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Galinda lifted up some underbrush before locking eyes with the woman she snuck out in the middle of the night to meet, the leaves making a soft noise behind her when falling like a curtain into their accustomed spot. It had been tricky slipping past the guards at the Emerald City—they had seemed to be on higher alert as of late—but that didn’t stop her from seeing the one person she had so longed to see.
While others knew her as the Wicked Witch of the West, Galinda has and always will know her to be Elphie. Her Elphie. “Oh, thank Oz! I’m so glad you’re safe!” she exclaimed, running into the open arms of her lover; green skin and dark hair illuminating beautifully under the moonlight. She looked like a goddess. “That duel with Madame Morrible made me worried sick.” Images flashed through her mind of Elphaba taking hit after hit from the grand sorceress’s weather powers; chanting spells she learned from the Grimmerie in defense to dissipate any attacks. Watching on as she zigzagged through the air to avoid getting struck down by a bolt of lightning, and then with horror as one of the bolts had been successful. Unnoticed, tears began to collect in her lower lashes only to be swept away by a loving caress of a thumb.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you, but please believe me when I say I’m okay. It takes more than some measly lightning to bring me down…well, figuratively at least.” She pressed a kiss to the blonde’s forehead, hoping to reassure some form of comfort not only within Galinda, but herself as well. Taking advantage to make light of this moment, she put on a joking tone. “Though I can say Madame Horrible does pack one hell of a whiplash, I’ll give her that.” Elphaba stretched out her arms only to wince and rub the lower half of her back. “Definitely going to be feeling that tomorrow.”
Galinda snickered at the use of the name she and Elphie gave the wretched woman. This moment of joy, however, only lasted for a moment.
Picking up on her somberness, Elphaba took the woman’s hands in her own and gently walked her over to sit on the picnic blanket she had set out for them; the warm glow of the candle creating a stark contrast to the tension in the air. “What’s wrong, my love?” she asked, eyes knitted with concern as she poured and passed her a glass of water.
Galinda took a sip before speaking again. “I’m tired of hiding, Elphie. I wish people weren’t so evil and saw you the way that I do. I don’t want to pretend to be on the Wizard’s side anymore! I want to be here with you and love you. I know you said I had to keep playing the role of Glinda the Good so that I stay safe, but I just can’t anymore! Not when your life is on the line, too!” Her shoulders shook violently with each sob that suppressed through her tiny frame.
You could have come with me. I asked you, in fact, to join me. Instead, you stayed back because you didn’t want to taint the image you put on for everyone, even when it wasn’t the real you. I wonder if we were in that situation again, you would come with me now. Elphaba reflected bitterly, deciding it was best not to voice this anger.
For almost a year now, they had been meeting like this. Scheduling romantic picnics deep in the forests of Oz, where they could ensure that it would only be the two of them. Forbidden love never worked out easily—at least that was what the two had gathered during this time of secrets.
The only person who really knew about their flirtation was Fiyero, only because Galinda had—obviously—fallen out of love with him and had absolutely no desire or intentions to be unfaithful. From what Elphaba overheard, it seemed to go well, and he wished them both good fortune to come their way. Plus, the letter she may or may not have sent—unbeknownst to her preppy paramour— threatening that if he dared tell anyone about them, she would transfigure him into a scarecrow.
It turns out that putting up a facade is much harder when it entails someone you love, Galinda thinks to herself. Unlike her times at Shiz, where everything had seemed so easy because with just the toss of her hair and batting of eyelashes she could get what she wanted—and while she still had that effect—it didn’t carry the weight that came with maturity.
The silence that grew between them became uncomfortable. Not being able to stand it any longer, Elphaba sighed. “I’m sorry if I did anything to hurt you. I’m scared of something happening to you, too.” Cupping Galinda’s hands, she brought them up for a kiss, eyes pleading for brown to look back at green. Reluctantly, the blonde did so. “I’ve just never loved anyone the way I love you, and I don’t know what to do with that feeling. Does that make any sense?”
Her girlfriend gave a soft nod in response, still too choked up to speak.
Elphaba smiled, glad she was able to instill some level of peace within her.
“Just promise me you’ll be more careful in the future, okay? I’ve never loved anyone the way I do you, either,” Galinda said with a forgiving smile after finally finding her voice.
“I promise.” For a beat, the two stared at one another, their gazes holding all the love they felt for each other. “Now!” Elphaba chirped, making her lover jump a bit as she rubbed her hands together. “How about we get to why we are here in the first place, hm? I packed your favorites.”
“Oh, Elphie, it looks wonderful, only I don’t see any desserts.”
“That’s because it’s a surprise tonight, my dove,” she responded, giving a sultry look.
Picking up on her intentions, the other woman fluffed out her periwinkle blue and purple gown to get more comfortable. “Well, aren’t I a lucky witch then?”
With the tension quelled, the forest became the serene scene it always was during their time together. Water flowing in the stream harmonized with the singing of Birds—who were using actual words, thank goodness—the heartbeats of two lovers soon to join them.