Insane with Jealousy
The fire in her eyes burned with intensity as she glared at those shoes. Usually Elphaba didn't care about the uselessness of fashion, but there was something about those shoes.
There was a magnetic attraction that slowly pulled her closer until she felt like she simply had to reach out and caress them. She resisted only because she knew that she would look absolutely ridiculous bending down to touch the shoes of the woman in front of her.
Elphaba didn't just want those shoes, no; she deeply and desperately desired them.
She knew that she was insane for feeling such strong emotions over a pair of shoes, but she didn't know how to control the way she felt. Despite all the things she had: a lover, a child, and a best friend, she knew that those shoes were a symbol of something she would never obtain.
She had experienced many different types of love over the years: passion from Fiyero, unconditional love from Liir, and admiration from her best friend Glinda.
Yet she had never felt love from her father. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be good enough for him, unlike Nessa who he had seen as perfect ever since her first breath outside of the womb.
Somehow those shoes held her father's compassion and once Elphie was wearing them, the compassion would belong to her.
Nessa clicked her heels together waking Elphaba from her daydream, "So you're back for good? How thoughtful you are. You faked your death, left me at Shiz all alone, and returned without even letting your dear sister know?"
"Nessa, I didn't let you know because I have been busy. I'm a mother now," at the mentioning of the word mother, Nessa clinched her jaw, "and I didn't want to be a nuisance to you or father."
Elphaba examined her sister carefully. She watched as the woman in front of her softly chewed on her bottom lip and tried to imagine the thought's running through Nessa's mind.
She had never been close to Nessa, not in the normal way that sisters were close. Elphie had been more like a constant caregiver to her poor handicapped sister.
Behind her, she heard the shuffling of feet and she turned to see Liir's chubby little face. He was cradled in Fiyero's arms and she couldn't resist leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead.
As much as she wanted to remain hardened and uncaring, she felt her compassion beginning to surface once more. "Nessa, meet your nephew, Liir." Her caring and compassion disappeared as quickly as they had surfaced.
Elphaba was upset by the fact that Nessa hardly looked at him; she didn't even make any effort to examine the tiny person in front of her. How could Nessa let her feelings of anger effect Liir?
How could she flaunt her happiness? Elphaba's perfect family made Nessa insane with jealousy.
She had only looked at him for a second, but it was long enough for her to realize that he was adorable. He looked a lot like Fiyero. She was a bit surprised to find that he hadn't inherited Elphaba's color, but he had gotten her serious stare and observant nature.
Fiyero looked happy too. He looked so natural standing there holding his child. Nessa couldn't believe how much had changed in her sister's life.
A lot had changed in her life as well. She had become the Eminent Thropp of Munchkinland, she had power and authority that came with the title, yet one thing had not changed.
No man wanted a woman who depended on a pair of shoes to help her to stand upright and lead a normal life. Nessa hadn't yet experienced the reciprocal feelings of love that came from a lover or a boyfriend.
Staring into the black eyes of the woman in front of her, she knew she had to do something to even the score between them, but she wasn't sure what would do the trick. Hopefully something would come to her soon.
For all of her life, Nessa had always been the one that had made Elphaba jealous, now the roles had been reversed and Nessa was not pleased.
"You know what Elphaba, I'm glad you faked your death. You faking your death was the best thing that ever happened to me because it gave me a right to take over the role I was meant to fulfill. I am Eminent Thropp and people adore me. I have servants and the unnamed God has entrusted me with all of these responsibilities."
Elphaba felt her blood rushing to her face, she felt her fists ball up, and clamped down her jaw. She wanted nothing more than to punch her sister right in the mouth, and if she hadn't heard Liir cry, she would have done just that.
His high pitched shrill of a scream was one she had come to know very well. It was his most intense cry, one that had woken her up every couple of hours during the night. It was his hungry cry.
"Oh Liir, mother's right here. Sh, it's okay." She took him from Fiyero and placed her finger in his mouth, silencing his cries for a few seconds so that she could talk to Nessa.
"Nessa, I don't know what else to do. All of my life, I've been ridiculed and put down, and I was glad to be able to get rid of that for a while. 'Dying' was good for me too. I finally got a chance to be myself, to have a bit of freedom. I will not accept you charging back into my life, talking to me as if I'm some worthless piece of trash!" She was yelling now, but she didn't care.
She saw Glinda out of the corner of her eye. She was sitting in a chair by Raina who was currently struggling with a giant bow on top of an equally giant present. Glinda stood to join the two sisters.
Elphaba shook her head at Glinda, and mouthed the word "no." She didn't want the conflict to ruin Glinda's day as well.
Liir began to cry again. He was not satisfied being pacified by his mother's finger any longer. Elphaba softly bounced him, and kissed his cheeks.
"Nessa, I need to feed him. And I think we're quite done here." She started to march into the palace and heard footsteps behind her.
"Elphaba," Nessa cried out, "stop!"
Elphaba halted and turned towards her sister, "What Nessa? What could you possibly want?"
Nessa came to stand right in front of her, "I want so many things Elphaba. I want a husband, a child, happiness. You have what should be mine. We all thought you were going to end up all alone, yet you've done all that I was supposed to do. It's not fair and I will make sure that it doesn't last. You don't deserve all of this, you, you, green girl!"
Nessa was shocked when she felt a terrible sting on her cheek. Elphaba had slapped her, it was the first time her sister had actually physically hurt her.
"Nessa, I never want to see you again. I am over your little pleas for pity. You don't deserve pity from anyone." With that she turned and entered into the palace leaving a speechless and fuming Nessa outside.
She hadn't returned to the party after the incident, but she knew Glinda would understand.
Several hours had passed, but Nessa's words were still fresh in her mind. She looked down at Liir as she fed him, his fat cheeks jiggled as he was eating and she stroked his hair.
Elphaba had this strong sense of protective instincts as she held her son. She never wanted him to have to go through what she had. He deserved to have a happy childhood and to know that his parents loved him more than anything in the world.
She decided that she would tell him every chance she got that she loved him, starting now, "Liir, I love you. You are a strong soul and I know that one day you'll grow up to be an honorable man just like your father."
She didn't know if he understood her or not, but she felt his tiny hand reach up and rest on her chest right where her heart was located.
She finished feeding him and decided she wanted to sing him a lullaby. She usually wasn't good at improvising, but these words poured directly from her heart, "Liir my love, I'll give you the world, the stars and the moon are yours to behold. Liir my love, you'll never know, how much joy that you've brought to me. Colors seem brighter and life seems complete, ever since the day that you came to me."
Fiyero watched Elphaba as she softly sang a lullaby to Liir. The moonlight streamed in from the window and danced across her skin.
She gave the baby a kiss and placed him in his crib. After one last kiss on his head, she walked towards the bed.
She let down her hair and Fiyero watched as it cascaded down her back like an inky waterfall. That hair entranced him and he loved how it framed her beautiful face. How had he been so lucky as to call her his own?
She slid into the bed and nuzzled up against him. He breathed in her scent, clove oil and a hint of lavender.
He had missed this lately, just the two of them content in being in each other's arms. Elphie sighed and looked up into his eyes.
The sadness in those black moons pierced his soul and he knew that she was still upset about her earlier encounter with her sister. It hadn't gone well, and he knew that the hurtful words were probably running through her mind.
At this moment, he wished he could take away all of her pain and make her forget it all. Fiyero pulled her close and put his lips close to her ear.
"My Fae, I love you. You are my life and no matter what anyone says, you deserve every bit of happiness in the world."
He felt her tremble from the feeling of his lips being so close, yet not touching her.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled and let her pull his face close to hers. Elphaba kissed him deeply and he kissed her back with fervor.
She quickly relaxed into his arms. He loved it when she let go, because that meant that she felt comfortable with him. He felt so proud of her, his Fae. She was the strongest woman he knew and she had the ability overcome any obstacle she came up against.
He felt her tension melting away as he placed tender kisses on both of her cheeks and then returned to her green tinted lips.
Elphaba was enjoying the sweet kisses that Fiyero was giving. She let his love wash over her, taking with it all of the events of the day. As their lips parted she ran her hand along his bare chest and rested it on his stomach.
She felt her pulse speed up as he feathered kisses along her neck and collarbone, but then she felt the all too familiar burning sensation on her cheek as a tear escaped from her eye.
Fiyero had noticed her wince, and he quickly kissed away the pain. He held her close, wanting to feel her heart beating against his. He slowly ran his hands in circles on her back. When he was certain that she had fallen asleep, he allowed his own eyes to shut.
The room had been quiet for a while and at this late hour, she was sure that they would be asleep. She hoped that the door wouldn't make a horribly loud creaking sound when she opened it. The woman gently pushed the door open and was relieved when it didn't make a noise.
She made her way through the room as carefully and quietly as she could. She approached the bedroom door and slowly peered around the corner.
She saw Elphaba and Fiyero asleep in the bed and gently tiptoed towards the crib. She looked down at the baby and almost abandoned her plan at the very instant she saw him.
He was sleeping soundly and she was scared to pick him up. She hadn't held many babies in her lifetime. She didn't exactly have the reputation of being good with children. Of course she had held Shell when he was younger, but that had been many years ago.
She leaned down and placed one hand under his head to support his neck and the other under his little bottom. He was heavier than he looked.
He didn't stir when she cradled him in her arms or when she placed a soft kiss on his head. He smelled like Elphaba's clove oil.
She felt the anger and jealousy beginning to resurface and she remembered her reason for coming to her sister's home in the first place. She wanted to make her life miserable and what better way than to get rid of the very thing that had brought her happiness.
She reached into her pocket and removed her weapon. She slid the sheath from her blade with her teeth and held it up to the creature in her arms.
"Let's see how happy you are now Elphaba." She whispered.
As she raised the blade, the baby opened his eyes. He stared up at her and smiled. "Oh come on." She thought to herself. How was she supposed to kill him if he was looking right at her?
Then a thought hit her, why did she have to kill him? There were other ways to remove him from Elphaba's life. She could take him away.
She quickly gathered up his blanket and a couple of cloth diapers. She hadn't noticed that she had dropped her blade in the process.
With one last look at Elphaba, she walked out, carrying the tiny bundle in her arms.
The next morning, the entire palace was awakened by the most terrifying sound. Elphaba was frantically screaming as she found Liir's crib empty. Her son was missing and she was terrified.