Hensign went into the library to retrieve the cart from Glinda and Elphaba's dinner after Cook told him that it had not been returned the previous night. He saw the cart covered with linen but also saw the fire still going and wine glasses on the coffee table. That was his clue that one, or perhaps both of the young ladies of the house had fallen asleep in there. With a slight smile on his face, he quietly left the room.
"I take it that the girls are still in there." Samion chuckled when he saw his butler gently closing the doors to the library.
"Good morning sir. I am assuming that at least Miss Elphaba is. I cannot fathom her leaving without tidying up first." Hensign smiled.
"True. Hensign we are going to have a household brunch today. I have already spoken to Cook, but I would like you to invite Sargy, Trezia, Jefet, Gardner and Tymik." Samion said.
"Very good sir, I'll see to it now."
"Thank you." Samion smiled.
Hensign nodded and left to attend to the task. The request to gather the staff for brunch wasn't a new one. It happened once or twice a year to make an important announcement, celebrate a staff milestone or simply because Mr. or Mrs. Upland wanted to. This was a warm, informal, accepting, open and honest household, even for the staff and that was a rarity among the rich and powerful households in Gillikin.
He was fairly certain that this brunch was for an announcement involving the young ladies, and that did not surprise him. Some of things that occurred at Upland Manor intrigued, challenged and on occasion amused him, but rarely surprised him. As he headed out to the carriage house to speak to Jefet, he knew that whatever came out of this brunch would be embraced by the staff. And if it was what he anticipated it to be, they would celebrate it right along with the family, because that is the type of household that Upland Manor was.
X
Glinda's eyes blinked open and she grinned as she took stock. A crackling fire, sparkled ceiling, a ring on her finger, a ring on Elphie's finger, that could only mean one thing. Last night wasn't a dream; she was engaged to her precious Elphie. She knew from Elphie's breathing and how her arms were just draped over her that her love was still asleep and it made her smile. Glinda knew exactly how she wanted to begin the morning and started to carefully turn around so she could face Elphie, hopefully without waking her. She moved a little too far over however, and fell off of the sofa tugging on Elphie's shirt as she went.
"Well that didn't go as planned." She huffed then heard Elphie mutter and saw her start to sit up.
"Lyndie?" Elphie said with a hint of her morning grump peeking through the confusion and concern.
"Down here Elphie." Glinda smiled, finding the amusement in the situation.
"What in Oz are you doing on the floor?" Elphie grumbled as she tried to orient.
"I fell off the sofa." Glinda said sitting up.
"Fell? My sweet, are you injured?" Elphie said snapping into reality as she reached down for Glinda.
"Not injured, but I am upset. I had such a good plan." Glinda grinned mischievously.
"Well tell me my part in it and we will start again." Elphie smiled.
"Go back to sleep, but hold on to me." Glinda chuckled.
"All right." Elphie chuckled as they maneuvered themselves back into position and got settled.
"Are you asleep yet?" Glinda giggled after playing with Elphie's fingers for a few beats.
"Yes." Elphie said and Glinda giggled more as she started to turn in Elphie's arms.
Elphie held onto her as promised and soon felt the shift complete. Then she felt soft lips against her cheek then against her lips.
"Elphie." Glinda murmured then whisper-kissed her. Elphie grumbled something and shifted slightly, just as she knew she was supposed to do.
"My love, wake up." Glinda said was she continued to brush her lips over Elphie's cheek and lips.
"Why?" Elphie grumped.
"Because I want to kiss you awake on our first morning of being engaged." Glinda cooed.
"That's as good a reason as any, I guess." Elphie said then opened her eyes and smiled as she pressed her forehead to Glinda's.
"Good morning my beautiful fiancée." Elphie whispered and Glinda beamed.
"Good morning to you too my beautiful fiancée." Glinda said then kissed Elphie in earnest.
"Lyndie, it's not that I don't want to do this…" Elphie started but was interrupted with lips brushing hers.
"Because I really do." She tried to talk again, but with the same result.
"But not here. Everyone is home and probably up and about." Elphie said then gently kissed Glinda's pout.
"Oh fine. You're right, but we are engaged now you know." Glinda said.
"I don't think even that would save me, should someone come in and see us entangled like this. Or even worse, franticly trying to disentangle." Elphie chuckled.
"Hmmm. Good point." Glinda giggled.
"But let's remember that franticly disentangling thing for future reference."
Glinda and Elphie managed to get up off of the sofa in spite of Glinda's particular type of assistance. Assistance that was also not quite so helpful as they straightened out their rumpled clothes fussed with Glinda's disheveled hair and tried to find their shoes and stockings. Elphie was laughing at Glinda walking around in her dress boots when a knock on the door made her jump.
"Come on in." Glinda called as she stroked Elphie's cheek.
"Good morning my darlings." Gwenot smiled.
"Good morning Gwenot." Elphie said with a blush.
"Morning Momsie, guess what?" Glinda said as she bounced over to hug her mother.
"You became engaged last night?" Gwenot laughed lightly.
"We did!" Glinda giggled.
"And Byjon's gift was another one of Walik's wonderful songs."
"What a wonderful gift. Byjon cherished those recordings."
"It was beautiful, and fit us so well. We danced and sang. It was a perfect night. A just plain perfect night." Glinda sighed happily as she took Elphie's hand.
"And this morning wasn't so bad either." She giggled.
"Except for you falling off the sofa." Elphie smiled, still blushing.
"Oh yeah, but that ended well." Glinda bounced.
"I'm glad to hear it. Now, Cook is preparing a marvelous brunch buffet and the staff has been invited." Gwenot said with an amused smile.
"Staff?" Elphie said, her confusion evident.
"So we can tell them Elphie, is that okay?" Glinda said feeling her love's defenses start to rise.
"It's fine, having brunch with the staff just never occurred to me." Elphie said sincerely.
"Oh we do this from time to time, for various reasons. This reason will delight them, I promise." Gwenot said reassuringly and Glinda nodded her confirmation.
"Maybe later today we can discuss the formal announcement and your engagement party." She continued and Glinda felt Elphie's defenses strengthen.
"Elphie and I need to talk about it first, is that okay?" Glinda asked as she stroked the back of Elphie's hand.
"Of course darling, of course. Why don't you go get changed, brunch is in an hour and a half or so." Gwenot said sensing some very conflicting things from Elphie.
"Okay Momsie, I can't wait." Glinda said.
"These brunches are always fun, even more so with something to celebrate. I'll see you two soon." Gwenot said and gave Elphie a warm hug, then Glinda.
X
"Your emotions shifted so rapidly, I couldn't help but feel them. What is the matter my love?" Glinda said when they were upstairs in her room.
"Lyndie, brunch is fine, it really is. You can even do the honors." Elphie smiled.
"But?" Glinda said after giving Elphie a gentle kiss.
"My precious girl, I don't want to upset you when you are so happy. But we cannot make a formal announcement; even having a party might not be a good idea, yet anyway. I need to tell Harluc first, so he will know how to handle any fallout. And I need to tell my family. My father will disown me and Nessa more than likely will as well, but I want to tell them myself. Please Lyndie, can these formal, very public things wait, just until I can do that?" Elphie said miserably.
"Once again that place is dictating my life." She added bitterly.
"Elphie, my love, I understand. I really do. It's okay." Glinda said sincerely then kissed Elphie softly and stroked her cheek. She ached to just hold her, but knew that her love was not in a coddleable state.
"How can it be?" Elphie said with irritation at the situation.
"It's not like we have to keep our engagement a secret. We will tell the house today and my family when we visit them, our friends when we get back to Shiz, so it's okay. And even if only my parents could know for now, it wouldn't matter to me Elphie. You proposed to me. I got to propose to you, we accepted. That is all that matters my love. I promise." Glenda said gently.
"All right, I can accept that, for now. But my precious girl you will have…we will have our formal announcement and a party with whomever you want there. I not only want it, I need it." Elphie smiled.
"And what fun we will have planning it all. The party is our official presentation; it's a big deal. And you know, I just thought of something. Manif is going to love this. Let the teasing begin." Glinda giggled.
"As if he doesn't have enough things already." Elphie smiled but Glinda could feel her emotions trying to settle.
"My love, last night I had what I needed to let this all settle and become real, staying there in the library in your arms. Now it is your turn to have what you need to help it settle in. Some time to process it." Glinda smiled.
"Lyndie, last night was important to me as well." Elphie said.
"I know Elphie, I know. But not for the same reasons. Why don't you go run me a bath, then go off to your room for some real alone time." Glinda said.
"All right, but first this." Elphie smiled and pulled Glinda into a very intricate kiss.
"You're right, first things first." Glinda grinned when they parted.
Elphie went in to run Glinda's bath, thinking about how much she enjoyed this simple task. She watched from the bathroom doorway as Glinda disrobed and allowed herself to enjoy that as well. But she noticed that Glinda seemed pensive.
"Lyndie, is something wrong?" Elphie said as Glinda came toward her with a little frown on her face.
"My engagement ring. I don't know if I should remove it or not. Momsie said she used to when she washed her hair, because it was a little loose, but I don't think she does now. I don't want to take it off, ever." Glinda sniffled and Elphie held her.
"I have an idea. Why don't I remove it for you, just to be safe. Then when you are finished, I'll slip it right back on." Elphie smiled then patted her bare bottom gently.
"And we'll ask your mother about it later."
"That's a good idea Elphie." Glinda said.
Elphie kissed her while she removed her ring then helped her into her steamy bubble bath.
"It will be right here." Elphie said laying it on her pillow.
"Just come over when you are finished and I will put it back where it belongs."
"And hopefully I will never have to take it off again." Glinda said firmly.
"Hopefully not. Enjoy your bath Lyndie. I love you." Elphie smiled and blew Glinda a kiss.
"I love you too." Glinda smiled and blew bubbles at Elphie.
X
Nusee was waiting in the hallway in his 'it's about time' posture.
"Good morning Nuisance. I apologize for not coming back upstairs last night, but I was rather occupied." Elphie smiled as she picked up the kitten.
"I proposed and it went very well. So well in fact, that Glinda proposed to me too. " She said then chuckled as her Familiar pawed at the ring on her finger. She sat down on her sofa and looked at her engagement ring after Nusee gave it a sniff and batted it again.
"I know…it seems odd that I would be wearing something so beautiful and precious given to me by someone even more beautiful and precious. I was worried last night, because I have never worn a ring and the one bracelet I have annoys me. This is the hand I do almost everything with, and I guess time will tell if it will bother me when I work or write. But I think I can get used to this, I want to get used to it. It feels right Nuisance, like it's always been here."
Elphie continued to process out loud, even after Nusee's interest shifted to his little mouse, which he had hidden under Elphie's bed. When she noticed the kitten playing some sort of pouncing game with his toy, she shifted to internal processing. She thought about telling her family and a knot formed in her stomach. Not because of how her father and Nessa would react, or the fact that Nanny and Shell might be hurt by her announcement. The knot was formed because the one thing she could not give her Lyndie was a warm and loving welcome from future in-laws. She tried to focus on possibility that her brother and Nanny might eventually accept them, but the more she thought about it the less likely it seemed, so eventually she just put it away. Sensing that his witch was disturbed by something, Nusee dropped his favorite toy into her lap.
"Are you bringing me this for a reason?" Elphie asked and Nusee nuzzled her hand.
"Well, for whatever reason you did, thank you, I think." She started to say more but was interrupted when Glinda opened her door and came bouncing in wearing only a towel and a big smile.
"I'm finished." Glinda announced happily.
"You are?" Elphie chuckled.
"With my bath, yes." Glinda grinned as she held out both hands, with her ring in the right.
"Ah, I see." Elphie said as she took the ring.
"Put it on like you took it off?" Glinda asked in a whisper.
Elphie drew Glinda to her slowly and caressed her cheek with her thumb. She kissed her slowly, with ardor as she slipped the engagement ring back into its rightful place. Then she put her arms around her and kissed her until she heard that special little combination sigh/moan/whimper.
"Wow." Glinda breathed as she leaned against Elphie for support.
"How was that?" Elphie said after a few beats.
"Wow." Glinda grinned then she looked at her hand and giggled.
"Maybe we should try again with more 'putting it on' and less 'like you took it off'." She chuckled as she held up her hand with her ring on her index finger.
"I got it on the correct hand at least." Elphie smiled as she removed the ring for another try.
She kissed Glinda's hand and put the ring back on its proper finger then kissed her again.
"Not that I haven't enjoyed this, but it might be best if this stays put."
"I couldn't agree more. I'm not naked now." Glinda grinned.
"Actually my sweet…." Elphie started with a smile.
"I know what you are going to say and if you say it, I'll become so." Glinda wiggled happily.
"I'm not sure if that's a promise posing as a threat or a threat posing as a promise." Elphie chuckled.
"Either way, I need to bathe and you need to dress."
"Details, details, but fine." Glinda giggled as made a suggestive show of going over to Elphie's wardrobe and selecting her an outfit.
"You are impossible." Elphie laughed.
"And border-line indecent."
"I'm adorable, and engaged." Glinda giggled.
"You were like this before we were engaged." Elphie pointed out.
"Yes but now it's official." Glinda said then kissed Elphie on the way to the door.
"I can't argue with that. You are officially impossible." Elphie chuckled.
Glinda looked at her with an impish grin and opened the front of her towel. She wiggled her hips, jiggled her breasts and giggled.
"And you have just been officially iggled." Glinda said with a playful lilt in her voice as Elphie looked at her with arched eyebrows and a slight smile.
Glinda closed her towel, blew Elphie a kiss then opened the door and skipped across the hallway. Elphie stood staring at Glinda's closed door for a few beats then exhaled sharply before she closed her door.
"Sweet Oz. Just put that away and maybe you'll stop blushing before brunch." Elphie muttered to herself as she walked to the bathroom.
X
"I am sorry Elphie, but your coloring has almost returned to normal." Glinda giggled as she and Elphie walked hand in hand down the hall towards the staircase.
"I told you no apologies are necessary for being your adorable, uninhibited, impossible self." Elphie smiled.
"Okay, I'll apologize for the timing." Glinda chuckled.
"That I will accept." Elphie said then stopped at the bottom of the steps.
"I'm a little nervous Lyndie." She said quietly.
"Come my love." Glinda said pulling Elphie towards the parlor.
"Unpronounceable scientific name alert." She giggled pointing up as she stopped in the doorway and Elphie smiled then kissed her.
"Why are you nervous Elphie? The staff loves you." Glinda said.
"I'm adjusting to that fact, but I don't think that is it. I don't know why."
"I think it's okay to be a little nervous Elphie. Why don't we talk a walk this afternoon, maybe to the garzebo and just spend some quiet time?" Glinda said.
"I thought that you wanted to go shopping and check on our costumes." Elphie said.
"It will keep until tomorrow. Remember those plans were made BE." Glinda giggled lightly.
"BE?"
"Before engagement." Glinda said with a chuckle.
"True, but then again almost everything in our lives is BE." Elphie smiled.
"There you are girls. Are you ready for brunch and your first announcement." Gwenot said from the doorway.
"We are. Elphie was a little nervous."
"That's understandable darling, but I hope that it is not overwhelming." Gwenot said.
"It's not, I'm fine." Elphie smiled.
"I'm glad. I'll tell everyone that the guests of honor are on the way. The buffet looks wonderful." Gwenot smiled.
"We will be right behind you. Oh and Momsie, do you have time to talk with us after brunch?" Glinda said.
"Certainly darling." Gwenot smiled then left.
"Ready to go tell the household that we are engaged to be married?" Glinda grinned.
"I'm ready for you to. I'm ready for you to sparkle my precious. To bubble, bounce and wiggle with utter delight when you tell people you care about that you are to be married."
"Not just married, but married to the most wonderful, fabulous, sweet, intelligent and beautiful girl in all of Oz." Glinda sighed.
"Then let's go find her so we can make the announcement and eat. I am a little hungry." Elphie said with a merry twinkle in her eye.
"Found her!" Glinda giggled as she held up Elphie's hand.
"I'm happy that you are not so nervous now."
"I'm not." Elphie said as she swung their arms before pulling Glinda towards the door.
"Convenient custom alert." Elphie chuckled pointing up to doorframe.
"I never realized the full potential of this custom until now." Glinda said after a rather nice kiss.
"It will make us late for things if nothing else." Elphie smiled but was shushed with another kiss.
X
"Hi everyone, sorry we took so long. But there was mistletoe and I've never been one to defy tradition." Glinda giggled.
"Unless it suits her to of course." Elphie said with a chuckle and a blush.
"Ignore her, she thinks that she can get away with anything now that we are engaged." Glinda bubbled holding up her hand and bouncing on her heels.
"Elphie proposed to me last night!" She added beaming from ear to ear.
"I did. And then she did." Elphie smiled as she held up her hand, flushing furiously.
Cook put her hands over her mouth as she let out a delighted laugh. Sargy clapped her hands together and Trezia let out a little squeal. The surprise and real excitement was evident on their faces. The men were more subdued but no less thrilled with the announcement. For a moment, there was a buzz of happy murmurings then Hensign spoke up.
"Congratulations Miss Galinda and Miss Elphaba." He said with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.
"Oh my yes." Cook said as she got up to hug Glinda.
"This is joyous news. Congratulations my dear girls." She said after giving both of them a firm hug and kiss on the cheek.
"It is indeed!" Sargy said with a broad grin.
"Absolutely." Trezia agreed.
"Yes, congratulations Misses." Jefet smiled and Gardner and Tymik smiled and echoed the sentiment.
"If I may, I would like to propose a toast." Hensign said. He had filled glasses with juice and nectar for Elphie during the congratulations.
"Of course Hensign." Samion smiled.
"Miss Galinda, Miss Elphaba; on behalf of the staff of Upland Manor I would like to congratulate you on your engagement and we all wish you every happiness. To the young ladies of the house and the happy news of their betrothal." The butler's words were rather formal, but his tone of voice conveyed sincerity and support.
"Here, here." Everyone at the table said as they completed the toast ritual.
"Thank you, all of you. " Glinda sniffled.
"Thank you for accepting and supporting us, it means a great deal to both of us." She added after a hand squeeze and a smile from Elphie, who could only nod her agreement.
"To us as well. Mrs. Upland and I could not be more elated that we are gaining another daughter. This household has much to be grateful for and much to look forward to. Now let's celebrate this wonderful news by sharing a superb meal." Samion smiled.
As everyone made their way to the buffet table, there were more congratulations. The men shook hands with the girls and Sargy and Trezia gave them both light hugs and big smiles. The girls were treated with a relaxed type of formality that still confused Elphie a little, but with Glinda's hand in hers, she accepted the well wishes of people who meant a great deal to her love and her parents with shy grace.
After plates were loaded up with eggs, waffles, fruit, sweet breads, breakfast meats and potatoes, the conversation turned to the charity event the day before. They all talked about their contribution and how much fun they had. Glinda had a wonderful time teasing them about unwittingly helping Elphie to be sneaky. Elphie participated a little and outwardly appeared to be at ease, but as brunch progressed, Glinda could feel her mood shifting. Because of school, Glinda had not been able to participate in a household brunch for quite some time and as much as she was enjoying this one, she was glad when it was over because she knew that Elphie was at her limit. After another round of congratulations, including a weepy hug from Cook, Glinda took Elphie down to the parlor to wait for her parents.
"I'm not sure what's wrong, so don't ask." Elphie said tiredly as she sat down on the sofa.
"Elphie, really. I wasn't planning on it. I was merely going to put myself in your arms, snuggle close and play with our rings." Glinda smiled as she did just that.
"My fingers are going to start to feel neglected." Elphie said after a bit then kissed Glinda's temple.
"I would never allow that to happen. These fingers are my favorite playthings."
"My lips are deciding whether to feel relieved or offended." Elphie said.
"Well I'm hoping offended, but I'll not huff about it. I'll just wait until a more appropriate time before apologizing to them for misspeaking. I meant to say one of my favorite playthings." Glinda giggled.
"I'm sure they will appreciate that, sometimes they can be a little sensitive about these things." Elphie chuckled.
"Awwww. " Glinda said and shifted to give Elphie a very soft kiss.
"Don't be upset precious lips." She said as she ran her finger over them.
"We'll talk about it."
Glinda broke down into a fit of giggles and the sound of it soothed Elphie as nothing else could.
Samion and Gwenot came in a few minutes later to find their daughter in the grips of a giggle fit and Elphie shaking her head and chuckling.
"Hello Samion and Gwenot. Glinda is amused." Elphie said.
"So we see." Samion chuckled.
"Care to share the mirth little one?"
"Hi Momsie and Daddy." Glinda said as she tried to reign in her giggles.
"I would share, but I'm not sure how. It involves playthings, fingers, lips and unpronounceable names for mistletoe." Glinda said as she sat up wiping tears from her eyes.
"It does?" Elphie said in amusement.
"My original comment sort of snowballed." Glinda grinned.
"Apparently."
"See Gwen, I told you that we've fed her too much." Samion chuckled.
"Oh hush Daddy." Glinda grinned at their old joke.
"So what did you need to discuss my darlings?" Gwenot said.
"A few things. First is ring protocol." Glinda smiled.
Glinda explained to her mother about what had happened at bath time. She was very relieved to find out that her ring had been given a good going over not too long ago and was in excellent shape. Gwenot explained to her that as a general rule of thumb, engagement rings were only removed as a matter of necessity and that she would know when such occasions arose. She told them about how Jilla removed her wedding and engagement rings when she did certain potions because the metal interfered somehow and how Greda rarely had cause to remove hers at all.
"Good, because I never want to take mine off, never ever." Glinda said with conviction.
"I think I'm adapting to mine very well." Elphie said.
"I've never worn a ring before. I told Nusee that it felt right though."
"Oh Elphie, that's so romantic." Glinda sighed.
"Your father hadn't either. He kept taking it off. He even lost it once." Gwenot chuckled.
"Daddy, you didn't!" Glinda said.
"Not lost, misplaced. It was back on my finger in three days. And I was back in her good graces in four." Samion laughed.
"He has Hensign to thank for that. He found it in one of Samion's vest pockets." Gwenot smiled.
"But enough of that, Have your ring concerns been addressed Galinda?" Samion said stressing the your.
"Yes Popsicle, they have." Glinda giggled.
"Fine then, moving on." Samion chuckled and Gwenot gave him an amused glance.
"They are going to continue this later." Glinda giggled softly to Elphie, who smiled and blushed.
"The second item is that Elphie and I would rather stay here today and take a walk instead of going shopping." Glinda said.
"That's fine darling, there is plenty of time for shopping and the costume shop is well stocked. Are you browsing or do you know what you want to wear to the Ball." Gwenot asked.
"I know." Glinda giggled.
"I do not." Elphie smiled and Gwenot arched an eyebrow.
"But I'm confidant that I will at some point."
"I haven't told her, because it will be easier to show her than explain it to her." Glinda smiled.
"My costume requires an explanation? Doesn't that defeat the point?" Elphie said.
"Have you ever heard of a gypsy skirt?" Glinda asked.
"No."
"Then it does require an explanation and that is the point." Glinda chuckled.
"As you wish Lyndie." Elphie laughed.
"As much as possible, yes." Glinda giggled and her mother chuckled.
"Why don't we put this in the Elphaba is a good sport category and move on." Samion laughed.
"Why is that I am never the good sport? Never mind…moving on." Glinda grinned.
"Our last thing is the formal announcement of our engagement."
"Let me Glinda, it's my fault." Elphie said her mood shifting again.
"It's not fault Elphie, it just is." Glinda said as she stroked Elphie's hand.
"I need to tell Harluc and my father before any formal announcement can be made. I'm sorry.
"Oh Elphaba darling, no apologies, please." Gwenot said.
"Finding out that their Heir Apparent is engaged to be married to someone of her same gender is not likely to go over well in Munchkinland. I hate that it is dictating my actions, but I don't want it to undo everything I've tried to do to help Nessa and get out from under Colwen Grounds. Harluc needs fair warning to deal with it."
"That is very reasonable." Gwenot said reassuringly.
"I want to tell my father in person. He will disown me, but there is a part of me that wants him to know that I'm happy and that I know how to love and be loved." Elphie said softly.
"Oh my darling." Gwenot said.
"Elphaba, perhaps we could invite your father here. If he sees you with Galinda together as a couple and talks to us about it, it might help him understand a little better." Samion said and Elphie blanched at the thought.
"Oh Oz no!" She said in a fearful exhale.
"I do not mean to be disrespectful and I appreciate that offer more than I can say, but no."
"All right Elphaba. We would never insist on something like this, but want you to know that we are on your side, always. We will support you in whatever manner you need us to." Gwenot said reassuringly.
"Honestly, if I thought that it had a chance of helping, even just a little. I would agree, but it won't." Elphie said.
"I have to agree with her, it wouldn't help." Glinda sniffled.
"All right my darlings, we trust your judgment. Samion and I really do understand your need to do this Elphaba and any announcement or other formal engagement things will be put on hold until your say so."
"Thank you." Elphie said, her relief obvious.
"It is your engagement, you do have some say in what happens." Gwenot chuckled lightly, hoping to lighten the mood. Glinda giggled and Elphie relaxed a little.
"But only a little." Glinda grinned then kissed Elphie's cheek.
X
"I should have let you tell your parents." Elphie said as they walked to the garzebo. It was very chilly and they were both bundled up, except for their hands, which were clasped together inside the pocket of Elphie's winter cloak. Nusee was tucked away inside, with his little head poking through a gap in the fasteners.
"Elphie what you told them was perfect, they understand sweetheart, I promise." Glinda said. Elphie had been brooding about it since they left the parlor to gather the things they wanted to take with them, even after more reassurances from Samion and Gwenot.
"I do not want him here, at all. I don't want him to infect this place with is condemnation and vitriol. He wouldn't only lash out at me; he would lash out at them, and the staff…and you. I can't allow that here. Not here in the only real home I've ever had. I just can't." Elphie said angrily. Glinda let her brood until they got to the garzebo and were sitting on the sofa in the breakfast on the patio section.
"My love, listen to me please." Glinda said softly after Nusee was let out and had scampered away.
"My parents, especially my mother, understand that you need to handle this in your own way, in your own time. And we have the time sweetheart, plenty of time so there is no need for you to rush to do anything until you are very ready."
"One of the things that I realized bothered me, when I was thinking earlier is that I can't give you a warm loving welcome from in-laws, like I've had." Elphie said her anger shifting into other emotions.
"Elphie, that is not something that is yours to give. And it wasn't mine to give you. My parents gave it to you because they got to know you and love you."
"But you will never have it."
"I do not need it my love. And I am not the only person who has been rejected by their in-laws. Even though I do not know your father as you do, I've read his words, seen his actions. And I have felt the things that he feels. I know how incredibly complicated this is for you and I know how conflicted you are about it. But Elphie, I need you to understand that I am okay with the fact that the only in law that I might have is a brother in law. And I agree with the need to hold off on the formal announcement of our engagement and our party until you settle things at Colwen Grounds. When we do those things, it needs to be right, for both of us. I will accept nothing less." Glinda said with a slight smile then kissed Elphie softly.
"You are very adamant about together things." Elphie said.
"I am. They are important and very precious. And have been known to be fun." Glinda chuckled feeling Elphie's mood ease.
"I love you Lyndie, very much. And I know that you are correct. Sometimes the extreme dichotomy between here and there just overwhelms me."
"I understand. It confounds me too." Glinda grinned.
They cuddled together and talked more for a time, then Elphie paced a little, with Nusee at her heels as she tried to process everything that Glinda, and her parents had said. Nusee paced with her for a time, but ended up scampering back over to the sofa and into the warm folds of Glinda's cloak. Glinda sketched and played with Nusee until Elphie came back over. She was more settled and Glinda could feel that she had accepted some things and simply resigned herself to others.
Since Elphie didn't want to discuss it any more, they talked about other things; the brunch, the staffs' reactions, possible reactions of various family members, even how they woke up. When a series of gentle talk related kisses seemed to taper off, a giggling Glinda pulled a sprig of mistletoe out of her art satchel and held it up as kiss motivation. When Nusee started to jump for it, Elphie mentioned that it might make him sick if he actually ingested it, so to be safe Glinda brought out her wand, floated the sprig up and magically attached it to the roof beam. It took her a few tries to get it right, but she was delighted to play with a new precision spell.
Elphie rewarded her with a very substantial kiss then they settled into some alone but together time, except instead of reading Elphie practiced her flute. Glinda was delighted and sketched Elphie's scales and the other little melodies that she heard. She could not play for very long because of the cold, but promised that she would practice some everyday, or at least try to.
In spite of the chilliness, neither girl was ready to go back to the house. They took the long way to go get a blanket from one of the bench storage places then snuggled together under it, with Nusee burrowed in warm and cozy.
"Elphie, I'd like to tell Minka about us." Glinda said after some quiet snuggling.
"Certainly my sweet, feel free." Elphie said then kissed her love's temple.
"Minnie, Elphie proposed last night. It was so romantic and perfect." Glinda sighed then proceeded to elaborate.
Elphie listened intently as Glinda recounted every little detail of the previous night. She heard the excitement and the happy sniffles and relived those wonderful memories right along with her love. When called upon Elphie happily showed off her ring, told about how she had asked permission and how nervous she had been, but was more than content to just to listen through her love's eyes. Reliving the romance of their proposal made Glinda feel amorous so they shifted a not happy Nusee to another warm spot and snuggled further under the blanked for what Glinda called some engagement style making out. She deemed the layers of extra clothing a fun challenge as opposed to a hindrance and had a great deal of giggly fun rising to the challenge.
They lost all track of time and only knew how late it had gotten when they heard the bell ring. They gathered their things and Elphie tried to refasten Glinda's cloak.
"I think that I'll just leave it undone." Glinda said with a sly smile.
"At least I can take this kind of lukewarm bath." Elphie chuckled as she got Nusee settled under her partially open cloak and Glinda kissed her with vigor and laughed with sheer delight at the thought.
X
"I prepared a very special dessert in honor of your engagement." Cook said to Glinda and Elphie after a leisurely, fun and sumptuous meal.
"Oh Cook, how sweet of you. I love your special desserts."
"Well this one is a new gourmet one I learned from my sister. It's a clafouti."
"I've had clafouti before, at Colwen Grounds. It was like a baked custard, cherries baked in a special type of batter. It was delicious." Elphie said.
"Sounds wonderful." Glinda said.
"We have experimented with different fruits. This is with roasted figs and pears. Something for both of you." Cook chuckled.
They all tried the new dessert, proclaimed it to be a triumph and Glinda gave Cook a huge hug. The dinner conversation about the last Masquerade Ball and some things planned for the upcoming one continued as they all ate too much of the delicious treat. After dinner, they went into the music room for some family time.
There was a fire going and they way it reflected in the mirrored tiles made the room seem even more warm and friendly. They talked about the events of the day as they sipped some sort of after dinner drink. Then Samion played the piano and everyone sang along. Elphie showed them the new things she could play on her flute and even took a shy bow as she accepted her ovation.
"Excuse us." Glinda said urgently after a glance at clock during a conversation about Elphie's tutor.
"Lyndie…" Elphie said as Glinda pulled her through the music room.
"We'll be right back." Glinda grinned on the way out of the door.
"Whatever it is it's good." Gwenot chuckled to a very confused Samion.
"Glinda where are we going?" Elphie said as she all but ran beside her giggling love.
"Here." Glinda said as they went into the library, coming to a halt in front of the fireplace.
"Made it!" She added triumphantly gazing into Elphie eyes.
"In less than two minutes we will have been engaged for one whole day." Glinda grinned.
"Ah, I see." Elphie smiled and caressed Glinda's cheek. They gazed and caressed until the clock chimed.
"Happy anniversary my fiancée." Elphie whispered.
"Happy anniversary my fiancée." Glinda echoed the kissed Elphie softly.
Elphie responded to the kiss and very slowly, very deliberately they deepened it. When they parted, Glinda gave Elphie one soft kiss for every hour of engagement then they shared another complex, intricate kiss.
"Sorry we just ran out." Glinda said when they rejoined Samion and Gwenot fifteen minutes later.
"Technically, I was pulled out." Elphie smiled.
"Fine. I wanted to celebrate the exact moment of our one day anniversary in the library." Glinda giggled.
"Your father waited a week before he declared an anniversary." Gwenot smiled.
"What did you do?" Glinda asked.
"I took my beautiful bride to be dancing." Samion smiled.
"Oh how romantic, dancing." Glinda wiggled happily.
"Would you care to dance my beautiful bride to be?" Elphie smiled as she curtsied.
"I'd love to my beautiful bride to be." Glinda responded with a curtsy and they walked into the dancing area as Samion put on some music.
Elphie and Glinda danced a perfect waltz in honor of their engagement then watched as Samion and Gwenot did the same. They all danced together, changing partners frequently and enjoying themselves immensely. Glinda pouted a bit when Samion and Gwenot excused themselves because it was getting late. But she understood that her father had to go to work, and her mother had a meeting in the morning. Elphie and Glinda stayed and danced for a while after their parents left, but the realization of how late it really was eventually hit them and they waltzed their way upstairs.
X
"I had a wonderful time this evening." Elphie said as they snuggled on Glinda's sofa in their nightdresses.
"It was perfect. We will have lots of these nights Elphie and other perfect nights, the possibilities are endless." Glinda sighed happily and shifted around for another kiss.
They had been sharing kisses and caresses for quite awhile, between short times of talking about dancing, but this time Glinda initiated something more vigorous. She invited Elphie to respond by caressing her cheeks and gently tugging on her earlobe with her teeth. Elphie responded by slowly tracing Glinda's favorite route from her cheek to her lips by way of the nape of her neck then kissed her with passion and purpose.
"Do you feel different Elphie?" Glinda said when their round of explorative, fervent kisses ended.
"Now that you are engaged?"
"I do, in a way. I feel…it's silly."
"No my love, what?" Glinda said encouraging Elphie with a soft kiss to her temple.
"I feel permanent, like I'm finally a constant in my own life. I think it's a function of trusting myself to do this, but I'm not entirely sure."
"I sort of get that. I feel different too. It's like I've just been let into an exclusive club and now I have to learn all the rules. It's exhilarating." Glinda said.
"We both need to learn those rules, I think."
"Yippee, more study snuggles." Glinda wiggled in Elphie's arms and searched out a kiss then yawned.
"Good to know your trusty alarm still functions."
"We'd have a lot more playtime without them." Glinda pouted.
"We never would have survived without them." Elphie clarified after she kissed the pout.
It took more than fifteen minutes to perform the usual tucking into bed rituals, but eventually Glinda declared herself sufficiently kissed, caressed and tucked, at least until morning. Elphie blew her a kiss at the door, turned off the light then climbed into her own bed with a book.
She was tired, but not sleepy so she thought about how many different types of cozy and warm she was feeling as she scratched Nusee's ears. When he was curled up and purring, Elphie opened one of her accelerated studies program test preparation books to study.
She wasn't at it too long when she heard a noise. She put down her book to listen and heard it again. As she was getting up to go check on Glinda, Glinda came through her door with tears streaming down her face.
"Lyndie, my precious what is wrong?" Elphie said as she hurried over to gather her up.
"I was thinking about study snuggles." Glinda choked back a sob as she tried to talk.
"It hit me that I can't not ever take my ring off, because we can't wear our engagement rings at Shiz." She said then let the sobs escape as she buried her head against Elphie.
