A/N: Thanks to ComingAndGoingByBubble and Elphaba C. Snow Thropp for the reviews, I really appreciate them.

Well, here's the promised Gelphie chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Chapter 9

After not hearing anything from Galinda for the next two days, a strange feeling arose in Elphaba. She couldn't really tell what it was, but she felt obligated to check on her, to see whether she was still alive. She was still her roommate and how would she explain Madam Morrible why she had come back alone?

With a soft knock, the green girl pushed the heavy wooden door open and stood there for a moment, not sure what to think. Galinda looked rather pale, her golden curls tied up to a bun, her lips and cheeks looked almost colorless. Only her sapphire eyes sparkled behind a pair of glasses as she looked up from her book. Wait, what? Elphaba frowned as she approached her bed and caught a glimpse of all those books lying on the bed. Among them titles like "A People's History of Oz: Ozma Initiata to Present", "The Art of Magic" and "The Political Genius of Peerless Thropp".

"Miss Elphaba, what a nice surprise. I haven't seen your face for days. Afraid of getting bitten by the bug?" Galinda asked, her voice weak. Elphaba was about to make a witty remark of her going insane because of the fever, as the blonde did something unexpected. She smiled at her. It wasn't forced or fake. Galinda Arduenna Upland of the upper Uplands genuinely smiled at Elphaba and didn't seem to be upset because of her presence.

"I was just about to catch up with all those things I missed. Did you know that the Emerald City was called Nubbly Meadows back then? Ozma Regent Pastorius renamed the city and declared it the capital of Oz. I wonder what it had looked like before." The blonde marked the page and closed the book, taking off her glasses. "Have a seat." She gestured to the chair Elsie had pushed next to the bed to look after her.

"Yes, I know that. Professor Mikko told us," Elphaba said a bit skeptical and sat down. "I haven't seen you wearing those in class."

"I just need them to read. And since I usually don't read, I don't need them," Galinda explained and Elphaba had to confess that this made sense. "And I think I look incredibly stupid with them."

"Actually, you look quite smart," the green girl said matter-of-factly. "Maybe there is hope for you, after all."

"Charming as always, aren't we? I hope you are enjoying yourself, while I'm in agony." Galinda tried to keep her grumpy face, but had to chuckle in the end. "I didn't plan it that way. Perhaps that's the revenge for wishing you'd have stayed back in Shiz. I have never been good at sharing."

"I'm used to that, having a sister like Nessa," Elphaba mumbled and took one of the books from the bed.

Galinda raised her eyebrows and pouted sympathetically. "Worse enough you had to live in that wasteland that had once been Quadling Country."

"What do you mean? As far as I know, it had always been that way."

The blonde kept quiet for a moment and seemed to brood over what she had just said. "But what about the Ruby Palace? Why would somebody build a palace there?"

"The Ruby Palace is a myth, Galinda. They've never found anything like that, just some ruins that could've been anything. There was not a single ruby anywhere." The green girl rose from her seat and put her hand on the blonde's forehead. Galinda did not complain.

"But where else did Glinda the Good go? Granny never told us why she had to go. I always thought they were supposed to keep Oz safe," she said and looked up to Elphaba, who was still checking her temperature. "Your great-grandfather must have known them. Has he never told you anything?"

"He barely talks to me at all. You should rest a little more and stop believing children's stories." Elphaba took the books and placed them on the night stand next to her bed. "Good night, little airhead," she chuckled and left the room. This had gone far better than expected.

All too soon they had to say their goodbyes to Elsie and Alexample to go back to Shiz. Elphaba would've loved to stay a few more days to listen to Elsie's conspiracy theories, which sounded alarmingly accurate. Galinda was feeling better and had left bed the day before, just in time for their long way back.

During the next few weeks, Elphaba witnessed major changes in the blonde's behavior. She had started studying harder and even seemed to enjoy it. Gladly she absorbed every piece of information she could get, especially about the history of the past 50 years and magic. Mrs. Greyling gave her a proud smile whenever she passed Galinda in the hallways. Though the blonde still didn't talk to Elphaba in public, particularly when her friends were around, she accepted her help when they studied in their dorm room. The green girl had stopped wondering what had happened to her roommate and simply accepted it. After all, it wasn't that bad, was it?

One afternoon, Galinda decided to prepare for her finals in sorcery. It had been raining outside all day and she wasn't in the mood to gossip with her friends. Elphaba had just finished a paper for Doctor Dillamond and was now leaning back to watch the little domestic spells Mrs. Greyling had taught her students.

"Alright, part one is levitation," the blonde announced and placed one of Elphaba's heavy books in front of her.

"It's not going to explode, is it? I really need that one," the green girl said half amused, half worried.

"Shh, I need to concentrate." Galinda focused on the book and simply stared at it. No fancy words or wand needed. Indeed it began to fly through the air, landing on the shelf again. Though it was the easiest thing they had learned, Galinda beamed with pride.

"Great, you can clean our room from now on," Elphaba chuckled, slightly impressed.

Galinda ignored her comment. "Change something existing," she read from a list with topics for the finals they had gotten from Mrs. Greyling.

At first, the blonde looked at Elphaba as if thinking about turning her into a flower pot, but then she took one of her pink cushions, threw it in the air and mumbled some weird words. With a poof, the cushion turned into a pigeon, flying around in their dorm room. It wasn't a real bird, though. It was as pink as the fabric had been and it looked more like a living plush animal.

Nonetheless, Elphaba was amazed. However, before she could tell Galinda, the blonde went on with her list.

"Create something new." Her melodic chanting sounded a lot like Qua'ati, the language of the Quadlings. Dozens of glowing blue butterflies appeared out of nowhere, dancing in the air for a while. As Elphaba touched one of them, it disappeared just like smoke.

"That was great, Galinda," the green girl said genuinely and smiled at the blonde.

"Look what I learned recently during one of those boring afternoons I had to do homework." She took an empty sheet of paper from Elphaba's desk, as well as a quill. Both the paper and the quill started to hover in front of the girl. "Dear Madame Morrible, stop wearing such awful dresses. They make you look like a big old carp. Yours truly, Galinda Upland." she dictated and the quill wrote it down by itself.

"Impressive. But make sure not to send this charming letter," the green girl chuckled lightly.

Galinda put down the paper and burned it in the fireplace. "Thank you." she said quietly and curled up in her bed again. "You know, sometimes I feel as if I don't belong here. Not because I feel too stupid, but it's like something's waiting for me out there. As if there's something important I have to do, but I don't know where or when. It's frustrating." She looked at the ceiling and sighed. "It feels like a promise I made but can't remember to whom and what it was about."

Hazel eyes fixed shortly on the petite girl on the opposite side of the room. Elphaba didn't know what to say or how to comfort her. "You will know, when the time is right, I guess."