Nessarose always woke before the sun. She would have Boq wheel her onto the roof of the governor's mansion and they would watch the sunrise together. She couldn't start her day without it. Today was a special day and she was hoping Boq would remember too.
"Madame Governor?" Boq poked his head into her doorway
"Nessarose" She corrected before continuing, "It hasn't started yet, has it?" she looked up at him
"No" He answered mechanically, his silver uniform adding to the effect
"Good, would you bring me to the roof now?" she batted her eyelashes at him but he didn't seem to notice he just took the handles of her chair and did what she asked.
"It's so beautiful, isn't it Boq?" she looked up, he kept his eyes trained at the horizon, "What a happy coincidence the Munchkinland is in the East, don't you think?" he didn't answer.
So they sat in a heavy silence and waited for the sun to rise, when it did Nessa's eyes lit up and a gentle smile graced her face. The sky was streaked with shades of rose, and crimson, and yellow, and orange. The governor was entranced by the colors that danced across the brisk morning sky of Munchkinland, she reached for his hand but he had left her alone on the rooftop. She held back her tears and tried to think of happier things than the love she wasn't getting from her precious Boq.
She wheeled herself off the roof giving herself a mental pat on the back for having a series of ramps installed. She arrived on the main floor and noticed that the place was deserted. All of the staff tried to avoid her as much as possible, lowering their eyes when they passed her and taking their time when called to her quarters, but today was different. It was as if they had all got up and left. She rolled through the kitchens and asked one of the impossible-to-find scullery maids to fix her a cup of tea.
She went to bed early, shuffling awkwardly into her bed, not bothering to change her clothing. Before she fell asleep she turned to blow out the single candle on her nightstand, her face was streaked with tears, and she whispered,
"Happy Birthday to me" before her silent sobs brought her to an uneasy sleep
The remote grasslands in the west of Oz made for a good hiding spot, which was convenient for the emerald witch who had been travelling all day. By the time she stopped running the sun was beginning to set and she decided to catch her breath. She couldn't fly her broom in daylight for fear of being seen so she sat down on a rock and looked westward at the sun dying behind the horizon, it reminded her of her sister, which reminded her of another thing.
"Where in Oz is more fitting to watch the sunset than in the West?" Elphaba mused to herself
She felt a pang of guilt for being absent on her sister's birthday, knowing that Boq would be useless and there was no family left for her in Munchkinland. She stretched out her emerald legs and arched her back, she rested her chin in her palm and refocused her attention skyward at the medley of colors that were being strewn about the sky and sighed. And then as quickly as it started, the sun was gone and her surroundings went black. Her senses perked up and she immediately stood, then began pacing in the grass, revelling in the thick obscurity of night.
Elphaba hopped onto her broom and left the grasslands under a cover of darkness. She found herself flying East, but turned herself around again.
"Happy birthday Nessie," She said into the wind, making her words sound hushed, "Make it count"
She flew all night, and when the sun crept up the skyline again, she looked like an image out of a storybook with her cape flying wildly behind her and all the colors of sunrise following. It was as if she were the mythical time dragon; dreaming up existence, painting the sky each morning and hiding the sun away at night.
Nessa awoke the next morning; her birthday had come and gone with no recognition but her own. She didn't bother to call for Boq and wheeled herself up to the roof, the sun had already begun to rise but she sat patiently watching anyway. A black fleck trailed across the sky, too large to be a crow, she heard a whisper carry on the wind.
"Thanks Fabala" and then she left the rooftop, off to search for Boq, with a small, new confidence she hadn't had before. She wasn't alone anymore. Boq shoved her away, her father and mother were dead, her staff avoided her at all costs, and the Munchkinlanders despised her. But she could never be alone, she was the witch of the East and across Oz was the witch of the West. She would have to travel a long way to see her sister, but she never had to go far to feel her love. East and West. Sunrise, Sunset.