A/N: My 3 wonderful reviewers LillyFae, Elphieispopular and Doglover645 have been kind enough to continue their support for this, thankyou! Additionally thank you to Doglover645, heatqueen and J for being the most recent reviewers to YELLCH. J has also reviewed this, thank you! I am endeavouring to have this completed in the next week as I go away for a month and won't have internet. Plus side of that is I should have some of the sequel done for when I get back. And I realized I didn't link the last one to teeth, that's a bit of an oops. In my defence I wrote it just before I uploaded it at around 3am. I'll make it up here.
Teeth 8: Deliberate Actions
The price of forfeiting a tight hold on something is exorbitant. No, there's no money involved. That doesn't mean the cost isn't there, on the body and on the mind. Then there's tax. That extra relinquishment of the self that put the salt in the water to burn Elphaba's skin. The smallest crack in the dam and all the water could seep out. Eventually there would be nothing left. Of course in the great water supplies of Oz, this takes time. An almost infinite amount. But Elphaba is slight. Years of abuse and neglect have worn her down to bones, green skin and those teeth pressed down firmly on her tongue to hold everything in its perfect place.
Everything was deliberate, controlled to the nth degree. Walk 2 paces behind Nessa and a pace to the left to get around in front of the wheelchair should Shell need help. When Frex was in the room breathe silently and at a slowed rate of 6 per minute lest he hear. That would give cause to accusations she was putting wicked curses on the family and really was a witch. Being a witch was justification enough to be drowned in the Thropp house. It was the ultimate denial of the Unnamed God, which was the highest sin. Finally, she must remain completely silent unless in prayer to the Unnamed God or responding to a direct question. Even then, the response must demonstrate the highest respect for the deity and the self-proclaimed prophet. The volume was not to be discernible from another room and the tone at its most reverent. Otherwise, it was recommended the girl bite her tongue or her lip as hard as she pleased. There were few things that gave Frex more pleasure than seeing the green girl in pain. It was also a requirement she demonstrate this at certain points for him. She obeyed all these rules and managed to keep herself from serious harm through her zealous attention to the details of her control.
Then she slipped. Her tongue had slithered from the sharpened barriers of her teeth. That was the first payment. The fine points with their razor sharpness slid along the length of her tongue and blood seeped into her mouth. Later she would feel the deep gashes and they would impede her ability to eat. Green skin would stretch tighter over bones hollow from malnutrition. The skin would tint a paler green at the pressure, or a darker olive as the blood rushed into the area sensing the flimsiness of the skin that seemed as if it would simply break as the pressure only mounted with time.
The next thing she gave to the debt collector was the headache that pounded upon realizing the fool she had been in losing that sweet, sacred, that safe composure. Pain would swell in the confines of her head and finally break crashing through her body. It would reach her teeth which clamp down on her already wounded tongue the way a metal trap nearly tears the foot from a bear. The rest of her body would fall victim to it and a shudder was unavoidable. A simple movement that sent her bones once again tearing at the fabric of her skin, clawing their way ever closer to the surface. She would control it eventually, relegate it back to the confines of her skull where it would be left to pound out a rebellious rhythm that further incapacitated her by denying her of her thoughts.
Frex would ensure she paid the final instalment. He had his own precise way of taking it. Slow movements. Well-rehearsed; the epitome of a deliberate action. He'd take a step over to her and draw himself to the limits of his spine. She was taller, but weakness hunched her so he loomed far above. His left hand would grip her shoulder and both of them would clamp further on their teeth at the pain. Him because her prominent bones were sharp. Her because everywhere was tender to his brutal ministrations. After he recomposed himself, shown by the thin line of his lips, his right hand would raise in a fist and come crashing down at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. The effect was always the same; she fell with her knees close to her chest, her head hunched over her knees and her thin arms attempting to encase herself and defend against further blows. Inevitably, it was futile, 15 more would come. 16 in total, one for each year she cursed him with her existence.
Then everything was back in its proper place. She would regain consciousness. Her tongue would retreat back into its cage. For a few weeks they would press down harder to enhance the lesson and ensure nothing more happened that was not utterly deliberate. Every muscle in her body would tense again and the pain in her bones would recede to a dull ache. It would take her 4 clock-ticks to return to her position, 1 for each stage. The first would be unfolding herself; dropping her arms to her sides and letting her legs free from their sharp angle. The second was to stand. She leant back against the wall and further tensed every muscle group from her feet to push herself up into a standing position. Thirdly, she returned her normal position with her siblings and the breathing rate the demonstrated her concession to Frex.
The last stage as always the most difficult. With her mouth remaining closed she relaxed all her jaw muscles and her tongue. She would flatten it out so just the tips squeeze into the gap between her upper and lower teeth. Frex would always watch the final thing she did to guarantee its completion and its perfection. Always, she did it slowly to emphasize the deliberate nature of her actions. She forced her jaw as far closed as it could around the edges of her tongue. This was done to ensure both pain and, that she had maximum control over anything that attempted to leave her lips. He would test her control, he would be satisfied and he would walk away.
Her heart would beat in time to his steps.
A/N: This was different to what I was expecting. I apologize if the details of what she is doing are tedious. It was a conscious choice to do that to reflect the control in her environment. Also, thank you so much to all the reviewers once again. My goal was to get to 15 by the end of the last chapter, and I have 18! But my ultimate goal is to get 30 for the entire thing, which is only two chapters away. Please! I won't deny you a chapter though because I'm going away in less than a week and it would be cruel to deny you. I'll stop rambling now, thank you sleep deprivation.
