Chapter 2
Part 2
Author's note: Here is the next part, actually a bit ahead of schedule. I hope you enjoy it, I look forward to reading reviews from anyone who'll be kind enough to leave one. I think I've really hit my stride at this point... Apparently massive doses of dry-roasted peanuts & Diet Coke can work a tiny miracle.
For his part, Fiyero approached his parents a bit cautiously. He immediately received hugs from both of them, but was less enthusiastic in returning the one from his mother. After their greetings had concluded, he properly introduced Elphaba to both of his parents. Though the king greeted his new daughter-in-law with a warm hug, the queen managed only a hello. She didn't even go so far as to offer a handshake in greeting.
"Fiyero has been very anxious for us to meet you," Jeranda said stiffly.
Elphaba kept her gaze fixed on her mother-in-law's face. "You're afraid of me," she challenged, not in the mood for playing along with any meager attempts to be agreeable. "You don't even want to be here. Why pretend you want to try to get along with me?"
Jeranda was taken aback by Elphaba's directness. She was even more surprised that Fiyero didn't say something to his wife about her confrontational attitude. It took her a moment to think of a reply that would be honest without increasing Elphaba's anger.
"I'll admit this is... awkward. I am a little frightened, but not exactly of you. I feel very ashamed of what I asked the wizard to do to you. I've been worried that you wouldn't accept me."
"I've thought the same about you," Elphaba admitted, sounding surprised that her mother-in-law cared at all what she thought of her. Still, the fact of what the older woman had tried to do to her remained, and Elphaba wasn't about to let it be forgotten easily. "But why should I care if you've come here to visit, to act like all of a sudden everything can be all right again? You tried to have me murdered! I live with the consequences of that every day!"
Aside from Riordan moving protectively closer to his surrogate daughter, no one else moved or spoke. It was as if Elphaba and Jeranda were the only two people in the room. Jeranda's gaze was now as intense as Elphaba's had been since the beginning of the conversation.
"I know, Fiyero has explained that to me," Jeranda said sadly. "I know I have no right to expect you to forgive me overnight. That isn't why I've come. I would like us to make a start, that's all. You're my son's wife, we are family now. Fiyero has told me some things about you, but I'd like to take time to talk to you, get to know you personally. Can't we try that, at least?"
Elphaba studied Jeranda's face warily before replying. "All right," she consented at last. "But only that much. Don't expect to leave here as my friend."
On this note, everyone adjourned from the entryway to the spacious living room. the conversation was slow to begin in earnest, but after about a quarter of an hour, Elphaba was answering her in laws' questions promptly, if briefly. Fiyero mostly remained silent, relieved to see his wife and parents beginning to make a connection, however slight it might be. The one thing that dampened his joy was that, as he observed his wife, he realized she was suffering great pain. Why she hadn't said anything about it, and how she was managing to hide her symptoms, Fiyero had only some idea.
After the converstaion had gone on for a while, the topic turned to the wedding ceremony. Jeranda expressed a desire to see Elphaba's wedding dress, something that pleased the younger woman greatly. She went quickly upstairs to fetch it from safekeeping in the closet of the suite. As she went, Fiyero saw her stumble giong up the stairs. He looked over at Riordan, and saw that he had likewise seen the evidence of Elphaba's suffering. Silently, they each vowed to say something to her about it when she returned, to try and persuade her to rest for a while.
Fiyero and his father moved off to a corner to talk privately while Jeranda awaited Elphaba's return to the lower level. "Father, I know it wasn't easy to come here. Elphaba knows you had nothing to do with the spell being cast on her. I told her that she shouldn't spare Mother her honest opinion. Not that Elphaba normally needs any encouragement to speak her mind," Fiyero smiled a bit at this last, unable to help himself. The senior Fiyero likewise smiled gently.
"It will serve her well, even more once she's queen. It will save her from having the subjects walk all over her with their demands. I can see good qualities in her, son. Strength, determination, courage... She'll need all that and more once she ascends the throne."
Fiyero's smile widened. "You forgot one. She's as stubborn as an angry bull, often too. She has a lot of gentleness and caring, but you have to earn the right to see that side of her. Still not sure how I managed it, sometimes."
"You sell yourself so short," the king countered. "If Elphaba normally tries so hard to remain distant from other people, you must have done something right. You make her very happy, I could see it in her face every time she said your name. Be glad she loves you so much."
"I am," Fiyero immediately replied. "It makes me happy to see HER happy, it's that simple. I love her more than I thought I could love another person. That sounds so trite and ridiculous, but it's true."
The conversation between father and son halted as the maid who had helped Elphaba earlier in the day hurried into the room. She curtseyed as she came within a few steps. "Excuse me, but I was just upstairs, and I heard a strange noise from the guest suite. When I went to investigate, your wife," here she gestured toward the younger Fiyero, even though it was an unnecessary counterpart to her words. "She'd collapsed. I went up to her and said something, but she didn't move, and her eyes were closed. I could tell she was breathing, but..."
The servant trailed off as Fiyero rushed out of the room. He alerted Riordan to the situation, and they both went upstairs. Elphaba was still in the condition the maid had described. Her breathing was so shallow and rapid that fear leapt into both of the gentlemen. Fiyero moved to lift his wife from the floor. Without needing to be told, Riordan turned the bed down, then went to fetch the things he knew Elphaba would need.
Once Elphaba was settled carefully into bed, her breathing only slightly improved, Fiyero set about trying to rouse her. She seemed to be unconscious save for the fact that when Fiyero squeezed her hand, Elphaba returned the gesture.
"Ivy, can you hear me?" Fiyer said this gently, but loudly enough that he could be sure his wife would hear him. That was, if she was still clinging to some thread of consciousness. Fiyero felt badly frightened and worried, but pushed these emotions from his awareness, focusing all of his energy on bringing Elphaba around again. He knelt beside the bed and began to gently stroke Elphaba's cheek.
"If you can hear me, open your eyes, Ivy. Please."
It took a moment, but Elphaba did as he asked. When she saw Fiyero beside the bed, she tried to smile. She started to speak, but Fiyero hushed her.
"You need rest. Don't worry about my parents, and don't be sorry. I'll explain to them. Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were feeling so terrible?"
Elphaba just shrugged in reply. For the moment, Fiyero did not comment on her avoidance of his question. Instead, he and Riordan worked together to make sure Elphaba was cared for. Riordan fetched extra pillows and blankets while Fiyero tended to Elphaba's skin. Though she was not yet running a fever, everyone expected it to take hold sooner rather than later.
When Riordan returned to the room and placed an extra pillow behind Elphaba's head, she ignored Fiyero's advice to rest quietly and spoke, her tone urgent.
"Papa, I want you to stay... Stay until I... I'm feeling better. Even if your wife gets... Gets really angry, you will stay... Won't you?"
"Of course I will," Riordan surprised himself by beginning to cry. "You should have told us about your pain sooner. You could have rested before your in-laws got here. Are you comfortable? Is there something else I can do?"
Elphaba shook her head, and very shortly drifted off to sleep. Fiyero briefly returned downstairs to tell his parents what was going on. To his surprise, they did not change their plans and decide to return to the countryside immediately. Jeranda explained the reason behind this.
"Son, I'm responsible for how ill Elphaba is. I should stay, to face up to what I've done. Maybe there is even some way i can help take care of her. Do you think so?"
"Maybe... But you can't do it just out of guilt. Elphaba will pick up on that, and she won't like it. If you really want to help, then please do. Her papa and I could use a little extra help sometimes. Though I should warn you, sometimes when the pain is especially bad, it makes Elphaba scream. Do you think you can handle that, Mother?"
"I'm not as weak-kneed as I look, son. Please, take me upstairs, I'd like to see how Elphaba is doing." The king followed them upstairs as well. Both of them were shocked to see Elphaba in such a weakened state. Jeranda in particular felt deep shame, which she believed was the least she deserved. She approached the bed where Fiyero was gently tending to his wife even as she slept.
"Son, tell me what I can do to help," she whispered. "There must be something."
"Yes, once she wakes up, I'm sure there will be plenty to do. The worst part only lasts a day or two. She should be up and about soon." Elphaba stirred in her sleep, and Fiyero leaned over to kiss her forehead gently. He frowned as he realized a fever had taken hold of his wife. He and Riordan remained on either side of the bed for the rest of the day. Jeranda helped out where she could, especially once Elphaba's fever was raging.
That evening, Glinda and Travion returned from their day's work. Travion had left the house quietly just before Fiyero's parents arrived. Therefore, both he and his wife had to be told about the meeting and the current state of Elphaba's health. Though they were both alarmed at her condition when they went up together to look in on her, they did not linger. They knew Fiyero preferred there to be as few people coming and going as possible. In the early hours of the morning, he did allow Glinda's maid to tend to Elphaba for only an hour or two while he took a nap.
By the time Elphaba was feeling better just over two days later, the day had arrived for the furniture to be delivered. Fiyero went down the block to supervise the delivery. Thankfully, the workers did not just leave the items haphazardly about the house. They placed the couch, chairs, tables and bed exactly where Fiyero instructed. He tried not to rush them too fast, even though he was extremely anxious to return to his wife. When he did return to Glinda's house, he told his wife every detail. They both began to feel that the new house was much more of a home. Though they mostly looked forward to making it their permanent home, leaving Glinda's house still brought a twinge of sadness to each of them.
Over the next week, Riordan and Fiyero's parents all returned home. Elphaba did not think of her in-laws as friends, let alone family. She was, however, mostly pleased with the outcome of the visit. Fiyero had told her of his mother's desire to stay and help care for her. Elphaba herself had been unaware of most of that because of her intense fever.
On the first day Elphaba really felt ready to get out of bed, she found her copy of the key to her new house and made her way there to investigate. When she reached the house, she stopped short. There was a large group of people hard at work, painting the house white. Elphaba recognized only her husband, Travion and Colverus, whom she hadn't even known was in town. When Fiyero saw his wife standing on the sidewalk in front of the house, he descended the ladder he was standing on to get his work done. He walked over to her, said hello, and kissed her.
"Surprised?" He said with a mischievous smile.
"Yes," Elphaba said plainly. "Why does the house need painted? It looked fine the other way."
"Come, I'll show you. Inside."
Completely puzzled, Elphaba followed her husband, carefully avoiding any obstacles littering the front of the house due to the painting project. Fiyero led her downstairs to the dim, unfinished basement and pointed to a corner. "Over there," he whispered, sounding so excited he might burst. "Another surprise. I hope you like it."
Elphaba walked to where her husband indicated, and looked at the multiple containers sitting on a small table. They were all filled with several inches of water, and a rooted plant trailed from each one. There was no soil, which was confusing, but that wasn't what kept Elphaba's attention.
"Fiyero, is that...?"
"Ivy. Cole went to the university and asked if he could take some cuttings a few weeks ago. He kept these at his house until today, because I told him I was finally ready for him to bring them. We're going to plant them after the paint dries. I thought it would show up much better if the house was painted white, so... You do like it, don't you?"
"You don't even have to ask... It's so perfect," Elphaba whispered, the sound of tears in her voice. "Was this your idea? This is just the thing to make this house feel like it's really mine. How did you know?"
"I knew because I know you, Ivy. I'm so glad you're happy. Despite still having to wear that silly disguise whenever you leave the house," he teased. Elphaba scowled.
"Please, don't remind me. I'm finally feeling up to being out today. When you're ready to start planting these, can I help?"
"Sure. It shouldn't be long. I should get back to helping with the painting. Stay, keep us company." Husband and wife returned to the outdoors. Fiyero immediately got back to work, and Elphaba took a moment to thank Cole After this, she stood nearby and watched as the painting was completed. For the first time, the building felt like a home. A home that rightfully belonged to her and Fiyero. Though they both had yet to begin working to earn money to pay household expenses, for the moment that didn't matter. All that mattered was they were here together on a beautiful day.
By sundown, all of the ivy was carefully planted and propped up so that it would have the best chance of properly attaching to the walls. All the other workers, most of whom had turned out to be people Travion had hired to work in his shop, were at Glinda's house eating a hearty meal. Fiyero and Elphaba stood alone admiring their home.
"It's ours now, really ours," Elphaba said, wrapping an arm around Fiyero's shoulders. "It looks so pretty."
"Just like you," he replied, kissing her forehead. "I'm so relieved you were happy. You should have seen Cole's face when I asked him the favor. I think he supposed I'd gone crazy."
"It wasn't crazy, it was sweet. I hope we get to live here a really long time... Maybe even raise a family in this house. Do you think so?"
"Yes," Fiyero answered simply as they turned to walk down the block where dinner awaited them. Neither of them had felt so content in a long time, and were determined to enjoy it. Glinda and Travion both noticed theirs friends' serenity upon their return, but made no comments. They talked about various things during the rest of the meal, but avoided both the subjects of work and Elphaba's recent bout of poor health. Instead, they focused on discussion of the new house and how excited Fiyero and Elphaba were to be nearly ready to move and truly begin life as husband and wife.
