AN: Um... hi. *crickets chirp* Yeah... sorry for the long wait. *more crickets* Anyone still there?
Anyway, I'm back now... we're getting to the actual chapters, the ones I like, instead of the fillers, so I hope to be updating more in the near future, but my original story is just eating away a lot of my time right now, along with uni. Uni is crazy at the moment.
Woodland59: No, that's not strange. It's kind of stupid, because I didn't really intend for it to happen, but somehow, similarities sneaked in :3. (Did you see that, Musicgal3? I just said 'sneaked', not 'snuck'. Aren't you proud of me?)
Glinda of Canada: I totally agree with that law.
Anyway, I have a reputation to uphold, so you're not going to like this chapter because it ends with a cliffy. But I'll try to update soon again.
Chapter 29. Let me be your ruler
One afternoon Aurya came home more excited than the green girl had ever seen her. 'Elphaba!'
The younger mermaid looked up, slightly dazed. She'd been studying her magic all day long, as she had been doing for the past week or so. She was still determined to bring Morrible down, but she recognised now that she needed to learn more about her magic and make sure she could control it better before she would be able to do so.
Fiyero, Cohvu and Galinda had temporarily returned to Adurin Iir. They had been hesitant to go, especially Fiyero; but Aurya had explained that it wasn't healthy for humans to stay under the water for too long, and that it would be best for them if they would go back for a while. Elphaba had assured them that she would be alright, and she had pointed out that Lori and Hamold would also want to know about everything that had happened.
'Besides,' she'd said, 'it's not as if I'll be completely alone. I have Aurya.'
'You won't do anything rash, will you?' Cohvu asked a bit worriedly, and Elphaba had promised him she wouldn't.
'I have no idea how long this will take,' she had admitted, 'but I'll make sure to keep you updated. If anything happens, anything at all, I'll find a way to let you know.'
Finally, they had all reluctantly agreed, and Aurya and Elphaba had accompanied them back to the beach near Adurin Iir. That had been about a week ago. With nothing else to do, Elphaba had thrown herself onto her magic then, determined to master every bit of it she could master.
Now, she was blinking at her aunt. 'What's wrong?'
'Nothing,' Aurya assured her cheerfully. 'Nothing is wrong. On the contrary. Elphaba… the people are standing up to Morrible.'
Elphaba's eyes widened. 'The people… what?' she asked, baffled.
Aurya laughed. 'They're standing up to her,' she repeated. 'They want her gone. They want you to be their ruler, Elphaba. They want you to take over. But in order to do that, we're going to have to do something about Morrible first.'
Elphaba nodded slowly, her mind reeling. 'Alright.'
'Do you think you're ready?'
Elphaba hesitated, then nodded again. 'I guess,' she said. 'I mean… I don't think I'll ever be completely ready, but I feel ready. I know so much more about my magic now. I still have trouble controlling it, but my spells have certainly improved… I guess I could take her.'
Aurya smiled at her encouragingly. 'I know you can do it, Elphaba,' she said. 'And perhaps there won't even have to be any magic involved.'
Elphaba looked up again, surprised.
'If the people choose you,' Aurya continued, 'and refuse to accept Morrible as their leader any longer, then you will have all the power. You could have her thrown in jail. You could banish her. Anything you'd like. You'd be the Queen, after all.'
The mere thought made Elphaba dizzy. She gaped at Aurya for a few moments, blinking. 'You know?' she said finally. 'If I had known all this when I was still an oblivious teenage human girl, living at Adurin Iir, I don't think I would have done this.' As she was saying it, she realised that it was true. 'If I had known that this was what would happen if I went to look for the truth about my past, I think I would have been fine living my life not knowing.'
'But you do know now,' Aurya pointed out quietly, and Elphaba sighed and nodded.
'I do,' she admitted. 'And now that I do, I can't turn my back on it. It's just… this is so not what I ever expected to find.'
Aurya smiled and patted her niece's arm. 'I know,' she said. 'But it's very brave of you that you're doing this nonetheless.'
She cocked her head a little to the side. 'Want me to go and fetch Fiyero and your friends?' she asked knowingly, and Elphaba laughed.
'You read my mind,' she said. 'I mean… I'd prefer to do this without them, and not put them in any danger, but, well… they'd kill me.'
Aurya grinned. 'True. Alright, I'll go get them, and you go over those spells once more, just to be sure, okay?'
Elphaba nodded and watched her aunt leave. Her heart was pounding in her chest by now. This was it. It would happen today. Either she would defeat Morrible… or Morrible would defeat her.
She was ready.
She had to laugh at Fiyero's greeting when he saw her. He pretty much launched himself at her, sending them both flying backwards a little, as he caught her around the waist and hugged her tightly. 'I missed you.'
She smiled and kissed him. 'I missed you, too.'
'ELPHIE!' Galinda was next, of course, tackling her friend in a bear hug, after which Cohvu basically attacked the green girl as well. The four of them ended up in a heap on the ocean floor.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'It's been a week,' she pointed out. 'What would happen if I were to be apart from you for longer than that?'
'We'd have to scrape Fiyero off the floor,' Galinda giggled.
Cohvu snickered. 'True,' he agreed. 'Seriously, he's the example of 'heartache' when you're not there.'
Elphaba looked at the prince, suddenly no longer smiling. That wasn't true… was it?
As if reading her mind, Fiyero slipped his fingers into hers and squeezed her hand softly. 'Well, you're here now, aren't you?' he said, trying to make light of the situation, but Elphaba just bit her lip and didn't say anything else.
They set out for the underwater palace not long thereafter, and the rest of the day passed in a blur for Elphaba. She was met with several high officials, who all asked her questions in order to try and confirm that she really was their lost princess – even though anyone who had known Melena could see that Elphaba must be her daughter, for they looked so much alike. She had to give a speech to her people and she was informed that Morrible had retreated to a place outside the kingdom, at which Elphaba declared the old hag banished from the kingdom forever. If anyone caught sight of her, they were to report her immediately, and she would be thrown in jail.
It was a long day, yet it was also slightly unrealistic; and apparently, Elphaba wasn't the only one feeling that way.
'I can't help but feel like this was kind of an anticlimax,' Cohvu complained when they were having dinner in the palace that night. 'I can't help it – I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop.'
Galinda furrowed her brow in confusion. 'No-one here wears shoes,' she said, puzzled.
Cohvu just laughed and kissed her cheek. 'You're adorable.'
'You're right,' Elphaba said, steering the conversation back to the original topic. 'I feel the same way. It's just… I feel like it's been too easy, you know?'
'Things don't always have to be difficult,' Aurya reminded her. 'Like I said, Elphaba, you're the rightful ruler. People here don't only accept you; they respect you. They know your story now, which makes them hate Morrible even more. They believe you. They listen to you. The fact that I'm sitting here, in the royal palace, without being dragged off to prison, proves that more than anything.'
Elphaba smiled at her. 'Well, I'm glad I could finally clear your name,' she said honestly. 'After all these years…'
Aurya shrugged. 'The time wasn't right,' she said. 'Not until now. Only now were you ready to take your rightful place and do everything you've done today.'
'Perhaps that is what bothers us,' Cohvu spoke up thoughtfully. 'I mean… it's been a day. One day. Like I said – it feels like an anticlimax.'
'But then again,' said Elphaba, 'perhaps we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.'
'And it hasn't been just one day,' Aurya reminded the others. 'We've been working on this for months now. Ever since Elphaba discovered her true nature.'
'Has it really only been a couple of months?' the green girl asked, stunned. 'It feels like a lifetime.'
The others agreed.
'So what's the plan now?' Galinda asked. 'Princess Elphie,' she added, before bursting out in a fit of giggles. 'This is so swankified!' she declared. 'Princess Elphie!' She grimaced. 'You're not going to make us call you 'Your Highness', are you?'
Elphaba rolled her eyes and laughed. 'Of course not, silly.'
Galinda started dancing around the room. 'Prince Fifi and Princess Elphie!'
Elphaba buried her face in her arms. Fiyero smacked his forehead.
'Seriously, though,' Aurya said when Galinda had taken her seat again. 'What are you going to do, Elphaba?'
She thought about that for a moment. 'I think I should stay here for some more time,' she said. 'To make sure everything goes the way it's supposed to go, to get to know my people and allow them to get to know me. And to make sure Morrible doesn't come back.'
'I think that's a wise decision,' Aurya agreed.
Galinda elbowed Cohvu in the stomach. 'Do you hear that? She already sounds like a real Queen!' she squealed. 'Elphie, can't I be your head advisor, or something like that?'
Everyone sitting around the table laughed at that. 'Yeah, sure, Glin,' Elphaba said, amused. 'And what would you advise me? To paint the kingdom pink? To forbid everyone from wearing unfashionable fishtails?'
Galinda squealed again. 'Elphie, that's an amazifying idea!'
Elphaba sniggered. 'I was joking, Glin.'
The blonde's face fell. Cohvu grinned, but put his arm around her shoulders. 'It's okay, honey. We'll find something for you to paint pink,' he promised.
'So you're staying here for now,' Fiyero concluded, and Elphaba nodded, squeezing his hand.
'You're all welcome to stay, too,' Aurya offered. 'The palace is big enough, and it shouldn't take too long, should it, Elphaba?'
The younger mermaid didn't really reply, only nodded vaguely, which merely added to the uncomfortable feeling Fiyero had had ever since they had been reunited. There was something about her behaviour that he didn't like. As if she knew something that he didn't.
Over the course of the next week or so, Elphaba continued to try and get the government back on track, participating in endless meeting with advisors and high officials and trying to get everything working again the way it should. She worked hard to prove to the people that she could be trusted and would do the right thing for them – not just by fulfilling her duties as the Crown Princess, but also by going out into the streets to meet the merpeople face-to-face, getting to know them.
Fiyero was immensely proud of her, and he could tell that the others were, too; but the closer Elphaba became to Aurya and the other merpeople, the further she seemed to drift away from her friends, and Fiyero was not the only one noticing that. When Elphaba came up to them one day and completely out of the blue told them that they would have to leave the next day, Galinda bristled.
'Elphie,' she said sternly. 'What in Oz is going on?'
'What do you mean, what is going on?' Elphaba said irritably. 'Nothing is going on. You just need to go home. You remember what Aurya said last time – it's not healthy for humans to stay under the water for this long.'
Galinda was already shaking her head. 'That's not what I'm talking about and you know it,' she said. 'You've been distant and moodified lately. You barely ever talk to us anymore. You were always closed and you never talked about your problems much, but now it's just starting to get ridiculous. You're shutting us out and I don't like it.'
Elphaba sighed and gave in, sinking down onto a bench. 'Fine,' she complied. 'What do you want me to say?'
Cohvu sat down next to her. 'How are you feeling, for one?' he asked her.
She bit her lip. 'I'm okay,' she said finally. 'I mean… it's still confusing and a bit terrifying – I have no idea what to do, and it's kind of scary to know that every decision you make might have consequences for an entire kingdom… but I'm learning. I'll be fine. Besides, Aurya is helping me.'
Cohvu nodded. Galinda perched in his lap, looking at her friend seriously. 'And why do you want us to go home?'
Elphaba sighed. 'I just don't like the thought of you getting hurt,' she said softly. 'Morrible might still try and come back – in fact, I'm convinced that she will. She doesn't seem like the type to give up this easily. And if she does… I don't want to drag you guys into it.' She looked at Fiyero. 'That already happened one time too often.'
He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. 'Fae,' he said. 'I'm still here. I know you were scared – I was, too – but it ended well, didn't it?'
'It did,' she acknowledged. 'But it might not next time.'
He sighed.
Cohvu peered at the green girl, his eyes narrowed. 'There's still something you're not saying,' he said accusingly.
Elphaba closed her eyes. 'Can we do this some other time?' she asked. 'Please?'
'What other time?' Cohvu demanded. 'You're trying to send us back to shore tomorrow!'
'But… you're coming with us,' Galinda said in a small voice. 'Aren't you?'
Elphaba averted her gaze.
'Elphie?'
Fiyero gently placed his hands on the young mermaid's shoulders, massaging them lightly. 'Guys, just leave her be,' he told the others. 'There's still plenty of time for us to talk when we get back to Adurin Iir. Isn't there?'
Cohvu and Galinda just looked at him. Elphaba swam a few metres away from them, knowing that she had to tell them now.
She turned around to look at them, wrapping her arms around her waist. 'No,' she said softly. 'There isn't.'
Galinda squeaked softly and buried her face in Cohvu's shoulder. Cohvu stared at his green friend.
Fiyero swam forward, too, to take her hands in his again. 'Fae,' he said. 'Of course there's time. I understand that you still have things to take care of here, but we'll be waiting for you. It'll be fine, really.'
She shook her head slowly. 'You don't understand,' she said.
He looked at her, confused.
'Yero…' She pulled away her hands, lowering her gaze. 'I'm not coming back with you.'
He stared at her. He knew what she was most likely saying, yet he decided to play dumb, purely because he didn't want to believe it. 'You mean you want to spend some more one-on-one time with your aunt, and get to know the merpeople?' he asked. 'That's fine, of course – you could just come back later, and…'
'Fiyero.'
He faltered and looked up. Now she did meet his gaze, and the fact that her doe-like eyes were filled with sadness, didn't do much to reassure him. 'Yes?' he croaked.
She shook her head. 'I'm not coming back, Yero,' she said softly. 'At all.'
