"Elphaba, this is getting ridiculous," Galinda huffed, stepping into her bedroom and closing the door behind her. She leaned against the wall with a huff, and practically slammed a folded note onto her desk. "I'm exhausted."
Elphaba snatched the note like it was an urgent message, rather than a small note from Fiyero. She had always been good at going around her father's rules to get what she wanted without getting in trouble, and this endeavor involved Galinda playing messenger, passing notes between the two of them.
"You two have had me running around all morning. I'm exhausted, and we all have to get ready for the parade in two hours," the blonde protested when she saw Elphaba pen another note. "What could possibly be so important that it can't wait 'til later?" She tried to peer over her shoulder, but Elphaba covered the note with her hand.
"This is the last one. I promise," she said, folding the paper and pressing it into her friend's hands. "Thank you, Glin."
The blonde grumbled and disappeared, leaving Elphaba alone, drumming her fingers on the desk. Galinda had laid her dress for the parade on the bed, but she didn't want to put it on just yet. Instead, she went over and ran her fingers over the intricately patterned stitches on the fuchsia bodice, elbow-length sleeves, and a long, A-line shirt. She couldn't pinpoint what made this her favorite dress from this most recent Miss Doiir dress delivery. Perhaps she was drawn to its elegant simplicity, not needing any additional ribbons or laces.
"I ready."
She looked up as her door opened, and Chistery marched in, wearing only a bow tie. He flew up and perched at the foot of her bed with a wide grin.
Elphaba lovingly scratched her pet under the chin. "I see that. You look very handsome. You can watch the parade from the window with Malky." She gestured to the cat, who was napping in the patch of sunlight.
The Monkey frowned. "No. Watch with you."
She shook her head. "You can't be on the balcony with me, Chistery. But I will see you after, before the ball this evening."
"No no no."
"Yes, yes, yes." She gave him a playful chuckle and more scratches. "I suppose I should start getting ready before Galinda comes back and goads me."
"Goat? No goat. No Dr. Dill-mond."
"Not 'goat', silly. Goad. I don't want Galinda to fuss over me not being ready. She gets very aggravated when we're not ready on time."
As if summoned, Galinda came in and pushed the note into Elphaba's hands. "I've informed Prince Fiyero that the rest of your correspondence must wait until later, seeing as we all must get ready now," Galinda said in her official tone, a tone she reserved only for when she had to discreetly tell Elphaba what to do, and wouldn't tolerate any arguments.
Elphaba read the note, but her face slowly dropped when it wasn't the expected response to her previous question.
"What is it?" Galinda blinked, her annoyance replaced with concern.
"Fiyero's returning to the Vinkus tomorrow morning. His parents have called him back."
"That's… good news, isn't it? That means the economic crisis has been averted."
"Yes. It's very good news. The Vinkus isn't filing for bankruptcy." Her face hardened as she crumpled up the note. "I can get ready by myself."
Galinda's eyebrows rose. "Right. Of course you can." She went over to the vanity and started getting the supplies ready.
"Galinda, I will get ready alone."
"Where's your hairbrush?"
"Galinda. Alone. Go check on Kaatiny."
Her tone pulled her out of her autopilot preparations. "Very well." She gave her a deep curtsy and left, with Chistery right behind her.
Elphaba sighed, running her hand through her hair instead of her hairbrush. She couldn't stop re-reading the last line of Fiyero's note in her head.
This is my last night of freedom. I want to enjoy it… with you.
If tonight was her last chance to secretly be with Fiyero, she had to come up with a plan. Sneaking out from under her father's radar at the ball might be easier since many people would be clamoring for his attention, and he'll possibly just ignore her.
Two hours later, a fully dressed Galinda was waiting in the large sitting room that led to the balcony. "I can get ready by myself," she mimicked under her breath with a huff, pacing around in a circle. "That's why you're taking forever, Elphaba. How long are you going to keep everyone, specifically your father, waiting?"
She was the only one waiting there, but she was too flustered and anxious to care. She turned when she heard footsteps approaching, but her resolve deflated when she saw her sister come in with Yolnia, holding her one-month-old son. "Oh. It's just you."
"Hello to you, too, sister," Kaat said, giving her sister a wide grin. "I was looking for you."
"Lady Galinda," Yolnia curtsied, gently bouncing Pyun in her arms.
The elder blonde softened at the sight of the cooing baby. "Hello, Yolnia. Are you sure you're up for today?"
"Yes. Wanted to see Qùane lead." She looked out the window, where the platoons were already lined up in their groupings. She scanned the crowd for her husband, but saw many young boys, some no older than teenagers, with shouldered muskets. "Boy should not have gun."
"Those boys do look very young," Kaat commented, coming up behind Yolnia and peering over her shoulder.
"They all passed training," Galinda said. "They wouldn't be in the procession if they weren't ready. Elphaba should be here by now."
She marched out, and the two women only heard footsteps, followed by a split-second of silence before –
"ELPHIE!" she barked, rapping her knuckled against her door, making everyone jolt to a stop to stare at her. "You must. Make. Haste!" She stomped her foot for extra emphasis.
Kaat and Yolnia exchanged a look, then a few moments later, Elphaba entered with Galinda directly behind her.
"We must go meet our parents and brother," Galinda said, reaching out to smooth Kaat's pastel blue vest and skirt.
"You'd better. The parade is about to start, and they were looking for you," a new voice interrupted.
The women turned and curtsied to the Wizard as he entered, wearing his official emerald suit with golden epaulets and a thick, black sash around his waist. His hands locked behind his back as he surveyed the scene, his gaze resting on Pyun.
The alert newborn was taking in his surroundings as much as he could, and started to fuss at the new voice, but calmed when the Wizard let him wrap his hand around his finger. The older man guffawed softly, startling Elphaba and Galinda. They'd never heard the monarch laugh like that. Kaat looked at him curiously before quietly taking her leave.
"I'll see you after the parade," Galinda whispered, giving her friend's hand a gentle squeeze before following her sister out.
Yolnia smiled and settled by the large window, pointing to the crowd and cooing softly to the baby.
The Wizard turned to his daughter with an unreadable expression. He wasn't smiling or frowning, and Elphaba wished he'd do one or the other. He seemed softer than normal, probably due to the moment with Yolnia's baby. "Elphaba."
"Father."
If he was planning on doing more than just acknowledging her existence, he didn't get to finish, since a trumpeted fanfare announced their arrival and the balcony doors opened. He stepped out into the sun, waving to the crowds below, and Elphaba followed suit. She put on a smile and dutifully joined in singing the Ozian national anthem, then watched the group processions.
There were acrobats, dancers, musicians, and elaborate floats from all over Oz. Elphaba scanned the crowd, her soft gaze making the sea of faces bur and distort. She saw children with balloons and waving flags, the councilmen in their white, powdered wigs and emerald robes in the tall stands on the grass behind the crowd, the Uplands sitting in their private box – Galinda fanning herself with a pink, silk fan, and Kaat looking like she was having the time of her life. She also saw Fiyero, but he seemed to be looking everywhere else except up at her.
Hard, rhythmic marching drew her attention away from her friend's family, and she turned as the military platoons rounded the corner and processed down the long road. As they passed, the Wizard gave them a sharp salute, holding the pose as the various squads passed under the balcony. The footsteps almost matched the volume of the loud cheers of the people, and the excitement even managed to overpower Elphaba's shyness, and she smiled. She didn't know if she was allowed to show her true emotions, and if her father would chide her, but it didn't matter now. She was going to have a good time for the rest of the day, and nothing was going to stop her.
A single gunshot rang out. Elphaba jumped, looking over the ledge to wear the noise came from, but her father pulled her back.
"Stay still. It was just a blank shot. Remain calm and composed," he whispered in her ear, then resumed his salute.
She couldn't believe what she just heard. Yet, at the same time, she could. She wondered how many times this had happened to her father to elicit this reaction. He seemed unfazed, steady as a brick wall. She supposed that could be her comfort, clinging to the hope that this meant they weren't in any real danger.
Minor chaos erupted, but was quickly calmed, and the parade continued. Slowly, the Wizard's grip on his daughter's arm loosened. Right when Elphaba's heart rate returned to normal, another shot was fired.
Captain Tiieg, who was riding in front of the newest unit, was closest to the second gunshot, and his horse whinnied and reared. The spooked animal ran, out of control, through the soldiers and into the crowd, refusing orders to stop. He turned and kicked, trying to buck his rider off his back, knocking over a few innocent bystanders in the process. But Elphaba could only stare as the horse finally succeeded in throwing its rider, making the captain soar through the air with a terrified shriek from Yolnia.
The entire street erupted into pure chaos. People ran and screamed for their lives, shouts of "Assassin!" and other various warnings of impending doom and danger replacing the cheers from moments ago. In the chaos, floats were torn, formations broken, and the guards, realizing there was no use trying to maintain order in the frazzled crowd, rushed to protect the high-ranking guests.
A guard came to escort the Uplands to safety, and Galinda was able to glance up at the balcony, but what she saw rooted her feet to the spot. Kaat and Thomi followed her gaze, jaws dropping and eyes widening as their brains tried to process what they were witnessing.
Elphaba was hovering a few inches over the balcony railing, her hair dancing wildly in the wind, and sparks of green magic shooting from her fingertips. She looked over at Captain Tiieg, his face hovering centimeters from the ground, and with a flick of her wrist, righted him and set him on his feet, unscathed. Her lips mouthed unheard words, and the floats were slowly coming back together.
"I didn't know the princess possessed magic," Thomi whispered.
"I did," Galinda muttered.
"You what?"
"That's not important right now, Thomi."
Once it became obvious the princess's magic was fixing everything, people stilled and looked up at their future leader in awe.
"Something tells me His Ozness didn't know about this," Kaat said, being the only one looking at the gawking Wizard.
Galinda followed her gaze. There were too many mixed emotions on the Wizard's face to decipher, but what was evident was the fact that he wasn't aware any of this was possible. "Hopefully, he'll be too relieved that the parade is saved to focus on the surprise magic right now."
"I don't know about that," Thomi said, pointing to the sky.
Everyone looked up as the sky darkened, blocking the sun as the white, fluffy clouds turned into dark grey storm clouds. Thundered rumbled and the lightning struck the ground right in front of the balcony, making nearby bystanders jump back and run away. Galinda saw Elphaba convulsing as magic free-flowed out of her, and could tell she was in intense pain.
A burst of magic ripped out of her, heading directly for a group of Munchkins in their regal attire of colorful tunics and black leggings. The terrified group screamed and scampered out of range of the missile, which hit the ground in a plume of smoke and dirt, sounding like a firecracker. The impact started a small fire, which caused even more panic and disorganized retreating.
"Elphie!" Galinda called, trying to break away from the guard ushering her family away.
"Galinda!" Lady Upland shouted as her daughter broke away. "Come back here!"
"I need to get to Elphie! I have to help her!"
"Lady Galinda!"
She turned and saw Fiyero running towards her, dodging the flying projectiles the strong winds were picking up and throwing. "What… how…?"
"She's losing control. I need to help her."
"How?"
"I… don't fully know yet."
"I knew she was powerful, but not like this."
"I didn't… this is the first time I'm seeing the full extent of what she can do."
"I want to help."
"You can't."
He struggled to keep up with her. "Galinda –" He saw a streak of magic headed directly at him, but didn't have enough time to jump out of the way. He was blasted sideways and fell with a pained, "Ack!"
"You want to help? Fine. You can help by getting others, and yourself, to safety. Better yet, stay with my family," Galinda said, not noticing that he was hurt.
Elphaba let out a loud, strangled cry as her magic contorted her body to be released. She was desperately trying to hold onto control, but it was becoming overbearingly powerful and painful. Her magic had reacted to trying to save Captain Tiieg, and should have stopped once he was safe. But after all those years of being repressed and caged, it saw a way out, and took full advantage of it.
She couldn't see anything and closed her eyes against her magically-induced headache, but not before another magic wave made her extremely nauseous. She tried to relax her muscles, but the energy from the exploding magic wouldn't allow her even a millisecond of respite.
Galinda fought her way through the retreating crowd towards the balcony, calling her friend's name. She knew she probably couldn't hear her, but held onto the dwindling hope that she could, and her voice would pull her from her trance. She saw her friend contort in a way that didn't look natural or comfortable, and lightning struck the ground directly next to her. She fell with a yelp, covering her head with her hands until the vibrations stopped and forced her gaze upwards.
"She's wicked!" she heard an older man say as he ran away, pointing up at the floating princess.
The blonde pushed herself up and continued running, but collapsed again when a loud rumble of thunder shook the ground. Large cracks formed on the walls of the palace, and the loud noise and bits of falling stone made the stoic guards run for cover.
Galinda looked up as Elphaba rose higher and higher, magic still forcing its way out of her body. This time, it was encapsulating her in a sphere, slowly closing in on her. The Wizard was no longer on the balcony, most likely having retreated inside. Another rumble of thunder and a downpour started without warning, clearing away the rest of the crowd that had decided to stay put.
Tired, scared, and wet, Galinda pushed herself to her feet, brushed her wet hair from her face, and continued running toward her friend.
Elphaba was suspended in the sphere, her arms and legs twitching. The pain slowly gave way to numbness as the last bits of wild magic puffed out. She let out an involuntary sigh as her entire body relaxed, but without her magic, the sphere disintegrated.
She lost all sensations, and everything went dark.
Galinda froze when she saw her friend free falling from the sky. It was her magic's turn to kick in, but her constant use of her powers made it easier for her to remain in control. She quickly waved her hand above her head, creating a large, pink bubble around herself.
"Get me up there," she commanded, and the bubble obeyed her.
Her bubbles had never been used for flying before, just for entertainment and to make baths more fun. She didn't have a plan, but her magic seemed to know what to do. The bubble took her straight up to Elphaba, and safely caught her. The bubble death-dropped a few feet, and Galinda didn't know if it would be strong enough to hold both of them, but felt a tingle in her stomach as the bubble grew thicker and they descended at a more comfortable speed.
"Elphie?" she whispered, kneeling next to her, pulling her crumbled friend into her arms.
The green girl was unresponsive, her breathing shallow, and Galinda wiped her tears away before gathering her into her arms.
"It's okay, Elphie." She gently hugged her closer, tenderly running her hand down her cheek. "I've got you."
The bubble landed softly on the grass and popped, freeing both girls to the elements.
"Galinda!"
The blonde didn't turn as hurried footsteps raced towards her. She felt her sister wrap her arms around her, and heard her mother's cries of relief and her brother's scolding voice, but her full attention was on the girl in her arms.
Her adrenaline ran out, and she was too exhausted to conjure another hedge of protection from the rain. She felt someone kneel behind her and instinctively leaned back against them. She looked up, giving the Vinkun prince a grateful smile.
"Are you alright?" Fiyero asked, shielding her as much as he could from the rain.
"I feel nauseous. I swear, I'm giving up magic." She groaned, visibly trying to not throw up in front of everyone. "Elphie… I can't magic her inside. I'm too tired."
The rain wasn't letting up, despite the lack of magic, and they were the only seven people outside.
"I think we're done with magic for today, anyway," Thomi said, effortlessly lifting his younger sister into his arms and carrying her inside.
"If you jostle me, I'll throw up on your nice clothes, just like I did when we were little, and… we were in the garden, and… and you told me those berries were okay to eat, and…"
"I'll be very gentle. I promise," Thomi said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
Fiyero carefully lifted the unconscious green girl into his arms, holding her head against his shoulder, and followed Thomi inside with a slight limp, and everyone else hurried behind. As soon as they were in the foyer, they were met with a stern-faced Wizard of Oz.