Thank you for all of the positive feedback everyone!
ExoticPeachBlossom: No, she didn't go willingly. Galinda dragged her. Literally! Mwahahaha. LOL!
Moreanswers24: I would never kill Elphaba!
Elphaba'sGirl: Other events will take place during the chapters, as well as the lessons.
"Elphie, get a good night's sleep, because tomorrow, we start lesson two!" Galinda chirped as she got in bed.
"You really don't have to do this," Elphaba said as she pulled up her covers.
"I know! That's what makes me so nice!" Galinda yawned. She soon drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
Elphaba, however, didn't go to sleep. She had a lot on her mind. She didn't want Galinda to feel sorry for her. A single tear slid down Elphaba's cheek. Another one followed. Pretty soon, Elphaba found herself crying, and then sobbing.
"E-Elphie?" Galinda asked sleepily. She slowly lifted her head and squinted to see Elphaba in the darkness.
Elphaba stopped crying. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
Galinda opened her mouth to say no, but then remembered her promise to never lie to Elphaba. "It's alright," she said, not being able to bring herself to say 'yes'.
"Galinda –"
"I didn't lie!" Galinda defended herself.
Elphaba scoffed.
"I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"I don't want your pity!"
"I'm not doing this out of pity, Elphaba! I'm doing it because I'm your friend and I don't want to hurt your feelings, as a friend."
Elphaba sniffed. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still not used to this."
"What?"
"Having a friend."
"Elphaba –"
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"Elphie," Galinda said, gently slipping her hand into Elphaba's. "I want to be your friend. If you don't want me to pity you, I won't. I will probably never understand everything that you've been through, but I want to help. Please?"
Elphaba offered Galinda a small, but grateful, smile. "Okay. I will. Thank you."
Galinda gave Elphaba a gentle hug and returned to her bed.
Elphaba took a deep breath and tried to return to sleep.
Elphaba slowly opened her eyes the next morning. She sat up and stretched. Her hands flew to her face and she felt her cheek. It felt… wet. Had she been crying during the night?
"Elphaba?" Galinda quietly asked, sitting on Elphaba's bed next to her.
"Was I… crying?" Elphaba asked, her hand still on her cheek.
Galinda nodded. "Are you alright? You were tossing and turning in your sleep last night."
"I… I think so."
"Did you have a bad dream?"
"I don't remember."
Galinda gave up on the questions and decided to get ready for the day. Elphaba was left to pick out her clothes. A sudden pain in her chest brought her to her knees.
"Ga... lin... da," she breathed.
Galinda, of course, didn't hear her.
"Ga... lin... da!" Elphaba tried again.
The pain was growing more unbearable by the second. Elphaba's body began to vibrate. It was getting harder for her to breath. She began to cough. Galinda ran out of the bathroom, fully dressed, when she heard Elphaba coughing.
"Elphie!" Galinda screamed, running to her friend's side. Elphaba weakly looked up at Galinda. Galinda gasped when she saw that Elphaba was coughing up blood. "Oh dear Oz," she muttered, her hand over her heart.
"…Lin…" Elphaba whispered before collapsing in Galinda's arms.
"ELPHIE!" Galinda screamed. She frantically began to shake Elphaba's limp body, trying to wake her up. She decided to try mouth-to-mouth again. She tried and tried, but nothing was working.
A knock at the door interrupted Galinda's thoughts. "It's open!" she shouted, not wanting to leave Elphaba's side.
The door opened and a girl in a wheelchair came in. "Galinda, I…" she suddenly stopped when she saw the green girl unconscious in Galinda's arms. "Is that…?"
Galinda nodded. "I don't know what happened. I didn't do anything, I swear! I was in the bathroom, getting ready, and I heard her coughing. I ran out and I saw her coughing up blood. Now, she's not breathing or moving."
"We need to do something!" the girl said, coming closer to the two women.
"Nessa, please go get someone. I don't care who they are. And hurry!" Galinda pleaded with her, trying to find Elphaba's pulse.
Nessa quickly nodded as she turned and hurried out the room. She returned a few minutes later with the nurse and Madame Morrible. The nurse quickly scooped Elphaba into her arms and ran out of the room. Nessa left, having been told by Morrible to get to class. Morrible stayed behind with Galinda.
"Madame Morrible, I swear, I have no idea what happened! I was getting ready. I tried to help, but –"
"Miss Galinda, please. I know that it's not your fault," Morrible said calmly.
"What?"
"I'm not allowed to tell you anything about Miss Elphaba's medical condition. If she wants you to know, she will tell you. All I can say is that she has these… spells… if you will. If that ever happens again, you need to get help right away."
Galinda nodded violently. "Can I stay with Elphaba?"
"Well… I… if you can make up your work."
"I will! Thank you," Galinda smiled, giving the head a quick hug before running out of the room to the Infirmary.
Elphaba groaned as she opened her eyes a few hours later. Her head was throbbing and her chest hurt. What happened to her?
"Elphaba?" Galinda asked.
Elphaba slightly jumped when she heard the voice. "Galinda?" she asked, turning to face her. "W-Where am I?"
"In the Infirmary. Are you feeling alright?"
"I think so. What happened to me?"
"I don't know. You collapsed after coughing up blood."
"Oh."
"Has this happened before?"
Elphaba nodded. "I have this… illness, condition, whatever you want to call it. It's extremely rare and I got it as a baby. That's why I'm always tired. It weakens my muscles."
"Is there anything else you know about it?" Galinda asked, squirming in her seat a little.
"Well, only a few other people in Oz had it and died as a result. I know I'm going to be next, so –"
"What?"
"I'm going to die because of this illness. People think that I don't know, but I do. I can hear them talking about me."
"That's horrible!"
"It's not so bad. When I was little, I used to sneak downstairs and hear the doctor telling my father that I'm going to die. I would get really scared and start sobbing, triggering another… episode. Now that I'm older, I just accept it."
"There's no cure?"
Elphaba shook her head. "It's extremely rare. Doctors have never studied it before. They don't know where it comes from or how people get it. That's why my father babies me. He doesn't want to say goodbye to me. People don't want me to get upset over anything, so they just give me anything I want. It can be so annoying sometimes."
"Do you want to live?" Galinda asked, sinking deeper and deeper into Elphaba's world.
"Well, I don't want to die, but I don't want to live with this Oz awful illness."
"You're not going to die, Elphaba!"
"Its just a fact, Galinda. There's no other way around this cruel fate."
"There's got to be a way!"
"There isn't a way. Trust me, my father has summoned the best doctors in all of Oz. They all say the same thing. I'm eventually going to die and that's the end of the story."
"Elphie –"
"No. Please don't say that I'm not. This isn't the first time this happened to me."
"Elph –"
Elphaba closed her eyes, recalling the memory of her first major episode.
"Papa! Watch me!" a seven-year-old Elphaba said, standing on her hands. A giddy smile lit up her face.
"Elphaba!" the Wizard gasped. "Don't do that!" He ran over to Elphaba and placed her feet back on the floor.
"Why? All of the other kids at school can do handstands," Elphaba questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"Are you feeling alright? Do you feel sick?" the Wizard asked, feeling her forehead.
Elphaba pushed away from her father. "I'm fine, Papa. Why can't I do what all the other kids can do?"
"You're sick, sweetie. You need to focus on feeling better."
Tears filled Elphaba's eyes. She slowly felt her way to the stairs and walked up to her room.
She walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She sat on her bed and began to cry. She didn't want to let her illness stop her from having a normal childhood.
"Elphaba?" the Wizard asked, opening the door to Elphaba's room.
Elphaba looked up and saw the shadowy outline of her father approaching her.
"I'm sorry if I upset you. It's just that… when you stand on your hands, it will make it harder for you to breathe properly. I love you and I want you to be safe."
"I wanna be like the other kids!" Elphaba cried.
"I know, sweetie. I'm so sorry," the Wizard said, rubbing Elphaba's shoulder.
Elphaba suddenly stopped crying. Her hand flew to her chest as she slid off the bed.
"Elphaba?" the Wizard asked, his voice full of fear.
"Daddy… h-help m-m-me, p-p-pl-please," Elphaba begged, reaching a hand out to her father before collapsing.
"Elphaba? ELPHABA!" the Wizard roared, scooping his daughter into his arms and running out of the room. "Fabala, please don't die. Stay with me! Please!" he begged as the carriage sped down the narrow streets of the Emerald City.
Elphaba was rushed into the emergency room. She was in intensive care for a full week. When she finally opened her eyes, the Wizard let out a sigh of relief.
"Daddy?" Elphaba asked, blindly reaching for her father's hand.
"I'm here, Fabala. I'm here," the Wizard cooed, taking his daughter's hand and trying not to cry.
"I love you," Elphaba whispered before falling asleep again.
The Wizard made a silent vow with himself and with Elphaba that day. He was going to make sure that Elphaba lived.
Elphaba snapped out of her trance and searched for Galinda. She was asleep in the chair next to her. Elphaba reached for her and gently tapped her knee. Galinda awoke with a start and jumped out of her chair. Elphaba chuckled at her successful attempt to startle the blonde.
"Oh, Elphie!" Galinda playfully admonished, lightly whacking Elphaba's arm. "You should probably get some rest now," she said as she left the room.
"Wait!" Elphaba called her back. "What about makeover lessons?"
"You still want to do that?" Galinda asked, surprised.
Elphaba nodded.
"You need your rest."
"I feel fine. You're supposed to be helping me become popular, aren't you?"
"I never thought that I would hear you say that!"
"It's a surprise to me, too."
Galinda laughed as she pulled out her makeup bag, which she conveniently carries around with her everywhere. She quickly took out the blush and lipstick and applied it onto Elphaba's face.
"You look beautiful," Galinda said, giving Elphaba a quick hug. "Okay, I really have to go now. I promise to visit later on today. The next lesson will be on starting good conversations."
Elphaba smiled as she waved goodbye to Galinda.