Fiyero's heart danced wildly within his chest, pounding like a jackhammer against his ribcage, and his breathes came quick, almost desperate. The pounding within his head crescendo's with each furious pounding of his feet against the hard pavement. His dark, sapphire eyes sparkle with determination, and laced intricately within the subtle pool of clear blue, small traces of hope, dance against the edge of the darkened abyss swirling within the center of his eyes.
His back and legs screamed for him to stop, to fall to the ground and allow the darkness to consume him, and fall into complete and utter silence. After all, it was only a mere hour ago, that he had been sent hurtling through the air, before slamming violently into the wall with such force, that the wind was knocked literally, out of his lungs.
When he had regained consciousness, his lungs burned as he desperately fought to force air back down into his body, for he didn't know exactly how long he had gone without air, but for him, it had almost felt like an eternity.
Like the tidal waves crashing against the sandy shore surrounding Kiamo Ko, one thought, kept crashing within his aching skull; this wasn't Elphaba, this wasn't his Fae…Something, was wrong…something dark.
A flash of something gold caught his peripheral vision. Slowly, Fiyero turned and gasped to see Galinda, the petite Gillikinese princess from Pertha Hills, running alongside him, in perfect stride. What surprised him more was the fact that, not only was Galinda keeping up with him, but in six inch stilettos to boot!
Sensing eyes on her, Galinda's dark cerulean eyes turned to stare annoyed back into Fiyero's.
"What?" asked Galinda, frowning.
"Nothing…your just…how in Oz are you able to run in those heels?"
"This is nothing" chuckles Galinda, "you should see me and Pfannee during a shopping spree, and trying to hit every single store before they close"
"Women" mutters Fiyero.
Silence follows as the two reach the main office building where the HeadShiztress resides. The building was old, and antiquated, with old lanterns and twisted veins that snaked across the old brick walls. The windows were cracked slightly, and stained by the years and seasons. The full moon overhead, cast eerie shadows over the building, making it look even more ominous.
Flinging the door open, both Galinda and Fiyero bolt down the hallways half lit by ebony lanterns. Cherry red doors glow beneath the haunting golden glow of the flickering candlelight, making whatever shadows cast by the flames, to dance and leer almost menacingly towards the two.
Skidding to a halt, Galinda curls her perfectly manicured hands into a tight fist, and pounds almost furiously against the antiquated doors.
Silence follows, leaving both Fiyero and Galinda to hold there breathes in baited anticipation, for neither wanted to deal with Morrible, and both, were not ready to tell the HeadShiztress, exactly what had happened to her star pupil.
Irritated, Galinda lets a low growl slip past her pink lips, before raising her fist back up to the door. About to knock, she stops midway, as a soft sob, cracks the silent air.
"Nessa?" quivers Galinda.
"Ga…Galinda? Is that you?" came the soft, broken reply of the girl behind the door.
"Nessa, what's wrong…what happened!"
"Help me…please!" cries Nessa.
Fiyero gently pushes the blonde aside, before ramming his shoulder into the door. The old thing gives a groan of annoyance, before splitting and crashing to the ground.
Both Fiyero and Galinda stare horrified at the room. Everything in the once neat and tidy room is a mess. Clothes ripped and rumpled lay strewn on the floor, bookshelves and a nightstand lay toppled and shattered on the floor, wooden pieces splayed out on the ground. Bed sheets stained in blood lay like a sea of silk on the floor; half tangled and twisted around the young crippled girl's legs.
A low gasp slips past Galinda's lips, as her dark, cerulean eyes stare horrified at the tear stained angel, trembling before them. Rivulets of auburn hair lay tangled around her trembling shoulders, and face, half hiding the large, hideous bruise on her right cheek.
"Oh Nessa!" cries Galinda.
Rushing over to Nessa's side, Galinda very carefully drops to her knees, before reaching out and untangling the sheets from around her legs. Lithe fingers tremble as they twist and tug at the bloodstained sheets.
Once free from the wretched binds, Fiyero; almost heroically, steps up next to Nessa. Gently, he scoops the young girl up in his arms. And with gentle steps, moves the trembling girl over to the half destroyed couch.
Laying her down on the silken cushions Galinda waits for Fiyero to step away, before laying a light blanket over Nessa's shaking form.
"Thank you" whispers Nessa; her voice was low, and broken.
"Nessa, what happened?" asks Galinda softly.
"I…I don't know" chokes out Nessa.
"Try Nessa…please" begs Fiyero.
Closing her eyes, Nessa allows her fractured mind to drift back into the stream of memories. Though it was a mere hour ago, the events which unfolded within this very room, still seemed so fresh, so new, as if the event had just happened, replaying constantly.
"Fabala came here…pounding on the door and calling out to me desperately…her voice…so much pain, so much horror was laced within her voice…it chilled me to my very bones" shivers Nessa at the memories.
Phantom echoes of the past, throb within Nessa's mind, as the haunting pounding on the door, ricochet's within her head, and her sisters desperate cries for help, slice across her heart, splitting open the unseen seems, and allowing a cascading waterfall of crimson to spill before her feet.
"I…I went to the door, and as soon as I had managed to unlock it, the door burst open…as if by magick" chokes out Nessa.
Slowly, Nessa's tear filled eyes rise up to stare absently at the concaved door, splattered in blood. Pieces of wood stick out of the half dilapidated doorframe, the door, misshapen half hangs on its golden hinges.
"My wheelchair was flung back, sending me to topple to the ground a few feet away. When I looked up, Fabala was standing at the threshold. What I saw, chilled me to my very core"
"What did you see Nessa?" whispers Fiyero.
"Her eyes…Oh Oz her eyes…so much darkness…so much pain…and rage" gasps Nessa.
"What did she do?" asks Galinda, her voice trembling, soft as a whisper. Her heart beats furiously in her chest, holding her breath in fear to the catastrophe that had befallen the sister of a fallen angel.
"She looked at me, this wicked smile on her lips. Her eyes…were filled with such darkness…it wasn't her….it wasn't her!" cries Nessa.
"What happened…where's Fae! What did she do?"
"She trembled, brought a hand to her head for a split second, before her knees buckled beneath her. She fell to the ground…when she looked back up at me, the darkness was gone"
Elphaba lays crumpled on the ground, her body trembles violently as hard gasps split the air. Her dark, raven hair spills around her, like an ebony sea of silk.
Nessa watches with baited breath, too afraid to crawl near her sister, for fear that the darkness she had seen, would return.
It was at this moment, that Nessa could get a good look at the injuries marring her sister's once beautiful emerald skin. The sea of bruises, the laceration marks, the gashes, the dried blood. Bile rose within her throat, at the repulsive nightmare that had enveloped her sister within its darkened symphony.
She knew the horrors her sister endured, by the students of Shiz University. She was not blind, nor was she numb to the pain that she had endured. Her heart ached for her sister, yet there was nothing she could do.
Even if she pleaded for the students to stop, they would just simply ignore her pleas, and continue in their animalistic brutality.
"Elphaba?" whispers Nessa.
Slowly, Elphaba lifts her head up off the ground. Tears of pain, of agony swim within large chocolate orbs. Trembling, Elphaba's long, slender fingers slowly, desperately, reach out towards her sister.
"Please…help me" pleads Elphaba, her voice filled with pain, soft, yet vulnerable.
"I can't…but father can…father can help you" cries Nessa.
"Father?"
"Yes our father…he'll know what to do…he…" starts Nessa, her mind racing a mile a minute.
"He doesn't exits…he can't help me"
"What do you mean?" gulps Nessa.
It was a surprise, one that Nessa couldn't wait to surprise her sister with, a surprise visit, by their father; Frexspar Thropp, the ruling Governor of Munchkinland.
It wasn't planned, but Nessa thought it would do both her father and her sister some good, if he came to visit the two. After all, in all the letters their father had sent, he always sounded anxious, and worried as to how she was doing in school, and whether or not her sister was taking good enough care of her. He warned Nessa in their letters, that if Elphaba was not living up to their expectations, then Frex would come immediately, and remove Elphaba from Shiz University, and send Nanny in her stead.
So instead of writing a long, almost complicated letter back to her father, assuring him that all her needs were being met, she had decided to have her father ride out, and visit the two. So he could see with his own two eyes, just how well his precious Nessa was being taken care of.
She didn't know, but Frex had actually arrived a little early, considering he had received a rather disturbing letter from Elphaba's roommate. Still, he had stopped by briefly with Nessa, inquiring to how her studies were doing, and whether or not her sister was living up to her duties.
He wasn't convinced, when Nessa assured him that Elphaba was taking very good care of her. So, instead of believing his precious Nessa, he told his golden child that he would return shortly, kissed her on the forehead, and boarded his carriage back to Crage Hall; since the building Nessa was living in was quite a distance away from the rest of the others.
In the back of her mind, Nessa prayed that her father's hatred towards her sister had been negated, considering how much pain, her sister obviously was in. And though she didn't know exactly what in Oz's name was going on, she still hoped their father had done the right thing, and showed a little bit of compassion.
"A man came…a silly blonde told me he was my father" whispers Elphaba, her voice cracking.
"What do you mean…a man came…didn't you recognize him?" questions Nessa, confused.
"He denied his parentage to me" whispers Elphaba, ignoring her sister's question.
Nessa's heart cracked, hearing her sister's voice so broken, and lost.
"What?" gasps Nessa.
"He denied me…whoever that man was, that I was his daughter…he said a freak like me…could never be his child…then he slapped me, and kicked me to the ground…before spatting on my face and leaving" finishes Elphaba, the darkness slowly returning to her voice once more.
Honestly, Elphaba didn't really know what drew her to this particular place, nor this person. All she knew, was that her heart, had mysteriously guided her to this old antiquated building, seeking a girl, she had no memory of. Yet her soul, her mind, hungered to reach her, to sit beside her and be held in her arms. To have the darkness washed away by her warm embrace.
"I'm a thing. An aberration…an abomination to the Thropp family heritage…she is not my daughter…she is nothing but dirt beneath my feet" replies Elphaba, her voice low, dark, and gravely.
The light swirling within her eyes vanishes, being replaced once more by the darkness and the warmth once wrapping around her dissipates, replaced quickly by ice.
"Elphaba?" questions Nessa, as she tries to scoot closer.
"Get away!" screeches Elphaba.
Just like in the dorm room, an unseen reaches out, and grasps onto the crippled girls body. A soft gasp slips past her lips, at the feel of something icy, grab onto her arms. Before she can utter another word, the unseen force throws the crippled girl across the floor.
"Elphaba" winces Nessa.
Mechanically, Elphaba rises to her feet, the darkness once again flooding her eyes. A strange, ebony myst, slowly dances around the green woman's stiff body, making Nessa shiver in fear.
"I' am the Aberration…the Abomination of Mankind…I' am Darkness Incarnate…The Demon to the Dark Side of the Crescent Moon!" howls Elphaba, her voice growing darker with each word.
"No…Elphaba what's happened to you?" cries Nessa.
"The Demon of Darkness…the Fallen Angel to the Guild of Heaven's Light…the Bringer of Death…I alone Herald the Destruction to all of the Worlds and beyond!" roars Elphaba.
"No!" cries Nessa.
Snapping her head down at the crumpled girl on the floor, Elphaba's eyes darken, as the darkness slowly wraps around her heart, tainting it from the inside out.
"Your Elphaba Thropp…Third Descending to the Prestigious Thropp line…daughter to Frexspar and Melena Thropp…and sister and companion to me!" cries Nessa.
"Silence infidel!" screams Elphaba.
Elphaba raises both her arms up above her head, before throwing them out to the side. As she does, Nessa's body is hurled against the wall.
A sickening crack resounds throughout the room, as Nessa's body collides with the hard quoxwood walls. Crumpling to the ground, Nessa struggles to keep her mind from falling into the oblivion of darkness slowly closing in on her.
Hard footsteps echo in her ear, flooding out the sound of her blood pulsing hard against her ear drums. In a blink of an eye, the ice cold force grabs onto her waist. Flipping her over, Nessa's dark, chestnut eyes blearily try to focus on the image of her sister, towering over her.
In a flash, Elphaba reaches down and wraps her green slender fingers around the young girl's throat. With a growl, Elphaba hoists Nessa high in the air, her dainty feet, dangling a few inches off the ground.
"Ell" gasps Nessa.
"The Demon has no family" growls Elphaba.
"Elph…Elphaba"
"Is no longer amongst us"
Cracking fills Nessa's ears, as Elphaba's grasp on her throat tightens. An insatiable burning pulses within her lungs, as her body desperately cries out for much needed oxygen.
Desperate, Nessa claws at her sister's hand, hoping that will be enough to force her sister to release her from her grip.
A menacing half laugh, half cackle, fills the air, making Nessa freeze, and her eyes to widen in horror.
"Your measly attempts at freedom are worthless now die like the dog you are!" roars Elphaba.
"Fff..Fabala!" gasps Nessa.
Pain, slices across Elphaba's face, the name, a ghost of a memory from so long ago slowly digging its way back into the green girls subconscious as an agonizing throbbing, pounds within Elphaba's head, forcing the young witch to drop her victim.
Hitting the floor, Nessa winces, before her eyes snap back up at the sound of an almost animalistic roar, cracks the stale, frigid air.
Elphaba stands, her hands on either side of her head, trembling, the darkness within her eyes flickering.
"Elphaba?" whispers Nessa.
Crumpling to the ground, Nessa waits with baited breath, as her sister's body twists and contorts in an almost sickening position, as violent trembles rack her frail form.
Nessa watches helplessly as her sister's breath comes in short almost gurgled gasps. Her eyes, once filled with darkness, slowly start to roll up into her head. Her slender green fingers involuntarily clench into tight fists, before pounding the ground, splitting the skin.
"Elphaba!" screams Nessa.
Weakly, Nessa pulled herself towards her sister's side, oleander elbows scraping against the hard wooden floors, scratching the skin, and leaving small trails of blood.
Wincing, Nessa ignored the pain. For her, this little bit of pain, was nothing compared to the torments her sister, was enduring. And come hell or high water, Nessa would not let her sister journey down this path of destruction alone. Even if it killed her, she would remain by her sister's side, aiding her.
"Fabala" cried Nessa.
Slowly, the tremors cease, leaving the emerald witch to gasp on the floor, a crumpled angel, drowning in a sea of ebony and crimson.
"Fabala" whispers Nessa, half fearful that whatever it was that had her sister's body clutched within its grasp, may finally have left.
Slowly, Elphaba forced her body to turn on its side. Sweat glistened across her face, making her emerald skin almost sparkle within the candlelight. Small strands of raven hair cling to her forehead, framing her face. The light in her eyes returns, but slowly starts to fade with each weak pulse of her heart.
"N…Nessie" whispers Elphaba, her voice just barely above a whisper.
Green fingers tremble, as they reach, almost desperately out towards Nessa. Silently screaming, desperately yearning, to grasp tight onto a lifeline to help pull her soul out of darkness, and back into the light.
Wincing, Nessa reaches her pale fingers out towards her sister. Tears fill her eyes as she tries desperately to latch onto Elphaba, hoping, praying, that whatever has ensnared her sister within its web of darkness, that the touch of a sisters love, would help break the chains binding her soul, and imprisoning her within this hell.
Just as their fingers are within mere inches from touching, darkness once again floods Elphaba's chocolate eyes, extinguishing the light once dancing within.
Nessa watches horrified as Elphaba's hands once reaching towards her own touch, clench in a tight fist, before pounding onto the ground, leaving a large hole in its place. Pulling her hands back, Elphaba rises gracefully to her knees before throwing her head back, and releasing roar, animalistic, almost demonic, to rip through her throat.
"Fabala!" cries Nessa.
Snapping her gaze back at the crippled woman lying sprawled on her stomach on the floor, Elphaba, almost sadistically, gives her an evil, acidic smile, before rising to her feet, her gaze never leaving her.
"Fabala?" whispers Nessa.
"Is no longer here…for I' am Darkness…I' am the bringer of Destruction…Chaos Incarnate!" roars Elphaba.
"No!" screams Nessa.
Her cries go unheard though, for Elphaba, gives Nessa one last acidic smile, before running towards the windows. Jumping in the air, Elphaba crashes through the glass, and once again, disappears into the sweltering darkness of the night.
"Where did she go?" whispers Galinda.
During Nessa's reverie, Galinda had unconsciously taken a seat on the edge of the couch, Fiyero, on the other hand, had unceremoniously, sat down on the ground, a few feet away. His eyes were clouded, his mind reeling from the events that had taken place, a mere hour ago.
"Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" whispers Galinda.
"No…she ran through the window…and disappeared" cries Nessa.
"She's gone…we've lost her…she's gone" gasps Fiyero.
Galinda's head snaps up, at hearing the defeated voice of Fiyero Tiggular, ring throughout the room. Her heart cracks at seeing the despair, flashing across Fiyero's face. He was far away, yet he was right here. No, his body was here, but his mind was millions of miles away.
Galinda silently drank in the broken sight of Fiyero, legs curled up to his chest, his strong arms wrapped protectively around his legs, keeping them pressed against his chest. His dark, sapphire eyes, held nothing, no flickers of life, nothing, they were just blank, silent pools slowly draining away into the endless abyss of despair.
The two people who cared, who loved Elphie the most, were reduced now a crumpled mess, a broken, soulless body, merely living in an existence of darkness and hate.
This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be the end. This isn't how their lives were supposed to end. Not like this, not with Elphaba falling further beneath the crushing waves of darkness. Not Fiyero; the strong, brave and dashing Winkie Prince, who's heart was stolen the minute he had laid eyes, on the emerald enchantress.
Stilling her own pain, Galinda very calmly, wraps her arms around Nessa's shaking body. Holding her close, Galinda gently wipes the tears from Nessa's eyes as she rocks the girl in her arms.
"It will be alright Nessa…you'll see…it will be alright" whispers Galinda.
"How?"
"I'll take care of it" replies Galinda.
Silently, Galinda rises to her feet. Giving both Nessa and Fiyero one last, silent smile, Galinda very carefully leaves the room, a new purpose, a new hope, pounding furiously within her heart.
Within a few minutes, Galinda finds the one person she hoped, she would not have to invoke help from. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Madame!...Madame Morrible!" calls out Galinda.
Freezing in place, Morrible gives a small shudder, before rearranging her features into a crooked smile. Turning, Morrible gives the blonde her most sincere smile, a smile, which leaves the blonde shivering inside.
"Yes dearie…what may I help you with?"
"I must speak with you regarding urgent urgencies which need to be addressed immediately"
Inwardly, Morrible winces at the blonde's stupidity. Urgent urgencies? Ah, the blubbering fool. Angrily, Morrible curses the Chamber Council of Shiz, for they simply do not pay her enough, to deal with such morons.
"Although I'm quite sure that whatever urgent urgencies are in desperate need of my attention" growls Morrible, before allowing her half twisted smile to slide across her crimson lips, "It is quite late and past curfew. So I must refrain, but please do seek an audience with me in the morning…when I'm in my office"
"But Madame!"
"Enough…to your dormitories" shoos Morrible, before turning and waddling away.
"Madame, this has to do with your star pupil!" screams Galinda.
Stopping, Morrible slowly turns back to face the blonde. A look of intrigue, flashing across her withered, overly powdered face.
"Really?"
Okay, sorry my dear readers for the delay. But I'm on track and eager to get this story moving. Thank you to all who had left reviews for the last chapter. They were all wonderful to read, and put a huge smile on my face. Again, dear readers, please review, reviews equal love, and we could all use a little bit of love right? Next chapter up soon.