Your Ghost, the Ghost of You
Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Summary: A teenager, who reminds them of her. With no memories of her previous life, she can start over. Or can she? Is she really safe in Oz? Or would she be safer somewhere else, somewhere over the rainbow? And would they allow her to leave? Or try to make her remember who she had been?
A/N: Written: 2010. Found: 2018- Licia
"I keep going to the river to pray
'Cause I need something that can wash out the pain
And at most
I'm sleeping all these demons away
But your ghost, the ghost of you
It keeps me awake"
- Ghost
Ella Henderson,
Chapter One Album
"Elle."
She held out a hand, which he took, unable to get over the shock of the girl standing before him. She looked no older than eighteen at most. But it wasn't her age that shocked him, it was how much she looked like... like her. After a moment, she awkwardly pulled her hand away. "Sorry. Ni... nice to meet you. I'm... I'm Fiyero."
The girl cocked her head, before stepping back. "You make a cute couple."
"Oh, we're not-"
"We're just friends-"
"Sorry, you just looked like you were together." She tucked her arms behind her back, clicking her heels together. Glinda let her gaze move down the girl's body, stopping on the boots she wore. Old, scuffed, as though they'd seen Hell and back... "Well, I'd better be going." The girl turned on her heel, taking a few steps before Glinda snapped out of her stupor and called out to her.
"Wait!" The girl turned back. "Do you want directions? Or... or a place to stay?"
"No, thank you!" She called, turning and continuing down the street, a tiny smile tugging at her lips. She had no idea why the horrified look on the man's face made her so happy, but it did. She continued down the street, ignoring the stairs of the people she passed by. She'd never seen a city quite like this before... in fact, she wasn't even really sure she'd ever seen a city before. "Excuse me." She stopped an older couple outside a bakery. They turned to her, quickly sizing up her strange attire. "Could you tell me where we are?"
"You don't know where you are, missie?" The girl shook her head. The man chuckled. "Why you're in the Emerald City, of course!"
"The Emerald City." She breathed, letting the words settle on her tongue. A moment passed, before she turned back to the couple. "Thank you." Then, without another word, she continued down the street, leaving the couple looking after her. Five minutes after leaving the couple, she decided that the Emerald City was an aptly, appropriate name for such a city. Every building was made of emeralds, from what she could see, and not just that, but everywhere she looked, was green- from the clothing to the shops to the food- okay, maybe not the food. But still.
She continued on, before something taped to a window caught her eye and she turned back. A flyer.
Wanted Dead or Alive
Wicked Witch of the West
For Crimes Against Oz and Her People
Her lips tugged upwards briefly, and she bit the inside of her cheek. It was a wanted flyer for a fugitive, complete with a picture; there was nothing funny about this. If anything, it was sad, depressing even, that someone's life could go so badly, they'd turn to crime. Clearly, whatever this woman had done was bad enough to warrant treason.
"Oz." She whispered it softly, feeling her mouth form over the two letters slowly. "I'm in Oz. Hmm." She turned from the flyer, continuing down the street. "It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, or a storybook." She'd read fairy tales of faraway lands, and always wanted to travel there, to see the world, to experience new things, new adventures, new people. But she'd never had the chance.
She walked the entire length of the main street in the City, before dashing across the street and going back the other way. There was so much to see on both sides that she couldn't just stick to one side of the street. Besides, she needed to formulate a plan; she had no money, no real name other than the one she'd given those two adults, no job- she wasn't even sure if she could work, having no idea if she needed papers or not, no birth certificate, no family to speak of, no real memory of who she was or had been, if she'd been anyone. She was a blank slate, waiting to be written on.
You should at least think of a last name, and a backstory, a place you were born- wait, were you born?
She wrinkled her nose, deciding that maybe a cup of coffee would do her good. Wait, did she like coffee? She wasn't sure. After a moment, she entered a small cafe, making her way to the counter. "What can I get you?" She turned to the barista, reaching into her bag.
"Oh. Well, I guess it's a good thing I didn't order yet." She blushed, cheeks tinging pink. "I don't have any money. I must have lost my wallet-"
"I've got you." She turned, finding herself face to face with the same man she'd met earlier, who'd been with the blonde. Immediately, she plastered a smile on her face.
"Mr.-"
"Fiyero."
"Mr. Fiyero. Thank you, but that's not nec-"
"I insist." He replied, setting the money down. "A couple cups of coffee and a couple pastries, please." The barista nodded, and after a moment, she followed him towards a table in the corner. Removing her book bag and untying her cape, she took a seat, folding her arms on the table as the older man studied her. They sat in silence for several minutes until their orders arrived. "So, tell me, how did you end up in the City, Elle?"
She folded her hands around her cup, bringing to to her lips and blowing softly before taking a sip. What did she say? I woke up in the forest and have no real memory of who I am or was or where I'm from or how I got here? For all I know, I could be from an entirely different planet. Yeah, that would go over real well. She had to think of something, fast.
"I walked." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, I did." A moment passed, before he decided to let it slide.
"So where were you born? You have to be from somewhere- not the City, cause you clearly have no idea how to get around- but you're from somewhere. where'd you grow up?"
Born. Grow up. Okay, you've got this. Think. Think!
She bit her lip. "I... I was born... in..." She glanced around the cafe, giving herself time to think. Her gaze landed on the title of a book someone was reading. A History of the Great Families of Nest Hardings, Munchkinland. She turned back to him "Munchkinland. Nest Hardings, actually."
He started, surprised, though she couldn't figure out why- whether it was because she'd struck a nerve with something she'd said or because he saw through her lie, she couldn't tell. "Nest Hardings?" She nodded. Elphaba is from Nest Hardings. He shook his head. This had to be a coincidence. There were hundreds of people from Nest Hardings- many of them living and working in the City. But this girl... she looked so much like Elphaba...
"My father was a..." She thought a moment. "A minister. And my mother was a socialite. She ran off to marry him when she was eighteen." She shrugged, picking at the flaky bread of the pastry on her plate. "It was a... hard existence. But we survived. My mother started working as a seamstress when I was little. Taught me how to sew and the like. She... died when I was... six." She blushed; there was no way in Hell he was believing this cockamamie story she was concocting, clearly off the top of her head.
He nodded, sipping his coffee. "Do you have any siblings?"
She froze, thinking. Did she? She didn't think so... "I had a little sister, but she died when she was baby."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
She shrugged. "I was two. I barely remember her."
"What was her name?"
She thought a moment, glancing at his hands. "Nia."
He nodded, studying her before, "How'd you end up here?"
A sigh escaped her throat. How did she explain this? She had no memory of her life before this- or if she'd even had a life before this- so where did she begin? A moment passed, as she pursed her lips, meeting his gaze, before taking a bite of her pastry, thereby giving herself time to think. Swallowing, she replied,
"I want to perform. I guess I was born with- what's that term?- stars in my eyes? Yeah, I think that's it. I like to sing, and my father said that I was a dancer long before I could walk, and that I was singing before I could talk even, and that I would put on little shows for him and my mother. That it was often the best part of his day. I guess... I want to try, you know? Make it in the 'big, bad City' and prove everyone back home wrong, that I actually am worth something, that I can do what I set my mind to and succeed. Stupid, I know, but I have to try."
Fiyero listened, seeing the parallels between this girl's story and Elphaba's life- her little sister, her father being a preacher, her mother dying when she was young. And then there were things that this girl was clearly making up performing for her parents, that her mother had been a seamstress, that she barely remembered her sister, that she wanted to perform. He knew Elphaba; Elphaba hated to perform, she hated being in the spotlight- if this girl was Elphaba, she was clearly working hard to play the part.
Wait, when exactly, did you decide this girl was Elphaba? Just because she looks like her-
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Do you have anywhere to stay for the night?" She looked up at him, mid-bite. After a moment, she shook her head. "I didn't think so." He sighed, glancing down at his hands. "I'm Captain of the Gale Force. When I'm not forced to stay at the Palace, I have a small apartment in the upper half of the City. It's small, only one bedroom, but I can give you a place to stay for the night, until you figure out what to do tomorrow." She lowered the pastry, swallowing hard. "It's not much, but it'd be a roof over your head for the night, if you want it."
He could see the wheels turning in her head, weighing the options. Please, say you will. I need to get to know you better. I need to know why you remind me so much of the girl I love. The girl who-
Who vanished without a trace. Who disappeared in the forests around the City, never to be seen again. Who vanished into thin air, almost as though she'd never existed in the first place. As Captain of the Gale Force, he had to accept that she had gotten away, his beloved Elphaba. But as a man... as a man, he couldn't accept that she was gone, that she'd just vanished like that, without at least letting him know. Something had to have happened- maybe she was hurt, or lost, or had been captured by someone else out to do her harm, or maybe she was- no, he couldn't think like that. He had to believe she would come back to him. They were in love, after all. Yes, she was out there somewhere, waiting for him, wanting him to come find her, he knew it.
And this girl... this Elle... had something to do with it; she was involved, somehow, in Elphaba's disappearance. Every fiber of his being was screaming that she was involved. He had to keep an eye on her, until he found out the truth, at least. Once he found out the truth, he would leave her be and to her own devices, but until he found Elphaba, until he knew the truth...
She bit her lip. He was offering her a place to stay for the night. This man, this Captain of the Gale Force, this... Fiyero, was offering her a roof over her head, for at least one night. She didn't have a lot of options; what could one night hurt? At least she'd be warm and safe for a night-
Unless he turns out to be one of those creepy serial killers.
She shook the thought from her mind, before slowly nodding. "I'd like that, thank you." It's only one night.
He smiled softly at her. "Good." They finished their coffee, and stood. "Shall we?" She grabbed her cape and book bag, slinging it over her shoulder, moving to follow him, when he stopped, turning to her. "I'm just curious about something."
She furrowed a brow, waiting. "What?"
"What's your last name?"
She met his gaze, thinking quickly. Think, think! A name! You need a last name! "Actually, I don't intend to have a last name if I make it big. Just go by my first name. You know, like Ozma, Lurline, Preenella." She prattled off, remembering seeing some mention of them in the book she carried in her bag. He raised an eyebrow, clearly not impressed.
"You're not famous yet. Humor me."
She sighed, knowing that he probably wouldn't fall for that, and thought a moment, biting her lip. After a moment, she turned back to him. "Thorne. My name is Elle Thorne."