A/N: Hello~. HatchetNoseGelphie here with my first Gelphie fic. I have a few notes to make regarding this one, but I will probably save them for later. For now, I will post this first chapter, and if I get positive feedback, then I will post a second and make my notes then. For now, I own nothing of Wicked or Oz and please read and review.

Also, I am interested in a beta reader, so comment if you'd consider it please.

Sir Chuffrey was a rather wealthy man in Gillikin, despite being only a baronet. His wealth, as many knew but disregarded, mostly came from his use of slaves. Slavery was a matter commonly discussed in Gillikin, but not many were actually against it. Rather, it was a means to an end. A necessary evil. And Sir Chuffrey was no different in his thinking.

Now, Galinda Arduenna Upland was rather proud of herself for catching his eye and marrying him. Sure, his title wasn't much, but his money was. He'd definitely keep her comfortable and happy for the remainder of her life, she knew. So, if she had to overlook his use of slavery to farm the pinobble he made his fortune from… She was fine with that. After all, this was what she had been raised for.

It was the day after their wedding, and she and Sir Chuffrey were riding in their lover's carriage into the Chuffrey Estate. She knew that she was not the first Lady Chuffrey, but that bothered her about as much as the slavery – that is, not much at all.

They passed the long expanse of pinobble leaf plants, several Quadlings bent over, farming the tricky plant. They looked exhausted in the summer sun, but still, they didn't even regard the carriage as it passed.

Galinda huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Shouldn't they be the least bit interested?" she complained to her new husband.

He stroked a hand through her blonde curls. "Worry not, my dear. They are just very hard workers," he offered her a smile.

The carriage came to a stop just outside the Manor, and Chuffrey rapped a few times on the outside of the door, sticking his arm through the window to do so. Galinda fiddled with her dress, situating it, as Chuffrey called out, "Witch!" and a slave came running.

Galinda didn't even bother looking at the slave; she didn't need to. She knew she'd just find another trembling Quadling with dusty red skin. And so, she mindlessly handed her bags out and they were taken by an unknown someone as she frowned down at her dress and wondered whether she should go shopping again.

At one point, when handing a bag down, a calloused hand brushed Galinda's. She flinched and recoiled. "How dare you touch-" she spat, but then was cut off as she actually looked at the slave in question.

The girl was rather tall, with sharp features, dark eyes, and green skin. Green. She also had a metal contraption on her head. It was fastened from the back and wrapped around to the front, where two prongs pierced her lower lip and disappeared inside her mouth.

For a moment, the slave just stood there, then she retreated a step and dipped her head in apology. Galinda huffed again and looked away, waiting until Chuffrey had exited and rounded the carriage, extending her a hand.

"Don't mind Elphaba," he chuckled. "Her verdigris is hideous, but it's not contagious. See, I found her as a child, down in Quadling Country. It took a bit of taming to get her to where she is now," he patted Elphaba on the shoulder, and dark irises darted to look at him out of the corner of the eye, a quick, jerking, unpredictable action. "But she is, regardless, the hardest worker in my force. Will break her back and keep plowing as if nothing happened."

Galinda looked at the slave again, curling her lip in disgust. "She's nauseating," the blonde shook her head. The dark eyes flickered back to her, the woman bearing no expression at all on her face. "What is that thing she wears on her head?"

Chuffrey hooked a finger around one of the prongs and tugged slightly. "Oh, this? This is just a contraption made by yours truly," he grinned proudly. "See, our little vegetable here had quite the tongue about her when she came. So I designed this to train her." Using two fingers, he pressed apart Elphaba's gray lips and, obediently, the green girl opened her mouth.

"See?" Chuffrey reached his hand inside, pulling the mouth farther apart. The two prongs that extended from her lip reached inside, over her lower teeth, and pierced her tongue. There were little bulbs atop her tongue holding the metal in place, and Galinda could see a rough layer about the metal. "Talking is highly painful for her. But remaining silent isn't."

As if to test the green girl, Galinda took hold of one of Chuffrey's valises and 'accidentally' opened it, spilling its contents onto the mud. "Oops, clumsy me," she grinned.

Elphaba blinked once, then bent down and collected his strewn clothing in the valise again. She stood straight again and turned towards him. "Clean them," he instructed with a wave of his hand. She nodded, once, and then was gone.

The building of Chuffrey Manor itself was one of a quiet elegance. Even before setting foot inside, Galinda was in love with the architecture. The low awning, supported by hard-edged pillars, demanded an air of dignity, of self-worth. Inside, however, she found that the ceiling was quite high, and she had to take a moment to recover her breath at the sight of the magnificent swirling beams creating patterns just below the ceiling.

The room she shared with Chuffrey was, by far, the largest room she'd ever been in, and there was a vanity almost as large as the length of her bed back home in Frottica. She stood, entranced by the room. She approached the bed, which was far too big for only two people. The blanket was made of the softest Vinkun silk she had ever felt, a material which encased the pillows, as well. The pillows themselves were durable, and placing pressure on them with her hand, she found that it felt as if her hand was sinking in to the pillow. She could only imagine what it must be like to sleep on it.

"Like it?" Chuffrey smiled, one of his genuine smiles. A warm feeling spread through her chest towards him. No, she wasn't in love with him, but she certainly did love him.

Beaming, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up on her tiptoes to place a small, chaste kiss on his lips. "It's perfect."

The sun was already beginning to set in the sky. The finches and linnet birds had begun to fall asleep, but the owls were awaking, and the mice had begun to scram for cover. A brown mouse scampered across the field with low-trimmed grass, beginning to panic as it could not find protection. An owl in a tree nearby noticed, and was watching the creature with an intense stare.

Watching all of this from her spot, leaning against the fence marking the edge of the Chuffrey territory, Elphaba debated. Should she allow the owl to snatch up his dinner, or force him to seek other accommodations?

The mouse was coming closer to her. Don't think. Just listen. Just watch. Just observe. Those three commands were what got her through her everyday life now. So, she observed as the mouse slowly approached, its little legs taking it as fast as they could. The owl had begun to spread his wings.

Breathing deeply through her nose, Elphaba stood. She took a step forward and snatched the mouse up by its tail. The owl settled back down and watched her with piercing yellow eyes, but she just stared right back, unalarmed, as she placed the mouse in her hand and covered it with her other hand.

The creature began to scuffle in the entrapment, squeaking loudly, but she kept it locked in as she slipped under the hole in the fence that Sir Chuffrey didn't know about, and didn't need to know about. The mouse urinated in her hand, but she didn't even react, just taking another dozen steps into the woods before placing the mouse on the ground and watching it scurry under some leaves.

She wiped her hand along the bark of a nearby tree, grasping some leaves and rubbing it into her palm. It was a shade lighter than her skin, and the contrast was quite intoxicating. However, she was no longer one to dwell on such beauty anymore.

The leaves fell to the ground as she looked around herself. She could do it. She could run away. Don't think. Returning her gaze to the fence, she approached once again and slipped through the hole, reentering the Chuffrey estate.

Not thinking about it, she made her way to where the owl was. Reaching a hand out, she gently stroked his beak, and then his head. She was unsurprised that he let her. She had always had a strange affinity with animals. She couldn't quite explain it, nor should she care to. Nor did she care to.

Like everything else in her life right now, she just…accepted it.

She had been asleep for so long, and she wasn't even bothered to wonder when she would awaken again.

Many of the slaves had children, Galinda noted over the next two months as she settled into her new home at Chuffrey Manor. The children did minor work, like laundry and cleaning the house, but mostly had much more lenience towards their freedom than the grown slaves.

Galinda had always liked children. Planned on having a few of her own someday. So, when she would find groups of Quadling children playing out in the meadow, sometimes she would join them. Supervise them, make sure none got hurt, and befriend them. Now, she didn't do anything unladylike, oh no, but she would feign a lost princess whom the children needed to save from the mean dragon – a role usually filled by one of the male Quadling slaves on break.

And so, the children would tackle the grown man, who would play along and pretend that he was a mean ol' dragon, baring and snapping his teeth good-humoredly. Actually, Galinda found, the Quadlings really weren't all that bad. They never spoke any complaints about Chuffrey, and treated her with massive respect. They were kind, and their smiles genuine.

There was one Quadling in particular, an older woman who went only by Junta, who was especially sweet. She was missing half of her teeth, and spoke with a lisp therefore, but she always checked on Galinda, made sure the blonde had eaten and drank enough that day, and often knit her shawls. Galinda had become quite fond of old Junta.

However, she still did not like the green slave. Not that the green slave ever played, or really took a break at all from working. Or spoke, of course. Good on Chuffrey, Galinda thought to herself as she watched the green woman in the branches of an apple tree, dropping the fruit into baskets.

There was a cluster of trees at the edge of the meadow, and today in particular, one of the children had a kite. A gift from Chuffrey, her father had explained. Of course, Chuffrey had enough slaves that not everyone had to be working at once. There was simply not enough to do. So, they rotated shifts.

The adults hung back today as Galinda ventured out into the meadow with three children and the kite. It didn't take long before the kite got stuck in a tree, however. Galinda frowned and looked down at her dress, and then over to where the slaves were. She found that they had returned to their duties, and sighed.

"Miss Galinda!" wailed the owner of the kite, a young girl named Arda. "The kite is to be stuck!" she pouted out her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

Her heart throbbing for the little girl, Galinda smiled and placed a hand on Arda's shoulder. "I shall have to go fetch it for you then, shan't I?"

Arda's face brightened. "You would, Miss Galinda?" she gasped.

"Yes," Galinda acquiesced, trying not to let nerves creep into her voice. She glanced at the tree. The kite was awfully high up… And it had been so long since she had climbed trees as a child, but… That hopeful look on Arda's face. How could she say no?

And so, she smoothed down her dress – ah well, it wasn't her favorite anyway – and approached the tree. Her heart leaping into her throat, she grabbed hold of the bark and began to haul herself up.

She was three-quarters of the way to the kite when she made the mistake of looking down. Seeing the distance that had been created, an awfully long distance, she gulped and clung on to the bark. Shakily, she grabbed another branch and hauled herself up. Almost there…

Three more branches, and she had reached the one with the kite. She sat on top of it and slowly began to inch down to where the toy was. Something rustled beside her, and a squirrel danced across the branch, causing the toy to fall. And also causing Galinda to fall.

Time seemed to slow. The blonde shrieked and grasped for something, anything that could save her from plummeting to her death. There was nothing. And then, a hand latched around her wrist. Galinda used her other hand to take hold of the arm attached to the hand, grasping with a death grip, her nails sinking into flesh as she was pulled back up onto the branch.

"Th-thank y-you-u…" she stuttered to her savior, trembling violently. She finally looked at her rescuer, once the dots in her vision swam away, and nearly fell out of the tree again. For, sitting on the branch beside her, green legs swinging down, was none other than Elphaba.

Those dark eyes bore into Galinda and she couldn't suppress a small shudder. In such close proximity, she found that they were actually a rich brown in color. She knew that she should be repulsed that she was so close to Elphaba, but she mostly just felt…grateful. Galinda shook her head slowly. "Why did you save me? I have been awful to you," she murmured, cerulean eyes wide in shock and confusion.

Elphaba turned her head away, quickly. Galinda had noticed that about the slave. Her movements were always jerks. There was no fluency to them. Of course, Galinda hadn't watched her work yet, but from what she's seen, Elphaba was like a tiktok thing. Just a series of sudden movements with no human flow. Randomly, Galinda felt an urge to make sure the green woman was actually human. Disregarding the verdigris briefly, she reached out a finger and placed it on Elphaba's wrist.

Her head turned back swiftly, eyes wide and alert. Galinda's eyes were again drawn to the strange metal contraption. It didn't look comfortable in the slightest. So instead of actually speaking, Elphaba gave a jerking shrug. Her eyes were so deep… Galinda couldn't help but wonder what the slave's voice sounded like. She shook the thought from her head slightly.

Galinda's face turned pink as a realization struck her. Below them, the Quadling children had reclaimed the kite and were happily playing with it again. "I… I'm not quite sure how to get down," Galinda admitted.

Blinking once, Elphaba leapt back towards the trunk and beckoned for Galinda to follow. Very unsurely, the blonde did, reaching the trunk as Elphaba began climbing down jerkily, but stopped to wait. Elphaba glanced down, then back up at the blonde. One green pinkie twitched, and Galinda thought she understood.

Ever so gradually, they made their way downwards, with Elphaba below so she could make sure the Frottican wouldn't fall.

Halfway down, though, Galinda's foot slipped. She let out a small scream as her hands fumbled and lost hold of the bark and she started falling backwards. She thought that surely she would be plummeting to her death, but then she felt a strong arm wrap around her chest from behind, and though she was still falling, there was a body pressed to her back. Upon hitting the ground, the blonde had the wind knocked out of her, but was unharmed regardless.

That's when she became aware of Elphaba underneath her, cushioning her. Galinda scrambled up, fearing she'd find the green woman dead. However, the green woman stood abruptly, and if she was hurt at all, she didn't show it. It just made Galinda wonder, once again, if the slave was truly a tiktok thing.

"Oh, my Lurline," Galinda gasped once she had caught her breath again. Elphaba's wrist was at an odd angle and she was breathing somewhat shallowly. "Are you alright?" she rushed forward, hands reaching out only partially in concern but mostly in thanks for saving her life twice now.

As she reached out, though, with arms extended to…she didn't know. Hug the green girl? Shake her? Regardless, as she reached out, Elphaba jumped back. And that was not meant as in she took a few steps backwards – no, she actually leapt backwards. Galinda stared at her in shock. "Your wrist," she fumbled out, her mouth not wanting to form words at first. "I think it's broken. And surely you must have broken some ribs. We should have a medic look at you."

Elphaba looked down at her wrist, as if she was only just now registering it. Her gaze flicked back to Galinda without any change in her demeanor or expression. She wasn't even holding her wrist to her body in pain, like someone should if they broke their wrist. Her hand simply hung just as limply as the other, down by her sides, in spite of the awful purplish bruising that was already forming around the wrist.

Galinda bit her lip and took a step forward, but Elphaba stepped back, much quicker. "You really ought to have someone look at it," she argued, but she didn't think she'd win this. She wasn't certain why she didn't just order the green girl to go to a medic – after all, she did technically own all of the slaves along with Chuffrey, now that they were married.

Perhaps it was the depth of vague, unplaceable, and undescribable emotion swarming in those chocolate irises. Perhaps it was the silent intensity that the green woman seemed to always carry about her without even trying to. Perhaps it was the way that her breathing was always steady – granted, it was shallow now, likely due to (a) broken rib(s), but still consistent, as if she existed in a continuous state that, once rendered stress, adjusted quickly and easily, despite being so jerky in movement.

But Galinda couldn't figure her out. It would be so much easier if the green woman could talk, but Galinda knew that that would certainly never happen, and she also knew that it was for the better. A disobedient slave, a slave whose tongue was sharper than his or her intellect, was almost as dangerous as a learned slave. So of course, if this Elphaba had a sharp tongue on her, then it was good on Chuffrey to take that freedom away from her.

And yet, without the green slave even being able to speak, she had won an argument against Galinda. This frustrated the blonde to no end, who huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips childishly. Elphaba remained as deathly still as ever until incentive was given for her to make a move.

"Elphaba!"

The vegetable flinched at the sound of Sir Chuffrey's voice, and she quickly turned her head to view him fast approaching. He did not seem happy in the slightest, but his anger faltered as he saw Galinda.

"Oh, Galinda, darling," he exclaimed, enveloping his strong arms around her. "Your dress is filthy! Did you wander about, or did Elphaba here cause a scene?" he asked sternly. "You know you're not supposed to wander unsupervised."

Over his shoulder, Galinda's eyes met Elphaba's again. No, she was supposed to at least have two Quadlings with her at a time. If only to protect her if something were to happen. She felt guilt wash over her at Elphaba's stoic features, though. She couldn't throw the green woman under the carriage after she'd just saved her life, twice, could she?

The blonde opened her mouth and was about to reply when Elphaba suddenly reached forward and brushed her hand against Chuffrey's back. He released Galinda and turned to face the slave, who blinked once and then dipped her head slightly.

Junta, bless her heart, noticed a commotion and began hobbling over. "What's all this?" she asked.

Chuffrey ignored her, hardening his gaze at Elphaba. "I see. I ought to train you a bit more, then," he told Elphaba. Then, he reached into the pocket of his coat and retrieved a covered syringe, filled with a clear liquid.

When she saw it, Elphaba's eyes widened and she shook her head, once. Junta gasped and stepped forward. "Sir Chuffrey, with all due respect, sir, is this really necessary?" she questioned, placing one hand on Elphaba's shoulder.

"Is what necessary?" Galinda frowned, oblivious to what was in the syringe, and how it could affect the green girl. She was only slightly surprised that Elphaba didn't flinch at being touched by Junta.

Chuffrey moved the syringe to the right, and brown eyes darted after it. Moved it to the left, and the irises sprinted to catch up. He stepped forward and gently stroked Elphaba's upper left arm before removing the cap. "There, there. Perhaps you'll finally learn your lesson this time."

He thrust the syringe into the crook of Elphaba's neck, right at the corner of her throat. In one swift motion, he had emptied the contents into her bloodstream.

Galinda was shocked when Elphaba fell to her knees, her hand flying up to cover her neck. A low, guttural sound escaped from deep within her throat, filled with so much agony that Galinda's heart throbbed. The green girl's chocolate eyes were squeezed shut tight against the pain that the contents of the syringe seemed to cause her. Galinda almost didn't believe it. This woman fell out of a tree, got crushed by the Frottican in the process, and stood up, showing no indication of feeling pain, and now this little syringe had her weak?

Junta sighed and stroked back raven hair. "There, there, duckie…" she murmured soothingly. Then, to Galinda's further astonishment, the old, dusty pink woman with hanging cheeks, wrinkles within her wrinkles, and no obvious physique to speak of gathered Elphaba up in her arms and began hobbling away with her.

The blonde wasn't sure whether she was more surprised at the fact that Junta could do it, or the fact that Elphaba let her, even curled up into a tight ball in the Quadling's arms.

After they left, Galinda turned back to Chuffrey, a frown marring her pretty features. "Chuff, I didn't know you hurt them," she told him, her voice slightly strained.

Chuffrey sighed and ran a hand through his slightly thinning hair. "I try not to. Only if they give me reason to do I hurt them. Yes, I've whipped the slaves before, and no, I do not like it. I don't like to hear them cry out in pain. But it's necessary sometimes, you see?" he stroked her cheek.

Nodding mindlessly, Galinda believed him. Slaves who did not obey needed to be taught how to obey, didn't they? It still bugged her conscious a little that Elphaba had done nothing wrong to deserve the painful treatment. In fact, she had taken blame for Galinda's wrong. If Galinda had taken the blame, she probably wouldn't have been punished, but since, for some unknown reason, Elphaba had taken it… She was punished. And it was Galinda's fault for not speaking the truth.

Even now, she couldn't bring herself to describe to her new husband how Elphaba had actually saved her. The green girl had protected her. But that brought up complications that, in all honesty, terrified Galinda. She didn't want to deal with the aftermath. So, she had to leave it as it was.

Chuffrey took her back to the manor, and they spent the rest of the day in the studio, with him reading a book and her painting.