Elphaba sat in her room, escaping herself with the help of one of her favorite books. It was three weeks after her eleventh birthday. Nobody had remembered it, which wasn't really surprising- but nevertheless, it stung her. She found that reading and sometimes munching on an apple helped her to cope with her family's negligence.
She was just finishing one of the best chapters when her father knocked on her door and then entered without waiting for a consenting reply.
"Fabala," he regarded her. "Lost in another book, are we?"
She looked up grudgingly from the page and nodded.
For a minute, her father simply stood there silently and surveyed his eldest daughter's room. It seemed everything he set his eyes upon disgusted him, including her.
Finally, he spoke. "As you know, Elphaba, your brother has some friends coming over tonight."
She hadn't known, but she knew that saying so would get her nowhere and so she nodded anyway.
"As usual," Frex continued, "It would be best if you were to stay in your room, so that they will not be startled by your appearance."
Elphaba felt the heat of embarrassment rise to her cheeks.
"Also, Shell wanted to have a bon fire so that the boys could maybe roast their own dinners. However, we do not have enough spare firewood to do much along those lines. When I spoke to him about it, he mentioned your reading, which got me thinking… You must have books you can get rid of, yes?"
Elphaba was shocked and slightly confused. How could anybody be so monstrous as to burn books? It was simply barbaric.
Frex, however, had not waited for a reply and was poking through her bookshelves.
Elphaba rose and hurried over to her beloved books, blocking them from her father. "But-" she began to protest.
"Elphaba, why must you be so disobedient?" yelled Frex. He pushed his daughter aside and collected an armful of precious books she had collected over the years. He walked out of her room without looking back and kicked the door shut behind him.
She felt a surge of emotion rush through her. She felt anger and sadness and loneliness all at once. She did not know what to do, and so she only sat down on her bed and did not bother to conceal her utter horror.
She heard something outside. Feeling numb, she made her way to the window and looked out, not caring who saw her.
What greeted her eyes made her even more distraught.
Shell's friends had arrived and were happily ripping up the pages from her books. With each paper they pulled out, her heart seemed to rip further and further.
She felt pinpricks behind her eyes. For the first time in her life, Elphaba wanted to cry.
As they started to burn them, she allowed one tear to squeeze out. It burned her. She wanted to cry out from the pain, but she bit her lip and stopped herself. She let the tear burn her cheek for a little longer, and then used the sleeve of her dress to wipe it away.
