Satilliteheart: Oh, she knows. She just can't act on it. And as for that apology… that might take a while.
AirHawk19: Oh, of course it will get worse!
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Oh, I have something planned for Fiyero much worse than falling into the pond.
PocketSevens: Don't worry. Fiyero will get into trouble without any help from Elphaba.
Prince Fiyero hummed to himself as he strolled down the corridors of the castle. He stopped when he noticed Nessarose sitting in the parlor, softly brushing her doll's hair. Smirking to himself, he got an idea and walked in.
Nessa looked up and stood when she saw the prince. "Your Highness," she said with a curtsy.
"Hello, Miss Nessarose," the prince said sweetly, causing the younger girl to blush. "I need your help with something."
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"I lost something and I was wondering if you will help me look for it."
Nessarose nodded and followed the prince out. They walked down the corridor and down a flight of stairs before coming to an old door.
"What room is that?" Nessarose asked, having never been down there before.
"It's my secret playroom," Fiyero whispered.
"Ooh!"
"It's a secret that only I –and now you– know about."
"I like secrets."
"I know you do, which is why you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this."
"Okay," Nessa nodded. "What did you leave down there?"
"I left one of my toy soldiers."
"So… why don't you just go down and get it?"
Fiyero opened the door. It was pitch black inside, not a single light was shining. "It's dark right now, and I wanted someone to go down with me."
"Oh," Nessa whispered, not liking the dark.
"But… if we go down together, it won't be so bad," Fiyero said.
Nessarose blinked her large, chocolate eyes. She supposed that if she was going with Prince Fiyero, things would be fine. "Okay."
"Great! You go first."
"Me?"
Fiyero nodded. "I'll be right behind you."
"I… I think you should go first."
"Okay. I'll go first. I was just thinking that a big, brave girl like you wouldn't be afraid of the dark and –"
"Wait!" Nessa interrupted, just like the prince had planned. "I'll… I can go first."
Fiyero smiled and walked behind Nessarose down the dark staircase. Once they reached the bottom, Nessa asked where the toy was.
"I think it's somewhere on the other side of the room," Fiyero said.
He saw Nessarose's dim-lit face nod and slowly walk to the other side. Smirking, the prince quickly and quietly made his way back up the staircase. "Prince Fiyero?" was the last thing he heard before he shut the giant door, trapping the three-year-old girl inside… the dungeon.
Elphaba was walking back from the privy when she didn't hear her sister's voice in the parlor where she had left her. Sighing, she hurried inside, hoping her sister hadn't left. Not seeing her sister, she began to panic. She was supposed to be watching her and making sure she stayed out of trouble.
"Nessarose?" she called. "Nessie, where are you?"
Not hearing a response, Elphaba searched the parlor for her sister. Finding the room Nessarose-less, she expanded her search to the rest of that floor of the castle. Still coming up empty, she went up to check the nursery. Still not finding Nessa, she grunted in frustration. Where was she?
She ran back down to the parlor. As she turned the corner, she bumped into the last person she wanted to see.
"Watch where you're going, frog!" the prince frowned.
Elphaba dipped into a curtsy. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"Where are you hopping to in such a hurry, anyway?"
"I…" Elphaba stopped. She couldn't tell the prince she was looking for her sister. That would cause too much of an uproar… especially for her. "I was…"
"Well?" Fiyero asked.
"I was… in a hurry to get a snack, Your Highness," Elphaba said, curtsying and maneuvering around the prince.
"You were going to get a snack without your sister?" Fiyero called without turning around to face the green girl.
Elphaba stopped in her tracks and whirled around. "You know where my sister is?"
"I might, or I might not. And if I did, why would I tell you? Isn't it your responsibility to watch over her?"
"You know where my sister is."
"Like I said before, broccoli girl, I might or I might not. Are you deaf as well as horribly discolored?"
"Tell me where my sister is."
Fiyero frowned. "A frog doesn't tell a prince what to do."
"Your Highness," Elphaba said, her voice dripping with false sweetest, "would you please tell me where my sister is?"
"Well, it appears it is possibly to teach an old frog manners. Very well. We were playing a game of hide-and-seek and –"
"You were near my sister?" Elphaba whispered, a million worst-case scenarios running through her mind.
"You will not interrupt me! I am allowed to be near whoever I please. Anyway, your sister is hiding."
"Hiding where?"
"That's for me to know and for you to figure out."
"Prince Fiyero!"
"I would stop wasting time here, if I were you. After all, we wouldn't want the rats to get her, now would we?"
Elphaba watched as the prince strolled away. Rats? What did he mean by…
No!
Elphaba hurried down the corridor and down the stairs to the dungeon door. No. Her sweet little sister couldn't be down there all alone. Nessarose did nothing to deserve this. How dare that prince! He's just doing this to make her look bad. In fact, everything he does is to make her look bad. She didn't even want to think about the punishment she would get for this.
"Nessie?" she whispered down the dark staircase as she opened the door.
Silence answered her.
Gulping, Elphaba slowly made her way down the staircase, feeling her way as best she could. When she reached the bottom, she squinted through the darkness for her sister. "Nessie?"
"Faba?"
Nessarose's voice echoed through the dungeon, and Elphaba couldn't place her. "Nessie, where are you?"
"Over here!"
"Here where?"
"In the corner."
Elphaba squinted and thought she saw her sister's small, huddled figure in the far-right corner. She hurried towards it, and was relieved that it was her sister. "Oh, Nessie," Elphaba exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"Faba!" Nessarose cried, leaning against her sister's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Nessie! Are you alright? What happened?"
"Faba, I wanna get out of here now."
"Okay, Nessie. We'll leave," Elphaba said as she stood, helping her sister up as well. She took her hand and led her back up the stairs, but wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her when they emerged. Her parents, along with the king, queen, and Fiyero were standing there, waiting for them.
"Elphaba! Nessarose! There you are!" Melena exclaimed in relief. "We were so wor- Elphaba, what happened to Nessarose?"
Elphaba looked over at her sister and gasped softly. Her sister's face and hands were covered in bloody scratches. She couldn't have seen it in the dark. What had happened down there?
Melena rushed to her daughter and scooped her into her arms. She turned back to the royals. "Your Majesties, may I –"
"Of course," the queen nodded.
Melena nodded and dipped into a quick curtsy, hurrying away with Nessarose.
"Come, Fiyero," the queen said, gently placing her hand on her son's shoulder.
Fiyero followed his mother, but not before throwing a quick smirk at Elphaba. The king followed his wife and son, leaving Frexspar alone with Elphaba.
The green girl gulped and hung her head, already knowing what was in store for her. She felt her father approaching her and flinched slightly when he grabbed her arm. He pulled her into the nursery and closed the door behind him, grabbing the wooden paddle from behind the door. He threw Elphaba onto the bad and wacked her on her bottom with the paddle. Elphaba bit her lip to avoid crying out, knowing it would only make it worse. After twenty whacks, Frexspar stopped.
"You are not to leave the nursery for the rest of the night. Until you prove that you can be trusted again, you are not to leave the apartment unchaperoned. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" he asked.
Elphaba nodded wordlessly and heard her father leave, closing the door behind him. Sniffling, she wiped the tears from her eyes and crawled closer to her pillow. Grabbing her stuffed bunny, she hugged it against to her chest. Why must she continue to suffer at the hands of the prince like this? What could she have possibly done to make him hate her so much? What could he possibly gain from all of this?
April Year 1148
Ever since the prince's seventh birthday the previous month, he had been spending most of the day with his private tutors, which meant that Elphaba was a bit freer. She could read outside again without having to worry about Prince Fiyero throwing her books into the pond. Her father had relieved her from her punishment, being unable to stay mad at his eldest daughter for very long.
With her own birthday coming up, the green girl was simply ecstatic. The other castle workers were also very excited about the green girl's sixth birthday. They didn't make a big party out of it like the prince's, but rather, it was a simple party with just Melena, Frexspar, Nessarose, and the birthday girl herself in the sitting room of their apartment.
"Happy birthday, Elphaba!" Melena and Frexspar smiled as they kissed their daughter's cheeks.
"Open my present first, Faba!" Nessarose smiled, handing Elphaba a box that the little girl had clearly wrapped herself.
Elphaba smiled as she carefully unwrapped the (poorly) wrapped present. She smiled, pulling out a colorful board game.
"We can play it together," Nessarose smiled. "Do you like it?"
"I love it. Thank you, Nessie," Elphaba smiled as she hugged her sister.
The little girl giggled.
After the rest of her presents were opened, which consisted of new dresses and books (which she promptly promised her father she wouldn't ruin), it was time for the girls' nap. Nessa did her usual protests, but allowed her father to carry her to her bed. Once both girls were tucked in and asleep, the two adults slipped out to attend to their castle duties.
An hour later, Elphaba woke up from her nap hungry. She looked over at her sister, who was still asleep, and slipped out of bed. Tiptoeing out the door and closing it behind her, she quietly made her way down to the kitchen, using the servants' door. Smiling, she spotted a basket of strawberries, her favorite fruit. Giggling, she hurried over to the basket and, grabbing it from the table, crawled underneath it and began to snack.
When the cook came back, she was shocked to find the basket missing, but calmed down when she heard a giggle from underneath the table. Peering down, she chuckled softly, seeing Elphaba with strawberries all over her face.
"Oh, Miss Elphaba," the cook said, chuckling as she gently pulled Elphaba from under the table and helped her to her feet. Shaking her head, she used a cloth to clean the little girl's face. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere right now?"
Elphaba shrugged. "May I have more strawberries, please?"
The cook shook her head. "If you eat all the strawberries now, there won't be any left for your birthday surprise after dinner."
Elphaba immediately brightened up. "What surprise?"
"If I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, would it?"
"No, I suppose it wouldn't," the green child said after thinking it over.
"No, it wouldn't," the cook said before ushering Elphaba out. "Now, run along now. I have work to do."
Nodding with a giggle, the birthday green girl skipped away. The cook watched her go with a smile before returning to her work. She was rolling dough when she heard footsteps and turned to see the young prince.
"Your Highness," she said with a curtsy, subtly trying to hide the basket, knowing the prince would try to take it for himself.
Fiyero frowned at her.
"May I help you with something?"
"I am hungry," Fiyero announced like it was the most important news in the country.
"I shall prepare a snack for you."
"What's that?" Fiyero asked, eyeing the basket.
"Um… nothing," the cook said, trying (and failing) to cover it up.
"Are those strawberries?"
She stepped in front of the basket to block it from the prince's view. "No. Well… maybe… sort of… yes, they are."
"Give them to me!" Fiyero commanded.
"But Prince Fiyero, these are for Miss Elphaba's –"
"Are you denying me something that I requested because of the pond frog?" the prince asked, clearly getting angry.
"It is her birthday, Your Highness, and she –"
"I don't care what day it is! I commanded you to give me the basket!"
"But –"
"Now! Before I decided to tell my father of your incompetence!"
The cook turned away in fear, but reluctantly gave the prince the basket. With a satisfied smirk, the prince stuck out his tongue at her and ran away, laughing. Scowling, the cook fisted her hands against her hips and glared at the prince behind his back.
Sighing, she turned back to her dough, wondering how she was going to tell Elphaba that there wouldn't be a strawberry surprise for her birthday.
After dinner, the cook came and gently told Elphaba that she wouldn't have strawberry tarts for her birthday. Though upset, Elphaba accepted the banana tarts gratefully and gave the cook a smile.
"Thank you," she said, finishing a tart and reaching for another, while Nessa worked on her third tart.
"You're welcome, Miss Elphaba… and Miss Nessarose," she said with a chuckle as Nessa reached for a fourth tart, and was promptly stopped by her mother.
"Thank you," Nessa smiled at the cook, hoping that would get her another tart.
The cook nodded and left the family's private apartment, the last thing she heard was Melena saying, "Alright, one more and that's it for the night." and Nessarose's happy squeal.
"Seyla!"
The cook turned around and saw a maid hurrying over to her. "Yes, Maylah?"
"Prince Fiyero has requested a snack."
"But… he just ate."
"It's what the prince requested. And he says that he wants it immediately."
"Well, I'd better just drop everything and do what His Highness wants, mustn't I?" the cook said, clearly mocking the prince.
The maid gave her a sympathetic look as she hurried away, leaving the cook alone. Sighing, she hurried back to the kitchens to prepare a last minute snack for the prince.
Yes, yes, I know. Fiyero will get better…. maybe… eventually.