Hello everyone! As always, please keep reviewing. It means a lot to me! And here's the next chapter. Enjoy! :)
Fiyero sat in the kitchen, absentmindedly gnawing on a sandwich. He just couldn't wrap his mind around all of this and he pulled out the picture that he had taken. Carole had been very good friends with Elphaba's mother so there was a reason that Carole took the green girl in. At least that was settled. But it seemed as if everything he found led him further and further from the truth. Why didn't Carole tell him that she had been friends with Melena? Furthermore, why didn't she tell Elphaba? But, like always, there was a voice in his head that told him that perhaps Elphaba already knew and that everything he was doing was pointless.
It's not pointless, Fiyero, the little voice said, you're just obsessed with her. Just because she knows doesn't mean that you shouldn't find out.
Fiyero's brow crinkled in confusion. Was he really just obsessing over Elphaba? If so, that would need to end quickly.
He put his head down on the table and closed his eyes, trying to think things over. Even if he was obsessed, he still wanted to find out more about her. He had come way too far to turn back and give up now. But as time went by, he found himself drifting off and he realized that thinking could wait.
"Master Fiyero, I would appreciate if you would remove yourself from my workspace."
A sarcastic voice roused Fiyero from his nap. He raised his head slightly to see Elphaba standing in front of him, her arms crossed. He straightened up to regain his composure and then looked at her.
"I see that you're feeling better," He noted, standing up.
"I look better, I just don't feel better." She answered, grabbing a dish towel and a spray bottle and beginning to clean the counter.
"You probably shouldn't be working, Elphaba." Fiyero told her, opening the door to the kitchen.
"You know what, Fiyero?" Elphaba turned, her voice laced with anger. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation. So you do not have the right to tell me what I should or shouldn't do. Until the wedding, you have no power over me."
He stepped back as she scolded him. Not having anything to say, the prince just sighed and let the door slam behind him as he left.
Elphaba snorted and then continued to clean, lost in her mind before she wiped a picture onto the ground. She crouched down, trying to ignore the pain in her back, and picked it up. There were two women, but Elphaba was automatically drawn to the on the left. The woman's hair was a light brown that closely resembled silk threads. Her nose was large and a bit crooked (like her own) and she had a rather toothy smile. Elphaba flipped the picture over and stared at the footnote: Carole Upland and Melena Thropp, Shiz University. So that was her mother. She looked rather normal, something that Elphaba knew she never could be.
Pocketing the picture, she continued to work; her mind was on nothing but cleaning the kitchen. The fact that Carole and Melena knew each other meant nothing to her. And why should it? Her parents never came for her, even though she always thought she would. Elphaba, as a child, used to dream that her parents would come for her. She dreamed that they lived on a large castle that was neatly settled on a passing cloud. A castle on a cloud….. How ridiculous, thought Elphaba. She chuckled at the mere thought. Her home was the Upland Manor, no matter how Etai treated her.
"Fiyero!"
Fiyero rolled his eyes and turned as Glinda came gliding down the hallway, a grin plastered on her face. "Yes, Glinda?" He asked, letting out a sigh in disappointment. No matter how sarcastically Elphaba treated him, he still would rather be in her company than the blonde's.
"I was wondering if you were coming to the cake-tasting with me." She told him, wringing her hands. She could tell that Fiyero was ignoring her and Glinda Upland was never ignored.
"Yeah, Yeah, Glinda, I'll be there in a few minutes." He told her, flicking his hand in a gesture that was telling her to shoo.
"Um, well, okay. I guess I'll see you later." Glinda told him, her giddy mood dissolving into a solemn one. She knew that Fiyero was avoiding her and she tried to tell herself that it didn't matter. She could just spend more time with Boq.
Once Glinda was safely out of sight, Fiyero dashed to Carole's private parlor, letting out a sigh of relief as he found the space unoccupied. He opened the file cabinet and thumbed through the files until he found the one he was looking for. Of course Carole would have a file on Melena Thropp. He thought it was a tad creepy, but he supposed that it was just what women did with their best friends.
The prince flicked through papers until he came to the one he was looking for. It was a small notecard with the name and address of a certain woman by the name of Cattery Spunge.
"Elphaba's nanny," He breathed. It was time to pay an unexpected visit.