AN: Update! I was trying to do this last night, but the site quit working so here it is now! I know I said this chapter would be dreadful... it's not. This is just the evil cliffy-thing leading up to the dreadful chapter, which will be the next one. *smirk*

Elphaba'sGirl: Wow, that is complicated :O. But thanks for telling me!

Moreanswers24: Cyero... I like that :).

Caricature of a Witch: Hi ^_^. Good to have you back!

Silvine Fae Graycin: HI! OMG IT'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME! :D I really love the fact that you're back, though, and that you're still/again reading my stories! And yes, of course I remember - triplets it is ^^.

Chapter 14. The sister

Frex' reply to Nessa's letter was brief and very vague.

My dear Nessarose,

Many things are going on here in Munchkinland and I need you home right away. It is of the utmost importance that you come back here as soon as possible.

Please take the next carriage back to Munchkinland. We will talk about the matter you wrote me about once you get here.

Your loving father,

Frexspar Thropp

Nessa showed the letter to Elphaba, who did not feel reassured at all.

"Oh, Fabala, please," Nessa scoffed irritably when Elphaba voiced her concerns. "Something important is going on in Munchkinland and all you worry about is Father being mad about your little affair with Fiyero? You're so selfish!"

"Excuse me?" Elphaba fumed. "Nessa, you know as well as I do that whatever is going on in Munchkinland probably has something to do with the Glikkuns, and thus also with Gazilon and me! I'm just worried, that's all!"

Nessa stuck her chin up in the air. "Not everything is about you, Elphaba," she spat.

She turned around. "I'm going to pack, and I'm going to take the carriage to Munchkinland that will leave at noon," she called over her shoulder. "Bye, Elphaba." Then she wheeled herself away.

Elphaba gaped after her sister.

"Don't worry," Boq said, patting her arm comfortingly as he rushed past her. "I'll talk to her. Again," he sighed.

Elphaba crossed her arms, annoyed with her sister. "Don't bother, Boq," she said, scowling. "There's no reasoning with her at the moment."

"I know," Boq grumbled. "But she's my girlfriend – if anyone can reason with her, it's me. Maybe I can… I don't know."

Elphaba chuckled wearily. "Yeah. Good luck with that." She sighed and turned around, walking back in the direction of the History building.

"Hey, El," Gazilon greeted her as he slipped into the seat next to her. He kissed her and she smiled at him.

"Where are the others?" he asked when he realised that Elphaba was alone.

"Nessa, Boq and Galinda don't have History," Elphaba reminded him. "Fiyero is skipping class today – he doesn't want to leave Cyara alone."

"Which is completely understandable," Gazilon added, and Elphaba nodded.

"Nessa received a reply from Munchkinland today," she said, biting her lip. "Father writes that there's a lot going on in Munchkinland and he needs Nessa home right away. She's gone to her room to pack her things – she's leaving for Munchkinland at noon."

"Oh." Gazilon thought about that for a moment. "What do you think that means?"

She shrugged helplessly. "Governing trouble? An uprising because the Munchkins realised their Governor has made a deal with the terrorist enemy? Something to do with the Glikkus? I honestly have no idea whatsoever… and that's exactly what worries me. I don't know what's going on; and if I don't know what's happening, I can't make a plan to deal with it, and I hate that."

Gazilon wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said, trying to console her. "We'll figure it out and we'll deal with it. Promise."

She smiled weakly at him.

When class was over, she and Gazilon walked to the boys' dorm building together, where Gazilon went into his own room and Elphaba sneaked into Fiyero's.

It was quiet in his suite, and she frowned for a moment, slightly worried; but then she saw Fiyero lying on his side in the bed, fast asleep, with Cyara curled up in his arms like a small kitten. Elphaba smiled softly at the picture and moved into the kitchen to prepare them some lunch. When she had finished, she started moving around the room, humming softly as she cleaned up the mess Fiyero had made, keeping herself busy until one of them – or both of them – would wake up.

Cyara turned out to be the first to awaken – she stirred and opened her bright green eyes, blinking sleepily for a moment before noticing Elphaba.

"Oh," she said drowsily. "Hi, Elphaba." She yawned. "How long have you been here?"

Elphaba smiled and shrugged as she sat down in a chair on the side of the bed. "Not very long," she said. "I've just been cleaning and making you two some lunch, that's all." She eyed the Vinkun princess sympathetically. "How are you feeling?"

Cyara yawned again. "Better," she said, carefully untangling herself from her brother. She tilted her head a little to the side as she studied Fiyero. "I'm actually surprised he didn't wake me up," she muttered. "He snores like crazy, especially when he's stressed."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

Cyara giggled. "Ooh. So you have experience sleeping with Fiyero, then?" she said teasingly. "I knew it! Did you know that it took me the entire summer to get him to tell me that you two were actually dating and not just friends?"

Elphaba smiled sadly. "Yes, well… it's complicated." She sighed.

"You mean with you and Gazilon, and the Glikkun terrorists?" Cyara asked knowingly. "Yeah, I heard. I'm really sorry for you, Elphaba – that must have been hard. Still is, probably."

Elphaba gaped at the small blonde girl, and Cyara giggled. "Fiyero told me," she admitted with a small grin. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, but… well, we're really bad at keeping secrets from one another," she said softly. "It may not always seem that way, but ever since we were younger, Yero and I have been very close. Growing up in a castle, we didn't have many other kids to play with. We played together, told each other secrets… we were inseparable. And sure," she said with a small laugh, "he's brainless, and obnoxious, and sometimes I feel sorely tempted to hit him so hard his brain would rattle in his head – if he had a brain, that is…"

Elphaba laughed.

"But I love him," Cyara said simply. "And… despite all that, we still have a good bond. We tell each other everything. He's my big brother, and no matter how stupid he can be sometimes, I really look up to him."

Elphaba smiled softly. "That's really sweet."

"Yeah," Fiyero suddenly said sleepily. He opened his eyes and smiled at his sister, then wrapped his arm around Cyara in a hug. "Love you too, sis."

Cyara smiled back at him.

He met Elphaba's eyes over his sister's blonde head. "Hi, Fae."

She smiled. "Hi."

He let go of Cyara and sat up, stretching before getting up and pulling Elphaba up from the chair she was sitting in. He drew her in his arms and kissed her.

Cyara made a soft 'aww'-sound.

"How are you?" Fiyero murmured as he rested his forehead against Elphaba's.

"I could ask you the same thing," she pointed out, and he chuckled.

"Touché. I'm okay, I guess." He looked at Cyara for a moment. "We both are. Sort of. Well, you know what I mean."

She nodded, her eyes filled with understanding. "I do."

He sat back down on the bed, pulling her to sit beside him. "What about you?"

"I'm fine," she replied automatically, before remembering the whole situation with Nessa. She sighed. "Or, well… Nessa wrote to Father," she said quietly. "About us."

Fiyero sat up straight in alarm. "Wait. What?" he asked incredulously.

Elphaba nodded, staring down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. "Yes. She… she thinks it's wrong, what we're doing, and… and she told Father. He sent her a note back today, telling her to get back to Munchkinland immediately. Nessa thinks it's about governing business, but to be perfectly honest, I don't trust it at all." She looked up at Fiyero. "You and Cyara might want to consider getting out of here," she said softly. "I think… well, you were leaving for the Vinkus anyway, weren't you? For your father's funeral?"

Fiyero nodded. "It's in three days," he said. "We were planning on heading back to the Vinkus tomorrow morning. But… you'd come with us, wouldn't you?" he asked her worriedly. "I mean…"

She looked down. "I know I promised you I'd be at the funeral," she said softly. "And I'm really sorry, but… Yero, I can't. I don't know what my father is going to do now that he knows, but honestly? I wouldn't be surprised if he would allow those Glikkun terrorists to kill me – or worse, kill the ones I love. I can't let that happen. I need you two to go back to the Vinkus alone, and I'm going to stay here and face whatever punishment he undoubtedly has in mind for me."

Cyara was staring at the green girl with wide eyes, and Fiyero was shaking his head fervently.

"No," he declared almost angrily. "Elphaba, I'm not going to let you do that. I already lost my father." His voice broke and he took a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself. "I'm not going to lose you, too."

Elphaba looked at him, a mix of sadness and determination in her eyes. "Yero –"

"If I have to tie you down and kidnap you to the Vinkus, I will," he threatened. "But I'm not leaving you alone. You're coming with us, whether you like it or not. So are Galinda, Boq and Gazilon. It's going to be fine, Fae," he said, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. "We're all going to be fine."

She buried her face in his shoulder.

"Father?" Nessa called out after the driver had helped her out of the carriage and into her wheelchair. As the man unloaded her suitcases, she wheeled herself to the front door.

It opened before she could knock and there was Frexspar Thropp, standing tall and regal as always; but there was a relief in his eyes that she could not quite place.

"Nessa, my precious girl," he said, bending down to hug her tightly – tighter than usual, she couldn't help but notice. "Oh, you have no idea how happy I am that you are here, my darling. Quickly, come inside – I'll get the maid to bring us some tea and then we can talk, yes?"

Nessa, bewildered by Frex's strange behaviour, obediently followed him into the house and to the sitting room, where he lowered himself onto the couch in order to level his face with hers.

He took her hands in his. "Nessa, sweet girl," he said, "your letter has been intercepted."

Nessa's eyes widened. "The letter in which I told you about… about Fabala?" She swallowed. "And Fiyero?"

Frex nodded solemnly. "The Glikkuns have spies everywhere," he muttered. "When they saw this letter came from Shiz and was addressed to me, they figured it had something to do with our agreement to bond the Glikkus and Munchkinland through Elphaba and Gazilon. They opened it and they read your letter, Nessa. They were absolutely furious."

Nessa's eyes were still wide and her lower lip was trembling. "And… and what now?" she asked shakily. "What is going to happen?"

Frexspar sighed. "I had to pull a lot of strings to make sure they didn't break our agreement," he said. "I promised them we'd find some other way to keep the bond between our provinces strong; but I lost all the conditions I gave them that they had agreed to honour, Nessa. Remember what I asked them in exchange for setting up Elphaba and Gazilon?"

Nessa suddenly felt very faint. "To refrain from attacking Shiz," she whispered, realisation slowly dawning on her, and her eyes filled with horror. "That's why you wanted me back here, isn't it? They're going to attack Shiz!"

Frex nodded sadly. "I persuaded them to let me get you out of there first," he explained. "They agreed because you had been good enough to send that letter to warn me about your sister's disobedience, and the Glikkuns thought that maybe you could come in handy for our agreement – maybe you could be married to some Glikkun nobleman to keep our relations safe. You're my darling, Nessa. I couldn't just leave you there."

"But you could leave Fabala there?" Nessa asked incredulously. "All of my friends? Boq? You know Boq, father – he's very kind and honourable. I thought you liked him! And Elphaba – she's your daughter! How could you do this?"

"I didn't have a choice!" Frex snapped. "They're going to do it, anyway; and saving you was my highest priority! I'm very sorry about Boq, my precious girl," he tried to appease her, gently touching her arm, "but I was left no choice."

Nessa's eyes were flaming and she yanked her arm from his grip. "There's always a choice!" she yelled at him. "You could warn us all! Make sure Shiz would be evacuated beforehand!"

"And destroy my chances of an alliance with the Glikkus?" Frex shook his head. "Never."

"When?" Nessa asked in a trembling voice.

Frex looked away.

She slammed her fist down onto the arm of her chair, making Frex snap his head back at her in shock – never before had he seen his darling daughter so enraged. "When, Father?!"

He looked at her calmly. "Tomorrow morning," he said. "When the first classes of the day have started."

"No," whispered Nessa. "You can't do this, Father. I won't let you." She started wheeling herself in the direction of the door. "I'm going to find a carriage right now," she said angrily, "and I'm going to Shiz. To warn them. I don't care if I have to drive all through the night. Those are my friends, Father. My boyfriend, my own sister!"

"Nessarose," Frex spoke angrily, "your sister has chosen to be disobedient and to risk all those lives, and now she has to pay for it. I am deeply ashamed of her actions and believe me when I say that I won't shed a tear if she dies."

"You never would have!" Nessa shouted. "You've always been ashamed of her! You've hated her from the beginning, and yet I never understood why, or even really saw it, until now! You don't care about all those hundreds of lives being lost… right now I am ashamed of you, Father! I never thought you could be so heartless! You're a… a monster!"

Frex paled visibly and he grabbed Nessa's chair, glaring at her threateningly.

"Now you listen to me very carefully, Nessarose," he said in a low voice. "All of this is your sister's fault. Your sister's and Gazilon's, since you told me that he actually encouraged her into doing this. She deserves to die for this. They all do. If you're going to blame anyone for this happening, blame her, because it is her fault."

"No!" Nessa shook her head wildly. "Father, just because she was disobedient, doesn't mean she deserves to die!" she pleaded. "Please!"

Frex raised his chin. "I have made my decision."

Nessa stared at him silently for a while. Then she turned around and wheeled herself to the door. "Then I'm going back to Shiz. If I have to warn them myself, I will."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!" Nessa didn't look back again, and so Frex took her completely by surprise when he suddenly lifted her from her chair and started carrying her up the stairs.

She struggled and swatted at him. "Father! Put me down!"

He brought her to her bedroom and set her down on the bed.

"I'm very sorry, Nessarose," he said. "But I can't let you do this. You would endanger everything."

Her eyes widened. "But Father!" she pleaded with him. "Elphaba is your daughter! Please!"

"She is not my daughter," he spat. "She is a disgrace, a disgusting smudge of green dirt on our family's name. What she has done now exceeds all boundaries and I swear to you, Nessa, that if she and that filthy Winkie Prince don't die in the explosion themselves, I'm personally going to drive over to Shiz to fix the problem of them still being alive!"

With that, he slammed the door closed behind him.

"Father!" Nessa fell off the bed and struggled to drag herself over to the door by her arms, trying the doorknob.

Locked.

"Father, please!" she cried. "You can't do this! Please, don't do this!"

No reply came.

"Father!" Nessa screamed, pounding on the door with her fists. She let her head fall forward, her forehead resting against the thick wood of the door.

This wasn't Elphaba's fault, she realised. It was her own. If she hadn't written that letter to Frex, none of this would have happened.

If her sister, or her boyfriend, or her friends would die… it would be Nessa's fault.

She curled into herself on the floor, crying. What had she done?