Hey guys, just letting you know I'm not dead or anything. For those of you who are following my other story "Saving the Future", don't worry, I am still continuing with it, I'm just really needed to take a break and work of something else for a little bit before I gave myself a migraine, plus College work keeps me pretty busy as well, so just hang in there and be patient. I'll update it when I can. This is going to be the first of a series of song-based drabbles reflecting personalities of our favourite Wicked characters.
Elphaba's fight (Fight Song – Rachel)
Elphaba Thropp was walking head down the corridor, purposely ignoring the usual hushed whispers from behind hands that flew around her or odd cruel remark called out after her as she made her way quickly towards her classroom.
"Hey, green bean! How's the grass growing outside today?"
"I wonder if she's really green all over?"
"I'll give two hundred bucks to anyone who's brave enough to find out!"
"I hope it's not contagious!"
"I bet she looks like a frog!"
"What does Miss Galinda see in her, to make her hang around with her so much?"
"She's probably brainwashed her or cast a spell on her to make her like her! I mean really, it's the only explanation!"
She didn't look round, trying desperately not to feel the sharp sting of pain that came from each comment. I'm not weak and I don't care what they said about me. I don't!
Deep down she knew she was lying to herself. She cursed herself for being so weak as to allow their words to hurt, even after all this time. She entered the class room, looking up to see Galinda sat at the back as usual, Fiyero on her right, surrounded by her adoring posse. She thought about going over and joining them for a split second before dismissing the idea and going down to take her usual seat. Galinda wouldn't want me embarrassing her like that, even if she has started being more friendly towards me recently anyway.
She pointedly avoided thinking about if Fiyero would want her sitting with them or not. Not that girl. She reminded herself sternly. She was so focused on her inner rant that she didn't see the foot stuck out sharply from one of the isles as she hurried past it until it was too late. She barely had time to comprehend the suddenly feeling of falling forward and dropped her book to flash her arms forward and catch herself just a little too late to stop her forehead from smacking the hard floor, making stars explode behind her eyes.
She just laid there in a crumpled heap for a moment, head spinning until she regained her senses enough to sit up clumsily, one hand coming to rest on left side of her throbbing temple and registering the burst of hysterical laughter around her coming from most of her classmates. "Elphie!" It was her room-mates high pitched voice and the sudden feeling of strong arms griping her underneath her arms and lifting her to her feet and brought her fully back into focus. She looked up to see her new friends concerned face hovering a little way off from her own and Fiyero's concerned gaze a few inches away just out of the corner of her eye (She guessed it was him who pulled her up) an shook her head slowly as not to pain herself further but still ended up wincing anyway.
"I'm fine." She answered quickly, before the blonde could get the question out of her mouth. The sudden feeling of hot tears pricking the edge of her vision and the numb ache of her head and on her elbows and knees stinging painfully reminded her that she was not in fact alright. She felt the sudden urge run ,to get out of the room before her already malicious classmate could see her weakness and she carefully pushed Fiyero's steadying hand off of her shoulder (purposely ignoring the warm spark that went of inside her at the contact) and collected her fallen books from Galinda who had picked up them for her.
"I-I've just remembered that I've forgotten something, I'm just going to nip back up and get it, I'll see you after class." She turned, this time paying carefully attention to where she was putting her feet, hurrying back up the steps towards the door she had just entered through mere moments before. "Do you want me to come with you?"
She barely heard Galinda's thin voice calling after her and tossed a snapped reply over her shoulder paying no heed to her harsh tone. "No!"
She rushed down the corridor exited through the nearest corridor into the courtyard and speed up as she hit the open ground, practically running across the deserted space to the nearest building, getting as far away from the place of her embarrassment as she could, paying no attention to where she actually going, just as along as she could get to somewhere she could be alone. She burst through a pair of old, battered looking doors and bolted down the dusty corridor into the first empty room she came across, slamming the door shut behind her and leaning back against it, slowly sliding to the floor, breathing heavily. She sat there for a moment, trying desperately to control her breathing, chocking back shuddering sobs, for several moments until she managed to quit herself enough and force out a few even, controlled breaths.
She had no idea why she was getting so worked up over one silly little accident, it's not like she hadn't survived worse things before but something about it just felt like the straw that broke the Camel's back and it was like the flood gates had been opened, drowning her in her own tears. Elphaba rarely cried and didn't have a lot of personal experience with it so it meant that she found it harder to stop herself once she did start crying. She leant her head back against the cool wood of the door, eye closed and sat there for several minutes before she bothered to open them again and look at her surroundings. She was surprised to find herself in what appeared to be some kind of abandoned music room.
She pushed herself up and wondered further into the room, looking around absently mindedly. It was clearly no longer in use, that much was obvious from the heavy, semi drawn drapes and shut up doors and windows. A large, dust-coated piano sat proudly in the room's center and she stepped over to it, running a couple of fingers over the grey keys, lazily. She was rather pleased when they hummed in response, creating a short string of notes that sounded absurdly loud in the quiet of the empty room.
She paused before sitting down carefully on the worn leather bench next to it and taking a deep breath, before leaning forward to blow the thick layer of dusting off the front of the instrument, revealing the separate black and white on the notes, the colours now becoming visible. She lifted one had to hoover uncertainly over them. Her mother used to play the piano. One of her strongest memories was of watching her sat at the simple white model they had back at the mansion. She'd even taught Elphaba how to play, though she hadn't done so in years now, recognising her daughter's bright intelligence of being capable of doing so, even at such a young age.
She only hesitated a moment more before pressing down on the stiff key, her other hand coming up to join in, and began to tap out a simply, gentle melody, slowly losing herself in the flow of music, her stress slowly ebbing away. It wasn't long before she found herself singing quietly along to the soft rhythm, releasing all her anguish and pain in her music, emptying herself of all the negative feelings that had been bubbling up inside her for far too long.
"Like a small boat, on the ocean, sending big waves, into motion. Like how a single word, can make a heart open. I may only have one match, but I can make an explosion."
She closed her eyes and memories, both good and bad came back to her, hands floating over the key board of their own according, not needing to look to know which key was which as her previous practice slowly came back to her.
"And all of those things I didn't say, wreaking balls inside my brain. I will scream them out tonight, can you hear my voice? This is my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm alright song."
It was exactly because of the fact that she had her eyes closed and her focus fixed so firmly on the music she was playing, that she didn't notice when the door behind her creaked open slowly a pair of curious blue eyes watch her, half in surprise, half in amazement from the door way as her song picked up a notch.
"My power's turned on, starting right now, I'll be strong. I'll play my fight song. And I don't really care, if nobody else believes, cus I've still got a lot of fight left in me!"
She dropped back into a slower tempo again, eyes still closed, completely obvious to her audience.
"Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep. Seems everybody's worried but me. In too deep. Say I'm in too deep. Oh it's been two years, I miss my home. There's a fire burning in my bones. I still believe. Yeah I still believe."
She leant forward over the key board, still playing, pouring her heart and soul into her music, completely unaware of everything else around her, lost in her own unique melody.
"And all of those things I didn't say, wreaking balls inside my brain. I will scream them out tonight, can you hear my voice? This my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm alright song. My power's turned on, starting right now, I'll be strong. I'll play my fight song. And I don't really care, if nobody else believes, cus I've still got, a lot of fight left in me!
Like a small boat, in the ocean, sending big waves, into motion. Like how single word, can make a heart open. I may only have one match. But I can make an explosion."
Her voice lowered on the last line, to an almost whisper, before she took up her chorus again, not registering the sound of several of the other instruments in the room leaping to life playing along in tune with her own soft rhythm of their own accord, nor the other person hoovering tentatively off to the far side off the room nearly jumping out of his skin at the suddenly increase of noise.
"This is my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm alright song. My power's turned on, starting right now, I'll be strong. I'll play my fight song. And I don't really care if nobody else believes, cus I've still got a lot of fight left in me!"
All the other instruments in the room fell silent and resumed their previous task of standing harmlessly, propped up in their various places as the young girl in the room finished the last delicate line of her song by herself, hitting the last few notes with the tip on her long, slim fingers.
"No I've still got, a lot of fight left in me."
It was in that moment that her secret viewer realised she was likely to look up soon and probably castrate him if she caught his baring witness to such a vulnerable moment quickly tiptoed over to hide behind the heavy drapes on the far side by the window as the emerald siren in front on him leant forward to rest her head down on her crossed arms of the top of the piano, breathing deeply, collecting herself before straightening back up again and standing, closely the lid of the piano as she turned and left the room calmly as though she hadn't just been pouring all her emotions in a heart-stopping, secret performance, her steady footsteps echoing hollowly down the corridor as she left the building.
Fiyero slipped silently out from behind the current and wondered over the door way, staring in the direction he knew she had to have left in, head spinning and heart pounding in a strange way that it never had before, a feeling that stayed with him for several days, even as he sat with his perfect, bubbly, blonde girlfriend, unable to shift the memory of what he'd seen from his mind. Unable to forget the memory of the beautiful gem coloured girl sitting and a piano, signing with the fading sunlight dancing from a slanted angle on her, making her raven hair shimmer, nor her hauntingly beautiful song that made he re-evaluate his options of the meaning of the words true strength and where it came from….
So, what do you think then, yay or nay? Just let me know. No flames please, since it's my first drabble. If you've nothing helpful to say then keep it to yourself. I have a vote going on my profile to decide what I'm gonig to do in the next chapter, you can vote either by reviewing here or PM'ing me, though I'd rather you just reviewed. Thanks, SS