Misunderstood
Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked or any of the characters involved with it, with the exception of the ones that I create.
A.N.: In response to gatermage's review…there is more to this than meets the eye. Keep that in mind ;) R&R please!
Chapter 8: One Short Day
The small figure was breathing very shallow, and each breath was a tremendous effort. Elphie quickly pulled it in and shut the door. She carried the small person over to the chair in front of the fireplace, and set them down. The Witch pulled off her scarf and extra shirt, and wrapped the figure up, trying to help them get warm. She pulled the chair closer to the fire, and hurried off to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, she found ale that she had been saving for later and poured a generous amount into a large cup. Satisfied, she made her way back to the visitor.
Before approaching, Elphaba took stock of the situation. The small girl was sitting up now, rather than slouched over. She looked quite disheveled. Her short hair was all over the place, sticking up in some places and flattened in others. Her hands were filthy, and there were welts visible on her wrists and ankles. Those are going to need some treatment…the Witch cringed. The tattered clothes that the girl was wearing looked as if they were about to fall apart. Her face was filthy and cut up…some new scars were forming. The girl looked very emaciated…it was heartbreaking to see. Elphaba swallowed her discomfort and sorrow and walked over. "Nor?" The girl looked up at her, with vacant looking eyes. "Nor, it's me. Auntie Witch." At this, the girl smiled and recognition swept over her face. The Witch felt a bit of relief, at least she knows and remembers me. She kneeled at the side of the chair, and held the cup of ale up. "Are you thirsty? I got you some ale." The girl kept smiling and nodded slowly. She reached her hands out, and took the cup gratefully. She held it up to her mouth and drank deeply.
Elphaba kept kneeling at her side and watched her, endlessly surprised and thankful that the girl was no longer in captivity. Nor drank for a very long time, until she had her fill. She handed the cup back to the Witch, and smiled again. The woman smiled back as well. "Are you warmer now?" Nor nodded again, "May I have something to eat?" Elphie quickly jumped to her feet, "Of course you can. I'll just be a moment." She left the room, shaking her head on the way out. How stupid of me, I should have thought of that in the first place! The green woman rummaged around until she found some leftover biscuits, which was all the food that they had. When she turned around to go back into the room, she was startled by the girl, who was standing at the door. "Auntie Witch, where is everyone?" The girl's gaze was unwavering, questioning. Oh goodness I can't tell her everything that has happened just yet. She met the girl's gaze, and said "Well, it is very late at night you know. Nanny is upstairs, most likely in a deep sleep. Liir is also upstairs, probably dreaming." The girl walked toward the Witch, "Where is Mama? Or Irji, or Manek?" The Witch started to grow nervous. Not yet. You cannot tell her just yet. "They aren't here right now, Nor." The girl seemed to accept it and merely shrugged her shoulders. Trying to settle her nerves, she handed the girl a few of the biscuits she had found. The girl took them, and ravenously devoured them. The ferocity of how she ate stunned Elphaba who quickly intervened "Nor! Nor, not so fast. You'll get sick to your stomach!" The girl disregarded her and continued on. "Alright fine don't listen to me. You're going to pay the consequences though." Elphaba eyed her carefully. Once Nor had finished, she looked up at the Witch, grabbed her hand, and led her into the entry room once again.
Elphaba was shocked. What in the name of Oz has gotten into this girl?! She followed the girl simply because she didn't have any other reaction to the sudden assertiveness being displayed. Nor sat back down in the chair, and the Witch just stood there staring. "Auntie Witch, do you know what I have gone through to get here?" Scenes of years past passed through her mind rapidly. Coming to Kiamo Ko for the first time, leaving to visit Nessa, leaving for the funeral, finding that Sarima and the rest of her family had been taken…meeting with the Wizard and seeing Nor broken…not being able to rescue her…Elphaba shook herself out of her remembrance. "I know a bit of it. Not all." Nor nodded, "So then you must know some of what I had been subjected to…" She withdrew into herself. Long moments passed and Elphaba was growing a bit worried when the girl started talking again. "Although I wanted to get out of the dungeons to relieve myself of the pain, I also had other intentions. I had heard that you were gone, but it's clear that you're not. I needed to get here so that I could inform Nanny and Liir of what I had heard while kept away and warn them." Elphaba's brow furrowed as more was revealed. "Auntie, the Tinman and the Scarecrow intend to get rid of everyone involved with you. They don't want anyone to pick up where you left off. They intend to come here, to Kiamo Ko, and get rid of Nanny and Liir. I don't know exactly when, but they will act on it eventually."
This didn't surprise the Witch all too much. She had suspected that some sort of plot had been brewing since she had come back, and was already making plans for relocation. Nor wasn't done talking yet though: "Since that is out of the way now, I have some other news for you. I don't quite know how you'll think of it though. I'm sure that I don't know how to react to it." This piqued Elphie's interest somewhat. Nor saw the look on her face and continued on, satisfied. "It turns out that Resistance has not completely died out. In fact, new members are joining everyday." The woman was a bit disappointed. She had expected more, and was thinking so when Nor tapped her on the shoulder. "Did you hear what I said? I know some of the members." The girl had put extra emphasis on "know". "Someone you know too. A VERY close friend. You need to go to the Emerald City ASAP. He's waiting."
