Wow! TEN reviews in the last chapter! Thank you all so much! Your reviews mean the world to me!
StamiSprite (Guest): Aww! Thank you so much!
LifelongLeahstar: No, Elphaba didn't lose her glasses. She just uses them for reading.
Doglover645: You'll see more "nope" later. *Cackles*
BillyJay936: Frollo comes off to me as flat-out evil. Like… no. You don't try to drown a baby, right after you're responsible for killing it's mother. Just… no. Frex is… not that evil, but he is cold and distant towards Elphaba.
Elphaba stared, with dread, at the carriage as servants loaded Raal's and Fiyero's belongings onto the back.
"I'll see you in two weeks, Fae," Fiyero said as he slipped his hand into his wife's and kissed her cheek.
"Be careful, Yero," Elphaba whispered, turning towards Fiyero and wrapping her arms around him.
"I will. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Elphaba watched from the window as Fiyero climbed into the carriage and drove off, waving as he vanished from sight.
"Elphaba?" Amalie whispered as she approached the green girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I know how hard this must be for you. But don't worry. The first time Raal had to leave me, I was terrified. Now, I look forward to it because it means two whole weeks of now being woken up in the middle of the night by loud snores."
Elphaba laughed softly. "He snores?"
"Oh, does he!" Amalie chuckled. "The two weeks will be over before you know it."
Elphaba nodded as the Queen gently kissed her cheek and excused herself to the throne room. Elphaba looked up at the clock. She had three hours before she knew Harv would come looking for her to help plan the Lurlinemas Ball. She realized that she never had a chance to explore her new home and thought that now would be the perfect opportunity to do so. She walked down the long hallways, listlessly dragging her fingers along the smooth walls. She stopped when two large, ornate doors caught her attention. Curious, she hurried to open the doors, but stopped. What if she wasn't allowed in the room? What if she was caught? Elphaba mentally kicked herself. Of course she was allowed inside. She was the crowned princess, after all. Why wouldn't she be allowed inside? Taking a deep breath, she pushed the large doors open and walked inside.
The green girl gasped as she looked around. She had found the library. Smiling to herself, she climbed up the three steps leading to the first level and smiled. She walked around, enjoying the peace and solitude that she had been deprived of since she had arrived.
"Good morning, Your Highness," a soft voice said from behind her.
Elphaba jumped and whipped around. An old, brown Owl stood behind her, thin-rimmed glasses perched perfectly on his beak. "Forgive me for startling you. My name is Cato. I am the castle librarian," the Owl said with a slight bow. "I have heard many things, all good, of course, about you and wondered when you would happen to find the palace library."
Elphaba smiled softly. "It's nice to meet you, Cato."
"Is there anything I can help you locate?"
"You know where everything is?" Elphaba asked. She had worked at the Shiz library since her second year there, and not even she knew where everything was.
Cato chuckled softly. "Of course. I am as old as this castle itself. I have seen many things and have served many kings, queens, and crowned princes and princesses."
Elphaba looked around the large library, seemingly soaking in all of the vast information it contained without opening a single book. "Where is the history section?"
"It is on the second floor. I'll show you."
The princess nodded and followed the old Owl up the stairs to the second floor. He led her around bookshelf after bookshelf until they came across a large section of large, history books.
"Here we are," Cato said, turning around, but not seeing the princess. "Your Highness?"
"Hmm?"
The old Owl turned around and smiled, seeing that Elphaba had snuck past him and was already buried in a book, her glasses balanced perfectly on her nose, and her head resting against her fisted hands. "If you need anything else, Your Highness, just let me know."
Elphaba gave the Owl a half-distracted nod as she turned the page. Cato smiled softly as he turned and went up the stairs to the third floor. The green girl didn't know how much time had past, but the next thing she knew, she was startled awake by a, "There you are, Your Highness!"
She jumped and blinked, trying to clear her clouded vision. She looked down at the opened book on the table before lifting her gaze to Harv, fighting an aggravated look.
"I'm so sorry to have startled you, but I didn't know where you were. I asked one of the maids and she said that she saw you come up here," Harv quickly apologized.
Elphaba nodded, still too tired and disoriented to form words.
"I have come to tell you that it's time for you and the Queen to meet with the planners for the Lurlinemas Ball in two weeks."
"Fine," she sighed, her voice still groggy with sleep as she removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
Harv nodded sympathetically and offered his hand to the princess. Elphaba ignored him and pushed herself up before walking out of the library. Harv blinked, but followed the princess, making a mental note to himself to try a different tactic when waking her up in the library.
"Elphaba, there you are," Amalie smiled when she saw the green girl approaching.
"Hi," Elphaba said, forcing a smile.
"Is something wrong, dear?"
Elphaba shrugged. "I was reading in the library and fell asleep. Harv just woke me up. I apologize."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Amalie said gently, kissing Elphaba's forehead. "If you want, you can skip this meeting and…"
"No," Elphaba shook her head. "I'll be fine."
"Elphaba, I don't want you to stress yourself out."
"I'll be fine."
The Queen didn't look convinced, but nodded and led Elphaba into the drawing room, where the decorators and chef were waiting.
"Everything is to your liking, Your Majesty?" the head decorator asked when the meeting concluded.
"Yes. Elphaba?" Amalie asked, turning towards the princess.
Elphaba smiled. "I think it will be wonderful."
"Thank you, Your Highness," the head decorator bowed.
The Queen dismissed everyone and walked out with Elphaba. "Are you alright?"
The green girl nodded. "I'm fine. That wasn't as… tedious as I expected."
Amalie laughed. "The ball is pretty much the same every year. We just have to go over everything to make sure it's as close to perfect as possible."
The two women continued to chat as they walked until Harv appeared, claiming to need the queen to check over something. Excusing herself, Amalie followed Harv, leaving the green girl alone. Elphaba used her free time to go back to the library.
"Hello again, Your Highness," Cato smiled when Elphaba walked in. "Back to the history section?"
"Hello, Cato. Actually, I was thinking about trying something else. Where is the fiction section?"
The old Owl smiled. "Right this way."
Elphaba followed the librarian back up to the second floor to the fiction section. It didn't take long for her to choose a book and settle down at a table.
A week later, Elphaba was still very busy with preparations for the Lurlinemas Ball. Harv kept her on a very tight schedule, leaving her little to no time to herself.
"Your Highness?" Harv asked as he came into the parlor.
"Harv, please, if this is another meeting about the Lurlinemas Ball, can it please wait?" Elphaba said tiredly from where she laid on the sofa.
"Forgive me, but I have just come to deliver this letter to you."
Elphaba sat up. "Is it from Fiyero?"
"No, it's from Lady Calysteria."
Cally? Why would she be writing? Wasn't she supposed to be arriving today? Curiously, Elphaba took the letter and thanked Harv.
Dear Elphaba, it read.
I'm so sorry to be writing this to you, but I will not be able to come until the ball. A lot has come up recently and I must stay here in Kvon Altar. I am dreadfully sorry, but I know you are doing just fine. Don't let all of this overwhelm you. You are a great princess and everything will work out.
Again, please forgive me for not being able to make it, but I will see you at the ball.
Fondly,
Cally
Elphaba sighed. Cally wouldn't be visiting. She would just have to do this alone.
The next morning, Elphaba woke up at the crack of dawn and subconsciously stumbled through her morning routine. She felt numb without Fiyero by her side. She needed him. The ball was in four days and she was sure that she wasn't going to make it without him. That's why she nearly jumped for joy when a letter from Fiyero finally came.
Dearest Fae,
I'm so sorry I haven't written yet, but things have been very busy for my father and me. I hope you're alright and you still don't want to kill me. I'm counting down the days until Lurlinemas Eve. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of you. I miss you more than words can express and I can't wait to see you again. I love you dearly.
Yours forever,
Yero
Elphaba clutched the letter to her chest, as if it was Fiyero himself. She missed him dearly. She never thought she would be able to miss someone until she met Fiyero. Now, she couldn't, nor did she want to, imagine her life without him.
Harv entered the parlor, a soft smile on his face. "Your Highness, Miss Galinda Upland has arrived."
Before Elphaba had a chance to process and respond, the bubbly blonde bounced into the room and wrapped her arms around Elphaba in a tight hug. "Elphie!"
Elphaba gasped softly, then processed everything and quickly returned the hug. "Hi, Glin."
"I've missed you so much. How are you?" Before Elphaba had a chance to respond, Galinda pulled away to look at her friend. "You don't look so good."
"Maybe it's the green," Elphaba said dryly.
Galinda slapped her arm. "That's not funny, Elphie. You look like you could use some rest."
"That's something I haven't got a lot of."
"Oz, Elphie. I thought you would have learned by now not to spend all night reading." The look of Elphaba's face told the blonde that it was more serious than her old Shiz study habits and she softened a bit. "Well, you're in luck. Because Oz's Best Bestest Friend is here to make everything better."
"I'm really glad you're here, Glin. Really, I am. But I have a lot of work to do," Elphaba sighed as she pushed herself to her feet.
"Actually, Your Highness, your schedule is free," Harv smiled.
"You're welcome," Galinda grinned when she saw her friend's stunned face.
"Prince Fiyero made sure that you would have lots of time to spend with your friend before he left," Harv quipped.
"Come on, Elphie!" Galinda said as she pulled Elphaba up the stairs. "I'll have the maids draw you a bubble bath to get you relaxed, then we'll have tea in your room, and I'll give you a makeover and we'll talk and…"
"Thank you," Elphaba whispered gratefully to Harv as the blonde pulled her up the stairs, chattering a mile a minute.
Harv smiled and bowed. "My pleasure, Your Highness."
