A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. More on what was discovered in the journals later but now - Dilek. ;) Thanks so much!
Chapter 28
"Miss Elphaba, it is good to see you," Lieutenant Dilek smiled and gave her a hug.
"And you Dilek. I'm guessing a visit like this can only be good news," the green woman smiled back. She had met the troops that had come with the Lieutenant down at the bottom of the Palace steps. It was a small contingent, so Fiyero's parents were not with him. She heard footsteps behind her, and they had to be Fiyero's.
"Indeed, we do have news and Fevzi's parents would like to take he and Sarah home. Of course, if she's medically cleared to do so," Dilek said.
"They did not come with you?" Fiyero asked, a little confused. He had managed to get himself dressed but Elphaba could tell by the tone of his voice that he was still half asleep.
"This is just a troop trip and escort home. Your parents are handling things with the Mayor," the Lieutenant explained.
"Handling things?" Elphaba gave him a look.
"The one who we caught. He's being dealt with," Dilek had a look on his face.
"Come in and tell us all about it," Fiyero said. The three made their way up the steps and back into the Palace. They were greeted by Boq in the hallway who had come out of Glinda's office along with Fevzi and Sarah. The latter was leaning on Fevzi for some support.
"I heard the drums. Is everything all right?" Boq asked.
"More than all right. The Lieutenant says they caught the person responsible for Sarah's injury. He was about to give us an update. Why don't we all go into Glinda's office?" Elphaba offered. They moved as quickly as they could and settled inside the blonde's office. Fevzi made sure that he and Sarah were comfortable on the couch and Lieutenant Dilek took the chair across from them while Elphaba sat next to Sarah. Fiyero and Boq took the other two chairs.
"Miss Sarah, we found the man who did this to you," Dilek said.
"Was it someone I know?" Sarah asked.
"Part of the reason it took so long to catch them was because they do not live in the village. Regrettably, you do know the family of the person involved," the Lieutenant did not want to mince words. It wasn't a secret in the village so it could not be a secret here.
"That sounds worse," Fevzi admitted. He took Sarah's hand in his and squeezed it.
"It's not great. Still, we do not believe that the rest of the family was involved. I will leave it up to you two to decide if you want to still talk with them," Dilek said.
"Who is it?" Sarah asked.
"It was Burak's uncle, Fuad. Mr. Ceyhun mentioned that he'd said you were coming into the shop. You are friends with Burak and the cobbler thought nothing of mentioning it to Fuad. You have to know that Mr. Ceyhun is quite distraught. If he'd found the device or known that Fuad had those kinds of feelings, he would not have mentioned it," Dilek explained.
"Feelings?" Elphaba cut in.
"When we arrested Fuad, he started going off about how Munchkins had no place in the Vinkus and said some things that I will not repeat," the Lieutenant said.
"I hope you are stringing him up by his privates then," Fiyero was trying to be polite – well as much as he could.
"Oh, when the King and Queen heard what was said, they want to make an example out of him. I do fear that it will ruin the friendship between Burak, Fevzi, and Sarah," Dilek said.
"We will need to speak to Burak but only when Sarah is ready. Right now, I think it's best to focus on her recovery," Fevzi didn't want to speak for her, but he knew that he had emotions bubbling beneath the surface. He could feel Sarah squeezing his hand harder.
"I've been nothing but trouble for your family," the words tumbled out of Sarah. Fevzi turned to her and said,
"You did nothing to deserve this or what happened before. You are not trouble." He pulled her into a hug.
"He is absolutely right. None of this is your fault. Now, Fevzi's parents and the entire village want you back home. If you need some more time, I understand. We just need to send word," Dilek told her.
"Can I think about everything?" Sarah asked.
"Of course. Why don't we get you down to the infirmary and the good doctor can explain your care plan to me?" Dilek wondered. Sarah nodded and the three of them left the room.
"All right, so what have you been up to?" Boq gave Elphaba and Fiyero a look.
To Be Continued…