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Somewhat of a cliffy again this time.

Chapter 11. Beautiful liar

'Elphie, you look beautiful,' Galinda announced the night of the ball. She had just spent three hours preparing her best friend for it, and she was utterly satisfied with the outcome of her hard work.

'I look…' Elphaba stared at her mirror image, trying to find the right word. 'I look…'

Galinda squealed and clapped her hands. 'Gorgeous? Amazifying? Pretty?'

Elphaba sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly tired, and slumped down onto her bed. 'Like a green bean in a pretty dress.'

'Oh, Elphie!' Galinda hopped over to her friend, sitting down next to her and wrapping her arm around Elphaba's shoulders. 'You shouldn't look at yourself like that!'

'But that's what I am, Galinda,' the raven-haired girl said, frustrated. She sighed again and stared down at her emerald hands, resting languidly in her lap. 'I'm not a princess,' she said quietly. 'I don't belong at a ball in a pretty dress. I don't belong in a castle… I don't belong here.' She rose to her feet again, moving towards the window, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared out across the grasslands in the south. 'I don't belong anywhere,' she whispered, the wind carrying her words away towards the grasslands, but Galinda still heard them.

'Elphie, what makes you think that?' she demanded. 'You belong here. With us. With Aunt Lori and Uncle Hammy and Fifi and Coco and me… we all love you, Elphie!' Some more than others, she added in her mind, smirking slightly, but she didn't say anything about it. Now wasn't a good time.

Elphaba shook her head. 'No, I don't,' she said softly. 'Glin…' She sat down on the bed again. 'I don't even know where I come from. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and it's just… I feel like something is missing.' She remembered telling this to the turtle on the beach some time ago – she had been struggling with this for some time now, but she had never mentioned it to anyone until now. 'Something feels off and I can't tell you exactly what. I feel like I'm not supposed to be here, but I have no idea where it is that I am supposed to be.' She drew her knees to her chest and leaned her chin on top of them. 'Perhaps I'm not even human,' she said sarcastically. 'For all we know, I'm some mutated kind of vegetable.'

Galinda scowled. 'Elphie-'

'Or perhaps I just dropped down from the moon.'

Now the blonde's eyes widened. 'Oh my Oz,' she breathed, looking utterly excited. 'Do you think that would be possible? For you to be from the moon? Because, I mean, that would be so awesome!' she squealed.

Elphaba couldn't help but smile. 'Glin…'

Galinda pouted. 'I know. That's very unlikely.' She plopped down next to Elphaba. 'Elphie,' she said gently. 'Why didn't you say something about this before?'

'Because I knew you guys would try to reassure me,' Elphaba said immediately. 'And that's very sweet of you, but it doesn't help. I know you like being around me – I haven't got the faintest clue why, but if you didn't, you'd be long gone by now.' That made Galinda chuckle.

'And I know Hamold and Lori love me,' the green girl continued. 'I love them, too. They're like the parents I never had… can't even remember.' She sighed once more. 'It's not something that makes sense,' she admitted. 'It's just… just a feeling. But it's there, all the time, and I don't know what to do. Look for my real parents? But how? Where do I start? And what if I do find them, but they don't want anything to do with me? What if they dumped me on that beach on purpose because they didn't want a green child? What if I really was in a shipwreck and they're dead, then what do I do?'

'Elphie!' the blonde interrupted her sternly. 'Would you stop being pessimistic?' She hugged her friend. 'Everything is going to be okay,' she told her. 'Really. I'll help you.' Her face brightened. 'Fifi and Coco could help, too! We could be, like, a detective team.' She narrowed her eyes and waved her fingers in what was supposed to be a mysterious manner. 'Elphie and the Blonde Squad.'

Elphaba chuckled. 'I think Fiyero will disagree. He keeps insisting that he's not blonde.'

Galinda huffed. 'He totally is.' She thought about it for a moment. 'Team Pink!'

'Never,' Elphaba told her firmly.

'Team Green?' She paused. 'Team Emerald!'

'Galinda, we're not going to be a detective team!'

The blonde girl pouted. 'Well, fine. It's your quest, after all.' She started bouncing again. 'But even if you won't let me name us, that doesn't mean we're not going to help you. We're going to do research and find out where you're from if it's the last thing we'll ever do!'

Elphaba had to smile at her friend's enthusiasm. 'Thanks, Glin.'

Galinda stopped bouncing and hugged the green girl. 'Thank you. Now, would you please move in front of that mirror again?'

She did, and Galinda went to stand next to her. 'Don't you see that dress looks beautiful on you?' the petite girl asked. 'I'm going to convince you you're beautiful. Tell me – what do you see when you look in the mirror?' She paused for a moment. 'Let's start at the bottom. Feet?'

'Green.'

'Legs?'

'Green.'

'The dress is covering your legs, Elphie. You can't see the green.'

'I still know there's green.'

Galinda sighed and shook her head. 'Elphie…' She pinched her friend's arm. 'First of all, let's not name it 'green' anymore.'

Elphaba quirked an eyebrow at her. 'Then what did you want to call it? Purple?' she quipped.

Galinda stuck out her tongue. 'Emerald.'

Elphaba kept quiet.

'That sounds a lot nicer,' Galinda decided. 'You're emerald, like the City. Emerald Elphie.' She giggled. 'Your skin isn't ugly at all, Elphie. You don't have pimples or ugly scars or something like that.' She looked at her friend closely for a moment, critically eyeing her up and down. 'You have small feet, which is nice. You're not fat – pretty much the opposite – but you still have curves. I mean, come on, Elphie, your figure is a-ma-zing. Every girl I know would kill for a figure like that. Your hair is pretty, it's thick and long and shiny and curly and really beautiful. Your eyes are pretty, too – the colour is pretty, it's like chocolate, only shinier, and who doesn't love shiny chocolate?' She paused for a moment to catch her breath. 'And your eyes are big and your lashes are long, which is, like, super-pretty. And I like those tiny little freckles on your nose-'

'The green ones, you mean?'

Galinda scowled. 'Didn't I just tell you to shut up?' she demanded, and Elphaba was stifling her laughter. 'No, as a matter of fact, you didn't.'

'Oh.' Galinda faltered. 'Well, then I'm telling you now,' she finally decided. 'So, anyway, where was I?'

'My green freckles.'

'Right. So really, Elphie, you're pretty much perfect. Actually, there's usually only one thing wrong with the picture.'

Elphaba rolled her eyes. 'The green?' she supplied, and this time Galinda whacked her arm. 'No. The clothes. Really, Elphie, you need to get a little taste in clothes. I'll take you shopping next week,' she promised, at which Elphaba just moaned dramatically.

'But,' Galinda continued, 'since you're not wearing the dreary clothes right now, you're good. Just look at yourself, Elphaba. You're beautiful. Anyone with eyes can see that. Can't you see it?'

Elphaba obeyed, staring at her reflection in the mirror once again. She was wearing a sapphire blue dress with a skirt that widened from the waist down. The bodice was corset-like and had to be tied up at the back; the sleeves just reached her elbows. Tulle decorated the neck and the ends of the sleeves, along with the edge of the skirt, which just brushed the floor. Galinda had talked her into wearing silver heels – not too high, but high enough – and she was wearing a silver choker necklace with small sapphires in it.

She studied her hair after that. When she had been younger, it had been straight, but it had started to curl over the years. Galinda had been very pleased with that, since it saved her the effort of trying to curl her friend's hair. Now, she had pinned it up in a loose ponytail, with curly strands tumbling down her shoulders and back.

Galinda had done a great job on her hair and make-up, the green girl had to admit. And the dress really was beautiful.

But despite everything her friend was saying, she didn't really see all that. She just couldn't see past the green.

'I'm sorry, Glin,' she said with a miserable sigh. 'I can't.'

Galinda hugged. 'You will,' she promised her friend. 'Someday.'

When the blonde entered the ballroom, dressed in a satin lavender gown and wearing pearls in her hear, she immediately headed towards Hamold and Lori, who were greeting the guests. She stood on her tiptoes, leaning up towards Hamold. 'Mission 'Make Elphie Look Beautiful' accomplished. And how,' she giggled. 'So how are things going with Mission 'Have The Orchestra Play A Love Song And Get Fiyero To Dance With Elphaba'?'

Hamold's eyes were twinkling with mischief – he knew it had been a good idea to get the petite blonde girl involved. 'The orchestra is going to play a slow song as soon as I give them a sign. I'm going to talk to Yero when I'm done here and I'll make sure he'll ask her to dance.'

Galinda smiled. 'Good.'

'Enjoy yourselves,' Lori was saying to an elderly couple, smiling warmly; but the moment the two people were out of earshot, she whirled around to face her husband and Galinda, eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Alright, what are you planning?'

Galinda gave a nervous giggle and Hamold said with a straight face, 'Planning? Us? Nothing, dear. Nothing at all.'

Lori gave them one of her famous death glares and Galinda gulped. 'I, um… I'm going to find Coco,' she said quickly before scurrying off.

Lori looked at her husband pointedly. 'Hamold?'

He smiled and pulled her closer, kissing her cheek. 'You have nothing to worry about, darling. Trust me.'

She eyed him warily, but didn't say anything else.

Galinda came skipping back to them, Cohvu by her side. She was beaming; he was awe-struck, unable to keep his eyes off of his girlfriend.

Hamold laughed. 'Cohvu, you alright?'

'He's just dazzled by my radiating beauty,' Galinda explained with a toss of her blonde hair. She giggled. 'Aren't you, Coco?'

He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her. 'You really do look beautiful tonight, Glin.'

She pouted. 'Just tonight?'

He laughed and kissed her hand. 'No, not just tonight. You always look beautiful. I love you.'

'I love you, too.' She kissed him, then tugged at his hand. 'Come on. Let's dance.'

'Galinda?' Hamold called. She looked over her shoulder. 'Yes?'

'Where is Elphaba?'

Galinda grimaced. 'She got held up by the Duke of Gillikin. She'll be here in a moment.'

'The Duke of Gillikin?' Cohvu queried softly. 'The one with the dramatic, dreary stories?'

'Yeah,' said Galinda. 'That one. He caught us out in the hallway. Started babbling about his grandson and that he really likes girls with blonde hair, and then he sent a disgusting wink in my direction and started interrogating Elphie about me. You know, where I'm from, who my parents are, if I have a boyfriend.'

Cohvu looked confused. 'He was asking about you, and he didn't mind you leaving?'

'I sneaked away,' Galinda admitted. 'There was a group of five or six people coming in, and I mingled with them and disappeared into the ballroom. Elphie can deal with him by herself.'

As if she had heard that, the green girl came practically stomping into the ballroom, looking murderous. When she saw Galinda, she stalked over to her. 'Galinda Upland! How dare you leave me alone with… with him!'

'I'm sorry!' Galinda squeaked, hiding behind Cohvu. 'But you were handling it so well, and I thought he was creepy, so…'

Elphaba shot her a glare, but didn't say anything else. Cohvu whistled. 'Wow, El. You look amazing.'

Much to her amusement, Galinda saw a blush creeping up Elphaba's face. 'I… thank you, I guess,' the dark-haired girl muttered, and Cohvu flashed her a grin. 'I mean it.'

Elphaba swallowed. 'I, um… I'm going to find Hamold and Lori,' she said faintly, and Galinda smirked as her friend walked off. 'Elphie being shy. Never thought I'd see the day.'

'Me, neither,' Cohvu said, and Galinda sighed. 'She's just so insecure when it comes to her looks. But perhaps a boyfriend could change that.'

Cohvu looked at her pointedly. 'Galinda…'

She made big eyes at him. 'What?'

'You're not playing matchmaker, are you?'

'Who? Me?' She made an innocent face. 'Noooo…'

Her boyfriend sighed. 'So you are.'

She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. 'Maybe. But it's going to be awesome, Coco. Trust me.'

Fiyero came rushing into the ballroom, skidding to a halt next to his parents. 'Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,' he said, slightly out of breath.

Hamold gave him a disapproving look. 'Yero, are you just incapable of arriving somewhere on time?'

His son flashed him a grin. 'I guess.'

Lori rolled her eyes. 'Yes, well, thank Oz you're here now.' She straightened his tie and started fumbling with his hair. He tried to pull away. 'Mom!' Then, suddenly, he froze, staring at something over his mother's shoulder with wide eyes.

Lori waved a hand in front of his face. 'Yero? Are you still with us?'

He didn't respond, and she sighed and turned to her husband angrily. 'What is wrong with everyone today?' she exclaimed in frustration.

Her husband chuckled and took her hand. He whispered something into his wife's ear, and understanding dawned in Lori's eyes. 'Oh.' She followed her son's gaze and smiled broadly. 'Oh. I see.'

Hamold moved closer to his son and tapped his shoulder. 'Yero? You're drooling.'

The prince blinked and turned back towards his father. 'What?'

Hamold rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 'Son, just ask her to dance already,' he suggested. Fiyero immediately looked panicked. 'What? No, I can't!'

The King leaned closer to his son. 'Until you try, you'll never know. You want to know if she loves you back, don't you?'

Fiyero's head whipped around. 'I said I wasn't sure how I felt about her yet!' he protested, but his father just rolled his eyes again. 'Fiyero. I believe that you didn't know what you were feeling before, I really do, but now? Stop fooling yourself. Your face is an open book.'

Fiyero looked back at Elphaba, and though he didn't like it, he had to admit his father was right. There was no ignoring the butterflies in his stomach.

He studied her, trying to keep his mouth closed and his eyes their regular size this time. She looked beautiful. He always thought she looked beautiful, but now she looked almost ethereal. A princess of the shadows. An angel of the sea. She seemed to float as she walked, and he sighed.

Oh, yes. He was in love. His father was right – there was no denying it now.

'Yero?'

He looked at the King again. Hamold nudged him with his elbow. 'Why don't you ask her to dance?' he suggested again.

Fiyero's eyes widened once more in horror. 'No!' he protested. 'That would be weird! And what if she says no?'

Lori rolled her eyes. 'Yero, there's nothing weird about two friends dancing together,' she said, before adding pointedly, 'and if you don't do something, nothing is going to happen between you two.'

Fiyero sighed. 'I suppose you're right.' He swallowed, then mustered all of his courage and nodded. 'Okay. Here goes nothing.'

'Good luck,' his father added, and the prince bravely made his way through the ballroom towards the green girl in the dark blue dress. 'Elphaba?'

She turned around and smiled at him. 'Oh. Hi, Yero.' She frowned a little, however, when she saw the look on his face. He noticed it, but he couldn't help being completely stunned – at this distance, she looked even more amazing than she had from across the room.

She seemed to deflate a little and turned away from him. 'Yeah, I know,' she muttered. 'Glin forced me into this dress, but it looks horrifying. Sorry for ruining your eyesight.'

Now it was his turn to frown. 'Would you stop saying those things?' he demanded a bit angrily. He took her hand and kissed it. 'You're beautiful.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I appreciate the effort, but you don't have to lie to me to make me feel better, Fiyero. You know me better than that.'

'Who says I was lying?' he said quietly. She shivered a little at the intent gaze in his eyes and averted hers, staring at her feet instead. Suddenly, he asked, 'Would you like to dance?'

Her head whipped up again, eyes narrowed, searching his face for the joke she was sure would be behind this; but when she found none, she hesitated, then laid her hand in his. 'Alright.'

He grinned broadly and led her towards the dance floor. At the other side of the room, Hamold was jumping up and down frantically, trying to get the attention of the orchestra conductor. When the man finally looked at his King, Hamold gestured wildly. The conductor nodded and turned back towards the musicians. He made a few gestures of his own and a different song started, a slow one.

Hamold lowered his arms, panting slightly from the effort, but with a content smile on his face. Lori shook her head in mock pity. 'Sweet Oz, Hamold. You are incorrigible.'

He grinned at her and pulled her close for a kiss. 'I know.'

'Fae?' Fiyero asked as he and Elphaba moved to the music together. She looked up at him and he was enchanted by her sparkling chocolate brown eyes. 'Yes?'

He shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear it. 'Do you really think that low of yourself?' he asked her quietly, and she lowered her gaze, knowing what he was talking about. 'It's not thinking low of myself, really,' she said. Her eyes shot up again, flashing defensively as she looked at him, daring him to counter her next words. 'It's knowing the truth and not being afraid to say it out loud.'

She was just challenging him to disagree, and of course he did. 'That's bullshit, Elphaba,' he said fiercely. 'You don't look horrifying, and apologising for ruining my eyesight is not funny.'

He wanted to say more, but she held up one hand to stop him and said tiredly, 'Could we not go over this again, please? I just had an everlasting discussion about beauty with Galinda in my room, and I really don't feel like doing that all over again.'

'Galinda tried to convince you that you're beautiful?' he asked, and she nodded, rolling her eyes. Fiyero smiled. It was good to know that the blonde girl was on his side in this one.

'Fine,' he said, spinning her out. 'I won't argue with you about it.' He spun her back in, causing her to nearly lose her balance and fall against his chest. He smiled down at her. 'But I just want you to know…' He pulled her closer as they started swirling around on the dance floor again. '…that tonight, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.'

Much to his satisfaction, she blushed again. 'Don't do this, Yero,' she warned him, but he ignored her. 'You always look beautiful,' he said softly. 'But never more so than you do tonight.'

Meanwhile, Galinda and Cohvu had joined Hamold and Lori again. The blonde girl was squealing and bouncing up and down. 'This was the best idea you've ever had, Uncle Hammy!' she gushed, and he laughed. 'I know.' He cocked his head a little, thoughtful. 'You know?' he said in wonder. 'Elphaba's dress exactly matches the colour of Fiyero's eyes.'

Galinda rolled her eyes. 'Um, yes,' she said, as if that much should be obvious. 'Duh. That's not a coincidence, Uncle Hammy – I told you I was an expert. It's all about the details.'

Cohvu frowned a little. 'But your dress doesn't match my-'

'No, of course it doesn't match your eyes,' Galinda said indignantly. 'I would never wear gray!' She smiled sweetly at him. 'But it matches the lavender stripes in your tie.'

He looked down. He hadn't even realised there were lavender stripes in his tie until she mentioned it. 'Wow. You really are an expert.'

Galinda smiled smugly. 'I know.'

Suddenly, there was a sound of shattering glass echoing through the ballroom. Everyone immediately turned towards the sound, confused murmurs rising from the crowd. The music stopped and Fiyero and Elphaba turned as well, not knowing what was going on.

In the middle of the room was the Governor of Munchkinland – or at least Elphaba assumed it was him, because there was a teenage girl in a wheelchair right beside him, looking concerned. 'Father?' they heard her ask quietly. 'Are you okay?'

The man completely ignored her, though. He was staring at Elphaba wide-eyed, gasping for breath as if he had just ran all the way here from Munchkinland, and his face was as white as a sheet.

Elphaba stepped forward, puzzled. 'Sir?' she asked politely, but he shrunk away from her, eyes fixed on her as if she was a ghost having come back from his past to haunt him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them again and saw that she was still there, that she was real, his face turned another shade paler, making him look almost gray. 'Melena…' he breathed, all kinds of emotions visible in his eyes.

Then he fainted.