Chapter Eight: Sneaking Around
She fascinated him? What in Oz was that supposed to mean? Was that a compliment? Did she want it to be? Elphaba tried to settle back into bed. The boy was crazy, completely and totally insane. But insane could work on some people. He had to be insane to talk to her and continue to sneak around like this. She couldn't help but wonder if he wanted more from her… Elphaba shook her head hard. She needed to go to sleep.
Fiyero didn't observe her during lessons anymore. He must also realize that it would look wrong. This whole thing was wrong, wasn't it? It was certainly unconventional. Why did it feel so scandalous? They were just talking. It was two weeks before they spoke again.
Sneaking through the halls of the castle was difficult as the only green person in the castle. It was only down one hallway and to the left, but it felt like forever before she made it. Should she knock? Standing there could be risky.
She didn't have to decide. Fiyero opened the door and shooed her inside. "I saw your feet under the door."
Elphaba sat on a chair and looked around the room. The last time she'd been in here she'd been too focused on arguing with Fiyero to take in her surroundings. This room had to be bigger than the room she had shared with all of the maunts. He had a table (which she was sitting across from him at), a large, beautiful desk, a huge bed, bookshelves… it was elegant.
"Again, I'm sorry for getting you in trouble, Elphaba."
She opened her mouth to tell him to call her "Miss," but thought the better of it. Elphaba only hoped he'd remember to address her properly when they weren't alone, and she him. "It feels weird sneaking around like this. Breaking the rules."
"You've never broken a rule?"
"Not that I can think of, no."
Fiyero laughed. "Well, be careful, it can get addictive."
Elphaba smiled a little. "It was kind of exciting."
He smiled back. This time his smile didn't make her want to smack him. "I told you." He relaxed in his chair. "How are my siblings doing in their lessons? I really did like to observe for more than just to stare at you, as much fun as that is."
She felt herself blush. "Revienna is doing wonderfully. Berniel is hyper. Sometimes it's hard to get him to focus."
"It runs in the family. I've found recently that I've been very distracted, too."
Elphaba was getting uncomfortable with the implications he was making. But she didn't know how to tell him to stop when he'd argue that he wasn't doing anything. "I've noticed."
"So, we were in the middle of a conversation when my mother came in. I know you don't know why you're green, but you must have some theory." He pressed.
She thought about the green bottle that had been left in the bassinet with her. Mother Yackle had cackled harshly when Elphaba had asked about it. But that was private. No one but Mother Yackle knew about it. Elphaba paused.
"You do have a theory, don't you?"
What was it with him? It was like she was being interrogated, and effectively. "There was a small bottle, a green one, labeled only 'elixir,' left with me. Perhaps my mother drank it and it caused me to turn green in her womb. Or maybe they gave it to me after I was born and I just turned green. That's all I know."
"Do you ever wonder about your parents?"
"I used to. But I don't care anymore. Fiyero, they abandoned me. They obviously didn't love me. Why should I waste my feelings on them?"
She could see the pity in his eyes and she looked away. Elphaba had seen more than enough pitiful things in the mauntery. There was worse out there. And she wasn't weak. She didn't need his pity. He seemed to realize this. "I can see how you would feel that way. But did you ever wonder if you had siblings?"
"I don't think I would have siblings. After giving birth to a mistake, why would they try again? They'd worry the same thing would happen."
"You never know."
"You're right. I will never know."
He looked at her, clearly deciding it was best to change the subject. "Did you have any friends in the mauntery?"
"Most of the women there were over thrice my age. Yes, some of them took me under their wing and taught me what they know. The ones who hadn't been maunts since they were very young actually had something to say. But I wouldn't have called any of them friends. They were more like… teachers. Not even that."
"Kind of like having a bunch of schoolmarms around all the time?"
"Schoolmarms who were on the clock twenty-four hours a day. Not, well, not me."
Fiyero laughed. "Sometimes I forget."
"You forget?"
"I wish you could. Yes, sometimes I do forget that you're a servant. You don't act like one – and that's a good thing, at least to me. To me you're more like a classmate, a peer, a friend." He seemed saddened by the fact that she couldn't so easily forget his station.
"I don't understand how you can forget. Look at you, Fiyero. Look at what you're wearing, how you walk. And then look at me. I barely fit in this dress. I slouch."
He did exactly what she said. He looked at her, hard, studying her. His stare was so intense she shuddered. "I don't see it. I mean, maybe my clothes are newer than yours, but that's it, Elphaba. You may not forget it, but you're the only person who isn't afraid to be honest with me and talk back to me because I'm a prince. You're the only girl who doesn't instantly want me because I happen to be royalty."
"And so you decide that you'll bother the one person who isn't completely enamored with you?" Elphaba laughed. "You are a strange man, Fiyero, especially for a prince. I've never known any princes, but I've read about them. You don't fit the mold."
"I think that's a compliment. If I was just like every other prince, I'd be boring."
"True. Then I really wouldn't want to talk to you."
"Do you at least think of me as a friend?"
"I think of you as an irritating yet amusing friend, yes." This was mostly true. Her irritation with him was not quite what it had been several weeks ago. He wasn't the idiot she'd thought him to be, though he could be clueless at times, but even that was… amusing.
His smile brightened. "Good."
"I think it's my turn to interrogate you," Elphaba decided. She hated to admit that she was curious, too. "What's it like shadowing your father all day? What does he do?"
"He actually doesn't do much. I've seen him write one letter to be sent to the City. He's met with the leaders of the other tribes once or twice. Mostly he just helps keep the peace and deals with problems among the village folk."
"What sort of problems?"
"Last week one man stole another man's wife…"
"What?" Elphaba found this amusing.
"Well, he said he stole her. But she went willingly."
"And?"
"That sort of thing isn't so taboo out here, Elphaba. Remember what I said about my father asking me to sleep with the servant girls?"
She wondered for a moment if he had – not that she cared. "Marriage is just a formality, like yousaid, I guess."
"Right. Things are usually arranged. It can cause problems. One woman leaves her husband, or a husband leaves his wife… When I become king, I'm going to abolish the practice of arranged marriage. I realize it's a tradition, but people should be able to be with whom they choose."
"If they choose anyone at all," Elphaba added.
He looked at her strangely. "Yes."
"Do… do your servants get married? I mean, how would it work – since they live here?"
"They marry each other. Some don't. There aren't really any arrangements among them."
For a moment she had worried she might be expected to marry. "That's a relief."
"It is," he agreed.
She wondered why he even cared.