Maddieriley12: Nothing is happening back at Shiz because everyone's on their break.
TrebledWriter: "The chill before the storm." I couldn't agree more.
AirHawk19: The #NiaHasNoChill revival is coming! I promise!
Ultimate Queen of Cliffies: Don't worry. We'll get someone for Khy!
ElphieNeedsAHug: There's gonna be around 24 chapters total in this story. I haven't officially ended it yet, but I'm planning on 24 chapters.
Elphaba leaned against Fiyero as they finished dancing. She was slightly winded, but she reassured her boyfriend that a glass of water and a brief rest on a bench would fix it. The prince led her to a bench and got her some water.
"Thanks," Elphaba said after a few gulps.
"Are you feeling better?" Fiyero asked as he took the empty glass.
Elphaba nodded. "I'm fine. Do you want to go back to your friends?"
"We can wait. I think they're still dancing."
"Well, my feet hurt from dancing," Defek said as he plopped down on the bench next to Fiyero, and Cherry sat next to him. "Where's Khy?"
"Here," Khynel said, eating a forkful of cherry pie.
"Isn't that your third slice?" Fiyero asked.
"Yeah. And?" Khy asked, shoving another forkful into his mouth.
"Nothing. Let him learn," Defek said, stopping his friend from answering the question.
Khynel shrugged as he finished his pie. "What are we doing next?"
"I was going to show Fae the tree," Fiyero said as he got up, helping Elphaba up as well.
"We'll wait for you here," Khy said, taking the spot Fiyero occupied.
The prince nodded and led the green girl away towards the other side of the square. "This is the Chiam Cherry Tree," Fiyero said, stopping in front of a large blossoming cherry tree. "This was the cherry tree planted by King Utak when his daughter was born and he started the first festival."
"Wow," Elphaba said, fascinated by both the history and the tree. "It's very beautiful."
Fiyero smiled as he plucked a flower from the tree and gave it to Elphaba. She held it up to her nose and inhaled its sweet scent. Fiyero then took the flower from her and placed it behind her ear. It was difficult to tell who initiated the kiss, but it didn't matter to either of them as their lips met.
"Yero," a voice interrupted.
They broke apart and Fiyero turned around to see his mother standing behind him. "Yes, Mother?"
"We are going to be leaving soon."
"Okay," Fiyero nodded.
Amalie smiled a knowing smile at the couple before turning and walking away. Fiyero looked down at his girlfriend and saw that she was blushing furiously. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before leading her around to see the rest of the square. They met up with Defek, Khynel, and Cherry and Fiyero invited them over for the next afternoon.
"Sure!" the boys grinned, and Cherry politely accepted.
After exchanging goodbyes (though Elphaba's goodbyes from Fiyero's friends were still a bit forced), they parted ways until the following day.
"Did you enjoy yourself, Fae?" Fiyero asked as they rode back.
"I did," Elphaba smiled, gingerly touching the flower behind her ear. "I've never been to a festival before."
"Well, I'm glad you're very first festival was a good experience for you, Elphaba," Raal smiled.
"Thank you. It was."
The next afternoon, Khynel, Defek, and Cherry arrived. After greeting the elder prince, princess, and the king and queen, the young adults went out into the gardens for a game of soccer. The boys would alternate who was goalie and who was actually playing. Elphaba and Cherry sat on opposite sides of a bench, Cherry watching the game while Elphaba read.
"Good goal, Yero!" Defek smiled, giving his friend a high give when the prince got a goal past Khynel.
The prince smiled and looked at his girlfriend, but then frowned. "Fae, you're supposed to be cheering me on!" he whined and pouted when he saw his girlfriend with her nose buried in a book instead of being his personal cheerleader.
Elphaba wordlessly gave her boyfriend a 'thumbs up' without looking up from her novel.
"Fae, you have one job, and that's to be my cheerleader!"
"Don't worry, Yero. Cherry's watching the game and she practically died laughing when I missed the ball and fell flat on my back," Defek laughed.
"It's not my fault you missed the ball when it was right under your foot," Cherry smiled.
Defek stuck his tongue out at her, but laughed good-naturedly as they resumed the game. The girls sat in silence, Cherry occasionally sending Elphaba glances while Elphaba never looked up from her book.
"Elphaba?" the redhead finally asked.
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"No, I'm not seasick. Yes, I've always been green. No, I didn't eat grass as a child," Elphaba said without looking up from her book.
Cherry seemed surprised by the green girl's answer. "How did you…"
"They're the three main questions I get a lot."
"Oh."
Elphaba looked up from her book and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not really good at this."
Cherry nodded slightly and paused before she asked her question. "How… how did you and Fiyero meet?"
Of all the questions she was expecting, that wasn't on the top of the list. "We… we actually met as children," Elphaba explained. "I was in a hospital in the Emerald City and he was visiting with his parents. Apparently, he snuck away and found my room."
"Why were you in the hospital?"
"I have a lung disease that causes my lungs to scar, and no one knows why."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"Are you… I mean… is it… terminal?"
"No. At least, not right now. It might turn into a different story when I get older."
"How long have you been…"
"Since I was four."
The other girl was silent for a moment, seemingly wanting to change the subject off of Elphaba's sickness, and knew Elphaba wanted to do the same.
"How did you and Defek meet?" Elphaba asked after a while.
"We've always known each other. Our families were very good friends, so we grew up together. Though, when we were little, I never imagined that we would be dating. We were practically polar opposites. He was annoying, loud, and silly, while I was the exact opposite. Maybe that's why we got along so well."
"They do say that opposites attract," Elphaba smiled.
Cherry laughed. "They do."
The girls spent a bit more time talking and getting to know each other. By the time the boys finished their game, Elphaba and Cherry were laughing and exchanging stories about the boys.
Fiyero and Defek exchanged a knowing look. They were just glad their girlfriends were able to work things out and get to know each other quickly.
The rest of the week passed quickly. Fiyero took Elphaba back to the square and then took her to the Annual Art Show. He smiled when he saw how much the green girl liked to look at and analyze the paintings and sculptures.
Finally, on Saturday evening, the festival came to an official close with an orchestra concert in the town concert hall. Fiyero smiled as he watched Elphaba enjoy the music.
"I love to listen to music," Elphaba confessed to her boyfriend once the show was over.
"Do you play any instruments, Elphaba?" Amalie asked.
Elphaba shook her head. "I didn't really get the hang of the piano like my sister did, and I've never picked up an woodwind or brass instrument, and I never considered playing a string instrument."
The ride back was a big discussion about what would happen the following day. The queen would spend the morning in private with her husband, son and daughter-in-law, grandson, and Elphaba before the rest of the family arrived.
"Is your family big?" Elphaba asked Fiyero as they snuggled on the couch in the parlor.
"Well, there's my grandmother's younger sister and brother, and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. My grandmother's sister has three children and six grandchildren, and her brother has four children and five grandchildren."
"How is everyone related to you?" Elphaba asked, looking confused.
Fiyero smiled as he got out a pad and paper and began to make a family tree chart. "Okay, so first, there's my grandmother, Alyena, who married my grandfather, Navon, and they had my father, Raal, and his younger sister, Lutcia. My father married my mother, Amalie, and then they had me. Lutcia married Bobin and they have one daughter, River. Then, there's my grandmother's younger sister, Sophala, who married Mickson, and they have three children; Inya, Aoide, and Rix. Inya married Witson and has two boys, Shan and Kirin. Aoide married Flim and has three children; Melanie, Luciana, and Windon. Melanie married Joachim and has a young son, Manom. Luciana married Spyro and they have one young daughter, Maylah. Windon just got engaged to a girl named Calysteria. She's really nice. Anyway, lastly for this group, Rix married Maven and has one daughter, Ebaline."
"Wow," Elphaba said, fascinated that Fiyero knew all of this.
"We're not done yet," Fiyero chuckled. "My grandmother's younger brother, Castor, married Carme and they have four children; Madlie, Mieko, Parolio, and Vinka. Madlie married Kvon and has three children; Carmi, Dinah and Esta. Dinah married Kilyer and they have one young son, Liir. Mieko married Maia and they have two children, Nicia and Krescia. Nicia married Matio and they have two young twin daughters, Amalitta and Nuna. Parolio's first wife, Resheda, died before they could have any children, and he never remarried, and Vinka never married."
Elphaba watched as Fiyero put the pen down and shook out his hand, clearly tired from writing and explaining all of that. "That's impressive," the green girl smiled.
"What's a royal family without their complicated family tree, right?" the prince chuckled.
"How did you memorize all those people?"
"It was basically drilled into my head my whole life. And family reunions, weddings, and birthdays helped this process along."
"And they'll all be coming to the party?"
Fiyero nodded. "Yup." He sobered and looked down at his girlfriend. "Fae, if you don't want to stay, my grandmother will understand."
"No, I'll be fine."
"Because my family can be… well, family. I already know they'll want to talk to you, and probably question you like my grandparents did."
"I'll be fine, Yero," Elphaba tried to reassure her boyfriend.
"I just don't want them to overwhelm you. It will be very crowded and I know I won't be able to be by your side the whole time. I just don't want anything to happen to you."
Elphaba looked at him. Though his words sounded a lot like what she was used to hearing Nessa say, something was different. He sounded more caring and gentle than her sister.
"I'm not saying don't come," Fiyero said when he saw Elphaba trying to process everything. "I want you to meet my family and I want them to meet you. I'm just saying that I really want you to take it easy."
"Okay," Elphaba conceded after thinking for a while. She knew arguing wouldn't do her much good, so she snuggled into the prince's arms. "I'll take it easy tomorrow."
"Thank you, Fae," Fiyero whispered as he kissed her cheek, watching as she tried to hold back a yawn. Two more yawns and an earful of protests later, the prince convinced the green girl to go to bed. He escorted her upstairs and gave her a goodnight kiss before watching her go into her room and closed the door behind her.
After Elphaba took her medicine, she climbed into bed and looked up at the ceiling. She thought about how meeting Fiyero's family was going to go. She already planned on people not liking her, judging her, and wanting to question her about her skin and probably having to explain her lung disease. All in all, it sounded like she was going to have a very taxing day, but hopefully an exciting one.
The next morning, the royal family gathered into the dining room for a breakfast.
"Happy birthday, Nonna," Fiyero smiled as he walked in and kissed his grandmother's cheek.
"Happy birthday, Your Majesty," Elphaba smiled, curtsying as Fiyero pulled out her chair.
"Thank you, Yero. Thank you, Elphaba," the queen smiled at the young couple.
After breakfast, the queen announced that she would like to play a family game of croquet in the gardens before everyone began to arrive.
"Have you ever played croquet before, Elphaba?" Raal asked.
"No, I haven't," Elphaba shook her head.
"You are more than welcome to join us, Elphaba, so we can have even teams," Navon said, smiling slightly. "And don't worry, it's not a very strenuous game. There's practically no running involved."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," the green girl blushed.
After the teams of three on three were created, which ended up as the men against the women, Alyena and Amalie explained the rules to Elphaba, who quickly caught on as the game commenced.
"Good shot, Elphaba," Amalie smiled as Elphaba hit the ball through the wickets with her mallet.
The green girl smiled and watched as Fiyero took his turn. After a back and forth for a while, the women were declared the winners.
"They have the birthday girl on their team," Navon said to his teammates, who gallantly accepted the defeat.
"It's also because we have a new croquet champion on our team," Alyena smirked back, then smiled at the green girl.
Elphaba blushed and muttered a bashful thanks before a servant came out to announce that people were beginning to arrive.
This is it, Elphaba thought to herself as she followed the royal family back inside.
Huh... would you look at that? Another #NiaHasNoChill-less chapter. I wish I could say that this will last... actually, I don't! *Cackle*
I literally had to draw myself a CHART just to keep all of this straight and figure everything out. If you want to see it for yourselves just to get a better visual of the family and their ages, I posted the family tree on my blog (and Twitter). Also, how many names do you all recognize from my previous stories?
