Sorry about the obscene length between updates on this story gang. Life has just hit the fan right now. I hope that this long chapter and the reassurance that I will be updating soon makes up for the delay. Again, I am sorry. ALSO, I just want to inform everyone that I am changing the rating of this fic to M. So, be wary and/or be excited. Personally, I am excited. Also, about the spelling of Elphie/Elfie, I have decided to spell Elphaba's nickname the common way from now on. I may or may not go back and fix it in the previous chapter. But thanks for catching that gang, I had totally not noticed. Says a lot about my powers of observation, doesn't it! Also, just something I found funny, as I was writing this, the powers that be on my itunes shuffle setting decided to play the song 'Contact' from RENT. I had to stop writing to allow proper time to be amused. And as I have written this intro, it's played 3 songs from RENT! Weird! Oh well, at least it has good taste!
Same warnings as before: I don't own anything from the book or the musical. Also, if the thought of two girls going at it freaks you out, skip this story from here on out. If it doesn't, then sit back, relax, and enjoy!
CHAPTER 3
As the sun rose over Shiz, a beam of light pierced through a window in the girls' dormitory, and landed on a slumbering emerald face. Elphaba wrinkled her nose in response to the new stimulus as it slowly tried to lure her into consciousness. She breathed in deep and stretched out, reluctant to leave her dreams behind. What was it that she had been dreaming exactly? Even in her half awake state, she knew that her dream had been a pleasant one. This was unusual for her, as the green girl rarely even had dreams.
She smiled and snuggled back into her sheets determined to return to her reverie. She reviewed what little she remembered of the dream. Nessa had been there, and she had been standing! No, that was impossible! Elphaba dug deeper into the fading vision and recalled that not only had Nessa had been standing; her immobilized sister had been dancing. Suitably dressed in a plain black gown, her beautiful sister had been twirling around on a marble dance floor. It was then that Elphaba recalled her sister's partner; Nessa had been waltzing with Boq! But the munchkin man had also been different. He seemed to sparkle and shine when the light hit him. Elphaba was confused, but as the pair spun, her attention was diverted to her sibling's feet, which were bedecked with brilliant, ruby red shoes. They were the most magnificent slippers Elphaba had ever seen. There was something special about them that caught her eye, but she couldn't quite place the feeling.
Elphaba took a deep breath and shook her head. She did not want to focus on something so trifling as shoes. She preferred to leave matters like that to Galinda. Concentrating harder, Elphaba wrinkled her forehead, delved deeper into her mind, and returned to her dream world. Elegantly dressed in an elaborate black gown, which was composed of thread that seemed to shimmer and catch the light, she had also been enjoying the ball. Her point of view shifted, and she saw herself, leading a frilly, silvery-blue poof around the dance floor. Clad entirely in a somber color, she clashed horribly with her bubbly roomie, but neither seemed to mind. The two friends laughed at their antics as they tried to perform complicated steps and dizzying twirls. Several times Fiyero attempted to cut in on their dance; however, the two partners stubbornly refused to be separated. During one particularly tough combination, Galinda lost her balance and landed in a heap of sparkly skirts on the floor. Elphaba laughed raucously at the sight of her gorgeous roommate splayed out upon the floor, tiara askew and dress rumpled. She reached down to help Galinda up, but was surprised when the blonde tugged her down to the ground as well. Both women laughed until they were out of breath.
When Elphaba recovered, she glanced over at Galinda to see if she was okay, and found the blonde staring intently at her. Their eyes connected, and Elphaba felt a jolt of heat course through her entire body and settle between her legs. Suddenly, Galinda was on top of her, and the rest of the world seemed to melt away as ruby red lips became acquainted with forest green ones. Emerald hands hastily ran through blonde curls while pale ones slid across olive skin, both sets hungrily exploring the other's body. Elphaba's breathing became labored, her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest, a pounding in her head made it feel like it was going to explode, and the heated sensation between her legs transformed into a throbbing need.
As Elphaba slept in, the sun rose high enough to fill the whole room with its bright rays. Galinda scrunched up her perfect face in reaction to the light. She pulled her puffy duvet over her head, but it was no use. The sun had already roused her enough to dash any hopes of returning to sleep. She stretched, and kicked her blankets off onto the floor, an act that she immediately regretted. Although the sun's rays had filled the girl's room with light, they had not succeeded in sufficiently warming it up, and Galinda's thin, silk nightie did little to protect her from the crisp, cold air. Quickly, she lunged to the floor to retrieve her warm covers. As she huddled under her bedclothes, she scanned the room and noticed that the fire had not yet been stoked. Galinda wrinkled her brow in confusion. Usually when she awoke, Elphaba would have already attended to the fire. The blonde glanced over at the other bed in the room, and was surprised to find that Elphaba still occupied it.
Galinda panicked. 'Something must be seriously wrong with Elphaba to cause her to oversleep like this!' She quickly got out of bed, and ran to her roommate's side. Galinda analyzed her slumbering friend and realized that Elphaba was sweating in her sleep. 'She must have a fever! I knew that something was wrong!'
Galinda also noticed that her friend's breathing was affected. It appeared to be labored and uneven. She silently cursed herself for not paying closer attention to the emergency care lecture that all students were required to attend during orientation. Fear filled Galinda's head. "What will I do with out Elphie? What can I do to help her?' Suddenly, a bright idea entered her mind. 'I know! I'll get Nanny! She always knows what to do! Surely, she can do something to help Elphie's predicament!'
Moments later, a hysterical Galinda burst into Nessa's quarters, and Nanny was jolted from her sleep, assaulted by one hundred pounds of frantic blonde. The old woman's brain took a moment to acknowledge the oddity of the situation before it was able to comprehend Galinda's repeated cries, "Come quick! Get up! Elphie's sick! Please hurry! For the love of Lurline, hurry!"
Upon interpreting the blonde's cries, the elderly woman tensed up, and then sprung into action with speed that she didn't know she still possessed. Her charge was in trouble! She had practically raised Elphaba, and even though her task had been difficult at times, Elphaba occupied a special place in the aged woman's heart. Nanny wasn't about to let anything harm the emerald girl!
As soon as she entered the girls' room, Nanny quickly took stock of the situation. She went to Elphaba's side, and visually assessed the girl, whose chest rose and fell with quick gasps. Galinda had been correct, something was definitely not right. The old caretaker reached down and brushed some stray hairs away from Elphaba's forehead as she felt for the girl's temperature. She caringly caressed the girl's brow, and was stunned when a soft moan exited from the mouth of her charge.
Now, Nanny had wisdom collected from generations of caring for the Thropp family. She had mended broken bones and stitched together more wounds than she could remember. She had attended many births and witnessed several deaths. She had a vast knowledge of all types of sounds uttered by the human body and the situations in which they were elicited. However, the old woman had never expected to hear the sound just uttered from the olive girl. She could identify the moan almost immediately, for her previous ward, the mother, had attempted to perfect it in both the dream and the physical world. It appeared that Elphaba had inherited a certain imaginative style of dreaming from her mother.
Galinda nervously watched as Nanny's face transformed from fearful to shocked, and became perplexed when a broad smirk etched itself on the wrinkly features. "Nanny!" she cried "Don't just stand there with that strange look on your face! For Oz's sake, help her!"
The outburst reminded Nanny that there was still another individual in the room, and she quickly ushered the blonde into Nessa's quarters to spare her charge any embarrassment should Galinda put one and one together. Then, she slowly advanced to the green girl's bed trying to determine the best way to approach this new situation. Should she just let the girl's dreams continue on their pleasant journey or wake the girl and inform her of her new predicament and her roommate's concerns? She settled on the latter, and gently attempted to rouse the young woman. "Elphaba," she stated matter-of-factly as she shook her lightly, "it's your Nanny. It's time to wake up dear. You must leave your dreamland behind and join the much less exciting real world."
Elphaba bolted upright, confused and disoriented from being jarred from such a deep sleep. She looked into the face of her caretaker with bleary eyes and blinked several times before she was able to focus on the woman in front of her. Questions raced through her head. 'What had happened? Where was the ball? Why was she in her room with Nanny?' And then, with a blush, her mind turned to the topic of Galinda. She sat in her bed bewildered and trying to piece together what was going on, but was distracted by an itch on her arm. She scratched the irritation, but noticed that her arms were covered with small bumps that were similar to the heat rash that Nessa would get during the hot Quadling summers.
Nanny, who had disappeared into the bathroom moments ago, returned with a towel and some of Elphaba's healing oils. She scooted the teenager over to make room on the bed, and sat silently tending to her charge. She did not speak, but choose to let the girl quietly mull over her thoughts. She determined that the rash was the result of the sweat produced during Elphaba's dream, and found that merely wiping away the perspiration was enough to eliminate the rash. She pulled the girl up off the bed and started to remove her damp nightgown, but was prevented from completing the action by a pair of emerald hands.
"Nanny," Elphaba's voice was soft and unsure, "what happened? What is going on? Why are you taking off my nightdress?"
The old woman looked the young woman in the eyes for the first time since she had succeeded in rousing her from her dream, and was surprised to see confusion and a hint of fear in the dark brown spheres. Nanny came to the sudden realization that this was the first time that Elphaba had ever had one of these dreams, possibly the first time she had ever felt this way. "You've had a dream, my dear," Nanny started off, 'and it appears that you've sweated a little during it. I have attended to your arms, but you need to remove your nightclothes to prevent further irritation."
She waited until Elphaba gave a nod of understanding before disrobing her. Quickly, she examined the girl for more of the rash, and was relieved to discover that removal of the clammy clothes caused the inflammation to fade away almost immediately. She let Elphaba redress in another nightdress before motioning her over to the bed. She sat down and waited for the girl to do the same. Nanny let the silence hang in the air and watched as her charge grew more and more uncomfortable. It was clear that Elphaba was not going to open up on her own. Nanny sighed, and addressed the girl, "Elphaba, I know this is not going to be easy, but we need to discuss this dream that you had." She paused and placed her hands on emerald ones before continuing, "I know that you were having a sexual dream."
Elphaba quickly jerked away from her keeper, fear bubbling inside her. Adrenaline shot through her body, and her mind raced. 'How did Nanny know!'
Nanny smiled at the girl's overstated reaction. "Come on, dearey!" She said laughing as she forced the green girl back into her arms, "Don't pull away from your loving nanny. I have known you since you were a baby and watched as you've grown into a beautiful woman. I changed your diapers, I cleaned your cuts and scrapes, I helped you during your first bleed, and by Oz, I am going to help you now! You are not the first to have these kinds of dreams, and you certainly won't be the last. Now, come on! We are going to talk about this!"
Elphaba's shoulders dropped as she relaxed and allowed the elderly woman to hold her. She knew that Nanny wouldn't stop until they had talked this through, but she was still confused and a little scared. Her mind was still full of turmoil. 'How am I going to tell Nanny about this dream? Even I don't understand what it meant! Why did my mind create those images? And more importantly, why did they feel so good? What does it all mean?'
Nanny squeezed the girl in her arms and released her so that they could talk face to face. "Your dream scared you didn't it?" Nanny questioned. Elphaba turned her face away from her nanny ashamed, but nodded a reply. Nanny continued, "This was the first time your dreams caused you to become aroused isn't it?" Another slight head bob confirmed the older woman's suspicions. "Elphaba? Have you ever felt this way before?"
The question hung in the air. Elphaba hated this kind of probing; especially since Nanny always seemed to already know the answered, but still insisted on asking the questions anyway. She sighed and shook her head in a negative response to the last question. Suddenly, she felt Nanny's weathered hand cup her face and lift it up to meet the older woman's eyes. The expression on Nanny's face was soft and caring. "Elphaba," she said lovingly, "it's alright. Whatever you are feeling, is alright."
Elphaba felt horribly guilty. Here was her nanny that had tried to raise her properly and loved her when her parents couldn't, and here she was having decidedly improper dreams about her roommate. "No," came a hoarse whisper from emerald lips, "it's not ok."
Nanny's response was immediate. "Elphaba Thropp!" she stated authoritatively, "I will not allow you to guilt and berate yourself over this! What you've experienced is perfectly normal. Having desires like these is part of being an adult. In fact, dreams like these plagued your mother for most of her life! Don't be so priggish! I raised you better than that, and tried to put some smarts in your head along the way! It doesn't look like they stuck!" Nanny finished making her point with a gentle thump on the green girl's head.
Elphaba blushed at the mention of her mother's sexual appetite, but Nanny's teasing didn't make her feel any better. For one thing, she knew that her mother had been considered oversexed by most people, and that was putting it nicely. Also, Elphaba was pretty sure that her mother's fantasies didn't involve members of the same sex. 'What does this all mean?' Elphaba deliberated, 'And more importantly, how do I prevent it from happening again.' She took a deep breath, and steeled herself to ask her caretaker. "Nanny, how do I stop this from recurring?"
Nanny threw back her head and laughed riotously in response to the raven-haired girl's question. Elphaba was obviously taken back by this reaction, and Nanny hurriedly attempted to quell her amusement. "I'm sorry deary," she said as she wiped tears out of her eyes, "but, like I said, this is just part of being an adult. In time, you will learn to recognize your body's wants and needs, and be able to react to give yourself what you require. Now, let's make a deal. I won't embarrass you with a sex talk because I am certain that you understand the basics, but in return, I want you to promise that you will come to me if you have any questions. Do you promise?" She made sure to look into the blushing, emerald face until Elphaba nodded in agreement. "Good! Now, Elphaba, do you have any such questions before I go settle things down in the other room?"
Elphaba closed her eyes, and thought carefully about whether to confide in Nanny about the peculiarity of her dream. She was sure that any secret she disclosed to Nanny was safe, but she was just as unsure what type of reaction Nanny would have to the gender of her fantasies. She had heard about same sex relationships before, and knew that they were common in Quadling country, but viewed negatively throughout the rest of Oz and strictly forbidden in Munchkinland. She decided to end this conversation with Nanny for the time being, and signaled to her keeper that she could go about her business. Then, she settled back into bed and pulled the covers up around her trying to enjoy the silence, but nothing could quiet her mind. 'It means nothing.' she told herself, 'Nanny said that everyone has sexual dreams. It's just a part of growing up. But not everyone has dreams about their roommate. No, not dreams. Dream. One dream. It was just one dream, and just because I had one erotic dream about another woman doesn't mean anything. Right?' Elphaba put on a stern face as she tried to reassure herself. However, she did not leave her bed for the rest of the day.
