Hello, all! Happy New Year! Welcome back to another multichap. I wanted to finish writing all 24 chapters before posting. Now that I finished, it's time to share with the world.

Elphaba Thropp quickly walked down the corridors of Crage Hall, a slight, uncharacteristic pep in her step. As soon as she entered her dorm room, her roommate practically bounced on top of her.

"Well?" her roommate, Galinda Upland, asked. "What happened?"

The green girl calmly walked past the blonde girl to her desk and put her bag down. "What are you talking about, Galinda?"

"I saw you go into Morrible's office after history class. She must have called you there, since no one goes into her office without her summoning them, unless they have a death wish. You clearly made it out alive, unless… you're a ghost!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I'm not a ghost, Glin."

The blonde narrowed her eyes and pinched her friend's arm.

"Ouch!" Elphaba exclaimed, rubbing her arm. "What was that for?"

"Just checking. So what did she want from you?"

The green girl let out a slow sigh. "She had a letter for me."

"A letter? From who?"

"The Emerald City."

"Elphie, I'm pretty sure the city itself didn't write you a letter," Galinda huffed. "Who do you know in the Emerald City?"

"No one. The letter was from… The Wizard."

"The Wizard?" the blonde asked with a gasp.

The green girl nodded, slowly taking a large, green envelope out of her bag. "Yes."

The blonde squealed and reached for the letter, but Elphaba pulled it out of her reach. It was her letter, after all.

"What does it say?"

"He wants to meet me."

The blonde squealed again and happily wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Oh, Elphie! I'm so happy for you! This is such a huge honor!"

"Yeah," Elphaba smiled. She was still clearly in a daze. It wasn't a secret to the blonde that the Wizard was one of her biggest heroes.

"Does he say why?"

"No. He just says that Madame Morrible told him all about me and he wishes to meet and speak to me."

"He could make you his Magic Grand Vizier!"

"His what?"

"Oh, Elphie, don't deny that you're talented."

"I have magical powers that burst out when I get emotional. I would hardly call that 'talent'."

"But once you learn to hone your magic, you could be so powerful. The Wizard knows power and talent when he hears it, and that's why he wants to meet you."

"He's not going to give me that job right now."

"Oh, of course not, Elphie. He'll want you to graduate first. You might have to change your major to Applied Magic Studies, though."

"Change my major? I never even declared my major."

"Minor details," the blonde said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "When do you leave?"

"Next Friday. My audience with him is Saturday afternoon and I come back on Sunday evening." She paused briefly before adding. "Actually, there are two round-trip tickets in here. I can bring a friend."

The blonde's eyes lit up. "You mean…"

"Would you come with me to the Emerald City, Glin?"

Another squeal emanated from the blonde's lips and she wrapped her arms around her friend once again. "Really?! Oh, yes, Elphie! I'd love to! Thank you! Thank you so much!" The blonde began chattering all about what she was going to wear and all the sights she wanted to see, but Elphaba was focused on one thing only.

What was she going to say to the Wizard?

The library was Elphaba's favorite place on campus. Not just because it was quiet, but also because it had many hidden places and corners she could sneak off to when she needed some time to herself, or if she wanted to hide. During her first few weeks at Shiz, she had claimed a small corner in the upstairs stacks to get some studying done, especially since her room wasn't the friendliest place. The librarian had seen her there so much that she had offered her a job, which the green girl readily accepted. It meant that she would be working at the front desk, helping students find books and checking them out, and wouldn't have as much time in her private corner.

Currently, she was restacking books. She pulled the cart behind her as she walked through the shelves, making sure they were all in alphabetical order. She was almost finished when she heard someone clear their throat behind her and jumped in surprise, dropping the book in her hands. But what surprised her even more was to see Fiyero Tigulaar standing in front of her.

"Hi," he said, giving her a lopsided grin.

"Uh… hi," she said slowly, bending down to pick up the book, but Fiyero got it before she did.

"Here."

"Oh. Thanks." She returned the book to its proper place on the shelf. "Can I… help you with something?"

"I was actually looking for you."

"You were?" Elphaba blinked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Why?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come to the café with me."

Elphaba regarded the Vinkun crown prince. True, they were friends, or well, friends by default. They had no choice to become friends since Galinda made sure that her then-boyfriend and best friend were practically always by her side together. The two had dated for a few weeks, but the blonde broke it off last week, claiming that she could feel that it wasn't working out.

"It's easier to break things off early than to stay in a non-working relationship," the blonde had said, accepting another tissue from the green girl and tossing a piece of chocolate into her mouth.

Fiyero blinked at Elphaba, waiting for an answer. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until Elphaba slapped him on the back, telling him to breathe before he passed out.

"Alright," she breathed, and so did Fiyero. "I'm almost done. I just need to finish putting away these books and grab my things from the front desk and we can go."

"I'll help," the prince offered, taking a few books and walking away through the shelves.

The green girl smiled softly as she quickly finished putting away the books and returned the cart to its proper place. She found Fiyero already waiting for her at the desk. She grabbed her bag before saying goodbye to the librarian, Madame Nodds, and she and the prince left the library.

"So," she said softly as they sat down with mugs of hot chocolate. It was early November, and it was starting to get chilly.

"So," he replied, stirring the foam. "How's your library job going?"

"Good. I like it. I'm just surprised she offered me the job to a first-year; especially me. It's a lot of work, but it's really fun."

"Fun?" the prince chuckled.

"I know we have two completely different ideas of fun, Fiyero."

"Yeah, you're right. Have you decided on your major yet?"

"I can't decide between Ozian Literature and Political Science. Both of them are fascinating topics. But I wouldn't get a job in either of them, though."

The prince knew very little of Elphaba's life in Munchkinland. He just knew the basics; that she was sent to Shiz to take care of her sister and that once they graduate, she'll return to Munchkinland to take care of her for the rest of her life. He had tried to ask her about it before, but she would remain tight-lipped. Instead, she would always change the subject to talking about him, and while the prince loved to talk about himself, he never understood why Elphaba never talked about her home life. He just understood that it was an off-limits topic and never asked her again.

"What about you?"

"History and Political Science. A crown prince has gotta do what a crown prince has gotta do."

Elphaba chuckled softly.

"So… I heard you were invited to see the Wizard," he added, finishing his drink.

She promptly choked on hers. "Excuse me?"

"The Wizard wants to meet you."

"How do you know?"

"We both know how I know."

The green girl sighed and rested her forehead on the table. "Galinda. That girl couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it."

"It was a secret?"

"No. I just… didn't want the whole school to know." She paused as she slowly lifted her head, her eyes wide. "You don't think she told Nessa already, do you?"

"I don't think Galinda wants you to kill her, Elphaba."

Elphaba frowned as she stood. "I have to talk to my sister."

"Elphaba –"

"I'll see you later," she said, giving him a small smile before rushing out.

The prince watched her go as she hurried out of the café. He didn't even get to say what he really wanted to talk about… or even properly congratulate her.

Elphaba hurried to the science building just as her sister's biology class let out. As the class let out, most of the students who noticed Elphaba immediately recoiled. A few of them stopped to stare at her, and others began whispering behind their hands.

The green girl did her best to ignore them. After all, there wasn't much she could do about it. People were bound to always whisper about her. She was used to it by now. Did it hurt; yes, but she was used to it.

She waited patiently for her sister to wheel out of the class. The younger Thropp immediately smiled when she saw her sister. "Hi, Fabala."

"Hi, Nessa. Ready to go?" Elphaba asked.

"Sure," the brunette nodded, and the green girl stepped behind her sister's chair and pushed her into the crisp air.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Elphaba said as Nessa searched her bag for her room key.

"What is it?" she asked, finally finding the key and unlocking the door to the room she shared with Madame Morrible.

Elphaba waited until they were in her sister's room and the door closed behind them. "Morrible called me into her office today. Apparently, I… received this," she said, sitting down next to her and pulling the letter out of her bag.

"It's… green."

"It's from The Wizard."

"The Wizard?"

"That's exactly what Galinda said," Elphaba said with a light chuckle, then sobered.

"Well… what's it about? What does it say?"

Instead of answering, Elphaba just handed her sister the letter, who gently opened the envelope and pulled the letter out as if it were a priceless artifact.

"Wow," she whispered once she finished reading it. "The Wizard wants to meet you! He asked for you by name! That's amazing, Fabala!"

"He doesn't say what he wants to talk to me about."

"You don't think…"

"What?"

"Madame Morrible wrote to him about your… gift," she said. Even after all these years, she still had trouble talking about Elphaba's magic. "And that's why?"

"Maybe. Or maybe he wants to degreenify me."

Nessa didn't know how to respond to that, so she simply looked at the letter again. "Maybe," she finally whispered. "When do you leave?"

"Next Friday. My audience is Saturday afternoon, and I'll return on Sunday evening."

"I'm very proud of you, Fabala. And I know Father will be, too. This is such a huge honor."

"You don't mind that I'll be gone the entire weekend?"

"Elphaba, it's just one weekend. I'll be fine. You can't turn down an invitation from His Ozness, especially when he personalized it."

She considered this for a moment. She really did want to meet the Wizard. This could be her chance to make good. She could be great. If she was recognized by the Wizard, people would stop pointing and staring at her. They would look up to her. Her father would finally see that she's not a failure and she would finally get the love and acceptance she had been craving her entire life.

"Alright," she finally whispered, looking at her sister with a smile. "I'll go."

"I'm so happy for you!" Nessa beamed as the two sisters shared a hug. "And Father will be ecstatic!"

"'Father' and 'ecstatic' are two words that don't go together in a sentence talking about me," Elphaba reminded her sister.

"You know what I mean. He'll be proud."

"The same goes for 'proud'."

The brunette gave her sister a look and Elphaba softened.

"But I understand and appreciate the sentiment. Thank you."

Nessa smiled and the two girls shared another hug. As Elphaba went back to her room, her letter clutched securely to her chest, she was filled with the feeling that her life was going to change.

Who thinks they know where this is headed? Who thinks I'm gonna throw a curve ball at them? No matter what, you'll have to wait and find out! :-D