard Galinda tossing around in her sheets.

A few minutes passed in which Galinda continued to toss and turn noisily from across the room.

"Galinda?" Elphaba whispered after another minute of the restlessness.

There was a pause in activity.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

She was met with a long silence. Finally Galinda's voice came nervously through the dark, "I was just thinking…this afternoon when Fiyero found you…what did you talk about on your way back?"

Elphaba's stomach rose to her throat. She coughed, hoping to clear it away before she answered. Whatever she had been expecting Galinda to say it hadn't been this. She hadn't considered for a moment that Galinda might wonder what the two of them had gotten up to.

"Oh…" she was uncertain whether or not she should tell the whole truth. For some reason she didn't think Galinda would be too pleased to find out they had made plans without her. And something within her sort of wanted it to be a moment she shared alone with Fiyero.

Eventually she decided to be honest; her budding friendship with Galinda was far more important to her than a secret hauntified rendezvous.

Even through the dark, Elphaba could feel Galinda's disappointment radiating across the room. Her voice was sad when she responded, "you didn't think I'd want to go?"

Immediately Elphaba felt guilty for wanting to keep the truth from Galinda. After all, they were plans she made with her boyfriend, it would have been wrong to exclude her.

"I'm sorry, I should have asked you right away…but I do want you there," she added earnestly. When she thought about it, things were better when Galinda was around. Even if she was scared the whole time.

Galinda was quiet for a moment, the silence was thick. Elphaba heard her roll over one more time.

"Will you come get into bed with me?"

Elphaba's heart thudded somewhere in her stomach. She hadn't expected this question either. Galinda was full of surprises tonight.

This time, with much more confidence she slipped out of bed and crept across their room to Galinda's bedside. The blonde girl had already moved over to make room for her and the covers were folded back waiting expectantly.

Elphaba's heart rate picked up the moment Galinda patted the bed beside her with a playful smile. This was something she had been craving all week. She laid down, pulling the covers around her as she made herself comfortable beside Galinda who was humming happily to herself as she settled down.

Once they were situated Galinda stared pointedly at Elphaba in the dark, they were laying face to face barely able to make out each others expressions. She reached out and wound their hands together, Elphaba instinctively tightened her grip.

"Elphie, I'd go anywhere with you," she spoke with so much honesty that Elphaba's blood ran cold and her head swam. Galinda always seemed to say and do things that shocked Elphaba to her core.

She chuckled, "You don't mean that—"

"Really I do," she insisted, pulling Elphaba's hands closer to her chest. "Don't leave me behind, Elphaba."

"I won't," she whispered resolutely.

Galinda kissed her hand with a satisfied sigh. "Okay, now we can sleep." And with that she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep immediately, clearly much happier than she had been a few minutes prior.

————————————————-

"Darling I'm coming with you tonight!" Galinda

grasped onto Fiyero's arm the moment she saw him the next morning, excitement written all over her face.

Was it a trick of the eye or did he look slightly disappointed for a moment?

The three of them stood in the pale moonlight outside Thrumwich hall, shivering slightly in a cool breeze. This time Elphaba was prepared for the locks, she easily flipped them and soon they were creeping through the dusty halls again. They were met with only silence this time, something that was as off putting as the noise itself had been previously.

She wasn't sure what they were looking for, but she was confident they would find something.

They crept through the halls in a tight knit group. Elphaba could tell Galinda was putting on a brave face, but she could feel her hand vibrating as she clung to her. She was sandwiched between Fiyero and Elphaba, doing her best to confidently creep through the chaos of the lower level.

Eventually they crunched through the piles of broken glass marking where they had turned around the other night. They all held their breath, fearing the noise would alert whoever might have been in the building of their presence.

Galinda squeaked when the ceiling above them groaned slightly. Elphaba squeezed her hand gently, trying to comfort her while Fiyero held her closely to his side. Elphaba could feel her relax between the two of them at the contact, and couldn't deny how pleased it made her feel.

Fiyero looked over Galinda to check on Elphaba, she smiled back reassuringly as she plowed on through the darkness determinedly. Eventually they reached a fork. In one direction the dustless section continued down the hallway, in the other, thick dust coated stairs that climbed to the second floor.

Galinda, seemingly not wanting to encounter anyone, suggested they take the stairs. "Maybe they'll lead to the dorms and you can find some things for your research," she whispered hopefully.

Elphaba stood for a long time, unmoving as she weighed their options. Galinda was right, the dorms could lead to some interesting insight into animal life at Shiz, but on other hand, following the dustless path could lead to discovering who was squatting in the old building.

"What are you thinking?" Fiyero asked, clearly he had decided Elphaba was in charge of their adventure this time.

"I think we should follow the trail," she said, shocked to hear the words coming out of her mouth. Galinda groaned quietly, but clenched her jaw determinedly.

They turned to follow the trail, the further they followed it the wider it became and the more destroyed the rooms were. Soon they were passing piles of broken furniture and nearly every animal portrait they saw had been destroyed.

"Someone really had it out for the animals," Elphaba said wearily as they passed a stain that looked horribly like blood.

"What do you think—"

Ahead of them they heard a door open, Fiyero fell silent immediately as they all froze, staring wide eyed at each other. They waited, when muffled voices started to float down the hallway towards them.

"Let's go," Elphaba mouthed. Fiyero and Galinda both nodded in return, but when they set off Fiyero started forward with Elphaba while Galinda turned on her heel towards the exit.

She stopped only when she no longer felt her friends beside her. She turned quickly, searching for them. "Must we?" She whined with a pout. When neither of the other two answered she sighed heavily and turned to join them.

"Good girl," Fiyero said, kissing the top of her head.

Elphaba's arms grew numb at the sight, why was their affection suddenly bothering her? It never had before.

She shook her head. She needed to focus on what was going on around her. Stealing herself for what was ahead she led the way, far more confidently than she felt. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Fiyero smirk, he seemed to be impressed with her grit.

As the voices grew louder and more clear Elphaba switched off the lantern much to Galinda's displeasure. "Sorry," she breathed into the blonde's ear.

They had reached a hallway finally where light poured out from an open door at the end. They looked at each other, trying to make out each other's faces through the dark. Well, they'd come this far, it would be a shame to turn around now.

Slowly, they shuffled down the long hall, barely daring to breathe for fear of giving themselves away.

"We must put a stop to this, it's getting out of hand truly."

They had nearly reached the door when a voice rang out making them all jump.

Another voice answered, "we're doing the best we can, sir, people will notice if the disappearances—"

"I do not care what people think!" The first voice snapped back.

Elphaba, Galinda and Fiyero all looked nervously at each other. Whoever was in the room didn't sound happy at all. They crept closer, sticking to the shadows as they approached the cracked door.

"Sir, I do beg your pardon, but Warren has a point—"

Elphaba snuck to the edge of the door and peeked around the corner carefully. The room was expansive, a fireplace roared with a large fire and a grand oak table was set in the middle with roughly 12 men sitting around it. It would have been an ordinary room if it hadn't been for the table off to the side piled high with animal skulls.

Elphaba gasped, they were deep in debate however and luckily didn't hear her.

Behind her she felt Galinda tugging at her hand, trying desperately to pull her back into the shadows. She stood stubbornly, refusing to move.

"I will not rest until they've been exterminated from the area—" Elphaba's eyes widened, she was spying on a room full of poachers. And not just poachers; poachers who seemed to be making significant headway.

"I'm simply suggesting we continue to take our time."

Suddenly a door in the room opened and two men entered dragging a bound and gagged fox with them. Her heart thudded in her chest, something was terribly wrong with what was about to happen.

"Not today," the first man growled back, standing and striding towards the struggling fox.

Behind her she could hear Galinda's breathing grow ragged as the leader drew a long knife from his belt.

"You've uttered your last word," he spat at the fox who's eyes were moving crazily around the room, staring at each man in turn.

Elphaba's stomach twisted into knots and she snapped her eyes shut as the man raised the knife over his head. She felt a strong hand slide over her mouth muffling the strangled scream that rose in her throat when a yelp rang out into the night. She refused to look back, leaning into the contact from Fiyero as he grabbed her shoulders and looked intently in her eyes.

"We need to leave. Now," there was no question or option. It was what they were doing. As quietly as they could the three of them turned on their heels and nearly sprinted down the hallways, past the destroyed furniture, through the crunchy glass, and out into the cool night air.

The door slammed behind them and they all bent over gasping for breath, clutching stitches in their sides as they tried to wrap their minds around what they had just seen.

"What the fuck was that?"

If they had been in any other situation Elphaba would have been shocked to hear Galinda use such foul language, but given what they had just seen she nearly seconded the thought.

Fiyero straightened up. "Whatever it was, we need to get back to our dorms. It's not safe here," he was struggling to hide the worry in his voice and had pulled a very frazzled Galinda close to him. He kept shooting furtive looks at Elphaba as if she might try to disagree and lead them back in.

To his relief she nodded, the moon reflecting in her wide eyes.

"This isn't good," Elphaba said, tears streaming down her cheeks.