Chapter 7
The news of Fiyero’s engagement came as a shock to Elphaba.
When she got her hands on a copy of The Emerald Gazette, she’d nearly lit it on fire.
The picture on the page showcased Fiyero in his green uniform, looking more regal than ever, and hanging on his arm with a bright smile that looked almost too bright was a dark haired woman who was undoubtedly Vinkan.
As Elphaba further read the article, she learned that the woman was an Arjiki princess with five sisters and she was called Sarima. No others details on her were given. However, the article did mention a secret romance between the two during their schooldays before they were separated when he transferred to Shiz.
Elphaba wanted to scoff at this article. They were trying to erase Glinda already.
If Fiyero truly had had a whirlwind romance with Sarima, then he wouldn’t have so cavalierly moved on with Glinda nor would he have flirted with half the population of Shiz.
This was a coverup and Elphaba had no doubt it had to do with the two deaths that happened seven days ago.
While Glinda’s death could go unnoticed — a fact that made Elphaba’s blood boil — she was still Gillikinese nobility and her parents were still important benefactors to the Wizard. They’d framed Glinda as a kidnapped damsel, after all. Her death at the hands of the Gale Force would no doubt raise a ruckus so they were covering it up until they could find some way to blame Elphaba for it. She just didn’t think it would entail trying to erase Glinda.
Nessarose, on the other hand, was the Eminent Thropp and with her gone, Munchkinland was probably in shambles until a new governor could be appointed. She doubted the munchkins would want to go back to the eminency and it was for the better. Nessa had no heirs and Elphaba didn’t want any ties with the eminency either; she didn’t see herself bearing any heirs either. Elphaba wouldn’t put it past the Wizard would place someone easily controllable as the new governor.
This engagement would cover up the cracks, or more accurately, divert people’s attentions away from them.
Two of the most important people in her life. The thought of their presences being so easily erasable and replaceable had Elphaba seething so much, she was sure it radiated off her being in an aura of unapproachability.
Still, she set the article down carefully, not willing to get rid of it just yet, and turned her attention to the crystal.
The poppy fields had transitioned into towering stalks of corn crop. Judging by her surroundings, the girl was somewhere in the Corn Fallows.
The specific area Dorothy was in looked quite familiar. Once it came to her, her eyes widened with an idea.
Dorothy was approaching a small apple grove she’d used for cover sometimes. It was quite effective as shelter and even more so for food and it served her quite well whenever she was in Munchkinland and looking for a quick thing to keep her going. It even had a cottage up ahead which she had kept in mind, but the proximity to Munchkinland unnerved her and she’d soon decided Glinda and her would be better off in the Vinkus; out west where the Animals were more free than anywhere in Oz.
And, if she was calculating correctly, Dorothy had been on foot for three days with barely any sustenance. The child had been living off the measly loaf of bread given by the munchkins as a sign of gratitude.
If Elphaba could just find that spell she’d come across when she’d imbued the crystal with magic, she could put her plan into action.
She smiled appreciatively when the ancient book flipped exactly to the page she needed.
Perfect.
It hadn’t gone quite as she planned.
The girl had reached for the apples, but before she could pick one, a creaking sound emanated from a place that sounded quite close to the grove. Dorothy glanced around a couple of times before focusing on the apple once again.
Elphaba watched gleefully as the girl’s fingers brushed the shining red surface. Another creak. Much louder this time around. It was followed by a few smaller creaks before a muffled sound that sounded vaguely human sounded.
Using the cover of a few scattered bushes and trees, Elphaba followed the girl’s path as discretely as she could.
She nearly gave herself away when she saw what the girl came across, or rather who the girl came across.
Standing in a little clearing, holding an axe and rusted almost solid was the abomination she’d made in an attempt to save a life and salvage the relationship she had with her sister. Though, any of the guilt or sympathy she felt for the man was far outweighed by the irrational fury that coursed through her veins.
Boq had confessed his love to Glinda multiple times and Elphaba knew it made Glinda quite uncomfortable. Uncomfortable to the point where she’d diverted Boq’s attention to Nessa. But that was all that had been diverted — attention and never any affection. She still remembered the feeling when Boq confessed his love to her girlfriend in front of her and her sister.
He had been yet another person to fail both Glinda and Nessa.
He deserved what he got.
She was surprised to see him still within Munchkinland’s borders though. Elphaba had assumed that he had fled as far away from Munchkinland and Colwen Grounds as possible. Seeing him standing in this clearing holding an axe and looking as though he’d been here a while, judging by the stack of logs against the cottage walls which hadn’t been present before, was not what she expected at all.
“Why,” Dorothy’s childish voice cut through her stewing. “It’s a man! A man made of tin!”
Elphaba rolled her eyes. Could this stupid child be any more obvious?
A muffled sound from his rusted lips.
“Did you say something.”
Another sound.
“Oil can?” Her brunette pigtails swung as she swivelled her head looking for the supposed oil can. She made a grab for the little can sitting on a tree stump and asked another question. “Here it is. Where do you want to be oiled first.”
Another muffled sound that this child seemed to understand because she exclaimed,”Mouth?”
Another sound from the man’s mouth before Dorothy got to work oiling the tinman. It was a long and quite boring process that only managed to provoke Elphaba’s fury.
Why did it work on him? Why did a spell from the Grimmerie save him, but not Glinda?
Finally when the munchkin was almost completely free from his rusted state and moving around with Dorothy did she zone into their conversation again.
“Did that hurt?” Dorothy questioned after straightening out his arm.
“No, that feels wonderful,” it was quite strange, hearing that voice from Boq’s new body. “I’ve held that axe up for ages.”
“Goodness!” Dorothy exclaimed, spreading oil onto his joints. “How did you ever get like this?”
“Well, about a week ago, I was chopping that tree,” his tin head gestured to the stump. “when suddenly it began to rain. And right in the middle of a chop I rusted solid. I’ve been that way ever since.”
Dorothy shared an alarmed look with her dog before working even more hastily to get him free. “Well you’re perfect now.”
“Perfect?” Boq gained a resentful look in his tin eyes. “Bang on my chest if you think I’m perfect.” When the girl didn’t move, the munchkin urged, “Go ahead! Bang on it.”
Dorothy delivered three deft knocks on Boq’s tin torso. The result was three loud echoes. Elphaba’s eyes widened.
“What a beautiful echo!”
“It’s empty.” The munchkin said mournfully. “The tinsmith forgot to give me a heart.”
Elphaba’s shoulders slumped as she heard the words. She knew very well who he was referring to when he said ‘tinsmith.
“No heart?” Dorothy asked, her childish features contorting with surprise.
“No.” He shook his head. “Hollow.”
Elphaba watched. She watched as he spilled his woes to this young child, her heart sinking with each minute that passed.
She’d only been trying to save his life. She’d never meant to turn him into this.
Glinda had known that. Even when her own sister had turned her back to her, Glinda comforted her when she felt horrible about Boq’s transformation.
“You’d only been trying to save him, Elphaba. That doesn’t make you wicked. It makes you…”
“Don’t you dare say ‘a hero’.”
“No.” Her girlfriend smiled. “It makes you good.”
Well, she wasn’t good now. She’d lost her reason to be good.
She focused on the duo that seemed to have become fast friends.
“I was just wondering why you couldn’t come with me to the emerald city to ask the Wizard of Oz for a heart.” The girl said, crouching next to the collapsed tin man. “
The Wizard.
So that was the girl’s plan.
She wondered if she should do anything to the girl at all. If she should just let her go along on her merry little journey to the city and experience the ache of disappointment when she found that the Wizard was not the man she thought he was. That is if the Wizard even let this strange girl and her companion into his palace.
But the slippers.
She needed those slippers. No matter how much she resented the child, she needed to get the slippers back from her before any disappointment took place.
With that in mind, she teleported onto the roof of the hut in a puff of red smoke with a chilling cackle. Teleportation was a finicky thing, but it worked well for short distances and, thankfully, it landed her exactly where she wanted to be.
The two startled, the tinman standing up, and Dorothy scooping her frightened dog into her arms.
“You call that long? Why you’ve only just begun. Helping the little along are you, my fine gentleman.”
Boq’s eyes narrowed on her, any surprise regarding her presence drowned out by his hatred for her.
“I’d stay away from her or I’ll use you as a beehive.” She pointed a green finger at him. “How would you like to rust again, Tin man?” She summoned a small ball of water and directed it at the man made of metal who jumped back in barely enough time to dodge it. He wasn’t able to dodge the splatter as it hit the ground though and, as the duo descended into chaos in a scramble to oil his joints again, Elphaba disappeared with a final cackle, teleporting to the grove of trees.
Once she was back in Kiamo Ko, she swept up the stairs in a hurry to get to her room in which she’d taken up residence in. She didn’t go back to the bedroom she and Glinda had used, the memories of their short while together in it still too painful and the pain of her loss too fresh.
Focusing on the child and the slippers was safe. It meant she didn’t have to feel the loss so deeply.
She tugged her hat lower on her head and walked through the wooden doors into the cavernous room.
She would bide her time and wait for the perfect time to strike. Elphaba was wicked not stupid. It was only a matter of time before they slipped up and that would be the perfect chance to strike.
Till then, she would wait.