My buddy "Denpa Wave Chick Saki" co-wrote this with me. Enjoy!

It was late into the night when the party finally ended and the last of the guests left. Elphaba watched as Galinda said farewell to the last person before closing the door with a sigh. "So, was that the best party you've ever had?"

"I suppose. It was rather fun, wasn't it, Nessa, dear?" Galinda threaded her arm through Fiyero's, holding his arm lovingly as she looked at her sister.

"It was all right...if you'll excuse me, I'm not exactly feeling well..." the brunette said, turning away.

"Nessa, dear, what's wrong?"

Nessa shook her head. "Oh, don't worry about me. You know how my legs sometimes act up. I'm just going up to bed."

"Would you like me to come with you?"

"No. Please...enjoy the rest of your evening."

Elphaba looked at her. "I could accompany you, Miss Nessarose."

"Elphaba, really you don't have to."

"Sister, if she would like to accompany you, then why don't you just let her? She is your friendafter all."

Nessa looked at her sister. "Galinda, please don't- ahh!" Nessa let out a cry of pain and grasped her legs.

"I will take you upstairs to tend to you, Miss Nessarose," Elphaba said, grabbing her chair. "Please don't protest."

"Nessa, please go with her. I don't like seeing you in pain like this." She urged her sister.

"I will take care of your sister, Miss Galinda. Excuse me," Elphaba said, nodding to the blonde before she wheeled the brunette up to her room. "Please permit my assistance..."

The blonde looked worriedly after her sister. Fiyero slid his hand into hers and pulled her away. "Why don't we go for a little walk, Galinda? Perhaps it will take your mind off things."

Galinda turned to him with a slight smile. "That is a fantastical idea, dearest." she followed him as he lead her out the ballroom doors to the terrace and then to the gardens beyond.


Elphaba picked Nessa up gently and set her on her bed. "Are your legs cramping again?" Nessa could only nod. Elphaba removed her shoes and stockings before she began to massage one of the brunette's feet. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"Y-yes...thank you Elphaba."


Fiyero sat Galinda on one the bench that lined one of the fountains, taking his seat next to her and sliding his arm around her. Galinda leaned on his shoulder with a content sigh as they gazed up at the stars and the moon. Fiyero used his free hand to tilt up her face and give her a long kiss.

After many more kisses as such, the two pulled away from each other trying to catch their breath. Galinda looked up at him with a mischievous look as she seductively slid her hand away from his knee and up his thigh. "You know, dearest, that Miss Thropp will be busy with my sister all night...and that just happens to leave my room empty and green freak free..."

Fiyero grinned down at her before standing up, holding his hand out to her. "I think that you should give me a proper tour of this room of yours while we have the chance to..." He pulled her up and gave her another long and passionate kiss. The two left the gardens and did their best not to completely run up to her room, locking the door behind them.


Elphaba woke with a start, finding her body to be rather stiff. She found herself sitting in a chair in Nessa's room, still wearing her emerald suit from last night. Elphaba stood with a groan and stretched. Obviously she hadn't made it back to her own room last night. Wait, that meant... "Galinda!" She ran from the room, bolted down the hallway. Elphaba ran into the door, only to find it locked. "Galinda!" She pounded on the door.

The blonde in question didn't fully wake at the sound. Instead she rolled over on the bed and snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

Elphaba let out a low growl. "Galinda, I'm coming in!" The green woman took a step back before she gave the door a solid kick. The wood bent under her boots. She gave it another kick and it fell, granting her access. "Galinda, why didn't you open the do-" Her eyes fell on just who was in the bed and she felt her heart drop. "No, no, no, no!" She went to the side of the bed and grabbed Fiyero's arm, yanking him to the floor. "GET OUT!"

Fiyero was jolted awake. He scrambled to his feet and looked at the green woman who had so rudely woken him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He remembered that he was completely nude and quickly snatched up a pillow to cover himself.

"Oh please. You haven't much to hide!"

Galinda shot up in the bed. When her head wrapped around what was going on she shrieked. "How dare you come barging in here to so rudely wake us up and insult my boyfriend!"

"YOU, SHUT UP!" Elphaba shouted, turning on the blonde. She grabbed Fiyero's arm and started to drag him from the room. "GET OUT! GET OUT!" She threw him out into the hallway. "GET OUT BEFORE I PERSONALLY REMOVE YOUR TESTICLES WITH MY FOOT!"

"I dare you to try!" Fiyero forced his way back into the room.

Galinda ran from the bed and put herself between the two. "DON"T YOU DARE!"

"FINE!" Elphaba aimed a swift kick at Fiyero's...well...she hit him in a sensitive spot.

Fiyero crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain as he covered the spot. Galinda backhanded Elphaba across the face. "BITCH! GET OUT OF MY ROOM RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Elphaba growled and grabbed the blonde. "YOU'RE NEXT." She threw Galinda onto the bed before she grabbed Fiyero and threw him out again, slamming the broken door after him. She turned to Galinda, fire burning in her dark eyes.

Galinda got off the bed again, walking back over to her. "GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Elphaba grabbed the blonde tightly. "YOUR FATHER IS GOING TO HAVE ME KILLED IF HE FINDS OUT! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? DON'T YOU EVER GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ANYBODY BUT YOURSELF? I CAN'T...I JUST..." Elphaba released her as she let out a yell, grabbing her head as she felt something deep inside her pulse. Suddenly, all the mirrors and windows in Galinda's room shattered, and all of the wooden doors splintered.

Galinda screamed and fell to the ground, covering her head as the flying shards of glass cut into her skin. "STOP IT! WHAT'S GOING ON!"

Elphaba lowered her shaking hands and looked up. "I...I got angry...I didn't try to..." She shook her head. "You need to take me seriously for once in your life, Galinda, because I'm not fucking around with you any longer!"

The blonde slowly stood up, seething. "And you better take me seriously when I say get the fuck out of my room before I kill you myself."

"I. Dare. You."

"Get. Out. Now."

"Go ahead! Do your worst!" Elphaba spread her arms out giving Galinda clear shot. "No. I'm not going anywhere."

"If you don't leave this second, I will see to it that you neversee your sister again."

"What are you going to do? Kill her? Separate us? She already thinks you're her sister! What more can I lose?"

Galinda struck out again, aiming a punch at the green woman's face. But she literally grabbed her own arm to restrain herself. She backed away a few steps before running into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She pulled out the first aid kit and quickly cleaned the dozens of little cuts on her body. When she was finished, she took a long look in the mirror and quite a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself before she left the bathroom, storming into her closet.

"I'm still here, Galinda. I'm not leaving until you tell me why the hell you chose to go behind my back. You must want me to die a slow painful death. To watch me hang by my neck then have my body riddled with bullets."

"NO! I should be allowed to have a life too, ya know?"

"You should have told me! Now what do I tell your father?"

She yanked on her tight leggings and her body sweater. "Like you would have fucking let me if I had told you!"

"I...I would have..." Elphaba looked down. "You're 18 now. I couldn't have stopped you..."

"BULLSHIT!"

"Galinda, you are 18. You're an adult now. You'll have to start taking responsibility for what you do. I would have let you two...but you should have said something."

"You're so full of shit, Miss Thropp. To you and to everyone else in Oz, I'll only ever be the little girl who doesn't know what the fuck to do about anything!" She angrily stormed around the room, snatching her pointe shoes and other items from their places.

"LISTEN!" Elphaba grabbed her arm. "I know you have a brain in there! You choose not to use it! Can't you see I've been trying to give you a chance? So many chances...but you refuse to do anything to change! And that's why people see you this way!" She shook her. "DO SOMETHING TO CHANGE!" A single tear ran down her face.

Galinda tore her arm away from her grasp. "Don't. Touch. Me," she growled before closing her bag and heading for the door.

Elphaba sighed. "How does it feel...to finally be fucked? Was it worth it? Did you do it for yourself...or for him?"

"It is none of your business, Miss Thropp." The blonde left the room, storming down the corridors.

Elphaba quickly followed. "No, please, tell me. Seeing as I'll never have the joy of that experience, tell me how it was. Did you bleed when your hymen broke? I'll bet you did...so delicate..."

"It's none of your business! And if you're so Ozdamn curious why don't you check my fucking sheets for blood yourself?"

"Oh, I'm sure I will when I wash them so your father doesn't find it first."

"Then stop asking!"

"But tell me: did you do it just to do it? Or do you really love him?"

"Leave. Me. Alone! You've already fucked up my life enough!"

"Have I? How so? I do every little thing you ask! I let you beat and strangle me! Who's fucking up whose life?" Galinda took off at a dead run to the studio, slamming the door shut behind her. Elphaba walked after her, leaning against the wall outside the door. "Galinda...I'm sorry. I don't know why, but I am."

The blonde ignored her, muttering to herself as she pulled her pointe shoes on. "It's fine. Just dance. Get it all out. Just do it. You'll be fine." Galinda was so angry that she couldn't bear the wait to dance, so she skipped taping her feet and all of her warm ups. She set a record on the player and began dancing vigorously as soon as it started.

"Galinda, I realize I can't babysit you forever...I just don't want you to get hurt. You need to know how to make decisions...the right ones." Elphaba sighed as she heard the music. "You didn't hear a word I said..." She straightened up. "You're not going anywhere...so I'll take my leave." She turned and walked away from the closed door

Galinda danced for hours until she was utterly exhausted, but she continued on with her completely reckless dancing. At one time, after doing quite a few Fouettés, she for some reason decided to do a full leap immediately after. But as she was landing her grand jeté, her shoe slipped on the floor, causing her left leg to twist in different directions as she fell. The blonde tumbled to the ground, immediately grasping at her knee as tears flowed from her eyes and she writhed on the floor in pain.

Elphaba couldn't stay away any longer. It had been hours. She had to check on Galinda. She went back down to the studio and knocked. "Galinda? It's me. I...I came to see how you were doing."

"G-go away!" Galinda choked out. She had been lying on the floor for near half an hour and decided it had been high time she got up. She dragged herself across the floor to a corner of the room.

Elphaba detected that something was wrong...but no, Galinda didn't want her to interfere. "Are you...all right? Is there something I can do for you?"

She managed to start pulling herself to her feet using the wall. "No! Just go away, alri- AH!" She cried out when her left foot had accidentally bumped against the floor, shooting pain straight up her leg. She collapsed back to the ground, holding back her sobs. "I'm fine...without you! Just leave!"

Elphaba's hands twitched. She could tell that Galinda was in pain...but no! The blonde didn't want her! Still, how could she leave her? NO! Galinda didn't want her help! "Galinda, you sound injured. Do you want my assistance?"

"I-I'm fine! I'm not hurt...and I definitely don't need your help!"

"You sound injured. Please, if you are, let me help before it gets worse. I'd hate...I'd hate to think of you never dancing again..."

"Bullshit! Like you give a fuck about my dancing!" Galinda tried to stand using the wall again, but, with her leg dangling uselessly as it was, she hit her foot again after a few steps and fell back to the floor. "Just go away, already!"

That was enough. Elphaba kicked down the door and stormed in. "Listen! I do care! I am not out to make your life mis-" Her eyes fell on Galinda's leg. "Oh, Oz...what happened?" She looked back at Galinda, her dark eyes softer.

"It's nothing. Go away!" The blonde made another attempt at standing.

"Galinda, stop! That is not nothing! You can barely walk!" Elphaba moved in, but stopped herself. "May I...may I take you to have it examined by the doctor?"

"No, you may not! I can get there myself."

"Galinda, you'll make it worse if you try to walk! Please...let me help you..."

"NO! I don't need your help!"

"Galinda, please! Do you want to ruin your dancing career?"

"I don't ca-" Galinda's foot bumped against the wall, harder than before and her face blanched white. She clenched her teeth, fresh tears streaming down her face as she held back her scream of pain.

"That's it. I can't watch you like this anymore." Elphaba picked the blonde up gently. "I do care..." she muttered. She turned and carried her from the room, starting for the doctor's office.

"Don't touch IT!" Galinda's voice rose an octave when the green woman's touch jarred her leg again. She grasped at Elphaba's arm with a death grip, every step they took sending more pain shooting through her leg.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to be gentle." Elphaba took shorter strides, trying to lessen the jarring. They reached the doctor's office and Elphaba stopped, waiting for the doctor to return, her dark eyes scanning the room as she was accustomed to doing.

The blonde sat in one of the chairs, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She tried to stop herself, quickly realizing that any movement she made at all would jar her leg with its extreme sensitivity. "Ozdamnit, where's that damn doctor?"

"I don't know..." Elphaba turned to face her. "Would you mind...if I took a look?"

"If you can get this damn pant leg off of it, I don't give a fuck who looks at it."

Elphaba drew her knife from her belt and cut the pant leg open. She replaced it before she looked at Galinda's actual leg.

"Tell me where it hurts most." Elphaba touched her ankle lightly. "There?"

"Just a little."

Elphaba moved up to her calf and shin. "Here?"

Galinda's breath hitched. "A little...more," she managed to gasp out.

Elphaba's hand hovered over her knee. "Then it hurts most here. Can you move it at all?"

She shook her head, her body tensed, ready for the pain if her leg was accidentally bumped.

"Alright...tell me what happened. Did you hit it? Did you fall?"

"When I was...landing a leap, my shoe slipped. I fell."

Elphaba nodded. "You probably injured a ligament in your knee. If it hurts this much, you may have torn it."

"All I care about is how to fix it."

"I think I may know what to do..." She grabbed a chair and pulled it in front of Galinda. "This will hurt, but I need to elevate your injured leg." Elphaba grasped her ankle and lifted her leg up onto the chair slowly. Despite her efforts, Galinda couldn't hold back a cry of pain. Elphaba left to grab a bag of ice and returned to set it gently on Galinda's knee. "Hold that there." She left again, rummaging through drawers and cupboards. She returned a few minutes later with what she needed.

"What...is all of this?"

Elphaba picked up two metal rods and placed them against the sides of Galinda's knee. "Hold these."

Galinda gasped at the rod's touch but managed to do as she was told. "How exactly do you know all of this anyway?"

Elphaba slipped a cotton pad under each rod. "I managed to get my hands on some old medical journals before they were destroyed." Elphaba picked up a roll of thin bandages and wrapped it around the rods and Galinda's knee, holding them in place. She fastened that, then reached to grab the larger, thicker bandage, which she wrapped around Galinda's knee as well. "This will keep your knee stabilized. Well...it'll do until a real doctor can look at it."

Galinda looked away from the green woman, grumbling. "Where is that damn doctor anyway?"

Elphaba picked up all the leftover items. "It's Sunday. He's off on Sunday." Elphaba didn't mention she had already known that as she began to put the supplies away.

"What? You mean I'm stuck like this until we get back to Shiz tonight?"

"Galinda...the doctor will do exactly as I have done. What did you think would happen? That he would give you a magic potion and it would suddenly heal?"

"I don't know! He could have done someth- Ah!" She had angrily stood up, but collapsed back down after putting even the slightest pressure on her foot shot pain through her leg. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. "What am I going to do...? I can't even walk for Oz's sake!"

Elphaba returned to the blonde's side. "You should stay off it for the rest of the day. By tomorrow, you may be able to put slight pressure on it." Elphaba returned with a pair of crutches. "Here. You're going to need these." Galinda took the crutches without a word, using them to help her stand up on her right leg, a little wobbly. Elphaba watched, ready to catch her if needed. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" She snapped at the green woman as she slowly made her way to the door.

"Alright. No need to be cross with me." Elphaba followed a few paces behind.

Galinda managed to get out of the doctor's office and down the hallway. She stopped in front of the stairs. The exact stairs that were the only way up to her room. She looked up at them with a groan before starting forward and dragging herself up each step one by one.

Elphaba followed slowly. "Perhaps you'd like some assistance...?"

"Don't touch me." She glared back at her.

"Alright..." Elphaba passed the blonde and walked briskly up the stairs, turning to look back at her with her arms held behind her back.

Galinda growled under her breath, finally getting about halfway up the staircase. "...damn vegetable...all her fault..."

"Pray tell why this is myfault?" Elphaba came down to stand a few steps ahead of the blonde. "I can hear quite well, Miss Galinda. Muttering will not save you."

She glared up at Elphaba, pausing on the stairs. "This is most definitely your fault. If you hadn't have burst in this morning, I wouldn't have been as pissed off as I was!"

"If you had told me, I wouldn't have burst in! I can't believe that after all these years of service you don't trust me in the slightest!" Elphaba grabbed her by the front of her dress and pushed her slightly back, holding her there. Both knew that if she let go, Galinda would fall. "Do you trust me to keep you from falling?"

Galinda quickly let to go of the crutches to clutch onto Elphaba's arm. "No. No, I don't."

Elphaba's eyes grew sad. "Why?" she asked softly before she pulled Galinda back gently, stooping down to pick up her crutches and hand them back to her.

The blonde took the crutches, tucking them back under her arms before continuing up the stairs. "Because Oz knows that if, because of some injury, I fell into a coma, you'd be free of me."

"Galinda, I can't take this anymore. This constant feeling you have that I want you hurt. I don't. I never want to see you injured. Get that through your thick skull! I find no pleasure in your pain!"

"Well it surit's hell seems like it! And why wouldn't you? I've treated you like crap for years! Why wouldn't you be happy to see me treated the same?"

"Because that's not how I am! I am not sadistic! No one deserves to be in pain! So please, start seeing me as a human instead of some...some green soulless freak!"

Galinda turned away from her, finally reaching the top of the stairs and heading down the hallway. "That can never happen..."

"Why? Because I'm green? Because I work for you?" Elphaba ran in front of the blonde and grabbed her. "Tell me what you want from me!"

"Gah! You really want to know why? It's because we are from completely different worlds, that's why! Look at you! You wait on me hand and foot! You're a green, unimportant, little miss nobody whom no one cares for! And me? I'm the heiress to the throne of Oz, I'm beautiful, and everyone loves me! We are complete polar opposites!"

Elphaba blinked a few times. "I see...so it is the separation of classes for you. Tell me, would you hate me so much if I were the exact same person, but high class like yourself? And we're not so different..."

"I wouldn't know since that isn't how things are."

"So...it really would pain you to try and respect me? And only because..." Elphaba looked down. "I see. I cannot change you. You are set in your ways...and I am sorry for ever thinking highly of you."

Galinda felt horrible, but she hid it with mask of harshness. "And I am not sorry. You deserve everything I've ever done to you." She continued down the hallway, a flat look on her face.

Elphaba followed after her silently. "Humor me one last time...when you are on the throne...what will happen to people like me? Will you ignore them? Have them purged? And what will you do withme?"

"You see me as far too kind if you think I will humor your requests." She never looked at her, soon arriving at her room and walking in.

"Yes...I suppose so." Elphaba moved to stand in the corner of the room, her arms crossed and her gaze down. "But at least tell me this: if you had the option to dispose of me...would you take it?"

"I..." Galinda stopped for only a moment, shaking her head before continuing on into her closet. "I don't have that option so the question is moot."

"Damn it, Galinda! Yes or no! It's not that hard!"

"Yes!" She lied. "Now drop it!" The blonde set her crutches against the door frame and gently hopped over to her clothes. She leaned heavily on her dresser as she picked a dress off its hanger. She slid herself down to the floor to set about getting her pants off over the brace without hurting herself too badly.

Elphaba watched her with a slight nod. "I see..." She looked down, becoming lost in her own thoughts.

Galinda finally managed to remove her pants and then pulled herself to her feet. She turned to get her dress and accidentally bumped her knee directly into her dress. She grunted in pain, her face blanching white. After a few moments of calming her breathing she slid the dress over her head.

"May I ask...why you allowed me to stay in the first place?"

The blonde tucked the crutches back under her arm and moved out of the closet to go sit at her vanity chair. She leaned over to remove her pointe shoes from her feet, tossing them into the closet. "Because I had no choice."

"You always had a choice. You could have said no. I'm sure your father could have found someone else to fill my position. And you could have fired me at any time. So why didn't you?

Galinda brushed through her hair, gently pulling it up and pinning it. "This subject is not up for discussion. Now, pack my bags for the trip back to Shiz. We're leaving soon." She made a point to put her new comb into her hair to see how her friends would react to it when she arrived back at school.

Elphaba nodded. "Yes, Miss Galinda."


Galinda gave a halfhearted laugh. "Oh, but you should have seen it! An outfit that stately and green on that green bean. It looked absolutely ridiculous!"

The other girls laughed as well. "We can only imagine the hilarity."

Pfannee asked, "And the dancing? How was it? With youknowwho? Was it as spectacular as suspected?"

Galinda blushed, looking dreamily into the distance. "That and much much more…" As she was looking dreamily, she deliberately turned her head so that her friends would notice the emerald haircomb she was wearing. And the girls did notice it. Right away.

Elphaba ignored those gossiping ninnies as she stood in her usual corner, fiddling with her braid as usual. Back at Shiz, and everything seemed normal again. Well, as normal as normal was for her and Galinda.

"Galinda, you went back to get that comb? Why? It's so simple and…not you."

The blonde looked at them. "Because I liked it, and it did go fabulously well with my dress. Just as I suspected it would." They didn't know I had it? But I thought for sure it was them…

So it would appear as though the mystery gift had not come from Galinda's so-called friends. Elphaba's eyes narrowed. From where then? "Perhaps Miss Galinda cares not for your opinions." Elphaba interjected, approaching. Though why, she didn't know. Galinda still hated her.

Shenshen looked up at Elphaba. "Nobody was talking to you green bean."

"Yeah, your opinion is not wanted here."

"Of course Galinda wants our opinions. We're her best friends."

Galinda remained silent as the girls attacked Elphaba, eyeing the green woman and thinking to herself. Hmmm. Maybe it was her who left it for me and she's- She shook her head. No. We're not friends. She wouldn't.

"Have to attack me in a pack, I see. Does it make you feel stronger?" Elphaba never let her voice or expression waver. She instead looked at Galinda coldly.

Galinda looked at her, finally speaking. "Miss Thropp, I would appreciate it if you didn't speak to my friends like that." She turned to the girls. "And I'm terribly sorry, but I think it's time for me to go. The trip here this morning and, well, everything else was exhausting." The three girls said their goodbyes and watched as Galinda hobbled away on her crutches.

Elphaba followed her silently, holding the necessary doors open until they reached their room. "Is there anything you need Miss Galinda?"

"Ice. And lots of it. Go fetch a pail, would you?" She lowered herself slowly onto the side of her bed, setting the crutches beside her.

Elphaba nodded. "Yes, Miss Galinda." She left the room, unaware that just as she left, an open envelope fell from her pocket and onto the floor.

Galinda looked at the envelope on the ground. She moved to pick it up but then pulled herself back. No. it isn't mine. I shouldn't read it...but who would be sending her mail anyway? She continued warring with herself for a few moments until her curiosity won. She hopped on her good leg over to the letter, opening it.

Elphaba,

You tell me not to worry, and I can't help but do so. Out there alone with Galinda for the first time…Please, take this and buy yourself something nice. It isn't much, but please…for yourself.

Nessarose

Galinda looked dumbfounded at the letter. It was her! But why? She hates me. Why the hell would she do that for me?

Elphaba got the pail of ice and made her way back up to the room, kicking the door open. "One pail of ice."

The blonde had just put the letter back into its envelope right before the door burst in. She stood and held it out to Elphaba, looking away from her. "You dropped this." She hobbled over to sit at her vanity. "Stop leaving your things around my room."

Elphaba took the letter from her and slipped it back into her pocket. "I never should have spent Nessa's money on you."

Galinda sat in her chair, shaking her head and mumbling, "…and you say I'm the complicated one…"

"We are both complicated women." Elphaba approached her and set the pail down. "Here is your ice."

"Or maybe it's just you." She picked up the pail and moved into the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub with her leg extended out. She grabbed a small, thin towel and put some ice in it before folding and placing it around her swollen knee with a muttered curse.

"Perhaps…but even so, you got what you wanted…as usual." Elphaba left to sit on her cot. "Call me if you need anything."

Galinda remained silent, sitting in the bathroom and icing her knee. When she was done, she tossed the half-melted ice back in the bucket and stood, wobbling out of the bathroom and into her closet. She slipped off her dress and pulled her nightdress over her head. On her way out of her closet, she accidentally bumped her foot on the door frame. She froze, not crying out, but blanching in pain. The blonde moved more slowly to sit at her vanity again. She looked down at the brace. "So since you're apparently the doctor here, how long do I have to wear all of this blasted stuff? It's itchy." She scratched at the little available skin.

"I'd say about a month." Elphaba moved in, removed the brace and began to rub an ointment on her knee. "This should help the itch. It will be off before the Lurlinemas ball."

"A month? You've got to be joking!"

"If you aren't careful, it will be longer." She finished and replaced the brace. "It could have been worse…"

Galinda moaned. "Oh, this just gets better and better…"

"Stop whining. If I had let you continue walking, you would be limping the rest of your life! So a shred of gratitude would be appreciated!"

"Gratitude? It's your fault I'm like this to begin with!" She angrily stood on her good leg, glaring up at her.

"Because I'm the bane of your life? Because I'm green? I am sorry, but I did not choose this!"

"No! Because you ruined what should have been the best morning of my life and then threatened and hurt the man I love so badly that he may never want to see me again!" Angry tears welled in her eyes.

Elphaba sighed. "If any man left you because of me…then he never deserved you in the first place. Love is a privilege. Not a right."

"At this rate, I'll never get a man because I'm constantly stuck with you."

"Perhaps no man deserves you then."