The Emerald Woman and the Little Star
Chapter Eleven
Elphaba looked through the books for about fifteen minutes then once she had chosen the ones she wanted she took off her glasses and put them back in her bag it was then she noticed Alice was gone, panic started to build up inside Elphaba as she looked round the shop hoping she would spot the little girl but she was nowhere to be seen, dropping the books in her hands Elphaba ran out of the shop and scanned the street hoping the little girl hadn't gone too far, as she looked around her eyes fell on the grassy area with the swings and there on top of the slide was Alice.
Relief washed over Elphaba when she spotted the little girl but it was quickly replaced with anger that the little girl had disobeyed her again, she walked over to the small play area just as Alice got to the bottom of the slide, the little girl spotted Elphaba walking towards her and started to panic she turned to run in the opposite direction but Elphaba quickly caught up to her and grabbed hold of her shoulders then knelt down in front of her.
"Alice I told you, you couldn't play until we had finished shopping why did you run off like that anything could have happened to you" said Elphaba.
The little girl looked at Elphaba then sighed "Sorry Elphie, I wanted to play"
"I know you did but I told you, you couldn't at the moment but you didn't listen to me so now you will not play after our shopping trip" said Elphaba. The little girls face crumpled and she started to cry.
"I want to play Elphie please" sobbed Alice.
"No Alice you have to learn to do as you are told so I will not allow you to play on the swings today" said Elphaba "Now let's get this shopping done". Standing up Elphaba held her hand out to Alice but the little girl glared at her and didn't move. Sighing Elphaba took hold of the little girl's hand and lead her back towards the book shop. Alice kept trying to pull her hand out of Elphaba's grip but she held on tight, once they got back to the book shop Elphaba picked up the pile of books which were still laying on the floor and quickly paid for them.
After leaving the bookshop Elphaba walked down the street and around the bend to the huge stationary shop, once inside the shop Elphaba lead Alice over to the tall round spinning racks that were full of different types of stickers she then turned to the little girl.
"Sweetheart would you like to choose three different types of stickers" said Elphaba. The little girl scowled at Elphaba and turned away from her. "Alice are you going to choose some stickers or do you want me to do it".
Alice sighed and turned to face the rack of stickers her eyes widened when she saw all the different packs after a few minutes had past, the little girl had chosen three sets of stickers one with mermaids, one with fairy's and the last had animals, smiling she handed them to Elphaba.
"Well done sweetie" said Elphaba. After grabbing two big bits of coloured card Elphaba paid for everything, then tried to take hold of Alice's hand again but the little girl yanked her hand away from Elphaba's.
"No Elphie I want to walk on my own" said Alice heading off in front of Elphaba towards the doors of the shop. Elphaba quickly followed the little girl and caught hold of her.
"Alice it's very busy in town and I don't want you to get lost or run off again, I would like you to hold my hand please" said Elphaba her voice firm but the little girl wasn't having any of it.
"I SAID NO I WANT TO WALK ON MY OWN ELPHIE" shouted Alice.
"Alice you do not shout at me hold my hand now please" said Elphaba she reached out and took hold of the little girl's hand and tried to lead her out of the shop but Alice stood still and refused to walk "Alice come on please we have other shops to go to still"
The little girl remained standing still after a few minutes Elphaba sighed and picked the little girl up, Alice started kicking out and screaming as Elphaba carried her out of the shop and she had to re adjust her grip on the little girl so she didn't drop her, once outside the shop Elphaba carried the screaming child over to the closest bench, dumping the shopping bags on one end Elphaba sat on the other end with the little girl on her lap facing away from her then wrapped her arms tight around the little girl's arms pining them so she couldn't hit out at her, then Elphaba turned her face to the side and ignored the little girl until she started to calm down.
Alice wriggled and thrashed about trying to get free of Elphaba's grip but Elphaba held her tight after a few minutes the little girl realised that Elphaba's grip was too strong as she wasn't going to get free she stopped struggling and started sobbing instead.
"Elphieeeee let me go" sobbed Alice.
Elphaba loosened her grip and turned the little girl to face her she immediately tried to burry her face into Elphaba's chest but Elphaba pulled her back.
"Alice listen to me please, I am not happy with how you are behaving today you have run off, shouted at me, kicked me and told me no when I asked you to do something it's not acceptable and I will not tolerate it you don't have to be naughty I'm not going to hurt you no matter what you do" said Elphaba.
The little girl looked at Elphaba with wet eyes "Sorry Elphie"
"It's ok baby I forgive you" said Elphaba she wrapped her arms around the little girl and kissed the top of her head then laughed as she heard the little girl's tummy give a loud rumble "Are you hungry sweetie"
"No Elphie not hungry" said Alice just as her tummy rumbled again.
"I think your tummy disagrees with you sweetheart, come on let's go and find some lunch" said Elphaba she put the little girl on her feet then stood up grabbing the bags as she did so then taking hold of Alice's hand she set off towards the little café down the street.
Inside the café Elphaba found an empty table and sat Alice down in one of the chairs then put the two bags under the table out of the way before turning to Alice.
"What would you like to eat sweetheart" said Elphaba showing the little girl the small menu card on the table, Alice looked at her then shook her head.
"Not allowed to eat after breakfast Elphie" said Alice pushing the menu card away from her.
Elphaba sighed and moved the menu back again "sweetie it's ok to eat your lunch I promise you will not get in trouble". Alice looked at the menu for a few seconds then turned to Elphaba.
"Cheese sandwiches please Elphie" said Alice "and juice please"
Elphaba smiled "of course sweetheart, now I'm going to go and order our lunch stay in your chair please". Keeping an eye on the little girl Elphaba walked up to the counter to order the lunch a few minutes later she was back at the table armed with a tray she set it down on the table and smiled at the little girl "Good girl for staying in your chair like I asked" she took the two plates off the tray and set them on the table along with the drinks. Alice immediately grabbed the small carton of juice, put the straw in the little hole on top and started to gulp the juice down. Elphaba watched the little girl gulping the juice after a second or two she put her hand on to the carton.
"Sweetheart can you eat your sandwiches for me please" said Elphaba. The little girl pulled away from Elphaba and carried on drinking, sighing Elphaba took the carton out of the little girl's hand "sweetie eat your sandwiches please then you can finish your drink"
"Elphie I want my juice please" said Alice trying to reach the carton which Elphaba had put the other side of her out of the little girl's reach.
"Alice come on baby eat your sandwiches for me it's ok sweetheart you won't get into trouble" said Elphaba.
The little girl picked up her sandwich and started to gulp it down in big bites and within a few minutes she had finished, once she had swallowed the last mouth full she turned back to Elphaba.
"Juice now please Elphie" said Alice. Elphaba smiled at the little girl and handed the carton of juice back to her, Alice took it and gulped the rest of her juice down.
Elphaba quickly finished her own sandwiches and cup of coffee off then turned to Alice "Sweetheart I'm going to go to the toilet before we leave do you need to go"
Alice shook her head violently "No toilet Elphie no no no don't need to"
"Ok baby ok you wait here and I will be back in a minute don't move" said Elphaba. Alice watched as Elphaba headed towards the back of the café where the toilets were situated she moved her eyes around the small café looking at the posters on the wall ignoring the feeling in her bladder. A few minutes later the little girl spotted Elphaba walking back towards her "well done for staying in your chair baby, let's get back to shopping"
Elphaba grabbed the bags from under the table then held her hand out to Alice, the little girl looked at Elphaba's hand sighed and took hold of it the two of them left the café and headed down the street to the baby and children's shop before they entered the shop Elphaba knelt down in front of Alice.
"Sweetheart when we go into this shop you are going to choose your own little toilet to use" said Elphaba. The little girl looked at her with fear in her hazel eyes and shook her head.
"No Elphie not allowed to use the toilet only a bucket" said Alice. Elphaba sighed and stood up.
"Baby it's ok to use the toilet come on let's go and pick one" said Elphaba she took hold of Alice's hand again and lead her into the shop she found the shelves with the potty seats on and turned to the little girl " ok baby are you going to choose which one you like"
Alice looked at the rows of potty seats and her eyes fell on a bright pink one with princesses on it she pointed it out to Elphaba and she grabbed two off the shelf one for upstairs one for down. Once she had paid for the potties Elphaba lead Alice out of the shop and down the street to where the carriage was waiting for them. Zain the driver opened the back door as they reached it, Elphaba put the bags inside then helped Alice in and made sure her seat belt was on then got in herself, it wasn't a long trip back to the castle Alice looked out of the window trying to take her mind off the growing feeling in her bladder.
Elphaba watched the little girl staring out the window then noticed she was shifting around in her seat at the same time knowing that the little girl probably needed to go to the toilet Elphaba was glad when the carriage pulled up outside the castle doors. Zain opened the door and Elphaba smiled when she spotted Fiyero waiting by the castle doors he walked over to the carriage and lifted the bags out.
"Hello my Fae how was the shopping trip" said Fiyero kissing Elphaba on the cheek.
"Don't ask" said Elphaba as she unstrapped Alice and helped her out of the carriage as soon as she was out of the carriage Alice shot into the castle, Elphaba and Fiyero followed the little girl inside and found her taking her coat off "Are you ok baby"
The little girl nodded and took her shoes off then started to search through the shopping bags which Fiyero had left in the hall a few seconds later she stood up with the mermaid stickers in her hand and then tried to open the cellophane that covered them.
"Sweetheart no you can't have those right now they are for your special chart" said Elphaba taking the stickers out of the little girl's hand "Let's go into the sitting room and I will show you what they are for"
Once in the sitting room Elphaba sat down on the settee with Alice next to her she pulled a piece of the card out of the bag and laid it out on the table grabbing Alice's coloured pens which were still on the table she quickly drew a grid on the card then wrote Alice's toilet chart across the top then turned to the little girl.
"Alice this is your special chart every time you use the toilet or your special little potty you can have a sticker to put on the chart then when you have filled the chart you will get a special present" said Elphaba. The little girl looked at Elphaba like a dear caught in the headlights.
"No Elphie I'm not allowed to use the toilet" said Alice shifting around in the spot she was sat in.
"Yes you are sweetheart your daddy was wrong to make you wee in buckets, now I think you might need to go do you want to use the toilet or your potty chair" said Elphaba.
" no Elphie don't need to go" said Alice getting up from the settee and dashing out of the room.
Elphaba stood up and followed the little girl out of the room she spotted her disappearing up the stairs sighing she turned to the bags and took the two potty chairs out handing one to Fiyero she asked him to put it in the down stairs bathroom while she followed Alice up the stairs she headed down the hall to the bathroom and set the potty chair up next to the toilet then headed back down the hall to Alice's bedroom just in time to see the little girl standing next to her waste bin pulling her jeans and knickers down.
"No baby we don't have to wee in bins here let's go and use the toilet or potty" said Elphaba she scooped the little girl up.
"NO ELPHIE NO TOILET NO NO NO" screamed Alice wriggling about trying to get free of Elphaba's grip.
Elphaba carried the little girl kicking and screaming to the bathroom once in the bathroom she put the little girl on her feet and she immediately tried to bolt out of the door but Elphaba quickly caught hold of her.
"No baby come on which do you want to use the toilet or your potty chair" said Elphaba pulling the little girl's bottoms down.
"NO ELPHIE NO NO NO" said Alice panic in her voice she tried to pull her bottoms back up.
"Calm down baby let's try the potty chair shall we" said Elphaba she she moved the little girl over to the potty and tried to sit her on but Alice kicked out catching Elphaba's shins "Alice come on baby sit down for me good girl".
Elphaba gently sat the little girl onto the potty but she immediately tried to stand up again, Elphaba put her hands on the little girl's sides and sat her down again.
"Come on baby it's ok you're ok relax and let it go" said Elphaba. The little girl kicked and screamed and fought to get up but Elphaba just kept a gentle hold on her "come on sweetheart it's ok I promise relax for me it's ok"
After what felt like hours but was probably only about ten minutes the little girl still hadn't weed and was still fighting to get off the potty.
Down the hall in the master bedroom Fiyero was listening to the fight going on in the bathroom he felt totally useless he wished he could go in there and try to help Elphaba but he knew it would only make matters worse if Alice saw him the poor child was so terrified.
Back in the bathroom Elphaba was still trying to get the little girl to relax but she just seemed to be getting more and more distressed sighing Elphaba lifted the little girl off of the potty and into her arms.
"Come on baby it's ok calm down or you will make yourself sick" said Elphaba she could feel the little girl trembling in her arms she rocked her from side to side and the little girl started to calm down once the little girl had calmed down a bit Elphaba felt her start to relax so she gently sat the little girl back onto the potty "come on baby you must be bursting let it go sweetheart"
Alice looked at Elphaba her eyes wet and glossy "don't want to go Elphie"
"Yes you do baby I know you do come on it's ok let it come" said Elphaba rubbing the little girls back after a few seconds Alice sighed and a loud tinkling noise filled the bathroom "that's a good girl baby well done I'm so proud of you" a few seconds later the tinkling sound stopped and the little girl stood up.
"I'm done Elphie" said Alice her voice still wobbly.
"Well done baby here you go wipe yourself" said Elphaba handing some toilet paper to the little girl, while the little girl wiped herself Elphaba lifted the middle part out of the potty chair and noticed it was filled almost to the top "goodness me sweetheart you need to go didn't you" she emptied the potty into the toilet and flushed it then put it back into the seat.
Alice pulled her bottoms up then walked over to the sink to wash her hands once she had finished she held her arms up to Elphaba, after quickly washing her own hands Elphaba scooped the little girl up and gently kissed the top of her head.
"Love my Elphie" said Alice burying her head into Elphaba's shoulder.
"I love you too baby so much" said Elphaba she held the little girl close to her for a few seconds then set her back on her feet "you go and play sweetie and remember if you need to go for a wee wee again you can use the toilet or the potty and if you do you will get a sticker" the little girl nodded and rushed down the hall to her room, Elphaba sighed and rubbed the back of her neck as she watched the little girl go she was worn out she was about to head black down stairs when she felt a pair of arms on her shoulders.
"Are you ok Fae" said Fiyero. Elphaba sighed and turned so she was facing Fiyero then rested her head against his chest and started to cry Fiyero wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head "Oh Fae don't cry baby"
"I love that little girl so much Fiyero it's killing me seeing her so terrified of everything and everyone I just want to make her feel safe" sobbed Elphaba.
"Fae you are making her feel safe who does she look for when she wakes up from a night mare you who is the only one she will kiss and cuddle you she loves you Fae stop beating yourself up, look what you just achieved you spent half an hour in that bathroom trying to get her to relax and you did it all on your own you are pretty amazing Fae" said Fiyero
"Oh Yero I love you so much" said Elphaba she leaned up and kissed him he returned the kiss and slowly started to deepen it after a few seconds Elphaba pulled away " Let's save this for later" Fiyero nodded and the two of them headed down the hall towards the stairs as they past the little girl's room they looked in and smiled when they saw the little girl sitting next to the toy box with toys all around her playing happily they watched her for a few seconds then headed down stairs they had just got to the sitting room door when the front door bell rang.