Chapter 11!

"Finally. I thought the train was going to leave without you. What were you two doing?" Nessa asked as Elphaba sat next to her sister. The green girl sighed.

"Nessa… I can't become the next Eminent Thropp. I can't even remember our father! How do they expect me to take his place?"

"Elphaba, you have to. You've no other choice." the brunette scoffed. "You're the oldest and next in line."

"I can't do it. I mean, there will be tons of people at this funeral and they'll all be expecting me to know them! I wouldn't even recognize my own mother!"

"Our mother is dead."

"See?! This is exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Oh, Elphaba, stop worrying. I'll help you out at the funeral. And who knows? Maybe you'll regain some of your memories along the way."

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Galinda sat in class, not really paying attention to the professor, but staring at her ring. She wondered what Elphaba was doing right now. Had she arrived? Was she still on the train? She probably was. She couldn't have arrived yet. The trip probably took at least a day.

Galinda knew she would find out for herself soon. The first chance she got, she would go out to see Elphaba. Until then, she would wait for the green girl to write to her and then-

"Miss Upland, could you please answer the question?" Galinda looked up as she heard her name being called.

"Um… I'm sorry. I didn't hear what the question was."

"I see. You were too busy thinking about something else. Tell us, Miss Upland, just what was it that captivated your attention for half of class?" Galinda felt her face growing hot as everyone turned to look at her.

"Well, um…" she started, but her voice failed her. What could she say? She couldn't admit that she had been thinking about Elphaba because she loved her. If anyone believed her, she would never hear the end of it.

"Yes? We're waiting." Galinda had to think of a lie. Quick.

"Well, unfortunately, I seem to have lost my train of thought. I'm sorry to disappoint." The professor scowled, but continued his teaching. Galinda let out a sigh of relief and slumped down in her seat.

Whatever Elphaba's doing, it has to be better than this.

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"Remember. Father was a very religious man. We are expected to hold up his beliefs and that starts with the faith of the Unknown God." Elphaba stood up and grabbed her head.

"Nessa, we've been at this for hours! I'm never going to remember any of this!" she said. She could feel her head throbbing and all she wanted was to sleep. Nessa had been trying to jog Elphaba's memory about their father since they had left, but Elphaba was confused now more than ever.

"You just need to be patient."

"I need to sleep. I've been awake for over twenty- four hours now." The brunette sighed and leaned back in her own seat.

"Fine. Rest. When you wake up, we'll eat, but then it's right back to this, understand?"

Elphaba was already lying down on the train seat and fell asleep as soon as Nessa finished. The brunette shook her head.

"If this is the next Eminent Thropp, we're doomed."

Nessa knew she had to find a way to get Elphaba's memory back. But so far, nothing had helped. She had hoped that talking about their father would help her remember, but Elphaba seemed occupied with only one thing: Galinda Upland.

And, in a way, that disturbed Nessa. It wasn't right for her sister to love another woman; it went against everything they had ever been taught.

But don't you want your sister to be happy? She deserves happiness, just like every other human being.

Nessa sighed as she watched her sister sleep.

"And I thought you couldn't get any more complicated." she muttered, but she couldn't suppress the smile that came along with that statement. "You never cease to surprise me."

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The history of…

It's shiny

… the Ozma regime…

I wonder where she got it

… can be traced back…

It's all worn, but it's so clean

… to a time when…

Galinda put down her book. She simply could not read with this ring on her finger. It was so… distracting. But in a beautiful way. So, she simply gave up on her book. She didn't really care when the Ozma regime started, nor did it matter to her. The words only meant something when Elphaba read them to her. Elphaba always seemed to know what was going on. How did she do that? Galinda wished she could be as smart as her friend.

Not my friend. My girlfriend.

Galinda giggled at the thought. What had started out as an innocent prank had blossomed into a wonderful relationship. She had never imagined herself with someone like Elphaba, yet here she was, dreaming about her green- skinned roomie. It was addicting. She had never thought about anyone this much. Well, except for herself, of course, but-

"Galinda? We're going shopping." Galinda looked up as Pfannee entered her room. "Do you want to come?" The other girl looked around the room. "It must be nice without your roommate." she added.

"It's… bearable." Galinda said.

"Well, like I said, do you want to come with us?" The blonde shook her head.

"No. I'm fine just staying here."

"Are you sure?" The blonde nodded. "Well, all right. We'll see you later." And she was gone, leaving Galinda alone with her thoughts once more.

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"Elphaba." No response. "Elphaba." The green girl stirred. Nessa paused, then leaned in close to her sister's ear. "Elphaba!" The green girl jerked awake and rolled off the seat, hitting the floor.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to be as alert as possible. The brunette rolled her eyes.

"We're here." Elphaba looked out the train window and felt the knot in her stomach tighten. The train slowed to a stop and the whistle sounded.

This was it. This was the end of her old life and the beginning of her new one.

Or it could just be the end of her life all together.

Everything depended on this funeral.

And she needed to play her cards just right…

End of chapter 11! Thanks to all readers and reviewers thus far. Please, please keep sending those reviews in! Thank you!