Sorry, everyone. Elphaba is staying blind.
Terahteapot: Um… who is Sophie? JK, I know you meant 'Elphie'.
Thedoctor24601 (Guest): Aww. Thank you!
Elphaba slowly opened her eyes and smiled at the feeling of the sunlight on her face. Slowly, she pushed herself onto her elbows and stretched. "Glin, are you awake?" She heard a muffled response and a shift of movement and smiled. Her roommate was never a morning person. Sleepily, she pushed the covers from her body and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. A slight giggle escaped from her lips, feeling the soft carpet beneath her bare feet. Pushing herself to her full height, she slowly felt her way over to Galinda's bed. "Glin, wake up. We're touring the Emerald City today," she said, gently shaking the blonde's shoulder.
"The… Emerald… City…" the blonde mumbled sleepily, turning over.
"Yes, Glin. The Emerald City," Elphaba smiled.
Galinda slowly opened her eyes and, as soon as she registered where she was, quickly sat up. "The Emerald City! We're seeing the Emerald City!"
Startled by the blonde's sudden outburst, Elphaba jumped back, bumping into her bed.
"Oh… sorry, Elphie," the blonde quickly apologized, yawning as she massaged her face.
"It's okay," Elphaba chuckled.
"But we're seeing the Emerald City today!" Galinda exclaimed, jumping out of bed like a child on Lurlinemas morning. "Elphie, hurry up and get ready. Ooh, wear this!" Galinda quickly grabbed a dress out of her suitcase and handed it to the green girl.
Elphaba ran her fingers over the dress and frowned. "No, Glin."
"Why not?" Galinda pouted.
"This has ruffles."
"But-"
"No."
"You'd look so pretty in-"
"No."
Huffing, Galinda dug through her suitcase for another dress. Squealing in triumph, she handed another dress to the green girl.
"Glin –"
"It's pleaded. Not ruffles, Elphie. There's a difference!"
"I'm sure there is."
"Just wear it. You'll look beautiful in it."
"If you say so."
"I do say so. Now put it on! Hurry!"
Elphaba sighed as she slid her hand against the wall, searching for the bathroom door. Finally locating it, she slipped inside and got ready for the exciting day ahead of them.
"Elphie!" Galinda whined, knocking on the bathroom door after fifteen minutes.
A click and the door opened, revealing Elphaba in spaghetti strap, dark purple dress with a pleaded skirt that stopped just below her knees.
"You look beautiful, Elphie," Galinda smiled.
Elphaba blushed, her face turning a darker shade of green. "Thank you."
"That dress looks gorgeous on you."
"I guess I have no other choice than to take your word for it," Elphaba smiled.
Galinda giggled as she hurried past her roommate and quickly showered and got ready. Her dress was the same style as Elphaba, except it was emerald green, the same shade as the city. After brushing Elphaba's hair, Galinda declared themselves ready to face the city and the two walked out of the room.
"Good morning," Boq greeted once he saw Elphaba and Galinda step out of the lift.
"Good morning, Boq. How did you sleep last night?" Galinda asked.
"Boq snores," Fiyero said, glaring at the Munchkin.
"I do not!" Boq argued.
"Yes, you do, Boq. You snore. Really, really loud."
Boq rolled his eyes and directed his attention back to the girls. "Where should we go for breakfast?"
"I saw this really nice café on our way back here yesterday," Nessa suggested.
"I think I remember that. The… Emerald Café, wasn't it?" Galinda questioned.
"I think so."
"Let's go," Fiyero smiled, taking the lead.
After breakfast, the group began their tour of the Emerald City.
"We can start at the Palace and work our way around the city," Fiyero said, taking out the map he had picked up at the front desk at the hotel. "Oh, and I also picked up these," he said, handing out green glasses.
"Ooh," Galinda smiled as she slid the glasses onto her nose, making everything appear green.
"What is it?" Elphaba asked.
"They're glasses that make everything look green."
"Oh."
Nessa frowned. "Fabala, we-"
"It's okay, Nessie," Elphaba said, forcing a small smile.
Galinda deflated a little and opened her mouth to say something, but Elphaba gripped her arm, as if to remind her of their conversation the previous night. "And it looks like the street vendors are starting to set up," she said, looking around at the multiple carts being set up, trying to change the subject.
"When will they start setting up for the fair?" Nessa asked, looking up at the blonde.
"Later this afternoon. It's usually around the Palace."
"So, we can just walk around, see the sights and come back here for the fair," Fiyero smiled, folding up the map.
"Sounds like fun," Elphaba smiled.
"And we have to go shopping!" Galinda quipped.
Fiyero couldn't hold in his laughter. Elphaba narrowed her eyes at him and fought the urge to jab him in the ribs again. "I promise to take you to the museum, Fae," he promised, kissing Elphaba's cheek.
"Thank you, Yero," Elphaba blushed.
"That is… if you survive shopping with Galinda."
"Then we'd better get going, then," Galinda smiled, taking Elphaba's arm and dragging her away.
Elphaba sighed, knowing that the blonde would, without a doubt, drag her into every boutique she laid eyes on.
"Oh, Elphie! This is going to be so much fun!" Galinda gushed, dragging Elphaba into a small boutique.
Elphaba frowned as she felt the atmosphere around her change. She felt a headache growing and she gritted her teeth. "Alright, Glin. I have a few rules. One; no pink."
"Why not? And you'd better give me a better answer than 'It's too perky'."
"Just… no."
Galinda huffed. "Fine."
"Two; I am not going to try on every single dress you throw at me."
Galinda muttered something under her breath.
"And three; if I so much as feel one ruffle, I am leaving to find Fiyero."
"No ruffles, no pink and no excessive dresses. I get it," Galinda said, half-distracted by the dress rack.
Twenty minutes and five dresses later, Elphaba and Galinda exited the boutique.
"Don't worry, Elphie," Galinda said, patting the green girl's arm. "I'm not going to drag you into every store I see."
"How good of you," Elphaba said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"I know, right? I'm so generations."
"Generous."
"Whatever!"
The two women spent the morning aimlessly wandering through the city. They bought a few snacks from the vendor carts they came across.
"It's almost noon. Fiyero, Boq, and Nessa will be waiting for us," Galinda said, leading the green girl back to their meeting place. "Fifi! Nessa! Boq!" she called, seeing their friends waiting for them.
"Hi, Galinda!" Nessa smiled, waving.
"How was your morning?" Fiyero asked, gently pulling Elphaba closer to him.
"I survived," Elphaba said in triumph.
"Stop acting like you survived being outside during a hurricane, Elphie," Galinda huffed. "It wasn't that hard."
"That's easy for you to say."
Galinda stuck her tongue out at the green girl before turning back to their friends. "What do you want to do now?"
"I promised Fae a trip to the museum," Fiyero smiled, taking Elphaba's arm and leading her away. "See you guys later for the fair!"
Elphaba smiled as Fiyero led her down the streets of the city to the museum.
"Fae, are you alright?" Fiyero asked, noticing the pained look on Elphaba's face.
"Y-Yeah. It's just a small headache. I'm sure it will pass."
"Do you want to sit down?"
"No. I'm fine."
"Oh. Careful, there's a step here," Fiyero alerted her, guiding her up the steps to the museum entrance.
After the museum tour, the couple continued to wander through the city. Elphaba smiled softly as she listened to the sound her cane made as it slid across the cobblestone path. Suddenly, she frowned again, which didn't go unnoticed by Fiyero.
"Fae, are you –"
"Y-Yeah," Elphaba said, quickly smiling. "It's just…"
"What?"
"Nobody's… staring," Elphaba said, not experiencing the usual feeling she got when people stared and pointed at her. "I feel… normal."
Fiyero smiled and pulled Elphaba closer. Elphaba turned towards him and stood on her toes to kiss him. "Fae?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
Elphaba blushed. "I love you, too, Yero."
Elphaba and Fiyero continued their walk back to the Emerald City Palace to meet Galinda, Boq and Nessa.
"There they are!" Nessa smiled.
"Finally! I was about to alert the Wizard!" Galinda exclaimed.
"I'm sure you were, Glin," Elphaba said, rolling her eyes.
"It looks like the fair is set up," Boq smiled.
"Great! Let's go have some fun!" Galinda smiled, skipping away. "And we'll all meet up back here for the parade and fireworks."
"Sounds good," Fiyero said, leading Elphaba away. "So, what would you like to do first, Fae?"
Elphaba closed her eyes and sniffed the air, the scent of something sweet filling her nose. "Whatever that is, it smells wonderful."
Fiyero went over to the fried dough stand and bought one for himself and one for Elphaba. "Here," he smiled, handing Elphaba the plate of the powdery pastry.
"Thanks, Yero," Elphaba smiled, taking a bite.
Fiyero chuckled as he wiped off the extra powder from the corners of Elphaba's mouth.
Frowning, Elphaba slapped his hand away. "Yero!"
"What? You had powder on your face."
"I could have wiped it off!"
"Of course, Fae," Fiyero grinned, taking Elphaba's arm and leading her through the streets of the fair. Laying eyes on a ball toss game, he smiled. "Wait here."
Nodding, Elphaba patiently waited for Fiyero to return. The prince returned a few minutes later, handing Elphaba something small and fluffy.
"What is this?" Elphaba asked, running her hand over the fluffy, mysterious object.
Fiyero chuckled. "Can you guess?"
Elphaba's lips curled into a small frown as her fingers continued to roam over the strange object. Finally, her face lit up. "A teddy bear? You won me a teddy bear? Oh, Yero! Thank you!" She launched herself at her boyfriend and happily wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you! I love it!"
"I'm glad, Fae," Fiyero smiled, watching his girlfriend hug the small, fluffy brown teddy bear with an emerald bow around its neck. "We'd better get back to the others."
Nodding, the couple walked back to the Emerald City Palace, where Boq, Nessa and Galinda were sitting on blankets, waiting for the parade and fireworks to start. Galinda was sitting next to a boy with chocolate hair and white top with black pants.
"Elphie, Fifi, you're back!" Galinda smiled, turning around and noticing the prince and the green girl approaching them. "This is Quad. We met ten minutes ago. And he won this bear for me!" she smiled, proudly holding up the small, fluffy white bear with a pink bow around its neck. "Quad, this is my bestest friend, Elphie, and her boyfriend, Fifi."
"I'm not your friend?" Fiyero pouted, pretending to be offended. He turned to Quad and smiled. "And… it's Fiyero. Not Fifi. I still don't know why I allow Glin to call me that."
"Because I like it," Galinda smirked.
"Oz," Fiyero muttered, helping Elphaba sit down on the blanket.
"Boq won me a bear, too," Nessa smiled, showing everyone her purple bear with a small golden heart.
"Well, now I feel unoriginal," Boq pouted.
Nessa giggled and kiss his cheek. "Better?"
"Yeah," Boq sighed dreamily.
Smiling, Nessa turned towards her sister and frowned. "Fabala, are you alright?" she asked, placing her hand on top of her sister's.
"I'm fine, Nessie. Just a bit tired," Elphaba said, offering her sister a weak smile.
"Look, there's Nelliee!" Galinda smiled, waving to the princess. "Hi, Nelliee!"
"Oh. Hello!" Nelliee smiled, sitting down on one of the blankets next to the group. "How was your day in the city?"
"Positively Oztastic!" Galinda smiled.
"So was mine. Did you go to the shops?"
"I did. I bought the most Ozmazifying dresses!"
The two girls continued to chatter about the multiple dresses they purchased until a trumpet blew, signaling the start of the parade. After the parade, it was finally time for the fireworks. A collective 'ooh' came from everyone as the fireworks lit up the night sky.
"Ahh," Galinda smiled, snuggling closer to Quad.
Elphaba snuggled closer to Fiyero as she listened to the boom and crackle sounds created by the fireworks. Smiling, Fiyero placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, but frowned. "Fae, you're warm."
"So are you," Elphaba whispered, snuggling closer to him.
"No, not that type of warm. You're warm, as in, fever warm."
"Yero, I feel fine."
"Maybe we should go back to the hotel."
"No. Yero, I feel fine. I want to stay out here… with you."
Fiyero opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced by an elbow to the ribs.
"That was exciting," Nelliee smiled as they all walked back to the hotel.
"Oh my Oz, that was Ozmazifying!" Galinda giggled, clinging to Quad's arm as she bounced up and down.
"I'm glad you had a good time, Glinny," Quad smiled.
"Goodnight, girls," Fiyero said, giving Elphaba a goodbye kiss.
Boq leaned forward and kissed Nessa's cheek. "Sleep well."
"Goodnight, Boq. Goodnight, Fifi," Galinda smiled, taking Elphaba's arm as Nelliee stepped behind Nessa's wheelchair.
"Best. Night. Ever!" Galinda exclaimed once she and Elphaba were back in their hotel room.
Elphaba rubbed circles on her temple, trying to rid herself of her headache.
"Elphie?"
"Hmm? I… I'm fine. Just tired. I guess I'm not used to the city noise." She gave her friend a quick smile before disappearing into the bathroom to change. When she came out, Galinda was ready for bed, her golden curls brushed out and in a ponytail.
"So…" the blonde smiled, rushing to her friend, grabbing her hands and leading her back to the bed. "How was your day with Fiyero?"
"It was fun," Elphaba smiled. "We went to the museum and walked around the city for a while. And… how did you meet Quad?"
"We bumped into each other… literally. Then he helped me up and he was a perfect gentleman and… can I tell you a secret?"
Elphaba nodded.
"Quad and I… are going to be… married!" Galinda giggled, squealing into her pillow at the end.
Elphaba quickly covered her ears. "He… he asked you already?"
"Oh, he doesn't know yet."
"Ah. Well, I'm going to sleep. We have a long trip back tomorrow. Goodnight, Glin."
"Goodnight, Elphie. Fresh dreams."
It was only a few hours later that Galinda was awoken be a sudden gasp, followed by wheezes. Squinting, she could just make out Elphaba's figure sitting up in her bed, clutching her chest. "Elphie? Elphie, what's wrong?" Galinda asked, jumping out of bed.
"My chest… it… hurts… to… breathe," Elphaba managed to say.
"Okay. It's okay, Elphie. Don't panic," Galinda said, rubbing circles on Elphaba's back as she tried not to panic herself. "I'll go get Nessa and Fiyero." The blonde quickly threw open the door and ran up the flight of stairs to the boy's room. "Fifi! Boq! Fifi! Boq! Fifi! Fifi! FIFI! BICK! Fifi, open up this door right now!" she shouted, rapping her knuckles against the door.
A very sleepy Fiyero opened the door a few seconds later. "Glin, this better be important."
"It's one in the morning," Boq whined, appearing from behind Fiyero, rubbing his eyes. "And why'd you call me 'Bick'?"
"No time! And it is. Something's wrong with Elphie!"
"What?" Fiyero gasped. The boys were fully awake now.
Galinda nodded. "Our door is open. I'm going to get Nessa."
Fiyero, Boq and Galinda ran back down the stairs. "I'll run to the front desk and send for an ambulance," Boq said, continuing to run down the stairs.
Fiyero ran into the room and practically sprinted towards Elphaba's bed.
"Y-Yero?" Elphaba whispered hoarsely.
"I'm right here, Fae," Fiyero said, sitting down and holding her close.
"Chest… hurts… can't… breathe."
"It'll be okay, Fae. You'll be okay," Fiyero whispered, stroking her hair and rocking her in his arms.
"Fabala!" Nessa called, wheeling into the room with Nelliee close behind her. "Fiyero, what happened?"
"I don't know. She's complaining about her chest hurting and she's struggling to breathe," Fiyero said, wiping a tear from Elphaba's eye.
"Boq went to send for an ambulance," Galinda said.
Nodding, Fiyero carefully lifted Elphaba into his arms and carried her out of the room and down the stairs.
"Yero…" Elphaba moaned.
"Shh. It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay," Fiyero said, kissing her forehead. His eyes widened in fear. "She's burning up!"
The lift door opened and Nessa quickly wheeled out, closely followed by Galinda and Nelliee. "Fabala!" Nessa gasped, wheeling over to her sister.
"N-Nessie?" Elphaba choked out.
"Yes, Fabala. I'm right here. You're going to be fine. Just hold on."
"The ambulance is on its way," Boq announced, still trying to regain his breath from running down eight flights of stairs.
A cough and everyone turned their attention back to Elphaba.
"Oh Oz," Fiyero whispered, seeing Elphaba cough up blood.
Elphaba's head spun. Her chest felt tight. She could hear voices, but couldn't identify who they belonged to.
"Fae, stay with us."
Fae? Who's Fae? Was that her name?
"They're here!"
"You'll be fine, Elphie. Everything's fine."
Elphaba felt herself being lifted up and placed onto some kind of bed. She was quickly wheeled outside and into a carriage.
"I'm her sister! I need to stay with her!" Nessa pleaded with the driver.
Nodding, the driver helped the younger Thropp into the carriage.
"We'll meet you there, Nessa. We're going to tell Madame Morrible what's happening," Galinda called.
Nessa nodded as the carriage began to speed down the streets to the Emerald City hospital. "Fabala, please stay with us," she begged, tears welling in her eyes. She gripped her sister's hand and held it against her heart. "Please."
So… um… remember in chapter 14 I said that something would happen? Well, this is the start of that something.
RIP Robin Williams. He was one of the greatest actors and comedians ever and he will be missed dearly.