Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked or Lord of the Rings. I just borrow them for a time and play with them.

A/N: Hey everyone! I will try to keep Author's Notes at the beginning of chapters short, but since this is the first chapter of the story this will be a tad bit long. This is my first time trying my hand at a Wicked fanfic, though I have tried my hand some with Lord of the Rings with my NCIS crossover. But by no means go easy on my reviews. I would like to improve, and I can only improve if people give me constructive criticism. Don't get me wrong though, I don't mind the short reviews of "I like it," but I'm not a big fan of "I don't like it" and that's it. At least give me a little sliver of why, even if it's very basic. Ok, the Elphaba is based off of Eden Espinosa's or Teal Wicks's version of Elphaba, the Fiyero is based off of Derrick William's version of Fiyero, and the Glinda is based off of Megan Hilty's version of Glinda. So, that is my slight disclaimer if some of the characters seem a tad bit out of character compared to the version of Elphaba/Fiyero/Glinda you've seen. Ok, enough of this author's note, if you've read to the end of this I highly applaud you and give you a virtual dessert of your choice, and on with the story! This story is also musical-verse.

Rating: T

As Elphaba stumbled over the rock that just conveniently jutted out of the earth in her path, Fiyero reached over to try and help her stay up. Unfortunately, his scarecrow form wasn't strong enough to hold her up, and she went down in a heap on the ground, her black hair flying forward and pooling over her face and the ground. Fiyero kneeled down next to her, his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he placed his gloved hand on her back. "You fell pretty hard."

Elphaba sat up slowly and pushed her hair out of her face, flashing Fiyero a strained and weary smile. "I'm fine." When Fiyero gave her a skeptical look, she shook her head. "Really, I'm fine. Now we need to keep going." She made to get up, but lost her balance halfway through and collapsed on the ground again.

"Yeah, sure, alright." Fiyero's rucksack face crinkled with worry as he laid the hand that he had taken off her back as she attempted to stand on her shoulder. "Let's just stay here for the night. Let you get some rest. You're dead on your feet."

"Yero, we can't. We have to keep moving and get as far away from Oz as possible. This land is barely changed from Oz."

She made to get up, but Fiyero pushed her down again. "Elphaba. Escaping from Oz will do us no good if you're not alive to live a life away from it." Elphaba opened her mouth to object, but he shook his head. "Please, Fae. For me?" He said the last two words so softly she barely heard him. Her shoulders drooped and she sighed.

"Alright, alright. We can stop here." She then for the first time looked around. "Do you have any idea where here is?"

They had been traveling already for weeks, trying to get as far away from Oz as possible and living off of whatever they found along the way. Well, Elphaba had at least. Fiyero, being a scarecrow, hadn't needed any substance or sleep. They had headed out West from Kiamo Ko, both with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Dorothy had taken the broomstick, and Glinda had the Grimmerie and her hat, so Elphaba hadn't felt the need to take anything else, with the exception of her cloak, which was the same one Glinda had draped over her shoulders that day in the Wizard's Palace. So far, they had seen nothing but sloping land, grass, and the occasional tree. This land immediately to the west of the Vinkus had never been surveyed by anyone in Oz, even by the Winkies themselves. Only superstitions about demons and monsters of untold terror had ever come out of the west, and no one ever tried to confirm or refute them. So, Elphaba and Fiyero had decided that the west was the best option for them. The downside though was they had to have to hope those stories were exaggerations.

A few days earlier, Fiyero got to see how not allergic Elphaba was to water because they had had to cross a river that was deep enough for them to have to partially swim across. It had not been a comfortable process, but would have been even more uncomfortable (and impossible) if Elphaba's allergy had been real, because there would have been no way that Fiyero could have carried her across the water. Now, a couple of day west of that river, nothing about their landscape had changed.

Fiyero shook his head. "I have no clue. I've never been farther west than the Great Grasslands, and this is much farther than that. I've heard no one speak of that river back there though, or talk of any land even remotely similar to this," he said as he swept a hand over the land, taking in everything from the rolling plains to the mountains to the north that had remained ever constant but distant since a few days before they crossed the river. He then squinted as he looked farther west. "Hey, is that a forest?"

Elphaba turned and squinted in the direction that he pointed, trying to make out shapes in the failing light. "It looks like it, and a pretty large one at that." The dark shapes that they were studying were present on the western horizon no matter which direction they looked. A lone mountain also jutted up on the northern end, almost like a pinnacle.

"Maybe we can take refuge in that forest?" Fiyero's voice sounded hopeful as he looked towards his love. This trek had taken a lot out of Elphaba, and he wanted her to be able to rest in a permanent location. He didn't know how she could hold up so well after not only losing her best friend, but also her sister in a matter of months. He felt bad telling her she couldn't let Glinda know she was alive, but it was too risky, for her and Glinda. He could tell it killed her though to leave her behind.

"Maybe," Elphaba yawned. Fiyero wrapped his arms around her small frame and let her lean against him as they both lay down on the ground. She snuggled up against him laying her head against his chest. "I love you Yero," she whispered softly, and then he heard her breathing slow and grow even as she fell asleep.

"I love you too Fae," he whispered back as he kissed her on the head. Even though he didn't need it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is short. I have a couple more chapters written, but I just wanted to get the prologue out there and see what this story's reception will be. I know it's random. I seem to be a big fan of random. Please review! I will put the next chapter out if I find people are at least interested in this story!