Twenty-Two
Elphaba wrote to Fiyero that night, telling him absolutely everything that had happened. It took her fifteen pages to write everything but when she'd finished, she felt exhausted but exhilarated. Getting everything down on paper had been tremendously therapeutic and she felt so much lighter.
That feeling lasted until the following day, when Elphaba and Boq went to see Nessa and Melena. Elphaba knew immediately that Nessa knew the truth about Elphaba's paternity, because she was pale and quiet.
"It's just a lot to take in," she said to Elphaba when they were alone.
Elphaba nodded sympathetically. "I know."
Nessa shook her head. "I mean... I always thought that Momma and Father... even through everything, they seemed to love each other. And to find out now... I wonder if my father knew, even suspected the truth. I know Momma says he didn't know, but if he never said anything, there's no way to tell for sure."
Elphaba waited, unsure how to respond. Then Nessa met her gaze.
"But I want you to know that nothing's changed. I still mean everything I said yesterday."
Elphaba smiled, faintly relieved. She 'd be lying if she said she hadn't been worried about how Nessa would feel knowing they were only half-sisters, Elphaba being the product of an affair.
"I wrote to Fiyero last night," she changed the subject smoothly.
Nessa nodded. "I wrote to Galinda this morning."
"I was thinking you could fill Boq in? I need to talk to M-Melena about something."
Nessa agreed. "Sure. When I spoke to Momma, she said we could tell them everything. She thinks it's important that we're both surrounded by friends at the moment who know the truth."
Elphaba must have looked surprised and Nessa shrugged.
"She knows she's made mistakes, Elphaba. And she said after having to pretend you were dead for so long… she's done with secrets. Not from the people we trust."
"That's really nice," Elphaba said sincerely.
"What do you need to talk to her about?" Nessa asked curiously.
Elphaba hesitated, but decided to be honest. "My father."
So, as Nessarose talked to Boq in the living room, Melena and Elphaba were seated in the kitchen.
Elphaba felt uncomfortable bringing it up, but she had come to the decision the night before that she wanted to know more.
"I wanted to let you know, that I've been thinking. And… I can't believe I actually found you and Nessa and the way it happened… it sounds crazy," she began. "And I really want to get to know you."
Melena smiled tearily. "Good. I'm glad."
Elphaba took a deep breath. "But I also want to try and find my father."
Melena showed no visible reaction, so Elphaba pushed forward. "It's just… I've come this far, you know? But there's still things I don't know, bits of my dream that haven't been explained that I'm sure have something to do with him. I feel like I have to know who he is."
Her mother nodded slowly. "I think you should. He's part of your identity, of where you come from. And if you need to find him, you should."
"How?"
The two women turned to see Nessa and Boq entering the kitchen. It was Boq who had spoken, who looked a little sheepish.
"Sorry. But… how are you going to find him?"
"I haven't gotten that far," Elphaba admitted. "All I know is that he was a travelling salesman and his name's Oscar."
"Well, how many Oscar's can there be in Oz?" Nessa asked reasonably. "It's an awfully strange name, isn't it?"
"He may not even be in Oz anymore," Boq added pointedly.
Melena spoke up. "Can I just interject here? I'm not sure if it will help in anyway, but you have one more clue. The bottle was his," she reminded Elphaba gently, who pulled said bottle from her bag.
"I'm not really sure what this will help with," she admitted.
"Can I have a look at it?" Boq asked, and Elphaba handed it over.
"I've never seen anything like it," Elphaba said.
"I hadn't either," Melena added.
"It's glass," he noted.
"It's also green, what's your point?" Elphaba retorted.
Boq rolled his eyes. "My point is, why don't we take it to a glassblower and see if they can tell anything else about maybe where the bottle came from?"
Nessa looked surprised. "Boq, that's a really good idea!"
"Why do you sound so shocked?" Boq demanded.
"Are there any glassblowers in Munchkinland?" Elphaba asked.
"There's one in Big Appleton," Melena supplied. "That's only an hour and a half away."
"We could borrow my father's cart," Boq offered. "We could go over tomorrow, and ask?"
"OK," Elphaba agreed.
Nessa spoke up hesitantly. "There was one more thing I wanted to bring up. Elphaba… I know you were staying with Boq because he has more room, and this house is really small, but… I was wondering if you maybe wanted to spend the rest of the summer here? I don't mind sharing my room if you don't, and that way, we could get to spend more time together. The three of us."
Elphaba wasn't sure, but she wasn't opposed to the idea, and she could tell it would mean a lot to Nessa.
"I'd love that, Nessa," she said softly, and Nessa beamed.
Then she turned to Boq. "Is that okay?"
"Sure," Boq agreed readily, surprised Elphaba would even ask. "My parents will totally understand."
Elphaba blinked. "Are we telling your parents?"
"I think we should tell them the basic truth," Melena said hastily. "I think that's all anyone really needs to know."
It was safe to say that Bfee and Emese were stunned to say the least, to learn that Elphaba was, in fact, Melena's long-lost daughter. Melena had told her neighbours herself, and admitted that Frex had given the baby away, ashamed of her abnormal skin colour.
And so Elphaba moved from Boq's house to the house next door. Melena had set up a mattress on the floor of Nessa's bedroom, and although with Nessa's chair it was more than a little squished, both girls were happy.
"Are you going to come with us tomorrow, Momma?" Nessa asked over dinner.
Melena paused and looked at her daughters. "Would you like me to come?" she asked, addressing Elphaba more than Nessarose.
"I would," Elphaba admitted, a little nervously.
Melena smiled reassuringly. "Then I'll come."
They left early the next morning, after breakfast. Boq showed up with the cart, which Bfee had easily agreed to lend them for the day, and they set off for Big Appleton.
Munchkinland was proving to be somewhat of a culture shock for Elphaba. Having grown up in the Emerald City, then going to Shiz, which was still a relatively large town; the small towns and farmland of Munchkinland was a huge change. She found it beautiful, but she missed the hustle and bustle of the city.
Big Appleton was, well… big. It was the largest city in Munchkinland, Nessa informed her, even larger than Munchkin City, although Munchkin City was bigger in terms of population.
"Do we know where the glassblowers is?"
Melena spoke up. "I only know there is one. I bought a glass figurine at a market a few years ago, and the woman running it was telling me that her husband had made it and they lived in Big Appleton."
Elphaba was immediately overcome with the fear that they had closed, or moved and their journey had been for nothing. But she said nothing, trying to stay positive.
When they finally reached Big Appleton, Melena had Boq stop so she could ask for directions. The three young adults in the cart waited tensely, and were rewarded when Melena returned with a smile.
"It's only a few blocks away," she assured them, sounding rather relieved herself.
"Are we all going in?" Nessa asked as they headed off to the store.
Elphaba spoke up. "Actually, I'd prefer to go in alone, if that's okay?"
"Of course it is," Melena comforted her. "We'll wait in the cart."
The glass store, they eventually found, was a large building with a beautiful display of glassware in the front windows.
Leaving Melena and Nessa to admire them, and Boq waiting patiently in the cart, Elphaba took a deep breath and entered the store.
There was a small Munchkin man behind the counter and he was polishing a few glasses as he looked up and saw Elphaba standing there. He froze at the sight of her, and Elphaba winced, wishing she'd thought to bring in Melena or Nessa with her- someone who wouldn't be balked at.
"Can- Can I help you?" the man said finally.
"I hope so," Elphaba replied, slowly approaching the counter. "See, I have this bottle- a glass bottle. It's er… a family heirloom, and we're trying to find out more about it. I was hoping you might be able to tell me something about it?"
The Munchkin considered her for a moment. "I can certainly try and help," he said, and Elphaba let out a long breath of relief.
"May I see the bottle please?"
Elphaba pulled it out of her bag and handed it to the man. He then proceeded to examine it carefully, holding it up to the light and other things Elphaba couldn't have told you what they were for.
"This is very unusual glass," he spoke, and Elphaba's heart leapt.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
"It's so unusual that most glassblowers wouldn't be able to help you."
"But you can?" Elphaba pressed eagerly.
The man sighed. "I can't really tell you anything specifically about the glass. But you're quite lucky that you came to me. You see this mark? On the bottom?"
Elphaba hesitantly took the bottle back from him and turned it upside down so she could see the bottom. Squinting at the glass bottom, she saw what the man was referring to.
"It's… it's a heart?" she asked unsurely.
"It's a broken heart," he corrected her.
Elphaba didn't get it. "So… what does that mean?"
"Every glassblower has their own symbol in order to sign their work- like a signature," he explained. "This broken heart is the signature of Turtle Heart."
"Turtle Heart?" Elphaba frowned.
"Yes. It's quite rare to see one of his works in these parts, actually. He usually keeps his works within the Quadlings."
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "The Quadlings? That's where he is?"
The man nodded. "Last I heard, but that was oh… five years ago now."
Elphaba's heart sank. There was no way she would be able to go searching through the Quadlings for this Turtle Heart, even if it did mean perhaps finding the man who was her father.
"Thank you," she said to the Munchkin man graciously, placing the bottle back in her bag.
"Well, what happened?" Nessa demanded eagerly when Elphaba met them back outside.
"It was made by a glassblower in the Quadlings," Elphaba told them. "His name was Turtle Heart."
Nessa and Boq's faces fell. Melena didn't want to give up just yet.
"We could write to the Quadlings? Try and find him?"
Elphaba shook her head. "No, it's fine. I think this is the end of the road."
"Are you sure?" Melena asked gently.
Elphaba nodded and smiled faintly. "Yes, I'm sure. I guess it's a sign it wasn't meant to be," she shrugged.
She didn't consider the fact that perhaps it was just a matter of things falling into place.