Chapter 4: Sanctuary

Elphaba ascended the staircase, her skirt bunched in her hands, preventing her from tripping. This was the longest staircase she had ever climbed, and she wasn't going to take any risks. When she got to the top, she had to lean against the door to get the air back into her lungs. The door was the only thing in that part of the castle, with two sets of stairs leading to it. Elphaba had come up the one that led down the chapel. She didn't know where the other set went. She stared at the wooden door, feeling a bit apprehensive. The Wizard's daughter had helped her in the city, but she didn't know how she'd react to having the gypsy girl in her room. Elphaba took a deep breath, realizing that she had made it this far and there was no going back now. She raised her hand, and knocked on the wood twice.

The door pulled open a crack, a set of bright blue eyes and a few blonde curls poking out. The eyes immediately widened and a gasp was heard. Glinda shoved her entire head out of the door.

"Elphaba?" she said in shock. "What are you going here?"

"I…" the green girl was surprised at how nervous she felt. "I…I wanted to…"

"Wait," Glinda interrupted. "What am I doing? Where are my manners? Come in."

The door swung open. The blonde was dressed in another gown, this one matching the color of her bedroom. Elphaba blinked a few times. She had never seen anything that…pink…before in her entire life. Glinda waved her hand, beckoning her in. Elphaba stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Glinda flopped down on her bed.

"Have a seat," she said. "You really will have to pardon me. I'm not used to having guests. In fact…I've never actually had a guest."

Elphaba didn't move. Everything in the room was so pristine and she was…well…not.

"Glinda, I don't want to get any of your things dirty," said the green girl, a twinge of embarrassment in her tone. Glinda snorted.

"Please, I really don't care. Even if I did, one of the maids would clean it. It's not a big deal." Glinda patted the corner of her bed. "Come sit."

Elphaba tentatively sat down, flipping her skirt up so nothing would get on the comforter. She crossed her legs, almost stunned at the softness of the bed. She wondered what it would be like to sleep on something like that every night.

"Now," continued the blonde, "what did you come here to tell me?"

"I wanted to thank you for what you did back in the village square," said Elphaba. "You didn't have to help that boy, but you did anyway. That was a brave thing you did. He's a good kid, he just is reckless and foolish like a lot of boys his age. I don't think he could have handled prison."

"You're welcome, but it wasn't a hard choice. He was crying, poor thing. I had to do something."

"Confronting a Gale Force soldier is not for the faint of heart. That was very brave."

"Yeah, well…" Glinda stopped, her face falling. She had felt brave in that moment, but that guard had showed her who was really in control not long after. She swallowed the ball that had formed in her throat.

"I saw the soldier leave the alley," said Elphaba. "And I saw you follow later. Your dress was torn." A look of sympathy came over the green girl's face. "He did something to you, didn't he?"

Glinda chewed on her bottom lip. "Father told me this would happen. I didn't listen to him. He was right."

"I'm surprised a soldier in the Wizard's army would dare put his hands on his daughter."

"Father said it was a gypsy man who stole a soldier's coat." Glinda saw the offended look on Elphaba's face and backpedaled. "I mean…that's what he told me…I was so confused…he really looked like that soldier, the one with the boy…but it was dark and maybe I was mistaken…"

"You were not mistaken," Elphaba frowned, her words coming out short and severe. "I saw him with my own eyes. It was that soldier. It was not a gypsy. I would have known one of my own clan."

Glinda's eyes were as big as saucers. "Are you…are you saying that my father lied to me?"

"Yes, in fact, I am."

Glinda opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it quickly. Her father had already lied to her about how much he hated the festival. He could be easily be lying about other things. The realization broke her heart.

"But…but why would he….do that? I don't understand."

"I don't understand, either," replied the green girl. "But that aside, it still happened to you, and I'm sorry. That's not a pleasant thing to deal with."

"You seem to speak from experience."

"That's because I do."

Glinda looked very sad. "You, too?"

Elphaba nodded. "When you're a gypsy and a girl, particularly one that looks different than everyone else, people tend to treat you not as a person but as a thing to be used."

"My father thinks like that," hissed Glinda, her eyes sparking. "He always told me that gypsy girls were prostitutes."

Elphaba exhaled in a huff. "There's a reason I dance, you know. I don't want that to be my future."

"I don't think it's fair the way they treat you," said the blonde. "We're all people. We all deserve common decency. That is the right thing to do. I always believed that you should treat others the way you'd like to be treated."

Elphaba let herself smile. "I'm glad someone thinks that way. My life would be much easier if more people did."

"Are your parents gypsies?" asked Glinda. "I mean…I don't mean to be prying or anything…"

"No, you're fine. I never met them. They dumped me at a caravan not long after I was born. Apparently, they told the people they handed me to that I was a monster and that they could either sell me or drown me. They claim they even gave them a gold coin to never speak of it again."

Glinda looked horrified. "Oh my Oz, that's the most awful thing I have ever heard."

Elphaba shrugged. "Yeah, well, I don't remember it, and they obviously didn't drown me. They kept me and raised me as one of their own. They say that I look like a Munchkinlander, but no one knows for sure. I honestly don't even care. I'm a gypsy, and that's that."

"I'm sorry that your life was so hard. It's just really not fair. It's not fair that I spent my life so spoiled. I mean, I was stuck here in the castle and I wasn't allowed to leave or anything, but I never wanted for anything. It's not right that I had everything and you had nothing."

Elphaba was more focused on another part of what Glinda had said.

" You aren't allowed to leave the castle? Have you ever left, aside from when I saw you?"

Glinda shook her head. "No, never. I was like you, orphaned as a baby. Someone left me at the chapel, saying my parents had died and they hoped someone there could care for me. The Wizard took me in. He's always treated me like his own. I was sick as a baby, and almost died a few times. He said that I needed to stay in to get better, and then when I got older, he said that I needed to stay in for my own safety…" Glinda had a far off look in her eyes. "…and he was right. He said men would do things to me, and it happened. He was right to keep me in."

Glinda felt a hand grasp hers. She looked down, emerald fingers wrapped around her own.

"Glinda, that's not right," said Elphaba. "There's nothing right about it at all. He's lying to you about what happened, and all this time, he's kept you as a prisoner."

"I'm not a prisoner."

"Are you sure?"

"Well…I…"

"You're in a prison, whether you believe it or not. He should have trained you to fight, to protect yourself, rather than lock you away and hope a man never looks at you."

"I know some stuff," replied Glinda. "I know a few defense spells. I have them memorized. It's just…when it happened…I couldn't focus enough to remember them."

"You know spells?" The green girl looked at her quizzically. "I've never met anyone else with magic before."

"Mhmm. Father says I started showing signs of it when I was a child. I've been studying it ever since. Although, I'm not nearly as good as you are. I can't walk in midair."

Elphaba chuckled slightly. "I used to just dance, using my skin color as the big attraction. When that started to not make me enough money, I had to do something else. I tried a few things, but the walking on air gets the best reaction."

"Do you have a hard time getting enough money to live?" asked Glinda softly. "I mean..I know I keep asking personal questions."

"It's fine, Glin." Elphaba didn't even realize she had shortened the blonde's name. "I'm not one to hide things. My life isn't a fairy tale, but it's not exactly a secret, either."

"Okay, I was just making sure. I tend to pry."

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, it really depends on the day. During festivals like this, especially when the men have been drinking, it's a lot easier. I try to ration that, to keep enough for the slower times, for the days that I can't get a single coin for my efforts."

"What happens if you run out?"

Elphaba sighed. "It usually just means that you go hungry for a little while, until the money comes back. If it takes a while, then one usually resorts to finding other means."

Glinda raised both eyebrows. "….like what?"

"Stealing, for the most part. Despite the rumors about my people, we don't like having to take things that aren't ours. It only happens out of desperation. When it gets really bad, the kids will beg, the men will dig graves, and the women will sell their bodies."

Glinda's next question was barely even a whisper.

"Have you had to do that before?"

Elphaba gently shook her head. "No, I haven't. Well…I mean…there were times…when things get really bad and we haven't eaten for days…that I've tried. However, none of the men wanted to sleep with a girl with green skin. They were afraid I was diseased. It's like they say, my verdigris is a curse."

"I think it was more of a blessing in that moment." Glinda took Elphaba's other hand, squeezing it gently. "The fact that you tried to sell yourself because you were hungry makes me sick. There's so much wrong with that."

"I don't want your pity," said the green girl sharply, suddenly agitated, snatching her hands away. "I don't need anyone else looking down on me."

Glinda grabbed her hands back, holding them tighter. "I'm not pitying you or looking down on you. I'm just frustrated with the injustices that are happening. I may be a prisoner, but I've never been hungry. I've been living in a very sheltered little box, so forgive me if I seem frustrated, because honestly, I am, Ozdamnit. I just wish I could actually be helpful. My father is the Wizard for Oz's sake."

"Your father offered to have me stay here. He said that I could live here, and I could study magic."

Glinda's face lit up. "He did? Oh, that would be so wonderful! I know you've called it a prison and all but you wouldn't have to worry about wanting anything ever again! You could learn magic, we could learn magic together…"

"Oh Ozness," Glinda had a thought that made me smile even brighter. "I could actually have a friend."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "Have you many friends?"

"None," replied Glinda. "I have a father and I have maids and servants who care for me and a tutor who helps me with magic, but I've never had a friend."

"Wow." Now Elphaba was the one looking sad. "You've never had a friend before? Glin, that's terrible. I'm so sorry."

Glinda chuckled. "You just told me about what you had to do to survive, and you're sorry that I don't have a friend? That's ridiculous."

Elphaba blushed a bit, her cheeks turning a darker shade of green. She ducked her head, trying to hide it. Glinda found it endearing.

"I didn't accept his offer yet," said Elphaba. "Truthfully, something felt…off about it. I don't know if I trust it."

"You know, if you would have talked to me a few days ago, I would have dismissed your trepidations as silliness," said the blonde. "But after what's happened recently…I don't blame you. He's still my father, and I love him, and I'm very, very confused, but I don't know if I trust him right now either."

The blonde paused, looking like she wanted to say something very important.

"But even if you don't…I mean, I know gypsies travel and never stay anywhere long…but even so…I'd still like to be your friend, if you'd let me."

The green girl looked up, chocolate eyes meeting the sapphire ones. Elphaba almost seemed embarrassed at the idea, as if no one had ever really wanted to know her before. Her hardened mask had fallen, revealing the young girl underneath. Glinda was surprised to realize that Elphaba was probably not much older than she was, if she was older at all.

"Sure," replied Elphaba. "If you're willing to befriend a dirty green gypsy, then I guess I can agree to that."

Glinda exhaled, the smile not leaving her face.

"You aren't dirty, Elphie. Gypsy, yes, green, yes, and maybe a bit dirty in the physical sense, but not actually dirty. Now that I'm thinking of it, I really need to find you shoes. I don't know how you're running about that nasty city barefoot…"

"Elphie?" the gypsy girl interrupted. "Did you just call me Elphie?"

"Well, I figured that since we're now friends that you needed a nickname," replied Glinda proudly. "Plus, you've been calling me Glin for a good part of this conversation."

Elphaba stopped. "…I did?"

"Yep. I don't mind it. In fact, I quite like it, but that means you're stuck as Elphie now. So deal."

"Ugh, fine."

The girls laughed together, both of them sharing the first moment of true friendship they had ever had in their lives.