Hi there;)
So, here goes chapter 12. I hope you're all alright, and doing fine, and not having corona (or anything for that matter)...
Thanks to the Guest-person that told me about the 'lying' -'laying' thing... it' something I just can't wrap my mind around lol.
And thanks to AngelaIsAwesome! You're PMs always make my day:)
Please, guys, review a bit more? Doesn't have to be much, just a sentence or two. Or a simple "Good" or "Bad" would do as well;)
Started writing: 15.12.2019
Finished writing: 22.12.2019
Chapter 12
Concern
It was early afternoon on Friday, and Rush Margins in Munchkinland lay quietly there, covered in a knee-deep layer of snow. It didn't often happen that it snowed in this part of Oz, and many a Munchkin had been more than just surprised when they'd stepped out of their front doors in the morning to pick up the newspaper from the landing. It did get cold in Munchkinland, cold enough to freeze the lakes so one could go ice-skating, but it very rarely snowed.
And so, Elphaba's mouth was opened wide as she stepped out of the carriage and was welcomed, not only by another front door than that of the mansion but by a blinding white of snow.
"We can't go any further," the coachman informed her in a bored tone. "The street is icy, and the horses can't find a foothold."
Elphaba let her eyes travel up the road, and her eyes widened. "B-But, we're at least a mile away."
The coachman shrugged. "I can't change that."
He held a hand underneath the horse's nostrils and let its warm breath stroke over his palm.
"What should we do?" Elphaba said, arms tightly around her waist as she tried to warm herself up.
The coachman turned around and disappeared behind the carriage for a moment. When he stood in front of her again, he let her suitcase fall into the snow and said, "Walk, Miss."
Elphaba gaped at the suitcase, then at the coachman. There were clothes, shoes and about two pounds of books in there and until she'd reached the mansion, she'd have to walk at least twenty minutes. She watched speechlessly as the coachman patted the horses, and climbed back onto the coach-box, took the reins and began to turn the horses around.
"Good day, Miss," he said and clicked his tongue.
Elphaba stared after the carriage, dumbfounded and disbelieving. Then she picked up her suitcase and began to make her way towards the mansion. She just hoped that the Munchkins had chosen to stay inside during such cold weather -she really didn't want to be stared at right now.
After what felt like an eternity, Elphaba finally reached the gates to the mansion, hands numb from the cold, and having to carry the heavy suitcase for such a long time, boots soaked, and shoulders strained.
With a sigh, Elphaba stepped closer to the door and rang the bell. The familiar sound of quick, elegant steps needed a moment or two to reach the green girl's ears. Then the door was opened, and she looked into the soft face of her mother.
"Fabala," she breathed, and it sounded almost as though she was relieved.
For a short second, mother and daughter simply smiled at each other, then Mother stepped closer and pulled Elphaba into a tight hug, stroking through the young woman's black hair.
As she stepped back, she carefully cupped Elphaba's cheeks with her hands and asked, "How are you, dear? How was the journey?"
And after a quick look down the road. "And where's the carriage?"
Elphaba slipped through the door and closed it behind her, breathing in the familiar scent of home.
"The carriage couldn't drive any further than to the cobbler's," she explained, rubbing her ice-cold hands together. "I had to walk the rest of the way."
Her mother's eyes widened. "Walk? You walked the whole way to the mansion with nothing but this on your body?"
She plucked at her daughter's navy-blue frock with the dark blazer over it and let her gaze wander down Elphaba's legs that were covered in thin, black tights and down to her soaked boots.
"Oz, you must be freezing," she exclaimed in horror and quickly ushered her down the hallway and into the living room.
"Sit down, dear, I'll just go and put the kettle on and get you some warm clothes."
And she hurried out of the room, leaving Elphaba all by herself.
The green girl stared at her wet boots for a second, before she let herself fall onto the soft cushions of the sofa and began to untie her shoes.
Once her feet were freed from them, she quickly stood up to place her boots in front of the glowing coals of the fireplace. For a moment, she thought about sitting down right there and then, but she knew her mother wouldn't appreciate her sitting on the cold stone floor, no matter if she was sitting in front of the fireplace. So, she quickly got up, picked up a fine-knitted blanket from the stool, and made herself comfortable on the sofa, feet tucked underneath her.
The living room of the mansion had always been one of Elphaba's favourite places in the house. There was the large wrap-around sofa with its dark red cushions and white and grey pillows, the dark coffee table that could easily store two piles of books and an entire tea set, a bookshelf that reached up to the ceiling and the cosy fireplace. It just was the perfect place to read or write or paint, to curl up in her mother's arms, and nap on lazy Saturday afternoons.
Elphaba let her gaze wander to the window where ice-ferns were decorating the window pane and falling snowflakes blurring the view. Thank Oz, she had reached the mansion before it had started snowing again.
"Elphaba?"
The green girl flinched at the sudden sound of the voice, then she quickly took the tights, heavy socks, and poncho from her mother's arm and watched with a thankful look as her mother put down a large and steaming cup of tea on the coffee table.
"Thank you," she said, and Momma turned her head to smile at her.
Slowly, the older woman sat down beside her daughter and watched as Elphaba changed into the warm and dry tights, pulled on the black poncho, and cuddled into her blanket again. Then she handed her daughter the cup of tea.
"Now tell me," Momma said after some time of silence. "How were the past few days?"
Elphaba slowly nipped at her tea. "Quite alright. We didn't do so much in class, only revised a few topics that we're going to need next term."
Momma seemed to hesitate for a short second before she asked. "And how was... everything else?"
The green girl quickly took another sip of her tea. "Normal."
Her mother raised an eyebrow, and her hand slowly stroked over Elphaba's knee in a touch as light as a feather.
"Elphaba...," she started, her voice suddenly at least half an octave lower. Her eyes searched for her daughter's and tried to pierce her down.
But Elphaba turned away and averted her eyes.
"Really, Momma," she said quietly. "Everything's okay."
And as her mother inhaled a deep breath, she turned around and said, "Momma, please. I don't want to talk about it right now. Just... just let me have this first weekend back. Happy."
Before Momma could say anything else, another voice sounded in the living room.
"Elphaba."
The green-skinned woman whirled around, and a smile formed on her lips. "Father."
She waited impatiently as her father stepped closer and leant down, placing a quick kiss on her temple.
"How was the journey?"
Elphaba was just about to answer as her mother raised her voice.
"You have to talk to Mr Skarring, Frex," she said. "He left her at the cobbler's, and she had to walk all the way to the mansion."
Elphaba raised a hand. "The horses couldn't go any further because of the snow, it isn't his fault."
Frex looked at the two women with a frown. "I will see what I can do."
He sank into the armchair and folded his hands. "Did you already get your exam results?"
Elphaba shook her head. "They said they would send them to us 'around Lurlinemas.' Whatever that means."
She smirked and took another sip of her tea. "Say, where's Nessa?"
Her mother dismissively waved a hand and chuckled.
"Oh, Nessa?" she said. "Your sister was so excited about your return that she made everyone go crazy. So, I sent her off to Boq's to spend some time there."
Elphaba blinked at her mother just over the rim of her teacup, then she snorted and dipped her nose into her tea.
"What is it?" Momma challenged and raised an eyebrow at her daughter and -when the green girl didn't answer, "Elphaba."
Elphaba grinned. "Nothing."
She sipped her tea and sighed at the warmth that slowly spread in her inside.
When she looked up, she looked into the questioning eyes of her mother.
"Uh," she breathed. "Stop it, both of you. Everything's alright, I'm alright."
Well, it was at least just a tiny little lie -she could be forgiven, she figured.
Quickly, Elphaba stood up and leant forward to kiss her mother on the cheek.
"I'll be upstairs, unpacking," she said and was out of the room in a matter of seconds.
Nessa came back a few hours after Elphaba had retreated to her room, unpacked all her stuff, and settled onto her window sill with a book.
The green girl watched as her sister wheeled through the gate that was pushed open by Boq. Nessa was talking excitedly about something, her hands painting pictures in the air whilst she spoke, and Boq, it seemed, listened carefully. The girl's cheeks glowed in a healthy pink, and her eyes sparkled with delight, Elphaba could see.
The green-skinned woman suppressed a chuckle; her sister's affection was more than obvious.
Elphaba listened to the sound of the front door opening and closing and then quickly got up and hurried out of her room.
She could hear Boq and Nessa chatting happily and fastened her steps.
An involuntary smile appeared on her face as she saw her sister sitting in the hallway, engrossed in her conversation with Boq.
"Look who's become even more beautiful over the last months."
Nessa whirled around.
"Fabala," a broad smile formed on her red lips, and Elphaba quickly climbed down the last few steps and pulled her sister in a hug. "I've missed you."
Nessa nodded, "I've missed you too."
When the green girl straightened up again, she was met by the dark green eyes of Boq.
"Um...," she started and awkwardly wrung her hands.
"Welcome back," Boq said, and when he smiled, Elphaba wasn't quite sure if that smile was really meant for her.
She let a hand fall onto her sister's shoulder and smiled gently at her.
"Boq will be joining us for dinner tomorrow afternoon, aren't you, Boq?" Nessa said and turned to face her friend.
The Munchkin boy nodded. "I am."
He turned around and opened the door. "Say hello to your parents from me."
And with a last smile at Nessa, he was out the door.
"How long?" Elphaba asked later that day when she and Nessa were cuddled up in Nessa's bed, Elphaba's chin resting on her sister's head.
"How long till what?" Nessa said, fingers playing with a strand of Elphaba's long hair.
"How long till you and Boq are going to announce the engagement?"
Elphaba could see her sister blush, and she laughed.
"Uh, stop it, Fabala," Nessa complained with flushed cheeks.
Elphaba gently nudged Nessa into her side. "I'm not blind, little sister. And I saw the way you were looking at him."
Nessa blushed even more and hid her chin in her blanket. "I wasn't 'looking at him.'"
The green girl laughed quietly. "Don't try and deny it, Nessie, you like him."
Elphaba rested her cheek against her sister's dark hair.
"Yes, I like him," Nessa confessed and -after a few seconds- added. "But nothing more."
Again, Elphaba only laughed. "If you say so."
She pressed a light kiss onto her sister's parting.
A few seconds passed by in silence, then Nessa raised her voice.
"How was Shiz?"
Were the walls really beginning to close in on her, or was that only Elphaba's imagination?
Elphaba moistened her suddenly dry lips.
"I- Great."
"And what about boys?"
The green girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me if I am dating someone?"
She saw Nessa's hands moving in front of her, fingers slowly intertwining.
"It's only natural, Fabala." -why did she suddenly sound so restrained- "Girls always get boyfriends when they go off to college."
Elphaba let out a dry laugh. "Not me, Nessa."
Nessa turned around to look at her older sister.
"But why not?" she asked, and it seemed she was close to crossing her arms.
"Because I'm green," Elphaba said gently and pushed Nessa's dark hair from the girl's shoulder.
"And I'm in a wheelchair!" the brunette exclaimed. "So what? Why do people even care?"
Elphaba shrugged as her fingers came to rest on Nessa's temples. "Well... I suppose... these normal people are just so engrossed in their normal lives with their normal families and normal friends, they are happy in their own little bubbles without any abnormalities and curiosities. And when someone like me shows up and brings all this stuff they were happy to live without... well, they just won't have it. They do not want the abnormalities -they want the normal."
Nessa sighed an angry sigh. "I hate it."
Elphaba paused. "What do you hate?"
"The green," she snapped without missing a beat. "I hate that you have to go through all that. I hate that people are so small-minded."
Elphaba nuzzled her nose into her sister's hair. "So, do I, Nessa. Oz, I do."
"Hand me the knife, will you?"
Knife wandered from hand to hand, and Elphaba started chopping the carrots.
Her mother had asked her to help her cook almost an hour ago, but it was just now that they really started.
It was Momma's fault, really, she had been the one banging on Elphaba's door as though she was racing from a murderer and then she'd needed another half an hour to 'fix her hair' as she'd said.
"Oh dear," Momma exclaimed with a quick glance at the clock. "We're never going to be ready in time."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Nessa will surely find a way to keep Boq entertained."
She let out a small snort and handed the chopped carrots to her mother, who put them in the salad bowl.
They were going for a light soup as a starter, chicken as a main dish, and tiramisu for dessert.
Momma raised an eyebrow at her green daughter. "What are you implying?"
Elphaba shrugged, then turned around and said with her arms crossed before her. "Nessa likes him. Like... Likes him very much."
She chuckled slightly. "Could you hand me the mushrooms, please?"
Her mother still had her eyebrow raised as she washed the mushrooms in the sink and then handed them to Elphaba.
"You think she's in love with him?" she asked warily.
Elphaba shrugged. "Not 'in love with him,' but I'd say she's falling for him."
"Oh, my sweet Nessa is growing up," Momma sighed and began to cut the onion into small cubes.
For a moment, it was quiet in the Thropp mansion's kitchen. Then Momma put down the knife and looked at her green daughter.
"And what about you?"
Elphaba paused. "What about me?"
Momma's eyes suddenly widened. "What about you and love?"
The green girl snorted. "No, Momma, calm down."
Her mother slowly pushed the onion from the small board into the pan and took the chopped mushrooms from Elphaba.
"It's just..." she started slowly. "Your friend at Shiz..."
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"He's a boy."
The green girl laughed, head going far back. "I've noticed."
Momma's fingers tapped against the kitchen counter. "Well?"
Elphaba shook her head. "He's a boy, and he's a friend, Momma. He has a crush on Galinda, I have a crush on no one, so calm down."
She turned to start the fire in the stove.
"Galinda as in the daughter of Larena and Highmuster Upland?" her mother asked after a couple of seconds, and Elphaba nodded.
"Uh," Momma said with a roll of her eyes. "Those two are insufferable. I remember when your father took me to a meeting of his in Pertha Hills in the early days of our marriage... we met them on a gathering. Thinking they're better than everyone else due to their money -that kind of people they are."
She raised her brows. "From what you've said in your letters, that little brat Galinda was raised just under her mother's wings, am I right?"
Elphaba paused.
"I wouldn't know, I don't know her mother," she said offhand.
One of Momma's eyebrows slowly sank down, and her look became stern.
"No, you don't," she agreed with a curt nod, and her fingers made quick work of grabbing the beans and washing them in the sink.
"Did she do anything?" Momma tried to sound casual, almost uninterested, but Elphaba knew better, "To you?"
The green girl stirred the onions and mushrooms and said, "No."
Her mother turned. "Really?"
Elphaba poured some milk into the pan. "No."
Momma's eyebrows were knit tightly together as she put her arms on her hips. "What do you mean?"
Elphaba didn't raise her head but stirred the mixture as though nothing was going on.
"I don't want to talk about it, Momma," she eventually said with a deep breath. "The weekend is not yet over."
She heard her mother sigh, and kept her eyes averted, stared at the steaming milk in the pan until there were tears welling up in her eyes.
The doorbell rang.
"That's Boq," Elphaba said and turned around to head for the door, but her mother caught her arm and held her back.
"No," she said. "Frex is seeing to it, I need you here in the kitchen."
The green girl nodded and returned to the tasks at hand.
She could feel her mother's eyes on her small backside, but she winced nevertheless when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Fabala," Momma said quietly. "I won't bring it up again."
And after a short pause, she added, "But your father will and when he does, I won't be holding him back. I hope you understand."
Elphaba hunched her shoulders and nodded. "I do."
She took a deep breath before she let her shoulders sink down again -as though it was a movement that required great bravery.
"Let me do your hair when we're finished," her mother's voice sounded.
Elphaba rolled her eyes and nodded.
And thus, Elphaba later sat at the table with half her jet-black hair in a Dutch braid that went from the right side of her head to her left shoulder, the rest of her hair flowing down her back.
They -Momma, Father, and Elphaba- watched as Nessa and Boq talked, conversation flowing from one topic to the other -Elphaba in amusement, Momma in conflict (should she be happy for her daughter, now, or should she be worried?) and Father in horror.
For a moment, her and her mother's eyes locked, and Elphaba wiggled her eyebrows at her as though she was saying 'See? I told you.'
Momma failed to suppress a chuckle, and Father, Nessa, and Boq looked at her in question.
"Nothing, nothing," Momma said and waved her hand. "It's just something that Elphaba said..."
Father raised an eyebrow at Elphaba, but Nessa and Boq quickly fell back into their routine of talking back and forth.
Elphaba's lips curled into a suppressed smile, and she bit her lower lip.
"What is it?" Father hissed under his breath, and Momma couldn't hold it any longer.
Her smile became a grin, and when it seemed that it couldn't get any broader, she let out a small, quiet giggle.
"I told her about this," she made a gesture, capturing Nessa and Boq in the motion. "But don't ask me why this should be so funny as to laugh at it like that -stop it, Momma."
Her mother had her mouth covered with the back of her hand, and her eyes sparkled with tears of suppressed laughter.
"I'm sorry," her voice was breathy and high. "I don't know what's come over me."
Father raised an eyebrow at her and said mockingly. "Is that your third glass of wine?"
Elphaba snorted in laughter.
It was these things that she'd missed most when she'd been at Shiz, the green girl now came to realise; the laughter, the mocking, the quiet conversation at the dinner table. She'd missed her sister and her delight, she'd missed her mother and her soothing words and warm hugs, and she'd missed her father although he could be so stern from time to time.
It was only now that Nessa raised her head to look at her sister, thoughtful and calm, and she said, "I have to tell you something, Fabala."
Elphaba straightened her posture. "Go ahead."
The wheelchair-bound girl took a deep breath. "I've decided to try and enrol at Shiz."
Elphaba didn't know what to say. She stared into the brown eyes of her little sister, the sister she was so desperate to protect from any harm that might come across, and debated whether she should be happy that Nessa was ready to lead her own life or worried that she might encounter the same cruelty as she herself had.
But she swallowed it down and cleared her throat and said, "That's great news, Nessie, I'm sure you could be happy there."
Nessa's eyes glowed in excitement and joy at her sister's approval. "Really?"
Elphaba nodded. "Shiz is such a great university, you wouldn't find any other that is as great as Shiz."
If one didn't count the students in. Elphaba added quietly to herself and forced herself to look up into Nessa's eyes and smile.
She managed a restrained one and slowly let her eyes wander to the boy beside Nessa. "And what about you, Mr Boq? Have you decided where to enrol?"
The short Munchkin put down his cutlery and cleared his throat. "Well, at first I planned on enrolling at the University of Emeralds, but then Nessa told me that Shiz University has a pretty good agriculture faculty -and Shiz has the greatest image in all of Oz, after all."
"But a fraud for a Headshiztress," Elphaba murmured.
"Elphaba," Father scolded her, and Elphaba shrugged.
"It's the truth," the green girl said matter-of-factly. "Madame Morrible is a sorry excuse for a Headshiztress -that woman is awful. And I should know; I spend every Saturday afternoon in her study."
Boq straightened his posture just enough to be seen as a gesture of interest and asked, "You're in her Sorcery class, aren't you?"
Elphaba nodded. "I am. And whilst Madame Morrible is surely a great Sorceress, she's not a good teacher. She picks her favourites -and I'm not one of them- and those get all the special treatment. The rest she treats with fake smiles and too-nice 'my dearie'-s. It's obvious."
The green-skinned woman wrinkled her nose. "She's not my favourite, either."
Boq laughed, "Wouldn't have guessed."
When Father beckoned her over into his study long after Boq had left the mansion, Elphaba knew almost immediately what was to come. She just didn't expect her mother to stand behind the door when she entered, arms crossed loosely before her.
"Make yourself comfortable," Father said and gestured at the empty armchair in the corner of the room.
Elphaba sat down and smoothed out her skirt, throat tightening.
"What is it?" she croaked and stared at her fingers, green and long.
She heard her mother's steps slowly approaching her, almost hesitantly so, and her father cleared his throat.
"We'd like to talk to you about what happened at Shiz."
Elphaba lowered her head. "But I said-"
"No, Elphaba. We want to talk to you about it now, not tomorrow, not in a few days, now," his voice brooked no dissent, and Elphaba's head sank even lower.
A few seconds of silence passed; the room filled with only the noise of the cuckoo clock that hung above the door.
Then Momma said gently, "You wrote so much in your letters, Fabala, now, of course, we feel the need to talk about those things in person."
Elphaba almost began to chew on the inside of her cheek. "Like what?"
Had her voice ever sounded so small?
"Like the things your fellow students say," said Father.
Elphaba raised her head to look into his grey eyes for a short second, "I wrote them down in the letters."
He shook his head.
"No," he said. "No, that can't be all. If they'd said it just once or twice, you wouldn't have mentioned it. You would've thought it wasn't important."
Elphaba bit her lip. They knew her too well.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly.
Momma shook her head. "But you have to, Fabala, otherwise we can't help you."
"But you can't help me," the green girl cried. "You're not there, you can't protect me. I'll have to go through it by myself in the end anyway, so why bother you with it?"
Her mother slowly sank down beside her, sat on her heels, and rested a hand on Elphaba's knee. "But we want to be bothered, dear. We insist on being."
Her brown eyes locked with Elphaba's -whose eyes had just the same enticing colour- and she said gently, "Now, tell us."
Elphaba stared at her mother's normal-coloured fingers, long and slim and beautiful -without even the slightest hint of green.
Then she said, "They weren't violent or anything -they just... talked and gossiped. I mean, it's only natural; people talk about strange things, and the green is strange, after all."
She took a deep breath. "And when they talk... well, I must say they are really creative with the names. I didn't even know there were so many green vegetables."
It was meant to be a joke, but her voice cracked, and when she looked up into her mother's eyes, she saw sorrow and worry and not amusement. Nothing was amusing about it, really.
Elphaba awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Some of them," she continued in a small voice. "even started to go against you. They said so many horrible things and I couldn't do anything to stop them. But they... they never became violent towards me. It was just that one time when Gimes destroyed the painting that they did anything more than calling me names and gossip."
For a few seconds, it was absolutely quiet in the room. Then her mother shifted and whispered quietly, "Oh Elphaba."
Her long fingers squeezed Elphaba's knee, and she looked at the green girl with a tilted head.
"Elphaba, this can't be going on like this," Father's voice sounded from across the room. "We must consult with Madame Morrible, she has to-"
"No," Elphaba cried and almost jumped up. "No, don't. Please. She already doesn't think highly of me, and I don't want her to think me as a softy that cannot stand a little harassing."
But Father shook his head fiercely. "This is not just harassing, Elphaba-"
"Yes, it is," the green girl interrupted hotly. "They don't think about it, Father, they just do it; to them, it's fun."
"But it isn't to us," Father exclaimed. "Madame Morrible has to know, as Headshiztress, she will be able to do something about it."
"But I don't want her to. I don't want to be the grass that ran to her parents for support, I don't want to be the cry baby that needs Madame Morrible's help," Elphaba said, her eyes narrowed.
"But Fabala, you must understand-" Momma started, but Elphaba didn't let her finish.
"No!" she cried. "I said, no! It's my life, it's my decision; I don't want you to consult with Madame Morrible, and that's that."
She was breathing hard, and she winced when she felt her mother's hands on both her cheeks.
"Alright," Momma said quietly. "Alright, Elphaba, we won't write to Madame Morrible."
She took a deep breath. "And you still have your private suite, after all. You can retreat to it whenever you feel the need."
Elphaba bit her lower lip. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
Private suite.
But she breathed in and out and nodded and kept her mouth shut.
Had she ever missed her bed that much?