It was Sunday, a bright sunny, beautiful Sunday and it was Elphaba's one day off. She got everyone other Sunday off. She didn't really know what to do. She was in the Vinkus, far away from Munchkinland, she wouldn't be recognized...and it was so lovely outside, and too hot for all of those other silly 'religious' garments she wore. And the hat was so annoying, not to mention the gloves. She didn't think she'd ever miss letting her hair down and wearing dresses. Elphaba quickly went to her room and took off her clothes and slipped on a black summer sun dress. It stopped at her knees and was short sleeved, made out of cotton. Nessa had given her this dress last year for her birthday, secretly of course so that Frex wouldn't know. She'd never worn because she didn't want Frex to noticed and accuse her of steeling. Elphaba took her cap off and her long silky black hair fell down gracefully and she shook it out, glad to be rid of the hot cap, at least for the day. She slipped on some black flats and grabbed her satchel with the money she'd earned in it and headed out. There was a small plaza nearby; she'd gone with Galinda and Fiyero once. It was a small cluster of cute little shops, small family business restaurants and tiny cafes that were all side by side. All of the buildings were different colors, pink, green, and purple, yellow, orange. There were no carriages aloud and the wide cobblestone street was strictly for walking pedestrians. The plaza sounded really lovely right now. She snuck out through the back when no one was looking and took the long way to the plaza through the woods so that she wouldn't be seen.
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Meanwhile, Fiyero was sitting in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. It was Elias's day off today and he had nothing to do. Without his best friend to spend time with, Fiyero was stuck with nothing. Unless he decided to call up Galinda...nah. He had though several times of asking Elias to join him today and doing something fun like head to the market or something or play soccer. Elias was surprisingly good at soccer, he was small enough to go right past Fiyero and had really fast reflexes, he beat Fiyero every time and nobody beat Fiyero at soccer. Perhaps they could play pool downstairs in the game room or something. Fiyero thought it was too selfish to ask Elias to spend time with him on his day off. He knew Elias would think that he was needed as a servant, but Fiyero just wanted Elias to drop all of that and be his friend. Ah, well. Fiyero suddenly felt extremely lazy and felt he needed to go outside. He got up and strolled out into the gardens...boring. So he headed for the plaza, which sounded really nice about now.
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Elphaba looked at her savings. She didn't have very much and she didn't really need money, as long as she worked at the castle. She had had two options at the castle. One was to work and be paid but she had to provide herself with her own shelter and food etc. The other option was to work and be paid in shelter and food provided for her in the castle. She'd taken up option two. The money she had was from babysitting and some of it from poker. She'd lost more than she gained. She wandered around the shops on the charming cobblestone street that were swarming with people with shopping bags or chatting with their friends. The golden brown trees lined the small street and their leaves and branches bent slightly over the street making good shade stops when the sun got really hot. Elphaba was wandering around, deciding how to spend her bit of money. She saw a lovely dress in a window and almost went inside of the store, when she saw next to the store an enchanting book store. She hurried inside and began skimming the shelves for a good book.
About 10 minutes later, Elphaba emerged from the bookstore with a large book. It wasn't what she normally read, a nonfiction book on animals, this was a fantasy, adventure novel. She'd always thought reading practical things were better than fantasy novels. She'd actually been looking at books on logic when she noticed this one. Someone had set it down in the wrong spot. She'd opened the book and read the first and soon found she couldn't stop. It was about wizards and witches and there was a hint of romance here and there. It had cost her most of her money, and she had a little left a drink or snack. She saw an ice cream parlor across the street. She looked up at the sun and suddenly had a craving for ice cream. She went inside and bought a small cup of ice cream, she'd only had ice cream twice in her life. Once was at a school field day in 3rd grade, the other time was at a birthday party of Nessa's that she was actually allowed to attend, that was in 4th grade. Outside of the ice cream parlor there was a cluster of small Paris styled tables and chair. The was a short cute little white fence around the area and many people sat there and read book while eating their ice cream or chatted with friends. It looked extremely enjoyable to Elphaba. She chose a table in the corner near the fence farther away from the other people. She set her book in front of her and began to read as she ate her ice cream. Mmm, she'd forgotten how good it was.
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Fiyero was strolling down the cobblestone street, smiling charmingly at the girls who giggled as he passed by. He was enjoying the sun and fresh air. Soft music drifted from some the stores along with scents of clothes or books and ice cream. Mm. Fiyero turned his head and saw an ice cream parlor. There was a small area of tables and chair enclosed in a small white fence in front of the parlor. His eyes immediately drifted to the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had back silky hair that swirled in the soft breeze, sending shivers up his spine. Her lips were naturally a dark red and practically begged him to kiss them. She had soft but at the same time fierce brown eyes that made him feel warm. She was small, thin, feminine and delicate, she almost looked fragile, but somehow he could tell she wasn't to be underestimated. She wore a pretty black dress that ended just above her knees and from what he could see; she had a nice pair of legs. Then he noticed something that should have made him faint, but it just made her look even more like a goddess. She had the most beautiful emerald skin he'd ever seen. The sunlight that flickered through the trees made her glow and her hair shine. She was reading a large book that he wouldn't even dream of reading and eating ice cream. Fiyero looked around him to see if anyone else had noticed her, they had. He saw a few guys looking at her with hungry expressions on their faces. He quickly went into the ice cream parlor and bought some ice cream before starting towards her table. Someone had beaten him there and the guy was talking to her, a persistent look on his face. She wore a somewhat shocked, but also annoyed look on her face. When the obvious annoyance on her face crossed into anger, Fiyero stepped in.
"I'm sorry, I'm not interested." said the girl. Fiyero stopped in his tracks as he heard her voice for the first time. He did not know it was possible for someone's voice to sound like that, it was beautiful.
"C'mon, just give me a shot." the guy said. Fiyero was snapped out of his trance as the guy that was harassing her spoke. His voice sounded like wheels in the mud compared to hers.
"I'm not interested." she said again.
"One date. You can dump me after that--" Fiyero rolled his eyes at this, the guy was pathetic. He set his ice cream down on the table they were at and rested his hand on the girl's thin shoulder.
"Hello darling, did you miss me?" he asked, loud enough for the other guy to hear. The girl looked completely shocked as she stared at him and he thought he detected a hint of fear. She quickly looked down. The other guy glared at him and left, somewhat sulkily and Fiyero took the seat across from the girl.
"Hello." he said after an awkward moment of silence.
"Hello." she said, looking up cautiously at him.
"What's your name?" he asked nervously.
"Elia—Elphaba." she said. Fiyero waited for her to ask his name, but she didn't ask.
"I'm Fiyero." he said. She nodded.
"It's nice to meet you...Fiyero." Elphaba said carefully so she didn't address him as Master.
"I'm sorry about that guy." he said, "I hope you didn't mind me stepping in."
"Oh, that's alright, I didn't think he'd ever leave." she sighed. Another awkward silence fell.
"What're you reading?" he asked.
"Harry Potter." she said.
"Oh, really? I love those books." said Fiyero, smiling at her. It was probably luck that she was reading the only book he had ever actually read and enjoyed. She smiled at him in return and he nearly dropped his ice cream in his lap as her smile made another involuntary shiver run through his spine making his hands shake.
"They're pretty interesting." she consented.
"Yes, they are." said Fiyero, "Do you come here often? To the plaza?"
"No, I come every other Sunday." said Elphaba.
"Yeah?" said Fiyero, "So do I." he said. It wasn't exactly a lie, because now he did come here every other Sunday.
"That's a nice coincidence." said Elphaba. She seemed tense and Fiyero really wanted to get her to relax. He was thinking of something when a little boy about 7 or 8 years old came up to Fiyero and kicked him hard in the shin. The little boy couldn't have been taller than the table. He wore a long sweeping maroon cape over his royal clothes. Fiyero rolled his eyes, if he wore his royal clothes like that, he would look like an almighty fool, but then again, people in the Glikkus did things a bit differently.
"Ow!" said Fiyero, his hand going to his shin to put pressure there to stop the burning, "What was that for?!" The kid ignored him and marched over to Elphaba in a formal, showy fashion so that he was standing right in front of her. Elphaba was laughing. Fiyero would've glared at her if he weren't so enchanted by that beautiful laugh of hers. The boy bowed deeply in front of Elphaba. She smiled at him.
"Good day fair lady, I am Brennet Kirk of Glikkus, 4th in line to the Glikkus throne. I have come to call upon you for I noticed your beauty and intellect and you have entranced me deeply. Will you take upon my request of courting?" he finished with a dramatic kiss to her hand. Elphaba tried not to laugh at the little boy, for he was obviously serious. She wondered if he knew half of the words he was saying. Fiyero was glaring at the little kid which made Elphaba laugh. She tried to stop quickly as the little boy looked rejected. She leaned closer to the little boy and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Brennet, I don't think that would be a very good idea." said Elphaba. Brennet looked down disappointedly.
"But why not?" he asked.
"Because I must be at least twice your age." said Elphaba, "I'm 16, how old are you?"
"8." Brennet sniffled, "But you're really pretty."
"How about that little girl over there?" asked Elphaba pointing to a little girl about Brennet's age with red hair and freckled, she looked sweet and was licking a huge ice cream cone, "She's very pretty."
"Not as pretty as you." Brennet mumbled looking down. Elphaba smiled at him softly and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Fiyero felt a tinge of jealousy. True, he shouldn't be feeling jealous, after all, this kid was 7, he didn't stand a chance, but still....Fiyero watched until Brennet nodded enthusiastically and leaned forward. Elphaba laughed and gave him a kiss on either cheek. Brennet turned red and quickly hurried off to speak to the red head Elphaba had pointed out. Fiyero looked like he'd just been hit in the face and he was sure he was jealous now. Elphaba looked at him and started laughing.
"Now don't tell me you're jealous." she teased.
"Oh, I don't know if I can compete with that." said Fiyero. Elphaba laughed. The tense atmosphere was gone and the two talked as though they'd known each other for ages. They laughed and even shared each other's ice cream. As the sun was setting, Elphaba took her leave. Fiyero was sad to see her go and promised to meet her here in two weeks on Sunday.
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Elphaba hurried back to the royal castle and slipped in unnoticed and changed quickly back into the boy's clothes and sliding on gloves and the cap. She had had the best day of her life. She wanted to tell Nessa everything. And she couldn't wait until her next Sunday off.
Meanwhile Fiyero had wondered dazedly back to his own room. He'd just had the best day of his life. He wanted to talk to Elias about it. And he found himself thinking about the next Sunday he would see Elphaba...