Okay, here's the deal. I wrote this story once before, but I realized that it really wasn't anything original; it was literally written word for word, matching the script exactly. That never really sat well with me, but I still love the idea of mixing Titanic and Wicked, so I'm here to try this for a second time, and I'm hoping that it'll turn out much better than the first version. Okay, enough ranting! Enjoy!
"Please, have a seat Miss… Glinda, is it?"
"Yes." I ease into the seat, looking at the young man sitting across from me.
"Now, Miss Glinda, you do know why you're here?"
"Of course I do. You want to dissect me, just like every other reporter I've ignored. However, might I remind you that I came to you."
"Of course. Now, Miss Glinda, what exactly happened forty years ago?"
I lean back, closing my eyes. "That's the question everyone wants answered. 2,500 souls boarded… less than half made it out alive. And now, I've heard that I'm among the dozen or so left."
"You are."
"All right. I'll tell you what happened… I'll tell you the truth, but if you change one fact, I won't hesitate to aim my fist right at your jugular."
"Agreed."
I hear him press the record button on his little tape recorder and I sigh. "I had just turned nineteen, and my life had just ended…"
The R.M.S. Ozma towered above the dock as hundreds, if not thousands of people stared up at its grandness.
Galinda Upland stepped out of her carriage, forced to crane her head back as she stared up at the ship. She didn't see anything special about the Ozma; it looked just the same as any other ship. Not that it mattered much to her anyway. Soon enough it would be taking her back to Oz, whereupon her arrival, she would be forced into marriage with a man by the name of Sir Chuffery. It was a daunting thought, really, but it wasn't anything new. All her life, Galinda had been forced to conform to the rules of high society, because her mother said so. It was slowly killing her inside, and Galinda was sure that she was already the epitome of "the living dead".
"Well, what do you think?" Sir Chuffery asked as he helped Ms. Upland from the carriage.
"Why, it's marvelous, wouldn't you say Galinda?"
"It's all right, I suppose. Just like any other slave ship," the blonde said.
"You're impossible to please, Galinda," Sir Chuffery said.
"Well, we all have our flaws, don't we?"
"Right. Well, come along ladies. The ship departs in ten minutes, and we wouldn't want to be left here with the other unfortunates, would we?"
Galinda wouldn't have minded at all to become lost in the crowds and miss the ship's departure, but she knew she couldn't do that, so she instead took the arm her fiancé offered to her and allowed him to lead her towards the ship.
Elphaba Thropp ducked down behind a stack of suitcases, pulling her companion down with her.
"Shit, Elphaba, you're going to get us killed!" Fiyero hissed.
"Aww, where's your sense of adventure, Yero?" Elphaba said with a grin, peering around the tower. "Besides, look what I got!" The green woman held up two tickets for her friend to see.
"Elphaba, you stole their tickets?" Fiyero said, not sure whether he should be horrified or thrilled.
"You bet I did. Those jackasses don't deserve to board the Ozma. Besides, this is our ticket back to Oz!"
Fiyero sighed. "Fine, fine, but we cannot get caught."
"Don't worry. Now come on, let's get on the ship before it leaves without us." Elphaba moved out from behind the suitcases and she and Fiyero started making their way through the crowd.
"Elphaba, do you think they're following us?" Fiyero asked.
"Don't know, don't care. Just don't look back."
Too late. Fiyero looked behind him just as the two men spotted them. "Run!"
He and Elphaba started running, splitting up. Elphaba vaulted onto a stack of suitcases and started running across the tops of the towers. She spotted Fiyero running below her to the side. She leapt over a carriage and hit the ground right beside him. "Come on!" she said as she led him onto a gangway that two crewmen were starting to pull away from the ship. "Wait, wait, wait! We're passengers!"
The crewmen looked at them uncertainly, Elphaba's green skin obviously concerning them. "Have you been through the inspection cue?"
Fiyero noticed that the men had spotted them again. "Elphaba…"
"Yes, of course. Besides, we're Ozians, both of us!" Elphaba said, holding out the tickets.
The crewmen exchanged looks. "All right. Come on."
Elphaba jumped the small gap onto the ship, Fiyero following her. She turned back to see the two men being stopped by the crewmen as the gangway was pulled farther away from the ship. "See you later!" she said, saluting to them before she and Fiyero made their way through the ship.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this! You're a sneaky son of a bitch, Elphaba," Fiyero said.
"Damn straight," the green woman replied. She bumped shoulders with another passenger roughly. "Sorry!" she called as she and Fiyero turned a corner.
Galinda's back was up against the wall as she watched the two round a corner after one of them had so rudely bumped shoulders with her.
"I'm surprised they let such third class ruffians on this ship," Ms. Upland said.
"I could have sworn that woman had green skin," Sir Chuffery said.
"That was a woman? Why in Lurline's name was she dressed in men's clothing? She was wearing pants!"
Galinda rolled her eyes, not bothering to mention that she would kill to be dressed as that green woman had been.
"Hold on. This woman really had green skin?"
I look at him. "Do you think I'm making this up?"
"Well, I mean—"
"You asked for the truth, and that's what I'm going to give you. I know it sounds unbelievable; I wasn't sure if I believed it at first either, but there she was, a green-skinned woman dressed in man's clothing. And only she could pull something like that off…"
Elphaba ran to the top deck, leaping up onto the railing and waving down to all the gathered people. "Goodbye! I'll miss you!" she called.
"Bull, you don't know anyone down there," Fiyero said.
"Well, of course not, but that's not the point. Goodbye! I'll never forget you!"
The ties that restrained Ozma were finally released and with a resounding blow on the horn, she was off.
Elphaba looked at her companion. "Come on. Let's go find our room."
"... and this is your own private sunroom."
Sir Chuffery walked out into the middle of the room, a glass of champagne in his hand.
"Will you be needing anything else, sir?" the crewman asked.
"No, thank you."
The crewman nodded before leaving.
"Hey, this is pretty nice," Avaric said, wandering in.
Sir Chuffery turned to face him. "Remember your job. I want this trip to go smoothly."
"No worries. You and your fiancé will arrive in Oz and be married without a hitch."
"We'd better. I'd hate to have to dump you back into the gutter I found you in."
Galinda looked around her room, very unimpressed. Oh, the room was extravagant, of course. Sir Chuffery went to great lengths to make sure that they traveled in the highest style. Still, it didn't appeal to Galinda in the slightest. She sat down on the perfect bed and had a sudden urge to just mess it up; throw the pillows off, yank the blankets back, anything! She wanted desperately to just escape, to get away from this constant perfection! Galinda finally settled with turning one of the pillows on its side. There. Now it wasn't perfect.
The door suddenly opened, revealing her fiancé. "Ah, there you are. Come along, it's time for lunch."
Galinda rose, following him out… feeling just like a trained animal, responding to its master's beckoning. Oz, this was killing her… and there was nothing she could do.
"J12… J12… here it is." Elphaba opened the door to the small room. "Hi, I'm Elphaba Thropp, nice to meet you," she said, shaking the hands of the two men in the room. She turned back to Fiyero and saw that he was climbing up into the top bunk. "Hey, who says you get top, huh?" she said, punching him in the arm.
"You never complained about me being on top before," Fiyero teased.
"Shut up, you bastard. That only happened in your dreams. Come on. Let's go exploring."
Blah blah blah, mindless chatter, no one gives a fuck.
That's what was going through Galinda's mind as she sat at the table with the other first-class men and women… and a Goat named Dr. Dillamond, who had designed the Ozma himself. Of all the people here, Galinda only found the Goat interesting to listen to. By the look on her mother's face, Galinda could tell that she didn't approve of having an Animal among them, but everyone had to admit that he had a brilliant mind, so Galinda's mother could stick her complaints up her—
"So, is the ship to your liking, Miss Galinda?"
The blonde realized that Dr. Dillamond was talking to her, so she snapped to attention, sitting up straighter. "It's a marvelous ship," she replied.
"Good. I'd had this ship's design in my head for some time and now, here she is, cast in iron!" the Goat said, pounding his hoof into the table once.
Galinda pulled her cigarette holder from her purse before pulling out a cigarette to go with it. She lit it as she placed it in her mouth. This did not go unnoticed.
"You know I don't like that, Galinda," her mother said in a low voice, leaning in close. Galinda turned to her mother and replied by blowing smoke in her face. Yes, she knew that would earn her a lecture later. No, she did not currently care, thank you for asking.
"She knows," Sir Chuffery said. He reached over and plucked the cigarette from the holder before putting it out. Galinda put her holder away, giving her fiancé a sarcastic smile.
"Would you all excuse me?" she said, pushing her chair away from the table and leaving the room.
Elphaba stood at the bow with Fiyero, looking out at the open ocean in front of them. "Look, look down there!" Elphaba said, pointing down in front of the ship. Fiyero followed her finger and saw a pod of dolphins swimming with the ship. "Watch that one, watch him jump!" Sure enough, one dolphin leapt out of the water, followed by several others. "Whoo!"
Fiyero laughed and looked at the green woman beside him. "How long do you think it'll take us to reach Oz?" he asked, turning and leaning back against the railing.
"Oh, I dunno. Less than a week, most likely."
"Think you can stand being on a boat that long?"
"Aww, Fiyero, you know me. I can survive anywhere; I'm versatile," Elphaba said with a grin, holding onto a steel cable attached to the bow with one hand.
"I'll say that about you." Fiyero's gaze wandered and soon fell on an interesting subject. "Hey, check that lovely lady out."
Elphaba turned and her eyes fell on a blonde standing on the A deck. The green woman was instantly taken in by her beauty. She realized that they were both women, but still… The blonde's eyes fell on Elphaba and she quickly looked away, only to end up looking back at her a few moments later. Their eyes met and Elphaba couldn't tear herself away.
"Elphaba, you still with me?" Fiyero asked, waving a hand in front of her face. She didn't react. He looked back at the blonde and laughed. "No way, Elphaba. Don't even go there." He didn't bother to mention that he wanted Elphaba to look at him that way.
A man in a suit suddenly came up beside the blonde, grabbing her arm. They appeared to be arguing, and then the blonde jerked her arm away. Elphaba's brow furrowed; she hated seeing such a beautiful woman in distress. The blonde stalked off and the man followed soon after.
"I gotta meet her, Fiyero," Elphaba said, looking back at her companion.
"Yeah, right. She doesn't even know you exist."
"Judging by the way she was looking at me, I think she does."
"She probably thought you were some strange plant."
Elphaba punched him in the arm for that. "Whatever." She pulled a cigarette from her pocket. "Give me a light."
"That's the sun's job."
Elphaba flipped him off. "Jerk," she said before she reached into his pants pocket, pulling out the lighter. She lit the cigarette before shoving the lighter back where she had found it. "You just wanted me to stick my hand in your pants."
"Ah, you know me so well."
A crewmen walked by, holding the leashes of at least five dogs, all assorted sizes.
"Oh, that's typical. Bringing first class dogs up here to take a shit," Fiyero said, lighting his own cigarette.
Elphaba laughed. "Hey, it lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things."
"Like we could ever forget?"
"Aww, cheer up Yero. We're on the grandest ship ever built. Who's to say what's impossible or not?"
"Society, that's who."
"Yeah, well, screw society. I'm making my own way through life."
I can't take this anymore. The same mindless people… the same mindless conversations… I've held out as long as I can, but now… now I'm so fucking done!
Galinda ran across the ship, tears running down her face. She held up her dress slightly so that it wouldn't impede her movement; Lurline knew her heels were already doing that. The blonde pushed past a couple, not bothering to apologize for her rude behavior. She opened a metal gate and descended down a small flight of stairs before she continued running towards the stern.
Elphaba lay on her back, smoking, as she stared up at the night sky. Oz, the stars were beautiful tonight. The green woman heard running footsteps, accompanied by sobbing, and something flashed by in the corner of her eye. Elphaba sat up and instantly recognized the blonde from earlier. This was interesting.
Galinda hit the back railing and stopped, gasping for air. She looked down at the water below and straightened up slowly. She stepped up onto the railing, and then onto the next bar. She stepped over the top and turned around, holding onto the railing now behind her. She was hanging over the water now… letting go would be so easy… and then it would all be over.
Elphaba watched as the blonde stepped over the railing. She quickly got to her feet and approached the blonde, not fast enough to scare her, but enough to get there before she could let go. "Don't do it," Elphaba said.
Galinda turned towards the voice and saw the green woman from before standing behind her. She had not expected intervention… but it didn't matter. "D-don't come any closer! I'll let go!"
Elphaba wasn't sure what to do, so she decided to call the blonde out. "No you won't."
"What do you mean, no I won't? Don't you tell me what I will and will not do!"
"Well… you woulda done it already."
Galinda had to admit that she had a point there. "Go away! You're distracting me!"
This was not working the way Elphaba had planned. She took her cigarette from her mouth, approaching the railing slowly. She made sure that the blonde saw the cigarette before she threw it over, and took a few steps back. "You know… if you jump… I'm gonna have to go in after you."
"Don't be absurd! You'd be killed!"
"It would hurt, I'm not saying it wouldn't."
"The fall alone would kill you."
Elphaba shrugged as she pulled off her coat. "Maybe, but you know, I'm more concerned about that water being so cold."
Galinda paused. She hadn't considered that. She turned her head slightly. "How cold?"
"Freezing. Maybe a coupla degrees over."
"Why are you green anyway?" Galinda spat, wanting to get off the subject of her own self.
"Well, if you'll come back over, I'll tell you all about it. I can't very well tell you the story with my mouth full of water, now can I?" Elphaba said, removing her boots. She approached slowly, holding a hand out. "Come on. Let me help you back over."
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
"You want to hear about my green skin, right? It's a fascinating story, filled with deceit and affairs and strange magic elixirs. Let me help you back over."
Galinda turned back around slowly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing: this green woman, whom she had never met in her life was willing to jump after her if she let go. This woman actually cared, for some odd reason. The blonde took the green woman's hand.
Elphaba smiled. "Phew. That was a close one. I'm Elphaba Thropp."
"Galinda Upland, of the Upper Uplands."
"I'm gonna need you to write that one down for me."
Galinda's laugh was choked with tears. She started to step up onto the next rail, but her heel caught her dress and before she knew it, she had slipped. Elphaba reacted quickly, grabbing the blonde's arm with both hands.
"Help me!" Galinda screamed.
"I've got you! Look at me!"
The blonde looked up into Elphaba's dark eyes.
"I've got you. I won't let go. Now pull yourself up, come on!" Elphaba started to pull the blonde back up and Galinda grabbed onto the railing, doing her best to help the green woman out. "Come on, pull!" Elphaba finally managed to get the blonde up and she yanked her back over the railing. The two hit the deck, and Elphaba almost fell on the blonde, but she managed to catch herself. She sat back on her heels as Galinda sat up. "You okay?"
"Y-yes. Thank you," Galinda replied, not wanting to think about what could have happened, had Elphaba not caught her. Her eyes suddenly fell on the holster sewn to Elphaba's suspenders, which had formerly been concealed by her coat… and the handgun inside.
Elphaba followed Galinda's gaze. "Oh, don't worry about that."
"A nine millimeter," Galinda said with some fascination as she pulled it from the holster. "Holds twelve rounds, plus one in the chamber." Galinda pulled the magazine out and counted the bullets. "You haven't fired this yet?"
"I haven't had the need to, fortunately," Elphaba said, surprised that a girl like Galinda knew so much about a firearm.
Galinda replaced the magazine with a click and held the firearm out to Elphaba, holding it by the barrel. Elphaba smiled at the blonde as she gripped the handle. There was the sudden sound of another gun being cocked and the green woman froze as she felt metal press against the back of her head.
"I suggest you put that gun down if you want to keep your head."
Elphaba lowered her own gun slowly, placing it on the deck before she raised her hands up to head level.
"Galinda! Are you all right?" Sir Chuffery said, running up to the two. He helped the blonde to her feet before putting his arms around her protectively. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Get on your feet," Avaric said. Elphaba sighed as she stood up, facing the man in the suit. "I found this green-skinned scum holding a gun to Miss Galinda."
"What made you think you could threaten my fiancé?" the man in the suit said angrily. Elphaba didn't reply, but looked at Galinda. "Don't look at her; look at me, you filth!" The green woman did. "Call the master at arms."
"No, wait! It was an accident!" Galinda suddenly said.
Sir Chuffery looked at her. "An accident?"
"Yes. I was standing at the stern and a… man came at me. He had a wild, crazed look in his eyes and I… well, it would have taken a horrible turn, had Miss Thropp not shown up and scared him off… with her firearm."
Sir Chuffery looked at Elphaba. "Well, then… I apologize, Miss Thropp."
"Understandable," Elphaba said. Avaric lowered his own gun as Elphaba kneeled down to pick hers up. She stowed it back in its holster, standing up again.
"Avaric, give Miss Thropp a twenty dollar bill. That should—"
"Twenty dollars?" Galinda said with a laugh. "Is that the going rate for saving the woman you love?"
"Oh, Galinda is unhappy. What to do?" Sir Chuffery thought for a few moments. "Ah, I know." He turned and approached the green woman. "Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow night?"
Elphaba slipped her hands into her pockets. "All right," she said. Even though she was suspicious, she relished the chance the see Galinda again.
"Good. See you then." Sir Chuffery left with Galinda, who turned to look at Elphaba one last time.
Elphaba smiled to herself as she started to put her boots back on.
"It's strange. Miss Galinda was attacked so suddenly, yet you had time to remove your coat and boots," Avaric said before he followed the couple. Elphaba scowled at his back before she straightened up. She shook her head before she too left the scene.
"So, the first day is over… and the Ozma only has four days left."
I open my eyes. "Are you keeping a running timeline?"
"Just trying to keep everything straight."
I chuckle softly. "If you're having trouble already, perhaps we shouldn't continue."
"No, no, that's what the tape recorder is for."
"All right then. Why don't you keep quiet and let me continue?"
Well? Should Glinda continue on?