Author's Note/Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own anything but my own characters. And if you read the book/watched the musical/both, you should know who's mine and who's Gregory Maguire's/L. Frank Baum's. This fanfiction is a sort of mix between musical -and book-verse.
It was dark and stormy, rather unusual for an autumn midday in the Emerald City. Most people were inside their homes, preferring warm solitude to being buffeted about by the winds. Among the few carriages rumbling down the street, one in particular stood out. It was large, that was certain, and ornately decorated with whorls of gold and small emeralds. A treasure box on wheels, it was called. Yet no brigands approached it to pull off the glittering ornaments. For the occupant was far more intimidating. Because, in the small, green-tinted window, you could just barely catch a glimpse of blonde hair and a silver crown.
Glinda hated this kind of weather- it made her hair go frizzy, not to mention, of course, that it was the kind of weather Elphaba would have loved. Not enjoyed, of course, but viewed with a certain cynical satisfaction. But Elphie was gone now, and nothing would change that. It had been almost a decade since the Witch had met her demise at the hands of the Yellow Brick Irregulars. In fact, Glinda was returning from a small chapel on the outskirts of the city. In it was housed a shrine to Saint Aelphaba, where Glinda had burnt a candle and muttered a short prayer for the soul of her friend. The soul that Elphaba always denied having.
The grief was still as sharp as ever, piercing. Every time she saw a black cloak or saw a pointy hat, she thought of Elphaba. Her roomie, her friend, her protector. But all that had changed when Elphie became the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda became her archnemisis, the Good Witch of the North. And all over a stupid pair of shoes. Well, that's what the rest of the world thought. But deep down inside, Glinda held a sort of grudging admiration for her opposite. But things were over, and nothing would ever change that. As the carriage rumbled to a stop at a crossroads, Glinda happened to glance outside.
What she saw chilled her to the bone. Standing at the corner was a girl in a dirty, worn cloak and dress. She carried a book and a bag of groceries. Her face was dirt-stained and filthy- her hair was in worse condition. She glanced up for a second as the blinding brilliance of the gold, white, and emerald stones of the carriage cut through the darkness of even the stormy atmosphere. What made her stand out to Glinda, though, was the girl's skin. Not the texture, but the color. As sure as the sky was blue, the girl on the corner was green.
Glinda signaled to her driver to pull over next to the girl. The other carriage behind them rumbled around them, the driver cursing the idiocy of aristos. The girl didn't even glance up at the carriage, apparently used to being ignored. Glinda waved off the footman who came to help her out of the carriage, and with skill born of years of practice, Glinda gathered her skirts around her and stepped gracefully down into the street, her polished white shoes just barely missing a mud puddle. "Come here, dear. Let me get a good look at you." The girl glanced up and started forward, not uncertain, not nervous, but empathic, with a coldness that chilled Glinda to the bone. The only other person she had known like that- with that cold unyielding outside of stone and the surprisingly delicate inside… well, the times changed, and life did too.
Glinda looked closely at the girl. As sure as Lurlinda made little green apples, that girl was as green as one. Her raven black hair was oily, her face dirtstained. Her cheekbones stood out, as did her chin- was it because of hunger? Or because she had inherited the looks from a parent? Either way, Glinda's mind was made up. "Where do you live, dear?" The girl looked up.
"St. Galinda's Orphanage for Girls, Ma'am." The honorific was delivered with icy calm. Glinda winced. Even the tone of the voice was like Elphaba's.
"Come with me, I'll give you a ride. I'd like to speak to you about- about-" Glinda searched frantically for a reason for the green girl to come with her. "About the conditions at the orphanage. You see, I'm a- donor to the orphanage, and I'd like to stop by. Come inside, it looks like it's about to rain." The girl suddenly snapped her head back, alarmed. The sky was, indeed, getting darker. She nodded civilly to Glinda, then helped the other woman up into the carriage, then following herself. She sat rigidly in the middle of the seat opposite Glinda, unmoving.
Glinda gave the girl another look-over. She certainly deserved a bath- but, what if she was like Elphaba- unable to touch water? Hmm… The girl's glittering black eyes were hardened, windows to what- a soul? Her skin, beneath the grime, was a rich green, not the color of Lurlinemas trees, or the light green of celery- her color was that of the best lettuce there was to buy. Her hair, though oily, was pulled back into a long braid. Her dirty brown frock was obviously worn often, as patches at the shoulders and the extended hem showed. The girl was lanky, bony arms and legs held stiffly to her sides and awkwardly out of Glinda's large skirt. They rode in silence.
The carriage creaked to a stop in front of St. Galinda's Orphanage for Girls. It was certainly dingy, thought Glinda. The outside was crudely whitewashed, and a flea-bitten dog lazily stretched itself, licked a fresh scar on its leg, and yawned, displaying an array of broken teeth.
Glinda eyed it with more than a bit of distaste. She stepped gracefully down from the carriage, this time with the assistance of the footman. The girl followed behind, awkwardly unfolding herself from her uncomfortable position and nearly falling out of the carriage.
She followed Glinda quickly to the doorway and knocked on the door, with the good Witch standing behind her. The footman remained with the carriage, and a voice that was vaguely reminiscent of screeching cats grated at Glinda's ears.
"You're finally back, you useless wretch! I told you to come in the servant's door, you're bad for business! You'd best not have forgott-" the tirade was interrupted when the green girl pushed open the door, and Glinda could be seen. The woman inside, who resembled a, to put it kindly, rat, stopped her screeching and curtsyed clumsily, to the girl's ill-concealed amusement.
"Why- why, Lady Glinda, it's such a surprise and an honor… Well, why don't we stay out here and enjoy the fresh ai-" Glinda interrupted her with a bland smile and airy wave of her hand and pushed her way to the entrance.. The rat-faced woman backed aside, letting Glinda pass, cursing at that green girl for bringing an aristocrat to her place.
"Well, you've caught us unawares, Lady Glinda, forgive us. Come into the parlor, and let's have a cup of tea," the rat-woman said. "Let me introduce myself. I am Madame Titchy, headmistress of this organization to help young orphaned girls. We help them find new homes and loving families." Glinda smiled once more, surreptitiously glancing around her surroundings.
The paint was peeling and yellowed, and a dead cockroach lay in a corner, legs in the air. A dirty cat that was either white or gray sat on a windowsill, and cheap paintings and fake oak furniture filled the parlor. The air was stale, and an unpleasant odor wafted in from the next room, the door to which was behind Madame Titchy. Or perhaps it was the Headmistress herself- Glinda really didn't want to know.
"I'd like to adopt one of your girls, you see, I need a suitable young girl to be my ward… Perhaps you could show me a list of names?" Glinda inquired.
"Well, we don't exactly keep a list, Lady Glinda. I'll call the girls in for you." Madame Titchy rose and went to the door behind her, calling out names. Soon about fifteen girls filed into the room, dirty, unwashed hair tucked underneath caps and bonnets, frayed skirts clutched tightly in their hands.
Glinda pitied the lot of them, standing so bedraggled while their mistress stood before them in badly-styled expensive Gillikin silk. It was quite obvious where the money and donations to the orphanage were going. She looked over all the girls, wishing that she could house and feed all of them, but she searched out the one green face. But the girl wasn't there.
"Madame Titchy, where is the girl who accompanied me here?" The rat-faced woman's brows crinkled.
"She's probably up in some corner somewhere, reading again- all those nonsense books about the origins of good and evil- she'll make some husband a sorry man." Glinda felt her fingers twitch involuntarily in anger at the rude woman, and she smiled a plastic smile.
"May I see her? I'd like to speak with her in person. But first, may I speak with these girls in private?" Madame Titchy's faces spasmed for a moment, then she complied with Glinda's request and backed slowly out the door. Glinda looked at the rows of downcast faces, miserable, pinched with hunger, and dirty. A wave of sadness enveloped her heart.
"Here girls," she said, walking in front of each girl. She pressed a gold coin into each of their hands from her purse. "Don't let Madame Titchy see these, alright?" Glinda smiled, almost sadly- it seemed like an Elphie-ish thing to do. "Now go up to your rooms, like good girls." The girls filed out, smiles just barely concealed, a new bounce to their steps. Just then Madame Titchy entered, followed by the green girl Glinda had met earlier. "Here she is, Lady Glinda. I'll be in the next room if you need me." Madame Titchy made a hasty retreat to the room behind Glinda. The girl sat down in front of Glinda, her eyes downcast.
Glinda looked at her for an unknown length of time, processing her thoughts. Finally the girl looked up.
"Lady Glinda, if I may ask, is there any further need for me to stay?" Glinda was jolted out of her thoughts and jumped visibly.
"My dear-" Glinda stopped. "What is your name?" The green girl looked up, then down.
"I don't have a name." Glinda was shocked, though she did her best to hide it.
"What on earth do you mean?" Glinda asked.
"I don't have a name. I was brought here, and whoever left me here gave me no name." Glinda leaned forward slightly.
"Would you like to leave this place?" The girl was taken aback by the question.
"Why- Lady Glinda, whyever would I want to leave?" Glinda smiled at the girl's verbal tactics.
"Oh, I don't know… But- would you find it pleasing to come and live with me, at my house?" Glinda kept a cautiously diplomatic smile on her lips.
"You wish to adopt me, Lady? I seem far too… drab, for the likes of the aristocracy…" Her voice was laced with bitterness, anger, a touch of sarcasm, and, underneath it all, a whisper of sadness. Glinda smiled gently.
"Don't worry- I know what you're thinking. I won't drag you to balls and parties- in fact, you're free to roam the extensive library that Lord Chuffery and I have collected. I'm sure you're quite bright that way." Glinda smiled.
"It's really not up to me, Lady Glinda. But it would be wonderful to have something new to read…" Glinda smiled at the sudden wistfulness in the girl's eyes.
"Of course. Why don't you go upstairs, pack your things, and say your goodbyes- I'll discuss the rest of the matter with Madame Titchy." Glinda smiled as the girl strode to the steps and away into the darkness of the floor above. Madame Titchy reentered, and Glinda turned to her.
"I'd like to adopt the girl… she has no name. Do you have paperwork to fill out?" Madame Titchy nodded and scuttled away to get the paperwork. Glinda sat in silence for a while, sipping her tea and thinking. What was she going to call the girl? There was only one possible name that sprang up again and again, but…
"Here it is, Lady Glinda," said Madame Titchy as she entered the room. "Sign your name here on the line, and here, and I'll sign my name here, and the girl's name goes here. You can fill it in whenever you wish…" Madame Titchy gestured, signed her name with a sloppy flourish, and sat down. Glinda looked over the papers, signing where needed, smiling plasticly even though she felt repulsed by the woman beside her, who sat sipping expensive coffee while the girls in her care starved. Another idea suddenly struck her.
"Madame Titchy, as a donor to your fine organization, I've noticed that you take good care of your girls, enforcing discipline where needed- girls this age can be rowdy and unpredictable. I respect how you keep them all disciplined and off the streets." Madame Titchy raised one eyebrow in question.
"I'm flattered, Lady Glinda, really," she replied.
"Well, you see, I know that the girls are getting all of your attention, but…" Glinda trailed off.
"Yes, Lady?" inquired Madame Titchy.
"Well, you know- the owner of this fine institution should be rewarded for her work." Glinda smiled conspiratorially at the other woman, while all the time feeling sick to her stomach. "And I know the strains of leading such a large group of girls take their tolls. So, perhaps, you'd accept a few gifts from me?" Madame Titchy picked up the ill-concealed hint.
"Oh Lady Glinda, I couldn't possibly accept, but as an owner of such an extensive institution, I find it necessary, if not just for myself, but for the sake of our reputation as an orphanage." The headmistress gave an oily smile.
"Well, I'd like to make a substantial gift to the orphanage… and, well," Glinda mock-hesitated. Madame Titchy sat forward a little.
"Yes, Lady Glinda?" Glinda smiled to herself.
"Well, I'd like to provide you with enough so that you may live comfortably… And even, perhaps, retire comfortably- I know that it's difficult to raise such a large number of girls as well as you have. I'd be happy to provide a competent assistant who can take your place. She would have to be hard to find, though, and hard-pressed to keep up with your standards." Glinda stopped, just a little worried that she was laying on the compliments too thickly. Madame Titchy was having none of it, though. She smiled and nodded.
"That would be so incredibly kind of you, Lady Glinda." Glinda smiled triumphantly and clinked her cup down onto her tea saucer.
"Well, that's that. I'll arrange everything later. I'd like to finish up with the paperwork now. I need to talk to the girl, to get her opinion. Just give me a moment."
Glinda climbed up the stairs to the upper floor. A rat skittered out of her way, and she gave a soft yelp, composed herself, and continued up the stairs. The dormitory beds were arranged in two rows along either wall of the hallway-like room. The girls stood up from their spots when Glinda entered.
"Don't be ridiculous, dears. Go ahead, I won't bother anyone." Glinda scanned the room; the girl wasn't in there. She spotted another staircase at the end of the room, just beside the washroom door. She glided across the dusty, dirty floor and started to climb. Her skirts were giving her a hell of a time, however. Glinda mumbled a mild expletive and continued up, soon finding herself in an attic of sorts, stocked with dusty books and broken furniture. A bed of sorts was located in a corner, and Glinda saw the girl sitting down on it, clicking shut a hideously old-fashioned suitcase. She seemed sad, almost. Glinda cleared her throat and knocked on the doorframe. The girl snapped her head up, startled at the sudden noise.
"It's just me. I'd like to speak with you, if you will, dear." The girl nodded and smoothed out the threadbare covers on her cot, scooting over to provide Glinda a place to sit. Glinda lowered herself down, folding her hands regally on her lap.
"What is it you'd like to speak about, Lady Glinda?" Glinda fidgeted, just a bit. The girl's dark brown eyes glittered, almost seeming to cut through her.
"First, please stop calling me 'Lady' Glinda. Just call me Glinda. Second, I'd like to talk about your name." The girl nodded.
"You've chosen me to adopt, Lad- Glinda. You have every right to choose my name and my future." The girl's voice was cold and flat. Her eyes flashed suddenly, and she whispered, almost to herself,
"It's not like I've ever had a chance to choose for myself before." Glinda slowly nodded to herself.
"There was once someone very… dear to me. You greatly remind me of her. Her name was… Elphaba." Glinda whispered the last word, remembering the taste of that long-forgotten name, remembering the person before who possessed it. The girl nodded.
"Elphaba. I like it. Call me that, please." Glinda suddenly sensed the girl's well-concealed vulnerability. She armored herself with her cynicism, sarcasm, and wit, but deep inside, she was… just like Elphaba. Glinda rose, determined.
"That shall be that. Come down with me, if you are ready." Glinda swept out of the room and down the stairs. She heard the girl get up and follow her, never once looking back. There in the parlor waited Madame Titchy, with the last of the papers to sign.
"Lady Glinda, please place the girl's name here, and sign here. She shall sign here, below you." Glinda took up the pen, and with a flourish, signed her name. She wrote the girl's full name on the line. Then she handed the pen to the girl. The girl- Elphaba- took it up and dipped it in the ink, then hesitated for just a moment as she looked down at the document that was sealing her life permanently to the aristocratic woman beside her. She scribbled out her name, and Madame Titchy signed the last line.
Glinda climbed gracefully into the carriage.
"Elphaba dear, come in, the rain's about to start." Elphaba nodded, then looked back at the drab building that had been her home for her entire life.
She felt almost sad about leaving. But life would be better almost anywhere, as long as Madame Titchy wasn't there. She hurried down to the carriage, handing her baggage to the footman and clambering awkwardly beside Glinda. As the old orphanage rumbled out of view, the girl smiled, just a touch cynically, and whispered to herself,
"Elphaba Thropp II… Elphaba… I like it."