Chapter One: Family Matters

"I need to tell you something important." Her father had gathered all of them at their small dining table. The table had been around since before her mother died. He always liked to comment on how it was "polished mahogany." Though after years of wear and three children, most of the polish had worn off and it was scratched beyond recognition. There were no matching chairs; in fact none of the chairs even matched each other. Elphaba knew he only kept it to say that they had mahogany furniture, to make them appear wealthy when he spoke about it. Lying was a sin, but if he were telling the truth and leaving out the actual state of the table, her father appeared to be perfectly fine with lying by omission. Things were never black and white with Frexspar – nor were they green, of course.

Nessa leaned forward in her chair, hanging on their father's every word as always. "Is something the matter, Father?"

"No, nothing at all. But there are going to be some big changes, and I thought it best to tell you all together."

Now Elphaba was concerned. Big changes? She was to go to Shiz in a month. He had promised her, had been promising since she was old enough to want to go to University. It was the only reason she'd gone on all his missions, had sung when he asked during his ridiculous sermons. If he took that from her now, she would never forgive him. She might well run away, she thought. What good would it do to stay here? "Stop talking in circles and explain what's going on," she snapped.

"Relax, Fabala." He gave her a glance, though the pet name did not soften her glare as she was certain he'd hoped it would. "This is going to affect you the least, since you're to head off to Shiz soon, anyway."

She relaxed back against the chair. Elphaba didn't much care what he was about to tell them as long as it didn't concern her future at Shiz.

"I haven't told you this, but I've been very lonely since your mother passed, and I've been communicating with a woman from the Vinkus," he began. "She's a little younger than I, though she had a son about your age, Fabala. She's the queen of the Arjiki tribe, widowed for many years now. We've been discussing the idea of marriage. With our family connections as they are, it might be beneficial to have a good relationship with the West."

Family connections? Her father had none. Only through her mother and through his children, her children, did he have any importance whatsoever. Elphaba wondered if this poor lady from the Vinkus had any idea, though it didn't concern her much. If the woman was stupid enough to consider marrying her father, that was her own problem.

"Wait, you're getting married?" Shell was wide-eyed, gaping at his father. He was too young to understand that marriage meant more than love, and at an age where parents seemed more than human, not prone to being lonely (though she doubted this was truly the case for her father, anyway).

"It's a possibility. We will be traveling out to Kiamo Ko – that's the palace she lives in. She and I have agreed it might be foolish to agree to marriage when we haven't actually met yet. Should things work out, we would likely live there, since she is queen. I would, of course, make it a priority to begin a church."

That's what this was – another opportunity to reap converts, much like Quadling Country had been. She wouldn't help this time, not that she'd be around much. "So I'll be heading to Shiz from there?"

"Yes. Her son will be a first-year student there, too. It would be nice to begin at a new school with a friend, wouldn't it?"

"How long will we be out there?" Nanny asked pragmatically.

"I don't know. We may arrive and find that this woman and I don't match, or we may find that it works out. I would pack what you need for the foreseeable future. It's a long journey, anyway. But then again, you're used to those."

Elphaba fought the urge to sneer at her father. Of course they were used to long journeys, grueling trips to Quadling Country in the heat of summer. There had been times she'd been sweating so profusely she was certain her skin would disintegrate, burning as she fought back tears. After the first trip, she'd learned that complaining to her father about the pain was useless. He'd reminded her that at least she wasn't dead, and even if she were to die, at least she'd be saved.

Nanny asked the question that Elphaba had been wanting to ask. "What is the weather like in the Vinkus? I've heard it's dry. These old bones can't take that."

Dry she could live with. Quadling Country had been a humid heat. When she thought about it, she could swear her flesh still stung a little. Her father glared at Nanny, but replied, "It's a bit warm, but it actually also gets very cold. They rarely have much snow, though."

Good. Snow hurt almost as badly as rain. When she'd been a little girl, her mother hadn't been watching her (which was typical) one afternoon as she'd stared eagerly out the window at the white flakes falling from the sky. Not understanding that those white flakes were just as bad as the downpours of rain, she'd snuck out and reached up for them, only to be greeted with pain. Elphaba had learned her lesson pretty quickly.

Nanny grumbled to herself, but stopped protesting. She, too, had realized years ago that fighting with Frex was useless.

Nessa hadn't said anything for some time, and spoke up now. "Why haven't you told us before now? If you've been writing each other long enough to talk about marriage, then you had time to tell us."

"At first, I didn't think it was worth talking about. I didn't want to get everyone excited over something that might not pan out. By the time I realized it was serious, I didn't know how to discuss it with you." Frex lowered his eyes. Only Nessa could make him feel guilty.

Nessa sighed heavily. "I don't understand how you can expect us to pick up and leave to such a dangerous place on a whim when we know nothing about where we're going. Father, I trust your judgment, I do, but love makes fools of men, and I'm concerned."

"Love makes fools of men," was one of her father's favorite sayings when he warned his children against the sins and dangers of the flesh. Elphaba tried not to smirk at the idea of the same saying being thrown back in his face. She'd never have gotten away with saying such things to her father, but Nessa did. She rarely talked back to Frex, though. Perhaps Nessa was jealous? After being her father's angel for years, she couldn't imagine what it must feel like for Nessa to realize she might lose all that doting attention. "Yes, Father," Elphaba said snidely, "I'm worried, too."

Her father shot a glare her direction, but placed a hand on Nessa's knee. "I'm well aware of that, Nessa. I gave a lot of consideration to our family before I made this decision. I was assured that you would be safe and all accommodations would be made."

Nessa bit her lip and gave a half smile. "Father, going all the way to the Vinkus just for a woman? Aren't there plenty here?"

"A little change will do us good," her father insisted.

Elphaba had already basically tuned the conversation out. As soon as she'd been told she was still going to attend Shiz and that the weather wouldn't be harmful, she had stopped caring. She was slightly amused at the disagreement between her father and Nessa, but for months she'd been solely focused on Shiz. Though she loved her sister, a year without her family to just study would be glorious. After that, of course, Nessa would join her and she'd probably spend some time helping Nanny tend to her, but at least she'd have some time to herself.

"Elphaba," her father brought her back to the current situation, "did you not hear me? You need to go figure out what you're packing. We're leaving within the week."

"Of course, Father." She left and headed to her room. Elphaba was already packed. She'd been packed for some time. All of the things she would bring with her were the same things she'd bring to Shiz. She wasn't concerned at all about the Vinkus. She figured she had no reason to be.