to an Arjiki prince? Her family wasn’t stupid. She got food, servants, and the solid stone walls of Kiamo Ko for defense against other tribes.” Plus all five of her sisters moved in with her, so she always has company—and he has “a harem,” although he has never slept with any of the other sisters, mostly so his wife cannot use it against him.

This evening their affair begins. Elphaba still is very secretive about her work, and there are periods of time where they do not see each other, but ultimately they come together again: “Fiyero + Fae,” her code name. They enjoy their time together, but Elphaba will not let Fiyero see her naked body in the light, nor will she let him touch her below the waist. Fiyero realizes he is in love for the first time and is sad when they cannot be together. He continues to write weekly letters to his family and sometimes sends them gifts, largely to relieve his guilt.

Meanwhile the Wizard continues to push the Animals out of town, bank interest rates are soaring, and many houses are being foreclosed upon. One day Fiyero tells Elphaba the news he has heard about the army marching into Quadling Country, saying there is likely not much of the city of Qhoyreleft and wondering if her father, brother, and sister are still there. Elphaba says no—they had moved from Qhoyre to Ovvels in the outback long ago, so she expects they are safe.

Elphaba then talks briefly about her life among the Quadlings, recalling how her father had few converts but they liked to hear her sing. Under the Ozma Regent, speculators began strip mining the area looking for rubies, but the “murder and brutality” only started under the Wizard. When the Quadlings found no way to fight back, they rallied around Elphaba’s father, who converted them and led them into battle—many to their deaths. There was no outcry from Oz about the Quadling genocide. 

While she resents much of what her father has done and had her do, Elphana still “love(s) the mad old tunnel-visioned bastard” just as she is devoted to Nessarose—even though she’s “a pain in the neck . . . intolerably righteous . . . (and) a nasty piece of work.” Her brother Shell is now about 15, but she cannot allow herself to think too much about them; her work is in the Emerald City. She expects that eventually Nessarose will become the next Eminent Thropp in Colwen Grounds since Elphaba has no desire to take her great-grandfather’s place when he dies.

Another day Elphaba becomes very angry when she sees Fiyero eating pork, saying it could easily come from a Pig. Not having known many Animals in his life, Fiyero is not as bothered by this as she is; mostly he is disturbed that he can no longer eat his lunch. From here they launch into a discussion of what wickedness and evil truly are, as well as how they are displayed by various people. 

Elphaba hints that something big is about to happen—an assassination—and Fiyero challenges her, asking what will happen if some innocent bystander gets in the way. Elphaba tries to reason that “there will be . . . accidents . . . (but) any casualty of the struggle is their fault, not ours.” She cannot worry about individuals; her focus must be on the greater good. Fiyero finds this argument faulty, and they part that day without speaking.

When next they get together, Fiyero brings candles to decorate for Lurlinemas—something Elphaba has never done before but admits looks pretty. He then teases her that she “(has) no soul.” She puts up no argument, having long believed this about herself. Fiyero now takes the opposite side, saying of course she has a soul because she has a conscience. Elphaba says that what she has is “instinct . . . the movement in the gut toward food, fairness, and safety.”

Fiyero calls this argument “the most extreme argument for crime (he’s) ever heard” as she is “eschewing all personal responsibility.” He again brings up the innocent bystander argument, and Elphaba says that given the opportunity, she would “save the innocent bystander . . . but not at the expense of other, realer people. And if you can’t save them, you can’t. Everything costs.” 

One afternoon soon after this, while getting coffee at a café that had experienced an explosion the night before, Fiyero has the opportunity to witness for himself some of the cruelty being exercised toward Animals. When he looks out the window, he sees a group of Quadlings, a family of Bears, and some stout Gillikenese men—all of whom appear to be prisoners—exiting a school building. Once outside, they all separate into their own groups, and Fiyero wonders why they do not work together to try to escape. 

After about ten minutes, a Gale Force soldier emerges with a truncheon and Fiyero again wonders why they do not work as a team to fight back, twelve against one. Horrified, he watches as the soldier brings the club down on the head of the bear cub—and he realizes the explosion was probably a failed attempt to free the group before something like this could happen.

When next he sees Elphaba, he wants to tell her about what he saw, but he realizes she does not want him to join her in that part of her life. She also tells him that she is going to need two weeks of privacy during which he cannot see her at all because there is “going to be an episode” and she needs to be available at a moment’s notice.  Even she is not sure what her role will be; “It’s a complicated maneuver with a lot of interlocking pieces” and they only tell each person as much as is needed so that if caught, the information cannot be tortured out of them. She admits their ultimate object: to kill the Wizard.