AN: I'm glad most of you liked a bald Avaric... and your Aliyra theories are still interesting!
Azaisya: Your review left me in stitches! Though that is actually a pretty great idea... hm... I might use that sometime, if you wouldn't mind!
PocketSevens: That was one of the most hilarious reviews I have ever received xD.
Humole: The stabbing-pencils-into-a-bun thing Elphaba does is actually something I myself used to do when I still had waist-long hair, hihi. It started when I wanted to put my hair up but didn't have an elastic band, so I stuck in a few pens and pencils to make it stick :P. Also, yes, Lurlinemas is Ozian Christmas - it's from the Wicked book ;).
Furthermore, I just wanted to let you all know that my original story is almost finished! I passed the 100,000 word mark the other day, my friend is working on the cover, and I have created the account I will need for publishing... I'll let you all know when the big day arises! :)
Chapter 10. Letters
Dearest, darlingest Elphie,
I passed my midterms! Can you believe that? (I can just hear your voice in my head right now, making a sarcastic remark that no, you can't believe that, since I spent more time skipping class, shopping, and painting my nails pink than actually going to class or studying. What can I say? By now I know how your mind works.) Momsie and Popsicle are thrillified, of course, and so am I; they are taking me out for dinner tonight to celebrate, and next week we will all be attending a grand feast that one of the noblemen here in Gillikin is hosting – he is known all throughout the area for his parties, so I am really looking forward to it… but of course you don't really want to read about any of that, do you? Sometimes I wish you were just the tiniest bit more outgoing, Elphie. I'd love to tell you about all these parties.
Also, I had the most wonderful Lurlinemas – I hope yours was good, too! I received some amazifying gifts from my friends and family – Momsie and Popsicle gave me this beautiful silver necklace with all these pink stones in it, with matching earrings and a bracelet, too! Really, it's too much, but they insisted. I love it, though. I'll be wearing it every day from now on!
How are you and Nessa doing? I hope you are having some fun as well, even though I know how much you hated going back to Munchkinland for the break. I'm not even going to ask if you passed your midterms, because I just know for certain that you did; but I would like to know how good your scores were so that I can tell everyone here about it and let them know how proud I am of my bestest friend Elphie who has probably topped the year! (Also, how did Nessa do on her midterms? I hope she, too, passed!)
Have you heard anything from Fiyero since you arrived back home? He promised me he'd write, but of course he hasn't. I haven't, either, so I suppose I can't really blame him, but still. I would love to know how his midterms went! Either way, it's going to be just thrillifying when I get back to Shiz – either I will get to help you dress up and look pretty for your dinner with Fiyero, or I will get to help you think of something you can make Fiyero do for losing the bet! I already have a few ideas, of course, but I'd like to hear what you think, first. (Okay, no, I'm too impatient. I was thinking you could make him wear pink nail polish, a blonde wig and a frilly dress to class one day. Or make him your personal slave for a week and he has to do everything you ask. Or have him buy something fancy and expensive for you, like a diamond necklace or your own carriage… or a castle or something.)
Anyways… enjoy the rest of your break, Elphie, and I'll see you in a few weeks!
Much love and hugs and kisses (even though I know you hate those),
Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands
Dear Fae,
My Lurlinemas was great, thanks for asking. Mum and Dad were happy to have the whole family together again. We didn't really do anything special, though there will be this huge banquet with a ball and whatnot for New Year's Eve… I'm already looking forward to it. (You do know that was meant sarcastically, right? I wasn't sure it'd come off right on paper.)
Congratulotions on having topped the year! Oz, Fae, how do you do that?! Never mind, I don't even want to know. I did know you could do it, though. I mean, you're the smartest person I know. You're amazing. Like I said, congratulotions – I'm happy for you. And congratulate Nessa for me, too! She can be proud of her results and I bet she's happy with her new dresses. (I'm not even going to mention the fact that your father bought her a whole new wardrobe as a reward for her doing well in school and he didn't even spare you a 'congratulotions' for topping the year. Okay, now I mentioned it, but still. I know you don't want to talk about it, but it doesn't sit right with me.)
I heard Galinda and Boq did well, too. I bet Galinda is going to want to celebrate once we get back… but then again, that girl doesn't need an excuse to celebrate – I'm pretty sure we're all doomed to have some 'fun time' with her after being apart for a couple of weeks, anyway.
It's snowing here in the Vinkus. It's a really beautiful sight, the entire land covered in a white blanket. Does it even snow in Munchkinland? Have you ever even seen snow?
As for your question about my music: unfortunately I'm still stuck. I have all the music written now, but I'm having a hard time finding the right lyrics to go with it. What can I say? I've never been one for words. I prefer actions. (I'm amazed that you remembered, though. About my music, I mean. Most people don't even know I'm interested in music at all, let alone ask about it.)
I hope to hear from you soon!
Yours,
Fiyero
Dear Yero,
I won, didn't I? I KNEW IT. Now don't deny it – the fact that you talked about everyone's midterm results but your own in your last letter gave you away. You must have gotten your results at about the same time we did. If you had won the bet, I have no doubt that you would have told me (and spent the rest of your letter rubbing in the fact that you were right and I was wrong). The fact that you didn't, tells me enough. I WIN. Ha. I told you so!
Aside from the bet, though… you did great, Yero. I knew you had it in you. You just needed the motivation and the discipline to actually try your hardest, and it paid off. I bet your parents are very proud of you. I know I am, and you should be, too.
Snow… lucky you. No, it does not snow in Munchkinland, though I did see snow in Gillikin once when Father took Nessa and me on a business trip there, when we were still very young. I loved it, even though Nessa was slightly afraid of it.
I don't really believe the fact that you're not looking forward to a party. It's a party, after all, and you're Fiyero Tiggular. I'm sure you'll find a way to amuse yourself. All I'm doing on New Year's Eve is curl up in my room with a book, since I'll be home alone that night. Father is taking Nessa to a party in Munchkin City and he gave all the servants around here the night off, so I'll have the house to myself. I can't say I really mind, though. (And yes, I know the way my father treats me doesn't sit right with you. You made that clear at least a hundred times already. It almost makes me regret telling you about my father in the first place.)
Of course I remembered about your music! To me, it just proved again that I was right, you know, that day with the Lion Cub. There's much more to you than you let on back then and I'm glad you're showing it now. As for lyrics… is it still the same song you were struggling with back then? Because I've been thinking and I came up with something for the chorus. It's probably not much, but maybe it will get you back on the right track. I wrote it down on the note accompanying this letter – it's in the envelope. Like I said, it's probably not much, but… yeah. Feel free to burn it if you hate it.
Only two more weeks to go! I can't wait to go back to Shiz – even though I know you probably beg to differ.
Elphaba
Dear Glin,
I must say I'm impressed by your ability to predict what I am going to say even before I myself have had a chance to say it. You're right, though, so I won't repeat it. Instead I'll just say well done and I'm proud of you for passing everything!
If you must know: yes, I did top the year. I'm especially very proud of Nessa, though – she passed everything! I knew she could do it, even though she was sure she had failed at least one, and maybe even two, of her subjects. Father bought her some very expensive new dresses to reward her for it. None of them are really my style, but I'm sure you would love them.
I'm not even going to respond to your remark about me having to be more outgoing and listening to stories about your parties. We both know that's never going to happen.
Lurlinemas was alright, I guess. We didn't really do anything special. We had dinner, Father and I had bought Nessa some gifts, and that was it. Oh, and I took Nessa for a walk around town that evening. I don't normally love going into town, since it's not very exciting; but it looks beautiful on Lurlinemas Eve. Everything is decorated with Lurlinemas trees, garlands and coloured lights, with candles glowing everywhere you look… Nessa loved it. I bet you would have, too, had you been here.
Yes, as a matter of fact, I did hear from Fiyero. Not too much – just a couple of letters we sent back and forth. We're not really discussing anything special, either. He tells me what he's doing, I tell him what I'm doing, which, honestly, really isn't much… and of course we discussed the bet. He still has to officially tell me his results, but I'm almost a hundred percent sure that I won and he scored over 90 for at least one of his midterms. I'm very proud of him. I bet no-one saw this coming back when he was still the scandalacious prince Fiyero Tiggular, known for throwing the most Oztastic parties and dating a new girl every week!
I think we need to have a serious talk about your idea of a reward for winning a bet, and mine.
A kiss back (yes, I hate them, but since you love them, I'll indulge you – at least through this letter) from,
Elphaba
Dear Fae,
How is it that even through a letter, when I don't say a word and try so very hard to not give anything away, you manage to read my mind? Seriously, it's getting downright creepy now.
Alright, then. I'll just come out and say it now: yes. Yes, you won. I have included a list of my midterm results – as you can see, I got the lowest score in History, 60 out of 100. As you can also see, you won the bet not by one subject, but two – I got 91 in Politics and 93 in Life Sciences!
Honestly, though, I don't really care about winning or losing the bet. I'm just so happy that I finally really achieved something, you know? And I definitely made my parents proud, which is a good thing, too. I think after all these years, they kind of gave up on me. You should have seen their faces when I showed them my midterm results – they actually thought that Shiz had accidentally mixed up my results with someone else's, that's how incredulous they were! (Frankly, I felt a little offended.) It was really good to see them this way. I could tell that my dad was very proud of me, and Mum actually cried and then squeezed me to death in a hug Galinda would have been proud of.
I don't think I'll ever say this enough, but thank you, Fae. No-one has ever had enough faith in me to believe that I was capable of even passing all my midterms at once, let alone with such great scores. It's all thanks to you (and even though I lost the bet, that dinner is still on. I want to thank you for everything you did for me).
And while I am at it… thank you for something else, too. Those song lyrics were amazing, Fae! Exactly what I was looking for. They fit the song perfectly. I didn't know you were so good at this! We should write a song together once – I think it could be brilliant! Will you help me with the lyrics for the rest of the song as well once we get back to Shiz?
That doesn't really sound like a nice way to spend New Year's Eve. I'd ask if your father didn't ask you to come along to that party, too, but we both know the answer to that, I think. (I'm sorry, I know you don't like me bringing that up all the time. I won't mention it again, okay? Please don't regret telling me – I'm really glad you did.)
Anyway, I suspect that even if he had asked you to come along, you'd have declined – we all know how much of a party animal you are, after all. Still, though, I don't really like the idea of you sitting at home all by yourself on a night like New Year's Eve. It's something you're supposed to celebrate with friends and/or family, not with a book and an empty house. I hope you haven't been too lonely.
If it's of any comfort: my own New Year's Eve was rather dreary as well. All these officials and noblemen and fancy people I had to talk to… if it weren't for the food, I'd have pretended to be sick or something, just to escape the whole ordeal; but then I would have missed out on the stew and the grilled meat and the soup and the most incredibly-tasting pie ever in existence, so…
I can't really say I look forward to going back to Shiz… well, I do, but not because of Shiz. I mean, I missed you, and am still missing you, a lot. All of you, I mean. I'd love to see you again. But Shiz of course also means classes, and that is something I am not really looking forward to, no. Especially since I know that now that you know you're right, you're probably going to be the strictest teacher known in Ozian history. Am I right? (No need to respond, that was rhetorical. We all know that I am always right.)
Anyways, the end of the break is drawing near – hang in there! Soon you'll be able to return to your books, and your classes, and your teachers, and your pink and fluffy dorm room… I'm already looking forward to seeing you again.
Yours,
Fiyero
Theories? Predictions? Favourite lines?