Elphaba is always so unpredictable when it comes to the next page of her story. However, Family Day has arrived at Shiz, and with it, more secrets from her past. When the days events take an unexpected turn, everyone will learn just how unpredictable this story will be...AU, Oneshot.
A/N. Hi everyone! Welcome to my fourth ever one-shot, Wasn't Foreseen, and my first Wicked fanfiction in general! I've had this idea for some time, and wanted to do a Wicked fanfiction, but had no idea what to do, and then suddenly, this came up into my brain and I had to write it! So, anyways, this will take place before Elphaba and Galinda even get the chance to go to the Emerald City, so they won't go in this version. As a matter of fact, this takes place only a few days before Dr. Dillamond was supposed to be fired, so that won't be happening either. I just wanted you to know that. This is definitely an AU, so be prepared for that. It takes place just a few days after the song 'Popular'. I believe there is a time stretch of at least a week, maybe a little more than a week. Anyways, that is just about it! I hope you like Wasn't Foreseen, and once you're done reading, leave a review, favorite, follow, and as always… Enjoy! Special One
On May 22nd, it will have been exactly two years since I saw my first Broadway show, Wicked. We went to a matinee at the Gershwin, where Alyssa Fox (u/s) and Carrie St. Louis were Elphie and Glinda. The second I entered the theater, was the moment that sealed my fate as a Broadway lover forever (well, really, it was both that and 'No Good Deed', my third favorite song ever behind 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons, and 'What If This Storm Ends' by Snow Patrol). So, with that special note out of the way...
"Are you sure you want me to read this off?"
"Elphie, I need to make sure everything is settled before Momsie, Popsicle, and Granny come! Now read off the list!"
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Fine. Shoes?" Galinda bounced over to her large shelves holding countless heels, color coded so pink was glittering in the front. "Check!" she chirped. "Wardrobe?" I asked. Her next stop was to glide over to her closet and look at her massive collection of fluffy silken and velvet clothing. "Check!" was the answer once again. "Makeup?" I asked, glancing at her face to see the sparkling red eyeshadow she had picked for today, that went very well with the matching, fluffy-skirted dress, complete with golden seams, and golden heels with little rubies on them. "Double check!" she said, twirling with her small hand mirror, curls bouncing with her personality.
"Did you get the training wand to work yet?" I asked.
She stopped twirling, face instantly going red with frustration. "No, of course I haven't. It's like it doesn't want to work with me!"
I snorted. "Probably because you're whacking it against your bed every other night after classes are over."
"I don't whack it!" she said, pouting. "It just needs...discipline. Yeah, that's all. Discipline." Oh, Galinda. So kind, but yet not enough brains. A lot like Fiyero in the latter category.
"Galinda, I think we're both fine! We got ready, cleaned the whole room for two hours, made the beds, and then I helped you rearrange your stuff for another hour. That was everything we planned out on the list last night." I explained. "All we have to do now is go down to the cafeteria, meet Nessa there, and go find our families. It's simple."
Now I was getting nervous. What Galinda didn't know was that I was actually excited for father's arrival. I would never say that out loud in my life, because of course I wasn't excited about father coming himself. I was excited about who exactly he was bringing with him. Possibly one of the few friends I've ever had.
"Um...Galinda?" I asked. Galinda turned around. "Yes Elphie?" I took a deep breath, and spoke.
"I may have been a little dishonest on the night we became friends." Her green eyes narrowed. "What? You mean you lied about something?" she said. "Well, yes and no. It's a small detail, but a huge one at the same time. I couldn't exactly tell you because, well, while I don't necessarily like who my father is, he is still my father. Nessa and I promised to respect the privacy of this situation, but I guess since you're about to meet the rest of my family, it's fitting that you know now."
And with that, I said it out loud.
"Mother didn't die giving birth to Nessa. She died giving birth to Shell. Me and Nessa's baby brother."
Galinda gasped. "Brother?!" she asked. "Well, why didn't you tell me before?!" I held up my hand. "I'll explain that now."
"Normally, when it comes to me, I can be as hard as stone itself. I've learned to be tough and defend myself when someone decides to taunt me that day. However, when it comes to this boy, any rough feature in me just falls to pieces. I would give the world for this sweet child.
"Anyways, Nessa's birth had only weakened Mother to an extent, but not enough for it to be life threatening. She and Father waited three years before deciding to have another child. I was four, and can actually remember a lot of it. Father didn't actually think about what he had been doing wrong before. As a matter in fact, he thought it worked to some extent, and decided to take it a step further. So once again, Father made Mother chew those awful milk flowers to ensure that this baby wouldn't have green skin. But this time, he had a special medicine made to take with it as well. Little did he know, this was the dangerous combination that sealed both Shell's and Mother's fates. Even at the age of four, I knew this time Mother wasn't going to make it out alive, and something was going to be terribly wrong with the baby."
Galinda was already crying. I went on, because I knew she understood what happened next.
"Just like Nessa before him, Shell came way too early, earlier than Nessa did. So not only was he premature, he had gotten the worst out of the three of us. The worst possible defect. And of course, it was too much for Mother and she passed away a few short hours after giving birth. After that...that was really when I knew father hated me. So, I did the best I could to ignore him, and try to be a great example for him. I dedicated my life to helping raise my siblings. Heck, I trust them with me more than him.
"Growing up, I've been close to both Nessa and Shell, but Nessa kind of drifted away after a while. We're still friendly with one another, but I know she's a little embarrassed by me. On the other hand, Shell has never been embarrassed. As a matter in fact, he loves the green skin. He likes that our family is so unique. Father...not so much. He's never connected with Shell, which is a huge surprise, because he's always wanted a son. But no, he's only close to Nessa, which is a good thing in a way. Nessa has Father, Shell has me. He's the family member I'm closest to. And it's been like that for a long as I can remember."
That felt good. Pouring out my feelings like any other person in this situation would. I've never had to do that in my life. And now letting someone in, telling them more and more about my past...it made me feel normal. For once.
Still wiping away tears, Galinda was crossing the room, and trying to re-apply her mascara at the same time. "You really should wait until you stop to do that." I said.
She didn't answer. Instead, she went to her closet, opened the door, and stepped back. "Here." she said. "Take your pick. Anything you want, you can borrow for today. You deserve it, after everything you've told me."
Well, long story short, Galinda refused for me to say no, and I ended up borrowing the simplest one. The simplest one happened to be a simple, velvet, dark purple dress, with flowing sleeves and a bit more of a twirly skirt than I really wanted, but I didn't protest. Galinda even gave me a pair of silver flats and pinned my raven hair into a bun with a silver clip. "Wow." she said. "Purple and silver go with green too!"
It turns out, when we got downstairs, we had already been early, and had arrived about five minutes before they were letting the parents in. Galinda had already told her parents all about me with great amounts of enthusiasm. She assured me that they were alright with it, but I still wasn't sure how they were reacting to the fact that their daughter was bunked with a girl who literally looked like a stem of broccoli.
We met up with Nessa and Madame Morrible, and no sooner than we did, dozens of families began to flood the cafeteria. There was cries of joy and embarrassed mumbles all around me as some students gratefully embraced their parents, while others blushed and lowered their heads as overexcited mothers, aunts, or grandmothers doted over them. "Wow! It's really crowded, isn't it Elphaba?!" asked Nessa over all the excitement. I nodded. "I know. Let's just try to blend in a little and go find Father and Shell."
"Make way! Make way students and families! We have to get through!" Madame Morrible's voice boomed over the sea of visitors. Morrible was wheeling Nessa through the crowd while I followed quickly. Galinda had vanished into the crowd, but promised she would find us again with her family. "Elphaba, how will we know where your father and brother are?" asked Morrible. "Easy. Father, Shell, and frankly everyone else, can pick me out of any crowd like I'm a beacon. They'll come to us." I answered.
Already I was getting strange glances from students and relatives alike. There were already whispers of, "Look Mom, that's the girl I told you about," or "See her? You want to stay away from her." I sighed, shaking my head. Whatever. All I had to focus on was getting through the crowd, and focusing on finding-
"ELLIE! NESSA!"
I couldn't help but stifle a laugh as a voice called out the only other nickname I had ever had, the one that only Nessa and Father really knew about. They were close. "Come on, let's hurry up!" said Nessa. "Excuse us students and families, please let us pass through!" Morrible shouted. I raced forwards a few paces ahead, and quickly saw Father. And in front of him, was…
"SHELL!" I shouted, throwing my arms around the fifteen year old.
And he definitely would have done the same...if he actually had arms, that is.
Yes, that was said right. Poor Shell was literally born with no arms, whatsoever. Out of all three of us, he had the worst defective trait. Me being green, and Nessa not being able to walk...if he had either one of those, it would have been bad enough. But to have something missing entirely, was probably the most horrible luck that we had gotten. Of course, many of the things that people ordinarily do every day are done with their hands. Shell has none, so it makes his life at least seventy percent harder. And with no arms, he's never been balanced right. He normally can't walk without someone holding onto his shoulders or waist to keep him upright.
On the other hand, he's probably the sweetest, happiest fifteen year old I had ever met. He didn't mind his disability at all, which I was proud of, and he actually stood up for me when someone picked on me. I guess that fact that were both different allows us to be closer, along with Nessa, to some extent. Nessa tries to ignore it more than embrace it however. Still, Shell just adored me and Nessa, probably because we've been taking care of him since he was an infant. It was like we had stepped into Mother's role by the time we were four and three! Nessa and I basically raised him!...which was fine with us. Not like father was ever there, no matter what Nessa says.
I stepped back and rested my hands on his shoulders. "Here, let me look at you." I said, examining him. "Wow, you got a lot taller since the last time I saw you." True, he had grown a few inches in the past two and a half months. But other than that, he still looked the same as he always did. Floppy black hair, gray eyes, the general look. He was all decked out in his favorite fawn-colored vest. And, as usual, he had a huge smile on his face.
"Oh, I missed you Ellie!" he said. "I've been counting down the days until I got to come here. It's been hard without you and Nessa, because it gets really lonely without someone to talk to, and Father does help me write letters, of course, but it's really not the same at all." He launched into a long explanation about all the things he missed with Nessa and I away. He could also be a bit of a chatterbox every now and then. And Father was starting to get annoyed.
"Alright Shell, I think your sister is getting tired of listening." He cut in, silencing Shell. Shell blushed and moved a little closer to me, with some help of course.
I looked up into our father's glinting hazel eyes, a little annoyed as well. I could tell he wasn't too keen on seeing me. "Elphaba." He said simply. "Father." I answered. "It's, uh, good to see you again." I lied quickly. "Nessa and I have been doing fine by ourselves. She's making lots of new friends and doing well on her education." That made him smile a little, until I purposely put in. "And I have also been doing so. I'm at the top of all the classes, and I made friends with both the history teacher, and my roommate, Galinda Upland."
There. Maybe that'll at least satisfy him. The frown on his face never moved, so I could tell it didn't. On the other hand, Shell's face immediately lit up. "Really?! That's great! I know that's hard for you, good job!" he said.
"Elphie! There you are! Come on, I want you to meet...oh…" Galinda trailed off when she saw Shell. Her green eyes had gone as wide as dinner plates, and I was afraid she was going to start crying again. I quickly handed Shell over to Father and rushed to Galinda before Father, or worse, Shell, saw anything. "It's okay. Don't cry, you might upset them." I whispered. She nodded and sniffled.
She walked up to Father and waved with a bubbly smile, thought a little wary still, because she knew this man didn't exactly like me, despite being my father. "Hi! My name is Galinda Upland...of the Upper Uplands." she said. "As Elphie may have told you, we're officially best friends now, even though we didn't like each other at first. Not many other people do, but we don't care, right Elphie?" She asked, turning back to me. I nodded, a little surprised. "Um, yeah. That's exactly right."
Father's eyebrow was now raised. I bet he was wondering, if I had ever gotten a friend, this would be the exact opposite of her. Because, well, she was the exact opposite of me. And yet, here we are.
Galinda's own chatty nature had awoken next, and she and Shell got into a lengthy conversation while Nessa and Madame Morrible were busy greeting father (and Nessa introducing him to Boq, whom she had dragged over along with his mother).
Galinda's parents and Grandmother came over, and I suddenly remembered to wear my hat at the last minute, which Shell also immediately complemented. I could hear father mentioning that I looked ridiculous. To my surprise, they actually liked me, and said I had a good sense in style, probably because of Galinda's dress and hat. Her Grandmother was also pleased at the hat, and told Galinda it was very thoughtful of her to give it to me. I just hope she never found out it had been intended to be a prank. Throughout all this, Father was giving me a strange look. It's as if he had never seen me get affection before in his life! Oh wait...it was. No wonder he was so surprised.
Then, as if the whole scene couldn't get crazier, along came Fiyero's parents.
When they arrived on the steps leading down to the cafeteria, everyone stopped to bow, even Galinda, who rushed over to a casual-looking Fiyero giddily. After introducing her to them, he walked over to us, and introduced them to me and my family straight away. Let's just say they were...okay with me. Father was so pale from actually meeting a King and Queen, that he looked as if he was about to pass out, and I had to bite my tongue in case I accidentally laughed.
I was glad everything was going smoothly. That is, until Galinda mentioned the one thing I wanted to avoid today.
"And besides history, me and Elphie's favorite class is sorcery." Galinda was just telling her family.
Father tensed up. "What?! Sorcery?!" He asked, alarmed. He looked at me. "Elphaba, what is the meaning of this?!" I stepped back, a little pale. No. No way. This wasn't how I wanted things to go. "I...I meant to tell you…" I started. "But I knew you wouldn't like it, so I waited until today, so Madame Morrible could help explain it." I said, looking to Morrible for help. I thanked Oz she caught on.
"Oh, yes. Governor Thropp, you're daughter is incredibly achieved in her talents. She can be capable of join the Wizard's ranks!" she said. Father glared.
"You must be mistaken Madame. Elphaba's nothing special." he said.
That hurt. And the shock relayed through the others around us. Galinda and Shell gasped in horror, Nessa paled, Morrible did a double take, Boq's mother pulled him a little closer, Fiyero's mother scoffed and whispered, "Oh, how rude!", into her husband ear, in which he nodded in agreement, Galinda's parents and Grandmothers jaws all dropped, and Fiyero stepped right up to Father and shouted, "How could you say something like that about your own daughter?!" People around us were staring, either overhearing what Father or Fiyero said, and I had to look away. I was used to this, don't get me wrong...but when he did this in public, that was even worse.
"Um...Governor Thropp, will you please have a word?" Stammered Madame Morrible, gesturing to the hallway outside. She turned to the other parents. "And all of you can come as well. We need a private little chat. Miss Galinda? Would you mind taking Miss Elphaba and the others to your room? We'll call you to the headmistress's office in a few hours." With that, she walked away.
"Sweet Oz." Galinda muttered under her breath to Fiyero. "How could a parent be so cruel to his child?" I sighed. "It's okay, Galinda. It's alright. I'm fine. Let's get back to our room and we'll talk there."
No sooner than I said that, we were back in the suite. Boq, Nessa, Fiyero, and Shell technically weren't supposed to be in there, but we were just following Madame Morrible's instructions. Heck, at least Galinda and I spent all that time cleaning this morning.
Shell was sitting cross-legged on my bed next to me, like he often did when I was upset as a child. No one was saying much, that is, until Galinda spoke up. "Elphie, I'm so sorry." she said. "It's worse than I even thought." I nodded. "I know. He can be a real problem sometimes. Not to mention, his attitude towards me can have a negative effect on everyone else. They'll immediately want to agree because of my skin." Shell managed to squirm his way into my arms and now had his head on my shoulder. "That's not always true Ellie. You haven't done anything wrong."
"Shell, as much as I want to believe you, just look at the circumstances. There's no avoiding the truth...this is who I am. It would have to take something as powerful as the Wizard's magic to undo that." And I believed that. And that's why when I met the Wizard, that was one of the things on the top of the list of things I wanted to tell him. Well, besides the animal problem.
Speaking of which, I was delighted when I saw who walked through the door next. "Dr. Dillamond!" I said, rushing over as he entered. "Oh, Miss Elphaba, I heard about what your father said earlier! I'm terribly sorry. You didn't deserve it. Are you alright, my dear?" I nodded. "I'm just fine Dr., we all are." Dr. looked over and saw Shell sitting on the bed, who beamed joyfully. "Oh, you must be Shell! Madame Morrible told me all about you after hearing so much from Nessarose. What a pleasure!" Shell slid off the bed and into my arms. "Pleasure to meet you as well Dr. According to Elphaba, you're her favorite teacher!"
Oh dear. I blushed, though not from embarrassment. It was true. Dr. Dillamond was the only person who had ever felt like a father to me. Once he heard this, a wide grin grew on his face. "Why, thank you, Miss Elphaba. I don't think I've ever been someone's favorite teacher before." This only made my blush grow, but through it, I was smiling.
Suddenly, Madame Morrible burst through the doors. "I need everyone inside the headmistress's office immediately! He'll be here any minute now, hurry!" Confused, I put my hands on Shell's shoulders and began steering him from the room. "Galinda, can you get Nessa?" I asked, uncertain of where this was going. "Sure, Elphie." I heard her answer. I said nothing. "Why do I have to feeling something is going to happen?" asked Shell. "I don't know." I whispered into his ear. "And I don't like the sound of it either."
If I knew that within minutes I would be face to face with my idol, I would have taken it right back.
When we walked in, I began toppling over backwards, only to be caught by a strong pair of hands. "Whoa! Easy Elphaba!" said Fiyero. "Let's get her seated."
Boq pulled up a chair and Fiyero laid me gently into it. "I'll get some water." Muttered Galinda. "Ellie! Are you alright?!" asked Shell from where he was being held up by Morrible. "Oh, don't worry young man. She'll be alright. She's just in a little bit of shock. Much like her father in a way."
"Huh?" I asked, confused. Coming back to my senses a little bit, I sat up to see that once again, I was stuck in the same room as my lousy excuse of a parent. I grumbled as Galinda pushed a small cup of water into my hand. "Here. Drink up."
Throughout all this, the Wizard was very quiet, watching us with an excited gleam in his smokey gray eyes. "So, this is the talented Elphaba that I've been hearing so much about." He held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." I eagerly shot out my hand and feverishly shook his. "Oh, you're Ozness! What an honor! I've been waiting my entire life to meet you! It's what I've always wanted!" The smile grew to the widest degree when I said that. "Well, I'm happy to hear that. Because that's what I do. You have to give people what they want. And that's why I'm here a little early." He pointed to my father, who was sitting in another chair, pale and shaking. "Your father didn't believe Madame Morrible when she told him of the good that can come from your power. We decided to show him ourselves."
Wow. I felt even more honored than ever before. The Wizard came to me so I could prove myself, in front of all my family and friends! Sooner or later, we would be working as one, and there was no one stopping me. Not even Father.
"Madame! The Grimmerie!" shouted the Wizard. When we heard the name of the ancient spellbook, our jaws dropped. "Wait. Your Ozness, as in the 'incredibly famous book of spells Grimmerie?!" asked Nessa. "Yes my dears. It's been in the possession of your headmistress all this time. Or should I say, 'New Press Secretary'?" No sooner than the words left his mouth, Morrible came back with the heavy leather covered book. "The Wizard is very generous if you do something for him." said Morrible. "Here it is, Elphaba. All for you." Galinda walked forwards and reached out her hand to gently stroke the cover, before it was pulled away and thrust into my arms. "I wouldn't try that if I were you." said Morrible, leaving Galinda pouting.
"Madame, have you lost your mind?!" shouted Father. "This has gone far enough! You give that girl a spellbook, that black magic will kill us all! It's already cursed the family! Look at her siblings! She deformed them both!" That was it...for everyone else, that is. Everyone who knew the truth. Fiyero, Galinda, and Shell all began shouting and screaming at him at once, with Boq and even Nessa starting to catch on, unsure. Dr. Dillamond, who had been standing in the back as all this unfolded, also protested.
"BE QUIET!" the Wizard and Morrible both boomed at once. The room instantly went silent. The Wizard then turned to me. "Elphaba, can you please find the Levitation Spell?" He then turned and began taking the cover off of something large behind him. I instantly flipped through the pages until I found it, the title scrawled over the top in large letters. The writing was...strange, an otherworldly language that I had never seen before. Though somehow, I understood it.
Shell looked over my shoulder. "Can you read it?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna cast this levitation spell on a...on a…" I trailed off, realizing that I had no idea what I was actually levitating. That is, until the Wizard turned around with a rather large monkey in front of him. "Elphaba, allow me to introduce Chistery, my head servant. His one dream, is to finally fly with the birds after so many years of wishing. Care to do the honors?"
This was it. No turning back now. I looked down at the book and began chanting. Excited gasps arose around the room, as my friends and siblings were drawn closer, knitting a tight circle around me as the words flowed from my vocals and out into the open air. Something was coming alive inside as my voice rose, strong and free. It felt right, just to finally do what I was meant to do. Be who I was meant to be. And it was all happening now. In these few moments. Any second now...any second…
Suddenly, instead of Chistery rising from the floor and into open space, as I might have expected him to do, he let out a ear-piercing screech and began hopping around the room, frantically pawing at his back. Before I could even get the chance to react, Father leapt from his chair and pointed accusingly at me. "I KNEW IT!" he shouted. "I KNEW YOU WERE BOUND TO DO EVIL ONE DAY! YOU WICKED WITCH!"
If we hadn't already known that something had gone wrong, then the wings Chistery now had definitely confirmed it. As the other occupants in the room began to notice, one by one, they gasped in horror. "ELLIE!" Shell screamed, running headlong into the corner for safety. "What's happening?!"
I was stunned. Numb. I couldn't believe this happened. After everything I worked for, it still failed?! Oh, great job, Elphaba! The Wizard will never...accept you...now...wait...the Wizard was smiling. "Oh, Madame." he said, sounding as if he was in a blissful trance. "You were right all along...she's perfect! Absolutely perfect! She was all we needed, all along!"
What?
Slowly, but surely, I didn't know why, but my view of my idol was slowly beginning to lower, ever so slightly. I had a feeling I knew where this was going...and that the life I had lead before might have been a lie.
"It's all a game, isn't it your Ozness?" I asked, rising to my feet, anger written on my face. "You've kept the curtain up for a long time. No one is allowed to see behind it. But I think I've just torn it down. And I don't like what I see. We are stuck, believing we actually have a hero, while you're turning animals into voiceless slaves!" Never, in my life, have a been more infuriated. The Wizard was a mirage. He didn't even have a powerful trait in him. And now, I have been forced to deform an innocent animal, under his influence.
I won't make that dumb mistake again.
The Wizard made a move towards the door, but Fiyero was quicker. Pretty soon, the ruler of Oz had collapsed to the floor, Fiyero holding his arms down while Galinda bolted the door, cutting off any escape attempts. "I wouldn't try to struggle your Ozness! Madame Morrible, you stay right where you are too! I won't hesitate to stop you!" He shouted. We were all unable to move. I was just coming to the sense that my hero was nothing but a false, an unworthy failure, when Morrible made her move. She grabbed the Grimmerie, and swatted Fiyero off the Wizard as if he were a fly! Fiyero fell to the floor, and was lying there groaning. Galinda and I both immediately ran to his side. "Fiyero, are you okay sweetie?!" asked Galinda. "Yeah, I think I'm fine. You two are okay?" he asked. "Yeah, we're not hurt, none of us are." I said.
I spoke way too soon, and our luck ran right out a few seconds later. When I heard the scream, my heart seemed to slow to a steady stop, and my stomach turned to ice. I turned around to face the other end of the room, where Morrible had the Grimmerie open, and was carefully reading the same 'Levitation' spell...and she was standing directly in front of Shell, who had been crouching in the corner, and was now shrieking at the top of his lungs.
"NO!"
No sooner than I had cried out, then many things happened at once. Father lunged at Morrible and they tumbled to the floor. Galinda was pushed into Boq's arms as the Wizard made his second escape attempt, only to fall as Fiyero tripped him again with his leg. Nessa had somehow managed to push herself out of the chair and was dragging herself across the room towards the fallen Grimmerie. I had fallen to my knees and pulled my brother into my arms. We were both sobbing, Shell from the pain, me from the fact that I couldn't save him from what was coming next. He was thrashing and kicking in my arms, trying desperately to do something to stop the agony, but it was hopeless. All I could do was hold him as tightly as I could, and wait.
"Elphie!" shouted Galinda, who was helping Boq and Fiyero keep the Wizard down, by...sitting on him?! "Get over here! I found something-AHH!"
All three of them were knocked off of a few seconds later, and the Wizard snatched whatever was in Galinda's hand right back out. She cowered on the floor as he raised said object over his head, ready for an attack. "If any of you come close to me, I'll-" he started. And then…
"Wait!" Father shouted.
And that's when I saw it.
The small green bottle, filled with liquid of the same color.
"That bottle." said Father. "My wife, Melena, she had one just like it! I saw it only one other time. And it was right around the first time she told me she was...pregnant…" And with that, he collapsed back into the chair, face ghostly white. Just in time for poor Shell to cry out one final time as he suffered from the same transition as Chistery had, right in my arms.
Everything was happening so fast, and I was crying so hard, that I couldn't focus on one thing at once. Until now. My thoughts suddenly snapped onto the Wizard. My true father. Who was breaking down the door, and scrambling down the hall as fast as his weak legs could carry him.
"GET HIM!" I shouted. Dr. Dillamond had already run after him. "Oh no you don't!" shouted Morrible, who had also stood. She threw open the window and whistled. We began to hear immense amounts of shrieking, and Galinda screamed and ducked from where she had been standing as hundreds of winged monkeys flew inside and attacked!
This was all my fault. It hadn't only been Chistery. It was hundreds, and I had failed to keep my own baby brother from this fate as well, thought that was Morrible, not me. I only had the sense to stand and run. Galinda followed, yelling as the monkeys pulled on her hair to hold her back. However, just as we crossed the threshold of the room, there was an ear-splitting BANG! We both ducked as smoke began pouring from the doorway, but we couldn't stop. Galinda kicked off her high heels for once, and we ran once more. We had to catch the Wizard, and get him out of here before more trouble was caused.
It turns out, the monkeys had made their way to the cafeteria too! And when we saw the chaos, Galinda and I just stood at the top of the stairs, staring, jaws wide open. Everyone was in a panic, monkeys were dive-bombing people, and the Wizard was running at top speed to make it through the crowd, not wanting to gain any attention. Dr. Dillamond was thankfully close on his heels. "There! We have to stop him!" I shouted.
Suddenly, Galinda and I were both pulled to the floor, and no sooner than that happened, Morrible ran past. Next was Father...or the person who I thought was my father. He was chasing her and shouting "THIS WAS ALL YOU'RE FAULT!" They both followed the Wizard. The three people I had decided I hated the most in the last ten minutes, on the run. What was worse, the flying monkeys had decided to descend in waves of terror on the rest of the school, and my brother had also gained wings of his own. All of this was caused by me. I felt sick. I wanted to turn invisible, and run away. From all the trouble I caused. From my skin. From everything. But I couldn't. Not with everything and everyone I loved on the line.
"ELPHABA! LOOK!" I gasped, shocked. Galinda and I both knew that voice, and we turned around to see a sight we thought we would never see. I let out a sob again, but this time, it was a sob of joy. Because there, was Nessarose. Standing, for the first time in her life. The Grimmerie was planted firmly under her arm. "Nessa! At last!" I shouted, running to my sister. For the first time, she ran back.
"Elphaba, I managed to cast a spell on myself!...and may or may not have hit a few other people with some spells because we couldn't see, but that's not the point! Shell's okay. In pain, but okay. Fiyero and Boq have him. We have to stop them!" she pointed into the crowd, where the Wizard, Father, and Morrible were all scrambling down the hallway on the other side of the cafeteria, and out of sight. Dr. Dillamond had gotten stuck in the crowd, and when he saw us, he made a gesture for us to keep going.
We ran as fast as we could. "Out of the way!" shouted Galinda, scooping something off the ground and pushing people out of the way with it. When we finally made it to the other end, I saw it was a broomstick. Inspiration struck like lightning, and I immediately opened once again to that horrible spell in the book. But I had an idea. Maybe it didn't work on people or animals...but would it work on something inanimate?
A quick moment of chanting, and the broom rose from Galinda's grip. She gasped as I grabbed it, slightly backing away with Nessa. I held it out to them. "Quick! Get on!" A few moments of hesitation...and they both grabbed the handle, ready for flight.
Nessa and Galinda were behind me, holding on for dear life, but I wasn't afraid. We began to ascend, ready for the confrontation. My true self was coming alive, and she wasn't being held back any longer. We soared through the halls, me controlling the broom, aiming to find our convicts. "Elphie! What do we do when we find them?!" asked Galinda over Nessa's small shrieks. "We take them down! They can't get away after what they've done to us! To me!" I said, talking more to myself than my best friend.
"There they are! Bring us down lower!" Nessa shouted from directly behind me (Galinda was in the very back). Sure enough, there they were, dashing through the halls like they had gone mad, pushing and pulling each other down and climbing on top of one another to escape. Morrible happened to look behind her and saw us, going pale and yelping at the sight of us on the broom, heading directly in their direction. She pointed us out to the other two men, but we were already on top of them by that time. Together, all three of us jumped and landed...Nessa on Father, Galinda on Morrible, and me on the Wizard, knocking all three directly onto their faces. It felt good.
Imminently, Galinda jumped to her feet, grabbed the broom, and began swinging it around like a staff. Nessa and I stared for a second, before Nessa finally said, "You're kidding me, right?" That put a stop to it.
Father started sputtering when Nessa stood, jeweled shoe planted firmly on his chest. "Nessa, my daughter, please! Don't do this! Don't trust her, Melena's daughter or not!" Nessa only turned him over, planted his arms firmly behind his back, and sat on them. "You know what? Elphaba was right about you. You're just a lousy, unloving pushover who would sink to the level of hating his child...or, who he thought was his child. It doesn't even matter anymore." She looked up at me. "But at least she has support from her sister." We smiled, really smiled, at each other for the first time in years. "Thanks Nessa." I said, prouder than ever.
Meanwhile, Galinda had grabbed a cord off the curtains and tied the Wizard and Morrible to the broom by their waists, both trying to shout through the handkerchiefs Galinda stuffed in their mouths. "Have either of you considered how you'd fair in captivity?...prison?...My personal opinion, is that you do not have what it takes." She then started talking in Morrible's accent. "I hope you prove me wrong!...I doubt you will!"
After lashing Father to the broom, we began flying back the way we came. Let's just say, it was quite the interesting sight when we were going over the cafeteria. The whole room went silent as we landed on one of the tables. I got up, handed Galinda the broom (with all three convicts still attached, and said, "Can you handle telling everyone the truth? Nessa and I have to go help Shell." She nodded. "I can do that. Go take care of him and the others." But before I left with my sister, Galinda quickly turned and threw her arms around me. "I'm proud, Elphie. So proud."
Once we got back to the headmistress's office, we both got quite a scare when we saw that the other two (unconscious) people Nessa hit with spells, had happened to be Boq, who was now made of tin, and Fiyero, who was a scarecrow! Shell was still in the corner, lying on the floor, whimpering and in tears. Nessa and I helped him into Morrible and Nessa's compartment, and it took another twenty minutes to calm him down and deduct that he was okay, despite the wings.
After all that, we woke up Fiyero and Boq, the former very calm about the situation, the latter definitely horrified, so we left Boq to watch after Shell to calm his nerves (because both definitely needed it). The trip back to the cafeteria was uneventful, but when we got there, it was even more chaotic...meaning the hundreds of inhabitants of the room had banded together and were now throwing food at the Wizard, Father, and Morrible, who were being held high in the air by two flying monkeys! We all got into it a little too, but the fun was short lived once Galinda and Fiyero's mother both passed out into Fiyero's father's arms when they got a good look at him.
I got to choose the punishment, according to the guards that were now on our side. And I came up with the best one...for all three of them to leave Oz, and never return. Let's just say, after the whole revelation, and my decision being met by uproarious applause, it was a little strange to actually be respected by everyone for once. But before that, we had Madame Morrible tell us some more spells to restore Fiyero and Boq. To my dismay, there was no reversing what she did to poor Shell, which is why we took great pride in watching her get taken away. Tomorrow, we would be there as they left, the same way The Wizard came. By balloon.
Now came the hard part. What was our next move?
"Since you're the Wizard's daughter, wouldn't that make you his heir?" asked Fiyero, returned to normal. "The Wizard got stripped of his title though, so she wouldn't count as an heir." said Nessa. "Well, she did overthrow him in a way, so I think Fiyero might be right." Galinda chimed in. "Guys, wait!" said Shell from Nessa's bed, where he had been sitting with me and Nessa. "Shouldn't we let Ellie decide?" Everyone turned to me. I gulped, not expecting a speech. But I stood and gave one anyways.
"I agree...with Fiyero and Galinda." I said. The people of Oz deserve an honest, loyal ruler who respects their citizens. So starting directly after the departure of the Wizard...we'll all take turns ruling." I said.
"What?!" Everyone asked. I nodded. "Exactly. We'll make it a team effort. Tomorrow, we'll all go to the Emerald City and take our places as rulers." Nessa's hand shot up. "Who's going to govern Munchkinland? Or be headmaster of Shiz?" I had an answer for that too. "Us as well. We'll be in charge of both places from the city, and we'll make public appearances at both places if we need to. Dr. Dillamond can come with us and help us see over everything if needed, and that can help in bringing back animal rights too. It'll be perfect, trust me…"
And it was decided that day.
Who cares if it wasn't foreseen?
What mattered was that we had our future ahead, waiting with open arms…
A/N. So, that might have been a little rushed, but I personally liked the end result. I may do another oneshot as a sequel, with a little more Shell in it, like this was originally planned. I just liked the alternate ending better. So, that's just about it. I hope you enjoyed 'Wasn't Foreseen', and once you're done, leave a review, favorite, follow, and as always… Thank you! ;)
Wow. That felt amazing to finish.