We deserve each other, me and Boq.

She still believed it. She did have doubts, now, but she pushed them aside most of the time and told herself Boq had loved her.

She did miss her sister, but she wished, most of all, that Boq could be with her. He had been the first person not related to her to actually do anything with her. And she had fallen in love at first sight.

They had held hands at the dance. And when he had said to her, "Let's dance!" her heart had soared.

It's because I'm in this chair, and you felt sorry for me. Well, isn't that right?

It had been wrong. Boq had loved her.

But the part of Nessarose Thropp that reasoned everything out logically resisted this. 'If it's true, why did he always call me Madame, never Nessa or even Nessarose? If it's true, why did he wish to leave me? Why did he say he loved Galinda?'

And she hadn't wanted him to leave. So she did something she regretted.

Two things, really. She had taken away Boq's heart and blamed it on Elphaba.

You're going to lose your heart to me, I tell you - if I have to - I have to - magic spell you!

But after she died, everything was better. True, there were several moments of excrutiating pain, but then it was over. And even though the shoes were gone, she could walk. To a fashion. Gravity and vertical and horizontal seemed to matter less here. But she got used to it eventually. She was just grateful that she didn't need a chair.

And this hideous chair with wheels! Scrounging for scraps of pity to pick up and longing to kick up my heels!

She really was grateful to Elphaba for that.

And she was grateful to Galinda - Glinda now - for setting her up with Boq.

So, to ease their pain, she sent something that they would both understand. A comet, and a starry sailboat. And they were happy, and she was happy.

Finally, for this one night,


Well, sorry about the length between updates! Took quite a long time... but this is here, now, and that's what matters.

Shadowed Ember (formerly Eleka Nahmen)