Chapter 12
“I don’t understand.” Fiyero paces the length of the room, occasionally glancing at his winged friend who looks almost peaceful on the sofa. “Why is she still unconscious? Actually, why is she unconscious in the first place?” It’s been a day. Fiyero has never known anyone to be unconscious for that long without any physical injury.
“Mental fatigue as well as reacting badly with Morrible’s magic, I assume.” Elphaba says quietly, the worry evident in her eyes.
“You think magic was involved?” Fiyero stops and raises a questioning brow.
“It has to have been.” Elphaba argues.
Fiyero sighs. “She was pushed to her limit.”
“No.” Elphaba’s eyes don’t leave Glinda’s form. “She was pushed far beyond it.”
Fiyero looks at Glinda, silently agreeing with the green girl. In her state, she almost looks peaceful. Almost.
There’s an almost imperceptible crease between her eyebrows that Fiyero catches his green friend staring at with a frown. Despite their current predicament, Fiyero finds himself biting back a smile. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed since their days back at Shiz. The one person Elphaba truly and completely cares about is Glinda.
Fiyero remembers feeling like he was coming between the two, remembers dating Glinda and sharing a moment with Elphaba, but even then, he knew that the love the girls had for each other far outweighed whatever he may have felt for either of them or vice versa. So he left things well enough alone when Glinda had jumped onto the train with Elphaba.
Now he realises what he should have done was pull them both off it. Regret is a funny thing.
“Should I leave?” Fiyero asks quietly.
Elphaba’s eyes widen. “Oz Fiyero, I’d forgotten about you two-”
“Ancient history.” Fiyero cuts her off with a small smile.
Elphaba stares for a moment, mouth agape, then nods. Fiyero gladly moves over to Corvex’s perch and nudges the Bird who grumpily mumbles something, but ultimately follows Fiyero out.
“Do you think Fae’s going to get all mushy?” He asks, amused.
“Maybe.” Fiyero returns the Crow’s cocky grin. “I’ve missed you.”
“Oh no! Now you’re getting all mushy. I’m warning you, if you hug me, you might lose an eye.”
“No one wants to hug you.” Fiyero quips. “I bet it’d be like hugging a cactus.”
“And don’t you forget it.” The Bird levels his beak at Fiyero. “So what, you’re just third wheeling them?”
“Why? You want to kiss me? I’m sorry, but I don’t love Animals in that way.”
Corvex aims a swipe with his wing at the prince, and Fiyero dodges masterfully.
A sudden, very loud thump from inside interrupts their banter. The two share a quick glance before Fiyero quickly opens the door and rushes inside.
His eyes are drawn to the mess. The table has been toppled over and Glinda stands frozen, hand raised mid-strike. Elphaba’s chest heaves and one hand is thrust in front of her, no doubt holding the spell in place?
“What happened?” Fiyero asks, trying to survey the green girl for any damage. None, thankfully.
“She woke up.” Elphaba grunts.
Fiyero looks between the two, sees the feral expression on Glinda’s face, sees Elphaba wavering and says, “Knock her out.”
Elphaba’s eyes widen. “What? Fiyero no-”
“It will end much worse if you don’t Elphaba.” He argues. “Remember the palace. This way, no one truly gets hurt”
A moment of fear enters Elphaba’s eyes followed by guilt as she waves her hand. Glinda’s eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls forward. Elphaba rushes forward to catch her, adjusting the girl in her arms before laying her gently on the ground.
“She’s out to kill you.” Fiyero says softly, and Elphaba nods.
“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” She sounds so exhausted.
“It’s not you.” He reassures her. “It’s Morrible. And the Wizard.” He adds for good measure.
Elphaba shakes her head. “I’m clearly triggering her though.”
“You don’t know that it’s just you.” He says softly, receiving a disbelieving expression from the green girl. “Back at the palace, she didn’t flinch when you approached nor did she try to kill you. Her main target was me.”
Fiyero frowns. It is concerning.
“I should go.” Elphaba says shortly. “I’m only hurting her- I should leave, I should-”
Fiyero grabs her arm. “Don’t you dare.”
Elphaba looks at him surprised.
“Elphaba, you abandoned her once, we both did, so don’t you dare try to escape that now.”
“I’m not-” She stutters. “I’m only hurting her, Fiyero.” She snaps. “If I’m around her, she only slips back into that state.”
“So you’re just going to run?”
“I caused this.” She gestures at the blonde, at the mess.
“Then fix it!” He snaps. “You’re not alone. You have me and, even though he’s not very helpful, Corvex.”
“Hey!”
“But don’t you dare leave her again.”
Pain flashes across Elphaba’s face like lightning, her walls crumbling in almost an instant. “I just don’t want to hurt her.” Her voice is small.
“She’s already hurt.” Fiyero softens.
“I don’t want to hurt her more.”
“Elphaba, out of all of us, you’re probably the only one who can help her.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You just… know her best.” Fiyero shrugs.
“That’s a terrible reason.” Elphaba scoffs.
“No,” brown eyes meet green. “it isn’t.”
***
Fiyero doesn’t get angry very easily. In fact, there are so few times Fiyero has been angry, he can count them on one hand. He remembers one of those times being when he heard Morrible’s announcement about Elphaba. He simply refused to believe her.
Two years later, he finds himself furious at the same woman. He gazes down at Glinda who looks… frail. In all the time he’s known Glinda Upland, he never thought that would be a word he would use to describe her.
The line of her collarbone is a lot more defined, her hair is a few shades paler than her usual golden locks, her skin is also bears a worrying paleness, the crease between her eyebrows remains ever-present, and of course, the most notable change are the wings tucked into her back. They’re a brilliant pure white and quite large too.
Elphaba has tucked herself into a corner of the room, book in hand. However, Fiyero doubts she’s reading any words at all since she keeps glancing at the girl, and the book is flipped upon to a random page, completely upside down.
Fiyero sighs, and walks over to the green girl, settling next to her. “Hiding, are we?”
“Are those really necessary?” She complains, gesturing at the cloth restraints tying Glinda to the sofa.
“She tried to attack you.” Fiyero says smoothly as Elphaba’s shoulders slump.
“I don’t want to…”
“I know.”
“This is insane, isn’t it?”
“Completely bloody bonkers.” He chuckles humorlessly. “Look at our ragtag group. I daresay I’m the only normal one here.”
“Is it because Corvex is an Animal?” Elphaba narrows her eyes at him.
“No, it’s because he’s Corvex.”
“I hate you.” The Bird grumbles from his perch.
“You’re not much better.” Elphaba quips.
“Are you really comparing me to Fiyero?”
“You should be honoured.”
Fiyero looks back at Elphaba, glad to see a small amused smile gracing her lips. He can do this, at least.
It doesn’t last long though, fading into a troubled look. “Fiyero,”
“Yeah?”
“When she woke up, she tried to attack me.”
“Yes.”
“I can’t be here when she wakes up.” Elphaba sounds like she’s forcing the words out.
Fiyero frowns. “We talked about this.”
Elphaba shakes her head. “I’m not leaving, but I can’t be around when she wakes up. It will only make her slip into whatever state she was in.”
“So where will you go?”
“I’ll be in the house.” She assures. “Just until we find a workaround.”
Fiyero lets his head drop back with a frustrated huff. “What am I going to do? How am I supposed to…?”
“I don’t know.” She says quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think anyone does.”
It’s afternoon when Glinda wakes again.
It’s so quiet, so uneventful that Fiyero doesn’t even realise it until he glances over and sees two empty brown irises staring at him, studying him.
He jumps, immediately scrambling to his feet, and rushing to her side. She doesn’t fight against her binds, in fact, she barely reacts.
“Glinda?” He tries.
Oz, what had they done to her?
She tilts her head, albeit awkwardly due to her curious position.
“Hi.” He says nervously, inwardly congratulating himself on the steadiness of his voice.
“Hello.” She croaks. “You’re…” She furrows her brows, opening her mouth and closing it a few times before sighing in frustration.
“Fiyero.” He supplies.
“I know you.” She states.
“You do.”
“How?”
Fiyero swallows past the ache in his throat and provides a weak smile. “Do you remember Shiz?”
She nods slowly. “A little bit.”
He exhales. “That’s how.”
“Madame?” She asks, her eyes scanning the room, squinting while doing so.
“Morrible isn’t here.” Fiyero says hurriedly, needing to get the point across. “Glinda, she can’t hurt you anymore.”
Glinda recoils at that. “What?”
“She’s not here. She can’t hurt you.” Fiyero repeats, more slowly.
To that, Glinda shakes her head vehemently.
“Glinda, I promise, you’re safe.”
“No I-” She shakes her head again. “No.”
“Glinda-”
She turns away, refusing to listen to any of his words. Fiyero looks back at Corvex who gives him an uncertain shrug.
So far the interaction hasn’t gone as terribly as Fiyero thought it might though, so Fiyero holds onto that, his shoulders drooping a little as he returns to his spot at the corner. It’s clear that Glinda isn’t open to talking now.
Oz, this is going to be hard.