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He was too much a man of the world to be surprised at this – after all, a prince had to know when to withdraw – and anyway, if the two of them wished to be happy together, who was he to deny them?
And more than that – he would have assumed that there could be little doubt as to what was going on since their dance in the Ozdust ballroom.
It was not difficult to see when two people were in love, that was all he was saying.
But apparently quite a few people were rather blind, Boq among them.
Now, he did not have anything against Boq, personally. Yes, it was a little bit – he probably shouldn’t be running after Galinda the way he did – it was much better to let them come to you, but then, not everyone looked like Fiyero, so he probably shouldn’t be too harsh on him when it came to that.
The rest, however…
And with the rest, he mostly meant that he just did not seem to realize what had happened last night.
The school was abuzz with talk, of course it was, and he had more than once already heard a certain tone of voice that let him know that plenty of people were aware and had just decided to be discreet about it.
There was a difference between being discreet and utterly oblivious, though, and it was time someone helped poor Boq see the light – it would not do anyone any good if he kept persisting – how he had begged Galinda for a dance! Granted, only a few people had paid attention to it at the time, but still – those had heard – and she had effectively pawned him off on Elphaba’s sister –
Elphaba. Now there was a mystery, and he would admit that he was still more than a little intrigued by her… and because he admittedly did like a bit of chaos, as well, this could very well be a lot of fun – her and Galinda, both of well-known families, in a way… yes, this could be very interesting indeed….
He suddenly found himself wondering what the principal would think of it. She might not like it – but, on the other hand, he had yet to see her take any interest in the private affairs of students, which was a good thing because otherwise he might not have made it into the school at all.
But, really, it wasn’t as if she could do anything against it, and since they already roomed together, it would hardly cause a disturbance of them sneaking around at night –
And then –
He happened across Boq, who was looking around the library – yes, quite clearly looking for someone, rather than studying, but he was not going to make him feel guilty about that. He had no right.
“Boq!” he called out, clasping his shoulder. “And, how are you on this fine day?”
“Oh” he stammered, “I was looking for Miss Galidna –“
“I can imagine that – she is a very capable student” he said. “But I assume she will be busy with Elphaba – “
His eyes widened and he thought he had gotten through – “Oh, is she giving her magic lessons?”
Good Oz. “This is unexpected, I will grant you that” he said as calmly as he could – after all, there was nothing whatsoever strange or deranged about it all – oh no, there were much more confusing things out there in that regard, if you wanted to – but that was not what this was about, no, he had to make Boq understand, and he might as well get some amusement out of it “But if they like each otherr –“
“I didn’t know they were friends” he told him completely serious, it seemed “But if Galianda likes having Elphaba around, there is no reason for me to tell her that she shouldn’t –“
“She most definitely likes having her around, and very much so. Of course the same is true in the other direction…”
“Yes, I saw, at the ball room – I didn’t think Elphaba liked anyone!”
In that case it was most definitely because no one had ever bothered to try and get to know her, but one statement at the time. For now, he was going to explain to this fool what was going on before it stopped being funny. “They more than like one another” he therefore simply announced.
“I –“ and then, finally, he watched comprehension dawn. “But – but – they hated one another –“
“Did the dance last night really look like that to you?”
He didn’t have an answer, and he decided it was best to let him think things through. Not everyone was so modern and relaxed about certain things as royalty had to be, really.
Ah well. He whistled as he left the library and went looking for something to do.