Chapter 99. Another Changed

Rifiuto: Non Miniera

A/N: One more chapter..... :(

Thanks to Elphaba1Fan and -greenTARDISgal- for reviewing 98.

Fiyero looked up, to see Elphaba and Fae perched on the broom in front of the girl's dorm window.

Fae was clinging to her mother, who sat calmly on the broom, waiting for the window to open. Once the glass panes were parted, she guided the broom towards the windowsill, and Fae let go of her mother, and reached out for her father, who helped her into the room.

"How'd it go?" He asked, as Elphaba leaped lithly from her broom into the dorm. She beckoned to the broom, and it followed, landing with a clatter at her feet, but not before rapping Fae smartly on the head.

Elphaba glared at the broom.

"That wasn't nice. Now, either you apologize, or I'll throw you into the sewer outside, where the rats can find you." Elphaba said, as the broom sulked, and went over, giving Fae a good wack in the ass and tripping her, before dropping at it's mistress's feet.

"Ow! What was that for?" Elphaba sighed. "That was rude. But, obviously that's all the answer we're gonna get out of you." She said, stepping over the now lifeless broom, and leaning down. She wrapped her arm around her daughter's waist, and helped her to her feet. Once her daughter was on her feet, Elphaba picked up the broom.

"Now, you better behave yourself, or I'm going to be using you for firewood this winter." Elphaba told the broom. She went over to the desk, and leaned the broom against Fae's desk, turning back to her daughter.

"I think it went we--" Elphaba was cut off, feeling the end of something poking her in the back. She looked over her shoulder, and rolled her eyes. The broom floated at waist level, waiting for her. "What do you want now?" Elphaba asked, hands on her hips. She watched the broom move to the open window, eyebrows raised. "Oh no. We just went out for a ride. We're not going out again."

It ignored her and floated out the window.

"Mama?" Fae asked, worried. Elphaba didn't speak, just moved to the window.

"All right. I'll bite. What do you want?" Elphaba asked, as the broom floated a foot away from the windowsill. "Oh your kidding."

"What? Elphie, what is it?" Glinda asked. Fae moved to her mother. Elphaba backed away from her daughter, and pulled on her hat.

"Mama?"

"I'll be right back, my sweet." Elphaba said, backing up against Fae's desk. She got a running start, and when she got to the window, she leaped. The others watched shocked, as Elphaba, skirts swirling out around her, landed on the broom. Once her hands grasped the wood, it shot off into the air, until she was a speck in the sky. Anakinsa hurried out of the dorm, the others following, Fae and Fiyero last. They gathered on the green, watching. Well, until they lost sight of her.

It didn't take long for them to catch sight of her again.

Elphaba let out a scream, at the exact same moment Fae turned, to see the girl and broom come towards her, and she ducked, just as Elphaba missed her head by an inch. Then, she turned, to see both girl and broom head for the wall of Crage Hall. They ricochted off said wall, and landed in a patch of flowers and bushes underneath.

Fae stood still, shocked, as her father rushed towards her mother. Slowly, Fae moved until she stood directly over Elphaba. The girl was sprawled on top of the pile, her cape wrapped around her, her hair fanning around her head. Slowly, Elphaba raised her eyes to Fae's and Fiyero's and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess my flying privileges are revoked, right?" She asked, as her husband helped her to her feet, and brushed her off. Then, she leaned down and scooped up her hat and broom.

"You all right, love?" He asked. She nodded.

"What was with the broom?" Fae asked.

"I don't know." Elphaba said.

"You're okay though, right Mama?" Fae asked. Elphaba nodded.

"I'm okay." Elphaba said, opening her arms. Fae rushed into them, and cuddled against her mother's chest. Sniffling caught the queen's attention. Slowly, Elphaba pulled away, and looked at her daughter. "What's wrong, baby girl?"

"Nothing. I'm just glad to be back. I missed you so much, Mama." Fae said, through her tears. Elphaba gave her a small smile, and pulled her closer.

Later that night, as the small group met in Fiyero and Elphaba's hotel room, Elphaba told them about the conversation she'd had with Fae.

"So everything's okay?" Glinda asked. Elphaba nodded. The conversation lasted long into the night, until Fiyero and Elphaba decided that the girls had to get back to Shiz. Then, Glinda, Nessa, and Boq escorted Mankinla and Anakinsa back to Shiz; Fae stayed with her parents, Liir agreed to take his sister back when she was ready.

Fae slipped into her parent's bedroom a few minutes later; her father and brother were discussing the wedding plans in the living room. Elphaba was sitting on the bed, in her nightgown, the hairbrush on the vanity. Silent, Fae picked up the brush, and went over to her mother. Elphaba looked up at her, and reached out for the brush. Fae shook her head, and sat behind her mother, gently pulling the long raven strands hanging over her mother's shoulders, until they hung down her back.

Then, she began the steady, gentle rhythm of brushing her hair.

Elphaba let her, silent.

"Mama?"

"Yes Fae?"

"Did you miss me, when I was gone?"

"Deeply." Elphaba said. Fae nodded.

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"I....I know Melena's death wasn't your fault. I'm sorry."

Elphaba sighed, and turned, taking the brush from her daughter's hand.

"Apology accepted. And I'm sorry I didn't.....that I didn't tell you....that I...."

"I get it Mama. Apology accepted." Fae said, tears sliding down her cheeks, as she threw her arms around her mother's neck.

"Fae, time to head back--" Liir stopped in the doorway, watching through the half open doorway. Fiyero came up behind him.

"Let's have her stay here tonight, Liir. We can take her back in the morning." He whispered, squeezing his son's shoulder. Liir nodded, and slipped back into the living room. Fiyero stayed, watching silently, as Elphaba held her daughter close, and kissed her hair, the tune she'd sung to Fae as a child gently coming from her lips. Finally, he slipped away, leaving the two most important women in his life alone.

As Fae snuggled into her mother's embrace, Elphaba's fingers running gently through her hair, she whispered,

"I love you, Mama."

Elphaba smiled.

"I love you too, Fae. I love you too."

Another changed.

Like her mother years earlier, Fae was changed.

For good.