Elpheba woke to yelling. A green flame bubbled to life in her hand. The fire illuminated the tent in a warm glow, revealing Glinda wrapped up in some sort of nightmare. Her brow was furrowed, a grimace on her face, her body curled in on itself as if she were trying to hide. "No. No!"
"Glinda?" Elpheba reached out, gently, carefully touching the blonde's arm. She was cold and damp with sweat. "Glinda, wake up."
With a small nudge, Elpheba woke the blonde who swung frantically about with her fists. The witch managed to catch Glinda's hands and hold them in her own until the little warrior understood that she wasn't dreaming anymore.
"Don't touch me!"
Immediately, Glinda pulled her hands away and shrunk back into the small bed.
"Sorry-I...you were dreaming. You were in pain." Elpheba worried, not sure what else to do as Glinda tucked her knees to her chest.
"It's nothing new," Glinda insisted, brushing hair out of her face. "Genevieve stopped checking on me ages ago. Sometimes I yell when I'm dreaming."
"Do you want to talk about it?" For a moment Glinda pondered the witch's question.
"No."
"Okay," Elpheba nodded, still unsure of what to do. "We could head out now if you'd like. It's early."
"Not when the sun is still down," Glinda warned, her tone dark. "No one should be out when the sun is down."
"Is that when the monsters roam?"
"No, the nightmares," Glinda shook her head. "They are far worse."
— — —
Glinda was outside far earlier than Elpheba. She had gathered supplies and saddled up a pair of horses. Everything was prepared for their adventure but Elpheba had yet to leave the tent.
"Are you coming?" Glinda asked, barging into the tent where Elpheba was changing. "Don't look so alarmed. I've seen you naked before."
"Knocking is nice you know," the witch scowled.
"On what? The tent flap?" Glinda asked, arching a brow. For a moment things didn't seem so awkward. They'd spent hours razzing each other three years ago and it seemed natural to fall back into such a routine. "Just...finish up. The sooner we leave the better. Everyone else is still asleep and they won't stone us on the way out."
Lingering for a moment, Glinda left the witch to her own devices and double checked the saddle bags. Everything was in order, but still she felt anxious. They had a long trip ahead and there was a good chance trouble would rear its ugly head.
"What? We aren't going to come and go by bubble?" Elpheba asked, tying back her hair. Glancing over her shoulder, Glinda noted the lopsided hat perched on the witch's head. It was dull in color now and well worn.
"We are," the blonde remarked, patting the snout of her horse.
"Ummm, how?" Elpheba wondered, arching a brow in question.
"This is Bubbles," the blonde explained, the white colored horse nodding in agreement.
"So the black one is mine?"
"Yep, I figured it matched the outfit," Glinda admitted, knowing full well that Elpheba had adopted an all black attire ages ago. "Her name's Charolette."
"Bubbles and Charolette?" Elpheba smirked, finding the names quite suitable. "I like it."
"Saddle up," Glinda instructed, slipping easily onto Bubbles' back. She watched as Elpheba hesitantly studied her own horse. "You've never ridden before, have you?"
"You have?"
"My parents taught me," the blonde informed, sliding off of Bubbles to assist Elpheba. She showed the witch how to properly saddle up and watched as Elpheba awkwardly mounted Charolette. "There. The rest is easy. Charolette knows what to do."
"You're full of secrets Miss Upland, I'll give you that," Elpheba shook her head in mild disbelief. Glinda shrugged, and returned to Bubbles. Once she was certain that Elpheba wasn't going to fall off, she set out at a trot.
They took to the road just as the sun began to crest the horizon. The sound of hooves gently greeting the ground was almost enough to lull Glinda back to sleep.
"When's the last time you slept through the night?" Elpheba asked, almost reading Glinda's mind.
"I can't remember," Glinda sighed, but she was lying, Elpheba could tell. As much as Glinda had changed, much of her had remained the same.
"So this Morpheus fellow," the witch began, "do you really think he's responsible for all of this?"
"I do," Glinda nodded, eyes trained on the horizon.
"Why?"
"Nothing happened until he began to wake up. Then the monsters came and the Nightmares." The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. "Everyone thought it was you. Either still alive or avenging your own death from beyond the grave. He didn't truly wake until they took me to him. Then his ancient slumber was disturbed."
"You say that you were taken there. Did you go willingly?" Elpheba frowned, finding Glinda's word choice interesting.
"Yes. I didn't have a choice." The blonde sighed, her head bowed in some form of defeat.
"Glinda."
"They made me go, I didn't have a choice but to listen. They would've stoned me if I refused. It was...a long walk. But I think-I think Morpheus wanted to be woken. I was just a means to an end for him," Glinda explained, her hands gripping the reigns tightly. "I've been fighting him ever since."
"So he's our enemy then. Not a friend like the legends said."
"He's an enemy to everyone they just don't realize it."
"So he has supporters?" Elpheba scoffed, but truthfully she wasn't too surprised.
"Unfortunately," Glinda snorted, glancing in Elpheba's direction. The witch's face was cast in shadow but Glinda could see the sadness in Elpheba's dark eyes. "It's not your fault you know. That he woke up. Legend said it would happen eventually. He'll grow tired and fall asleep again. The cycle will continue centuries from now."
"Right," Elpheba nodded. "You know, it's been strange all alone on the perimeter."
"Alone? You have Fiyero." Glinda noted.
"I lost him a long time ago. He's been different since we left. It wasn't like I thought it would be. When I couldn't turn him back he turned on me instead. He's angry all the time." The witch couldn't help but picture her small house tucked into the mountain side with smoke billowing out of the chimney.
"He doesn't hurt you does he?" Glinda asked, her words holding a sharp edge. For a moment Elpheba feared the blonde was going to combust.
"No. He doesn't lay a hand on me." The witch assured.
"Good," Glinda nodded, but she still seemed on edge. "You know, I don't think I ever really liked him."
"What do you mean? You were head over heels!" Elpheba laughed.
"I don't know," Glinda sighed, "I just-he reminded me of my dad a bit and he was exactly how I pictured the person I'd end up with. It was like the universe said 'here he is you know what to do' but that was it. I just wanted it to happen. I never needed it to."
"That makes sense," Elpheba conceded.
"Maybe it does maybe it doesn't." Glinda shrugged. "I don't really care anymore."
"What do you care about?"
The question prompted more than a simple answer from the good witch. Elpheba could tell by the way Glinda's posture straightened and her shoulders tightened. "I care about everything."
"You used to-" Elpheba started.
"Care about myself, I know." The blonde's words were bitter.
"No, you used to care about others so much you'd get sick over them," Elpheba corrected. "You cared about me."
"That was my first mistake."
Glinda's words hung in the air like a blade ready to fall and cut anything in its path. Elpheba wanted to break the ice, to say something else, but Glinda was done talking.
— — —
"We camp here for the night. It's protected." Glinda explained, studying the sky anxiously. The sun was nearly below the horizon and soon night would engulf them.
"An abandoned tavern," Elpheba noted.
She followed Glinda inside along with the horses.
"We can't leave them outside or they'll be torn to pieces," the blonde informed, but Elpheba was busy studying the dusty tavern interior. Chairs were pushed in and neatly tucked beneath unblemished tables. Cobwebs hung from the candle laden chandeliers above. She could picture ghosts of people warm and happy crowding the scene.
"What happened here?"
"People grew afraid. They left everything behind," Glinda explained, trailing her fingers over a tabletop. Then, with a moment of thought, she carefully scrawled her name in the dust. "I wanted to do the same."
"Why didn't you?" Elpheba studied the delicate writing remembering how Glinda had tried so hard to perfect her signature. It seemed she finally had. It was elegant and beautiful just like her.
"I had no where to go when this all happened."
"Your parents?"
"I don't know what happened to them," Glinda admitted, her words catching in her throat. "I haven't heard from them since Morpheus woke. There's a good chance they're dead."
"I-I'm so sorry." The witch's words were soft. Lighter than the dust that surrounded them. "They'd be proud of you, you know."
"How would you know? You never knew them." Glinda accused, her eyes shining with tears.
"I know you, and I-I'm proud of you." Elpheba chewed nervously at her bottom lip. "You're stronger than anyone I know. Stronger than me. And you've endured a lot without losing yourself."
"Like you did?" Glinda's expression was a mix of pain, betrayal, and bitterness.
"What I did was wrong. I know that now because you showed me." The witch moved to touch the blonde, but Glinda retreated. All Elpheba wanted to do was comfort the other girl, to understand her pain, but Glinda didn't want to share those broken pieces of herself with someone who'd abandoned her.
"Get some rest. I'll check outside to make sure it's safe." Glinda didn't wait for an answer. She grabbed her sword from where she'd placed it on a table and marched out into the dark. Elpheba was left alone.