The brunette slowly walked into the room. She saw her sister curled in a fetal position, moaning silently in her sleep, coughed occasionally and tugging at the blankets covering her body. She took another step forward, her eyes never leaving the green girl. She stood beside Elphaba and gently took her hand, quickly noticing how clammy it felt. "Elphaba."

The green girl moaned and slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes rested on Nessa for a bit before she looked around the room. Her gaze eventually rested on her younger sister again. "Nessa?"

The younger Thropp's breath hitched in her throat. She didn't want to believe that she had wished this on her sister. She hadn't mentioned her when making her wish, had she? She was pulled back to reality by her sister's coughing fit. "I'm here, Elphaba," she whispered, squeezing Elphaba's hand.

Elphaba stopped coughing and took a deep breath to recover. "Wh… What are you doing in here?"

"I…" Nessa bit her lip. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? What happened to you, Elphaba?

"Nessa?"

"Yes, Elphaba?" Nessa looked down and noticed that Elphaba's gaze wasn't exactly focused on her, but a bit over her left shoulder. She squeezed her hand tighter.

"H-How was your birthday?"

The younger Thropp smiled softly. "It was very nice."

"Did B-Boq give you anything?"

"He gave me a light purple beanie."

Elphaba smiled softly and nodded, but was overcome by a bout of coughs. Nessa stiffened when she saw her sister cough up blood.

"What in Oz name!"

Nessa whirled around and saw the woman from earlier standing in the doorway, holding a medicine bottle and spoon. She rushed into the room and shooed Nessa back before sitting on the edge of Elphaba's bed. "It's alright, Elphaba. I'm here," she whispered softly.

Elphaba stopped coughing and moaned, curling into a fetal position. The woman gently rubbed Elphaba's back and whispered calming words to her.

"L-Livia?" Elphaba whispered, slowly turning towards the woman.

"Yes, dear. I'm right here," the woman, Livia, said.

Elphaba curled closer to her and eventually fell asleep. Livia smiled as she gently stroked Elphaba's hair away from her forehead and turned towards Nessa. "Nessa, what are you doing in here?"

"I… I was just…" Nessa stuttered.

"You know you're not allowed in your sister's room, especially when I'm not in here. You know she can't get too excited."

"Why not?"

"You know perfectly well 'why not'. Now, please leave before your sister wakes up again."

Nodding wordlessly, Nessa turned and made for the door. As she walked out, she noticed something in the corner of the room that she didn't notice before and she gasped softly.

Her wheelchair.


Nessa didn't get much sleep that night. What had happened? Why was her sister so sick? It couldn't have anything to do with her wish to be normal. Finally, she managed to drift off to sleep.

She dreamt that she was all alone in pitch darkness. She stretched out her hands, trying to feel if anything, or anyone, was there.

"Hello?" she called out softly.

Suddenly, sparkles of yellow magic swirled in front of her. A blinding flash of light caused Nessa to shield her eyes, and when the light died down, she slowly looked up and was face to face with a young woman in about her late twenties, wearing an all white dress and a star tiara in her in hair.

"Wh-Who are you?" Nessa whispered, backing away slowly.

The young woman chuckled. "My name is Luma, but I'm better known as the 'first star of the night'."

Nessa blinked, then it clicked for her. "I… you're a star?"

Luma nodded.

"I… I made the wish on you two nights ago?"

Again, Luma nodded. "You did, child. You made a wish, and I heard the desperation in your voice, so I chose to grant it for you. This is your perfect life."

"My… my sister. What happened to her?"

Luma's expression changed slightly. "You wishing for a perfect life meant that someone else must suffer. It is impossible to wish someone out of existence, which is why she is the way she is now. That's the price to pay for such wishes. Nothing can be completely perfect."

"I didn't mean for anything bad to happen to her. I just wanted to be normal."

"I know you did, child, but all wishes come with a cost. And sometimes… it's a very steep one."

"But… what happened to her?" Nessa repeated.

"When your sister was born in this new reality, her heart was extremely weak, and it still is. It's the reason she's very sick, has those constant coughing fits and rarely leaves her room, or her bed for that matter. Her eyesight is rapidly deteriorating. Her body is slowly shutting down. And I trust you noticed your old wheelchair in her room."

Nessa nodded sadly.

"Your parents only saw her green skin and refused to care for her, leaving her in the care of Livia, her nurse."

"Why am I not allowed to see my sister?"

"Something's never change. Your sister still loves you and is devoted to your happiness. When you were younger, you would visit her, which would cause your sister to get excited. And when she gets too excited, her heart can't handle it. Livia doesn't want you to see her because she actually cares about Elphaba's health and wellbeing."

"So… my mother… she didn't chew milkflowers when she was pregnant with me?"

"No, she didn't. She drank mildew tea instead. Frex tried to get her to chew milkflowers, but she refused, and that's why you were born normal.

"But I can fix it, right?" Nessa asked. "Can't I just wish for everything to go back to the way it was before?"

"No," Luma shook her head. "Sadly, wishes that powerful cannot be undone. You made a wish to change your reality, and now that this is your reality, you must live it."

Nessa was about to say more, but she felt herself waking up.

"You must wake now, child," Luma said as she saw Nessa trying to fight it. "The night is almost over." She leaned over and gently kissed the younger Thropp's forehead.

Nessa woke up with a start. She squinted against the bright sunshine shining into her room. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes and got out of bed, yawning as she dragged her feet against the carpet and grabbed her clothes before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Good morning, Nessa," Melena smiled when Nessa entered the dining room.

"Morning," Nessa sighed, sitting down and spreading her food around on her plate.

"Nessa, is everything alright?" Frex asked, looking up from his paper.

"Yes, Father. Everything's fine."

The Governor didn't look convinced, but simply shrugged and let the matter drop. Nessa only ate half of her food before claiming to be full and excused herself to get her books together. After saying goodbye to her parents, and accepting the money her mother gave her for ice cream, Nessa walked out the front door and started on her way to school. Guilt filled her heart when she realized that she didn't visit Elphaba before she left. Before she knew it, she was in the school courtyard and Ari and Mathaia came running up to her.

"Hi, Nessa," Mathaia smiled.

"Are you still going out with Boq after school?" Ari asked excitedly.

The brunette blushed. "Yes. We're going out to ice cream after school."

The two girls squealed and hurriedly asked Nessa for all the details, although there wasn't much to tell. Finally, the bell rang and the three girls went inside. The day passed slowly for Nessa. Her friends noticed that she was only half focused on them at recess and when they questioned her about it, she simply said that she was just a bit tired. Finally, the end of the day came and Nessa met Boq outside.

"Hi," the Munchkin smiled shyly.

"Hi," Nessa blushed. "Are you ready to go?"

Boq nodded and began to walk away. Nessa blinked before following him and shyly slipped her hand into his. Boq stiffened and slowly looked down at their joint hands. "Is this… okay?" Nessa asked.

Boq stayed silent as he observed their hands. "Yeah."

Nessa smiled as they continued their walk to the ice cream shop. After being seated in a booth, they talked and laughed until their ice cream came. The brunette couldn't stop smiling as she looked across the table at Boq, who looked extremely cute when he blushed.

"Nessa?"

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the middle-school dance with me next week."

Nessa looked up and smiled. Boq would have never asked her to the dance if she were stuck in that wheelchair. How would she even dance? "I would love to."

Boq looked relieved as he slowly exhaled. "Great. I mean, thanks… I mean…"

Nessa giggled softly and finished her chocolate ice cream. "Thank you, Boq."

"For what?"

Nessa giggled a bit louder. "Asking me."

"Oh, right, that. You're welcome. I mean… thanks… I mean…" The Munchkin groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Are… are you finished?"

"Yes, thank you," Nessa said as she stood up.

Both teenagers paid for their ice cream and walked out, hand in hand. Boq walked Nessa back home and they paused in front of the large doors.

"Well… I'll see you tomorrow," Boq smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Nessa smiled.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Boq looked like he wanted to move, but for some reason, he didn't. Both Munchkins stood on the steps, staring at each other. Nessa bit her lip and swallowed before nervously leaning forward and kissing the Boq's cheek.

All of the blood rushed to Boq face and he stuttered before managing a 'see you tomorrow' and slowly walking away, as if in a daze. Nessa smiled to herself and hoped that no one, especially her father, had witnessed the kiss. Sighing, she opened the door and walked inside before closing it behind her. She found her mother sitting in the parlor, knitting.

"Hi, sweetie," Melena smiled, looking up. "How was school?"

"It was fine," Nessa said as she set her bag down and hugged her mother.

"How was ice cream with Boq?"

"Okay," Nessa shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. "Is something happening tonight?" she asked as she noticed the maids rushing in and out of the rooms.

Melena nodded. "It's our annual dinner party tonight."

"Can I go?"

"You'll be in bed, fast asleep," Melena chuckled.

Nessa smiled and settled next to her mother, taking a book from the coffee table and beginning to read. She heard footsteps enter the parlor and looked up to see Livia.

"Excuse me, Madame," the nurse said as she slowly took a step forward. "But Miss Elphaba is calling for you."

Nessa looked up slightly and saw her mother frown before developing a deeper interest in her knitting. "Tell her that I am extremely busy at the moment."

Livia didn't look happy, but nodded and walked out of the room.

I had always though that Mama loved Fabala, Nessa thought, though she didn't say anything. It was probably one of the changes in her new reality. She made a mental note to visit her sister later on.

Later that evening, once she heard the adults downstairs enjoying their dinner party, Nessa snuck out of bed and quickly tiptoed down the hall to her sister's room. She paused briefly when she heard Livia's voice from inside Elphaba's room. She pushed herself against the wall when she heard her come out. The footsteps grew fainter and fainter and Nessa heard a door close. Slowly exhaling, she hurried to her sister's room and slowly opened the door.

Elphaba was asleep, but slowly stirred and opened her eyes when she heard the door open. "N-Nessa?"

"Hi, Fabala," Nessa said as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her.

Elphaba weakly pushed herself up and leaned against the headboard. "What are you doing here?"

"I… wanted to visit you," Nessa said as she approached her sister and sat on the edge of her bed.

The green girl looked up slightly and smiled. "Thank you."

The younger Thropp reached out and held her sister's hand. The two sisters lapsed into a comfortable silence, neither of them knowing how to start a conversation.

"What did you do today?" Elphaba asked.

The brunette blushed. "Nothing really. After school today, I got ice cream with Boq."

Elphaba's face brightened. "You went on a date with Boq?"

"It wasn't a date, Fabala," Nessa said lightly, giggling. "It was just… two friends getting ice cream. And we… we kissed."

Elphaba gasped and pushed herself up more, clearly interested in this new detail Nessa told her. The brunette could tell she was getting excited and wondered if she shouldn't have told her that.

"Really?" the green girl asked excitedly. "Boq kissed you?"

"Actually, I kissed him."

Elphaba laughed softly. "What was it like?"

Nessa shrugged. "It was just a little kiss on the cheek. It wasn't anything big. Mama and Father don't know about it."

Elphaba's smile faltered at the mention of their parents and she quickly tried to cover it up, but not without Nessa noticing.

"How are you feeling?" Nessa asked quietly.

Elphaba gave a half-shrug. "Fine." She slowly turned her head towards the window, then back at Nessa. "You… you really like Boq, don't you?"

"He's just a friend, but… yes, I do. He's never really spoken to me before…" She trailed off.

"Before what?"

Shaking her head, Nessa gently helped her sister under the covers. "Nothing, Fabala. It's late. We should get some rest."

Elphaba didn't look happy, but didn't protest.

"Goodnight," Nessa said as she squeezed her sister's hand before leaving.

"Night," Elphaba whispered.

Nessa stepped out and closed her sister's door behind her. "I'm sorry, Fabala," she whispered before hurrying back to her own room.


I honestly considered having Nessa wish Elphaba away and being an only child in her new reality, but I wanted her to feel SUPER guilty.