Chapter Text
Chuffrey was dead.
They’d watched him gasp and flop against the ground, no one bothering to lift a finger. Glinda had simply thrown her wedding ring, an ostentatious piece with an absurdly large diamond, onto the corpse.
Somehow, the three of them managed to fit on Elphaba’s broom. Fiyero kept a hold on her waist, making sure she wouldn’t leave him again.
For a moment, in that chamber, he thought he was going to lose her again. He would have fought with everything he had to see that she made it out alive, but a wave of hopelessness still washed over him when her face contorted in pain. She had grabbed onto Morrible, for Oz sake!
But she was here, safe. Her and the baby were unharmed, and their mission was successful.
Almost.
The back door was open when they landed into Colwen Grounds. Glinda slid off first, unhooking the straps of her glittery heels.
“Well that was something.”
Elphaba was quiet. Her hands shook as she flipped off her hat. Fiyero drew to her side and enveloped her in his arms. She simply rested her head against his chest, her eyes closed.
“You’re late!” Boq cried, flying out of the mansion. He slowed when he noticed the expression on the green girl’s face. “What is it?”
“Hello, Boq,” Glinda greeted softly. “I should have known you were in on this.”
The Munchkin boy blushed to the roots of his hair. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Nessa wheeled out, still in her Governor’s uniform. “Did everything go alright?”
Glinda glanced anxiously at Elphaba, still holding onto Fiyero.
“Yeah, it went fine,” Elphaba got out.
It broke Fiyero’s heart to hear the defeat in her voice. Of course, he didn’t blame her, after finding out her own father had spent four years trying to get her killed.
The Wizard of Oz was her real father.
Glinda had raved against the dead Governor Thropp many times. His harshness with his oldest daughter, how he belittled her, nagged her over every little thing.
Was his hatred borne from the knowledge that she wasn’t really his?
That was no excuse for the way he’d treated her though. Fiyero would have gleefully bashed Frexspar Thropp’s teeth in after hearing how he spoke to Elphaba, no hesitation.
Boq ushered them all inside, where a few mugs of tea had been set out in the sitting room.
“Did anyone see you?” Nessa asked.
Fiyero led Elphaba onto the couch, and she sank into it with a sigh of relief. “Morrible and the Gale Force stopped us,” he explained, “but Elphaba freed the Monkeys, who then freed the other Animals.”
“Other Animals?”
“The Wizard was keeping them in cages,” Elphaba said coldly, her face showing that she was somewhere else. “He was starving them. He’s a monster.”
And so am I.
The unspoken words he knew she was aching to say were like a stab of pain to his heart. She wasn’t a monster. She was kind, and honest, and stubborn, and so full of love for the world that it could cancel out every awful thing the Wizard had done.
He took her hand, rubbing her palm with his thumb. “We got away, that’s what matters.”
Glinda sighed, leaning back against the couch. “I’m wiped. Who knew premature widowhood could take so much out of you.”
Nessa’s face twisted in confusion. “Widowhood?”
“Oh, Chuffrey’s dead,” she announced as easily as if taking note of the weather. At the stunned expressions on Boq and Nessa’s faces, she amended: “We didn’t kill him, of course! Heart attack, just like I always expected him to go.”
It was quiet for a moment. Fiyero recalled the last time they’d all been in the same room together. The night before Elphaba left for the Emerald City, they had gathered inside her and Glinda’s dorm, sharing stories and going over their next assignments for school.
They were grown now, with their own lives. But maybe for a while, they could be those kids again.
“You can stay in one of the guest rooms tonight,” Nessa offered to Elphaba. “But the Gale Force is sure to come looking, so you’ll have to leave early.”
Glinda looked at the Governor blankly. “Are you sure they won’t find us?”
“I’ll show you to the storm cellar. I had fresh clothes set out.”
“Thank you, Nessa,”
She nodded simply. “Follow me.”
Elphaba rose to see her friend off, only to be swamped by a hug from the blonde. “You’ll come back?”
“I swear it.”
Fiyero met his ex-fiancée’s gaze warily. “I’m glad you’re okay, Glin.”
Glinda offered a wary smile. “I think you had a hand in that.”
“Good night.”
“’Night.”
They disappeared around the corner, followed by Boq, who wasn’t likely to leave Glinda’s side until it was absolutely necessary.
Fiyero turned back to the woman at his side. “Fae?”
“I need a bath,” was all she said before heading for the stairs.
Sinking further into the warm water, Elphaba rested her head against the rim of the tub. Bathing in rivers got the job done, sure, but this was nice.
She needed something nice right about now.
Outside, that storm she had predicted was already starting. Morrible was probably shaking with fury.
Something nudged against her, and smiled softly, running her hand along the curve of her stomach.
“You almost got me in trouble back there,” she scolded the baby, who probably couldn’t hear her. “Planning on being a troublemaker like your father?”
“I’m wounded,” Fiyero snorted. He looked handsome in his fresh shirt and loose pants. “Talking bad about me to my own child?”
She flicked some water at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long.”
He shook his head, crouching beside the tub. “Don’t worry about it, I just used the bathroom next door. This place is huge.”
“That’s my grandfather for you,” she snorted, only to trail off.
Right. Minister Thropp wasn’t her grandfather anymore. Just like Frexspar Thropp wasn’t her father.
Fiyero held out a hand, and she took it. “Hey, talk to me. This is a lot.”
“Understatement,” she sighed, straightening. “What am I going to tell Nessa?”
“Fae,” he groaned. “I’m not worried about what Nessa will think. My only concern is for you.”
The sweet sincerity in his eyes made her want to cry. “Can I have a moment?”
He nodded, kissing her knuckles. “Of course.”
She dried off slowly, marveling on the softness of the sleeveless nightgown Nessa had managed to procure for her. Elphaba had gone the last four years making her own clothing out of whatever she could find. It was strange to feel silk against her fingers, to run a nail along the lace hem.
In the bedroom, she found Fiyero waiting on the edge of the bed. He took her hand, leading her to the space beside him.
“I love you,” he began softly, cupping her cheeks gently. “Nothing could ever make me love you any less.”
“Not even the fact that I’m the daughter of a monster?” she couldn’t help asking, biting down on her lip. The fact that he had stayed this long was still a shock to her. “I won’t blame you if it does.”
Fiyero shook his head adamantly. “Fae, listen to me,” he insisted, holding her gaze firmly. “That man may be your blood, but he is not your family.”
“He is half of me,” she said, her voice breaking into a sob. “Am I so wicked because I’m part him?”
“You are not wicked. You are so good, Fae that, frankly, it astounds me you can’t see it.”
“Try telling that to the rest of Oz.”
He scoffed. “The rest of Oz can go to hell for all I care.” At her stunned gaze, he smiled. “They say only what they’re told they should say. I see the real you, Elphaba, and I love you.”
She tried, unsuccessfully, to blink away the tears that threatened. “I love you too.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her. It was a tender kiss, full of love.
For her. He loved her.
Nestled in the soft sheets, he held her gently, reverently. When he began to hum, the kicking in her stomach resumed.
“What?” he breathed when she huffed out a laugh.
“The baby. She likes when you do that.”
He smiled, and she melted at the joy in his eyes. “She?”
Elphaba groaned. “Not the point, Yero!”
“I knew I’d win you around eventually.” Still, he rested his hand on her belly. “Do you like that, sweetheart?” Another kick. “Alright then, I’ll keep going.”
So he did. He hummed until the exhaustion caught up with Elphaba, and she drifted off to sleep, warm and happy in his arms.
Where no Wizard could get to them.