Alright, everyone! A little gearshift! Not as much Fiyeraba in this chapter, but we do get a very special appearance from a very special perky blonde.

KatriaFaeyero: Yes, the Fiyeraba feelings are developing. Slowly, but they'll get there.


Nessa woke up very happy on Sunday morning. Giggling, she pushed herself up and, leaning against the headboard, waited for her sister. She didn't have to wait long, since Elphaba knocked on her door a few clock-ticks later and came in.

"Good morning, Nessie," the green girl smiled, dressed in a long-sleeved, navy dress with a silver belt.

"Good morning, Fabala!" Nessa said brightly. "Are you excited for today?"

"Today? What's today?" Elphaba asked, feigning confusion.

Nessa frowned. "Elphaba, you know exactly what today is."

Elphaba laughed. "Of course. How could I forget?" She sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her sister into a hug. "Happy birthday, Nessie."

"Thank you, Fabala," the brunette smiled.

Elphaba smiled as she helped her sister up and into her chair before helping her get ready. She helped her into a lavender dress with a large bow in the back and a long, pleated skirt.

"Do I smell… pancakes?" Nessa smiled as her sister pushed her into the dining room.

"I believe you do," Elphaba laughed.

"Good morning, Miss Nessarose," Fiyero said as he stood. He walked over to the young girl and, gently taking her hand, kissed her knuckles. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Prince Fiyero," the brunette blushed, smiling shyly.

Fiyero smiled and looked at Elphaba. "Good morning, Governor Thropp," he nodded.

"Good morning, Prince Fiyero," Elphaba nodded back, and Fiyero noticed how she was fighting a grin.

After breakfast, it was time to go to the chapel for the mass. Nessa was excited, having inherited their father's love of religion. Fiyero was religious, but he still considered the mass the most boring part of the day. Elphaba's atheist-self was already making a plan to sleep through the mass, but she secretly knew that she wouldn't be able to. She didn't want to embarrass Nessa, but she also wished she could get a few more minutes of sleep before the rest of the busy day kicked in.

Nessa talked the whole carriage ride to the chapel. She talked about the family members she couldn't wait to see again. Elphaba and Fiyero sat and listened, but it's not like they had much of a choice. They couldn't get a word in edgewise even if they wanted to.

Once they got there, the trio saw a few of their relatives already there.

"There's Grandmother Partha!" Nessa smiled, waving to her grandmother through the window. "And Grandfather Romen!"

Elphaba groaned and muttered something under her breath.

Nessa gave her sister a look. "Fabala…"

"I'm sorry, Nessa. I will behave. I promise," Elphaba said sincerely.

Nessa didn't look convinced, but allowed her sister and Fiyero to help her out and into her chair. The birthday girl quickly wheeled over to her family members, who were more than excited to see her.

"It's so good to see you again, my dear," an old woman, the girls' grandmother, said, smiling as she gave her granddaughter a hug.

"It's good to see you, too, Grandmother," Nessa smiled, then hugged her grandfather.

The old woman smiled, then looked up and immediately frowned. "Elphaba."

"Hello, Grandmother," Elphaba said, forcing a smile on her face.

The old woman looked her up and down. "I certainly hope you're not that this evening."

"No, Grandmother."

"I trust you've been taking care of our little flower."

"Of course, Grandmother."

"Good," the old woman sniffed, before directing her attention back to Nessa and reaching into her bag with a smile. "I have a little something for you, just to tide you over until after lunch."

Nessa smiled as her grandmother pulled out a silver box. She took it and opened it, revealing a beautiful wire bracelet with many colorful gems. "Oh, Grandmother! It's beautiful! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, my dear," the grandmother said, smiling at her granddaughter as she put the bracelet on.

After greeting the aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, everyone went in the chapel for the mass. Elphaba pushed Nessa to the front and sat down next to her in the pew. Once the rest of the family had filtered in, the mass began.

Fiyero had, obviously, never experienced a Munchkin mass, and was surprised to see how similar it was to a Vinkun mass. There were two readings from the Great Book of the Unnamed God, lots of hymns, and a brief message from the priest.

"Nessarose Thropp, please approach the altar," the priest said after his message.

Nessa gave her sister a brief smile before wheeling up to the altar.

The priest said something in a language Fiyero didn't understand, but caught Nessa's name a few times. "May the Unnamed God watch over, guide, and protect Nessarose Thropp as she journeys from adolescence to adulthood. May he help her in the challenges she will face and help her make wise sound decisions. Amen."

"Amen," everyone repeated and Nessa wheeled back to her place next to Elphaba.

Everyone stood and the benediction was said, ending the mass. Everyone congregated outside to mingle and talk to Nessa some more. Elphaba snuck away, knowing that none of her relatives wanted to see or talk to her.

"Elphaba!"

Except for one. Elphaba turned and smiled softly, seeing her Aunt Sopheila approaching her. "Hello, Aunt Sopheila."

Sopheila was almost a carbon copy of her younger sister, Melena, but with a few differences. They both shared the same long, wavy brown hair, but Sopheila's eyes were gray, while Melena's eyes were brown, like Elphaba's. Sopheila's nose was slightly sharper than Melena's and her lips were a bit fuller, and Melena had slightly bigger ears, but other than that, they could have been twins.

"Oh, Elphaba. It's so good to see you again," Sopheila smiled as she pulled her niece into a hug. "Still as green as ever, I see," she laughed.

"It's not like I have many options," Elphaba said as she returned the hug.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

I would. "I aim to please."

Sopheila laughed again. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine."

"You've been busy running a country," Sopheila said, then sobered. "How have you been holding up with that, by the way?"

"I've been fine," Elphaba repeated, this time adding a forced smile.

"How long has it been?"

"Five months."

"That long?"

Elphaba nodded.

Sopheila smiled. "You're doing a wonderful job, Elphaba. I just want you to know that. And I'm proud of everything you've done."

"Thank you, Aunt Sopheila," Elphaba said sincerely. It meant a lot coming from one of her closest family members who didn't hate her because of her skin.

Sopheila smiled. "What do you say we take this party back home and have lunch?"

Before Elphaba could respond, as if on cue, her stomach growled. Both women laughed. "Let's go home."


Lunch was a lively affair. The dining hall was filled with many tables where all the relatives were sitting. Nessa was sitting at the table with her sister, grandparents, and aunt. Fiyero sat at the table with Boq and Nessa's girlfriends, who were (of course) swooning over the prince.

After lunch, everyone gathered into the parlor for Nessa to open her presents. After receiving new dresses, books, art supplies, music books, hair accessories, jewelry, and a new journal, Elphaba placed a box in her lap.

"This is from Father," the green girl said with a soft smile.

Nessa briefly looked at her sister before tearing the wrapping paper off the box. She took off the lid and gasped, pulling out a pair of shiny, silver jeweled shoes. "Ooh! Jeweled shoes!"

"He had been saving these shoes for your seventeenth birthday," Elphaba said, smiling as her sister, and everyone else admired the shoes. She had found them in his closet and assumed it was for Nessa. After all, why would her father get her anything, especially jeweled shoes?

"Those are beautiful, Nessa!" one of the cousins said.

"Look at how they sparkle," another said.

"Those are the most beautiful shoes I've ever seen," an aunt whispered in awe.

Nessa was completely mesmerized by the sparkly shoes that she missed the upset look that crossed her sister's face for a clock-tick. Everyone missed it, since no one was paying attention to the green girl.

Everyone except for two people.

Fiyero had been looking at the green girl the whole time. He played his part as a happy friend of Nessa's, but he was really focusing on Elphaba. He watched as she tried to keep a smile on her face, and he could see that something was truly bothering her. Then, he remembered.

Our mother died giving birth to me.

To Elphaba, Nessa's birthday also meant the anniversary of her mother's death. Fiyero didn't know how much memory Elphaba had of her mother. He did the math and realized that Elphaba was only two when she died, so any memories were probably fuzzy and incomplete.

Sopheila had also been looking at Elphaba and was thinking the exact same thing the prince was thinking. But unlike Fiyero, she was already planning to confront Elphaba on it.

After lunch, everyone dispersed to get ready for the ball. Nessa went with her three closest friends, Kika, Rocca, and Dimani, to the spa. Elphaba had already made the reservation and paid for it in advance for the girls to have a good time.

"How did Nessa meet those girls?" Fiyero said, secretly glad the girls weren't fawning over him, yet missing it at the same time.

"Kika is the daughter of Nessa's private tutor, and she met Rocca one day when our father took her to the park, and Dimani is the daughter of one of my mother's friends," Elphaba explained shortly, then excused herself to get ready for the party.

Later that evening, the green girl was staring at her reflection in the mirror. She had picked out a dark magenta dress with see-through sleeves that stopped at her elbows. The skirt of the dress was long and stopped at her ankles, with a silk overskirt over it. Her shoes were black and had a half-inch heel. Her long, raven hair fell in soft curls down to the middle of her back. She had opted to wear her contact lenses –which she hated wearing because they always moved in her eyes– instead of her glasses. Nessa always told her that she looks better without her glasses, and Elphaba had assured her that she would… if she wasn't blind as a bat without them.

In short, she thought she looked decent; she would have been beautiful if not for her green skin. Satisfied, she made her way to Nessa's room to help her get ready.

"Hi, Fabala," Nessa smiled when her sister came in.

"Hello, Nessa," Elphaba smiled.

"You look beautiful."

Knowing better than to argue with her sister, especially on her birthday, Elphaba simply thanked her and helped her into her dress.

The dress was a beautiful light pink party dress, with a pattern beaded bodice and beaded patterns on the skirt and very short sleeves. The skirt flared out slightly and stopped just below her knees.

"Can I wear my new shoes, Fabala?" Nessa asked when her sister reached for her white sandals.

Elphaba put the shoes down and took Nessa's jeweled shoes from the box. She gently slipped them onto her sister's feet and rose to her height to do her hair. She gently ran the brush through her sister's hair and braided a waterfall braid into her hair.

"You look beautiful, Nessie," Elphaba smiled as she pushed her sister in front of the mirror.

Nessa smiled at her reflection. "Thank you."

"Are you ready to go?"

Nessa nodded and her sister pushed her out of her room. Once the two girls were announced, the doors opened and everyone applauded as they came in. Nessa immediately became the center of attention and Elphaba slipped away, signaling for the musicians to start.

The dignitaries that had been invited out of proper protocol immediately went over to the green woman. Elphaba engaged them in polite conversation, trying not to make it clear that she wanted them to go away. As much as she hated social functions, she knew that it was part of her life now. She didn't have to necessarily like them, she just had stop hating them.

She saw bouncing blonde curls out of the corner of her eye and knew immediately that it was Galinda. As if by chance, Galinda turned and noticed the green woman. Elphaba gave her a small wave and Galinda immediately bounced over to her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Hello, Elphie," Galinda giggled.

Elphaba rolled her eyes at the nickname the blonde had given her back at Shiz, but returned the hug. "Hi, Glin."

"I've missed you so much! How are you?"

"I'm fine, but I'm sure you didn't miss me too much since you now have your private suite."

The blonde lightly smacked her arm. "That's not funny, Elphie. True, I did want my private suite, but rooming with you wasn't too horrendible."

The green girl chuckled lightly.

"How have you been?"

"I've been fine. How's Shiz?"

"Nothing much has changed. Final exams are coming up soon, and Horrible Morrible is as strict as ever in sorcery seminar. It's… different without you."

"I'm sure. Now no one has the privilege of seeing the green girl walking down its hallowed halls."

The blonde giggled and got a good look at her friend. "You look simply wonderiferous; skinny, but wonderiferous."

"Wonderiferous isn't a word, Galinda."

The blonde made a face and Elphaba laughed. "I've written to you, but you haven't answered any of my letters. I figured that you would be extremely busified, running a country and all, but still… I've… missed you."

Elphaba smiled sadly. "I know. I've been meaning to write you back, but things have been so hectic and so many things have been needing my attention and –"

"I understand, Elphie," Galinda said, softly taking the green girl's hands in her own. "You have priorities. I'm not mad or upset with you, so don't worry about it. At least we're seeing each other now."

"That's true," Elphaba said lightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that more dignitaries wanted to talk to her, so she excused herself from her friend and quickly shifted to her "Governor of Munchkinland" persona.

"Excuse me," a new voice said when Elphaba was talking to the mayor of a city in the Quadling Country that she couldn't recall the name of.

Elphaba looked up to see her Aunt Sopheila standing next to her.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but I must speak with the Governor. It's very important," Sopheila said.

"Of course," the mayor said, then bowed to the Governor. "I hope we can continue this conversation at a later time, Your Governorship."

"Yes, I as well. Thank you," Elphaba nodded politely and allowed her aunt to lead her away. "What's wrong? Is Nessa okay? Is she dissatisfied with anything?"

"Relax, Elphaba," Sopheila said, rubbing Elphaba's arm tenderly. "I just saved you from a long, boring conversation that you clearly didn't want to have. You're welcome."

Elphaba looked at her aunt skeptically, then sighed. "Thank you."

Sopheila smiled and grabbed two glasses from a passing servant. "You look like you could use this."

Elphaba took the glass and took a sip, shivering slightly as the alcohol slipped down her throat.

"Better?"

"Slightly."

Sopheila smiled. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, but if my face gets frozen from all the smiling I've been doing…"

"I don't mean that, sweetheart."

Elphaba looked at her aunt and realized what she was talking about. "I'm trying not to think about that right now."

"Elphaba, it's okay to miss your mother, especially today, but –"

"There's no use missing someone you barely remember," Elphaba said, stubbornly trying to stop her tears before they started.

Sopheila looked at her niece sympathetically. "You're still allowed to miss your own mother." Elphaba turned away. "Elphaba, talk to me. Please."

"I can't. Tonight isn't about me or Mother. It's about Nessa. This is her special day and I don't want to let anything ruin it for her."

Both women looked up at the birthday girl, who was in the center of the dance floor. Boq was pushing her chair around in circles while Rocca, Dimani, and Kika danced around her. The brunette's arms were raised above her head and she was laughing. She looked like she was having the time of her life; the first truly happy moment of her life.

"It's my fault that our mother isn't here right now," Elphaba whispered, more to herself than to her aunt. It's my fault that she's stuck in that wheelchair. It's my fault that –"

"Shh. Oh, Elphaba, come here," Sopheila said as she pulled Elphaba into a hug. She felt her face grow hot and knew that the green girl was fighting tears. "Let's go outside for some air." She led her niece out of the ballroom and into the hallway. Taking a handkerchief out of her pocket, she gently dabbed the green girl's eyes. "None of that is your fault. I know your father led you to believe that for all these years, but it's not. I know it's going to take more than just me saying it, but I figured that I should start."

Elphaba's gaze refused to meet her aunt's as tears continued to slide down her cheek.

"I should have stayed," Sopheila said softly. "I should have stayed after the funeral. I… I should have been there for you, to protect you, to make sure you didn't grow up without a mother figure and to stop you from becoming the mother figure you never had to your younger sister. I… I'm so sorry, Fabala."

Elphaba had never heard that nickname come from anyone other than her sister. She figured that her mother probably used to call her that, but she couldn't remember. Before she knew it, she had started crying again and her aunt pulled her into another hug. She buried her face in her shoulder and clung to her tightly.

"It's alright," Sopheila said soothingly, rubbing circles on the green girl's back. "I'm here."

A soft "Mama" slipped past the green girl's lips and Sopheila hugged her tighter, her own tears spilling from her eyes.


Nessa and Elphaba's dresses are on my blog!