Chapter One
One day Mother was there, tired, pale and swollen and one day she was gone, replaced by a screaming baby. Elphaba knew something was amiss when the midwife started screaming and her father, who was usually as expressive as a stone, became bright red and cried. She quickly ran away when the strange men entered the room and carried away her still Mother on a stretcher and into the back of a black carriage.
She did not know what happened to her Mother until days later. She was playing outside in the garden amongst the roses, her Mother's favourite place. Suddenly, a stone hit her on the back and she whirled around.
She clenched her fists when she saw Cook's son, a boy around her own age, smiling smugly at her.
'Did you hear the news, Froggy? Your Mother is dead,' he laughed.
Elphaba felt the life drain out of her.
'You lie,' she replied, trying to look sure of herself.
' No- I heard Ma and her friends gossiping about it. Apparently, the baby is as much as a monster as you- the baby can't even move her legs-
He never got a chance to finish his sentence when an invisible force knocked him onto the ground and his head hit the grass with a dull thud.
Dazed, he glanced up in astonishment at Elphaba, who stared blankly back at him.
In a flash, he scrambled up.
'You're mad!' he cried as he ran away.
Elphaba was punished later, just as she expected. The slaps stung more than usual and her ears rang with the loud screams of her father- you unnatural little devil, you disgrace of the family. She cried for the first time in years, alone on her bed.
One of the servants put a cold plate of leftovers next to her bed when she missed dinner but she lost her appetite and fed it to the strays.
Her Mother- the one person in her life who showed her any kindness- was gone, replaced by a screaming parasite.
Now, if she did not look out for herself, nobody will.