Author's Note: First, I'm so sorry this wasn't posted/finished sooner, really. Second, so hopefully people will know right off, this story is extremely OOC, and it's in a AU. Basically it's a retelling of the story, but with some key things changed. And I'll tell you right now, it's supposed to have a happy ending, but this story is also supposed to be dark.

Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked.

Prologue

As she held her daughter, she wondered if she was a miracle or a nightmare. Her baby girl was more beautiful than anything anyone could have ever imagined. She was gorgeous and full of life. She was curious and a fast learner. She could easily tell things apart, including knowing who her mother was when others were around. She was healthy and was going to grow into a good family. It was a good start.

If it wasn't for one simple thing intruding with her daughter, Melena would be quite a happy mother.

The problem, she thought, as she placed baby Elphaba on a crib and cradled it, wasn't that Elphaba had a tendency of being hard to handle at times or that she wouldn't take kindly to strangers, but it was that she was green all over. From her toes to highlighted places of the silk-like strands of her hair.

Melena would remember that there was a time in her life when green was her favorite color. She adored it, practically idolized it. She didn't just love the simple green everyone thinks about when they see nature, but she loved all of them. Still, there had been one specific tone of green, she knew, that she preferred most of all. And now she saw it, literally, on her daughter.

She had completely forgotten how much she adored this vibrant hue. It was a bright color that would take her back to the times of her childhood, when she would at times be allowed to play out in the grass around her home. It hadn't been until her teenage years that she related that color to neon green. The moment she saw Elphaba, she was reminded of her childhood and her first trip to the Emerald city, but that was before her baby had opened her beautiful eyes.

The moment Melena saw those incredibly piercing eyes, she was reminded of the big tree in her parent's backyard. Nanny would often get an apple from the tree and hand one to her once or twice a week to eat mid-day until she was tall enough to get her own. Elphaba's eyes were the color of a brand new apple hiding away in the shade in the spring. 'No greater green, or color for that matter, could have been given to my child's eyes,' Melena thought. Anyone that would see her would at first be disgusted, but within time, the green would make them feel at ease or remember fond memories like Melena's.

She let a small sigh escape from her lips when Elphaba quietly cried and murmured things only a baby would know what it meant. As Melena picked her up again, she remembered that lately Elphaba would seem to have nightmares. She'd turn and squirm, and she looked to be fighting to get something off of her in her sleep.

She had never heard of babies having nightmares, but she knew that Elphaba wasn't a normal baby. She hoped that these nightmares would stop soon, for if they didn't, she figured that her baby would have a bad life extremely early on because of them. She knew that even if the nightmares stopped, as Elphaba would grow, either people would be extremely against or extremely with her. She was simply a gorgeous outcast.

"People may not be fond of you at first sweetheart, but I know you'll have the looks and probably the smarts of Aphrodite and Athena. No boy will be able to resist you, and you will make girls all over turn greener than your odd hair. With luck, you will turn out a better heart breaker than I was. I don't really care if your father still doesn't like you... You're still my daughter, so I'll make sure not to be embarrassed by you. There's no doubt you're my daughter anyway, so I might as well try to love you." As she spoke, she would dance around with the baby in her arms, and Melena would recall her golden years.

"Oh how much fun I'll make sure you'll have. After the unworthy boys start to see they have no chance with you, we will find you the perfect match. By then there may be a girl who can be your friend, one who wouldn't hate or be jealous of you. Of course, a girl like that must be really kind and agreeing, but I hope she's also a good listener. I don't want you to have a friend who reads like there's no tomorrow or doesn't make herself even a bit pretty, but if that's your friend then just make sure she doesn't stab you in the back, alright, sweetheart?" Melena put Elphaba down on the crib again. This time, Elphaba seemed to be listening to her every word, no sleep in the little girl's eyes to be found.

"What? You agree with me, right? A friend for you must be special and caring. Since you're a unique girl, your friend is bound to be unique, too. That goes too for your husband, Elphie." Melena stopped for a second and thought.

"Elphie. That sounds like a good name for you, don't you think? Just don't tell your dad about it. He's likely to give me a fit over it." She rolled her eyes before picking up one of the few toys that were in the crib. The toy in her hand was one that she knew would get the cutest look out of her daughter. It was a small metallic cube that would unfold and allow the person holding it to break it into pieces and make almost anything you wanted out of it. As soon as the baby would see it, her eyebrows would furrow at the object, and she would try to reach for it, but no one has ever let her have it.

"Elphie, why do you like this thing, anyway? Really, there's only so much you can make, and the pieces are too small for you. It says so in the front of it that it's not for kids three and under." Melena moved the cube around and watched as Elphie followed it, her eyes so sharp and cunning, as if they were the eyes of a grown person instead of a baby.

"Sweetheart, you should try to stop looking at things and people like that. It will make it harder to find you a good man to marry, because you'll scare all the boys off." She sighed and put the toy to the side, but Elphaba started looking tired once more. Melena just watched her.

"...Sweetheart, you may be getting a younger sibling soon. It's what your father wants." She sat down on a chair next to the crib and continued, "Because of this, I really want you to try to be nice to your younger brother or sister... Things are changing, now that many people have started to take a liking to the Wizard's creations. ...Something tells me you're going to do something unthinkable in the future. So... please be careful for me."

Elphaba looked over to her mother, her eyes almost completely closed as her mom stood up and left.