A/N: School is officially out until August, so I am posting the next chapter in this story as a celebration and as a start to my (hopefully) continuous summer-long updates. Your support is greatly appreciated!

LifelongLeahstar: No, Nessa won't be a big itch in this. I'm tired of reading storied where you want to just go punch her in the face. Actually, thinking about how I was going to characterize Nessa gave me the idea for this chapter!

So, yeah! Enjoy the update!

Disclaimer: Don't worry, I don't own Wicked. You can breath now.

Dear Mother,

So I arrived here at Shiz, and things went off to a crazy start. You may or may not know this, but I have more than one abnormality. Apparently I can do magic, which I don't count as a good thing, as people keep calling me a freak, but the headmistress, Madame Moribble, says that she will put me in her sorcery seminar! She says that if I work hard and do as I should, I could go to meet the Wizard! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! Imagine that!

Well, I guess all good things come at a price. I'm rooming with a squealy blonde brat, Galinda, I think her name was, and Nessa has to be taken care of by Madame Morrible! Father is going to be so mad when he figures out…

I guess I deserve it though. I crippled my sister and killed my own mother. I'm so sorry. I really am! I'd be surprised if you were still reading this now. Oz, I'd be surprised if you still cared about me right now. No one else seems to. I've spent my whole life caring for Nessa trying to make up for it, and now everyone hates me!

You know what? I shouldn't be complaining about something I deserve. I deserve their hate. Father hates me, Nessa-

Elphaba's pen stopped mid-sentence and paused there for a few clock ticks. After a moment, she dropped her pen and paper and got out of seat and out the door of the dorm room. She half ran down dozens of hallways of squealing girls until she emerged into the crisp August air. She took a deep breath. Autumn had always been her favorite season, ever when she was a toddler. She loved the feeling of the crumbly leaves under her boots and the smells of apple pie coming from everyone's houses, but she mostly loved the colors of the leaves. The leaves were always green throughout the year, but this time of year brought a variety of colors to the trees. Reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and everything in between. People never judged the leaves for being a different color than the norm. No one called the trees "freak" or "monster" because of their color.

Great, now you're comparing yourself to a leaf. Elphaba thought with a frown. She kicked some leaves out of her way and pulled the door open to Madame Morrible's room.

Peeking in, she saw Nessa sitting in her wheelchair reading a book. Elphaba rapped quietly on the doorframe to announce her arrival. Nessa's head shot up and she greeted Elphaba's presence with a smile.

"Hey Nessa, can I talk to you?" Elphaba asked, tentatively.

"Yeah, sure," Nessa said, catching on that it was more important than just a school project. "Madame Morrible left to talk with Doctor Dillamond."

"Okay then," Elphaba said, sitting down on Nessa's bed. She decided not to beat around the bush. "Do you hate me?"

Nessa blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Do you hate me?" Elphaba repeated. She watched Nessa's face turn from confusion to utter sadness, which confused Elphaba for a quick moment before she realized Nessa had wheeled over to her and engulfed her in a tight hug. Elphaba gasped with surprise. She didn't remember the last time she was hugged.

"Sweet Oz, Fabala, of course I don't!" Elphaba let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as Nessa released her, putting her hands on Elphaba's shoulders and looking her right in the eye.

"Listen, Father has said many horrible things about you that no one should have to hear about themselves, but I never believed a word of it. None of it was you're fault. You have no reason to blame yourself for this wheelchair, Mother's death," both sisters visibly flinched at that, though Elphaba considerably more, "or anything else that Father has told you. I'm on your side." Elphaba sat there in shock, not knowing what to think.

"I should have told you this sooner, but Father was always hovering over me and I couldn't let him find out that I was on your side," Nessa said, as if that settled

everything.

"But… why?" Elphaba asked, finally finding her words.

"Well, when I was about five, I went to him asking about how he was treating you, and he said that if the topic came up again, he would beat you and kick you out of the house, so I had to act like I was on his side," Nessa said apologetically. "I begged him to let you come with me to Shiz under the pretense that you could take care of me, but I truly wanted to tell you how I felt. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Nessa said, holding Elphaba's green hands in her's.

"Well…" Elphaba didn't know what to say to this. If her life was a book, this would have been one crazy plot twist. "Well, I have to say, you're one heck of an actress, Nessa," Elphaba said with a grin. Nessa smiled at her sister. "You've been very brave throughout this, Fabala, remember that."

The two sisters say in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Elphaba's brain was having trouble processing Nessa's whole speech. After so many years of feeling hated by everyone, this was a surprising development. She wasn't used to being loved, though she had to admit, it felt nice. Really nice.

Elphaba's contemplating was interrupted by Madame Morrible's entrance into the room. She wouldn't tell anyone this, but she couldn't help thinking that the Headmistress looked strikingly like a fish. She eyed Elphaba and Nessa suspiciously, like she eyed every student in the school. Finding nothing wrong with the situation, she turned towards her room, but not before telling Elphaba that she should be working on her essay for sorcery.

After she left the room, Elphaba let go of Nessa's hands and walked back to the door. She turned around and waved.

"I'll see you around, Nessa!" Nessa nodded back. "Thanks for everything," Elphaba said, more seriously. Nessa gave her a sweet smile.

"Don't worry about it. Now go work on that essay. I know you want to." The two girls laughed like two normal sisters with a completely normal past and presents. If only...

Elphaba closed the door and soon she was back in the cold outside air. She was planning to go back to her dorm when she was hit with a fistful of brown leaves. She spun around, ready to give one of Galinda's friends a piece of her mind, but standing behind her was Boq, the munchkin from next door back in Munchkinland. With him was Galinda, though she didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Sorry!" Boq cried, looking generally sorry. Elphaba would normally have at least hit him with a book, but it was Boq, and he seemed sorry. She was in a good mood, anyway.

"Hey, do you want to help us? We're trying to build the biggest leaf pile in Oz and break the record!" Again, Elphaba was too happy to deny this, so she helped them. The letter to her mother could wait.

You know what? I shouldn't be complaining about something I deserve. I deserve their hate. Father hates me, Nessa- Well, not exactly, I guess. Father hates me - and I will not deny that he has multiple good reasons for it - but Nessa doesn't. She doesn't blame me for anything that has happened. I blame myself though, no matter what she says. So the question remains: Do you hate me?

Lots of love,

Fabala

A/N #2: There. The first update of many. Please keep reviewing! And if you have any ideas for this story or my other story, "After the Ending", I would love to hear them!