A.N. Thanks for the reviews! Happy 2005, everyone!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
"Nessa! When did you get back?" Elphaba attempted to stand up in shock, but then remembered her leg. Nessa eyed her sister up and down, and gave her a look asking her to explain her new disability.
"Yes, you've missed quite an eventful two weeks. But I'll fill you in later. What is this terrible news? When did you get back?"
Nessa wheeled herself closer to Elphaba. It was a nice feeling, being more mobile then someone else. Sure, she still couldn't walk, but at least she could wheel herself from place to place. "I just got back today. I just saw Glinda on the way up; she'll probably be bursting in here any moment to inform you of my…"
As if on cue, Glinda appeared in the doorway. "Elphie, you won't believe who I just…oh, I guess you know already. Welcome back, Nessa!"
"Apparently Nessa has terrible news for us." Fiyero said.
"Oh, not more bad news! What is it this time?" Glinda whined.
"Well, if you three would let me finish a sentence maybe I could tell you!" Nessa said. She waited for a few seconds to make sure it would stay quiet before continuing. "Elphie, Father is very sick. That's why I came back here; I needed to get you. He wants to see you again, Elphie."
Elphaba knew there was no way that she was going back, but she humored Nessa for a little bit longer. "What exactly is wrong with him?"
"They aren't exactly sure. It's not as much a physical affliction as it is an emotional one. But they do know that he doesn't have much time left."
Elphaba sighed. This wasn't going to be easy to say. "Nessa, I…I can't. I've been roaming around too much in the past few weeks. Besides, look at me! I don't think I'm in any condition to travel."
"What do you mean, roaming around to much? You've been back from Nest Hardings for at least two weeks now. Surely you've made up all of your work. Oh, honestly, Elphie, why won't you come home to say goodbye to your father?"
"Nessa, he's not my father." Elphaba said in a very straightforward voice.
"Elphie, he didn't mean any of that. I'm sure it was just something he said in the heat of the moment."
"Nessa, listen to me. He's not my father." Elphaba sighed again, preparing to tell this story for the third time in two days. She explained the entire Emerald City saga to Nessa, whose eyes widened more and more as the story wore on.
After she had finished, Nessa struggled to find what to say. "Well, that does explain a lot. Your powers, your skin…But why can't you come back and speak to him anyway? Whether he was your father or not, he still raised you."
"There is no way I am going. I can't walk, and I'm not dragging Fiyero back with me to carry me around Nest Hardings."
"I cannot believe you, Elphaba!" Before Elphaba could reply, Nessarose had wheeled herself out of the room.
Elphaba spent the rest of the afternoon and evening lost in her own thoughts. Fiyero stayed for quite awhile, but eventually had to leave to get back to his own room. Glinda sat on her bed, pretending to study. She watched Elphaba from the safety of behind one of her textbooks. Elphaba had her own book out, but judging by the fact that she had been on the same page for at least fifteen minutes Glinda assumed that she was also only pretending to read.
Glinda decided not to pressure Elphaba to talk, and thus was very relieved when she heard Elphaba's voice from across the room.
"Glinda? Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
"Of course, Elphie. It's perfectly understandable that…"
"No, Glinda. I didn't ask if it was understandable. Understandable doesn't make it right."
Glinda sighed. This was going to be another all-nighter. "Elphie, I agree with you. There is no way that, in your condition, you could travel all the way to Nest Hardings just to say goodbye to a man who not only isn't your father but never really treated you that well anyway. But…"
"Oh, no. Glinda's thinking again" thought Elphaba.
"I do think that you should say goodbye in some form. It is the man's dying wish, Elphie. Whether he was your father or not, you should at least grant him that. Why not write a letter? You could send it with Nessa in the morning; I assume she'll be returning."
"Oh, sweet Oz" Elphaba shot up in bed, alarming Glinda.
"What? What is it, Elphie?"
"If our father dies, that means that I'll be the next governor of Munchkinland." Elphaba grabbed onto Glinda like a small child would grab onto their parent. "Glinda, I don't want to be the governor. I can't. Not after all that's happened."
Glinda, still shocked by Elphaba's sudden embrace, slowly moved her friend's arms from around her shoulders. "Elphie, calm down. Just try and get some rest now, alright? I promise, I'll help you deal with all of this in the morning when you're not as tired and we can both think better."
Elphaba nodded silently. She had a look of slight embarrassment on her face, most likely from suddenly grabbing Glinda. She closed her eyes and lay her head back on her pillow.
She did try very hard to get to sleep. But Elphaba knew that she was never going to be able to make it through the night without doing something about her situation. She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a notebook and pen that she had rested there during her pretend study session and began to write her letter to her…no, to Frex.
Dear Frex,
You may have noticed that I am no longer addressing you as Father. I have found out, both from overhearing your conversation with Nanny and from other reliable sources, that I am not your biological child. Even so, you did give me as stable of a home as you could and for that I thank you. I am sorry that I cannot personally be there to deliver this message; however, I am injured and incapable of walking at the moment.
Elphaba found that sentence particularly hard to write. She was never good at admitting her downfalls, and it was almost impossible for her to admit, even in a letter, that she was incapable of doing anything.
I did not think it was practical for me to travel right now. So I shall be sending this letter back to you with Nessarose. Don't worry, Frex, she well taken care of. If you had wanted to see me to ask forgiveness of me, then rest assured that I have forgiven you for everything. If you wanted to see me to reveal to me that I am, in fact, not your child, I have already been informed of this information.
Elphaba set her notebook and pen back down on the nightstand. She knew that she should put some heartfelt message at the end of the letter; after all, this was most likely the final contact she would have with Frex. But she found some truth in what Glinda had said. It was difficult to think when she was so tired. The action of starting the letter had cleared her mind enough that she could sleep.
A loud knock on the door woke Elphaba up the next morning. Before she could verify who it was, the door opened and Nessa wheeled herself in. She smiled as she saw Elphaba in bed, unable to get up. It felt good to be the less disabled one for a change.
"Elphaba, I'm leaving for Nest Hardings. Are you sure you won't come with me? I know it would mean a lot to our father if…"
Elphaba decided not to reiterate the fact that Frex was not her father. It was obvious that Nessa refused to believe it. "I cannot go, Nessa. You know how hard it is traveling when you're disabled. Here," she said, handing Nessa the letter from the night before. There would be no time to add any heartfelt messages. "Take this to him."
Although she was disappointed that Elphaba refused to accompany her, Nessa accepted the one small attempt at a last contact. She turned and looked at Glinda, who was still sound asleep. "Tell Glinda and Fiyero I said goodbye."
"What about Boq? Have you stopped to see him?" Elphaba asked, suddenly remembering the Munchkin boy with whom her sister was so smitten.
Nessa paused for a moment, as if she was trying to remember him as well. "Oh, yes, I forgot to go see Boq. Has he been missing me terribly?"
Even though Elphaba had not seen very much of Boq in the recent weeks, she nodded to keep her sister happy. She figured it was the least she could do. "You better get over there, his first class is pretty early and you don't want to miss him."
Nessa nodded, and wheeled herself out of the room. As she disappeared into the hallway, Glinda opened her eyes. "Was someone in here?" she asked groggily.
Elphaba nodded. "Nessa. I gave her a letter that I wrote last night after you went to bed. She went to go see Boq and then she's leaving."
Glinda sat up, balancing on one elbow. "You know, I've never seen Nessa this independent before. A month ago she wouldn't leave campus without you or Boq, not even to get something to eat, but now she's traveling all the way to Munchkinland by herself."
"I guess I'm not the only one changing these days." Elphaba said. "Speaking of getting something to eat, I'm kind of hungry. Glinda, would you mind going and getting breakfast?"
Glinda nodded and went downstairs to the dining room. She returned with the food only five minutes later, and seeing Elphaba's surprise at her speed, said "You should have broken your leg a long time ago. All I had to do was tell the Ama that I was bringing food up to you and they let me go right to the front of the line." She handed Elphaba a trey and sat down on the bed next to her.
When they were almost done eating, Glinda remembered her promise from the night before. "So, you wrote a letter last night?"
"Yeah. It didn't come out very well, though."
"Well, that is because you were so tired and upset last night. I told you to sleep on it first."
"Yes, Mommy." Elphaba said sarcastically. She was becoming a bit tired of everyone's newfound bossiness towards her. Actually, it wasn't new; Elphaba had always been able to resist it before. "But it's a good thing I wrote it last night because I wouldn't have had time to write it this morning."
"Yes, I suppose that's true. So anyway, what do you propose we do about this governor business? Are you sure you would be the next governor? Aren't you a little young? I mean, not that you couldn't handle it…"
"No, Glinda, you're right. I am far too young for the job. No matter how smart or talented a sorceress I may be, I simply don't have enough life experience to handle a job like that. But that doesn't matter. The charter clearly states that, upon the passing of a governor, the oldest living offspring at or above the age of 18 will take over. I am almost 19, therefore I am that offspring. And Munchkins are very picky about rituals like this."
"But since you are not Frex's biological child, wouldn't that make you inelligable?"
"If the Munchkins knew that, yes. But they don't know and they certainly are not going to believe me if I attempt to tell them. Believe me, I know how Munchkins think."
"I take it that's how Nessa knows what Boq's thinking at all times."
"Possibly. Anyway, there really is no choice. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm going to have to be the new governor."
Glinda looked sadly at her friend. "Does that mean you're going to have to leave Shiz? You can't leave, Elphie."
"I'm sorry, Glinda, but there's no way out of…"
"Wait! I think I thought of something! You said that the Munchkins wouldn't believe you. But would they believe someone else, someone of a little more importance?"
"Like who?"
"You know who, Elphaba."
Elphaba sighed. She did know who Glinda was talking about. She pulled out the same notebook from the night before and began to write to the one person who could get her out of this situation.