Gravity
"Nessa, get up!" Elphaba yelled at her sister, "come on, this isn't funny. Father isn't going to be happy with me if we are late to dinner. Please get up. I promise not to ignore you again."
Nessa didn't budge and Elphaba huffed loudly. She grabbed her sister's wrists and pulled her from her current position. She lost her balance slightly, and almost fell to the ground. This made Nessa giggle and made Elphaba clench her jaw.
She wanted so much to let her sister fall. In fact, she loosened her grip just a little bit, which caused Nessa to slip closer to the ground.
"Elphaba be careful, you're not holding on to me tight enough. I feel like I'm about to plummet to my death." She stated melodramatically.
"One could only wish." Elphaba muttered under her breath.
She finally managed to maneuver Nessa back into her chair. She quickly propelled her across the land all the way back to the cottage. Frex was standing outside, he was cross and Elphaba prepared herself for the wrath that he was about to lay upon her.
"Elphaba, why did you keep your sister out so late? She is frail and she needs to have her nourishment. I knew I shouldn't have let you take her out on your own. You never do anything right. Go inside and wash her up, then you can go to bed. I can't believe it, you're almost 16 years old, and yet you can't do a simple task like getting your sister back on time." He scowled at her, and then softened his face as he knelt down to talk to Nessa.
"Poor little girl. I'm sorry that Elphaba kept you from your dinner. Just for that, I'll tell Nanny to give you an extra dessert. It's Munchkin berry pie, your favorite."He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
At that moment, Elphaba wished that she could hurt her sister. She had never felt this way before and the new feeling terrified her, but at the same time, it was exhilarating. She glared over at them, her so called "family."It was then that she knew she would never be like them, nor would she ever want to be.
Now, as she stood over her sister's motionless body, she felt that same familiar exhilaration. Her breath came in quick shallow spurts and her lip twitched.
She felt strangely removed from the situation, but she was brought back to reality when she heard a small gasp.
Nessa started to stir, and at first, Elphaba was surprised to see that she had come back to life. Then she realized that she hadn't been dead at all, no, she had just passed out.
The pathetic creature at her feet deserved no sympathy, yet when she looked up, with that all too familiar look of desperation on her face, Elphaba felt her heart tear into pieces.
She knelt by her sister's side and examined the purple handprints that encircled her neck. Her hands had done that, she had actually tried to murder her sister.
The gravity of the situation fell all at once and landed right on Elphaba's shoulders.
Of course everyone would understand. They would say, "Oh Elphaba, it is alright. She took your child, you were under distress. We would never blame you for your behavior in this situation."
But it wasn't just the situation; she had felt this way before. This was just the first time that she had acted on her feelings.
She reached out to touch her sister's face. At the closeness, Nessa recoiled. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was flushed. Elphaba took note of her sister's appearance and realized that she would be okay.
Captain Ronan approached Elphaba because he did not want to waste anymore time in dealing with the fugitive woman.
"Ms. Elphaba, what shall I do with her? I can take her away to be executed or, if you want, I can let you be the one to deal with her. It seems as though you are quite capable."
He stood silently waiting for a reply. He examined the green woman in front of him. He noticed her furrowed brow and her pursed lips.
He also noticed that she did not want to have her sister executed, but he wanted her to say it, as if confessing it would forgive her for her earlier outburst.
Those green lips parted and then her voice escaped, softly and shakily, "Let her go."
At her words the soldiers stepped back and took their hands off of her. They looked to their captain for instructions and when he waved them away, they marched.
"Thank you for fulfilling your duty Captain Ronan. And thank you for bringing home my son. For that I will be forever indebted to you." Elphaba proclaimed as she grabbed unto the Captain's sleeve.
"Ms. Elphaba, consider your debt settled. I was only doing my duty. Although I do ask that you do one thing for me. Please promise me you'll think about your next move, whatever you decide to do to her, just think about it first. I wouldn't want to see a girl like you ruined by an act of vengeance. Please, just, think about it." It was a request, but she felt more like he was pleading with her.
"I will. I promise." She answered even though she wasn't sure if she could stay true to her word.
He turned from her and joined his men. Elphaba stared down at her sister. She was a pathetic excuse of a woman. Her face was stained with tears and her clothes were tainted by the filth of the wilderness.
She jerked her up by wrists and helped to steady her. She dusted off her shoulders and for a second, she rested her hand on the dirt smeared cheek.
"Nessa leave and don't come back. Take the path through the cornfield and follow wherever it leads. Just don't come back here because I promise if I ever see you again, I'll…I'll, well just believe me, I won't be happy and neither will you." She backed away and watched her sister stare at her.
No sense of regret or remorse was found on her face. The only thing that Elphaba could make out was a hint of happiness, Nessa was glad that Elphaba had spared her life.
Elphaba turned her back on her sister; she didn't look at her walk away. Instead, she ran to Fiyero. She took the tiny baby from his arms, and she kissed him all over. He was feverish and she remembered that they had called for the doctor.
"Is the doctor on his way?" Elphaba asked as she gently rocked Liir in her arms. His color wasn't good, he was a bit pale, and his skin felt clammy.
Glinda nodded and approached her. She wrapped her arms around her friend being careful because Liir was in between them. Instantly, she began crying into Elphaba's shoulder. Her tears soaked into the fabric of Elphaba's dress and threatened to reach the allergic skin beneath.
Elphaba broke from the embrace only long enough to hand Liir to Fiyero. With her arms free, she grabbed onto her friend. Holding her so tightly, she feared that the blonde wouldn't be able to breathe.
Glinda responded to the tight grip and let herself relax into Elphaba's arms. Elphaba didn't know what exactly had caused the sudden outburst from her friend, but she was surprisingly relieved. It was as if Glinda was crying for her.
She pulled back to look into Glinda's puffy red face and she used her sleeve to wipe away the tears. She placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and smiled at her best friend.
No, they were no longer just friends, they were sisters. Blood ties weren't as strong as the bond that these two women shared and perhaps the lack of blood ties was what made them so close.
Their embrace was cut short when they heard a carriage approaching. The horses came to a sudden halt and as the dust settled around the emerging passenger, Elphaba felt panic set back in.
It was Dr. Wistar. The older man wore his grey hair like a badge of honor and his wrinkles were a testament to his years devoted to the medical field. His face was serious as he approached his tiny patient.
"Ms. Elphaba, how about we do the examination inside." They headed inside the palace and went into the parlor. Elphaba got down on her knees and placed Liir on the ottoman.
He was sleeping, but it seemed as if his breathing was a bit labored. His tiny chest almost collapsed after every breath. Dr. Wistar listened to Liir's heartbeat and then he took out a tiny vial.
"Ms. Elphaba, I need to take a blood sample. This is going to be quite painful for him and I'm sure it won't be easy for you to watch, so if you want to step out of the room you can." He sterilized the monstrous needle and waited for Elphaba to respond.
"No, I won't leave him. I'll stay and comfort him. He needs me right now." She leaned over and took a hold of his tiny feet. She felt sick to her stomach and tried to prepare herself for what was about to happen.
Dr. Wistar took Liir's arm into his hands and gently inserted the needle. The baby stirred from his sleep and pouted his lips. Through his pout came a squeal and a strong cry. Liir's eyes were wide and he was confused as to what was going on.
He looked so pitiful and his little face broke Elphaba's heart. "Poor baby, mommy is so sorry." She soothed as she sat there unable to help him.
She kissed him and rubbed his belly until he began to settle down a little. She wanted to take away his pain and she knew that she didn't want to ever hear him cry like that again.
The doctor went to his bag and removed a bunch of different vials. Elphaba hadn't seen so many vials since she had been in chemistry class at Shiz. She recognized some of the names and she was curious as to what he was going to do with the chemicals.
He dripped a small drop of blood on several different microscope slides and then combined each drop of blood with a different chemical.
Elphaba remembered that this was the way that she had learned how to test reactivity between two different elements.
He observed the several slides and walked back and forth trying to see if anything had reacted. Then he stopped. He slowly picked up one of the slides and then sat it back down again. He did the same with the next three slides.
He wrote something down on a piece of parchment, and then he opened up a book and flipped through its worn pages. He stopped on a page and examined the written words. He grabbed something from his bag.
It was a sapphire stained glass bottle and he gently shook the contents before extracting a couple of drops of the liquid. He placed the dropper over Liir's mouth, which was currently wide open because he was crying, and let 3 drops escape.
The baby ceased his crying for a few seconds, stunned by the droplets of liquid, and then he picked up his crying again. Elphaba reached down and scooped him up. She whispered in his ear and bounced him in her arms.
His head rested on her shoulder and he finally stopped crying. He had simply worn himself out.
"He is very sick Ms. Elphaba. He tested positive for a few infections. I am not going to sugar coat this, because there is no need. There is a chance that he may not make it."
Nessa walked slowly, she was despondent and still nursing the wounds that she had received only a little while earlier. She navigated through the corn field and noticed that the sky was getting clouded.
The wind also picked up and whipped her hair into her face. She continued walking, pushing through the pain and through the thick plants in front of her. She didn't see what was coming, how could she? She was looking straight ahead and the object fell from above.
Witnesses were to say that it was the most bizarre event they had ever witnessed. The crowd quickly gathered, and an effort was made to move the object even though they knew already that it was too late.