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Elphaba stared at the place where Fiyero had been taken and beaten. She had waited until the guards left, unable to get answers from Fiyero, who now hung limply from the pole they chained him to. Every wound, every blow, had cut her deeper and deeper, but she dared not look away, and could not bring herself to leave him.
She looked around, then emerged from the… corn? Wheat? It didn’t matter. Fiyero was all that mattered. Elphaba removed the bindings holding him and lowered him to the ground as gently as she could, tears staining her cheeks.
“Elphaba… You… You were supposed to go, to be safe…”
“I couldn’t leave you, Fiyero.” She whispered through her tears, cradling his head in her lap. “I love you.”
Fiyero looked up at her, reaching up to caress her cheek. “I’ll always love you, Elphaba, even if you can’t see me. I’ve loved you since we rescued that cub… I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you…”
“Fiyero…”
“It doesn’t… Doesn’t hurt anymore.” He said, looking up into her eyes. Elphaba leaned down and kissed him tenderly, her tears falling onto his face. Fiyero’s thumb gently wiped away her tears as he kissed her back. His hand fell, then the kiss ended, and Elphaba cried out in anguish, her magic flaring into a storm that crackled with red fire above and around her.
She didn’t know how long she held him. Hours? Days? Time held no meaning, but when she lifted her head, her eyes held no emotion, only a deep emptiness. Elphaba wished she could follow him, unwilling to keep living in a world that had taken everything from her. Nessa, Dr. Dillamond, the love of a family, and now, the worst wound and loss of all, Fiyero.
Her eyes hardened and she waved her hand, opening the earth before settling Fiyero to his final rest, gazing down at him. “Soon, my love. Soon, we’ll be together.”
Her gaze lifted and turned towards the Emerald City. Madame Morrible and the Wizard… Elphaba mounted her broom and kicked off, not knowing that her magic had taken hold in Fiyero, that he would return to her. Changed, yes, but alive. She headed directly for the city, a deep pain matched only by her fury surging in her chest. The storm gathered around her, threatening and dangerous. “So be it, then. Let all Oz pay the price now.”
And, if she were lucky, she would be reunited with Fiyero in the process.