A/N: Thanks for the Reviews! Much appreciated! I do hope, that you will enjoy this chapter as well Off in a few hours to the Behind the Scenes at the German Production in Oberhausen. I'm hoping to get some more inspiration there and will post the next few chapters asap. They're already written, by the way. So I'll concentrate on getting the Elphaba actress to switch her outfit with Fieryo's and whisk the Glinda one off into a dance, so I can take a picture of them..hmm..or maybe something else..;-) Stay tuned!xoxo
Glinda had felt Elphaba's uneasiness.
Of course, she had thought, the castle bore a lot of memories for the green girl.
Memories, which the former wicked witch wasn't as used to as she was by now.
Good naturedly, Glinda had joined in the fun, which had successfully served in releasing at least some of the tension that had gathered itself to attack unsuspecting passersby in the emerald halls.
Incidentally, the memories that were creeping up on the blonde, weren't as distant ones.
Coming back, on soft soled shoes from her early morning tour to the graveyard, hiding from the guards…
Walking by, her feet hurting , from yet another ball...
Or even just muttering to herself, some speech or another.
Glinda, too, had memories.
Unpleasant ones.
Recent ones.
Memories, most of them, of mourning Elphaba.
The constant green surrounding her at all times of the day hadn't made forgetting her, even if but for a moment, an easy task.
The emerald walls had consistently reminded her of her former roommate, bearing the same color.
They had echoed back at her with her loneliness.
And now, now, she was unsure of what to believe.
Had Elphaba really returned, or had she simply dreamt this?
Was she dreaming, still?
Or had she dreamt, the rest?
Had the girl never left?
And now finally woken?
Her heart surely seemed to chose the latter.
There she was, Elphaba, all warm and alive, her heart beating strongly against her cheek.
She could even hear it, almost, through the thick jacket of the dress uniform.
Her pulse beat heavily in an artery at her neck, Glinda was able to see, probably from the strain the taller girl was under, carrying her.
It were odd things like that, that after all, made Glinda believe, at least a little bit, in reality.
They had arrived in her chambers by now.
"Set me down." With a quick look at Elphaba, she saw, that the other woman was looking at her, unsure if the fun was to continue, or whether they would be getting down to business.
Obviously that was something she dreaded as much as Glinda did.
The Ruler of Oz felt the insecurity in the green girl's eyes soften her heart a little, that traitorous organ.
"Please." She added softly.
Elphaba quickly complied, taking in the setup of the room.
Anything that didn't make her have to look at her friend, who now lived here.
"Chistery," Glinda turned to the Monkey.
"Would you be so kind as to make us some tea?"
The time for talking had obviously come.
When Glinda turned back from addressing her request, Elphaba still stood, unmoved, her eyes bright and burning.
Her shoulders were thrown back a little and her lips tightly set.
She was obviously bracing herself.
Sighing, Glinda motioned over to one of the heavily cushioned chairs.
"Do sit." noticing her commandeering tone, she blushed briefly, "If you will." She corrected herself.
There had been numerous people in and out of her official study, and old habits died hard.
Elphaba sat down awkwardly and slowly her eyes traveled from between her hands back to Glinda, who had sat herself down only a few feet away, studying her.
The green woman knew that she needed to make haste, since Glinda had doubtlessly not only sent the Monkey away to make tea, but also to have some private time.
Hand he would return soon enough.
But as much as she tried, words weren't forthcoming.
There was so much to explain, to say..but but the only thing that would come was:
"I'm sorry."
The green witch was still looking at her folded hands and did not notice the change coming over the current Ruler of Oz.
Glinda swallowed hard.
"You're sorry." she repeated tonelessly.
Elphaba suddenly looked up at her strange voice.
"You're sorry." Glinda said again, this time a little louder.
Before Elphaba had time to realize what her old friend was doing, a glass bowl flew by her head.
It would have missed her, even if she had not ducked by instinct, but Glinda sure had her attention now.
"You're sorry?" this time it was a question Glinda uttered quietly, as she rose to stand.
She lifted a quite worse for wear looking plant up from the side table.
To hurl its pot in her direction.
The shards joined its predecessor on the purple carpeting the soil mixing in with the jagged edges of glass and broken pottery.
"Sorry!"Glinda yelled with a bitter laugh.
She rose her arms into the air and did a few little dance steps.
"Sorry..sorry ..sorry" she sang.
Elphaba was briefly wondering, if she had gone truly insane now.
A big ball of splinters formed in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.
But even before the thought was quite finished, Glinda was at her chair, grasping the armrests so tightly, her knuckles stood out clearly against the white cloth of her satin gloves.
The muscles on her left side, where the dress had left her arm and upper chest bare, clenched with the effort.
"Miss Wicked Witch," Glinda spit at her in a sing song voice, her face mere inches from Elphaba's "would you care to enlighten me, as to what you are sorry for?"
Her blue eyes gleamed dangerously..madly.
Elphaba opened her mouth to speak, but no words were coming forward.
There was still this great big sphere of hurt, pricking her, taking even her voice away.
Tears were burning in her green eyes, but would not fall and release them from their liquid imprisonment.
Disbelief and pain were etched in her face, as the green woman slowly shook her head in defeat.
Glinda unfastened her right hand from the armrest of the chair and ran her tongue along the length of her palm.
She then touched it to Elphaba's temple and in one solid stroke drew her palm roughly down the side of her face, dislodging most of the concealing make up in its wake.
"Oh,look!" she sang mockingly, spinning back into the room.
"It's the Green Girl!"
When she turned her face back towards Elphaba, her eyes were burning with tears.
There was an unutterable sadness in them.
"Guess what?" she suddenly whispered into the room towards the seated woman.
Lunging hastily towards a side table, she took a glass of water she had left there before heading down to the ball.
With a swift motion, she simply threw it into Elphaba's face.
"The green girl didn't melt."
Elphaba's eyes widened.
She didn't bother to remove the liquid from her face.
Instead, her hands fastened themselves around the arms of her chair, in shock.
"You knew?" she whispered.
Glinda looked at her, genuinely hurt.
She bit her lip tightly.
Her voice broke.
"You thought I didn't?"
Elphaba's own eyes were stinging with the still unshed tears.
That..that ball in her midst had now dulled into a hammer, that was beating against her numb sides.
"You…you left me, thinking you were dead?" Glinda's voice was a mere breath now.
"Well, what were you thinking?" Elphaba almost yelled back at her, recognizing her mistake.
She was beginning to cry in earnest now.
"That you.." Glinda's voice still had that completely soundless, squeaky, quality to it, that made Elphaba want to tear her heart from her chest, simply so she wouldn't feel it hurting there.
"You..left."
Glinda, defeated, sat down on the carpet in disbelief.
This hurt more than she had tears for.
Her eyes had found a bland spot on the purple, that they focused on.
"You took your little prince to run away with in the sunset for an eternal holiday, and…and left..me behind to take care of business."
She looked back at Elphaba her eyes swimming.
"Never to return."
"You needed me." Elphaba was still crying, but she smiled at the blonde on the floor, seeing the small opening that she was giving her.
"Really?" Glinda looked at her questioningly.
"I..I could feel you..it..I" she remembered those long nights, spent with a baby in her arms, reaching..reaching out of the window,towards the east..where she knew Glinda was.
Glinda looked at her again, her face blank.
Elpahab wasn't sure if the blonde had felt her, then..if she knew that she was speaking the truth or if she even had an inkling of what she was referring to.
"I needed you?" Glinda looked up at her, her lashes wet with the tears she refused to cry.
"Because of a man or two with dark intentions?"she swallowed back more tears.
Elphaba knew that she was trying to get at something else, but anger took her temper away, before reason could.
"Damn you, Glinda!" she said, now hurting herself , "I..I..left my child behind for you!"
With that she had gotten out of the chair she had felt herself previously rooted to.
The memory had been too much.
Herself, sitting by the candle, reaching out for Glinda..thinking about her..hoping with everything, that she had, that she was alright..convincing herself, that it was better for the blonde, not to know that she was alive.
And all the while an infant crying or two..all the the singing and comforting.
The small hands and the tiny feet.
And a depressive scarecrow at her heels.
It hadn't been the long and blissful holiday Glinda had imagined.
She,too, had been hurting for the other woman's absence.
Startled, Elphaba, realized just how much.
She intently kept studying the fireplace, in which a small fire was still holding up its fight against extinction.
"Ch..child?" Glinda felt betrayal alternate with guilt, at Elphaba's previous exclamation.
The blonde remained seated on the floor, senselessly brushing her hand over the rough carpet.
She couldn't look at Elphaba anymore.
The green woman bit her lip at the tears that were freely running down her wet face.
"Actually..", she said ever so softly, "Children. Twins."
Her eyes did not leave the fire.
Glinda watched her now, startled at the addendum.
Of course, her form, framed now, by the soft firelight, made more sense.
The roundedness of her hips, the more voluminous chest.
Children.
Glinda swallowed hard.
"Congratulations." She said with a catch in her voice.
"Fieryo must be so proud."she added tonelessly.
Surprised, Elphaba turned around.
"It's..it's.." she guessed what Glinda was assuming.
But the other woman was studying the carpet again, intently, as though she had lost something there.
"Glinda.", Elphaba, desperate, knelt down beside her, and took both of the other woman's hands.
The blonde looked up, sadness entering her eyes again.
"Elphaba, it's ok, I understand.", she swallowed again.
"You are here to help me out with the dark menace, or whatever these impertinent fools call themselves, and then, you'll hop along back to your dream husband and raise your perfect little family."
Despite the bitterness of her words, Glinda put a hand over the white gloved one.
"I'm happy for you." She said softly.
Elphaba looked at her, as though it was her turn to wonder at whether she was awake or dreaming.
Her eyes then fell onto the satin covered fingers that Glinda had put over hers.
She didn't raise them again, as she continued to speak.
"I left him.." she said simply.
Actually, she didn't really know what she was going to do, should she succeed in helping Glinda.
Her plans had been rather, well, limited.
She only knew, that Fieryo had been draining the life out of her, and that she needed to protect Glinda.
But going back to him had never been an option.
The blonde looked at her, not quite understanding.
"For Good." The former wicked witch added.
Now it was Glinda's turn to absentmindedly let her gaze linger on their hands.
Her eyes raised themselves to Elphaba's questioningly.
The green girl knew that she needed to elaborate somewhat.
"I…I don't know, what I am going to do." She stuttered on.
"But..but..I am here..to help you, you know." Elphaba looked at her, the hint of a smile playing about her lips.
When Glinda looked at her, still unsure, she twisted the corner of her mouth up into a lopsided smile.
"If you'll have me, that is.."
Glinda sighed heavily, despite herself.
"That has never been the question, Elph.."she caught herself just in time, before she could utter the familiar endearment, "..aba."
"Of course..of course.." she muttered to their hands that were joined still, " you can stay."
Her voice grew into a vulnerable whisper again.
"I just don't know if you actually will."
She trailed off, sadly studying their covered fingers.
"If you don't mind.." Elphaba carefully began, trying to steer the topic of their talk towards more practical matters.
"I will ask Chistery to bring Nessa here." Glinda looked at her blinking twice, not understanding.
"You could meet her tomorrow."
Glinda raised an eyebrow.
"She's my eldest."Elphaba added quickly.
Glinda, equally glad to be edging away from the loaded question of trust between them, raised her other eyebrow to join its brethren.
"You named her after your sister?" she asked incredulous.
"Well, yes." Elphaba shrugged her shoulders and moved to get up from the squatting position, that was beginning to hurt her knees.
"Well, Elphaba..I hate to say it, but" Glinda, getting up as well, with some help from the taller girl, glanced at her sideways.
"You know, I mean your sister.." she saw Elphaba beginning to brace herself for her dead sister's defense.
"She really was quite the..witch."Glinda closed, smiling.
Elphaba laughed loudly, smiling back at her.
As they walked over to the kitchen for their tea, Chistery had been discreet or afraid enough to hide away there permanently it seemed, Glinda asked casually.
"So and the other? Boy or girl? Did you name him or her after your father or your mother?"
Elphaba stopped beside her.
Glinda, noticing her sudden hesitation turned towards her.
"It's a girl..two girls..", she said, "Her eyes suddenly cast to the ground again in shyness.
"Her name is.." and she caught the glinting blue eyes from underneath the hair, that was again, unruly as always, beginning to fall into her face.
"Galinda."
Upon this, the shorter woman grimaced, almost as if in pain.
Looking straight ahead, she simply took Elphaba's hand and led her towards the kitchen, while outside the walls of the emerald castle, the sun was already rising.