Chapter 22. I Don't Want
Rifiuto: Non Miniera
A week passed.
One more week since graduation.
Fae spent most of her time with Glinda and Elphaba.
So, it came as quite a shock to come back from the cafe with Glinda one afternoon to find Elphaba and Fiyero in the room, with a midwife. The woman wasn't much to look at. Skin clung to her bones by threads, her eyes looked dead. She reminded Fae of the jackle, and the stories that her father told her as a child.
"Elphie? What's going on?" Glinda asked.
"And...and who's this?" Fae asked, nervous.
"I am Yackle. I'm the midwife to the young queen."
"Princess. Crown Princess. I'm not the queen, and won't be the queen until my father-in-law dies." Elphaba snapped. She stood with Fiyero behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. Her arms were wrapped tightly around body, and she shivered.
It was then that Fae noticed something different about her.
She wasn't dressed. All Elphaba wore, was a simple, white slip that came to her thighs. Her raven hair tumbled down her back, and she looked nervous. Yackle turned to her.
"Not the queen? Well, my pretty green duckie, you won't have to wait long. For when the king dies, you and young kingie here will have to step in. And soon too."
"What do you mean soon?" Fiyero asked, pulling Elphaba closer.
Yackle didn't answer. Instead, she answered Glinda's question.
"It's time to see if the young queenie has concieved. For the fate of the Arjiki rests in her hands." Elphaba took a shaky breath. "If she hasn't, she faces a meeting with the sword, don't you duckie?"
Elphaba had turned from the woman, taking deep breaths to calm her racing nerves. The presence caused her to turn, and she looked up, to see Yackle standing near.
"Please, just......just get it over with." Elphaba said, going to the bed, and sitting down. Yackle followed. Glinda sat on her bed, watching with wide eyes. Silent, Fae joined her.
She knew about the infertility ritual. If a woman of the royal family was thought to be infertile, she was ordered to attempt conception, and, after a certain number of weeks, was checked. If it was discovered that no embryo had been concieved, then she could face certain death. It was a dangerous position to be in; especially dangerous if you were the next to take the throne.
Failure to produce an heir meant death to the couple, and uncertain future to the throne. Fae remembered her mother telling her about the ritual when she asked as a child. She'd never watched one, and didn't care to.
Elphaba took a deep breath, and lay on her back. She reached for Fiyero, and he sat next to her on the bed, taking her hand in his. The princess took deep breaths, and buried her head in her husband's lap, as Yackle reached out and moved the white silk slip up her thighs. She shuddered, as Yackle gently parted the woman's legs, and reached up.
Glinda paled, but refused to look away. It was only when Yackle brought out the syringe, to collect fluid, did Glinda look away. Fae covered her ears and closed her eyes, as Elphaba cried out.
It was all over in a matter of minutes.
When the girls finally looked back, Elphaba was sitting up, wrapped in Fiyero's arms, shaking. Yackle was in the bathroom, running a test. She came back out, five minutes later. By then, Elphaba had calmed down, and was waiting for the results.
"Well?" She asked. Fae could see the regal air her mother possessed. She heard the command in her voice, saw the woman her mother would become; the queen her mother would become. Yackle sneered.
"What are the results?" Fiyero asked, pulling his wife close.
"Am I fertile or not?" Elphaba asked.
"The young queenie is fertile. Very fertile. Fertile enough to produce several children, not just one or two."
"I don't want several. I want one. Only one. A son. That's all I want. That's all I desire, a son." Elphaba said, taking deep breaths. Yackle walked over and gently touched ELphaba's cheek; she pulled away.
"The young queenie shall have her son. On a night when the heart and mind are in the same glass case. But she shall have another; a daughter will be concieved when the moon is in the sixth window."
" I don't want a daughter. I want a son. That's the only thing that matters, is that I bear a son for this family. Without an heir the Tiggulars die out, and I can't let that happen! A daughter is of no importance, of no value to the royal family, or the line. A son is all that matters to keep the line going. I don't want a daughter. I want a son, I desire a son!" Elphaba screamed, causing Fae's eyes to tear.
Her heart squeezed, the tears welled.
Elphaba didn't want a daughter?
Had she thought that when Fae was born?
Had she wanted Fae at all?