Disclaimer: It seems I do not own Wicked or any of the fabulous characters. Nor do I own any of the ideas that come from L.F. Baum's Oz Books.
Author's Note: Woo! I'm going two for two; a chapter yesterday and today. CRAZY! I must actually be getting into the spirit of writing this story. Thanks for all the reviews, they are much appreciated. Unfortunately, I felt this chapter moved a little slow, but never fear! The next chapter will be revealing even more of Morrible's crazy schemes.
Chapter 7: Can I Call You Elphie?
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"I don't know what's going on Elphaba, I told you that," her voice insisted, though her heart knew that lies were spilling from her lips. It was Sabriel's business and if Elphaba didn't know already there was a reason.
"Well obviously you know something because you've been walking with my sister all afternoon!" Elphaba announced with an angry tone.
Galinda shrunk back. Elphaba's boiling temper was not something she wanted to mess with. Not to mention the fact that she had no clue why the girl was mad. For the last week they hadn't even talked except when necessary. Elphaba's sudden interest in her was quite shocking, but Galinda accounted it to Sabriel.
"Am I not allowed to spent time with your sister?" Galinda asked boldly, glaring at the girl.
It was Elphaba's turn to be taken off guard. The two stood, just feet away from each other, set glares molded onto their faces. By now, Galinda could hardly stand the fiery eyes that were burning into her own while Elphaba felt her knees go weak from staring into those crystal blue eyes.
"Tell me Galinda, why would you want to spend time with someone who is gender confused?" Elphaba questioned coldly, referring to Milla's harsh words toward Sabriel.
At that, Galinda pulled her eyes away. Guilt crept into her stomach. Unceremoniously, she plopped into a near by chair. She wanted nothing more to argue with Elphaba, but that wouldn't solve anything. Elphaba would win. Because she was smart…not like Fiyero, who seemed to have air for brains, but smart. Though Galinda couldn't possibly dwell on such a redeeming quality at a time like this.
With a triumphant smirk, Elphaba fell into the chair next to Galinda. Neither one spoke as they waited for Sabriel's return.
X
"….stay here at Shiz,"
"Marvelous!" Morrible announced, standing from her chair. At record speeds, she flounced around the desk and set her cold, clammy hands on Sabriel's shoulder. This touch made Sabriel tense and wrinkle her nose with disgust, but Madame Morrible seemed not to notice.
"Well come here dearie," the head mistress said, moving over to one of her book shelves. Reluctantly, Sabriel stood up and moved toward Morrible.
The old woman was rapidly flipping through the pages of a book; a spell book. Her fingers finally stopped on a page and she turned once more to face Sabriel. Madame Morrible reached out her hand toward the girl. Resisting the urges to run, Sabriel stood in place.
"This won't hurt a bit," Morrible assured, giving the girl another of her evil grins. Before Sabriel could reply, protest, or even open her mouth, Madame Morrible was chanting a strange series of words.
"Abon dei let tum rah…"
Her skin was on fire. She doubled over in pain, grinding her teeth together for her air way seemed to have closed off and she couldn't scream.
Morrible seemed not to notice and kept chanting as well as moving her arm in a strange pattern.
"My skin…it's burning… what's going on?" Before an answer was found, she lost consciousness.
The next thing she next, Sabriel was waking up with the worst head ache of her life. She attempted to sit up, but her body seemed to be unable to complete such a task. She cracked her eyes open, only to see Morrible standing above her.
"Wakey, wakey child," she was cooing, but it sounded more like demons howling in Sabriel's ears.
Groaning, she managed to cover her ears. After a few moments, the hissing in her head grew soft and finally went away. As the pain subsided, Sabriel sat up. She rubbed her eyes. "What…what happened?""Oh, you just fainted. Not usually for someone not used to being exposed to magic. You're quite alright," Morrible was speaking, but not looking at the girl. She had replaced the book on the shelf and was moving back over to her desk.
"So now our little agreement is set into place…"she said as Sabriel wearily took a seat in one of the chairs. "It's impossible for you to leak information. Also, I have a first assignment for you."
"What is it?"
X
Footsteps fell heavy on the hall outside Madame Morrible's office. Elphaba had been pacing for a good twenty minutes and it was starting to make Galinda's head spin.
"Elphaba, please!" she hissed, trying to get the green girl's attention.
Stopping mid-step, Elphaba turned to face Galinda. A scowl was set on her features. "What?!"
"You're making me dizzy with all that pacing," Galinda said in exasperation. Elphaba considered this for a moment and with a sigh, took a seat in the chair next to Galinda.
"What are you still doing here anyway?" Elphaba asked the blonde. Hearing the question, Galinda turned her head to look at the green girl.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why haven't you left? You don't have to stay and wait for her you know," Elphaba clarified, looking Galinda over carefully. The girl seemed nervous. She was playing with the ruffles of her skirt and wasn't making eye contact.
"I know…"she said softly.
She wasn't even sure why she was here, how was she supposed to tell Elphaba? For one, she did want to see what happened to Sabriel, but she also had friends waiting for her. Galinda knew there was another reason her felt the need to stay. It gave her an excuse to spend time with Elphaba. Though she would never admit that to herself.
"Did Sabriel say anything about what is going on?" Elphaba prodded, leaning an elbow on the arm rest on the chair and rested her cheek in her palm of her hand.
"No," Galinda said quickly. She felt she needed to protect Sabriel from Elphaba. If the older sister found out about the spell she'd probably strangle Sabriel.
Elphaba nodded slightly, looking at the ground. She anxiously walked her fingers along her leg. Being with Galinda always made her nervous, but she couldn't pin point where the feeling was coming from.
Meanwhile, Galinda was feeling more or else the same way. She couldn't explain the nervous butterflies that appeared each time she and Elphaba were together. All she knew was she felt she needed to say something.
"Elphaba…would you like to get some dinner with me?" she asked suddenly. Her cheek immediately blushed a deep shade of pink.
The green girl's head shot up. For once in her life, she was speechless. Here was Galinda, asking her to get dinner with her. Something was obviously amiss.
"I…I…need to wait for my…" Elphaba stuttered, but Galinda interrupted her.
"Oh come on! We've been her forever…I bet Sabriel's just waiting for Morrible to get there, you know how that woman is," Galinda said, chancing a glance at Elphaba.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Elphaba was battling with herself. Should she go or was it a trick? Was Galinda really so bad? How could someone like her want to spend time with someone like me?
"Uhm…o-okay," she finally agreed.
X
The two had walked through campus in almost complete silence. Both had their heads hung and Elphaba could have sworn she could heard Galinda's nervous heart beat, or maybe that was her own. The café that they decided to stop at was on campus and was a popular hang out for the college students. Galinda led the way, bringing them in and finding a table. Pink…they sat at a pink booth. Elphaba couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at the thought.
"Tea Miss Galinda?" a waitress boy asked. Looking up, blue eyes met hazy brown eyes that we staring down at her. She couldn't recall ever seeing this boy before. "Yes, that would be lovely," she replied. He then turned to Elphaba.
"How about you Miss Elphaba?"Now this was beyond surprising. Not only did the boy know her name and address her kindly, but he didn't cringe, jump, or otherwise have a reaction to her coloring. Both Galinda and Elphaba stared at him a state of shock.
Glancing between the two, the tall boy nervously rubbed the back of his neck. It was apparent he swallowed hard and tried not to look nervous.
"How do you know my name?" Elphaba asked with suspicion.
"Yes…I don't believe I've seen you around campus," Galinda added, looking him over carefully.
He was tall so he couldn't have been a Munckin or Winkie. Best guess was that he was Gillikin, but his hair was brown. He was dressed in a white, button-up shirt that was neatly tucked into a pair of black slacks. His features were strong; defined cheek bones, a square jaw, small dimples on either side of his thin lips.
"I don't believe you have either. I just transferred here to Shiz," he told them, offering them a smile which showed off his pearly white teeth. "And I know you're names," he said, turning to Elphaba, "because you to are the talk of the campus."
"We are, are we?" Galinda asked, batting her eyelashes at the boy with a grin.
Elphaba frowned at this gesture. She was so flirtatious, it was ridiculous.
"Sure thing, Miss Galinda. Everyone knows you and I can see why. You're more beautiful then they say," he told her. He was obviously going for flattery, that made Elphaba's skin crawl, especially because Galinda was loving it.
"And everyone knows about you Miss Elphaba. Top of your class in all subjects as of yet. That is one impressive feet,"
The girl's jaws nearly fell open when he complimented her so openly. Elphaba felt a deep green blush swept over her cheeks which Galinda found absolutely adorable.
"What's your name?" Galinda asked, only stealing a glance at the boy for a second because she was so focused of the speechless Elphaba.
"Kaliko," he replied before scurried off to get them their tea.
After he had moved away, Galinda giggled. This drew Elphaba's attention. "Such a cute laugh."
"Well he was nice," the blonde said, watching Elphaba carefully. The green girl nodded, looking in the boy's direction. Never had anyone been so kind upon meeting her.
"So Elphie, oh! Do you mind if I call you Elphie?"
Raising a brow, Elphaba stared at Galinda. Did Galinda just come up with a nick name for her?
"It's a little perky…"