AN: -giggles- Some of you thought this wasn't being continued! Guess I'd better bring back out the cliffies. ;-)
Yay, the document manager is back up! I was trying to upload this all day! -hugs her computer-
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"Alone and loveless here, just the girl in the mirror..."
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Nessa is aware of the butler's eye boring into her back as she reaches the top of the stairs. She pauses. Perhaps she should just take the lift? After a moment, she discards the thought. She can walk now, and if it was up to her, she would never take another lift as long as she lives. She lifts her left leg, lowering it down to the first stair. So far, so good. She grips the bannister tightly, bringing her right leg down to the stair below it. The complicated movement of her knees, and the feeling of the muscles tensing in her calf and thigh as she keeps her balance brings a smile to her face. Slowly at first, and then faster, Nessa descends the stairs to the main floor.
She enters the dining room to more shocked faces, the cook and the maids are waiting to serve her. As she meets their gaze, each woman drops her eyes. Nessa rounds the large, oaken table, and takes a seat at her father's place - no, it is her place now, the head of the table. She leans back in her seat as the women begin to serve her. Funny, she thinks, how all her life she had been waited on by other people, and only now that she can walk does she notice the difference between doing something for one's self, and having someone else do it.
The servants withdraw into the kitchen as Nessa begins to eat her dinner. The sound of silverware hitting china echoes through the large, empty dining room. So many rooms in the old house echo. In a way, Nessa feels like she does, too. Something had been missing her whole life. She had thought it was just the ability to walk, but now that she has that, she knows it must be something else.
Nessarose finishes her dinner, leaving the potatoes - they were undercooked again - and she picks up her glass of water, to take out to the garden. She enjoys the novelty of being able to carry something in her hands and walk at the same time, as she moves through the dining room and out into the hall. As she reaches the door, she can see the servants from the corner of her eye, coming out of the kitchen to tidy the room. She can also feel every last one of their eyes on her.
Out in the garden, she passes the gardener, tending to the rosebushes her father had prized so. The elderly servant is nearly deaf, and the garden is usually all that receives his attention. As Nessa walks by, at her newfound brisk pace, he raises his eyes and brings a hand to rub his forehead.
Finally, Nessa reaches her favourite place. The rosebush path opens to a small, circular grassy area, hedged in, with a wooden gazebo in the center. She takes a seat on one of the benches around the inside of the structure, marvelling at how much bigger it seems when not filled up by her bulky chair.
She places her half-empty glass on the bench next to her, and begins reflecting silently on the servants' reaction to her new mobility. All of them had stared, the wide-eyed look of disbelief, but no one had come forward to celebrate with her, to congratulate her. She was left to discover all the joys of this gift on her own.
It is only a slightly modified version of the feeling she has had all her life. She had always felt different. Like the whole world was facing in one direction, and she was looking the other way. It had always been difficult to connect with people - the chair would get in the way. People had always seen 'the girl in the chair', and not herself: the daughter of the governor of Munchkinland; alumna of Shiz University; a pretty girl who likes to read and has a talent for art. There is so much that people don't understand about her, because they never take the time to see beyond her limitations. Nessarose sighs as she realizes that she doesn't know how to connect with other people.
She breaks off her train of thought, looking around for something to disperse her dark mood. The evening sun slips out from behind a cloud, making the small garden glow with an orange light. Her gaze falls on the lawn, perfectly maintained. It looks so soft, and inviting. She has always wanted to walk barefoot in the grass. She wonders if she will be able to walk with the shoes off.
Leaving her water glass on the bench, Nessa climbs out of the gazebo and sits down on the lawn. She might not be able to walk on the grass, but just this once, she is going to feel it against her bare feet. She takes a moment to admire her shoes, the orange sun making the red jewels sparkle. Drawing her knee up to her chest, she tries to slip one finger into the shoe, near her heel. The shoes seem to close up tight, as hard as she tries she cannot get a finger inside. She grabs the sole of her left shoe, and tugs on it, trying to wrench it from her foot, but it doesn't budge. She begins to notice an uncomfortable sensation. The shoes... they're getting tighter on her feet. She begins to pull more frantically at them, but this only seems to make them squeeze tighter.
"Oh!" A surprised exclamation slips from her lips as the shoes grow tighter still. An ache begins in her toes and spread to her heels, and up her ankles as the shoes continue squeezing her feet like a vise...
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AN: I do not own Wicked, Boq, or Nessa. I'm really liking this chance to explore her character, though. :-)
There's a cliffy for you. Aren't I wicked? ;-)
Thanks for reading,
Love,
B