Jessie looked at Elphaba curiously. "I'm all ears."

Elphaba took a deep breath before beginning, "I'm not from this land. In that world, I am known by a different name entirely, it was a label that was placed on me when I was younger."

Jessie wondered where Elphaba was going with this and nodded her head, "Ok, what world was it?" That explains why she was so accepting of Jessie's story about her and Sonya. That title must have been pretty bad for Elphie to not mention it.

"Oz." Elphaba braces herself for Jessie's reaction.

Jessie's jaw drops when she hears that, "Oz? As in follow the yellow brick road. I'll get you my pretty Oz?" Elphaba nods her head but says nothing else for now. Jessie's eyes go wide as she realizes that the 'Wicked Witch of the West' was her personal assistant. To Jessie's own surprise, as much as the witch scared her when she was a kid, she couldn't find it in herself to be frightened. If anything she was surprised and had a million questions for Elphie. "So what really happened?"

Elphaba was stunned that Jessie was still sitting next to her, much less asking questions. "You mean from the beginning?" Jessie nodded her head and smiled as she waited for Elphaba to begin.

"Well, I guess the best place to start would be when Nessarose, my sister, and I went to Shiz University. Back then I was just known as Elphaba. Our father was the Mayor of Munchkinland. My sister Nessa was in a wheelchair and I, well, I have an unusual skin color. My father didn't really spend very much time with either of us; he was very disappointed in how we turned out. However, he did always pay whatever it took to make sure Nessa was taken care of. When we were growing up I took care of her most of the time, I was cooking for her and making sure she had everything she needed during the day. We were close back then."

Jessie listened, nodding. If there were two things she understood better than she would like, it was lousy families and being picked on.

"When we arrived at Shiz there had been some sort of rooming mistake. Nessa was given a private chamber next to Madame Morrible." She just couldn't keep the sneer out of her voice when she mentioned that awful woman. "and I was forced into a room with Galinda Upperton."

Elphaba smiles as she remembers her original feelings for her bubbly, blonde roommate. She will always be grateful to Glinda for being her friend. Jessie cleared her throat and Elphaba realized that she had stopped. Chuckling softly she shakes her head before continuing. "At first Galinda and I really didn't see eye to eye. In fact, most people would say we were the greatest of enemies. However, that all changed after the fall ball in the Ozdust during that first year. She stood up for me in front of everyone. The most popular girl in the whole University stood up for me. After that night, we became friends. She joined me in the sorcery seminar with Morrible and things started to look brighter."

Jessie smiled when she heard that someone stood up for Elphie at school. It was nice to know that Elphie wasn't completely alone while she was at school. Although, that last sentence had her worried that something disastrous happened to Elphie.

Elphaba sighs before continuing, "Things began changing just a year later. Animals were fired from their jobs, sent out of the cities, and told never to talk again. Dr. Dillamond, my goat professor and mentor, confided in me of the fears he had about being either fired or arrested. He suspected that some of the school officials were involved in the plot to forever silence all animals." Elphaba's face grows both sad and angry as she remembers the fateful day the sweet old goat was taken away. Seeing that look, Jessie scoots closer. "His worries proved to be true. Just a few months later, Ozian guards and Madame Morrible came into our class and dragged Dr. Dillamond away. Once he was out of the room a horrible man brought a poor caged lion cub into the room. He was there to lecture us on how they were preventing animals from ever learning to speak. He put an electric stick into the cage and was torturing the poor cub. I couldn't just sit by and let him torture the poor creature. Myself and a good classmate, Fiyero, got the poor creature out of the room and released him in the woods."

Jessie's fists clench involuntarily as she listened. She couldn't believe that they could be that barbaric. "I've never heard of Dr. Dillimond. The movie seems to have left about half the story out." The poor lion cub. She assumed that the lion cub grows up to be the 'Cowardly Lion' from the movie. Poor thing, she is glad to hear that someone else in that room had enough sense to help Elphie rescue the creature from that torture. "What happened next?"

Elphaba took a breath to calm herself down before continuing. That was just one of the more upsetting moments of her story. "After that, Madame Morrible found me and told me that the Wizard had requested me to see him in the Emerald City in person. I was excited, because I believed that he would be able to fix this problem. It was a golden opportunity for me to ask him for his help." A part of Elphaba was still mad that she was so naïve to think he would help.

"I insisted that Glinda go with me, because she was my closest friend and wished to go meet the Wizard as much as I did. Once we arrived he greeted us and began talking to us about the future of Oz. Madame Morrible, who was now Press Secretary, appeared and showed us the Grimmerie. It is a powerful book that amplifies our magical powers; however, no one can read it and use it. Well, no one except for me…"

Jessie listened attentively, saving her questions for when Elphie was done. She knew this had to be hard enough to get through once. That magical book sounded both interesting and dangerous at the same time.

There is anger in Elphie's voice and body language. "They tricked me into reading a spell from the book. They wanted me to give Chistrey, the Wizard's favorite monkey, his dream of flying by giving him wings. No one realized how powerful the spell was. Not only did I give Chistrey wings, but also all of the other monkeys the Wizard had locked in a cage hidden behind a curtain in the room. Once they had all been transformed I heard the Wizard and Morrible talking about their plans to use the monkeys as spies. I asked them what they needed spies for. The Wizard looked at me and told me that they needed to find all of the talking animals and capture them."

Jessie shook her head in disgust. It would make sense that this Morrible, whoever she was, and the wizard of Oz would be trying to use her. She was glad Sonya didn't do that.

Elphaba's eyes were filled with tears, but she kept them at bay as she continued her story. "I felt absolutely betrayed by the man I looked up to. I released the monkeys from the cage, grabbed the book, and ran up into the highest tower of the castle. Glinda followed after me. She tried to talk me into apologizing to the Wizard and standing by his side for this, but I told her that I couldn't do that what he was doing was wrong. I said the same spell I used on the monkeys in an attempt to get myself to fly, but the spell enchanted an old broom that was in the room. I begged Glinda to come with me on the broom, to run away and fight the injustice. She wanted to, but was too scared to come with me. We parted ways, wishing the best for each other." Elphaba sighed softly, "I went into hiding after that. Whenever I could I would rescue animals from the Ozian guards. Due to my resistance I was labeled as 'wicked' and became hunted."

Jessie half growled hearing that. The idea of anyone hunting Elphaba made her sick, angry, and terrified for her all at once. She was pissed that they used her like that and then made her the scapegoat. She reached out for Elphie's hand and squeezed it gently. "I can't believe they used you like that Elphie." Jessie wished she had a shot at those two so she could knock some sense into them. Or at the very lest get them to apologize to Elphie for what they did to her.

Elphaba smiled softly as she saw Jessie wanting to comfort her as she told her story. She returned that gentle squeeze before shaking her head, "Thank you Jess, but there is more I need to tell you. I was on the run for a few years before I reached out to talk to my sister. Since I had left her, many things had changed. She had become the Mayor of Munchkinland after my father's death and was known as the 'Wicked Witch of the East'. She confronted me about having magic, but not using it to fix her. I realized she had a point and looked through the Grimmerie for a spell. I found one…and it worked. The spell caused my sister's shoes to turn ruby red and healed her legs so that she could walk." There was a soft smile on Elphaba's face at the memory.

Realization dawned on Jessie's face, "Oh…that's why you wanted those slippers! That makes way more sense now."

Elphaba smiled as she nodded her head slowly, "Yes, they were very important to me. After that visit, I decided to return to the Emerald City to confront the Wizard. I almost get captured when I was there, but Fiyero, Glinda's fiancé, helps me get out and runs off with me. Once we are out in the woods, the weather begins to shift. I sense that my sister is in trouble and fly off to check on her. I see a house falling from the sky towards Munchkinland and fly as fast as I can…" The tears in Elphaba's eyes begin to fall, "but I was too late."

Jessie's heart actually feels like it might break for poor Elphie. She moves next to her on the couch and pulls her into a hug. "Oh Elphie…I am so sorry."

Elphaba leans into Jessie for a few minutes, releasing some of the grief. In Oz, she hadn't been able to. Between being on the run from the Wizard, and her keeping an eye on Fiyero and Glinda, there was never time. No matter how Nessa felt about her, Elphaba loved her sister. When she regained her composure, she pulled away slightly before laying in Jessie's arms to continue, "Once I got to the…scene. I found Glinda there; we had a minor disagreement about her fiancé running off with me and her sending my sister's shoes off with that dimwitted farm girl and that annoying dog. Morrible must have suspected that Glinda would eventually find me. The Ozian guard appeared and tried to arrest me. Fiyero appeared and sacrificed himself for me. Once I got away I put a spell on him to protect him from feeling any pain…he was transformed into a scarecrow."

Jessie's jaw dropped a little, "You mean the scarecrow that was with Dorothy wasn't always a scarecrow? It was the kid that helped you free the lion cub?"

Elphaba smiled softly as she shook her head, "Yes, unfortunately...he was a Prince and a good friend. I never told Glinda that's what happened to him. I'm afraid it would break her heart if she knew that. I found him before that nitwit Dorothy did. We decided to stage my death and leave Oz. We would check in every couple of days to make sure things were going as planned."

Jessie stared at her a bit in shock. "Wait…you mean that whole melting thing was staged?"

Elphaba smiled softly as she nodded her head, "Yes it was. Fiyero and I planned on disappearing after that to another world. However, at the last moment he decided to stay in Oz to watch over Glinda. He just couldn't abandon her in Oz like that. I came alone to this world. The rest I have told you already."

Jessie was impressed with Elphie's whole plan to fake her death. Suddenly a thought hit her,"Wait…you mean water doesn't make you melt?"

Elphaba laughed at Jessie's question, "Jessie…water is a main ingredient in jello. I would have never made it out of those red lava matches if water caused me to melt."

Jessie had a sheepish grin at the memory, "Yeah, I guess you are right."

Elphaba smiled softly before looking at Jessie, "So, now that you know my real story…do you still want me to work for you?" She was a little worried that Jessie might change her mind about their current arrangement.

Jessie took Elphie's hands into her own and looked deep into her eyes, "I don't think I could function without you anymore. Besides, I couldn't think of anyone more qualified for the position."

Elphaba blushed slightly from the complement, "Do you really mean that Jess?"

Jessie smiled as she nodded her head, "Yes I do."

Elphaba pulled her into a tight hug and whispered, "Thank You."

"You're welcome, beautiful." Jessie whispered before she thought about it, rubbing Elphie's back soothingly. Elphaba didn't acknowlege it, but she heard Jessie call her beautiful. She couldn't believe that anyone, let alone Jessie, would find her beautiful. But it took one look in Jessie's eyes, and listening to her voice, and Elphaba knew it was the truth.