Wickedly Hope Pancake: I don't either. I just love Fiyeraba. And I think we all know. *Shifts eyes*
I'mFlyingHighDefyingGravity: Whoa! Let's not go dropping houses on people, yet.
NellytheActress: I AM NOT A GELPHIE SHIPPER! I AM NOT A GELPHIE SHIPPER!
Elphaba'sGirl: Fiyeraba makes everything better!
Elphabalover101: Maybe. It could still turn out okay. (I'm not sure how, but it could)
Galinda somehow managed to avoid the topic of the newspaper that evening with Elphaba. She just hoped Fiyero would be able to get to Nessa and tell her not to say anything to Elphaba. They knew of the special bond the two sisters had, so getting Nessa to lie to Elphaba wouldn't prove to be the easiest of tasks.
"Nessie, what's going on? Why is everyone laughing about the school paper?" Elphaba asked as Nessa walked her to her first class.
Nessa bit her lip. Fiyero had found her in the courtyard and explained everything to her, but not without her seeing the front page of the paper first.
"Nessa, please. You can't tell Elphaba about this," Fiyero pleaded with her.
"I… Fiyero, she's my sister. I know you love her and you're only trying to protect her, but she hates it when people lie to her," Nessa said.
"I know. I hate asking you to do this, Nessa, but please?"
"I… don't know. I've never lied to her before."
Sighing, Fiyero nodded and walked away, leaving Nessa alone to ponder what she was going to do.
"Nessie?" Elphaba asked, snapping Nessa out of her trance.
"Yes?"
Elphaba frowned. "Please tell me what's going on. What's so funny about the paper?"
It's not funny at all, Nessa thought. "It's noth-"
"You promised me you would never lie to me."
"It's nothing. It's just an article about the mystery meat in the cafeteria and some comics."
Elphaba clenched her fists.
"I'm not lying to you, Fabala. I promise," Nessa said, her hand shaking, a giveaway that she was lying.
"O-Okay," Elphaba said, believing her sister. After all, Nessa was the last person she would have expected to lie to her.
Nessa looked down, ashamed of herself. Hopefully, the paper wouldn't start printing braille copies of the newspaper, or she, Galinda and Fiyero would be dead for sure.
"Dude, I think you've got it bad," Avaric smiled at his friend.
"I know. I've never felt this way about a girl before. I don't know what's happening to me," Fiyero said, nervously running his hand through his brown hair.
"I'll tell you. You, my man, are in love. This is more than just a silly, little crush. This is the real deal. I've seen the way you look at her."
"I know. I just… I feel different when I'm with Elphaba. Most girls only like me for my looks and my position and don't care about who I truly am. With Elphaba, I can just be myself. I know this may sound mean, but I'm sort of glad she can't see. It gives me a chance to be who I really am and not have to live up to an image."
"That's deep, man. You definitely have it bad."
"I'm glad you think so," Fiyero smiled, standing up and walking away. He was meeting Elphaba at her room to take her to the café on a date. Making sure his clothes were straight, he raised his hand and lightly knocked on the door. Galinda opened it up a few seconds later, a beaming smile on her face.
"Hi, Fifi. Come on in," the blonde smiled, stepping aside to allow the prince to enter the room. "Elphie's almost finished getting ready."
"Thanks, Glin," Fiyero smiled, walking into the room. "Does… does Elphaba know about… the thing?"
"We're still alive, so I don't think so," Galinda whispered, closing the door behind the prince. "I just want to figure out who did it."
"But if we find out, we need to keep it a secret."
Galinda nodded. "But, Fiyero… Elphaba made me promise her that I would never lie to her. And not saying anything is just as bad as lying. She's probably going to make you promise her as well and… these lies are going to eventually catch up to us and…"
"I know," Fiyero muttered, running his hand through his hair again. "We'll just have to deal with that when the time comes. If the time comes," he corrected himself.
Nodding, Galinda turned around just as the bathroom door clicked open. Elphaba emerged, wearing a blue-violet sundress with royal blue flats. Her hair was slightly curled and flowing down her back, a hairstyle Fiyero thought was quite elegant.
"Hi, Fae," the prince smiled, approaching the emerald girl.
Elphaba turned towards him and smiled. "Hi, Yero." She blushed as she felt Fiyero's fingers intertwine with hers.
"You look beautiful," Fiyero whispered. Elphaba giggled as she leaned her head against Fiyero's chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat. "Are you ready to go?" he asked softly.
Elphaba nodded. She slowly broke away from Fiyero and felt her way over to her desk. She bumped into it and scanned the desktop for her cane. Locating it, she grabbed it and reached for Fiyero's arm. Smiling, Fiyero gladly offered his arm to Elphaba and the two were off.
"Fae?" Fiyero whispered.
"Yes?" Elphaba asked, slightly looking up across the table.
"This is our third date."
"I know," Elphaba blushed slightly.
"What I mean is… this is our third date and I still don't know much about you. I mean, I know your name is Elphaba Thropp, you're eighteen years old and you have a younger sister named Nessarose. Other than that, it's a sea of uncertainty. We spent our last two dates talking about me, and though I love talking about myself, I would like to know more about you."
Elphaba giggled slightly. "Well… my middle name is Melena, after my mother."
"You never told me about your mother."
Elphaba bit her lip. "I don't remember much about her. She died when I was one."
"How?"
"G-Giving birth to Nessa."
Fiyero sensed he was hitting on a touchy subject. "I… I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. I-It happened a long time ago."
"Do you remember what she looked like? Even if it's a little bit."
Elphaba shook her head. "I was born blind. I never saw her face."
Again, the prince sensed this was a touchy subject. "Oh. I didn't realize that…"
"It's okay."
"You said you didn't remember much about her. That means you must remember something," Fiyero said, gently encouraged the green girl on the subject.
Elphaba smiled softly. "Well, I remember… her voice. It was soft and warm and comforting. She had a beautiful singing voice. She used to sing lullabies to me while gently rocking me in her arms."
A soft cry rang through the hallways of the Governor's Mansion. Melena Thropp, the wife of the Governor, pushed herself onto her elbows.
"Melena, I'll get her," her husband, Frex, whispered, trying to push her back down.
"No, it's alright," Melena said, pushing herself up again and sleepily walking out of the bedroom. She walked down the hall to the nursery, where the crying was coming from. "Oh, sweetie," she whispered, hurrying to the crib in the corner of the room. She lifted her crying six-month-old daughter out of the crib, cradling her against her chest. "It's alright. Mommy's here."
Slowly, the baby's crying died down. Her emerald green skin shone in the moonlight. Melena sighed, looking into her daughter's chocolate eyes. Though deep and beautiful, they were sightless, not allowing any light to pass through them.
"You just wanted some company, didn't you?" Melena whispered softly. "My precious, little Elphaba."
Elphaba whimpered and Melena quickly hugged her closer. "It's okay, sweetie. I know you're scared." Smiling softly, Melena walked over to the window. "The sun hasn't risen yet. It's still dark outside." A frown and she added softly. "Though, it must always be dark for you."
Another whimper and Melena delicately stroked Elphaba's cheek. Elphaba's little hand slowly rose and grasped onto her mother's finger.
"Good girl," Melena smiled. "You got my finger."
A dainty smile appeared on Elphaba's lips, hearing her mother's voice perk up, signaling that she was happy. She slowly loosened her grip around her mother's finger and yawned.
"Are you ready to go back to sleep now?" Melena asked. She got another yawn in reply. "Alright then." She slowly made her way over to the rocking chair and sat down. She cradled Elphaba close to her chest, allowing her to hear her heartbeat. She frowned when she thought of her daughter's future. She would never be able to see. Nothing could change that. She looked down at Elphaba and saw her daughter smiling up at her. Melena smiled back and she slowly rocked back and forth in the chair. She hummed a soft lullaby, coaxing Elphaba back to sleep. The emerald baby slowly closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
"Goodnight, Fabala," Melena whispered, placing Elphaba back in her crib and walking back to her bedroom.
Fiyero smiled as he listened to Elphaba speak. Based on Elphaba's description, he suspected she had inherited her mother's silky voice. Oz, he could listen to her talk for hours.
"What about your childhood?" Fiyero asked once Elphaba finished speaking.
"My childhood was…" Elphaba said, struggling to find the correct word. "Okay, I suppose."
"You suppose?"
"My mother died giving birth to Nessa when I was one, leaving my father alone to raise two disabled daughters. Nessa's legs were tangled when she was born, leaving her with the inability to walk. My father overprotected both my sister and I growing up, but as we grew up, he began to let Nessa have more freedom, while I… remained the helpless daughter."
There was a brief silence and Elphaba continued. "I would try to be the big sister to Nessa, but in the end, I was the one depending on her. I love Nessa with all my heart and I'm forever grateful for all she's done to help me, but it's kind of embarrassing to have your younger sister taking care of you."
Another pause. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm talking too much."
"No, please don't stop," Fiyero insisted. "I love listening to your voice."
"I… I don't normally talk this much."
"Why not?" Fiyero knew the answer. He just wanted to hear Elphaba speak some more.
"I need to focus on listening to what's around me," Elphaba answered, pushing stray hairs away from her face. "That's why I don't like crowded or noisy areas. It makes it harder for me to hear and concentrate."
"What's your favorite spot in your house?"
Elphaba smiled at this question. "Well, I have two. The first is my bedroom. The second is our library."
"You have a library in your house?"
Elphaba nodded. "It's a small one. It's mostly history and political books for my father. Some of my mother's books are still there. There's a mini section of braille books that my father updates on a regular basis for me. Then there are Nessa's books. She likes to read all different types of genres."
"What type of books do you like?"
"I have a feeling you're asking me these questions just to keep me talking," Elphaba chuckled.
"Well, I'm curious and I like listening to your voice," Fiyero smiled, leaning over the table to kiss her nose. "Is that so wrong?"
"No," Elphaba laughed. "I like mystery novels, adventure stories, and fantasy stories."
"What did you do for fun growing up?"
"Is this the last question?" Elphaba asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Last question. I promise."
Elphaba thought for a moment. "Well, I liked reading…"
"I said fun."
"Reading is fun. I also liked to sneak out of the house into the gardens."
"Would your father ever get worried about you?"
"I thought you said that was the last question?"
"This is a follow-up question, not just some random question."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "My father would get worried. He would run all over the house until he found me outside. I understand that he's only trying to protect me, but… sometimes, I wish he would give me a little space. As you probably figured out, I don't like asking for help if I feel I can do it myself."
Fiyero smiled.
"Okay, that's it. No more talking from me," Elphaba said stubbornly, though Fiyero caught the slight playfulness in her voice.
"Aww," he whined.
Elphaba shook her head. "Not going to work."
Fiyero chuckled as he drank the last sip of his lemonade.
"Fiyero?"
"Yes?"
"Now that we're on our third date, and this obviously isn't some joke or something, c-can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"I want you to promise me that you will never lie to me. Ever. About anything."
Fiyero bit his lip. Galinda warned him about this, yet he thought, hoped even, that it would never come.
"Yero?"
"I promise," Fiyero said, squeezing her hand.
Elphaba smiled. "Okay. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Are you ready to leave?"
Elphaba nodded and slid out of the booth. Fiyero left the tip for the waitress under the glass and offered his arm to Elphaba. The green girl took the arm offered to her and allowed Fiyero to lead her back to the dorms.
Thoughts so far? Comments? Questions? Ideas for what you want to happen in the future? Feedback in general? Reviews make my day!
