Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Question: she's so upset isn't she?
Answer: yeah, she is
Thanks to Ice Silver Crystal, Grumbello and anglekitty for reviewing 13.
"Good morning, how are you today?"
Glinda turned to see the woman at the desk.
"We're doing okay." She slowly looked around as her father bought two tickets. The main lobby of the museum held an old-fashioned sleigh in the far corner, and checking to make sure her father was preoccupied, she went to it. When she was close enough, she reached out to run her fingers over the trim- "Glinda!" She jumped, dropping her book in the sleigh and stumbling against it. Quickly, her father and one of the tour guides rushed towards her. "Glinda, you're not supposed to touch it." Mr. Upland sighed, lifting her into his arms; the girl was light enough that her father could carry her.
She leaned down, reaching for the sleigh.
"Daddy, my book."
The tour guide picked it up and glanced at the cover. Then, she flipped through it, stopping on the photograph of the Thropps.
"Ah, the Thropp family."
"Do you know about them?" Glinda asked, resting her head on her father's shoulder. The young woman nodded.
"Milla here is an expert on the Thropps." The woman who ran the desk told them, joining the small group. Glinda raised her head.
"You do?" The young woman nodded.
"You interested in them?"
"Glinda's... got a close friend that's a Thropp, and she wants to know more about them."
Milla raised her eyebrows. "You do?" Glinda nodded. "That's kind of impossible, seeing as the last of the Thropp family died back in the sixties." Glinda blushed.
"But-"
"Her friend is a ghost." Mr. Upland said. Milla nodded.
"Ah, so you've got a ghost for a friend. And he's a Thropp?"
"She. It's a girl." Glinda whispered.
"She. All right, let's let started on the tour, shall we?" Handing Glinda the book, Milla turned and led them into the first exhibit. It was a nice exhibit, but barely attracted Glinda's attention, and eventually, her father set her back on her feet. Milla, noticing the girl's lack of interest, knelt in front of her. "I bet you want to see something on the Thropps, don't you?" Glinda nodded. She held out her hand, glancing at Mr. Upland, who nodded. "Come on." After glancing at her father, Glinda took the woman's hand, and they followed her through the museum, towards a huge room at the back.
Glinda's eyes widened at the size of the room, as well as what was in the room. Slowly, Milla knelt down to meet her eyes. "What do you think? Better?" She nodded. Standing, Milla turned to the first exhibit in the room, a beautiful chaise lounge. As she began on the history of the family, Glinda let go of her hand and wandered around. She passed photographs of the family, children's toys, and other things you'd find in a Victorian mansion. Passing by the photograhs, she found herself amid glass cases and red ropes, that held clothing within their boundaries.
Checking to make sure the others weren't watching, she went to the closest outfit- a beautiful, pale blue summer frock. A wide- brimmed straw boater, with a dark blue ribbon around the crown was balanced on the knob of the dressform, and a pair of black button boots sat below the dress. Beneath the dress, was a photograph with a description of the gown and who it belonged to.
Summer frock belonging to Elphaba Salia (1892- 1910), circa 1902. Taken at Caprice-in-the-Pines.
Next to the description, was a photograph of Elphaba, sitting on a rock near a lake. She looked about Glinda's age. Unable to help herself, she reached out to run her fingers over the soft material of the dress. The pretty white ribbon threaded through the ruffled hem shimmered in the light. The material was soft between her fingers, and she leaned close- the material smelled slightly of dust and... roses?
"Glinda!" She jumped, turning to see her father and Milla join her. "You aren't supposed to touch the exhibits, honey." She hung her head.
"Sorry."
Milla chuckled softly.
"It's all right. Children can't help it, it's understandable." Then, she turned to the frock. "Do you like it?" Glinda nodded.
"It's pretty."
"This frock belonged to the Govenor's oldest daughter, Elphaba." Then, Milla pointed to a portrait hanging over the dresses.
It was of a pretty young girl, no older than sixteen, dressed in a pretty evening gown of dark blue. Her hair was pulled back into a cascade of raven curls, and her green skin glowed with youth and vitality. Her violet eyes watched the three, and for the first time, Glinda felt scared of her friend.
"Elphaba was born on May 24th, 1892, the oldest child of Frexspar and Melena Thropp. Due to Munchkin custom, Elphaba inherited the title of Thropp Third Descending. She would inherit the governorship on her father's death, but her husband would do most of the work, while she would just be the figurhead."
"And when I marry, my husband will be the govenor."
Glinda tugged on the woman's pants leg. She looked down at the little girl.
"But that's not fair. Shouldn't she have been govenor if she was going to inherit it?"
"Back then, women weren't allowed to hold office, Glin. It was very rare for a woman to hold any sort of office. Things weren't like they are today, sweetheart. Girls were expected to find a good husband, not marry for love." Milla nodded, before leaning down.
"Would you like to see somethings we don't have in the museum?" Glinda nodded. "Come on."
And she led them through the museum, to a storage area. After unlocking it, Milla held the door open and let them enter before following. Inside, were boxes and file cabinets filled with objects that weren't currently on display. Moving past Glinda and her father, Milla went to a shelve, and searched the boxes, before beckoning them over. She lifted the lid of a box, and pulled something out as Mr. Upland lifted Glinda into his arms. She leaned close, to see what Milla held.
It was a porcelian doll.
She had green skin and violet eyes, raven hair and wore a white pale pink dress with black shoes.
Then, Milla held the doll out to Glinda. The girl glanced at Milla, before reaching out and taking the doll. Gently, she ran her finger over the doll's eyes.
"It belonged to Elphaba, when she was a child." A small smile came over Glinda's features, and she gently ran her fingers over the black curls. "When the museum recieved the things from the Thropp mansion, this doll was tucked in a hope chest."
"How do you know it was Elphaba's?" Mr. Upland asked.
"Because if you look at the back of her neck, Mr. Thropp had her initials engraved with the date. And she gently pushed the hair aside, showing the engraving.
E.S.T. May 24th, 1898
Glinda looked up, meeting Milla's eyes, before handing the doll back to her. Once it was packed away, Milla showed them several more things, before coming to a dressform, that held a beautiful white dress.
"Do you know what this is?" Milla asked the little girl. Glinda shook her head. "This," She reached into a hatbox at the foot of the dressform and pulled out a veil, before perching it over the knot of the form. "Was supposed to be Elphaba's wedding dress."
"Her wedding dress?" Milla nodded.
"In ninteen oh nine, Frexspar arranged a marriage between Elphaba and Avaric of Tenmeadows. They were to be married in August of nineteen ten, when Elphaba was eighteen. From the time the marriage was announced, there were rumors going around that Elphaba had fallen in love with someone else, and that she was planning on running away with him. Her father denied the rumors, and they went along with planning the wedding. However, Elphaba died before she ever said 'I do.' She died of the Western flu- Influenza- on May twenty-fourth, nineteen ten. Her eighteenth birthday. They buried her in the family tomb behind Colwen Grounds, and when Melena Thropp's niece passed away in ninteen sixty-six, her daughter gave all of the the families possessions to the museum."
"Colwen Grounds?" Milla nodded at the little girl.
"You know it?"
"We... just moved into Colwen Grounds." Mr. Upland said, as Glinda rested her head on her father's shoulder. Milla nodded.
"Then you're living in a part of history." Milla said, as they left the storage unit. "Look sharp, you might find history right under your nose." She said, as they stopped at the main desk. Then, she grabbed something from a small box, and handed it to her. A sucker. "It was nice to meet both of you. Come back again."
"Thank you." Milla waved them off with a smile. When they were back in the car, Mr. Upland turned to Glinda.
"Feel better, Lina?" She nodded. As they drove home, Glinda said,
"Daddy?"
"Hmm?"
"Did Elphaba mean to die?"
"I don't think so, sweetheart. She got sick. Back then, there weren't vaccinations to treat Influenza, so lots of people died. What's sad, is that she died on her birthday."
Glinda nodded, twirling the sucker between her fingers. When they pulled into the driveway, Mrs. Upland met them in the yard; home early from work.
"You had better have a good explanation for keeping Glinda out of school today, Merku."