The Emerald Woman and the Little Star
Chapter Twenty Two
Chaos.
That was the only word that Elphaba could think of to describe what was happening in front of her right now, she sat shaking as she watched the coroner wheel her fathers body out of the room she jumped when she felt someone put a blanket over her shoulders she stiffened and then started to shake harder.
"Leave me alone please don't hurt me again" said Elphaba tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Elphaba is it, my names Aimee I'm a police doctor I've been asked by the police to examine you it's ok you are safe now" said Aimee she tried to examine the bruises on Elphaba's arms but the green woman jumped up off the settee and backed away from her waving her arms at her.
"Get away from me or I will hex you leave me alone" said Elphaba her voice full of fear and panic her eyes wide and round "I don't want you to touch me the only person I want to touch me is my husband now please leave me alone"
"Elphaba Sweetheart it's ok I'm not going to hurt you but I need to get you to the hospital so I can examine you properly " said Aimee she started to walk slowly towards Elphaba but the green woman screamed at her.
"I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME GET AWAY" screamed Elphaba she then started to mutter words seconds later Aimee found herself flat on her back on the other side of the room. At that moment Fiyero (who had been in the hallway being questioned by the munchkinland police) came back into the room
"What in the name of Oz happened" said Fiyero.
Hearing his voice Elphaba lowered her arm and started to cry again she shot across the room and into his arms she buried her face into his chest still sobbing and shaking
"Don't let her touch me Yero please" sobbed Elphaba. Fiyero wrapped his arms around the sobbing green woman and held her close he then turned to the other woman who had picked herself up off the floor and was brushing the dust off of her grey jacket "who are you"
"Prince Fiyero my name is Aimee Fisher I'm the police doctor I've been asked by the police to examine your wife and collect any evidence from her I was trying to take a look at her but she took fright the next thing I knew I was flat on my back on the floor" said Aimee.
Fiyero turned his eyes back to the green woman in his arms "Fae Come on sweetheart let's get you and Alice to the hospital"
At his words Elphaba's eyes widened she pulled away from him and looked wildly around "Yero Alice Oh Oz he's still got her locked in that room" she tried to bolt out of the room but Fiyero put his hands lightly on her arms.
"It's ok Fae Alice is safe she's in the next room with Glinda and Nessarose" said Fiyero "let's go and get her then get you both to the hospital"
Elphaba looked at Fiyero tears filing her eyes again "Oh Oz Nessa how ever cruel my father was to me he loved Nessa and she loved him she must be in bits she's only 12 she is going to need looking after she will have to come home with us"
"Fae we can deal with Nessa later right now we need to get you and Alice to the hospital come on" said Fiyero.
A few hours later Fiyero was pacing the waiting room at the hospital he had, had to fight with Elphaba to get her into the examination room but after promising her that he wouldn't let any men into the room she had agreed to the examination he stopped pacing and looked at Alice who was fast asleep on the soft chairs that's lined the walls of the room she had been checked over by the doctor and other than the small cuts on her bottom from the belt and a few bruises she was fine once she had been looked at Fiyero had removed the pull up nappy and dressed the little girl into a small pair of hospital issue pyjamas and slipper socks he was so relieved that she was ok he watched her little chest rise and fall for a few moments he was knocked out of his thoughts by a scream of his name.
"FIYEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
He bolted down the hall to the room Elphaba had gone into as he got to the door it opened and a nurse came out removing her gloves.
"What happened in there is my wife alright" said Fiyero with a pant.
"Relax Prince Fiyero she is fine but she refusing to let me do the internal examination I've tried three times but she is point blank refusing to let me near her she threatened to hex me if I didn't stop" said the nurse "she wants you maybe you can get her to co operate"
Fiyero followed the nurse back into the room and over to the bed where Elphaba was sat her knees pulled up to her chest she was rocking from side to side and crying. When she saw Fiyero walking towards her she tried to get off the bed but he gently reached out and stopped her.
"It's ok Fae you're ok but the nurse needs to finish examining you baby you need to let her look inside of you" said Fiyero
"No Yero I don't want to please don't make me" sobbed Elphaba "I want to go home"
Fiyero held Elphaba close to him and kissed the top of her head "I know baby and we will go home soon but the nurse needs to look inside you first we need to get the evidence to prove what happened to you, now come on lay down and put your feet in the stirrups"
"I said no Yero I don't want them poking inside me I've had enough I'm going to shower then we are going home" said Elphaba she pushed away from Fiyero and got off the bed she was about to go into the bathroom when she felt a pair of hands on her waist "Yero get off of me"
"I'm sorry Fae but I can't let you shower until the nurse has looked at you I know you are scared but if you don't do this these guys are going to get away with this and maybe do the same thing to another girl" said Fiyero "Come on Fae let's get this done please"
Elphaba sighed and nodded her head "ok but only if you stay with me Yero" said Elphaba.
"Of course Fae" said Fiyero. Elphaba walked back over to the bed and laid down on it with her feet in the grey stirrups that were attached to the side of it once she was comfy the nurse started her examination a few minutes in and Fiyero felt Elphaba start to shake again and squeeze his hand "it's ok Fae I'm here"
"It hurts Yero" said Elphaba "make her stop please"
Fiyero stroked the top of Elphaba's head "I know baby I'm so proud of you it won't be much longer then we can go home" he kept stroking the top of her head until the nurse finished her examination. As soon as the nurse was finished Elphaba headed straight for the shower, while Fiyero went back to check on Alice.
One week later.
Elphaba jolted awake from her nightmare she sat up in bed shaking, blinking in the darkness she got out of bed and ran for the bathroom she knelt in front of the toilet and retched, the remains of the previous nights dinner fell into the bowl, back in the bedroom Fiyero stirred and reached his hand out to Elphaba's side of the bed finding it empty he sat up his eyes fell on the clock on the bedside table the red numbers flashed three thirty am at him. Yawning he got out of bed gently so he wouldn't disturb Alice who had refused to sleep in her own bed and headed out of the room as he had done every night since they had got back to the Vinkus and headed to the bathroom he sighed when he saw Elphaba next to the toilet violently retching he walked over to her and knelt beside her then gently took hold of her raven locks and held them back.
"It's ok Fae I'm right here you're safe I promise" said Fiyero he rubbed small circles on her back as she continued to dry heave "Ok baby ok easy now" . When the green woman finally stopped retching Fiyero let go of her hair and grabbed a flannel he ran it under the warm water rung it out and gently wiped Elphaba's face with it then grabbed the towel from the rod and gently dried it.
"I'm sorry Yero I'm fine you go back to bed" said Elphaba.
"Stop apologising Fae you have nothing to be sorry for come here" said Fiyero he tried to help Elphaba to her feet but she pushed him away.
"Yero please just go back to bed please don't look at me I'm disgusting" sobbed Elphaba.
"Hey you are not disgusting you are beautiful" said Fiyero he again tried to help her up as he did so however Elphaba moved one of her legs and he saw why she had pushed him away there was a small puddle on the floor between her legs she had been retching so hard she had wet herself "Oh Fae its ok it wasn't your fault why don't you have a quick shower, I will find you some clean pyjamas" he kissed the top of her head and then left the bathroom.
Back in the bedroom Alice had woken up crying from her nightmare she sat up in bed and looked around for Elphaba discovering she was alone the little girl started to cry louder.
"MUMMY MUMMY MUMMY" sobbed Alice. Out in the hall Fiyero heard the little girl crying and dashed into the bedroom he walked over to the bed and tried to scoop the little girl up but she backed away from him and screamed louder "NO NO NO MUMMY WANT MY MUMMY"
"It's ok baby you're ok come here" said Fiyero but the little girl back so far away from him she almost fell off the bed just as Elphaba entered the room in her bathrobe and green skin glistening with dampness she rushed over to the little girl and scooped her up.
"It's ok baby mummy's here darling I've got you" said Elphaba she felt the little girl grip on to her robe with a death grip and start to shake "what happened baby did you have a bad dream"
"Bad man hurt my mummy" sobbed Alice.
"Oh baby it's ok it was just a dream mummy's here baby" said Elphaba she felt the little girl start to calm down and grow heavier in her arms "that's it baby you go back to sleep mummy's right here" she rubbed small circles on the little girl's back and after a few seconds she heard her start to gently snore. Once she was sure the little girl had settled Elphaba laid her back into the bed and tucked the quilt over her she then quickly put on her clean pyjamas and got in beside her.
Fiyero watched Elphaba settling herself down next to Alice and sighed he got into his side of the bed and quickly fell back to sleep. When he woke up the following morning Fiyero found he was alone in the bed he put his hand on Elphaba's side and found it was cold he got out of bed and quickly got dressed then set off down the hall towards Alice's bedroom as he past the bathroom door he heard the sound of the shower running along with the sound of someone crying he pushed open the bathroom door the sight that met his eyes broke his heart Elphaba was in the shower crying her eyes out she had a scrubbing brush in her hand and was rubbing it all over her green skin turning it an angry shade of red. Fiyero reached out and opened the shower door as he did so the smell of bleach filled his nose.
"Oh Fae what have you done to yourself come on baby give me the brush" said Fiyero he reached and and tried to take the brush but Elphaba jumped violently almost hitting her head on the tiles at the back of the shower.
"GET AWAY FROM ME DON' T TOUCH ME IM DISGUSTING I HAVE TO GET CLEAN" shouted Elphaba she started to rub at her skin even harder until blood started to drip off of it
"Fae darling you are not disgusting sweetheart you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen I love you so much please give me the brush darling" said Fiyero. Right at that moment Alice who had been in her room appeared at the door tears in her eyes, noticing the little girl at the door Fiyero smiled "Hey baby what's the matter Sweetheart"
"Want Mummy please need clean knickers" said Alice " I've had a wee wee"
"Oh baby again you really must try to use the potty or toilet in future give me a minute and I will sort you out ok" said Fiyero. Hearing the little girl's voice Elphaba blinked and dropped the scrubbing brush which hit the bottom of the shower with a clang she rushed out of the shower almost slipping as she did so threw her bathrobe around her then grabbed the little girl into her arms and took off out of the bathroom and down the hall. Fiyero took off after her "Fae baby stop it's ok where are you going"
"GET AWAY FROM US I WONT LET YOU HURT MY CHILD AGAIN" shouted Elphaba with out turning around. She kept on running down the stairs and shot out of the back door not even wincing as the cold November air hit her skin she ran down the the gravel path the stones sharp under her bare feet but she didn't stop after rounding the corner at the bottom of the path she bolted through the doors to the pool house which had been left open by the maid and slammed them shut behind her and locked them.
Seeing Elphaba run into the pool house Fiyero stopped running and slowed his pace to walking speed once he reached the doors peered through the glass and what he saw broke his heart. Elphaba was curled up in the far corner of the room Alice beside her and she was shaking all over tears running down her face. He gently tapped on the door and saw Elphaba jump.
"Fae its ok it's me Fiyero open the door baby please" said Fiyero. Elphaba didn't move or speak just kept on shaking "Fae please it's ok you're safe no one is going to hurt you again please let me in darling"
Inside the pool house Alice started to shift about she was uncomfortable and her skin was starting to itch from the drying urine on it she slowly stood up and started to walk towards the doors, feeling the little girl move Elphaba's head shot up she reached out to try to stop the little girl from moving but she was too far away from her.
Fiyero watched through the glass doors and saw the little girl slowly moving towards him "that's it good girl baby open the door for me". A few seconds later he heard the clicking of the lock and the door opened.
"Fiyero can you give me a bubble bath please" said Alice holding her arms up to him.
Fiyero scooped the little girl up and held her close "of course I will baby but I need to see if Mummy is alright first ok" he set the little girl back on to her own feet and was about to enter the pool house when he heard someone calling him he looked round and spotted his mother coming down the path towards him.
"Fiyero your father is waiting he's going to be late for the meeting" said Amilie as she reached him.
"I'm sorry mother but Father will have to go alone I can't leave Fae alone she's in no fit state to look after herself never mind Alice as well" said Fiyero "can you go and give him my apologies then take Alice upstairs and give her a bath she's wet herself I need to get Fae back inside and call the doctor"
Amilie nodded and took hold of Alice's hand. Fiyero watched them walk back up the gravel path then slowly entered the pool house. Elphaba hadn't moved from the far corner he slowly walked towards her he had almost reached her when she suddenly looked up at him.
"GO AWAY LEAVE ME ALONE" shouted Elphaba.
"Fae baby it's ok it's me Fiyero I'm not going to hurt you darling but I need to get you back inside you're bleeding" said Fiyero he crouched down in front of her and took her hand in his "do you trust me Fae"
Elphaba looked into his blue eyes for a few seconds then slowly lifted her green hand and put it on his cheek "with my life my Yero" tears rolled down her cheeks.
"It's ok Fae come on darling" said Fiyero he scooped the green woman up and carried her back to the castle. Once back inside the building he carried her into the sitting room and put her down onto the couch "stay there I'm just going to phone for the doctor. At his words Elphaba again started to panic.
"No Yero please no doctors" said Elphaba she tried to stand up but yelled out when pain shot through her cut feet.
"Fae you need stitches in those feet and you have burns on your skin from the bleach you need to be seen by the doctor besides you know Kahleah well, she's been my doctor since I was born" said Fiyero he picked up the cordless phone and dialled the number.
By the time the doctor arrived Amilie had bathed Alice, Fiyero had helped Elphaba to put on a pair of clean underwear and pyjamas and they were all sat in the sitting room eating toast and jam all that was except Elphaba she just sat staring at her plate but not actually eating anything. Once they had finished eating Amilie took Alice out into the garden. Elphaba jumped when the door bell rang. Fiyero stood up and went to answer the door he came back a few seconds later with the doctor.
"Fae Kahleah is here" said Fiyero as he walked back into the room the woman who followed him had olive skin and brown hair which was tied up in a bun on top of her head she smiled as she sat down beside Elphaba.
"Hi Elphaba how are you doing" said Kahleah.
"I'm fine" said Elphaba "or I would be if everyone stopped fussing over me".
"Elphaba it's only been a week you went through a terrible ordeal don't try and deal with it alone now let's take a look at those feet" said Kahleah she opened her bag and pulled on a pair of clear rubber gloves. Elphaba sighed and slowly lifted her left foot off up so Kahleah could see the bottom of it she hissed as Kahleah gently started to clean the wound with an antibacterial wipe then sighed "Elphaba I'm going to have to put a couple of stitches in this foot I will numb it first so it shouldn't hurt ok and you are going to need a tetanus injection too"
Elphaba shook her head violently "No needles I don't want them"
Kahleah sighed then turned to Fiyero "looks like you are going to have to help me with this Fiyero"
Fiyero nodded and walked over to Elphaba he crouched down by the side of the settee and took her green hand in his pale one.
"Fae look at me you have to let Kahleah do her job you don't want to get an infection do you" said Fiyero he looked over to Kahleah and saw she had the needle containing the local anaesthetic in her hand he turned back to Elphaba and saw the fear in her eyes "Fae please baby don't make this hard work" he turned back to Kahleah and nodded she gently took hold of Elphaba's foot and was about to inject it when Elphaba started to panic.
"No stop no needles I don't want it" said Elphaba.
"Fae stop it it's ok come on relax" said Fiyero but Elphaba continued to panic "Fae I'm sorry to have to do this but that foot needs stitches" he took hold of Elphaba's leg and pinned it down on the sofa.
"Fiyero I said I don't want any needles let go of my leg now or I will hex you" said Elphaba trying to pull her foot from his grip. Fiyero held her leg tight while Kahleah injected her foot once it was done he let go "see it wasn't that bad was it Fae."
Elphaba glared at him then smiled "I suppose not"
It didn't take long for Kahleah to stitch the small wound on Elphaba's foot she then wrapped a small bandage around it and secured it with a safety pin after checking the other foot and making sure it was clean lucky for Elphaba it was a small cut and didn't need stitching just a small plaster to cover the wound she then looked at the small burns on Elphaba's torso from the bleach again they just needed a simple clean and a bit of cream applied.
"Right Elphaba I just need to give you a tetanus injection as a precaution" said Kahleah she took another needle and small vile from her bag then quickly drew the liquid into the syringe then turned back to the green woman "are you ready"
Elphaba shook her head "I don't want it"
"Fae don't make me have to pin you down again" said Fiyero "Come on it will be over in few seconds"
Elphaba sighed "ok but make it quick"
Kahleah quickly injected the liquid into Elphaba's arm then smiled "all done now I'm going to leave you a tube of cream for your burns you need to put it on three times a day also some clean bandages for your foot it will need to be changed every couple of days until the stitches come out in two weeks time"
"Thank you Kahleah I appreciate you coming" said Fiyero as he showed her out of the castle. He was about to go back into the sitting room when he heard small foot steps running up the hall he turned and saw Alice running as fast as her legs would carry her towards him as soon as she was near enough he scooped her into his arms "baby what's the matter"
"The bad man is going to get me and hurt me again" sobbed Alice.
Just then Amilie came panting up to him "Fiyero it's ok she just saw the new groundskeeper and panicked"
"Oh baby it's ok no one is going to hurt you ever again I promise" said Fiyero he rubbed his hand up and down the little girl's back and made quite shushing sounds "Come on sweetie calm down it's ok I've got you"
The little girl began to quite down she stopped sobbing and started to make soft sniffing sounds Fiyero felt her begin to grow heavier in his arms and realised she was falling asleep he slowly walked back into the sitting room he walked over to the empty settee and gently laid the little girl on to it she stirred slightly as he put her down and spoke.
"Love you Daddy"