In all the general hustle and bustle of the first day of the new term, few people noticed a carriage pulling up from the direction of the local train station. The driver reined in the horses, and the vehicle came to a stop near a path that led up to a large building that, from its squat design and numerous identical windows, could only be a dormitory. He hopped down from his perch atop the carriage and opened the door so his passengers could disembark.

"Here we are, ladies and gentlemen - Shiz University," he announced before heading around to the back of the carriage to begin unloading the luggage that had been strapped there at the railway station.

The first passenger to alight from the carriage was a middle-aged man, nicely dressed. He reached back inside for a moment to pull a chair with large wheels fixed to either side from the interior of the vehicle, then carefully lifted down a girl with brown hair and delicate features and set her gently into it. He made a great show of fussing over her, giving every impression of a doting father.

While the man was getting the girl in the wheelchair settled, two other girls descended to stand near the carriage, looking around in thinly-disguised awe at their new surroundings. Dressed in matching university uniforms, they were of the same height and build, and they shared their long, straight black hair and blue eyes. However, one thing, more than anything else, singled them out as identical twins: they both had skin the color of emeralds.

The older twin, by a whole three and a half minutes, picked up her suitcase and suggested with a silent motion that her sister do the same. "We could have a quick look around while Father is busy," she offered very quietly.

"Good thinking," the other murmured in response, obeying her sister's wordless directive and picking up her own suitcase. "We ought to learn where everything is before classes start."

All of the buildings had numbers on the door, which was not very informative at all. "Hmm. One supposes that they will give us a timetable or a map, then." The elder of the two shrugged and looked around. "Isn't it beautiful here? Look at the ivy on that wall! Oh, and look, a whole group of people. Perhaps we should go back to the carriage?"

The younger twin gazed around her at the sights her sister had pointed out, and nodded in answer to her last question. "We'd better, at that. Father and Nessa are probably ready to go inside now. They'll be wondering where we've gotten to." She shifted her suitcase to her other hand so she could link her elbow through her sister's, and the two of them set off back towards where they had left the carriage… only to stop and look back when they heard, or perhaps just felt, the attention of the group of students focus on them.

"What?" inquired the older twin, covering her sudden nervousness with casual sarcasm.

"What are you all looking at?" demanded the younger.

"Do we have something in our teeth?" added the older in a tone of mock concern at the idea – this was quite fun!

Picking up on her sister's game, the younger wondered worriedly, "Are our underskirts showing?"

"Let's just get this over with!" They spoke simultaneously as they realized that no one was going to answer their questions or say anything else.

The younger twin took a step or two towards the group of students watching them, who instinctively backed away an equal amount. "No, we're not seasick," she informed them curtly, anticipating the first of many questions she and her sister always got when people saw them for the first time.

"Yes, we've always been green," added the older, following her sister's lead and smirking just a little when the students stepped back.

"No, we didn't eat grass as children," the younger contributed, annoyed that it was necessary to make such a statement at all.

The older was about to shoot down yet another question before it could be asked, but at that moment the man who had been in the carriage with them hurried up wearing an expression of great embarrassment, pushing the girl in the wheelchair ahead of him.

"Elphaba!" he exclaimed, having overheard the last comment made by the younger sister.

"Oh, and this is our younger sister, Nessarose," said Liana, the older twin, in the tone of someone making a polite social introduction.

Elphaba, the younger, couldn't resist adding snidely, "As you can see, she's a perfectly normal color."

"Elphaba! Liana!" snapped their father, Frex, in a tone that made both girls hurry over to join the rest of the family. "Stop making a spectacle of yourselves! Remember, I'm only sending you to this school for one reason."

Elphaba sighed heavily and cast a chastened glance at her twin. "We know, we know... to look after Nessa."

"And because Grandmother made him," muttered Liana, after making certain he wouldn't hear her. Elphaba gave a quiet snort of agreement.

Frex smiled at his youngest daughter and leaned down to talk to her. "My precious little girl," he said, lovingly handing Nessa a box. "A parting gift."

"Now, Father…" Nessa started to rebuke him, even as she began to open the box. Her voice trailed off as she saw what was in it. "Jewelled shoes!" she exclaimed in delight as she lifted one of them out of the box.

"As befits the future governor of Munchkinland," replied Frex. Then he looked at his older daughters. "Elphaba, Liana…"

For a very brief moment, Liana thought he might have something for them as well, though of course they would never expect anything as extravagant as he gave Nessa. She glanced at her sister and saw the hope of some token of their father's affection, no matter how small, reflected in her twin's eyes.

But Frex's only parting gift to the twins was to remind them, "Take care of your sister, and do try not to talk so much." And with that, he bent down to kiss Nessa goodbye and then walked off without so much as a backward glance.

"Oh... Elphaba..." Nessarose started to say something sympathetic to her sisters.

But Elphaba cut her off. "Well, what could he have gotten us?" she asked rhetorically, dismissing the awkward moment with false nonchalance.

"We clash with everything," finished Liana in a faintly mocking tone, though it wasn't clear if she was making fun of herself or girls who actually cared about such things as clashing colors.

Any reply Nessa might have made was forgotten as an older, matronly woman with an air of great self-importance about her bustled her way to the front of the group. "Welcome, new students!" she boomed jovially. "I am Madame Morrible, headmistress here at Shiz University." She paused a moment for polite applause, and then continued with proprietorial pride, "And whether you are here to study law, logic, or linguification, I know I speak for my fellow faculty members when I say, we have nothing but the highest hopes... for some of you." Another pause as she consulted a sheaf of paper clutched in her hand. "Now, regarding room assignments..."

Upon hearing Madame Morrible mention room assignments, Liana and Elphaba both raised their hands quickly. However, the headmistress's attention was captured by a small blonde girl in the front who was waving her arm wildly back and forth. Madame Morrible acknowledged the girl with a look over the top of the glasses she wore and asked in a tone so polite it was almost stiff, "Yes, is this regarding room assignments?"

The blonde immediately shook her head. "Oh, no, Madame, thank you for asking," she said, flashing the headmistress a bright smile, "but I've already been assigned a private suite." At this, a large number of the students surrounding her began to protest quite loudly. But the girl held up both hands, and once the groaning and grumbling ceased, she added consolingly, "But you can all come visit me whenever you want!"

"How good of you!" squealed one of the girls closest to her.

"You are so good!" declared another ecstatically.

"No I'm not." The blonde shook her head and lowered her eyes modestly, but it was clear to Elphaba and Liana that it was only for show.

"Yes you are!" both of the girls fawning over the blonde insisted.

The blonde girl giggled and tossed her hair over her shoulder with practiced ease. "Now stop!"

"Do you have a question?" Madame Morrible intoned pointedly, cutting the nauseating admiration session short.

The blonde girl immediately turned back to the headmistress, who was waiting rather impatiently to learn what the girl's purpose had been in raising her hand. "Oh. Yes. You see, I am Galinda Upland… of the Upper Uplands...?" When Madame Morrible showed no signs of being impressed by the name, Galinda pulled her off to the side. This was apparently supposed to give the appearance of a private conversation, but since the entire group could still hear what was being said, it was rather pointless. "I've applied to your sorcery seminar. Perhaps you recall my entrance essay… 'Magic Wands: Need They Have A Point?'"

"Yes," agreed Madame Morrible noncommittally. "However, I do not teach my seminar every semester, unless, of course, somebody special were to come along…"

The blonde let out a bubbly laugh. "Well, exactly!"

At this point, Elphaba and Liana decided they would be there all day if they didn't do something to curtail the loquacious Miss Galinda. They exchanged a wordless look, and then Elphaba stepped forward and raised her voice. "Excuse me, Madame Morrible – we have not yet received our room assignments."

Madame Morrible immediately turned in search of who had spoken. "Yes, yes, of course!" she said, looking eager for the excuse to get away from the blonde girl. She pinpointed the general direction from which Elphaba had spoken, and caught sight of Nessa in her wheelchair. "Oh, you must be Miss Nessarose, the governor's daughter!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to kneel in front of the girl. "What a tragically beautiful face you have!" Then, as she stood, she caught sight of the two green-skinned girls standing behind the wheelchair. An expression of shock came over her face briefly, but she quickly masked it. "And you must be…"

"We're the twins," said Liana, in a polite explanatory tone. "Liana and Elphaba."

Elphaba nodded in agreement. Then, seeing that Madame Morrible had no idea what they were talking about, she offered helpfully, "We're beautifully tragic."

Madame Morrible had by now recovered her composure, and smiled thinly. "Yes, well, I'm sure you're very... bright."

"Thank you, Madame," said Liana, refraining from pulling a face. "It's very kind of you to say so."

Blonde Galinda and her friends had been staring at them for several clock-ticks now with their jaws hanging open. Finally Galinda turned to the girl beside her. "Bright?" she quipped. "They're phosphorescent!" The entire crowd, with the exceptions of Liana, Elphaba, Nessarose, and Madame Morrible, burst into appreciative laughter.

"As Elphaba said, Madame, we..." Liana indicated herself and her two sisters, her tone making it clear that she expected all three of them to be sharing a room. "We have not received our room assignment."

Madame Morrible eyed the twins skeptically. "The governor never mentioned the two of you," she informed them. Then she seemed to make an inward decision, for her tone and her manner became brisk but cheerful. "Oh, well. A slight gulch, but not to fret - we'll find someplace to put you."

Just then, a young woman with the slightly harried look of a personal secretary appeared at Madame Morrible's elbow. She coughed politely and said, "I beg your pardon, Madame, but the Green Suite on the fifth floor is going to be vacant this term. I have a letter from the family of Miss Narelle DiMora informing you that she is unable to attend Shiz University after all."

The twins noticed a look of dismay come over Galinda's face. But before they could do any more than wonder what had caused it, Madame Morrible was speaking again.

"Oh, how disappointing," lamented the headmistress. But she brightened again almost at once, and turned back to Elphaba and Liana. "But every cloud has a silver lining, as they say. Miss Liana and Miss Elphaba, the two of you can share the Green Suite. Although, being a private suite, it is only equipped for one…" She caught sight of a passing servant and directed, "Have an extra bed brought up to the Green Suite on the fifth floor."

"Er… you mean two extra beds, don't you, Madame?" Elphaba corrected her tentatively. "You forgot about our sister Nessarose."

Madame Morrible raised an eyebrow. "Did your father not tell you that he had made special arrangements?" When both twins shook their heads apprehensively, she explained, "The Governor made his concern for your sister's well being quite apparent. She will share my private compartment, where I can assist her as needed."

"But Madame, we've always looked after our sister…" protested Elphaba, trying not to panic. She cast a frantic look at her twin.

But the headmistress apparently did not care what they had always done. "Everyone, to your dormitories!" she directed to the group at large, and the students began to disperse.

"We have to do something," said Liana, equally frantically. Elphaba nodded.

"Oh don't worry about me!" insisted Nessa, who looked thrilled by the fact that she had been singled out for such special attention by the Headmistress.

"But Nessa, we promised Father..."

Madame Morrible brushed the sisters aside as though they were no bigger or more important than a couple of gnats and, having taken hold of the handles of Nessa's chair, began to wheel the handicapped girl away.

Liana felt a familiar, yet indescribable, feeling rising inside of her and winced imperceptibly at her lack of control. Of all the times…! she thought. A quick glance at her sister showed that Elphaba was having the same problem. There was nothing for it. She grabbed her sister's hand, hoping she would see what she was trying to do.

Elphaba took the cue from her twin at once, gripping Liana's hand tightly and allowing the pressure inside her to build. Squeezing their eyes shut tight, both twins exclaimed loudly to Madame Morrible, "Let her go!"

The feeling dispelled with the emotional outburst, as Liana had expected it to. What she did not expect was hearing Nessa's shriek of fear and, upon opening her eyes, seeing the wheeled chair flying backwards towards them as if it had a life of its own. Feeling her twin tense beside her, Elphaba opened her eyes as well, and gasped at what she saw. She looked at Liana with wide eyes for a clock-tick, and then the two slowly let go of each other's hands.

By this time, Madame Morrible and everyone else around them was staring at the twins in awe and fear. "How did you do that?" inquired the headmistress eagerly, stepping towards the two green girls.

"How did they do that?" echoed Galinda to no one in particular, her tone much more suspicious.

"What did you do?" demanded Nessa as her chair shuddered to a halt in front of her sisters. "You promised things would be different here!" Both twins flinched as Nessa reminded them of their promise not to embarrass her at Shiz.

"You mean this has happened before?" Madame Morrible asked, sounding more interested every moment.

"Well, yes..." began Elphaba hesitantly.

"No..." said Liana, a heartbeat later. "I mean, it has, but...that's not what Nessa meant."

Elphaba knelt down next to her sister's wheelchair and took her hand. "Nessa, we're sorry..."

"We're so sorry!" agreed Liana, kneeling on the other side. "Please forgive us?"

Whatever response Nessa might have had to the apologies and request for forgiveness was waved away by Madmae Morrible. "What?" she cried. "Never apologize for talent! Talent is a gift!" She paused grandly. "And that is my special talent... encouraging talent." Coming over and placing a hand on each of the twins' shoulders, she asked, "Have you ever considered a career in sorcery?"

The twins stood up, and after a warning glance from Elphaba, Liana resisted the urge to push away Madame Morrible's hand, despite the fact that she felt the older woman was being far too overfamiliar for someone they had just met.

"Well no, not really..." Liana wasn't sure how to explain the fact they never expected to be offered a choice in such matters, or if she even wanted to share such a personal situation.

Sensing her sister's unease, Elphaba added by way of clarification, "We've never really considered a career in anything."

Madame Morrible seemed surprised by this. "Well, then, I shall tutor you privately," she declared, "and take no other students!"

This elicited a horrified gasp from Galinda. "What?"

Elphaba and Liana exchanged a glance, remembering how eager the blonde had been to get into the sorcery class the headmistress was proposing, and also how Madame Morrible had said that she didn't teach the seminar every semester unless someone special came along. She hadn't seemed too inclined to add the class to her schedule for Galinda, which had surprised them. But they were even more shocked now that she was offering it to them.

The blonde also appeared shocked, but not at all in a good way. Hers looked to be more of a furious sort of shock than the amazed sort that the twins were feeling. She shot them an acid-laced glare. If looks could kill, the green girls would have been six feet under at that very moment. Liana suppressed a sigh. Despite their apparent luck in being accepted into the sorcery class, making an enemy of a girl who had become popular in less than ten minutes did not bode well for the rest of the term. Still, it was impossible not to be overwhelmed by the idea that this part of themselves they had tried so hard to hide from everyone was actually a talent, and a useful one at that.

Madame Morrible gave them a broad smile when she saw their astonishment. "Miss Liana, Miss Elphaba, I haven't seen a gift like yours since... well, in many, many years! I do believe that even the Wizard himself would be interested in meeting you!"

"The Wizard?" Elphaba asked in amazement. "As in, the ruler of all of Oz?"

"The Wizard, my dear," confirmed the headmistress with a chuckle. "I'll write to him this very day. He should hear about you at once! I'm sure he'll be positively thrillified to meet you." She lowered her voice in the manner of someone imparting secret knowledge. "And who knows? If you make good, there's no telling how far you might go! You're destined for great things, the both of you. I can feel it."

Elphaba and Liana stood there trying to wrap their minds around the picture Madame Morrible had just painted. Was it really possible that the future she had described could come true? That the Wizard of Oz himself might be interested in them? It seemed too good to be true...

As the twins did their best to comprehend the idea of someone actually appreciating their strange powers rather than finding them repulsive, Madame Morrible gestured for a servant to come over, and ordered her to take Nessarose to the headmistress's chambers and help her get settled. Neither Liana nor Elphaba had the strength or the will to protest a second time, and the servant wheeled a delighted Nessa away, another following behind with the girl's luggage. The headmistress then began to direct the rest of the students off to their respective rooms.

As the crowd slowly thinned, Galinda approached the headmistress, a very determined look on her face. "Madame Morrible," she began in her politest, most winning tone.

But Madame Morrible merely shooed her with a vague, "Not now, dear," and turned away, busying herself with her papers.

The blonde stared at her for several clock-ticks. Then her face seemed to crumple, and she looked at the two girls with whom she had been conversing earlier, who came rushing to her side. "Something's wrong," she told them, sounding impossibly pathetic. "I didn't get my way! I need to go lie down..." The two girls murmured sympathetically, and both shot Liana and Elphaba poisonous looks of their own before leading their suffering comrade away.

"You two should be getting off to your room as well," Madame Morrible suggested to the twins when she glanced up and saw that they were still standing there, overcome by what she had told them. "I'm sure you've lots of unpacking and settling in to do before the orientation this afternoon." She produced a small envelope, which she handed to Elphaba. "Here are your room keys, ladies. The Green Suite is on the fifth floor of that building right over there. You have a pleasant day, and rest assured that I will take the best possible care of your sister. Don't hesitate to come and find me if you need anything, anything at all."

Elphaba finally managed to nod. "Yes, Madame, we'll do that. Thank you." And with that she picked up her suitcase in one hand, took Liana's with the other, and led her sister away towards the dormitory Madame Morrible had indicated.