Strength
A.N. Hello, all. Thanks for the reviews! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are having a wonderful start to the holiday season. I've just finished setting up my Christmas tree and my "Elphaba" ornament (technically it's the witch from the Wizard of Oz, but we can pretend) is happily defying gravity at the top.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
"I cannot believe it. She was actually expressing emotion! It was like she was almost, human." Frex paced up and down his bedroom as he talked to Nanny, who was seated on the bed. Through all the years she had lived with them, Nanny had become a sort of confidant to Frex.
"Frex, of course she's human. Her mother was a human, her father is a human, what else would she be? A Goat? Honestly, it always amazes me the way you speak of your own child." Nanny said.
"She is not my child, Nanny. She was the product of Melena's sin. For all we know her father could have actually been a Goat!" Frex sighed deeply as he continued to pace. "I told you we shouldn't have informed her of Melena's death. I thought once I got her off to Shiz I was done with her. I thought I was done raising this, this thing."
Nanny stood up off the bed and crossed the room to where Frex was. "Frex, listen to Nanny. We do not know for sure that Elphaba is not your biological child. Melena's supposed affair was never proven. And whether you provided the biological requirement or not, she is your child. She grew up in your house, under your care. Perhaps she may have acted more human if you had treated her more human. Perhaps if you hadn't made such a strong difference between the way you were with her and the way you were with Nessa…"
"Nessarose is disabled, Nanny. Of course I treat her differently."
"That's not what I'm talking about." Nanny continued. "Think back to before Nessa was born. You and Elphaba got along well, much better than she and Melena ever did. You had begun to accept her, and then the normal child came and Elphaba was pushed aside."
"Nanny, what exactly is the point of all of this? Do you want me to go and apologize to the little fiend?
"Not exactly. The point is, Frex, that you do not have one demon child and one normal child. You have two human children, and both of them experience the same feelings and emotions. You have to be just as supportive and understanding of Elphaba as you are of Nessa."
As Frex and Nanny continued to argue, Elphaba and Fiyero sat outside on the front porch. Fiyero had discovered that telling stories about her mother was a healing tool for Elphaba, so he was content to sit and listen for as long as she wanted to talk. He had to admit, however, that most of Elphaba's stories were very depressing. The more he heard about Elphaba's childhood, the more he understood why she was so antisocial.
After awhile, Glinda joined them on the porch. "I'm going to go into town and go shopping. Does anyone want to go with me?" she asked.
"No, I don't think so. I'm not sure I'm up to it." Elphaba replied. But Glinda wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Oh, Elphie. It's time I teach you about the miracle that is retail therapy. Come on, it will take your mind off of everything and it will get us out of this house."
Elphaba had to admit; she didn't want to spend any more time in the house than what was absolutely necessary. So she agreed to accompany Glinda into town. She stood up and went inside to get her coat; it wasn't that cold, but it looked like it could rain any minute and she didn't want to get caught in the rain with no covering. As she walked to her bedroom, she passed the doorway to Frex's bedroom where he and Nanny were still arguing.
"Nanny, you don't understand. Ever since that girl was born, I've kept myself apart from her by saying that she simply isn't mine. I am a public figure. I cannot simply change my stance on the matter now."
"Listen to yourself, Frex! Are you really willing to put your public persona above your own child's…"
"Nanny, this is the last time I'm going to say this to you. She is not my child. She never was, and she never will be. We should have drowned her when we had the chance."
Elphaba stood against the walls of the hallway, unable to move. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. She wasn't her father's child? He wanted to drown her? Her legs broke into a run as she made her way out of the house.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Glinda said as Elphaba exited the front door. Elphaba gave no answer as she ran down the path and away from the house.
Fiyero stood to chase after her, but Glinda held up a hand to stop him. "I'll go. I think this is a girl talk moment," she said. Although Elphaba had never seemed to be the "girl talk" type, Fiyero agreed.
Glinda ran after Elphaba as fast as she could, but she soon discovered that high-heeled shoes were not the easiest things to run in. It was all she could do to keep up with Elphaba. Glinda was relieved when Elphaba stopped running in the middle of a meadow, but that relief quickly faded into concern when Elphaba dropped to her knees. Glinda approached cautiously; Elphaba had a reputation for being quite snappy in situations like this.
Today, however, she seemed more than willing to talk. Glinda slowly sat next to her and asked "Elphie, what's wrong?" and without any further prodding or provoking, Elphaba began to tell Glinda what was wrong.
"I was standing in the hallway, getting my coat, and I heard my father arguing with my old Nanny. He said that…that I wasn't his child."
Glinda was unsure of what to say. She couldn't imagine being told such horrible information so soon after losing a parent.
Luckily for Glinda, Elphaba broke the silence. "Glinda, why can't I be loved? Why can't I have a family that is supportive and caring?"
"Elphie, you are loved. Forget about your father. Nessarose loves you, your mother loved you…"
Glinda was interrupted by a sarcastic exhale from Elphaba. "My mother hated me as much as my father did. See that lake over there?" Elphaba pointed in the direction of the lake and, seeing Glinda nod, continued. "One of my earliest memories is me and my mother leaving for a walk when I was about two. She would always take me here, and this one morning she said "Shall we go walk by the edge of the lake today and maybe you'll drown." My father said that today too, that he wished he had drowned me when he had the chance." Elphaba let her head fall onto Glinda's shoulder.
Glinda said nothing for several minutes. She simply sat there, with Elphaba resting on her shoulder, processing the information she had just received. Although it was terrible information, Glinda realized that now had a better understanding of her friend.
Suddenly, Glinda heard a faint rumbling sound: thunder. Before she had a chance to inform Elphaba, who had not heard it, the sky opened up and the girls were being drenched in a sudden rainstorm.
"Oh my God! Elphie, we have to get you home." Glinda said as she franticly tried to pull Elphaba to her feet. It was no use, however. She was already quite weak from the water and Glinda saw that it would be quite impossible for her to walk all the way back to her house. There was no way that Glinda could carry her back; she was much smaller than Elphaba. There had to be some way to keep out the rain.
"Don't worry, Elphie. I'll find some way to get you out of the rain." Glinda opened up the bag that she had hung on her shoulder earlier that day. She saw her magic wand and got an idea. In sorcery, they had been learning how to create bubbles.
"This has to work." Glinda closed her eyes, wishing she had paid more attention in class. She uttered some magic words, and a bubble began to form around Elphaba and herself. Thankfully, the bubble kept out the rain, and Glinda was able to survey the damage the rain had done to Elphaba.
Elphaba was curled up on the bubble's floor in a fetal position. She was shaking violently. Glinda knelt down next to her and started to attempt to move her, but Elphaba flinched away. As Glinda looked at the skin on her shoulders and arms, she realized why Elphaba didn't want to be touched. The skin was burned and irritated beyond belief. She now wished that she had let Fiyero come along. Fiyero could lift Elphaba.
Not knowing what else to do, Glinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba and prepared to wait out the storm. After awhile, Elphaba stopped shaking, and Glinda realized that she had either passed out from pain or simply fallen asleep. Glinda was tired, but too scared to nod off herself. She held Elphaba tightly for about fifteen minutes, until the rain had stopped.
Once the rain stopped, Glinda woke up Elphaba. "Elphie, are you ok? Oh, Elphie, sweetie, please wake up. We have to get you home."
Elphaba's eyes opened for a second, but closed again once the pain set back in. "Glinda, it hurts so badly. I can't walk all the way back. Go get Fiyero."
"And leave you? Elphie, I'm not leaving you curled up in a field like this alone. There has to be some way to get help. HELP! Anyone, please! My friend is hurt; she needs help. Can somebody please…oh, thank Oz."?
Elphaba shifted her head in an attempt to see what Glinda was looking at. She saw a figure coming towards them. As the figure moved closer, she realized it was Fiyero, first aid kit and all. His quick walk evolved into a full run when he saw Elphaba. Once he reached her side, he grabbed the tube of burn cream from his first aid kit. However, one look at Elphaba's burns showed him that the tube of cream, with half of its contents already used on Elphaba's face at the inn, would not be sufficient. Lacking any better ideas, he lifted Elphaba off the ground and motioned to Glinda to follow him.
"Come on, we have to get her some help."
Although it seemed to be the last place that Elphaba would get help, they took her back to her father's house. Luckily, they found Frex and Nanny to be out with Nessa, a good thing seeing as Glinda was ready to punch Frex in the face for the way he had treated Elphaba.
Fiyero laid Elphaba down on one of the beds in her room and opened up Elphaba's bag. He remembered that she had said something about bringing oil for burns. Sure enough, he found a large bottle of clearish yellow oil. He dispensed some into his hand, and then handed the bottle to Glinda. "I'll take her right arm, you do her left arm." Fiyero said.
The two diligently worked on oiling Elphaba's arms, then they moved on to her neck and any other area that had been burned. Once the oil was applied, Fiyero left the room so that Glinda could get Elphaba changed for bed. As Glinda removed the wet clothes, she saw more burns and applied more oil. Eventually, her muscles relaxed somewhat, and Glinda assumed that the pain was lessening. His assumption proved to be correct, as Elphaba's eyes opened and began to dart around the room. "What happened?" she asked groggily.
"You got caught out in that rainstorm, remember? Elphie, I'm so glad you're alright. I was so scared." Glinda replied.
Elphaba started to say something, but it was masked with a yawn.
"Yes, I agree. Come on, let's get some sleep. You're going to have a hard day tomorrow."
As Glinda and Fiyero began to work out sleeping arrangements, Elphaba's mind began to wander. Tomorrow. She had completely forgotten about the memorial service. How could she appear in public, grieving the mother who had tried to drown her as a toddler and consoling the father who had been disowning her all her life? She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sudden movement of the mattress; she and Glinda were sharing the bed, apparently, with Fiyero in the second bed.
Glinda and Fiyero fell asleep before Elphaba. She subconsciously grabbed Glinda's arm as she fell asleep, dreading the day that was ahead.
A.N. Well that was exciting, wasn't it? Please review-the conflict is coming soon, I swear!