The Loveliest Little Girl at the Party
Elphaba watched as Glinda talked with her husband, Chanter, on the other side of the room. She was trying to make out her words, but Elphaba had never been good at reading lips.
Elphie was surprised when she realized the he hadn't run away when he saw her in his home. He had only smiled nervously and then looked to Glinda for an explanation.
Elphaba stood in the room holding Raina and trying not to let her jealousy emerge. She was happy for Glinda, but yet there was still this feeling that she could not ignore.
The little baby was so precious, but she wasn't Elphaba's and that was what made it so hard to bear. Elphaba wanted a baby of her own. She fought the sudden urge to fly home and begin trying to make one with Fiyero.
She had never thought of herself as the motherly type, but Glinda never seemed like one to have children either, yet she seemed fit for the job.
Raina's little chin began to quiver and she screwed up her face. Elphaba pulled the little girl closer and began to rock her slowly.
The little baby settled down and snuggled up against her auntie's chest. Elphaba was pleased that she had been able to comfort the little girl. It wasn't often that she was able to comfort anyone.
She looked over at Chanter and Glinda who were presently headed in her direction. When they reached her, a slight awkward silence fell over them.
Chanter cleared his throat as he tried to expel a sentence. Just as he opened his lips to talk, Glinda interrupted, "Elphie, this is Chanter. Chanter this is Elphie."
The three stood there, puzzled as to what to do next. The tension made Elphie cackle loudly and in turn made Glinda giggle.
Chanter just looked at the two women in front of him. He knew that he would never understand them, so for the moment being, he joined in the laughing.
Glinda had told Chanter about Elphie before, but she had to add the whole faking death thing. She was still kind of dizzy from explaining the complexities that came with Elphaba's situation.
She smiled as she admired the woman in front of her. She was elegant and exotic. Her beauty was striking and she looked so at ease standing there holding Raina. But Glinda could tell that something wasn't right, Elphie wasn't okay.
Chanter, can you take Raina and give us a moment alone please. Chanter nodded and gently took Raina from her auntie. He kissed the top of the baby's head and walked out onto the balcony.
Glinda sat down on the couch and motioned for Elphaba to sit next to her. With her friend so close, Glinda had to resist the urge to pull her close in an embrace.
She had missed Elphie so much, and she still remembered the grief that had haunted her heart. The ache she felt from knowing that she would never see that lovely green face again had torn her apart.
Now, sitting only inches from that same "deceased" friend, Glinda was aware of those feelings returning. The tears began to make their way down her cheeks and she quickly looked away.
"What's wrong Glinda?" Elphie asked, placing her hand on top of her friend's.
"Nothing. Just, when I thought I had lost you, something inside me changed. Well, it was more like it collapsed. I felt myself sinking into an abyss that was leading me down into a life that was unpleasant. I just didn't know how to move on. You were such a part of my life that when you had melted, I do believe that a piece of me had melted too. I can't even describe how I felt."
"I know how you felt. Don't forget that I had to leave you too. I knew that deep down I had grown to love you, like a sister. Actually, I love you more than my sister. I had to leave and live in a cave because of everything that had happened, but I'm starting to feel confident that I no longer need to hide away. I think for once I deserve to have my chance to live my life without worrying what other people may say or do. I'm tired of hiding; it's my turn to be happy. I deserve to be happy!" Elphie practically jumped off of the couch.
"Glinda, I'm going to do it! I'm leaving the caves and coming back. As much as I hate to admit it, I want what you have. You are happy and you have a beautiful family. Just because my skin is as green as the grass doesn't mean I deserve to be walked on." Elphie grabbed Glinda and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Wow Elphie, to tell you the truth, you're beginning to scare me. I've never seen you behave like this before. Are you sure you don't need to lie down? You sound a bit, well, delirious."
Elphaba ignored her and called her broom from across the room. Chanter was standing at the window with Raina and Elphie kissed the little girl's forehead.
She then took off on her broom, leaving Chanter and Glinda staring at her.
"Um, is she always so, interesting?" Chanter asked as he walked to Glinda.
"You have no idea." Glinda answered as she reached up and kissed him.
Elphaba felt bad for leaving so abruptly, but her hormones were raging and she had to get back home to Fiyero. Holding that precious little baby had made her realize what was missing in her life. So, as the wind hit her face, she couldn't help but smile when she thought about getting home to him.
She had been infected with the baby fever and now she was about to pass it on to Fiyero. As she finally reached the mouth of the cave, she felt her heart flutter.
Fiyero was standing at their wooden make shift table unaware that she was in the room. Elphie ran and pounced on him, causing them to meet the ground.
He was caught off guard, but then he relaxed when he realized that it was Elphaba.
He smiled and then met her lips in a kiss. The separation, although brief, had caused them to bottle up their affections. Now, the affection was spilling out all around them as they came together.
Elphie smiled, and whispered in Fiyero's ear, "I love you, and I want to walk down the streets with you for the whole world to see, so that's exactly what we're going to do."
The town was buzzing from the big event of the day. There were decorations everywhere and banners hung on every street corner. The citizens of Oz quickly prepared the courtyard for the afternoon's celebration.
Pink taffeta and lace was draped on anything that wasn't moving and roses were scattered on every table top.
Today's celebration had everyone talking and everyone was dying to see the birthday girl.
Amongst all of the commotion, they also wondered if today's celebration would let them sneak a peek at the newly returned green woman.
They had recently been shocked to discover that Elphaba had not died. They almost didn't believe it when they saw that she was quite pregnant when she had returned.
She was indeed in the possession of a chubby little baby boy, with surprisingly normal skin, which they found out about two months ago when he had been born.
He was given the name Liir. The little boy was the talk of the town for a while, but today, there was only one child on everyone's mind.
Today was Raina's very first birthday. Everyone had gone all out in decorating because they all wanted to get a glimpse of the gorgeous daughter of Glinda and Chanter.
The once dark haired little girl had sprouted golden curls seemingly overnight. Her beautiful blue eyes and cherub cheeks charmed everyone that came in contact with her.
She was often seen waddling several feet in front of Glinda while inside the palace. And she was rumored to have been named the most beautiful baby in all of Oz.
Raina was also very curious and she kept Glinda very busy. Every couple of seconds, Raina would be on her tip toes trying to grasp a glass or an antique vase. Glinda found it tiring to keep up with the little girl.
"Mama," Raina stated, as she held up her arms to Glinda, "hold."
Glinda reached down and picked up the little girl. She kissed her and smoothed down her dress. She examined the child in front of her. How had time gone by so fast? It seemed like just yesterday she had given birth to her.
She couldn't believe Raina was one today and it made her smile knowing that her little girl had been in her life for an entire year. It was the happiest year she had ever known.
The moment between the two of them was short lived because Raina began to wiggle around. She wanted to get down and explore. Glinda enjoyed being able to watch Raina be more independent, but she also missed the times when she would sit and hold her for an hour at a time.
Nowadays, she was lucky if she could get her to be still long enough to get her dressed. It was crazy how much she had changed in the course of a year.
She hardly even resembled the little girl that had been born a year earlier. She was still the spitting image of Glinda, even down to the way her eyes squinted when she was thinking.
Raina's party dress was gorgeous and it had been Glinda's idea to get one for herself that matched. The dresses were crimson red, with scalloped layers that started at the hip. The bodice of Glinda's dress was intricately designed with beads.
Chanter came up and smiled at his two girls. "Look at the little mini-Glinda. How adorable is that? And you look gorgeous as always." He leaned over and kissed the older blonde's forehead.
Raina held out her arms and clapped her hands to get her father's attention, "Hold, dada."
He reached out and took her into his arms. Glinda straightened out Raina's dress and tucked a curl behind her tiny ear. The little girl poked her daddy in the nose and giggled when he made a silly face at her.
"Raina, do you want to go see auntie and Liir?" Glinda questioned.
Raina almost jumped out of Chanter's arms as he placed her on the ground. She started running down the hallway and stopped at her auntie's door. She placed a tiny uncoordinated knock, and was surprised when the door in front of her opened.
"Well, if it isn't the birthday girl." Fiyero said as he swooped down and grabbed Raina. He tickled her and stepped aside so that Glinda could come in.
"You look very nice." He said as he placed an eager to explore Raina down in the living room.
"Why thank you Fiyero. I try, although it's getting harder to keep up my appearance now that she's up and running around. Enjoy your time with Liir while he's a baby. They grow up way to fast."
"Tee! Tee!" Raina called out while peeking around every corner trying to find Elphaba.
"Is that Raina I hear?" Elphaba questioned before stepping into view. She looked gorgeous in her dress. It was color Glinda had never seen her wear before, white. She was striking, the white drew out her green and she looked so, different.
Liir was in her arms sleeping and Elphaba carefully kneeled down to Raina.
"Liir doesn't Raina look beautiful? Look at her dress, she looks so grown up. She is going to be the loveliest little girl at the party." Elphaba kissed Raina's cheek and stood to join Glinda.
"Hey little man, you look so handsome." She took Liir from his mother and placed a bunch of kisses on his plump cheeks. The little boy looked a lot like his father, but he had Elphaba's seriousness.
His brunette hair was a bit shaggy, and it was starting to hang over his ears. His warm brown eyes held compassion and he was always alert. Glinda handed him back over to Elphaba as she went to go retrieve Raina from the kitchen.
"Come on Raina, you're going to be late to your own party. Bye Elphie, we'll see you in a little bit."
The turnout was about ten times greater than Glinda had expected. She was surprised at how many people had showed up to see her little girl.
Raina wasn't phased by the crowd, she was having fun just sitting at the table watching the performers juggle.
The music began playing and the chefs brought out a lovely little cake. They placed it in front of Raina. Glinda was terrified that Raina would get the cake all over her dress, but the little girl surprised her by her cautious approach.
She daintily placed her forefinger in the pink icing, and tasted the concoction. Then, she smiled mischievously and plowed her whole face into the cake.
"Oh well." Glinda laughed as she watched her little girl pig out.
Cake was in her nostrils and icing was in her curls, but Raina was having a good time despite her messy appearance.
Glinda heard someone cackle behind her and she turned around to see a familiar face.
"Wow, is this her first time eating sweets? She's attacking that cake like a ferocious animal would attack a carcass." Elphie laughed as she watched the little girl.
Elphaba was amazed at the child in front of her. She was so beautiful and at one, she already knew how to demand the attention of a crowd. Elphaba knew that she had inherited some of her mother's charm because the entire city of Oz couldn't help but dote on the little girl.
The happiness she felt was real. She knew for the first time in her life, she was finally getting to feel like everyone else. She was being able to experience joy that had come the first time she had gazed upon Liir's face.
But most of all, she reveled in the fact that she was no longer a shadow in the eyes of the citizens of Oz.
Elphaba was floating on a high that she was sure wouldn't be ending anytime soon, that was until she caught a glimpse of something.
It wasn't very noticeable to anyone else, but she would recognize those things anywhere. Even in the crowd, she found her eyes focusing on them. How, after all of this time, could those shoes still make her feel so obsolete?
She wanted to run and grab them from the woman, her sister, and run away laughing. Those shoes were no longer important, yet Elphie couldn't get her mind off of them. She knew she should talk to Nessa, but she had no intention of doing so.
She turned away from her past and instead went back to watching Glinda squirm out of the way of Raina's cake covered hands.
Elphaba couldn't help but jump when she felt a hand suddenly on her shoulder. Once again, the past reminded her that she could not escape without facing her problems. This problem was one that she had not wanted to confront, but was currently standing in front of her, wearing those shoes.