I couldn't just leave you guys with a cliffhanger like that for a few days, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
There was a moment of silence before everyone broke out into talking or yelling.
"What do you think you're doing…"
"Why didn't you…"
"…dishonor to the family…"
"…Nessa, why didn't you write…"
"Gave me a fright…"
"…your mother would…"
Finally, Elphaba's grandfather broke through the noise and managed to quiet everyone with a sweep of his arms. Frexspar looked livid as he glared at Galinda and Elphaba with an intense hatred. Nessa looked smug, with her arms folded over her chest and a smirk on her face. Nanny looked horrified and about to have a heart attack. Several servants had stopped from their errand routes to listen in and stare.
"Now, why don't we bring this conversation inside so we can speak privately," he said, looking around at all of the servants, who immediately went back to work running their errands, unloading the carriage, and gardening.
They moved inside the mansion in the front hall and Galinda looked around in awe. The floor was a green marble and a magnificent staircase led up to the second floor balcony looking over the front hall. The Eminent Thropp led them to the left and down a hallways to an office, going in as a servant opened the door for him.
As soon as the door closed, people burst out again.
"Elphaba, what are you thinking bringing her here…"
"I told you that you would be in big trouble, but no, you wouldn't listen…"
"Your poor dead mother, what would poor Melena think…"
"…and don't you dare mention Melena in my presence…"
"…and you've brought Galinda along with you…"
"…oh, her poor soul, may she rest in peace and never know…"
"QUIET!"
Everyone shut up and stared at the Eminent Thropp in surprise. Galinda had managed to make herself disappear in part by stepping behind Elphaba, who stood in front of her protectively, a determined expression on her face.
"Now, as much as I would like to listen to all of you, and I can't listen to all of you at the same time," the Eminent Thropp said, staring down Nessa, Nanny, and Frexspar. "One at a time, please. Nessa, go first, since you were most likely the first person who knew in this family."
Nessa smiled smugly at Elphaba before starting. "I was appalled when I found out," she stared. "It was about a month ago, and I came down to breakfast in the cafeteria, and there she was, arguing with the whole of the cafeteria, and holding hands with Galinda! I told her that she should repent to the Unnamed God and abandon that sinful girl…"
"I told you that I would kick you off Colwen Grounds if you said one more word against her!" Elphaba yelled, surprising everyone, including Nessa. "I want you off the grounds in the next hour, I don't want to see your face, or hear your voice, or even sense that you're here! GET OUT!"
"You can't kick her off the grounds!" Nanny exclaimed.
"Yes, I can," Elphaba growled. "I know I haven't done much in the past, but right now, I invoke my powers as Heir-Apparent and banish you from the grounds!"
"Elphaba Adrianna Thropp, you will take back what you said immediately!" her father yelled, his facing turning redder by the second. "You do not have the authority to banish your sister from the grounds! Every word that she spoke was the truth. I can't believe you would turn your back on the Unnamed God like this…"
"I never believed in the Unnamed God!" Elphaba yelled, cutting him off. "You just wanted to believe that so you could have as close to a perfect family as possible with a crippled girl you call daughter even though you don't know if you fathered her, a green girl who you know isn't your daughter, a dead wife you cheated on you every chance she got, and a son that you never wanted!"
"Shut up!" her father roared, toppling over a chair. "Stop spouting out untruths! You have crossed the line and gone too far this time, Elphaba! There is no way the Unnamed God will accept you when you die! You have turned your back on the Unnamed God, and therefore you have turned your back on this family!
He turned to Nessa, turning his back on Elphaba. "Nessa, you will immediately be going back to Shiz University to finish your education. Shell and I will be going back to Quadling Country to continue my missions work there, and I won't be coming back until that… that… that thing is good and gone."
"You won't be taking Shell with you," Elphaba said quietly but dangerously.
Narrowing his eyes, he glared at her. "And what gives you the right to control what I do and don't do?" he asked.
"Quadling Country is not place for a child," Elphaba said.
"You were there when you were a child…" Frexspar started.
"And look what's happened to me!" Elphaba yelled. "I have scars from all of my contact with water, you dragged me into bars, I was almost raped multiple times by drunks, and I was forced to sing for a cause I didn't believe in!"
"Shell is nothing like you," Frexspar growled.
"No, he's better, and he deserves better," Elphaba said. "He'll be staying here with grandfather and the servants to look after him. Not in some hut in the wild where drunks stop by every few hours to be baptized in the name of Unnamed God just so they can get free wine!"
"He will be staying here at Colwen Grounds," the Eminent Thropp said, drawing an angry look from Frexspar, who wisely kept his mouth shut. "That is the one thing I agree with Elphaba on. Quadling Country is no place for a child. Frexspar, you may go to Quadling Country, and Nessa, your travel arrangements will immediately be made to go back to Shiz University. You may both leave; I will see you off within the hour."
Frexspar looked like he was going to protest.
"I am going to speak to Elphaba," the Eminent Thropp said, looking at her sternly.
Nessa, Nanny, and Frexspar left the office and closed the door behind them. The Eminent Thropp looked at Elphaba, sat down heavily in his chair, and sighed. "You might as well have a seat," he said, putting his head in his hands. "Elphaba, Elphaba, Elphaba, what am I going to do with you?"
"I don't know, sir," she said, sitting down and Galinda sitting next to her.
"Elphaba, you don't seriously think I'm going to scold you, do you?" he asked incredulously, looking up at her.
She shrugged. "I have no idea what you're going to do," she said.
"I don't disapprove of your relationship," he said. "What I do disapprove of is the way you handled that situation. This could have been much easier on all of us and wouldn't have embarrassed us in front of our guest."
He nodded politely to Galinda before continuing. "You could have written to me about this beforehand and I could have started to prepare you father for the shock. Now, I know that he is very intolerant and most likely would have reacted in the same way, but I probably could have gotten him out of here before you arrived. And Nessa could have permanently stayed at Shiz instead of having me waste the money for her traveling expenses for her just to turn around and go right back."
"I apologize for the inconveniences," Elphaba said, bowing her head in shame.
"I'm not scolding you, Elphaba," he said. "Actually, I'm impressed by what you did. You stood up to your father and your sister and you didn't give any ground. You have great potential as future Eminent Thropp. Although, I assume that you'll be finishing your education at Shiz."
Elphaba nodded. "I've been trying to make that clear to you from the start," she said with a small smile.
He smiled back at her. "You know you'll have to make an official announcement, right?" he asked.
"Um, about that," Elphaba said uncomfortably. "Galinda, would you like to tell him about your… or do you want me to tell him?"
Galinda looked at her uncertainly and then she understood. "You can tell him," she whispered.
"Grandfather, Galinda has hemophilia," Elphaba said quietly. "That basically means her blood can't clot, so every time she gets a cut or bruise, it just keeps bleeding until she gets medical help."
She took a deep breath. "She has a more serious form of the disease, something that the doctors have never seen before," she continued. "I'm trying to find a cure for her myself, but so far, no one has been able to come up with anything that works. The infusions that are used on others with hemophilia no longer work. The doctors have given her two months to live, now."
He stared at her in shock. "I… I'm sorry," he whispered. "So, I'm assuming that you don't want to make a public appearance with her?"
"No, I'm not saying that," Elphaba said quickly, glancing over at Galinda, who was staring into her lap. "It's just… I didn't know what you would want to do just in case… if she… it would be very hard to explain to all of Munchkinland, is what I mean."
"I'll get my top doctors on it as soon as possible," he said. "Miss Upland, I really am sorry about this, and I apologize for the rude behavior my son-in-law and my granddaughter exhibited. I promise your stay will be comfortable and enjoyable. Are you staying all of winter break?"
She shook her head. "No, I think Elphaba said I was staying two weeks, and then I'm going to be going back to Pertha Hills, where my family is. I'll spend the rest of my time there. I invited Elphaba to come, if she's allowed."
"Of course," he said. "She can do as she pleases. Once again, I'm terribly sorry about what you just saw; I promise it won't happen again. If you need anything, just tell Elphaba and I'm sure that she'll take care of it for you. I apologize for having to run off on you like this, but I have to take care of matters with Nessarose and Frexspar. Neither of them are going to be very happy. Elphaba, do you want a formal dinner tonight?"
"I think we're just going to relax," Elphaba said. "I'll show Galinda around the mansion and up to her room, and then we'll head down the informal dining room and see what we can get ourselves to eat."
He nodded and stood. "Just make sure you don't disturb any of the servants," he said. "Some of them are a little upset because they aren't able to go home for the holiday. And no, Elphaba, it isn't because I won't pay for the expenses."
Giving one last polite nod to Elphaba, he left the office, heading after Frexspar and Nessa. Elphaba slouched in her chair and sighed in relief. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be," she whispered. "And I'm sorry that you had to see that. I'm lucky it didn't get any worse. My father has been known to… well, you know."
Galinda nodded. "I'm sorry that the whole hemophilia thing is causing problems," she whispered.
"No, no, no," Elphaba said, sitting up and grasping Galinda's hand. "Don't worry yourself about that. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for bringing it up. There aren't going to be any problems, you're going to be fine. It isn't your fault."
"And it isn't yours," Galinda said gently. "I know that you blame yourself for the pain I suffer, and I really wish you wouldn't. It isn't anyone's fault, and as you said, I'm going to be fine. We're going to be fine."
Elphaba nodded. "Yes, we're going to be fine," she whispered.
I hope you guys liked it. Please leave reviews, I really appreciate it. The next chapter will most likely be on its way tomorrow. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, I really appreciate you guys taking the time to read this story and tell me what you think about it and give me friendly (hopefully) criticisms. Thanks again!
ReallyObsessiveWriter
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