The poor and definitely not perfect author of this fanfic is incredibly grateful to see that some people have read the story so far and actually enjoy it. You can't believe how happy it made me to see my very first reviews. I thank each and every one of you personally for reviewing!

So, I decided to make a chapter or two about their childhood and their relationship with people in their life. Elphaba's part of the story is a bit Melena-centric but in this story Melena is very important. Also, in Fiyero's part of the story I introduce an OC that will also play an important role later in the story.

I hope you don't find this boring or too long and that you actually enjoy reading about little Elphie and little Fifi before they attend Shiz and met.

Enjoy your ride to the world of Oz with me and Review if you want!

Love,
Katria

Disclaimer: Wicked the musical and the book aren't min, neither is the song Melena and Elphaba sing. It is the song "Castle on a cloud" from Les Miserables

Chapter Two: Childhood I

*Munchkinland, 4th year of the Wizard*

*Elphaba and Melena*

"There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.
There is a room that's full of toys,
There are a hundred boys and girls,
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud."

Little thin green fingers along with pearly white ones moved over the white keys of the piano and a beautiful melody filled the parlor of the Governor's Mansion. The music was followed by a sweet voice and happy giggles.

"There is a lady all in white,
Holds me and sings a lullaby,
She's nice to see and she's soft to touch,
She says Fabala, I love you very much."

The music continued playing along with the mother's singing for a little while until the song ended. The little green piano player heard a happy laugh and an applause and looked up at her mother.

"Fabala that was amazing! If you keep on practicing, you'll excel your piano playing!" Elphaba's amber eyes opened wide in happiness.

"And I'll be like you mummy?" Melena nodded with a smile.

"You'll be even better!" The green girl giggled happily. Her mother was her hero and she wanted to be just like her mummy, beautiful, fun and kind. Her mummy was different than her- she knew her mother didn't have green skin- but Melena loved her anyway.

"Sing to me mummy, again!" said the three years old but her mother shook her head negatively.

"My little Emerald I have to go to the grocery story for last minute Lurlinemas shopping. Tonight's the party!" The girl was sad her mother couldn't stay with her but she was excited about the party. Last year she had been very young to attend but this would be her very first Lurlinemas party and she was very happy to receive present, talk to people and play with her toys under the Lurlinemas tree.

"You'all stay here with Nanny darling and I'll be back soon!" She kissed her daughter's forehead and whispered a tender "I love you" before slipping away from the parlor and made to leave the house.

An hour later, Elphaba had gotten bored of drawing a picture with herself and her mother so she went back to the parlor to practice her piano skills. What she didn't know though was that the maid had just mopped the marble floor. So, the moment the girl set foot inside and made a few steps, she slipped. To avoid the fall, the little girl tried to take grip of a table, only to cause the fall of a vase.

The moment the first sob escaped her lips, Nanny was at the door, her thoughts accusing Elphaba already. But instead of a mischievous toddler, Nanny saw a little scared girl, covered in water from the vase, with broken glass and fallen flowers around her. The old woman took the now crying three year old in her arms and tried to calm her down. She muttered a few soothing words to calm the girl down and she soon made her stop her wailing.

"What did you do Fabala?" asked the old woman, with a tiny flicker of anger in her voice. Elphaba only hugged her tightly, seeking for the comfort of her mother. Nanny was the only other person who made Elphaba feel safe, except Melena of course, and she was her source of comfort and love at that moment. It was something she rarely- probably never- received from her father.

"I didn't do anything Nanny. I wanted to play the piano but I slipped!" The older woman looked at the still wet floor and nodded. A second later, when she herself almost slipped, she gave Elphaba a reassuring smile. Elphaba knew what that smile mean. No word of this harmless incident would reach her father. He wouldn't punish her for breaking the vase because it was a mistake.

But Elphaba's luck run dry the moment Frexspar Thropp entered the parlor and saw the mess Elphaba had accidentally made.

"What is going on here?" he demanded with his strict voice that always made Elphaba's blood run dry. Even though she was very young, she understood that her father wasn't fond of her. She didn't and couldn't know how much he hated her or that he hated her at all but she knew he didn't like her that much. Frexspar never hugged her or kissed her like Melena usually did. He never spoke kindly to her and he locked her in her room whenever Melena wasn't around to stop him from doing so. Frex didn't know a thing about his daughter. He had no idea what she liked to do. He didn't know that Elphaba had practically taught herself reading a few weeks prior or that she played the piano as well as her mother who had been taught by the best instructors. He didn't know that his daughter was afraid of the dark or that she didn't like water. He had no idea that she slept with a handmade doll in the form of a scarecrow or that she always lit a candle by her bedside to keep away the bad dreams. Frex had declared his child a devil and refused to anknowledge her.

Elphaba snuggled closer to Nanny's arms and the older woman placed her hand protectively around the tiny child.

"Frex, Fabala didn't do anything wrong. She slipped and accidentally threw the vase!" Nanny explained. The man though was expressionless and his gaze hard. Elphaba could feel his anger, directed only her way and her incredibly intelligent brain could already see herself locked in her bedroom as punishment.

"Nanny, take Elphaba upstairs and lock her in her room. I will deal more with this later." he said and the threat in his voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Frexspar I don't think..."

"I told you to take the little monster upstairs. I have guests later and she's already caused trouble. I'll deal with Elphaba myself when we are clear of the mess she made!" Nanny didn't question him anymore. She only nodded and took Elphaba upstairs. Once there, Nanny locked the green girl in her room, at least until Melena's return.

But she only had one though! This Lurlinemas wouldn't end good!

Her husband was the Governor of Munchkinland and every year he invited the Mayor and other high officials with their families over for Lurlinemas celebration and dinner. And of course Melena, as his wife, had to entertain the guests.

She considered this gathering a waste of time and hated everything about it. Lurlinemas had always been about family and people you love. She remembered her childhood Lurlinemas in Gillikin where her whole family gathered together, exchanged gifts and sang the carols. This kind of life, the warmth her parents, her siblings, her cousins, her grandparents brought her, always held a special place in her heart. It was family above all, not wealth and power.

But since she had married Frexspar Thropp, her Lurlinemas was miserable. Fancy dresses, high officials, perky wives, gossiping and politics weren't exactly her thing. And it wasn't like she could easily escape this façade. Only the year she had been pregnant Frex had allowed her to leave dinner and go to rest but that was when he happily waited for an heir, not a green daughter. During Elphaba's first and second Lurlinemas things had been quiet too because her "loving" husband had been so ashamed of his daughter to invite his supposed friends to dinner.

This year however Melena had no excuse. Apparently, "taking care of the artichoke" wasn't a good excuse for Frex. He hated Elphaba from the moment she had been born and he considered her hideous just because of her skin color. Thankfully, Melena loved her daughter and considered her the most beautiful baby girl in all the realms. For Melena, Elphaba wasn't green. She was emerald and beautiful, with her soft black locks and amber eyes.

It was Elphaba's third Lurlinemas and Melena wanted it to be perfect. The green girl had been born on April and she was almost two years and a half now. And she was a perfect little lady. During the party she didn't particularly enjoy herself. There were only adults she didn't know and people who stared at her strangely. She didn't like the feeling but she could do nothing to avoid it. The earlier incident with the broken vase was still fresh in her memory and she believed she was in trouble for that too. So she only sat beside her mother and said nothing.

She was sitting on the comfortable sofa, her little legs going back and forth and her fingers playing with the hem of her violet dress. Her shoulder length raven hair were falling in messy waves, looking more curly than usual. All in all, beside the weird looks and silent comments about her skin color, Melena heard numerous guests referring to Elphaba as beautiful. Or even tragically beautiful...

The Mayor's wife was probably more fond of Elphaba than Frex and that was a surprise the governor hadn't expected.

"Your girl is such a wonderful child Melena dear. So quiet and obedient. My sons were nothing like that at her age!" she commented on several occasions, always bringing a smile upon Melena's face.

Knowing her daughter and knowing herself, Melena was the only one to notice Elphaba's visible boredom. So she made a suggestion she was sure her daughter would never refuse. And a suggestion that would surely enrage Frex.

"Do you know that Elphaba can play the piano already Madame Pincer?" The Mayor's wife had the surprise of her life.

"But she is only three Melena honey! How can she play the piano already?" she asked after a while.

"Why don't we prove Madame Pincer wrong Fabala dear?" asked Melena as she turned towards her daughter with her sweetest smile. Elphaba's boredom disappeared the moment she heard the words and she immediately stood up and made for the piano. Frex on the other hand, moved at the back of the parlor to hide his shame. He was completely sure that the girl would make a fool of herself.

So, when he heard the first notes leaving the piano, he felt his ears turning red with anger and confusion. The tiny green thing played the carols in the piano more skillfully that he would have ever imagined. She was almost as good as Melena, never slipping or losing a note. Everyone around him looked in amazement as the three year old played the piano and he could see some of them smiling with pride as they looked at him.

Melena's smile was the most haunting of all. Watching her this triumphant drive him mad and the night had't still ended.

As Elphaba finished, Melena run to her and kissed both of her green blushing cheeks and everyone around her applauded happily. Only Frex remained silent and alone in the dark corner, listening to people congratulating him on his wonderful child. He felt like an idiot for not answering...

Melena would have enjoyed her time putting her daughter to sleep, had it not been for the guests downstairs. After playing the carols on the piano, Elphaba had gotten tired so her mother carried her to the bedroom to put her to sleep.

As Elphaba drifted to sleep Melena cursed under her breath. She didn't want to go back downstairs and play the sweet, loving, devoted and obedient wife of the Governor. She wanted to be with her daughter and sing her songs, braid her hair, give her gifts. She knew she couldn't do it so she repeatedly cursed Frex several times in her head.

Melena carefully placed her sleeping daughter in her bed and tucked her in as well as she good. When she was finished and Elphaba was warmly in her bed sleeping, Melena kissed her forehead.

"Merry Lurlinemas Fabala!"

When she returned to the guests, some women asked her where she had been. Frex was only sending her disapproving looks that she ignored with a skillful smile. Her answer was innocent, sweet but venomous at the same time...

"I was taking care of my little Emerald. Lurlinemas is for family after all!"

Melena had small victories against her husband and that Lurlinemas night she had won one. Her devotion to her daughter had intrigued the other ladies who started asking the young woman questions about her green child. Especially after seeing her talent in piano.

"My little Elphaba, she is so smart and talented. She is really good at drawing and she already knows how to read. I'm so proud of her!" Those were little words, almsost meaningless but quite enough to enrage Frex. The women seemed to agree with Melena that the green toddler was indeed a unique child and that was something her husband would never understand.

Several comments reached Frexspar's ears that night and all were compliments about the girl he had to call his daughter.

"Oh Melena dear you are such a good mother!"

"Elphaba is a true gem! You are so lucky!" And the comments went on and on, all the while making Melena smile triumphantly and Frex frown miserably. Melena and the green bean were the center of attention and he certainly didn't want that. He was made to look like a total fool while Melena was considered the perfect parent. Perfect parent to an imperfect child... and the man couldn't allow it...

The moment the last guest left the Thropp Mansion, did Melena regretted her decision to annoy Frex. An argument was in store for sure and she wasn't in the mood.

"What was that at the dinner?" he snapped but Melena only smiled sweetly,innocently.

"I don't know what you mean!"

"You encouraging that thing to play the piano in front of my guests. And let's not forget your on and on bumbling about the green monster!" His eyes, dark as the night sky, couldn't read Melena's but the woman was smiling.

"Why would I not? She is my child and I love her." she calmly explained.

"How can you love that thing? It is disgusting. An abomination! You should try producing me a true heir instead of wasting your time over a monster!"

"Wasting my time? Producing you an heir? What am I Frexspar, your cow?" She was getting angrier and angrier every minute that passed and controlling her emotions had never been easy.

"You are my wife Melena and you are supposed to respect me!" He paused for a moment to gaze into Melena. Her expression was blank and unreadable so he continued talking." I should have drown that monster when it was first born!"

Melena slapped him.

"You are a monster! She is a child, for Oz's shake!"

"I'm not the monster Melena! That green thing is the real monster. She is destroying you and she is poisoning our love!" Frex would never in his life forget the sound that came from down his wife's throat. He would never forget the madness in her blazing eyes as she laughed at his words, as the laugh echoed in the empty halls. He blamed her reaction to alcohol even though he knew for a fact that Melena detested alcohol.

"Love?" she forced the word out of her mouth as if it was poison. He looked at her in question as she continued laughing and repeating that word. "Oh sweet Oz! No!" she mumbled and turned on her heel to leave the parlor. Her laugh had now stopped but something was terribly off and Frex wanted to know...

He followed her as she made her way to the nursery to check on a sleeping Elphaba and he tried not to vomit at the scene of such beauty beside such ugliness. How could a creature as beautiful and graceful as Melena had given birth to an abomination of a human being?

By the time she made it to their shared bedroom - a bedroom she hated with all her heart - Melena had stopped laughing completely and instead was calm and back to her normal friendly and cold self. But when she turned to face him again, her eyes were anything but calm. With a deep breath, the woman approached her husband and pointed a finger on his chest.

"How can an angel such as Elphaba poison our love if it is none existent?" She was calm all the while but Frex had already seen red.

"What do you mean?" he hissed the words. Melena was determined to fight against him now. She had no idea how or why but suddenly she decided that it was time to break free from the golden cage she had been trapped for so long. This wasn't her life. Frex wasn't her true love and he would never be. He wasn't even the father of the child he so hated.

Her determined eyes locked with his and he felt so small, so meaningless, under her amber gaze.

"I never loved you Frex. Not even once! And I probably never will. Your damn marriage proposal was an arrangement to get your filthy hands on my family's riches. Because of you I lost my freedom and my true love. Because of you I am miserable and my only source of happiness is this child, green or not. I only love her in this world. Never you! Never!"

A stinking pain found its way on her pearly cheek, leaving a red mark upon it. A wave of pain came exactly the moment she realized what was happening.

She backed away from him, her amber eyes aflame with hatred... all the hatred she had held behind since her marriage to him. She remained silent for what seemed to be hours- or even days- but she found her voice again, just in time to stop his hand from colliding with her cheek a second time.

"You monster!" she hissed under her breath, her hand now resting on her reeling head. His dark eyes were maddening and full of disgust. For her? For their marriage? For her child? She didn't care and she didn't wish to find out.

Unfortunately though Melena Thropp, née DeRuelle, saw Frexspar's true colors the hard way that night. Her own cries didn't stop him. Her protest's neither. Elphaba's crying from the nursery didn't stop him. Nothing could...

When he finished he only said four words that were supposed to break her spirit just like her words had broken his pride.

"You belong to me!"

He had no idea that his actions and his words made Melena more determined...

Her mother... Her sweet, wonderful and perfect mother was the only thing she loved in this life. She was the only person to love Elphaba without barriers and conditions. She loved her trully and purely, like her life depended on this love. It actually did but Elphaba had no idea. She just loved her mother with all her heart. Whenever Melena was home, Frex dared not to hurt Elphaba in any way. He ignored her but he never yelled or touched her. But in case Melena was outside, Frex was showing his true cruel face, yelling at Elphaba for no real reason, sometimes beating her and call her insulting names. Afterwards there was hell to pay because Melena always found out and they argued about his treatment toward the green child. Melena always supported her because Elphaba was probably the most well behaved, kind, caring and protective little girl in the entire world. She never cried as a baby. She never demanded things and attention. She was polite and incredibly intelligent and her mother adored that on her.

Under the covers of her bed, Elphaba clunched the scarecrow doll closer to her chest and forced her eyes to shut. The voices of her parents though were still audible. What she could hear wasn't talking. It was screaming and yelling and it came from two rooms down the same corridor. The cries created an atmosphere that sent shivers down her spine. It was like a nightmare...

She started humming a lullaby to block the voices away but she found herself crying silently too. Her only comfort was the scarecrow doll in her arms and her fluffy pillow.

The cries had stopped now or so she thought. Only her voice humming the lullaby was heard in the deep dark night.

Melena had had enough. She had waited for years for things to change but they never did. She was more hurt every day and her little Emerald was suffering. Staying with Frex so that Elphaba could have a complete family had been a mistake. She should have left a long time ago, before Frex would have a chance to damage her like he had done and to hurt Elphaba like he had done.

She waited three days for the perfect chance. In the meantime she prepared everything she may needed with her and hid them in the backyard garden, where Frex never went. Clothes, necessary food, medicine and all her money were safely taken out of the mansion until she would have a chance to make her escape from her prison.

She found her chance three days later when Frex had been in a business trip in Gillikin. She had gathered all her courage, wrote a letter to Nanny and a separate letter for Frex and entered Elphaba's bedroom in the middle of the night.

She tugged her daughter's shoulder and the girl stirred. Her eyes were puffy red and sleepy but she immediately recognised her mother and hugged her in her sleep delirium.

"My little Emerald, do you want to leave this place and go away with mama?" she whispered in her ear and the girl nodded before answering.

"I want to leave mama!" By the sound of her voice, Melena knew how much her daughter wanted to leave. She was making the right decision. Turning herself from the Governor's wife to Melena DeRuelle again was the most wonderful thing she would ever do and she would never regret it.

The next morning Elphaba woke up on a train going to the Emerald City with her mother hugging her tightly. She was now Elphaba DeRuelle, just the daughter of Melena and not the Governor's. She had never been the Governor's daughter anyway though she had no idea. They were starting a new life together and Melena could only hope that her path would somehow come across with Oscar's path again.

*Fiyero and Tilly*

He was a restless little boy the prince of the Vinkus. The servants would have sworn that he was a real troublemaker in the form of an innocent looking bundle of joy. His parents would have appreciated a few hours of silence, without his constant bumbling and out of key singing. His nannies would have definitely needed more hours of sleep. He was annoying, he was overly excited with everything, he liked to play even during the late hours of night, he saw the good in everyone... But he was wonderful! Oh so wonderful and everyone agreed on that.

At the age of five, Fiyero Tiggular was the most handsome child of the Vinkus, not only because of his status. No one could resist his sparkling azure eyes, the window to his soul. In his eyes there was a certain kind of charm and sparkle that was not similar to anything else. He was only five but he was hiding a storm behind his blue eyes as if he was capable of the greatest love or the greatest hurt. His parents hoped for the first. Beside his eyes, all of his other childish features were perfect too. He had slightly curly dark blond hair, high cheekbones, perfect lips and rosy cheeks. Everything about the little boy was perfect.

In all his mischievous behavior, he was generally a well behaved princes,as always princes are- kind, caring and intelligent. And of course he liked to play all short of games with his parents. But the kind and queen weren't always available so he was lonely most of the time. The worst thing was that people adored him for being a prince but also deserted him due to his title. Not other children lived in the castle and the servant's children didn't play with him. Either they weren't allowed to interact with royalty or they were afraid of his title. He didn't know but he prefered not to dwell on those thoughts most of the time. And up until recently he was an only child.

It had been a nice April evening when his third or so nanny slammed the door of the study room angrily and yelled in the hallway the words that Fiyero knew by heart at this point of his life.

"I quit!" Her strict voice echoed into the hallways of the castle and a few maids run to inform the queen of the nanny's whereabouts and her outburst. It caused the young queen to run up to the study room and find the nanny herself for a little chat.

"My dear Madame Coolpepper what happened?" she asked as kindly as she could, even though she had a vague idea of what was the case. The elder woman seemed more infuriated that anyone Queen Ellauria had ever seen. Her usually brown eyes behind her round glasses now held pure rage and the graying hair were falling messily from the usually strict bun.

With one quick glance around the room, Ellauria noticed an innocent looking Fiyero under the desk, with a drawing pad and a blue crayon. He seemed so careless of what was happening around him as he painted, so concentrated on his work,that it amazed the queen. It was a few minutes later though when her eyes landed on the nearby wall, right behind the elderly nanny. There was a drawing there, huge for a person in Fiyero's hight but small for an adult. Several colors were mixed into creating an image unbelievably beautiful for someone who was five years old. There were what seemed to be two boys in the drawing, one blue and one orange and it almost made Ellauria cry.

"Fiyero did this?" asked the queen just to be sure but only to receive a deathly glare from Madame Coolpepper.

"Your Majesty I'm very sorry for what I'm about to inform you but I'm too old for this. That boy of yours is a little nightmare. Look at the damage he has done. I can't control him!" half said, half yelled the woman and the queen seemed confused.

"I understand Madame that Fiyero is a very energetic child but I'm sure that under your guidance..."

"Our young prince is a wonderful child indeed but his charm won't make him great. He needs to be disciplined and I'm too old to teach him that. One moment he has my full attention and the moment I turn around he makes a mess out of everything. Look at the damage he made here!" Madame Coolpepper pointed to the drawing on the wall and waited for the Queen to feel anger. Queen Ellauria though surprised her with a soft watery smile.

"He has talent, don't you agree?" she mumbled and from under the table she caught Fiyero's blue eyes and his cute smile.

"He might have talent but I certainly can't deal with his artistic choices at the moment. I am very sorry your grace but I have to quit."

Needless to say Fiyero was very much excited about the old woman's departure. He had never liked her much and she wasn't fun to play with so he would surely be better off without her wherever he went and whatever he did. Of course his parents would bring a different nanny but everything and everyone would be better than grumpy old Madame Coolpepper.

And so Fiyero met Tilly.

She was just a poor maid working in the palace gardens, an orphan full of shuttered dreams at the age of twenty. She was beautiful too, having been born with a greenest eyes Fiyero had ever seen and fiery red hair that contrasted perfectly with her pale complexion. Even under the maid's rags she was wearing, even when she spend endless hours in the palace kitchen cooking or scrubbing floors, Tilly was so beautiful and kindhearted.

Little Fiyero had just gotten rid of Madame Coolpepper when he met her. She had been given the task to clean his drawing from the wall in the study room and she was just about to wash the color away when the prince entered the room with hurried steps. It barely took him a minute to comprehend what the maid was about to do and his eyes immediately filled with tears. He run to her and hugged her legs all the while begging her not to erase his piece of art.

"Don't please! No!" he said between silent sobs and the young maid remained speechless for several seconds before snapping out of her trance and kneel beside the prince.

"Prince Fiyero I'm so sorry but I have orders from your mama and papa. It is my job!" she tried to calm the child down but the prince was bound to surprise her.

"Then change job!" he said, determined not to have his drawing erased. Nobody knew what it meant besides himself and it was important for him. He didn't want it gone. The young maid couldn't help but chuckle at his naive demand.

"But my darling little prince I have to do it!" she tried to reason with the five year old clinching her long skirt. She had never had an argument with a toddler before and it was a surprise to see in his eyes more fire and determination than she had ever seen to a person. She came to the silent realization that fighting with a child was worse than fighting with an adult just because of those expressive innocent eyes.

"What does this mean to you anyway?" she asked, not able to find the real reason why Fiyero loved this specific painting so much. He looked at her with a cute smiling face and Tilly felt her heart warming up immediately. She had never met the prince for more than several seconds but she had heard he was a charming child. It seemed that the rumors were correct. He was indeed wonderful.

The boy let go of her skirt and stood up to point her to the figures he had drawn.

"This is me!" he said, pointing to the blue human like figure. Tilly had to admit that he was talented in drawing for a five year old and that he would become a talented painter given the chance.

"And this is my brother!" he added pointing to the orange figure. Tilly was taken aback for a moment. She knew for a fact that Prince Fiyero was an only child.

"The brother you want to have?" she asked confused but totally interested in the boy's fantasy world.

"No! It's the brother I know I'll have!" Those words took her aback. She hadn't expected that answer. She had heard of lonely children making up stories of imaginary friends and worlds, things that didn't exist just to pass their time and live through their loneliness. But she hadn't heard of a child imagining that he would soon have a brother. But maybe there wasn't something too unusual in all this.

"Is your mama with a baby?" she asked but the boy only struggled his shoulders.

"I hope so!"

"And you want a brother?" He nodded with excitement.

"I want a brother to play with and to take care of and play more and eat chocolate with and then play again." He seemed very happy in the prospect of having a sibling and Tilly was ready to inform the Queen of this. She decided against it since it was above her status and her place. She shouldn't even be interacted with the young prince yet she was and if was one of the most wonderful things that would ever happen to her.

"You know I have a brother too!" said she and Fiyero walked to her and sat beside her on the floor, eager to learn about the young maid's brother.

"His name is Themis and he is older than me." she paused her story and Fiyero looked disappointed but he decided to let her speak whenever she wanted.

"My brother loves me very much and he always took care of me when we were young. He played with me and we ate berries from the garden and chocolate and ice cream. We played in the snow during winter and studied together. And at night, whenever I was scared he always kept me company. Themis always loved me and he still does!" she said ever so softly, with every fiber of her skin feeling this long and tender love for her older brother.

"And where is your brother now?" asked Fiyero after a while, overwhelmed by the prospect of having a sibling. He didn't notice the teardrops or Tilly's puffy eyes. He didn't detect the pained hint in her voice as she spoke. He couldn't. He was far too young, far too innocent, far to careless-as a child usually is.

"He is far away!" And he isn't coming back... she wanted to add but she didn't. Instead she settled in telling Fiyero her most wonderful childhood memories with her brother. Garett might have died only a few years ago but memories of him would forever be fresh in her mind and sharing them with a five year old would probably be the most wonderful way to revive them.

Several hours later, Queen Ellauria entered the study room to find her son asleep in Tilly's arms. The young maid was crying silently but she managed to lift Fiyero and put him in the queen's waiting arms.

"He is a wonderful boy!" she managed to mumble to the kind queen that sent her a grateful smile. She made to leave but her eyes rested for several minutes on the drawing.

"I'm very sorry your Majesty but I can't clean the drawing. It is important to him."

She didn't say that Fiyero wanted a brother. How could she? She was a servant girl in front of her Queen, the lowest of people in front of royalty. So she silently left.

A week later she was delighted to learn that queen Ellauria was pregnant and that Fiyero wouldn't be lonely again. He would have a sibling to love and care about. She was however even more delighted when Fiyero himself sneaked into the kitchen to tell her the news.

Another week passed and Tilly became the youngest nanny in all Vinkun history.

Fiyero was patiently waiting outside of his parent's chamber with Tilly by his side. He was holding his drawing pad and an orange crayon that he tapped on the empty page for several minutes before speaking. He would then stop talking again and would focus on changing something in the drawing to make it even more perfect.

"My Tilly do you thing he will like it?" he asked, showing her the picture for the hundredth time. The young nanny smiled at him reassuringly.

"He will love it!"

"Do you think I'l be a good big brother?" He was so worried that Tilly had to hide her amusement at the child. For the past nine months that she had been Fiyero's nanny her life had changed and Fiyero had helped a great deal into making her a better person.

From the lowest of the lowest, she had suddenly been placed into a position that required constant interaction with the royals and she was amongst the most privileged. Her appearance had changed too. From the beautiful her extremely skinny and unhealthily pale girl she had been, she had become healthier after gaining a bit of weight and she had grown even more beautiful. So beautiful that she gained looks of admiration from young eligible men who worked in the palace as officials. But she had never shown any interest in them or anyone else. She had far to many wounds to heal and she loved her job as Fiyero's nanny. He made her feel happy again, something she hadn't been after her brother's demise five years ago.

Those past nine months had also been tiring, especially when she had to deal with an insecure Fiyero. He would bombard her with questions as to what he had to do to be the perfect big brother. He would also ask her the same question he kept on asking the same.

"Do you think I'll be a good brother?" Her answer was always positive. She had no doubt that Fiyero would be a wonderful brother to his younger sibling, boy or girl. But she had to answer to him again,especially today.

A scream came from the other room and Fiyero jumped in fear. He had gotten used to the screaming by now but he still couldn't understand why his mama kept on screaming. Tilly had desperately tried to keep him occupied in his bedroom during the first hours of the labor but it had been in vain. Two hours later he had managed to escape her mindful watch and run to the sound of the crying. Thankfully the guards outside his parent's bedroom had stopped him until Tilly caught up with him. She had been so grateful to see that he hadn't managed to get in and have the scare of his life by witnessing a birth.

He spend the next hours outside the door, refusing to leave until he could see his sibling- a sibling that he was determined was a brother. Out of boredom he had started drawing a picture for the baby and Tilly had helped him a lot through all this.

He had just added a tiny detail on his drawing when he heard a crying different than his mother's. It was a powerful and tiny sound at the same time and Fiyero's lips formed a happy smile. His father came to take him inside a while later and he met his brother for the very first time that day.

He walked to the bed where his mother was laying, holding the tiny baby in her arms. He climbed beside her and looked at his brother. He was so tiny and beautiful just like Fiyero had been when he had been born. He had a few hair in blondish brown but his eyes were closed. Queen Ellauria and King Halmond though had caught a flicker of grey blue when he had been first placed in the queen's arms.

"Is that my brother?" he asked happily.

"Yes my little Yero! This is your little brother!" answered his mother. Fiyero kissed his mother's cheek and then he turned to his brother.

"Hello baby! I'm your big brother!" He paused for a minute and then turned to his father.

"Does he have a name?"

The older man nodded. "His name is Damion!"

"Can I choose his middle name?" Fiyero asked after a while and both his parents nodded, amused to see their little Fiyero so happy. The five year old seemed to be in deep thought for a little while and then he turned his eyes to Tilly who watched from the door. A smile appeared on his face as he made his choice.

"Themis! His name will be Damion Themis Tiggular!"

Tilly had never cried more in her entire life.