And since folks here to an absurd degree
Seem fixated on your verdigris
Would it be all right by you
If I degreenify you?
-The Wizard and I
If someone had asked Elphaba Thropp if she was happy with her life, her answer would have been a confident "yes". The eldest of Frexspar and Melena Thropp, Elphaba was the envy of the Colwen Grounds, having inherited her mother's youthful beauty. The brunette was currently engaged to one Fiyero Tigelaar, prince of the Vinkus. While the marriage between the two had been arranged, they had met many times and found each other a perfect match.
In all honesty, Elphaba really couldn't be happier.
The wedding day was set for Elphaba's nineteenth birthday, and as her sister helped her into her white gown (well, as best she could) she said, "I can't believe you're leaving us."
Elphaba smiled at Nessa in the mirror. "Don't think of it like that, Nessie. I'm moving on… and if you're lucky, soon you'll become an aunt."
"How soon?"
"I don't know yet… maybe nine months."
"Elphaba!"
The elder Thropp laughed. "I'm kidding. Yero and I have many more things we wish to do without the burden of screaming children." She turned to face her sister. "How do I look?"
"Beautiful."
Elphaba looked up at the new voice, seeing her father standing in the doorway.
"You look just like your mother…" Frex said, approaching her. "Giving you away won't be easy."
The brunette hugged him. "I'll miss you too… but this is what I want." She pulled away with a smile. "Oh, I'm so nervous… I need some fresh air." She started for the exit.
"Don't take too long!" Frex called after her.
Outside, Elphaba took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. This marriage… it was actually happening. She and Fiyero… they were actually…
"I hope you're not planning on running out on me."
Elphaba turned at the voice. "Yero! What are you doing? You can't see me in my dress, not yet! It's bad luck!"
The prince grinned, approaching his bride-to-be. "Elphaba, you know I don't believe in that superstitious stuff. I was lucky enough to be betrothed to you; no amount of bad luck can ever cancel that out."
Elphaba blushed. "Stop it…" A sudden gust of wind blew by, causing the brunette's veil to lift off her head and flutter to the ground before being blown into the nearby woods. "Oh!"
"I'll get it," Fiyero said, but Elphaba was already chasing after it. The prince sighed and shook his head with a small smile. That was Elphaba; ever independent.
The elder Thropp chased the veil through the forest, wishing it would just stop. Finally, it did and she quickly snatched it up, replacing it on her head. She was just about to return to the chapel when a cackle caught her attention. Elphaba turned, letting out an involuntary gasp when her gaze fell on an older woman, multiple wrinkles set in her face.
"Um… hello," Elphaba said uncertainly.
"Miss Thropp, I presume?"
"Yes…"
The woman looked her up and down. "Preparing for marriage I see."
"And that's where I should be now, so if you'll excuse me—"
A wrinkled hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and causing her to shudder. "You didn't think you'd be able to continue living in such blissful ignorance, did you?"
"Wh-what?"
"The life you lead is not your own. It still owns you."
"Please let go."
"You are bound to it."
"Let go!" Elphaba swung at the woman, hitting her and yanking her arm away.
The woman just grinned. "You have been cursed, Miss Thropp."
Elphaba was confused at first, but upon looking down at her hands, she was shocked to see that they had turned an emerald green… and it was spreading.
"Your green skin will be the reminder of your curse. It will isolate you from the world you live in. Only the one who is meant for you will be able to see past your outward appearance. The slightest touch from something as pure as water will burn you; this curse nor the green cannot merely be washed away."
The elder Thropp tried wiping it away frantically, but it continued to spread, up her arms, down her legs, and across her face. She fell to her knees, clutching the grass as if it could absorb the green and take it away. Her eyes widened when she saw the blade shrivel up and grow dry. She fell back in a sitting position, looking at the older woman.
"What… what did you do to me?"
"Be careful Miss Thropp. Just as Time Dragon greets those in death… whatever living thing you touch shall cease to be."
"What?"
"You and I will meet again, but until then… farewell." A gust of wind and she was gone, leaving the now verdant woman in confusion.
Elphaba shakily got to her feet, closing her eyes and pinching herself. Upon opening her eyes, she saw with dismay that she was still green. The brunette began to sob bitterly. No, no, this wasn't fair! She was to be married! The green woman put her hand out, leaning against a tree. A crackling noise caught her attention and she looked up to see the trunk drying up as the life left it. She yanked her hand away, heart pounding.
"Whatever I touch… ceases to be… oh, Oz…"
"Where is your sister?" Melena asked Nessa, concern lacing her voice.
"I don't know. She said she went out to get some fresh air," the middle Thropp replied.
Melena looked back at her husband, who was standing at the other end of the aisle, looking nervous. Fiyero was at the altar, fixing the cuff of his sleeve for what seemed like the hundredth time. Where was Elphaba? Had her veil really flown that far?
A sudden shout of surprise mixed with horror sounded, and the assembled turned to look.
"Father, please… it's me…"
Frexspar only half recognized his daughter under the green. "Elphaba? What… what happened?"
"I don't know! M-my veil blew off so I went after it, and there was this old woman and she… she did this to me!" Elphaba began to sob again.
"Elphaba, my darling, it's fine, really," Frex said, moving to hug her. The minute his skin touched hers, her father began to turn pale, collapsing a few moments later. Elphaba gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as she took a step back.
"Father!"
Melena rushed to her fallen husband. "Oh Oz, no!" she cried upon realizing he wasn't breathing. "Frex!" She looked up at her eldest daughter. "You killed him…"
"N-no, I didn't… I didn't mean…" Elphaba took a few steps back, looking out at the horrified faces of the crowd… and Fiyero. "I… I'm sorry!" The green woman turned on her heel and ran from the chapel, her veil falling off her head again and floating gently to the grass.
Huddled under some exposed tree roots, Elphaba blankly watched the rainfall, her knees pulled up to her chest. She had already been pelted by a few drops and as the old woman had said, it did burn any of the exposed skin it touched, leaving it raw and red. What an odd thing, to be allergic to water. It had forced her to take cover here, waiting for the storm to subside.
For eighteen years, she had waited for this day… and now, everything had been taken from her. Without explanation… without proper retribution… everything was gone. Now she was just a green freak who had killed her own father. Elphaba remembered his still open eyes… the look her mother had given her.
"You killed him…"
What had she done to deserve this curse? Offhand, Elphaba couldn't recall any mortal sin. Sure, she'd snuck out a few times, and she and Fiyero had… well… engaged in certain activities that weren't meant to be premarital. But still… was that enough to warrant… this? Killing anything she touched? Having her skin turned the color of emeralds? It wasn't fair!
"Elphaba?"
The green woman's head snapped up at the voice. "F-Fiyero?"
He was there, kneeling by the exposed roots, looking in at her. "Elphaba… what are you doing? Your family is worried about you."
"No… they're not…"
"Elphaba…"
"I killed my father! I'm… green! Look at me!"
Fiyero sighed. "It was an accident… it wasn't like you tried to kill him." He reached a hand out to her. "Please come out?"
"Don't touch me!"
"Elphaba…"
"I can't… the water burns my skin."
Fiyero looked confused at the statement, but held his umbrella out over her with a small smile.
"Only the one who is meant for you will be able to see past your outward appearance."
If that was true… could Fiyero touch her? Could she touch him? Perhaps there was still a chance. Slowly, Elphaba crawled out from her hiding spot, getting to her feet. Fiyero smiled slightly, taking his jacket off and putting it around her.
"Yero—" she started, her hand brushing his. Fiyero let out a yell of pain and jumped away.
"What the hell?"
"I'm sorry!"
"Damn Elphaba…"
"Fiyero, please… don't leave me alone. I'm scared."
The prince took another step back, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Elphaba… but you and I… we just can't."
"Elphaba's eyes filled with fresh tears. "Yero…"
"Look, I love you, but I'm not going to live in fear of being killed by my wife's touch! I can't do it! How would we even have children?"
"I-I don't know, but we can figure it out together… please?"
"I'm sorry… I can't." With another shake of his head, the prince turned and walked away.
"Fiyero! Fiyero, please come back! Don't leave me!"
Galinda Arduenna shut her window tightly as the storm continued to rage outside. With a day full of dress shopping and hair doing, she was of course exhausted. The blonde left the window to approach her bed, taking off her robe before she slid under the blankets. Tomorrow she was back at work, and she had to be well rested to take care of others. Everyone said that she was just soooo good, and while the blonde took all the compliments with a smile, she wouldn't let herself develop an inflated ego. After all, it wasn't like she was the only one who worked in the Pertha Hills hospital: just the most well known.
When Galinda donned her bright pink uniform the next morning, fixing her hair under the matching cap, she smiled slightly. She had a good feeling about today.
"Good morning Galinda."
The blonde gave a smile and a small wave to Milla, who sat at the front window. She walked through the door, saying hello to an assortment of other employees before she began to greet the patients.
"Oh Mister Craig, you know you shouldn't be wandering around," she said, guiding one wandering, elderly male through the hall and back to his bed.
"Then tell those other nurses to hurry up. I'm starving," he replied.
Galinda gave him a smile. "I'll have someone bring your breakfast shortly." The blonde replaced the blanket over him before she left his room, going back to Milla at the front. "Can you make sure someone brings Mister Craig his breakfast?"
"I'm sure someone will."
"I know, but you know we can't have him wandering about as he likes to do, so please?"
Milla nodded and Galinda was about to return through the door when the sound of the front door being opened caught her attention. She turned, preparing to greet them, but a small cry came out instead.
"Please... this is the only place I have left to go..." Elphaba approached the shocked nurse, her once elegant gown now dirty and torn, stained by the rain. "Please… help me."
"I... what happened to you?" Galinda asked, doing her best to keep her voice from betraying her true feelings.
Sweet Lurline, this woman is green!
"Please..."
"A-all right..." Galinda moved to support the green woman, seeing as though she looked about ready to collapse.
"Don't touch me!" she shouted, jerking away.
Galinda was taken aback by the outburst. "I won't... please come with me." She watched the green woman carefully as she led her through the door and back to a hospital bed.
The second her head hit the pillow, Elphaba gave into her exhaustion, falling asleep immediately, and leaving the blonde to wonder just what in Oz's name had happened. She had just moved to take the green woman's pulse when the sound of her name being called distracted her.
Galinda left the room, catching Pfannee as she passed her in the hall, quickly saying, "Could you finish the preliminary exam for the woman in that room?"
"Sure." As Galinda continued on her way, Pfannee entered the room, her eyebrows rising in unison with surprise. The woman was green, and not with envy. Pfannee shook her head and approached the side of the bed, reaching down to gently grasp the green woman's wrist in her hand with the intent of taking her pulse.
Three seconds later, Pfannee didn't have one.
"Now you know you can't keep taking these bandages off. You have to let your wound heal."
"Code blue!"
At that, Galinda's head snapped up. She left the patient she had been attending to, rushing down the hall to find that everyone was running into the room where she'd left the green woman.
Sweet Lurline, please don't say she came here to die!
"What happened?" Galinda asked upon entering.
"It's Pfannee. One of the other nurses came in and found her on the floor. She's not breathing."
The blonde raised a hand to her mouth, looking down at the nurse they were currently trying (and failing) to resuscitate.
The time of death was called a mere two minutes later.
It was rare for Galinda to end her workday on a depressing note, but today, she found that she could make an exception. The cause of Pfannee's death was still unknown… it was as if the life had just been sucked right out of her.
The blonde peeked in on the mysterious green woman again, walking into the room silently. She looked down at her sleeping form, wondering where she had come from and what was wrong with her. After Pfannee's death, the brunette had been forgotten in the bustle. She could be dead for all Galinda knew.
Oh I hope not.
Galinda leaned in close. Yes, the green woman was breathing.
A sudden sharp intake of breath and Galinda realized that the green woman was awake. She pulled away, looking down at her. "Hello…"
The green woman just stared at the blonde with her dark eyes, which seemed almost black in the dimly lit room.
"May I ask… why you came? Is your green skin… a diseases of some kind?"
"It's a curse…" the brunette said, looking down at her hands.
"I… can understand…" She really didn't. "Might I… check if you have a fever?" The blonde reached to feel her forehead, but the green woman jerked away.
"Don't! You can't touch me!"
"Why? Is the green contagious?"
"Y-yes! Highly, so tell everyone that they need to keep their hands off my bare skin! I just want… some help, and then I can leave!"
"All right… well tomorrow, you can tell me exactly what kind of help you want." Galinda started for the door, pausing when she reached it. "My name is Galinda… what's yours?"
The green woman didn't reply; she merely turned onto her side, pulling the blanket high. Galinda sighed before she shut out the light and departed from the hospital.