So... chapter 11. Dark Elphaba is coming, guys.
The extract she's reading at the end of the chapter is from the last chapter of the book series 'Inkheart' so if anyone plans on reading the books in the future, you might want to leave the cursiv-written part out.
I've changed the summary of this story because I wasn't entirely satisfied with the first one but I'm still not sure about the new one... what do you think?
As always; I'd love to know what you think about this (and btw thank you to those that wrote a comment; made my day) so please leave a comment:)

Started writing: 10.12.2019

Finished writing: 14.12.2019

Chapter 11
Reflection

"You're snoring."

Her voice was cold as ice, and her look shot daggers into his eyes.

"I'm not even asleep."

She had her arms crossed before her, and her eyes were narrowed.

"Well, then it might be that you're breathing too loud."

He knit his brows. "Excuse me?"

Elphaba crossed her legs and curled her lips as she bent forward and said, "Again, for the dumb; stop it, you're driving me crazy."

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just sitting-"

"more like 'laying'."

He rolled his eyes at her. "or laying here."

Fiyero slowly lifted his head from his arms and stared at the green-skinned woman next to him, "What is going on with you?"

She set her jaw in anger. "None of your business."

Then she focused on the clock that hung above the door. They had still over one hour to get their tests ready.

Midterms had arrived much faster than any of the students would've thought, and Elphaba couldn't even remember an afternoon that she hadn't spent in the library in the last two weeks.

Fiyero next to her didn't really have the same approach at midterms as Elphaba -not to say he didn't have any approach at all. From what Elphaba had heard, the Winkie prince had spent the last few weeks with throwing one party after the other -exam at the next morning or not-, getting dead drunk almost every night and showing up in class absolutely hungover, more than just once.

After two weeks he'd become the official new boyfriend of Galinda Upland and had thus gotten even more popular among the entire student body. Elphaba probably would've rolled her eyes at the sheer ridiculousness of it all, hadn't she been so very angry with him and his stupidity.

"I don't know what your problem is. I didn't do anything to you," Fiyero whispered, and when Elphaba turned her head, it was the first time that she saw the deep, dark circles under his eyes.

She threw her head back and laughed drily. "You didn't do- well, of course, you'd say that."

With a snort, Elphaba skimmed her test again and then murmured quietly, "You, of course, never do anything; No, your Highness doesn't get his hands dirty. He leaves it to the others and plays all nice."

"What was that?" Fiyero asked.

Someone hissed angrily at them and in the front of the class, Professor Graeling raised her eyes for a short second.

Elphaba shook her head and pressed between clenched teeth, "Nothing."

"Of course, everyone has to jump at every single thing he says, everyone has to drop everything and hurry to his side. 'Your Highness is our first and foremost priority. You're just a mere governor's daughter, he's a prince, so jump off the roof when he says so,'" she murmured under her breath.

When she suddenly felt Fiyero's hand on her arm, she quickly pulled back. "Stop it."

He frowned at her. "I didn't- I really don't see what is going on with you."

"Shh!" a student from the back of the class hissed at them.

Fiyero rolled his eyes.

"You could just tell me," he then whispered, "Maybe I could help."

Elphaba almost laughed, then she jumped up and snacked her bag from the floor.

"No, you couldn't. Except if you were leaving."

And with that, the green-skinned woman rushed to the teacher's desk and slammed her test on the table, so hard that Professor Graeling flinched in shock.

"You may leave," the teacher said at the exasperated expression on Elphaba's face, and faster than anyone would've thought she could, Elphaba hurried out of the classroom.

Only to be followed by a certain prince that practically ran after her.

"Green girl!" he shouted. "Hey, green girl, stop!"

She whirled around. "Elphaba!"

Fiyero looked slightly taken aback. "Uh...what?"

"My name," the green-skinned woman hissed. "It's Elphaba."

He frowned at her. "Yeah, I know that."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then why don't you use it?!"

The prince raised an eyebrow, then cleared his throat.

"I-I don't know. I thought it was funny."

Elphaba cackled. "Oh yes, so funny, being called vegetable names."

She threw him a stern look. "You really don't use your brain that much, do you?"

Fiyero crossed his arms in front of him. "You're making this far bigger than it was in the first place."

"I make things as big as I want them and I'm not going to change it just because the infamous prince of the Vinkus says so," Elphaba snapped, and Fiyero's eyes widened.

"So that's what all of this is about," he exclaimed. "You're jealous."

"Jealous? Me?" Elphaba laughed drily. "No, I'm not at all jealous. Actually, I couldn't care less about your title and your privileges and all the girls fussing about you."

Fiyero's brows were knit together as he said, "Then what is it?"

"You," Elphaba exclaimed. "It's you. Everything was- well, not fine, exactly, but it was getting there. And then you come; striding around as though you owned the place, getting the whole school drunk almost every day, but you, of course, never get a warning. You snap with your finger, and everyone lays at your feet. You are everyone's priority, you're the prince. Who cares about the green girl? Let her sleep in the library if there's no one volunteering to room with her. The main thing is that your Highness is happy. A mere governor's daughter can suffer the constant harassing in her free time -but your Highness not having a private suite? -No way. Academic? Who cares about that? 'Dancing through life' is the new motto. Why don't you go paint it on the front door, it would surely look great."

She gulped down a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at Fiyero who just stood there, completely dumbfounded.

"I-I," he stuttered. "A governor's daughter?"

Elphaba set her jaw.

"Well, I did ask Horrible Morrible for a private suite but- "

"Of course, Madame Morrible would do anything to do as you wish. You with your titles and your servants," the green girl spat.

Then she turned around. "I'd wish you happy Lurlinemas holidays, but then I would be lying."

And off she was, down the hallway within a beat of an eyelash.

"Are you sure?" Aurelion asked carefully, and his raised eyebrow above those big, blue eyes almost made her sigh.

"I'm sure. Just because I don't want to go doesn't have to mean you have to stay with me," she answered and looked at her fingers, "It's just that..."

Her voice trailed off, and Aurelion's eyebrow rose higher.

"Yes?"

It's just that this is our last evening before the holidays and I would really like to spend this time with you.

"Never mind."

She looked up to meet blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "You're the best."

Elphaba tilted her head to one side and gave him a small smile.

"And you really don't mind me-?"

The green girl knit her brows. "Aurelion, I don't mind. You go to that party, it's surely one you shouldn't be missing. I'll keep myself occupied -I still have so many things to pack."

She gestured at her suitcase and the chest she'd gotten from Madame Morrible to put all the things in that she didn't want to bring home with her so that they could be moved into her new dorm. As soon as the Headshiztress found someone to room with the green-skinned freak.

"Well, you'd best be off then, hadn't you?" Elphaba said with a look at the clock.

Aurelion got up and quickly collected his jacket and scarf from the floor.

"Do you want to meet for breakfast tomorrow?" he said when he'd reached the door.

"Sure, why not," the green girl answered and waved at him with a smile as he pulled the door shut.

She sighed, taking the whole room in. There was much work ahead; books to be packed into boxes, clothes to be folded up; a suitcase to be filled and taken home with, a chest to be loaded and left right here.

Maybe it was for the best, she thought, that Aurelion wasn't here with her this evening, she would never have gotten to pack all her stuff.

But she still had a sour taste in her mouth as she thought about him and Galinda and Fiyero and all the others in the Ozdust, partying and having fun.

It had been Galinda's idea -as Aurelion had told her- to host a secret 'parting-party' at the last night before Lurlinemas holidays. A big event that would be talked about for days -if only everyone wasn't leaving tomorrow. They would all get dead drunk, girls would have their heels broken, boys would have their noses broken, everyone would be unimaginably hungover in the morning, end up being sick in their carriages on their way home and would have to greet their families at the door as though nothing had happened. Of course, this wasn't what Aurelion had said, but Elphaba knew better than to listen to everything she was told.

With another sigh, Elphaba strode into the bath to pack her few bathroom supplies into her duffle bag. Shampoo and body lotion into the bag; toothpaste, toothbrush and brush left out so that she could still use them tomorrow morning.

Elphaba lifted her head. And caught a look on herself in the mirror.

She'd decided very early in her life that she would only look into a mirror when absolutely necessary -to spare herself her looks- and this definitely counted among 'unnecessary'. But somehow, she couldn't help it. Couldn't help but stare into her own big, brown eyes, widened in either shock or excitement, and wonder why she had been the one to inherit her mother's beautiful eyes. Nessa's face would've profited so much more from them, they were a waste on herself. But instead, Nessa had the same grey eyes as their father and Elphaba wondered just why.

She opened her neat bun and let her ebony black curls fall down her shoulders. They reached down to her hip bone, grazing her elbows whenever she moved.

Her hair was something Elphaba was rather fond of. These dark, wavy curls, so thick, so beautiful that she sometimes wondered why she'd been given them. Something so beautiful, so pure, so plain perfect framing something so ugly and sickening as her face.

Maybe it was the universe's way of showing her that she was nothing but a joke, a joke to everyone who came across her. Maybe it was life's way to laugh at her, bold and aloud.

With a snort, Elphaba turned around, away from her own reflection and hurried out of the bathroom.

She would let herself calm down at first, then, sorting and packing her books into the boxes. The bathroom would still be there in a couple of hours. As would be the mirror, although Elphaba didn't quite know whether that was a good or a bad thing.

Five boxes of books and a suitcase later the green-skinned woman sat on her bed, hair still wet from the shower, and stared at the chest before her on the ground.

"I swear to Oz," she murmured into the silence of the room. "if anything of that gets stolen, I'll turn Madame Morrible into a putter fish."

Then she got ready for bed, turned out the light and slipped under her blanket.

She didn't sleep well that night, dreamed of putter fish with women's faces and horses with pink flowers in their blonde mane.

She would've loved to know what her subconscious was trying to tell her.

"What in Oz...?" Elphaba let herself fall onto the seat opposite from her friend.

Aurelion covered his eyes with the back of his hand. "Don't -Don't say it."

Elphaba snorted. "I'm sure as hell going to say it, Aurelion. You look awful."

The boy let his hand fall onto the table and tilted his head. His eyes were absolutely bloodshot, and the dark circles under them were black.

"Enjoyed the party?" Elphaba asked with a smirk "Or should I say 'enjoyed the punch'?"

Aurelion scoffed and raised a hand. "Elphaba, shut up."

She laughed lightly and sunk her teeth into an apple. "So, tell me, how was it?"

Her friend cocked his head. "Great."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean it," Aurelion said and thankfully took the waffle Elphaba handed him. "It was really great. Good music, fun fellas, extraordinary punch..."

Elphaba grinned broadly.

"But then the owner of the Ozdust -that old hag- entered and everything got blown up," Aurelion told her. "Turned out that Galinda's secret parting-party was so secret that not even the owners of the ballroom knew. We had to tidy everything up -and it was three o'clock in the morning, I might add- and then that old hag told us she would report this whole thing to Madame Morrible. So Galinda started crying-"

"Of course, she did," Elphaba murmured with a smirk.

"-but the woman showed no mercy. She's probably in Madame Morrible's office just now."

Elphaba rolled with her eyes. "Did you really think you'd get away with it just like that?"

She took a bite from her waffle. "Anyway... when are you coming back from the Emerald City?"

Aurelion raised his brows. "Quick change of topics, eh? I'm returning a day before classes; we'll visit my grandmother in Gillikin. What about you?"

Elphaba put the waffle back on her plate and rubbed the few crumbs from her skirt. "I think I'm just going to be at home. My father might take me, my sister and my mother on a short trip to the Glikkus, but it depends on how busy he'll be over Lurlinemas."

For a few minutes, the two of them sat in silence, eating their waffles and nipping on their orange juices. Then Aurelion cleared his throat.

"Would you mind writing to me over the holidays?" he asked, and when Elphaba looked at him in surprise, he blushed a vague shade of red. "I-I mean you don't have to. I just thought it would be nice hearing from each other. But-"

The green-skinned woman raised a hand. "I will. Write letters to you, that is."

Aurelion sighed in relief. "Good."

He nipped at his glass. "That's good."

And Elphaba just laughed.

She was different this morning, even a blind and deaf person could've noticed; she was patient and calm and full of laughter. And if Aurelion hadn't known her any better, he'd have said she was mournful.

But Elphaba wasn't that type of girl, he knew.

It never came to his mind that she might've mourned the friend she'd have to leave behind. That she was afraid that after holidays she'd come back and he'd have changed his mind.

But that was the reason she turned around once more before entering the carriage and threw her arms around his neck to pull him in a tight hug. And it was the reason she clutched the serviette that Aurelion had scribbled his address on, so hard that her nails left crescent-shaped marks on her palm.

"Doria! How are you?" Meggie couldn't help but reach out to stroke across the scar on his forehead. Farid threw her a strange look.

"Good. My head is as good as new," Doria pulled something from behind his back. "Do they look like this?"

Meggie stared at the tiny aeroplane he'd built of wood.

"You described them like this, didn't you? The aeroplanes."

"But you were unconscious!"

He smiled and put a hand to his forehead. "The words are here anyway. I can still hear them. But I don't know how this thing with the music is ought to function. You know, the small box that plays music..."

Meggie smiled. "Oh, yes, a radio. No, that couldn't work here. I don't know how to explain it to you..."

Farid was still looking at her. Then he suddenly took her hand.

"We'll be back," he told Doria and pulled Meggie with him to the next door. "Does Silvertongue know how you look at him?"

"Who?"

"Who!" he stroked over his forehead as though he wanted to trail his finger across Doria's scar.

"Listen," he said and stroked her hair back. "How about you're coming with me? We could travel through the villages. Just like then when we followed your mother and your father together with Dustfinger. Don't you remember?"

How dare he ask that?

Meggie threw a look across her shoulder where Doria stood next to Fenoglio and Elinor. Fenoglio looked at the aeroplane.

"I'm sorry, Farid," she said and pushed his hand off her shoulder. "But I don't want to leave."

"Why not?" he tried to kiss her, but Meggie turned away. Although she felt how tears started to well up in her eyes. Don't you remember?

"I wish you luck," she said and kissed his cheek. He still had the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen on a boy. But her heart was now pounding so much faster with another.