18lzytwner: Yes, we'll get more into Elphaba's water allergy.
I know we all want to know why Elphaba is ignoring the Animal Banns. All will be revealed in Chapter 15.
Glinda really didn't have enough money to take an entire day off work. Back at Shiz, she could depend on her parents for money, leaving the campus jobs to those who actually needed it. But now, she was a working adult, with bills and other expenses to consider, not just spending Momsie and Popsicle's money.
That's why she was shocked that, the day after the lockdown, Elphaba declared that the entire palace staff would have a day off. She, like her colleagues, was very surprised by this call, especially since no one knew what had triggered it. So, she technically wasn't taking a day off. It was forced upon her. But she decided to make the most of this newly acquired free time. She tuned the radio to an upbeat music station and kicked up her heels on the couch, devouring multiple fashion magazines, circling things she would either like to give or receive for Lurlinemas.
She called her parents, who were eager to hear what has been happening at the palace. She jokingly said that she couldn't divulge any government secrets, to which they all laughed (though Glinda's laughter was more forced).
"Are you working with the Queen, Galinda-bear?" her mother asked.
She considered correcting her mother, reminding her that 'It's Glinda, now', but knew it wouldn't be of use. Her mother would always prefer and use the proper Gillikun pronunciation. "Um... I work for her, Momsie."
"We all work for Her Supreme Ozness, in one way or another."
"I'm a typist in her private secretary's office."
Her mother either didn't hear that part or chose to ignore it. "I mean are you in close confidence with her?"
No, not at the moment, she wasn't. "We've... been in each other's company. She's called me to her office to ask for my opinions, and has invited me... places."
Her mother demanded details, and Glinda told her about the soiree. Only the details she wanted to hear, of course; all about the decor, society members present, what she wore, what the Queen wore, and what the royal gardens looked like. Once she was sure her mother was adequately appeased, she feigned having to go, before she could ask more questions.
She called her Shiz friends Pfannee, ShenShen, and Milla, though she was mostly subjected to listening to their endless gossip, and bragging about their husbands, that she was barely able to get a word in edgewise.
She tried to get some cleaning done, but ended up dancing around her living room, alternating between lip-syncing and belting out the lyrics to her favorite songs into the broom handle (which had been transformed into a microphone in her mind's eye). She spun, glided, and jumped all around, feeling carefree for the first time in a while. By the end of the day, she was exhausted from doing almost nothing productive.
She ended her restful day by cooking a hearty tomato basil soup. She wasn't much of a chef, but she developed an interest at Shiz, seeing friends from other circles together in the common area kitchens, sharing recipes and socializing. During their brief dating period, Fiyero had made her a traditional Vinkun fried meat bun. She regretted not having any recipes to share, but by the time she found something she deemed worthy, and easy enough for her to make, he had left.
Once the soup was ready, she snuggled on the couch, the warm, thick liquid warming her entire body as it slid down her throat. She missed the moments when her life was like this, carefree, where all she had to worry about were Lurlinemas presents and her out-of-sync lip-syncing.
But tomorrow, she knew she would have to be back to work, in more ways than one.
Elphaba frowned at her reflection. Once the guard had left, she stayed in front of the fire until she had enough strength to make it back to her room. Once she did, she locked herself in, not wanting to be disturbed by one of the maids. She pulled her clothes off, which was considerably easier now that they were dry. Most of the angry welts were on her hands, neck, and face. She grabbed her burn cream from a hidden drawer in her bathroom and gently rubbed it along the afflicted areas. The cold salve immediately cooled the burning sensation, but she knew it would be at least a day until the rashes and scars healed enough to not stand out. She didn't want the staff to stare and talk about it behind her back. That's when she decided to give everyone the day off. It was the only way to avoid the gossip. They could use it to get some Lurlinemas shopping done, or clean out their closets, or other activities usually reserved for weekends. She just knew that she couldn't have them here. Besides, she could also use a day off.
The next day, the palace felt empty, and it was, save for a small handful of maids and servants, who were given strict orders to avoid her at all costs (like they weren't doing that before…). She could handle them, but knew she wouldn't have been able to handle her political staff. She freely roamed the halls, absent-mindedly tracing the wallpaper patterns as she walked. She entered the library and went to her usual corner, grabbing a book she had read over five times. It was familiar to her, which she found comforting. She knew what was going to happen, and that's why she didn't worry when characters were put in nail-biting situations or a chapter was left in a cliffhanger.
She finished the book in record time (one hour and forty-five minutes) and put it away to grab another one. As she reached for another book, her gaze shifted and she noticed the line of stacks leading to the restricted section. Her legs acted on their own accord, and in a few long strides, she was standing in front of the looming door. She tried to open it, but found it to be locked, just as her father had left it. But the problem was, it wasn't just how her father had left it. It had been disturbed by Glinda and that library worker.
"No. What am I doing?" she asked herself. She had no business wanting to go into the restricted section. It was sealed off and off-limits for a reason. There were probably things in there that were never meant to see the light of day. She couldn't just go snooping through.
Then again, she was the queen. Perhaps she needed to see what's there, so she would know why it's hidden away. It was practically her duty to know. She turned to go back and get the key, but paused, feeling a strange sensation from her side. She looked down and saw a bulge in her pocket that wasn't there five clock-ticks ago. She reached in and pulled out a large, rusty-golden key. Perhaps it was time to have another magic conversation with Glinda. Only after she learned her lesson about snooping, of course.
She slowly inserted the key into the lock and gently twisted it. The loud click resounded throughout the library and Elphaba paused for a moment, wondering if she really wanted to do this. She knew that whatever she found out, there was no going back. Then she pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was exactly how she expected it to be; dark, musty, and abandoned. She sneezed, feeling dust enter her nose. Perhaps she should have this place cleaned, then thought the better of it. The dust and dirt were clearly meant to deter intruders, as well as be proof of not being tampered with. If only it had worked.
She walked around, the only light coming from a small, cracked window. It wasn't the best, but it was enough to see where she was going and not trip over anything and probably get a quick skim of something.
A golden book amongst a sea of brown caught her attention and she gently pried it off the shelf. She set it down on a nearby table and opened it, waving her hand in front of her face to protect herself from the dust. It was a book of the royal family trees from Oz and beyond. She flipped through it, recognizing a few lineages from her history lessons. She recognized the Vorbod line from ancient Ix and the Jeipse line from Ev, as well as a few of the Ozmas from the time before her father ruled. She expected that she and her father would be next after a brief paragraph about the Last Ozma, but when she turned the page, it was the Vinkun royal family tree. She glanced from the top, King Peallaidh and Queen Seul, and had to turn three pages before she got to the present. The last monarchs of the Vinkus had been King Raal and Queen Amalie, both marked as dead. According to the book, they only had one child, Prince…
No. It couldn't be.
"Prince Fiyero Liir Tigulaar," she whispered, her voice echoing as if she had shouted his name.
That was the guard who had been with her in the gardens and the guard who had saved her from the rain. He was the crown prince of the Vinkus? And she had no idea? Why was he here, instead of ruling the Vinkus? And why did the Vinkus now have a president instead of the royal family? She slammed the book shut, no longer interested in finding her page with her father. She figured she would end up having more questions than answers by the time she finished her search, but never thought she would find a missing prince right under her nose.
Perhaps there were more books on the Vinkun royal family. She learned they had been reigning for over five hundred years, so there must be more information on them somewhere. She returned the book to its proper place and went to search for more books. After twenty minutes, she found five books she thought would be helpful, and sat at a nearby table to research, but stopped when she saw an open book. It was open to the chapter titled "The Era of Trials".
"The myth of Ymtis and Ghatdione," she read. She had never heard of this story before, not really into mythology. She preferred proven facts. There's nothing that mythology explains that science hadn't proven. Regardless, she read the myth. A little fiction never hurt anyone.
As she read the story of the first solar and lunar eclipses, she had to admit, it was a well-thought-out and entertaining story. She turned the page to find the Quadling poem that went along with it. Instead of reading it, she noticed that the bottom of the page had been torn off. Glinda had given her a paper torn from a book. Could this be that book? She remembered tearing the paper up and throwing it away, and regretted not looking at it.
She realized that this was what Glinda and the library worker (whose name she still didn't know) had been doing. This is what they were talking to her about. But this was just a myth. It had no real-world applications. They shouldn't have bothered her with a useless story.
By the end, she still didn't think much of this. It was just an old story. She had no idea why Glinda was getting so worked up over it. This was the reason these things were hidden under lock and key; to avoid people from seeing something and overreacting. She closed the book. This would be the final time it would take up space in her mind. She had more important things to worry about.
When she awoke the next morning, the first thing Elphaba did was check on her burns. The ones on her face looked worse than her neck and hands. She couldn't give the staff another day off, so she simply opted to wear a turtlenecked sweater with long sleeves, and gloves. Yes, this new fashion choice was sure to turn a few heads, but hopefully, it would be rumored that she was cold, and that would be it. She knew no one would ask about the reddish-purple marks on her face, and she was only half-glad of that. She tried not to think about how they would gossip behind her back. She had more important things to do than worry about their ignorant prattle.
"Avaric, please find Corporal Fiyero Tigulaar and have him come up here. I need to speak to him," she said once her meeting with her private secretary ended.
"Right away, Your Ozness." Avaric bowed and left.
Elphaba removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had just found out that a bear had somehow gotten into the gardens. She could have been even more injured if not for Fiyero. Now, in addition to questioning him, she also had to thank him.
"Your Ozness," Fiyero bowed from the doorway.
Elphaba nodded. "Come in, Corporal Tigulaar. Have a seat."
He closed the door and sat across from the queen, trying not to look as apprehensive as he felt. He had no idea why he was being called into her office. He stared a bit too long at the dark marks on her face, but didn't question it, knowing where they were from.
"I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the gardens two days ago."
Oh. How could he have forgotten about the incident already? "Oh?"
"I wanted to thank you. I had no idea about the bear, and things could have turned out a lot worse if you hadn't helped me."
"We're currently working on an updated security plan, Your Ozness. Apparently, the bear might have –"
"I don't need to know the specific details. I trust you all with that." Elphaba dismissively waved her hand. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me. And also to thank you in advance for keeping my secret."
Fiyero nodded solemnly. "Of course."
"And I wanted to ask you why you're not in the Vinkus."
He paled. So she had found out. "Why would I be in the Vinkus?"
So he decided to play dumb. Very well, then. "Because you're the crown prince."
No, he wasn't. At least, not anymore. "It's… really complicated."
"It's really not. Why are you here and not ruling the Vinkus after your parents died?"
'Died' was a polite word. 'Murdered' was more accurate. "Because the Vinkus is now run by an elected president."
"Yes, I know that. I'm asking why you abdicated your throne."
"Abdicated?" What was she talking about? How could she not know about the coup against his parents? It only happened three years ago. It wasn't part of ancient history, but current events.
"Yes. Also known as 'gave up'."
He rubbed his face. "Yes, I know what 'abdicated' means, Your Ozness."
She looked at him pointedly. "Did you not want to be king?"
"Not really, but there's more to it than that. That's not the reason I'm not the king."
"I'm very tired of people giving me cryptic answers to simple questions," she groaned impatiently. "Is it really so difficult to give straight answers instead of beating around the bush?"
"Wait… you really don't know what happened?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking."
He mentally prepared to launch into the story. "Three years ago, a coup rose up against the monarchy, led by some of the people they trusted and were close with. It's considered the least-bloody revolution in Ozian history because only two people were killed; my parents. Before they had time to react, they were murdered in cold blood by a power-hungry mob. The only reason I wasn't killed was because I was safely far away at Shiz. I was told my life would be spared only if I renounced my title, throne, and abolished the Vinkun monarchy. That decision left me penniless and I had to drop out of school. I was also exiled from the Vinkus, banned from returning on pain of death. That's why I came here in search of a job. To this day, I still don't know what they did with my parents' bodies. I doubt they were given a proper burial, though."
Elphaba blanched, looking and feeling like she had been slapped across the face. "Oh. I… I didn't know."
"You didn't know?" he repeated incredulously.
"I… I was never kept informed of current events and politics during my father's reign. It was very easy to keep things from me that weren't happening right outside my window."
"My father made sure I was informed of current events and politics since I was old enough to sit still at the table, and involved since I was old enough to read complete sentences. I suppose that's where our royal upbringings differ. But some use that did me, though."
"I'm sorry, Corporal. I didn't mean to..." The words stuck in her throat as she struggled to find the right thing to say. She came up empty. "I'm so sorry."
He chuckled humorlessly. "You know, they're not wrong when they say that history repeats itself."
Elphaba's brow furrowed. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm not trying to say anything. I'm saying it." He stood. "That's why I think you should take what Glinda and Rakelle are telling you seriously. They're trying to protect you. As am I."
"There's no one around me who's power-hungry."
"Power-hunger isn't always the only reason behind a coup. It could literally be anything; fear, tired of a current government, racism, anything. The people behind the Vinkun coup were power-hungry, but everyone has their individual reasons. The people who overthrew my parents were close to them. My parents trusted them, and look where that led them. Some say that trust is a two-way street. And they're partially correct. But I say it's more of a one-way alley. You can be the most trusting person in the world, but when it comes down to it, you have to be careful who you trust." He bowed. "Your Ozness."
Elphaba watched him go, his words haunting her. She felt stupid for confronting him like that. Now she was really unsure of who she should and shouldn't trust.
Big Fiyeraba scene coming in the next chapter! Stay tuned!