Last part of chapt. 6 (The Bitchy Chapter…)
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The Good Witch was slamming her creamy delicate fist on the door to the Wicked Witch's room- who was sulking inside. After five minutes of incessant pounding, she stopped.
"Elphaba, please, open the door!" For the millionth time her pleading requests went unanswered. "I won't tolerate being ignored any longer! If you do not open this door right now, you will have to have it replaced!"
Her faced blushed immediately and she licked her lips- but kept her ground.
"What the hell do you want?" The voice that answered was barely audible from behind the wood and stones concealing its owner.
"Open the door, Elphie. Please. Don't make me act like such a neurotic."
The door opened- but just enough for Elphaba to peer outside and fixed an unfriendly eye on her.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Could I come in?"
"Why must I ask the same question yet again? You come here and make threats and thrashed my door and I'm still obliged to insist what your business is!"
"Don't you act all lofty with me! Your father just suffered a heart attack last night. He is too old and that stroke… He is so weak right now…"
Glinda faltered to a stop. She struggled with the words, trying to find a gentle way of airing- perhaps even just hinting at the obvious truth. But the Witch only glared with obtuse indifference-or even perhaps knowing and not caring. Glinda was unable to feel sympathy. Those strange hard eyes give nothing anyone could relate to.
"He is dying, Elphaba."
The eyes narrowed for the briefest of moments and then the Witch turned to close the door. Glinda wasn't even sure what happened then. Her body seemed to move on its own accord- it rebelled against all codes of ethics and good manners- and also of self-preservation. It lunged forward and shoved the door open. Her legs dragged her inside.
The smell on the room made her gagged. Instead of a roof there seemed to be a huge creature hovering above- an immense evil beast- too dark to be seeing and too cold to be felt. Hundreds of tiny lights flickered like stars within its broad back- staring wirily at the intruder.
Three of the shadows squeaked and jumped at Glinda. She yelped and her hand flashed to the belt of her velvet dress- where the magic wand was always tucked in. The crows flew past her and perched on top of the opened door.
The strong fuel of anger deserted her. Some primitive instinct at the back of her mind urged her to run- to escape. But now the crows where there and she didn't want to get too close to them- or to their sharp beaks.
The Witch was sprawled on the floor. One of her bony hands was still clutching the doorknob tightly. She looked angry. Glinda wasn't even sure she had ever seeing Elphaba angry before. Not at her. It terrified her. The eyes on that greenish face practically glowed in her rage. Thin lines of blue seemed to crack apart the even brown of the iris- like lighting sizzling through a field of dark gray clouds
Three big white winged monkeys crawled down from the smothering shadows above them-gripping the stones of the walls tightly with their hands- and gathered around the Witch. Glinda's chocking panic subsided somewhat. Chistery was among them.
"You….you should go…." She said after clearing her dried up throat. She straightened and wiped the sweating palms of her hands on her dress- trying to make it look casual and graceful. "I suggest you go to his room and make peace with him. "
"And I suggest you to mind your own business, Ms Upland." The Witch hissed back, standing again on her ruined bamboo-pole like legs. "I still do not comprehend why you are still her. Your presence is becoming quite vexing."
"Don't….Elphaba, please. Think about it. Your last talk with Nessa was a fight.… Oh, don't give me that look. She told me about it. I was her friend, remember? I didn't agree with her ways or believes, but she was still my friend. And she was still your sister."
The Witched snarled and whirled away. She limped towards the fire- a pathetic little flame so incapable of warming the room as it seemed unable to illuminate it. She stayed there. The silence seemed to last forever.
"You can deny it all you want." Glinda said. "But it's only us in this room. Us and the monkeys and the crows and…and the shadows…They don't understand and maybe I'll believe you. But that's hardly what matters."
She waited a moment, but there was no answer. She sighed then and turned to leave the room. There was a rustle of flapping wings- the crows flying away from the door as she closed it softly behind her.
Brother Frexspar lied on his bed, wheezing and choking on his own saliva every few minutes. The cold wind whistled and howled outside but the room was kept cozy and warm. Ms Potato sat next to the bed- awake and attentive - even when she was even older than the patient.
She opened her tiny eyes a bit as someone entered the room. Her sight wasn't good but the flicker of green gave away who it was, even when the face remained blurry.
"Halhi…savá."
Ms Potato nodded shortly. She hoped down of the chair and left the room in silence.
"Fabala?" Frex wheezed.
Elphaba sat next to him and caressed his face tenderly with soft fingers.
"…You didn't mean it…You didn't mean all that…."
She stared- bleared eyed.
"You came here to die. You couldn't even spare me that. Why should I spare you the pain of my hatred?"
He moaned- a small pathetic little sound. Elphaba felt tears dwelling up on her eyes.
"Have you…no mercy for…a dying man, my child….Have I….really being such….a bad person?"
"I was your daughter. And you never cared."
The tears burnt her- they cut through the skin, reopening the scars left there so many months ago. But she didn't care. It was a welcomed distraction to the chocking agony on her chest.
"I thought… you were a demon at first." Frex whispered. "A ruined baby- possessed and corrupted by the spirits of hell."
She sobbed and squeezed his hand when he hesitantly traced hers with weak trembling fingers.
"Why the teeth, I never knew. Never knew why those teeth…"
Frex turned to her. Through the lairs of smothering whiteness covering his eyes, there seemed to be tenderness shining on the black buried pupils. There seemed to be love…and regret. He opened his mouth, closed it again. He wheezed one last breath and the eyes closed for the last time.