LWII is coming, I promise!
But last night, I stayed up extraordinarily late reading Come What May by Vinkun Wildflower Queen. I didn't cry, but my eyes definitely started burning towards the end. If you haven't read CWM (you should!), the basic plot is that Elphaba is diagnosed with cancer while at Shiz. Yeah. Take that in for a second. I won't tell you how it ends (you'll have to read it!), but I will tell you that Vinkun Wildflower Queen wrote the whole thing very candidly and very beautifully.
And this isn't the only fic out there where Elphaba has some sort of disease or disability. I think we all were in tears when the Ultimate Queen of Cliffies wrote No Day But Today. And Fae's Flower has a whole slew of stories about Elphaba being blind, deaf, both, or basically having Nessa's condition.
But I've never really done this. "But wait!" you ask. "What about WNaCCA? Or The Little Witch?" Simple. Those don't count because, in those stories, Elphaba became disabled through supernatural means, and she wasn't disabled by the end.
So that brings us to this story. I'm just going to say it right off the bat in case this is a sensitive subject for anybody: In this story, Elphaba develops ALS. So, if you're about to or if you have recently lost someone to ALS and you don't want to read this story, don't read this story. And there won't be any alternative Ozian name for the disorder (of course, it won't be called Lou Gehrig's Disease since Gehrig was an American baseball player); it'll just be ALS. Also, the plot of Wicked will remain as untouched as it can be; Animals are still losing their ability to speak, the Wizard is still a spineless dictator, and Morrible is still evil.
Also note: this story is only to the faintest extent inspired by my own disability. CP and ALS are two very different things. This story is dedicated to my high school drama teacher, who was diagnosed with ALS a few years back.
One more thing before this AN gets ridiculously long: Oz is a bit more technologically advanced than it is in the musical. This is mostly because I want Elphaba to be able to get around and communicate during the more advanced stages of her condition.
So, with all that in mind, enjoy this first chapter!
Chapter 1
When I woke up the morning after that party at the Ozdust, I was absolutely convinced that it had been a dream. After all, Galinda Upland actually being nice to someone who wasn't rich and/or pretty? That was just implausible, right? I sat up and saw that Galinda was still asleep. The night before, she hadn't even bothered to take off her party dress or even pull the covers over herself. I faintly remembered being sorely tempted to do the same thing, but I had eventually forced myself to change into my nightgown.
Trying not to wake Galinda, I made my way into our bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. When I was done with that, I put some water into our coffee machine. The water's boiling woke her up. "I want coffeeeee," she moaned sleepily, not even sitting up yet.
"Well, you're in luck, 'cause I'm making some," I said.
"Do I have to get out of bed to have some?"
"I'm afraid so. You'll at least have to sit up." I poured the coffee beans into the filter and watched as coffee slowly filled the pot.
Galinda groaned. "Ugh. My head feels like it's splitting into a million tiny pieces."
I came over to sit on her bed, holding two mugs of coffee. "Well, I told you Avaric spiked the punch, but did you believe me? Nooo, you did not! Here. Drink up."
"That was before we were even at the Ozdust," Galinda pointed out, finally sitting up to take her coffee. "I thought you were just trying to mess with me. And I knew you hated Avaric."
"Who doesn't hate Avaric? But really, I overheard him telling your precious 'scandalatious' boyfriend his plans."
Her eyes widened. "Fiyero knew about this?! Wait, never mind, I don't care, he's still PERFECT! Isn't he, though, Elphie? He's so sweet and handsome and kind and …" She trailed off with a sigh. "I'm going to marry him." This declaration had the same effect it had had the night before; she launched herself facedown onto her bed and squealed into one of her pillows.
I chuckled as she sat up again, a little out of breath. "How's that hangover treating you, Galinda?"
"Oh, my hangovers usually don't last that long; I usually get over it when I figure out what I want to do that day. Which I have just now! Let's go shopping!"
"Shopping? For what, exactly?"
Galinda looked at me like I had just asked the dumbest question ever. "For clothes! You need to have some fashionablisome clothes for Monday!"
"B-But, how am I supposed to pay-?" The mere idea of shopping for clothes sounded like an absolute nightmare, so I was trying to find some way, any way, to get out of it.
"You won't! I'll pay! And don't you start with how I don't have to, and how you couldn't possibly accept it and blah blah blah. We're friends now! That's why I want to help you out. Now let's go! All the shops open at nine, and I wanna be there precisely when they open!" And then she grabbed my hand and practically dragged me to the door of our room before she remembered that neither of us were dressed.
Shopping was actually not that bad. Sure, Galinda had me try on a few ridiculous outfits that I wouldn't wear at gunpoint, but eventually she learned what my limits were, and I got a few outfits that I actually sort of liked. During our time in various changing rooms, we talked quite a bit and learned that we had at least a few things in common. Some of these were trivial things: we both loved the water fountain outside Woelars Hall and we hated mint chocolate. But Galinda also told me about her love of architecture, and how her parents discouraged it as a hobby when she was a child, not considering it a proper hobby for a young lady. I couldn't help but think of my own childhood …
Finally, after, I kid you not, a full day of shopping, we finally headed back to Crage Hall. We had done so much walking around Shiz's business district that my legs felt like rubber by the time we got back to our room. I collapsed into my desk chair not two clock ticks after we entered the room, so Galinda took pity on me and went to get some food from the cafeteria.
"Ran into Pfannee and ShenShen," Galinda told me when she had returned. "They said they saw us together downtown today, they asked why I was hanging out with you, I told them we were friends, they said some very rude things, and I told them that if they wanted to stay in my good graces, they would simply have to deal with you. They had no response to that."
"Wow, Glin. I didn't know you had it in you."
She shrugged. "I'm a tough girl when I want to be." Then she cocked her head in confusion. "Glin?"
"Yeah. Since you insist on calling me Elphie, I think I should have a nickname for you. It's only fair."
She contemplated that. "Glin. Yeah. I like it. No one's ever called me that before."
"What do people call you?" I asked, curious.
"Lin, Linda, Queen G, Galin," she rattled off. "When I was little, Momsie used to call me Linny." She made a face. "She still calls me that sometimes today, to annoy me."
"My mother called me Fabala," I blurted out before I could stop myself. "And my sister calls me that too."
"Where did that even come from?" Galinda pondered. "'Fabala' from 'Elphaba,' I mean. That's pretty intricate for a nickname."
"Not really. It's just the last two syllables of my name with the sound of the second letter tacked on the end."
I was still tired when it was time to go to bed. In recent weeks, I had begun to feel a bit lethargic during the afternoon hours, despite drinking coffee religiously every morning. Maybe Nessa was right and maybe I was studying too much. In the few clock ticks I had that night before I went to sleep, I resolved to take some night off from studying soon, and take Nessa out to dinner. Maybe bring Galinda along too …
What did y'all think? Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Elle Dottore
