Thanks for the overwhelming response, everyone!

Elphaba Fanatic- When I wrote the part where Glinda mistakes Ayenna for Elphaba, I tried to put myself in Glinda's shoes and write it as I thought she would behave. You must take into consideration that Glinda hasn't seen Elphie for 15 years and she misses her terribly. Plus, she says the name before she even thinks about what she is saying. She then catches herself and dismisses the matter until she can talk to Ayenna.

Also, I finally convinced my mom to let me read the book! I really don't know how I manged to persuade her, but I am not complaining! She gave it to me pretty late on Monday night, and I am almost done with it. Realizing how different the book is from the play, I would like to point out that my story is based solely on the play. There will be no mention of the existance of such characters as Liir, Sarima, or any of the others that do not appear in the play except for the ones I created.

I am sorry for the long pause between updates, but my computer doesn't like the document manager on here, and I have had to fight with it incessantly. Plus, I am very busy with school and everything else. Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked, or any of the canon characters. They belong to Gregory MacGuire and Stephen Schwartz.

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"Um. Who's Elphaba?" Ayenna asked uncertainly.

"Oh, no one. You just reminded me of…of someone I once knew. A friend," Glinda said quickly, "Uh, sorry everyone, but this get-together is over. I have something to take care of. But please, keep recycling…uh…things that should be recycled!"

There was one last half-hearted cheer, but the people weren't really into it. They were much more interested in the green girl who was in their midst. The silence had ended and was replaced by whispers, mutters, and pointing fingers all directed at Ayenna. The only thing Ayenna wanted to do was get away, so she simply left and hurried up the street, looking for the inn on the paper. But she wasn't really even paying attention to where she was going. She couldn't get what had just happened out of her head. Why had Glinda, the most powerful person in Oz, looked at her and seen an old friend? Someone named Elphaba. She must have had green skin. But Ayenna had always thought that the only other person who shared her discoloration was the Wicked Witch. Surely if Glinda the Good had been friends with someone with green skin, that proved that the color of your face didn't matter.

Ayenna had become so immersed in her thoughts, she had completely stopped walking and was now standing still in the middle of the street. She jumped when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see Glinda Upland of the Upper Uplands herself standing behind her.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I wondered if I could have a word?" she asked.

"Y-yes, Your Goodness," stammered Ayenna.

Glinda looked around furtively, grabbed Ayenna's hand, and pulled her into a deserted side alley.

"Listen, excuse me if I sound strange, but I must know who your parents are," Glinda said once she was sure no one was listening to them.

"Well, I don't know. My parents left me in an orphanage when I was just a baby. I know nothing about them. I'm sorry," Ayenna said.

"Oh," Glinda said, and bit her lip and looked off into the space as someone does when they are revisiting their memories.

"Sorry, but who is Elphaba?" Ayenna asked curiously.

"Was," Glinda said.

"What?"

"Who was Elphaba. She's dead now. At least, I think she is."

"Why did you think I was her, Your Goodness?" Ayenna asked.

"Well, she had the same color skin," Glinda said smoothly, "And she looked a lot like you, besides. And no more of that 'Your Goodness' nonsense."

"Yes, Your Goodnes--Glinda," Ayenna said obediently.

Glinda did not appear to be listening. She was once more caught up in her thoughts. "But I saw her all the time. No, she was definitely never pregnant, not before she died. So how could she have a daughter? I doubt the Grimmerie has a spell that makes babies pop out of thin air. Either this girl is not her child, or Elphaba is still alive, or was alive for at least nine months after we all thought she was dead," Glinda muttered to herself.

"What is your name?" looking at Ayenna again.

"Ayenna," Ayenna said.

"Oh, well dear, I am sorry for taking up your time," Glinda said, "I hope I didn't annoy you."

"Oh, no, of course you didn't!" Ayenna said quickly, but Glinda didn't appear to hear her. But an enormous bubble came down, enveloped her, and floated her off to the palace where she lived. Ayenna shook her head and wondered silently, What was that all about? She wondered why Glinda thought she was this Elphaba character. And who was Elphaba, and why did she make Glinda so sad? Glinda must really have liked her. But who cared? She had gotten to talk to Glinda, one on one! Glinda, the ruler of Oz! She would have to write to Trip and the others and tell them about it! But thinking of Trip was a bad idea; suddenly Ayenna felt all alone in a huge world. She forced her thoughts off of it and continued to look for the inn.

Finally, she found it. A large sign written in cursive green letters claimed that it was the Emerald Joy Inn. Ayenna wasn't exactly feeling joyful, but she was feeling emerald. She walked in the door. The place was slightly small, but it seemed clean enough.

A receptionist sitting behind the desk stared at Ayenna's green face but did not comment on it. Instead she said, "Welcome to the Emerald Joy Inn. What can I do for you?"

"I need a room indefinitely," Ayenna told her firmly.

"Ok, I can bill you by the day. You are lucky you came here in the off season, young lady, otherwise we wouldn't have any rooms. I do have a couple open though. Will it just be you?"

"Yes, just me," Ayenna said quietly.

"You are in Room Twelve. Here is your key," the receptionist said.

Ayenna took the small green key and grabbed her bags.

"Should I call for a bellhop…?" the receptionist asked.

"No, I'll be fine," Ayenna told her and headed upstairs. After a few moments of searching, she located Room Twelve, fiddled with the key, and went inside. She groaned loudly. The room was completely and utterly green. The walls, carpet, curtains, and even the toilet were in that dreadful color. Ayenna, who for some reason had never been too fond of green, did not particularly like it. She was also slightly worried about the cost of the place. She hadn't thought to ask, and she didn't think her money was going to hold out for too long. However, she knew that there wasn't much sense in worrying over it, so she plopped down on her bed. She tried to quiet the thoughts and emotions swirling through her mind like so many fall leaves in a storm. Knowing that she would get no sleep at this rate, Ayenna reached into her bag and pulled out one of the books she had been given by one of the older orphans when she was very small. At the time, she hadn't been able to comprehend the fine art of reading, but she had gazed at the pages wistfully until she learned how, refusing to let anyone read it to her. Before she read it, she made up a story in her head to go along with the foreign symbols. It had been a story of acceptance, and the main character had had green skin. When she was finally able to read it, she found out that it was not at all like the story in her head, but it was still lovely. It was dog-eared and tattered from the many readings, but in her opinion, that just showed that it had been loved immensely.

Now, whenever she delved into the familiar pages that she could recite in full, she was able to calm herself down. After a few minutes of reading, she found herself relaxed and ready to sleep. She smiled slightly to herself; it always worked. She curled up in a tight little green ball and fell asleep.