Glinda's mother walked down the hall, a little earlier she had heard a commotion coming from the end of the hall where the girls' rooms were and wanted to go check on them. As she got closer she heard raised voices and hateful words coming from both of them. Before she had a chance to inquire, Elphaba came flying out of the room. Fury on her face and oblivious, she ran down the stairs and out the front door.
Glinda was close behind, fists clenched, face red with anger, but she went into her own room. Mrs. Upland, resisting with great difficulty the urge to go to her daughter turned and went back to her project.
"They need to learn sort this out on their own," She thought.
Elphaba raced out the front door and kept going, not knowing or even caring where. Her mind was clouded with rage. Eventually she slowed her pace and took stock of where she was. Upland Manor was back quite a distance. "Good!" she spat out to no one
Glinda paced around her room, trying to gain control of her breathing and her thoughts. She picked up pillows from the couch and hurled them across the room "She is impossible" she yelled at the lamp.
Elphie skulked about the grounds for a long time, trying to regain control of herself and her emotions. Still unable to think clearly, she walked over to a grassy meadow and sat down on an old tree stump, because the grass was still a little damp from the morning's rain. "Ok Elphaba" she said out loud rather angrily "you're away, you're alone, think this through"
Glinda threw a few more pillows and finally calmed down a little. She walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. The face she saw shocked her. "You need to think this through before she returns," She said to the anger itched face. It never even occurred to her that Elphaba might not return.
Mr. and Mrs. Upland were having lunch in the solarium; it had been over two hours since the girl's fight.
"Will the Misses be joining you ma'am?" Cook said
"I don't think so, but please prepare a tray of light fare in case they want to eat later"
"I certainly will, Our Miss Elphaba is far to skinny to miss a meal"
"Oh and Cook would you please ask Hensign to come in here please"
"Of course" She said as she left.
"Elphaba doesn't know her way around the grounds yet, I'm afraid she may become lost" Mr. Upland said
"I'm more concerned about the weather, it looks as though it may rain again" His wife responded.
Hensign entered "What may I do for you?"
"Do you know if anyone has seen Miss Elphaba walking about the grounds?" Mr. Upland said
"I'll find out Sir"
"Thank you Hensign, it is most important, we need to locate her- not bother her, just locate her."
"I understand Sir." He hurried out.
They ate and chatted about the girls and about 10 minutes later Hensign returned.
"Sir, a stable hand reported seeing Miss Elphaba sitting on the old stump in the horse meadow a few minutes ago."
"Thank you Hensign" The butler nodded and turned smartly and exited.
"The meadow, Oh Samion- She is not far from a shelter, but she doesn't know that. I don't want to bother her, but we can't have her caught out in the rain." Mrs. Upland was very distressed, remembering the welts on Elphaba's arm.
"We will just take a casual stroll, on the back path to the meadow, and take her an umbrella." Mr. Upland suggested.
"What a wonderful idea- I'll go tell Galinda we are going out"
Glinda was sitting, stretched out on her bed, replaying the argument in her mind.
"Galinda- are you Ok darling?"
Glinda got up and greeted her mother
"I'm fine Mother, Elphie and I had an awful argument."
"I know dear, I heard a little of it and saw Elphaba run outside."
"She is a solitary sort mom, she needs to be alone- if it's ok I'd rather not talk about this anymore"
"As you wish darling. Even though it looks like rain, your father and I are going out for a sort stroll."
Glinda chuckled "Since when do you and daddy stroll?"
"Since it looks like rain and your best friend is outside without an umbrella or cloak"
"Oh dear!" She ran to a window and saw the sky.
"Don't worry, she is close to the East gazebo. We are just going to casually run into her, give her an umbrella and tell her about the gazebo, nothing more."
"Momsie- thank you- I know I should do that- but I can't handle seeing her yet"
"I understand dear-If she hasn't found her way back yet- she may not be ready either"
She kissed her daughter "You two will work it out"
"I hope so" She sighed "Please make sure she doesn't get hurt" she whispered
"We will, and Galinda please change out of your riding clothes" She hugged her daughter and left.
Glinda hadn't even realized she was still in riding clothes. She suddenly became very angry with herself for not realizing that Elphie was outside alone, in a strange place on a rainy day. She also realized that she was rational, still angry, but rational, not whiney and pouty.
"That argument effected me more than I realized" She thought with mixed emotions
The Uplands walked down the back path to the horse meadow.
"Was Galinda alright my dear?"
"She seemed fine- frustrated perhaps. I don't think the girls have ever fought like that before"
They walked arm in arm for about 5 minutes when they reached the gazebo. They continued through the trees to the field, and saw the lone black clad figure walking around the old stump. They walked over to near where she was and called.
"Elphaba-Hello dear"
Elphie startled at the sound of her name. She was in no mood to talk to anyone. "Fleeing in the opposite direction might be a little obvious," She thought
"I see you've found our horse meadow- its such a beautiful, quite place"
"Yes, it is" Elphie mumbled, barely able to meet their gaze.
"Well dear, we don't want to bother you- so we will be on our way. Samion dear, please leave Elphaba your umbrella, it looks as though it may rain."
"Of course" He said handing Elphie his big red umbrella. "Oh and Elphaba, just behind here, through those trees is a lovely gazebo, overlooking the lake. And a beautiful walking path that leads back to the house. - If you're interested."
"Thank you" Elphie said quietly
"Don't mention it dear- Well Samion, let's leave her to enjoy the day"
"We shall see you tonight back at the house" Mr. Upland said taking his wife's arm and striding away.
Elphie watched them walk away, her clever mind clicking into place the details of what had just transpired.
She sat back down on the stump. Her natural inclination towards cynicism and paranoia took her in the direction that they were checking up on her and following her.
"Get a handle on this you know that's not true" She chided herself.
She sat there for a long time. Her mind sorted through her intense emotions, that awful argument with Glinda replaying over and over in her head.
Glinda had changed into a more appropriate outfit. She was in much better control of her thoughts since her mother's visit. She sat on her sofa, trying to analyze why she had gotten so angry with Elphie, and more importantly why Elphie was so angry.
A light drizzle started and Elphie put up the umbrella; She walked in the direction of the gazebo and found it easily. "This is lovely", she thought. She sighed and sat down on a padded bench, watching the mist fall on the lake. "Water water everywhere, but not a drop on Elphie" She sing-songed wryly.
She knew she needed to go back up to the house soon, She thought she had figured out why she was so angry, what was really fueling it. But she wasn't sure if she was ready face Glinda. A duck waddled up into the gazebo and looked at her. "Well you better get ready soon or you'll be sleeping with Mr. duck here." She said out loud
Glinda was as ready as she was ever going to get to see Elphie, and was even looking forward to it, albeit anxiously. "She will return, when she is ready" Glinda said curling up on the sofa with a spell book and her wand.
Elphaba had been pacing around the gazebo, the duck following behind her. She suddenly decided that it was now or never, "You can't keep sulking out here," She thought.
She had been walking, sulking and thinking for hours. She had regained control over her thoughts and feelings and felt like she was ready to see her best friend again- She just hoped her best friend was ready to see her. So she took a deep breath and walked up the path feeling more than a little anxious.
She saw the back of the house and went in through the kitchen. Cook was there working on what seemed to be dinner.
"Hello Cook" Elphie said startling the older woman
"Oh Miss Elphaba, you gave me a fright" Her voice took on a mildly scolding tone "you missed your lunch- where in Oz were you all this time?"
"Just walking around the grounds- I'm sorry I missed lunch"
"You were walking for five hours?"
"Five hours!" Elphie said incredulous "I was gone that long"
"Yes Missy you were, and Miss Galinda has been holed up in her room all that time too- She also missed lunch. I'll never understand you college girls"
Elphie was stunned that time had passed that quickly. Cook observed her carefully
"You look tired and hungry dear, why don't you go up and I'll bring you and Miss Galinda up a snack"
"Would you mind if I took it up Cook- maybe I can use it as a peace offering." Elphie said distractedly.
"Of course child, I'll get it ready in a jiffy" She hurried to get the drinks and a veggie plate ready. "Are you sure you can manage this up the stairs?"
"I'm sure- thank you Cook" She picked up the tray and started out
"Miss Elphaba?" Elphie turned "Girlfriends have tiffs all the time, it comes with the territory"
Elphie gave her a warm smile and went up to deal with the aftermath of her and Glinda's tiff.
Elphaba walked down the hall feeling very nervous. She saw Glinda's door open and took a deep breath. Standing in the doorway she saw her love curled up on her sofa reading something- more than likely a spell book, because she was also waving around her wand.
"I'm not coming in until you put that thing away." Elphie said as normally as she could.
Glinda looked up, feeling a mix of relief and nervousness, and gave her love a little smile.
"It's just as well," She said putting the book and wand on the table "I just turned my lamp into a pencil holder"
She pointed to her desk. Elphie smiled and put the tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa and sat down.
"Cook was in the kitchen when I came in, she was a little upset that we missed lunch" She poured Glinda a glass of tea, and herself a glass of milk. They nibbled and sipped in silence for a time.
"Where did you go Elphie?" Glinda ventured quietly.
"I just went out the door and kept going, I found out, from your parents by the way, that I ended up in the horse meadow"
"Oh I love the horse meadow" Glinda sighed
"It helped calm me- I blended in." She laughed thinking about what Glinda had said about her favorite grassy place back at Shiz.
Glinda smiled remembering too. "Elphie, my parents…"
The green girl interrupted her "were thoughtful, and caring, if not a bit obvious. I had to fight my paranoid leanings to come to this conclusion." She chuckled slightly
"They told me they were going on a walk, because you needed an umbrella. I got so angry with myself because I hadn't even realized."
"Glinda we were both very angry" Elphie said testing the waters.
"I know" She spoke carefully "Elphie we've never been angry at each other at the same time before. It was a little scary"
"No we haven't been. - I know you don't understand, but I truly did feel betrayed."
"Elphie I understand now. I think. I wasn't able to realize at the time that my perception of the situation didn't matter- only yours did- and I should have talked to you first and we could have talked to my mother together"
"Close enough. I know you wouldn't hurt me like that, intentionally, but at the time, this was just one more person I barely know- knowing the intimate details of my life and I think I overloaded. But Glinda, what was different, what frightened me- was that I wasn't just lashing out at you because you happen to there, like I usually do- I was truly angry with you, specifically."
"I was the same Elphie- I felt like because I was at home- I could do as I thought best, and you should have understood- and it really infuriated me that you didn't."
"Using the home field advantage in an argument is cheating." She smiled at her roomie, desperately wanting to feel the chemistry they shared return.
"You're the one who had the run of the grounds and my parents chasing you around." She smiled lovingly.
"I hate that we had so much trouble talking- It's usually our best thing" Elphie said sadly
"I hate it too- It seemed so unnatural."
There was a knock on the door, and Glinda's mother came in.
"Hello, girls- Cook told me you had returned Elphaba. Did you both get enough to eat?"
Elphie nodded and Glinda said "Thank Cook for us"
Mrs.; Upland nodded "May I talk to you two for a moment girls?"
Glinda glanced at Elphie, who nodded
"Sure Mom"
She sat in a chair near her daughter. "Girl's I'm going to use a mother's prerogative and give you some unsolicited advice. You two know you are very different people, with very different needs, but you seem to be able to understand each other's differences, and embrace and honor them, even if you momentarily forgot that earlier. This is a rare thing in ones so young. You've been talking, correct?"
They both nodded
"Good- that's important, You two will fight again, but you need to remember this one- right now, because you learned today that you can't always coddle one another's feelings, that sometimes they will blow up, as intense emotions tend to do. You've also learned that, as friends you can survive it, even though it may be painful. Now you need to acknowledge each other's hurt, understand what happened on your own and on the other's part, talk about it- then let it go. This is hard to do, letting go, but it is necessary my darlings, and may take some time."
"Any thoughts on how we can do this?" Glinda sighed sadly
"You already know how darling- and I venture that you do too Elphaba. You two could never have become the kind of friends that you are if you didn't"
She kissed her daughter, cupped Elphaba's cheek lightly and walked to the door.
"Dinner will be in two hours."
She left the girls alone. Elphie sighed heavily and Glinda looked like she wanted to cry.
"Glinda please try not to cry, I don't have the strength for it. Let's just try and talk"
Glinda sniffled " Ok"
"Thank you. Glinda I am trying to absorb this place- your parents, the staff, the house- everything. From the moment we walked in I could see you change- become more comfortable."
"This is my home Elphie, until Shiz it is all I ever knew. I love it here"
"I know you do- I can see it all over you. I've been trying to identify a feeling that I've had since I got here. It wasn't unfamiliar, but it was unwanted. I saw you with your parents, the love and warmth, how everything you feel and your lives are so intertwined. And that conversation I had with your mother this morning confused me. It's all too new. I felt…feel like an interloper."
Glinda knew better than to interrupt, she would get her turn soon enough.
"I know you've told your parent's things about me, and that doesn't bother me. But when you told your mom that I was attacked- whatever version it was, I snapped- that was ours, that thing, the awful thing that gave me you, and you gave it away. That made me angry. But what fueled that anger into the hateful words- was that feeling- I was jealous- jealous that you could share something like that- so freely, and jealous that I was the outsider, with someone else trying to control me."
Elphie sighed and leaned back against the arm of the couch.
"I've always shared everything with my mother" Glinda said getting herself some more tea- "and she has always smoothed over any wrinkles or problems that cropped up in my life. This was just another thing she could smooth over. It made me furious that that you couldn't understand that, that you couldn't just see it how I did and drop it. I was offering you my family- my world and the security and comfort of it, and you dismissed it out of hand, not even trying. By thinking that I did what I did betrayed you- I felt like you rejected who I am.
"These are big things Glinda, they go to the core of who we are. We do understand each other, but when push came to shove, you assumed I would understand how your family works and accept whatever happened and I assumed you would understand that mine was completely different, and not force the issue. I felt that, if I couldn't manage to fit in here then I couldn't have you." She was speaking barely above a whisper
They were silent for awhile.
"Are we expecting too much out of one another?" Glinda said worriedly
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't think we would have fought like we did, if there was nothing at stake for us. And we both know we have a lot at stake. You want me to be a part of all of this, understand it- and go with it."
"Is that wrong? Am I being selfish?" Glinda was slightly distraught
"I don't think it's wrong- and don't believe for a minute that you have a selfish bone in your body. But I don't know if I can keep up with it, Feeling jealous, and that angry with you really unnerved me." Elphie was feeling shaky.
"Feeling as I did unnerved me too, but Elphie I'm so excited you are here with me and I know a lot has come at you all at once- please tell me what to do- tell me so we won't fight again- I hated feeling like that"
Tears were falling down her cheeks in spite of her best efforts.
"Maybe we just need to be a little more patient with each other. I can't expect you to change the way you relate to your family and you can't expect me to blend right in to it overnight. I think your mother is right though, we know how to do this. So let's just do it. Let's just make sure that we talk- say what we need to, and listen to one another- as we always have" She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Maybe we just need to learn to recognize when each other's emotions are running too high, and learn how to pull back before it escalates."
"Considering you're a hot-head and I throw temper tantrums, that may be easier said than done." She laughed. "Elphie are we Ok?"
"I think we are, a little battered perhaps. How do you feel about all this?"
"I feel somewhat better. Battered" she sighed "maybe that's why this all hurts so much"
"Are you still hurting?" Elphie asked carefully
" Some" She said "And I can see in your eyes that you're hurting too"
"I am." Elphie sighed.
They looked at one another, uncharacteristically unsure of how to proceed. At last Elphie got up, taking a deep breath.
"We should never have to be afraid of doing his." She said opening her arms to her best friend.
Glinda, biting her lip, went over to Elphie and put herself in the long green arms that invited her, then put her arms around Elphie. The hugged tentatively, for a moment, then Glinda broke down, embracing her roomie fiercely
"I'm sorry Elphie, I'm so sorry" She cried "
"I'm sorry too- I would never hurt you and I know in my heart you would never hurt me- please forgive me."
Glinda pulled back a little.
" Of course. Can you forgive me?" Glinda said tears falling down her face
"Already done, my sweet" She said wiping away her tears, the sting on her hand helping her reconnect with the small blonde.
"Elphie your skin" She said
"It's nothing Lyndie, just a reminder of who I am, what I have, and what I never want to lose."
She pulled Glinda into a hard hug and they stayed that way, afraid to let go, until a knock on the door interrupted them.
"Miss Glinda" It was Sargy.
They separated, wiping tears from their eyes
"Come in Sargy'
"Miss your mother wanted me to tell you that dinner would be in half an hour, and wants to know if you both will be down"
"Elphie? We don't have to"
"It's Ok, we should- Please tell Miss Glinda's parent's we shall be down for dinner- thank you."
Sargy nodded and left.
"Lyndie, I think you and I still have some things we need to identify and work through, but I can feel our chemistry again" She smiled
"I was afraid we lost that and I'm so glad we didn't." She said wiping away more tears
"Are we ready to try and put our first argument behind us?" Elphie asked, gathering Glinda in her arms again
"Yes! Please!"
The separated and kissed lightly, then hugged again- needing to feel each other.
"I need to go get cleaned up a little before dinner" Glinda said reluctantly pulling away.
"I guess I should also." Elphie said and turned to go to her own room
"I love you Lyndie," She said from the doorway
"And I you Elphie."