A/N: *Ahem* Welcome, welcome! To another year at Shiz! Now I'd like to say a few words before we continue on with our friends' adventures... Thank you so much to everyone who read and followed A Million Dreams. Whether you reviewed or you, like me, silently read and appreciated the story, thank you. I hope the sequel will be just as exciting for you all. Now that my Dumbledore moment is done, let's begin!
Sadness and Secrets
The first week returning to Shiz had been quiet and uneventful as returning and new students filtered through the university gates and filled the hallowed halls of the vast imposing building. As with the start of any school year, many students began preparing for their upcoming classes, friends were reunited after two months apart, new students were getting used to their roommates in their dorms. Nobody even seemed to care that the rumours of a flying Monkey inhabiting the school turned out to be true, the most unusual about it was that it seemed to follow the strange green girl and her friends around constantly, and the most unusual sight was that the emerald-skinned woman was seen on the arm of the scandalacious, handsome Arjiki Prince.
By the time that first week was over and classes began, the new students seemed to forget about Elphaba and allowed the woman to blend into the background once more, much to her relief. In preparation for her first Law class, Elphaba lounged across her bed, her back against the cold stone wall, reading one of the books for the class, the window had been left open in a bid to cool the warm dorm room down, but so far the attempt was unsuccessful as summer seemed to cling on for a while longer. She looked up at the sound of a screech, and her dark eyes landed on Chistery perched on the window ledge, she marked her page and crawled off the bed, heading to the window to him. "Chistery? Are you alright?"
The Monkey pulled out a little green bottle from the pocket of his dark green waistcoat and held it out to her, almost frightened.
She gasped and slowly took it, making sure she didn't scare him off. She clutched it tight to stop her hands from trembling. "Where did you find this?" she kept her voice quiet, her head reeling and her brain frantic. The Animal was still scared, even though he knew she'd never hurt him.
'Not found!' He wanted to tell her, but he was still silent as he pulled out the note and handed it to her.
"Chistery, why are you afraid?" she asked, taking the note from him. "What happened?" she willed him to talk as she scanned the note, naively hoping it held the answers she wanted. She was unable to recognise the handwriting.
'Secrets don't stay hidden forever. Even from beyond the grave. I know yours and I will destroy you.' It read.
"Who wrote this?" Elphaba looked at the bottle in her hands that was almost the exact colour of her skin, confused. "And what secret?"
Suddenly the door burst open with the familiar yell of "ELPHIE!" from the excitable blonde who now graced the room. "Elphie! I did it! I got into the drama department!" she squealed happily.
Elphaba put the items down and turned to face her bouncing friend. "Congratulotions." she smiled at her. As if there'd ever been any doubt of Glinda's overdramatic talents.
"Thank you! One of the boys there has the most particular dress sense though..."
"How so?"
Glinda simply shrugged naively. "Just... Walking around in a dress and heels as if it's perfectly normal... I don't understand it."
Elphaba had to laugh. Her friend wasn't maliciously ignorant. "Maybe he likes it and he's comfortable the way he is. I mean... I've seen stranger things in and around Munchkinland when I was dragged off with my father when he used to be a church minister." she told her. "Anyone, man or woman who can walk in heels and not fall over as I do is-"
"Completely normal and you just wear those ugly boots. If you practised with the heels more you could walk a lot more gracefully." Glinda smirked.
"Oh, please. We both know I have about as much grace as a drunken giraffe." Elphaba laughed again, slipping on the boots that so bothered her friend. "And my boots are comfortable. You're the one who got them for my birthday." she reminded her. "Anyway, I have something to do, I'll be back in a bit."
"But Elphie, it's almost time for-!" Glinda called after her but Elphaba had already left the room. "-class."
Elphaba slipped out of Crage Hall and Chistery lead the way to Briscoe Hall. She stopped a Gale Force soldier patrolling past the boys' dorms. "Excuse me?"
The soldier stopped midstep, his eyes widening in shock and he took an involuntary step back at the sight of Elphaba with the Monkey perched on her back. "Is something wrong, Miss?"
She rolled her eyes and bit her tongue for a second to stop a sarcastic barb. "Have you seen anybody strange going into this building? Or coming out of it?"
"I'm not sure I understand, Miss."
"Anybody who isn't a student, or a teacher, or even one of your men."
He shook his head. "No, Miss. Our patrols don't fully concentrate on the boys' building. We're here to ensure the safety of all students and teachers within the school, but primarily to ease the ladies."
She sighed and looked around. She'd have to see if Fiyero, Boq or Ollivander had seen anything, though she seriously doubted it. "Thank you." she turned on her heel to walk away. Chistery leapt from her back and flew above her head once more.
"Uh, Miss?"
"Yes?" She stopped and turned back to him.
"Are you aware that you're green?"
She blinked once and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Did she know...? 'What kind of a brainless question is that? It's something Fiyero would say when he'd drunk.' she thought, slowly, mockingly raising her hand in front of her face. "Oh, sweet Oz, I am!" she gasped dramatically, her eyes wide and she shook her head. "Yes, I am aware. I've been painfully aware of that fact for twenty-one years. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention."
The soldier blushed a dark red, mumbled his apologies and slunk away embarrassed.
Elphaba rolled her eyes again, she looked up and could swear Chistery was laughing. "Oh, and you needn't laugh! If you could tell me who left that bottle with you I wouldn't have had to do that!" She admonished, smiling fondly at the creature to show she wasn't really angry with him, if only slightly annoyed at the fact he couldn't talk, but that wasn't really his fault. "Come on, let's go back. We'll not find answers here." She headed back to the dorm with him, Glinda was reading a magazine upon her arrival, sprawled out on her front on the pink comforter.
"Who did you scare this time?" The magazine didn't move from the blonde's face.
"Who says I scared anyone."
"Your face."
"This is my normal face." the green girl smirked and she flopped on to the bed, putting away the forgotten book. "A guard made a comment, I snarked back."
"Elphie!" Glinda scolded, the desired effect was lost at her giggle.
Elphaba let out a loud, happy sigh. "It's good to be back!" she laughed and took out her braid, shaking her hair loose, another quiet sigh of relief as the tension on her head was lost. "Any update on our sorcery classes?"
Glinda shook her head. "Madame Astoria is still waiting for the replacement teacher to show up. Hopefully next week our schedule will go back to normal."
The other girl nodded. "Orientation is almost finished with the new students too," she commented.
"I see you found your bottle."
"Chistery did." She stood up and picked it and the note up, pocketing them, and she looked out of the window on to the lawns. "Something tells me we need to be careful, Lin."
"What do you mean?" she put the magazine down and rolled around until she was sat up on the bed.
"Gut feeling..." she shook her head and glanced at the clock. "Anyway, I've better go, otherwise I really will be running late for Literature." she grabbed her bag from the floor, her notebook and she left, leaving Glinda calling after her again. Of course, Elphaba was never intentionally late, even now, she knew she'd be early, and it gave her a chance to talk to Ollivander before their class began.
She quietly slipped inside the classroom and took her seat, waiting for her friend to arrive. Luckily for her, she didn't need to wait long, a minute or so later Ollivander had entered and sat beside her. It would be the first time since their arrival back at school they'd have a chance to talk away from their friends.
"How are you feeling?" He smiled at her.
"I'm alright." she nodded. "Just a little confused about something," she admitted.
"Are you sure? Glinda told me what happened during the holidays."
"Of course she did." She groaned and shook her head with a slight laugh. "Honestly, she needn't fret. But okay, I'll be alright, how about that."
He grinned. "Better. Now, what's got the great Elphaba Thropp confused?"
She smiled a little at the jab and she took out the note from her pocket, handing it to him. "This... Last term, I lost my little green bottle- my mother's actually... when our room was broken into... About twenty minutes ago, Chistery returned it with that note."
He scanned it. "Who is it from?"
"I don't know, that's what I was hoping you'd be able to figure out. Have you or the others seen anybody weird around your building?"
He shook his head, brows creasing in confusion. The handwriting wasn't familiar to him. "Well, it's only been a week and Avaric's brought some questionable women back to his room, but no, nothing out of the ordinary."
"Worth a try." she shrugged. "I mean... It could be someone trying to freak me out knowing that my room was broken into. Or something bad could happen."
He nodded. "Alright, well just be careful and keep an eye out for anything else out of the ordinary. Do you know what secrets it could mean?"
She shrugged. "Maybe they know something about the bottle that I don't," she suggested. "Which would explain a lot, because all I know is that this thing belonged to my mother and it was given to her by a man she was having an affair with, and the rumour being that I may or may not be a result of said affair."
"How do you-?"
"I've been told by someone who was close to her. Now, my mother was not an innocent woman by any means, but she was still my mother for three years." she put the note in her bag. "And you don't need to worry about me. All injuries are healed and I'm not going back there. I think if I did, Fiyero and Glinda would go to their graves early and they'd never forgive me." she smirked, sharing a quiet laugh with him as other students filtered into the classroom. The boy in the dress that Glinda had mentioned to her sat in the spare seat on her other side. She didn't have time to comment when the class began and she took out her books and her papers to make her notes.
Throughout the class, Elphaba ignored the passing of notes, scribbled with unimaginative insults aimed at her, though her temper was slowly rising, not helped by the temperament of the usually calm Ollivander was getting the better of him. "Just leave it," she whispered to him.
"How can you not react?" he hissed back at her.
"Because we're better than them."
He growled quietly and sat back in his chair. Hadn't his friend been through enough?
"Ollivander, please. They're too immature to see past what only a few do. I've dealt with it long enough."
"You shouldn't have to."
She gave a strained smile. "Now you sound like Fiyero."
"One of us has to when he's not here."
Finally, once the class was over, they both packed away their things, including a list of reading material.
"What do you have next?" he asked as they left the room.
"Astrology. And then nothing until Law which is after dinner," she answered.
"I'm stuck with Sciences." he huffed.
She smiled. "Unlucky. I'll see you later." They both headed in separate directions.
As she made her way through the corridors, she shut off her hearing to the insults, ignored the pushing and shoving of her closed-minded peers.
"Fae!"
She stopped halfway down the staircase as the nickname filtered through the self-imposed barrier and she smiled, looking up. "Fiyero, what are you doing?"
"Joining you for class." He grinned.
She raised an eyebrow at him as he bounded down the steps, stopping at the step before her. "But right now you have Politics, and you hate Astrology."
He shrugged. "I don't hate it, I just don't understand it."
"And a second-year class will help you understand better?"
"How hard is it to observe planets and stars? We did a lot of that back in the Vinkus."
She laughed. "Don't let Doctor Whiston hear you say that. Besides, it's a lot more than star-gazing, Fiyero." She turned and started walking again. "Because if you think I'm going to miss class for you, you've got another thing coming."
"Elphie-Fae, come on!" he pouted, following her.
"What did I tell you about that," she smirked. "No, whatever it is you're planning, it can wait until later."
"We don't have many classes together now."
"Yes, but it's only for this week with the new students. I'm sure you'll cope for this one week, there's obviously a method to what Madame Astoria is doing if she's making changes to the structure of how new starters are integrated," she told him. "Honestly, you're acting like being away from me would kill you." she finished with a quiet laugh.
"Oh, but it will!" He put a hand to his chest above his heart, dramatically falling against the wall, which made her laugh more. He laughed with her and straightened up, not caring that other people had been watching them.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic!" She shook her head and quickened her pace, putting some distance between them before she turned on her heel to face him once more. "Right, now you've walked me to class, now go to your own! Don't pout, it doesn't work." she laughed again as he grabbed for her, she closed her eyes briefly as he kissed her. "Go!" she shoved him away with a grin. "Fiyero, I mean it, be gone with you!"
He laughed. "Fine. I'll be back here after class." He wasn't surprised to be talking to her back as she ignored him and entered the classroom. The whispers started up again, and he decided to ignore them and not let them spoil his happy mood as he headed off to his own class. Politics without Elphaba was already putting a slight dampener on his mood without ignorant people adding to it.
"Sweet, Oz, that boy..." Elphaba muttered to herself as she made her way to her seat. She looked up at the stares and mutterings in her direction. "Yes, I'm still green, yes, I'm still here and no I don't care. You'd think after a year of me taking this class already you'd learn to ignore me! Go!" she snapped at one girl who had been staring too long, causing her to yelp in surprise and dash to her seat. With a satisfied smirk, Elphaba took her own seat and waited for the class to begin.
Later that evening, Elphaba had joined her friends for dinner, leaving Glinda to get ready by herself having told her she would not be late for the Law class she had afterwards.
"Just order for her," she told them with a smirk as she took her seat beside Fiyero, ignoring Nessa's eyes.
He hid his frown with a thoughtful look as he toyed with her hair that flowed down her back. He knew the sisters had been arguing a lot more than was considered to be normal, he wasn't alone in that observation and he hadn't been alone with Nessa long enough to discuss why, and whenever he broached the subject with Elphaba, she denied him her touch and told him to leave it alone. He remained in thoughtful silence for a moment longer until he stood up. "Boq? Can you help me with the drinks?"
Elphaba looked up from her conversation with Ollivander, seeing Fiyero pointedly ignoring the glare she was giving him and she shook her head as her boyfriend and their friend left the table. 'Coward.' She thought and stopped herself, realising she wasn't being fair, but that didn't stop the resentful feeling at being left with her sister seemingly on purpose.
Fiyero shuddered, well aware of the glare she was fixing him with and he refused to look at her. "What's wrong with those two? Or more specifically, what's Nessa's problem?"
Boq shrugged, he too wasn't daring to look back at the thunderous look Nessa was no doubt giving him. He stayed silent while Fiyero signalled for the barkeep "Nessa's becoming increasingly jealous." He finally admitted to his friend and ordered the round of drinks.
"Why?"
"She's not the centre of attention. Miss Elphie's finally being told her worth, finally being told that she's more than her sister's carer, and now obviously Miss Elphie wants more."
"As she should." Fiyero nodded. "But I'm not sure why Nessa is sulking when she should surely be happy for her sister."
"She sees it as she's being abandoned," Boq told him, having to recount the pointless, countless rantings of the wheelchair-bound girl. "You and Miss Glinda are taking her sister away from her."
"Is that what she said?" The prince scoffed at the Munchkin's nod. "Should I talk to her?"
"And say what?"
"I dunno? Try and convince her somehow that I'm not the bad guy? Fae's got dreams, she's always had them and she'd follow them whether I was her boyfriend or not, whether Glinda was her best friend or not."
"Maybe so, but you've both given her that confidence, regardless of whether or not she'd go without you."
Fiyero conceded his point and nodded. Elphaba had once told him something similar to that effect when he'd brought up the subject of happiness. Suddenly there was the sound of glass breaking behind him and a scream. He spun around to see Elphaba unconscious on the floor. "Fae!" he pushed his way between chairs and tabled until he reached her as Ollivander moved away their own chairs to give her space. He knelt beside her and gently put his fingers to her neck finding the strong, steady pulse immediately, the rise and fall of her bosom told him she was still breathing. "What happened?" He gently moved her to lay her head in his lap while another patron in the pub sent for a doctor.
Ollivander shrugged. "We were talking, then she excused herself for the bathroom, and she dropped as soon as she stood."
"She had a peculiar look on her face... Like she was seeing something we couldn't..." Nessa told him without looking at him, she couldn't bear to see the worried look on Fiyero's face as he touched her sister so gently he feared she'd break, willing her to open her eyes.
"Fae-Fae, come on, my love..." He whispered to her, one hand gently stroking her cheek, the other held her hand as he watched the rise and fall of his girlfriend's chest, confirmation that she was not slipping away from him just yet.
Five minutes seemed like an eternity until the doctor arrived. The withering old man tried to move Elphaba, fixing the young prince with a stare but relented when he was told he was not letting her go, so he had to examine his patient on the floor. "What's her name?"
"Elphaba," Nessa told him.
"Has she fainted before?"
The students around him shook their heads, Ollivander gave his explanations again to the old man.
"When was her last meal?" That was met with a shrug. "Is there a chance this young lady could be pregnant?"
"No." It was Fiyero who answered, ignoring the glare from Nessa. "We haven't-"
"Very well." The old man cut him off mercifully, and that too seemed to settle Nessa and she sat back in her chair.
"Will she be alright?" she asked.
"She will be. My guess is that she just needs to make sure that she eats and looks after herself." He nodded, standing up. "It may have been a long time ago, but I do remember what it's like for university students. Are you first years or-?"
"Second," Ollivander told him.
He nodded. "All this young lady needs to do is to eat."
"Which is what we were here for, ironically." The Gillikinese male had to chuckle at that.
Fiyero laughed a little and kept his gaze on Elphaba.
A moment later, green eyelids flew open revealing the dark, frantic eyes that lay beneath and she shot up with a gasp, screwing her eyes shut momentarily at the sudden movement and accompanying blood rush.
"Fae?"
She looked behind her, opening her eyes on her very worried and anxious boyfriend. "Fiyero!" she gasped. "Oh, Oz, Yero!" she cried and threw her arms tight around him.
He held her close, shooting anxious looks to his friends who looked equally as frightened. "Shh... Fae, it's alright." He held her tighter while she trembled.
The doctor frowned at the two of them. "Miss Elphaba?" He sighed when the frightened young woman shook her head, denying his presence. "Miss Elphaba, look at me." He was met with silence and he shook his head. "You must take better care of yourself," he told her.
"She will, we'll make sure of it," Ollivander told him. "Thank you for coming out to her." he walked the doctor out of the pub.
"Dearest! Is everything alright?" Glinda beamed when she saw him and she greeted him with a kiss.
"I think Elphaba had a vision and she passed out, which is why the doctor was called."
"What?" Glinda paled. "Where is she? What happened?"
"She's still in there. She woke up, panicked when she saw Fiyero and now she won't let him go." He explained and took her inside, Elphaba and Fiyero were still on the floor, holding tightly to one another.
"Elphie!" Glinda dashed to them, kneeling beside Fiyero in her friend's eye line. "Elphie? Sweetie, it's me." she cooed softly.
Elphaba sniffled and tilted her head a little to look at her friend.
Glinda sighed sadly, her friend wasn't crying, but there was no denying she looked absolutely terrified. She tried to reach for the girl and withdrew her hand when Elphaba shrank away. "Oh, Elphie... Was it a vision?" she asked softly. A tentative nod. "To do with Fiyero?" At that question, her friend tightened herself around him as an affirmation.
"I think I should get her out of here," Fiyero spoke quietly.
"That would be a good idea... She's thirty seconds away from a very public meltdown... She could still be seeing whatever's playing inside her head." she helped him to stand Elphaba up. "Where will you be? I'll bring your food. And I'll tell your professor you won't be in class."
He nodded. "The boys' building is closer, and the state she's in she won't want me to go anywhere... Which means Crage Hall is out of the question... We'll take a cab." He told her quietly so that Nessa didn't hear.
Glinda nodded and kissed Elphaba on the cheek. "You're safe now, Elphie... So is Fiyero." It frightened her when she didn't respond. Elphaba was never scared. Never. To see her in such a terrified, catatonic state now scared the blonde. She wished she could be with her, but right now she wasn't what Elphaba needed. If anything ever happened to Fiyero in the future, she seriously feared for her friend's mental well-being if this was a reaction to a simple vision.
Fiyero lead Elphaba out of the pub, raising his arm to signal for a cart, getting into the first one to stop. His heart stopped, his blood running cold at the whimpering she voiced when she briefly lost contact with him, and she latched herself on to him again quickly once inside. "Briscoe Hall, Shiz University." He told the driver in a tight voice and they were quickly on their way. Once there, he paid the driver and helped her out, and he took her inside and up to his room. "Elphie-Fae, talk to me."
Slowly she looked up at him, and her hands gently caressed his face in wonder, green fingers then slowly travelled down his neck, across his shoulders and down his arms until she reached his hands. "Yero..." she whispered, looking down at their hands.
"Fae, what happened?"
"Blood... So much blood..."
"Where?"
"You." She looked up at him again, but she wasn't seeing him.
He closed his mouth, she wasn't making much sense to him, but she seemed to be making sense to herself and wondered if she just needed a verbal outlet.
She continued with her nonsensical, whispered mutterings for a few minutes longer. "Terror... Terror... Blood... Evil..."
He sighed and picked her up, carrying her through to his bedroom and lay her on the bed, laying down beside her, facing her. He had taken to gently caressing her side, keeping his eyes on her as she mumbled to herself.
Slowly, she eventually began to come back to him, the fog in her eyes lifting. She blinked and lifted herself on her elbow, looking around her. "Where am I?"
"My room," he told her, his hand stopping at her waist and she lay back down.
"When did I get here...?"
He looked over his shoulder at his clock. "Half an hour ago." Had it really been that long? It felt like she was lost to him inside her own head for far longer. It seemed to last forever. "What happened, Fae?" He moved to hold her hands in between them.
She shook her head. "My visions- as few and far between as they are... don't usually affect me so greatly..." She gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I frightened you..."
He raised her hands and he kissed them. "I'm more worried about you."
"My love, don't be. I'm alright." she looked at him, seriously considering not telling him what she saw, but he quickly melted her resolve with those sad blue eyes of his so full of love and concern. "But what I saw did scare me..." she let go of his hands and shuffled until she fit perfectly against him, a contented hum in her throat as his arms circled her waist. "You were in a field... I think." she paused to rearrange her racing thoughts. "You were hurt so badly... You were losing so much blood and nothing I was doing was working." she buried her head into his chest listening for his heartbeat. "I was trying to save you but I couldn't..."
He kissed her head and held her closer. "My Fae, mon amour, I'm here, whatever happens, I'm always here with you. It's going to take a lot more than a fight of some kind to pull me away from you."
"But what if something does happen to you?" She lifted her head to look up at him. "Fiyero, I-"
He cut her off with a kiss, putting every emotion into it, where words could not ease her terrified mind, he hoped this would.
She closed her eyes and sank easily into it, keeping a tight grip on his shirt.
"I'm never leaving you, Fae, I promise," he told her when he pulled away.
All she could do was nod as she buried herself against him once more. Her class was forgotten, but for once, Elphaba didn't care. They both had other things on their minds and stayed within the comfort of the embrace.
Elphaba was sleeping when Glinda entered Fiyero's room with their forgotten food.
"How is she?" Glinda asked, putting the takeaway containers in the kitchenette area and headed across to the bedroom. "Did she tell you what she saw?"
He sighed and shrugged. "She's sleeping for now... Whether or not she's okay..." He trailed off and didn't move from the bed. "She saw my tortured, dying body, and she couldn't save me."
Glinda gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, Elphie..." She whispered. "I've told your professor too... Told him she had a fainting spell and you were with her."
"Thanks, Glinda." he smiled a little.
"Do you want me to bring a change of clothes for her? I can make excuses for Nessa, not that she'd notice or care." she looked at her friend sleeping so peacefully.
He nodded. "That would probably be a good idea. Thank Oz she doesn't have classes until tomorrow afternoon."
Glinda put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "If she wakes up before I get back, hug her for me." she smiled and walked out. When she returned twenty minutes later, Elphaba still hadn't woken up or moved. "You, out. I'm gonna help her dress," she told him.
"Alright." He had to laugh as he slowly extracted himself from his girlfriend's embrace and he left the room.
The movement caused Elphaba to stir and wake up. "Fiyero?"
"Elphie, it's just me. Come, you can't sleep in that uncomfortable old thing." Glinda told her in a gentle tone, helping her to sit up.
She looked up at her with unseeing eyes. "Lin...?"
"Yes, Elphie, it's just me," she repeated, gently touching her cheek before she started to unlace the corset and helped her out of the dress, standing the girl up to assist her into her nightdress and then eased her back into bed. Elphaba remained silent throughout the whole thing until she was back in bed.
"Where's Fiyero? Is he hurt? I have to-"
"He's fine, Elphie. Just fine." she smiled. "He's just in the other room while you changed." she kissed her on the cheek as Elphaba usually did with her. "I'll see you in the morning." she stood and turned to see him in the doorway. "You take care of her, you hear?"
He laughed at the small girl's attempt at intimidation, nodded and saluted her all the same. "Yes, ma'am." he grinned.
"Good." she smiled and walked out.
Elphaba giggled quietly from the bed as he headed over to her. "She means well."
He nodded. "I know." He went to his bathroom to get himself dressed for bed, getting back into bed dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and he held her close to him once more. "How are you feeling now?"
She cuddled closer to him and closed her eyes. "A bit better."
"Good." he kissed her head again.
"Yero...?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell me about the diamonds again?"
He grinned and began to recount the story he'd already told her before until she fell asleep.