Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked or any of its characters
Rating: K
Author's Note (PLEASE READ): This story is based shortly after Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and starts saving animals. Elphaba saved a large band of rebels who were going to be used to open Oz's very first Zoo. To repay her, the animals talked her about an old abandoned house in the mountains. It was sorounded by a large forest and almost no one knew of its egsistance. Elphaba soon found it with the help of her broom (searching for the house from high above proved to be an easy task). It was the perfect hide out. This is where the story takes place.
This is my first story so I hope you enjoy it! Feed back always welcome.
Elphaba stared at the leaky roof and could only sigh. It was the only part of the house that was in any need of repair. Large holes were all over the ceiling and she could see the blue sky through them (that is, apart from the few places Elphaba had managed to block with umbrellas). Elphaba looked down at the pile of tools and materials she had managed to find and was rather happy that it looked like she would have more than enough to repair the roof, her only problem was that she had no real idea how...
Suddenly something crashed through the roof. With a cry of surprise Elphaba pressed herself against the walls with her hand covering her head, hoping none of the roof tiles or pieces of wood would land on her. She looked up. In the centre of the room there was a large pile of rubble and whatever had fallen was probably underneath it. Elphaba nearly jumped out of her green skin when she heard coughing and a very human moan. She looked back at the now huge hole in the ceiling and wondered how one earth a person would have ended up falling through. There were no trees close enough and she didn't understand why anyone would jump through the ceiling instead of just using a door or window. Elphaba started to panic, what if this was one of the many witch hunters searching the land, or worse, one of the guards from the emerald city. Slowly, with her heart in her mouth, Elphaba walked over the pile. She pulled away a log and a few tiles and found an arm. It was covered in a layer of thick, brown fur. Elphaba continued to dig and pulled out a creature unlike any she had ever seen...
It might have looked human, if its whole face and body wasn't covered in soft and thick brown fur. It had large almost cat-like ears and a tail that greatly resembled that of a lion. Its hands, were very big and Elphaba quickly noticed that its arms were probably long enough for it to walk on all fours. It wore a plain white shirt with short sleeves, and pair of shorts and sandals. Elphaba had never heard of such a creature...
The thing had been asleep for about an hour, during which time Elphaba put it in one of the bedrooms and had bandaged its wounds. Much to her amazement none of its bones were broken despite the violent fall. Whatever it was, this creature was clearly very resistant and strong. Even through her fur, Elphaba had not failed to feel and notice hard and wiry muscles. Elphaba had also had the time to stare at it for quite a while. If it had no fur its face would of looked just like that of a human. Suddenly it started to move and Elphaba jumped up and hid behind the curtains. The creature opened its eyes and looked around, visibly confused. It also quickly saw the bandages, it's very human expressions growing even more puzzled and slightly alarmed. It spent a few minutes moving and twisting its arms and body, obviously to see how badly it had been hurt. Elphaba watched, unsure of what to do. Then it rose off the bed and stood on its two hind feet like any human being, and walked straight up to the curtain which Elphaba was hiding behind. Elphaba's heart was pounding so loudly that she was sure that the thing could hear it. Slowly the curtains moved aside. The creature had a amazingly kind expression that could only calm Elphaba down. She didn't feel as scared or threatened anymore. The creature opened its mouth and spoke in some strange language Elphaba had never heard before. Seeing that it wasn't being understood the creature switched to a different language, one even more bizarre than the last one. It tried 8 different languages (without mentioning a 9th that she obviously only knew a few words of) before it stopped talking. Elphaba could see it was rather frustrated by the fact that it couldn't communicate.
"I'm really sorry" said Elphaba, feeling at loss "But I can't understand anything you are trying to say".
Again the creature opened its mouth and much to Elphaba surprise replied "I've never heard your language before"
Elphaba was completely dumbstruck.
"You can understand me?".
The creature tilted its head to the side with a lightly puzzled expression. "Well I can now. Were am I? And who are you?".
The creature had a definitely feminine voice and though it was kind, Elphaba was still recovering from the fact that a furry monster had somehow fallen through her roof, could speak and had learned her language in about 5 seconds. Elphaba could only stutter and was dong a fairly bad job to hide her state of shock. The creature slowly reached over and put a giant furry arm around Elphaba's shoulders, its hand engulfing her shoulder. She slowly lead Elphaba over to the chair next to the bed and sat her down. Noticing a glass of water on the bed side table she handed that to Elphaba as well. Elphaba gratefully sat down and drank the whole glass as the creature sat down on the bed opposite her.
"My name is Maua. I'm from the kingdom of the Amani"
Elphaba had never even heard of such a place. Maua's accent was, strange, however not by any means unpleasant to listen to. Elphaba put down the now empty glass and stared into Maua's eyes. She looked for something she saw in the eyes of everyone she had ever met. She searched for that fear, that look of distrust. She searched for that look that people gave her, the horrible stare that always made her feel excluded and degraded. It wasn't in the eyes she was looking at now. Elphaba couldn't remember if she had ever looked into eyes that stared at her like she was a normal person. Now faced with the situation, she was unsure how she should react.
"My name is Elphaba. and well, I'm from no kingdom".
Maua stared at her for a second, as though not really understanding
"Do you come from a - a - a Republic? Or a... Empire?".
She seemed to have difficulty finding the right words but Elphaba understood what she was trying to ask.
"I have no people" Elphaba replied flatly "I'm on my own".
Hope that was a good beginning. The second chapter is well underway (just a bit stuck). Please review and tell me what you liked and disliked so I know what to keep and throw out!
If you have trouble picturing Maua go on google and search images for: Les Legendaires Gryf. You should get a cartoon characters fitting Maua's general description. However is a bit different.
I'll get the next chapter done as fast as I can!
