Sorry it's been awhile. I've been really busy.
Whoops; I accidentally posted the chapter from last time…stupid technology
A blaze of warm, simmering weather had settled over Shiz, bathing everything in a haze of stifling heat. Sitting inside became unbearable, and even the stuffiest teachers conducted their classes outdoors. At lunchtime every patch of grass on campus was layered with a patchwork of picnic blankets. Those who couldn't find a spot made the short trek to Suicide Canal and relaxed beneath its shady trees. Spring Break was approaching rapidly, and with it Elphaba's trip to meet the Wizard.
"We're going to miss you terribly," Galinda told her friend as they lounged on a stone picnic bench. "Fiyero and I are both stuck at Shiz for the break." Her lower lip swelled outwards in a trademark pout.
"Why's that?" Nessa queried.
"Fifi's grades are…less than stellar," the blonde explained. "So his parents are insisting that he stay on campus to study during the break."
"What about you?" Leyen pressed.
"I just want to spend some quality time with my boyfriend," she replied evasively. Three pairs of perceptive eyes narrowed.
"Leyen have you seen the newest headline?" Elphaba asked abruptly, changing the subject on her roommate's behalf. She pulled a torn newspaper article from her pocket. The Wizard Plans An Extension of the Yellow Brick Road to Qhoyre.
"Yes," Leyen sighed. "It says that they're planning to negotiate with the people in nearby villages."
"You can't believe everything you read in newspapers," Nessarose pointed out, her nose jerking towards the clouds in a vaguely snotty fashion. "Father told me that the men they hired to finish the Yellow Brick Road in Munchkin Land were shady creeps that enjoyed making short jokes."
"Well I'm going home for a few days over break," the southerner shrugged, totally unconcerned. She couldn't see past the cloud of anticipation filling her gaze.
/
"Biq will keep her company, won't you Biq?"
"It's Boq," he muttered, finally fed up. "I can't do this anymore." The munchkin turned on heel and walked quickly away, feet making hollow thumps on the wooden train platform.
"Boq?" Nessa called, wheeling after him in utter bewilderment. A hiss of engine steam came between them, allowing the munchkin to escape.
"Nessa, maybe he just isn't the right one for you," Galinda suggested gently.
"No, he's the one," Nessarose assured her in a tight, desperate voice. "It's me that's not right." A certain green girl's eyes filled with concern. "Don't worry about me Elphaba, I'll be fine," the invalid snapped, spinning to pursue Boq. "Safe journey."
"Nessa wait!" the witch called.
"Elphie, let her go," Galinda insisted. In terms of boys she was the wiser of the two.
"I'll go after Nessa," Leyen offered. The southerner enclosed her green friend in a goodbye hug. Elphaba was tense for a moment, she wasn't one for physical contact, but she managed a gentle squeeze. "Bye Fabala."
/
"Boq said he needed some space to think things over," Nessarose said in a stiff, prim voice.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Leyen told her friend sincerely, kneeling beside her chair. "But maybe it'll come to be a good thing. Suffocating relationships don't make anyone happy." The invalid bit her lip. "I'll be leaving soon; so you'd better tell me why you've been sulking."
"I don't sulk."
"Not in the traditional sense," Leyen allowed. "But lately you've been a ramrod of formality, indicating that something's irritating you."
"Well Father's invited me home for Spring Break."
"I thought you were quite fond of your father."
"I am," Nessarose assured her, still refusing to make eye contact. "But whenever I'm home he parades me around to dinners and balls with Munchkin Land's political elite. The political and diplomatic conversations are fantastically interesting, but I can't participate because no one considers a little crippled girl's opinion to hold any weight. Everyone's nice, but it's only out of pity. They really don't think I'll ever be able to do anything as Governor." Livid annoyance was slowly leaking through her mask of composure.
"You don't have to go." Leyen's simple words cut to the heart of the matter.
"Yes I do," Nessarose insisted. "Father will be upset if I don't show up at the train station."
"Let him be upset. Come with me." The southerner's suggestion was mostly a joke. Nessarose didn't exactly thrive around nature, particularly wet, muddy swamp nature. It wasn't as if the invalid ever did anything spontaneous either, she preferred a strict schedule.
"Ok."
"What?" Leyen's mouth was hanging open.
"Ok, I'll come with you," Nessa reiterated. "I'll send a message to Father that I've changed my mind." Her eyes were swimming with equal parts trepidation and determination.
/
After greeting Mr. and Mrs. Rhoda, Leyen's scarily hospitable parents, the two girls escaped to Fede. Nessa's chair was not designed for sodden, woodland paths, but Leyen patiently guided it around every mangrove root seeking to entangle the wheels. "So what are Quadling villages like anyway?"
"They're built on the river, supported by reed mats," the southerner explained. "Fede is like a huge island that floats wherever the current takes it."
"Floats?" Nessa gulped. Her cumbersome chair, coupled with the fact that she couldn't swim, made the invalid somewhat uncomfortable around deep water.
"You'll be fine," Leyen assured her with a gentle shoulder squeeze. "A Quadling village couldn't sink if it tried."
"Yenlay!" The joyous cry went up before Fede was even in sight. A blur of woven fabric, pinkish skin and black hair toppled Leyen to the ground while Nessa tensed, sure that they were being attacked by hostile natives.
"Purus!" the blonde exclaimed, embracing a quadling teenager with cropped raven hair. Her tongue relished the sensation of Qua'ati words flowing over it again "Was it really necessary to tackle me?"
"I'm sorry," the girl responded sheepishly, rolling off her friend. "I really missed you." Leyen yanked them both to their feet.
"Nessa, this is Purus," she explained in common Ozian. "She's a very close friend of mine." Actually the quadling was more of a slightly younger sister to Leyen than a friend. "Purus, this is Nessarose."
"I am to be pleased at meeting you," Purus greeted, her accent heavy. Most Quadlings, even those that spoke common Ozian regularly, found it excruciatingly hard to break out of the Qua'ati speech pattern.
"It's nice to meet you too," the invalid replied tersely. Having unwittingly stumbled into a situation far outside her comfort zone Nessarose retreated into a haughty shell. The trek to Fede continued for a few more minutes before a mottled expanse of meandering river abruptly oozed into view. Many twiggy, straw colored houses were pressed together on the close bank, linked by thick reed thatching. The red skinned people bobbing in the muddy current or clustered outside thatched houses looked up. Then, as if some invisible order had been given, everyone left what they were doing and swarmed the newcomers in a hearty display of communal affection.
It wasn't long before Purus managed to wrestle Leyen into the water. She emerged glaring and launched into a full out assault on her mischievous friend. Chuckling at antics they'd missed for months the villagers returned to their lives, leaving Nessa alone. Well, not totally alone. "Are you to be Nessarose?" It was Fieb.
"Yes," the invalid sighed, unsure what she was doing here.
"Yenlay is to be speaking well of you in her letters."
"Yenlay?" Fieb gestured to the euphoric blonde, who was now attempting to shove Purus's head beneath the murky water.
"Oh Leyen," Nessa realized. "She's been a good friend to me."
"You to have been a good friend also," the middle aged quadling observed. "Only a good friend to be coming here willingly." Her full lips pulled into a companionable smile and the invalid responded with a tentative grin of her own. Fieb's very nature drew trust like a fishing lure.
"I don't know what I'm doing here," Nessa groaned, slouching a little.
"You to be knowing soon."
Sorry if that was a bit slow and filler-ish…and I know the story hasn't been focusing on Leyen much but the development I've been putting on other characters it to make up for the heavy amount of pure, undiluted Leyen-only plot that will unfold after the 'life changing event' I've hinted about (you guys should be able to make more accurate guesses now; I dropped LOTS of hints this chapter)
Previously there was a lot more interesting stuff in this chapter but it got WAY too long so I split it into two parts and, unfortunately this half is pretty uninteresting…just hang on; the next bit will be out really soon!