Eight

"Elphie!" Galinda squealed, holding Elphaba as if they had not just seen each other last week.

"Please let go." Elphaba asked, frozen.

"Is Illyria here? Or have you found someone to care for her over the semester?" Galinda, looked Elphaba over as if Illyria was hidden somewhere in the folds of her dress. In response, Elphaba gestured over her shoulder to where Illyria and all her furniture were being unloaded. Rushing forward, Galinda scooped Illyria out of a surprised servant's hands. Elphaba waved off their protests.

"Put this in Room 203." Elphaba said wearily.

"Where's Fiyero?" Galinda finally tore herself away from Illyria and looked around for her boyfriend.

"He woke up late." Elphaba said simply. "I didn't."

"You left him in the Vinkus!" Galinda sounded torn between humor and amusement.

"No. He's about an hour behind me." Elphaba shrugged and took Illyria from Galinda as she started to cry a little. "Quiet, you." She bounced the baby twice to get her to stop crying.

"Oh, Elphie, you're such a good mother." Galinda cooed, looking at Elphaba with big blue eyes. Elphaba smiled crookedly and snorted. "No, you are!" Galinda protested.

"Galinda, I don't even love the chit." Elphaba said, staring at Galinda. Did her blissful bubble not comprehend that? That a parent could feel no form of attachment other than responsibility for their child?

"What?" Galinda gaped at her green friend. Apparently she couldn't comprehend that.

"Nothing. Never mind. She's just been annoying me today because of the ride." Why was she lying? She resented the child, to be sure, and she had never told anyone differently. So… why was Galinda different?

"Oh, I'm sure every child did does that!" Galinda took Elphaba's bony arm in her own and began to lead her into the dorms. "Even I had bad days as a child." Galinda looked so horrified by this that Elphaba had to laugh.

"What were you like as a child, Elphaba?" Galinda asked when they were almost to their room, servants still coming and going around them, bring in their various clothes, furniture, and accessories.

Elphaba paused before answering. "Green." She finally said.

Galinda laughed, slightly nervously. "No, really, Elphaba, what were you like as a child? Were you playful?"

"I doubt that I have ever been 'playful'." Elphaba deadpanned. "I simply do not remember much or my childhood, nor do I wish to."

"Why not, Elphie?" Galinda pouted.

"My childhood was short and bitter." Elphaba shrugged. "I have never wished to relive it." Galinda was about to question her further when they heard Fiyero's laugh through the open window.

"Oh, look, he had Avaric drive him again." Elphaba commented. "Well, at least he's awake this time."

"Who's that?" Galinda pointed to the other side of the street, where a stately old man and what seemed to be his daughter climbed out of a carriage. Well, the man climbed out. His daughter was handed to him and placed gently on a wheelchair.

"Oh, no." Elphaba groaned. "No, no, no." She dashed out of the room, leaving a very confused Galinda to follow at a slower pace.

Elphaba stopped on a dime halfway between the new arrivals and Fiyero. Looking between them quickly, she walked to Fiyero, who was saying his farewells to Avaric.

"Fiyero, darling." She plastered a very fake smile on her face and latched onto him. He shot her a bewildered look.

"What do you want?"

"His Eminence of Munchkinland is here with his daughter. As the Crown Prince and Princess of the Vinkus, we should greet our equals." Elphaba tugged at his arm.

"Of Munchkinland?" Fiyero's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Well, it looks like it's time for me to meet the in-laws."

"Indeed." They started to make their way to the Munchkinlanders. The two looked up at their arrival.

"Your Eminence." Fiyero bowed slightly. "Miss Thropp."

"Ah, your Highnesses." Frexspar bowed back. Nessarose bobbed her head in greeting.

"Sister." Elphaba greeted her so formally that it was unclear if she was using the informal greeting, or merely employing the use of the royal 'we'.

"Fiyero!" Galinda had caught up. "Oh, hello!" She greeted the solemn Munchkinlanders. "I'm Galinda Arduenna of the Upper Uplands. Who are you?"

"Galinda, meet His Eminence, Frexspar Thropp, and his daughter Nessarose, the Third Eminent Thropp Descending." Elphaba gestured first to her father, then to her sister.

"How do you do?" Galinda said politely, extending her hand. It was ignored and she dropped it after a few moments.

"Princess Elphaba, would you please take Miss Thropp to her room." Frexspar commanded Elphaba politely. "Prince Fiyero, if you wouldn't mind showing me the campus that my daughter is to live on?" Elphaba bit her lip at his blatant dismissal of her own relation to him, but did as he wished.

"How have you been, Nessarose?" Elphaba asked once they were out of earshot of Galinda.

"I've been well enough." Elphaba admitted. "It has been a while since I last heard tidings from Munchkinland. How have you been? And Father?"

"We have been well. Munchkinland has, unfortunately, been caught in a small drought for the past year. Not too horrible, but, we do pray to the Unnamed God to give our land rain. Have you been praying to the Unnamed God? For the soul of you and yours?" Elphaba winced, remembering why she had not missed her family all that much.

"Of course."

"And how is… oh, what's her name again?" Nessa's pale brow creased in forgetfulness.

"Illyria Khasra." Elphaba replied shortly. "Named for Fiyero's maternal grandfather and, of course, the Queen."

"Ah. A good name." Nessa commented.

"I suppose so, yes. She is well. Loud, but she is beginning to sleep through the night." Elphaba admitted.

"She does look well." Nessa said, still formal.

Elphaba nodded. "You will most likely be seeing each other more, as I don't yet feel comfortable leaving her in a dorm for most of the day, alone." Nessa hmmed in some sort of agreement, and the conversation lapsed.

"Here is your room." Elphaba said finally, breathing a small sigh of relief. "Do you have servants for your luggage?"

"One, our old Nanny." Nessa bit her lip and looked down.

"I thought as much." Elphaba said. "I'll send a few over to help you." Nessa nodded, and Elphaba curtsied before leaving.

As she had suspected, Galinda was waiting in their room, wanting answers. "Who were they?"

Elphaba sighed. "I told you. His Emin-"

"I know their titles. I meant who were they that you ran out of the room to greet them?" Galinda specified.
"Ah." Elphaba paused, formulating a plausible excuse. "They are, technically, our royal cousins. And we- that is to say, the Vinkus, doesn't have the best of relations with Munchkinland."

"Oh." Galinda said simply. "Why?"

Did she have to press the issue? "Bad blood along the line or something, I suppose." Elphaba said, knowing exactly who the bad blood was; her. She didn't ever try to deny that her father had married her off because he hated her. And that he hated because she was the reason for Nessa's perfection being marred. She had never known any sort of love or affection, at least from him. And if her Nanny had ever doted on her, it was surely long before her memory started. And her mother… well, had she lived, she would most likely take the same path as her husband.

"Elphaba?" Galinda asked about an hour later.

"Yes, Galinda?"

"Why do you always seem older than everyone else here?" Galinda leaned over her vanity, looking blankly at the sea of make up that covered it.

"What made you so inquisitive?" Elphaba set down her book and looked at her roommate.

"I don't know." Galinda pouted. "But I've been thinking and things recently! I think you're rubbing off on me."

Elphaba stood up and spun Galinda in a circle, looking at her skin. "Nope. No green yet." She flashed a gob smacked Galinda a small smirk and turned back to her bed.

"Elphie!" Galinda squealed, hopping around madly. "You made a joke!"

"Galinda, what are you squealing about?" Fiyero entered the room, having just finished unpacking. Elphaba immediately snapped her facial features to show cold indifference.

"Elphie made a joke! And she smiled!" Galinda repeated herself.

"No, I didn't." Elphaba protested.

"Well, it was more of a smirk than a smile, but she did make a joke!" Galinda refused to let Elphaba's abrupt change of attitude disrupt her from her own happiness.

"Hm. Never seen that before." Fiyero frowned momentarily. "Galinda, I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me?"

"What's the occasion?" Galinda giggled and fluttered her eyelashes. Elphaba rolled her eyes and picked her book back up.

"Do I need an occasion to take a pretty girl out?" Fiyero asked, pulling out all the stops in his charm. Galinda sighed in happiness and nodded. With a short nod to Elphaba, Fiyero left the two girls alone.

"Elphaba, I have a really important question." Galinda turned to her green friend.

"Again?" Elphaba asked, a slightly dark humor coloring her voice.

"Yes. I've thought a lot this summer, I told you!" Galinda giggled again.

"So what's the question?" Elphaba was impatient to get back to her book.

"Um, well." Uncharacteristically, Galinda blushed heavily, causing Elphaba to frown.

"Yes?" She prompted, her curiosity piqued.

"What is, um sex like?" Galinda whispered the word as if it was an animate entity all on it's own.

"You mean you've never?" Elphaba's eyes nearly popped out of her head. That meant that he had gone five months without sex… and that he respected Galinda enough to not force himself on her.

"No… I know that Fiyero would like to do it," Elphaba snorted at Galinda's understatement. "But I don't know… Momsie always told me to save it for marriage…" Galinda paused again, taking in Elphaba's stiff posture and slightly shocked expression.

Elphaba realized that Galinda was staring and shook herself slightly. "Yes, go on."

"But, I was thinking, I'm almost one hundred percent sure that Fiyero is going to propose to me. So, I mean, do you think I should… you know?" Galinda trailed off.

"Galinda, why do you want to have sex with Fiyero?" Elphaba faced her friend fully.

"Because it'll make him happy." Galinda responded immediately.

"But is it what you want? Because once your virginity is taken, you can never get it back, ever; even if Fiyero doesn't marry you. And, unless I am much mistaken, that means that you can never enter a respectable marriage." Elphaba finished on her feet, looking Galinda in the eye, hoping that she would understand, that somewhere in that brain that Galinda would hear her words.

"Why wouldn't Fiyero marry me?" Galinda asked, her head cocked to one side. Elphaba wanted to hit something; after all that, all her friend got was that Fiyero might not marry her?
"I don't know. Maybe his father won't allow it. He might die in a battle or something." Elphaba flung her hands up in exasperation.

"But, I mean…"

"Galinda. Trust me. Don't sleep with Fiyero; it won't do you any good later on in your life." Elphaba closed the discussion with such an air of finality that Galinda didn't even question 'why'.


A/N: Hey, people. WE got third at championships- wahoo! I am actually brain dead right now. Enjoy the read!