Chapter Thirty-Six
Elphaba woke from her day and a half slumber to the sun hitting her eyes from the uncovered parts of her window. She looked around and took note of where she was- the Vinkus, in her old room, and she looked to find Rao's crib sitting at the foot of her bed and she smiled. She gathered herself and got out of bed, stiffening at her soreness and she went out to find the rest of her family.
She carefully walked her way down the corridor and to the one of the many common rooms to find Fiyero holding Rao. When he saw Elphaba, he smiled at stood, saying, "Good morning, sunshine."
She smiled back at him and he went over to her and gave her a small kiss, "How are you feeling?"
She replied, "Very sore, but better than I was. My hand is starting to feel a lot better, too."
He said, "That's great, Fae. Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"
He replied, "No, I'm fine. I bet it's time for this bandage to come off, though. Would you mind giving me a hand?"
He put Rao down on the floor, gently, and helped Elphaba unwrap the bandage covering her hand. When her hand was completely free, both Fiyero and Elphaba noticed the strangeness that was there. The majority of her hand, the part that had been burned in the fire, was fully healed and with slight scarring, also brought something else. Elphaba's hand was, in fact, cream colored, like that of Taj's or Glinda's.
She looked at Fiyero in confusion and he found no words. However it happened, the fire burned her green pigment away and left a normal-looking pigment behind. Elphaba furrowed her brow and she felt an immense sadness come over her.
"Fae-"
"Fiyero," she said, interrupting him, "Are you seeing what I am seeing?"
He slowly nodded his head, and she looked at him, and back at her hand.
"My hand, my skin…it's normal."
Fiyero proceeded with caution, "Are you ok?"
Elphaba paused in thought, "I…I'm not sure. This has my mind going in a million different directions. How is this even possible?" she said, turning to him.
He shrugged and said, "I don't know. I can call a doctor and have him over in a few-"
She stopped him, "No, it's alright. I'm fine. Just…just don't worry about it." Elphaba finished, surprisingly calm. She turned to Rao and Fiyero watched as she remained very tranquil. He was worried; she seemed too calm for something of this caliber.
After several more quiet minutes Elphaba excused herself from her family and before she was out of the room, Fiyero asked, "Are you sure you're alright, Fae?"
She hesitated before replying, "I'm…I'm not sure. I just need to clear my head."
He looked at her with concern and nodded, adding, "I'm here if you need me." And with that, she left the room and he watched as she faded down the hallway, out of sight.
He turned to his son and sighed. He said, "If only I knew what was going through her head, buddy. Then we'd know so much."
Elphaba walked quickly down the hallway, covering the new skin on her hand from anyone passing by. Once she made it into a far off study, she uncovered it and took a closer look. Her skin was slightly tan, and not as pale as she remembered her sister's skin being. Every spot that the flames touched was no longer green. She was perplexed and dumbfounded for the first time in her life.
She walked further into the study and held her hand close to her body. She reached the back of the study and stopped dead in her tracks- there was a fire burning at the back wall. She looked as the flames danced and teased her. She looked down at her hand and back at the flames, feeling a sense of curiosity and wonder.
Then she took a deep breath, and stepped towards the flames.