AN:
Hellooooooooo!
Gosh, I'm so sorry for the wait! Things just weren't aligning for me last week, and everything took forever... and then, what do you know, I ended up with a monster chapter out of nowhere! I didn't see this coming until I checked my word count towards the end XD So yeah, that's almost 10K for you to read through... Sorry, not sorry... you're welcome, I guess!
Enjoy!
There's another AN in the end of this chapter, in case you're interested.
Anyways, happy reading!
xoxo MLE
(=^_^=)
Chapter Twelve
Galinda ran up the stairs. Her grin was radiant, her face aglow with not so much the excitement of being reunited with her parents, but the thrill of nearly kissing Elphaba on the lips. Nearly. Her parents were none the wiser of course and beamed in turn, pleased to see their daughter so happy. Her father was the first to wrap his arms around her.
"Sweet pea! Welcome back!"
"It's good to see you, Popsicle."
She placed little pecks on both of his cheeks before turning around to embrace her mother.
"Mumsie."
"My Darling! At last. It's always such an awful wait between visits."
Taking a step back, Galinda straightened out her skirt and smiled at her parents.
"You both look very relaxed," she observed. "How was your trip to Ev?"
"Absolutely wonderful," gushed her Mother, but her father put his hands on his wife's shoulders and gave her a certain look.
"We should discuss this inside, shouldn't we?"
"You're right, dearest."
A beeping sound drew the family's attention towards the car.
"Oh, this is Elphaba," Galinda explained quickly, stifling a giggle as she watched the other girl open the boot and remove their luggage. "My new flatmate I told you about on the phone last night. I better go and help her."
By the time she made it to the car, Elphaba had already slung her weekender around her torso and picked up Galinda's large suitcase. Offering her what she hoped was a reassuring nod, the blonde briefly rested her hand against her upper arm before pushing past her and gathering the remaining bags. It didn't escape her notice how the colour of Elphaba's face darkened a notch in response, and how she lowered her gaze. Galinda's delight wavered. Had she gone too far too soon?
With two bags in tow, she hurried after Elphaba to make sure they'd reach the door—and her parents—together.
"Mumsie, Popsicle," she said, slightly out of breath, "may I properly introduce Elphaba."
Setting the pink suitcase down, Elphaba freed her hand to offer it to her hosts.
"Nice to meet you, uh, Mr and Mrs Upland?"
Galinda's mother laughed.
"No need to be so formal! We are all adults here. Unless you'd prefer us to call you by your surname, Larena and Highmuster will do."
Elphaba nodded sheepishly.
"Oh, okay. Sure."
"Well, how about this," suggested Highmuster, "you two go upstairs, settle into your rooms, and in, let's say, half an hour we meet in the library for tea?"
Galinda agreed enthusiastically.
"Perfect. Come, Elphie, I'll show you the way!"
"You warned them about the green, didn't you?" said Elphaba as they started to climb the grand staircase.
"Would you have preferred a commotion to break out upon your arrival?"
"It can be quite entertaining."
Galinda chuckled and shook her head.
"You're one of a kind.
"Oh, by the by: it's Mr Upland and Mrs Arduenna. My mum's the money. And the blood. Hell would have to freeze over before she might do as much as consider abandoning her proud family name."
"Huh." Elphaba looked her up and down with a critical eye, and Galinda felt her face blushing. "Galinda of the Arduennas of the Uplands. I guess I can see it now. You certainly have that distinctive, royal aura."
"Oh shush, you're just teasing," admonished Galinda even as she laughed heartily.
"Kidding aside though, you could have told me. If this is so important to your mother, she probably hates me now."
Galinda was touched by how seriously Elphaba took this. Bumping into her shoulder, she silently apologised.
"She won't, I promise. The mistake obviously was mine, and even if not, she'd give you the benefit of the doubt. It's more of a matter of principle."
"Maybe you should have equipped me with a manual or something if your family is so complicated. I don't fancy making a fool out of myself."
They stopped in the middle of a long corridor. On one side, pristinely restored stained glass windows provided light and a distorted view into the inner courtyard; on the other, a row of dark quoxwood doors, framed by carved marble arches led to the individual bedrooms. Galinda pointed out the one next to a large portrait of a proud noblewoman, swathed in layers upon layers of translucent cloth.
"This is your room. It's small, but I hope it will do for the weekend. I found it inconsiderate towards the staff to make them do up one of the grander suites for just two nights. Besides"—she paused and struggled not to look away in embarrassment. She'd felt braver when thinking it all out in her head—"I kinda hoped you'd agree to spend the night in my room.
"So we could study and work on assignments as we used to," she hastened to add. "I really miss that, and I'll admit, there are a few things I might need your help with."
She watched Elphaba as she seemed to consider the logistics of her proposal. Her expression was guarded and difficult to read. In the end, she pulled at the sleeves of her sweatshirt and turned her head to look at the door to her room.
"I toss about and kick in my sleep," she said, flashing her an apologetic look.
Galinda expected it was nothing but a thinly veiled excuse and wondered which part of the idea worried her friend the most. Was it merely the prospect of sharing a bed? Well, that could be remedied.
"We have folding cots in storage, you know? Guests frequently request them when they plan to share their rooms with children or friends."
Letting go of her sleeves, Elphaba folded her arms and shifted her weight.
"Fine. I guess," she said, hiking one shoulder. "Though I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to recreate your falling asleep while trying and failing to compete with my tenacity."
"No, you wouldn't," replied Galinda, smiling pensively as fond memories floated through her mind like wisps of a distant past, even though it had really been no more than a couple of weeks.
A moment of silence passed between them before Elphaba gave a nod and pushed down on the door handle.
"Oh, and my room is right around the corner," Galinda quickly piped up before she could escape. "Next to the big grandfather clock. In case you need anything."
"Yeah, cool. Thanks." Elphaba's lips twitched, and she made to slip through the door. This time, it was her who stalled mid-motion. "I, uh, was wondering… Does tea mean that we have to get changed?"
"If you really care about making a good impression, I'd suggest you do. But nobody will insist on it."
Pursing her lips, Elphaba nodded and disappeared. Galinda grinned at the closed door before dragging her abundant luggage in the direction of her own suite.
Almost twenty minutes later, she'd washed her face and re-applied her make-up. She'd also exchanged her leggings and hoodie for a white skirt and a soft pink off-shoulder jumper with silk ribbons weaved into and down the sleeves. Only her hair still required attention before she'd be ready to walk over to Elphaba's room and pick her up. The second she picked up her hairbrush, however, there was a knock on the door.
"Mumsie?"
She checked the time, but decided that she wasn't actually late yet. Her parents knew that it would take her a few moments to make herself presentable. In half an hour didn't usually mean thirty minutes on the dot, unless they had company—in which case they would plan more carefully, making sure Galinda had plenty of opportunity to beautify and accessorise.
As she opened the door, a bright smile chased away the slight frown.
"Elphie!"
Elphaba, dressed in a fresh pair of black jeans and a loose, navy coloured long sleeve, pretended to study the intricate carvings of the doorframe.
"Just making sure you didn't leave without me. Since I don't know my way around yet."
Delighted, Galinda reached for Elphaba's hand to pull her inside the room.
"I'm done soon, I promise," she chortled and ushered her in the direction of the settee.
Watching Elphaba survey her new surroundings with a combination of curiosity, awe and apprehension was highly entertaining, and Galinda almost forgot all about her hair, until the big hall clock's chime spurred her into action.
She turned around swiftly. Humming a cheerful tune, she went about taming her luscious locks and putting them up in a high bun. She was only half as distracted as she seemed though, and noticed at once when Elphaba was finished studying the room and took to studying her instead. She reckoned for all her careful observations, Elphaba had not taken into account the conveniently positioned mirror, or she probably wouldn't be staring so blatantly. No matter how tempted she was to tease her friend about it, Galinda refrained from commenting. She was far too pleased with the quiet attention and—dare she even think it—adoration.
Galinda took Elphaba's hand before entering the library. Elphaba did not exactly seize the opportunity with the same fervour, but didn't break the contact either, which was a start.
"Ah, Galinda!"
Her father was the first to notice them. Larena looked up at the mention of her daughter's name.
"Have you girls made yourselves at home?" she asked, patting the empty space next to her on the blue velvet sofa.
Reluctantly, Galinda let go of Elphaba's hand so the taller girl could take the armchair opposite her.
"It's almost like I never left," the blonde fibbed smoothly in answer to her mother's question. In reality, her old room appeared more foreign to her each time she returned.
"And how has this semester been treating you? Any new acquaintances besides Elphaba?"
Galinda was almost taken aback at how promptly and unceremoniously they'd gotten to the meat of the matter.
"Not really," she replied with a taut smile. She decided not to mention Boq as he was of little consequence to this particular conversation, and not to bring up Fiyero, as she feared he might stir unwanted interest. "Oh, and Elphie and I have been classmates for a while now," she clarified instead. "She majors in biology and was also in my previous bio elective. Together with Shen and Pfannee, if you remember them?"
"Oh yes, we do," replied Larena, not sounding particularly glad to be reminded of them. "And Fesander's boy—Avaric, is it? Such a small world we live in! Anyway, how is he?"
"Same old, same old," shrugged Galinda, content to know that her mother's curiosity in regards to him was of purely gossipy nature. In contrast to her uni friends, her parents didn't care much for the idea of the two of them as a couple.
"So you're interested in the natural sciences?" asked Highmuster, turning towards Elphaba. "That's rare for a girl, isn't it?"
"Not so much these days," she countered immediately, bristling somewhat, in true Elphaba fashion. "The ratio seems to be nearly fifty-fifty in the class as a whole, and at least one third of the students who consider it their main focus are female."
"Well, times do change," he conceded.
"And who knows; in another ten, twenty years, there might even be more than just a handful of women in the architecture courses," added Larena pointedly before taking a sip of her tea.
Galinda chuckled along, but her hands clutched at the hem of her jumper.
"Girls, girls! Why aren't you eating?" laughed her father. "Elphaba. Please, help yourself!"
Mumbling some sort of acknowledgement, Elphaba picked a small pastry from the platter. Galinda took a scone. She'd had enough of sandwiches for one weekend.
"So, Elphaba, what do your parents do for a living?"
Galinda had trouble swallowing her food and quickly washed the bite down with an unladylike gulp of tea.
"Mumsie!" she exclaimed softly as soon as she could, then cleared her throat to get rid of the crumb that had lodged itself in her airway.
"Why, it's a perfectly normal question, darling. We're getting to know each other."
Elphaba put her cup down and folded her hands.
"My mother isn't with us anymore, but my father is a Unionist minister."
Casting her a long look, Galinda hoped she might return it, but Elphaba sat straight and proud, her face impossibly blank and unrevealing.
"A Unionist!" said her father then, louder than necessary to diffuse the tension in the room. "How about you, Elphaba? Are you following the same faith?"
"My sister does," she replied, and to Galinda's surprise she began to relax ever so slightly. "She is excessively devout, but I personally don't understand religion."
"Frottica and the surrounding regions are all deeply Lurlinist," explained Larena. "So it's expected that we, as well as the other distinguished families, support local convents and religious celebrations. But even if I could freely choose any faith, I would certainly follow Lurline the Fairy Queen. I think it's the ancientness of it all that's so appealing to me."
Elphaba nodded, though not exactly in agreement.
"My father would love this," she quipped. "He writes sermon after sermon, condemning the pagan religions. Yet here I am, his own flesh and blood, sitting amidst a circle of Lurlinist devils."
Her choice of word raised a few eyebrows, but Galinda smiled into her cup as she drank.
They went out for a stroll after, just the two of them. Since tea had been so late and dinner wasn't too far away, they hoped to walk off some of the food they'd forced themselves to consume out of pure politeness.
"I hoped to apologise for my parents' insensitive questions," said Galinda after they'd left the grand house far behind them.
"It's fine," said Elphaba. "It's not like it was an unusual question. But… you didn't even know about my mother. Why did you intervene?"
"Well, not particularly successfully," replied Galinda, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "I guess I just had a feeling, since neither you, nor Boq ever mentioned her. And besides, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine—to be reduced to my parents' successes and wealth, I mean. We are old enough to be our own people and celebrate our own accomplishments. What does it matter that my father is a lawyer and head of a big law firm, and that my mother is a rich heiress, managing the estate? I grudgingly accept that my reputation tends to precede me; it's hard to escape that. On the other hand, I don't give a toss how your father earns his money or how much of it. You are you: brilliant and hard working. Do you think you'll be a professor of biology one day, working at Shiz or some other prestigious university? Those are the questions they should really ask."
Elphaba's mouth stretched into a thin line.
"I don't know anymore. I did hope to work in research, maybe under Doctor Dillamond if he'd have me. But now? Things have changed, and all I'm focusing on these days is to simply get by."
"You mustn't give up," urged Galinda, looping her arm around Elphaba's. "You can make it work. I know you can."
Elphaba impatiently pulled back her arm.
"You're right. You aren't your parents. You are clever and determined to follow your dreams, even if they aren't what your family envisioned for you. It's admirable. But you rely on their money nonetheless. You can't compare that to my situation."
She stomped off ahead, and Galinda let her go, trailing a few steps behind her. She wrapped her jacket tightly around her body in pursuit of comfort. Elphaba wasn't entirely wrong, but where Galinda had her parents, Elphaba had Galinda. Her allowance would be enough for the two—no—the three of them. She wouldn't even have to ask her parents for more money than she already received. All she needed to do was cut back on some of her occasionally frivolous expanses.
Beyond that, she was more than willing to pitch in when it came to taking care of the little one. She could be hands-on if required. In fact, she truly wished to play a major role in this upcoming chapter of Elphaba's life, no matter in what exact capacity. Didn't Elphaba see that? How would she make her understand and believe it? Would she be at all prepared to tolerate such interference?
Dinner was more of the same, though Larena and Highmuster were more focused on their daughter this time. Galinda didn't like it, but preferred it to them pelting Elphaba with questions in her stead.
"Aren't there any clubs you could join?" wondered her father. "To meet someone who shares similar interests, perhaps someone a year or two ahead of you."
"Papa, I really don't think I have the time."
"She studies a lot," Elphaba supplied, more or less helpfully. "Before we knew each other better, I always did wonder how she achieved such outstanding grades while making it seem so effortless"—Galinda blushed, realising that Elphaba was hinting at her sparse participation and attention in class—"but behind the scenes, she puts a tremendous effort into her assignments and projects."
Her mother looked first at Elphaba, then her daughter.
"Are you still sure that it's all worth the stress? One day your path will lead you back here, to this place. You are its next custodian. There is really no need for a higher degree once you completed your bachelor—"
"I'm quite determined," answered Galinda decidedly. "I'm content with my progress at uni, as well as my private life. I don't see any reason to change anything."
She first stared down her mother, then her father, making sure the topic was well and truly concluded for the evening. When she was satisfied that she'd accomplished that, she turned to look at Elphaba. She'd intended to offer her a triumphant smile, but the moment their eyes met, Galinda's widened in realisation.
Her stomach dropped, and she lost her appetite. She couldn't exactly say why. Perhaps it was because not having exactly what she wanted was a rare occurrence. Too rare, maybe, for her resilience in that department was pitifully low. Elphaba tilted her head questioningly and Galinda pulled herself together in order to muster that smile she'd planned to bestow upon her.
After the meal had concluded. She insisted that she and Elphaba had a lot of work to do upstairs and they excused themselves for the night. Without double-checking whether her friend was still on board for the proposed sleepover, Galinda lead her downstairs to the butler's office. Up until then, he'd been inconspicuous enough for Elphaba to not take any note of him.
"Evening, Puggles," she said sweetly, and the elderly man's face brightened when he looked up from his large, leather-bound ledger.
"Miss Galinda. So wonderful to have you here." He cast a brief glance at Elphaba, and Galinda could tell that he was quite bewildered, but he refocused his attention on her and said nothing of it. "How can I help you?"
Galinda asked for a bunch of old keys, then engaged him in an astute little colloquy about various affairs of the estate. While she preferred to not constantly think of her future as the heiress and warden of the house and attached properties, she liked to keep abreast with the most important developments, and hoped to not get out of practice all too much before inevitably having to pick up her mother's responsibilities one day.
Keys in one hand, Elphaba's palm in the other, Galinda strode past portraits, sculptures, busts and weapon displays in the opposite direction of their rooms. At the end of the corridor, they arrived at an ornate double door.
"This is the passage to the guest wing," she told Elphaba as she unlocked it.
The storage room wasn't that much further, and soon they came back through the same set of doors with a big, folded bed on wheels in tow. Elphaba's expression was priceless. Galinda expected she thought it was all too much fuss for one or two nights of room sharing, but even if Galinda couldn't have everything she ever wanted, there was no way she'd relent in this particular instance.
"I hope you're happy now," muttered Elphaba, depositing her own bedding on the cot after retrieving it from the other room.
"I'm thrilled," Galinda assured her and helped rearranging the pillows and blankets.
Once the bed was made and ready to go, the girls looked up and at each other.
"And now?"
"Snacks?" asked Galinda, but Elphaba shook her head. "Do you want to jump right in then?"
"Sure. You said you needed assistance with something?"
Galinda walked over to the wide, sturdy lowboy that served as her luggage stand and pulled her biology textbook out of her tote bag.
With Elphaba's help it didn't take Galinda too long to eliminate her confusion around the exercise that had had her so worried. A few Elphaba-generated practice tests later, she was confident enough that she'd be able to repeat her success on the coming Monday. They moved on to their individual assignments—an architectural sketch for Galinda and a history essay for Elphaba that wasn't even due until the end of the month.
Drawing was one of Galinda's favourite tasks, but she was rarely satisfied with her first, or even the first dozen of her designs. This couldn't have been more true that night. Sheet by crumbled sheet, the pages of her sketch pad were discarded on the floor. She couldn't remember being so frustrated with any one project before and was just about to give up.
Elphaba, too seemed unfocused and bored.
"If you need a break," the green girl said eventually, scratching the back of her neck and staring at her laptop keyboard, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
Galinda looked up and, a few seconds later, promptly tossed aside her drawing utensils.
"Yes?" she answered, a touch too eagerly.
Running her hand through her hair, Elphaba made an irritated sound, then slammed down the lid of her computer.
"Do you remember that night; you came home from a club. A bit more than tipsy."
Galinda's chest felt tight. What had she told her roomie in her altered state of mind? Had she agreed too hastily to even hear this query and allow Elphaba to bring up something possibly incriminating?
"I don't know, Elphie," she replied offhandedly, "My alcohol fuelled trips downtown don't usually prove very memorable."
Would this be enough to make her drop the topic?
"I can imagine," snickered Elphaba before her expression turned serious again. "At any rate, you mentioned something interesting. Something about a certain pull that some people simply don't feel."
Galinda was simultaneously relieved and anxious. It didn't sound like Elphaba was getting at anything particularly stupid she might have said in her delirium. She even thought she might have a decent recollection of the conversation in question. But things had somewhat changed for her in the interim, which made her reluctant to discuss the matter.
She remembered reassuring Elphaba that she wasn't the only one who felt that way, that she herself felt that way. Which she still did. Mostly. But her recently discovered, unexpectedly intense affections for Elphaba meant that she found it difficult to simply sit there, listening to how the girl she secretly yearned to call her own, was now happy to accept for herself that she'd be desireless, perhaps even loveless for the rest of her life. Even though she ought to be glad for her, she knew that such words would make her unrequited feelings all the more unbearable. On the other hand, how could she fail her so miserably and not be the friend Elphaba deserved?
"I do remember," she said quietly and folded her hands in her lap. "Have you thought much about it all afterwards?"
"Not until recently. I was too preoccupied."
Galinda nodded.
"Did—did you want me to explain as much as I know?" She bit her lip, shifted in her seat and forced herself to keep up the eye contact that Elphaba had finally dared to establish. "Or would you prefer it if I merely gave you a nudge in the right direction so you can explore it all on your own?"
"I couldn't find much in the literature," admitted Elphaba uneasily. "I didn't know where to start. What I did find didn't quite feel right in a way. Too clinical, I suppose. "
Exhaling softly, Galinda smiled and got up to walk over to the settee where she sat down next to Elphaba. Wordlessly, she asked for her laptop and opened it. She typed the name of a forum in the WizzSearch window, then opened a separate tab for her favourite blog.
"Have a read through this one first," she told Elphaba as she handed back the computer. "Once you understand the basics you can have a look through some of the links on the side."
The other girl thoughtfully rested her chin on her fist.
"Those don't exactly look like peer reviewed articles."
"Oh, they are peer reviewed, alright," laughed Galinda. "It's a different kind of process, but this is still the aggregated knowledge of a whole community. As with academic stuff, reader's discretion and critical thinking are advised, but I deliberately chose sources that are fairly reliable and widely agreed upon as correct. If you delve deep enough, I'm sure you'll be able to find the one or the other journal article in there, too. I wish more had been done already on the topic, but it is what it is. I guess research would be boring if there was nothing new left to research. And who knows, you might end up becoming an academic authority on the subject one day. Maybe an idea for your dissertation in a few years?"
"I doubt I'll ever make it this far, given the circumstances," muttered Elphaba, but she was already too distracted by the text in front of her to get too hung up on the thought.
Galinda stood.
"Well, I'll leave you to it for a while. I guess I should see if mumsie is still around. We only have such a short time to be together and I shouldn't make myself so scarce."
Elphaba didn't stop her. In fact, she barely acknowledged that she'd heard her at all. Galinda couldn't help but think with a hint of bitterness that she simply didn't care.
She found her mother in the salon, sitting by the fire and reading a novel by her favourite author. A story of love and intrigue, set against the backdrop of high society. Galinda had always hated those books, so sappy and contrived.
"Has popsicle gone to bed?" she asked, and Larena looked up.
"You know he has. Nothing around here ever changes as much as you do when you're away for a few months at a time."
"Is that an accusation?" responded Galinda warily before sitting down in the opposite armchair.
Her mother sighed wistfully.
"Of course not. I only wish I could be there for you and guide you. Why does Shiz have to be so far away?"
"I miss you and papa," declared Galinda. "But I don't need your guidance. I'm old enough and capable enough to make my own way."
"But aren't you terribly lonely?"
"I have Elphaba."
The older woman wrinkled her brow at her daughter's sharp tone. Galinda momentarily held her breath, but didn't drop her gaze. After a clock-tick of consideration, she decided to swing with the turn the conversation had taken.
"Elphaba and I are more than flatmates, and we aren't exactly friends either," she said, and her own frown inadvertently turned upside down. Saying it out loud made her heart brim with joy, even though it was a lie.
"Why—why didn't you say," replied Larena, marking her book and closing it. She leaned forward and reached for Galinda's hand. The surprise was written all over her face.
"I had to promise not to. Elphaba is worried about her father's reaction—him being as religious as he is. And besides, it's all still so fresh and new. I might have been able to convince her that you guys would be okay with it, but I didn't want to put her under that kind of pressure. I want her to become more comfortable in her own skin before we make any of this public. No one at school knows either."
"That is so thoughtful of you. You must be so excited! And I know your temperament. How did you contain it so well?"
Galinda's smile faltered then, and her soaring spirit slowly came back down to reality.
"Mumsie, you won't tell her anything I said, will you?"
"My lips are sealed," promised her mother solemnly and tightened the grip on her hand. "But may I tell your father in the morning?"
Galinda hesitated before she acquiesced.
"But no one else. Please."
"He will be so happy for you! Even if…"
"He hoped I'd find a husband, marry and have children?" finished Galinda, shaking her head.
"Only because it would have been easier for you, my darling. Of course, we basically already knew that this wasn't going to happen."
"You did?" chuckled Galinda in disbelief.
Her mother patted her hands one last time and leaned back in her chair.
"Well, Oziandra and that other girl from summer camp—I forget her name—proved rather sufficiently that your interests lay elsewhere."
Galinda stared at her with open mouth, well and truly gobsmacked.
"And I thought we were so subtle!"
"Oh dearest, you kids think your tricks are so clever, but we old people have been there and done it all a century ago. In a way, we used to be glad that your romantic adventures were, well, mostly risk-free. After all, even with the best of precautions accident do happen and—"
Galinda jumped to her feet.
"You know what? I'm tired. I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to talk tomorrow. Although, maybe about a different subject." She bent down and kissed her mother's cheeks in a hurry. "Goodnight, mumsie."
"Goodnight, dearest," Larena called after her as she headed out of the room.
Back upstairs, she was by no means surprised when she spotted Elphaba sitting jackknifed and firmly pressed into the corner of the settee, balancing the laptop on her knees.
"Did you find any of it useful?" asked Galinda, closing the door.
Elphaba slowly lifted her head and blinked as if she'd been roused from a daze.
"You're back," she murmured.
"I am. What time is it? Around eleven? I should get showered, then try and make some progress with my arch assignment. Have you made any with your research?"
She gestured towards the computer.
"I suppose I have," shrugged Elphaba. "I'm trying to wrap my head around it still, but I can relate to a lot of this."
"Well, I hope it proves helpful," said Galinda as she collected a few items of clothing from her suitcase.
She wracked her mind for something—anything—else to say, but her head felt empty. She peered in Elphaba's direction and screwed her eyes shut. What had come over her? Why had she told her mother those things about their relationship? Elphaba would be furious if she knew and rightly so. Her offence was inexcusable.
She locked the bathroom door behind her and let her clothes drop to the floor. In her head, she mulled over every word of her earlier conversation. So, her parents had known about her affinity for girls all along. The thought amused her. What was even more hilarious though, was their conviction that they knew about the exact quality of her relations with those girls. She'd bet anything that they were wrong on that account. Surely, they'd believed their little girl hopelessly in love each time, romantically minded as they were. They themselves had been childhood sweethearts. How could they suspect that their own daughter could be of a less affectionate nature?
How indeed. Only Lurline herself knew why relationships had never been a thing Galinda had aspired to pursue in earnest, why sex had never been anything but a silly diversion, based on not even a smidgen of attraction. And only Lurline knew why she'd sent Elphaba her way, seemingly endowed with the same disposition, but bizarrely the only person to ever stir any amorous sentiments in Galinda. It was a debacle like no other.
Contrary to her parents' worries, she'd never felt lonely or sad to be without a partner, but now she wanted Elphaba more than anything. They'd achieved some level of closeness by cohabitating, but Galinda found that the closer she got, the more she needed the real deal. Which was why lies like the one she'd told her mother came so easily. Knowing how unattainable her roomie was, she'd begun to occasionally allow herself harmless daydreams. From there, the leap had been but a minor one.
At least soon there would be the baby. The baby was someone she could love and dote on in Elphaba's stead. It wasn't Elphaba, but still intrinsically connected to her. If this was the closest thing she could get, she'd take it. She'd do anything to keep them both in her life, even if it required a few sacrifices. Like her extra courses, her postgrad degree; she'd gladly give those in exchange for a child that, in a sense, would be Elphaba's as well as hers, a link of sorts, to bridge the disconnect between them. By the time their paths might eventually separate, the kid would have matured into an adult and Galinda would have outgrown her nonsensical romantic feelings. Or so she hoped.
For the present, however, they were intolerably intense.
As she thought of Elphaba, the hot water of the shower seemed cool to her. Nothing, it seemed, could warm her so wholly as the thought of being embraced by gangly, green arms. She was immensely grateful that, so far, her thoughts hadn't turned sexual. She didn't like the idea of dealing with the resulting frustration on her own, and knew she'd hate herself for looking at Elphaba that way without her approval. Even as unconcerned as she was with her family's religion, she prayed that this wasn't yet another change, simply waiting to happen.
She didn't know how long she'd spent in the bathroom, but when she exited, Elphaba was ready to take her place, with her things gathered and her laptop packed away for the night. Galinda decided to not force herself to work on her sketch after all when a good result seemed so impossible to achieve at this point. Instead, she'd go to bed and hope for better luck and a clearer head the following day.
Lying there, snuggled into her blanket, she waited for Elphaba's return. It would be rude to ask her for a sleepover, only to drift off long before her. She passed the time reading on her phone, but her eyelids were growing progressively heavier. Once she was woken by her mobile dropping on her nose. She'd never noticed how long Elphaba took to get ready at night.
The next time she opened her eyes, Elphaba was sitting on her bed.
"Did you mean for the flashlight to stay on all night?" she asked, pointing at the phone lying next to her.
"Huh?"
Galinda's head spun. Gosh, she was so tired and exhausted from all the thinking, the hidden emotions.
"If you need a nightlight, there are better ways than burning out your phone's battery," said Elphaba gently and turned off the torch function for her.
Prior to that, she must have switched off the big light as well, Galinda realised when the room suddenly turned dark. The curtains hadn't been drawn yet though, and the sharp features of her face were illuminated by the sparse moonlight that filtered through the windows. The effect was so perfect and startling, startlingly perfect. In a trice, Galinda was wide awake.
"Entrancing," she said before she could think better of it. She reached out to touch a strand of midnight black hair that had eluded Elphaba when she'd tied her braid as part of her bedtime routine. "Never mind what those idiots say when they make fun of you. There's some strange, exotic quality of beauty about you. Do you know that?"
"Surprise," replied Elphaba and perhaps she blushed, for the shade of her skin seemed to change. "I mean, surprise, not beauty. It's just surprise. 'Well, what do you know.' It's not beauty."
Galinda wanted to protest, more than anything, but as a cloud pushed in front of the moon and Elphaba's face disappeared in the resulting blackness, the spell was broken and her wits returned to the blonde.
"Who am I to argue," she huffed sullenly and stuffed her phone under her pillow.
"Well, fresh dreams," said Elphaba and lightly patted the top of her comforter before slinking over to her cot.
They slept in the following morning, or at least Galinda did. It was evident that Elphaba had been long awake by the time she first stirred and risked a cautious glance at the bright room, yet she'd stayed put all this time, merely getting dressed and amusing herself with her computer.
"Morning, Elphie," yawned Galinda as she rubbed her eyes.
Motionless, Elphaba remained sitting at the desk that Galinda had used the night before, her elbows on the table, her hands clasped in front of her face, her two forefingers leaning against each other and against her lips.
"How do you know you don't experience something if you've supposedly never experienced it?" she queried out of nowhere, her eyes still trained on the laptop's screen.
Galinda wished her mind would sober as quickly as she wanted it to.
"I, uh…" she shook her head to clear it and blinked. "Are you, like, talking about attraction?"
Elphaba finally craned her neck to look at her and nodded curtly.
"Oz, hang on, I need to think."
The green girl's head whipped back around, and she sighed. It was too early for this sort of stuff. Couldn't they at least have breakfast first? As soon as she resigned herself to having to answer the question, however, she found that thought came more easily to her.
"Look, I'm sure you already realised that you didn't feel the same as your peers as you all progressed through your later teenage years. They were becoming interested in finding girlfriends and boyfriends, and you were not. They wanted to talk about who was cute and sexy, while you did not. Does that sound about accurate?"
"Was it like that for you?" replied Elphaba instead of answering her question. Galinda pulled the blanket closer towards herself and smiled bashfully.
"Yeah, pretty much. Of course I masked my lack of interest and participated in their discussions as best I could. I thought that they were either making a bigger fuss about it all than it really was, or that I was—Oz forbid—lagging behind but would get there eventually. I was mostly wrong either way."
"Weird. When I figured out that I didn't care about relationships and being physical with others, I found it easy to blame my overall strangeness, my messed up upbringing, and what not. Why someone like you should have the same issues is mind-boggling to me."
"Don't think of it as an issue!" retorted Galinda. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine your father's parenting style might have done some damage in this department"—she took a deep breath and steeled herself for the reply to come—"Do—do you think that it's wrong for two women or two men to fall in love, feel drawn to each other and live their lives together? Is that an issue, too?"
Elphaba took a moment to answer, and Galinda's heart hammered hard in her chest. She didn't even know what she'd do with herself if Elphaba proved to be appalled by queer folks like her. Would she try to slowly but surely change her mind or never bring it up again and hide herself as much as possible?
"My father's opinions have never convinced me one way or another. I prefer to form my own."
"That's a very sensible approach," said Galinda with a good measure of uncertainty. She was still waiting for Elphaba to elaborate and give a definitive answer.
"I always thought it would be preferable to be gay, rather than completely without love and desire. At least love is love, whomever you want. But where's the humanity in not loving anyone at all?"
It wasn't exactly the most reassuring reply Galinda could have hoped for, even if for a different reason than she'd anticipated.
"I don't think that you're incapable of love. Don't you love your sister, your friends? Who cares if you love anyone romantically! You do love, you are perfectly human."
Elphaba laughed.
"It's true, I do love my sister. Too much maybe, and for no better reason other than that we're family and grew up together. And because she used to depend on me for... for everything, basically. We don't get along very well, I'm afraid, but I care for her and love her to bits."
"Which is a very human experience," Galinda eagerly pointed out. "You're fine. Your emotions are natural and completely normal."
"It's late," Elphaba suddenly noticed. "Shouldn't we be downstairs, having breakfast?"
"We should," groaned Galinda as she tried to extract herself from her warm, cosy bed. "Let me go and brush my teeth. I'll be ready in a jiffy."
This time she didn't take her change of clothes with her when she disappeared into the bathroom. She left the door open as she first brushed her teeth, then applied her minimal makeup and tied her hair. In the meantime, she observed her roomie. She'd expected Elphaba to remain preoccupied with her laptop, but obviously holding her to the promise that they'd leave for breakfast shortly, she'd already stowed it away and was fiddling with her phone instead. This didn't change Galinda's plan, though she felt a tad more self-conscious now than she'd thought she would.
She sashayed over to her suitcase and found herself a long woollen jumper and a pair of light wash jeans. Without much ceremony, she pulled her lacy nightgown over her head, then belatedly remembered to search the front compartment of her bag for a bra. Somehow, she didn't dare looking in the direction of the mirror until after she'd slipped into her jumper. She grinned when she found Elphaba staring her way. She wondered how long she might have been watching. Had she enjoyed the show, or had it been nothing but the naked shock that had drawn her eyes? Or curiosity perhaps or…
Unfortunately, the grin had given her away, and Elphaba averted her gaze swiftly, looking rather uncomfortable. There was going to be no telling her motivations or thoughts and Galinda felt a pang of disappointment. It wasn't that she'd wanted to seduce her or anything like that. Tease her maybe, but only in an attempt to learn something of value in regards to Elphaba's interests and feelings towards her. Perhaps interests and feelings that she wasn't even aware of herself.
They didn't discuss the incident as they descended the stairs on their way to the salon. All they talked about was how Elphaba would have to help herself to the food on the buffet table, but allow Puggles to pour tea for her, no matter how silly it seemed to her.
Galinda's parents were both waiting for them, though her father left soon after their arrival in order to get to work in his office. Larena stayed, however, enquiring after their opinions on the plans she'd made for the day. Galinda found the change in her parents' behaviour towards Elphaba subtle, but it wasn't understated enough to go unnoticed by the green girl herself. She told her not to worry, and to take it as a good sign, then left it at that. Hopefully, the reason behind this shift wouldn't become too apparent as the day progressed.
Larena accompanied them to town later that morning and they had lunch at a small restaurant that offered fresh, regional food. Galinda used to enjoy shopping in Frottica, but too accustomed to the big city these days, she couldn't find anything she really needed. She bought Elphaba an old-fashioned pen that they'd spotted in the window of an antique store, and that was about it. For tea, they stopped by a café at the busy market place. It was just warm enough for ice cream, and Galinda insisted they share a sundae.
"Today wasn't too bad," she said as she stood in front of the mirror and reached behind her back to unclasp her necklace. "Mumsie has, without a doubt, taken a shine to you."
She bit her lip after saying that, unsure whether it was wise to draw attention to the fact. Elphaba herself pulled off the jumper she'd worn over her t-shirt and replied with a soft grunt.
"They seem like nice people. But I don't know why they would make such an effort to impress me."
"They aren't. All they want is for us to have a good time as a family. You're just tagging along and they don't mind. But it's not because of you."
"Huh." Elphaba sat down and started up her laptop. "I guess I'm not used to this kind of stuff. The only family time I know is joint scripture studies and rehearsals."
"Rehearsals?"
"I've been cursed with a passable voice, so my father made me sing hymns during his service."
Galinda didn't know why she was surprised.
"You sing? Please, Elphie, can I hear?"
"No chance," replied Elphaba and laughed. "How about you? I imagine you sound like an angel."
"Me? Oh Lurline, no!"
"Never received singing lessons then?"
"I wasn't interested," said Galinda, shaking her head. "I used to play the piano a bit, but haven't in a long time. Would you sing if I play?"
"Another time," decided Elphaba and changed the topic.
Sunday breakfast was their final meal at the grand house. Galinda had set her alarm this time so they would make it downstairs by nine.
"And you girls are sure that you don't want to stay until after lunch?" asked Highmuster as he finished off his plate.
Galinda bobbed her head.
"I'm afraid so. We both have tests tomorrow and most of our assignments are due today by midnight."
"That's a shame. Well, I hope you'll be back for a few days when the semester is finished?"
"For an entire week, if you'll have me," promised Galinda and her parents laughed.
"You might want to discuss that with Elphaba," chuckled Larena and Galinda paused with her spoon midway to her mouth.
Out of the corners of her eyes, she noticed her friend fidgeting in her seat, but before either of them could say anything, her father had already addressed her.
"You're welcome to stay with us whenever you like, Elphaba," he said warmly. "I'm overjoyed that you and Galinda… get along so well." Galinda's cheeks were burning with embarrassment. "But before you travel back to Shiz, may I enquire about your great grandfather's health? We see him so seldom, and he must be close to a hundred now."
While Elphaba's hand stilled and tightened around the fork she was holding, she gave few other visible signs of irritation. Galinda on her part was mostly confused and slightly concerned.
"We aren't in regular contact with him," Elphaba said in the end, her tone even, but her back as rigid as a board. "I believe he must be hale and hearty, or otherwise we surely would have heard."
"Naturally," agreed Highmuster and probed no further, undoubtedly sensing his guest's, as well as his daughter's agitation.
"How do my parents know your grandfather?" demanded Galinda as they made their way up the stairs.
Elphaba's first response was to quicken her steps, leaving the blonde to scramble in order to keep up.
"Elphie!"
"He's my great grandfather, and it's really not a big deal," snarled Elphaba, doggedly marching ahead.
"If it's… not a big deal anyway… you could… simply tell… me!" rebutted Galinda, struggling for air.
A couple of steps later, she found herself forced to stop in order to catch her breath. Face flushed from the exercise as much as frustration, she watched the taller girl take the remaining stairs two at a time.
"Elphaba!"
Groaning and throwing her hands up, Elphaba halted after reaching the top.
"Come then and we'll discuss it if we must. I'd rather this didn't end in a shouting match with our voices echoing through the entire castle."
"'Castle'," muttered Galinda to herself but saved her breath for making up ground.
When she finally drew level with her, Elphaba gave her one cross look before taking off towards her room. She didn't speak before the door was firmly closed behind them. After that, she didn't waste another second.
"My great grandfather, on my mother's side, is somewhat of a public figure and well known," she told her while pacing the small room. "Depending on who you talk to, I suppose. You might have heard of him: Peerless Thropp?"
Galinda's jaw dropped in disbelieve.
"You—you are related to the Eminent Thropps? To the family that used to rule Munchkinland almost singlehandedly?"
"Well, it's not like that anymore, is it?" replied Elphaba tersely. "It doesn't matter. None of this matters."
"Are you… In line for the Eminency yourself?" wondered Galinda, looking at her from different angles as if she'd never truly seen her before. This new revelation was simply too unforeseen to be grasped.
"What is it to you? Why would you care?"
"I'm trying to make sense of it, is all," said Galinda crossing her arms and leaning against the wardrobe behind her. "Especially since you're…"
"Poor?" asked Elphaba and scoffed. "Well, first of all, the Thropps' affluence has diminished considerably over the last century. I'd call them moderately wealthy at best. They aren't the ablest speculators or businesspeople, but retain some influence over local policymaking and the like, which does have certain advantages. As far as my parents are concerned…
"When my mother married, my father wasn't exactly the candidate the family had hoped for. They decided to provide them with a decent stipend nonetheless, but at some point, my father resolved that he could no longer reconcile his faith with my great grandfather's politics. We've always had enough to get by, but not much more than that." She shrugged. "Now that the family has split up, most of the money goes to my sister, who is not only his favourite, but also requires the extra funds to pay for physiotherapy and general care."
"Her care?" Galinda frowned and cocked her head.
"Have I never told you? Of course I haven't…" Scratching the back of her neck, Elphaba exhaled a long breath. "My sister was born without arms. She needs assistance. Nanny, who's been with the family for so long that she even raised my mother, looks after her full time, but that's not all. They will move to Shiz soon, as you've heard. She'll need an accessible apartment and stuff like that. It all costs money. There's nothing left to splurge on me, so I had to work for everything I needed."
"That's not very fair, is it?"
"It's life. I'm not complaining."
Galinda remained quiet for a moment and thought.
"How… did my parents recognise you in the end? I never told them your family name."
"The green?" ventured Elphaba. "People involved with the upper curst habitually poke their noses into each other's business, do they not?"
Galinda supposed that wasn't entirely incorrect.
"Of course they would want to know who inherits what and what future heirs could be persuaded to match with their own offspring. Your parents and everyone else probably were bound to hear about a mysterious green child in the Thropp lineage."
"You are in line for the Eminency then?" pressed the blonde, unable to help herself.
She regretted her persistence when Elphaba's face grew darker again.
"Next in line if you absolutely must know. But you don't really expect me to ascend to the throne, so to speak, do you?" She barked a mirthless laughter. "No, I suppose I'll pass up on that honour for my sister's sake. Tragically beautiful as she is, she'd be a better figurehead, if not a better politician."
"But why?" Galinda began to protest, yet before Elphaba could reply, she shook her head and waved her hand, signalling her that she didn't require an answer to this question.
Instead, she thought about the implications this might have. Would it affect them, would it affect Elphaba's pregnancy and the child? Would the child affect Elphaba's hereditary title? She supposed if abdication had always been the plan, it did not, but…
"Why do you hide your ancestry and your title?" she asked. "Don't you know how much easier your life would be if—"
"My life is easier if I can effortlessly distinguish friend from foe," snapped Elphaba. "I don't need a grovelling following of friends who'd only exploit whatever benefit I could offer without intending to return such favours or loyalty. I have no need for respect that is based on a fancy name rather than my personal qualities."
Galinda knew fully well how right Elphaba was about that. She herself had always found it difficult to make friends with the more, well, common folks. Even if she left them in the dark about her pedigree, the wealth of her parents had always been obvious. Socialising with the children of other rich and powerful families had been easier in that regard but still hard work. Given the unique challenges she faced, however, Elphaba would benefit more than others from her heritage if she made it known.
"But what…" she bit her lip, reluctant to share her thought. In the end, however, she could not hold it back. "What about us, Elphie?"
The green girl looked startled, like a deer in the headlights.
"Us?"
Her face flushed beautifully and Galinda wondered what exactly was going on in her head. Unfortunately, she knew that she couldn't possibly push her in that direction, so she cleared her voice and simply clarified her original idea.
"You see, there is this Vinkun guy in my arch class." Elphaba frowned, probably unsure what he had to do with anything. "I—I was friendly with him when it was just the two of us. I'm not biased this way."
"Biased? What way?"
"His ethnicity, his skin tone. I remember a Vinkun girl in my school when I was twelve or thirteen. She only stayed for a year, then left. Some kids said—not at all covertly, mind you—that her skin was the colour of shit."
"If you ask me, that's a shitty opinion," Elphaba bit back.
"Without a doubt! But the memory stayed with me, and I was reluctant to get too involved with Fiyero—"
"Fiyero!"
If anything, Elphaba's eyes had grown even wider, though Galinda wasn't sure how that was possible.
"Yes?" she said nervously and pressed her folded arms harder against her fluttering abdomen. "Wha—what about him?"
Her friend's gaze remained trained on her for a few moments before she relaxed slightly and looked away.
"Nothing. I thought it was an unusual name for a Vinkun, that's all. Has a certain—I don't know—Evian ring to it, don't you think?"
"I… wouldn't know," said Galinda, shaking her head. She watched her friend for another clock-tick before licking her lips and continuing. "At any rate, Avaric found out that he is a Vinkun noble, and—fancy that—he is accepted into the circle as if it was the most natural thing in the world!
"I can talk to him, Elphie," she said, then leapt forward to grasp her hand and shake it imploringly, "and no one even bats an eyelash. It could be the same for you, Elphie. For us. We could walk to class together, we could meet in the library or even just greet each other when we run into each other on campus."
"Glin—Glinda." After carefully peeling dainty, pale hands away from her own, Elphaba took a step back. "I'm not going to flaunt my rank in order to garner any perks. If your cronies can't accept our friendship, so be it. I'm not going to give in and that is that."
"I do understand, I think. But I can't quite relate, I'm afraid."
"Maybe you never had a choice? I don't know. But I need you to accept my decision. And I think… we need to pack for our return trip."
"You're right," agreed Galinda and touched Elphaba's shoulder before turning around. Crestfallen, she left the room, worried that she might have caused yet another rift between them.
Their ride back to Shiz was a quiet one. Galinda had much to think about and, apparently, so did Elphaba. Instead of relaxed and reenergised, they both felt more drained than they had before the weekend, and Galinda almost regretted visiting her parents, or at least dragging Elphaba with her. It had obviously not worked out as well as she'd hoped it would.
When they arrived back home in the afternoon, she knew that she needed a nap. She parked the car and released a long breath before opening her door.
"I've got a headache," she announced, rubbing at her temple. "I think I'll go upstairs and have some rest. I'll grab the luggage later."
"Nonsense," replied Elphaba and got out quickly. "I'll help you get your bags upstairs," she called over her shoulder.
Galinda hadn't lied; a lot of the stuff that had previously filled up her large, pink suitcase had been gifts and was gone now. It was a lot lighter now and easier to handle. Elphaba carried it, along with two smaller bags all the way up to her room and left them in front of her door.
"You're a dear, Elphie," Galinda said as she offered her a fleeting, half-hearted smile.
This time it was Elphaba who grabbed her hand firmly and sought eye contact.
"We're okay, yes? You're not going to hold this Eminency business against me, right?"
Her gaze was so intense that Galinda's tiredness momentarily evaporated.
"I—I thought you were the one who was upset with me?"
"What?" Elphaba chuckled softly, and the blonde was astonished how relieved she sounded. "No," she said at last and smiled awkwardly. "As long as you won't bring it up again."
Infected by her smile, Galinda grinned.
"I promise."
AN:
OK. SO.
Before some nerdy kid comes to my comment section to tell me that Larena is the Upland and Highmuster is the Arduenna (and therefore the rich one and noble etc). I know what the family tree says. I know what the Wicked Fandom Wiki says. BUT. For me the book comes first and takes precedence. In the book it says that Galinda was an Arduenna on her MOTHER's side. Yeah. I tried so hard to reconcile these two contrary infos. I could not. Greg Meg screwed up it looks like. But as I said, Book later info AND I also prefer it this way. So. Deal with it. :P Thanks for your attention, now move along and spread the word. Larena Arduenna and Highmuster Upland. Period.
See you next week (or so) my pretties!