The Wizard was alone in his room. He held the bottle tightly in his hands. He remembered the night he first offered Melena a drink from it.
"Have another drink," the Wizard suggested, handing the bottle to Melena.
"I really shouldn't…" Melena said, pushing the bottle away.
"Come on!" the Wizard insisted.
"Well… just one more," Melena said, taking a giant gulp of the green liquid. "More!" Melena begged, finishing off the bottle.
The Wizard climbed into bed, quickly followed by Melena.
"I love you," the Wizard whispered, wrapping his arm around Melena.
"I love you, too," Melena whispered back, falling asleep in the Wizard's arms.
"I'm pregnant," Melena said two months later.
"You're what?" the Wizard asked, shocked.
"I'm pregnant," Melena repeated.
"Who's the father?" the Wizard asked, completely clueless.
Melena glared at him and it suddenly dawned on him that he was the father.
"Dear Oz," he muttered.
"I'm scared," Melena whispered, childlike innocence shimmering in her eyes.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine," the Wizard muttered, kissing her forehead.
"No! Keep Elphaba away from the stairs!" the Wizard shouted.
Elphaba, now two, was very curious. She began to walk around the palace, exploring her world.
She was walking down the hallway, one hand on the wall, the other one stretched out in front of her. She soon found the stairs and smiled. Her smile vanished when she felt someone pick her up and carry her away from the stairs.
"Sweetie, no," her father said.
Elphaba made a high-pitched moaning sound and pushed away from her father.
"Shh, don't fuss," the Wizard whispered.
Elphaba continued to squirm in her father's arms. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to go down the stairs.
"Down!" Elphaba shouted.
The Wizard hesitated before putting Elphaba down. Elphaba turned around and made her way back to the stairs. The Wizard followed her at a safe distance. Elphaba smiled when she found the hand railing. She grabbed onto it with both hands and walked down. The Wizard watched in awe as Elphaba made it to the bottom of the staircase. Elphaba turned and gazed up at her father, waiting for him to follow her. The Wizard smiled at his daughter's brightness and walked down the stairs.
"Come!" she exclaimed, pulling her father towards the door that led to the palace gardens. He took her hand and they walked outside together.
The Wizard sat Elphaba in his lap as they sat on the grass together. Elphaba had never been outside before, and she very excited. She snuggled closer to her father and he wrapped a protective around her.
Elphaba's head suddenly snapped up. A confused look appeared on her face as she tilted her head to the side.
"What is it, Fabala?" the Wizard asked.
Elphaba didn't answer as she pushed away from her father. She slowly walked through the field. She stopped when she came to her destination; an old oak tree. She slowly knelt down and scooped something small into her hands.
She found her way back to her father and held out her hands, revealing what she had found.
"Birdie!" she exclaimed happily, a smile lighting up her face.
"Yes, Fabala. You found a baby bird," the Wizard said, smiling at the small blue bird. "But we should probably return it to its mommy and daddy. They might miss him."
"Mommy?" Elphaba asked, confused. She had never heard that word before.
The Wizard bit his lip. He felt sorry for Elphaba. Not only was she sick and green, but she was also motherless. Not one day went by when the Wizard didn't think about and miss Melena. He wondered what had happened to her.
"Come, Fabala. We need to return the baby bird to its home now," the Wizard said, taking Elphaba's hand and walking her back to the old oak tree. He carefully took the bird from Elphaba's hands and placed it back into its nest. The Wizard smiled down at his daughter. Elphaba looked deep in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" the Wizard asked playfully as he picked Elphaba up.
"Mommy?" Elphaba questioned, her thumb planted firmly in her mouth.
"Shh," the Wizard whispered, pulling Elphaba closer to him as he walked back to the palace.
Elphaba leaned her head against her father's shoulder.
"Daddy?" she asked.
"Yes, pet?"
"Who's Mommy?"
The Wizard rubbed Elphaba's back, not knowing how to answer her question.
"Where is she?" Elphaba asked, not waiting for her father to answer her previous question.
"She's…" Oz, how was he going to answer this? "She's not here."
"Will she come back?"
"I don't know, Elphaba. I really don't know."
Elphaba gave up on asking her father questions and closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry," the Wizard whispered.
The Wizard snapped out of his daydream and looked at the clock. It was close to midnight. He was about to go back to sleep with he heard quiet whimpers coming from Elphaba's room. He quickly sat up, completely forgetting about his wound. The pain spread quickly through his body, causing him so slump back into the bed.
"Elphaba," he whispered brokenly.
Elphaba was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees. She knew that her father was only trying to make her feel better. After all, her question did come out of nowhere. She laid her head against her pillow and quickly drifted off to sleep.
She dreamt that she was walking alone, her arms out in front of her, searching in the darkness.
"Elphaba," a voice called.
Elphaba stopped. "Who said that?"
Something slipped into her hands, probably someone else's hand. Elphaba pulled away.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Elphaba's question was met with silence. She felt herself being pulled into a hug. Instead of jerking away, she slowly melted into the arms of the person hugging her. She didn't know why, but she soon was crying, having a feeling that she should know this person.
When she opened her eyes again, she gasped at what she saw. She could see! She was in a field of wild flowers. Butterflies of all different colors flew from flower to flower. She looked at the person who hugged her. She was tall, had long, black hair, cream skin and sharp features. She was the perfect copy of Elphaba, minus the green.
"M-Mama?" Elphaba asked, her eyes not leaving the woman's face.
"Yes, dear. It's so good to see you again," Elphaba's mother smiled.
"Where… where am I?" Elphaba asked, looking around.
"You're dreaming, sweetie," her mother said, "I just wanted to come and visit you."
"Where are you? Why aren't you here with me?" Elphaba asked.
Elphaba's mother hesitated before answering. "This was never supposed to happen. I was so young and foolish back then. I knew that the choices I made would have lasting consequences, but I didn't care."
"What?"
"Elphaba," her mother said calmly, "This is a mistake."
"What are you saying?"
"Everything was a mistake. I was never supposed to be with the Wizard. I was engaged to someone else, yet I didn't care. I knew that I wasn't supposed to drink that green elixir, but I did."
"That's why I'm green?" Elphaba asked, looking down at her hands. "Because you drank a green elixir? So, you're saying that I'm a mistake? That I was never supposed to be born?" Elphaba hissed, stepping away from her mother. "Is that why you left? You couldn't bare to look at me?"
Elphaba was steaming mad. She finally got to meet her mother and she found out that she wasn't even supposed to exist. Best. Dream. Ever!
"No, Elphaba. Please try to understand. You're not a mistake!"
"Stop!" Elphaba screamed. "Just stop! I hate it when people lie to me like that!"
"Elphaba –"
Elphaba started to pinch her arm, determined to wake up.
"Elphaba, please listen," her mother begged, but it was too late.
Elphaba felt herself waking up. Her mother ran to her and tried to hug her, but Elphaba wouldn't have any of that.
"Please," her mother whispered before Elphaba woke up.
Elphaba woke up from her dream tangled in her bed sheets and sweating. She brought her knees to her chest as her world became darkness again. Elphaba wanted to believe that it was just a bad dream, but something deep down told her that it was true. She really was a mistake.
Elphaba slid off of the bed and sank to the floor. Tears slowly slid down her cheek. She wanted someone to come running into the room to comfort her. She wanted someone that could be there for her. She wanted her… mother.
"Elphaba?" Colin asked, coming into the room.
"Y-Yes?" Elphaba asked.
"Your father heard you crying. Is everything alright?"
Elphaba was about to say that everything was fine, but Colin was too smart for her to lie to. She shook her head as Colin sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her.
"You can tell me anything, you know," Colin said.
"I'm a mistake," Elphaba whispered.
"You're a… what?" Colin asked.
"I'm a mistake. I was never supposed to be born. My parents weren't even married! And my mother drank this… this… green elixir that made me green!"
Colin had completely lost Elphaba during her rant. All he could do was look at her, unsure of what to say.
"Well… I... the thing is…" he stuttered, trying to come up with the right words.
"Please don't," Elphaba said, turning to face Colin. "Don't try to tell me that I'm not."
"How did you learn this?"
"I had a dream about my mother. She told me."
Colin was about to say something else when a cough from the Wizard's room interrupted him. He quickly hugged Elphaba before running out of the room.
That's it, Elphaba thought. I know what to do. I can research the green elixir in the Shiz library. It's bound to have something.
Elphaba smiled as she got back into bed. She hoped that she would be able discover more about what her mother drank before she was born.