It's almost been a year since I've updated this and I'm so sorry about that and the cliffhanger! I'm back in the mood now, although it has shifted to Phantom of the Opera. Anyhoo, now I've seen Kara Lindsay and Jackie Burns and love their interpretations of the two witches. But I've keep this plot point and changed it up a little bit (Elphie-wise). I hope you like it, and please leave a review! (Also, the flashback scene towards the end was literally inspired by two words, which, respectively, are the last two of this chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked, or those two words.)
ON TO THE STORY!
"Eleven years ago, I attended Shiz University in hopes of attending a witch known as Madame Morrible's sorcery seminars," Glinda looked down, avoiding eye contact, "But unfortunately, my chances of ever being in that class were lost when Elphaba Thropp, the green witch who you might have called 'wicked,' arrived at the school."
"You went to school with the Wicked Witch?" my eyes were wide, with confusion, "how could you?"
"At that time, she wasn't… well, rebellious. We were paired to room together, and although we hated each other for what seemed like forever, we eventually bonded and became the best of friends. She even negotiated with Madame Morrible and helped me get into her sorcery seminar. Although, I will say, at that time I lacked talent." Glinda sat up, a smile appearing on her face. I managed to smile.
"So, she was nice once?"
"She's always been so kind… even now." That's where Glinda's smile faded. "The way the story goes is that Elphaba was a huge animal rights supporter, and when she and I were invited to meet and help the Wizard…" She let out a sigh. "The wizard was using the monkeys as spies, and he had no real power. He'd kidnapped tons of animals. Elphaba couldn't help him, and when she tried to escape to stop the chaos, Madame Morrible, who was in cahoots with the Wizard, declared to all of Oz that she was a Wicked Witch."
"Oh… oh gosh." Although this put me in a depressing mood, I wasn't too emotional about the matter.
"Her sister, Nessarose, was no witch, but the governor of Munchkinland who just wanted a boy to love her. We… we fought, over Dorothy, and… Elphaba might've overreacted about shoes," a smile reappeared, this one like she had something on Elphaba. She looked like there was a good memory somewhere. "Eventually Elphaba went too far. But we made a plan, and instead of taking Elphaba prisoner we decided that we'd take Madame Morrible into custody, due to some of the horrible deeds she commited, saying that it was Elphaba. And Elphie…" Glinda began to stutter, about to cry "she- she…"
"Its okay, I won't tell anyone," I said, just to make Glinda more comfortable. Glinda wiped a tear away.
"Elphaba melted."
"Oh my…" I mumbled, my eyes wide with fright and concern. "Why doesn't Oz know about… about…?" I couldn't bare to finish that sentence.
"I swore to her, my final promise, that I wouldn't dare speak a word…" Glinda closed her eyes. "Go on, have the rest of the day free. I need some time alone."
"Elphie, please! Please don't do this-"
"Glinda," her eyes were wide with fright, looking directly into Glinda's big, helpless green eyes. "Its something we have to do, you know that. If I die, than you can take Madame Morrible to prison and sound like you're the hero. Then you can rule Oz!"
Glinda, leaving a moment of breathless silence, began to speak. "I don't want to rule anything- not without you." The two friends embraced.
"Here, take the Grimmerie," Elphaba handed Glinda the big, heavy book. Glinda struggled to hold it up, but found a good position, holding it against her heart.
"It's no use, only you can read-"
"You'll learn, Glinda," Elphaba managed to laugh, even in the desperate situation they were in.
"I can't imagine a world without you…"
"Neither can I, frankly," Elphaba frowned, looking unsure and nervous.
"Elphie, don't be afraid," Glinda managed to hold back tears.
"It's hard not to, running to death like this," Elphaba took a deep breath, "but if it saves Oz, like I think it will, it's worth dying." Glinda reached in for another hug.
"I'm going to miss you, Elphaba. But I've, frankly, been changed…"
"Me too, Glin," Elphaba closed her eyes, still holding onto Glinda.
"For good…" they both whispered at the same time, almost eerily. But it wasn't at all creepy, for the two best friends had gone through so much with one another that they both knew exactly the words to describe their friendship. They'd both made errors in their time, but their overall friendship had been enough to block their mistakes from their minds. Noises suddenly alerted the witches.
"Glinda, go, I can't have you watch…" Elphaba nervously spotted a curtain, before motioning to Chistery to close it. "Goodbye, Ga- I'm sorry, Glin-da." A bittersweet smile graced Elphaba's face.
"And you, Elphie," Glinda was holding back tears, but when the flying monkey closed the curtain Glinda began sobbing, trying to be quiet. Splash. Glinda's eyes closed, her hands going to cover her ears but her mind telling her not to miss the final words of Elphaba Thropp. A scream appeared, before fading. The scream seemed to last for an eternity, Glinda's face in her hands. The only reason her mascara wasn't completely missing was the fact that it was extremely waterproofed. Her eyes were red, vision blurred. But still she got up from her resting position, used magic to make herself appear as if she hadn't been bawling, and entered the room. Dorothy Gale, in her never changing checkered dress and braids, stood before Chistery and a single hat on the floor. There were no remains of Elphaba, besides her hat. Glinda managed to choke out a thank you, but it wasn't directed at Dorothy- instead, Elphaba.
"I'm… I'm so sorry!" Dorothy looked terrified, "I didn't know water could melt her!"
"No, thank you," Glinda mumbled, "she's dead now…" Her gaze moved to Chistery, but wandered back to Dorothy. "Miss Gale, could we keep this between us three, for now? There's something I must do involving another wicked witch, and then the two of us can go celebrate! But would you mind heading out of Kiamo Ko? I… I just need a moment." The girl nodded and left Glinda to her mourning. Glinda sat down on the floor, the ever cautious Chistery carefully sat at her side.
"Miss… Glinda," Chistery handed her the hat, revealing a green bottle underneath.
"Her mother's…" Glinda muttered, but simply put that with the Grimmerie. It was the hat- that stupid old hat, that Glinda would always hold close to her heart. "Oh, Elphie…"