*Summons royal pink scepter* Hello, my loyal subjects. Here is another chapter!
I'mFlyingHighDefyingGravity: You can be the 'Good' Queen of Referencing.
ExoticPeachBlossom: Life is always interesting with Elphaba.
Elphabalover101: Arlis is such a jarhead (Creds to Dogfight for that). And Megan told me not to submit my fanfictions to the Creative Writing class. Though, the way my schedule is set up for next year, I don't have time to take it.
NellytheActress: I'm "Daddy's Little Princess". Therefore, I'm royalty! Have fun in Wonderland!
Elphaba'sGirl: I'm so glad people actually like the "Nias". LOL!
woodland59: Galinda is very threatening when it comes to her shoes.
Elphaba Thropp of Fiyero: Thank you for addressing me by my royal title. Though… I can't promise anything about the happiness.
"Lanie?" Elphaba asked, knocking on her daughter's door.
Not getting a response, Elphaba tried again, knocking harder this time. "Lanie?"
"Go away!" came the muffled voice of Lanie.
"Lanie, please open the door."
"No!"
"Lanie, open the door!"
"NO!"
"Khylana –"
"GO AWAY!"
Elphaba, being the assertive person she was, held her ground and opened the door. "Lanie!"
Lanie looked up and saw her mother. Turning away, she held back a sob. Her mother was the last person in Oz she wanted to see right now.
Elphaba took a deep breath and calmed down. She knew she had to do this correctly the first time, or risk Lanie being mad at her forever. "Lanie, I know you're upset, but –"
"You have no idea," Lanie muttered.
"Even so, that's still no excuse for your behavior lately."
Lanie crossed her arms and glared back at her mother. "Is that why you told the guards to watch over me like I'm a small child."
"I did what I did to protect you."
"Protect me from what? The only person who makes me feel normal? I'm not a baby anymore! I don't need protection!"
"There are dangers out there that you're not ready to face."
"Like what?"
Elphaba bit her lip and closed her eyes. "Lanie…"
"You just want me to stay a little girl and I'm not!"
"Lanie…" Elphaba warned.
"Well, you know what? I'm not. I'm not a little girl anymore!"
"Lanie…"
"Not everyone in Oz is bad! Why can't you see that? I hate it here! I hate my life! I hate you!"
"ENOUGH!" Elphaba roared.
"No! You can't keep me locked up in here forever."
"I can do what I please. I am your mother and you will not speak to me that way!" Elphaba yelled.
Lanie grabbed one of her books and hurled it at her mother. Elphaba, sensing something whizzing towards her, held out her hand. The book stopped and floated in midair. Enraged, Elphaba waved her hand, the windows closing and locking.
Lanie reached over and grabbed her hairbrush. Elphaba stopped it just before it hit her in between her eyes. This went on for a full half hour. Lanie picked up and threw everything she could think of, while Elphaba magically stopped the attacks. Exhausted, Elphaba took a deep breath. When she didn't sense Lanie throwing anything, she thought Lanie had tired herself out. As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, she felt something hit her in the face and drop to the ground. Reaching down, she felt a soft, silky sheet with a plush feeling underneath it. Lanie had thrown her pillow at her. Picking up the pillow and gracefully rising to her feet, Elphaba turned to leave.
"Very well, Lanie," she whispered, her voice hard and cold. She left the room and closed the door behind her. She muttered a spell under her breath with her hand placed firmly on the doorknob. The knob glowed a bright shade of green, then died away. Elphaba stepped back, wondering if her spell worked. A few seconds later, she heard Lanie stand up from her bed and walk towards the door.
Lanie sighed, deciding to apologize to her mother. She tried to open the door and made a very disturbing discovery; the door was locked. She tried and tried to open the door, but it was shut. She created a swirl of magic and placed it on the doorknob. It turned green and Lanie gasped. Her mother had magically locked her in her room. That meant that only Elphaba could let her out.
"Mama! Mama!" Lanie called, shaking the door. "Please let me out! Please!"
Elphaba closed her eyes and walked away. She didn't care what she had to do to make sure Lanie stayed safe.
"Mama!" Lanie shrieked, banging on the door, begging her mother to come back. She stepped away from the door, hurt and confused. She fell onto her bed and cried, her tears soaking her pillow. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Elphie! He's coming today!" Galinda exclaimed.
Elphaba nodded, but remained silent.
"This is so exciting. What am I gonna say? What am I gonna wear? What am I gonna – Elphie, are you alright?"
A single tear slid down Elphaba's cheek. Galinda rushed to her friend and hugged her. "Elphie, what's wrong?"
"I-It's Lanie," Elphaba hiccupped.
"Is she still mad at you?"
"S-She said s-she h-hated me."
"Oh, Elphie," Galinda whispered, tightening her grip around her friend. "She didn't mean that."
"She did. I could feel it in her anger. She really meant it."
"You're doing it to protect her."
"I don't want my own daughter to hate me."
"Where is she now?"
"In her room." Elphaba's tears finally subsided and she calmed down.
"Still?"
Elphaba remained silent as Galinda tried to figure out why Lanie was still in her room.
"Elphie… what did you do?" Galinda asked, looking her friend in the eyes. Gasping, she realized what was wrong. "You magically locked her in her room, didn't you?"
"It was the only way to protect her."
"Obviously, since full house arrest didn't work," Galinda muttered.
"Well, what would you do if you had a daughter who you were trying to protect, but wouldn't listen to you?" Elphaba shouted, angrily glaring in Galinda's direction.
Galinda gulped, not wanting to make Elphie any more upset. Fiyero would never forgive her if the entire Vinkus was blown off the map of Oz.
"I'm sorry," Galinda whispered, taking Elphaba's hands.
"It's okay," Elphaba said, gently pulling her hands out of the blonde's grasp.
The doorbell rang, producing a very loud squeal from the bubbly blonde.
"Oz, Galinda, my ears!" Elphaba exclaimed, clasping her hands over her ears. "Are you trying to make me go deaf?"
"Oops, sorry, Elphie," Galinda said, smiling sheepishly as she ran to answer the door. "Hello, Elenus," she smiled, allowing the young man into the castle.
"Hello, Galinda," Elenus smiled shyly. Galinda's smile widened as she looked deep into Elenus' green eyes. She leaned forward to hug him, running her fingers through his light brown hair.
"I've missed you so much. I received your letter. What did you want to tell me?" Galinda probed.
"I think it would be most appropriate to announce this over dinner tonight," Elenus said, kissing Galinda's hand.
"Okay." Galinda watched as Elenus walked up the stairs to find Fiyero. "I do," she said to herself, practicing her acceptance speech. "I do. No, I do. Wait, I do."
"You don't even know if he's going to propose or not," Elphaba said, smirking.
Galinda stuck her tongue out at Elphaba. What she wasn't expecting was for Elphaba to stick her tongue out at her. Too stunned to speak, Galinda just stared at her friend.
"Remember Galinda, we've known each other since we were children. You're so predictable," Elphaba explained.
Galinda silently praised Elphaba for her remarkable insight and squealed. "Well, what if he is? Ooh, I need to pick out the perfect dress, and you're gonna help me!" She grabbed Elphaba by her hands and pulling her up.
"I don't see how I would be of much assistance in the picking out a dress department," Elphaba said, raising her eyebrow at Galinda.
"I still want you with me. Now, stop protesting and come on!"
"I'm coming," Elphaba said, allowing Galinda to lead her up the stairs. On their way to Galinda's room, they past Lanie's room and Elphaba stopped. She waited as she listened for a noise coming from Lanie's room. She sighed when she heard small hiccupping sobs coming from the other side of the door.
"Elphie," Galinda whispered. "I know how you're feeling right now, and I know how much you're hurting, but please listen to me. How would you feel if your father told you that you couldn't be with Fiyero anymore because of some unforeseen circumstance and a rumor that may or may not be true? What if he was your only true friend and all you wanted to do was to be with him? I'm not asking you to change your mind and reconsider. I'm just asking you to try to see this through Lanie's eyes."
Elphaba remained silent for a while. She knew Galinda was right. She wouldn't like it if her father forced her to never see Fiyero again. She couldn't imagine her life without Fiyero. "You're right, Galinda. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right."
"Well, don't sound all surprised about it. You know I have my moments," Galinda said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and giggling.
"Yes, my dear blonde. Yes, you do," Elphaba chuckled.
"Elphie, we've been over this. It's golden!" Galinda argued.
"My sweet," Elphaba said, raising her hand and gently running it through the blonde's hair. She tilted her head to the side, as if wondering something. "It feels blonde."
Galinda muttered something under her breath and took Elphaba's arm again, finishing the walk to their room.
"Decisions, decisions, decisions," Galinda muttered, reviewing all of her dress choices in her closet.
Elphaba ran her fingers over the soft fabrics of the dresses. "I like this one," she said, pulling out a silky dress.
Galinda turned towards Elphaba and examined the dress. It was an ocean blue dress with a long, full skirt and short sleeves that would stop at her elbows and a white lace belt. Carefully taking the dress from Elphaba, she held it up to her own body, picturing how it would look on her.
"Yes, I like this one. You've picked the perfect dress, Miss Elphie."
"Thank you," Elphaba smiled, sitting down on Galinda's bed. "What does it look like?"
"It's the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen, with a nice long skirt, just the way I like it, and a beautiful lace belt. You're better at this than you give yourself credit for."
Elphaba smiled, remembering what Fiyero had once told her when they were teenagers. Blue is like the cold water splashing on your feet.
"You'll look beautiful," Elphaba complemented.
"Thank you, Elphie," Galinda gushed, placing her hand over her heart as she ran to give Elphaba a hug. She noticed tears forming in Elphaba's chocolate eyes and wondered if Elphaba was still sensitive to being blind. "Elphie?"
"I'm fine," Elphaba whispered, quickly wiping away her tears. She lowered her hand and felt Galinda's soft comforter. She slowly slid her hand across the blanket, as if feeling it would give her the ability to see it. She blankly stared straight in front of her, not being able to see anything except complete darkness.
"Here," Galinda said, taking Elphaba's hands and helping her to her feet.
"Where are we going?" Elphaba asked as Galinda led her back to the closet.
Galinda didn't answer and she went through all of her dresses, holding most of them up to Elphaba's slender form.
"Galinda?" Elphaba asked, still not knowing what the blonde was doing.
"Try this on," Galinda said, handing Elphaba a dress and ushering her into the bathroom. When she came out, Galinda gasped. Elphaba looked completely stunning. The dress was simple, but pretty enough to satisfy Galinda. It was soft pink and the skirt was long and flowed over Elphaba's ankles. The sleeves were long and went all the way down to Elphaba's wrists.
"What? What is it?" Elphaba asked, feeling the soft, silky fabric of the dress.
"Have I ever told you that pink goes good with green?" Galinda asked, a soft smile on her lips.
"Pink? I'm wearing pink?" Elphaba panicked.
"Elphie," Galinda said, grabbing her friend by the arms. "It's a soft pink. It doesn't clash with the green and you look beautiful."
"I… I… really?" Elphaba asked hopefully.
"Of course. You always look beautiful."
"Thank you," the emerald girl whispered.
"Anytime. Come on, or we'll be late for dinner."
Dinner was beautiful. Lanie was allowed out of her room, but avoided looking at her mother the entire meal. During dessert, Elenus stood up, saying that he had a special announcement to make.
"Galinda," he said, looking at the blonde. "We've known each other for a fair amount of years now, and I have to say, you have changed me."
Galinda blushed, taking it as a complement, which it was.
"And that's why I want to say this," Elenus said as he knelt down on one knee and pulled out a small, black box. The whole table gasped as he opened it, revealing a shiny diamond ring.
"Galinda Upland, would you do me the highest honor of becoming my wife?" Elenus asked, looking the blonde in the eyes.
"Galinda didn't waste a second. She jumped out of her chair and tackled Elenus in a hug. "Yes! I do! I do! I absolutely do!"
"Congratulations!" Elphaba smiled as Elenus slipped the engagement ring onto Galinda's finger.
"I'm happy for both of you," Lanie whispered. Those we the first words she spoke the entire dinner.
The rest of the night was filled with talking and squealing and family togetherness.
And then the letter came…
Let the Angst begin! MWAHAHAHA! What? I'm the Wicked Queen for a reason, guys! Favorite lines?