A/N: Sorry for the delay...school's busy, so updates may not come as quickly as I'd like, but I appreciate those who are continuing to read. Thanks too for the comments! Please keep reading and reviewing:)
To twelve-year-old Nessarose's mild surprise, her father did nothing to prevent her from caring for her new sister. He didn't like it—that he made quite evident—but he didn't stop her.
The infant was well-behaved. She rarely cried and always slept through the night, almost as if she knew that her "mother" was only a child herself, and, as such, was doing the very best she could under rather stressful, unfamiliar circumstances. Though serious, she was a relatively happy baby, and Nessarose found the task of caring for her somewhat easier than she had expected.
Although, of course, there was the matter of bathing her…
Nessarose's first attempt to bathe her baby sister had been a rather terrifying experience for both. She had filled a basin and tested the water to ensure that it was warm, but not too hot. The baby had squirmed slightly as Nessarose lowered her into the bath, but the older girl thought little of it, assuming that perhaps, babies, like cats, had a natural aversion to water. However, as soon as the baby's foot touched the water, this aversion transformed into a pained, terrified howl.
Startled and concerned, Nessarose quickly pulled the infant to her, but the child continued to cry, emitting small, pitiful, gasping sobs.
"Shh…" Nessarose bounced her up and down, trying desperately to calm her while simultaneously attempting to catch the baby's flailing leg in order to examine her foot. Upon doing so, her concern grew—the tiny foot was reddened, raw, and warm to the touch, almost as if the water had been much too hot, after all. Doubting herself, Nessarose dipped her hand into the basin again to reassure herself that the temperature was, in fact, lukewarm at best. It began to dawn on Nessarose that perhaps the problem was the water itself, regardless of the temperature. She hadn't thought that water could do something like that, but, thinking of her green sibling, she mused that supposedly anything was possible.
She moved from the basin to her bed and sat, still cradling the distraught baby and gently drying her foot with the edge of a blanket. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't know. We won't do that again, though, okay? I'll figure something else out. I promise." Listening to the soothing murmurings of her sister, the baby began to calm, her sobs fading into whimpers.
Nessarose settled back against a pillow, a bit worn after the scare. She was always somewhat nervous when handling the infant, not having much experience at doing so, and the episode had left her shaken. She brought her knees up and settled the baby, now calmer than she, against her legs. She let her mind drift, as she tended to do when something had upset her.
"You know, I haven't thought of anything to call you yet," she mused aloud, the baby watching her as if it understood. "They say you should wait until a baby makes itself unique somehow." She hesitated, smiling quietly and a little sadly. "It would have been wrong to name you based on your verdigris, though. That makes itself known."
The little girl fidgeted, and Nessarose held her closer. "Hmm…what about Elphaba, after Saint Aelphaba of the Waterfall? Do you mind terribly the irony?"