A few nights ago, I thought, what if Glinda didn't give Morrible the idea to use Nessarose to get to Elphaba after Elphaba and Fiyero ran away together? Instead, what if she went to Nessarose herself?
I don't know if I'll continue this as a story or leave it alone as a one shot.
Enjoy!
Glinda was relieved when she arrived in Munchkinland. After Fiyero and Elphaba had run off together, the blonde felt more alone than ever. She felt that she should go and visit Nessa when her name popped into her head. At first, she thought about telling Madame Morrible about using Nessarose to get to Elphaba, but she decided that she'd rather visit the younger Thropp rather than go completely against Elphaba. Of course she was furious with her, but she didn't want to give Morrible any ideas.
Glinda was helped out of the carriage by one of the members of the Gale Force. She could have traveled by bubble but decided not to at the last minute. She was too upset and she thought going by carriage would be safer. She entered the dwellings that belonged to Nessa; the Munchkin guards let her enter without a problem. After all, she was Glinda the Good and her reputation was nothing but pure.
She was led to Nessa's chambers and stopped in front of her door. She thanked the guard, and he left upon her asking him to, seeing as she felt it would be easier to talk to Nessa without listening ears. The guard seemed not to care, and left her to do whatever it was she was going to do. She heard him mutter to a servant that perhaps she was there to take the witch down to Southstairs where she belongs and that the Wizard was finally going to set things straight for Munchkinland. She shuddered and realized just how much these Munchkinlanders hated their governess.
Glinda knocked twice and got no answer. Tilting her head, she grasped the doorknob after knocking again to no avail. She opened the door slowly and peeked her head in. "Nessa? Are you in here? It's me, Glinda," she said and she opened the door wider.
It was safe to say, she didn't expect to see what was beyond the door. First of all, Nessarose was standing with those ruby slippers. Everyone knew about them, and word always arrived fast in the Emerald City. Nessa had always been bound to a wheelchair, but now, with her standing there, it looked as if she had always been walking. The scariest thing she saw was the amount of blood on Nessa's left arm. "Are you here to steal more from me, too? My shoes, perhaps?" This was not the innocent girl Glinda had been friends with at Shiz. Her dress was dark, but form fitting, and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Her face had hardened along with her eyes which were filled with hate and hurt.
"I came here to visit, not to steal anything," Glinda said and shut the door behind her quietly. "Nessa, you need to stop whatever it is you're doing to yourself," she tried to stay calm as she stepped forward.
"Why do you out of all people have to come into my life and pretend to care?" Nessa snapped at her before she sank the razor into her flesh again. She did this staring into Glinda's perfect blue eyes with no expression on her face.
"I do care," Glinda said as a few tears slid down her cheeks. "Please put the razor down and let's just talk, okay?"
"Talk about what? How Boq left me for you? How my sister abandoned me again?"
"Nessa, I will not try to defend Elphaba because I just can't. All I can say is she's doing what she thinks is right. But I never liked Boq romantically, and you know it. I love Fiyero, but he left me and ran off with Elphaba. I've never felt so alone before," Glinda admitted.
"So you had no intentions of stealing Boq?" Nessa asked her. She had put the razor down and just stood there. She began to walk towards the blonde, looking down at her. Even though Glinda was on the short side, she wasn't used to Nessarose looking down at her; and she had never noticed just how tall Nessa was. She was as tall as Elphaba, if not maybe an inch taller. She was thin like her sister, but her breasts were significantly larger (which wasn't saying much considering Glinda considered Elphaba almost flat chested) and her bones weren't as prominent. Her features were soft, but sharp at the same time, and Glinda couldn't explain it herself. She had never really looked at Nessarose Thropp before in such a way and she realized that she was very pretty.
"No," Glinda said and shook her head. "Let me help you." She walked over into the bathroom and grabbed a towel. The brunette followed her into the room and stood beside the sink. She held Nessa's arm as she began to clean off the blood gently. It looked worse than it actually was, and Glinda was thankful for that.
"What are the odds that the two of us ended up alone," Nessarose sighed after Glinda tended to her arm. "I mean, we were both pampered and have people waiting on us constantly, and here we are."
"Everybody loves me," Glinda whispered. "But they don't know me."
"And everybody just hates me."
"Not everybody," Glinda said and smiled up at Nessa. "Maybe we don't have to be alone. We can have each other."
"Is it bad that when I ran that blade up my arm I felt nothing?" Nessa questioned and turned her back to Glinda. Her hands were clasped behind her back, making her look elegant. She walked over to her large window in her bedroom and looked out of it. Glinda wasn't sure what she was looking at, but followed her and stared out the window as well. "I still don't understand why you'd come to me. You have all of Oz adoring you, and yet, you come here. You come to see the Wicked Witch of the East."
"You aren't wicked, Nessa. You can fix what you have done and have the Munchkins in your favor."
"Don't ignore the question."
"I came here because you know me," Glinda simply stated. "They don't. Everything is just one big act and I'm tired of it. I needed to be with someone who won't care if I do something stupid or say something stupid. I didn't want to pretend."
"I think you want Elphaba but you can't find her, so I'm the next best thing. Nobody wants Nessarose," she said coldly without even looking at the blonde.
Glinda looked up at Nessa and bit her lip nervously. "I didn't want Elphaba," she said slowly and she saw Nessa looking down at her with the corner of her eye. "She ran off with my fiancé," Glinda paused for a moment before adding, "I don't think he loves her like she thinks he does. And I don't know if she really loves him, or if she was just caught in the moment or something. Oh, I don't know!"
"Boq just ran off trying to stop your marriage," Nessa said. "At least Elphaba and Fiyero ran off together with the same intentions. Boq just decided to run off when he heard about your engagement. Funny thing was, Elphaba was here when that happened. I went to read a spell in the Grimmerie to make his heart belong to me, but he ran off before I had the chance to start chanting. And then Elphaba left. She wanted my help to free Animals or something, or make her not the Wicked Witch of the West. I don't really know."
Glinda didn't know why, but she started laughing. She hadn't done that in what seemed like months, and she enjoyed the feeling of it. "Wait, so let me get this straight. Boq ran off to claim his love for me when we all know I'd deny him. And then Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, asked you, the Wicked Witch of the East, to clear her name and help the Animals?" After Glinda said this, a smile twitched at Nessa's lips before she, too, burst into laughter.
The two women held their stomachs as laughter shook their bodies. After they had calmed down, Glinda realized they had fallen onto the floor. They were both on their backs, Glinda's left arm touching Nessa's right. Catching their breaths, Glinda looked over to the governess. "I haven't laughed like that in years," Nessa said with her eyes closed.
"Me either," Glinda said. "It felt great. I don't think I've been this happy."
"Just because we had a little moment doesn't mean I'm letting you in," Nessa said, suddenly becoming serious again. She sat up abruptly and stood up. Glinda noticed how shakily the brunette was on her feet most likely due to the lack of muscle developed over the years of being confined to the wheelchair. She stumbled before she found her sense of balance.
"I understand," Glinda said, sitting up. She didn't feel like standing and she doubted that she could. "We've both been hurt."
"We're setting ourselves up to get hurt again. Maybe you should just leave. It'll be better that way for the both of us. You're in the Emerald City and I'm here in Munchkinland."
"But we can write," Glinda said, tears in her eyes. She needed to have at least one friend and somebody she could count on to comfort her when she needed it, or someone to vent off her frustrations. "And I think I'd like to stay here for a while and help you with everything if you'd let me."
"I don't need help," Nessa stated proudly. "I'm perfectly capable of running Munchkinland."
"As much as I'd hate to say it," Glinda said and finally stood up. She put a hand on Nessa's shoulder and felt just how tense her muscles were. "They don't particularly like you. I think it's time people saw the real Nessarose Thropp."
"This is me," she said, her chin held up high. She was too proud, Glinda thought, and it hurt her. This wasn't the Nessa she remembered, but she was in there because she had let down her walls for that small moment.
"Let me help you, Nessa. Don't be stubborn, please. We both need someone who understands what we've been through lately. Maybe we can mold Munchkinland into the best county in all of Oz," Glinda pleaded, grabbing her hands in her own. She looked up at her and jutted her bottom lip out into a pout. Glinda couldn't be alone anymore, and despite everything, she felt that she could trust her ex best friend's younger sister.
"We will do exactly what Elphaba wants to do," Nessa said after three minutes of silence. "I will free the Munchkins and then work on the Animals, although, that'll be hard to get around because we have to follow certain things that come from the Emerald City and the Wizard himself." Nessa squeezed Glinda's hands reassuringly. She didn't exactly smile, but she smirked and Glinda figured that it was something.
"In regards to the Animals," Glinda started. "I bet I can pull some strings over in the Emerald City when the time comes."
"Oz, why wasn't Elphaba as smart as you?"
"Smart?" Glinda said, wrinkling her nose. "She's much more intelligent than I am."
"Oh, Glinda," Nessa let out a small chuckle. "Maybe she's smarter when it comes to math or science or history, but when it comes to things like politics and government, she's stupid. Father never forced her to take government courses. He always assumed I'd be Eminent Thropp, mainly because Elphaba just didn't want it. So I was forced into it. Anyway, if she opened her eyes, she'd see that politics and the sort is all about who you know, what you know, and what you do with what you know."
"I'm not following," Glinda said as she followed Nessa and sat beside her on the large bed.
"How do I explain this?" Nessa thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, Elphaba could have been the governess here. She was the Thropp Third Descending. Father didn't want his green daughter in that position, but rightfully, it was hers. But he knew she was smart, so he never forced her to take certain classes because of her intelligence. One thing father secretly admired Elphaba for was her desire to learn and how intelligent she was. So, in case anything happened to her, he had me take certain classes that would help me if I came into this position.
"Elphaba wanted to make a difference. But she failed to even use her title. If she just graduated from Shiz and when father passed, she could've had all of this; her own army, a set of laws that she saw fit. And then she completely blew the opportunity to work for the Wizard himself! It amazes me that she gave that up. Sure, she hated what he was doing, but part of coming into power or becoming a part of it means you have to do things that you may not like.
"She was stupid to give that up. She could be doing what you're doing. I bet he would have retired soon and let her take over Oz. Following me now?" Nessarose asked her.
"Oz, she is stupid. She had all these opportunities to make a change and she just threw it all away!" Glinda fumed. She stood up angrily and formed her hands into tight fists. Tears sprung to her eyes once she realized everything. It all clicked.
"My dear Glinda, don't you see? You're clever and manipulative. I know you think what the Wizard is doing is wrong, but you have to do things in politics you don't like at first to get everything that you want."
"If I do what the Wizard wants, I just might be its ruler," Glinda smiled, looking into the mirror. Nessa stood behind her and put her arms around her waist.
"That's right," Nessa said, her chin resting on top of blonde curls.
"But you have to promise me that we'll never be alone again. I couldn't stand to lose you, too."
"You never will be alone again. I will never be alone. I can't stand it. We'll be together."
"Forever."