Elphaba:
Oh, fuck, that stupid little girl.
I set Cassie down in her crib and whirled to face the little brat.
"Where are your friends, then, you little murderer?" I asked her in a high-pitched hiss. Confusion evinced itself across her innocent features.
"But…but…but…the baby?" she managed finally.
Was Cassie truly enough to convince her of my humanity? I allowed myself a momentary fantasy of telling her all, this child whose plainspoken words and honest face made truthfulness nearly mandatory. Nearly.
No. Even if she would believe me, Boq wouldn't, the others wouldn't. I can't put Cassie and Fiyero and Addie at risk.
A thought came to me, of how to answer the girl's question. I am not saying that. I cannot say that. My acting abilities do not go that far.
I had no choice.
"Haven't you ever heard, little girl, that sacrifices and innocent blood are needed for spells?"
Cassie laughed from her crib. At least she won't hate me for that.
The girl's mouth dropped open.
"Isn't she…isn't she yours?"
"Hah!" I hate myself. I hate this girl for making me do this. "No! Her father crossed me, now he's straw and she's going to make me immortal!"
Where do I get these things? I frighten myself sometimes, I really do.
"She looks like you," the girl said stubbornly.
"Don't be ridiculous, you little idiot. I tire of your protestations." I stalked towards her and she stumbled back into the wall. "Now, where are your friends?"
"I-I don't know, a monkey, with wings, brought me here."
Chistery, you blithering idiot. If only he'd talk, and clarify his instructions, he'd have known that he wasn't supposed to get her for another hour, and I wouldn't have had to be pretending I was going to kill my daughter, even if she did find it funny.
"Who sent you here?" Three guesses and the first two don't count.
"No one!" Wrong.
"Try again."
"Glinda?"
"No, you stupid little girl, the Wizard, the Wizard of Oz! Didn't he send you here to kill me?"
"Well…to, to get your broom."
Asshole. Can't even let a broom out of his grasp, can he?
"Well, it's not going to happen!" I declared. He's not the only one who can be ridiculously stubborn. "And since you're here, you awful child, give me my sister's shoes!"
"I can't!" she moans. "They won't come off!" Glinda!
I grabbed her shoulders roughly and turned her about, propelling her forward out the door and shoving her into another room.
"You can stay in there until you get them off, then!" I growl at her, yanking the door shut behind me and shoving a chair underneath the handle. The things one learns in order to get a little privacy in college.
I went back into Cassie's room and scooped her out of her crib. She nuzzled her soft head into my neck and cooed happily.
I held her close for a moment, then lay her back down in her crib and tucked her in beneath the blankets. She reached up for me, a question in her blue eyes.
"No, my heart, not now. I have to go do something, but Daddy will make sure you're safe, and Aunt Addie." They'd better. "I'll be back soon. I promise." And if anyone makes me break that promise, they will pay dearly for it.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs.
I ran outside of Cassie's room, prepared to defend myself, only to find Glinda, flushed and out of breath, at the top of the stairs.
"Are you trying to kill me?" I demanded.
"They're coming for you."
"Really? I didn't notice despite screaming, newspaper headlines, and a fucking farm brat in my house!"
"Oh, Elphie, really, she's just a child."
"She's not supposed to be here now!" I responded.
"Now? What do you mean, Elphie?"
Shit.
"Nothing. I meant nothing. She's not supposed to be here at all." I remedied hastily. Glinda gave me a suspicious look.
"I can't get the shoes off!" Dorothy cried hysterically from behind the door.
"Elphaba!" cried Glinda. "Let her go! Is this still about Nessa's shoes?"
"Yes!" I lied.
Glinda shook her head at me. "No shoes are worth this, Elphie-"
"It's not just about the fucking shoes, Glinda!"
Understanding filled her eyes. "Oh, Elphaba. It won't change what your father thought. But what your father thought doesn't matter-"
"He wasn't my father!"
"What?"
"He wasn't my father. The Wizard is."
"Oh, Elphaba. I'm sorry."
"Yes…" I brushed tears away from my eyes. I want to tell her I'm not going to die. I can't. I have to…somehow…
"Glinda," I said urgently. "No matter what you hear, I will be all right. I will."
"Elphie, what…?"
"Just listen. I will be. I promise. Do you understand?"
"Yes, but…"
"Good. Now go. Go! You can't stay here, they'll find you."
She opened her mouth as if to protest, but one glance at my face told her she had lost. She leapt forward suddenly and clasped me in a rib-crushing hug.
"Goodbye, Elphie," she murmured.
"Goodbye, Glinda." She released me and slipped into the shadows, and I dashed upstairs to write and conceal a note somewhere that only she would find it.