Galinda's entire body stung ever so slightly when she awoke. Also her mind felt chaotic and mismatched, like an unfinished puzzle. Unfinished…
Everything came back in a terrifying carousel of memory. The blonde sat up, gasping in shock. She felt tampered with; violated in some unspeakable way. How much damage had Talor done to her brain during those minutes when she'd submitted? Where was she anyway?
Galinda opened her eyes to a plain, sparsely furnished parlor. She was spread on a couch while Elphaba lolled, asleep, in a cushioned armchair. Most concerning, however, was the man in a rocker near the fireplace. "It's nice to see you're awake Miss Upland," the Wizard exclaimed.
"What did Talor do to me?" the blonde demanded.
"I interrupted before he had a chance to mess with your mind," Oz's ruler reassured. "As for the physical changes…" He gestured to a full length mirror in the corner. Galinda warily tottered to her feet and almost had a heart attack. She was tall. Before some people had assumed she perhaps had one munchkin parent but now…
In the mirror Galinda could see that she was only a little shorter than Elphaba. Her curly hair was longer, thicker, and shone like spun gold. Each of the blonde's lashes possessed a glittery, caramel cast. They scorched and shimmered like tawny flames; girlish and sexy at the same time. As for her eyes they were…pink? Galinda squinted at the mirror in disbelief. Her irises sparkled like deep, rosy diamonds. When she moved into shadow the odd color morphed into glowing, purple amethyst. Though the blonde had been too nervous to apply makeup this morning it looked as though she had. Every hue of her face was more intense. She was a little thinner too, apart from some augmentation to her curves and…err…chest area.
"Wow," Galinda breathed.
"He did everything at your instruction apparently," the Wizard informed her.
"Yeah, after he drugged me," the blonde pouted indignantly. "Why did you stop that creep anyway?"
"Because…" Here Oz's ruler trailed off, as if unsure about something. "When I got word that someone had snuck into the City..."
"Wait a minute," Galinda cried. "You knew?"
"Why do you think I invited you here so quickly?" the Wizard queried. "Anyway, when I heard about you two I looked up your files and found some interesting information."
"About what?"
"Elphaba's mother was Melena Thropp," he explained. "She was born eighteen years ago, exactly nine months and six days after I first arrived in Oz."
"So…?"
"Miss Upland I believe that I'm Elphaba's father," the Wizard said quietly.
Silence. Then…
"Sweet Oz!" Galinda squeaked. "You…the governor's wife…" Her face creased with concentration. "Then why is…was…Elphie green?"
"Probably because of a certain elixir I shared with her mother when we were…err…courting," the Wizard replied. His guest blushed, so he quickly rushed on. "I saved you two girls because I don't want my daughter to be erased, even if I don't know her at all."
"What about all the other people you've brainwashed?" Galinda demanded. "I'm sure there were lots of daughters among them!"
"I know," the older man sighed. "But manipulating people like this was never my idea. I just wanted an exciting life; a life with power."
"Whose idea was it then?" Galinda's body was shaking with anger. She looked like a demented doll.
"Madame Morrible," the Wizard told her. "I hired her as a secret advisor many years ago, she always did seem to have a knack for controlling power, but that woman's been taking over."
"Our headmistress?" the blonde gasped. She was met with a nod.
"I want you and Elphaba to escape and return to Shiz," the Wizard clarified. "I'll destroy all records of your stay here." He handed Galinda a sheet of parchment riddled with odd words. "This is a spell Madame Morrible wrote to undo mind alterations, in case there was ever a need of it."
"Glinny?" Elphaba murmured, stirring slightly.
"Go," Oz's ruler instructed the blonde, pressing two train tickets into her hands. "There's a door beside the mirror that leads outside."
/
"Glinny Dinny where are we going?" Elphaba whined as they moved through the dim streets. Twilight had fallen on the Emerald City, dulling it to a gentle, jade hue. Even so Galinda imagined guards around every corner.
"We're going back to the hotel," she explained to her still groggy friend. "There's something I've got to do."
"Can't it wait?" the green girl complained.
"No," Galinda replied forcefully. "It can't." Once they were safely behind a locked door she sat Elphaba on the bed and pulled out the Wizard's offering. Beneath Madame Morrible's sweeping scrawls was a small note; This spell will only work if the subject it willing and relaxed. Otherwise there is a chance of doing severe damage to the brain. "Well that's just great," the blonde muttered.
"Glinny Dinny what in Oz's name is going on?" Elphaba demanded. Talor must've been more restrictive when he reset the original spell on her brain. Now it seemed the green girl was too far gone to notice the alterations done to her companion.
"Listen Elphie," Galinda began, meeting the witch's bewildered gaze. "Something's wrong with you…"
"No," she insisted. "There's nothing wrong with me!"
"Yes there is," the blonde pressed, "and I need you to trust me on this so I can fix you."
"Glinny…"
"Elphaba Thropp I'm your best friend," Galinda pointed out. "Would I lie to you about something like this?"
"No," the formerly green girl sighed. "But…"
"Please, just lie down on the bed and relax," the blonde pressed. "Please Elphie."
"Fine," Elphaba huffed, doing reluctantly as she was told. Galinda knelt beside her friend and took a deep breath. Was it really worth risking the formerly green girl's sanity, and possibly her life, just to reverse a spell?
Elphaba would want you to do it, Galinda told thought. She'd rather die herself than live as a stranger. With that notion in her head the blonde began to chant.
At first there was no response. Then, gradually, the thin witch's eyes fell closed. A moment later dull, green light filtered from behind her sealed lids. The blonde knew she didn't possess great skill in magic, but she fervently prayed that this would be enough.
When the spell was done Galinda took a deep breath and waited. For several eternities there was no change. "Elphie?" the blonde called, leaning forward. "Elphie can you hear me? Are you there?" Two glassy, brown orbs bobbed open. There was no life in the witch's eyes. "No," Galinda whispered, fists clenching. "No, no, no, no, no. No!" The last one came out as a strangled shout. "Elphie I'm so sorry," the blonde breathed, burying her face in her hands. "Sweet Oz what did I do to deserve this? What did she do to deserve this? Why?"
"Glin?" That scratchy, unsure question felt like a beam of soft, morning light. Immediately Galinda was bent over her friend, whose eyes were blinking rapidly.
"Elphie…"
"Glin I don't know how to tell you this, but your irises are pink," Elphaba observed quietly. The blonde burst into fountains of relieved, joyous laughter.
"Sweet Oz Elphie I thought you were dead," she cried tearfully.
"I'm far from dead, my sweet," the formerly green girl chuckled, finally sitting up. "Though I've got a splitting headache; what happened?" Then her eyes went foggy, as though reaching back into another life. As the last few weeks came flying back into Elphaba's head she began to cry.
"I missed you so much," Galinda whimpered, crushing her friend into a hug.
Well Elphaba's finally back, but no one's out of the woods yet…there is still plenty of action to come…this story will probably be fifteen chapters or more by the time I finish!