Tale as Old as Time
And the Tin Man Gives Some Good Advice
A/N: Sorry it took so long! Thank you for the feedback, it truly helps this move along, even when school is working against me.
Elphaba waited for Boq and Fiyero's footsteps to fade down the hall before she turned back to Glinda. She twisted the nightgown in her hands, trying to decide if it might not be best to just let Glinda sleep in her clothes. Her conviction that her friend would be far more comfortable in the light sleepwear rather than her heavy denim skirt won out however, so she gently began the process of removing Glinda's layers. Despite her care not to jostle the blonde too much, Glinda began to wake, and Elphaba stepped back, hoping she would relax and go back to sleep.
"Elphaba," Glinda whispered, she blinked a few times to clear her vision and to convince herself that this wasn't some warped nightmare. She'd never imagined she'd be disappointed when Elphaba didn't fade away when she woke up.
The green woman leaned against the bed. She searched Glinda's eyes for some hint as to what was coming and found tears welling up in the blue orbs, and her hopes that Glinda would be happy with the truth were snuffed. She felt like crying herself but didn't allow herself the indulgence. Glinda was the one who had been left behind after all.
"What happened?" Glinda demanded, sitting up, and pulling away when Elphaba reached out to stop her. She swung her bare legs over the edge of the bed but didn't hop down; instead she turned to Elphaba and stared at her expectantly. The tears were gone from her eyes and white hot anger had replaced them.
"You passed out in the courtyard," Elphaba explained cautiously. Despite her preparation for Glinda's ire, she was completely flummoxed as to how to deal with it. "We brought you up here hoping you'd sleep through the night."
"There was a dragon?" It was really more of a statement than a question.
"Dragon," Elphaba corrected out of habit, "The Queen; she startled you."
"The queen is a Dragon?" Glinda asked, and then jumped to the next question because she honestly didn't care whether the Queen was a Dragon or a Dwarf at this point. "Where is Boq?"
"Fiyero took him down the hall. Three of your guards were found earlier, he wanted to see them."
Glinda's eyes grew wide, and for a brief second her animosity wavered to something more sorrowful.
"Only three?" She asked quietly. "Where were they found?"
"Near the border," Elphaba answered apologetically. "They said they were the only survivors. It seems they're right."
Glinda set her jaw, and refused to let her guilt get the best of her. She'd had enough guilt for one lifetime, and though the fact that Elphaba was apparently alive and well should have alleviated at least some of it, that fact strangely made her only feel worse.
"I'd like to see them." She said in a tone that made it clear she expected to get her way.
"You should wait till tomorrow, you all need sleep and they only wanted to be sure you're okay."
Glinda leveled another fierce glare at her.
"It's very late," Elphaba insisted. "Boq probably had to wake them just to tell them."
"Fine," Glinda bit out, deciding she could probably order Boq to take her to them when he returned.
"This is for you," Elphaba offered the nightgown. "It'll be big, we can find something better tomorrow."
"Thank you," the politician in Glinda automatically replied and she took the garment.
"You're welcome. I suppose I'll leave you to it then. There's a lavatory across the hall should you need it. Boq will be back soon, and there are guards posted at either end of the corridor; if you need anything let them know and they'll find me."
Glinda nodded curtly and Elphaba supposed that was all the dismissal she was going to get.
"Goodnight then," she said, hoping her own disappointment wasn't obvious.
She paused halfway to the door and turned back to Glinda, who was staunchly waiting for her to disappear.
"I am sorry," she said in a rush. "I wanted to tell you, I-
"Not as sorry as I am," Glinda cut her off sharply. "I thought I lost my best friend; if I had realized she'd deserted me on purpose I wouldn't have wasted the last two years of my life wishing they'd killed me instead, and trying to make up for the fact that they hadn't."
Elphaba's mouth opened, but nothing came out. No retort, denial, or catty reply could possible top that.
"Glinda I-"
"Just go Elphaba," Glinda told her too exhausted to deal with her excuses.
Elphaba spun on her heal and strode out the door, swiping at the hot tears that pooled in her eyes. She nodded briskly to the guard without looking at him and then whipped around the corner out of sight. She halted when she reached a cross section, debating whether to head to her room or to the hatchery where Fiyero was bound to be. She went left, deciding she wanted nothing to do with an empty room after her exchange with Glinda.
She found him perched cross-legged next to the hatchling that had yet to make an appearance. He hadn't lit any of the torches lining the walls, which didn't surprise her, but since his arm was draped around his egg it glowed bright enough for Elphaba to see by. She passed her sleeve over her eyes, hoping all evidence of her tears had faded enough that he wouldn't notice (though she knew that he probably would anyway) and crossed to him. He didn't so much as blink when she slipped her arms around his back.
"I was wondering when you'd get here," he quipped, and craned his neck to see her. She tried to smile back at him but it faltered on her lips. "Elphaba?"
He unlatched her arms from his neck and tugged her around to face him. Once his skin lost contact with the egg the glow stopped, and nothing but the faint light from beneath the door lit the room. She couldn't see him, though his face was only inches from her own. He could see her perfectly well through Dragon enhanced eyes however, and knew immediately that things hadn't gone so well with Glinda.
"She woke up?"
Elphaba nodded, and let him pull her into his arms.
"She thinks we deserted her," she informed him, not adding that she privately agreed, there was no reason for Fiyero to feel worse as well.
"She'll come around tomorrow," Fiyero said seriously, certain that Glinda would understand why they'd done things the way they had. She wasn't completely unreasonable.
"I don't think she will," Elphaba admitted sadly. "It's not just the shock. She's completely different, all her optimism is gone and she's so angry…she's turned into me. "
Fiyero nearly scoffed at that, but a glance at his wife's face assured him that that would be most unwise.
"Look," he said finally, cupping her face and directing her gaze to meet his eyes, though she still couldn't see them. "She'll forgive you. It might take some time, she's obviously pretty hurt. But she'll give you a chance to explain, and she'll realize that you did the best you could. You've got time, it's not like she's going to be able to leave anytime soon."
"She'll be thrilled I'm sure," Elphaba said dryly, and relaxed into him once more. "Who made you so wise?"
"Well," Fiyero drawled, "Dron really should get some of the credit, but really it's just experience. I had to deal with her after you left the first time remember?"
Elphaba flinched, and then smirked, because she knew how impossible Glinda had been then as well.
"You should get some sleep, morning's not far off and Glinda will be up with the sun demanding all sorts of explanations. And, if she has miraculously turned into you, then she's not going to bother waiting for us to get them."
"I'm not that impatient," Elphaba retorted.
"Yes, you are," Fiyero informed her, punctuating his words with a kiss.
"I love you too," Elphaba said cheekily, and then, unsatisfied with his swift peck, pulled him back down for a proper kiss.
When Boq returned to the room that had been appointed to Glinda he was surprised to find Elphaba had gone, but admitted to himself that he was a little bit relieved as well. Despite the non-existence of his need to sleep he was exhausted. Mentally exhausted, he supposed, from the day's adventures and revelations. After all, even Tin Men could become overwhelmed in a flood of new information and today had certainly been full of it. So he was grateful that finally things had slowed down and he could pretend that nothing had really changed since leaving the forest.
He looked to the bed in search of Glinda, and found she'd moved to the middle, her face buried in pillows and a mass of long golden hair. The diaphanous curtains had been pulled, and despite their transparency they seemed to almost completely block out the light from the candles. He eyed the easy chair where he supposed he would spend the night, but crossed the room to the bed instead. He stood without disturbing the drapes, listening for the sound of her breathing. Only when he realized that the now familiar rhythm was oddly stilted and stifled did he pull the drapes apart just slightly.
"Glinda?" He whispered, forgetting formalities when he saw her delicate frame shudder. For a moment she didn't move at all, as if she'd held her breath in an attempt to make him believe she was asleep, and then came another shuddering breath that was barely audible through the barrier of the pillows.
"Glinda," He questioned again, parting the drapes further and reaching inside to touch her bare arm gently. She spun wildly, startled by the feel of cold metal on her flesh.
"Boq?"
"Yeah," Boq said uncomfortably, he couldn't quite see her features in the dim lighting and he wondered if she'd been crying or if he'd imagined it. He shifted nervously, and the light reflected suddenly off his torso and illuminated her face. It was brief, but it was enough for him to glimpse her red eyes and tear streaked face. "You…Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Glinda insisted uncomfortably.
"You're crying."
"I'm not," she replied petulantly. She stared him down, knowing he wasn't positive of his accusation, and knowing if she could hold his gaze for just a second longer he'd be convinced and she could break down in peace. Unfortunately her nose was runny from her tears and she sniffled involuntarily, before h could be placated.
Sighing, Boq slipped clumsily through the drapes and managed to sit on the edge of the bed. He supposed that was a little bold, but decided that propriety wasn't a priority at that point.
"Yes you are," he said, knowing she wouldn't deny it now. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder once more, knowing his Tin hands wouldn't convey any warmth but at least it was something.
Glinda swallowed hard, she wanted to shrug away but found the cool weight of Boq's hand against her anger-flushed skin was enticingly comforting,
"How are the guards?" She asked, for want of anything better to say.
"They'll be alright. They'd like to see you tomorrow," Boq said, deciding pushing her to talk would only push her away. He let his thumb rub a gentle circle on her shoulder before trailing his hand down her arm as he pulled it away, figuring he shouldn't push his luck there either. She caught his hand and squeezed it quickly, gratefully, before pulling away.
"Who…who made it?"
"Laertes, Duillin, and Keilbein. Laertes has several broken ribs, and a broken leg, and Keilbein has a nasty arrow wound in his arm but they've both been taken care of since getting here. Apparently Elphaba herself made sure they had every medicinal treatment necessary."
Glinda seemed to shrink away from the very mention of the green woman's name, her expression turned stony. Boq could have kicked himself, he'd been doing so well.
"Of course," Glinda said tightly. "She's not completely wicked."
"You don't mean that," Boq said.
"Of course I do. I've spent the last few days defending her haven't I? If I thought she was completely wicked I wouldn't have bothered." She tried to appear haughty, but sniffled again and completely lost the effect.
"No, I mean you don't think she's wicked at all. That's why you defended her so."
"Well, ignorance is bliss isn't it?" She returned icily.
Boq wasn't about to let her become snippy again, he'd gotten through too many of her walls to have her throw them up again. And he'd discovered the best way to get through her defenses was to rile her up.
"You can't honestly tell me you're not happy to find that Elphaba and Fiyero are alive?"
"I don't know what I am," Glinda snapped. "I do know that if you think you're going to psychologically counsel me at this point then you are seriously mistaken Lieutenant."
"I won't then," Boq said stubbornly. "I'm not going to tell you what to think about this. But I do think that she deserves a chance."
"That's rich coming from you," Glinda said derisively.
"I realize that," he admitted. "But I talked with her tonight. Not for very long granted, but long enough to know that Elphaba would sooner die that hurt you."
Glinda flinched at his word choice, but didn't protest for once. He reached for her hand again and continued bravely, "I know you're shocked, and I know that you're hurt. But at least give her a chance to explain herself before you declare your unadulterated loathing."
Boq squeezed her hand carefully, and then slid from the bed.
"Get some sleep Lady Glinda, things will look better in the morning."
He turned and made his way to the easy chair that faced the entryway; he could hear Glinda shifting on the bed behind him and assumed she was settling in. He was surprised when she appeared at his side. He looked up questioningly at her, noticing for the first time that red dots appeared around her eyes when she cried.
"Thank you," she whispered, and leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek.
Then just as soon as she'd appeared she was gone, climbing back into her bed without another word.
"Goodnight Lady Glinda," he said slightly dazed.
There was no reply, in just a few minutes he could hear her even breathing and knew she was down for the count.
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