You all are the best! Thanks to each and every one of you who read and thank you double if you reviewed. It really helps to know that you like it :)
I do feel I should warn you that this story might get a bit darker, which is one of the reasons I chose T as a safe bet. I'm also going to try and keep up with warnings better, just in case. This chapter includes: implied abuse, death, and implied violence. (If I missed something that you want me to tag in future chapters, please let me know by private message.)
Living with Ameya was unlike anything Elphaba and Nessarose could have imagined.
Though rather strict on paper, her rules allowed them more freedom than their father ever had.
The mansion was much smaller than the Governor's Mansion, but was set up almost the same way save the massive ballroom in the center of the room.
As her servants were on paid leave for six months due to her choice to move the Governor's Mansion, she had the girls divide a list of chores between them. Elphaba tended the fires while Nessa set the table for meals. They even worked together to make meals.
It was the happiest they had ever been.
"Your sister was just telling me about her worries for school starting tomorrow," Ameya said as she entered the parlor where Elphaba was curled up on a sofa reading a book."
"It might sound bad to say, but I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to talk to her this time," Elphaba muttered as she turned the page.
"I expect so," Ameya said. She sat down opposite Elphaba in a plush armchair.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Elphaba snapped the book shut.
"What did she say?"
"Just that she was nervous about what other people say. And that she is scared to begin the process of applying for admission to university."
"Oh."
"Is that unusual?" Ameya asked, her eyebrows raised.
"No. It is. I just..." Elphaba fell silent.
"You didn't think she would share so freely with me," Ameya finished, looking down.
"I don't mean you to think that..."
"I completely understand. I am not used to the idea of parenting, and you have served as her mother for most of your life. It's just that things might be changing. Are you alright with that? I do not want to drive you away," Ameya said without breaking eye contact with Elphaba.
"Thank you," Elphaba sighed. "I'm just not keen on giving Nessa up."
"Trust me. Nessarose is devoted to you. She's not going anywhere," Ameya said with a small laugh.
There was a small pause.
"Did you ever think that you would be a mother?"
"Oz no," Ameya shook her head. "I chose my career early on, which meant that I could not have a family. But I wanted more than anything to be a doctor." There was more silence between them. "As a rule, I don't push people to do things that they don't want to do. But at some point, you do need to explain to me about what happened last week."
Elphaba looked back down at her lap.
"Do you want to know what bothered me the most about that night?"
Elphaba shrugged, but didn't look up.
"Your middle name. Your mother named you after me. I didn't talk to her for years before you were born, and yet she still gave you my name."
"Father never told us that," Elphaba said. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
"I was in medical school when your parents wed. No professor, student, or patient would ever give me the time of day because I was a woman. I tried to argue that women controlled the government, but they didn't seem to care. To them, the government was very far away, but a doctor was right there, telling them how to live their lives. Patients would not listen to me, and then get mad at me when there condition worsened. In short, I was miserable.
"And back then, Frex was a decent human being. He made her so happy, and I could tell... Of course I had no idea about the future, but... But I thought he would make a good father. They were perfect for each other. I was 27 with nothing to show for it. When she married, she asked me to give up the title of Eminent to her. She had gone to university for history. She was the perfect choice., but it meant I had to sign my birthright away. And I was so upset with my life that I felt like I was giving up the only thing I had left, even though it wasn't anything to me. So I did, and ended up resenting her for it."
"I didn't know anything about that," Elphaba mumbled, her eyes full of awe at this new family history.
"That's not even the worst of it. Your parents sent message after message so that I would be alerted to your birth. But I didn't show up for weeks after you were born because," Ameya sighed. "Because you were just another perfect thing in your mother's perfect life. You were worth all the tension of my visits though."
"But you were there when our mother died. So you were there when Nessa was born?" Elphaba accused.
"Yes. Because your sister was supposed to die."
"Wha-what are you talking about?"
"Your mother told me she was chewing milkflowers, and everything I read about it pointed to certain death. Nessarose was never meant to survive. But she did. And instead, my sister died. One minute I was upset with her because she was keeping a secret from me, and the next minute she was on the floor shaking. And..." Ameya's voice began to break. "And then I wasn't a doctor anymore. I kept calling for help, but I couldn't get my head to think 'I am the help'. I couldn't think properly. But I knew exactly what to do. And I wonder every day what would be different if I recalled my training."
Ameya wiped tears from her eyes. Neither could make eye contact with each other, nor could they say anything.
"I know how you feel."
"What?" Ameya whispered.
"Nessa has almost died three times while I was with her. I'm not a doctor, but I worry incessantly about it happening, and not knowing what to do,"Elphaba mumbled.
"Her allergies?"
Elphaba shook her head.
"No. Sometimes when she is stressed or scared, she breathes really hard, and her lungs can't take it," Elphaba said weakly.
"I can teach you what to do if that happens," Ameya said calmly.
Elphaba nodded slowly, but said nothing.
"That wasn't the first time I have done that. The, the magic I mean. It just hasn't ever been that big before, and the first time it has ever involved anyone else. Normally it's when I get mad at somebody and I think about it when I'm home. The most I've ever done is accidentally break a vase."
"Thank you for telling me that."
"Are you mad at me?" Elphaba muttered.
"Of course not," Ameya said. She rose and crossed to a seat next to Elphaba, and gave her a hug. She could feel Elphaba release a sigh of relief.
The pair chatted for a long while. But eventually the clock on the wall began to chime. Ten o'clock.
" You must be off to bed, as do I. We both have big days ahead of us," Ameya instructed, rising from her seat on the sofa. She watched as Elphaba nodded her goodnight and exited.
"Elphaba?"
"Hmm?"
"I do need to warn you not to share that with very many people. Many outside of us might not be so accepting of your gift."
Nessarose loved her room at Ameya's. It was located directly adjacent to the library, and had a huge bay window.
As she lay in her room watching the sun set, she pondered her mixed emotions.
On one hand, she had never been happier than during the past week in which she lived with her sister and aunt. But unlike her sister, she did love Frex. He had never treated her poorly in any way, though he was very gruff. Enjoying the time away from him when she knew full well that he prided himself on caring for her made her feel a bit guilty.
Her mixed emotions, in addition to the beginning-of-the-school-year jitters she had recently expressed to her aunt, gave her uneasy dreams.
She was in the main school hallway. All around her, students were watching her. Some snickered behind their hands, while others openly laughed and pointed.
"I'm right here," Elphaba said from next to her. But when Nessa looked up, no one was there. No Elphaba. No students. Nobody.
Everything went dark. A few lamps flickered in the distance, but had to be hundreds of yards away.
"H-hello?" Nessa whispered into the darkness.
There was no response.
Her breathing began to quicken. Even though she was sitting in her chair, she couldn't seem to find the wheels, and when she finally did they would not move.
"Nessarose? Nessarose, is that you?" a voice called from somewhere in front of her.
"Um, yes?" Nessa answered. Even though her brain could not place it at that moment, the voice automatically made her less frantic.
The scene around her began to change. Everything began to grow lighter and lighter until she was no longer in hallway, or even a room for that matter. It was just a place. Nothing about it pointed to anything more specific.
"Hello?" Nessa tried again. She looked around at the swirling, misty quality of the place. For a moment, she forgot she was supposed to be looking for someone, until...
"Nessarose."
Nessa looked up.
The woman in front of her could have been her twin. She had the same deep brown eyes and hair, the same high cheekbones. The only things different about her were that she had shoulder length hair, which had been the style around the time she had been born, and the woman had the beginnings of lines on her still-young face.
"Mother. It's been a while since you have shown up in my dreams," Nessa said, a bit harsher than she probably meant.
"I apologize, my dear. But things have been changing for you, and thus your brain has been a bit preoccupied, and could not provide me adequate time to speak with you. I am sorry, my dear."
"Things have been changing," Nessa replied. "And I should be the one apologizing. I should be thinking about you more than I have been. I am living with your sister now, after all."
"Yes. I am aware of that. And I am glad. Petty differences between us aside, my sister would make an excellent caregiver."
"Petty differences between you?" Nessa asked quizically.
"Ask your sister when you wake up, my dear. Ameya has been telling her the sto-"
Melena froze. Something sounded from behind Nessa, though they were alone.
"I have to go, my dear. I promise I shall visit again soon. But, but..."
"What's wrong? Please. Don't go!" Nessa shouted as the image of her mother moved right up to her and knelt down.
"I may not see you for a while. Just remember," Melena said.
She leaned in to whisper something in Nessarose's ear. Nessa's eyes grew wide, and her mouth opened to speak, but Melena was gone.
The scene went dark again. Footsteps, running footsteps, began to echo through the hall behind her. Heavy breathing grew louder and louder. Her body tensed, braced for impact. In one last fleeting effort, she snapped her neck around to see the person.
And there was no one.
When Nessa opened her eyes, both her aunt and Elphaba were sitting on her bed next to her.
"And that, Elphaba," Ameya said, clapping a hand on Elphaba's bony shoulder, "is how you resuscitate someone when they are unconscious."
"Wha-?" Nessa said weakly. Her chest throbbed as if it had been punched. But of course, it basically had been.
"You were having some kind of nightmare," Elphaba explained. "You were mumbling in your sleep and everything, which is not common but not completely unusual, so I went ahead and got into bed. But then I heard you start to wheeze. You had one of your breathing attacks again. Aunt Ameya showed me what to do if you can't breathe."
"Quite unusual it should happen only a short while after we discussed it, but..." Ameya broke off. "Well. I am going to do some reading to see if there are any ways to help your lungs grow stronger. The panicking would have caused anyone shortness of breath, but you have a shortness to begin with."
At that moment, Elphaba's eyes grew wide with a realization.
"Uh, aunt Ameya, could I talk to Nessa privately for a moment?" Elphaba said quickly. Ameya looked confused, but nodded and stepped just outside the door.
Once out of sight, Elphaba knelt down next to Nessa's bed.
"Nessa I need you to be honest with me," Elphaba dropped her voice so it was almost inaudible. "Did you see mother in your dream?"
Nessa opened her mouth to speak, but then just nodded.
"What did she say to you?"
Nessa leaned over and whispered in Elphaba's ear.
"Go to sleep. I'll ask her if she knows what it means."
"Let me get this straight. Your mother shows up to you and your sister in dreams?" Ameya said in a shocked whisper in the hallway outside of the sisters' room.
"Yes. It's been happening for years. She says she's our Guardian. She shows up when we needs her most. I know she's probably our conscience or something, but she honestly helps us a lot," Elphaba explained. "And apparently something in Nessa's dream chased her off, which is the first time anything has ever scared her. And... And she gave Nessa a message, that Nessa thinks you can explain."
Ameya considered Elphaba for a moment and then sighed.
"Fine. What is it?"
"Nessa said that our mother told her that Kistosen Redill has escaped from Southstairs."
Ameya's eyes grew wide. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.
"Th-that's impossible. How could she possibly know that? Not even the media knows that yet!The only reason I know is because of my connections in the Emerald City!"" Ameya whispered frantically.
Ameya paced up and down the hallway, running her fingers over her head. Occasionally, she would clap her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from shouting.
"You have connections in the Emerald City? And who is Kistosen Redill? What's Southstairs?"
"Southstairs is a secret prison meant only for the enemies of the Emerald City. And yes. I have many connections there, as I am a highly regarded professional and I still have some influence as a member of the Thropp family."
"Okay. But you didn't answer my question."
"Kis-Kistosen Redill is... is my half-brother. He believes he is the true heir to the Thropp family power . And will go as far as he must to get it back."
By the way, if you feel you are getting deja vu about the Guardian stuff, you probably read my other story "How It Could Have Been Different", as that is where it is introduced. It's not your imagination. It is actually coming back! :)