Fan fiction test!

[DancingElphie]

Aw, thanks! Yeah, summer has become extremely busy for us both. I just finished up a 2 week dance workshop (dancing from 10 in the morning to 5 at night=exaustion), and I'll be leaving for the lake this weekend soon. But after that, I think I'm free for a while, and we should crank out another chapter or two. We've both had difficultly with ideas for this, since it's after Amirio's death (I still can't believe we killed him), but I have a few ideas buzzing round. Expect a next chapter before next Friday or so. We should get it done then.
DE

[imperfectly_green]

Thank you very much for the update. It never hurts to hear from the authors. ;D

And about DE's boyfriend...I believe that it has been said somewhere on this thread a good many ways back that boys suck. And that sums it up. Boys suck. They do. Period. DE, I'm very, very sorry.

[DancingElphie]

Hey, it's cool. As I am typing this, GG is sitting behind me, messing with my hair (heaven's knows what she'll do to it), and she says she has an art piece planned for it! HELP!

Nah, love the chick. WAIT. I just found out she plans to braid it. In pigtails. Mind you, I've got really, really long hair (my mother and GG both think it needs to be cut. NEVER!), so this will look like a freak deal. Maybe I don't love the chick.

Anyways, I couldn't ask for better fans. You have comforted us through guy deals (now we're both single for the first time in a LONG time), been encouraging and patient, and most of all, LOVED our fic. You are great! We love you all, and some of us have become not just fans, but online friends. Thanks!
DE

[galindafiedgirl215]

Hi guys! I am now collecting donations for the "CDHOS" fund (cut Dee's hair off shorter) fund. We except cash, checks, credit cards, or scissors. This will be running through the end of June. Thank you,

Gigi

[DancingElphie]

Oh brother. I promise, I DON"T NEED A HAIRCUT!
Sorry, I'm just so sick of it. Anyways...
DE

[I Will Be Popular]

Here you go! ;D

Nah, just kidding.

DE, I am so sorry to hear it. But don't worry,

It is better to have loved and lost than to have never been loved before.

I think. I think I messed up the quote. Oh well. You get the picture.

[iheartpinkandgreen]

hehe, just had to say that the scissors made me fall out of my chair laughing! How easily amused I am!

[~Wind Phoenix~]

Ok, be prepared for a longish rant. Okay, from the begining. When I first registered with Verdigris, I was looking at the fanfiction section and I saw this story. The length of it frightened me a bit, so I read shorter ones instead. Then I went to fanfiction.net and looked for Wicked fics. Guess what I found? Breaking Through the Night. Then, tonight, I decided to finally read the long story. To my surprise it sounded familar. So, I reread what I already read, then the new parts. You two cracked me up and had me on the edge of my seat. When we found out Glinda's darling husband was Boq, I was shocked. Whenever Fae or Ali was enraged, I was mad too. When Amiro was killed, I almost cried, and chills went up my back. Of course there's things to criticize (sp?) too... When I started reading the story, I thoght it was going to be a cliche story. But you've grown as writers. And now I'll quit because it is 12:50 am right now. ;D

~Wp

[DancingElphie]

Wind Phoenix- Thank you! I too believe we've grown a whole lot as writers since GG started her own fic (the first three chapters are expressly hers), and I'm rather proud of what we've become. Oh, and critize away... we adore constructive criticism. But thank you. Sorry that we frightened you intially!
DE

[~Wind Phoenix~]

Well, I came pretty late to Verdigris, within the last two weeks, I think, so what else can I expect? ;D The board's pretty old, and bound to have big looong topics. ;D

But, anyways, update soon! ;D

[imperfectly_green]

On the topic of hair:

on the side of GG: One of my friends has this beautiful long black hair that goes all the way down to her thighs. Seriously, she has never cut her hair. Ever. And we, her friends, thought she was never going to. But in December she took about a foot off of her 3-feet-and-an-inch-or-two growth of hair, and it actually made her hair appear to be much more shiny and healthy. So sometimes a haircut is not such a bad thing.

On the side of DE: Hey, it's your hair, right? You can do whatever you want with it, and you decide what looks good and what does not. It's up to you. ;D

[~Wind Phoenix~]

I like long hair. It's all... Animeish. ^^ Don't let then touch your hair DE!

[DancingElphie]

We have finally finished this chapter! Oh, one slightly off topic thing: GG and I entered a contest (of sorts) to be able to write for an online Wicked magazine. We just got the results, and out of the six entries, both of us have been asked to do it! We're both extemely excited! anyways, the Chapter:

Ali sat on one certain spot on the ground, her body hunched over the tree that had killed her Amirio. She had cried until no tears were left in her body, and red marks streaked across her face. Her eyes were transfixed on his lifeless figure, and they wouldn't move, despite what the rational side of her brain told her to do. She sat there for hours upon hours, and would not move, even with the prodding that Blaise and Fae were giving her.

"Its of no use. She's not going anywhere," Fae said with a sigh after another failed attempt of getting Ali going. "We might as well get our plans in order. I don't think she will be much help."

Fae had been trying for hours to get Ali to at least stand up, eat something, do anything except sit there and wallow in misery. Fae knew that she was deeply hurt and affected by all of this, but they couldn't just stop living! Afterall, Amirio had tried to kill them! But none of it seemed to register with her cousin. With a resignated sigh, she moved her body next to Blaise's, put her petite arm around his waist, leaned her head on his shoulder, and tried to formulate a decent plan.

In order to form this plan though, they needed to know where to go. They had to find Glinda and Elphaba, but they had found no clues to their whereabouts the entire time, only gotten themselves into more trouble. Suddenly, the thought occured to her. The Emerald City! If the Darkness had already hit Quadling Country, surely by now it would be at the capitol. It would only be a logical move.

She figured the journey would take 7 days by foot, 5 by bubble and broom. But with dragging Ali along (which looked to be a likely occurance) it might take longer. When they made it there, well, then they would see what happend. Right now though they had at lease a simbalence of what to do. "Blaise, come on. We're leaving."
*************************
The sun began it’s slow ascent over the horizion, it’s golden beams slowly coming out of the shadow of the most southern part of the Great Kells. Though the formation was still over a hunderd miles away, Fae could easily spot the tips of the mountain range. They had traveled a considerable amount for only two nights, but there were still many days of travel before they even would be able to see the spires of the Emerald City’s green palace.

Their progress was impeded by several matters, namely Fae having to control both forms of transportation. She was seated on the broom, feeling that if she was to move one inch she would fall to the ground several miles below. Her grip and stance was unsteady, and the broom didn’t travel in a straight line, but it was moving quickly. The bubble was following closely, containing Blaise and Ali. As Fae quickly glanced over, she noticed that Ali was staring far over the horizion, as if she saw something that was invisible to the rest of the party. Her gaze was unfocused, and her eyes were still red and puffy, with an occasional single tear falling down her face. Dirt was smeared over her face, and her hair was unkempt, still unbraided like it had been when she had awoken from her sleep to find Desmona and Amirio together.

Ali’s thoughts had ground to a halt. She started at some point in the sky that even she couldn’t identify, and just lived. She didn’t think, she didn’t move, she hardly breathed. Her emotions could not be identified in one term, because they weren’t one thing. She felt a mix of sadness, grief, anger, and some sense of disbelief. She had seen it happen, and she was through with emotion over it. To actually feel the jumble of the emotions that were in her soul could kill a normal person. However, Ali had learned to harden herself to keep her feelings below the surface. Amirio had been the only one she could confess them to, the only one that would hold her like she needed him to, the only one to truly understand what was below the surface. She could open up to him, no matter what.
But he was gone now, and ‘It was my fault,’ Ali thought to herself, the only words to run through her brain. Those few, simple words didn’t just go through her mind once, but time upon time, burning themselves into her skull like a brand.

Blaise still didn't quite get the plan. His girlfriend didn't have a real knack for explaining things, but then again, he didn't have a real knack for understanding them either. All he knew was they were heading to the Emerald City to find the Grimmirie and get answers about Glinda and Elphaba. However, he wasn’t sure if it would happen. With Ali stuck in her emotional rut, they would already be down a person. Blaise knew that the two made a powerful combination, and while they were good on their own, their strength was tenfold as a team. He hoped for the sake of the group that Ali could put the pieces of her life back together again and come to help them.

"Swoop down there!" Blaise yelled at Fae. "It looks like a place where we can stay for now!"

"Looks good," Fae yelled back. Truth be told, she'd be happy with any shelter she coud find right now. The broom wasn't a piece of cake to control.

The landing didn't go quite as well as hoped. The bubble had popped too early, causing Ali and Blaise to drop a few feet while Fae fell backwards off the broom. 'That thing would be abolished as a mode of transportation if I had anything to say about it," she mutter miserably under her breath. She was tired, in a bad mood, and most of all, wanted sleep.

They walked inside the inn. Its floors were wood and the smell of Winkie beer seemed to seep from every inch of the place. People were passed out on the floors and a woman in a tattered dress swept around them, kicking them to the side if they were under the tables. Blaise was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"You better go rent us a room," Fae said quietly and pulling her hood over her head. "They might reconize me."

Blaise walked up to the small desk the woman had whisked herself behind. It had several nicks and places where the paint had worn off, as well as many stains from various food and drinks. "Ma'am?" he ased nonchalantly, trying to show a tough demeanor.

"What'd you want kid?" she said. Suddenly she changed her tone, obviously seeing the boy's money pouch. "Oh excuse me for my rude behavior, sir. My temper flares when all these drunkards pass out everywhere," she said, giving one a kick in the stomach. "So, I guess ya'd be intrested in a room?"

"Yes please, for three," he said, noting the behavior change.

"Well yes sir I can get you a room. Two of them? You must be rich to afford all that. . . entertainment," she said, then gave a loud laugh that broke into a cough halfway through. Suddenly one of the men lying out on the floor started to holler for another beer. She walked over and gave him a kick. "Shut up ya bloody fool! We've got good company!"

Fae felt like causing a storm cloud to give a shot of lightening on the old hag, but resisted. "How much is the asking price for one day?" Blaise asked.

"For a gentleman like you, I'll give ya a deal," she said. Blaise knew this meant the price just went double. "100 will settle the cost just fine." She leaned on the counter and lit a pipe from the Vinkus. Fae silently hoped she choked on it for the price she was asking for this dump.

"150 if no questions are asked and no one is told we're here."

"’Fraid your wife will catch ya?" she said as she broke into another cackle, "For that price no one will hear a thing! You're. . . excipade is safe with me," and she gave him a wink.

Blaise continued to let her think what she would and paid her the money. The woman, who said her name was Karrlitha, escorted them up the stairs and down a hall to the last room on the right. "Here's the key. Enjoy your stay," and with another laugh of hers she went back down the stairs.

“Thank Oz!" fae said dramatically and collapsed on one of the beds. "I thought that hag wouldn't let us up here."

Ali walked stoically in the room. Right now, she didn't care to know what had happened in between Blaise and the old woman, since she hadn't been paying attention. All she cared to do was sleep for a thousand years. 'Become yourself again!' part of her mind screamed. But she couldn't, or at least she didn't think she could. She would remain this whisp of a person. That would hurt much less. She also knew she couldn't do that. People needed her, and she couldn't jsut colapse because of Amirio. She had to keep living, despite how much it might hurt. She would try to resume her normal self tomrorrow. But for now, sleep was the only option.

Ali got into the other bed without even undressing or unpacking her things. Fae and Blaise got into the other one. She gently took one of her boyfriends arms and wrapped it around her. "Thank you," she said and gave him a kiss, before drifting off to sleep feeling safe in his arms.

Meanwhile Karllitha was busy counting her money down stairs. Something about that group just didn't seem right. Renting a room at the break of day? That was almost unheard of for prostitutes. However, who was she to doubt money? The drunkards began to rise, some of them with a pain in their side that they assumed came from when they passed out.

One of the men who looked like they were rising from the grave rubbed his head and gave a weak smile, remembering last night. "Up for another round?" Karllitha hollered at him, always eager for a chance to make money off of someone.

"Why not? Can't hurt before I have to go look for those scruffy kids," he said, pulling on his coat that was asigned to all guards when they joined.

"Kids? Whatcha mean kids?" the woman asked curiosly.

"Nerote," he said, before he saw the blank look in the woman's face. All she cared about was money, not news. "You know, Glinda's husband who has taken over since Glinda disappeared? Anyway, he's looking for a group of four kids who are apparently traitors to Oz. How eighteen year olds can be traitors I'll never know, but they are. Rich bounty on their heads too." Karlittha's eyes lit up.

"Now, just what would you say these children look like?" Her mind immediatly flashed to the group she had just sold a room to.

"One of them, a girl named Fae, has been described as very petite, with blonde curls. Rumor has it she's Nerote and Glinda's daugter, though he won't say anything about it. The other is tall with long dark hair. She goes by Ali. Then they have two male compaions, but no one knows too much about them. Here's some sketches," the gaurd said as he dug the two pieces of paper from his pocket and showed them to her.

"Sir, I think I have your people," she said while pouring him a shot of whiskey.

"You what?!?"

"Just go get the rest of your patrol and be here around sunset." The man rose to leave and she hollered out the door, "And dont' forget the money!"

***********************

Nerote sat in his throne room, drumming his fingers impatiently. This girl supposedly had 'valuable' information about the runaways, and he wanted it now. His body and soul were restless. He hadn't slept in days. He stared at his drinking glass, and suddenly picked it up and threw it across the room jsut to hear it shatter. Destruction. That's what it sounded like in his ears. The sound of pain, fear, death. All were things he had grown accustomed to now as the darkness enveloped his soul.

"Your excellency, the girl is here," a guard said, bowing low to the ground.

"Well then, what are you standing here for? Go and get here before I throw you to the stone too!" said he, laughing inwardly as the guard shuffled off at a much faster pace than the one he had entered with.

A few moments later a young women carrying a large sack walked into the room. She made her way to the throne, but didn't bow. This caused Nerote’s anger to bubble up inside him. "Why aren't you bowing?" he asked, waiting for her to apologize and immediantly hit the floor.

"Because, your majesty, when you see what I have to show you, it will be you kneeling to me."

The girl yanked something out of the bag. Nerote’s eyes widend when he saw what it was. The Grimmerie. He had thought the witches destroyed the only copy when they were captured! "How did you get that?" he asked, getting up and touching it to make sure it was real.

"A certain group of teenagers," she said coyly before pulling the book back quickly before his hand could touch it. "A group that I think you would be interested in hearing about."

"Go on," he said, eagerly anticipating what she had to tell.

"You'll be pleased to know that one of the group members was killed, by myself, of course."

"Well, which one? Your storys are beginning to tire me." Desmona realized she was pushing her luck, and began at the beginning and cutting out all the unneccesary details.

"While they were all stunned by the power I had displayed, I quickly picked up the book. No one noticed, and I left." Desmona had left out the part where she had been tossed into the house, but after all, she did bring vital information.

She watched nervously as all Nerote did was strum his fingers on the throne, deep in thought. After what seemed like ages, he finally said, "Desmona, how would you like a vast amount of wealth?"

"I could come to terms with that," she said slowly.

"Well, you find a way to defeat them, and whne you do destroy them, I promise you you will never have to worry about money again."

"Oh, but your majesty, I have just given you your best lead in this whole ordeal. I deserve money now," she said, a fire slowly igniting in her eyes.

Nerote laughed at the girl. She was a brave one. "How about a room instead?" He didn't wait for her reply before summoning the guards. "Take her to the best room in the palace," and as the group walked off he pulled a guard to the side. "Make sure to lock her in."

**************************

The group slept deeply, while the guards were waiting outside the door for the cue. "Men, get ready. They may go with a fight." With that, the signal was given and the guards burst in the room, catching the band of teenagers completly off guard, and knocked completely unconcious.

[~Wind Phoenix~]

Omug! A update! *Dances with joy*

Poor Ali.... I feel so sorry for her.

[emeraldroad]

Uh oh.........(laughs) this is getting good!