So...It's been a while, eh? Few months... You've probably all given up on me! (Knock on wood) I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm sorry. I have issues with continuing ideas. It takes forever for me to figure out what in the world I'm trying to accomplish. I never have a concrete idea. (Okay, I did ONCE, but 1: I've not posted it, and 2: I lost my train of thought and I have to recollect my thoughts.) Anyway, the point is, I have about as much of an idea of what's going to happen next as you do. Acutally the point is, I'm terribly sorry and if you're still reading this killer author's note, Kumbricia bless you. You have the patience of a saint.

Hope you like it.

020. Colorless

"Fiyero?" Elphaba poked him. They were in the library studying for middle-of-term exams.

"Ow. What is it?"

"Do you see the librarian at the desk?" she asked, pointing over his shoulder.

Fiyero looked in the direction she was pointing. The librarian, an elderly lady with large, thick glasses, was looking at a distance through a magnifying glass trying to make out some fine print. She kept adjusting the distance of the lens from the page.

"Looks like she need a stronger prescription," he noted, turning back to Elphaba.

"Right," she said, "But she already has glasses. The magnifying glass is helping her see the letters even larger. What if we used smaller, thicker lenses and rigged them so that we could see tissue samples and compare them?"

Fiyero thought about it for a moment. "How would we see through the tissue?"

She picked up a sheet of paper with writing on it and placed it upside down in front of him. "Tell me what the paper says without turning the sheet over."

Fiyero squinted, trying to make out the letters. "I can't."

"Now pick it up and hold it to the light," she instructed. He did.

"I can see them now," he told her. "So what you're saying is as long as our samples are thin enough and we have a light source, we'll be able to see the samples?"

"That's what I hope."

Fiyero smiled excitedly. "Elphaba, you are a genius."

She blushed slightly. "Thank her," she mumbled, pointing to the librarian.

"Elphie? Fiyero?" a high-pitched voice called, "Are you in here?"

The librarian shushed Glinda, who just now located them.

"I've been looking all over for you!" she said breathlessly.

Elphaba looked concerned. "What's going on?"

Glinda thrust a newspaper in her face. She grabbed it from her and read.

"You're kidding," she muttered angrily.

"What is it?" Fiyero asked.

"My dear father has decided, as Governor of Munchkinland, to declare Animals unemployable," she spat, "as an ally to the Wizard."

"No!"

Elphaba stood up angrily. "I have to go." She grabbed her things and stormed out of the library, her skirts flying behind her.

Elphaba marched to a little known part of the campus and into a large building. She stomped down a wide hall and knocked loudly on one of the doors. There was no answer.

"Nessarose Thropp! Open up!" She yelled. The door finally swung open to reveal a young woman in a wheelchair.

"Elphaba," she said icily. "What brings you here?"

"I think you know," Elphaba said challengingly, "but in case you're confused, it has to do with Father's decision to un-employ all of the Animals in Munchkinland."

"Oh, that." Nessarose yawned.

"Yes, that," Elphaba hissed. "I suppose you had something to do with that, didn't you?"

Nessa frowned. "What if I did? It's not like the Animals are important. They're filthy and dull!"

"Did you have anything to do with it or not?" Elphaba demanded.

"I had everything to do with it," she said harshly. "You were sent here to take care of me!"

"And this is supposed to justify your decision to let Father to deprive the Animals of jobs?" Elphaba screamed. "Because I haven't been waiting on you hand and foot? You're in a part of Shiz made especially for people with handicaps such as yours. Why do you still need my help? I'm not your slave anymore, Nessa!"

"I haven't seen you in weeks! You haven't even checked up on me!" Nessa argued, "I spent years keeping Father from keeping the Animals out of work for you, and how do you repay me? You ignore me!"

"I gave up my childhood for you, I took care you of you from the day you were born, I made sure you did well in school so that you could be here, and I've only ever asked you to keep Father from doing this to the Animals. The moment I turn my attention away from you for a chance to really live, you take the comfort of knowing that Munchkinland is safe from Animal prejudice away from me," Elphaba fumed. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes," her sister snapped at her.

"I'm glad," Elphaba said grudgingly. "Don't expect me to ever check up on you again. And if you do anything to jeopardize anything I do ever again, I swear, I'll make sure you regret it. I love you, Nessa, for some reason, but I've had enough."

Nessa glared at her. "I'll be governess of Munchkinland one day. We'll see who has the last laugh, sister dearest."

Elphaba clenched her jaw. "Goodnight, Nessarose," she said through her teeth, "And good luck on your exams." She turned on her heel and began to walk away.

From her doorway, Nessa called spitefully after her, "By the way, happy birthday tomorrow, you ugly frog!" And she slammed the door.

Upon returning to her dorm, she found Fiyero, Glinda, and Boq discussing her disappearance.

"Where did you go?" Fiyero asked, standing up to hug her.

"I was visiting my sister," she told him, hugging him back.

"You have a sister? I didn't know that." Glinda said. "Did I?"

"Probably not. I don't often talk about my family. We don't get along," she explained.

Boq spoke up, "Nessarose, right?"

Elphaba nodded. "That's right! You would remember her. She had that scary obsession with you as a child."

Boq groaned. "If she weren't the Governor's daughter, I'd have told her off."

"So, why did you go talk to your sister?" Fiyero asked. He'd heard a little about Nessarose from Elphaba, but only that she was handicapped and that Elphaba had to take care of her.

"When we were younger, I made her promise to keep my father from doing anything that would affect the Animals negatively," she explained.

"Why did she go back on her promise?"

"Because I wasn't playing servant to her anymore," she explained, "and I haven't visited her since I miscarried."

"Does she go to Shiz?" Glinda wondered.

"Yes. She's handicapped, so she goes to a different part of Shiz so that things are closer and easier for her to access. That's why you haven't seen her."

"Oh," was the collective response.

"You know what? I'm getting a bit of a headache. I'm going to get some fresh air," Elphaba told them.

"I'll go with you," Fiyero offered. Elphaba nodded appreciatively.

"Bye!" Glinda called, "Don't come back too late!"

When the door closed behind them, Glinda turned to Boq. "Oz, I thought they'd never leave," she sighed. Boq smiled at her and brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"And why did you want them to leave?"

"So we could do this." She kissed him deeply. "For a while."

"So basically your sister is evil, right?" Fiyero questioned.

"She's just used to getting her way."

"Why is it that you don't get along?"

Elphaba shook her head. "For her, it was like monkey see, monkey do. She wanted so much to be normal, so she picked up teasing me and calling me names… all of that. Then she realized that she could get me to do anything she said because she was my father's favorite. She thought it was fun, I thought differently."

"So this goes way back… wow. I'd think that your own sister would empathize and treat you well."

"Surprise," Elphaba said sarcastically.

Nobody said anything for a while.

"You know what I'd like?" Fiyero asked, completely out of the blue.

"What?"

"I'd like the world to be black and white for a day."

"Why is that?"

"Because everything would be colorless," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Wouldn't things be a bit boring that way?"

"Not for you. Think about it: everything would be colorless!"

"I'd be colorless," Elphaba finally realized. "I'd fit in. No one would stare, no one would whisper about me… I'd look normal."

Fiyero smiled. "And we could go places without you wearing a hood or a scarf over your face. We could do that now, if you'd just give it a chance."

"You know how I feel about people staring."

"Right. That's why I want the world to be colorless: so you can be as confident about your appearance as I am about it. I, for one, love your skin."

"Why is it that you know exactly what to say to make me feel better?"

"Maybe because I pay attention to how you feel," he said, "or because I love you. I love you in all of your emerald glory."

Elphaba, even though he'd said it before, was shocked by his words. But she was more pleased than shocked. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Thinking back on the conversation she'd had with Glinda before, she was now certain that, if he asked, she would more than willingly walk down the aisle with this man.

Hmm... the italics and bold buttons aren't working...

Right... so someone mentioned WAY earlier that my chapter titles often have nothing to do with the content... and I'd like to own up to that. It's true. I'm trying to follow the prompts, but... it's actually kind of difficult. If it bothers you, my apologies. If not, sweet.

Please review. Even if it's to tell me that I'm a terrible person for never updating anything I write or to tell me that my plots are stupid or nonexistant... whatever. Let me know that you readers exist!!