Post #13: Part Three

Part 3: City of Emeralds

*there are no chapters in this part*

In this part of the novel, many years have passed. Fiyero goes in to a unionist chapel in Saint Glinda's Square to see a painting of the area's namesake since he knew her from school. Instead he sees Elphaba who no one has heard from since she stayed in the Emerald City that one night. She says he must have her confused with someone else and tries to escape from him, but he follows her all the way to her hideout. He forces his way in and sees that she has been living with the bare minimum all these years. He tells her about Sarima (his wife), children, and a bit about how his life is going. After dodging most of his questions, she reveals that she is in a dangerous business and she left Shiz because she loved her friends too much to put them in any danger due to her work. Although she says she never wants him to come back, she does not put up a fight when he comes again. They talk about their old friends, the first time they met, and they start to flirt in a very non-obvious way. He comes back a third time and tells her that he told Sarima he would need to stay in town for a while for business and he mentions that she does not fulfill his needs sexually. They begin an affair. They meet whenever they can, which sometimes is often and other times not. Elphaba tells him more about her family: her father's mission work, how he used her and her sister for it, how her sister will be the ruler of Munchkinland since Elphaba is "underground". Elphaba reveals that she is part of an assassination even though everything is very secret and she does not always know everything about it. They discuss good and evil and why she is involved with her work. Fiyero goes out one afternoon and buys presents for Sarima and his children before resting at a nearby cafe. He looks out the window and sees some Gale Forcers beat a baby Bear on the head while the others around only watch. All he thinks is that they should work together to escape from the Gale Forcers. He is unable to tell Elphaba about this when he sees her next. She tells him they will not be able to meet for two weeks because it is time to plan the assassination. She tells him that she is working to kill the Wizard, but that she only plays a small part in the charade.


***


As the feast of Lurlinemas draws closer, Fiyero goes out to buy scarves for Sarima and Elphaba, when he meets Glinda (who is with Crope). They go for tea and talk about their lives. Glinda is now a beautiful and rich sorceress married to a Baronet. She mentions that she recently saw Nessarose and asks Fiyero if he has heard anything about Elphaba (he says he has not). Apparently Nessarose is furious with her sister for abandoning her at Shiz. They talk for a while longer and then Fiyero departs. They do not meet again, but after the two weeks are up, Fiyero goes to visit Elphaba. He decides not to tell her about Glinda or Nessarose because he knows it will only upset her. It is now Lurlinemas Eve and he wants to spend it with her, but she says she has work to do and warns him to stay inside and be careful.


***


He decides to follow her and the two end up at a small theatre when a crowd is gathered for a show. Madame Morrible shows up then and Fiyero realizes that she is the one who Elphaba had set out to assassinate. Unfortunately, a group of children surround her, so Elphaba is unable to kill her. He heads back to Elphaba's, where the Gale Forcers find and kill him. Elphaba finds out and ends up very shaken and covered in blood at the church where she is taken in by a maunt named Mother Yackle.

My Thoughts/Questions:

-having a bit of trouble staying on task with the reading, but have not fallen behind yet
-more about good and evil > good for topic for essay
-is she going to succeed in taking down the Wizard?
-is she going to try to kill Madame Morrible again?
-Yackle again! why does she keep coming up in the story?
-what is Elphaba going to do now that Fiyero is dead? will she avenge his death? > that could be a common theme between the two novels