Chapter 2: Coming Clean.

The next day, Elphaba was so much recovered, Raga declared her officially fit to resume her duties, if she so desired. Elphaba gladly afforded herself of the opportunity to make herself useful and spent the day with her children and husband, attending to the various matters of housekeeping. Nessa shadowed her sister all day, longing to ask her if what she had seen in the Mirror of the Fates was indeed the truth, for she harbored a secret hope that the magical fountain had been mistaken. However, no opportunity presented itself, so Nessa had to content herself with observing her sister's happy and very much deserved home-life.

As she observed how the family lived, Nessa found herself both amazed and slightly envious of the proceedings. First, there was the morning gathering of the entire household in the great hall for a reading of the Book of Truth, then the family parted for their various tasks of the day. Raga went to her study, accompanied by Glinda, while Oscar headed for the gardens, and Elphaba and Fiyero tended their children and some of the housework.

Nessa tagged along, feeling rather like an outsider rather than a member of the family. She watched as Elphaba played with her son and daughter, laughing and smiling much more heartily and readily than she'd ever done in Nessa's memory. Nessa sighed as she watched how safe and happy Sapreen and Cirus looked, playing with their mother and father. Tears threatened to fall as Nessa recalled the look of fear and dread that always remained on Elphaba's face whenever Frex had spoken to her or even been in the room. Heck! Their first month or two at Shiz, she still wore it and even when she'd begun to lose it, it always returned with his letters and the holidays, when they had to return home.

Nessa couldn't bear it anymore and ran from the room, her face hidden in her hands. Elphaba heard her sob as she ran and quickly followed her to ascertain the trouble and if possible remove it. She found Nessa in her own apartments, lying on her bed crying bitterly. She walked over and sat down next to her, laying a gentle hand on her sister's back.

"What's wrong, Nessie?"

Nessa's sobs redoubled at the gentle touch and kind tones of her sister's voice. "Oh! How can you be so kind to me, when I've done nothing but plague you my whole life?"

Elphaba gasped, shocked and hurt by Nessa's words. "Nessa, what's going on? Why are you saying these untrue things?"

Nessa pushed herself up into a sitting position and faced her sister, her eyes red and streaming with tears. "But, it is true. The Fates showed me with their Mirror…"

Elphaba blinked. "Fates? Mirror? Nessa, what in Oz are you talking about?"

Nessa stopped crying, but sighed. "When you were sick, you started talking in your sleep. You cried out to Father, begging him not to… not to whip you again. I was shocked and confused, so I left the room. But I got lost in the Palace and came to a room that had a beautiful fountain of white marble in its center. That fountain was the Mirror of the Fates and they showed me the past and all that happened to you… because of me."

Elphaba's face was very much grieved as she drew her sister into a hug. "Oh, Nessa. It's not your fault."

"But it is! If I hadn't been born, Father wouldn't have beaten you! Maybe… maybe Mother could have protected you and maybe… in time… he'd have come to love you," Nessa said, crying anew.

"Hush! Nessa, Frexspar would never have loved me. He hated me from the moment I was born. Nothing could have changed that. It is not, nor has it ever been, your fault. If anything, it was all my fault for being born green. For being born at all," Elphaba muttered the last part under her breath, but Nessa still heard and it made her cry harder.

"No, Elphaba! It wasn't your fault! You had no control over that. You never could have. But it is my fault for being too selfish, self-absorbed, and bratty to notice how miserable you were. I should have seen the wounds and scars. I should have heard your screams when he beat you or locked you outside. I should have heard the untrue names he called you. I should have known. I should have done something! It's my fault you never had a childhood. I'm so sorry, Elphaba!" Nessa threw her arms around her sister again, hugging her tightly.

Elphaba felt her own eyes fill with tears, touched and saddened by her sister's words. "Nessa, you did help me, more than you know. Because of you, I wasn't beaten nearly as much as I should have been, had you not been there. Frex was very careful to keep everything he did to me secret from you, so there was no way you could have known. But, on more than one occasion, your mere presence saved me from a severe beating, though you didn't know it. Also, unless he was particularly enraged, Frex knew I would be around you nearly every day, so he was careful not to beat me so badly I couldn't perform my duties and easily hide the marks of his abuse. Furthermore, because of you, I had at least one ray of sunshine in my otherwise very dark and dismal life. You were the reason I got up in the morning. You were the reason I took the abuse. You, were the reason I didn't give up the ghost years ago."

Those words made Nessa cry harder, if that was even possible at this point. Elphaba held and rocked her, gently shushing her, stroking her long brown hair until Nessa subsided into hiccups. Still holding her to her bosom, Elphaba smiled. "If it weren't for you, Nessa, I wouldn't be here today. I needed someone to love, even if that love was not exactly returned at the time. I needed you then and I need you now, so dry your eyes and don't cry anymore. The past is over and done and there's nothing we can do to change it. Besides, I needed to go through everything I did, for if I hadn't, I wouldn't be the person I am today and I never would have met Raga. In fact, I'm not even entirely sure I'd have met Glinda or Fiyero either."

Nessa sighed, but it was more weary than sad. "So, I guess everything happens for a reason. Like that passage Raga read this morning."

Elphaba beamed. "Yes, Nessa. Exactly. We may not know the reasons, but we can always trust that the King works all things for our good if we love and serve him."

Nessa yawned, exhausted from the intense emotions that had so troubled her before. Elphaba chuckled. "You should get some rest. I'm afraid you're tired out from troubles that were never yours to bear."

Nessa chuckled. "That, is were you're wrong, my dear sister. They were mine to bear, if only for a short while. I'm sure this experience has really done me more good than either of us realize."

Elphaba smiled and tucked her sister in, as she had so often done before, and kissing her forehead, stole quietly out of the room.