Author's Note: Hello, all, I hope everyone is having a great spring! (Weather is just starting to warm up here!) Anyways, this is my first Wicked fic, so be kind!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from Wicked. (I wish though!)

Hidden, No More

Glinda was stretched out on her red velvet couch in her library, silently watching the orange flames dance in the fireplace. She spent a lot of her time in the little library, it wasn't the biggest room, or the prettiest room in her palace, but it was somehow, in her mind, the safest. She felt like she could come in here and unwind after a particularly hard or busy day. (Which was mostly each and everyday now, since she had all of Oz to run.)

Glinda sat up and began to stretch out her legs, Time to go to bed, she thought tiredly as she yawned, for tomorrow she had to meet for tea with some of Oz's other important leaders. But as she slowly walked toward the door she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the book she had been reading previously that day was on the floor. She mentally giggled at herself for being such a slob, not only was it one book out of place, put three or four more piled precariously on the edge of her already messy writing desk. Glinda sighed, and then scooped up the book from the floor and grabbed the few on her desk and started to make room on her bookshelves for the few thin novels. As she pulled one thick book to make room for the others, something fluttered down to the floor delicately. Glinda looked down at it, and suddenly gasped and dropped the books to the floor. It was a photograph, a photo of a face she had not seen in quite a while.

It was Elphaba.

She fell to her knees among the scattered books and picked up the photo, she felt her throat begin to tighten and eyes begin to fill with tears at the sight of the familiar, face with big green eyes.

The photo, Glinda realized, had been taken back in their Shiz days. Elphie stood stiffly out in front of the vine-draped walls of the school, with a hesitant, ghost of a smile on her face. Her black hair was pulled back in her trademark, shiny black braid and in her emerald green hands she was holding a thick book of some kind. So like Elphie, to have a book with her, even in pictures, thought Glinda with a slight smile. But what really captured Glinda's eye, was Elphaba's own, large green eyes.

Her gaze was so intense, unlike some people, Elphaba looked straight at the camera. It felt like she was almost looking right at her Glinda thought, chills traveling up her spine. She stared at the picture for a few more seconds, than closed her eyes briefly and reopened them at put her face right up to the picture, almost afraid that Elphie's face would disappear, and she, Glinda, would be left with nothing.

Glinda then abruptly pulled her face away from the photograph, somewhere in the pit of her stomach was a stab of guilt. She felt suddenly ashamed now for peering so closely at the green face she had been trying to avoid for the last six months.

The first two weeks after Elphaba's death had been devastating for Glinda, she had been angry, sad and confused all at the same time. She had locked herself in her room, only coming out for meals and the occasional ball she had to make an appearance at to "celebrate" her friend's demise. After making a brief, strained appearance, she would retreat again to her room and sit and examine everything that she had left of Elphie, her black pointed hat, her little green bottle and the Grimmerie, which she had given Glinda at their last, bittersweet meeting. She would cry, and sulk and grieve, and then cry some more.

Oh, yes, she had spent plenty of time feeling sorry for herself and moping around her amazingly pink bedroom those first two weeks; she had spent plenty of time being angry at Elphaba (for reasons she couldn't quite explain) and herself.

Then one day in the middle of a sunny afternoon she realized she couldn't isolate herself from the rest of the world anymore, since in fact, she had a country to run.

She had to let go.

Of course Elphaba wasn't that easy to dismiss from her mind, Glinda found her popping up in the most unexpected places. When Glinda would dress for a ball, she found herself thinking of the time she galindafied Elphaba. Pink goes good with green! She remembered exclaiming excitedly to a wary Elphaba. Whenever she went to Emerald City and saw two young girls running around together giggling, her mind automatically flashed back to her first trip to Emerald City with Elphaba. The trip where they parted their separate ways on the rode of life.

Glinda couldn't stand being like this, everything reminded her of her best friend. Everything reminded her of Elphie's courage, determination, and intensity. She was everything Glinda was not, and that deeply shamed Glinda.

So, she decided to pretend that Elphaba had never even existed.

She hid away everything that reminded her of Elphaba. The Grimmerie went high up on one of the library shelves (one Glinda could not reach without getting a step ladder), the little green bottle and black hat went away in a locked broom closet upstairs and anything else that even slightly reminded Glinda of Elphaba (her soft jade green comforter in the guest room) was hidden away also.

Then Glinda began the process of hiding herself.

She pushed all memories of her best friend into the deepest, darkest part of her brain and then simply stopped thinking and talking about Elphaba. She hid away her guilt and anger. She hid in every possible way from Elphaba.

It had work fairly well up to this point. Now, staring at the face she had been to ashamed to look at made every memory and feeling connected with Elphaba come flooding back to her in one great wave. She looked down at Elphaba's face and began to cry. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she could taste the salt on her lips. Sobs racked Glinda's body as she clutched the picture to her chest, she didn't want to hide anymore. She couldn't veil her emotions anymore.

I'm sorry Elphie! I'm so sorry for not being able to be as brave as you. I'm sorry that I can't be as smart as you. I'm sorry for thinking I could hide from you.

Finally, her tears slowed and she looked at the picture once more. She had missed seeing Elphaba's face. Even though she increasingly loved this picture the more she looked at it, there was nothing more she wanted to do then press this photograph safely between the pages of a book she never read, put it high on the shelf and never seek it out again. But she promised herself she wouldn't do that. She promised herself that she would frame it and put it in the library, so that anytime she was having a hard day, she could look at Elphaba's face and seek out her wisdom. Elphaba had refused to give up on anything, she was determined and courageous. Glinda promised herself that she would try to be brave like Elphie. She eyed the picture again and gave it a watery smile.

She wasn't going to hide anymore.

Author's Note: Did you like it? I hope so. Please leave a review with any questions/comments! Happy Spring everyone!