This one is a bit longer, which is why it took me a bit longer. That, and I'm preparing to go back to college. See if you can recognize the references to other characters in this one!
Warnings: mentions of kidnapping, violence, alcohol, blood, wounds.
No one in the school could think of anything other than the fast approaching celebration. Class had been cancelled for both Thursday afternoon and all of Friday so that the school could make preparations, which fed the flames of the hundreds of rumors circulating.
"Did you hear that there might be monkeys that can tap dance?"
"I heard that Professor Satola might bring all of her Puppies!"
"Jasper Klix is absolutely positive that there will be a fire show after the dinner!"
"I am so glad to be home for the weekend" Elphaba said as she took her seat in the mansion library opposite Nessa after they returned home early from school that Thursday. "What time is Yurik picking you up tomorrow."
"What? Oh. Uh, seven, I think. I... I actually don't know if I'm going. He isn't very nice, is he? I mean, it is nice to know that he likes me, but I don't want to have to spend time listening to him being mean about other people," Nessa explained. She closed her math textbook and sat back in her chair.
"I'm sorry," Elphaba said with a frown.
"It's alright. I need to build some confidence. In fact, I'll go do it right now. I'll invite him over for tea. He doesn't live too far away," Nessa suggested. And with that, she was gone.
Elphaba sat alone for a while. Where Nessa had gone was anyone's best guess, as the telegram was located in the library.
"Elphaba?" Ameya asked. Elphaba jumped slightly, as the room had gone dark, save for a few candles, and she knew she was alone.
"I'm here," Elphaba called. She had moved to a plush chair next to the small fireplace. The October cold was setting in fast, and the library, though wonderful, was not heated well.
"I called Nessarose in here too. You two deserve an explanation. Before it hits the newspapers."
Elphaba didn't even have to ask what she was talking about.
They sat in silence, just watching each other or the firelight, before the door swung open and in came Nessa. Though she didn't mention it, Elphaba could see that her eyes were puffy.
"Okay girls. You two deserve to know the truth. Nessarose, do you recall the name that your mother told you in the dream the other day?"
"Kistosen Redill. Your half-brother," Nessa stated.
"You told her?" Ameya accused, turning on Elphaba.
"You knew?" Nessa said, turning on Elphaba as well.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you. But obviously you already know," Elphaba muttered, trying to make herself smaller in the chair.
"How do you know that, Nessarose?" Ameya demanded."
"I came across it in the family history I found the other day. He is your half brother," Nessa stated, her voice low. Her knuckles went white as she clenched the armrests of her chair.
"Yes. He...he..." Ameya sighed. "I need to tell you two the truth. Before the newspapers take it and run. You need to know why he went to Southstairs. But only if you are ready."
Elphaba and Nessa stared at her, and then nodded. Ameya took another breath.
"My father, your grandfather, died when I was four and your mother was one. A few years later, our mother, your grandmother, met my stepfather and married again. Within a year, she had Kistosen. My mother's family insisted that, as he was not a child of the original marriage, he had no claim over the Eminency. He didn't seem to care though. He never had a problem with it though. After he graduated from school, he went abroad for a very long time. He only returned when your mother died. After the funeral, he made a comment about the Eminency still being in tact. I mentioned that I had signed it away to Melena before she died. He grew incredibly angry, as he believed that the position had transferred to an infant. I tried to explain that as long as the original Eminent was still alive that the title remained in our generation, but he wouldn't listen. And that night," Ameya breathed deeply for a few seconds. "That night he broke into the nursery. Frex caught him. He banished him from the family and had the servants hold him down until he could be taken away. Your father had him sent straight to Southstairs without a trial."
Ameya looked at the girls. Both were frozen, a look of shock on their face.
"He-he tried to... kidnap us?" Elphaba whispered.
"No one can know for sure, what his intent was. I just... I just wanted you to know before the papers say anything. I'm afraid it will cause tension within the coutnry, and between you and the other students. I..." Ameya took a deep breath and stood up. "I just wanted you to know."
Without another glance, Ameya turned and left the library, leaving her nieces alone to process what they just heard.
"How could you not tell me?" Nessa whispered after a few minutes silence.
"I didn't know anything!" Elphaba said, turning on Nessa. "Everything I know I just learned Nessa."
"But you knew his name at least. What? Did she tell you not to tell me?" Nessa asked, her voice low and dangerous.
"I- I wanted to pro-"
"Do not give me anything about protecting me, Elphaba. I am..." Nessa straightened herself up. "I don't need your protection anymore. I am changing, Elphaba. I do not need you to protect me."
"Oh yeah?" Elphaba retorted. "Then why have you not called off your date with Yurik?"
"I decided to give him a chance," Nessa hissed. "And why do you care? What does it have to do with you? It's almost like you don't want me to have friends."
"If I'm being honest, Nessa, I don't. I want you to be happy, but... but if you don't want me around and you don't want me to protect you, then I am useless. You are everything I have ever had, Nessa. My entire life has been devoted to making you happy, and it has always been something I have been glad to do. But I thought in return that maybe, just maybe you felt that I was your best friend, because you were certainly mine.
"No matter how hard I try, no one will ever give me the time of day. You think that you can't make friends, but you have never really tried, and I like to think that is because you wanted to be friends with me. Of course I want you to have friends, Nessa. I want you to be happy. But you never really stopped to think if I would be happy too."
Nessa stared at Elphaba, who was heaving with anger and sadness. Nessa said nothing.
"And you say nothing. Well, if you don't need me anymore, than there is no reason left for me to stay."
The ball was by far the grandest Ameya had ever attended.
The halls of the school were draped in different colors, depending on the region of Oz whose constituents they held. One in yellow played host to the first family of the Vinkus. Another two in purple played host to a few wealthy families from Gilikin, and one hallway covered in red was home to the Minster of Quadling Country and his large family.
But of all the decorations, the ballroom was the most beautiful. Glittering balls of light hung suspended by thin wires from the ceiling. The flickers of their candles reflected of the satin emerald draperies that cascaded across the ceiling. A full piece orchestra took up one end of the room, their songs weaving in and out of the waltzing bodies of the entirety of Oz's elite.
"Welcome, Dr. Thropp," a young man in a black tuxedo and green bowtie greeted as he ushered her into the crowded hall. "If you will."
She followed him across the ballroom to a white clothed table at which many Munchkinland Premiere Academy teachers sat chatting.
"Hello, Dr. Thropp," a cheery elderly woman in a purple gown said as Ameya took the young man's proffered seat.
"Oh, please," Ameya said with a smile. "Call me Ameya."
The woman returned the smile before resuming her conversation with another elderly woman wearing maroon.
"You are Ameya Thropp?" a man in his mid-thirties queried as Ameya opened her menu.
"Indeed I am," Ameya replied, her eyes scanning the list of options. She was determined not to make eye contact.
"Very nice to finally make your acquaintance. I am Professor Wellevy."
Ameya couldn't help but look up.
"You-You're the Headmaster?!"
"Yes," the man grinned, showing off straight white teeth. "I apologize for not being able to meet you sooner. I make a point to get to know each new professor individually, but I have been out of town for the first month of this school year. I just returned to Munchkin Rock a day ago."
"I...Well. How very lovely it is to finally meet you," Ameya said inclining her head though she was still shocked.
"Please forgive me. I have not eaten since yesterday," Professor Wellevy said. With a wave of his hand, a different young man in a tuxedo appeared. "The chicken please."
"Yes sir," the young man said, nodding. He looked at Ameya. "And you ma'am?"
"The duck," Ameya said distractedly. The waiter nodded again and disappeared into the crowd.
"So, Dr. Thropp. Where did you study?"
"Well, Professor Wellevy..."
"Please call me Dax."
"Oh. Well, uh, Dax, I received my baccalaureate degree from the University of Munchkinland at Munchkin Rock and I attended medical school at Shiz University," Ameya explained before taking a sip of her wine.
"Very impressive. I grew up in Quadling Country though I was born in the Vinkus. I returned there and attended The Vinkan Institute of Education," Dax said.
"How very nice. How did you end up in Munchkinland then?" Ameya wondered aloud.
"One of my professors there is from near the Forest of the Fighting Trees, and he had heard of the job opening a many years ago while I was still in school. He recommended me personally. I have been here ever since," Dax replied. "And you. How does the first female doctor in Oz end up teaching the sciences at a co-educational boarding school?"
"Well, I attended here as a student. And my nieces just began their final year here, and I wanted to get to know them better," Ameya said, her voice dropping towards the end.
"Wonderful, wonderful," Dax agreed, nodding.
There was silence for a while, as the waiter returned with their meals. They chewed in silence. Ameya listened intently to the conversation between the two elderly teachers.
"They saw him once up near Ev and then just yesterday they saw they saw him in the Upper Uplands!" the purple robed teacher said emphatically.
"But of course you cannot listen to anything that man Upland has to say. Don't you remember last year? He claimed his property had once been home to Lurline? Just wanted the attention," the other responded with a bit of a pout.
"But you cannot deny that if he has made it to the Upper Uplands then he is making his way to Munchkinland. I read in The Munchkinlander the other day that he," the woman's voice dropped so low that Ameya had to stop eating to hear. "Tried to kill the Governor's daughters?"
"Kill them?!" the maroon-robed woman whispered back in alarm. "Kistosen Redill? I had him in my class all those years ago. He would never!"
"He would," the first woman nodded violently. "It's all there in the paper. If it weren't for Frexspar Thropp, we'd have lost the heirs to Munchkinland. He's around here somewhere, I'm sure. I must say hello. He's such a lovely chap, isn't he?"
Ameya snorted loudly, and tried to cover it as a sneeze when everyone turned to look.
"Would you care to dance?" Dax offered as Ameya placed her napkin back in her lap.
"I would be delighted," Ameya replied, taking his hand.
He led her into the middle of the dance floor, where all the couples around them swirled and twirled in time to the music. Dax placed a hand on her hip, Ameya took his hand, and the pair began to glide across the room.
"Such a nice party, isn't it?"
"Gorgeous," Ameya agreed. He pushed lightly on her hip. She turned.
"Such a lovely thing to celebrate too," Dax continued. "The Wizard is by far the best thing that has ever happened to Oz."
"What do you mean?" Ameya said concerned.
"Well. I'm sure you're too young to remember Ozma," Dax flashed what he surely thought was a winning smile. "But when she ruled Oz, it was terrible. There was no governmental organization at all. People and Animals were uncontrolled and drunk on their own free will. But the Wizard, well, he took care of that quickly."
"I thought Ozma's reign was quite good. People had the power to decide their lives for themselves," Ameya said as they turned again.
"Really? Well you probably thought that the Eminent was a decent position of power too. Do you honestly believe that women are cut out for the power of governing?" Dax asked. His smiled had faded and his brow had furrowed quote a bit.
At his words, Ameya tore her hands away from him. She stepped close to him, speaking low.
"Women have the power to do whatever in Oz they want. And for your information, Professor Wellevy, I am the Eminent."
She turned on her heel and stalked off across the dance floor. She picked up her glass of wine from her table and began looping in circles, looking for Nessarose. After a few minutes time, Ameya spotted her at a table in the far corner. Alone.
"Rough time?" Ameya asked, sitting down.
"Elphaba asked Yurik to ask me to the dinner," Nessa stated. "I asked him about it and he said that she noticed he liked me and pushed him to ask me here. But he's a jerk. I shouldn't have come. He stayed for dinner and then saw some of his friends and decided he'd much rather be a waiter for the night than be with me.
"I'm sorry, Nessarose," Ameya said. She placed a hand on Nessa's. "Where's Elphaba? I'm sure you could spend time with her."
"We argued earlier in the library after you left. She got mad at me and said she wasn't needed anymore. I don't even know where she went," Nessa continued. Her chin was resting on the palm of her hand, and her eyes were wet with tears.
"She left? With Kistosen Redill on the loose?" Ameya whispered frantically. Nessa nodded.
"She said a bunch of things about my never considering her feelings and that she can't make friends. And then she just left."
"You need to stay here," Ameya ordered, rising at once. "Do not leave this school until I come to fetch you. Stay surrounded by people at all times. Keep one eye on the door at all time. Alright?"
"But why-"
"Alright?" Ameya repeated, her teeth clenched. Nessa's brow furrowed.
"Alright."
"Who's there?" a tall handsome boy called out into the night as he heard bushes move in the garden below the terrace on which he stood.
He stumbled forward to look over the edge. In truth, the terrace was only three feet above the ground, but the dark amber liquid in his glass had convinced him otherwise.
Elphaba peered up through the leaves of the bush she sat in at the boy.
He was definitely handsome. His dark skin seemed to glow in the firelight of a few nearby torches. Vinkan, she guessed.
But he was also definitely drunk. The hand holding his glass wobbled dangerously, and as he leaned over the rail, there were at least three times that Elphaba thought she might have to up and run before he puked.
Still steaming from her argument with Nessa, Elphaba decided she needed to have some fun.
Making a pop sound as she did so, she closed her eyes and poked her head up through the top of the bush. She tried not to squeal in delight as the boy tumbled backwards in alarm.
"Did ya... Did you see that?!" she said, bumbling over to the edge of the terrace with a few other guests in tow. Elphbaa pulled her head back down as the other guests looked around confused, trying to figure out what this drunk idiot was looking at.
"Remind me to tell the barkeep to cut off Mr. Tiggelar here," an elderly man with white hair and mustache said as he stood up after looking for whatever the young man was pointing at, which in his case was nothing.
After the others had gone, Elphaba popped back up again.
"Wh-why can't the others see you?" the boy inquired.
"Because to them I am just an ordinary bush," Elphaba said. She looked down for a moment to stifle a snigger, before looking at the boy again. "Only you can see me for who I truly am."
"And what are you? Are-are you a bush?" the boy asked, his eyes growing wider. He took a wobbly sip of his drink.
"No," Elphaba said, shaking her head. "I am..."
"Yes?" the boy pushed. "What are you?"
"I am... a bush," Elphaba replied.
"A bush. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" he asked himself. He raised the glass to his lips again, and sloshed it over himself as Elphaba disappeared into the bush again. But this time it was not of her own doing.
"What are you doing in there?" a young Munchkinlander boy hissed as he attempted to pull Elphaba out of the bush.
"Who are you?" Elphaba demanded as he managed to extract her from the foliage. "And why do you care who I bother?"
"Guests are not allowed out on the lawn without someone accompanying them. Now go," the Munchkinlander pushed Elphaba towards an open door nearby.
"Okay, okay. I'll go," Elphaba lied. The boy removed his hand from her back.
"Good. Now don't let me catch you out here again," the boy warned. Elphaba gave him the most sincere nod she could.
As the boy turned around to catch more neerdowells lurking in the plants, Elphaba rolled her eyes.
"Arrogant jerk. You'd be a good match for my sister," Elphaba muttered before scoffing aloud, and then laughing at her own scoff.
"Elphaba?" Ameya called as she wrenched open the large oak front door. "Are you here?"
"Elphaba?"
"Elphaba!"
"ELPHABA!"
Ameya ran up and down the halls, shouting herself hoarse. She was reminded of when she and Elphaba tore the Governor's Mansion apart looking for Nessarose. It had only been a little over a month, yet it felt like ages.
But ultimately, it was no use. Elphaba was elsewhere. In face, Elphaba was in the exact elsewhere that she herself had just left, but of course, she didn't know that.
Eventually, figuring out that her elder niece was nowhere to be found, she poured herself a glass of chardonnay from the bar and took a seat on the sofa.
After a few minutes silence, something moved behind her.
"Elphaba?" Ameya asked as her heart began to pound in her throat.
"Not so, dear sister," a man's voice. "Elphaba followed you and her sister to the gala. They are both there now , though neither is aware of the other, along with the entirety of Oz's wizard-loving cretins. We are alone."
"You," Ameya declared, jumping from her seat.
"Hello, Ameya," Kistosen Reddill said, stepping into the small patch of light coming from the open door of the kitchen. "How I have missed you, dear sister."
His hair was shoulder length and unkempt. His eyes were a brilliant shade of electric blue, but dark circles under his eyes aged him by at least twenty years. His skin was grimy. Ameya could not tell what was blood from numerous cuts on his arms or thick packed dirt. And he was not wearing clothes as much as he was wearing rags so patched and frayed that his pants left almost nothing to the imagination.
"How was Southstairs?" Ameya asked, rather calmly, given her heart was now pounding so hard that she could barely hear her own thoughts.
"Brilliant. The food was terrible, but the bed was rather nice. And I rather enjoyed working in the coal mine while there. You know I always did prefer working in labor to my studies. Over all, it was worth the trip," Kistosen a hint of a laugh. But then his face went solemn. " And I have learned far more than imaginable while behind bars. The place is an endless well of information."
"Well then," Ameya said taking a deep breath. "I am glad I was able to get you out alright."
Thank you so much for continuing to read this! You guys are the best! I do want to say though that if you tell me your reactions in the reviews (which is highly encouraged) that you make sure that you are not saying anything really specific and spoiling the chapter for anyone who has not had the chance to read it yet. Thank you, thank you, thank you!