(Year -5)
Relief rushed into Galinda upon seeing Elphaba in Doctor Dillamond's laboratory because she had not seen her roommate since morning when they left their dorm room. Her green-skinned friend was clearing up her workspace, labeling some vials of extracts from a recently concluded experiment and humming a happy tune.
That's odd.
"Elphie!" she called out, worry evident in her voice.
Elphaba looked at her friend and smiled. She gestured for her to come into the lab. "Hey Galinda. What brings you here?" she asked.
Her expression was different from what Galinda was expecting, especially after hearing the news about Goat professor's dismissal from the Shiz University faculty.
"I just wanted to make sure you're alright," the blonde answered.
"Oh, never better!" Elphaba answered effortlessly, while removing her gloves. She picked out a green envelop from her bag and handed it to Galinda. "Take a look at this."
Galinda's eyes widened. She frantically snatched the item from Elphaba and inspected the letter in it. Elphaba simply watched as her friend's eyes hovered over the piece of parchment.
"An invitation from His Ozness, himself?! Elphaba Thropp, you're really going to the Emerald City! I'm so proud of you!" Galinda enclosed her friend in a bear hug.
Elphaba did not anticipate the strength of her petite friend. "Gah… Galinda. Can't. Breathe."
"Oops. Sorry," Galinda said sheepishly. "I just can't help it, Elphie! I'm so excited for you!"
Still ecstatic because of the invitation, Elphaba simply let it pass. "All this time, I've felt so helpless, Galinda. Doctor Dillamond has been fighting his battles alone," she started. "But I might be able to help him now. Isn't it great?"
Giddy with excitement and high hopes for the future, the ladies giggled and hugged each other, both of them simply too happy to mind that Elphaba looked out of character.
Galinda clapped her hands as she formed plans in her mind. "Ooh! I know! This Friday, before you go, we should be out festivating!"
"What? No!"
Thanks to their other friends, Elphaba's protests were not enough to stop the celebration. At least, she was able to convince Galinda to tone down the party to dinner with a few friends on the eve of her departure.
"Fine," was all Elphaba could mutter as Galinda practically dragged her to their dinner table.
"Aww. Cheer up, Elphie!" Galinda consoled. "I promise you, this will be fun! Oh, look! Here's Nessa and Biq! Ugh. Fiyero's late! Where is he?"
"Miss Galinda!" Boq greeted her with a big smile. In response, Galinda put on a hesitant one. "And Elphaba. I've heard. Congratulotions!"
"Thanks, Boq," Elphaba replied civilly, while accepting Boq's handshake.
"This is wonderful, Elphaba. I'm so proud of you! I'm sure father will be, too," Nessa told her sister. "I told him in a letter yesterday. It won't be long before he knows."
The idea of telling the news to her father did not appeal that much to Elphaba. Nevertheless, she appreciated her sister's little deed.
The dinner turned out to be far better than Elphaba expected. Of course, Galinda's good taste for food and ambiance led them to dine in this exquisite restaurant. More importantly, the time was spent in bonding with friends. Besides, having Nessa and Boq, for a change, saved Elphaba from Galinda's endless litany about boys, celebrities and clothes.
Galinda.
Elphaba smiled internally. She would have never considered having a circle of friends if not for her unlikely best friend. Despite their differences in interests and priorities, she was grateful that their paths have crossed.
Her thoughts were interrupted upon arrival of Fiyero, who looked handsome, as always. She just thought that he was a bit overdressed for the occasion, the reason for which she did not know.
"Fifi, dearest! You're late! Where have you been?" Galinda chirped.
Fiyero cringed at his new nickname. Elphaba failed to stop a soft chuckle, which caught the prince's attention. She covered her mouth in embarrassment but when she looked at him, she was only met by his lopsided but charming smile.
After finishing her entrée, Elphaba excused herself. Although she appreciated the time with friends, she felt a bit tired – she was still trying to get used to socializing with other people. A moment in the washroom and some air from outside might help, she thought.
The stars decorated the evening sky but they paled in comparison to the full moon. Elphaba, who went outside the restaurant, sat on the ground and enjoyed the marvelous display. As she watched the heavenly bodies glow, she tried to imagine her possible future – meeting with the Wizard, helping Oz, restoring the Animals…
"Elphie!"
She felt as if her heart jumped ten feet from the ground. "Ugh! Fiyero, don't scare me like that!" She placed a hand on her chest. "And don't call me Elphie!"
"Sorry," he replied, with a goofy grin. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she answered stubbornly.
He thought of insisting that he asked first, but decided against it. "Just needed some fresh air. It's kind of cramped in there."
"Oh." Realizing that they were alone again with each other, she shied away. "I- I should get back, then," she said as she turned towards the restaurant.
"Elphi-… Elphaba, wait!" Fiyero grabbed her hand, trying to stop her. They both felt as if they were back in the forest clearing with a Lion Cub to save. This time, however, Fiyero was unwilling to let his emotions overwhelm him. "I uh… I just want us to be friends. Elphaba, can you spare me a moment? Please?"
She certainly wanted her alone time, but his invitation made her feel pleasantly strange and thrilled. He felt her fist loosen as if she was allowing him to pull her back. "Alright," she finally answered. His heart fluttered in excitement. "So, how do we do this?"
Fiyero gulped. "Good question." Elphaba couldn't help but chuckle a little. "How about we start from where we left off?" he suggested. Without spoken words, they both thought again about their moment with the Lion Cub.
Elphaba nodded. She crossed her arms in thought and paced back and forth – she had never been good at small talk.
"Alright," she started tentatively. "Well, thanks to Galinda, we all now know what happened to me. How about you? You left off with the Lion Cub."
"He's good," he answered confidently. "I took a little detour around Brox so he can run back home to the Gilikin Forest. I buried the cage so no one can use it. Genius, huh?"
She smiled, knowing that, no matter how vain and shallow he appears to be, he was better than most people think. Her smile faded, however, as she realized something. "You what?"
"I buried the cage and set the Cub free in the jungle!" he answered confidently, but she looked unconvinced. "W- wait, did I do something wrong?"
Elphaba's palm flew to her face. "Lions live in savannas, Fiyero. Not in jungles."
It took a few tick-tocks before Fiyero understood her statement. "Oh…" was all he could say in his embarrassment. But Elphaba just laughed at his comical reaction. He laughed along.
They gradually became more comfortable with each other as their conversation progressed. Fiyero suddenly remembered why they were celebrating that night, so he said "Hey, Elphaba, congratulations! I know you're always top of the class and all but being summoned by the Wizard himself is like… wow. You're awesome!"
She laughed, amused at his manner of saying what he said. Nonetheless, she expressed her thanks.
That night, unlike their previous few interactions, he saw her smile and laugh several times. Truth be told, he was starting to like it.
"So…" Continuing the conversation, he asked, "What are you going to do once you meet the Wizard?"
For a few seconds, Elphaba thought of what to answer. "I don't really know where to start, Fiyero. There are a lot of things I wanted to tell the Wizard. I wanted to thank him personally for everything he has done for Oz. We couldn't be living as comfortably as now if it weren't for him." She paused. "But this thing about the Animals, I've got to tell him about the plague spreading among Animals that makes them lose their ability to speak. Thanks to Doctor Dillamond, we've designed a potent cure for their condition…"
Determination and passion was evident in her eyes as she spoke about Dillamond's studies, some of the results of her recent experiments and how these might help the Animals. He would just not yet admit out loud that he loved staring at her eyes. As he listened and looked at her, he remembered how those eyes captivated him while they were saving the Lion Cub. He wondered how those eyes could be so fierce and so thoughtful at the same time.
"…This is what I want to present to the Wizard. If there's anyone who can help the Animals, it must be the Wizard."
"Or Elphaba Thropp," he added, smirking.
His response caught her off guard. It made her feel nervous and a bit flattered, at the same time. "Well, I um… I would gladly offer my help. If His Ozness would need it, of course."
He smiled in awe and respect for her intelligence, vision and humility. "I'm sure Oz will need lots of it."
Elphaba could not believe what had just happened. The Wizard manipulated her to perform a spell that severely hurt his servant Monkeys. Madame Morrible, the first person who recognized her talent, was his accomplice. In an instant, her dreams shattered into pieces. Without anyone on her side, not even her best friend, she escaped from the Wizard's throne room.
…I hope you're happy in the end
I hope you're happy, my friend…
The whole palace was alerted of Elphaba, who was branded as intruder. While the guards rushed towards the attic, Galinda, by that time known as Glinda, waited restlessly outside the throne room. Earlier, some guards escorted her from the attic to safety. Neither she nor Elphaba had imagined any of this happening.
Waiting seemed like years. Although she and Elphaba have declared where their loyalties lie, none of that changed how she feels for her friend. She would not bear to see her get hurt or, worse…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the opening door, which revealed Morrible and the Wizard.
"Madame…!" Glinda rushed to her professor, wanting to ask questions she found hard to put into words.
"Why, Miss Glinda, dear. What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect you to come here," Morrible said casually.
Huh?
"Ah! This must be the student you were talking about," the Wizard told his press secretary. He turned his attention to the young lady. "Hello there, young lady! Madame Morrible, here, has told me many things about you."
Glinda was stunned. No mention of Elphaba. What's going on?
"Since you're here, perhaps we could go for a little chat. Would you like to join us for some tea?" the Wizard offered.
She felt nauseous. Why were they acting… strange? "Oh. Um. I- I'm sorry, your Ozness. Thank you, but I think I should go now." She bowed with all politeness she could gather and left.
Outside the throne room, the palace guards and servants were on their usual posts. Everything looked the way they did when she and Elphaba arrived. Where had Elphaba gone? Why were the guards not looking for her anymore? Have they captured her? Glinda wandered a bit to look for her friend or for any clue for her whereabouts.
"Excuse me, Sir," she said, approaching one palace guard who not long ago granted them entrance to the throne room. "Have you seen my friend, Elphaba? She was with me when we met with his Ozness. She's this tall and green, almost like this." Using her hand, she showed an estimate her friend's height and pointed to a green accent on the wallpaper. "I'm sure she's pretty hard to miss."
The guard tried to be civil, suppressing his snort. "I'm sorry, Miss, but I don't think I've seen anyone green in my entire life."
Glinda tried asking other people in the palace, but to no avail. It was as if the green girl never passed by them not long ago. After a long day in the palace, she left Emerald City and went back to Shiz. She needed to rest and clear her thoughts.
