The Witches of Oz

The towers of the city blocked the afternoon sun and cast shadows over the streets being traversed by Fiyero Tiggular. Outsiders called it ‘The City at Kumbricia’s Pass’ but to Fiyero’s people it was simply ‘The City’ because it was the only one in the West. Generally anyone who wasn’t born in the West, and many who were, found the city dreary because the stone to build it had be laboriously carved out of the nearby mountains over generations. The castle of the royal family, built at the request of the first Gillikinese Queen of the Vinkus several centuries ago, was at the centre of the city.

Fiyero sauntered casually to the open gate of his family home and greeted the guard.

“Avaric! They have you on gate duty now? Congratulations!”

“Prince Fiyero?” exclaimed the former driver.

“The one and only.”

“We heard you’d been kidnapped, sir! Your parents were just about to meet with the Wizard’s Emissary to discuss the matter I believe.”

“Be a good fellow and send a message to them that I’m quite all right, would you? I’ll wait for them in the third floor drawing room next to the library. Oh and have them ask my sisters, whichever ones are home, to come along too.”

“Of course sir,” replied the stunned Avaric as Fiyero entered the castle.

Despite the fact he hadn’t been home for years he still remembered the way to the third floor drawing room, he hoped that his directions would be clear enough for Elphaba to find the library – he hardly felt it necessary to worry about her being seen, anyone who could get into the Wizard’s own Throne room certainly didn’t need assistance in the area of stealthy movement. He leaned against the table, resisting the urge to look in the library and see if she was there yet, and waited for his family to arrive. He barely registered the fact his mother had entered the room, several minutes later, before she had started speaking.

“Fiyero Tiggular! How dare you come home and give us no warning? We were so worried about you after that message from the Emerald City!”

“Mother. Father. I apologise for causing you worry, I’m afraid the situation has been misrepresented somewhat.”

The Queen of the Vinkus, a small blonde woman who looked at least ten years younger than her forty-six years, embraced her son tightly cutting off anything else he might have to say. His father, a tall stern man with dark brown hair, stood nearby and waited for his wife to finish scolding their son.

“Misrepresented how?” asked the King, who was also named Fiyero. “What we heard was that on the day of your engagement to one Glinda Upland, commonly known as Glinda the Good, you were abducted by another woman identified only as the Wicked Witch. And, I might add, no matter what the circumstances it is generally considered good manners to inform your family before you propose to a woman.”

“Yes,” agreed Fiyero. “But you see it was a surprise engagement party and I didn’t want to embarrass the young lady by refusing her in public. And now that you mention informing your family, that brings me to the reason I’m here...”

His short speech was interrupted by two young women running into the room.

“Fiyero!!” shrieked his two youngest sisters in unison as they threw themselves at him and embraced him fiercely. He managed to splutter the names of the pair.

“Kalira. Minna.”

“Stop choking your brother, girls,” commanded the King. “He was just explaining to us what has been going on recently.”

“We know,” said Kalira with a grin.

“We listened outside the door,” added Minna as they let go of their brother and straightened out their gowns.

“Very well, let him continue then. You were saying?”

“Yes...I was saying the lady with whom I departed the Emerald City is definitely not a ‘Wicked Witch’ and is the one to whom I intend to propose to. We were on our way to Kiamo Ko but she feels that we should have your permission to take up residence.”

“Fiyero’s getting married?” exclaimed his sisters.

“I would very much appreciate it if you didn’t declare my intentions before I have a chance to do so myself,” he hesitated then decided to give them a little warning. “Try not to stare for too long.”

“Why would we stare, dear?” asked his mother curiously.

“You’ll see why...just try to keep an open mind please,” his voice took on a more confident tone. “I must also respectfully ask the King to understand that I am introducing him to my intended as a courtesy and not to seek his permission for the union – I am going to marry her.”

“We respect your position and we will all keep an open mind in this meeting,” agreed the King on behalf of the family. That was not really a guarantee of anything except the fact that he wanted to satisfy his own curiosity as well.

Fiyero nodded and walked over to the heavy wooden door that led to the library.

“She’s in here.”

The woman was wearing a black dress with her long black hair tied neatly at the base of her neck. She was standing in front of a shelf, with her back to them, reading the spines of the books.

“Elphaba,” said Fiyero softly. “My family is here to meet you.”

“Forgive my bad manners,” she said in a soft pleasant tone. “I was absorbed in your magnificent book collection.”

“Mother, Father. Miss Elphaba Thropp.”

The woman turned around and curtsied to the royals. Even with her head down, and her arms covered to the hands, her skin colour and identity based on descriptions from the Emerald City were obvious. The King made a move back towards the door.

Fiyero muttered “open mind, remember?” then walked over to Elphaba and assisted her in standing up.

“Elphaba. These are my parents, the King and Queen of the Vinkus, and my two youngest sisters; Princess Kalira and Princess Minna.”

Elphaba gripped his hand tightly and managed a brief smile.

“So the infamous lady has a name after all,” remarked the King examining her rather critically. “You’re younger than I expected.”

“I prefer the term notorious myself,” remarked Elphaba her voice barely this side of sarcasm. Fiyero winced and squeezed her hand in hope of communicating that this was not the time to unleash her temper.

“And how is it that you came to be acquainted with my son?”

She ignored his question and turned to Fiyero.

“Next time I tell you something is the worst idea you’ve ever had, you will listen won’t you?”

“Elphaba...” He sighed and looked at his family. “You were right – I should have known that they would be no better than the rest of Oz. You go, I’ll see you later.”

Elphaba let go of his hand and started backing away, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the King and Queen.

“The Wizard is very keen to get his hands on this woman,” remarked the King, as if he was commenting on the weather. “His messenger has told us that he would make a formal alliance with us in return for her capture in the Vinkus.”

Elphaba was instantly on the defensive, she whirled around putting her back to the window and her face took on the look a cornered animal gets that says it would fight to the death rather than be taken alive.

“That sounds like a threat.” she observed in a deceptively calm tone.

“Elphaba...”

“Fiyero. Don’t worry I won’t hurt your family.”

“You can’t believe anything the Wizard says.” Fiyero told his father. “He is a fraud and no Wizard at all! He wants to capture Elphaba because he is afraid of her power... he can’t control her and she won’t ally herself with him. She has been helping the Animals escape him for the last four years. I met one of the Lions myself, an Elder named Edest, who welcomed both of us into his den on the basis of her actions!”

“I find it difficult to believe that the Wizard fears her,” retorted the King, seeming to dismiss his son’s words entirely. “He rules most of Oz, what could this small, unremarkable, female do against him? Rescuing Animals is well enough but that is hardly more than a minor inconvenience, especially if they are leaving the areas he rules anyway.”

“What does the Wizard have to fear from me?” answered Elphaba, staring coldly at him. “Do you really want to know?”

When he saw the expression on Elphaba’s face Fiyero sighed and took a step backwards.

“Try not to break anything valuable,” he suggested then looked at his family and added. “You might want to move, her aim gets a bit erratic when she’s angry.”

“What are you going to do?” said Minna scornfully. “Throw things at us?”

Elphaba turned to face the girl, who backed away until she was behind her father.

“Throw things?” she replied, her conversational tone at odds with the harsh expression she was directing at Minna. “Yes, in a manner of speaking... or perhaps a different kind of demonstration. Unless would you’d just like to run away now?”

“I am a Princess of the Vinkus! We do not run from anyone, no matter how unnatural they are!”

Minna was in the air before any of the family realised what was going on, even Fiyero hadn’t expected something as dramatic as his sister hovering almost eight feet above the floor. He was certain, however, that Elphaba wouldn’t really hurt Minna and was just making a point that definitely needed to be made.

“Remember what I said about breaking things,” he commented mildly, while the rest of the family looked on in shock.

“Let her go!” ordered the King. Elphaba looked from him to the Princess.

“Are you sure?” she asked, tilting her head as if considering the notion carefully. “It is rather a long drop, you know? But if you insist…”

Minna screamed as she fell almost all of the way to the floor only to stop and be placed gently on her feet – she almost instantly collapsed into a sobbing heap.

“I lost my sister recently,” explained Elphaba pleasantly. “I wouldn’t inflict that pain on Fiyero. Now that that’s all sorted out, are you going to let us go or are you going to try to capture me?”

“Let’s just go,” said Fiyero before anyone could answer. “My family hasn’t been happy with my life choices for a long time anyway and I realise now that it was definitely a mistake to come here.”

“Elphaba Thropp?”

They all were surprised to hear the Queen’s voice responding to Fiyero’s remark.

“Your Majesty?”

“Do you fight the Wizard because you want his power for yourself?”

“I fight the Wizard because he has wronged the people of Oz,” replied Elphaba, her voice suddenly intense with sincerity. “I have no desire to rule anyone but myself and I have yet to master that particular feat.”

“Perhaps we were hasty to judge you,” suggested the Queen, glancing at the King with an expression Elphaba couldn’t quite define. “We should know better than anyone how strangers can be judged by those in the centre of Oz.”

“My Queen makes a good point,” agreed the King cautiously. “You are clearly a witch...”

“I have never claimed to be otherwise,” interrupted Elphaba. Fiyero was amused to notice that the years hadn’t erased that tendency.

“But your wickedness seems to be a matter of opinion.”

“Well that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” interjected Fiyero in exasperation.

“Fiyero, you also said that the Wizard was a fraud why is that so?”

“He has no magical powers; he is only a man.”

“A man who tricked me into casting a spell on innocent Animals for him to use as spies,” added Elphaba fiercely. “Who then convinced most of Oz that caging Animals was a good thing. He made the Animals the enemies of Oz to ‘bring the people together’! He, and others, arranged the death of my sister as a trap to capture me. He rules the North, and the centre, and soon the East of Oz.”

“The Vinkus are a greater threat than the Quadlings of the South ever could be,” concluded Fiyero. “That’s the other reason I wanted to come here, to warn you not to trust anything the Wizard says. No one has ever said it outright but I spent enough time in the Emerald City to realise that he wants to rule all of Oz!”

“So you want to use Kiamo Ko as a base of operations to fight the Wizard?” said the King, jumping to conclusions in Elphaba’s opinion.

“That’s not the way I’d put it,” demurred Fiyero. “And I really did want you to meet Elphaba before we went there.”

“Until you actually did at least,” interjected Elphaba. She turned to Fiyero and remarked, “I have to say your family more than fulfilled my expectations of how this was going to go.”

“There speaks the voice of cynical realism...” agreed Fiyero. “As opposed to the optimistic expectations I had for today. Fortunately for me Elphaba is restrained enough to resist telling me ‘I told you so’”

“Only because you are so gracious in admitting that I was right.”

“Please give us the opportunity to prove you wrong,” offered the King. “On behalf of all of us I wish to make a formal apology to you. Don’t go just yet, we have not seen our son for quite a few years and I would like you both to stay a while longer before you leave for Kiamo Ko.”

Elphaba looked at Fiyero and shrugged, he knew his family far better than she could so it was up to him.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I certainly wouldn’t after such rudeness.”

Minna finally regained control of herself and stood up again. She folded her arms across her chest and stared insolently at Elphaba until her sister smacked her arm.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your family reunion... anymore than I have,” Elphaba told Fiyero quietly. “Thank you for the invitation, your majesty,” she said stiffly to the King. “I have other things to do anyway.”

Ignoring his family Fiyero hugged Elphaba and whispered in her ear.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right if I stay?”

“Just fine,” she whispered back and kissed him, much to the obvious disgust of his sisters and more subtle disapproval of his parents.

“She does know we’re on the third floor doesn’t she?” remarked Minna snidely.

“Yes, she does,” replied Elphaba in her most dry sarcastic tone as she stepped onto the balcony. “That’s why we wicked witches have magic broomsticks.”

She picked up the broomstick from its hiding place, leapt off the balcony, seating herself on the broom midair, and disappeared into the sky.

“Oh my,” said Kalira in awe.

“So,” said Fiyero, clapping his hands together in an imitation of joviality. “Who’s going to start? Come on, I’m sure there must be things you all want to say.”

“This is the first time, in a long time, I’ve ever seen you willing to fight for something that wasn’t a direct benefit to yourself. Is that Miss Elphaba Thropp’s doing?” asked his father.

“It is... she cares so much about everything it’s hard not to be affected.”

“I think she’s a horrible, despicable, creature!” snapped Minna. “Did you see what she did to me? And you actually let her touch you like that?”

Minna drew a breath to continue her tirade only to be cut off by Kalira slapping her.

“Shut your mouth and use your eyes for a change! I don’t know about anyone else but I was embarrassed to be in the same room when they were looking at each other. It’s obvious to me that they are in love and I say we should let them get on with it!”

“Thank you Kalira,” said Fiyero with a smile. “I think you’d get along with Elphaba once the initial... reaction wears off – she likes books and Animals like you do. As for what she ‘did to you’ Minna, you deserved it for your inexcusable rudeness and you should be grateful that she put you down gently, particularly considering the fact I saw her do the same trick... on a room full of rocks that probably weighed more than you… just before she dissolved them into dust.”

“And you brought her here? I really think...”

“No one cares what you think Minna!” snapped Kalira. The youngest sister didn’t respond, simply left the room in a fit of temper.

“I realise that didn’t go very well,” said Fiyero to his parents and sister. “Elphaba warned me and I, fool that I am, reassured her that my family wouldn’t hate her based on first impressions... some judge of character I turned out to be!”

“You can stop rubbing it in now, Fiyero,” said his mother sternly. “Miss Elphaba was obviously just reacting to our reaction – no doubt the entire meeting would have gone differently if we had acted more properly.”

“Indeed. I apologise again as well, son,” said his father, which made Fiyero more suspicious of his motives rather than less so.

“I didn’t do a very good job of having an open mind. I hope we haven’t scared your... Elphaba away for good.”

“She’s had a bad few days – being rejected by my family isn’t really that high on her list of things that will upset her. That’s the thing, you see…”

As he continued it was obvious that he had only just had the thought himself.

“She doesn’t need your approval, she couldn’t care less what any of you think of her, and she just came here because I wanted her to...”

“You had no idea did you?” realised Kalira. “You really thought she was worried about meeting us when all along she probably knew exactly what would happen and came anyway because she loves you.”

“What an amazing thing,” said Fiyero, stunned by the revelation.

“He looks rather like he’s just been hit across the head with a stick doesn’t he?” remarked Kalira.

“It takes men a little while to process these things,” explained their mother. “I’m sure he’ll recover in a moment.”

“Where did Minna go?” said Kalira suddenly. “I just had the most awful thought... there’s that messenger from the Wizard downstairs...”

“I’ll go and check on him; Kalira you go to her room and all the other places she likes to sulk in. Yero, stay here and talk with your father. We’ll let you know what happens.”

“Do you think Minna would do that?” said Fiyero. “I mean she was so sweet when she was younger but she seems like a different girl now.”

“It’s hard to say, she gets so moody sometimes. Let’s not talk about that now, your mother was quite obvious about the fact she thought we should talk alone.”

“I did notice that. So...”

“So... you’re serious about marrying the young woman? How old is she anyway? Where is her family from? The name wasn’t familiar to me but that’s not unusual.”

“Elphaba,” he emphasised her name, “is twenty-six. Her family is from Munchkinland, her father and sister were both Governor of Munchkinland and her mother... well I don’t know where she was from but she died when Elphaba’s sister was born. And yes I am completely serious about marrying her, with or without your approval as I told you before you met her.”

“I’m not going to object, Fiyero. Elphaba is clearly as in love with you as you are with her and I know better than to argue with a man in love... I went through that with your sister Kalira’s fiancée.”

“Kalira is engaged? And no one told me?” asked Fiyero, changing the subject while he tried to process his father’s sudden change of heart about Elphaba – there had to be more to it.

“We only finalised the agreement yesterday, I haven’t even told Kalira yet – I believe she is still under the impression that your mother and I don’t even know about her feelings. The young man is coming to dinner tonight where I’m going to make things official.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense, who is he? Anyone I know?”

“He’s common born, hence the problem obviously, and you do know him.”

“I didn’t want to say anything before you confirmed it but would I be right in guessing that the man in question is Master Avaric?”

“You knew about them?”

“I had my suspicions that’s all.”

“I’m granting him a title and some land but they’ll live here for awhile, the castle is so big we probably won’t know they’re here... you could do the same if you wanted to.”

“I think everyone would be better off if we didn’t. Besides, it might take me awhile to talk Elphaba into marriage and you know how mother feels about sleeping arrangements in these situations.”

“You don’t think she wants to marry you?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that... I think she wants me to be able to change my mind without feeling like I’m breaking a commitment. I’m not really sure, I certainly haven’t even hinted at the idea yet – she’s still adjusting to the fact that I left Glinda to go with her.

Of course just the fact that you haven’t disowned me for... shall we say ‘consorting’ with her will probably put you at the top of the Wizard’s enemies list... right after Elphaba herself naturally. So we’ll both understand if you publicly disassociate yourself from our actions.”

“The Wizard has been looking for an excuse to annex the Vinkus for years and we’ve been preparing for it for years. Not only will I not disown you, I will, if you wish it, announce to the rest of Oz that both of you are in the Vinkus with my permission and approval.”

In the short time since Elphaba left the King had considered, very carefully, all the facts of the matter and, to put it bluntly, gotten over his initial reaction to the woman and seen her potential as a valuable ally – that was not to say he approved of her personally but he could stand to put up with his discomfort for the sake of defending his kingdom.

“Really? I’m... surprised considering....”

“My reaction... I don’t deal well with surprises but I’ve had time to think now and that is what I have decided. If she will accept perhaps you could bring her to dinner? It would only be the family who are here and Avaric, who will soon be part of our family.”

“I’ll see what I can do, I’ll certainly be there but Elphaba will probably decline... unless you want to talk politics with her in which case she probably would be interested.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh yes, she probably knows at least as much about the politics of the Vinkus as you do...I know she keeps asking me questions I don’t know the answers to! Or I could tell her you offered to let her into the library again that would get her here quicker than the thought of discussing politics... though you’d have trouble pulling her away from the books. Unless I hid her glasses of course but then she might get upset with me and there are just some words a man can’t let his...lady say in front of his sisters.”

“I am beginning to get the impression that ‘lady’ isn’t the most appropriate term for Miss Elphaba.”

“No, probably not, but she only swears when she’s angry, which is bound to be less than the people she heard the words from. She’s really quite sweet when she’s not defending herself against the prejudice of others.”

“I would like the chance to find out,” agreed his father. “If she doesn’t want to come to dinner just bring her for another visit... we’ll lock Minna in her room so she can’t be offensive.”

“Yes she’s definitely no match for Elphaba and the last thing we need is Minna screeching.”

“Finished arguing yet?” asked Kalira cheekily, sticking her head through the doorway. “I found Minna, she was sulking in the attic, and she’s very disappointed that she didn’t think of running off to tell the Wizard’s Emissary that we had the Wicked Witch right here in the castle!”

“We were not fighting,” said their father. “And I hope you locked her bedroom door?”

“Of course! I’m glad you weren’t fighting, does that mean I get to meet Elphaba again?”

“I’m going to try and talk her into dinner tonight.”

“Wonderful! Mother will be pleased; she was fretting all the way downstairs that Father was going to disown you!”

“Why couldn’t she have been born first?” remarked Fiyero. “She’d be so much a better ruler than I will!”

“You’ll have Elphaba to help you,” said Kalira with a grin. “Besides I’m thinking of running away to become a milkmaid, what do you think?”

“I always pictured you as the reclusive scholar type... I think you should marry her off soon, Father, it might calm her down a bit!”

“Ha!” retorted Kalira, pulling a face at them both. “That’s all I have to say about that, I have no intention what so ever of calming down until I’m at least forty, later if I can manage it... or dead of course!”

“I pity your future husband, whoever he may be.”

Their father shot Fiyero a ‘that will do’ look and turned to Kalira.

“Are you finished?”

“Oh yes. Forgive the intrusion but all of the books are in here and I had planned to read this afternoon.”

“I think you should have made her stay at that school for young ladies a bit longer, father, she’s got a few rough edges,” teased Fiyero.

“At least I only ever got kicked out of one school!” retorted his sister. “Besides the library there was terrible! Fiyero would have liked it though – full of empty headed pretty girls! Though I’ll be fair and admit that he seems to have finally grown up.”

“You’re too kind. So, what are you reading at the moment?”

“Theories of Animal evolution. You see there are...”

“A number of different theories on how Animal and animal evolution diverged in the distant past.”

“You’ve read it?” exclaimed his sister in disbelief.

“No, Elphaba was telling me about the other night – I was having trouble sleeping.”

“Did it work?”

“It would have, I think, but I was too busy watching the way she smiles when she’s talking about something that interests her to actually pay attention to what she was talking about.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“Yes… she glared at me and said that was nice but it wouldn’t help me sleep.”

“A woman after my own heart,” said Kalira with a smile. “Oh Father, Mother wanted to know how many are going to be here for dinner?”

“Tell her it’s just us, you, Minna, Yero, possibly Miss Elphaba and one other guest – she knows who.”

“Ooh a mystery guest what fun. Only possibly? Is it because Minna’s being a brat? If so I’ll pound some sense into her for you!”

“Elphaba isn’t a big fan of people anyway. Actually I think I’ll go and talk to Minna… not about this afternoon just a little brother-sister chat.”

“No hitting,” ordered their father. “Other than that, you have a few hours before dinner. May I ask where you and Miss Elphaba are staying?”

“Just with some friends of hers,” replied Fiyero, not exactly being evasive just not being specific. “Is Min still in the same room?”

“Yes,” answered Kalira. “I left the key in the lock.”

“Go away,” shouted Princess Minna Tiggular when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

“Min. It’s me, Fiyero. I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now but…”

“Fiyero? Come in!”

Fiyero unlocked the door and was immediately assaulted, in the hug-you-until-you-can’t-breathe sense, by his youngest sister.

“Who are you and where is that horrible girl who pretended to be my sister earlier?”

“Oh Fiyero, I’m so sorry! You know me I’m always talking before I think and I was angry about something that had nothing to do with you or your friend!”

“Mother and Father didn’t mention...”

“They don’t know…”

“Would you like to tell me?”

“I was in love with someone – we were going to be engaged as soon as he finished university.”

“What happened?”

“It was wonderful, our families had already agreed unofficially then… I got a letter from him, yesterday, it’s about three months old. You know how letters get lost out here sometimes. It was a letter telling me that… that….”

Minna burst into tears and dropped face down on her bed.

“It’s on the table,” she sobbed, Fiyero picked up the only letter on the desk and read it quickly.

Lady Minna,

I hope I find you well. I write to inform you that, when I graduate in two weeks, I am to be married to Miss Linai Arlent of the Glikkus. Please forgive any impression I may have given you that we are anything other than friends. I hope that we will remain so in the future.
Sincerely, Laryk Lesdahn.

“Arlent? Aren’t they in emerald mining?”

“Yes,” sniffed Minna lifting her head up out of the pillows. “Very rich and powerful. After I got the letter I spoke to his cousin, who is one of mother’s ladies, and she said the family had no idea - none of them have heard from him for months.”

“He sounds like a complete… I remember that wedding. Obviously I didn’t know he was your fiancé, however unofficially, or I would have called him out. The girl, Linai, she‘s a friend of Glinda’s and I only got out of going because I had a prior obligation.”

“Tell me,” said Minna, using her curiousity to distract herself from her personal anguish. “How did you go from being Captain of the Wizard’s Guards and engaged to Glinda the Good to eloping, or whatever it is, with Miss Elphaba Thropp who, by most accounts, is the enemy of all Oz?”

“It’s a long story… well a long explanation really. By the time I realised I loved Elphaba she had been fighting the Wizard for over a year and no one had been able to find her. I joined the guards and later took the position of Captain because I wanted to find her. A few days ago she turned up in the Wizard’s palace and we escaped together.

I ended up engaged to Glinda, earlier that day, because she surprised me with an engagement party and I didn’t want to embarrass her. I do care about Glinda, despite her misguided beliefs about the Wizard, she’s sweet, kind, and pretty but I don’t love her… I could have loved her but only if I’d never met Elphaba. In fact when I met Glinda, it was Galinda then, I thought she was the sort of girl I’d marry and Elphaba was just her strange roommate. Something happened that changed my feelings; I got confused and backed off. They went to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard and when Glinda got back everything was different even though we acted like it was the same and I believed it was for a while.”

“And poor Elphaba had no idea how you felt for all those years?”

“No. She nearly fainted when I said I was going with her.” He almost smiled as he remembered that day, it seemed so long ago but it really had been just under a week.

“Guards, guards!!” shouted the Wizard. Fiyero and the other guards ran into the throne room.

“Halt!”

“Are you alright, your Ozness?” asked Fiyero.

“Fiyero!” exclaimed Elphaba.

“I don't believe it...”

“Oh Fiyero, thank Oz!”

“Silence witch!!!”

“There's a Goat on the lam, sir.”

“Never mind all that. Just fetch me some water.”

“Water, sir?”

“You heard me, as much as you can carry.”

“Yes, sir!” replied the guards marching out of the throne room.

“Fiyero... not you too…”

“I said silence!” repeated Fiyero, holding his gun and walking towards the giant head.

“Help!” shouted the wizard as Fiyero dragged him out of the head.

“Don't make a sound, Your Ozness, unless you want all your guests to know the truth about the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Elphaba I’ll find Dillamond later now get out of here.”

“You frightened me Fiyero. I thought you'd changed.”

“I have... changed.”

Glinda entered the throne room at the worst possible moment.

“What's going on... Elphie? Oh, thank Oz you're alive!” She hugged Elphaba. “Only you shouldn't have come. If anyone discoverates you here...”

“Glinda, you'd better go.”

“Fiyero, what are you...”

“Please, just go back to the ball.”

“Your Ozness, he means no disrespectation. Please understand! You see, we all went to school together...”

“Elphaba!”

“Fiyero. Have you misplaced your mind? What are you doing?”

“I'm going with her.”

“What?” exclaimed Glinda.

“What?” repeated Elphaba in shock.

“What are you saying? You mean all this time... the two of you... behind my back...”

“No, Glinda, it wasn't like that!” protested Elphaba.

“Actually, it was...” said Fiyero to the further surprise of Elphaba, then he quickly turned to Glinda when he realised he was implicating Elphaba. “But it wasn't... Elphaba, let's go... let's go!”

They ran out of the throne room together.

“She doesn’t seem like the fainting type,” remarked Minna, when Fiyero didn’t answer she sat up and poked him. “You’re daydreaming Yero.”

“I’m sorry. I was just… thinking.”

“You?” exclaimed his sister in mock surprise.

“Tragic isn’t it? Completely Elphaba’s fault of course. I was quite happily drifting through life with no concerns about anything until I met her.”

“You had to finish growing up eventually, she just helped the process along. I’d really like to apologise to her in person. Do you think there is any chance of her coming back?”

“Mother and Father want me to bring her to dinner with the family that’s here at the moment but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. You know Father, he always has an ulterior motive and he changed his mind very quickly about her, said he was surprised.”

“He did something similar when Arjen of the Bidani clan came here under a truce flag. You know the Bidani aren’t exactly loyal Monarchists. Father told me afterwards that he agreed to speak with him, one the shock wore off, because he wanted to ‘evaluate his potential as an ally or enemy’ Elphaba is definitely someone he would perceive as a possible threat.”

“So do you think when he said ‘Not only will I not disown you, I will, if you wish it, announce to the rest of Oz that both of you are in the Vinkus with my permission and approval.’ He was just making sure I’d bring her back?”

“He said that? He’s definitely up to something… it could be dangerous Fiyero, not for you but maybe for Elphaba if she reacts the wrong way to him. You know what he’s like when he asks those seemingly innocent questions then takes the answers completely out of context. It’s up to you two, of course, but you might want to think carefully before coming back here tonight.”

“I hate politics,” grumbled Fiyero. “I especially hate them when they involve me being manipulated by our father!”

“That means you aren’t coming back tonight?”

“Well I came here to tell him that Elphaba and I were taking up residence in Kiamo Ko but I don’t need his permission to do so. I’ll certainly tell him that I’ll be here I’m just not sure if I will. What do you think, as a scholar and budding politician not as my sister, should I come back and see what he wants or should Elphaba and I just get to the castle as quickly as we can, before he has a chance to do anything?”

“You’re his only son but, if it came to that, he has seven healthy grandsons, six daughters who are young enough to have more sons, and he’s not so old that he can’t disinherit you in favour of a grandson...”

“I had no idea my existence was so… superfluous.”

“Based on that short demonstration of Elphaba’s power he’s not going to want to do anything against either of you until he is sure of her limits. However that doesn’t mean he won’t be considering doing things that aren’t enough to set her off. For example would she do something if he did disown you?”

“I don’t think so… I mean if I wasn’t hurt in any way she’d have no reason to be angry. In fact knowing her as I do she’d probably blame herself rather than Father. On the other hand if he were to try and talk sense into me by locking me up ‘for my own good’ as it were… let’s just say this castle isn’t that attractive as it is and a number of large holes would not improve things.”

“Doesn’t it scare you?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted truthfully. “Knowing she can choose not to affect certain people helps, and the fact she can dissolve the rocks before they hit you – that was frightening! The part before she dissolved them that is and it took ages to get the sand out of my hair.”

“You’re so vain.”

“Nowhere near as bad as I was.”

“I’m thrilled to hear it. The whole country despaired that you would never grow up.”

“Yes. Kalira was overwhelmed as well.”

“I can take a hint, I’ll stop teasing you now.”

“Thank you. I have to go now. I’m meeting Elphaba and I need to get out of sight.”

“It’s been lovely to see you. If you decide not to come back please convey my deepest apologies to Elphaba and explain things to her.”

“Of course Min, anything for my favourite little sister.”

“I bet you say that to all of us.”

“Naturally… because I adore all of you.”

“Nice recovery.”

“Tell Father I had to go but I’ll be here tonight.”

Elphaba was waiting for Fiyero in the hills near the castle.

“Miss me?” he said, startling her because she was looking in the opposite direction.

“Always!” she replied turning around and hugging him.

“How did it go? I…”

“If you’re about to apologise please don’t.”

“But I…”

“You knew all along what was going to happen.”

He deliberately made it a statement not a question.

“I… yes… I had a general idea.”

“And you went anyway.”

“Of course.”

”Why?”

“Why?” repeated Elphaba, frowning faintly. “You mean you don’t know?

“I…have an idea…but I would like to hear you say it.”

“Must I?” said Elphaba with a slightly pained expression.

“Please?”

“Fine. Yes I knew your family would react more or less as they did, yes I knew there would be a confrontation of some sort and yes I went anyway because you wanted me to and there are very few limits on what I would do for you.”

“I was expecting that…” said Fiyero slowly. “And yet I really wasn’t. I guess I’m not used to people demonstrating their affection for me so subtly.”

“As long as you get the point eventually it doesn’t really mater that it takes awhile.”

“Really? I mean you really don’t mind that I didn’t recognize your actions as… as... your personal equivalent of yelling ‘I love you’ at the top of your lungs?”

“No I really don’t mind as long as you work out that I’m doing I’m happy knowing that I’m doing it.”

“That’s…”

“Strange? Yes I know. I decided not to question why it doesn’t seem to bother me that I don’t tell you all the time. I have a feeling it has something to do with my practical nature saying that I’m showing you so I don’t have to tell you… or maybe I’m just afraid that saying it will makes it too real… maybe I have trouble saying the words…”

Fiyero hugged Elphaba and remarked.

“I get the feeling there should have been no ‘maybes’ in that sentence.”

“You’re right,” agreed Elphaba. “A few more days and you’ll completely understand me.”

“Maybe after a lifetime together.” He told her thoughtfully. “But no one could get to know you in a few days.”

“What a sweet thing to say!”

Elphaba blushed and buried her face in his shoulder after her somewhat girlish exclamation.

“Could we get back to my question now?” she muttered into his shirt. “How did it go after I left?”

“My parents had a rather abrupt change of heart. They want both of us to go back for dinner. Kalira wants to meet you again and Minna’s overreaction was nothing to do with you.”

Fiyero decided not to tell her the specifics of Minna’s reasons for being upset feeling that they might hit a bit close to home.

“She was angry about something completely unrelated to us. I told my father I’d be back but I haven’t decided if I will go. Minna and I decided that Father’s reason for inviting you is that he wants to find out if you are a threat to him.”

“Which do you think is the better decision?” asked Elphaba, taking a few steps backwards so they could talk properly. “I don’t know him at all so really it’s up to you.”

“I think, despite recent developments, he expects me to take the easy way out and go to Kiamo Ko without seeing them again. If we did go he would probably be verbally provocative... but sound like he was being polite.”

“Does he play chess?”

Fiyero though the question was very off topic until he remembered his father’s opinion that the best way to learn about a person was to watch their chess technique.

“Yes,” replied Fiyero, bemused by the odd little almost-smile on her face when she heard his reply. “Shall I take that smug little smile to mean that you’ve made a decision?”

“Hmm… I’m just… thinking.”

“Well, I suggest if you care to confuse my father you should smile just like that.”

“I’ll keep it in mind… I’m not completely certainly this is a good idea but I suppose we should give your father a chance to not declare war on us yes?”

“Are you sure you want to do this today? We really don’t have to go, with the broom we could be in Kiamo Ko before he realises we’re not going back.”

“It’s not the prospect of your father’s scrutiny that bothers me but the idea of… well it’s just that… oh this is ridiculous!”

Elphaba threw her hands in the air in a gesture of disgust at her own foolishness.

“Look I’ve never eaten a meal in a room full of people before. Arlina, my nurse, never ate when I did and when I was too old for a nurse I used to eat alone in my room. The very idea of my first formal dinner being with your family… it’s not that I don’t know how to behave the way I’m expected to, my sister’s Governess insisted that I learn when she did, but I’ve never eaten with an audience before and I’m absolutely hopeless at making polite pointless conversation! Don’t look at me like that this is not funny!”

“I’m sorry but it is. You’re not afraid of dying but you’re afraid of eating at the same table as six other people?”

“It sounds extremely silly when you say it like that… thank you for putting it into perspective for me.”

“Don’t worry… I won’t tell my family that you consider dinner with them a fate worse than death. Anyway my mother doesn’t let anyone talk politics at the dinner table.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Make sure you bring your glasses… if it isn’t too disastrous you’ll get the chance to get into the library again… and your eyes look even more beautiful when you wear them.”

“Fiyero!” protested Elphaba, blushing furiously. “They make me look like someone’s maiden aunt.” She smiled slyly at him and amended the statement to “Aunt anyway.”

Fiyero grinned back at Elphaba and hugged her.

“I think it would be best if we went in the proper way… I know you don’t want everyone to know you’re there but you can wear your hooded cloak right?”

“That sounds fine,” agreed Elphaba. “Do you mind if we go back to the caves now? I need to get my glasses, clean up a bit and brush my hair a lot it’s a frightful mess at the moment!”

“I hadn’t noticed,” said Fiyero honestly, he thought that her hair looked lovely the way it was but it was reassuring to know that Elphaba could be as vain as any female. Elphaba blushed again and didn’t answer directly just made a remark about needing to air her dress as well and told him to hurry up.