(A/N: ok, this chapter is important to how Elphaba's character will be different than usual because now with Shell she will have grown up differently than in other stories. I'll elaborate later. Anyhu, a few more chapters of childhood and then I might do a few chapter that are 'in between' this and Shiz. Anyhu, here's this chapter, enjoy! and review?)

Fiyero watched as the houses begin to spring up among the valley, growing in size and numbers as the train delved further into the city. He was soon staring at not a beautiful landscape of green and sun, but a gleaming city of houses and office buildings, the Vinkus castle rose above them all in the distance. Fiyero sighed, resting his cheek on his hand. It was long before the train screeched to a stop. Fiyero sighed and picked up his small suitcase and opened the door of his compartment. A line of people had already formed in the aisle of the train. He wiggled into the line and straightened the cap on his head so that he might look presentable to his parents. Despite himself, he couldn't wait to see them on the platform. He was squirming in his boots as he stretched his neck forward to where the exit of the train was. He finally made it there and hopped off the train. He scanned the crowded platform for his parents. He looked for his mothers silken skirts and his father shined boots. He didn't see them. They weren't there. They hadn't even bothered to pick up their son from the train station. He felt his swollen heart deflating as he trudged over to a man holding a sign reading: Prince Fiyero. He walked up to the cold, uniformed man. The man looked down at him and gestured to a car behind him. The man opened the door for him and Fiyero walked in and plopped into the seat. The car was empty save for the driver. Fiyero stared out of the window. The car began its ascent around the spiraling drive of the hill to the Vinkun castle. The towers of the castle twinkled, something that would send anyone else's breath to the hills. It was all old to Fiyero. He let his heart swell again as he walked into the castle. No. Who was he fooling? His parents weren't there. They couldn't be bothered with this young son of theirs. He went to his room and saw a large package, a present no doubt. A card was placed on it saying: Welcome Back, love Mother and Father. Fiyero threw the card down, it didn't mean anything. He went to his desk and started a letter to Elphaba.

*************

Shell and Elphaba walked towards the big yellow house on the top of the hill where they lived. At some point, Elphaba had fallen asleep, so Shell carried her on his back. It had been a long day at school. It was the middle of October. He shook his head remembering the events.

Shell was playing with his friends during recess at the Munchkinland Elementary and Preschool. They were playing a game of marbles and Shell was beating them all. He had his heart set on Jimmy Buffet's Blue and Gold marble. He stuck his tongue out in concentration as the other boys crowded around him, cheering for him to win. He held his own fire red marble, getting red to knock Jimmy's Blue and Gold one out of the circle. He was about to shoot when he heard a piercing scream from the woods behind him. His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. Elphaba. Shell dropped the marble and it pounded and bounced on the ground as though in slow motion, the tufts of dry dirt powdering around the marble. He stood up abruptly and spun around and followed the scream to the forest. Oh god, why had he let her out of his sight?! He never let her out of his sight! He raced through the forest, yelling for his little sister.

"Stop! Stop!" he heard her scream, her small voice echoing through the foggy forest. He felt as though his heart was going to burst in a fiery mess of fear and desperation. He finally felt as though her screams were getting closer as he sped forward. He finally saw her. Somehow she had been lured into the forest. She was surrounded by about 5 other boys about her age or older. They were standing on the edge of the rushing river. They were trying to push her in. The water was deep and fast enough to drag you to your death. She was terrified; her eyes were wet with unshed tears. Her small hands were clutching onto the boys sleeves to prevent herself from being pushed in. Bruises colored her arms and face and her nose was bleeding. She was smaller than all of them and they were all laughing at her despair. Shell knew she couldn't swim, and the river was deep enough to drown he and if she didn't the drown, the current would. In two strides he had plucked her from the boys and had placed her gently behind his back. He glared at the boys, some were younger, some older. They looked up at him, some timidly, some defiantly and smugly.

"What did you think you were doing?!" Shell roared.

"We wanted to see if the rumors were true!" a boy defended himself, the leader of the little group Shell could see clearly, "We wanted to see if the water really would burn her." Shell felt Elphaba shuddering behind him, feeding the fire to his hatred towards the boys. Of course water wouldn't burn her, but it could still kill her! She could still have drowned!

"You were using her as some sort of test subject?!" Shell asked. Before he could control himself he had plummeted the boy with a fist to his face another to his stomach. The boy cried out in pain as his nose started to bleed. Shell didn't care if it hurt him, "And the bruises and bloody nose? Who's responsible for that?!" he asked.

"She wasn't cooperating." said the leader smugly. Shell lunged at him and before he knew what hit him, two of his teeth had been knocked out. Shell glared at him.

"I'll go for your full set of teeth if you don't scram in the next 5 seconds." he growled. The boys exchanged glances before fleeing the forest. Shell turned to Elphaba after making sure they were gone. He knelt in front of her.

"Ellie, are you ok?" asked Shell. She nodded, even as tears ran down her cheeks. Shell quickly wiped them away, but as soon as they cleared she burst into sobs. She fell into Shell's arms and cried against his shirt, her small hands clutching at the back of his shirt. He held her tight and rubbed her back.

"Don't worry." said Shell, "Nothing like this will ever happen again." Shell promised. He made a promise to himself to always protect her, his little sister, his little Ellie, little Fabala. He would never let anyone hurt her again. She didn't deserve this, any of this. He would make sure he was always there for her. He would protect her, he would.

"I was scared." said Elphaba, "And they told me to follow them or they would hurt me."

"Don't worry," said Shell again, "They won't hurt you. No one will." Elphaba clutched him tighter, her tears coming under control. She sniffled and Shell held her tighter. He finally pulled back and held her at an arms length and looked her in the eye, "I promise you Ellie, that I will always protect you." he said, "I love you." Elphaba knew then that he was telling the truth and that he would never betray her or turn his back on her. She knew her big brother would always try and protect her.

"I love you too, Shell." said Elphaba.

"Let's go home." said Shell.

"But school's not over yet." Elphaba said, though she yawned tiredly, confirming Shell's decision to take her home.

"It is for us." said Shell, "We're going home." Elphaba yawned again, but took his hand anyway and began to follow his lead home.

"Father will be mad at me for coming home early." said Elphaba tiredly, her shoulders slumping and her eyelids falling.

"Don't worry about him." said Shell, "Here," he knelt down, "climb up." She eagerly clambered onto his back and rested her head on his shoulder. Soon she was asleep, breathing lightly, blood drying on her face.

Shell sighed again as he kept walking. Elphaba was going to need him, being different as she was and he would always be there for her, protecting her and loving her and caring about her. He had to make sure that she never broke and she had to know that she was as worthy of a good life as anyone else, perhaps more than anyone else. He walked into the house and was greeted by Frex.

"What're you doing home so early?" he asked.

"We needed to come home." was Shell's calm answer. Frex let his gaze fall from Shell's dirty face and messy hair to Elphaba's bruised arms and bloody nose.

"What happened?" asked Frex.

"A fight at school, that's all." said Shell.

"Elphaba started it, no doubt." Frex scoffed.

"No." said Shell coldly, "She didn't. I was the one that got in the fight, Elphaba was just a victim."

"Whatever." said Frex, "Don't let me catch you skipping school again. Do you know what the other parents will think? They'll think my children are uneducated wild animals that just leave school whenever they please. This better not happen again." he said and left them in the hall. Shell glared at Frex's retreating back. The man didn't care at all for his daughter. Shell went upstairs to Elphaba's room and gently tucked her in bed, she was exhausted.

That certainly wasn't the last fight that year that Shell had gotten into. Once it was because Elphaba had rescued an animal some other kids were tormenting, so they chose to torment her instead. Soon, it became quite apparent to everyone that if you messed with Elphaba, you were messing with Shell and he was not someone to be messed with.

(E/A/N: special thanks to Elphaba1fan, greengirl16, Beautifully Tragic Ozian, obsessive-elphaba, and jenfalovesjaffas, you guys are the awesomest for reviewing!)