Hello!

I should be updating Deep Velvet Darkness but for some reason I'm stuck. I don't like the new chapter so I rewrite it again and again. It will probably be up tomorrow. For now, I have a lot of ideas for this story, along with many ideas for other stories, so here is a chapter on the Curse of the Green Rose. Here we inspect Elphaba's relationship with Nanny-Cattery and Glinda and her thoughts on her powers. Next chapter we see Fiyero. Fiyeraba will develop a lot differently than my other story.

So enjoy and if you like what you read please please please Review! It would make me so happy!

Love,

Katria

The Vinkus, December 1588

She woke up as early as she could almost every morning since she could remember herself. Sunrise was her favorite part of the day. It meant that another day was about to begin and that people had another chance to live and enjoy this world. It meant that she had been graced with another peaceful day.

From a very young age she had learnt to appreciate the tiniest pleasures of life. Sunrises and sunsets, the waves of the sea, the soft summer breeze, the fresh grass, the wonderful flowers in her garden, her books ... Those were the things that made her happy.

She was a lonely child most of her life. She didn't socialize much and had very few friends. Actually, she only had one friend who she loved and trusted. And she also loved her cat, Malkey, and her Nanny.

As the first irises of sunrise peaked through her window and caressed her skin, she opened her eyes with a soft smile and stood up. In a matter of seconds she was up and the curtains on her window were wide open. Soon, she was watching the colors on the sky changing from dark blue to purple and indigo and silvery orange to light blue. Small fluffy white clouds decorated the sky and she smiled at the thought that this day was so wonderful.

It was her birthday today. She was turning eighteen and that was enough to both excite her and make her feel dreadful. Eighteen years had passed since the day she was born, from today on she would be considered an adult but she would still be an imprisoned child.

After watching the sun rising, she started getting ready for her day. She found a simple purple frock to wear and went to her full length mirror to brush her hair and see if she looked alright. All the while she was thinking about her birthday.

Eighteen years had passed since she had been born. Eighteen years had passed since her mother had died giving birth to her. She had been told by Nanny that her mother was a beautiful and elegant woman, that she had more kindness in her little finger than most people possessed in their whole body. Nanny had confessed that she hadn't known Elphaba's mother for long but she was sure of Melena's beautiful soul. She had also said that Elphaba looked exactly like her mother.

She was considerably beautiful, one could say. She wasn't the regular Vinkun beauty or the fair Gillikin lady, but she was beautiful in a darker and more unique way. She had long ebony black wavy hair that ended with a gentle curl just above her waist. She was tall for a woman but not so tall as to not be able to stand beside a mediocre sized man. Her figure was slim but not too skinny. She had very slight curves compared to the Vinkun women but she considered her body good for her age.

Her facial features were sharp yet elegant and kind. Her nose was pointy but not too pointy and definitely not round. Her lips were thin yet capable of the brightest smile; a smile that only her best friend and Nanny had ever witnessed.

She wasn't a vain person. Caring for her appearance had been the least of her worries. But sometimes, she liked to sit back and watch her reflexion in the mirror. The way her facial expressions changed, the way her locks cascaded down her back, the way her eyes sparkled in the morning light... Looking at her reflection made her believe that her mother was there with her. Nanny had said that they had the same hair and the same eyes.

Her eyes were exquisite, she concluded seconds later. They had the most overwhelming shade of brown and if someone noticed better, they weren't even brown. They had a golden tone, warm like chocolate and smoldering like amber, with flickers of green there and then. Nanny called the color green-amber and she liked the sound of it.

After getting ready for the day, she walked out of her room and into the kitchen. Nanny hadn't woken up yet. She was older now and she got tired more easily which meant that she needed more sleep.

They had lived a peaceful life so far, just the two of them in a small house in the center of the Vinkus capital. The city of Parse Vis was a beautiful place and life in a big city granted them anonymity compared to life in small villages. All those years, after escaping Munchkinland, Nanny had been the perfect mother figure for Elphaba. Their neighbors thought that Elphaba was Nanny's granddaughter and they had let it be like that. Their story was very convincing and heartbreaking and no one would dare question them; if anyone were to ask, Nanny had the perfect believable story.

"My daughter, Elphaba's mother, lost her dear husband during a hunting trip into the woods and later she herself died in childbirth. I took my granddaughter and we left our old home because it was too painful for me to be living in the same house my daughter had died in. "

It definitely sounded better than saying : "Elphaba is a prophesied child who can say the future and has magical abilities. An evil Governor from Munchkinland was chasing her to use her powers so we fled Munchkinland and came to the Vinkus to hide. We aren't related in any way but Elphaba's mother died in childbirth and I was the midwife."

Eighteen years ago, Cattery Spunge, nowadays known as Nanny, had read Melena's diary and all her questions had been answered. She had been very lucky that she had met Elphaba's father when she had met him and not only because her life had been saved and he had given her enough money to start over and spent at least two comfortable years. She had been lucky because that diary had ended up in her hands and not the Governors. Oh... The secrets she had learnt by reading it...The details she had found out were not only a danger to Elphaba's safety. They had also been useful in aiding Elphaba control her powers.

Elphaba didn't know the depths of her powers and she also didn't know the details concerning the single green rose mark on her thigh. It was a minor little detail that somehow made her special and different from anyone else. Nanny hadn't told everything she knew about the hidden power within her because a child wouldn't be able to comprehend it. She had also decided to give Elphaba the diary when she would turn eighteen. The diary would explain everything.

The plan had worked just fine till Elphaba turned six years old. Until then she had been a careless, lively child, with many friends, love and happiness in her life. For the time being, her powers were "asleep" in some way, waiting for a special moment to reveal themselves.

And that moment came in the form of a rescue mission of Nanny. The old woman wanted to go to the market one day, when Elphaba was six years old, but the girl wouldn't let her go. Elphaba had stood in front of the door and refused to let the old woman go to the market. Nanny had been furious with the little girl and when she had asked her why she couldn't go, Elphaba had given her a shocking answer.

"A driver will lose control of his cart today and the cart will fall and hurt you if you go there."

Nanny of course had laughed it off, forgetting for a moment that Elphaba would develop the power to tell the future. She would have left and go to the market but when Elphaba had burst into tears she couldn't have left her little girl so distressed. She still hadn't believed the stupid tale though. So, imagine her surprise when there was a knock on her door an hour later and her neighboring friend, Madame Fraust, had told her the shocking news of a driver losing control of his cart in the market and running over a woman. At that moment she knew that Elphaba's powers had started awakening.

The second incident had been a year later. Elphaba was in the kitchen, drawing with her colorful crayons and Nanny was cooking. Out of the blue, the girl had stopped what she was doing and had looked up at her guardian.

"In two days you will be sitting on that table and Madame Fraust will be sitting next to you and she will be crying. In her house, Mr Fraust will be laying on his bed motionless, probably sleeping."

That was exactly how Elphaba had described Mr Fraust's sudden death and how Nanny would try to comfort a heartbroken Madame Fraust. After that incident, many more followed. She could describe whole scenes as if she was watching a theatrical play and she could describe things that weren't possible for a child to describe. She could knew everything that was coming in the short future; from the five white puppies that the neighbor's dog gave birth to the fire that burst in the Great Kells.

And it was exactly then that Nanny knew she had to protect Elphaba in a more intimate way. Every time Elphaba saw the future, she rarely saw the beautiful side of life. Her visions of the future contained death, depression, distraction, misery... She would wake up in the middle of the night screaming to make the images and the voices in her head go away. She would beg for the voices to leave her alone and she would cry every time she predicted a saddening event.

Slowly, Elphaba distanced herself from her friends and social life in her school. She became lonely and preferred the company of her books, her music and her garden. She rarely left the house if she didn't have to go to school, visit the library or help Nanny with the groceries. She liked being alone because then she could focus on something else besides the visions and could control what she saw. She only had one good friend, only one friend that she trusted and that was only because Glinda Upland had been far too persistent to remain best friends, when Elphaba had started distancing herself from everyone.

Glinda Upland was the exact opposite of Elphaba. She was charmingly popular, sociable and bubbly. She was also a typical Gillikenesse beauty with her shoulder length perfectly perfect blond curls, creamy complexion, petite hight and curves. Glinda was perfect in every way. She could be friends with whomever she wanted and be courted by the most handsome guys. Yet, she had stuck by Elphaba's side for years and the two were inseparable like sisters.

That was because they were both strangers. In a city and a school full of Vinkuns, they were the only girls from Gillikin. (Elphaba was from Munchkinland but Nanny had lied about their origins too, in an attempt to erase their tracks completely). So, they had stuck together from the very first moment and had been best friends for as long as they could remember.

However, Glinda, was unaware of her friend's power. There had been many times when Elphaba had almost spilled the truth but each time she had held her tongue back. Nanny had insisted that no one- not even sweet and caring Glinda- could know of her gift. It would be dangerous for all of them if word reached someone who would like to use Elphaba's power.

The years passed in silence and peace. Elphaba had her Nanny as a mother figure, she had Glinda to cheer her up and give her those stupid makeovers, she had learnt how to play the piano, she was a model student at school and she had read more books than the public library could display. Eighteen-year-old Elphaba, was an intelligent and beautiful young lady with a weird quirk in magic and a curse to predict the future- thank goodness she had found a way to block the visions and the glimpses of future events from her mind.

"Morning Fabala!" Elphaba had been making breakfast when Nanny entered the kitchen and sat at the table.

"Good morning Nanny!" the young lady said with a kind smile and walked over to the old woman, holding a plate with deliciously looking pancakes with fruits. She left the plate in front of Nanny, along with a cup full of the best Vinkun coffee of the market. Vinkun coffee was the reason why Nanny didn't miss Munchkinland and their stupid tea leafs. Coffee was so much better and stronger than tea- according to her of course.

As Elphaba left the food on the table and was about to go and take her seat opposite Nanny, the old woman called her name and, before she knew it, she was enveloped in a tight embrace.

"Happy birthday my little rose!" The girl hugged her guardian even tighter and felt safe in her loving embrace. Nanny had supported her in all her struggles. She had not only been her mother figure, had fed her had stayed by her side when she was sick, had taught her how to walk and speak and so on. Nanny had managed to pull Elphaba out of her misery when the visions took the best of her. She had helped Elphaba control her magic and keep her secret safe. She was an angel and Elphaba wouldn't have had a better
person taking care of her.

"Thank you Nanny!"

"Oh, my darling child. You've grown so..." said the woman as they broke the embrace and she cupped Elphaba's cheeks with her palms. "I will never forget the first time I heard you cry in my arms and as dreadful as that day was for the both of us, I will always think of your birth as a blessed day!"

Elphaba couldn't help but chuckle and give her guardian a watery smile. Nanny had told her the story of her birth a few years ago and Elphaba had cried for days, thinking that it had been her fault that her mother had died in childbirth. However, Nanny, having read Melena's diary, knew that it wasn't that case. The reasons behind Melena's weakness to give birth as well as her death, had more to do with her effort not to have any children while being married to the Governor. But Elphaba couldn't have known back then.

"I have a gift for you but it can wait until later. Let's eat now, before Glinda bursts in the house and screams 'Oh my goodness Elphie it's your birthday. I have to give you a makeover and then take you outside to have fun!' Seriously Fabala, that girl has no respect for my old ears!" said Nanny and the two started eating happily.

"She has no respect of my ears either. Though, I am kind of immune to her bubbliness by now!"

Barely a minute passed and Elphaba hadn't even eaten half of her pancake when the door of their house burst open with a loud thud.

"Oh my goodness Elphie it's your birthday. I have to give you a makeover and then take you outside to have fun!" A giggling vision in a simple pink gown entered the kitchen and happily ran to embrace Elphaba. Glinda had long ago stopped knocking at the door since the Spunge house was like her second home. Elphaba and she would spend so many days together in Elphaba's house that Glinda was almost like a permanent resident and knocking wasn't needed.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Elphie! Happy birthday to you!" the bubbly blonde started singing loudly while moving Elphaba back and forth in a breathtaking embrace. Elphaba was enjoying the love she was receiving, even if it meant that she couldn't breath, and Nanny was barely holding her laughter at the two girls.

"Thank you Glin! You are wonderful!" she managed to mumble after being released from the bone crashing hug.

The blonde giggled at Elphaba's comment. "Of course I am wonderful my darling. That is exactly why you are going upstairs to change clothes and wear something more ozmazing than this purple frock and come with me to have fun. We'll go to the market and then we'll go to that new patisserie that I saw on the street and then we can..." Glinda trailed off when she saw the not so enthusiastic face of Elphaba. The girl wasn't beaming in happiness as any birthday girl would do. She seemed deep in thought and enveloped in a strange misery that was familiar to Glinda. The blonde had thought that this year would be different but apparently she was mistaken.

"Elphie please what's wrong?" she asked as she embraced her friend softly this time. Glinda knew what was wrong but she still refused to acknowledge it.

"I'm not in the mood for celebrations Glin! I'm sorry!" muttered Elphaba and Glinda caught Nanny's sad look from over the table. Nanny felt a burning sensation over her cheek and realized that a few tears had escaped her eyes. Thinking of Elphaba's condition always brought tears in her eyes. However, she never allowed Elphaba to see her crying. So, she gave Glinda another nod and made her way out of the small kitchen.

"Elphie, we've had this conversation for years now. Your mother wouldn't want you to mourn every time it's your birthday. She would want you to celebrate and have fun. She would want you to be happy for living!" Elphaba sat on an empty chair with a thoughtful expression on her face, her arms falling limp on her sides.

"I'm happy for living Glinda. I'm grateful everyday that I survived because up until now my life has been good. I have Nanny and I have you and my job and I'm truly happy." She gave a long sigh before continuing. "But I cannot celebrate my birthday. It doesn't feel right to have the time of my life on the day that my mother gave her last breath to save me. I'm so sorry Glin! Maybe we can celebrate another time! Your birthday isn't so far away, is it?"

"Oh silly Elphie!" sighed Glinda and made to hug her best friend. "My birthday is so far away from now. But I promise you that in six months time we'll have the biggest celebration the Vinkus has ever seen!"

"I thought that the biggest celebration in the Vinkus was Prince Fiyero's birthday!" Elphaba's attempt at a joke only caused Glinda's giggles. Thankfully their hug had broken so Elphaba's eardrums were safe. At least for the time being...

"Such a pity we're never invited to his swankified parties!" said Glinda with a frown after a while and stuffed a cookie in her mouth. Nanny always had cookies on the table and it was well known that Nanny's cookies were the best cookies in the world. Even Glinda, who was on a constant "diet to remain perfect" would sneak one or two in her pockets when no one was watching.

"Yes Glin! Because your best friend just loves parties so much!" exclaimed Elphaba in mocked distress and both the girls laughed, their previous topic- Elphaba's nonexistent birthday party- forgotten.

Much to Elphaba's dismay her birthday was actually celebrated though in a very quiet manner and with no one else- except Glinda- managing to say the words "Happy Birthday!"

Behind her back, Nanny and Glinda had organized a small dinner, nothing fancy, to spend the evening with the people they loved. Madame Fraust and her daughter, Nanny, Glinda's parents, Glinda herself and Elphaba were gathered on Nanny's house and they had a quiet dinner. Elphaba tolerated the event because it was something that happened quite regularly. It was common for them to eat dinner together and they didn't need Elphaba's birthday to do so.

After their familiar friends left, Elphaba helped Nanny to clean the dining table and the kitchen. They cleaned the dishes and swept the floor in complete silence and by the time they ha finished in was an hour before midnight. As the clock struck eleven they exchanged a meaningful look and Nanny took Elphaba's hand in her own and the two women left the house side by side.

It was very dark outside. Not a single soul was walking at the empty streets of the Vinkun capital and the two women dressed in black cloaks made their way to the city's cemetery with ease. It wasn't that they didn't want anyone seeing them or that they couldn't visit the old cemetery in the morning. However, for the past years, since Elphaba turned ten years old, going in the cemetery at night before the end of Elphaba's birthday day had been their secret habit.

It had been Elphaba's idea to find a spot of earth and make her mother a small gravestone. The grave underneath was empty since Nanny had buried Melena back in her old cottage in Munchkinland. Nanny had always felt guilty of not giving Melena a proper funeral so when Elphaba had suggested the idea of making an empty grave in the Vinkus to honor Melena, Nanny had happily agreed.

The two women arrived at the cemetery and found the cold grave with ease. They looked at the stone and before she knew it, Elphaba was on her knees and her fingers were trailing the lines of the elegant letters on the cold stone.

Melena Skylar-Diggs
1545- 1569
Beloved Mother

Nanny heard a sniffle from the young girl and she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Your friend is right you know Fabala. Your mother would have wanted you to be happy, not mop around every time it's your birthday!" Of course, the older woman knew that her words were empty and sounded shallow. She herself had usual nightmares of the day she had found poor Melena in a pool of blood. She didn't blame Elphaba of mourning when she herself mourned every night for the last eighteen years.

Elphaba ignored the words though and took a small candle from an inside pocket of her cloak. She placed then placed the candle on the gravestone and with a flicker of her hand she lit it. A small sad smile crept upon her thin lips at the thought of how handy magic could come once in a while.

As she always did when visiting Melena's empty grave at the anniversary of her death, Nanny murmured a quick prayer- knowing that Elphaba wasn't quite so religious- and then placed a red rose on the grave. A wave of fresh air passed through the two women and Nanny felt as if Melena was talking to her. A sweet soft voice was singing an inaudible song in her old ears and the voice was as melodic as the purest bells of paradise.

"Thank you!" Nanny heard the words clearly and she looked at Elphaba who had just left her own rose on the grave.

"I love you mama!" muttered Elphaba and the breeze passed by them again.

"I love you too my little emerald!" It was Elphaba who heard the heavenly voice this time and she hold the sound deep in her heart and mind.

"Fabala my darling?" Nanny's voice interrupted the echoing silence of the cemetery and of Elphaba's thoughts. So the girl turned around to face her guardian.

"This is yours!". In all her eighteen years of life, Elphaba had always waited for this moment to arrive; the moment Nanny would finally give to her Melena's diary. As she looked at the leather bound book she felt several shivers running down her spine and a knot in her stomach.

"Your father trusted me with this diary and the truths I've read are what saved our lives for so long. Now it's up to you to keep the diary safe and to read everything your mother knew about the birthmark and about your talent."

"My curse!"

"What?" Nanny blinked several times and looked at Elphaba with raised eyebrows.

"My curse Nanny!" the younger woman spat the words venomously, her dark eyes betraying her pain over her terrible fate. "It's not a gift. It's not a talent. I'm cursed and we both know it, so stop denying the truth you've known for eighteen years."

Elphaba looked down at her feet and started playing with the hem of her dress, not really sure of what to do with her hands. She had felt cursed for years now no diary could ease her distress. Seeing the future- a dark, painful and unpleasant future- was a terrible fate for a child and a young woman of her sensitivity. Hiding her so called "gift" had been a burden but she couldn't allow anyone to know or even guess who she truly was.

A gentle and comforting hand lifted her chin and Elphaba looked up to the woman who she called her grandmother and her guardian angel.

"You are well protected here. You have been for several years now and you shall be for more to come. No one knows you and no one will ever know. And as long as your identity is safe, your magic quirk can be a gift. Use it to see the bright side of the future and to protect yourself and those you hold dear. Your mother", she said and handed the diary to Elphaba, " explains that you can use your parodical knowledge of the future to make good."

"My mother had never had knowledge of the future. She did not have my gift, as you put it. She was a simple woman." Elphaba was clasping the diary so tightly in her hands and her knuckles had turned deadly white from the force.

"Read the diary Elphaba and then you shall understand. Your mother was no random woman. She knew what she was doing and she knew what was to be done to protect the child she would bare. Only one woman in every seven generations can have the gift to tell the future but all of them have magic. Read and see for your self." With these words she turned on her heel and left the cemetery and Elphaba all alone behind her.

The girl was now on the cold floor, curled at the side of the grave, hot tears running down her eyes. She opened the first page of the diary and instead of reading, she caressed the old paper with her mother's elegant handwriting.

"I hope you give me the answers I seek mama! Please help me!"

At some point her eyes closed and she fell asleep beside her mother's empty grave in the cold cemetery.

When she woke up, two hours later, a woolen made blanked was safely wrapped around her.