AN: Here it is! :)

I really don't have anything else to say, so let's just get on with the story, shall we?

Chapter 1. A Little Princess

'Hi, little princess!' Fiyero cooed at his daughter in a ridiculously high-pitched voice, smiling down at her as she came running towards him through the gardens. 'Is everything okay? Did you get any more birthday presen- ow!' he interrupted himself with a yelp. With a painful face, he rubbed his shin-bone, where the little girl had kicked him. 'Elyssah! What was that for?'

His daughter looked at him innocently. 'Mommy said I had to kick you whenever you would talk to me in your Auntie Galinda-voice,' she explained with a straight face.

Fiyero grumbled something unintelligible. 'Sometimes I want to strangle your Mommy.'

Elyssah looked at him with wide eyes. 'Really?'

He laughed and lifted her up, balancing her on his hip. He looked at her. 'Of course not. I love Mommy, you know that.'

She grinned at him. 'I love Mommy, too.'

'Everybody loves Mommy.' He tickled his daughter, then put her back down onto her feet. 'Did Auntie Galinda give you that?' he asked, pointing towards the necklace she was wearing.

She nodded proudly. 'For my fifth birthday!'

He knelt down to level with her, admiring the necklace. It was silver, with a light green gemstone dangling from it. 'I'm surprised the stone isn't pink,' he said with a chuckle.

Elyssah leaned towards him conspiratorially. 'It was,' she whispered.

Fiyero quirked an eyebrow at her. She made a face. 'Auntie Galinda knows I hate pink,' she complained. Then she grinned. 'But a while ago, Mommy found a spell to change the colour of small objects, and she taught it to me.'

The prince was stunned. 'You changed the colour of the stone with a spell?'

She nodded proudly, then showed him the book she was dragging along. 'And look, Auntie Nessa gave me this! It's a fairytale book!' She made big eyes at her father. 'Will you read it to me, Daddy?' she begged him. 'Please?'

He smiled. 'Tonight, okay?' he promised her. 'Before bed.'

She thought about that for a moment, then nodded. 'Okay.' She yawned daintily and Fiyero's smile broadened. He ruffled her hair. 'Have I ever told you that you look adorable when you do that?' he cooed. 'You do! Just like your Mom- ow!' He glared at his daughter, who had kicked him again. 'Let me guess,' he said sarcastically. 'Mommy's instructions?'

Elyssah just looked up at him and smirked, and he blinked for a moment, taken aback. Like this, with her midnight black hair tumbling down her shoulders, her eyes sparkling with mischief and her lips twisted into a slightly lopsided smirk, she reminded him so much of Elphaba that it was almost creepy. The only difference was that there were azure blue eyes staring back at him instead of chocolate brown ones – beside the obvious difference in age and height, of course. And skin colour, he reminded himself. Elyssah looked like he imagined Elphaba to look if she had been born normal-coloured. In his eyes, his daughter was of course one of the most beautiful things in the world, and he had to admit that pale skin probably wouldn't have looked bad on his wife, either; but still, he was glad that Elphaba was green. He wouldn't have her any other way.

He shook his head, and just then, a new voice spoke up behind him, sounding amused. 'Look at that. He can be taught.'

'Mommy!' Elyssah exclaimed, running towards her mother. 'Look at my new necklace!'

Elphaba smiled. 'It's beautiful, Lys.'

'It was pink, but I made it green myself,' the girl said proudly. Elphaba's smile suddenly faded and she knelt down in front of her daughter, looking into her eyes. 'Elyssah,' she said softly. 'What did I tell you about using your magic?'

'But it wasn't big magic!' the girl protested. 'It really only was a tiny little spell, Mommy,' she promised. 'The one you taught me.'

Elphaba sighed. 'I know, sweetie,' she said gently. 'I just want you to be careful. Next time, ask me first, okay?'

Elyssah nodded. 'Okay.' She hugged her mother, then said enthusiastically, 'I'm going to go back to Auntie Galinda now. Show her what I did to her necklace!' before dashing off.

Fiyero stifled a laugh. 'Galinda is going to kill her for turning her beautiful pink necklace green.'

Elphaba smiled faintly. 'Yes, well, Glin should learn by now that not everyone loves pink.' She noticed Fiyero rubbing his lower leg and frowned a little. 'What happened to you?'

He made a face. 'Elyssah kicked me. Twice.'

'Were you that obnoxious?'

He glared at her. 'No. But someone told her that if I used my 'Galinda-voice' again, or would tell her that her yawning is adorable, she had to kick me.'

Elphaba's grin widened. 'She actually listened to me? That's my girl.' Then her smile faded and she looked a bit uncertain. 'Do you think I was too hard on her?' she asked quietly. 'About her magic?'

Fiyero rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. 'Fae,' he said gently. 'One of the first times she used her magic, it nearly got her killed – and that was before she was even born.'

Elphaba shuddered at the mere memory of that day. All the blood, her passing out and later waking up in the hospital; the wait, hours of endless waiting for the results of her tests, all the while fearing that Elyssah hadn't made it. The only good thing about that day was that she had been reunited with Fiyero, and that Frex had finally been killed.

Fiyero, as always, sensed her discomfort and softly kissed the top of her head. 'Don't think about it, Fae,' he said softly. 'It's over now. She made it, and so did you – thank Oz for that… and I think you're right about her magic. I think it's a good thing that you're teaching her how to use it, but she shouldn't be doing it without supervision.'

Elphaba smiled faintly. 'Thanks, Yero,' she said with a happy sigh, leaning into him. 'It's good that she's in control already. I mean, when I was her age, all I did was cause magical outbursts everywhere I went.'

He chuckled. 'Already causing commotions at age five?'

'My dear Master Tiggular,' she said mockingly. 'I was a commotion from the moment I was born.' She quickly grew serious again. 'I wish I had had someone to tutor me back then. It would have spared me lots of hours worrying about what was wrong with me.' It also would have spared her lots of beatings by her father, but she didn't say that out loud, knowing very well how sensitive Fiyero still was when it came to Frex. Every time she so much as mentioned his name, Fiyero would clench his fists and set his jaw, looking ready to murder someone.

'I'm proud of Lys, though,' Elphaba continued. 'It will be easier for her, as well as for us, if she can control it, and she's quickly getting there. She's a quick learner.'

Fiyero smiled. 'She's got that from you.'

'You're a quick learner, too,' she pointed out to him. 'Only when you go through life skilfully avoiding everything that even remotely resembles learning, not many people see that.'

Now he laughed. 'Point taken.'

'Elphie!' someone screeched, and not a clock-tick later, something that looked like a murderous pink cupcake stormed out of the castle and towards the couple. It stopped right in front of Elphaba, planting its hands firmly on its hips and glaring at the green girl menacingly. 'Did you teach Lyssie how to change my pink presents into not-so-pink presents?'

Elphaba sniggered. 'I didn't teach her the spell with that specific purpose in mind,' she said with a straight face, 'but yes, I did teach her that spell.'

Galinda stomped her foot in frustration.

'Glin,' Elphaba said pointedly. 'She hates pink.'

'That's the point!' the blonde wailed. 'I'm trying to teach her to start liking it, Elphie! But now she went and changed my pretty pink necklace to green! Green!'

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. 'Is there something wrong with green?' she asked, but Galinda completely missed the dangerous tone of her friend's voice. 'Yes! It's not pink!'

Only then did she realise who she was talking to, and her face flushed. 'But green is pretty, too, of course,' she said quickly. She let out a nervous laugh. 'I mean, um… I just… I wanted the necklace to be pink, because… because, well, pink goes good with green, and… and then it would match with… you!'

Elphaba snorted a laugh. 'Nice try, Glin.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, Elphie!' Galinda caved. 'I didn't mean that green isn't pretty! You're so pretty, you know that! It's just that-'

'Glin, relax,' said Elphaba, rolling her eyes. 'I get it. I was just joking.'

Galinda let out a relieved breath. 'Oh. Okay. Thank Oz,' she said with another nervous little laugh. 'For a moment there, I thought you were going to change me into a… I don't know. Something.'

'I wouldn't give her ideas, if I were you,' Fiyero warned the blonde with a grin, and Galinda paled visibly. 'Oh. Yes. Pretend I didn't say anything. You know what?' she corrected herself, slowly backing away. 'Just pretend I didn't even come here just now. Okay?' With that, she quickly fled back into the palace.

Fiyero and Elphaba looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

'…and Cinderella and her prince lived happily ever after,' Fiyero finished.

Elyssah beamed at him. 'Like you and Mommy?'

He laughed and closed the book, wrapping his arms around his daughter. 'Exactly like me and Mommy.'

'Did Cinderella and the prince have babies, too?' the girl asked, and Fiyero smiled. 'It doesn't say so in the book, princess,' he said.

Her face fell.

He pulled her into his lap. 'But I bet they did.'

Elyssah's face brightened again. 'Lots and lots of babies?'

He nodded. She cuddled closer to him, looking up at him with wide blue eyes. 'Are you and Mommy going to have lots and lots of babies, too?'

'I don't know,' he said, looking back at her. 'That depends. Do you want lots and lots of brothers and sisters?'

She wrinkled her nose in thought. 'Not lots of them,' she decided. 'But one or two.'

He leaned closer to her and stage whispered in her ear, 'You know what? If you wish for something really, really hard… that wish might just come true.'

She nodded, convinced. 'Then I'm going to wish really, really hard.'

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. 'I love you. Now go to sleep, little princess. It's been a long day.'

She yawned. 'Thank you for the presents, Daddy.'

His smile broadened. 'You're welcome, princess.' He tucked her in and kissed her nose, making her giggle. 'Sweet dreams.'

'Night, Daddy.'

He quietly closed the door behind him and turned, only to find his wife there, smirking slightly. 'Lots and lots of babies?'

He grinned at her, drawing her into his arms. 'Lots and lots of them. Are you up for that?'

'Do I have much of a choice?' she teased him gently. 'You already promised our daughter that it would happen, if she wished really, really hard. I bet she's inside there wishing for it at this very instance.'

His grin widened, turning impish. 'Well, then I guess we should start working on fulfilling that wish, shouldn't we?'

She laughed and swatted at his arm playfully. 'Fiyero Tiggular, you are such a man.'

In a swift movement, he scooped her up in his arms bridal style and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. 'I love you.'

As he carried her back to their room, he was reminded of the last time he had carried her like this. She hadn't wanted him to, but he had insisted that it was tradition for a husband to carry his wife over the threshold on their wedding night, and he had pressed on until she had caved.

He smiled at the memory. The wedding had been a big success. Galinda had arranged everything – with Elphaba interjecting every now and then to make sure there was absolutely no pink involved – and so it had all been neatly organised. There had been the ceremony, attended only by their close friends and family and a few important officials; after that, there had been a reception for everyone at court, followed by a public announcement, a private dinner, and a feast to which hundreds of people from all of Oz had been invited. It had been a big day, with the entire Vinkus celebrating the wedding, and especially Galinda had been completely in her element.

He knew that the ceremony must have been beautiful, and everything else had probably been amazing, too; but the truth was, he barely remembered anything about the day besides the things that had anything to do with Elphaba.

He remembered her walking down the aisle in the most beautiful wedding dress ever, looking so breathtaking that he had been afraid he would faint for a moment. He remembered her shy smile as she had stepped up next to him. He remembered every word of her vows and he remembered saying 'I do' after slipping the ring around her finger. He remembered their first dance together and the look she had given him, that happy look full of love she reserved only for him. Her soft giggle when he had spontaneously pulled her into his arms and kissed her in front of everyone during the public announcement. The smile that had lit up her face when she had taken baby Elyssah from Galinda, swirling around the dance floor with her baby daughter in her arms.

Had it really been four years already? It felt like it had happened only yesterday, and at the same time, it was like they had been married forever.

He looked down at her to find her looking back at him with a smile, a soft look in her eyes. 'I know what you're thinking right now.'

He laughed and kissed her. 'I know that you know. You always read my mind – it's why I love you.'

She tilted her head a little to the side. 'Oh, so that's the reason?'

'One out of many,' he told her, carrying her into the room and lowering her onto the bed. He pinned her underneath him and she looked up at him, a sparkle in her eyes. 'What are the other ones?'

He kissed her softly on the lips. 'Well, for one, you're beautiful.' He started planting kisses all over her face and neck, punctuating each kiss with a reason for loving her. 'You're smart. You're witty. You're magical. You're brave. You never give up. Your compassionate. You're fierce. You love me.' He looked up at her. 'And besides,' he mumbled, kissing her lips again. 'Every prince needs a princess.'

She scowled at him. 'I'm not-'

He cut her off. 'You don't have to be the child of a King or a Queen to be a princess, Fae.' He kissed her again, slowly and thoroughly. 'A princess is only a princess because of what's inside her heart.'

She responded by kissing him this time.

Later, when they were curled up under the blankets together, she snuggled closer to him. 'Yero?' she murmured sleepily.

He nuzzled her soft raven hair, pressing his cheek against it. 'Hm?'

She closed her eyes, a smile on her face. 'I love you.'

He pressed his lips to her hair, a warm, content feeling washing over him. Sometimes he still couldn't believe it, but this was his life now. He had an amazing wife and a beautiful daughter, and he was happier than he had ever imagined being in his life… and no one, not even an incredibly creepy father-in-law, was ever going to be able to take that away from him ever again. For what must be the thousandth time, he thanked whatever deity was up there that Frex was dead and they were safe and happy again.

He sighed happily, pulling her even closer as she burrowed into his arms. 'I love you too, Fae,' he said softly, his voice muffled because his lips were still in her hair. 'Sweet Oz, I love you.'

She yawned and he smiled down at her, already opening his mouth.

Even without looking, she pinched his arm. Hard.

'What was that for?' he complained, and she cracked open one eye to look at him. 'I know what you were going to say, and so I punished you in advance.'

'How did you even know I was going to say anything?' he protested. A slightly wicked grin played around her lips. 'Didn't we establish earlier that I can read your mind?'

He closed his mouth, unable to think of any retort. 'True.' He reached forward and whispered in her ear, 'You're adorable.'

That earned him a smack on his arm, but his smile only widened.

Oz, he loved her so much.