Sixteen

A flash of lightning, illuminating a window pane...

The dim features of an Antelope's face, looking down at her...

A brightly coloured hot air balloon, floating through the sky...

A gasp, then the sickening thud of someone falling to the ground...

The familiar refrain of the lullaby... a woman's voice humming...

The clink of glasses, raised in a toast in the shadows.

"Wherever you fly, this isn't goodbye. My love will follow you, stay with you..."

A man's voice, cold and angry. "Take it away!"

Another flash of lightning and an enormous, rumbling clap of thunder...

Elphaba jolted awake, sitting upright in bed, breathing heavily. The room was dark, and it was raining outside, she could hear it pelting down on the roof and windows.

A spark of lightning made her jump, and as the thunder rolled over mere seconds later, Elphaba wondered if the thunder had been a part of her dream at all, or merely she had been waking up at the same moment, yet unaware of it.

It took Elphaba a moment to realise she was trembling, but she knew why. There were parts of that dream that were new.

The hot air balloon; the clink of glasses; and most sickening, the thudding sound- all of these were new. But the thing, Elphaba knew, that had caused her to awaken so suddenly, was the voice.

"Take it away!"

It had been a man's voice. He had said the words coldly, carelessly. Elphaba didn't know what the words were in reference to, but they were spoken as though it was nothing more than a piece of trash.

It sent chills down her spine, just the mere memory of it made her shudder.

Elphaba groped through the darkness until she found her alarm clock on her nightstand. Squinting at the time, she saw that it was just after four-thirty in the morning and sighed, flopping back against her pillows.

She never really fell back asleep, she only dozed lightly for about an hour before dawn. It was still raining and a horrendible day when she woke up again, and she was very quiet as she and Galinda headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Are you ok, Elphie?" Galinda asked, noticing her friend's abnormal silence.

Elphaba forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well."

Galinda accepted that easily, but Fiyero was less willing to let it go. If she hadn't been so distracted, she would have smiled. In the two weeks since Elphaba's birthday, he seemed to be more protective of her than he had before, which she found slightly irritating, yet endearing.

He didn't get a chance to talk to her until he found her in the library that afternoon.

"So, what's going on?" he asked casually, sitting next to her on a loveseat in the library as she read.

Elphaba was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You're quiet today," he noted.

She shook her head. "It's fine. It's just a gross day and I didn't sleep well last night. That's all."

Fiyero raised an eyebrow pointedly. "Fae, come on. What's going on?"

Elphaba hesitated, then sighed, putting down her book. "For as long as I can remember, I've been having dreams. They never make sense, and they're usually just the few same images. And the song… the lullaby? That's how I got it. And nothing ever really changes. I mean, it took years before the words for the song came with the music but… it's always the same thing. But last night's dream was different."

Fiyero frowned. "How so?"

"Things were different. It still makes no sense, but…"

"What kind of things did you see?"

Elphaba took a deep breath, trying to remember. "Well… at first it was the same things as usual. Lightning, an Antelope-"

"Antelope or antelope?" Fiyero asked, just to clarify.

Elphaba paused. "I'm not sure… does it matter?"

"Not really, I was just curious. Go on."

"I heard the lullaby, but that's nothing new."

"So what was new?" Fiyero pressed.

"I saw a hot air balloon. The rest of it was really just sounds. There was something that sounded like a clinking of glasses; the sound of someone falling, and… a man. Saying "take it away." And then I woke up."

Fiyero had to admit that none of that meant anything to him.

"So, you have no idea what any of it means?"

Elphaba shook her head. "No. Kistine took me to a magic woman once who seemed to think they had something to do with my birth parents. But nothing ever means anything!"

Fiyero could tell she was frustrated, and reached over to take her hand.

"Fae, what bugs you most about this? That the dreams are changing?"

His girlfriend shook her head. "No. It was the voice," she admitted. "It just… it sent chills down my spine. It was so… creepy. Like I wasn't safe."

Fiyero wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his arms.

"You're safe, Fae. I promise," he said softly.

Elphaba relaxed in his embrace, feeling better than she had so far all day.

"Have you ever thought about trying to find your birth parents?" Fiyero asked suddenly.

Elphaba was surprised, and she pulled away to look up at him. "Uh… no. I mean, not really. There were plenty of kids in the orphanage who had been given up for adoption and it's natural to imagine about finding your birth parents. Especially if you're waiting to be adopted. But… I don't remember ever even asking about my birth parents. There was this bottle that was left with me on the doorstep, and I remember asking Kistine about it once. She told me the truth, that it had been left with me. I never asked again."

"But what about when you got older?"

She shrugged. "That requires time, and money. And I don't have that kind of money, and even if I did, I'd have no clue where to start."

"I'd pay," Fiyero offered immediately and Elphaba laughed dryly.

"Yes, I'm sure your parents would be thrillified to foot the bill for your girlfriend whom they hate to find her birth parents."

"They don't hate you," Fiyero protested.

"They just don't think I'm good enough for you," Elphaba finished for him. "Whether because I'm green or because I'm an orphan, it doesn't really surprise me."

Fiyero tilted her chin up so she was meeting his gaze. "Hey. My parents are going to meet you, get to know you and fall in love with you. Just like I did."

Elphaba couldn't help but grin. "Hopefully not just like you did. Or that would be awkward," she said teasingly.

Fiyero laughed, and she leaned up to kiss him.

"Thank you for the offer," she said sincerely. "But I really don't think it's a good idea."

"For me to pay or for you to find your parents?"

"Both. Honestly, I don't need to find them. I'm sure they had their reasons for giving me up," Elphaba replied.

But she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Fiyero or herself.

Elphaba found herself thinking about their conversation all afternoon. That night, when they were sitting with Galinda, Nessa and Boq at the cafeteria for dinner, Boq suddenly looked over at Elphaba.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Elphaba paused unsurely for a moment. "Go ahead," she answered, mystified as to what it could be.

"Do you think your birth parents are green?"

Her response was to stare at him for a long moment while she tried to work out if he was being serious or not.

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"What in Oz's name made you ask that?" demanded Nessa.

Boq shrugged, looking slightly sheepish. "I don't know. I was really bored in the history lecture today and my mind started wandering…"

"To whether my birth parents are green too? Because, I have to admit Boq, that's a bit creepy," Elphaba said.

"That was the end result of a long and confusifying train of thought," Boq was hasty to defend himself. "But I just wondered."

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've wondered a few times over the years, but I always figured if they were… wouldn't we have heard? Isn't green people a big deal?"

"Well, yeah, but we'd never heard of you before you showed up here," Boq pointed out.

"Do you think you might ever want to find them?" Galinda asked, trying to be more tactful than Boq.

"I don't know. Maybe I do want to find them," Elphaba replied, surprising everyone including herself.

"Really?" Fiyero asked her, surprised. "This afternoon-"

"I know," Elphaba cut him off. "I know. I said I'd never thought about it. But I've been thinking about it since you asked. And… I don't know… I wouldn't know how to look or where to start," she admitted.

"But I have questions. And as happy as I am right now, a bit of me feels… lost. Like something's missing. So, maybe… maybe trying to find the answers to some of my questions is the answer."

Galinda looked excited. "Oh, this is going to be wonderful! You'll find your parents, and have this wonderful reunion, and then we'll have a big festivation to celebrate!"

Elphaba thought she was being radically optimistic, but decided against reminding her things could not end so happily.

"How would I go about trying to find them?" she asked the table at large.

"What about Kistine?" Fiyero asked. "Would she know anything?"

Elphaba looked doubtful. "I doubt it. If she knew anything, why wouldn't she have said it before?"

"Maybe because you never asked?" Nessa suggested practically.

"It's worth a try," Galinda agreed.

Elphaba laughed dryly. "Yeah, I'm just going to go to the orphanage and ask her if she knows anything about my birth parents."

Fiyero raised an eyebrow in response without saying anything. Elphaba saw it and understood exactly what he was suggesting.

"No! I couldn't!"

"Couldn't you?" Fiyero countered.

Elphaba faltered. "I can't! I have work, and school… how would I even get there?"

"We'll get a carriage."

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yeah, you don't think I'd let you go alone, do you? Moral support or whatever," he grinned.

Elphaba smiled softly at him. "Thank you. But still, I have school and work."

"So, tell them you can't work for a weekend," Galinda chimed in. "You haven't taken any time off since you started there, except for those few days you were in the hospital; you don't need the money for rent or bills or anything; and I don't think Alun and Idonea would mind."

"And if you go on a weekend, you don't have to worry about school," Boq pointed out. "How long does it take to get to the Emerald City from here?"

"A few hours," Elphaba replied.

Nessa shrugged. "So, you leave Saturday morning, and come back Sunday afternoon. You won't lose that much time."

Fiyero looked to her. "What do you think, Fae? The Royal family has an apartment we can stay in, and I can get a carriage for this weekend?"

"I think I'd have to give the restaurant at least a week's notice," Elphaba pointed out, although she appreciated his enthusiasm.

"OK, so next weekend," he shrugged.

"I guess we could go next weekend," Elphaba said slowly.

Galinda's face lit up as she had an idea. "Oh, could I come, Elphie? I've always wanted to see the Emerald City."

"If you want to," Elphaba agreed.

"We should all go," Fiyero suggested.

"That sounds fun," Boq nodded eagerly.

Elphaba looked around the table and chuckled faintly in disbelief. "So, we're doing this? Next weekend?"

"Absolutely," Nessa confirmed.

Elphaba was overwhelmed by a rush of affection for her friends, that they were willing to go all the way to the Emerald City with her, for what could very well turn out to be a fruitless journey.

She wasn't really expecting anything to come of it, but she meant what she had said.

It was time to try and find some answers to her questions.