Hi! Here's the next installment of my genderbent series, but first let me answer a few questions.
Q: Can you do Bessa?
A: I will do Bessa as the original musical dictates. Nothing outside of cannon. Sorry.
Q: Can you write a watching the musical genderbent fanfic?
A: No, I think that plot bunny has more impact when it's just the regular characters. I don't want to make this tooo weird. But Sky Sorrow wrote a wonderful watching the musical story if you want to check that out!
Q: What about Elphias' parents?
A: All will be explained further in later one shots, but here's the basics: Elphias and Nestor have the same father but different mothers (and I really did not mean to reference a Sting song just then), their father died in an accident shortly after Nestor's birth, and Oz is ruled by a woman who calls herself the Grand Witch.
Hope that cleared a few things up! Enjoy!
A History Lesson
Elphias loved Doctor Dillamond. Not in a perverted way, of course, but he really admired her enthusiasm for history, and the fact that she was tough. She cut Galindar no slack whatsoever; in fact, during the first week of classes, she had him stay after class to do the homework that he hadn't done the night before. "It's not fair!" Galindar had whined. "You can't make me stay, you nanny goat!"
"No," she admitted. "I can't make you stay, but I can report your disrespect to Master Morrible and have you expelled from this university." That had shut Galindar up.
Yes, Doctor Dillamond was a Goat, and proud of it. She was very passionate about Animal rights, and often went on long tangents about it during class. Elphias was always torn between really loving what she had to say and wishing she'd get on with the lesson.
One day, she was returning some of their essays to them. "You need to add more detail, Master Glindar," she told him. "You have a lot of fluff in your essay, but no content."
"It's Galindar," he corrected her, popping his gum.
Doctor Dillamond forced a smile. "Yes, of course – Glindar."
"Honestly, lady! Can't even get my name right! You know, all my other professors can say my name right."
That was when Elphias officially couldn't take it anymore. Galindar had been raising a ruckus about this since the first day of class, and enough was enough. "You know, I don't think Doctor Dillamond really cares that much about your precious name," Elphias said, turning to face his roommate. "You know, maybe she isn't like every other professor. Maybe some of us are different."
Galindar turned to his friends. "Well, it looks like the broccoli is steamed!"
"CALL ME BROCCOLI ONE MORE TIME!"
"Gentlemen!" Doctor Dillamond yelled, desperately pounding her hoof on the floor to get everyone's attention. "Master Glindar, please take your seat-…"
"It's Galindar!"
"And Master Elphias, please take your seat." Once the class was settled down, she spoke again. "While I will not tolerate fighting in my class, I will admit that Master Elphias has a point. I am different from your other professors. I'm the token Goat, if you will. But it wasn't always like this!"
Here we go down Memory Lane, Elphias thought with a smile.
"When I was a student here, and even when I was a young professor, this school was so much more diverse than it is today!" Doctor Dillamond told them. "You could see an Ape doing geometry! And there was a Cardinal who taught Ancient Ozish. I remember that his class was my favorite." Her smile slowly faded. "But all that is almost lost now. Our dear Oz is becoming less and less …" She caught Elphias' eye. "…colorful. Now, who would like to remind the class how this began? Yes, Master Elphias?"
"The Great Draught," Elphias answered, barely looking up from his notes. "At least according to what I've read."
Doctor Dillamond nodded in approval. "Precisely. Food grew scarce, and people became hungrier and angrier. And so, the question became, 'Whom can we blame?' Now, who would like to tell me the definition of the word 'scapegoat'?" She smiled tiredly as she saw a green hand fly up in the air. "Perhaps someone else besides Master Elphias. Ah! Master Glllllindar!"
"It's Galindar!" Galindar exclaimed indignantly. "You know, with a 'Ga'!" Elphias was sure that if he heard that line again, he would punch Galindar in the face. "And why can't you just teach us history instead of going on and on about the past and stuff?"
Doctor Dillamond decided to ignore his impertinence, just this once. "Well, perhaps these discussion questions that I've prepared will generate some-…" But she stopped short when she saw what was on the other side of her board: the sentiment ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD. "Who did this? This is extremely serious; I need to know who is responsible for this!" She sighed as everyone stayed completely still, proving that, yes, a group of college students can be totally silent when they want to be. "Alright. That will be all for today." But everybody stayed where they were, not quite believing her. "You heard me! Class dismissed!" That time, everyone leapt out their seats and left the classroom eagerly. Well, almost everyone.
"You coming, Elphias?" Nestor asked, turning in the doorway.
Elphias waved him off. "You go ahead, Nestor. I'll see you this afternoon." He turned back to Doctor Dillamond as Nestor left. "Look, I'm sorry about Galindar and … that." He eyed the chalkboard nervously.
"Oh, Master Elphias, don't worry about me," Doctor Dillamond said with a sigh. "Run along and join your friends."
"That's alright; I have no friends."
"B-but, Master Nestor-…"
"He's my brother," Elphias said quickly. "He doesn't count." He sat down at one of the empty desks and got out his lunch. "Want some of my lunch?"
Doctor Dillamond smiled and took the wrapper of Elphias' sandwich. "Thank you. You're very kind." She felt a pang of empathy for this awkward, genuinely kind, green boy who pretended that he wasn't bothered by the fact that he had no friends, even though he obviously was. It made her think of her own experience in school, being bullied for being an Animal. But she had had friends, most of whom were also Animals. Elphias had no one except for his brother, who, from Doctor Dillamond's observations, only stayed with Elphias because he needed the help. This fact, and the vandalism of her chalkboard, made Doctor Dillamond's stomach churn. She put down the half eaten paper. "I seem to have lost my appetite."
"You shouldn't let ignorant statements like that get to you," Elphias told her. "I mean, I always do, but you shouldn't."
"It wouldn't get to me if this was just an isolated event," Doctor Dillamond said. "But it isn't. All over Oz, Animals are starting to only be seen and not heard."
"You mean they're losing their ability to speak?"
"Exactly. Even some of my old friends and colleagues are starting to lose contact with me. It's almost like an epidemic. It's a baaa-…" Her eyes grew wide as she realized what had just come out of her mouth.
Elphias panicked. "Doctor Dillamond, are you alright? Can I get you something to drink?"
"No, I … I don't know what came over me just then." She sat down on her desk, looking very distressed, so Elphias decided that the best thing to do would be to move on and forget it even happened.
"So, you're saying that Animals are somehow forgetting how to speak? That doesn't make sense! I mean, how can somebody just forget how to speak?"
Doctor Dillamond shrugged. "You can keep anyone silent with enough pressure. But I, for one, will not let them-…"
But she was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Master Morrible. "Good day, Doctor Dillamond," he said. "I was just informed of the unfortunate disturburance that occurred during your class. Are you alright, Doctor?" But he didn't even give her a chance to answer before he caught sight of Elphias, who was futilely hoping that staying perfectly still and silent would somehow make him invisible. "Master Elphias, you're still here? Hm, I would have thought you would've been on your way to my seminar by now."
Elphias stood up straighter in an attempt to look at least somewhat respectable. "Yes, Headmaster, I would be, but-…"
Master Morrible raised an eyebrow. "But? I do hope I've not misplaced my trust in you. Magic is a demanderating master, especially if one has ambitions to meet the Grand Witch. I'm sure Doctor Dillamond sees my point." Then, with a swish of his robes, he left the classroom. Elphias involuntarily shuddered.
"I better go," he said, gathering up his books. "Master Morrible does not like to be kept waiting." But as he made to leave, something stopped him. "Doctor Dillamond, if something bad is happening to the Animals, I'm sure the Grand Witch could do something about it. I mean, that's why she's here! To keep Oz wonderful!"
Doctor Dillamond smiled at his optimism. "I hope you're right, Master Elphias."
Fiyera will make her first appearance in the next one, so that's something to look forward to, right?
Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Elle Dottore
