Epilogue:

The nurse opened the door to check in on the patient. The patient, a blonde woman who was maybe around thirty or thirty-eight sat on the hard bed with her blue eyes staring at the wall opposite her.

"Elphie?" asked the blonde woman as her eyes snapped up to see the nurse. Her face turned sorely disappointed when she realized that the nurse was not who she thought she was.

"No, Lady Chuffrey I am not Elphie," said the nurse as if she had said it a million times to the woman which she probably had..

"She was here, " spoke up Glinda, "I know she was! She comes every night just like she said she would! But nobody ever believes me!"

The nurse shook her head and looked at the blonde woman. Her hair was knotted and tangled, though it still shone in the dim lights that flickered on and off in the bare room. Her eyes glinted with a hint of madness but the nurse knew when the woman was about to lose her sanity. She had been Glinda's primary nurse ever since she had come to Southstairs Asylum for the Mentally Insane all those years ago. Now here they both were, ten years later or so but who really was counting, and they were still the same. Glinda was still convinced that this 'Elphaba' person came to her every night and Allaska was convinced that the poor woman was in terrible grief over something and would refuse until the day she died to ever let it go.

The metal bed creaked as the former Good Witch crossed her ankles daintily and her hands gripped the bed sheets and it distracted Allaska from her thoughts. She felt a cool breeze across her skin and her gaze traveled to the source of the wind. The one window that was in the room, which was placed high above almost near the ceiling was ajar.

"Lady Chuffrey," asked Allaska as she peered curiously at the open window and then to the deranged woman, "How did the window get open?" She knew for a fact that Glinda could not open it. First, the woman was frankly too petite to even reach it, and second the window had to be opened with a key for it was locked.

Puzzled, Allaska waited for her answer.

"Elphie opened it when she came in last night. I guess she forgot to close it again," Glinda said nonchalantly as if this was a normal reoccurring thing.

Allaska opened her mouth to comment, to reinforce what Sir Chuffrey had demanded that all care-takers of Glinda severely remind her that this Elphaba person was dead and was never coming back, but she found that for once she could not. She closed her mouth and nodded.

"Would you like me to close it for her?" Allaska asked.

That head full of blonde curls shook from side to side, "No. She'll be back tonight. You better leave it open."

Pursing her lips together, Allaska nodded firmly and paused before leaving.

"Is there anything else you need?"

Glinda smiled faintly at Allaska, "Besides Elphaba, no. Thank you for asking, dear."

Nodding a final time, Allaska opened the door and left Glinda's permanent room, leaving the blonde to herself.

Once by herself, the blonde ruler relaxed. She ran her fingers through her hair absentmindedly as she sat on the bed. She had half a mind to pace around the room but she decided against it. Sitting in that room all day everyday for the past few years was taking its toll on her. She was mentally and physically exhausted but Glinda knew that's exactly what they wanted her to feel like. They broke people here at the Southstairs Asylum and Glinda had promised herself and Elphaba that she wouldn't succumb to their wants. She would not break.

"Some things are easier said than done," muttered Glinda to herself as she leaned against the cold wall and closed her eyes.

She knew that Elphaba would be here any moment, it had to be near dark soon and that's always when she came.

The visits from Elphaba every night were the only things that had kept Glinda slightly sane over the years. She looked forward to them every single day and it was an incentive for her to behave in this loony place.

At last the blonde heard the widening of the window and a swooshing sound as a figure came into the room.

"Glin… what are you doing?"

The voice was unmistakable and just hearing it made the blonde woman sneak a smile upon her face.

"Resting. I'm tired, Elphie," replied the blonde as she felt instant relief flood her as she realized that Elphaba was here and it was not her imagination.

Opening one eye and then the other the image of Elphaba soon greeted Glinda's sight and the smile that was on her face widened.

"Too tired for me?" asked Elphaba sweetly as she hopped down from the open window onto the floor and walked over to where Glinda was. She placed her broomstick against the wall.

"I'm never too tired for you," said Glinda as she felt Elphaba sit down on the hard crickety bed and Glinda leaned her head on Elphaba's shoulder.

Long slender fingers snaked through blonde hair comfortingly.

"How are the voices?" asked Elphaba quietly.

"I can tell when they're yours and when they're not," said Glinda wearily as she sighed. She didn't want to think of the whispery voices that she heard on occasion that seemed to haunt her.

"You know that's not what I mean," said Elphaba softly. She prompted the blonde for a response but she half figured that she was not going to get one.

"I don't want to talk about that," said Glinda dismissively, "How are you?"

The blonde instinctively curled closer to the green woman and felt the soothing beat of her heart in her chest.

"In hiding like I always am," answered Elphaba with a small smile. Glinda looked up at that green face that she had loved ever since she had laid eyes on it even though she could never admit it to herself until later. Slowly she reached up her arm and wrapped her hand around the back of Elphaba's head. Glinda inclined her head upwards and the blonde painstakingly pressed her lips against the green woman's.

Elphaba was slightly caught off guard by the action but pleased nonetheless.

A green hand was placed against a snow white face as the kiss deepened. The flimsy gray uniform of a dress that Glinda was forced to wear shifted up her thighs as she moved closer to Elphaba.

"Glin… not tonight. It's a short visit today," whispered Elphaba when she pulled away from the other woman.

"Why?" Glinda's face was filled with hurt and sadness. Elphaba's heart ached when she saw the reaction on Glinda's face.

"It's just not safe tonight, all right my sweet?" said Elphaba a bit testily. She had other things to deal with tonight.

Glinda sighed longingly as she shifted away from Elphaba.

"All right," said Glinda glumly. She pouted prettily with her eyes downcast at the tile floor.

"Just one more kiss, Elphie? Like we used to…" the blonde trailed off and smiled as she looked at Elphaba, "Do you remember that time at Kiamo Ko when you told me not to jump? We were about to kiss and then you disappeared… where did you go, Elphie? You were right there and then you just vanished…"

Elphaba glanced at her and smiled back softly but her smile faded when she saw that far away distant look in Glinda's eyes that she knew all too well.

It took Elphaba everything she had left inside of her not to cry. She knew that this place was slowly killing every ounce of the blonde woman.

'Glin… we were never at Kiamo Ko and I was never telling you not to jump' was the thing that Elphaba wanted to scream at Glinda until she understood but Elphaba held her tongue as the blonde continued.

"And then that other time when you appeared in my mirror and you told me you loved me… I thought you were dead," laughed Glinda with a giggle, "But you're not," her face suddenly turned serious as a hand touched Elphaba's face, "You're real and you're alive. But why did you lie? Why did you lie to me?"

She turned angry in a split second as she spat out those last words. Her nails pinched into Elphaba's skin and the green witch winced as she tried to get Glinda's hand off of her face.

"Glinda I'm sorry, really I am. I promise when the time is right I will explain everything to you," swore Elphaba as Glinda let her grip fall from her face.

"When will that be, Elphie?" asked Glinda quietly her demeanor now sweet and demure.

Elphaba looked at her, really looked at her. She could practically see the marks of madness that were etching themselves onto Glinda's body and soul.

"I don't know," said Elphaba softly as she stood up from the bed and turned to leave. She grabbed her broomstick and didn't look back as she made her way towards the door until Glinda's voice broke the silence.

"Elphie, you said that for witches like us that there were no happy endings. There are only ends and afters…"

"Yes, I did. What are you getting at, my sweet?" Elphaba turned at the door to look at her.

A bright radiant smile appeared on the blonde's face for what seemed like the first time since Elphaba's 'death'.

"Well, this is a happy ending, isn't it?" Glinda's voice sounded hopeful. It sounded like she had spoken long ago when they had been at Shiz. Her voice was young, hopeful, not bitter and frail like it had been as the years had gone by.

"Yes," said Elphaba softly though she could hardly see Glinda's logic in deeming this situation as a happy one. This situation where Glinda was locked up as a mentally insane woman with the rest of Oz thinking she was dead and with Elphaba much the same and a runaway fugitive, "I suppose it is."

"Elphie?" Glinda's voice forced her to answer. She couldn't deny that sweet noise even if she had tried.

"Glinda," she prompted, letting the blonde continue even though the green woman had her back turned to her.

Those ocean blue eyes swelled up with tears and her lips trembled like the flower petals of a rose in a breeze.

"You'll come back, won't you?"

Though it was asked as a question Elphaba felt it was a responsibility and an obligation to come back. She knew she couldn't leave Glinda in here to fend for herself. Her Glinda was fragile and even more so ever since she was put in here for trying to kill herself. She was unraveling, just like Elphaba had at Kiamo Ko. But Elphaba refused to let Glinda get like she had been. She refused to have that pure innocent woman turn into a hallucinating and murderous monster. Glinda was too good for that. Even after everything Glinda had done to Elphaba and vice versa they both would not let each other falter.

"Always," she said softly and she took one last look at the blonde and then shut the door, the promise of her return swirling around the air and giving hope to the otherwise hopeless blonde woman.

"Back again are we?" said a voice as she entered the hallway of the asylum. Elphaba whirled around, her broom ready to strike whoever was speaking to her in the darkness. A figure emerged from the shadows. A prominent jaw line was seen first by Elphaba from the reflecting moonlight and then she saw the shine of military badges and of a uniform.

"Chuffrey," gritted out Elphaba with a hiss.

"Elphaba," replied Chuffrey as he stepped forward even more to reveal his entire being to her.

"How is she?" continued Chuffrey as he picked at the invisible lint on his clothes.

Elphaba shot him a glare, "We both know that you really don't care about her."

"Oh contraire, I do care about her," countered Chuffrey with a brief smile.

"Only when she is of value to your needs and wants," snapped Elphaba. She paused to calm herself while Chuffrey stood in the silence.

"You're such a monster for putting her in here," hissed Elphaba as she turned around, her black skirts flying in the air as she prepared to leave.

"And you're the monster that keeps her in here by showing her that you are still alive even though to the rest of Oz you are dead," shot back Chuffrey.

"At least I'm not the man who claimed to be her husband and then forced myself upon her for not loving the sick twisted man that I am. And I didn't lie to all of Oz and said that she was dead and then locked her in here," said Elphaba passionately. She thought of how Glinda had slowly descended into madness each time Elphaba had visited and she felt enraged by the mistreatment of her friend.

"Do you know what you've done to her?" hissed Elphaba as she closed the distance between herself and Chuffrey by moving closer to him in a threatening way with the broom raised in her hand.

"I've paled in comparison to what I've done to her than what you have done to her," reminded the blonde woman's loathsome husband.

"You never loved her! At least I loved her!" said Elphaba heatedly as her thoughts went back to the stories Glinda had told her of how Chuffrey treated her.

The older man looked bored at the acts of passion towards Glinda.

"You'll be back tomorrow, I presume," said Sir Chuffrey stiffly without looking at her.

"I will be back every single day until the day she dies," promised Elphaba.

A ghost of a smile appeared on the old man's face, "I suspected nothing less."

Retreating away from him, Elphaba felt she had nothing further to say to him.

"This isn't over is it?" called out Chuffrey as she was walking down the hallway to leave.

The glare that he received as she left provided the confirmation he needed. This clandestine relationship between the two supposed dead women was long from over.

In fact, it was just getting started….

THE END

So in case you guys can't tell I'm planning to write a sequel to this. I'm really excited and hope that you all will continue to support this story when I post the sequel. As for this story I am so grateful and appreciative of all your reviews and favorites and follows. Thanks so much and until I post the sequel!

Oh and see I didn't kill Glinda! Though I am quite tempted to maybe off Chuffrey in the sequel. Chuffrey Hunters unite!

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