Disclaimer: Don't own it…never will.
Author's Note: Woo! A new chapter. Yes, I'm aware I'm the slowly updater ever and I need to be killed slowly and painfully…but work has got be all caught up. Six days of work and my family abducts me on my day off. -sigh- Well, now the official day for updates with me Thursday. I may trying get to up a week if I can. Here's chapter eight!
Chapter 8: The Snake
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"Nessa, this is ridiculous! I'm tired of all your damn talk about the Unnamed God!" Sabriel exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Ever since her meeting with Morrible, something about Sabriel was terribly wrong. She was always angry and it was usually expelled onto her younger sister, who in turn would complain to Elphaba.
"Watch you language!" Nessarose scolded, before wheeling toward Sabriel. "I don't know "Good! Tell the bastard that I'm tired of your idiotic ranting!" she shot back. With that, Sabriel stormed off down the long hall. By now, Elphaba had shown up, ready to scold her sisters for all the unnecessary yelling.
The green girl approached Nessarose, only to have her foot run over when the girl flipped her wheeled chair around swiftly.
"Oh, Elphaba, I'm sorry," Nessarose apologized in an uncharacteristically soft voice. It was easy to see the girl's eyes were filled with misty tears. Immediately Elphaba dropped to her knees and took her sister's hands.
"Nessa, what is the matter? She asked, showing concern that she normally didn't. Nessarose never cried, never. Seeing tears glisten in her dark eyes was beyond unsettling for her eldest sister.
"N-nothing, I'm fine," she replied shakily.
"That's a lie if I ever heard one," Elphaba told her, though her voice was still soft. "Please Nessa…"
"It's just Sabriel. She's been yelling at me the last few days and I just can't take it any more," the younger girl admitted, a single tear rolling down her cheek softly.
Her answer hit a nerve in Elphaba. Sabriel knew better than to treat her sister badly. "I'll take care of it Ness," she promised before moving off in the direction Sabriel had went.
It was peculiar. Sabriel had changed for the worse. First, she refused to tell Elphaba anything about her meeting with Morrible. Then, her attitude changed so drastically it was unnerving. She was always on Nessarose's case and she had been avoiding Elphaba and Galinda like they were carrying a plague. Something was wrong and the one explanation Elphaba had was Horrible Morrible. Though Elphaba had sworn to figure it out, she had to deal with her sister's attitude first.
"Sabriel!" the green girl called, rushing after her sister as she exited Crage Hall. Them middle Thropp sister paused, throwing an annoyed glance over her shoulder. She visibly rolled her as she saw Elphaba fast approaching.
"What?" Sabriel demanded, sounding very much like a bratty child. This earned her a glare from Elphaba.
"We need to talk….about Nessa," Elphaba said as she came to stop in front of Sabriel.
"For Lurline's sake, I don't need you to lecture me like father," Sabriel growled. "Nessa can take care of herself, she doesn't need you."
"Sabriel," Elphaba started, gritting her teeth in a mad attempt not to lash out, "you made her cry. What were you thinking?" she shot back, but realized she had said the wrong thing. A smirk crept onto Sabriel's lips.
"I was thinking she needed to stop talking so damn much," she replied arrogantly.
Staring in disbelief, Elphaba stood frozen as ice for a moment. Finally, she set on scowling at her sibling. "What in Oz did Morrible do to you?"
At this, Sabriel chuckled almost evilly. It made Elphaba's skin crawl. "This has nothing to do with Madame Morrible," she told her. As Sabriel turned to leave, Elphaba clapped a hand down on her shoulder. There was no way she was going to let Sabriel get away with acting like a child. What happened next caught her completely off guard, though.
Sabriel cried out in pain, hurriedly slapping Elphaba's hand away. Her hand took the place of Elphaba's though she held her shoulder tenderly. Tears pricked her eyes from the sharp pain that shot through her entire back at Elphaba's less then gentle touch.
"Wh-what happened?" Elphaba asked, staring at her sister's back in shot.
"I just have a cut," Sabriel tried to cover through clenched teeth, before making a run for it. Elphaba nearly followed, but a familiar, dainty hand enclosed her wrist.
"Elphaba, what's happening?" Galinda asked in a worried tone.
X
Sabriel paced the length of her dorm room slowly. She had removed her shirt and unclasped her brassiere. Pausing, she looked over her shoulder into the small mirror in the bathroom. Covering most of her back was a design laid out in red skin. The pattern was that of a snake. A cobra head was placed on her right shoulder blade, while the body zigzagged down her back. The end of the tail curved around her left side and curled around her navel once. She looked down, examining her stomach. It looked as though she had been branded and it was painful to touch. Just as she was about to recover the strange marking, the door opened.
Jamila gasped at the sight, succeeding in dropping the books she was carrying. Sabriel, in turn, quickly shied away and reached for her shirt which had been draped over the edge of her bed.
"Sabriel…"Jamila breath, a hand clasp over her mouth. "What…what happened to you?" she asked worriedly.
Cursing in her mind, Sabriel sighed. It wasn't like she could lie when Jamila had already seen the scar. The two of them had become very good friends, it was no wonder the girl was worried.
"I…uhm…"Sabriel stammer, looking for words.
Before she had a chance to continue, Jamila had mover over to her. The girl timidly reached out and touched Sabriel's back, who hissed in pain even from the gentle touch. Jamila quickly withdrew her hand.
"Oh Sabriel," she said sympathetically. Sabriel offered her a weak smile.
"I'll tell you what happened if you promise not to tell anyone," Sabriel told her, realizing she was blushing from being slightly exposed to her friend. Jamila nodded, taking a seat of the edge of the bed.
After pulling her shirt back on, Sabriel took a seat next to her room mate. The two sat in an awkward silence for a minute until Jamila reached out and rested her hand on Sabriel's thigh.
"It's okay. You secret is safe with me," she said softly, smiling even though she wasn't sure what to think of the painful mark.
Sabriel let out another deep sigh. "The other day Madame Morrible called me to her office and told me that my father wanted me to come home. Knowing how badly I want to be here at Shiz, she offered to keep me here if I helped her…" she paused, glancing at Hamila who was intently staring at her. "She said what she was doing was top secret and to keep me from telling anyone she'd have to put a spell on me."
"And you agreed!?" Jamila exclaimed in shock. Sabriel solemnly nodded.
"Yes, and the moment she cast the spell I felt like I was on fire. The pain settled into my back and I passed out. When I awoke…she let me go."
Jamila suddenly looked extremely pale.
"When I got back here that day, I checked my back and there was a faint, pink design of a snake. It hurt to touch and after I got mad at Nessa today it only got worse. Now it is that deep red and I'm not sure what it is or why it's there," Sabriel finished with her head bowed.
Jamila took a deep, shaky breath. Taking in the information, she wasn't sure how she should react. Following her instinct, Jamila slipped her fingers under Sabriel's chin. Gently, she pulled the girl's head up so they were staring at each other.
"It will be okay," Jamila assured softly.
Sabriel couldn't hel but notice that their lips were almost close enough to touch when she leaned forward slightly.
X
The door swung open, creating a large bang as it contacted with the wall. The opened door revealed Elphaba, quickly followed by Galinda, who shut the door quietly behind them.
"I don't understand!" Elphaba yelled, venting her pent up anger. Immediately she took to pacing, which just served to unnerve poor Galinda more. The petite blonde sat on the edge of Elphaba's bed and stared at its owner.
"Maybe she's just having trouble with school and the stress is getting to her," Galinda suggested softly. She squeaked and flinched slightly when Elphaba whirled around with a glare.
"No, Morrible did something, I know it!" Elphaba told her sternly. Galinda bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. She was battling with herself whether to tell Elphaba or not.
"Don't go assuming things. What about boy trouble?" Galinda tired to swerve Elphaba away from Madame Morrible. To that, Elphaba glared more powerfully, causing Galinda to coward.
"Sabriel doesn't even like boys!" Elphaba growled before returning to pacing. "I bet Morrible put her up to this."
"And you think Morrible has a reason to target Nessarose?"
"I don't know. And why did her shoulder hurt like that?"
"Maybe she just got a cut like she said, Elphie,"
The green girl stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Galinda. The Gillikin glanced around nervously as if she had done something wrong.
"Elphie?" Elphaba asked, quirking a brow. She still wasn't used to that nickname.
Galinda smiled sheepishly.
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I just wanted to address Ari-Moon's question as can be found in the reviews. Though Elphaba is telling the story to her child, the actual story is more of her and Sabriel's memories. As they recall the past, Elphaba isn't telling Gillian every detail.
Hope that clears things up. XD