Alright! New multichap time! This is my first crossover. I have a soft spot for Greek Mythology, so I decided to mix the two. Let hope this goes well! Enjoy! But before we start, I would like to introduce a few characters:
VinkunEmeralds as Seraphia
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies as Maia
Moreanswers24 as Carisse
DISCLAIMER: Yeah... I don't own Wicked or Greek Mythology, but wouldn't it be cool if I did?
Birds crowed as they flew into the air as hurried footsteps lightly trampled against the ground of the Gillikin Forest. A few triumphant laughs could be heard as the footsteps grew louder and louder. Squirrels and raccoons scurried out of the way and used the tall trees as hiding refugees until the footsteps died away.
"Wait!" the eldest woman, the Olympian goddess Artemis said, holding up her hand.
The band of younger girls halted and looked up at their leader, waiting for her to give them the signal. The goddess turned her head from side to side, as if trying to listen for something. She pointed to her left and three of the girls ran off. There was a loud roar, then the sound of an arrow zipping through the air, then the roaring suddenly stopped. Artemis smiled to herself as the three girls returned, carrying a rather large boar with an arrow in its side.
"Good hunt, girls," the goddess smiled. "We shall have a feast tonight!"
The rest of the girls cheered.
"Let us return to the camp now. Today was a very good day."
The goddess and her band of followers quickly moved back to their base in the middle of the forest, where the girls who didn't go on the hunt that day were resting.
"Lady Artemis!" one of the older girls said when she noticed the goddess.
"Hello, girls," Artemis smiled warmly as the girls all curtsied to her. She looked around and frowned slightly. "Where is Elphaba?"
"I believe she's in her tent. I'll go get her!" one of the girls said, curtsying once more before hurrying away.
The goddess nodded to the girls who accompanied her on the hunt and they dispersed to their own activities. Soon, a tall girl, about eighteen years old, with long, raven hair, soft chocolate eyes, and emerald green skin approached the goddess. "Ah, Elphaba," the Olympian smiled. "Please, follow me."
The girl nodded wordlessly and followed the goddess to her tent. She had the nagging feeling that she was in trouble for something, but she had no idea what.
Artemis led the green girl into her tent and closed the flap behind her. "Would you like some tea?"
"No, thank you," Elphaba whispered, keeping her gaze down.
Artemis nodded, but prepared two cups anyway. "Sit down, Elphaba."
The green girl sat down on the pillow across the table from the goddess. She found herself sipping the tea, more because it gave her something to do other than look at the goddess.
"What have you done today?" Artemis asked.
"I read… mostly," Elphaba said softly, still not meeting the goddess' gaze.
"And what else?"
"Galinda came by for a while and we talked."
"And what else?"
Elphaba looked up at the goddess, wondering what she wanted her to say. "I bathed in the river."
Artemis nodded. "There was a very good hunt today."
Elphaba paused, then nodded.
"Elphaba, this has been the third hunt you have missed this month. I have allowed you to talk your way out of it, but now I require an answer. You are a very good archer. I cannot understand why you would not want to join us anymore."
"I… apologize."
"Thank you, but I do not want an apologize as much as I want an answer."
"I just… haven't felt the inclination to hunt."
"Haven't felt the inclination to hunt?" Artemis repeated.
Elphaba shrugged.
"Elphaba."
She looked up.
"I have known you since you were a little girl. When I began training you, I could tell you would be a very valuable asset to our company."
Despite being a virgin goddess, Artemis was very motherly towards all the girls, but especially Elphaba. Something had intrigued her from the first moment she saw her and the two had a special bond ever since.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"It's… it's about…"
"Yes?"
"My family. At least, I think it was my family."
The goddess looked surprised. "Oh? What about them?"
"I've been having weird… dreams about them. Actually, they were more like visions. I have no idea what they are about. Most of them involve a woman, who I think was my mother. She looked a bit like me, only her hair was dark brown and her skin wasn't green. And there was sometimes a man… maybe my father. He was bald, even though he looked as young as the woman."
"Visions?"
Elphaba nodded. "How… How old was I when you found me?"
"You were around four years old."
"Why do I have no memories before I came here?"
"I do not know, Elphaba," the goddess lied. "But I do know this; you are here now and this is your family."
"But I want to know where I come from."
"Sometimes, it's better that we don't know certain things about ourselves until they are ready to manifest themselves."
Elphaba didn't smile, but she accepted the goddess' answer nonetheless. "I'm sorry for behaving so foolishly. I will join you whenever you wish."
"You were not foolish, Elphaba."
Elphaba nodded half-heartedly.
Artemis regarded the young girl before excusing her. She watched as Elphaba curtsied and hurried out of her tent. Letting out a long sigh, she buried her face in her hands, trying to quell her nerves. She had hoped this day would never come. She knew that eventually, Elphaba would have some questions, but she knew she would never be ready to tell her.
"There you are!" a voice called.
Elphaba turned to see one of her friends and fellow huntress, Seraphia, hurrying over to her. Her curly, red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her brown eyes matched Elphaba's. Her usually rose colored skin was covered in sunscreen, even though the sun was barely out and it wasn't that hot. She was a bit shorter than the green girl, stopping a few centimeters beneath her chin. She looked the same age as the green girl, but Elphaba knew she was much older than she looked. "So, what did Lady Artemis want from you?"
"Nothing," Elphaba replied curtly, walking away.
"Hey! Wait!" she called, grabbing Elphaba's arm.
"Let me go, Sera! I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, she didn't kill you or turn you into an animal for us to hunt… speaking of hunts, why didn't you go on the one today?"
"Because I went in her place," another voice supplied. The girls turned around to see Maia, one of the original huntresses. Her dark brownish-reddish hair was in a braid that stopped at the small of her back. She had tan skin from all her hours spent in the sun and the same brown eyes as Elphaba and Seraphia. "What happened to you today?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Nothing," Elphaba said, narrowing her eyes at the nosy girls.
"Elphaba's being stubborn," Seraphia said, also crossing her arms.
"Come on, Elphaba. You can tell us. We're your friends. We won't make fun of you for whatever it is… at least, not forever. Maybe for a few centuries or so, but not forever."
Elphaba cursed the fact that all the huntresses had the gift of eternal youth, given to them by Artemis when they joined the huntresses, and wouldn't die unless they were killed in battle… or by Artemis herself. They had all the time in the world. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked Maia.
"Since I took your spot today, you have to do my cooking duty," Maia said.
"Says who?"
"Says me! And we're having the boar we caught today. Make sure it has extra herbs and lightly salted. And make sure it's not overcooked." The older girl smirked as she walked away, humming softly to herself.
"What's her deal?" another girl, Carisse, said as she approached Seraphia and Elphaba. "She's way too happy."
"She got out of cooking duty," Seraphia supplied.
Carisse brushed her long, brown hair out of her face and laughed. "That's a relief. We all know Maia can't cook."
"I HEARD THAT!" Maia shouted from across the camp.
Carisse ignored her. "Well, I was just on my way to find some more strawberries before dinner. Wanna come?"
"Sure!" Seraphia smiled. "Elphaba?"
"I'll pass," the green girl said. "I have to finish reading my book."
The two huntresses exchanged a look, but then shrugged and waved to the green girl before leaving. Elphaba sighed and hurried back to her tent, grabbing her book and opening to her current page.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pay attention to her book and she couldn't shake off the feeling that Artemis had lied to her. The goddess knew where she came from. She knew about her past, but she refused to tell her. Sure, she was still one of the newer and younger huntresses, but she wasn't a baby. The only person that would know anything about her past would be Artemis, and she knew she wasn't going to say anything. Elphaba thought for a moment. Who else would know?
Maybe one of the other Olympians, Elphaba thought. They would know. Of course they know, but would they tell me?
"Dinner's ready!"
Elphaba hadn't even realized how fast time had past her and hurried out of her tent. She hurried out and sat with everyone around the campfire. After saying a quick blessing and throwing some of their food into the fire for the gods, everyone began to eat. Being a vegetarian, Elphaba only got a salad, but only picked at it. Maia, Serephia, and Carisse all exchanged a look, but shrugged it off as they continued to eat their food.
The green girl was the first to excuse herself and walked back to her tent. She had planned on finishing her book, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.
"Papa!"
"Hush!"
"Papa, no!"
"Hush, Elphaba!"
"Papa, please!"
"Stop!"
"Mama!"
"Silence!"
There was fire everywhere. The little girl screamed as pain overtook her body.
"Halt!"
Elphaba shot up in her bed, covered in sweat. She looked up and saw that she was alone in her tent. Taking a deep breath, she tried to collect herself. It was only a dream. But it felt so real. Almost like… a memory. She was shouting for her father. What had happened? Where was her father now? Why was she begging him to stop whatever he was doing?
She laid back down, but didn't go back to sleep for the rest of the night. As Apollo pulled the sun through the sky and brought the daytime, Elphaba still didn't rise from her bed. No one could get her to come out of her tent.
"Should we tell Lady Artemis?" Seraphia asked, looking from Carisse to Maia.
"No, she'll come out when she's ready," Maia said softly.
"Which hopefully will be soon," Carisse whispered.
"I have a plan to get her to talk," Seraphia smirked.
"Oh, and what will that be, oh wise daughter of Athena?" Maia said mockingly.
Growling, Seraphia turned on Maia, pulled her hands behind her back, and forced her to her knees. Maia cried out and tried to twist away, but Seraphia only held her tighter.
"I'm sorry, what was that, daughter of Apollo?" Seraphia asked, her smirk widening.
"I… uncle! Uncle! Uncle!" Maia cried.
Seraphia chuckled, but let go. Maia collapsed, taking in large gulps of air to recover. She gave the girl a dirty look, though Seraphia simply smirked down at her. Carisse gave her friends a satisfied look and walked away. If Elphaba heard the voices outside her tent, she made no move of acknowledgment that she did. All she wanted to be was left alone. But deep down, she knew that one day, she would be able to find her real family.
This is a bit belated, but congratulations to all of the Tony winners. All of them are well deserved. And even if they didn't get to take home a trophy, everyone is still a winner.
Reviews are just like chocolate bars... and I LOVE chocolate bars!
