AN: Yep, here it is. A birthday update. Consider it a birthday present from me to myself :D. (Also, reviews make excellent birthday presents.)
Anyway, thank you all so much for your congratulotions! Virtual birthday cake to you all :).
Musicgal: Yeah, the Fiyeraba-getting-together. I figured that Elphaba should at least be a little insecure about it, since, well, she's still Elphaba; but I don't want to dwell on it for too long, since I've done that many times in my other chapters, so he is going to convince her rather fast this time :).
Scarlett: Frex is... hm... neutral, I guess. I mean, he's not going to be affectionate towards anyone but Nessa, or something, but he's not going around murdering people and/or abusing them :P. Perhaps that might change later (for better or for worse, I'm not sure yet).
Guest: Kudos to you for picking that one up! :) It's not a line most people immediately recognise as being from Drive By, but yes, I do love Train. I'm not one to swoon over one artist and one only, so it's not like I'm stalking them or something - I only have, like, five Train songs on my mp4-player, but I do love those songs and I like to sneak lines of them into my chapter titles here and there, just because some of them fit Fiyeraba so well :).
Mad-Idina-Fan98: Is it weird that I totally freaked out (in a good way) over the fact that you called this a book instead of a story? I'm not even sure it was intentional, but I am considering turning it into an original story (read: book), and 'book' just sounds so much more awesome than 'story' :P.
The Fiyeraba fluff in this chapter and the next is probably going to make you sick. I was in a happy fluffy birthday mood and what came out was this (next chapter is even worse), so just bear with me. I'll move forward to action and drama and stuff later, I promise.
Chapter 18. Start of something new
Dear Galinda,
First of all, I want to tell you that you're my best friend, and I love hearing from you; but you would make me really, really happy if from now on, you could keep the details about the parties you go to and the clothes you buy to a minimum.
I mean, seriously. You've known me for twelve years, and so you know that I really don't care that there was a sale at the Oz Boutique, but they didn't have the salmon pink dress you wanted and so you had to buy the dress in coral pink, which doesn't look half as good with your complexion. No offense, but if I have to read another three-page rant about clothing and their colours, I'm going to throw up. And I promise you that if you don't stop bothering me with those stories, my next letter will include a ten-page report on everything I'm studying for finals.
That being said, a lot has actually happened in the past few days, I don't even know where to start; but as my best friend, I want you to know everything, so here it comes. Brace yourself – this is going to be one long letter.
First of all, you'll be very pleased to know that the little plan you worked out with Hamold worked, though a bit belatedly. And I'm actually glad that I can tell you this in a letter, because if I told you in person, I think my eardrums would end up severely damaged.
Well, I'm just going to say it, then.
I have a boyfriend.
Or at least I think I do. I mean, I don't know anything about all this stuff, but I'm pretty sure that when a boy kisses you, then tells you he loves you, and then kisses you again, it's fairly safe to call that boy your boyfriend, right? So… yes. A boyfriend. I, Elphaba Thropp, have a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend – no, my best friend in the world (excuse me, best male friend – you're still number one, you know that!), the one I've had a crush on for months now, is my boyfriend. Fiyero Tiggular is my boyfriend.
I guess you get the point.
I'll tell you the details of how it happened later, but I just needed to tell you this. I was so overwhelmed and shocked and yes, I'll admit it, scared, at first; but now, it just feels wonderful. He tells me he loves me all the time, and I think he really means it, Glin. Even worse – I think I might love him, too.
He's still recovering from his carriage accident (I know that Cohvu already told you all about that, because he showed me your reply. I'm going to stick with my earlier statement – thank Oz that was a letter or Cohvu would have lost his hearing. Though I'm still impressed at your ability to squeal in letters. You'd think it doesn't come off all that well on paper, but you manage to pull it off fairly decently). I'm helping him study for his finals (Fiyero, not Cohvu), so that he can graduate along with us. It's going well – I think he just needed a small push and someone to explain it to him, because now he already seems to understand much more on his own. I'm confident that he can pass his finals if he tries really hard.
As you also know, Governor Thropp of Munchkinland came here this weekend and I had to ask him what he knew about me. Believe me when I tell you that it was hard to get him to talk, but you know me and so you won't be surprised when I say that in the end, I did get him to talk.
Basically, the story is this:
On the first night after he arrived, I went to his room and asked him if we could talk. He agreed, though he obviously wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea. I asked him again if he knew me, but he denied that.
'Who is Melena?' I then asked, and I swear to you, Glin, he looked as white as a sheet. I really thought he was going to faint again.
Nessarose wasn't there for that conversation, for which I was actually grateful – it's sweet that the girl is so protective of her father, but with her around, I probably would have never gotten to push the matter any further. Now, however, I did, and I kept asking him until he relented.
'Melena was the love of my life,' he said.
'Nessa's mother?' I asked, and he just lowered his head, as if he could no longer look at me. I could barely even hear him when he said, more to the floor than to me, 'No.'
She was the first woman he ever really loved, he then told me. He said that she was beautiful and mysterious, seemingly not from this world; and she looked just like me, with long, dark hair and large eyes, though her hair was brown and her eyes were hazel, he said. He said I looked so much like her that it was almost frightening.
'And the green skin?' I prodded, and he finally admitted that he had seen that before, too. 'On Melena,' he said. 'She had green skin, though hers was much lighter and less obvious than yours.' (I wasn't sure whether I should be offended by that last remark or not, but I decided to let it slide.)
He loved her, and they were together for a short while; but she had already told him that she couldn't stay. He never knew why that was, but she reminded him every time that their relationship couldn't and wouldn't last… and one day, she was just gone and he has never seen her again ever since. He doesn't even know where she went or what happened to her.
I know you're probably squealing right now, because you think it's so romantic and tragic, whatever. (If that's exactly what you're doing, just imagine me rolling your eyes at you.) But even being the sap you are, I think you can imagine that I was disappointed. I mean, this woman looks like me. She even has (or had) green skin… I think it wouldn't be wishful thinking if I concluded that she is somehow related to me, and I was dying to meet her, but if not even Governor Thropp knows where she went…
So basically, I'm back to square one. The Governor and Nessarose are staying for two more days, so I hope to gain some more information from him that could be useful; but I'm sure that he has already looked for this Melena himself, her being the love of his life and all, and if he couldn't find her, then how could I? But still, I think it's worth a try.
Also, he almost begged me not to tell Nessarose about this – apparently she doesn't know about Melena's existence or what she meant to Frexspar. After Melena's disappearance, his parents arranged a marriage for him and he married another woman – Nessarose's mother – who died not long after Nessarose was born.
Quite the story, huh? Fiyero and Cohvu are just as enthusiastic about it as you were, and though they're acting like little children sometimes, I'm glad that they're here for me. And I'm glad that you're my friend, to, Glin. Even though you live far away, your letters always cheer me up (the parts that aren't about parties or clothes, mind you!) and I miss you. I'm really looking forward to the summer, when you'll be staying here for a few weeks – and after that we're off to Shiz! I can't wait to take the History classes they offer there – I heard the teacher is an Animal, and apparently he is wonderful.
I will keep you posted on everything.
Elphaba
Fiyero found the green girl on one of the rocks on the beach, her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them as she watched a few dolphins playing in the sea a mile or so away.
He stopped at a safe distance to just drink her in for a moment. There was a soft look in her eyes and a small smile danced around her lips, making her dimples show. She always had that look in her eyes whenever she was looking at animals, or Animals – he knew she loved them. Her skin glowed in the last rays of sun that danced across the water and the beach, and a breeze lifted up some strands of her raven hair, making them dance around her face.
'I love your dimples,' he said with a smile, and she looked up and rolled her eyes at him. 'Idiot.'
He chuckled and sat down next to her. 'Nice to see you, too.'
He put his arm around her and she laid her dark head against his shoulder. 'What are you doing out here?' he asked her.
She shrugged. 'I don't know. Clear my head, I guess, after everything that happened with Governor Thropp.'
He nodded thoughtfully. Frexspar and his daughter had left a few days ago, and though Elphaba had tried, she hadn't found out anything else about this mysterious Melena and it frustrated her to no end.
'What are you going to do now?' he asked quietly, and she shrugged again. 'I don't know.'
He raised his head from where he had rested it on hers and looked at her. 'Could you show me that breathing-under-the-water-thing?'
She looked sceptical. 'Well, there's not much to see, really.'
'Still,' he insisted. 'It's awesome and I want to see it.'
She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. 'Fine.' She rose to her feet and whipped her dress off over her head.
He gaped at her.
'What?' she said, grinning upon seeing his face. 'Whether you see me in my bathing suit or my underwear, what's the difference?'
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. 'Well,' he said when he found his voice again. 'This is the first time I see you in either your bathing suit or your underwear since we kissed.'
She blushed a little. 'Yes, well, don't let it get to your head,' she warned him. 'And if you try something, I'm going to push you off this rock and see how well you can breathe under the water.'
He chuckled. 'Point taken.' He kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt as well. By the time he was finished, she had already leapt off the cliff and into the water.
He followed her, ducking his head under the water to see her. She seemed to be dancing through the water, twirling and diving deeper, her hair flowing behind her like the seaweed he had first mistaken it for.
He couldn't really see her breathing under the water, like she had already tried to tell him; but she stayed under for over ten minutes without coming up for air once.
When she finally did surface, she broke into a coughing fit, and he hurried over to her to help her. She leaned against him as she violently forced the water from her lungs.
'You okay?' he asked her worriedly, and she took in a wheezing breath, then nodded. 'Fine,' she said. She ran her fingers through her hair and he noticed they were shaking slightly. 'I still have to get used to the transition from breathing in water to breathing in air.'
He nodded understandingly. 'It really is amazing, though, Fae – you can actually breathe under water!'
She sighed. 'Yeah,' she said, not sounding too enthusiastic about it. She trailed her fingers down his chest, lost in thought and not noticing his small shiver. 'I just wish I knew what it means.'
He kissed her softly. 'You will know,' he promised her. 'Someday.'
'Someday soon, I hope.' She looked at him. 'So what do you want to do now? I don't suppose I could trick you into studying some more…'
'No,' he told her sternly. 'It's Sunday, for crying out loud. We've already studied all morning. Now we're just going to enjoy the rest of the weekend.'
She smiled. 'Sounds good to me.'
He splashed some water into her face and dashed off. 'Catch me if you can!'
She rolled her eyes at his childish behaviour, but still went along with it, starting to chase him. When she heard something, however, she turned around, her eyes searching the water surface.
Fiyero stopped, too, and looked at her. 'Come on, Fae!' he called, and she shook her head and turned towards him again, swimming after him.
When she heard it again, however, she stopped again and listened intently, tilting her head a little bit to the side. It sounded like a splash, but different than the splashing sounds she and Fiyero were making as they chased each other through the water. Was it an animal? A dolphin or a sea turtle, perhaps? Somehow, her gut feeling told her it was more than that.
Fiyero came back to her. 'Fae?'
'Did you hear that?' she asked, still studying the water, but he just looked at her, puzzled. 'Hear what?'
She shook her head. 'It must have been nothing, then. My imagination.'
She tried to shrug it off, but he stayed put. 'Fae, usually when you have these strange gut feelings, they're right.'
'Oh, so now I'm psychic, too?' she asked sarcastically, and he shook his head with a smile. 'All I'm saying is that you're not really one to see or hear things that aren't there.'
'It was nothing, Yero,' she insisted. 'And if it was, we'll find out later.'
A mischievous glint appeared in her dark eyes. 'Now I would run if I were you, because I'm only going to give you three seconds to get away before I come after you. One… two…'
A grin broke through on his face and he dashed off, with Elphaba right behind him.
Another update most likely tonight. Because, well, the chapter is already half done anyway, and I like reading your reactions.
Morrible will come up in the next chapter. Dum dum duuuuum. Just FYI, she's not the Headshiztress in this. What is she then? You'll find out...