After meeting the Wizard, Elphaba was shocked at how short their stay at the Emerald City ended up being. In her memories, the two years before she came back to the Wizard's palace to save the Monkeys have blurred together with that very first visit to the City, making it appear like one impossibly long, nightmarish day. The next morning, however, Madame Morrible appeared at their hotel room door to announce that they were to go back to Shiz in just two days.
"Well, miss Elphaba, the Wizard and I have decided that true talent is not to be rushed," she screeched; her sugarcoated voice nauseating. "You will return to Shiz, where you shall, in addition to your studies, attend an extensive course in advanced sorcery."
"But Madame, I don't think my father will agree to cover—"
"Oh, don't you worry, Miss Elphaba, money is no concern here. The Wizard has awarded you a special scholarship that will cover your tuition for the remainder of your studies. Now, as the Wizard's Press Secretary, I will not be able to teach you anymore, but deputy head Yarrow will certainly be able to find a suitable teacher by the start of the next semester. If you truly apply yourself, by next year you could be the most powerful sorceress in all of Oz!" Her tone turned strict. "Don't disappoint me, Miss Elphaba."
"Of course not, Madame!" Elphaba said eagerly, fighting the urge to slap Morrible across her bloated red face. "I won't let you down!"
Galinda had to clear her throat three times before Morrible turned to her.
"Yes, Miss Upland?" she asked impatiently.
"Well, Madame Morrible… I was just wondering if I could possibly participate in the training too?"
"Please, Madame," Elphaba chimed in. "It would mean a lot to me to have Galinda by my side. Besides – you've agreed to have her as a part of your seminar, I don't think it would be fair to force her to stay behind…"
Madame Morrible gave an exasperated sigh.
"Very well. As long as you're willing to cover the costs of the additional classes..." Glinda nodded vigorously and Morrible sighed, once again, even deeper this time. "I won't be there to supervise you, but I do expect you both to do your absolute best, since the very moment you set foot on the campus grounds again!"
• • •
And soon enough, they did. Galinda's suitcase was almost bursting, filled to its capacity with trinkets and souvenirs; and even Elphaba had decided to bring a little piece of the Emerald City back with her. The small envelope she'd carefully stored in her pocket contained a dainty necklace; a tiny emerald heart framed with silver carefully crafted into a lacy pattern. Seeing it on display in a quaint antique store in the city had immediately made her think of Nessarose and she beamed at the thought of surprising her little sister with the gift.
"I'm going to go see Nessa," she told Galinda when they settled back into their room; trying not to feel guilty about lying to her best friend. Seeing Nessa could wait till tomorrow. She had a much more important visit to pay, and it took most of her self-control to keep herself from running down the hallways.
Her heart was bursting with both excitement and nerves when she knocked on the door, and it seemed like forever before it opened. When it finally did, though, nothing else in the world mattered. Not when she saw him, saw how his face lit up with surprise and joy and relief. Before he could react in any other way, she jumped into his arms, grabbing his face and kissing him with an intensity that almost made him topple over. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into the room and blindly shutting the door; and returned the kiss so fiercely that Elphaba could swear her feet hovered above the ground for a moment. Or maybe it was just her fluttering heart that made her feel like she was defying gravity?
"I love you," she breathed against his lips after they broke apart; surprising the both of them, but not regretting it for a second; marveling at how naturally the phrase rolled off of her tongue, feeling a shiver run down her spine as she said it – once, then again and again. Fiyero looked at her with wonder and disbelief, overjoyed to have her finally say these words to him, and she kept whispering: "I love you. Oz, Fiyero, I love you so much. I wanted to say it sooner and I couldn't. But I do. I love you and I can finally tell you—"
Fiyero's eyes were shining with an entirely new intensity, and when he spoke, his voice was low and inviting.
"Tell me later," he murmured before pulling her into another fervent kiss.
• • •
Elphaba didn't end up seeing her sister until the next afternoon, when she found Nessarose seated under one of the mighty maple trees in the university courtyard.
"Nessa! I've been looking everywhere for you. How are you?" she asked. Her smile faded when she heard her sister's chilly voice.
"Not as badly as could be expected," Nessarose said, "considering how you've left me all alone here, without a care in the world."
Elphaba was stunned.
"E-excuse me?" she stammered. Nessarose sent her a piercing look; a look that clearly said I am about to place the blame on you.
"Boq isn't talking to me," she said. "He's been avoiding me ever since you and Galinda left."
"Nessa…"
"This isn't fair! He should be there for me when I need him – and where else am I supposed to go, especially when you were gone?"
Her accusatory tone brought another memory to Elphaba's mind, of a conversation not very dissimilar to that one.
"Look, Nessa…" she said, rubbing her temples. "I know you're upset, but I think you might be a little too dependent on Boq. He has his own life, and he's not your servant, you know. Neither am I."
Nessarose looked both shocked and offended.
"Is that all you have to say to me?" she asked in disbelief.
"Um… no?" Elphaba hesitated, and then reached into her pocket. "I, um I got you something."
She reached into her pocket to retrieve the emerald necklace, but Nessarose gave her a dismissive hand wave.
"Oh, so now you're trying to buy me off?" she said, and the unpleasant bitter note in her voice intensified. "You know what, never mind. I shouldn't have expected you to understand."
And with that, she drove away, leaving Elphaba shocked, upset and alone under the maple tree.
• • •
Next morning, deep in her thoughts, Elphaba accidentally bumped into someone in the hallway, effectively knocking them down to the floor.
"Ah, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she exclaimed. Only then did she recognize the person she'd just shoved as Boq, who scrambled to gather all of his scattered books, quills and notes.
"Here," she said, extending a hand to him; but Boq flinched away from her with a frightened expression. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh for Oz's sake, I'm not going to hurt you!"
She let him clumsily get up on his own and instead started to gather the loose pages that had slipped out of one of his notebooks. As she handed them back to him, she noticed that one was decorated with a beautiful drawing. A drawing that clearly depicted a certain blonde friend of hers.
"Did you draw this?" she asked, admiring the drawing in spite of herself. "It's really good."
Boq's face turned red as a cherry.
"Oh, yeah, I… um, yeah, thanks. It's nothing, it just, uh, drawing helps me when I'm stressed," he stammered, quickly snatching the papers from her hands and tucking them into his bag. "I swear, I'm not… I'm not creepy or anything."
Elphaba sighed. "Look," she said and rubbed her temples. Sweet Oz, this is so awkward. "There is no excuse for the way you've been acting towards my sister. I want to be sorry about you and Galinda, but you're making it very difficult. I mean, how can you not see that the way you feel about Galinda is how Nessa feels about you? How can you not have compassion for someone who is in the exact same situation as you?" She felt that she was starting to get carried away and took a deep breath to control her nerves. "Nessa really cares about you," she said, as calmly as she could. "The least you can do is be honest with her."
Boq didn't answer, he just looked terrified.
"I—" he stammered finally. Elphaba watched him for a moment, but as no more words came, she just nodded and left him to his own thoughts.
• • •
The exam period arrived far to soon for the liking of most students at Shiz University – particularly a certain Miss Galinda Upland. She was just about to enter her room, exhausted by another exam day, but paused with her hand on the handle when she heard voices coming from inside. Decidedly angry voices. She hesitated, but her curiosity prevailed, making her press her ear to the door.
"How dare you, Elphaba! You had no right!"
Galinda recognized Nessarose's voice.
"Nessa, I—"
"There is no excuse for you to interfere with mylife! First you leave me and go to the Emerald City with Galinda, then you don't even bother checking in on me when you come back, and now this?! You might have cost me my only chance at love!"
"Love?!" Elphaba sounded exasperated. "Nessa, Boq never loved you. You can't seriously pretend to believe—"
"And what would you know about that?! The fact that you'll never find love doesn't mean I have to be alone, too!" Nessarose's voice was so cutting that Galinda flinched, her ear still pressed to the door.
"For Oz's sake, Nessa, will you stop being a spoiled brat for a second and just listen to—"
"How dare you, Elphaba! Boq and I had something special, and you ruined it. You and your stupid jealousy."
"I'm not—"
"I don't care! You had no right to interfere. How many times are you going to ruin my life?!"
There was a heavy silence followed by the squeaking noise of a moving wheelchair; and Galinda managed to jolt away just in time before the door opened and an outraged Nessarose rolled out of the room. Her face was red and swollen from crying, but when she saw Galinda, she immediately tried to put on a smile.
"Oh, hello, Galinda!" she said, attempting a cheery voice and Galinda waved awkwardly, forcing herself to look the younger girl in the eye before sneaking past her and entering the room. Elphaba was sitting on her bed, her forehead resting on her hands. For a moment, Galinda thought she was crying, but when she raised her head, her eyes were dry – just very, very tired.
"Galinda," she said, the surprise in her voice barely audible through the exhaustion. "Did you—
"
"I… heard quite a bit," Galinda admitted, wincing. "Elphie, I'm so sorry…"
Elphaba smiled sourly.
"Well, no good deed goes unpunished, I guess." Galinda shot her a surprised look.
"So you actually did interfere?" she asked in a lowered voice.
"I—" Elphaba took a deep breath. "Look, I only told Boq to be honest with her. I was just trying to protect her, protect them both!"
"Elphie… I know you don't want to hear this, but I still don't think you should have meddled."
Elphaba gave out an exasperated sigh, but Galinda continued before she could be interrupted.
"I'm not saying Boq and Nessa's relationship was good or healthy. And…" she bit her lip. "And I know it's partially my fault. Nessa probably told you that I was the one who, well—"
"Shoved Boq at her," Elphaba said, nodding, and Galinda decided not to comment on that.
"But I still think you should have let Nessa resolve this. She's an adult. She can handle it."
Elphaba was silent, but Galinda could tell she'd really struck a nerve.
"Which doesn't mean what she'd just said to you was fair," she added quickly. "It was harsh and undeserved, and I'm so sorry you had to hear it."
Before Elphaba respond, Galinda threw her arms around her, squeezing her tightly to herself and rocking slightly to the sides.
"Ah! Do you have to be so clingy?" Elphaba complained, which only led to a tighter hug. "I need air, Galinda…," she gasped.
"I don't care, Elphie," Galinda said, hugging her face to Elphaba's arm. "Complain all you want, that won't stop me from giving you all the love you deserve!"