Chapter 32
Elphaba had thrown herself into her spell books after Izzy had finally woken up. It had taken longer than the green woman might have liked, about fifteen minutes, and she left the girl in the capable hands of Derya and Zara after it was obvious that Izzy was ok. Kelebek had headed back outside to update her family and the dragons. Chistery had posted himself outside of the girl's door. Fiyero went to update his parents and son, which caused Semir to hurry down to see if he could comfort his friend.
"I hate to intrude, Princess, but I thought you might like company," the reinstated Lieutenant Ash poked his head inside the study.
"I'd take any opinion you have to be honest, though company never hurts," Elphaba looked up from the Grimmerie in her lap and she smiled.
"Well I didn't want to make any assumptions but I'm guessing that I could be of some use in the non-magic department," he admitted as he slipped inside the room and took a seat next to the green woman.
"I have to admit at first, I thought she was having a "me" moment," Elphaba said.
"Like when you could freeze the room?" Ash asked.
"Yes exactly. Problem is, she somehow internalized it and then couldn't get herself out. I was always in control of the freezing, even if I didn't know how I did the freezing," she told him.
"She is young, under a lot of stress, and trying to find herself. A dangerous combination I should think," Ash nodded thoughtfully.
"Dangerous indeed. I shall be reading Glinda and Balfour the riot act but first I need some insight. As you know, my childhood wasn't exactly a good example of how to raise your children," Elphaba said.
"For that I apologize. Someone should have stood up. Someone should have helped," Ash reached out and put his hand on top of hers.
"Nothing for it now. I have my own family to take care of. I made a promise to be better for my family. I think I've managed to do so," she smiled slightly. Ash removed his hand and sat back in the chair.
"You have done a great job not only for you kids but for the entirety of the Vinkus and all of her children. You've even taken care of other people's children," he smiled slightly.
"That's what I'm hoping to find in the Grimmerie. Of course, there are some things that can't be found in books, no matter how hard we look," the green woman frowned.
"When I figured out who I was, I wasn't concerned about telling my parents. I was actually more concerned that it would ruin my career. I was young and moving up through the ranks in the Army. No one knew that I was the way I am. I figured that I could keep it to myself. My career was something I was willing to put everything else off for… well until I bumped into Arthur," Ash admitted.
"So, what did you do? By the time I joined Fiyero here, it was no big secret," Elphaba said.
"I asked my father for advice. He was a good, kind man, who told me – "if they respect you, they will understand." This turned out to be true, but I doubt that it will be so easy for Izzy. There will always be haters. You cannot get rid of them all. What you can do, is have a good support network. While she has the support of this family here, she needs to know that Glinda, Balfour, and Bart," the Lieutenant said.
"Yes, even if it is not a public statement, Izzy needs reassurance her own family hasn't turned on her. Both Glinda and Balfour have said that they have no problem with Izzy and Derya, but they haven't sent any letters or come to visit so she's feeling like it's just lip service," Elphaba frowned.
"Sounds about right," Ash nodded. Just then Fiyero busted into the room, scaring the two of them half to death.
"Yero, what the…" his wife didn't get to finish.
"Bonescraper apparently went out on a little trip and no one said anything. He just brought Bart back with Nori," the Prince explained.
"Come on then. I hope all is well in the Gillikin," Elphaba said.
To Be Continued…