Chapter 3: Help the Outcasts

The chapel doors swung shut, the clang of their closing echoing through the once-silent room. Elphaba stood, her eyes taking in the sight of the white marble, the larger-than life statues, the stained glass windows that rose to the ceiling, casting vibrant colors onto the pale floor. She took a few steps, her bare feet barely making a sound. Elphaba had not planned on entering the chapel, but it contained the only door into the castle that was not guarded by Gale Force soldiers.

After returning the young boy to his mother, and after giving him a swift and harsh scolding, Elphaba had gone back to the village square to find the blonde girl who had helped her. Elphaba had wanted to thank her for saving that poor boy's life. When she had returned, the square was empty. She had almost decided to leave, but she felt something, her magic alerting her to something that required her attention. She hid behind the stage, watching the people walk back and forth. Her eyes had fixed on the alleyway when she saw the soldier leaving it, looking irritable. She saw the Wizard rounding the corner, standing at the edge of the alley, waiting. She then saw the girl, the one she had been looking for, stumble from the darkness, her dress torn and pulled in the wrong places, sobbing fiercely. Elphaba had felt the bile rise in her throat when she put two and two together. On a normal occasion, she would have been at the girl's side, doing her best to assist her. But with the Wizard close, and the Wizard obviously knowing this girl somehow, she needed to keep her distance. So Elphaba laid low for a while, waiting until it was clear, and then made her way to the castle. She still needed to thank this girl, and now she also needed to know if she was alright.

Elphaba took another step, careful to avoid making unnecessary noise. This place was quiet, unearthly so, almost like a tomb, and any sound felt like it was breaking something sacred. Elphaba had never been in a chapel before. The gypsies tended to avoid them, mostly because even though this religion preached charity, the people who attended these churches tended to be the harshest and most unforgiving. Elphaba had the double curse of not only being a gypsy, but being born with green skin. Her clan claimed that she had been dumped with them, her parents not wanting a "monster" for a child. They had taken her in and cared for her as best they could, but her life had been a hard one. The things she experienced and the things she had to do just to survive made her feel like she shouldn't be in this pristine place, that she didn't belong here.

"Gypsy."

The word, spat out like a curse, broke the grave-like silence of the chapel. Elphaba turned, meeting the face of the Wizard himself. Her brow furrowed.

"Is that all I am? I thought the Unnamed welcomed all of humanity."

"Humanity, yes. Although, some are not exactly at the fullest stage of humanity."

Elphaba crossed her arms. "What is detracting from full humanity? The gypsy or the green?"

The Wizard stared at her. "Both could be consider curses from the Unnamed God."

"Well then, good thing I don't believe in the Unnamed God then," hissed Elphaba. "I don't fancy myself being considered a curse."

"But see, you do have something else, a gift." said the Wizard. "I saw you when you danced. I saw how you walked in the air. You have magic, and powerful magic at that."

"Thank Oz I have magic then," replied Elphaba sarcastically, "or I would be a lost cause."

"There are no lost causes. The Unnamed will take any heart, even one that is astray."

"And do you believe me to be astray?"

The Wizard looked her, eyes lingering on her bare shoulders, the taut skin of her midriff, the high slit of her skirt. "You make yourself look to be astray. You dress yourself like a woman of ill repute."

"Who are you to judge my repute over the cloth I use to cover myself?" the green girl growled.

"It is a waste," said the Wizard. "The Unnamed gave you beauty, and you use it to enchant men and lead them into sin."

"Beauty?" Elphaba spat, laughing. "I do not contain such a thing. If you haven't noticed, I'm green."

"And yet you still put men under your spell."

"I don't use magic on them, if that's what you think. They are just too easy to figure out. A flash of an ankle, a flip of a skirt, and they become completely useless."

The Wizard tapped the side of his face with one of his fingers.

"You don't seem to be interested in changing your ways, Elphaba. Tell me then, what brings you here?"

"I'm looking for a girl," stated the gypsy. "You know her. She's small and blonde."

"That would be Glinda, my daughter," said the Wizard sternly. "What do you want with her?"

"She saved a child from one of your soldiers," said Elphaba defiantly. She knew that saying these things to the Wizard himself could get her in major trouble, but she didn't care. It would just be one more thing to add to her already long list of troubles. "I wanted to thank her. I also wanted to make sure that she was okay."

"She's fine." The Wizard replied harshly, less like the caring tone of a parent that Elphaba expected. "She will recover. I tried to keep her safe here, but she rebelled. She learned a harsh lesson from a harsh world."

"It is a harsh world, but there is still kindness in it. I'm wondering where yours is."

"You are very bold, gypsy girl. Most wouldn't dare to speak to the Wizard in such a manner."

"Well Sir," Elphaba added a twinge of sarcasm to his title. "You seem to think me not even fully human, so I'm surprised you would care about how I speak."

The Wizard was silent for a moment, and then Elphaba swore he cracked a bit of a smile. "Clever. You are smart and skilled in magic. It would be such a shame to waste such talent."

The Wizard was standing closer to Elphaba now. She held her ground, refusing to shrink back from the man. He was less than a foot away from her, close enough that he could reach out and touch her. She folded her arms across herself defensively.

"I could help you, you know," said the Wizard.

"How could you help me?"

"I have access to the most powerful books of magic in all of Oz. I have a woman on staff who is very skilled; she even tutors my daughter. Even I could teach you. I could train you, so that you could have full control over your magic. You could come and study here. You could come here every day…" He trailed off for a second, then continued. "Or…or you could stay here."

"Stay? Here? In the castle?"

"The castle is large. There is more than enough room for one more."

Elphaba finally stepped back, feeling way too close for comfort. The Wizard was looking at her intently, his gaze too focused and too strong. He must have realized he was staring at her, for he blinked a couple of times and then began to stutter.

"Well…my dear….just think about it. Think about my offer. If you decide to stay, you know where to find me. I….I have to go."

The Wizard was gone, leaving Elphaba alone in the chapel again.

Did that really just happen? He wants me to stay, here? she thought. Me, a poor, dirty gypsy girl, living in the castle of Emerald City? The Wizard did not just offer to teach me magic. This has to be a joke.

Elphaba sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She felt her stomach clench, reminding her that she hadn't had anything to eat today. She thought about what it would be like to live in the castle, to spend the days studying, to not have to worry about being attacked or making enough money or figuring out how to get enough food. She didn't trust the Wizard. She didn't trust how he reacted to his daughter's attack, or how he insulted her people, or how he looked at her. But the idea had wriggled itself into her brain, and the offer was indeed tempting.

Thanks to her many years dodging attacks, Elphaba immediately spotted the Captain of the Guard sneaking up on her. She exhaled, rolling her eyes, and pulled a small knife from a leather pouch hooked to her belt.

"I thought that the Captain would be better at stealth," she called out, her voice ringing in the chapel.

"I thought you had disappeared," came the reply from behind her.

"That's because it's magic." Elphaba turned quickly, charging at the Captain. Before he realized what was happening, the green girl had her knife pressed against his throat.

"Whoa, hey, what are you doing?" Fiyero raised his hands up in surrender. "I'm just here to apologize."

"For what?"

"For this." Fiyero grabbed Elphaba's arm, twisting it behind her back. He knocked the knife out of her hand, sending it sailing to the floor. He held onto her arm tightly, pinning it against the small of her back.

"I'm impressed," said the Captain. "You fight almost as good as a soldier."

Elphaba let out a sharp laugh. "Funny. You know, I was going to say the same about you." Elphaba elbowed Fiyero hard in the stomach. He let go of her, coughing, trying to grab his next breath. Elphaba dove to the ground, snatching her knife. She stood back up, shaking her hair from out of her face, the knife yet again facing Fiyero.

"Look, it's my job to protect the castle. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do."

"And who are you protecting it from? The deformed? The gypsies? Well today is your lucky day, because you have both!"

"Deformed?" said Fiyero, his head cocked in confusion. "I wouldn't consider your greenness to be a deformity."

"Yeah?" said Elphaba, lowering her knife. "Well, tell that to everyone else I've ever come in contact with. I've had enough people look at me and gasp in horror to know that I'm not normal. They say I'm evil."

"I spent the last few years at the front lines," said Fiyero, a shadow crossing over his face. "I know what evil looks like, and trust me, it looks nothing like you."

Fiyero stepped forward. Elphaba leaned back on her heels, ready to run from an attack. Instead, Fiyero took Elphaba's hand in his. She surprised herself when she didn't pull away right away. She ran her fingers over his, feeling how rough and calloused his hand was.

"Your hands don't feel like those of a pampered Captain."

"That would be because I'm not pampered. They are from holding reigns, gripping swords, digging trenches…digging graves."

Elphaba's eyes met his. She saw the sadness in them, the eyes that, like hers, had seen too much. She found herself taking his other hand. He turned away, his gaze downcast, choosing instead to focus on a spot on the floor.

"You can look at me. I won't hex you, I promise."

He met her gaze again, this time looking less haunted. The corners of his lips turned up, the smile growing and lighting up his face. Elphaba smiled back at him, but then dropped his hands when she heard a bang coming from another part of the castle. It was then that she remembered why she was there in the first place.

"I need you help," she said. "The Wizard's daughter, Glinda, I need to see her. Where is she?"

"She's probably in her room. Her room used to be the bell tower, so it's connected through the chapel."

"How do I get there?"

Fiyero gestured above his head. "Go up to the choir loft. There's a door with a bell on it, and a staircase behind it. If you follow it, you'll find her."

Elphaba looked at him, puzzled. "You just told a gypsy where to find the daughter of the ruler of Emerald City. You aren't a very good soldier."

"I never said I was a good soldier."

Elphaba flew past him, ready to head up the stairs.

"Wait!"

She paused.

"You're Elphaba, right?"

"Yes."

"My name is Fiyero. Fiyero Tygelaar."

Elphaba nodded in acknowledgement, and then took off again, flying up the stairs to the former bell tower.