AUTHORS NOTE:

A very, very, VERY old piece of work I found while looking for places to save my Without a Heart file.

It's very angsty, and not very well put together.

I was never going to show this, but, eh, I'm bored.

So just don't flame me when you see how out of character all these people are and all grammar errors.

Four clock ticks, Glinda the Good would wait just four more clock ticks before leaving the bench where she sat in the faintly lit park. The large clock hung at the top of a green shimmering green pole’s proud top seemed to glare at her.

One…

Two…

Three…

Four…

No, not yet…wait another…oh, ten clock ticks.

One…

Two …

Three…

Four…

Five…

Six…

Seven...

Eight…

Nine…

Ten…

Glinda rolled her eyes. How long would she keep saying ten more clock ticks? The sky was already starting to turn from a beautiful mix of orange, pink and purple to a dark midnight blue. She blinked as the large park lights lit up the night. With a sigh she stood up and smoothed out her dress, she was just about ready to leave when she heard something.

Something low, something familiar, and yet something she had never heard before. Out of her better judgment she simply ignored it, she picked up her purse and the glass vase which held a batch of flowers and fixed the large brimmed hat she had on top of her head. When she had first set foot in the beautiful Animal park (Hardly used for Animals anymore) of the emerald city, it was early noon; the sun was warm and blazing. Now, in the dark, her hat would have seemed to be of little use. But, in the dark the brim of her hat allowed her face to become a shadow, unidentifiable by anyone who may be out this late.

If it was one thing that she wanted to avoid it was to be identified by a passer by. Why, in a park at night without a guard escort? The things people could (and would) dream up!

She walked on the neat green stone path, heading for the gates of the park.

What? You ask what she was even doing in the former Animal Park in the first place. She would never admit it to anyone, for fear of expositor, but she was waiting for a person.

But, not just any person, a female, a 29 year old female, a GREEN female,

Named…

“Elphaba…”

Glinda jumped and spun around in shock. It wasn’t her voice that had said the name, no this voice was deep and low. It sounded…as if in ecstasy. It was said so softly she almost didn’t hear it, just like with the sound earlier.

She saw a couple, a man and a woman, who stood close together, locked in a heated kiss, hands roaming.

The male had dark skin but blue tattoos were made visible, even in the secluded and almost non-lit area the couple was in.

The woman had her face hidden, and at first, Glinda couldn’t see anything of the woman, but a wind blew and the hat with the veil the woman wore fell off, and Glinda could see in the moonlight that the woman was…

Glinda drop the glass vase, the shatter of the glass meeting the stone with unforgiving force echoed within the park. Or was that just in Glinda’s mind? The couple stopped and both turned around and looked at her, the male looked horrified, as did the female. Was it just her, or did the world around her begin to turn hazy?

She didn’t know what happened, next thing she knew she was running, running, running. Finally her legs gave out, and she fell. But as quickly as she fell she was up again and walking.

She didn’t know where, and she didn’t care.

She didn’t care that her heels had slipped off of her feet in her haste, she didn’t care that her feet were burning and bleeding from the cold and loose glass shards of broken bottles of the walkways of the alleys.

She didn’t care that she sprained her ankle as fell on her foot the wrong way on the steps of a familiar house; she didn’t care as familiar faces looked at her with worry and concern.

She didn’t care when her foot slipped on a wet floor, she didn’t care when her skull met the marble floors of her house.

She didn’t care when she could no longer hear the voices around her clearly. And she didn’t care when could see the blood coming from her head but not feel it.

She didn’t care.

How could she, when her heart had just been ripped out of her chest?

--XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

September 8th, a year and some odd months later,

A year, it had been a year since he had seen his lover, or rather, his former lover. After their little rendezvous in the park, the night when that woman had caught them, she had seen something.

More precisely, she had seen a batch of dark colored flowers that the woman had been carrying in a glass vase, but oddly, one of the flowers were pink in color. She had walked over to the flower and gently picked up the pink one and looked at it. Normally, when Elphaba held a flower, (more specifically, pink or light red flowers) she would hold them and then toss them to the side, disgusted.

But, this time, as she held the flower she didn’t toss it.

She didn’t crush it under her boot.

She just stared.

It was if she was lost in her own world for the longest time.

“…this can’t go on.”

He had protested, he had continued to follow her, but…

She was serious this time.

“I can’t do this anymore. This isn’t who I am. I am careful, I take attention to detail, and I am hidden. I’m not this…this dare devil that goes out on a limb to test to see if I can’t get myself or my friends killed! You see what this does to me, I don’t want this. It’s made you different too, you have a wife and children, no doubt wondering where you are, why you are not home. And don’t give me you tell them that business keeps you away, how long do you think that excuse will last, hmm? This is nothing more then a passing fling and you know it. And like all flings this will only end in pain. So do me and yourself a favor, leave. Take your scarf and leave. Please, Fiyero, don’t give me that look. Don’t tell me I don’t know how this feels,”

Fiyero closed his eyes as he remembered the last thing Elphaba had told him.

“You say that I am not hurting anyone, but I am, even if they don’t know it. Don’t you remember Fiyero? I told you once before, long ago…I am married…just not to a man.”

What the hell did she mean by that?

“Mr. Tigular?”

Fiyero snapped out of her memories and into the present, he was in the sitting room of Upland mansion, Glinda’s house. He had gone because Glinda had wanted to give him a gift to give to his family before he left for the Vinkus. When he had come to her house however, she was in her office and her assistant told him to wait.

“Yes?”

“Her Goodness will see you now.” The young boy told him. Fiyero nodded and stood, walking over to the office door and stepping in. He took a look around the room; it seemed to be something of a real business office, one that would expect to see of a lawyer. The walls were like shelves, all filled with boxes all labeled different things and different books. Funny, Fiyero thought, he never thought of Glinda as a reading woman.

A globe sat on one side of the room, and an old wand in a glass holder for display on the other, high up on the wall just out of reach. He remembered the wand; it was Glinda’s first training wand. She was known as Galinda back then, the most popular girl in all of Shiz.

How long ago was that? Years, must be. He thought.

“Hello, Mr. Fiyero,” Said a voice. He turned and looked at Glinda, her hair was longer then the last time he had seen her. Either that or she was wearing a fake bun at the back of her head, he couldn’t tell. She was wearing narrow glasses, they seemed like half ovals and they where perched at the almost end of her nose.

Since when did she need glasses? Fiyero thought.

But the thing most different were her eyes—other then the glasses of course—no longer did they hold the brightness of years ago. Now, they seemed unreadable. Maybe if she looked at him, maybe he could see her soul, but she didn’t look at him, she was focused on the paper her quill danced across as she wrote. “I’m sorry, I’m very busy. But I still wish you to give your wife my sincere sympathies,”

“You mean regards?” Fiyero asked. Looking at the basket Glinda had waved to with her free hand. Fiyero felt Glinda’s eyes burn into the back of his head as she said, “Of course, regards.”

Fiyero picked up the basket, and turned to meet Glinda’s eyes for a moment before she looked back at the paper. “I wasn’t sure what your family liked, so it’s mostly just foods and the such, it shouldn’t go bad. I also put in a few children books and toys.” She said. He sat down with the basket at his feet, he looked Glinda over. “How’s your head?” he asked. She straightened up a bit but continued to write. “My head injury has long since healed, thank you for asking.”

“That’s good,” Fiyero said, twirling a piece of fuzz of the baskets handle. Glinda nodded and smiled slightly. “Yes, it is.” She said.

“I heard that you hurt your arm in that little accident you got into on your way to the hospital. That must have been…”

“Crappy,” Glinda said with a chuckle. “It was. I thought the people got paid to help you, not almost kill an already close-to-dying patient. How that horse managed to trip over that cart is beyond me.”

“Yeah, go figure, getting Glinda the Good into an accident. I’m surprised you didn’t sue.” Fiyero said with a chuckle.

“Oh, well, everyone gets into some type of disaster or something in their lifetime, I just happened to cash mine in, that’s all. So I have the pleasure of looking forward to an old busy life.” Glinda said. Fiyero looked over Glinda one more time.

“So, what else has happened besides that, are you still married to that Sir Chuffery?”

Glinda shook her head. “No, he and I realized it wasn’t going to work.”

“I’m sorry,” Fiyero said.

Glinda laughed. “Don’t be,” she said. “It was over long before that, we just came to terms with it. He and I are still friends; we meet every weekend over at the club for a spot of tea. He’s met the most charming woman. A redhead from Glikkus,”

“Glikkus?” Fiyero asked, surprised. Glinda nodded with a smile, the whole time not looking up at Fiyero, but she did seem to be warming up to the company, which made Fiyero himself grow more comfortable.

“Believe it or not, she’s quite attractive—some Gillikin blood is mixed there, I swear by it. That or at least a good sized Munchkinlander,” She giggled, stopping a moment to dip her quill in the ink bottle. “Either way, I’m right, so yay for me.”

“Yay?”

“Yes, yay,” Glinda grinned, glancing up at Fiyero a tiny, bitsy little speck of joy flashed in her eyes. “You’re never too old for a good yay.”

Fiyero chuckled, nodding a bit. “If you say so,”

“I do so ha.” Glinda smirked.

“Mr. Tigular, you train is leaving in 30 minutes, your cabbie is waiting.”

An attendant said from the doorway, Fiyero nodded and stood, taking the basket with him. “It was nice seeing you, Glinda.”

Glinda nodded, but seemed to stiffen as she said. “You too…” her eyes flickered over to the window and then back to her paper. “I know you’re there, Elphaba.”

--XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-

A year seemed like a flash to Elphaba. She was busy with her work, her books…her thoughts. She had finally gotten the nerve to go to Glinda, although walking to the front door was hardly an option…

Elphaba sighed as she climbed up the side of a building, after she had gotten to the balcony she looked down at the four sleeping guards she had slipped past with no trouble, proving that Glinda had terrible taste in protection.

“I know you’re out there, Elphaba. Hurry up and come inside, before I get the REAL guards in here.”

Or, perhaps, Glinda didn’t need guards after all.

Elphaba slipped into the office and froze as she saw Fiyero.

“Fiyero?”

“Fae?”

“Who’s Fae?” Glinda asked.

“Elphaba,” Fiyero said.

“What?” Elphaba asked.

“No, not you I mean I was saying to Glinda you’re Fae.”

“She is?”

“Yeah, I am. What are you doing here?”

“I live here,”

“No I mean Fiyero,”

“I could ask the same thing.”

“I asked first.”

“Did she?”

“That really isn’t anything of concern, Why are you here?”

“Not really any of your business.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t give me that, you’re here, aren’t you?”

“At least I use a door.”

“Yes, but a window is oh so mysterious, just Ms Thropp’s style.” Glinda said.

Fiyero and Elphaba both looked at Glinda with a raised eyebrow.

“Ms Thropp?” They both asked.

“Anyway, you sound surprised to see one another, how vexing.” Glinda had her elbows on the desk, her hands laced together and her chin resting against her entwined fingers. With her glasses, she seemed to look like a strict principal preparing to lecture a student. “I’d think you two would be happy.” She added. Was it their imagination or did that calmed expression change for a split second?

“Ms. Thropp, would you mind taking a seat? Fiyero and I were just finishing up.”

Elphaba was surprised at the formality. Considering she and Glinda hadn’t seen each other in years, she expected a tackle hug, not an ice cold voice that made chills run up her back and not good ones either.

“Oh, I’m sorry is it Fae now, or maybe Fiyero has given you another pet name?” Glinda said with a hint of laughter, or was it a gag? Glinda waved a hand and then picked up her quill again, her eyes glued to the paper in front of her.

“What are you implying?” Fiyero demanded, “That Elphaba and I…”

“I don’t very much care who or what you decide to have your affairs with,” She glanced up, the calm expression changing ever so slightly to one of annoyance “But next time you decide to get to second base, don’t do it in a public park.”

They both froze. Even in their odd skin tones, they turned very pale.

“That’s correct; I had the unfortunate experience of “walking in” on you two. I must say, that was one escapade I did not need to see. But, at least I scared you both to a stop before any actual relations had taken place, though. And, if I should hear of another show like that, I will have you both thrown into prison for three months for inappropriate conduct in a public place. Understood? Now, Fiyero I do believe you have a train to be catching.” Glinda said. All this time she had been writing with a fierce intensity with whatever it was she was putting down on paper.

Fiyero opened his mouth to say something but Glinda looked up at him, he could finally read her eyes.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Glinda said a bit softer. “You don’t need to worry about that, now you really should go.”

After much persuasion and an almost call on the guards, Fiyero left and Elphaba was in the room alone with Glinda. Glinda didn’t move her eyes from the paper she was writing on, nor did she speak.

Elphaba stood shifting from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. “So, you know. You saw us,” Glinda’s pen stilled but her eyes didn’t move. “Are you angry?”

“Why?”

Elphaba cocked an eyebrow. “What?”

Glinda looked up for a split second then closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back into her chair and letting the pen in her hand fall off of the paper. “Why should I be angry? It’s your life, not mine.” Glinda said, a shrug and a shake of her head seemed to prove her disinterest, but the vein in her neck that showed as she tightened her jaw said differently.

“Why did you have flowers?” Elphaba asked.

Glinda snapped her eyes opened and looked at Elphaba, “That’s none of your business!” Glinda said, a bit too quickly, “…What are you doing here, Elphaba? What do you want?”

“I’m not so sure myself.” Elphaba said, taking a seat across from Galinda, her eyes not moving from the blonde, “Maybe I just wanted to see you.”

“After eight years? That’s hardly a convincing argument.” The blonde woman scoffed and shook her head, she reached for her pen but decided against it and stood up from her chair, walking over to the window where a table covered in a lace table cloth stood; on it was a silver platter with a glass bottle of Gillikin Ale, Whiskey and some other kind of drink that Elphaba couldn’t identify. “Would you fancy a drink, Elphaba? I’m not one for Munchkin beer, but good ol’ fashion whiskey should forgive my fault, mm?”

“Maybe just a glass, thank you…I heard you got hurt awhile ago,” Glinda made a small sound of confirmation, “I tried to visit you in the hospital but they didn’t let me in, as soon as they heard my name, in fact. May I ask what that was about?” Elphaba folded her legs under herself, taking her glass in both of her hands, not bringing it to her lips but resting her hands and drink on her leg.

Glinda merely shrugged, taking her glass to her lips and taking a sip. “That night is a bit of blur for me, perhaps I didn’t want to see any visitors.” She said, reaching over to a small gold-colored metal box from the table with her free hand. “I can’t say I know.”

Elphaba leaned back in the chair, her eyes locked onto the blonde and her glass now placed on a coaster on the desk. She was surprised when she saw Glinda flip the small box opened. Inside a neat line of cigarettes lay and she plucked one out. “Would you like one?” Glinda asked taking out another and offering it to Elphaba.

“What? Oh, no, no thank you. I didn’t know you smoked.” Elphaba said reaching for her glass off of the desk and finally taking a long sip. Glinda merely grinned; her teeth were as white as fresh fallen snow. It was hard to believe someone like Glinda would pick up a smoke just for the hell of it (once in a while for a party, maybe.)

“Well, maybe there are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Miss Elphaba. And the same goes for yourself and I, there are many things I have no knowledge of with your life.” She said, putting her glass down for a moment and took a match out of the box and lit it, holding it to the wrapped paper at her lips, then waved the match out placing the burnt piece of wood into the trash bin. “And it is none of my business, either.” She added.

“Those things kill, you know.” Elphaba said, with a hint of amusement. “At least, that’s what they are starting to say. The “doctors” ”

Glinda shrugged and took a breath in then let it out slowly, the smoke escaping her lips. “Well, then perhaps I kill myself slowly, because I’m afraid to do it quickly.” Glinda said with a bitter grin.

To say Elphaba was confused was an understatement, the Glinda she knew loved being the center of attention, and being the beloved Good Witch of Oz certainly counted as that. Perhaps the stress had finally gotten to her?

“Having a rough time being Oz’s bitch, my pretty? Running a country’s mural must be hard; don’t you have someone that could take over for a day or two?”

“I am not your damned pretty!”

Elphaba jumped slightly as the glass shattered in Glinda’s hand. And she hurried up from her seat, dropping her own glass when she saw red drip from Glinda’s hand. “What the hell did you do?!” Elphaba grabbed Glinda’s hand and looked it over, shards of the glass where cut into her delicate porcelain flesh.

“It was an accident, I suppose I have a tighter grip then I thought,” Glinda tried to rip her hand away from Elphaba, but the green woman held tightly onto the smaller woman’s wrist. “Let go of me, this instant!”

“Oh hush, you fool and let me take care of your hand.” Elphaba said, gently taking Glinda over to the bathroom and to the sink. Glinda, surprisingly, didn’t fight after that. She whimpered as Elphaba took the shards out of her hand and she bit her lip. “Shh, I’m almost finished, you big baby.”

“I am not a—OW!”

“You were saying?”

“You did that on purpose, you mean green thing!”

Elphaba grinned, taking the last shard out. She placed her hand over the smaller woman’s and mumbled a few words. When she took her hand away the cuts were gone, and Glinda felt a slight tingle within her fingers. Glinda still didn’t look at Elphaba, but managed a small “Thank you.”

Elphaba shrugged a small bit, her thumb rubbed Glinda's hand gently. “It was no trouble.” She said with a small smile.

For an instant, Glinda let down her guard and faltered in her cold look. A soft smile came to her face, her eyes seemed warmer and her hand relaxed in Elphaba’s grip. But just as quickly as they went down, they came right back up again and Glinda gently took her hand away.

“Glinda... Fiyero and I…”

Before Elphaba could continue, Glinda held up her hand and quickly shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to know. I meant what I said, it’s your life not mine I have no business in it; I shouldn’t have even said anything before. Wait, no, I should have, because that was a public place. Goodness, what if one of the Gale Force officers had seen you?!” Glinda put her hands on her hips and turned away from Elphaba. “You may be nothing more than a speck on the radar, but you’re still there.”

“I know,” Elphaba said, she ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Glinda spun around.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” The blonde woman exclaimed.

“I wasn’t,” Elphie answered truthfully.

Glinda shook her head and turned away again, walking over to her desk. “That’s not like you.”

“I know,”

“Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“It won’t.” Elphaba said, “Because, Fiyero and I are no longer lovers.”

Glinda stopped short in her tracks and didn’t speak for a moment. When she finally found her voice, she said “Oh, I see. Broke it off with you, did he?” She turned and gathered up a broom, starting to sweep up the shards of glass.

Elphaba walked over, taking the dustpan from Glinda’s hand and kneeling down on the ground, placing the thing to the floor to catch the shards. “No, actually, I was the one who told him to leave.” Elphaba said. Glinda didn’t speak, but her expression was waiting for Elphaba to continue.

So she did.

“It was odd, really. At the point in time, I had no idea that you had seen us, but…As soon as I saw you, when you ran away you left your flowers, I picked one of them up—why I have no idea—but when I looked at it, for the first time in years you came into my mind.” Elphaba shook her head, pushing a stray piece of raven black hair back in place. “No, not the first time…the first time I dared to admit myself to have thoughts of you. And after I did, when I looked at Fiyero I realized what his wife would feel if, or rather when, she found out about our little fling. The reason I realized it, is because I knew how seeing me would have broken your heart, if you had known. Of course, I had no idea you knew. So, you see Glinda…”

Elphaba stood after Glinda finished brushing the shards into the dustpan and she walked over, dumping the glass into the trash bin and turning around, looking at the smaller woman who found tidying up her already clean desk immensely interesting. “I know for a fact that you don’t believe that, “It’s my life and not yours” crap. I know you must hate me, or at least you did at one point.”

“I did hate you,” Elphaba stood and watched as Glinda’s hands slowly slid from the desk and to her sides. “I felt so hurt, I felt so angry, so sad…But, then I realized it really IS your life and not my own…we were silly teenagers when we made those promises to each other.” Glinda laughed as she looked up to the ceiling, her vision going blurry from the unshed tears. “Why, I can’t even remember what we said to one another.”

“A shame, you said your vows so beautifully,”

Glinda turned around to look at Elphaba. “Stop it, please, Elphie. You’ll only make me feel worse that I don’t remember.” She said softly. She walked over to the silver platter where the drinks sat, Glinda picked up the one Elphaba hadn’t known of what drink it was made of and the blonde merely looked at it. “I don’t even remember what this is. I made it just this morning, and I don’t remember.”

“Glinda?” Elphaba’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion “What are you talking about?” She asked.

Glinda smirked and placed the bottle back down and looked back at Elphaba. “You heard I was injured, but what you didn’t know is that I was injured more then once. I don’t remember most of it, but I do remember my drunken driver getting me into an accident on the way to the hospital. Although, I think it was amusing that the horse seemed to be just as drunk as the driver to fall over that cart.”

Elphaba winced. Glinda laughed, “Yes, it wasn’t very pleasant. I suppose Kumbricia was out to get me that night, it seemed one thing after another happened,” Glinda pointed to a spot on her head. “Somewhere in the chaos, I hurt my head rather badly; I can’t seem to keep things in my mind for long periods of time. The doctor told me it was something about hitting my head so hard it knocked my short term memory out. But, what do they know? They said that my brain had a mind of its own! How silly is that?”

Elphaba thought about making a sarcastic answer but decided against it. “A mind of its own?” She asked. Glinda walked to her desk and sat down, taking the pen and dipping it in the ink getting a new piece of paper and began to write.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done this much writing, even in collage.” Glinda avoided the question. Elphaba didn’t push the subject and chuckled. She sat down in the chair across from Glinda.

Hours passed and finally Glinda stopped writing and looked down at her work. Elphaba looked up from a book she had found and to Glinda who was frowning. “What’s the matter?” The green woman asked.

Glinda smiled bitterly down at the pages. “It’s just…no matter how much time I try to write down my feelings, when I read them again it just doesn’t…feel the same somehow.”

Elphaba set down the book and walked over to the smaller woman. “Feelings are strange things; some are harder to express then others.” She said.

Glinda moved so fast it took Elphaba a minute to register what had happened, Glinda had jumped out of her chair and was now clinging onto Elphaba.

“Don’t you ever cheat on me again!” Glinda sobbed into Elphaba’s shoulder, her fits making weak attempts at punches. “Never again, never ever!” Elphaba wrapped her arms tightly around Glinda’s body and held her as close as humanly possible, burying her head in Glinda’s golden curls.

“I won’t, I swear.” Elphaba whispered. She wasn’t sure if Glinda heard her, she wasn’t even sure if Glinda had wanted an answer. Maybe Glinda had just wanted to be heard, just to make it clear.

How long had it been since they had been this close? It had been too long, far too long… Elphaba ran her hands down Glinda’s back and up again. She wasn’t sure if it was an attempt to comfort the woman in her arms, or if it was just to be able to touch her again. Maybe, it was both.

But whatever it was, it lead them straight through the halls and doorways into Glinda the Good’s bedchambers.

--XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-