Right, chapter ten. My revision notes are sitting in a corner, crying because i'm ignoring them.....and the few bits of knowlege ive retained are running away together in a big, fun group.

So i guess i'll do what i enjoy...and update :)

Big hugs and bowls of green icecream deliverd by flying monkey to James Birdsong, fgee and most espeacially lozzakapozza :) You guys rock, and reading your reviews was the highlight of my day:) (Yes, i lead a geeky life...)

Anyone got anything they want to happen? Message me :) I'm not feeling a gelphie ficlet, tho, except as friends- i just can't see them getting furthur than immensly close friendship.

Oh, and im sorry about typos. My keyboard is an epic fail. Also i really can't spell. I'll start using spellcheck.

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I can hear you tossing around in your sleep, and i stop writing for a bit, stretching my poor, cramped hand.

There's ink smudges across the page, ink stains on my finers, and inkspots on my pillowcase. My eyes are strained, my hand aches, and i passed the point of going from wide awake to exhausted a while ago....but right now, i DON'T CARE!

Really, i don't care. I feel POWERFUL, somehow. I know its only a letter, but still, the more i write, the better i feel. Seeing you cry made me so ANGRY, so furiously angry with the whole world that has treated you so badly, and it was like a heap of hot coals were smouldering inside me whenever i thought of it.

But this...this is different. I feel like i'm doing something good for once, something worthwhile, even if it is just a stupid letter. Like every word is a little bit more on the side of whats fair.

Is this how you feel when you talk about the Animals, when you get that look, and your eyes are like fire, and you stand straight, like you could do ANYTHING, anything at all, at that moment?

Maybe it sounds stupid, and exageratory, but thats honestly how i feel.

You murmur something in your sleep, and start tossing again, like you're having bad dreams, and i wait, watching you silently, until you settle down again.

Your blankets are strewn across the floor, and after a while i get out of bed, go, and lay them over you again. It's the best i can do, although it seems like such a paltry best: pick up your covers so you won't be cold, write a letter full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes that probably will never be read, and be your friend...which, to be, honest, is just as much about helping me as it is about helping you.

Well, it'll do for right now.

"Happy dreams, Elphie" i murmur, picking up my writing stuff again. "I'm gonna fix some stuff for you. It'll all be okay, i promise"

Maybe i can't promise, not really....but that doesn't matter.

I pick up my pen again.

"Where was i?

Oh, yes. I'll never forgive you. You probably don't care....but you know what? I don't care if you don't care. Although i should warn you, angering Uplands is NOT a good move...

The important thing is that Elphie is alright.

Bet that surprises you.

Well, okay, maybe she's not so alright now....but give her some time. Because she will be, i know she will.

How do i know that?

Okay, firstly, she's smart. Maybe this is cliqued, but from what i've heard, life is a little easier when you don't have to worry about getting good grades. I don't know this from personal experience, but it's still true.

Second, she's strong. And i guess she has you to thank for that. I mean, fifteen years of neglect and guilt-trips, and she's not crazy or suicidal or anything. Which is a little surprising, but still true. She can cope with whatever might come, which is a good ability to have, if you ask me.
She's not really outgoing or open....but i'll take care of that. It's easier to be these things when people are nice to you anyway.

Thirdly, she's a GOOD person. Does that surprise you? Are you realizing AT ALL just what a huge mistake you made when you gave up being her father?
She CARES about things, as anyone who has ever seen her talk about Animal rights will understand. And although she hides it well, she can be sweet when she wants to be.

And the final reason that i KNOW Elphie will be okay?

She has me.

So thats how i KNOW.
I know other things, too.

Do you KNOW Elphie? Do you know anything about her?

Not even just big things; do you know, for example, that she loves lightning and hates thunder? Do you know that her favourite colour is purple? (Almost everyone assumes its either green or black. But it's not. She only wears black because its one colour she knows that can NEVER clash with green. Thats something else that most people don't know: that Elphie DOES care a tiny bit about her looks, although she won't admit it.)

Do you know that she doodles tiny stars as a border around all her pages of notes? If a paper in unnamed, you can always tell its Elphies because of the stars, because she draws them on nearly everything.

Do you know she loves velvet and hates lace, that she likes green apples but dislikes the red ones, that she always hums the same tune when she's getting ready to go anywhere?

I bet you don't know any of these things.

But it doesn't matter any more, because i'm writing this letter to say this:

You did your best to mess her up, and it hasn't worked.

Now leave her alone.

You've already promised to do this, but i have to make sure.

Because if you try to contact Elphie, or attempt to screw with her feelings any more than you already have done, i will make you very, very sorry.

You are half to thank for Elphie, so i suppose i should say thank you.

I don't doubt that she's the best thing you've ever done with your life.

So thank you for the one real friend i've ever had.

Yours sicerly, Glinda Upland"

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Reviews, pleeeeeeeeeeease?