It was late evening when she arrived at the Colwen Grounds. She walked up the dirt drive to the looming iron gates, where a Munchkin was sitting, his feet propped up in front of him. Elphaba smiled a little when she recognized the driver who had first brought her here, months ago.
"Good evening, Master Viko."
The Munchkin sat up straight, peering at her. "Miss Elphaba? Well, this is quite the surprise. I didn't know you were coming."
"Neither did I," she said. "It was rather short notice."
Viko tilted his head, his eyes squinting a bit, but then he pressed his lips together. Whatever he was about to ask, he decided against it. Instead, he hopped down from his post and went to open the gate.
"Welcome back, Miss Elphaba. Have a lovely evening."
"Thank you, Master Viko. You too."
Elphaba passed through the gate and, taking a breath, made her way up the gravel path to the castle.
Though she had spent weeks here over the course of the last year, the place still felt intimidating—the tall, dark towers, the blackened ivy that crawled up the stone, the deep shadows that settled with the late evening sun. Two Munchkins stood at the front doors, wearing grim expressions and short swords around their waists. Elphaba raised an eyebrow. That was new.
The guards nodded at her and opened the doors. One of them looked up at her and pointed.
"His Eminence is in his office. Miss Nessarose is most likely in the study, fifth door on your right, down the main hallway."
"Thank you," said Elphaba. The guard grunted and went back outside, closing the doors behind him with a resounding thud.
Elphaba walked down the main hall. She hesitated outside the closed door of the Eminent's office, but shifted her bag on her shoulder and kept walking to the study she had been directed to. The door was cracked, and she could see a glimpse of brown hair dangling over a worn book. Carefully, she reached out and pushed the door open further. "Nessa?"
The younger Thropp looked up, her eyes brightening. "Elphaba! You came!"
"Did I really have a choice?"
Nessarose ignored her and shut her prayer book. She wheeled to face her sister, and when she spoke again, her face had grown serious. "I apologize for the vagueness of my letter. But there are some things we should discuss in person."
"Like the Eminent's health?" asked Elphaba, raising her eyebrows. "Or the extra guards posted outside?"
Nessa shifted her chair back and forth. "…Yes. But first, food. You've lost weight, Fabala."
"That's what happens when one doesn't have a dependable source of food."
"Where have you been all summer?"
Elphaba pressed her lips together. "Around."
"Vague."
"It works both ways."
Nessa let a corner of her mouth quirk up. "That's fair enough. Come on."
After swiping a meal from the kitchen, Elphaba pushed Nessa through a lesser used part of the castle to the covered back porch they had visited together last winter. The sisters settled in, Elphaba sitting cross-legged beside Nessa's wheelchair and picking at her food.
"Have you told Grandfather you're here?"
"Not yet."
Nessa pressed her lips together. "I suppose a servant will inform him."
"Probably." Elphaba set her dish down. "Tell me what's been going on."
Nessarose stared intently at her lap, fingers smoothing across the brown skirt of her dress. "Where would you like me to start?"
"You said Grandfather wasn't feeling well."
"No…"
Elphaba took a bite and waited. Nessa frowned a little before speaking.
"He's tired. He doesn't eat as much. He's moving slowly. If you don't think about it, you wouldn't really notice. But every week it becomes more obvious. He's just…declining."
"He's getting old," Elphaba said quietly.
"Well, yes. But…" Nessarose scowled down at her hands. Elphaba stared out the glass windows across the grounds.
"Has he said anything about it?"
"No, of course not. He's as steady as ever, mentally."
"But physically…"
"It could be nothing," said Nessa, a little too quickly. "It could just be like you said, and he's getting old."
Elphaba nodded distractedly. It could be, but if it wasn't…if the Eminent's health was failing…
"How have you been doing?" Elphaba asked. "Learning everything, training to be the Eminent…how has that been going?"
"Good. Or at least, it was, until…" At this Nessa shut her mouth and looked away, her hair falling in front of her face.
"Until what?" Elphaba stared at her sister, but got no response. "Nessa? Until what?"
"Nothing," said Nessa. "Things have just been busy lately, and I haven't been around Grandfather as much."
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "You're lying."
"Am not."
"Yes you are. You're not telling me everything."
"Omitting the truth isn't lying."
"It's not honesty, either."
"Yes, well—"
"Enough, Nessa. What's going on?"
"It's…" Nessa swallowed. "It's the Wizard."
A shock went through Elphaba, and she felt her skin prickle with energy. Her voice dropped as she asked, "What about him?"
"Do…do you remember when I wrote to you a few months ago, and told you about Grandfather visiting him?"
"You said he went to figure out some negotiations, but when he came back he was furious."
"It was about the Munchkins."
Elphaba nodded. "They're being forced to leave their farms and take on lower class jobs. They're replacing the Animals."
"Yes," said Nessa, not bothering to question how Elphaba had figured that out. "It's been happening quietly, but the Wizard is trying to pass laws that restrict them—raising their train ticket prices, not allowing them to work higher level jobs—"
"Like the Animal bans," Elphaba muttered. "He's taking away Munchkins' rights."
"Trying to," corrected Nessa. "Grandfather keeps battling him. He visited here at the grounds—"
"He what?"
Nessa gave her a look before continuing. "He came here, about a week ago. That's part of why I wrote you."
"What happened?"
"I don't know." Nessa pressed her fingers into her dress. "All I know is that Grandfather all but threw him out. He was…I've never seen him that angry."
"And the Wizard?"
"He was even worse."
There was a silence, deep and grim. Finally Elphaba looked up at her sister. "Nessa. If the Eminent's health is failing now…"
"I know," she whispered. She buried her face in her hands. "Oz, I know. If he…if he can't…I don't know what…"
Elphaba climbed to her knees and put a hand on Nessa's shoulder. "Hey. It's okay. He's still here. You're okay."
"I don't know what's going to happen," Nessa breathed. She took a shuddering breath, still looking down.
Elphaba swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. How could she say what was going to happen? How could she assure Nessarose when she herself wasn't sure of anything?
"I'm not going back to Shiz." She froze as soon as she said it.
Slowly, Nessa raised her head. "What?"
"I'm…not going back to Shiz."
"Since when?"
"Since I left at the beginning of the summer."
Nessa paused. "…We just thought you came home early. We didn't think…"
"Things weren't going well. I couldn't go back."
To her surprise, Nessarose just nodded. She lifted her head to stare out the window, her eyes losing focus. "Everything is changing."
"Yeah," Elphaba said quietly, sitting down again. "Yeah, it is."
/
The Eminent Thropp found them a while later, when they were walking through the corridors together. He greeted Elphaba calmly, though his voice seemed thinner than she remembered.
"How has your summer been?" he asked, walking with them down the hall that led to their bedrooms.
"Interesting," Elphaba replied. "And maybe a bit slow." The Eminent simply nodded and didn't press her for details. She watched him as they walked through the castle. He was indeed moving slower, but his jaw was set, his face expressionless. Nessa turned to meet her gaze, raising her eyebrows. See?
"Do you know how long you'll be with us?" he asked, oblivious to the girls' silent exchange.
"Not yet," Elphaba said. "As long as I'm needed, I suppose."
He paused a moment, touching his pocket. "I should tell you, then, that your father wrote to me. He will be returning within the week."
Elphaba glared at her sister, who seemed to shrink back in her chair. "But he's travelling," Nessa said, looking up at their grandfather. "He wasn't supposed to be back for weeks."
"His plans changed." The Eminent Thropp pursed his lips. "A lot of plans have been changing in Munchkinland lately."
They had reached Elphaba's room. Nessa stopped, but the Eminent stepped past her. "I'll leave you two be now. Welcome back, Elphaba."
Elphaba's teeth were clenched, and she didn't trust herself to respond. Nessa bade him goodnight, then turned to her sister. "Fabala, I—"
Elphaba brushed past her into the room, barely giving Nessarose time to follow her. "You said—"
"I didn't know!"
"I'm leaving," said Elphaba. "First thing tomorrow, I—"
"You can't!" Nessa leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "Please, don't go. I didn't know he was coming back. I swear I didn't."
"I can't be here when he returns."
"Please, Elphaba. So much is happening now, I don't know what to do. Please, don't leave me."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Elphaba hissed. "I know even less about what's happening than you do. Father won't want me here, anyway. So what do you want me to do?"
"Stay. Please."
It wasn't Nessa's voice she heard. Suddenly Elphaba was miles away, her hand gripped tightly between two tiny pale ones. Two bright blue eyes were searching hers, begging her not to leave.
Elphaba tried to take a breath, choked, and tore her hand away. She pressed her palms to her eyes and forced herself to focus.
"Fine," she said. "I'll stay."
Nessarose sighed, sagging back in her chair. "Thank you."
Elphaba rubbed her face but made no response. There was a long pause, then, "I'll…leave you, then."
"This won't end well," said Elphaba. "I hope you realize that."
"You don't know that," Nessa said, hesitating at the door.
"This won't end well."
"Good night, Elphaba."
The door shut behind her, and Elphaba kicked off her boots and flopped onto the bed.
"This won't end well."
/
Elphaba woke early the next morning. It felt strange being in an actual bed again, and she was anxious to get up and move around.
She wandered the castle for a couple hours before finding Nessa in the dining room for breakfast. They spent the day roaming the grounds together until they joined the Eminent and a few other officials Elphaba only vaguely recognized from the castle for dinner.
The week passed like this, lazy and slow. Occasionally the sisters would discuss their Grandfather's health, or the Wizard's plans, or the news that was always trickling in from around Munchkinland.
Elphaba spent hours on end in the library, skimming through whatever she thought was useful. She had already read most of the books on Animal history and genetics, but she picked up more than a few stacks of texts on Munchkin politics, inter-Ozian negotiations, and the like. It was no secret that Munchkinland wasn't as well respected by the rest of Oz, but it was still disturbing to see the proof written down in front of her. Trade regulations, taxes, funding, even simple construction projects—they rarely worked in favor of the Munchkinlanders. And the problems had only increased in the last few decades.
"What a surprise," Elphaba muttered, pushing her current book away in disgust.
When she wasn't poring over dusty old books in a corner of the library, she would venture out onto the grounds. She had grown used to being outside, and the cool, towering stone walls of the castle seemed to close in on her if she spent too much time within them. Of course, the fact that the week was drawing to a close didn't help, either.
Elphaba found herself lying awake one night, the sheets kicked off her bed, scowling up at the ceiling. The room was too hot, and the air outside her window was even hotter. She sprawled across the mattress and did her best not to throw her pillows across the room. Lines from the books she had read that day were swirling through her head, too fast for her to put together sensibly. Not that it really mattered. The Wizard had all but gotten rid of the Animals, and the Munchkins were next. There wasn't much else to it.
By the time dawn came, she had given up and moved to the desk across her room. Her bed was too comfortable after a summer spent sleeping on the ground, and far too spacious after a semester spent curled up with…
Elphaba shook her head and buried her nose in the book she was holding.
The day began fairly normally. She skipped breakfast but met Nessa shortly afterwards. The sky was uncharacteristically cloudy, a fact that increased the nerves Elphaba had woken up with, so the girls found themselves wandering through more abandoned corners of the castle.
"Where do you think Mother's room was?"
They had been walking in silence the entire morning until Nessa quietly asked the question. Elphaba nearly tripped, her grip on the wheelchair tightening.
"I…have no idea."
"I want to ask Grandfather, but…"
"I'm not sure he would answer."
Nessa folded her hands in her lap and looked around at the paintings and banners that filled the walls they were passing through.
"Do you think it would be somewhere like this, where no one goes anymore? Or would it be in the main part of the castle?"
Elphaba gazed around. "She would have been in the main part when she was younger, probably close to where we're staying now. But I wouldn't be surprised if, when she was a teenager, she demanded to move into her own little corner, away from everything."
"Sounds a bit like you," Nessa said, a small smile coloring her voice.
"Well I have to get it from somewhere."
"Miss Nessarose?" The sisters turned to see one of the servants approaching. "Your father just arrived," she said quickly. "He's asked to see you."
"Does he know I'm here?" Elphaba asked before she could stop herself. Her hand had moved to Nessa's shoulder, but if the younger girl noticed, she didn't say anything.
"Yes. We told him you were with Miss Nessarose."
"Where is he?" asked Nessa.
"He was in his room when I left, but I believe he was heading to the study in the northeast wing."
"Thank you."
The servant curtsied a little and hurried off, leaving more than a few feet of space between herself and Elphaba as she passed. Elphaba made a face, which Nessa noticed.
"Come on, Fabala."
"I'm not—"
"I'm going to see him, and he already knows you're here. Just come on."
Elphaba grumbled, but adjusted her grip on the chair and started pushing her sister toward the northeast wing. Her boots clumped against the stone floors, echoing off the walls. Nessa directed her through the castle until they reached the doors of the study. Elphaba slowed her pace, but Nessa wheeled away from her and pushed through the doors.
"Welcome home, Father."
Frexspar turned to face them, a grin splitting his face. "Nessarose. I've missed you."
He bent down to hug her, and Nessarose returned it. "I've missed you, too. How was your trip? Why did you have to come home so soon?"
"Things are getting…difficult…in the rural regions." He straightened and finally looked at Elphaba. His eyes darkened as he studied her. "I wasn't aware you would be here."
"Oh look, we finally have something in common."
"Elphaba…" They both ignored Nessa. She sighed and tried again. "Do you need help unpacking, Father?"
He immediately turned back to her, his gaze warming again. "No, don't you worry about that. I've actually got some work to do. But I'll see you at dinner." His eyes flickered toward Elphaba, who crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at the floor.
Frex leaned over to kiss Nessa's cheek. She hugged him back before turning her chair around and exiting, Elphaba following right behind her.
The door latched shut behind them.
"Please, don't say anything," Elphaba muttered as Nessa opened her mouth to speak. "I don't want to hear it."
"You'll be at dinner, right?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Well…technically, yes."
"So…no."
"Elphaba."
She groaned. "Fine. I'll be there. But don't blame me when things go terribly wrong."
"Oh, don't be so immature. Things won't go terribly wrong."
/
As it turned out, Nessarose was half-right. Things didn't go terribly wrong, but the air was immediately charged as Elphaba stepped into the dining hall that evening. She avoided eye contact with everyone as she sat next to Nessa.
The meal started out quietly, with everyone's gaze focused on their food. They exchanged small talk—well, Nessa and the Eminent did. Elphaba and Frex made very little sound other than the clinking of silverware against their plates. Elphaba's leg was bouncing uncontrollably by the time they were down to custard and wine.
"Try this, Frexspar," the Eminent said, pouring him a glass. "It's a wonderfully sweet blend. One of Frottica's finest. Nessarose? Elphaba?"
Nessa took a glass but Elphaba shook her head. The mention of Frottica made her stomach twist.
"Why did you have to come home so soon?" Nessa asked as their grandfather poured himself a glass.
"I couldn't pass the Munchkin River," Frex said, leaning back in his chair. "The villagers there wouldn't let me. They said it was getting dangerous, the closer you get to the border. Besides, most of the farms out that way are nearly abandoned by now."
"Families have been losing too many workers to the Emerald City," said the Eminent. He fingered the stem of his glass, his face shadowed. "I've heard of groups of Munchkins ambushing travelers on the Yellow Brick Road."
"It's really getting that out of hand?" asked Nessa.
"They want to be heard," Elphaba said. "If the Wizard isn't careful, he's going to have an all-out rebellion on his hands."
The Eminent tilted his head slightly and studied her. She stared back, wishing—not for the first time—that she could tell what he was thinking.
Finally, he said, "We'll have to make some arrangements for your journey back to school, then, if our roads aren't entirely safe."
Nessa glanced sideways at Elphaba, who flattened her hands against her dress. "Actually, I'm not returning to Shiz this fall."
The Eminent raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Nessa looked down at her bowl, her lips pressed together.
"What do you mean?" asked Frexspar.
Elphaba turned to face him. "I left Shiz last spring, and I do not plan on returning."
"If you think I'm going to just let you quit your education—"
"You didn't want me to go in the first place," Elphaba argued.
"Do notinterrupt me." Frex's voice was low, his eyes narrow. Elphaba felt her skin grow hot and a familiar energy begin to boil. She took a deep breath, digging her fingers into her legs. The Eminent lifted his glass and sipped his wine, regarding the entire scene calmly. Elphaba avoided his gaze as she pushed away from her chair and hurried out of the room, not bothering to excuse herself.
Footsteps sounded behind her, but she hurried to her room and closed the door before they could reach her. Cursing under her breath, she thrust an arm out toward her bed. The blankets and pillows went flying, smacking into the far wall before falling to the floor. Gritting her teeth, she lifted them and threw them again, letting the energy flowing through her release itself.
She had just lowered her arm when the door swung open behind her.
"We're not finished, Elphaba."
Elphaba faced her father. "I have nothing to say to you. This isn't your decision to make."
"I don't know what you're up to," Frex said, stepping in close, "but I will not let you bring it back to us."
"What are you talking about?"
"You will not stay here. I won't allow it."
Elphaba narrowed her eyes. "That's not your decision, either. I am welcome here so long as Grandfather and Nessa allow it."
Frex bristled at Nessa's name. "I won't have you endangering our family. You can't stay here."
"Well you're in luck, because I wasn't planning on it anyway," Elphaba spat. "But thank you, Father."
He rolled his eyes and turned away. "I expect you to be out of here by—"
"Nessarose asked me to be here. I will not leave until she's okay with it."
Frexspar glared, but he made no response until he was nearly out the door.
"When you were born, my first instinct was to throw you in the well," he muttered. "I should have done so while I had the chance."
The door slammed shut behind him. Elphaba screwed her eyes shut and did her best not to let the room explode around her.
/
Elphaba spent the rest of the evening on her windowsill. She let one leg dangle out the window, scuffing her heel occasionally against the stone wall. The air was stifling, even as the wide Munchkinland sun sank beneath the horizon, but she didn't have the energy to move back inside. She was too busy staring blankly out across the land. If she angled just a little bit north, she could pretend she was facing Shiz, and Crage Hall, and the little dorm room where maybe even now a tiny blonde sat—
There was a quiet knock on the door, followed by, "Elphaba?"
She held still for a moment longer, her gaze lingering, but then she tore away and swung her legs back into the room. "Come in, Nessa."
"Father is really upset," Nessarose said, wheeling into the room.
Elphaba snorted. "Good. The feeling's mutual."
"You know—"
"I do not and I never will have the relationship with him that you do. And you can scold me about it for the rest of my life, but right now I'm exhausted so if that's all you're here for, you might as well leave."
Nessa stayed quiet and let the silence stretch over them. Eventually Elphaba brought her knees to her chest and leaned against the stone wall of the windowsill. She closed her eyes as she heard Nessa wheeling closer.
"How did Grandfather react?" Elphaba asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm never really sure what he's thinking."
Elphaba nodded. "I'm surprised he still tolerates me being here."
"You remind him of Mother, I think," Nessa said quietly.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Nessa shrugged. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the sill by Elphaba's feet. They were quiet again, but it was more comfortable this time.
"Fabala?" Nessa asked after a while, staring out the window.
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you want to go back?"
Elphaba followed her gaze, looking ever so slightly north again. "It's…complicated."
"You seemed to love it. Last winter, you were obviously dying to be there instead of here."
"A lot of things changed."
"Tell me."
"I can't," Elphaba sighed. "At least, not all of it."
"Tell me part of it, then."
Another sigh. "My headmistress…"
"That Morrible woman?"
"Yeah. What do you know about her?"
"I've only heard her name in passing," said Nessa.
"I think she's working with the Wizard."
Nessa frowned. "What kind of trouble did you cause?"
Elphaba closed her eyes, remembering broken curfews and cryptic letters and a hidden memorial and the glint of a knife that never, even after all these months, truly faded from her memory.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "I left and I'm not going back."
"What about your roommate?"
Elphaba tensed. "What about her?"
Nessa glanced up at her, suddenly aware she'd hit a nerve. "The two of you just seemed close last year. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine," she muttered.
"So…nothing happened? She has nothing to do with why you left?"
"No," Elphaba said. It wasn't entirely true, of course, but what was she supposed to say? She could barely think Glinda's name without feeling like she was suffocating.
Besides, from the way Nessarose stared at her, she clearly suspected more about the truth than Elphaba could ever say.
Elphaba squeezed her eyes shut again and rested her chin on her knees. She heard Nessa shift around a bit before falling still.
"The sky is beautiful tonight."
Elphaba tilted her head and opened an eye. It was barely even dark, the heavens were glittering so. Her gaze wandered over a particularly dazzling streak of stars and she couldn't help but smile.
"I missed this, you know," Elphaba said quietly. "It was never as impressive at Shiz."
"What do you mean?"
"With all the lights and the city nearby, the stars just weren't as bright. They were still pretty, of course, but it was nothing like this."
Except once. There was one night, toward the end of the year, when Glinda came back to find Elphaba staring longingly out the window.
"I miss the stars," Elphaba whispered, almost to herself. "They're not as bright here."
"Do you trust me?" asked Glinda, stepping up to her and intertwining their fingers.
"You know I do."
Glinda studied her for a moment, quietly, intently. It was an art, really, their silent conversations. One they had mastered, for better or worse, by the time summer arrived at Shiz.
"Come with me."
Glinda led her as far as she dared, stopping at a secluded part of the campus, surrounded by towering trees and shadows. She let go of Elphaba's hand and looked up, concentration clouding her features. Her eyes seemed to reflect and absorb the heavens all at once, and Elphaba was mesmerized.
The air around them began to glow. Elphaba thought it was magic, until Glinda's eyes found hers and motioned up.
"How did you…" Elphaba turned slowly on the spot, staring at the illuminated sky above them.
"It was just an experiment. We've been talking about compound enchantments, and I wanted to know what would happen if you combined a purifying spell with a bit of weather manipulation. It's not perfect, and I know it's probably not as bright as it gets out in Munchkinland, but…"
Elphaba's throat closed up, but she managed to shake her head and let out a little laugh. "This…you're…"
Glinda stretched onto her toes and pressed a kiss to the corner of her jaw. "I may have also put up a barrier charm around the grove. You know, just in case." Her hands found Elphaba's waist and pulled her closer.
"Glinda…"
Elphaba's gaze focused again, and she blinked away the memory, willing it to fade back into the blur that made up her last few weeks at Shiz. And yet, she could still feel the whisper of a tiny body against hers, pressing her into the ground while the stars glimmered down at them, keeping their secrets.
"That's a shame." Nessa's voice was as distant as Elphaba's thoughts. Elphaba pressed her legs together and let out a shuddering breath.
"Yeah," she breathed. Her head seemed lighter all of a sudden, and when she stared back out into the sky, it felt a little like floating.