Overcoming Adversity - Chapter 21

A/N: I completely forgot to mention last chapter! I posted my one-shot, the one for Nursejoy7 as a reward for being reviewer 100. It's called 'Too Much Wine'. So check it out if you feel like it. It's gelphie friendship but not at all related to this fic.

GALINDA

It was only just beginning to hit me, the extent of issues Elphie was experiencing. I had thought I understood, but in the light of what she'd told me, I realised that it was far more complicated than I ever could have anticipated.

Whenever I looked at her I couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head. Everything I said, everything I did, each small gesture or sentence, could serve as a trigger for her self-loathing. Sometimes it was hard to know what the right thing was. It was also hard to continue to be open with her, because if I was now to admit to struggling with something, she would blame herself, but nonetheless, I tried not to hold back: if I was asking her to be open, I had to do the same.

New Year's Eve rolled around quickly, and I felt a bubble of anticipation as I mentally prepared myself for it. Momsie had begun to decorate the house. The theme was Rulers and Revolutionaries, which I was excited about because it meant I could dress to the nines like royalty.

Elphie was less than amused.

'I am not going around wearing some prissy tiara,' she snapped.

'You don't have to,' I replied. 'But I do insist that we go shopping and find something appropriate for you to wear.'

'Appropriate, hm? Since when does it matter what other people see me in? All they'll notice is my green skin.'

I sighed, and decided to change tactics.

'Nonetheless, it would make me very happy if you would dress up just a little bit for the night. Please, Elphie?'

And she conceded.

We met up with Sapphryn in Frottica Square. It was nice to be out and about with friends, away from home and my parents. The change of location brought about a sense of ease and quickly took my mind off the recent drama. Of course, Elphie dragged herself behind me and Sapphryn, not eager to participate, and I chattered happily to Sapphryn about Lurlinemas, but avoided any mention of the argument.

'That sounds lovely,' Sapphryn said when I told her about the gift Elphie had given me. 'Those are some really strong words, Glin.'

'They are,' I replied happily. 'I think I'll keep them forever and ever.'

The first two costume shops came up short of any decent clothing whatsoever.

'You're being ridiculous,' Elphie grumbled. 'There are plenty of good royalty costumes; why don't you just pick one of those?'

'They're not good enough. I don't just want to look good. I have to look amazing. And so do you.'

'I couldn't care less what I look like.'

'Maybe not, but I do. I want to be proud of my girlfriend on the night.'

'I thought we couldn't reveal our relationship.'

'Nope. But I can still be secretly proud.'

She sighed as I took her hand and led her away, feeling gratitude towards her for going along with it. Sapphryn giggled.

'What?' Elphie and I both said.

'Nothing.'

The third costume shop looked much the same as the first two, but the difference was that I knew the shopkeeper personally. She was a kind lady called Magdalena, who tailor-made some of the costumes for a reasonable (okay, slightly high) price.

'Good morning, Galinda!' Magdalena greeted me warmly. She was a short woman with thick, bronze curls, dark eyes and an hourglass figure. 'It's been a while since you were last here. And Sapphryn, welcome back.'

She turned towards Elphaba.

'I do not believe we have met. I am Magdalena.'

'Elphaba,' Elphie said stiffly, and quickly shook the woman's hand.

'Now, what brings you here today? I imagine it's for New Year, correct?'

'Yes,' I replied. 'So we don't have a lot of time. But we need outfits for the theme Rulers and Revolutionaries.'

'Of course, of course I can help. I can bump you up the list of clients, get your things done as quickly as possible. I can even have them ready by tomorrow. But first, is there any particular idea you had in mind?'

For half an hour I bounced ideas back and forth with Magdalena, and then chose fabrics, colours and patterns. Elphie was not amused when she found out she had to be measured, but gruffly went along with it. Magdalena already had both my measurements, and Sapphryn's. Finally, after a lot of discussion, the plans were in place, and the tailors would set to work as quickly as possible to make them.

'This is going to be wonderful,' I said as we exited the shop.

'Yes, Glin, it is wonderful to get some fresh air after being cooped up in there for so long,' Elphie deadpanned.

'Oh lighten up, it's fancy dress.'

'I might as well be a permanent fancy dress costume.'

'Elphie,' I sighed. 'You know what I think about you saying things like that.'

Finally, a few days later, it was New Year's Eve. The house had been given a full clean, and the furniture rearranged to provide extra space for the guests, of which there would be at least a hundred. I was ecstatic when my new dress came out even better than I imagined, but even more pleased to see Elphie's. It was a long, deep purple dress with a sheer outer layer. The fabric twisted around her hips and cascaded to the floor, rendering her the most elegant I'd ever seen her.

'This is ridiculous,' Elphie grumbled when I dragged her into my bedroom to do her make-up. 'I don't wear make-up, the stuff makes me look horrendible.'

'Make-up makes no one look horrendible if you know how to use it,' I insisted. 'Just trust me. And it will make your dress look even better.'

She rolled her eyes. I searched through my make-up for the few specific items I would need. Foundation was out of the question, of course – not that Elphie's skin needed it since it was so soft and flawless anyway. I carefully picked out two shades of eyeshadow, purple and grey, some eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss.

Doing her make-up was the perfect excuse for me to get up close and personal to her gorgeous features. The eyeliner sat smoothly on her lids, and the shadow gave the illusion that they were wider and more piercing. She had naturally long lashes and full lips, on which I swished a little lip gloss. The end result was not a dramatic make-over, but a softer edge to her features. As I stood back to admire my work, I couldn't help but emit a small sigh of wonder. Underneath all of the green skin and frumpy clothing a pretty and feminine woman had emerged from hiding.

'Reckon I'd make the cover of Ozmopolitan now?' Elphie quipped.

'No. You're far too good for that. Look in the mirror.'

She did so.

'I actually look a little bit Vinkun,' she said in a surprised tone.

'That's the point. It goes with the theme, Rulers and Revolutionaries,' I replied. 'A Vinkun princess.'

'Well I suppose it's as close to a princess as I'll ever look.'

I kissed her deeply.

'You look wonderful. And now, I have to get ready.'

She nodded and stood up to leave.

'I love you,' she said.

'I love you too, my beautiful princess.'

As soon as I was alone I immediately dove into my preparations for the night. I would be going as the fairy queen Lurline, which I decided fitted the theme well enough even though she was a myth. I had opted for a unique style of dress which actually contained very little pink, but the much more earthy colours, green and brown. I put the dress on and looked in the mirror, admiring the way the corset fit around my body and the skirt branched out in leaf-like folds, creating many layers of various lengths, the longest of which was knee-length. Magdalena had also created for me a pair of fairy wings to sit on the back of the gown, and glittery golden heels to complete the outfit.

I couldn't wait for Elphie to see me.

Once ready, I sat in my room pondering what to do. I wanted to make a grand entrance, but unfortunately that meant waiting around half an hour from the arrival time for enough people to have arrived to make it worth it. I also didn't want Elphie to see me just yet. I wanted the moment to be special. I attempted to distract myself by writing in my diary and touching up my make-up every now and again, but mostly sat in my chair squirming and waiting for the time to pass.

The moment the clock hit seven-thirty, I was out of my seat, and out of my room. From the living room I could hear the muffled voices of guests, the clinking of glasses and light music playing. With butterflies in my stomach, I hurried onwards with a grin on my face.

Tonight was going to be perfect.