À mon copain,
Les mots suelement n'est pas suffire qualifier mes sentiments pour toi. Tu es mon roche, mon oreillier, mon amie… et mon amour.
Je t'aime toujours,
Elphaba
Fiyero traced the familiar words with the tip of his thumb, frowning, so deep in memories that he didn't hear his wife approaching.
"What's that?" Samira asked, smiling when he started. It was so like her husband to get lost in a book.
"Oh, just a book." Fiyero flipped the book closed quickly, hoping she hadn't seen the message.
"I realized that." Samira rolled her eyes. "I was more wondering about the message in the front."
"Just a message from an old friend." Fiyero smiled reassuringly at his wife.
"Oh, may I see?"
Fiyero hesitated, but knew his wife. One way or another, she would read the inscription. Slowly, he handed the book over to her. She read the note quickly, then raised her eyes to meet his.
"What does it mean?" She finally asked.
"To my boyfriend- Words alone are not enough to describe my feelings for you. You are my rock, my pillow, my friend, and my lover. With love, Elphaba." Fiyero recited, not even bothering to look at the words or pause for translation time.
"I didn't know you spoke Munchkin."
"I don't." There was quiet for a moment, then Samira asked the question Fiyero had been waiting for.
"Who's 'Elphaba?"
"She was my first serious girlfriend." Fiyero admitted after a pause.
"Oh." There was another pause. "Why haven't you mentioned her before?"
"What do you mean?" Fiyero looked up from the note.
"Well, you've told me about all your other girlfriends… Shenshen, Glinda, Milla… but I've never heard of Elphaba before." Samira worried a bit of her dress between her fingers.
"Talking about Elphaba is hard for me." Fiyero admitted in a low voice, looking back down at the book.
"Why?"
"To explain all of it that I understand- which isn't everything- I have to start at the beginning of it all." Fiyero took a deep breath. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Samira nodded once and, for the first time in nearly ten years, Fiyero began to talk about Elphaba.
"We met through one of my previous girlfriends, Glinda. They were best friends… although how that one happened, I never found out…
"Glinda, as you know, was short, small, blond, and very emotional. Elphaba was her exact opposite; she was tall, thin, dark, wicked smart, and felt much more deeply than anyone I've ever known. But she always pushed her own feelings down for the better of others. She rarely lost control of them. When she did, though, nobody wanted to be anywhere near her."
"Why not?"
"She was passionate about those things that she did feel for, and she would defend them, defend us, from them, however possible. She looked like a Witch at those times, the Wickedest of Witches.
"That was why I fell for her. She was beautiful when she was angry, when she was sad, and when she was happy… she surpassed the goddesses. But she was rarely happy. I think Glinda and I are the only two people who have ever seen her smile or laugh. Truly laugh, that is. Many people have heard her cackle, or laugh without humor.
"For a while, it was good. We didn't go out, per say, but we would find time to be alone. Mostly we would just talk about everything and nothing. Those were the times when she would laugh. She would just let all the stress roll off of her." Fiyero trailed off, staring at the book in his wife's hands.
"So what happened, then?"
Fiyero sighed, deeply. "As I said, Elphaba felt deeply about things, far more than I think any of us had imagined. And she was strongly for Animal rights… after our junior year, she left for the Emerald City. No goodbye, she just up and left. We thought she was going home with Nessa, but then Nessa sent us all letters, asking if we had seen her, if she was with us. I didn't see her until after I had graduated, a much older person than I had been when I tried- selfishly, in retrospect- to keep her with me.
"Anyway, I saw her in a chapel of all places. Elphaba wasn't very religious. I think her sister and father spoiled it for her. I followed her home, very much so against her wishes, and, well…. I'm sure you can figure out the rest." Fiyero took a deep, shaking breath, and Samira put a hand on his shoulder.
"And again, it was good for a while. Then we began arguing, more and more, about her work in the resistance. I wanted her to stop putting herself in so much danger; she wanted me to butt out. I would always ask her why she just left us, left me. She always seemed to have better things to do, things that didn't involve me. One night, everything just came to head, and I ended up storming out.
"She was stubborn, but I waited for her to apologize. I thought I could outwait her. I did. She sent me a small message, but it wasn't an apology or explanation. So I threw it out. I did the same with the next two. I was so stupid… if I could do it again, I would've gone to her after the first note. But I ignored her." Fiyero stopped and ran a shaking hand through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts.
"Where is Elphaba now?" Samira prompted.
Fiyero looked up at her, his eyes hollow. "She hung herself. Ten years ago today."