AN: Hello! I'm incredibly sorry for the wait, but have no fear! Here is the next chapter!
Also, a little note to Megan, since I couldn't respond to her through PM – Yes, I agree completely with your review. But this isn't real Nia. But don't worry, Nia will get much nicer throughout the story :)
Anyways, without further adieu, I present to you chapter 16!
Chapter 16
That night, Nessa and Daphne sat on Nessa's bed, whispering so they wouldn't wake Elphaba up. "I can't believe father would do such horrendible things to Elphaba." Nessa whispered after Daphne had explained what had happened earlier. "I'm sorry Nessa, but I'm guessing your father isn't as wonderful and caring as you always believed him to be." Daphne smiled sympathetically at Nessa, who was looking down at her feet.
"I lived my entire life pampered and spoiled like I was the most precious thing in all of Oz. I was so naïve, thinking the whole world was perfect and that everything was as wonderful as I grew up to believe. Then I met Fabala, and found out everything that I had ever believed in was wrong. I was treated like a princess while she was treated as a servant. No, not even a servant. More like a slave. Poor Fabala had done nothing to deserve the life that she was given! I-i just wish there was something I could do to help her." Nessa struggled to hold back the tears that were lingering in the corners of her eyes.
Daphne was deep in thought. "Well, Elphaba's biggest problems at the moment are feeling loved and knowing that there are people who care about her and want to help her. If we're ever going to help her, we have to show her that. The only thing in our way is the walls she has mentally built around her self after years of pain and sadness. They were meant to protect Elphaba from emotional pain so she wouldn't have to deal with that anymore, but to us they are more a roadblock then then something helpful. As of this moment, our first job is to get rid of those walls. Unfortunately, the aren't like real walls. They can't just be knocked down. The only way is to show her how much we care. It will take awhile, but that's why we have to start now." She explained.
"What are we suppose to do, then?" Nessa asked. "I doubt Elphaba has ever had anything remotely close to a real birthday party. We can throw one for her tomorrow! Maybe, if we're lucky, she absolutely love it and open up to us a little more." Daphne suggested. It was a brilliant idea. True, with the life Elphaba had, she probably had never had a real birthday party. In fact, she probably didn't even know what a birthday party was like.
"That's genius, Daphne! Fabala will love it! We're going to have to make this very special. Her first birthday party. Just imagine! We should make a surprise, though. We'll definitely need to invite Glinda and Fiyero. Maybe you can try to invite Madison, too." Nessa was very excited about this idea. She just hoped Elphaba would like it, too.
"Yes, we'll invite Glinda and Fiyero. I'm not sure about Madison, though. She doesn't really seem to like Elphaba very much. I can ask her, though." Daphne agreed. She glanced over at the clock and realized it was getting late. "I really have to go. We can talk more about this later." She said, hopping up from the bed. "Okay. Bye, Daphne!" Nessa waved goodbye before Daphne left the room.
When Daphne got back to her room, Madison was sitting on her bed, reading a book. "Hi, Madison." Daphne greeted, even though she didn't expect an answer. Madison never talked to her these days. "Where have you been? It's almost midnight!" Madison demanded. She didn't mean to sound rude, but she was still awfully annoyed that Daphne left her for a green girl. "Elphaba was having some issues about her past and my magic was needed to help her." Daphne explained, sitting down on her bed.
"Why couldn't the great and powerful Elphaba do it herself!? She has magic, too!" Madison snapped her book shut and glared at Daphne. "Madison! Since when did you become so cold? You don't understand! Elphaba couldn't use her own magic! She wasn't even fully conscious most of the time I was there! You know, it's people like you who cause Elphaba to be the way she is!" Daphne yelled, which was very unlike herself. She barely ever raised her voice at anyone.
"I am not being cold! I'm not the one who abandoned her best friend for the artichoke!" Madison accused of her. "Elphaba is not an artichoke!" Daphne screamed at her, throwing her hands in the air. Magic erupted from her fingertips, sending Madison flying into the wall.
Thankfully, Madison wasn't hurt. Just in complete and utter shock at what had just happened. "Sweet Oz, I'm so sorry!" Daphne shrieked, running to her friend and helping her to her feet. Madison had paled a little, but other then that, she appeared to be perfectly find. "I-it's okay. It was my fault for setting you off like that." Daphne was shocked to hear Madison apologize like that. One minute they had been screaming at each other, and the next, it seemed as if they were friends again for a moment.
"I should have done a better job controlling my magic, though. Are you hurt?" She asked, a look of concern on her face. "No, I'm fine." Madison replied, sitting down on her bed again. Daphne breathed a sigh of relief, glad that her friend hadn't been her by her magical outburst. She laid down on her own bed, ready to go to sleep. Madison had laid down as well. The room become silent.
"Madison?" Daphne asked after a few minutes. "Hmm?" Was Madison's response, obviously half asleep. "Today was Elphaba's birthday. Nessa and I are planning a party for her tomorrow, and we wanted to know if you wanted to come." Daphne explained, looking towards Madison. "I'll think about it. Goodnight, Daphne." Madison muttered, her eyes not even open. She obviously wasn't fully aware of the question she had just been asked. "Goodnight, Madison." Daphne sighed, knowing Madison probably hadn't heard a word she said. Without another word, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When Elphaba woke up the next morning, Nessa was already awake. "Good morning, Fabala. How are you feeling?" Nessa asked. "I've been better. What time is it?" Elphaba asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She immediately regretted that decision, dizziness taking over. "Fabala, you need to rest. You went through a lot yesterday. And it's about ten o'clock."
"Ten o'clock!? We're late for class!" Elphaba gasped, jumping out of bed. Unfortunately, she was still very weak and her legs gave out underneath her, causing the green girl to fall to the floor. "Calm down! First, it's Saturday. There's no class today. And second, e were classes, I won't allow you to get up in the condition you are in!" Nessa ran to her sister and helped her back into bed. "But I feel fine, Nessa!" Elphaba protested, but didn't fight when Nessa pushed her back onto her pillow and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
"Don't expect me to believe that. You remember just as well as I do what happened yesterday. You're exhausted! I insist you stay in bed for now." Nessa insisted "Now, I really have to go. I'm spending the day with Daphne. Do you need anything before I go?"
"No. I'm fine." Elphaba muttered, pulling the blanket over her head. She just didn't feel like talking right now. "Okay. I'll see you later then." Nessa smiled at her before leaving the room. She headed towards the cafe, that being where she and Daphne agreed to meet to discuss birthday party plans.
After Daphne had left to go find Nessa, Madison remained in their room. She once again had her nose in a book, just like always. It was amazing how much Madison and Elphaba had in common, even if neither of them knew it.
A knock came from the door. "Come in." she called, not looking up from the book she was reading. The door opened, and Nia walked into the room. "Hi, Madison!" She greeted. "Oh, hello Nia." Madison looked up from her book and smiled at her friend. She put the book down on her nightstand and moved to a sitting position on the bed..
"I thought you might like some company." Nia explained, sitting next to Madison. "Ya, I would like some company. It was getting pretty boring in here, anyways." Madison said. The truth was, she had gotten really lonely when Daphne became Elphaba's friend. She was glad Nia came along.
"So, what's been going on lately? Have you and Daphne still been fighting?" Nia asked, thinking to start some kind of conversation. Madison sighed, giving Nia the only answer she needed. "Ya, I guess you could say that. I mean, we haven't been fighting as often as before, but we still haven't really made up. Daphne and I got into another fight last night." She muttered, looking down at the floor.
"The Artichoke again?" Nia asked. Elphaba had been the cause of most of Madison and Daphne's fights lately. "As always, yes. Daphne kept going on and on about how Elphaba is so emotionally unstable, but I still don't believe a word of that nonsense. It just makes no sense! How could someone who's always so confident and strong, be so weak inside? I just can't believe any of it." Madison explained, looking back up at her friend.
All this had been so hard on her. What if Daphne was telling the truth? What if Elphaba really was the way Daphne had told her? "I agree. We really should look into this somehow, you know, to see if Daphne really is telling the truth or not." Nia suggested, a smirk playing across her lips.
"Nia, you're a genius! And I know just how to do it! According to Daphne, Elphaba's birthday was yesterday. So she and Nessa are planning a birthday party for her today. Daphne invited me, and I said I'd think about it. So, next time I see Daphne, I'm gonna except the invitation ad ask if you can come too! Then we'll see just how good a person Elphaba really is." Madison's idea was incredibly cruel, but the two girls weren't really thinking at that moment.
"Brilliant! Let's do it! Where's Daphne and Nessa right now?" Nia asked, excited about their plan. "The cafe. They're planning for the party. Daphne told me she would be back around noon." Madison replied. "Great! That gives us time to plan." Nia said, excited for the party tonight. And with that, the two friends started planning for the night ahead.
Nessa and Daphne sat at a table in the corner of the the room in the Shiz Cafe. They had been planning all morning for Elphaba's birthday party. "Hey, I forgot to ask. Did you tell Madison about the party?" Nessa asked, hoping Madison had agreed to come. Elphaba really needed some more friends, and this was definitely a good opportunity for making friends.
Daphne sighed, remembering the night before. "She said she would think about it. But she had also been half asleep at that time, so I have no idea if she even heard what I was saying at all. I can ask again later, though."
Nessa nodded in agreement. "That's probably a good idea. I know Fabala doesn't exactly like being around a lot of people, but this will be good for her." She said. "Definitely. Now, we really shouldn't plan any games. We don't want to push Elphaba too far out of her comfort zone, and we're already doing that with inviting so many people to the party." Daphne suggested, putting a lot of thought into this party.
"Aww! But I like games!" Nessa protested, not liking the idea of not having any games. Everyone likes a good game every once in awhile. "Yes, but Elphaba doesn't. We have to remember that this is Elphaba's party, not ours. Would you like it if someone planned you a party that you didn't like? We have to consider Elphaba's likes and dislikes while planning this party. She doesn't like the things we do." Daphne explained.
Nessa sighed, giving into what Daphne had said. She knew it was true. Thank goodness Daphne was helping with the planning, or else Elphaba would probably have the worse birthday party ever.
More people had started filling the small cafe, the noise level in the room growing to the point that Daphne and Nessa could no longer think. "Maybe we should go somewhere else." Nessa called over the noise. "Good idea." Daphne responded, nodding in agreement. Before the girls got a chance to stand up, Madison and another girl neither Nessa nor Daphne had seen before approached them.
"Uh...hello, Madison. Who's your friend?" Daphne asked, eying Nia curiously. "Hello, Daphne. Nessa. This is Nia, my new friend. Daphne, I thought about what you said yesterday about coming to Elphaba's party, and I decided it would be fun. Then I told Nia, and she wants to come, too. Is that okay?" Madison asked.
"That's wonderful, Madison! And of course Nia can come! It's a pleasure to meet you, Nia." Daphne responded, grinning brightly. She was so happy Madison excepted the invitation, and Nia seemed like such a nice girl. "Pleased to meet you, as well. Madison has told me so much about you." Nia said, smiling in return.
"This is going to be such a fun party! Elphaba will be thrilled to know you two are coming." Nessa exclaimed, clasping her hands together in pure excitement. "Wonderful! What time is the party?" Madison asked. "Six o'clock in Nessa and Elphaba's dorm." Daphne replied. "Okay! We'll see you later then." Nia said.
Madison and Nia left the cafe, leaving Nessa and Daphne to their planning once again. "Well, looks like asking Madison about the party isn't necessary anymore." Nessa commented. "Ya! Now, we should probably leave now before this place gets any more crowded." Daphne replied. And with that, the two girls exited to cafe and went to find a quieter spot to plan.