AN: Wow I love the amazing responses I have gotten on my writing spree lately! You guys are seriously awesome! I am updating tonight, even though tomorrow is my day off (Independence Day here in the United States) and somehow I managed to swing the day off without asking for it. I am going to spend it at home, celebrating with my family, AVOIDING tourists. When your job involves serving tourists, you don't want to deal with it on the biggest day of the summer when you are off :P Anyway, this is the chapter a few of you guys have been begging for…Elphaba finds out what has been bugging Oscar and Melena. BTW, the 2 new names are of Celtic and I believe Latin origin. Special shout out to vinkun wildflower queen, princess cadence of music and princess of the negaverse for staying with me as I bounced ideas for this chapter off of them.
Elphaba woke early the next morning in order to try and talk to Oscar before he got too busy. She walked down to his study and was about to knock on the door when she noticed it was slightly ajar. She hesitated briefly before pushing the door open. A quick glance around confirmed she was alone in the room. She closed the door behind her, and remembering how Oscar had hastily shoved paper in a drawer when she entered with Fiyero the other day, she approached the desk. Digging around, she came across a small drawer she had not noticed before. Opening it, she pulled out a small, plain looking envelope addressed to Oscar, and not the Wizard. Puzzled, she opened it, for no one save her, Fiyero, and Melena addressed the Wizard by his given name. She wasn't sure if anyone else even knew it, so to see this sparked her interest. She drew out the letter inside, and began reading.
Dear Oscar,
You do not know me, but given what I am about to reveal to you, I believe we are past the stage for formalities. My name is Caeli Vanier. You see, I recently read in the paper about the orphan, a Miss Elphaba. I believe that her mother was my sister, and that you, sir, are her father. I know this sounds unbelievable but please keep reading as I tell my tale.
Some 16 or 17 years ago, my sister Ailis fell in love with a young man, a traveling salesman by the name of Oscar. He left her brokenhearted when he left, and she discovered she was pregnant. Our father, the Governor of Munchkinland, was furious when he found out, but it was too late to do anything about the pregnancy. He was even more horrified when the female child my sister bore was born an emerald green color. He ordered the baby to be taken away and destroyed. I know the midwife could not condone taking the life of a new born babe, no matter the skin color, and must have taken the child to an orphanage. I did not know where the child was going, but I placed my sister's locket around the child's neck and gave her a note in the hopes that we would one day meet again. My sister held on to hope for three years that she would one day be reunited with her lost daughter, however, after her pregnancy, she never regained her full health and died shortly around the time her daughter would have turned 4 years old. Ever since our father passed on, leaving the governorship to me, I have searched all of Oz for that child and have never found her until I read that story in the newspaper. I had my doubts until I saw the locket around Miss Elphaba's neck in the picture. I remember my sister's description of the man she fell in love with and I had suspicions when that salesman disappeared right around the time you took the throne of Oz. I am old now, and sick. I am dying. It is my wish that you will care for Miss Elphaba as your daughter, for she is, in fact your daughter. You never knew of this until now as my father expressly forbid the knowledge that my sister was pregnant out of wedlock to become known and we had no idea where you had disappeared to, or if we would ever see you again. If you doubt this story, I advise you to look at the picture of my sister that I have enclosed, than look closely at Miss Elphaba. The orphan you took in for a few weeks is the spitting image of my sister at that age, with the exception of the green skin. If you feel the need to investigate me and my claim, feel free to do so, but I beg you, do not take action against my niece, for she knows nothing of this.
Best regards,
Caeli Vanier.
As she read, a small gasp escaped her lips and she collapsed onto the armchair she normally occupied when visiting Oscar in the room. She could not believe that Oscar would seduce a young woman and then leave her brokenhearted and pregnant. She could not believe that he was her father and would keep it a secret from her when he first found out. She jumped, startled when she heard the door open.
"Why Elphaba! What are you doing in here so early?" Oscar entered with a huge smile on his face.
"Is it true?" Elphaba looked up at him with tears shining in her eyes.
"Is what true?"
"This, all of this! This woman, my aunt? You as my father?"
Oscar hesitated, "Elphaba, I….you….yes." She just looked at him with hurt and betrayal in her eyes.
"Elphaba, you must understand, I.." Elphaba cut him off with a sharp retort.
"No! I don't want to hear any of your excuses! I don't want to know why it's your fault my life has been a living hell from the moment I was born!" Before Oscar had the chance to get another word in, Elphaba fled the room with the letter and photo in hand.
"Elphaba!" She dimly heard Fiyero's voice calling her name, but ignored him and ran. Fiyero walked into Oscar's study, intending to ask why Elphaba had just ignored him and run in tears. His questions burned even more when he witnessed Oscar drop heavily into his chair behind the desk and put his head in his hands.
"Oscar? What's going on?"
"Oh Fiyero, I have made a royal mess of things." This answer didn't help much and no matter what Fiyero did, he could not get Oscar to say any more than that. He knew that he might have better luck with Elphaba, if he could find her. He thought about the library, but then it came to him: if she truly wanted to be alone, she would go to the palace gardens and climb into a forked tree.
Since he wasn't getting any answers out of Oscar, Fiyero turned around and followed Elphaba out to the garden. He found her there, in her tree, and his heart broke at the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs.
