A/N: Sorry if this is a bit morbid, not in the best of moods. I fell… again. Please don't ask.

I WOULD LIKE TO ISSUE A PUBLIC THANK YOU TO MY ONLY REVIEWER FOR THE LAST CHAPTER: THE-WICKED-HAVE-MORE-FUN!

Ghosts of Her Past—Chapter Five: Explanations

"'She was my best friend.'"

Karrossa was stunned speechless. "I… you, she, and… Oz thinks…" she managed.

Glinda just kept smiling her little half-smile. "Go on," she urged. "Say something."

Karrossa's eyes flashed suspiciously. "You're-You're kidding, right. Yes, that's it. You're just kidding me. Gabrielle knows how gullible I am. This is all just a joke." She sounded as if she were trying to convince herself.

"No, Karrossa, that's not it," Gabrielle cut in. "Do you want to see want made me believe?" She nodded. "All right. Here." Gabrielle pulled out the yearbook from her bag, and opened it to the page she'd shown Glinda.

Karrossa gasped. "It… it's true then… She… What's going on! She was Wicked! You were Good! Wicked and Good don't go together!"

Glinda almost laughed, but her vocal chords seemed incapable of doing that anymore. "No she wasn't, just a highly opinionated girl who stood up for what she believed in."

"But… but… she was green!" Karrossa almost screamed.

"Let me show you both something." Glinda rose uneasily from her desk chair, some bone cracking loudly.

She walked slowly over to her wardrobe, and pulled out… an ancient-looking book, the black pointed hat and a strange little green bottle.

"Is that… The Grimmerie?" Gabrielle asked with wonder. "Her Grimmerie?"

"Yes it is." Glinda's voice cracked horribly, a tear escaping. "This…"—indicating the hat—"I gave her. Don't believe I was her friend still? well, here's your proof. Why would I keep the old thing if it didn't mean something to me? And here"—this time, she held up the bottle—"this was her mother's. I think it might explain why she's green. Now, still don't believe me?" Nobody said anything. "Didn't think so. Now, Karrossa, you have to understand, she… my Elphie… Look, we didn't always like each other. In fact, we loathed each other at first. Now, that all changed the day I gave Elphaba this hat…"

And, just like that, three people knew the truth. It wasn't spectacular, but it was a start. Maybe, if enough people would believe, we could…

Stop! I'm doing it again! Please, why can't I just die in peace? I've served my purpose… haven't I? Is there something else I'm meant to do in this lifetime? I just want to go to the lifetime my poor Elphie went to. I know she's waiting for me, somewhere… somewhere…

(PAGEBREAK!)

Karrossa visited Glinda with Gabrielle almost every other day. They talked, and, though she didn't fully understand their friendship, she swore she wouldn't say anything.

Before Glinda knew it, Gabrielle walked into her room holding a frilly pink box. Galinda would've approved.

"Happy three-week anniversary, Glinda. Three weeks ago today, I walked in here for the first time. So, here." She held out the gift.

Glinda was touched. She hadn't gotten a present in years. "Gabrielle, I… I can't accept this. I didn't get you anything!"

"That's okay, Glinda. I didn't expect anything in return. So, here," Gabrielle replied as she pushed the present into Glinda's hands. She reluctantly began to untie the green ribbon.

"Pink goes good with green!"

She froze, and tears slid down her cheeks again. Elphie… how stupid I was. I treated you like just a pretty green doll that I could dress up. I'm sorry I tried to change you. I'm sorry about the things I'd said. I didn't mean to call you an artichoke that time. The truth was… I was jealous of you. You claimed attention away from me, and I didn't like it. So, I used that to my advantage. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the things I've done you blame me for.

"Glinda, are you still here?" Gabrielle cut off Glinda's thoughts.

Glinda sighed. "Yes, I just… remembered something." She pulled the ribbon off and carefully set it aside and opened up the box, and gasped.

Inside there was a hand-made picture-frame with the words: Best Friends Are Never Left Behind. In the frame, Gabrielle had colored the picture from the yearbook. Glinda let more tears escape.

"Gabrielle, I… I don't know what to say. Thank you. I really mean it. You-You couldn't know how much this means to me. Thank you."

Gabrielle smiled. "You're welcome. I knew you'd like it."

Glinda didn't know what she could do in return. "Gabrielle, if you could have any item in Oz, what would it be?"

"As I've already said, you don't have to get me anything," Gabrielle replied.

"But, I do. I really do. So, anything. What would you have?" The desperation was in her voice. She couldn't keep it out.

"Access to the noble's library. They charge a fee to everyone else. I don't have the money to pay their price." Her was so honest, it broke Glinda's heart.

"Done. I'll give you the money to become a member." Gabrielle's face lit up.

"Really, you would do that, for me?"

"I would do anything for you, Miss Gabrielle…" Glinda gave a sharp intake of breath.

Boq… oh, Boq why didn't I just dance with you once? You wouldn't be made out of tin if I had. Please, forgive me.

"Glinda, are you okay?" Why does she keep asking me that?

"Y-Yes, I'm… not going to lie to you," Glinda said. "I'm really not fine. I just… Boq, and me, in the Ozdust, and… oh, why do I have to go through this? Why can't the next time I go to sleep be the last? Why can't I leave?"

"Glinda, you may think you're done, but you're not. Look at you, you're much better off then three weeks ago."

She's right. Now, I can confess my feelings, and the weight of what I know isn't as heavy when you've got someone to help you carry it.

She sighed. "Gabrielle, I… I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. I can't say enough times how much I look forward to your visits. I just… I don't know what would've happened to me if you didn't. I wan on my way to becoming an empty shell. I couldn't even leave the room for a while. Still, you don't know what a relief leaving it all behind would be." And, I could see Elphaba again.

"Isn't there anything left here that you cherish? Anything at all?" Gabrielle seemed to be trying to convince Glinda why she needed to live.

Glinda looked straight up into Gabrielle's eyes, and replied, "Everything worth living for me is dead. Dead and gone."

A/N: Um… yeah. That took forever for me to finish. Sorry 'bout that. Reviews make me work faster :-)