Chapter Two: Get Used To It

"Mother, why can't you just marry a man from the tribe?" Fiyero asked, shaking his head. "You don't know anything about this man and now he and his children are coming out here. I don't know if that's a good idea."

"He seems to be a very kind man. And you know as well as I do that we need to branch out, Fiyero. Isn't that how you convinced me to send you to Shiz?" His mother smiled gently at him. "I know it's a big change, but you'll be at school for most of it. Besides, it isn't like you spend all your time with me, anyway. You're too busy running around the palace seducing the servant girls." She gave him an matronly look.

He groaned. "Mother, you promised we wouldn't talk about that."

"One of these days you're going to have to get married, you know."

Fiyero buried his face in his hands. "Mother, please!"

"Which reminds me, you need to be on your best behavior. Frexspar is a minister."

He cringed. "Really? Mother, we don't even practice anything out here!"

"Religion is about kindness, Fiyero, and morality."

"Not to some people," he muttered.

"Just promise me you'll be good."

"I will." At least in front of everyone else. He had no interest in changing the way he acted for anyone. It was his mother who was in love with some minister she hadn't even met, not him. His mother always teased him that one day he'd meet a girl who would inspire him to change his ways, but he severely doubted it.

"Thank you. Now, they'll be here this afternoon. When you return from hunting, you can meet them. His daughters are… different. I'm not sure exactly how, though I know at least one of them is disabled. Be kind, Fiyero."

"I always am," he assured her.

"Not too kind."

"Mother!" He flushed and left the room. Fiyero knew his mother was lonely, especially since he'd grown older and needed her less. He'd always hoped she'd find someone, but this hadn't been what he'd meant.

Of course, his indiscretions didn't stay secret for long. He was back from hunting and leaving his room with a servant girl (whose name he didn't even remember) when he bumped into one of his possible future stepsisters.

He stared at her for a moment. He couldn't help it. Fiyero had seen conventionally beautiful girls before – he'd been with his share. But this girl was different. Her skin glowed a beautiful shade of lime and her black hair gleamed as it fell from her face. Her deep brown eyes bore into his with a fire he longed to possess. Yes, she was beautiful, though he wasn't certain he could explain why in words.

She folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes. "I suppose you must be Prince Fiyero, then?"

The servant girl ran her hand along his arm and giggled. He watched as the young woman's eyes looked from him to the servant girl back to him and her eyebrows rose. He bit his lip. "That would be me. You would be?"

"Elphaba."

"And don't call me 'Prince,'" he corrected. "If we might be siblings, we should be on a first name basis."

"Looks to me like you're on a first name basis with a lot of girls," she muttered. "I was just going to look around. Your mother told me you were out hunting."

"I just got back. I was going to… relax."

"Don't let me stop you." Elphaba brushed past him.

"Wait…"

She kept rushing down the hall, not even flinching as he called after her.

Fiyero formally met Elphaba at dinner that evening. His mother proudly introduced Frexspar and his children. The entire time, he couldn't take his eyes off of Elphaba. There was something about her features that was some kind of alluring.

He shook his head, though. What was he thinking? She might soon be his stepsister. Besides, she hadn't exactly seemed friendly.

The boy was the only other member of the family who seemed interesting to him at all. Shell seemed very interested in his new surroundings, and followed Fiyero around after dinner asking all sorts of questions. He wanted to know about their people, their culture, the climate. After some time, it got exhausting. Luckily, Elphaba came to his rescue.

"Shell, I've been looking for you for half an hour! You know it's past your bedtime. What are you doing in here?"

"I was just curious!" The young man pouted.

"Off to bed! Now! Don't make me tell Father. You know I will," Elphaba threatened.

"Fine!" Shell stomped off to the room he was staying in.

Elphaba folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "I apologize if he was bothering you."

"He simply wanted to understand this place and the people around him. It was getting late, though. I appreciate it."

"Don't thank me," she muttered. "My father demands he go to bed at the same time every night. If he found out Shell was still up, I'd be in for it, too."

"Why? It's not your fault."

"I'm supposed to look after him."

"Don't you have your own life? Your studies?"

"I don't sleep much." She shrugged. "I'm up early to help with breakfast and my sister, but I've never needed a lot of rest."

"Well, now that you're here, you won't have to worry about breakfast at least," he tried.

"Right." She raised her eyebrows at him and looked past him into the room. "What are you reading?"

He realized she was talking about the book on the table beside his bed. "Oh, it's just a science book. I struggled a bit with that when I was home-schooled, so I wanted to brush up on it before starting Shiz next month."

"I see. You have a lot of books here?"

"A small library. I could show you now, if you like."

"No, that's fine. I need to get to my room."

"Another time, then."

"If you say so." And she was gone.

He stared after her for a moment, then closed the door. Book still in hand, he relaxed on his bed and began reading again. Tomorrow, maybe, he would seek her out and make a point of showing her the library. She'd be impressed, he thought. Although he wasn't certain why he cared at all.

But he didn't get the chance. Every time he tried to find her, she was occupied with her siblings, whether it was looking after Shell or caring for Nessa. He began to wonder how she'd ever had time for herself at all. Meanwhile, his mother was off taking walks with her father. They seemed to be getting along splendidly, and he wasn't sure he wanted that.

Elphaba's father seemed too intense, obsessive. It concerned Fiyero. He was clearly a zealot when it came to the topic of religion. His mother's attraction to that was confusing, but she listened to his constant preaching and ranting. And she even allowed him to roam about the village attempting to baptize the rest of the tribe!

It had been over a week before he found Elphaba alone again. She sat at her desk, writing something in a small journal. Nessa was nowhere to be found and the door to their shared room was open. He tapped his fingers on the doorframe, not wanting to alarm her by simply walking in. She looked like she might get easily spooked.

She turned to him, face flushed. "What do you want?"

"I thought I'd show you the library."

"I found it days ago."

"When? I kept coming by to talk to you but you always seemed busy…"

"I don't need your help, thank you."

He stepped into the room. "I was just being friendly. I'm glad you found the library. Was there anything there of interest to you?"

She gazed at him uneasily, as though he were intruding. But it was his palace, so he didn't feel as though he was. Elphaba was a guest here, after all. "Look, I'm trying to work. Don't you have a servant girl to chase?"

"Are you trying to say something?"

"I'm just saying you don't particularly seem focused on your studies all of the time." She replied flippantly.

"Focusing on the same thing all of the time would be boring. Yes, I care about learning but I don't want to occupy all of my time with it. There are other… enjoyable things to do." He knew she was scorning his somewhat promiscuous behavior, even if they were talking around it to be polite.

She simply rolled her eyes at him. "I suppose you aren't hurting anyone."

"I rather like to think just the opposite." He shot back.

Her eyes changed for a moment and she looked back at her work. "I'm busy. I don't get a lot of time to myself and I'd like to use it."

"Of course. I apologize. Let me know if you need anything else."

"I won't."

He hesitated in the doorway for a moment until she shot him a glare. "Have a nice evening, then."

She didn't respond.

On his way back to his room, he ran into his mother. "Good evening, Mother. I haven't seen much of you lately."

"You'll be seeing even less of me when you head off to school soon." She beamed at him. "I'm so proud of you. You'll be the first chieftain of any tribe to have had an education."

He let his mother engulf him in a hug and then stepped back. "Mother, are you sure about this man? I mean, he's a little overzealous about certain things and his children are… strange." He knew he was really only referring to Elphaba.

"They are perfectly polite young people, just like you. I don't see what you're talking about. And he's a very kind man."

Not to his daughter, Fiyero thought to himself. If the way Elphaba spoke about him gave any indication, Frexspar clearly instilled fear in his children, not love. And he rarely saw the man with his children. It seemed like the task of raising Shell or taking care of Nessa had fallen on the old woman and Frex's eldest daughter. "I didn't mean anything by it. Our cultures are very different, Mother, and I'm not sure if this is the best idea."

"I think that's exactly why it's a good idea. You're being intolerant, Fiyero. You're about to go to Shiz and meet a lot of students from different cultures. I'm surprised at you."

"That wasn't what I meant. It's just… never mind. I just worry about you, Mom."

Her stern expression softened. "I know this is strange for you. I've been alone most of your life and I imagine it must be odd."

"I'll get used to it, I'm sure." But he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the curiosity and slight longing he felt about Elphaba, especially given their family situation. He supposed he'd just ignore it until it went away.

Author's Note: I've been working on this one for a while, too, again with the help of the wonderful Mother yackel. I'm still reworking things, but I think the first two chapters are at least pretty solid, so Happy Thanksgiving! I'll never be as good as some of the authors on here (fermatoso, I'm looking at you!) but I enjoy writing this.