AN: My current craving for reviews, caused by uni, is really hard to combine with said uni... I'm too busy to write much, but writing - and reviews - helps .

However, I found the beginning of a story in my documents - about six chapters pre-written... I might start posting that if I'm desperate enough. It's not a happy story, though.

For now, on with this one!

1.

"Father, do I really have to?" Elphaba quickened her pace in order to keep up with her father's long strides.

"Yes, Elphaba." Frexspar did not even slow down. "We have been over this. Stop acting like a child."

She scowled. "I do not want to get married just so that I can play babysitter to some stupid, spoilt prince!" she exclaimed.

"That's not the entire reason, Elphaba. I already told you that. This marriage is good for political purposes – things you would not understand." He turned a corner. She followed him.

"Why are you always saying that?" she demanded. "I studied politics for three years – I have my degree in it. The least you could do is explain to me why exactly I need to marry that idiot."

Frexspar heaved a deep, long sigh, as if his daughter's mere presence was exhausting to him. "No," he said flatly. "I have other things on my mind right now, Elphaba. Go and find something to do that does not involve bothering me." With that, he disappeared into a room and locked the door behind him.

Elphaba stood in the hallway, seething with anger. She felt like a child, always being kept in the dark and treated by her father like she was completely ignorant. How was she ever supposed to co-rule the Vinkus if no-one would tell her anything?!

"You know," a voice drawled behind her, making her clench her teeth, "I think you could actually be sort of pretty, if you weren't the colour of snot."

"And I think you could actually be sort of smart," she bit back at her betrothed, "if you had a brain."

He chortled. His eyes were unfocused and he was swaying a little, which made her squint at him.

"Are you drunk?" she demanded incredulously.

He emitted something that sounded an awful lot like a giggle. "So what if I am? Your sister didn't complain," he taunted, making her flush bright red.

She took a menacing step towards him, her eyes thin, dark slits in her face as she jabbed her finger into his chest.

"If you ever," she hissed, "ever touch my sister, I swear to Oz I will tear your limbs off one by one until you are begging me to just kill you and get it over with already."

He brought his face closer to hers. She recoiled at the foul smell coming from his mouth.

"I'd like to see you try," he slurred, chuckling. He swayed his hips. "I know what's going on. You're just jealous, aren't you? The little asparagus wishes I would give her one of my special treatments, right? I can imagine you being sexually frustrated. I mean, no-one would ever want you, so that must suck. Too bad I don't want you, either." He chuckled again. "Maybe if you could find a spell to turn yourself a normal colour, I might consider touching you… but no guarantees."

Eyes flashing, she raised one hand and muttered something under her breath. Fiyero wanted to ask her what she was doing; but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

Panicking, he tried to say something – anything – but he found himself unable to talk. As his eyes widened and he sobered almost immediately, his future wife just stood there smirking at him.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" she said innocently when he desperately looked at her for an explanation. "I have a minor in sorcery. I'm pretty adept at it, actually." She walked off, whistling a tune between her teeth.

She went straight to Nessarose, who, of course, told her sister in confusion that she had not been anywhere near Fiyero Tiggular, and why was Elphaba asking? The young witch brushed it off, saying it wasn't important, but she promised herself that she would get back at Fiyero for that lie. For now, she agreed to take Nessa on a walk through the gardens.

Despite everything, the Vinkus – or what she had seen of it so far – was lovely. Adurin Iir was a beautiful castle; there were clearly modern influences, but the magic of the place was kept intact. There were some secret passageways, there were hot springs in the basement, and parts of the castle were cold and drafty – parts where almost no-one ever came, since the castle was big enough to hold at least three times the amount of people it held now. Just above the basement was the ground floor, which centred around the huge, two-storey high throne room, which also served as reception hall. There were some smaller conference rooms and studies surrounding it, as well as most of the servants' quarters. The kitchen was on the ground floor as well and attached to it by a small hallway were the stables.

On the first floor were most of the guest rooms, each one with an adjoining bathroom. There were some more studies, a few sitting rooms, and a parlour; and the library was situated on the first floor as well. The royals' own suites were all on the second floor, along with another multitude of studies and sitting rooms and a music room. Then there was also a third floor, which was basically the attic, though it must be the most enormous attic Elphaba had ever laid eyes on in her life. Most of the maids had their quarters there, with stairs leading down to the second floor so that they could easily get to the Vinkun royal family if they needed anything; other than that, it mostly served as a storage room.

Elphaba felt positively overwhelmed by the entire castle and she could not even fathom what it would be like to live here her entire life long from now on, but she couldn't deny that she liked it. She had always had a fascination for old buildings like this one and she loved roaming the hallways, seeking out the parts of the castle that were not used anymore and exploring them.

She'd been down to the hot springs in the basement already, too; once you stepped through the thick door on the bottom of the stairs, the lower ground floor was one huge, open space. There was one large pool and several smaller ones – though those smaller ones were each still as large as their spacious living room in Munchkinland had been – and there was steam everywhere. The door could be locked with a bolt, giving whoever was bathing here some privacy. Princess Cyara, Fiyero's younger sister, had already given the green girl and Nessa a tour, explaining to them that hardly anyone ever came to the hot springs anymore because they had warm water on the other floors of the castle as well now. Elphaba, however, was determined to change that, though she had not yet mustered up the courage to come swimming here. It felt a bit eerie to go down there all by herself, but she could not think of anyone who would want to come there with her.

Now, she and Nessarose were moving through the gardens, admiring everything – the fountains, the trees, the gazebos and the benches scattered across the garden. Since it was winter and already pretty cold, there were no flowers blooming yet; but Nessarose stated with absolute certainty that this garden had to be gorgeous in the summer, with colours everywhere. Despite herself, Elphaba was looking forward to seeing that.

"Fabala?" Nessa asked at some point, as her sister was pushing her chair down a path. "Do you think you'll be happy here?"

"Well, I don't think I'll be entirely miserable," Elphaba said lightly. "There is a library, after all."

Nessarose was frowning slightly. "That's not exactly what I meant, Elphaba."

"I know." The green girl shook her head. "I'll be fine, Nessie. Don't you worry about me."

Nessa did, however, worry about her sister. She supposed the king and queen were nice enough to Elphaba, but they always kept a polite and slightly cold distance. Elphaba's fiancé was not very proper and seemingly insisted on insulting the girl at every opportunity he got, which Nessarose found very unbecoming for a prince; and most of the staff they had met so far had either gaped at Elphaba or whispered behind her back, which Nessa also found terribly rude, especially given the fact that no matter how green her sister was, she was still going to be these people's queen one day and they were being very disrespectful.

The only one so far who had gotten past her initial wariness and been genuinely friendly to Elphaba was Fiyero's sister, Cyara, and Nessa was happy about that. At least the green girl would have a friend here after Nessarose herself would go home with Frexspar.

"Isn't Miss Galinda stopping by sometime soon?" Nessarose changed the subject. "I thought I heard Father say something about that."

Elphaba's face brightened. "Yes! She's in the neighbourhood for one of her cousins' debutante ball, I believe; and she will be staying here until after the wedding." She rolled her eyes fondly. "Silly girl. I'll be happy to see her, though."

"I only met her once, that time she stayed at our home for a few weeks during the summer, but she seemed very nice," Nessarose agreed. "Doesn't she have a boyfriend?"

Elphaba nodded. "Boq, from Munchkinland. He's coming to the wedding, too." She sighed. "I hope that idiot of a future husband of mine is going to grow up soon, or this is going to be one difficult marriage."

Nessa placed a hand on her sister's arm. "If anyone could tame him, it's you."

Elphaba gave her a wry smile. "Probably. And if not, well, I know this very handy spell that kills a person in his sleep –"

"Elphaba!" Nessa exclaimed, shocked; but Elphaba just chuckled.

"Relax, Nessa. Of course I don't know such a spell." She cocked her head to the side. "But of course there's always poison. Or a knife… or just my bare hands, of course… maybe he'll drown in the hot springs underneath the castle – that'd be unfortunate."

Nessarose shook her head. "Oh, Fabala…" she said. "You're just going to have to find some way to get along. I'm sure that once you get to know him, he's not all that bad."

Elphaba snorted. "Well, at least one of us is still optimistic," she said glumly, pushing Nessa's chair forward again. "But honestly? I don't see it happening."