Chapter Twelve
Dillamond was taken aback when Fiyero entered his office early that morning. Usually, when Fiyero wanted to see him, he sent a servant with a message.
"Fiyero, what is it?" he asked, thinking something had happened.
"What do you know about one of the candidates? Miss Fae?" he demanded and Dillamond was stunned.
He knew the green girl had not yet had her night with the king, and wasn't quite sure what was going on.
"Miss Fae?" he repeated. "I don't understand. How did you-"
"I found her in the library last night reading," Fiyero admitted. "Now, please, Dillamond. What do you know about her?"
Fiyero was desperate for information. He hadn't slept when he'd finally gotten to bed in the small hours of the morning, instead just found himself thinking about Fae. Her smile, her laugh… the way the green hue of her skin highlighted her features and how her hair had shone in the lamplight.
Dillamond hesitated and then answered the king's query.
"What exactly would you like to know about Miss Fae?"
"Who is she? Where is she from? What is she like?"
Dillamond hid a smile, he'd never seen the king like this before.
"She is an orphan," he told him, which was true. Despite the fact he knew she had been adopted by her cousin, it didn't change that fact.
"She is from right here in the Greater Kells. And as for what she is like…. Miss Fae is a very intelligent, logical, perceptive and witty young woman."
"What number candidate is she?"
Dillamond frowned slightly and shook his head. "Fiyero, I can't tell you that."
"Why not?" he demanded.
Dillamond sighed patiently, like an exasperated parent explaining something to a small, impatient child.
"Because. If I told you, and you disrupted the order that is established, the girls involved would be furious. Claims of cheating and dishonesty might arise."
Fiyero stared at the Goat. He took his words to mean that Fae was at least not Candidate number eight, and sighed heavily.
"Alright. Thank you, Dillamond," he replied and left.
Fiyero pondered this for a while. He could admit, she fascinated him. It wasn't just the green skin (although that too, was a factor). It was the fact she was completely unlike any girl he'd ever seen, and she was unafraid to be anything but herself.
As the days went by, Fiyero tried to put the emerald girl out of his mind, but it proved impossible. He fulfilled his duty and met with the eighth candidate, a Miss Pfannee, but Fiyero found her very stuck up, vain and a great deal too much like Samira to hold any interest him.
By now, of course, the court had found out what was going on and were all keen to have a say in which candidate Fiyero should choose. Memucan was pushing for Pfannee, citing her family's nobility and wealth as reasons why the girl should be queen, but Fiyero ignored them all.
Some were worried about how a commoner would fit into the court and the royal life. Dillamond had a solution to this problem.
"So, let's invite the girls to a royal banquet?" he suggested.
"The court members can get to know them, and see how they behave themselves."
The court agreed, but it was decided that Fiyero would not attend.
For some of the girls, the idea of being presented to the entire court was more daunting than the idea of meeting the king.
"They don't have any actual say in the king's decision," Elphaba assured Aysha and Galinda as they were getting ready for the banquet.
"This just gives the impression that they do."
"How do you know?" Galinda asked and Elphaba shrugged.
"It's politics. This is why the king has a court, to help him make decisions. But the king- and Dillamond, will not allow them to make his personal decisions. Such as who to marry."
She was sitting on the bed, watching as Galinda curled Aysha's hair. And although she was talking, her mind wasn't really there. She couldn't help herself from reflecting on the other night, and what had happened in the library.
And every time she did, she cringed. What had she been thinking? He must have thought she was an idiot.
The thing was, after actually meeting him, Elphaba had to admit the other candidates had been right. The King was charming, gentlemanly and handsome. But what Elphaba had liked most about him, was that he hadn't stared at her skin and had simply asked about it. And he had seemed genuinely interested in her opinion on things, for all his surprise that she had them and was willing to speak them!
For the first time, Elphaba understood why all the other candidates so badly wanted to be chosen, and she felt a small touch of remorse, knowing that he would never choose her.
But she shook those thoughts out of her head, and put on a confident smile for Aysha and Galinda, assuring them everything would be fine that day.
But even Elphaba felt daunted as the girls were escorted by Dillamond into the banquet hall, and saw the entire court before them. Of course, Elphaba, being the way she was, attracted most of the stares from the court officials and servants alike.
The candidates had been so well secluded from the rest of the castle, and so shrouded in mystery, everyone was stunned by the girl with green skin.
As they took their seats, Elphaba saw Boq from the corner of her eye, and they exchanged a small smile.
A man rose from his seat to address them. He was dressed finely and Elphaba could tell he was a high-ranking court official.
"I am Memucan, His Majesty's Royal Vizier," he introduced him. "Welcome to the Kiamo Ko court. I invite you to eat, drink and enjoy yourselves here today. The servants are standing by to attend to your wishes."
The candidates were seated amongst court members, who were making an effort to converse with the girls. Elphaba was seated between the Head of the Army, and Dillamond, but she could feel everyone else sneaking glances at her when they thought she couldn't notice.
They were having dessert when it happened. One of the servant girls, a tiny little wisp of a thing, that could be no older than twelve, had been ordered to fill some of the empty wine glasses, with a heavy jug that was obviously far too heavy for her.
As she filled Pfannee's goblet, her hands shook and some of the red liquid spilled onto the table and Pfannee's white dress.
Pfannee had been particularly smug since she'd had her night with the king, which had apparently all but cemented her belief that she would be chosen queen. And she obviously knew Memucan, who was sitting beside her and engaging her in conversation.
As the wine began to seep through her dress, she let out a screech which drew all attention to her.
'Look what you've done, you idiot!" she shrieked, and pushed the girl away.
The girl stumbled and dropped the jug of wine, which fell and broke, wine spilling over the floor.
"You clumsy fool!" Memucan yelled angrily, rising from his seat and striking the girl across the face, making her fall back into the puddle of wine.
Elphaba was horrified and furious, and got to her feet.
"Miss Fae!" Dillamond whispered hastily, but Elphaba ignored him.
As she crossed the room, Boq tried to grab her arm. He knew how angry Memucan could be.
"El- Fae, don't!" he tried to pull her back, but Elphaba shook him off.
Fiyero, although supposed to be working, had been unable to resist the temptation to see what was happening in the banquet hall. There was a balcony overlooking the hall, and Fiyero had come in just in time to see the servant girl fall after being struck by Memucan.
Fiyero was furious, he always treated his servants with respect and expected his officials to do the same. He was just about to intervene when he saw Fae get to her feet. So, instead he watched, wondering what she would do.
Memucan kicked the girl, making her scream out in pain, and then dragged her up by her hair.
"Stop it!"
Memucan turned in shock to face Elphaba, and the whole room froze, deathly silent except for the frightened sobs of the servant girl.
"Let her go," Elphaba demanded and raising an eyebrow, Memucan did so. The girl fell to her knees, her arms wrapped around her sides and sobbing quietly.
Ignoring Memucan, Elphaba stepped into the puddle of wine and knelt down beside the girl, ignoring how the wine was now staining her dress.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly.
"Oinone," the girl replied shakily.
"Are you hurt, Oinone?" Elphaba asked kindly and the girl hesitated, glancing at Memucan.
"Oinone. Are you hurt?" Elphaba repeated firmly, making the girl look at her instead of Memucan and she nodded.
"My ribs," she said hesitantly and Elphaba nodded, then turned around.
"Aysha? Galinda?"
Aysha immediately got up and hurried over, Galinda was just a moment behind.
"These are my friends," Elphaba said to Oinone, and slowly helped her stand.
"Can you take her back to our room? Help her clean up and maybe get someone to look at her ribs?"
Galinda nodded. "I think she'll be about my size. I'll find her something to wear," she offered and Elphaba smiled.
"I'll be there in a minute," she assured Aysha, who looked worried.
When they had left, she turned back to Memucan, who had been speechless with anger.
"You dare to usurp my authority?" he demanded dangerously, but Elphaba wasn't frightened.
Her eyes darkened. "It's your authority to abuse a servant? Not even a servant, she's a child!"
"You are in no position to give orders about how to treat servants," Memucan spat, grabbing Elphaba's arm.
She wrenched it out of his grasp and narrowed her eyes. "And apparently, you are in the position of abusing your power over anyone you deem beneath you! The king appointed you as Vizier, is he not able to remove you too? And then where would you be?"
Memucan glowered. "Mark my words, I will ensure that you are never chosen as queen," he threatened and Elphaba narrowed her eyes.
"Funny. I was under the impression that was the king's decision."
Memucan laughed. "You think he will choose someone like you as queen?"
"No," Elphaba replied simply. "But I think it is still the king's decision to reject me without any influence from you."
She whirled around to stare at the silent court.
"And you all just sit there and watch?" she demanded furiously. "Like it's a show, or a sport? Or that because of her lower social status, Oinone isn't a person and thus doesn't deserve to be treated as such? Do any of you even know her name? You all make me sick," she spat in disgust.
And she turned and walked out of the room, leaving them all gaping after her in shock.
Fiyero watched in silence, his eyes lingering after her. Miss Fae was definitely someone to keep his eye on. But for now, he had to deal with Memucan.