I think this chapter is filler-ish...But we need it, okay? :) Review, please! I feel like this story is unloved, and if people don't like it I'll just take it down again.


"Does it look okay?" Elphaba fretted, biting her lip and shuffling from foot to foot as she stood in her wedding dress. A tear rose in Melena's eye, and Galinda quickly passed her a lace handkerchief to wipe it away.

"You look…stunning, Fabala!" Nessarose gasped, taking in her older sister with her huge brown eyes. Elphaba flushed a darker green, and gazed down at the frock.

It was floor length and empire line, with short, fitted sleeves and a chapel train. It was pretty, and, under better circumstances, Elphaba would secretly rather like it. But now, just the sight of the airy skirt and beaded bodice made her want to vomit.

"Oh, Elphie!" Galinda sighed, bestowing the nickname upon the green girl as though they had known each other for years rather than just days. Elphaba cocked an eyebrow slightly, but didn't question it. Offending her new friend wasn't exactly on the top of her agenda.

"You really are quite beautiful, Elphaba," the blonde smiled wistfully, standing up to fluff the brunette's skirts and adjust her hair. She shrugged away from the touch, turning to face her reflection on the mirror.

Elphaba's fingers twitched convulsively, and she plucked ineffectually at the gauze of the skirt. It fell steadily in an A-line fashion to the floor, wispy and white. She raised her dark eyes to the emerald face staring back at her and felt a wave of repulsion rise from the pit of her stomach. Without warning, she calmly wrapped her spidery fingers around the right sleeve of the dress and tugged sharply. It ripped at the seam, and three horrified gasps issued from the group behind her.

"Elphaba!" Melena cried, leaping to her feet. "What in the name of Lurline are you doing?"

Her daughter ignored her, violently detaching the other sleeve. Her eyes narrowed and she slightly bared her teeth.

She looked truly frightening.

Elphaba clawed at the beads on the bodice of the dress, savouring the clink of each as it fell to the wooden floor. Nessarose began to cry, fearing that her older sister had gone raving mad. With a final anguished cry, Elphaba tore at the skirt of the dress, eliciting a huge rip all the way around, front to back, floor to bust in a spiral.

She slumped to the floor amid the fabric and beads, her eyes wide.

Terrified.

Like a deer in that had dashed unthinkingly in front of a carriage and had realised it's fate when it was too late.

Nessarose ran from the room, her hand held to her mouth like she was trying to bite back tears. Melena bit her lip, but chose to follow her younger daughter. Galinda stayed, stepping slowly towards her new friend. Elphaba didn't cry, although her breath came in huge racking gasps. She gazed down at the abused garment, a distant kind of remorse creeping into her vacant eyes.

"Oh!" she whispered, true shock registering on her face. "I didn't- I mean, I-" Her expression was horrified. Galinda waved her hands dismissively.

"If you didn't like the dress, you could just have said!" she frowned, picking up a strip of delicate gauze and pouting in displeasure. A low laugh issued from Elphaba's throat, and she flicked away a few beads with her long fingers.

"I did like the dress. Sort of." She admitted. "I just cannot do this. I don't know why I'm telling you this, I mean he's your grandfather, but seeing myself standing there in that dress…And I don't know what I've done so wrong that means I have to be forced into this."

"You haven't done anything wrong."

"I must have done, or else my bitch of an aunt wouldn't be doing this to me." the green girl spat, and Galinda coloured a little at the language. Instead of chiding her new friend, she offered her a hand to stand up. She smiled, "Come on. We'll go find your mother."


The crunch of wheels on the gravel outside roused Elphaba from her book. It took her a few moments to return to normality, so caught up had she been in the thrilling romance she had been reading. She stowed it haphazardly under the window seat, lest someone should see the kind of un-intellectual material she secretly indulged in.

The girl peeked around the corner in the foyer to see her mother, father and aunt welcoming a man and a woman in luxuriant violet robes. They were very attractive, with sleek black hair and shining eyes. They passed through to the sitting room, leaving a young man of about nineteen or twenty trailing in their wake. He was obviously their son, as he possessed the same lightly tanned skin and sapphire eyes, only his hair was a little lighter.

He was possibly the most beautiful boy Elphaba had ever seen.