Defying Gravity, 33/?, by ainsleyaisling

[ainsleyaisling]

Title: Defying Gravity, 33/?
Author: ainsleyaisling
Rating: PG
'Verse: Musical AU; some details from bookverse
Summary: Glinda and Elphaba - and Fiyero - working hand-in-hand, the way it was supposed to be . . . maybe . . .
This chapter: A ball can occasion a great deal of intrigue.
Disclaimer: Wicked belongs mostly to Gregory Maguire, and musicalverse belongs to Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman, and possibly Universal.
Notes: Sequel to "The Effects of Gravity," a link to all chapters of which, plus the posted chapters of this story, can be found here. The previous chapter of this story can be found here.



~~Elphaba~~

Elphaba found it best not to think very much about the dress that had been ordered, with a great deal of input from Glinda and very little from Elphaba, for the Midwinter celebration. To Elphaba's very great surprise, black had been approved as the color, but any relief caused by that decision had been short-lived. There wasn't as much beading as on Glinda's dress, but enough that Elphaba still feared she'd be significantly more eye-catching than she really preferred. The skirt at least was quite heavy and many-layered without being too ostentatious, and the hemline modestly brushed the floor, but left to her own devices she would have chosen a much higher neckline. Of course nothing actually showed - a moment frowning at the mirror satisfied her as to that - and she didn't really have enough to show anyway. Still Elphaba couldn't help but feel that more black and less green would be an improvement.

But, Glinda was in charge. Elphaba sighed just a bit as she gathered the skirts in her hands and prepared to leave the safety of her bedroom. At least the dress had long sleeves - green arms and shoulders on top of all that green neck would really have been a bit too much.

The dress's heavy skirts swished in an important sort of way as she descended the stairs. She quickly learned that if she hefted them too high - in addition to showing off her trembling ankles - the beads tended to catch on each other and cause the skirt to hitch up. She carefully held the lifted folds away from the rest of the skirt with fingers that still felt swollen from the cold, and picked up her pace. By now Glinda would be anxious.

Indeed her face seemed a bit flushed when Elphaba approached the designated meeting spot. "I'm late, I know," Elphaba hissed over the sound of her heels clicking against the marble. "You wouldn't believe the storm."

"I would, it still looks bad even from the window." Glinda reached out, but her warm fingers took hold of Elphaba's hands rather than reaching as expected for her hair. "Are you frozen? Your fingers are like ice."

"I'm all right. I think my face might be a bit burned."

"From the wind?" Glinda took hold of Elphaba's chin and turned it slightly this way and that. "Yes, a little. It's not bad. The color is unfortunate, though, I'm not sure you can carry it off as a blush."

"How would they know what color I blush?" Elphaba pointed out. "Am I much of a mess? I thought it seemed all right."

"It's mostly all right. Give me a minute just to fix the wisps." From somewhere in the mysterious folds of her gown Glinda produced a handful of hairpins. "What did Rikk say?"

Elphaba held quite still as Glinda did something with the hair close to her temple. "They'll help."

"Will they?" Glinda seemed almost too distracted to be pleased. "Well done."

"I didn't do much."

"Didn't he want anything from us?"

Elphaba paused until Glinda's hands were off her head. "Yes."

"Well?" Glinda asked expectantly, spare pins vanishing back into her gown.

"We'll talk about it later," Elphaba said after a moment.

The hesitation had been too long; Glinda's face was suddenly whiter. "Elphie?" she asked uncertainly.

"Don't worry about it." Elphaba fought the urge to run a hand over her hair. "Am I all right?"

"You're fine," Glinda said, though it seemed difficult for her not to ask questions. "Let's make a casual entrance."

"Have I been here this whole time then?"

"Maybe," Glinda said, with a bit of a thin smile. "Lurking."

"Lovely."

"Fiyero's waiting," Glinda added. "We've worked it out. He's going to intercept us and dance with you - make everything look ordinary."

"All right." Elphaba had time to take a deep breath, and then she and Glinda were leaving the shelter of their stolen hiding place and stepping out into the courtyard.

What seemed like thousands of people (but really couldn't have been) milled around the glowing, decorated trees with their magical dusting of snow. The sight reminded Elphaba of Munchkinland's frozen fate and it was a fight to keep a vague smile of greeting on her face as Fiyero appeared from the midst of the crowd and made his way over to them, his green uniform coat just one in a sea of green uniforms.

"Terrifying smile," he commented under his breath when he had come close enough. He bowed in Glinda's direction and held out his arm to Elphaba. "You look ready to murder someone."

"Try me," she replied through her teeth as she let him lead her out into the midst of the dancers.

"Did it not go well with Rikk?"

She tossed a fold of skirt over her arm in an attempt to take up a dance position, and immediately snagged something on the bodice. She sighed as she extracted her arm from Fiyero's in order to detach the beads from each other. "It went all right, I suppose. It's all on."

"Is it." Fiyero sounded about as ambivalent as she herself felt, but his face wasn't showing much of anything. "That's my job, by the way."

Elphaba frowned in confusion. "What is?"

"In the West, anyway." Deftly, and with very little bending, he pinched a fold of her skirt between his fingers and held it out to the side. "Hand?"

Somewhat bemusedly she took his hand, noting the neat way their joined hands held her skirt in a safe arc. "Ah," she said.

"Glinda forgot to give you lessons in dancing in a dress bigger than you are?"

"She did forget that minor detail." Elphaba held her other arm up awkwardly while he found her waist, then rested her hand on his shoulder and let him lead her. Luckily, he was as good at this as he'd been at school, even if the much more formal environment didn't leave a lot of room for her to relax.

"Might want to work on looking slightly less terrified."

"Right." She pressed her eyes shut tightly and forced her brow to unclench. When she opened her eyes again to the sight of his intent stare, she was able to smile. "Better?"

"A bit." He wasn't taking his own advice very well; his expression was concerned. "The storm must have been bad, are you all right?"

"Don't I look all right?" she asked with some alarm.

"Your hair is wet." Immediately his hand tightened on hers. "No, don't touch it, you'll call everyone's attention to it. And your face looks a little frostbit."

"I think it is." She wrinkled her nose, which hurt, as if she had needed confirmation of the wind's effects. "So it's not passing for the flush of - whatever?"

"Exertion? Excitement? Burning passion?" His face did really relax now into a grin. "From a distance I'm sure it is, it's only up close I can see the burn."

They nearly collided with another couple then; the man looked over his shoulder as if he meant to throw them a glare, but he caught sight of Elphaba and instead steered his partner away, looking rather wide-eyed. Elphaba pressed her fingertips into Fiyero's shoulder. "Maybe less attention on my burns and more on where we're going."

"Bossy," he commented. "So what did Rikk want?"

"I told you," she said in some confusion. "They'll - you know. It's on."

"And he wanted nothing from you in return?"

She looked over his shoulder, fixing her gaze on the tiny snowstorm depositing its glaze of white on a tree. "He wants something from me in return."

"What?" He'd obviously noticed her attempt to avoid his gaze, and tilted his head into her line of sight to try to catch her eye. "What does he want?"

Refusing to be caught, she stared fixedly at his chin. "It's not - not here, all right? With all these people . . ."

"But you will tell me later?" When she didn't reply he firmed his grip on her waist, turning her just slightly inward and making it harder for her to avoid him. "Elphaba?"

"I - I have to think," she stammered.

"You can't be worried about trusting me," he said, still guiding them both through the dance as if nothing out of the ordinary were going on.

"No, of course not," she said, her eyes now boring a hole into his shoulder.

"Then?"

She made the mistake of looking up. If she'd thought his gaze was intense before, now it was practically mesmerizing. She was both caught, unable to look away, and suddenly afraid. "I -" she began again, her breath coming in short gasps as she tried to find words. "I'm not sure this is something I want you to know. It's bad enough Glinda will probably have to know, I just - you'd think differently of me." She wasn't at all sure that she'd meant to say that last part, but his gaze really was hypnotizing.

"I see." The music was ending; she hardly noticed him transferring the folds of her skirt gently into her hand, and then he was bowing. "Well, you'll make up your own mind as always," he said as he straightened up. "I just hope -"

"What?"

His eyes held hers for another moment, then he shook his head. "Never mind."

"Fiyero," she started to say, but he was already walking away - toward the concealing line of pillars where she and Glinda had met earlier.

Elphaba looked around her at the couples rearranging themselves, changing partners for another dance. Her hands were already scooping up her skirts, as if her body knew what she was going to do before her mind had decided. She spared a moment's thought for her reputation, before reason reminded her that she didn't really have one of those anyway. She went after Fiyero.

By the time she caught up with him, he was turning around to meet her. The thought that he might have expected her to follow him irked her for a moment, before she realized that out here, insulated from the noise of the crowd, he must have heard her shoes on the marble. She called his name even though he was already looking at her.

His expression was resigned. "Look, Elphie, I can't tell you - I can only hope you'd -"

He sounded so confused that although she thought about scolding him for the nickname, she didn't. "Hope what?"

His eyes flickered over her shoulder toward the courtyard. "Did everyone see you leave?"

"Probably, but don't they think we're having an affair anyway?" She folded her arms across her chest. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, all right." He matched her posture, though he leaned back against a wall. "You can do what you like. I'd think you would know that some things are not worth doing for politics, that's all."

The blood was loud in her ears; her only thought was how could he know? Swallowing, she tried to keep hold of her control. Her arms pressed tighter to her chest. "Like what?"

"Like . . ." He gestured aimlessly at her. "Well, for Ozsakes."

"What're you -" Something he'd said finally caught up with her. "Anyway it's not politics. You know it's - it's lives, it's not some -"

"Keep your voice down," he hissed. "I'd just rather you thought - there's always another way. He was my friend, yes, but there are things I didn't think you'd ever do."

For another few heartbeats Elphaba's blood was like a waterfall in her ears; then suddenly she gave a shocked sort of laugh. "That's what you think he wants? Are you out of your mind?" A tug kept her arms imprisoned and wouldn't allow her to make the grand gesture she'd have liked. A glance down revealed that one of her sleeves was caught on her bodice. She sighed.

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" Impatiently Fiyero pushed away from the wall and reached for her, fingers quickly working at the entangled beads. "What else would you not want me to know?"

She yanked her arm away from him as soon as he'd freed it from her bodice. "That they want me to help them attack things. That I said I would."

He seemed shocked into silence for a while, then he leaned back against the wall with a tiny thump. "Things?"

"Supply shipments." She swallowed, her gaze sliding down to his feet. "Guard outposts."

"Elphie."

"Don't."

"Elphaba." She could hear his controlled breathing. He took a step closer and reached for her hand, which she let him take. "It's war."

"I didn't mean for it to be," she said softly.

"Guards have hurt you," he said.

"You haven't," she said after a very deep breath.

His eyes met hers, his hand still holding tightly to her own. "Well, don't attack me."

"I wasn't planning on it," she whispered.

Fiyero's gaze shifted over her shoulder. "Do you know that man?" he asked.

Elphaba frowned, but he was already taking her by the shoulders and turning her to face the courtyard. "What man?" she asked.

"There, dancing with Glinda."

A flash of Glinda's golden gown caught her eye, but was quickly gone again. Fiyero walked them both sideways until they were at a better gap between pillars, looking out on the dance floor. The sight of Glinda out in her element nearly took Elphaba's breath, as it certainly must have been taking the breath of anyone who wasn't used to looking at her. Her golden hair shone nearly white under the lights and the beads of her gown reflected a thousand little points of gold and silver, lighting her as if she were a vision conjured by some Midwinter spirit. Elphaba would have been surprised to hear that anyone had even noticed the man she was dancing with, not with Glinda to distract their attention.

That man was relatively tall, fair and pale, with a reddish beard - obviously a Gillikinese. He wore an emerald uniform covered with an impressive array of ribbons and medals. "I've never seen him before," she whispered. "Do you know him?"

"I think I have seen him, but I don't know who he is." The grip of Fiyero's hands became almost uncomfortable on her shoulders. "Doesn't Glinda look tense?"

"Yes," Elphaba said after a moment. Glinda's jaw was tight, the angle of her chin high. "She doesn't much like dancing with strangers."

"I don't think it's just that. Call it intuition."

Unthinkingly Elphaba covered one of the hands on her shoulder with her own, then felt her face heat up when she thought about the gesture. "Go dance with her," she said quickly. "This piece is ending."

"Yes," he agreed, though he didn't move from behind Elphaba.

"Interrogate her, you're good at it," she added dryly.

He did let go then, and moved around her to head for the floor. At the last moment he stopped and turned, fixing her with that curiously intense gaze. "We'll talk later?"

"We will," she promised automatically. "Go, please."

"Someone ought to ask you momentarily," he threw out as he made to leave. "That young one of mine is here somewhere, I saw him watching us earlier."

"You have a disturbing fixation with my potential paramours," she said. "For Ozsakes, go."

He gave her a smile she couldn't quite decipher, and went.

~~Glinda~~

Lieutenant Chuffrey would probably have been an all right dance partner, had he not constantly been looking over his shoulder as if he were afraid of something. The awkwardness between them, tension that could have been cut with a knife, was bad enough without his contagious nervousness. Damn Morrible anyway for telling her that he was interested in her, Glinda thought with uncharacteristic bitterness. It felt as unfamiliar as a strange taste on her tongue.

"Worried about something?" she finally asked stiffly as his gaze returned to her once more.

"No - no," he stammered. "I am sorry, Miss Upland. That - I just - that Madame Morrible, she is a bit forbidding, isn't she?"

"She certainly is." As if the mere suggestion were a magic spell, Glinda felt Morrible's gaze on her. She stood taller, spine rigidly straight and chin lifted. "If such things bother you."

"They don't bother you?" He sounded admiring rather than questioning. "Of course you're her match, aren't you?"

"I don't know about that," Glinda murmured, eyes subtly scanning the crowd for Morrible. The conversation was like a chill seeping into her blood.

"Or at any rate your roommate is. I've heard."

Glinda's eyes narrowed, but he didn't seem to be fishing for information. If anything he looked terrified, which she found she rather enjoyed. "Oh, not even close," she said innocently. She let her voice fall to a whisper. "Even Morrible's afraid of Elphaba."

"Is there anyone who isn't?"

A disturbance in the crowd caught her attention; Fiyero was moving toward her. Glinda looked all around him, but Elphaba was nowhere to be seen. "There are one or two," she said.

The musicians were bringing this dance to a close, thankfully. Glinda was finding that knowing what she wanted to do and actually doing it were two very different things, and that having chosen this path deliberately wasn't making her stomach feel much better. The sense of relief increased when it became obvious that Fiyero was coming for her on purpose. She dropped a deep curtsey with the last notes and said, "Please excuse me - an old friend."

"An old -" Chuffrey's eyes found Fiyero just as the prince bowed deeply to him.

"Please excuse me," Fiyero said, unconsciously echoing Glinda's dismissal. "I came to ask if Miss Glinda would dance with an old school friend."

"Of course I will," Glinda said, repeating her curtsey to Lieutenant Chuffrey. "Thank you for the dance."

"Perhaps another later?" Chuffrey asked, standing straighter as if he had to force himself to do so.

"Of course." Glinda smiled through tight lips, and gave him another nod as she took Fiyero's arm.

"Why did you promise him another dance?" Fiyero muttered as the music started up. "You didn't look as if you enjoyed the last one."

"Spying on me?" Glinda asked, striving for a light tone.

"Yes." With obvious ease he scooped the skirt of her gown into his hand. "Elphaba's worried about you, you know. Very worried."

"Ah, so you were spying for her sake?" Glinda wasn't sure whether this made her feel better or worse, though the warring feelings were for very differing reasons.

"For yours, I'd say." His hand momentarily left her waist to brush softly against her chin. "Don't want to tell me what's going on, do you?"

"Fiyero," she sighed. She moved the hand on his shoulder so that her palm rested over his heart instead. "You're such an infuriatingly good man."

"So all the girls tell me," he said, rolling his eyes until she laughed. He lifted his hand from her waist and laid it over hers where it rested on his chest. "It's nothing I can help with?"

His face was so sincere that for a moment the offer - though of course he couldn't have meant the sort of help her mind immediately seized upon - was very tempting. But it was always like this. Fiyero meant so much safety now, that she supposed she might never stop being tempted. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and shook her head. "That's a dangerous offer," she said softly.

"Is it about - you and Elphaba, your plans? Rikk?"

Glinda shook her head. "Honestly, it's just - it's only personal. Don't ask."

"'Only' personal, but dangerous?"

Her head tilted to the side, she met his eyes with an old fondness. "Surely you know that you're personally rather dangerous."

"That isn't what you meant."

She mirrored his earlier gesture, extracting her hand to reach up and brush the backs of her fingers against his chin. "It was, actually. Maybe not for the -" Her voice caught, and she lowered her hand to his shoulder again. "For the reason you're so dangerous to Elphaba. But dangerous nonetheless."

"I'm not remotely dangerous to Elphaba," he said.

"Oh, you are." She briefly squeezed his hand. "That's why she's fighting so hard to stay blind."

"What exactly do you think would happen if she . . ."

Glinda felt a rueful smile creep over her face. "Honestly, I don't think any of us knows. Including her."

"It's all a pretty serious mess, isn't it?" Suddenly Fiyero grinned, and he was pivoting Glinda a bit more than the dance demanded. "Look."

Glinda's eyes immediately picked out Elphaba's black-clad figure at the side of the room. A young Guard, so nervous that he was practically shaking, was bowing to her. "Well," Glinda said, her smile widening.

"His name is Mandel," Fiyero said. "I told her."

"Told her what?"

They both watched as Elphaba cautiously took the boy's arm. "That he has a crush on her," Fiyero said. "She didn't believe me."

"I'd have been shocked if she had." Glinda laughed and felt her face flush simultaneously; Elphaba had just bent down to pick up her skirt for the dance and the action made the curve of her bosom swell at the top of her dress. The boy she was dancing with had his eyes firmly fixed on the ceiling, which was the sight that had occasioned Glinda's amusement. A stolen look up at her own partner told her that his cheeks were flushing as much as hers. She patted his shoulder and said, "Didn't you just dance with her?"

"A gentleman does the bending himself," Fiyero said.

"Right," Glinda said. "I can promise you she has no idea, or she'd never have done it."

"Oh, I'm fairly sure she'd rather die." He coughed.

"What?" she asked, forcing herself to look away from Elphaba and take up normal dance position again.

"Nothing," he said. "I - failed to give her enough credit for modesty, earlier."

Glinda didn't know whether to be suspicious or to laugh. "What did you do?"

"For Ozsakes, don't ask." He frowned. "Speaking of which - what is wrong with the Wizard?"

Of course Fiyero hadn't been invited into the Wizard's presence personally, but Glinda and Elphaba had long ago given away the secret of the unassuming middle-aged man who occasionally wandered the palace looking a bit lost and confused. Glinda followed his line of sight to where the Wizard - in disguise as one of his own Guards - was putting up a fair front of dancing with a buxom pink-clad aristocrat. What he was actually doing was following Elphaba with nervous, twitching eyes.

"His chickens are about to come home to roost," she murmured. "And he knows it."

Fiyero too was capable of following the Wizard's gaze, though without knowing the story it took him slightly longer. "Why's he so afraid of Elphaba?" he finally asked.

"He isn't." She drummed her fingertips gently against Fiyero's chest. "Listen - this is something - it's big, it's really big, but it's nothing to worry about. I'd tell you, but I don't really have the right."

"What in Oz . . ." he started to say.

"Elphaba will tell you, I'm sure," Glinda promised. ". . . as soon as she knows."

"What?"

"Enjoy the party, Fiyero," she said softly. "Just - let's enjoy the peace."

He frowned, looking between her and the corner of the room where Elphaba was - goodness, she was actually laughing as she danced with the young Guard. Fiyero's frown relaxed a fraction. "I agree," he said.