AN: I'm so sorry for the delay! I've had a busy few days, and since I really need to work a bit harder on my uni papers now, I don't think I'll be able to keep up daily updates - I only have a few more pre-written chapters and I have little time to write at the moment. I'll try to stick to an update every other day.
On a different note - HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D May it be wicked, wonderful, and positively emerald. May the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favour, and may we all defy gravity!
11.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a herald boomed. "May I present to you Their Royal Majesties King Humberto and Queen Danna Tiggular of the Vinkus!"
Everyone present applauded as the king and his wife slowly made their way down a flight of stairs in the middle of the Great Hall. Danna waved and smiled at the people as Humberto nodded.
"His Royal Highness King Kevon Tiggular of the Vinkus, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Cyara!"
Cyara was beaming as she descended the stairs, soaking in the admiration of the Vinkun people. She talked quietly with her grandfather as they stepped down the stairs and mingled with the people, just like her parents had done.
Everyone returned to chatting, dancing, and laughing. The next announcement came a few minutes later.
"Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands and Master Boq Parlone of Munchkinland!"
"Boq?" Kevon inquired, looking at his granddaughter. "Isn't that Miss Galinda's boyfriend?"
Cyara nodded with a smile. "He arrived for the wedding after dinner," she explained, "just in time for Galinda to drag him to the ball. He's going to stay here for two weeks or so."
They both watched as a radiant, widely smiling Galinda made their way down the steps with a Munchkin boy by her side. They immediately approached Cyara and Kevon and Boq shook the old king's hand.
"Your Majesty," he said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine," Kevon responded kindly.
"Where is Elphaba?" Cyara asked her fellow blonde. "And Fiyero?"
Galinda rolled her eyes. "Fiyero took a wrong step on his way here," she said with a sigh, "so the physician is checking him over, but he appears to be fine. He might come down hobbling after all, though. I think his knee is hurting him pretty badly."
"He won't hobble," Cyara said confidently. "He's too proud for that."
Kevon agreed. "He'd sooner suffer in silence all night long, and suffer the consequences of pushing his knee for days, than let the people here know he's in pain."
"Huh," Galinda muttered. "I guess he and Elphie have more in common than I thought, then."
Kevon made to say something, but the next guests were announced then. "Governor Frexspar Thropp of Munchkinland and his daughter, Miss Nessarose!"
They did not descend the stairs, naturally. Instead they entered the hall through a door beside the stairs. Nessarose was glowing, basking in the attention – especially when a few officials immediately made their way over to the pair to compliment Nessa on her dress and ask her and Frexspar questions about Nessa's future governorship.
"Elphie and Fiyero will be here soon," Galinda assured Cyara and Kevon. She turned to Boq. "Maybe we could dance a bit in the meantime?" she suggested, and Boq happily complied.
When Elphaba and Fiyero still had not appeared ten minutes later, however, and the king and queen were starting to worry as well, Cyara made her way up to the second floor to find them.
"He can't walk," Elphaba said the moment she saw the blonde princess, looking relieved to have someone else there. "He's in too much pain."
"I'm fine!" Fiyero protested, but Cyara could tell that her brother was, indeed, in pain.
"He should stay in bed," Elphaba said.
Fiyero shook his head wildly. "Oh, no. We're going to be presented to the people, Fae! This is big! I can't stay in bed tonight! Here, Cy, help me up." He gripped his younger sister's arm and rose to his feet. He took some time to adjust and then nodded. "See? I've got this. Now let's go."
"Miss Elphaba? Your Highness?" A servant was fumbling nervously in the doorway. "The guests are getting impatient…"
"Alright." Cyara nodded at them both. "Just... you'll be fine. Elphaba, try to support him as much as you can," she advised, "but without actually making it look like you're supporting him, because he's too proud to let that happen. Yero, if you hurt yourself even more because of this, I'm going to hold it over your head for weeks," she informed him. With that, she left to go back to the Great Hall.
Fiyero and Elphaba made their way over to the stairs painstakingly slowly, with her supporting him; but when they reached the top of the stairs, he shrugged her arm off his waist and linked it with his own instead.
She rolled her eyes. "You really are proud, aren't you?"
He grumbled. "Shut up. Let's just go." He took a few steps down the stairs. Elphaba tightened her grip on him when she felt how heavily he was leaning on her, but she didn't say anything.
They could hear their names being announced. "His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus," the voice boomed, "and his fiancée, Miss Elphaba Thropp of Munchkinland!"
Fiyero grinned at the people and waved with his free hand. Elphaba smiled as they descended, but she whispered in his ear, "If I let go of you now, will you topple down the stairs?"
"Absolutely," he replied through gritted teeth, still grinning, and she gave him a wicked grin of her own in return. Recognising the look she had in her eyes, he cringed ever so slightly. "Please don't."
"Of course I won't." She chuckled. "Though it would make a nice story for the press. "Crown Prince topples down stairs at Lurlinemas ball". I bet everyone would love that."
"Everyone but me." He tightened his grip on her. "Please don't let me fall."
"Of course not. I'm not heartless, you know," she said, a little offended.
They reached the end of the stairs and approached the Vinkun king and queen, their arms still linked, with Fiyero gripping her tightly for support. Humberto and Danna quickly introduced the two to some people and Elphaba tried to focus on making small talk with these high officials she didn't know; but she kept getting distracted by Fiyero's arm linked with hers and the way his hand sometimes brushed against her own. Feeling her gaze on him, he looked at her. She quickly looked away.
"Have you two danced yet?" a representative from Gillikin asked the two at some point later that evening, during a conversation. "You are young, you should enjoy these balls while you can – having conversations with boring officials can wait until you're older. Go!" He smiled at them encouragingly and Elphaba glanced at Fiyero carefully, but he gritted his teeth and led her to the dance floor.
"Yero," she said softly, "you don't have to –"
"I know," he cut her off. "But I want to."
She looked sceptical. "You want to ruin your knee?"
"I want to dance with you," he corrected her and she had no reply to that.
He grinned at her then. "Did you just call me "Yero"?"
She blushed fiercely. "Sorry –"
"No, don't." He smiled at her. "I like you calling me that."
Her blush intensified and she looked over his shoulder so that she didn't have to look into his eyes.
He led her into a waltz and she would have been terrified of making a mistake, of making a spectacle of herself in front of all these important people; but between the strange, but nice feeling of being in his arms and her worry for him, seeing the flash of pain in his eyes with almost every step, she didn't have time to be scared. The moment the dance ended, she linked their arms together again and said a little too loudly, "I really need to sit down for a moment, Fiyero. My feet are killing me."
He gave her a grateful look for the excuse as he sank down on a couch beside her, grimacing slightly. She rolled her eyes.
"Why are you so stubborn?" she asked him. "No-one will judge you if they knew you hurt your knee, Yero."
"Maybe not," he acknowledged gruffly, but he didn't say anything else and she didn't push him.
They stayed seated for a while. Elphaba left at some point to talk to Galinda and Boq, while Cyara joined her brother on the couch, scolding him for not being more careful with his knee. He rose to his feet after some time, tired of his sister's chiding, and searched the room for Elphaba.
His breath caught in his throat when he found her across the room, the way it had every time he had laid eyes on her tonight. With her beautiful, thick hair curled and styled the way it was, the slightest hint of make-up on her eyes and lips, and wearing that gorgeous dress, she looked absolutely stunning. Her emerald skin was glowing and he suddenly wanted to touch it, to slide his fingers down her arms and tangle them in her raven curls, to cup her face with both hands and kiss her.
Instead, he made his way over to where she was standing and slipped his arm around her waist. She jumped slightly at his touch, turning large, questioning eyes on him; but he ignored her and instead started talking to the woman she had been talking to, some high-born lady from the Glikkus.
"Fiyero?" she asked uncomfortably when the woman had left. "You can let go of me now."
He did, thinking his touch was unwanted. She shivered a little at the loss of his touch, but she quickly shot forward when he nearly lost his balance.
He gave her a lopsided grin. "I guess I need you for support," he said lightly, putting his arm back around her waist. She shifted awkwardly, but didn't move away. He didn't really need her for support, but he liked touching her. Her skin was soft and radiating warmth, and there was just something about her that drew him to her.
All of a sudden, someone shouted, "Mistletoe!"; and before long, most of the people present in the room were chanting, "Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Startled, Elphaba tried to draw away from Fiyero; but he stopped her and pointed up at something above them.
Mistletoe, hanging from the ceiling... right above where the two of them were standing.
Elphaba suddenly looked absolutely terrified, and he felt bad for her.
"We don't have to, if you don't want to," he told her, trying to reassure her. "It's okay."
She looked at all the people around them, glancing at them expectantly, some of them still chanting. She couldn't let them all down. It would be rude. They probably hated her enough as it was – she didn't want to make that worse by not sticking to ages-old Ozian traditions.
"No," she said faintly. "It's okay. We're engaged, Fiyero – arranged marriage or not, it would be weird if we made a big deal out of a kiss when we'll have to do that… and lots more… next week, anyway."
He gave her a long, searching look and she forced herself to smile. He smiled back at her and laced their fingers together, bringing up his other hand to cup her face. She resisted the urge to close her eyes at his touch, instead leaning into his hand a little bit more... and then he brought her face closer to his and gently pressed his lips against hers.
I bet that's not how you imagined their first kiss, was it? ;)