DISCLAIMER: Not mine
AN. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Or alternatively- Happy Thursday! Hope you all have a lovely day no matter if you festivate the holidays or not. Have a happy fluffy Fiyeraba reunion as a present!
No, wait. Sorry. No such luck.
21
Glinda almost felt giddy as she, Boq and Julyan entered the town square for a day of shopping. When Julyan had heard Glinda's shopping plans, he had insisted on joining them. It was nine am, and the shops were just opening for the day. Boq was carrying a large cup of coffee in preparation for what he was sure would be a long day ahead.
Julyan and Glinda were both drinking smoothies, and already making lists of what stores they wanted to go to.
"Are we shopping for anything in particular today?" Julyan asked her.
"No, not really," Glinda shook her head. "I just need to get out of the castle. Have a day and relax, do something fun and normal."
"I can't wait until your… parasite is public knowledge, and we can go shopping for little things," Julyan said wistfully.
"Parasite?!" Glinda exclaimed in horror.
"Well, that's technically what it is," Boq pointed out. "It's you know… inside. And feeding from you."
Glinda felt nauseous. "Can we find a different code word, please? Preferably one with less disgusting imagery associated with it?"
"Bug?" Julyan suggested. "That's kind of cute, and not… suspicious," he finished in a low voice, although no one was in earshot.
Glinda pondered that, and found she had to stop herself from placing her hand on her stomach.
"That's ok," she agreed.
"How is your class going?" Boq asked Julyan.
"Pretty good, it's all coming together," Julyan beamed. "Except I'm regretting giving that Nevvie girl a lead role."
"Why? What is she doing?" Glinda asked curiously, she wasn't aware of this story.
"She won't take direction, and pretty much does the opposite. And then she accuses me of being jealous of her talent. Can you believe that? I'm jealous of her? It's not like she's Fiyero."
"You're jealous of Fiyero?" Boq asked, with a frown.
"Do I have my own castle?" Julyan sighed, as though that was a dumb question.
Then he turned to Glinda. "You know your bug will get its' own castle when it's born right? It's tradition."
Glinda hadn't been aware of that, and was taken aback. "Seriously? Fiyero got one?"
"Yeah, his is in the Lesser Kells. I assume you guys will live there eventually."
Glinda added that to the list of things she and Fiyero had to talk about. She was pretty sure they'd been so focused on the idea of getting married with the current state of their relationship and the baby; certain practical realities of marriage had escaped their attention.
Like where they'd live. Glinda wondered what else they had forgotten to think about.
Glinda and Julyan decided the first store to go to was a shoe store, and Boq agreeably followed them. Fiyero had teased him that morning before they left about what he'd gotten himself into. Boq had laughed it off, but now he was thinking his friend had a point.
Nessa and Fiyero were planning to spend their day with Emyr, talking about the relationship between the Vinkus and Munchkinland. Boq thought that would be fairly interesting, but it was sounding more appealing by the minute.
"You should get blue heels for the wedding," Julyan said to Glinda as they browsed, and Boq stood there trying not to look too bored or awkward.
"I mean, do you have your something blue yet?"
"Um, Momsie has sapphire earrings she got when her and Popsicle were married. I think they're going to be my something borrowed and my something blue."
"What about your something old and something new?"
"Malika's giving me the royal tiara of the Vinkun princess for my something old," Glinda explained. "And my dress will be my something new."
Julyan's face lit up. "Oh, yes, the dress! We're doing that tomorrow, right?"
"Right," Glinda smiled. At times, it was hard to be excited about this wedding, but she couldn't deny the thrill that ran through her at the thought of getting her wedding dress.
Her mother had arranged for the top designer in the Emerald City to come to Kiamo Ko for Glinda to choose a dress, and be discreet about any alterations that may be needed. Glinda wasn't showing yet, but she was sure her chest was bigger and she felt as though her stomach was not quite as flat as it once was, although she couldn't be sure.
They spent forty five minutes in the shoe store, before moving on to dresses. No one was really bothering them yet, thankfully; until two girls who looked to be about twelve approached Glinda as she browsed a selection of hats.
"Excuse me, Miss Glinda?" one asked timidly.
Glinda smiled brightly, immediately switching into what Fiyero had called her "Princess Bubble Persona" when they had been dating. Or "uber-Galinda mode" as it had been before she had changed her name to Glinda. Elphaba had called it her 'public figure, aren't-I-good, everyone love me' personality.
"Hello, girls. What are your names?"
"Hannalyn," the first girl said shyly. "This is my best friend, Marelda."
"It's very nice to meet you both. What are you shopping for today?"
"We're with my mom," Marelda explained. "She's looking at dresses for a party, and then she's taking us for out for ice cream sundaes."
"We just wanted to come say hello, and ask… could we please get your autograph?" Hannalyn asked.
This wasn't uncommon, but it always took Glinda a little by surprise. "Of course!"
She rummaged through her bag and found a pen and a notebook and quickly scrawled a message for each girl, signing her name with a flourish.
"We're so excited for you to be our princess," Marelda beamed excitedly, taking the paper from Glinda with a look of awe.
"We're going to make a scrapbook of all your wedding pictures in the paper," Hannalyn told her.
Glinda found herself wanting to burst into tears at that simple statement. Instead, she forced a smile.
"That sounds lovely. I'd love to see it. Thank you so much girls."
Marelda exchanged a glance with Hannalyn and then turned back to Glinda. "We read in the paper that Elphaba had to go back to Munchkinland because her father needed her, so she won't be at the wedding."
Glinda half-glanced at Boq and Julyan before answering. "Yes," she said shortly. "Her father… relies on her a lot. It's unfortunate that she won't be there."
"Do you miss her?" Hannalyn asked innocently.
Once again, Glinda almost burst into tears. "Yes," she said softly, her tone sincere.
"I can't imagine getting married without Marelda," Hannalyn continued in wonder. "She's my best friend!"
Glinda smiled gently at the two girls. "You're very lucky to have one another," she told them solemnly. "Value that, ok?"
The girls nodded earnestly, thanked her and ran off to join Marelda's mother.
"They were sweet," Julyan said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, they were," Glinda agreed quietly, staring after them.
Then she turned to the boys and smiled extra brightly. "Ok, where to next?"
They continued shopping without too many interruptions, although a few people stopped Glinda to offer congratulations and express their enthusiasm for her as their princess.
They stopped for lunch, where Julyan told them about his class and a little of what he was working on regarding Smell the Sparkle.
"What do you want to do next?" Boq asked Glinda.
"Is there something you want to look at?" Glinda offered. "You've been so good following us around all morning. We should do something you want to do."
Boq hesitated. "I wouldn't mind… looking at the book store?" he asked tentatively.
Glinda only faltered for a beat. "Sure," she agreed.
"Well, while you're in the bookstore, I might go check out the music store," Julyan said cheerfully. "I want to look at some sheet music for inspiration for the show."
"The showcase or Smell the Sparkle?" Boq asked.
"Either? Both? I just feel I'm missing something," Julyan complained. "But I don't know what. Glinda, what are you going to do?"
"I'll go with Boq," Glinda decided. "I'd be no use in a music store," she smiled, almost apologetically.
They agreed to meet up in an hour, and went their separate ways. The book store was dimly lit; and overflowing with books, which were organised in no real system to the naked eye unless you really knew your way around. In other words, Glinda thought, it was Elphaba's idea of heaven.
And then she felt like crying again.
Whilst Boq wasn't quite as well read as Elphaba, he looked quite content and at home as he browsed the shelves. Glinda found an armchair in a corner and took a seat, half-heartedly browsing at the books on the shelf nearby.
"How are you holding up?" Boq asked her suddenly.
Glinda looked over at him. "Fine. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be."
"Probably because Fiyero's not with you," Boq offered.
"Or because of my protection," Glinda smiled at him and she thought Boq blushed slightly.
"Those girls were sweet this morning," she added thoughtfully, flicking through a book on gardening. It was the closest book to her.
"They were," Boq agreed. "You think they're really going to make a scrapbook of the wedding?"
"I would have," Glinda answered immediately. "If there had been a royal wedding when I was their age? I would have been all over that."
She stared at the pictures of different breeds of red roses in the book she was browsing, not really seeing them.
"I think they're more excited about the wedding and me being their princess than I am," she said ruefully.
Boq's brow furrowed. "Glinda, you've been talking about being a princess since… forever."
"Not like this though," she countered.
Boq couldn't argue with that.
"Anyway, you were really great with them," he smoothly changed the subject, coming to sit beside her.
"You're going to be a really great mom. When the time comes," he added hastily, looking around the store in case anyone was in earshot.
"If it's a girl maybe," Glinda said wistfully. "I wouldn't know what to do with a boy."
"Fiyero probably feels the same way about having a girl," Boq reassured her.
"Except Fiyero doesn't have a slight obsession with the colour pink," Glinda pointed out.
Boq made a face, but said nothing.
"What?" Glinda demanded.
"Nothing," he said. "I just… slight? Really?"
The blonde laughed slightly and then her smile faded. "You've been spending too much time around…"
"Did you mean what you said to those girls? That you miss her?" Boq asked carefully.
Glinda paused. "Yes," she said slowly.
Then she abruptly rose to her feet. "I wonder if they have books on fashion here?" she asked aloud, and headed off to find a salesperson.
When they finally returned to Kiamo Ko late that afternoon, Boq laden down with Glinda's shopping bags; they headed up to Glinda's room to drop them off. On their way, they passed Fiyero's bedroom. The door was open and Fiyero was lying on his bed, reading a magazine.
"Hey, how was it?"
"Fun," Glinda smiled.
"That's one way to put it," Boq grumbled good-naturedly and Fiyero grinned. "I'm going to put these in your room," the Munchkin said to Glinda and continued down the hall.
Glinda took a step into the room and leaned against the doorframe.
"Fiyero? Do you have a preference on sex?"
Fiyero's eyes shot up to meet hers, looking slightly panicked.
"The baby's sex," Glinda clarified. "As in, boy or girl?"
Fiyero relaxed instantly. "Oh, right. Well… I suppose it has to be one or the other, right?"
She giggled. "It usually works that way, yes."
"I hadn't really thought about it," Fiyero admitted. "Although… honestly, the idea of having a girl terrifies me."
"The idea of having a boy terrifies me," Glinda said with a smile.
Fiyero sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Oz, we are going to screw this kid up. Either way, it's going to have one parent that'll be terrified for probably the first five years of its life."
Glinda's smile widened and she tentatively stepped further into the room. "Five years? You think if we have a girl, it'll take you five years to learn what to do with her?"
"I think no matter what the sex of the baby is, it'll take me at least that long," he nodded.
Glinda laughed.
"How was your day with Nessa?" she asked him.
"It was good once we got past all the politics stuff," he grinned.
"I was thinking… I'm picking my wedding dress tomorrow," she said awkwardly. "Do you think she'd like to be there? I miss her."
Glinda figured that wasn't a total lie- she did miss spending time with Nessa. Just not as much as she missed spending time with Elphaba.
"I think she'd appreciate the offer," Fiyero replied. "I know she's missed you too."
Glinda nodded. "OK. I'll ask her. Thanks."
Glinda thought it would be best if she went and saw Nessa now, before she changed her mind. She made her way to Nessa's room, and tapped lightly on the closed door.
"Come in!" came the returning call.
Nessa was sitting before the desk in the room, working on something.
"Hi. Are you busy?"
Nessa couldn't hide her surprise. "Hi. Um, no. Come in. I'm just writing to my father," she explained, grimacing a little at the end of her sentence.
Glinda nodded and entered the room, shutting the door behind her and gracefully taking a seat on the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Nessa asked her.
"I'm feeling fine, thank you," Glinda replied politely.
"How did Boq handle today's shopping spree?" Nessa asked, unable to stop a grin of her own.
Glinda giggled. "He held up better than anyone else would have, I think."
"Well, I don't know about myself, but I agree about Fiyero and-" Nessa stopped herself, tensing.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Glinda agreed, not acknowledging the awkwardness. "Um, listen I wanted to ask you something."
"Of course."
"Tomorrow I'm picking out my wedding dress," Glinda told her. "I wondered if you'd like to come."
Nessa looked surprised. "Really?"
Glinda tucked a curl behind her ear, glancing down at her knees. "Yeah, of course. You have lovely taste, and I'd like your opinion. It's going to be a day with all the girls, and Julyan," she added.
Nessa giggled. "I don't think he'd object to being 'one of the girls'," she smiled. Then she hesitated. "Glinda, are you sure? Because you'll have your mother and the queen. And you have your friends-"
"I've known them for years," Glinda nodded. "And they are dear friends of mine. But so are you. I really want you to be a part of this, Nessa. I'm sorry that the past few weeks-"
"No, I get it," Nessa hastily interrupted. "You know I do. We've talked about this, remember?"
Glinda nodded. "OK. But I miss spending time with you. So, will you help me pick my wedding dress tomorrow?"
Nessa beamed. "I'd like that."
She hesitated and then spoke up. "This might be a dumb question. I've never planned a wedding before. But… shouldn't have the wedding dress been the first thing you arranged?"
Glinda chuckled. "We waited in case I was showing," she explained, and Nessa nodded in understanding. Then a thought occurred to Glinda.
"You're coming to my bachelorette party, aren't you?"
Nessa paused warily. "What are you doing?"
Glinda laughed. "Nothing too crazy, I'm pregnant, remember? I can't exactly go out on the town and drink."
"Is that what you'd be doing if you weren't pregnant?"
The blonde shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "But we're keeping it low-key. Mykhaila's planning it. I think we're doing a high tea in the garden."
"When?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll check with Mykhaila."
"OK. Sounds nice."
Glinda felt lighter as she left Nessa's room a few minutes later. At least one part of this could be straightened out without too much awkwardness.
The next afternoon, all the women- and Julyan- gathered in the parlour to meet the designer Mrs Upland had sent for from the Emerald City.
Esmelda Fyggs was a well-dressed woman who appeared to be in her late fifties, and who immediately promised Glinda, Mrs Upland and Malika that she could be depended upon for discretion in this situation.
"Now, it's most common for women in your condition to go for an empire waistline. Which is lovely, but can sometimes be a bit of a giveaway, in my opinion," Esmelda said in an aside to Glinda.
"You're very fortunate that if you are showing, dear, it won't be very much. What I'm suggesting is an A-line dress. A slightly high waist, a flowing skirt and perhaps a belt or a sash and no one will notice a thing. Plus, it looks a tad more royal than an empire waist line."
Esmelda beamed at Glinda. "Would you like to try some on?"
"Sure," Glinda agreed.
How Esmelda had got them into the castle without anyone noticing, Glinda had no idea, but the designer had brought in racks upon racks of beautiful gowns for Glinda to try on.
Aeliana, Branca and Mykhaila immediately dove amongst the racks of lace, tulle and silk. Nessa went more slowly, wheeling herself forward and carefully inspecting each dress. The queen and her mother seemed content to sit back and talk with Esmelda for the time being. And Julyan dragged Glinda forward, flicking through the racks with a critical look.
"If you're a wedding planner, do you get to help the bride pick her dress?" he asked her, holding up an ivory lace one-shouldered gown before Glinda, before shaking his head and returning it to the rack.
Glinda giggled. "I don't think so."
Julyan made a disappointed face. "Damn. That would be fun."
Aeliana called out to Glinda, waving a dress before her. "Glinda! Try this one on!"
Glinda looked to Julyan, who nudged her forward. "Go on. Get into the spirit," he urged her.
Glinda briefly reflected she had never thought she would be unenthusiastic about choosing her wedding dress, before Aeliana handed her the dress and she was directed behind a screen to change.
Once she started trying on the dresses however, it was more fun and more like Glinda had always imagined. Glinda discoverated after a few gowns that Julyan, Nessa and Malika were her best bets for genuine feedback. Her mother was in tears after the first dress Glinda had tried on, and her bridesmaids deemed every dress "perfect".
Esmelda handed Glinda dress after dress to try, and when Glinda emerged from behind the screen, would look her up and down, purse her lips and hurry off to the racks once more.
It was Nessa who found the dress, in the end.
"Glinda? What do you think of this one?"
Glinda and Julyan turned to her, and Julyan's jaw dropped.
"Nessarose," he breathed. "It's perfect."
He hastened over and took it down off the rack, turning to Glinda as she approached.
"Isn't it perfect? Look, it's even got glitter!"
Glinda studied it carefully. It was a strapless dress with a lace bodice and a crystal sash around the waist. The flowing skirt was layers and layers of tulles, and Julyan was right- there was glitter in the skirt.
"It's gorgeous," she said in awe, gently running her fingers down the skirt.
"Go try it on," Nessa encouraged her with a smile.
For the first time that day, as Glinda changed into the beautiful dress, she felt a thrill run through her. This moment was at least, how she'd always pictured it. Well, mostly. It at least felt mostly like it did in her imagination.
The skirt of the dress billowed gently around her legs, and as Glinda stepped out from behind the screen, she was genuinely beaming for the first time.
Mykhaila and Aeliana squealed, and Mrs Upland burst into a fresh wave of tears. Esmelda and Julyan bustled around her, making sure everything fit perfectly. Glinda looked past Branca to meet Nessa's gaze, who smiled softly, although Glinda thought she looked slightly pained.
"You look beautiful," Nessa said simply.
Glinda smiled gratefully. Malika, her mother and Esmelda were discussing veils, jewellery and how to style her hair, capturing her attention; but Glinda held onto the three little words from Nessarose, as though in a way, she was standing in for the one person Glinda had always expected would be here in this moment.
AN. Check my blog to see Glinda's dress. Thanks to Tumblr peeps wickedthemusicalaustralia, kateandtheuniverse and... someone who am totally blanking on right now (sorry!) for the creation of all the OC's in this chapter!