So...the reviews split three ways.
1.) Those of you ready to murder Nieve (looking at you rhinoiron)
2.) Those of you who want to know what Nessa said (you will find out eventually).
3.) Those of you who want both of the above.
They all made me smirk, laugh, or both.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And it's cliffie...
"Broke."
The single word was uttered.
Again.
"Almost."
The speaker smiled cruelly.
"Not this time." They said, staring into a near shattered mirror.
"Not today."
Three weeks later, spring term was in high gear. The students were slowly accumulating more homework and assignments.
But despite the homework load, the friends always found time to see each other. Boq and Nessa grew closer, as did Fiyero and Elphaba, and there were days where all five of them were found taking walks in the snow.
One Saturday, the girls went out for lunch at a restaurant off campus. Nessa had called ahead and got them a reservation, saving them from the close-to-an-hour wait that came with the restaurant's lunch crowd.
"Table for 'Nessarose'?" Nessa asked the host as they entered. The young man nodded and pulled out three menus. He ushered them to a table nestled in the corner.
A waitress brought them drinks and they placed their orders.
"Cheers." Elphaba smiled, raising her cup.
"Cheers." The other two women echoed back, clinking their drinks together and taking a sip.
The service was fast and their meals were on the table in less than twenty minutes.
Elphaba and Galinda dove into their lunches, hunger overtaking them both. Nessa picked at her salad, her appetite suddenly lost.
"Nessa?" Galinda asked, dabbing her mouth with her napkin.
At the sound of the blonde's voice, something snapped in Nessa's mind. She felt it happening again. Anger and adrenaline was pulsing through her, causing her to want to curse out the closest person. She felt a tiny scrap of restraint, and it was enough for her to get out of the restaurant.
"Pardon me." She whispered.
Nessa jumped up and fled from the table and the eatery to the backside of the establishment. She paced momentarily, cursing at non-existent objects. The aggression coursed through her again. Nessa turned sharply and thrust her fist at the stone wall of the building. Pain shot through her knuckles and wrist.
"Oz-dammit!" She swore, shaking out her hand. Blood was dripping from the cuts on her knuckles.
"Need some help?"
Nessarose turned and was surprised to see Nieve standing in front of her.
"You!" The girl growled, her face darkening.
"Yes, it is I." Nieve smiled innocently. "Need some help?" She asked again.
"Nothing from you." Nessa said, fighting to keep calm.
"Oh but I think you do." The apothecary waved a hand, and Nessa's wounds instantly closed with no sign of ever being there.
"What do you want from me?"
"Do I have to want anything to come see an…old friend?" Nieve's voice was sickly sweet as she gently touched Nessa's face, causing the younger girl to roughly pull away. "I wanted to give you a present." She smiled and handed Nessa a small box. The girl had a confused expression as she opened the box and found a heart shaped mirror that was half red and half black.
"What is this?" Nessa asked, inspecting the mirror.
"Something that has significant importance in your life now. Don't lose it. Don't break it. You'll regret it if you do." Nieve said cryptically before disappearing.
"Someday…" Nessa whispered, looking into the mirror. It seemed completely ordinary, except for the fact of its odd coloration. She could feel it in her fingertips that it had some sort of magic in it, but whatever it was wasn't evident.
Nessa tucked the box under a garbage bag and tucked the mirror into her jacket pocket, and made her way back into the restaurant.
"Where'd you go?" Elphaba asked as Nessa sat down again.
"I just needed some fresh air." Nessa said. She took a bite of her lunch, her eyes anywhere but on the other two residents at the table. She was silent for the rest of the time they were out, not being able to focus on anything but the mirror and her meeting with Nieve.
Late that night, Nessa slammed the door of her room shut and locked it. She delicately pulled the mirror out of her jacket.
She wouldn't dare admit it, but the object scared her.
"Don't lose it. Don't break it. You'll regret it if you do." Nieve's words rang through her head. She couldn't quite figure out the reason behind the mirror's paint or its significance.
Nessa grabbed a towel and wet it in paint remover she had bought at a store nearby. She dabbed part of the frame with the cloth, not expecting a shock that would cause her to drop the towel.
"Well it's obviously not paint." She mused, setting the mirror down on her bed. After quickly washing the paint remover off the towel Nessa picked the mirror up again. As she stared at her reflection, she became anxious for some reason. She jumped up and locked the mirror in the same box her shoes had come in.
The girl started near-hyperventilating as she anxiously ran her hands through her hair.
One…two…three… she thought, trying to calm herself down. After a few clock-ticks she regained control.
I'm just tired. She decided. A few minutes later she crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep.
Deep into the night hours, a nightmare raged like a storm through Nessarose Thropp's mind.
The girl stood in a room with Elphaba, Galinda, Frex, Boq, and Fiyero. She smiled, but they all just sneered at her.
"Now you're the only embarrassment in the family?" Fiyero asked, snarling. "You insulted my Fae." He growled, wrapping a protective arm around the green girl.
"The brainless blonde bimbo actually passed her science test?" Galinda questioned darkly.
"I would be a much better Governor than you will ever be?" Frex took a step closer.
"You've been embarrassing me in public." Boq said in a low voice, stepping closer to Galinda.
"Please…I didn't mean any of this!" Nessa pleaded, backing away.
Suddenly Nessa felt her legs lock and she tipped over. She looked down at her shoes, which had now returned to their original silver color.
"That's how you should be." Galinda said pointedly.
"No one with a soul as dark as yours should be given any sort of magic." Boq raised his chin, looking down his sharp nose at her slightly condescendingly.
Nessa looked around at all of the people. The only one who hadn't spoken was her sister.
"Elphaba please…you forgive me right?" Nessa was desperate now.
"I'm sorry Nessa." Elphaba said, not making eye contact. "But you're not my sister."
Everyone closed in to a tight circle, and they all had menacing, dark smiles etched into their features.
"Don't hurt me…" Nessa whispered.
"You are truly a wicked witch." Boq snarled, his voice full of a dark confidence.
"No…no…please!" The brunette screamed. Everyone lunged at her.
Nessa shot upright, drenched in a cold sweat. She was panting like a wounded dog and was tangled in her bed sheets.
Her clock read one-thirty. She groaned. It was too early to be awake. Nessa pulled her journal out of her night table, grabbed a quill, and put on her ruby slippers and silently left her bedroom.
She tiptoed passed the room of the Head Shiztress into the tiny dinette. Nessa poured herself a glass of milk and sat down at the table.
By only the light of a small candle, she wrote.
-An Entry from the Diary of Nessarose Avalyn Thropp-
Date- January 27th
Time- 1:36 am
I had a nightmare.
It was terrifying.
Galinda, Fiyero, Boq, and Father were all there. My shoes turned silver and I couldn't walk.
Fiyero was saying how I insulted "his Fae".
Galinda was saying that I deserved to not be able to walk.
Father was very upset about my remark about being a better Governor.
And Boq…my sweet Boq. He said that I embarrass us in public and I'm a wicked witch.
He also made a horrifying comment of how "no one with a soul as dark as yours" deserves any magic.
The worst part?
Elphaba said I wasn't her sister.
I'm confused.
No.
I'm lost.
She put the quill down and finished off her glass. Void of all noise, she quickly rinsed it and returned it to its spot, before making her way back to her room.
Nessa placed the journal on her night table, which slid onto the floor under her bed, kicked off her ruby slippers, and turned over and fell back into a dreamless sleep this time.
It was Tuesday.
Good old Tuesday.
Um…no.
"Have either of you seen Nessa?" Elphaba asked Galinda and Fiyero as they walked to History, the only class all of them had together. "I haven't seen her since her our lunch out the other day."
"Same." Galinda said, furrowing her brow.
"I haven't seen her." Fiyero said.
"Maybe Biq knows." The blonde suggested as the Munchkin shuffled past, and he visibly cringed. "Biq have you seen Nessa?"
"Nope. Haven't seen her." Boq responded a little too quickly.
"Miss Elphaba!" A voice shouted from behind the group. They all turned to see Madame Morrible hurrying down the hall.
"Madame Morrible?" Elphaba asked, moving towards the Head Shiztress.
"It's Miss Nessarose."
"What about her?" The green girl asked anxiously.
"She hasn't left her room in two days." Morrible said. No one noticed Boq flinch.
"Is she okay?"
"I don't know. She refused to speak to me." Morrible said.
Elphaba sprinted off towards the room.
There's a reference in here, it's as to how I wrote something. Say in a review if you know what it is!
