PART 2 (ish)
Elphaba rested her head on Fiyero's shoulder, closing her eyes and letting herself enjoy the gorgeous sound of the children's voices. It was almost spring and she could feel it in the blowing wind, it wasn't as chilly as before.
The greater part of the Vinkus was gathered outside the hospital. Even the patients, from those who'd suffered a sprain all the way to the ones who were bed bound had accommodations made for them to be able to enjoy the public event. It was filled with music, food, and games all made to raise money for their patients. To kick off the event, children of all ages were singing a song together with an underlying message of hope, hope for everyone and anyone who was in the hospital and for their families. It almost made her cry right then and there. After the chorus sang their final note, the crowd erupted in applause.
"Ready?" Fiyero whispered.
Elphaba nodded and hooked her hand in the crook of his arm as he led them to the stage. Once they were in the center, Fiyero gave her the 'go ahead' and she retrieved a small piece of paper she'd tucked away in her skirt earlier.
She still felt nervous having to make a speech in front of almost the entire Vinkus, but having Fiyero right behind her helped her stay calm. If she concentrated hard enough, she could almost imagine she was giving a presentation in class.
Her whole speech felt like a blur. She knows she didn't look down at the paper as much, mostly because she'd just made small notes on what she'd wanted to address; how the effort into supporting the patients and staff at the hospital was extraordinary, how the royal family would absolutely cooperated with helping in attaining whatever resources needed, and she encouraged anyone who either was admitted or had a loved one admitted to have faith. Even though no one could guarantee the outcome of an illness or injury, just having someone at your side through the process helped with optimism.
She blushed when they'd started clapping for her and she stepped back, allowing Fiyero to take his turn.
Fiyero talked more in depth about the steps being taken in order to keep the hospital running and praised the work of the entire staff, acknowledging their long hours and how they often went above and beyond in order to help anyone and everyone who came into their care. "I also personally want to acknowledge Doctor Dillamond," he said near the end of his speech, "who took excellent care of my wife when she was in critical condition. I don't think I'll ever be able to express my gratitude to you and your hard work."
Elphaba could hear the slight tremble in his voice, so she slowly stepped forward and placed her hand on his back, just above his waist. He seemed to calm down a bit. He held her hand for the rest of his speech and gave her a small kiss on her temple as a thank you when he was done.
"Is this something we do yearly?" Elphaba asked once the activities officially commenced and she and Fiyero were walking around.
"Not really," he said. "It's more of a 'whenever funds are needed' thing. Since it's a research hospital, they don't charge the families for anything and rely mostly on donations. Events like these help with spreading awareness and raise money for the hospital."
"Oh, that makes sense, and these are cute," Elphaba smiled and picked up a cookie from a little bake sale stand. It had the drawing of a heart with a bandage over it.
"Thank you, Your Highness! " the boy, who looked to be no more than ten, answered, and squealed happily when Elphaba gave him five coins for it.
"What other events go on?" she asked as they kept walking.
"There should be a schedule…here," Fiyero grabbed a pamphlet from another table which contained a chart of the times and main events that would take place during the day. "Many dance teams will take the stage in about 50 minutes."
"Ooh! There's going to be a trivia competition," Elphaba pointed out.
"You think you could score high?" Fiyero asked.
"I think so," she looked at the main theme, "though it has been a while since I took any kind of biology class."
"And you'd still score higher than me."
"Don't underestimate yourself, love." He was smart, much more than he gave himself for. "Wanna make a bet?" she placed her hands on his shoulders.
"What kind of bet?" he smiled.
"Let's enter it together; and I bet you can get a higher score than me, with me answering everything the best I can, and if you win…I don't know, you want anything?"
Fiyero bursted out laughing. Dear Oz, she was just absolutely adorable. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she pecked his lips. "Now tell me what you want as your prize."
"I already have it," he whispered, squeezing her hips as a small hint.
Elphaba flushed a deep red. "You sap," she tried to tease, but her voice was hoarse.
"I'll think about it," he answered after a couple seconds of them just pressing their foreheads against each other. "And if you win?" he prompted.
"I'll also think about it."
"Fiyero!" Both of them turned towards the voice and saw Galinda skipping down towards them. "Hey Elphie!" The blonde hugged Elphaba and as quickly as she had, not even giving Elphaba the chance to hug back, let go and turned to Fiyero. "I need your help," she said, then dragged Fiyero with her.
Elphaba stayed rooted to her spot for a couple seconds. What in the name of Oz? She shook her head. Well, whatever it was, Fiyero would tell her about it later. Now what could she do to entertain herself while they did…whatever it was they were doing.
Elphaba scanned everyone, smiling softly at seeing so many smiling faces, everyone seemed to be having a good time. She spotted Nessarose and Yessenia chatting at a table. She felt weirdly in the mood for a bit of fun. She hadn't spooked her sister in a while.
The green woman made her way over to her sister, making sure to stay behind her. Yessenia glanced at her and before she could say anything, Elphaba pressed a finger to her lips, asking Yessenia to not say anything.
Yessenia pursed her lips to hide a smile and looked back at Nessarose so she wouldn't suspect anything. Elphaba got closer and closer and just as Nessarose took a sip of her water, Elphaba slammed her hands down at her sister's shoulders. "Boo!"
Nessarose spit out her water and slapped her chest, trying to calm her coughs down. "Why - in - what -" Elphaba bursted out laughing and Nessarose slapped her hand. "You are so mean!" she pouted.
"Yessenia's meaner," Elphaba defended, sitting on Nessarose's lap.
"Huh?" Nessarose wrapped her arms around Elphaba's waist.
"She saw me coming."
"Yessenia!"
"She told me not to say anything!" her roommate said.
"You don't have to listen to her!"
"She's a princess!"
Elphaba laughed. "I can't believe you're going with that."
Nessarose shook her head. "I hate you. Both of you," she said, putting her chin on Elphaba's shoulder.
The green girl scoffed, looking at her sister. "Yeah, ok."
"So, are you really that bored that you had to almost make me choke to death?" Nessarose asked.
Elphaba kissed her hairline. "I'm sorry," she said, smiling.
The three of them talked for a while. Well for the most part it was Elphaba listening to her sister and Yessenia bicker about literally every single little thing. They even found a way to argue about how to eat a cupcake.
"I'll see you around," Elphaba hugged Nessarose after hanging with her for a while and walked around, laughing when some children bumped into her due to them chasing each other.
A loud feedback sound hurt her ears, and it was followed by a loud snap. What the hell was that?
"Your Highness watch out!"
Watch out for what?
Elphaba barely had the chance to turn around before she suddenly found herself on the ground and Fiyero was bleeding on the floor.
She almost tripped over her dress, getting herself off the ground as quickly as possible to run over to him. She almost fainted…there…there was a pole stabbing him into the ground. He'd been impaled in the stomach. This wasn't real. This couldn't be happening.
Fiyero making a choked sound snapped her out of looking at his injury. Blood was coming out of his mouth and his eyes were falling closed.
"No, no; stay awake, Yero," her voice was very shaky. She felt helpless.
Suddenly there was a medic in front of her and she heard a saw. They were cutting the pole, making it shorter to make it easier to move Fiyero and take it out.
There were many voices coming from all different directions, some addressing her, some addressing the medics; there were hands on her trying to comfort her. But she couldn't focus on anything else. She held Fiyero's hand until they loaded him up in an ambulance and took him away.
Elphaba swallowed and her knees collapsed underneath her.
"Elphie, breathe," Galinda cupped Elphaba's face.
The green woman didn't even realize she'd been crying until Galinda started to wipe her face. Her hands felt sticky. Elphaba looked down and saw a mixture of her green skin and Fiyero's red blood.
She started to hyperventilate. It was all too much.
"Elphaba."
It was the last thing she heard before it all went black.
Short I know, sorry about that but it is setting up for the second part of the story so think of it as a mini prologue :) I'm so sorry I didn't publish last week, but I dedicated all my free time to homework this week since I had work (think of the money, haha) so I just didn't have time to make sure it was good, but double update to compensate :) So look out for it tomorrow !
Tell me what you thought :)