A/N: This is, very simply, a one-shot about what might have become of Elphaba and the others if Elphaba had decided to stay with the Wizard after 'A Sentimental Man.' I really like it, and hope you do, too.
What Might Have Been
It was a dark and stormy night in the Vinkus. The wind whipped through the tall grass, and the occasional bolt of lightning lit the scene in an eerie glow. No animals were asleep tonight – the thunder was too deafening – and the threat of rain kept those who would normally be on the prowl safe in their dens.
Kiamo Ko stood on a hill, a single, dominating fortress in a sea of plains. Inside it was enormous, far too big for just the several, rather odd, occupants who live there currently. A troupe of sleeping Flying Monkeys roosted in the eaves of the entrance hall, and a Scarecrow slept in a bedroom upstairs. The only alert occupant of the castle, a green-skinned witch, paced back and forth in front of her crystal ball in another room.
Elphaba Thropp couldn't sleep. It wasn't the storm – she thrived on storms, as most magical beings did, because storms were the best time to cook up a truly passionate piece of sorcery. But Elphaba didn't want to perform any spells at the moment. What she wanted was much bigger than that, and much more impossible.
She wanted another chance.
"What I wouldn't give to go back to those days…" Elphaba muttered, absentmindedly running her fingers over the smoky sphere.
She was referring, of course, to her school days at Shiz University, where everything had been close to perfect. She'd had a charmed circle of friends – Glinda, her best friend until the day they parted; Boq, Glinda's shy and stumbling admirer; Nessa, Elphaba's younger sister; and Fiyero, who was actually asleep upstairs, albeit in a different form than back then.
"If I could go back, then I would change everything. I would never allow Horrible Morrible a handhold into my life, and I would work for the Animals quietly, secretly, so I could escape being labeled wicked." Elphaba told the empty room. She gazed once more into the globe and whispered, "Every so often, we long to steal to the land of what might have been…"
A bolt of lightning suddenly came through the slightly open window and struck the ball, shocking Elphaba's fingertips. She hissed and drew her hand back. The ball's contents shifted, and suddenly Elphaba could make out something beginning to take form in its depths. With a small gasp, she sat beside it and looked harder.
"…The world is your oyster now. You have so many…opportunities. You both do." The Wizard's voice echoed distantly, and suddenly the scene was there. The Wizard, Madame Morrible, a younger Elphaba, and a younger Glinda stood in front of the Wizard's oversized mechanical head.
"Thank you, Your Ozness," the younger Glinda twittered, nudging Elphaba excitedly.
"Since once I had my own day in the sky, I know everyone deserves the chance to fly…" the Wizard sang.
"I don't know what to say, sir!" the younger Elphaba exclaimed.
"Say yes, Elphie!" Glinda urged.
Elphaba watched in astonishment. This wasn't the way it was supposed to pan out. She should have run off by now, in protest of the Wizard's ominous plans. Yet there her past self stood, chewing on her lip but looking excited.
"Yes! I'll do it!" crystal-ball Elphaba said happily.
"Wonderful!" the Wizard clapped his hands together as the scene began to fade out.
Before Elphaba could even twitch, the smoky substance stirred again and another scene came into view. This time, Elphaba stood in a dark purple dress with her hair in a fancy plait down her back. She looked radiant. Glinda stood beside her, also looking beautiful, as she always did, yet a bit more understated then usual. Perhaps the Wizard and Morrible didn't want Glinda to outshine Elphaba. Both young women were standing on a balcony overlooking the main Emerald City Square. A crowd of people stood below, cheering for…Elphaba?
A tear dripped down the real Elphaba's cheek…A celebration throughout Oz, that's all to do with me…
The Elphaba in the vision smiled and stepped forward, speaking above the crowd as they gradually quieted. "Hello, dear citizens of the wonderful Emerald City! I'm sorry it took so long, but Glinda here insisted on finishing up school before we came-" here there was laughter, and Glinda slapped Elphaba lightly on the arm, "-and I couldn't just leave her there by herself. Without a chaperone, she'd end up blowing up the university. Then Madame Morrible wouldn't have wanted us to come at all!" More laughter.
Real Elphaba watched in amazement as she continued her speech, drawing positive feedback from the crowd. They were actually fond of her. Then Glinda said a few things, and she got a good response as well. The scene slowly faded out.
When it faded back in, Glinda and Elphaba sat side-by-side on a large, comfy looking bed. Elphaba guessed it might have been her own. Glinda was crying into Elphaba's shoulder, and Elphaba was patting her back, looking grim.
"Oh, Elphie, how could he? He leads me on for all these years, then he tells me he loves someone else altogether!"
"Shh, shh, Glinda, he's just a prat. Just a stupid, brainless idiot," Elphaba whispered, though she didn't look quite sure.
This time, the scene blurred, and changed to show Elphaba and Fiyero in a courtyard. Elphaba was obviously angry.
"…honestly Fiyero, you've got some nerve! Making Glinda believe you love her, and then revealing you don't! You were engaged, for Oz's sake!"
"Elphie…Elphaba," he pleaded, "If you'll let me explain…"
Elphaba didn't seem to hear him. "She's very upset, Fiyero, and frankly, I don't blame her. If I were you, I wouldn't try to talk to her. I would stay as far away as possible. In fact, I don't think I should even be here talking to you-" Her voice was cut off as Fiyero took two strides, closing the distance between them, and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was passionate, but cut short as Elphaba pulled away.
"I can't," she whispered, "Oh, Fiyero, love, I can't."
"You're why I left Glinda. It's you, Elphaba. Can't you see it? It's always been you."
"I can't. I can't. Glinda's my friend. I can't do it to her," Elphaba protested, taking several steps backward, away from Fiyero, "I'm sorry…I love you…it can't be." And she fled, as the scene changed once more.
This time, it was Glinda comforting a crying Elphaba.
"All these years…Glinda, I've been pretending I want something I don't. All this time, I wanted to be loved, loved and wanted, and I've completely forgotten myself! I could have done something worthwhile, but instead all these Animals are dead…it's all my fault…And on top of that, the news of Fiyero's death…and they don't know whether it was suicide or an accident…" Glinda patted her on the back consolingly, but no words could heal a broken heart.
This time, the scene took longer to fade and come back, and it was a little blurred. Elphaba was much, much, older, that much was apparent. This time, she was alone, lying in bed.
"All my fault…all my fault…everything is ruined…Glinda…Fiyero!" she screamed suddenly. A young woman in a nurse's uniform hurried in and managed to calm Elphaba down. "All my fault…" she muttered again, then she lapsed into gibberish.
The real Elphaba watched in horror, understanding that grief over Fiyero's untimely death, whatever had happened, plus the realization of what she had truly been doing, had eventually driven the crystal ball Elphaba to madness. She had clearly gone over the edge. This time, the scene got brighter and brighter, becoming a ball of light that shone and finally went out with a pop, leaving Elphaba with spots in her eyes.
So that was what would have happened had Elphaba stayed with the Wizard. It wasn't any better, was it? Maybe for a while…but not in the end. Fiyero was alive, after all, and so was Glinda, and Madame Morrible and the Wizard were gone. Something had to be sacrificed either way…
"Elphaba?"
Elphaba jumped, at first thinking the crystal ball had resumed. Then she realized that the real Fiyero the Scarecrow was standing sleepily in the doorway.
"What're you doing?" he slurred.
"Nothing, nothing," Elphaba said quickly, standing up, "Just…thinking."
"Oh. I can't relate," Fiyero said wryly, smiling.
Elphaba forced a smile, too. "Let's go back to bed," she suggested, taking his hand. He complied, leading her out the door. Elphaba took one last look at the crystal ball.
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel when reality sets back in…
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A/N: Review!