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Chapter Eleven
The Lurlinemas Eve Interview
After two weeks, three of the most bewildering dates Glinda had ever been on, and one incredibly nerve-racking request for Elphaba to accompany her, it was finally the day of the Lurlinemas Eve Ball in Emerald City. Which meant that the Castle was the busiest it was all year around. Servants, guards, vendors, decorators, and planners were roaming every hall to prepare the night for everything it needed. There were ropes in specific hallways as well as protection spells to keep strangers out of forbidden areas. There were platters of food being made and rushed to long tables lining the ballroom. The ballroom was decked out wreaths and lights all in honor of Lurline herself. There was a live orchestra to play music on the balcony above the ballroom. The sight alone, despite everyone running around, was breathtaking. Then again, Glinda had always loved the ballroom itself. It was a pity that a room so beautiful was used to little. Plus, it was her favorite room in the castle to enter - Glinda had always loved a good entrance and it had the best. From the front entrance of the castle, the green carpet ran all the way up the grand staircase up to where the double doors of the ballroom stood tall between the east and west entrances to the castle.
The ballroom itself was covered in gold colors. The tiles on the floor was an extravagant gold marble with a click to it when Glinda brought her heels against it. Bright yellow chandeliers lined the ceiling, hanging so low that someone standing on the balcony could touch the candles they held. The pillars supporting the balcony ran long green banner between them with Oz's crest threaded into the middle of each one. The wall directly across the ballroom entrance was all glass and pointed directly north over the beautiful grasslands beyond the castle. At night though, the glass walls shown the entire night sky and the moon beyond that. There were also two double door exits on that side of the room, which led to the long balcony just beyond the glass. Glinda couldn't help but stare and only realized she was doing it when two of the guards asked her to move so they could take the piano that normally sat untouched in the ballroom, upstairs to the balcony for the orchestra.
Meanwhile, Elphaba Thropp sat across from Crope in the library, which seemed to be the only place in the castle that was quiet for the time being. Their eyes were fixated on each other in slight nervousness because tonight was the night Elphaba and Glinda would be announcing their courting and their first appearance to the public as a couple. Which meant, Elphaba needed to know what she was and wasn't allowed to say as Glinda's lover. Crope has never had to have this conversation with anyone, but he was happy he was having it. He was told not to tell Elphie about the Marriage Act yet and he was nervous about that. It was a bit of an awkward situation, to say the least. Never the less he opened the book of the traditions he wrote down just to be sure that he wouldn't forget anything, "So," he sighed.
"So," Elphie giggled and crossed her legs. She was most definitely nervous about tonight. She had enjoyed the last few weeks she had spent with Glinda alone. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be put on blast in front of all of Oz, but being with Glinda meant that it was worth it. In fact, with every passing day, she wanted to say I love you, but she knew it was too fast. Her thoughts often grappled between, we've known each other since Shiz - how is that too early? and We've only been dating for two weeks.
"Okay, I'm going to try to make it quick and easy. We'll just rip off the band-aid and if you have any questions, don't hold back," Crope said and Elphaba nodded in agreement, "Rule number one anything that the castle supports you have to at least pretend to be okay with in public. We want to present a united front. It shouldn't be too hard considering you and Glinda seem to be on the same page, but if you have any issues or questions, bring it up with us in private, Alright?"
Elphaba smiled at the idea of a united front. It made her feel like they all more of a family and she couldn't get over how much she loved that thought, "Got it."
Crope crossed a leg over another and looked back down at his paper, "Rule number two, public names are required. It's a tradition that your majesty and full names be used. Don't be surprised when someone calls you your majesty or the Thropp Third Descending. They frown on nicknames, so don't be surprised if Glinda calls you Elphaba or Miss Elphaba. It's basically a requirement, especially at big events like this. Any of the members of the council request that you put Eminent before their name."
"Easy. We had to do that at Shiz for a while." Elphie added and Crope nodded as he also remembered that.
"All events are black tie mandatory. You have to wear a dress or suit, your decision, but it's a sign of respect for the throne to wear one of them. Table etiquette is important, keep it in mind." Crope was trying to ease them in, "Those are the basics for the royal family, but because you're dating a royal, there's more to it."
Elphie nodded, "I have heard she is a bit high maintenance."
Crope chuckled to himself before moving on, "You only make your entrance with her. It's a tradition that you get ready on opposing sides of the castle and meet at the center of the castle before making your entrance. You will be announced together and that is when your courting will be announced. The two of you will start the dancing portion of the event by having your first dance together, I hope you know how."
"I do, have you all forgotten that despite not taking the role, I was supposed to take a position of power?" She laughed and Crope smiled at her, "I do have a question though." Crope motioned for her to continue, "If the Queen initiates the dance, who did she dance with while I was… away?"
Crope cleared his throat, "Usually it was Tibbett, Boq, or myself. We took turns each year. That whole thing is part of the reason all of Oz seems to be obsessed with Glinda's love life." Elphaba only nodded and Crope could only hope that he eased her worries. He also used the silence as a chance to move on, "Next, we need to talk about what to say to guests. It's important that you act cordially, but it's also important that you answer questions in the best way you can. At first, it will be a lot about your relationship. How long you've been courting, who asked who, the simple things for the press, but it will get harder. Any questions that are too intimate you should avoid. Everyone wants to know about the Queen's privacy and it's not their right to know any more about your relationship than what you do in public." Elphaba blushed when he brought up intimacy. She knew it was something that would be brought up, but Glinda and Elphie had been trying extremely hard to take it slow.
"Got it." She mumbled.
"They'll ask about becoming Oz's newest Queen," Crope said and Elphaba nearly spit out the drink she was holding. Not that their relationship wouldn't end up there, but Elphaba hadn't thought about it, being as they had only just got onto stable ground in their relationship. It was something she wanted, but not so fast. "Try to avoid it. Come up with something that answers the question, but generally and nothing too direct." He took a deep breath and let Elphaba catch up with him before saying another harder one, "Oz is obsessed with getting an heir to the throne." Elphaba's breath hitched at that and a blush spread all the way across her face. Without thinking of marriage, she definitely hadn't thought about having children. Still, the thought made her heart swell. "You do want children?" He asked, "I'm sorry, I have to ask."
Elphaba cleared her throat and nodded, "Yes, eventually." She smiled and he smiled back at her.
"Good. Tell them just that. Nothing with a timeline, nothing about when or if it would actually happen. Just that you would want an heir." Crope looked down at his little book and Elphie took a sip of water. This was harder than she had expected it to be. She had never been a public figure, never really wanted to be, and she definitely had never been a public figure attached to the throne and the Queen herself, "If things get really serious between you two, there will be an interview with at least one member of the council to prove you're not here to undermine the throne or use Glinda for money," Crope brushed over it and spoke under his breath, knowing there was no need to think about it too much, "With an engagement would come one engagement interview with the press where you and Glinda sit down with them and answer their questions. We'll prepare you for all of that when we get there." He was looking over his notes to make sure he got everything, "Oh. One more thing." He looked up when he spoke, "Public displays of affection are part of being with Glinda." He said it as if it was just another piece of business, "Kissing, holding hands, dancing, that sort of thing. The more the public sees you together, the more comfortable they will feel with you in your new role. It's a part of the united front. We want to make sure everyone can see how happy you are together and everyone in Oz wants to see Glinda happy."
"I completely agree." Elphie giggled, but the last one made her stomach twist. The idea of the public watching them so closely made her nervous. The last thing she wanted was to make anything worse for Glinda.
"I think that's every-" Before Crope could finish his sentence, there was a handmaiden at the door.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the Queen sent me to help Miss Elphaba prepare for tonight." She was brunette bunny, most definitely a descendent from Bunnybury. Elphaba was surprised she could push the door open, due to its size being nearly five of her.
"Right, of course, you should go get ready," Crope said and Elphaba nodded. She approached the bunny and with a snap of her fingers, Elphaba took them to the west side of the castle where she had to get ready for the Ball.
Crope chuckled to himself. It wasn't often that Elphaba used magic, which he assumed was because she couldn't in the other world, but when she did it was as if it was a part of her instinct. That thought itself made him wonder about the directional witches in general and what Lurlinemas truly meant. According to the lore and religion, he knew, the prophesizes told of four witches, one for each direction. Two of them, the ones who live in the North and the South, were good, and two of them, the ones who lived in the east and west, were wicked. According to that of religion, Ozma herself was the good witch of the south and if he remembered correctly, Glinda served to be the Good Witch of the north, which was where she had gotten the nickname in the first place. After all, she did match the description. A humble girl from Gillikin country, her shoulders sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds. Then there was Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East.
The more Crope thought about it, the more he realized how different the reality had been from the prophecies. Ozma, the supposed rightful ruler of Oz and Good Witch of the South, was nothing more than a mystery to Oz as a whole. Glinda the supposed good and humble Witch of the North wouldn't have been humble or entirely good at all if it had not been from the influence of Elphaba. And Elphie, oh dear Elphie, may have fulfilled the prophesy, but she was nowhere near the witch that Oz once feared. Nessarose may not have been the sweetest girl, but she was nowhere near Wicked. If anything, all four of the witches were only trying to do what they thought best for Oz and got caught up in something too large for them to handle. History was unfolding right before his eyes and it was nothing like anyone had ever would have thought. Though, maybe everything they had been through was necessary. Maybe they had to make it through all of that to get here. To get to the point where only two remained, one good and one evil. Maybe they needed The Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West to come together after all of this time to give Oz both equal parts good and evil, yin and yang.
Crope also wondered then, if either Witch was a better Witch. Elphaba had pure, raw talent in witchcraft that she never really wanted to cultivate. She wanted to learn biology, but her powers fell into her lap and she learned to cultivate them because she needed them. Glinda, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to be a Witch and learn magic and she worked hard to do it. Maybe, when they were back at Shiz, Crope would've considered Elphaba the better Witch. After all, she was born of both worlds and she could read the Grimoire. No doubt she had more natural talent than Glinda, but in the years that Elphaba was away, Glinda spent time cultivating and pushing her talents to the limits. In fact, she was the one who enchanted Dorothy's shoes and the one who fixed Elphaba's mistake of turning Boq into a tin man. If anything and after all this time, they were yin and yang. Neither more talented than the other, but neither more good or wicked either.
The hours drew closer to the night and as the sun dipped down into the west, the royal family dotted their I's and tied ties. All of them were getting ready in separate rooms, but the way they seemed to match each other and the evening, was quite magical. Crope sported a white jacket tux with a gold button down undershirt and a green bowtie. He slicked his curly brown hair back behind his ears and the entire outfit gave his eyes a chance to be recognized. Tibbett, on the other side, wore a black jacket tux with a green undershirt button down and a sparkling gold bowtie to match Crope. Boq dressed in a bright red and glowing tux with a simple white undershirt and spiked his hair up to be noticed.
Glinda, after spending hours deciding, took the chance on everyone invited sticking to a Lurlinemas theme (which they did) and chose to stick out. She wore a long, pink dress with beautiful and elegant flowers running down it from her waist down, where it puffed up. The corset was tight and showed off her curves in all of the right ways. Her heels were six-inch silver heels that she hoped would help her look closer to the same height as Elphaba. She let her curls fall naturally around her shoulders. Elphaba, on the other hand, wore a long and elegant tux that still showed off her curves in the best way. She wore flats to help Glinda match up to her height, knowing that Glinda would try to. She snuck her bunny companion into Glinda's room to find out the color of her dress so she could wear a matching colored bow tie. She had her hair braided back into a long french braid that trailed down her back. The suit dipped down in her cleavage in a semi-respectable way, but also in a way that she hoped would leave Glinda wanting more.
Finally, the time came and from the top of the stairs of the east and west sides, the girls could hear the announcer give off names of the royal family. Boq and a kind girl he had asked to be his date were announced first, followed by Crope and Tibbett and finally, the two girls were permitted to walk their way down the stairs to see one another. Both of them walked down as slowly and gracefully, but with as much speed as they could, to see each other. It was only once Elphaba got down to the first landing and turned to go down the second set of stairs that she could finally see Glinda and when she did, her breath caught in her throat. Glinda was absolutely gorgeous. Her dress was absolutely perfect for her complexion and fit her in the most beautiful way. Elphaba couldn't imagine how she got so lucky to be with the most amazing girl in all of the worlds she had been to.
As she walked up to Glinda, Glinda giggled and smiled at her. They met at the center of the castle and they could hear the trumpets playing on the inside of the double doors. Once they were face to face, Glinda put up a single finger to Elphaba's bow tie and giggled, "Green goes good with pink." She whispered and Elphaba couldn't help the heat that spread across her cheeks, "Baby, you're so beautiful."
Elphaba put a hand on Glinda's cheek and brushed her thumb over her skin, "Your majesty," She whispered back, "You are absolutely breathtaking."
"Now announcing and all rise for Queen Glinda Upland as well as the courting of her Majesties new beloved, Miss Elphaba Thropp of Munchkinland and The Thropp Third Descending." A man over the microphone announced and the two guards standing by the doors pushed them open.
The light of the ballroom nearly blind Elphaba as Glinda linked their arms together and Elphaba whispered, "and here, we, go."