AN:

Alright... Um well... two things:

1st is concerning this chapter:

I'm not really happy with it, I must admit. That is, the general outline of the things happening in this chapter is actually the way I wanted it, but the way I wrote everything is... Hell, I don't even know! As all of the chapters for this story so far, this chap has undergone several proofreading sessions and some editing, but I just can't seem to get it right! Maybe it would be better if I were to write it from scratch, using the same basic ideas, but I'm not sure if I have the time, muse, or mood for that! So I apologise and hope it's only half as bad as I fear it is. If you have any specific ideas how to change certain passages, or dialogues, or whatever, comments would be greatly appreciated! (As are reviews of any kind, of course - if you genuinely thought that this chap was actually OK, you're also very welcome to tell me that lol)

2nd is concerning this fic as a whole:

I underestimated its length, I think. I'm now estimating about 20 chaps (up from ca 16ish) - given the high word count per chapter, it will be approximately as long as ALTR, so between 90-100k. Yay me! xD This is partly due to a major change to a later scene - which is particularly funny and makes me feel really weird about it, because that was the first scene I came up with, the ONE scene the entire idea came from! And now it's almost gone and greatly transformed... for the better, I desperately hope!

Anywho... this AN is already way to loong, so let's get reading!

Happy reading my pretties!

xoxo MLE :3

Chapter Seven: A Manner of Reconciliation

It took her two days to finally bring herself to go and visit Elphaba again – primarily because she was worried to cause her even more trouble, but also because she feared the emerald woman's wrath. She hated herself for what had happened and contemplated whether it might indeed be better if she were to adhere to the King's ruling and, going forward, keep her distance.

Nevertheless, in the end she decided that the consequences would perhaps be far more detrimental if she were to abandon poor Elphaba now of all times. Feeling rather relieved when she finally arrived at this conclusion, she released a high-pitched squeal, which she unsuccessfully tried to muffle with one of the sofa cushions. This epiphany was far more reasonable than the previous idea she had considered: that it was in fact her who no longer wanted to be without the odd, green thing's company.

It was already dark outside when she stood in front of Elphaba's door, clutching a small basket to her chest. Her nerves were completely frayed and she desperately hoped that the Princess wouldn't eat her alive. Hesitantly, she knocked.

"Elphie?"

She bit her lip and cleared her throat to try once more – this time remembering to call her by her full given name.

"Elphaba?"

There was no answer; no 'come in,' no mumbled 'yes,' not even an angry 'go away.' Instead, she could only hear quiet shuffling and rustling. Then, the door opened and Elphaba suddenly stood right before her, smiling faintly. This was certainly a first and not at all what she had pictured in her head would happen.

"Hey," the tall woman said quietly.

"Hey," Galinda echoed, her gaze downcast in guilt that seemed to have increased hundredfold at Elphaba's apparent lack of resentment. "I-I brought you something."

Shyly, her eyes flicked up briefly as her arms jutted forward, pushing the basket towards Elphaba. Somewhat puzzled, the Princess slowly took the small hamper off her and green hands, ever so lightly, brushed against pale pink ones, leaving Galinda with a strange, tingling sensation in her fingertips. While this was not the first time that Elphaba had made her feel that way, she was still confused. Merely a few days ago, she had been much closer to her and not felt quite as much on edge. It was the tension, she told herself; being so anxious, it was only natural that her body would react stronger than usual.

"Don't you want to come in?"

The blonde gave a timid nod and followed the Princess to the bed where her chair still stood. At some point, Elphaba had simply given up on pushing it back to its proper place after each of her visits, and seeing that this had still not changed made the corners of Galinda's lips curl upwards a little.

Elphaba sat down on her bed, lifting the lid of the basked to inspect the goods inside, and Galinda sat down on her usual spot. She experienced a slight sense of alleviation, feeling as though the greatest hurdle had been taken.

"Thanks for those," the green woman said as she took a bite of a sugar-glazed cruller. "Even though I don't know what exactly the occasion is."

"You're welcome," Galinda mumbled, turning the ring on her right middle finger and chewing the insides of her cheeks as she was wont to do whenever she felt ill at ease.

"Elphaba, I was wondering if-"

"I'm not allowed to leave my room," the Princess cut in before the blonde even had had a chance to ask her question.

"Nor are you supposed to speak to me."

Galinda offered the Princess a fleeting, bashful smile.

"But you don't strike me as a woman who obeys such ludicrous rules."

Pursing her lips in what seemed deep contemplation, Elphaba stared at the selection of treats left in the basket, before choosing to eat a fruit tart next. She did not reply, however, which somehow worried Galinda more than she could rationally justify.

She watched her friend for a short while longer, then the dam within her broke.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly blurted out, covering her mouth with her hand as she blinked furiously to keep the tears that were pricking at the corners of her eyes from falling. "This is all my fault. It was I who insisted we go to the carnival, and it was I who insisted we go and have that walk in the woods. And then it was I who got lost. I wish I knew a way to set things right, but who am I fooling? There is really nothing I could possibly do!"

The Princess stopped chewing and fixated her deep, brown eyes on the petite girl sitting opposite her.

"Galinda, breathe," she said evenly. "I already told you to stop apologising."

"I know," Galinda hiccupped in a squeaky voice, still fighting those ridiculous tears. "I know, but-"

"No 'buts'!"

The shorter girl dipped her head and took a deep, shuddering breath.

They sat in silence for a few clock-ticks while Elphaba finished her pastries and Galinda busied herself picking some invisible lint from her pink lace dress. Once she had calmed sufficiently, the blonde's eyes flickered up briefly as she licked her dry lips.

"Do you… do you play an instrument?" asked out of the blue, an idea slowly forming in her head.

"Huh?"

Elphaba looked up from the book she had produced from Oz knows where beneath her bed, and despite herself, Galinda almost had to giggle. Now that she thought about it, she should have been surprised that Elphaba had not brought any reading materials with her when they had headed out for the carnival.

"Um… no," the Princess answered after distractedly fumbling with the string that was attached to her book. "But I used to sing. Fiyero would play the piano and I would sing. That was back then when I was younger and still allowed into the main building of the castle. Only when father and mother weren't entertaining guests, of course."

A fleeting smile crossed her lips before she lowered her gaze again to focus on the book in her lap.

Wondering whether it would be wise to continue this conversation, Galinda temporarily resigned to simply watching her friend. She didn't intend to drag up old memories if they were too painful, yet…

"Would you like to sing tonight?"

"Not particularly."

Nervously tucking a strand behind her left - her good - ear, Galinda pressed on, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I would love to hear it though."

Her eyes were once more trained on her dress, this time searching for any loose threads. She could not see the conflicted expression flashing over Elphaba's face. She did hear a shallow sigh, however.

"I haven't sung in years, you know?"

"What if we go down to the fireplace room and I play for you?"

"Is that another one of your potentially calamitous deals?" Elphaba asked and Galinda looked up with a mixture of lingering shame and fresh boldness.

"Oh, I wouldn't hope so. Granted, we'll have to be a little sneaky… but I doubt that we'd need a rescue party this time."

Elphaba laughed and the shorter woman began to grow more and more confident.

"That's a yes, isn't it?"

"Fine," the Princess relented at last and Galinda's face lit up.

Upon arriving in the fireplace room, Elphaba took care of the fire, while Galinda flipped through the stacks of books and loose sheet music in the chest next to the liquor cabinet, searching for something singable. Most of the numbers she knew by heart were purely instrumental pieces. She jumped when a slender, green hand came up behind her and picked one of the sheets she was holding. After doing her best to calm her fluster, she pivoted around to face the Elphaba.

"This one will do for a start."

The Vinkun scanned the sheet music once again, then handed it back to Galinda, who agreed mutely.

The blonde read the first few lines on her way to the piano. She didn't know this song, but it looked quite promising, and most likely easier to play than to sing. Taking a minute to study the score properly and take mental notes of any parts that might be difficult, she sat on the piano chair, absently twisting a strand of golden curls around one of her fingers.

"Do you want to come over here so you can read?" she asked Elphaba when she was done and ready to play.

The raven-haired woman shook her head.

"I still know the words and I can't read music. I'll just move around while I sing. Anything else would make me feel uncomfortable."

Galinda raised her eyebrows. This was not how she and her peers had been taught. Then again, this was Elphaba and she wasn't exactly your ordinary young lady from finishing school.

"All right."

Fingers lightly placed on the first few keys, she began to play. It was a sad tune, but beautiful and elegant, and she had to admit that it sounded so much nicer even than what she had imagined reading the score. The instrumental part in the beginning was rather long though, and she found herself quite annoyed, keenly waiting to finally hear Elphaba's singing voice.

She could not for the life of her tell why she was so excited about this. Maybe it was because she hoped to learn something new about Elphaba. To her at least, music had always been something very personal and intimate, which also was part of the reason why she had been so worried about playing in front of an audience without knowing for sure that she was still in tune with her own music within.

Her eyes briefly skimmed the sheet for the first few words and she inwardly sighed; she was only half way through the instrumental. She played a few more bars and then held her breath at the point that she knew Elphaba would finally begin to sing.

The song was in Vinkun, so she didn't understand the words, yet thanks to the music and to Elphaba's heartfelt interpretation, she could clearly feel their meaning. And Elphaba's voice? Elphaba's voice was clear and smooth, if a little soft - due to the lack of practice, she supposed, or maybe because the emerald Princess was simply being shy singing for Galinda. Her singing voice was higher than her speaking voice and less harsh, which confused her. She hadn't thought it possible for the difference between them to be this great.

As she continued playing, she could feel the Princess move through the room behind her. Sometimes, she detected her presence further to her right, a clock-tick later, she knew that she had drifted somewhere to her left. She never wandered into her field of vision, however, which left the blonde slightly frustrated.

They had arrived at the final bars. The music slowed down a notch and the register changed. When Elphaba was forced to change to head voice, her voice broke and she stopped singing. Galinda played the last few notes as if nothing had happened and finished the song. After the last chord had faded away, she turned around. Elphaba was standing with her back to her, looking at the fire.

"I haven't sung in years."

The tall woman's voice sounded almost apologetic.

"It was really good," Galinda assured her and the green woman shrugged.

"You sound quite different when you sing."

"It's my Vinkun more than my singing," Elphaba explained.

"Oh. I see."

That sort of made sense. Galinda didn't speak any foreign languages well enough to notice any differences in her own voice, but she had noticed them before when other people switched dialects. Which reminded her:

"I hope my question won't offend, but did I detect an accent there?"

"Most Vinkuns of higher birth would be rather flattered than offended. The upper class, and by extension the people in the bigger cities, such as Kiamo Ko and Kvon Altar prefer to speak common Ozian. I myself speak Vinkun only broken. Which is not due to a want of interest, I would like to stress. I would certainly prefer to speak to my people – well, my parents' people – in their native tongue. But father always made sure that no Vinkun literature could be found in my library."

Galinda furrowed her brow.

"But you are allowed to sing Vinkun songs?"

"The melodies of the Vinkus are considered a national treasure. The original lyrics are often being substituted with Ozian translations. I only used to sing in Vinkun when it was just Yero and I. One time, a maid caught us and father had me beat by Nanny."

Galinda's eyes went wide, but Elphaba smiled fondly.

"The old fool faked it and was found out. As a result, her allowance was cut in half and father did the chore himself."

Elphaba sat down, getting more or less comfortable on the pillows piled up in front of the fireplace.

"I think my parents still hope to marry me off one day and don't wish to decrease my value as wife material any further."

"That sounds terrible," Galinda murmured, stepping closer.

She paused a moment.

"But Sarima speaks Vinkun."

"Yes, she does. My Uncle belongs a small circle of noblemen who believe it prudent to stick to the Vinkus' cultural and linguistic roots. I appreciate him for that, even though he doesn't hold much love for me."

Grumbling irritably, Galinda dropped down next to Elphaba.

"Quite honestly, I don't see why everyone is fussing about your skin so much. Have they ever seen the Emerald City? The whole thing is green, green, green! And what isn't green by nature tries its best to greenify as best it can. I think your skin is b-" She had almost said 'beautiful,' but blushed and quickly amended her choice of word. "-not that bad."

Elphaba cast her a mildly puzzled side-glance, before continuing to stare into the fire.

"Well, thank you.

"Actually, I don't think he cares as much about my unfortunate hue as my mother does. But if he were to fend for my cause and help reinstate me as the heir to the throne, his precious daughter would never become queen."

"Of course not," Galinda agreed quietly.

She already knew that this was unlikely to happen at any rate, but kept this knowledge to herself. The Princess began to chuckle to herself and the blonde cast her a questioning look.

"I couldn't possibly marry Sarima; not even out of gratitude to my uncle," she said, stating what Galinda would have considered the obvious. "Although Vinkun law does not specifically address the issue of two kings or queens ruling together, its requirements for fertility are perfectly clear. And as of present, science has not yet provided any solutions for two females trying to conceive without male intervention."

Galinda blinked, feeling rather dumbstruck. This was not quite the line of reasoning she had expected.

"You have given this matter some thought before, haven't you?" she enquired cautiously, not very successful at hiding her confusion.

Elphaba noticed and laughed.

"Fiyero once made a rather unqualified jest about it," she replied vaguely.

Galinda had half a mind to ask the Prince about it next time she saw him, but quickly discarded this most improper idea.

"No more singing tonight?" she questioned instead and the Princess shook her head subtly.

"Not tonight."

A little disappointed, Galinda nodded. She would have loved to hear and learn more about Elphaba through her singing, but she was certain that she could come up with other ways to extract such information.

"If you were to marry-" Galinda continued tentatively, but Elphaba cut her off almost immediately.

"Not going to happen."

"Because you don't want to?"

The Princess cocked her head and looked at her funny.

"I haven't even considered what I want, because the notion itself is so absurd that it would seem a waste of time to spend any thought on it."

Chuckling, Galinda leaned against Elphaba's shoulder.

"You really think that?"

"I know that," she replied, her tone and expression incredibly serious.

Galinda's smile wavered.

"So you have never considered what your ideal husband would look like?"

"My ideal husband would be blind," Elphaba deadpanned. "And deaf, I suppose. Otherwise he would hear the people around us gasp and faint wherever we go."

Crossing her arms, the shorter woman gave her a disapproving look, but Elphaba continued undeterred.

"Maybe it would also be beneficial if he had no hands to trace the shape of my body on our wedding night," she added thoughtfully, causing Galinda to stare at her in wild disbelief. "From my limited knowledge on this subject, I infer that this curveless frame is not particularly desirable."

"Elphie!"

"What?"

Galinda sat up straight, cheeks and ears flushed. When the green woman moved her head to look at her, an impish smirk appeared on her lips.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, my sweet?"

"Very," Galinda huffed. "With your excessive bluntness as well as your self-depreciation."

"In that case, I apologise. I'm used to being alone with either my books, or my brother. Neither usually complains much when I speak freely."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde once more leaned back and against Elphaba's upper arm.

"So this blind, deaf gentleman without hands… what would he look like? In other words: what sort of men do you find appealing?"

Elphaba paused for an instant, then shrugged her one free shoulder.

"I honestly can't say. I have never thought on it."

"Even if you haven't really considered this deliberately; have you never, ever seen a man and simply thought that he looked attractive?"

"No. Such a man has yet to cross my path."

"Huh."

Despite being rather limited herself when it came to contact with young gentlemen, Galinda had difficulties to comprehend Elphaba's apparent complete disinterest in the stronger sex. From childhood on, she herself had always had at least a vague idea of the traits she hoped for in her future husband.

"What about women then?" Galinda asked half jokingly, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she even had a chance to realise what she was saying.

Suddenly painfully aware of her mistake, she quickly averted her gaze, cursing Elphaba's outspokenness for being so infectious. She was hardly able to believe that she had uttered such words and within the fraction of a second, her face had turned into a very deep shade of pink, resembling that of her dress.

Elphaba didn't reply at first and Galinda worried that she might have crossed a line and affronted the Princess.

After a couple of moments though, Elphaba did speak after all.

"I'm not sure," she said slowly. "Again, I haven't given the matter any thought."

Stunned, Galinda tilted her head and watched Elphaba from the corners of her eyes. She still seemed deeply in contemplations. She felt relieved, as well as perplexed that her rather inappropriate question was being taken so seriously.

"Maybe it's time we went to bed," she suggested then, trying to escape this awkward situation.

When Elphaba agreed and got to her feet, however, she immediately regretted her proposal.

"Elphie?" she said quietly and Elphaba, who was already halfway out of the door, stopped to look back at her.

"Mhm?"

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

She cringed at how silly, how childish her confession sounded. What would Elphaba, all mature and strong, make of it? Would she laugh?

"I've been having nightmares. About that wolf."

Elphaba walked back towards her and sat down again. She was laughing softly, but not in the way Galinda had feared.

"You know, Galinda, your 'wolf' is just a dog," she clarified gently. "Granted, he's quite a big chap, but he doesn't look anything like a wolf. And besides, we don't have wolves in the Vinkus."

Galinda puckered her pink lips.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Positive. I talked to one of the officers who retrieved us. There is an outlaw in these woods and the reason why they haven't found him yet, is that he never leaves the depths of the forest. His hound drives livestock and unsuspecting travellers right into his traps."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?"

The petite blonde shuddered.

"Perhaps my nightmares will hence forth be about the two of us being slaughtered by a sanguinary brute!"

Elphaba laughed again, this time louder, but still not in a mocking way.

Feigning indignation, Galinda lightly swatted her with a pillow.

"I'm shocked by your lack of empathy!"

"Fine," the Princess managed to choke out in between her increasing laughter, "I'll keep you company for this one night."

Galinda tossed away the pillow and wrapped her arms around Elphaba instead.

"Just one night," the emerald woman reminded her.

The blonde grinned.

"I know."

Giggling happily, she jumped up and grabbed Elphaba's hand to pull her up.

"Come, Elphie! Let's get upstairs. It's safer in my room anyway."

Instead of the most direct route, they took one that was less frequented by guests and staff alike, hoping nobody would see them. When Galinda was able to finally close her door behind them, both women released a breath of relief – Galinda's more audible than Elphaba's, of course.

"Some wine?"

Galinda sashayed over to her small liquor cabinet and poured herself a cup.

"Better not. In case we get unexpected company I'm rather as sharp as I possibly can be."

Elphaba wandered about the tiny drawing room and Galinda briefly wondered whether the stark contrast to her own room was bothering her. Fleetingly scanning the room herself, she decided that Elphaba would probably not be content with this accommodation, for it clearly lacked the broad selection of books she was so dependant on. In fact, currently there was only one book in this room and Elphaba had already spotted and picked it up. Casually, the green woman flipped through the pages of a certain biology textbook.

"How far have you gotten with this?" she asked. "Are you finished yet?"

Galinda took a sip of her wine and cast Elphaba an uneasy look before directing her gaze out of the window where nothing but the black of the night was visible. She did not want to admit that she had barely opened it, but there was no use in lying about it either, for Elphaba would surely find out soon enough.

"You know, Elphie," she began nervously, hoping that the Princess wouldn't be too upset. "I guess this must sound really silly to you, but… but I haven't had the courage yet. I'm almost too scared to even open it."

Elphaba fixated her with a long stare, her expression absolutely blank. Galinda tried in vain to gauge her mood.

At last, a small sigh.

"I see."

Elphaba sounded disappointed and the shorter woman bit her lip as her prediction was being confirmed.

"I understand that this must be difficult for your blissful, blonde brain to deal with -" Galinda cringed a little at that "- but it's necessary."

Elphaba sat down on the armchair opposite the settee and opened the book at the first chapter. She nodded at Galinda, motioning for her to sit down on the couch. The blonde complied, slightly hesitant.

"I won't let you leave here in two, three, four weeks, ignorant of the terrible things happening in Oz."

Galinda nodded mutely and, still rather puzzled, watched Elphaba skimming the first few pages of the chapter before flipping back to the beginning.

"I'll help you. Let me read it to you."

A quiet and confused 'what?' slipped from Galinda's mouth, but the Princess ignored her and cleared her voice before beginning to read.

"Chapter one. Nature and importance of the doctrine of filiation, or descent theory."

Alone the title made Galinda dizzy and she barely managed to catch the next few words that followed.

"… As we may value this influence of modern science upon practical life, still it must, estimated from a higher and more general point of view, stand most assuredly below the enormous influence which the theoretical progress of modern science will have on the entire range of human knowledge, on our conception of the universe, and on the perfecting of man's culture…"

Elphaba's voice as she read was pleasant to listen to. No, that certainly didn't do her justice – 'delightful' was a much better word. And if Galinda hadn't been too restrained to admit it, she would have said 'magical.'

Her voice was even, but not monotonous, calm, yet passionate. Halfway into the second paragraph, Galinda would already have been bored out of her mind with the dry style the author employed to present the material. Being read to by Elphaba, however, helped her to keep up her attention. Truth be told, she would have listened all night, even if Elphaba had read out the directory for her.

"… This doctrine affirms, that all organisms - all species of animals, all species of plants, which have ever existed or still exist on the earth - are derived from one single, or from a few simple original forms, and that they have developed themselves from these in the natural course of a gradual change…"

Elphaba noticed Galinda's gaze drift off as she furrowed her brow and began to ponder her own thoughts.

"What's wrong? Are you still listening?"

The blonde jumped a little.

"I was just thinking… Why doesn't it say anything about Animals? Or humans for that matter. He's only talking about animals and plants."

"Later," Elphaba promised. "You have to be patient. The book is tackling all this step by step to help you understand. There is no point presenting everything to you on a silver platter. The author doesn't want to force his opinion on you, nor do I. The goal is for you to think for yourself. "

"Oh."

Galinda wiggled in her seat, hoping to find a more comfortable position. This promised to be a long night.

"All right," she finally said. "Please, continue."

Smiling, Elphaba brushed a long strand of ebony hair out of her field of vision and began to read again.

"But however highly and justly this service of the Theory of Descent may be valued, yet it is almost eclipsed by the immense importance which a single necessary inference from it claims for itself alone. This necessary and unavoidable inference is the theory of the animal descent of the human race…"

For the first time, Galinda's attention was piqued by the book's merit alone.

The girls lost track of time and it was hours later, when even Elphaba began to feel the weariness settling in and impeding her ability to read as smoothly as she had in the beginning. And although she was pretending to still listen with rapt attention, Galinda was also struggling, yawning for at least the hundredth time, which finally gave the emerald woman a valid excuse to conclude that night's lesson.

"I believe you're tired," she said gently. "There is no point in continuing this today. The book will still be here tomorrow."

She marked the page with the attached bookmark and carefully set the text aside.

Stifling yet another yawn, Galinda slid off the settee and tiredly stumbled towards her bedroom, followed by a somewhat timid Elphaba.

The blonde began to pick the pins out of her hair and brush it out. Meanwhile, Elphaba retrieved two blankets from the wardrobe, quickly fetched one of the pillows from the couch in the drawing room, and dumped them all onto the ground next to Galinda's bed.

"What are you doing?" Galinda asked bewildered, as she watched the Princess trying out her makeshift mattress.

"My bed," Elphaba replied pointing at the messy heap. "Unless you'd rather I slept on the couch outside?"

She considered their situation for a moment. She hadn't thought of this problem earlier, but now that she was confronted with it, her first impulse was to tell Elphaba to share her bed. Her sleepy mind drifted off and she imagined cuddling into the green woman's body the way she had done that night in the forest. A wave of heat hit her face and she shook her head as to rid herself of these thoughts.

"Whatever you prefer," she finally said quietly.

Elphaba bobbed her head and finished arranging her quilts.

"Do you want to go first?" the blonde asked as she regarded herself in the mirror, making sure she had succeeded in removing all of her make-up."

"'Go first?' With what?"

"We should freshen up before we go to bed. After all, this is not the middle of the forest," she chortled.

"Yes…" Elphaba answered reluctantly. "Yes, of course."

"So you go first? Since you're my guest tonight, I mean."

Galinda didn't miss the repulsed glance the green woman cast at the ornate porcelain washbowl. How curious.

Elphaba scrambled up form the floor and made for the door.

"You can get yourself ready first. I'll… I'll simply wait outside."

"Um… fine. Suit yourself."

The door closed softly and Galinda shook her head, mystified.

Once she was finished, she slipped into one of her nightdresses. She thoughtfully pursed her lips, then took a second nightgown out of the dresser for Elphaba.

"You can come now," she said as she opened the door.

Elphaba jumped off the settee and patted barefoot in her direction. She wore nothing but her chemise and carried her navy blue dress carefully folded over her arm.

"Here is a nightdress for you. Do you want me to wait outside while you wash and change as well?"

"Both not necessary," Elphaba responded. "Since you came to my room quite late, I was already wearing my nightgown and only slipped my dress over on top of it. I also used the time while I was waiting just now to freshen up, so I'm all done."

Galinda made a small noise of surprise.

"How?"

Elphaba shuffled past her without much of an explanation, but in doing so left a trail of a flowery scent. The blonde sniffed the air and found that the fragrance seemed oddly familiar.

"Is that my rose oil?"

Her raised brows disappeared beneath her wavy fringe – the oil was a product she used for her hair whenever it got too dry and lifeless.

"I used some, yes" Elphaba admitted, slightly abashed. "My skin is very sensitive."

"I see," Galinda said slowly, but really, she didn't.

Both girls got comfortable in their respective beds and Galinda extinguished the lamp. They exchanged whispered words and hushed giggles (or cackles in Elphaba's case) for another thirty or so minutes, until Galinda, having finally fallen asleep, would no longer assail the Princess with her questions.

The following morning, Galinda woke with a terrible ache in her lower back. She blinked tiredly and the first thing she saw was a green chest, only barely covered by the chemise that had shifted a little over night. She jerked up into a sitting position and crawled backwards, hitting her head on something hard.

"Ouch!"

She craned her neck to see behind her and recognised her bed, then looked straight ahead again to watch the emerald Princess stir.

When Elphaba lazily opened her eyes, she seemed nearly as perplexed as Galinda.

"Good morning?" she said, running a hand through her messy hair.

"Morning," the blonde answered, blushing slightly.

Her memories slowly began to come back to her. She now remembered waking in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. After watching the faint outline of her slumbering friend for a short while, she had, for whatever incomprehensible reason, climbed out of her own bed and laid down next to her. She had even scooted a little closer, imagining herself back into the tiny hut in the woods. Somehow the warmth and sense of safety that Elphaba's proximity had provided, had helped her to once more slip into peaceful dreams.

Already a clock-tick later, before the two girls even had had a realistic chance to fully contemplate the awkwardness of the situation, they both heard the door to the apartment open and soon after, a soft knock on the door.

Galinda's eyes widened and she covered her gaping mouth with her hands.

"Um… Just one moment!"

After helping Elphaba crawl under the bed, she stuffed her dress and the blankets from the floor underneath as well.

She giggled.

"No peeking, Elphie!"

She blocked Elphaba's view with the couch pillow, then discarded her nightdress and exchanged it for her silky dressing gown.

"Come in," she called her maid.

"Good morning, My Lady."

"Good morning."

Galinda greeted the other woman with her brightest smile.

"I got up early and just finished my morning toilette. Please get the light blue sundress with the pink ribbons out of the armoire for me, would you?"

AN:

Credit where credit is due:

The passages read by Elphie are taken, almost entirely unedited, from a real book!

"THE HISTORY OF CREATION: OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS BY THE ACTION OF NATURAL CAUSES" (German original from 1868 by ERNST HAECKEL)