Last Chapter. Enjpy!
Note: Imagine Sir Diggins and his assistant as Jeeves and Wooster. (Dig is wooster, assistant is jeeves.)
Lady Upland watched Elphaba curiously. Elphaba would glance over her shoulder occasionally to see why, but decided not to ask just yet. She continued to cook the eggs and potatoes that she'd traded for early that morning.
The Trees were kind enough to share their fruit, in trade for water from the well, which Galinda gladly fetched. The two women took the fruit into town to trade for meat, flour, millk and vegetables. They'd worry about getting a cow for milk another day. Today was basic survival. Galinda and her parents had spent the week eating fruits that the trees only gave grudgingly.
"Where ever did you learn to cook, my dear?" Lady Upland asked.
"I cared for my sister completely. While Father had a chef, I wasn't allowed to eat with the family, so he taught me to cook, and I would cook for Nessa. I tried to teach Galinda, but she's a difficult student."
"Ah, yes. She should have been born with red hair." Elphaba laughed and continued with the cooking.
"The breads I am making should keep for a few days; they'll allow us some time to get more fruit and trade. Do you have any marketable trade?"
"My Dear, we have money. That is marketable-"
"It is also useless if it is in the north." Lady Upland stopped mid-smile and frowned. "We're going to have to work for everything we have now. We'll have to grow our own vegetables, preserve the fruit from the trees for trading, and as soon as the rest of this cottege is built, we'll have to all help with up-keep."
"Haven't you some monkeys for that?"
"My Flying Monkeys are free, and do not serve me. They never did, and nor would I ask them to clean. You see, they could speak, and were very badly treated by the wizard."
"But who is to do the washing?"
"Welcome to being normal, Momsie," Elphaba said, placing a plate of eggs and bread on the table.
Lord Upland stared at the ground his daughter was digging at. She glared at him. "Are you going to watch me work, or do you need an invitation to assist?"
"What are you doing?"
"Elphie asking me to get a patch of land ready for planting. I need to get the ground loose for that. Grab a tool and dig in."
"My Lovely Galinda, this is not work for my daughter-"
"It is now."
"If you and Elphaba decided to no longer be married, than you could go back to the palace." Galinda looked up at him with a fire in her eyes he'd never before seen.
"Are you suggesting that I leave my wife for a comfortable palace where I don't have to do anything, or even think for myself?" Lord Upland swallowed hard. "Elphaba means so much more to me than guards, and soft beds, and nice dresses. Is Momsie so unimportant to you that you would leave her to remain in comfort?"
"Well, she would leave me if we were in your predicament. We produced our heirs, and we're no longer in need of eachother." Galinda stood from the dirt, brushed her hands and knees off before putting her arms around her father. "What is this?"
"I'm sorry, Father," she whispered. "I'm sorry that you and Mother don't have the love that Elphie and I share, and that you don't know what it is to love someone so much that you'd give up your world for her. I'm sorry that Galydia and I were your heirs and not minitures expressions of how much you love each other," she finished.
"Galinda," he began. "In our world, the world of having what you need and want, all that is required of a husband and wife is to produce an heir, and a second heir. Nothing else is expected. We weren't in-love. We were chosen for each other by our parents. When he who was chose for you was turned into a scare-crow, you were let out of the bind we'd set you in before you were even born."
"I was to marry Fiyero?"
"Yes," he said softly. "And because you couldn't, we'd had many suitors come to ask your hand. We'd found one or two who had the right amount of money, breeding, and intellect, but they came after you'd decided to marry Elphaba. We didn't expect you to produce heirs, nor did we expect them to be so magical."
"What are you saying?"
"This uprising is our fault. We did not know you could produce heirs, so we promised the land to the next in line. When you were carrying Aria, he became angry."
"You did this? I asked you to trust me, Father!"
"We didn't know!"
"How are we going to fix this?"
"I do not know!"
Elphaba looked in on her sleeping daughters. Since the chambers were much smaller, the girls shared the room next to Elphaba and Galinda. Lord and Lady Upland slept in the loft that sat apove the bed chambers. The cottege was small, but it would have to make do for the time being.
"Come to bed, my love," Galinda whispered, taking her wife's hand.
"Have you figured out how to fix this?"
"Yes, I have, and I will work on it tomorrow. No worrying tonight."
"No, I want to know," Elphaba said, closing the door and sitting on the bed.
"I'm going to send a note through the mayor of the Munchkin city, to several other cities, until it finally reaches the North. I will tell them they may have the northern territories. Our daughters may be next in line for the thrown there, but we do not want them as leaders of any city; they are babies. We are officially stepping down as leaders and would like to remain where we are."
"And if they say no?"
"I'm giving them the city, the palace, almost half a country. I can't see them turning it down."
"They may want more."
"Like what?"
"Our deaths would take us from the line completely." Galinda settled into Elphaba's arms.
"We'll be safe here if they want to turn us down."
"I hope you're right, Galinda."
"Is this legitimate?" a loud voice boomed. Lord Fic read the letter, signed a week ago, again. "Lady Glinda is resigning to raise a family, and just wants to be left alone?"
"It has her seal."
"What is she playing at?"
"I think, Sir, that she has two daughters whom she wants safe. She was thrust into being Leader of Oz, and never fully accepted the roll. She stated several times that it was temporary. Her second, Lord Diggins, has settled into office quite well in the two and a half weeks there."
"He needs a pruning," Lord Fic huffed. "Call a truce. As lond as Lady Galinda Thropp Upland, and all of her heirs, decline the position as leader of Oz and Leader of Uplands, there will be peace, and she may remain free."
"I shall deliver it to Sir Diggins personally."
"Your Rootedness?"
"Oh for the love of Oz," the Plant huffed. "I am Sir Diggins. Call me Sir Diggins!"
"Yes, Sir Diggins. I have a message from Lord Fic." The man in the mirror unrolled a scroll. "From this day forward, there shall be peace, as long as Lady Galinda Thropp Upland and the heirs to follow decline any throne in Oz. They are to be citizens, no more."
"And Glinda?"
"She offered it for her safety, and for the safety of her wife and daughters." Sir Diggins ruffled his leaves.
"Yes, good. I'll get the word out that the exile of the lovely lady is ended. Thank you," he said, as the mirror reflected him once more. "I can not believe that the green woman got her over me."
"Sir, you are a Plant," he assistant reminded.
"I know that! I know she and I would never have worked, but I figured she wouldn't have ever gone for Elphaba! She is green!"
"As are you, sir."
"At LEAST I produce lovely roses at will."
"And thorns, sir."
"Are you on my side or hers!?"
"I'm not on any side, Sir. I'm mearly stating that the two of you are not together and it makes no good to wish on a married woman.
"Enough. I need water; my roots are dry."
"Very good, sir.
"Well?" Galinda asked softly.
"Its great."
"What does it say?"
"Well, your parents have settled into a nice estate near their old palace, and have resumed their lives as they should; pampered. The finances have been released to them, and Lord Fic will see that they are well cared-for." Galinda sighed with relief.
"And the other letter?" Elphaba opened it.
"Well," she started. "Shiz would be thrilled to have us both as teachers. They have a few positions opened. Levitations, transformations, Basic Wand, History, and Biology."
"I'd like Basic Wand."
"I am a Levitations master."
"You are."
"Galinda, are you sure you want to leave the girls at home?"
"Nonsense. Basic Wand is a late-afternoon class, and Levitations is a morning class-"
"True," Elphaba agreed, reading the schedule. "But there will be meetings, luncheons, grading papers, tests. Its harder for the teachers than the students."
"We'll manage. Aria and Jade are so content, we'll be able to bring them to school every day with us." Elphaba chuckled at the idea of her one-year-old levitating things better than most of the other students. "We'll sneak off to our old dorm before its occupied and make up for some things I should have done while we were there!"
"Why, professor Upland," Elphaba gasped. "Why ever would you think of such a thing!" Galinda laughed heartily. "We'll have to fix a mistake in the library, too."
3 months later
Elphaba and Galinda stood in the same spot where they'd met more than 20 years earlier. Aria and Jade were content in their carriage to listen to the noise of the common area of the school.
"It has changed."
"Not much," Elphaba stated.
"It seems......."
"Smaller?"
"Yes."
A young woman, maybe 17, was driven up to the school, with more suitcases than Galinda had seen since she was a teenager herself. The girl had long brown hair, big brown eyes, and was reading Ozmopolitan.
And on the other side of the common grounds stood a wide-eyed girl, hair pulled neatly into two braids, glasses too large, and a smile on her face that told the world she was ready to learn.
The two looked at each other with disdain.
"Elphie, don't do it."
"I'm going to."
"Just, not in our old dorm."
"They have to live somewhere." Galinda chuckled. "Its not cruel. Look how great it turned out for us."
"Well, they aren't us."
"They could be."
"You're really going to room them together, aren't you."
"Yes, Galinda. Yes I am."
Well, that is the end of my story. I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading!
Thank you to my readers and those who have reviewed! Those kept
me going while I had a bit of trouble writing! I don't know if I have enough in me to write any more; finding time is hard enough between work, husband, voice lessons, piano lessons, vacation to Louisiana in 2 weeks, and my 26th birthday in two weeks. Thanks for being patient with me while I wrote this. ITs been a fun ride!