Elphaba stared at Fiyero, her heart pounding uncomfortably against her chest. Her eyes darted wildly, desperate to avoid looking directly at him. She noticed blood on his hand, oozing from a long, thin cut on his hand. She looked at the covered cage, glaring at the invisible culprit nestled within.
"You're bleeding." Her voice broke the silence between them, and he jumped slightly. "It must have scratched you."
"Maybe it scratched me, or something." He echoed brainlessly, and Elphaba wondered if he'd heard her. Elphaba felt herself lose control for a moment, reaching up to brush his forehead lightly. He flinched at her sudden, unexpected touch, rushing to stand up and back away from her, and she sighed. She thought, maybe, he was different.
.
"I better get to safety.." He closed his eyes and corrected himself "The cub..get the cub..to safety.." His voice trailed of, and Elphaba nodded distractedly. She watched as he walked away, cub in hand, and smiled when he realised he was going the wrong way.
She struggled to ignore the feeling in her stomach. What was the point in acknowledging her feelings? He was Fiyero, the perfect boy who was in love with the perfect girl, who just happened to be Elphaba's perfect best friend. Elphaba sighed, raising her hand to her head. She stopped and stared at it for a moment; surely, the ultimate reason Fiyero barely knew she was alive was staring her in the face.
She just wasn't that girl.
--
Life at Shiz in the aftermath of the sacking of Doctor Dillamond was an unsettled one; even the most stupid of students could feel the tension of rebellion in the air. Too much had been changed in recent years; Animals and the citizens of Oz had once worked side by side, hand in hand. Now, they were outcast and despised, a sudden change in the wind that even Elphaba could not understand. Variety had once been the spice of an Ozmopoliton life, but now.. Persecution and discrimination was rife amongst Oz; Quadlings regularly slaughtered merely for their irregular grammar and skin colour; Elphaba had to wonder when society would turn on her, and she carried a gripping, underlying fear with her always.
The Wizard couldn't possibly be behind the hatred spanning Oz, could he? The Wizard was wonderful – he wouldn't allow the harm of his subjects. He couldn't know about the events taking place and tainting the peaceful and blissful lives of Ozians?
Elphaba had spent hours in the library, pouring over dusty volumes of ancient Ozian law, laid down by Ozmas past. Nothing like this had occurred throughout the relatively calm history of Oz. Everything seemed to turn bad when the Ozma disappeared, and the Wizard became ruler.
Elphaba detested ignorance; but for once, so blinded was she by admiration and awe for the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she ignored the facts that were so plain in front of her eyes; the Wizard was suffocating Oz.
--
Elphaba, Galinda and Fiyero were seated together in, unusually for two members of the party, the library. Elphaba was intently completing Doctor Nidik's latest assignment, while Galinda and Fiyero were writing notes to each other describing their respective hopeless boredom.
"Elphie!" Galinda hissed "Can we please go now?!" Elphaba looked up, annoyance flickering on her face.
"Galinda, please tell me you've finished the essay in the four hours we've been here?" Galinda looked down. "We can go when we've all finished our work." She shot a look at Fiyero. "You too, pretty boy." Fiyero opened his mouth to protest at being called "pretty boy", but the aged librarian hushed them.
Galinda reluctantly began her essay, her elaborate handwriting taking up far more space on the page than was necessary. Elphaba looked over a few times, making sure the pair of them were working. She hated behaving like their mother, but she'd become fond of both of them, and wanted to make sure they had the best chance of success at Shiz. Both were capable of so much more than they currently achieved. They just needed more reason to work, more ambition. Elphaba cringed when she realised how like her Father she was beginning to sound.
--
Several more hours passed, each more painful for Galinda and Fiyero, until Elphaba was satisfied the pair had at least attempted to do something productive. When they emerged from the library, the usually busy square was deserted. Elphaba frowned and looked at her watch; it was seven o'clock on a Friday, and normally this was the most popular meeting place, situated as it was at an equidistance between the two dormitories on campus.
Galinda and Elphaba bade farewell to Fiyero and walked back to Crope hall, not seeing a soul during the ten minute walk. When they got back, they saw Madame Morrible standing on the steps. Elphaba noticed she looked empty; her eyes were hollow, her normally immaculate make up was smudged and sloppy, and the white powder had streaks missing.
"Girls, go inside immediately." Elphaba opened her mouth to question her, but Madame Morrible waved her away with a "Not now, dear."
The pair found a gaggled of girls at the foot of the staircase, including Chen Chen and Pfanee. Galinda looked at them questioningly, but they merely shrugged.
A moment later, Madame Morrible entred, walking slowly towards the huddled group.
"Girls," she began, her strong voice sounding hoarse, "Today, Oz has changed forever." She paused, shutting her eyes, and Galinda and Elphaba exchanged worried glances. "The Wizard.." she stopped again, swallowing heavily. "The Wizard..has been assassinated." She raised a hand to her mouth to suppress a sob. The girls gasped collectively.
Their wonderful Wizard was dead. And nothing would ever be the same.
A/N: TBC if people like it. I basically want it to be what would have happened if Defying Gravity never happened. I hope you liked it, don't forget to review!