Sadness and Secrets

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Winter break was over far too quickly for almost everyone's liking. Elphaba was glad to be back at school, as much as she loved her friend, as much as she enjoyed her time away with her, she craved to get back to normality as quickly as possible. If only she hadn't felt so damned awful and unwell!

"Elphie? Are you quite alright?" Glinda cast a concerned look over her shoulder. The train journey back had been rather quiet, Elphaba seemed to have lost her voice.

Elphaba gave her friend a slight nod as she helped to haul their bags back to the school. "Fine, Glinda." she croaked.

"I think you should have a hot bath and I'll get you a hot water bottle and you should go to bed."

"Yes, Mother." the sarcasm had lost its effect with the scratchy tones as they trudged through the slushy snow, and Elphaba tightened her scarf around her neck and the hood of her cloak over her head.

The blonde rolled her eyes and waved her arm out to signal for a carriage. She beamed a wide, dazzling smile as one slowed before them and a slightly older gentleman stepped down from the carriage.

"Would you like some assistance, miss?"

"Oh, that would be most kind of you!" Glinda spoke in a higher tone than her usual voice. "My best friend and I need to get back to Shiz University. Would you by any chance be going that way?"

The male nodded, casting a glance toward Elphaba, though he couldn't see any green skin. "Are you alright?"

"She's unwell with a cold, poor thing." Glinda pouted, and Elphaba, not for the first time, was impressed by her acting abilities.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Here, let me take those and get you back to school."

Glinda didn't need to be told twice and gladly handed over her cases and jabbed her friend to do the same and they both boarded the carriage. With their bags loaded, the carriage then started to move. Elphaba sat with her head rested against the window and she closed her eyes, the cool glass soothing to her burning forehead.

"Just think, it won't be long before you see Fifi and everything will be good with the world again!" Glinda told her, only to get a grunt in response and she simply shrugged. "I hate to say I told you so, but-"

"Then don't."

The blonde rolled her eyes and huffed. "Fine. But that's twice you've run out into the snow without adequate footwear or a coat!"

Elphaba grumbled quietly, and neither woman spoke for the rest of the journey. She did not need a reminder of what happened that New Year's Eve party, thank you very much!

Glinda hopped out when the carriage pulled to a complete stop, and tugged on the arm of the nearest male student who happened to pass her direction. "Oh, Oz, thank goodness you're here! You couldn't possibly help me with my bags, could you?" she fluttered her eyelashes and looked at him sweetly. "It's just... it's been an awfully long journey..."

"Of course! Right away, Miss Glinda!" The boy nodded enthusiastically, beaming with a confidence Elphaba only saw when her best friend turned the charm up full. The green girl shook her head as she was helped out of the carriage and the boy was already carrying the cases towards their school. Clearly, he was carrying more than he could cope with in the hopes that it would impress the blonde.

Glinda giggled softly. "I've still got it!"

Elphaba then rolled her eyes. "Glinda, you know damn well it never left," she commented and was dragged along back to their dorms.

"I... I had to stop there, Miss Glinda. The guard took them up for you." the boy told her, clearly ignoring Elphaba, and clearly ignoring the fact he had just carried her belongings back to the school.

"Thank you so much, that was so kind of you to do that for us. Wasn't it, Elphie?"

He blushed and quickly made his escape, and Elphaba couldn't even find the energy to laugh at him. They both headed inside Crage Hall and back to their dorm room, Elphaba immediately collapsing on her bed with a groan that was muffled by her pillow.

Glinda sighed happily with a grin. "Home sweet home! Well... for you, at least. Now, where did I put..." her voice fell quiet as she muttered to herself and started looking for her hot water bottle to give to Elphaba. "Hah! Found it!" she proclaimed five minutes later, leaving the bathroom and looked over when she heard soft snoring from her friend. Elphaba, still fully dressed, had managed to get herself into bed and curled up beneath the blanket. Glinda set it down on the desk and quickly changed out of her travelling clothes before leaving the room.

"Miss Glinda! It's wonderful to see you back."

Glinda spun on her heel when she heard a voice across the school's canteen and she smiled softly when she saw Boq walking toward her. "Isn't it?!" she giggled, unable to help herself. "Did you have a good Lurlinemas?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes with a smile and he gave her a half-hearted shrug. "It was alright. A little lonely being stuck here by myself though. How was it for you and Miss Elphie?"

"Oh, it was wonderful! Although Elphie got sick a couple of days ago, she's full of cold and tucked up in bed, I just came to get her some soup."

Boq nodded. "She is prone to being ill around the wintertime. She doesn't like the cold." he mused as they ventured further into the canteen which was occupied by only a handful of students.

Glinda nodded. I still wonder how she would have managed if she had been on the run... she thought. "We should have a reunion dinner once our friends return."

"Good idea. Will Miss Elphie be alright with it?"

"I think... if we don't disturberate her too much from now until then." Glinda mused and ordered her friend's soup and a sandwich for herself. "I believe it should take the rest of the week for them to come back. Have you heard from Nessa at all? Are you not going to eat?"

He shook his head. "I've only just finished," he commented. "No, I did get a present from her though, with a note apologising again for her actions." he almost looked guilty.

"Oh, come now! She dug herself into this hole, she can very well climb out of it. Actions speak louder."

"Oz, you sound like Elphie!"

There was a pause and they both fell into giggles. "Goodness, maybe she has more of an influence on me than we realised."

He grinned. "See you later, Miss Glinda."

She nodded and headed back to her dorm room. She set the cup down on Elphaba's bedside table. "Elphie. I brought you some soup."

The green-skinned woman groaned and rolled over, but didn't remove her blankets from her head.

Glinda simply shrugged and settled on her bed with her sandwich, her friend would move in her own time.

And sure enough, two minutes later, she saw the blankets shift once more and Elphaba slowly sat up and leaned on her headboard, reaching for the still-warm cup of tomato soup and she slowly sipped at it, a tentative smile on her face when it soothed her throat. "Thank you."

"No problem." the blonde smiled and the duo ate in silence. Oz, she really does look awful. She thought sympathetically. Rather than looking greener, Elphaba looked paler. "If Fifi blames me for you being sick, Miss Elphie."

Elphaba shook her head slightly with a smile. "I'll be sure to tell him it was my own fault." she yawned and put the empty cup on the table. "I should probably go for a bath..." she had barely finished speaking when Glinda hopped up to run to the bathroom, and moments later running water was heard.

Over the next few days, Glinda continued to nurse her friend back to health, turning away their friends when they wanted to see if she was alright. There was still no sign of Fiyero, but that didn't concern her, they were used to him turning up at the last moment.

A few days later, Elphaba eventually dragged herself out of bed, feeling much better than she had in the past week. She allowed herself a small smile at the few get well cards she had received from her friends, it was a nice feeling knowing people cared for her. She took herself to the bathroom quietly to shower and get herself ready for the day, knowing Glinda would be awake by the time she was done.

Half an hour later, dried and fully dressed, her hair up in a towel, Elphaba left the bathroom, finding her friend waking up.

"Elphie! You're awake!"

"How very observant of you. You should know I would never miss the start of classes. Are you going to be joining us?"

Glinda blinked at the clock and pouted. "Elphie you talk as though we're going to be late! The canteen's barely opened for breakfast!"

Elphaba chuckled and made her bed. "I know. I'm just bored of being stuck in bed being sick."

"How are you feeling?"

She nodded. "Much better than before, thank you." she smiled, shaking her head as her friend jumped up and headed for the bathroom.

Once both girls were ready, they left their dorm with their books in their arms, meeting Nessa on the way out with Attricia.

"Fabala! It's good to see you looking better." Nessa gave her sister a tentative smile. "Did you enjoy your time away?"

Elphaba gave her younger sister a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, I feel much better after a rest. We did, we had a wonderful time."

Nessa nodded, wringing her fingers in her lap. "I missed you. It wasn't the same without you."

The green girl resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but she did let out a scoff at the words. "I'm sure you were the only one."

"I think we should all get going, we don't want to be late." Attricia put in gently, taking note of the flash of relief on Glinda's face. "Let's not indulge in tensions before the semester has started."

"Come on, Elphie..." Glinda tugged on Elphaba's arm and pulled her out of the building.

Nessa watched with sadness in her eyes, she wished she could have her sister back in her life, but knew it would be a long while before that happened again. "I really did miss her."

"I can imagine, Miss Nessa, perhaps in time you can make up with each other," Attricia told her before she wheeled her out into the courtyard.

Nessa nodded, her shoulders dropping. "I do hope so..."

A/N: I'm aware this chapter isn't my best, and I can only apologise, the whole lockdown situation hasn't been all that great on my creativity... hopefully everyone else is keeping safe and I hope to be back on form ASAP, I just wanted to let you know I hadn't forgotten you all. Sending you all my love!