Twenty-Five

At exactly the designated time, Elphaba was outside the Wizard's Palace in the City centre. Her stomach was in knots, and she felt as though she might throw up.

Summoning all her courage, she took a deep breath and knocked on the palace door.

It was immediately opened by a guard in uniform. "Yes?"

"My name is Elphaba Rozek. I have an appointment with the Wizard," Elphaba announced, trying to sound more confident than she was.

He nodded. "This way," he said, allowing her to step inside.

She was escorted down several hallways, past several more guards who conferred briefly with her escort before being allowed to continue; until finally, she was shown into a large parlour and left alone.

It was a beautiful room, decorated in green and gold like everything else. Elphaba sat awkwardly on a loveseat, wondering what was going to happen.

What would her father be like? What would he look like? No one had ever seen the Wizard, as far as she knew.

Lost in thought, she jumped to her feet as the door opened. As she turned, a man entered. He was tall, with mostly grey hair although she could clearly see streaks of black remaining, and he was wearing a suit, and carrying a box under his arm. He looked surprised to see Elphaba as he stood there, which Elphaba guessed was due to her skin.

"Elphaba?" he asked uncertainly.

"Y-yes," Elphaba replied, wondering if she should curtsey.

He raised a hand as he stepped forward towards her. "Please, sit."

She did as requested, and he came and sat on the loveseat opposite hers.

As nervous as she was, sitting opposite her father, Elphaba couldn't help but realise that she was in the same room as the Wizard of Oz- her childhood hero, the man who she had dreamed of meeting and working for since she was a child. And who was now her father.

"It's really nice to meet you your Ozness," Elphaba began, but he cut her off.

"Please. It's Oscar."

"Oscar," Elphaba repeated, sounding out the unfamiliar name.

"So… Melena Thropp is your mother?"

"Yes, sir," she replied.

Oscar nodded slowly. "And you're twenty-one?"

Elphaba could see what he was doing, trying to verify that she actually was his daughter. She didn't call him out on it, she figured he had every right to do so.

"Yes. I was born April twelfth."

She could almost see him doing the calculations, and when he paled slightly after a few moments, Elphaba figured the dates matched up.

"Oh. I see."

Elphaba figured this was the best time to ensure there were no misunderstandings.

"I just want you to know, that I'm not here to ask for anything," she said quickly. "I don't want… anything. I just… wanted the chance to meet you."

Oscar seemed to be taking everything in- Elphaba recognised the facial expression well.

"Of course. It's only natural," he said faintly. "I am, after all… your father."

Then he looked at her, frowning slightly. "You don't have your mother's name."

Elphaba winced, she'd been hoping that wouldn't come up.

"No, I don't. My mother didn't raise me. I was raised in an orphanage, here in the Emerald City."

Oscar startled. "An orphanage? Here? Is your mother alive?"

"Yes," Elphaba said hastily. "But I… I was given up, at birth. By my… well, technically I suppose he was my step-father."

He looked horrified. "Why?"

She hesitated and lowered her gaze. "Uh, well…" she raised her green hands silently and Oscar understood.

"Oh. You were born like that?"

"Yes."

Oscar seemed confused by the idea, and he fell silent. "That could have been the elixir," he mused thoughtfully.

Elphaba blinked. "I'm sorry?" she asked, leaning forward.

He looked over at her and cleared his throat. "The elixir… it was what was in the bottle," he said, opening the box and lifting out the green bottle.

"I- that is, your mother and I, used to drink it. When we… knew one another."

Elphaba recalled the image from her dream of the toast in shadows, and then blanched at the idea she was having a picture of her own conception. She definitely did not need or want to know anything more about that.

"You look like your mother," Oscar noted.

Elphaba didn't know what to say. She hadn't really thought about that, although she had noted that she had inherited Melena's eyes, chin and bone structure. But she could also tell that she had Oscar's thin, fine nose and of course, the black hair.

But just being able to say that she looked like someone was something Elphaba had never been able to do before, and it took her by surprise.

Luckily, Oscar didn't wait for a response.

"So, Elphaba, tell me about yourself. Which orphanage were you at? Were you adopted?"

Elphaba cleared her throat uncomfortably. "No, I was at the Ernest Rusch's Children's Home until I was twenty. I go to Shiz on a partial scholarship, I'm doing a double degree in law and politics. And I also waitress at a restaurant off-campus."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're a waitress?"

"Well, I'm only on a partial scholarship," she repeated. "They cover my tuition, but I have to pay for my own books and things. Besides, I kind of like it," she admitted.

Oscar didn't look impressed. "What about housing?"

"I'm living on campus," Elphaba replied vaguely, not wanting admit her best friend's parents were paying for it.

"I'd be happy to pay-" he started, but she cut him off hastily.

"No! No, thank you," she corrected herself. "Like I said, I really don't want or need anything from you. I just wanted to meet you."

"So, you go to all this trouble to come see me, announce you're my daughter, and then leave? That's all? I'm never to see you again?"

Elphaba hesitated. Put that way, it did sound cold.

"I'd be happy to stay in written correspondence," she offered.

"And your mother? Are you going to stay in written correspondence with her?" Oscar asked pointedly.

Elphaba winced. "Well… the situation is slightly different with my mother. You see, I also have a sister. Well, half-sister," she corrected herself. "I go to Shiz with her and we were friends before we discoverated the truth. I'm still getting to know my mother, but I do expect to have a relationship with her," she admitted.

"As I said, I'm not expecting anything from you. I don't want special treatment from anyone, because of… because of your title," she said firmly.

"I can respect that," Oscar admitted.

Then he paused. "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh… sure. Thank you," Elphaba accepted.

Oscar called for tea. As they drank it, they spoke a little more, mostly about Shiz and Elphaba's studies. She felt awkward admitting she was studying law and politics in hope of working for the Wizard's administration, but he seemed impressed.

It wasn't exactly how Elphaba had always imagined meeting the Wizard. He didn't seem particularly impressive or powerful, and Elphaba felt slightly let down by that fact. The truth was, she saw, the Wizard was just... a man. He didn't seem to have any real power.

Before she left, he offered her the glass green bottle. "You've clearly held onto this for a long time. I'd like you to have it."

Elphaba hesitated and then took it from him. "Thank you."

When she entered the apartment, she found her mother and friends all sitting in the living room, waiting anxiously for her to return.

"Elphaba!" Nessa exclaimed when her sister entered.

Melena rose hastily, looking worried. "Well? How did it go?"

"It was fine," Elphaba reassured her. "We just had tea and talked, that's all."

"What happens next?" Galinda asked her friend gently.

Elphaba shook her head as she sat down. "Nothing. We go back to Shiz and live our lives. I've met him… that's all I really wanted to do."

Galinda looked disappointed. "That's it? Nothing else?"

Elphaba shrugged. "I have his nose?"

"I'm going to assume you don't mean that literally," Fiyero joked, trailing off under Elphaba's stare.

"Just trying to ease the tension," he said casually.

Elphaba sighed. "I don't know… I always imagined meeting him, when I was growing up. You know, the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz. But he didn't seem to have any real power. He was just… Oscar."

A silence fell, no one sure what to say.

"Well, I'm hungry," Boq announced. "What's for lunch?"

Elphaba was excited to get back to Shiz and begin the semester, although she knew when people found out about her and Nessarose being sisters, it would be huge news.

"Why can't people find something to talk about that doesn't involve me?" she complained as they discussed it over dinner that night.

"What do you mean?" Melena asked, not following.

"Elphaba was a popular topic of discussion on campus last year," Boq informed her.

"Why?"

Elphaba sighed wearily. "Firstly because I was green; then because I was in the hospital; then because Galinda and I were friends; and then because I was dating Fiyero."

"Hey, I can think of at least two instances where people weren't talking about you," Fiyero chimed in, but Melena was focused on one thing.

"Why were you in the hospital?" she asked sharply.

Elphaba grimaced, she hadn't exactly mentioned that part to her mother was. "I was sick," she said vaguely.

Nessa knew their mother would freak if she knew the truth, so she smoothly lied. "She was just working too hard. That's all."

Melena wasn't sure if she bought that, but she let it go.

Two days after Elphaba's meeting with her father, Elphaba was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, when Fiyero called out to her.

"Er, Fae? You might want to see this!"

Elphaba groaned inwardly. Those words always filled her with a sense of dread.

"What now?" she grumbled.

Fiyero was in the living room, staring at the front page of the newspaper.

"I don't think you're going to like this," he told his girlfriend, reluctantly handing her the paper.

Elphaba took it, and gasped as she scanned the headline.

'DAUGHTER OF OZ REUNITED WITH FATHER!'

Below the headline was a large photo of Elphaba, which she recognised from her student ID at Shiz.

Frantically, she went on to read the article, which stated that she was the daughter of the Wizard, who had been estranged from her father- the Wizard, since her birth; and had finally reunited with her father and had met him two days prior.

"I- I don't understand," Elphaba stammered. "How- how?"

"I don't know, Fae," Fiyero said gently.

"What's going on?" Melena asked, entering the room, and Elphaba silently handed her the newspaper.

Elphaba began to pace as her mother read.

"Fae, calm down," Fiyero tried to soothe her, but she whirled around to face him in agitation.

"Calm down? Fiyero, do you know what this means? How are we going to explain what happened to everyone?"

"The truth?" Boq suggested, reading the article over Melena's shoulder.

Elphaba shook her head. "No. People would say awful things about Frex, and he's still Nessa's father, no matter what he did. She shouldn't have to go through that."

"What if I want to?" Nessa asked quietly, wheeling herself into the room.

"Honestly, Elphaba, what other choice do we have? Yes, my father did something horrendible, but he did a lot of good as Governor, and he was a good father to me. I can handle it if people say rude things."

"But I don't want them to say anything bad about you by association," Elphaba said to her sister gently.

Melena spoke up. "They wouldn't. Not if they knew about the milk flowers too."

"So, make Nessa a victim of Frex too so they don't turn on her? That sounds kind of cold," Galinda said in surprise from behind Nessa.

There was a knock on the door, and Fiyero opened it swiftly.

"Hello?" he greeted whoever was on the other side.

"Hello, I'm here to see Elphaba."

Elphaba recognised the voice and turned immediately. "Let him in, Yero."

Puzzled, Fiyero did so, and Oscar stepped into the room.

"Everyone, this is uh… Oscar. The Wizard of Oz," Elphaba introduced them.

Galinda and Nessa gasped.

"It's such an honour to meet you, Your Ozness," Galinda gushed curtsying. "I'm-"

"I know who you are, Miss Upland," Oscar cut her off, kindly.

"You do?" Galinda asked, wide-eyed.

He chuckled. "I'm the Wizard of Oz, of course I know!"

Elphaba wasn't that impressed, but Galinda seemed enchanted.

"Did you know about this?" Elphaba demanded, snatching the paper from Boq and holding it up for Oscar to see.

Oscar winced. "Ah, yes. I did hope I'd be here before you saw a paper."

"How did this happen?" she asked.

Oscar cleared his throat. "It seems there was a leak in the palace, and they told the paper. Of course, when I saw it, I knew I had to come."

"What for?" Elphaba asked suspiciously.

"To tell you how I intend to proceed from here."

"And just how is that?" Melena questioned, stepping forward to support her daughter.

Oscar stared at her for a long moment. "Melena… it's been a long time."

She gave no visible reaction. "What do you intend to do from here?" she repeated.

Oscar cleared his throat. "I am not going to deny it. I will publicly acknowledge you as my daughter."

Elphaba reeled slightly. "What? No! I told you, I don't want anything from you. Can't you just dismiss it as a rumour or speculation?"

Oscar straightened stiffly. Fiyero didn't want to risk pain or injury by telling his girlfriend she had the same defiant stare as her father.

"I could, but why should I? It's true, isn't it? You are my daughter."

"By blood, perhaps," Elphaba argued.

Oscar set his jaw. "That was not by choice or design, as you well know."

Elphaba promptly turned on her heel and left the room. Fiyero made to follow her, but Melena stopped him.

"No. Let me."

She found Elphaba in her room, sitting on her bed miserably.

"Elphaba? What's wrong?"

Elphaba looked up at her and sighed. "You don't think I get enough attention as it is? I don't want to be treated differently because of him. I said from the very beginning I didn't want anything from him."

Melena stroked her hair lightly. "I know, sweetheart. But… you may not have a choice. The news is out there, even dismissing it as a rumour would not stop people from talking. And… Oscar seems determined to remain in your life. That doesn't mean you have to take anything from him."

"But if people know I'm the Wizard's daughter…"

"Yes, people will treat you differently," Melena admitted. "But you know who you're real friends are, Elphaba. And you don't have to change too much. You can still control your life."

"Can I?" Elphaba asked bitterly.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and the two women looked up to see Oscar there, looking awkward.

"Elphaba, I apologise. But may I please explain?"

Elphaba paused and then nodded briefly, not looking at him.

Oscar took a deep breath. "You and I are more alike than you may wish to think Elphaba. You see, I too, never had a family of my own. But that was my own choice- I was always working, always travelling. I always wanted a family, children, but the timing was never right. And now… here you are. I know that you're grown, and you don't need a father, and I respect you for not wanting anything. But would you deny me the opportunity to do what I can for my daughter? My own flesh and blood?"

Elphaba was hesitant.

"I'm not asking for much," Oscar said quickly. "But I would like to acknowledge you as my daughter. And to support your education."

"And in return?" Elphaba asked, seeing no point in pretending there would be no expected gesture on her part.

And Oscar didn't pretend. "Written correspondence, as you suggested the other day. And to see you, a few times a year."

Elphaba looked over at Melena, who looked back at her.

"This is your decision. I'll support you regardless," she said simply.

Elphaba sighed, then turned back to Oscar. "Those terms seem acceptable," she agreed quietly.

Oscar smiled. "Wonderful. I'm going to release a statement this afternoon. I'll be sure to include your request for privacy, shall I?"

Elphaba nodded. "Please."

"Another thing I was hoping to talk to you about was how much detail you wanted to give to explain our estrangement?"

Elphaba was too weary to go through all that, Melena could see, so she stepped in.

"I think perhaps you and I should discuss that privately. Elphaba and I have already spoken briefly about it, and I think she could use some space right now."

Oscar nodded. "Of course."

Melena and Oscar left the room, and Elphaba lay back on her bed tiredly. This was it, there was no going back.

Her whole life was about to change.