Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Written: 2005 Found: 2017- Licia
She quickly smoothed her skirt for the hundredth time, nervous, though there was no need to be.
"It's just lunch. That's all it is."
"Glinda, dear, they're here." She looked up to find Illnora in the doorway of her room, and after a moment, got up, following her mother downstairs.
After realizing that Elphaba had survived the massacre in Fliaan, she'd gone to the papers and declared that her cousin indeed had survived; suddenly, newspapers and magazine reporters had lined up to speak with her, begging to get a glimpse of the missing royal.
She stopped by the coffee table, seeing the newspaper article and the blaring headline-
FLIAANIAN PRINCESS FOUND AFTER TEN YEARS!
LADY GLINDA UPLAND CONFIRMS THAT ORPHAN IS INDEED HER MISSING COUSIN!
She sighed. Oh why had you gone to the papers?
The door opened and the maid led the pair in. Elphaba was dressed in a very pretty navy blue dress, her hair pulled back in a braid, hands encased in black gloves. She looked truly lovely, and Glinda smiled when she laid eyes on her. Her companion wore a dark tan suit, and a pair of black gloves. "Elphaba." The young woman accepted her hug, and after a moment, Glinda added, "You do realize that Melena Tibbett will be here soon; that she wishes to meet with you. You remember her, don't you?"
The girl bit her lip, a flash of doubt crossing her features momentarily. "I... I have... foggy memories of her. I remember her father, but... it's been so long since... I might remember her when I see her... I'm sorry-"
Glinda reached out, taking the girl's hands and stopping her from her nervous wringing. "It's perfectly okay to be nervous, Fabala."
The girl nodded in agreement. A moment passed, before she turned to her companion, slipping her arm through his. "I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce you both last time we were here. Glinda, this is," She turned to her companion, squeezing his arm. He nodded softly to her, gently patting the hand the rested in the crook of his arm. "This is my husband, Fiyero."
Glinda's ears perked up at the name, and she met his gaze, one thought passing between the pair- betrothed to the Vinkun Crown Prince, Fiyero. "Ah... Fiyero?" Elphaba nodded. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Fiyero. How... how did you two meet?"
"In Nest Hardings-"
"Nest Hardings? What were both of you doing there?" Illnora asked, entering the foyer and guiding them into the sitting room. The couple exchanged a look as they took seats on the sofa, before Fiyero spoke up.
"I... struck out on my own as a teenager, I was determined to make my own way in the world, and... after working several different jobs, I ended up in Munchkinland." He gently squeezed her hand, telling her silently that it was okay to talk, that she had no need to be nervous.
"I, well, I..." She scoffed gently, biting her lower lip. "You're going to think I'm insane, but I don't really know how I ended up in Munchkinland."
"I don't understand dear, what do you mean you don't know how you-" Illnora started, but Elphaba cut her off, rubbing her forehead.
"I know, it sounds completely crazy, but I was found... I was found wandering around in the rain in only a nightgown in the fields in Munchkinland when I was fourteen-years-old, and taken into an orphanage by the woman who ran it. I... I had no real memory of who I was or where I came from, in fact, I have very few memories of my past, and the memories I do have, have been coming back from the time I basically left the orphanage until now. When Yero and I met in Nest Hardings, he said he could maybe help me remember who I was and find my family."
The Upland women exchanged a glance. "So... you don't remember who you are?" Illnora asked.
"I'm starting to remember. Everything is... everything is starting to fall into place again, and I'm starting to remember more and more."
Before anyone else could speak, the maid entered with a couple behind her. "Ms. Tibbett and her brother are here, Ma'am." Everyone turned, and Elphaba let her gaze land on the pair. The woman was older- much older than herself- and wore her long brown hair in a twist at the back of her head. The young man was dressed in a nice suit, his hair slicked back. Both studied her, and after a moment, she stood, going to them, even when Fiyero reached out to stop her.
"Be careful, Kauri, or you'll prick your fingers with the needle and then my papa will have to sew you up."
"You taught me how to sew when I was a child. You told me to be careful with the needle, otherwise your papa would have to sew me up."
The older woman started, surprised to be approached in such a way. She gave herself a few moments to recover, and allowed herself to drink in the sight of the girl. She was slender, tall, but it was her face that startled her the most. Those eyes... that nose... the-
"Diamonds." Her brother turned to her.
"What did you say, Milla?" She turned to look at her brother, not catching the recognition in the girl's eyes at her childhood nickname.
"The diamonds. She has the diamonds, Boq. The diamonds by her eyes." She pulled away, making her way towards the girl and studying her face. After a moment, she reached out, asking to take the girl's hand, which Elphaba gave her. Slowly, she pulled the glove off, before letting her gaze wander over the girl's hand. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, before doing the same with the other hand. Once more finding nothing, she asked, "Would you be willing to unbutton your dress, so that I could see your back?"
The girl glanced at Glinda and Fiyero, brow furrowed, and Glinda stood. "I don't know-"
But Milla held up a hand. "The princess had a cluster of small moles in the center of her back. I know because I remember going with Papa whenever the empress called for him to check on the children. She was always worried about the cluster on Elphaba's back, that it was possibly causing her pain, but it was never removed." Glinda glanced at Elphaba, who understood what she was asking,
If it's all right with you.
Slowly, she nodded.
"Perhaps we should move this to one of the bedrooms upstairs." Illnora suggested, and after several moments, they did. Once behind closed doors, the maid helped Elphaba undress. As the material slowly pooled at her feet, Elphaba reached up and tugged her braid over her shoulder. Glinda and Fiyero watched in silence at Milla moved to study the girl's back and stopped, gasping. She quickly covered her mouth, and instantly her brother joined her.
"Milla, I've told you, there's no way this girl is the missing princess-" But he stopped, and after several minutes, the others joined them. She looked up at Fiyero, confused.
"What is it?"
A moment passed, before he moved to see what everyone else was looking at-
There, in the center of her back, was a cluster of small moles.