So, the reviews were a mix between "Frex, you just interrupted the Fiyeraba" and "Elphaba, TELL FIYERO!" or both.
LifelongLeahstar: They're not super sharp, just sharper than normal.
When Elphaba awoke the next morning, she was faintly aware of the smell of bacon and eggs. She moaned softly, turning over and snoring. She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped up, ready to defend herself. She quickly relaxed when she saw the Vinkun prince standing over her, a goofy smile on his face.
"Yero!" she exclaimed, still in shock. "What are you doing here… in my bedroom? How did you find my room?"
"Nessa told me," the prince chuckled softly. "Plus, I wanted to surprise you. Surprise!"
"'Surprise' is right!" Elphaba gasped, pulling the sheets closer against her nightgown-clad self. "If my father catches you in here –"
Fiyero effectively cut Elphaba off with a kiss. The green girl made a muffled noise of surprise and felt herself begin to relax into the kiss as it deepened.
"Yero…" she said breathlessly when they pulled away. "I…"
"Come on," he smiled, pulling Elphaba up. "Breakfast is ready."
Elphaba smiled as she got out of bed, Chistery giving her a 'good morning' kiss. She quickly washed and dressed in a simple blue dress with long sleeves. She made her way downstairs and saw her father, sister and the royal family already there. "I'm sorry I'm late," she said as she quickly sat down.
Frex gave her a disapproving look, but didn't say anything. The maids served breakfast and everyone ate slowly. Once they were finished, the Governor escorted Raal and Amalie into his study, where they would be able to talk. He gave instructions to Elphaba not to bother him unless it was urgently important. Elphaba nodded wordlessly and watched as the adults left, leaving her and her sister to entertain Fiyero.
"Fabala, why don't you show Fiyero the grounds?" Nessa asked, completely unaware of the previous night's events.
"Yes, Fae, why don't you show me the grounds?" Fiyero smirked.
Elphaba rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to punch him. "Alright," she agreed as she and Fiyero got to their feet and walked outside.
"I have to ask," Fiyero said as they walked aimlessly. "Why does your sister call you 'Fabala'?"
"It's an old nickname my mother used to call me. My father used to call me 'Fabala', too, but stopped when I was around ten years old. Nessa never dropped it."
"Ah," Fiyero smiled.
"Did your parents ever give you a nickname?"
"Not unless my mother shouting 'Fiyero Liir Tigulaar!' through the halls of the castle counts as a nickname," Fiyero chuckled.
Elphaba joined in and they soon found themselves gravitating to the swing from the previous night. They sat together, fingers intertwined, enjoying each other's company. Elphaba felt Fiyero rub his thumb against her knuckles and she bit back her nervousness. Could she tell him now?
"Fae?"
"Yes?"
He leaned over and kissed her softly. "I'm so glad I came."
"M-Me too," Elphaba said. She had to tell him. It was now or never. "Yero, I have something to tell you."
Fiyero heard the seriousness in her voice and frowned slightly. "What is it?"
Elphaba took a deep breath. "I… I haven't been completely honest with you. When I told you that my mother chewed milk flowers –"
"Fae…"
"No, let me finish. Please. My father made my mother chew milk flowers because he didn't want the new baby to be born like… like me."
Fiyero didn't know what to say, or if he should say anything at all. All he did was hold Elphaba's trembling hand. What was she talking about?
"I… I meant to tell you last night, but my father interrupted us." She drew a deep, shaky breath before continuing. "What… what colors do you remember, Yero?"
Fiyero blinked, wondering what that had to do with anything. "Fae…"
"I promise, it has something to do with what I'm trying to tell you. What colors do you remember?"
Fiyero closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Red… blue… yellow… purple… green…"
Elphaba's breath hitched in her throat, which didn't go unnoticed by Fiyero. "Fae, what is it? What's wrong? What does this have to do with anything?"
"I was born with this… abnormality," Elphaba started slowly. "It's the reason why my father doesn't like me and why he made my mother chew milk flowers."
"Fae, you're scaring me. What is it?"
Do it quickly! Just like ripping off a bandage. Elphaba told herself. "Fiyero, my skin is green."
Fiyero blinked, his mouth slightly open. He didn't know what to say. Surely, Elphaba was joking. Of course she was joking. How in Oz could a person be green?
"Emerald green, if you want to get specific. I was born like this and no one knows why. I was shunned most of my life because of it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I just..." She trailed off.
"You… you're serious?" Fiyero asked softly.
"Yes," Elphaba nodded.
Fiyero didn't know how to process that. How could someone have green skin? It was unheard of. Impossible. Well, apparently, not anymore. He slowly pulled his hand away from Elphaba, he brain running full speed. His face contorted slightly in confusion, which Elphaba mistook as disgust.
"Yero…" Elphaba whispered, watching Fiyero pull his hand away.
Fiyero's silence was unnerving and the green girl felt tears welling in her eyes. She knew Fiyero wouldn't want to be with her once she told him her secret. At least it wasn't coming from someone else, but now that it was out, there was no turning back. Moments past and Fiyero still hadn't said anything. Elphaba had enough. She ran back into the house, sobbing.
"Fae, wait!" Fiyero finally called when he felt Elphaba abruptly rise and run back into the house, sobbing.
She didn't hear him and he heard the door close in the distance. He leaned back on the swing, closing his eyes. Chistery whimpered and nudged his leg.
"What have I done?" he whispered to himself.
Nessa was in the parlor, reading, when she heard the door open. "How was it, Fabala?" she asked, not looking up from her book.
She heard sobbing and she quickly put her book aside, unlocked the breaks on her wheelchair, and quickly wheeled out of the room. "Fabala, what happened?" She quickly caught her sister's arm as she ran past.
Elphaba paused and looked at Nessa through tear-filled eyes. "I… I told him," she whispered hoarsely.
Nessa looked up at her sister, feeling a bit guilty for pushing her into it. "You told him?" she asked gently.
Elphaba nodded.
"And?"
Elphaba just shook her head and ran up the stairs to her room. Nessa sighed as she heard her room door slam. Turning, she made her way to the back door and pushed it open, quickly wheeling down the ramp and towards the prince, who was still sitting on the swing.
"You have a lot of explaining to do," Nessa said once she was close enough to Fiyero.
The prince seemed a bit startled, but lifted his head to Nessa. "Nessa…"
"Save it. What happened?"
"I… I don't know."
"Fabala told you her secret and how did you respond?"
"I didn't say anything."
"Did you do anything?"
"I was just trying to process it and…"
"Did. You. Do. Anything?" Nessa pressed through clenched teeth.
Fiyero sighed. "I may have gently pulled my hand away, but I wasn't trying to hurt her."
"Well, you did," Nessa said, her voice sharp. "She's in her room, sobbing her eyes out."
"I… oh Oz," Fiyero muttered, burying his face in his hands.
"I imagine it took her a lot of courage to tell you. She likes you a lot, Fiyero, though she won't admit it to anyone."
"I told her that I loved her, and she said that she loved me."
"I'm guessing this was before she told you her secret five minutes ago."
Fiyero nodded. "It was last night."
Nessa decided not to ask about that last night, for fear that their conversation would get off topic. "Regardless, she enjoyed not having someone judge her because of her skin. I take responsibility for pushing her to tell you."
"I just… I had this picture of her in my mind and…"
"And now that she told you about her skin, your perfect picture is now ruined?"
"No," Fiyero said quickly. "No, it's not."
"Oh?"
"I've never seen anyone with green skin before," Fiyero admitted quickly. "It does sound like a strange concept, but it's not a bad thing."
"Fabala has thought it was a bad thing her entire life. She's always being judged because of her skin and…"
"I know, Nessa. She told me. Oz, I feel awful."
Nessa was about to give the prince more pieces of her mind, but she stopped. "Just… talk to her, Fiyero. Try to explain it to her."
Fiyero nodded and rose to his feet. "I will."
Nessa nodded at the prince and turned to leave.
"Nessa?"
The brunette turned around. "Yes?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not killing me on sight."
Nessa giggled softly. "I think Fabala would be mad at me if I killed you before she got a chance to."
Fiyero smiled slightly as he followed Nessa back into the house. He had to talk to Elphaba. He just hoped that she would talk to him.
We're halfway through the story! Yay!
So, the cat's finally out of the bag and Elphaba has shown her true colors (Doglover645, that was a very bad pun. LOL!) How will Elphaba react when Fiyero tries to talk to her?