Title: Witch of the East
Author: Aerohead
Email: in my profile
Website: In my profile
Pairing: Mention of Fiyero/Elphaba, Fiyero/Glinda, and Glinda/OC, also has Dorothy/OC
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer/Dedication: For L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz, and Winnie Holtzman who own this idea that I'm extending. Thank you for giving me the first part.
Warning: spoiler for the ending of the musical Wicked, but that's pretty much about it.
Genre: Romance, slight drama
Summary: What happened at Shiz University that made Dorothy Gale who she now is at twenty-eight years old.
Author's Notes: Wow…thanks to ElphabaGlinda, lkasjdf, and bubblesnbrooms for reviewing. I'm surprised I had three reviews so fast. It makes me happy. I'm also glad that someone figured out that the little girl was Fabala (pretty obvious), and the boy with the skin problem and his mother are Fabala's brother and Elphaba. Both are pretty obvious, but if I were reading it and hadn't written it, I wouldn't have gotten the connection. I'm just slow, I guess. But I shouldn't have underestimated you guys. This chapter's going to be…interesting, very interesting, I must say.
Chapter Two: A Most Amusing Paradox
The train ride was rather dull, with no real reasons to be explained within a narrative. The most extraordinary thing that happened was that Ozma fell asleep reading a book, and Dorothy started a letter to Glinda to let the woman know they reached school safely.
As the train slowed, and the tik-tok doors creaked open, allowing steam from the engines to waft into the cabs. They were allowed to leave their suitcases on the train, as Glinda had paid for someone – Dorothy wasn't exactly sure who in the large throng of students – to take their bags to their room once they were given it. She and Ozma walked through University Station toward Crage Hall.
"Dorothy, could you hold this for me, please?" Ozma asked, holding out a book of Unionist lectures. Dorothy took it and put it on top of the book she had used as a desk to write Glinda's letter on.
"Of course." Said Dorothy. Ozma smiled, before she started to dig through her purse, trying to find something.
Dorothy watched her friend, and didn't notice that the throng of people had spaced out quite far from herself and Ozma. There was a good five foot radius between the two freshmen and the rest of the student population. Well, the rest of the student population, sans one very tall Quadling that was walking right down the path, holding a small pile of books.
Dorothy collided with the Quadling, and both parties books went flying. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Dorothy said, starting to pick up stranger's books.
"It's quite alright." The Quadling said, smiling almost serenely as he helped Dorothy. He looked at the two books she had been holding, before moving his glasses down the bridge of his nose to get a better look at the titles. "Great Ozian Thinkers of the Age of Wonder?" he read, his brown eyes gazing up at Dorothy.
She blushed slightly. "Oh…that's….that….well…"
"That's mine." Ozma said. The Quadling handed it to her, and she smiled, before clutching it tightly to her chest, blushing a terrible shade of red.
"Well, what about The Complete Works of Shakespeare?" He asked. Dorothy took it away from him slightly regretfully, before handing him his own books.
"That one is mine." She said quietly. He smiled.
"Aren't his sonnets wonderful?" He asked. "'O that you were your self, but love you are no longer yours, than you your self here lives…'"
"'…against this coming end you should prepare, and your sweet semblance to some other give.'" Dorothy finished. "Sonnet number thirteen, right?" she asked. He nodded. She stood and he did as well. Handing Ozma her book of Shakespeare, she held out her hand.
"I didn't know you could recite Shakespeare. And here I thought you were more like Glinda than…You-Know-Who." The brunette said, biting her lip. Her best friend sent her a pleading look, before turning back to the boy.
"I'm Dorothy Gale." She said. He shuffled his books into one arm, and smiled as he shook her hand.
"I'm Merric."
"Just Merric?" asked Dorothy coyly. Merric laughed, shaking his head.
"No, Merric Caelan." He said. "I'm a senior. I'm, uh, staying at Three Queens…you know, after the Festival Month, we're – the drama club, I mean – doing Romeo and Juliet, if you would like to audition." He said. "You were, after all, the one to introduce the Bard to Oz, aren't you?"
"Oh, well, yes!" Dorothy smiled. Ozma sighed, rolling her eyes.
"We're just lowly freshers." She said.
"Oh, I know." Merric said, suddenly registering the other girl's presence. "And you are?"
"Oh, of course, they all know the one who killed two women, but the princess turned into a boy they forget about completely." Ozma muttered to herself, making Dorothy snort. She turned back to Merric. "I'm the Ozma Regent." She said. Merric stared at her, first with bewilderment, then interest.
"You are?" he asked, looking her over. "Well…you don't look anything like I expected you to." He looked over at Dorothy. "Neither of you are exactly what I expected, though." He smiled, before bowing slightly to Ozma. "It really is a pleasure to meet you." He said.
Ozma smiled, before grabbing Dorothy and pulling her away. "We have to find our room now. It was nice to meet you, Master Caelan. I hope we do run into you again." She said, ushering Dorothy toward Crage Hall.
Dorothy turned and watched as Merric was lost in the sudden crush of the student body that had finally realized they needed to get to their rooms and unpack. "He's kind of cute, don't you think?" she asked.
Ozma rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes. If you like leeches, that is." She said. Dorothy pouted as she turned back, trying to see the tall senior in the crowd.
"How do you mean?" she asked.
"No normal person quotes Shakespeare." Ozma said. Dorothy opened her mouth to argue, but Ozma looked down her glasses at the other girl. "You are not a normal person, Dorothy." She pointed out.
"Oh…" The girls reached Crage Hall and walked inside, getting their timetables as they went through. They were assigned a room together, as was expected, and went to unpack.