Xena woke slowly. Her head was pounding madly and her throat felt raw. She coughed and sat up. Gabrielle was lying next to her, as lifeless as a doll. Xena quickly crawled over to her friend and shook her shoulder.

“Gabrielle, wake up. Are you okay?”

Gabrielle moaned and tried to sit up. Xena immediately supported her and helped her sit.

“Xena? What happened?”

Her head felt foggy and thick. She opened her eyes and the world swam. Gabrielle grabbed her head with one hand and with the other she grabbed Xena’s arm.

“Careful, Gabrielle. I think what ever Glinda did to us knocked us out completely. I’m surprised she didn’t slit our throats or tie us up.”

Gabrielle shook her head. That was a mistake.

“I don’t think Glinda is evil Xena. To be honest, I’m not sure what she is, but she’s not evil. She doesn’t have that aura around her that Alti had or Callisto.”

A soft moan sounded behind them. Xena and Gabrielle turned their heads towards the sound and saw the woman in question lying on the ground. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times.

“Well, I don’t trust her. That’s one thing I know for sure.”

Xena said. Glinda looked up at her, her eyes filling with tears.

“Why don’t you trust me? I was only trying to help. I’m Glinda the Good!”

Glinda looked from one woman to the other and wiped the tears from her eyes. Xena and Gabrielle looked at her in utter shock.

“You can understand us?”

Gabrielle asked. Glinda startled. She could understand them. Was it the spell she had done? Her head turned slowly to face Gabrielle.

“Yes, I can understand you. Does that mean I speak your language or you speak mine?”

Gabrielle looked at Xena, who shrugged and stood up.

“What ever happened, it happened. We speak the same language now. Tell us Glinda, who are you and what are you doing here?”

Glinda used her wand to stand up and looked at the tall dark Warrior. She spoke with an air that made it so you wanted to tell her. She was intimidating, but when ever she looked at her small friend, there was so much love in her eyes.

“Are you lovers?”

Glinda blurted out. Xena and Gabrielle looked at her speechless. Glinda put her hands in front of her mouth and turned a nice shade of red.

“I’m sorry. That’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have asked. I don’t even know why I did.”

Gabrielle looked away and turned red. The warrior woman on the other hand burst out laughing.

“No, we’re not lovers. We’re just two friends.”
“Two best friends.”

Gabrielle interrupted Xena. Xena looked at her and smiled.

“We’re two best friends. Our friendship binds us closer then blood ever could. We are soul mates.”

Glinda cocked her head.

“Soul mates? What’s a soul mate?”

Xena looked at Gabrielle for an explanation.

“A soul mate is someone you feel a close connection to. It can be between men and women; they might turn out lovers or just friends. But it can between women as well. I believe that people used to have four arms and legs and two heads when they were first placed on this earth. At one point, the Gods became jealous and split everybody in two. So now we spend the rest of our lives searching for our other half.”

Glinda felt tears burning in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but that description that Gabrielle had just given was exactly how she had felt about Elphaba.

“That’s really beautiful, Gabrielle. I used to have a friend like that.”

Gabrielle walked over to Glinda and wrapped her arm around her.

“What happened to your friend? Did she die?”

Glinda nodded.

“This wretched farm girl threw a bucket of water on her and she melted.”

Gabrielle looked up at Xena, who shook her head. Neither of them had ever heard of someone melting before.

Glinda rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I shouldn’t be sad about it. Elphaba was a great friend. She changed me from being stuck up to Glinda the Good. Without her, I wouldn’t be the person you see before you today.”

She smiled a brilliant smile and picked up the Grimmerie. She dusted it off.

“So what are you doing here?”

Xena asked again, perhaps the little petite blonde would answer the question now.

“let us get on the road and I will tell you everything.”

Xena packed her stuff in the saddle bags and whistled. Gabrielle put out the remains of the fire and rolled up her things. The threesome headed out on the road.

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