Wow! Thank you all so much for your response!
Elphaba'sGirl: Yay! You're back! So glad you enjoyed the first chapter!
AnOreoForElphie: It will take a while for Elphaba to make some friends in her new home.
"So, Miss Elphaba, I hear you are in your second year at Shiz University," Raal said the next day over tea.
"Was," Elphaba corrected softly.
The king blinked. "Yes, of course. And what are -were- you studying?"
Amalie cursed her husband's tactlessness and opened her mouth to speak, but the green girl cut her off.
"I was doing a double major in political science and history, and minoring in literature."
"I assume you were enjoying it?" the queen asked gently.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Amalie. Please call me Amalie."
Elphaba looked very uncomfortable, but nodded nevertheless. The queen smiled gently and excused herself, silently telling her husband not to say anything stupid, and left the room. She walked down the halls and nodded to the guard guarding the royal treasury. The guard bowed and stepped aside to allow the queen to pass. Once inside, Amalie opened up a drawer and pulled out a small, black box. She opened it, admiring the ring cushioned inside, and walked up to find Fiyero. She found him in the gardens, taking a stroll with Glinda, their fingers intertwined, laughing and talking. When she called him inside, she could tell that he wasn't happy about it, but obeyed her nonetheless.
"Fiyero, I will not object to you spending time with Glinda, but you must remember that you will have a wife by this time next week," she said.
"Please don't remind me," Fiyero groaned.
"I want you to give this to Elphaba."
Fiyero looked at the box his mother was holding. "That belongs to Glinda."
"No, it's not. It belongs to the crown princess, and that will be Elphaba."
"She isn't the crown princess yet."
The queen sighed. There just wasn't any getting through to her son. "Fiyero, Elphaba is feeling very on edge. She is in a strange country with people she doesn't even know. Her father didn't even come on the journey with her. She came here by herself. Try to make her feel at home, since this will be her home soon."
"I would prefer if she just went back to Munchkinland, or whatever hellhole she came from."
Finally, Amalie had enough. "Fiyero, that is enough! I did not raise you to be judgmental like this. You will marry Elphaba whether you like it or not and that's final." She shoved the box into his hands, looking at him with tears she refused to let fall. "Just do it, Fiyero. If not for her, fine, but do it for your father and me."
Fiyero frowned. His mother was guilt-tripping him and he knew it. He took the ring with a grumbled, "Fine," and went to find Elphaba. He found her in her room. Surprisingly, the door was opened and he walked right in.
"I don't recall giving you permission to enter," Elphaba said, her eyes glued to her book.
"Like I said before, this is my house and I'll do as I please."
"So, will you please get out?"
"No."
Elphaba finally looked up at her book and frowned. "What do you want, Master Fiyero?"
Fiyero tossed the black box at the green girl. It hit her square in the chest before falling in her lap. Elphaba looked up at the prince before cautiously opening the box. Her eyes widened when she saw the beautiful silver ring with tiny blue diamonds engraved in it. "It's…"
"It's an heirloom of the family, which is supposed to be worn by the crown princess," Fiyero said.
Elphaba blinked. "What… I… is this a… proposal?"
The prince scoffed. "Of course not. No one with eyes would ever actually propose to you. Mother told me to give you the ring and I did. I did my job."
Elphaba looked at the ring again. She had to admit, it was very beautiful. She had never seen anything so shiny before in her life, and especially never dreamed she would be wearing anything that shiny. She gingerly took it out of the box and tried it on. It fit perfectly on her ring finger and she allowed herself to smile slightly.
"Just to make things very clear, green bean, I don't want to marry you."
Elphaba's smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Just to make things very clear, brainless fool, I don't want to marry you."
Before he fully registered what he was doing (and even if he did, it wouldn't have stopped him), Fiyero reached back and slapped Elphaba, hard, across the cheek. The green girl gasped and stumbled back, her hand pressed against her cheek. She surprised Fiyero when she, instead of crying or yelling at him, threw her head back and cackled.
"Feel better?" she asked when she finished.
"Yes, I do," the prince said darkly.
"Good." Elphaba reached back and slapped him across the face. "So do I."
The prince stumbled back, surprised that the skinny girl was so strong. He quickly recovered and gave her his best glare. "I hate you."
"I loathe you."
"I despise you."
"Can you even spell 'despise'?"
Fiyero's hands clenched into fists. "I can't stand you. I wish you were never born. None of this would be happening."
The green girl's face fell for a moment before she recovered. "You know what, Master Fiyero, sometimes, I wish the exact same thing."
"Finally, something we agree on."
That hurt Elphaba more than she would ever be able to admit to herself. She wouldn't be able to stand having to bind herself to someone who hated her so openly without getting to know her. Although, that wasn't any different from anyone else, even her own blood family. "Well…" she said when she found her voice. "That makes two of us."
Unable to stand being in the same room as the artichoke, Fiyero turned on his heels and left, slamming the door behind him. Elphaba looked at the ring on her finger before slowly taking it off and putting it back in the box.
"I can't stand her!"
Glinda watched as Fiyero paced around his room. "What happened?"
"She called me a brainless fool and slapped me." What he failed to do was tell Glinda how he had instigated it, but he felt it didn't matter.
"The nerve of that vegetable!" the blonde gasped in horror.
"I know. And that's after my mother made me give her the ring."
"Your great-grandmother's?"
The prince sighed and nodded. "Yes, that one." He gently pulled his girlfriend into his arms and kissed her forehead. "I hate this so much. I'm so sorry, Glinda. You don't deserve any of this."
"Neither do you," Glinda sighed softly.
"This isn't what was meant to be. You and I are supposed to be together forever."
"I know, Fiyero. I understand. I don't like it, but I understand. I should probably get going now. My parents invited guests over for dinner."
The prince kissed the blonde's forehead and walked her to the front door. "I'll see you later, Glin."
"Bye, Fifi."
Fiyero watched as the blonde leave and went back to his room. He laid on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to rid his thoughts of the green girl he would have to marry.
"Your Highness, dinner is ready," he heard one of the maids say from the other side of the door.
Sighing, the prince rubbed his face and went to freshen up. When he walked into the dining room, he saw that his parents and Elphaba were already seated, waiting for him. The only vacant seat was next to Elphaba, and he was sure that his parents did that on purpose. Begrudgingly, he pulled out a chair and sat down, slowly sliding away from Elphaba. Dinner was a silent affair. Raal tried to talk to Fiyero about something, but the prince wasn't paying any attention. Amalie asked Elphaba a few questions, and though she was more responsive than Fiyero, her answers were never longer than a few words. When she was finished, Elphaba excused herself and went back to her room, and Raal excused himself to finish some paper work.
"Fiyero, what do you have against Elphaba?" Amalie said, frowning at her son.
The prince shrugged.
"Because I know your father and I raised you better than to judge a person based on their looks before you get to know them."
Fiyero remained silent.
"Did you give her the ring?"
"Yes, I did."
"And?"
"I did what you told me to do and I gave it to her."
Amalie sighed. "Well, what did she say?"
"Nothing."
"Fiyero, she must have said something."
"She didn't say 'thank you', if that's what you mean."
"No, that's not what I mean. Fiyero, please, try to be nice to her."
"She's impossible!"
"You're not exactly the easiest person to get along with right now."
"What?"
"Fiyero, she came from a different country and traveled here all by herself. She's scared. She's being forced into an arranged marriage to help her country. The least you could do is be civil to her."
Fiyero turned away from his mother. "Fine."
"None of this is her doing, Fiyero. Believe me, your father and I want you to be happy, and we know Glinda makes you happy, but sometimes, sacrifices have to be made."
"I have made sacrifices."
The queen bit her lip. "I know you have, Fiyero. And I'm proud that you did, but this is something you just have to do. You know that we never wanted this for you, but…" Amalie trailed off and Fiyero got the message.
"Okay," he said, sliding his chair back and leaving.
The night before the wedding, Amalie knocked on the green girl's door and found her sitting on her bed, reading. "Hi."
Elphaba looked up and marked her page before setting the book on her nightstand. "Hi."
"May I come in?"
The green girl nodded and Amalie sat down on the bed next to her. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"I guess."
The queen was silent for a moment. "Elphaba, please talk to me. I can count on both hands the number of words you've said since you arrived. Is something wrong?"
Elphaba shook her head.
"Something must be wrong. Please, talk to me."
Elphaba slowly lifted her gaze to meet the queen's. She saw the love and concern in her eyes for her and she slowly relented. "Fiyero doesn't like me. It's okay, though, not many people like me. And he already seems to have a girlfriend and I don't want to come between that."
Amalie gently took the green girl's hands in hers. "Elphaba, I promise you that Fiyero is a good man. He's just very upset about all of this, but that still doesn't excuse the way he's been treating you. I'm so sorry you got dragged into all of this. I know this isn't the future you probably dreamt of, either…"
Elphaba turned away slightly. She didn't want to tell the queen that she would have been forever taking care of her younger sister if not for this marriage.
"Elphaba?"
"Excuse me, but… I'm… getting very tired," the green girl whispered, avoiding Amalie's gaze.
The queen nodded and squeezed Elphaba's hands before standing. "Of course. You have a very big day tomorrow. Have a good night."
"Goodnight."
Once Amalie left, Elphaba quickly changed into her nightdress and sat at her vanity to brush her hair. She tied it back in a braid and turned off her light before slipping under her covers. She reached under her pillow and was slightly alarmed when she didn't feel anything. She quickly remembered what had happened and tears formed in her eyes. Too tired to wipe them away, she snuggled under the sheets and cried herself to sleep.
I forgot to mention this in the first chapter, so I'm mentioning it now. I made the cover photo on a website called Canva (shout-out to Carlie, aka vinkunwildflowerqueen, for introducing me to the website).