Please, Drag Me Down
The balloon finally made its way to the ground. Neither of the women knew how to operate the contraption, but with some trial and error, they learned how to maneuver the machine into a gradual descent. The balloon touched down in a grassy meadow surrounded by a dense forest, and the women climbed out of the basket. Elphaba breathed with relief, feeling slightly queasy from being up in the air for so long. She gripped the strap of her which hung her shoulder, which held the Grimmorie inside.
‘Where do you think we are?’ Glinda asked. She sounded haggard, and Elphaba could see the gooseflesh that permeated her arm. With a start, she remembered that her friend lost her cardigan when they were evading the newly winged monkeys.
‘Glinda, why didn’t you say anything?’ Elphaba asked with concern, as she took off her black sweater.
‘Oh well you know, black has never really been my colour.’ Glinda said sheepishly, but she nonetheless accepted the sweater and shrugged it over her shoulders.
Elphaba frowned slightly, before movement caught her attention. She whipped around and saw an antelope, cautiously peering from behind the trees. When the antelope saw that they took notice of her, she quickly hid back behind the trees, disappearing from view.
‘Wait, don’t leave! We won’t hurt you!’ Elphaba called out, a desperate plea in her voice.
They were met with silence, and an entourage of trees that seemed thoroughly unimpressed with the green witch’s advocacy. Elphaba was used to other people’s scorn and disgust, so the animal's dismissal should not have impacted her in any such way. But it did. Oh so it did, for the events of the day fell on her like a storm, and she sank to her knees and cried a deluge of tears. She was wracked with guilt and regret, as memories of Chisteries cries of pain and the flurries of blue feathers reverberated in her mind.
How can I set everything right? She thought.
Before she knew it, her breaths had escalated beyond her control, as her vision grew blurry and she clutched her hands to her chest. Glinda’s soft hands broke the spell, fingers that gingerly touched her shoulder as she knelt down in front of her friend.
‘Elphie, I am right here. It’s okay, everything will be okay.’ Glinda’s voice felt like an echo, and she could feel Glinda’s hand cup her face as tears fell down her cheek.
Despite herself, she let out a small laugh.
‘Glinda, things are as bad as they could possibly be! I’m pretty sure we’re fugitives right now, but I can’t go back to the Wizard! I just can’t!’
Even in her state, she could see Glinda physically pale at the realization, but to her credit, she shook her head and grabbed her shoulders with a little more force, as if she could physically shake Elphaba back to reality.
‘I-I wish-’ Glinda cut herself off when she looked back into Elphaba’s eyes, and she could tell that her friend was holding herself back from saying something.
She took a deep breath before saying, ‘Why do you think he wants to change the animals?’
The question caught Elphaba off guard, but she pondered the question nonetheless. It was clear now that the Wizard was behind the disappearances of animals throughout the kingdom. But why? What would motivate this level of action against them?
‘I am not sure’ Elphaba replied at last. ‘But, maybe we can find out.’
Glinda met Elphaba’s eyes with alarm.
‘Us?’ Find out?’ Glinda’s voice raised with every word. ‘What exactly do you expect us to do against The Wizard? He is the most powerful man in the world, and I understand that you are feeling particularly rebellious, but I do not want to be roped into these.. These … shenanigans!’ Glinda spit the last word out, as if it were a burden she removed from her chest.
Elphaba did not feel sympathy for her friend's plight. Through gritted teeth, she replied, ‘Shenanigans? I didn’t throw my chance away with the Wizard on silly whimsy, or for the fun of it! I had to do this, he was going to use me and my power to hurt the animals.’
‘Who cares about those furries! Sorry not sorry, but I can’t believe that I just threw my entire life away!’
Elphaba scoffed before she could stop herself.
At Glinda’s indignant look, she sighed and muttered, ‘‘Nevermind, it doesn’t matter.’
Glinda let out a small laugh. ‘Clearly it is, and since we are laying everything out on the table, you might as well come and say what you have been dying to say to me.’
As if you don’t already know, Elphaba thought.
‘Oh Elphie, frowning your face like that will give you wrinkles.’ Glinda’s voice was teasing, one shade away from cruel.
Fine then, she thought, and all inhibitions fell away.
‘Little miss princess, finally having her bubble burst as to what the world can truly be like’ Elphaba mimicked in a high pitched voice. ‘If you think changing one syllable in your name was life changing, wait till you experience ostracism, I am sure you will experience little change in lifestyle.’
‘I am very proud of my new name, I think it suits me very well.’ Glinda said smugly. ‘And I have had ostrich before, it wasn’t up to my tastes.’
‘That’s not what - ugh, that’s just my point! You are so self-centered, I do not know how you can see past the tip of your nose.’
Glinda’s chest swelled up as she took a step towards Elphaba, crossing her arms, ‘Well you are so self-righteous! What makes you think that you know better than all of us, that you know better than the Wizard?’
‘I am not so morally superior to have the difficulty in knowing that hurting others is wrong!’
‘Well, it’s a great thing you have a good sense for the law, since. We. Are. Now. Fugitives!’ With every last word, Glinda took more steps towards Elphaba, pointing her finger at her to punctuate every word till they were almost nose to nose, and her finger was grazing the fabric of Elphaba’s dress.
‘Do you guys always fight like this?’ a timid voice called from behind them.
They turned around and saw the antelope, her fear of the women supposedly gone as she ventured out of the trees and onto the clearing. She was wearing a simple frock that was buckled underneath her abdomen, and a bandana was tied at the base of her neck, the red ties coming up snugly behind her horns.
‘It’s been known to happen.’ Elphaba said shakily, but Glinda heard the tentative smile in her voice.
‘But, would you mind telling us where we are? I am afraid we’re a little turned around.’ Elphaba’s voice was soft, and she had her hands up, trying to show the antelope that they were no threat.
‘You’re in Winkie Country, in the west.’ She paused, hopping from foot to foot before looking up at Elphaba, ‘you just came from the Emerald City, didn’t you?’
Elphaba’s mouth snapped shut, but Glinda compensated for the silence.
‘Oh, you’re just saying that because you heard us fighting earlier!’
‘No- well yes, you two were speaking quite loudly, and there were a lot of specific details in your conversations, I don’t know how you could expect me not to know. But -’
She paused again, before continuing.
‘News has spread of what happened between you and the Wizard in the Emerald City. The monkeys you created have been flying around the kingdom, trying to track down your balloon.’
Elphaba, physically flinched at the mention of the monkeys, but the antelope didn’t seem to notice.
‘You know, it's actually somewhat of a miracle that they didn’t track down that balloon already.’ she finished quizzically, peering at the balloon over the womens’ shoulders.
‘I guess we finally got lucky,’ Glinda said, but the words sounded hollow.
‘What's your name?” Elphaba asked.
The antelope brightened, ‘I am Hilde, I work at the library. If you come with me, we can help you.’
Neither woman moved, their trust fraying and fragile.
‘Please, you can trust me. I- I used to know Dr. Dillamund, Elphaba.’ Hilde’s voice quivered over the goat’s name. ‘He told me about the new student at school who showed so much promise, and who was his friend. Whatever happened in the Emerald City, I have to believe that there is more to the story.’
Relief washed over Elphaba, and she looked at Glinda, pleadingly for her agreement. She wanted Glinda to come with her, needed her to. But she didn’t want to force her friend anymore than she already had. Perhaps she could tell her that it was okay, that she could leave if she really wanted to.
But before she could form the words in her mouth, Glinda sighed and took Elphaba’s hand.
‘We’ll go to the library and settle down. Then we will figure out what to do next, okay?’ Glinda's smile was grim, but there was a determined look in her eye.
Elphaba was hesitant, but should she be? Glinda was her best friend, and there was no one she trusted more, except for maybe Fiyero.
‘I will need a shower and a bed to rest, a memory foam mattress is preferable!’ Glinda called to antelope and they made their way over.
Elphaba smiled to herself. Yes, she could do this with Glinda, together. If they worked in tandem, there was nothing that they wouldn’t be able to accomplish.