Chapter 2

Elphaba

Completely on nervous energy, Elphaba burst out, "Elphaba Thropp, Your Terribleness!" She wasn't sure exactly how that would go over, but since he called himself terrible …

"Oh! Elphaba! I didn't realize!" And, much to the young people's astonishment, an old, balding man appeared from behind the head. As he examined them carefully, none of them dared to breathe. This was the Wizard of Oz. The fucking Wizard of Oz! "But which is which?"

"I'm Glinda Upland, Your Ozness," Glinda said, stepping forward and giving one of her sweetest smiles. "I think you're wonderful!"

Elphaba seemed to be frozen in place with fear, so Lukas stepped forward. "My name's Lukas Valentinis, Your Worship. And this lovely lady is Elphaba Thropp, my old friend." He took Elphaba's hand and pulled her forward. She let out a surprised yelp, and almost fell at the Wizard's feet.

"Lukas! Sweet Oz!"

The Wizard chuckled. "Elphaba! Don't be shy! I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else!"

"I-I'm just so happy to meet you!" was all Elphaba could think to say.

"That's what I love: making people happy! Now, my new press secretary tells me that you have powers that are quite substantial, but I need proof. Madam! The book!"

Both Elphaba and Glinda were a bit surprised as their headmistress breezed in, carrying a large, leathery tomb that looked like it was as old as Kumbricia. "Oh my Oz!" Glinda breathed. "Is that … the Grimmerie?"

"It is," Madam Morrible answered, clearly annoyed at the blonde's presence.

"Can I touch it?" Glinda was practically salivating over the book.

"No!" Madam Morrible walked swiftly over to Elphaba, with the Grimmerie safely out of Glinda's reach.

"Um, youth wants to know," Lukas spoke up. "What the hell's a Grimmerie?"

Morrible's eyes narrowed at the fact that there was an Animal in the Palace, but she answered anyway. "It is a book written in the lost language of spells, a sort of recipe for change. And you, my dear, must try to read it." Madam Morrible dropped the book into Elphaba's arms, and the latter grunted in surprise at its weight.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Elphaba asked, trying not to reveal how nervous she was.

"Oh, what about a levitation spell?" the Wizard suggested. "Here, let me introduce my humble servant, Chistery!" At that, a monkey (or it could have been a Monkey) crawled in from one of the other rooms. Elphaba decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Hello there! I'm Elphaba."

Chistery nuzzled her hand, but did not respond.

"You see, Chistery watches the birds so longingly every morning," the Wizard said. "We were thinking maybe you could help him."

Elphaba inhaled. "A levitation spell. Right." She gingerly opened the Grimmerie. The marks and symbols meant nothing to Glinda and Lukas, but Elphaba was surprised to find that she knew exactly how to pronounce them.

"Don't worry if you can't decipherate it, dearie," Madam Morrible said. "I myself can only do a couple of spells, and that took years of …"

"Ahven tatay, ahven tatay …"

"Well, I'll be damned!" Lukas exclaimed under his breath. "Go Faba!" Elphaba blocked out his outburst, and the exclamations of the Wizard and Morrible, and kept chanting, though she had no idea what the words meant.

Suddenly, Chistery started screeching in apparent pain, and Elphaba immediately stopped chanting. She would hate to think that she had caused anyone any pain. "Chistery! Are you alright?" As the screeching and writhing went on, she grew more panicked. "What's going on? Why can't he answer me?"

But at that moment, a large pair of bat-like wings sprouted out of Chistery's back. "Sweet Lurline!" Lukas breathed.

Glinda was speechless.

"Oh … oh Oz!" Elphaba whispered, in shock. "What have I done?" She had completely screwed up the spell. Chistery was supposed to levitate, not grow wings!

"You've done quite a lot!" the Wizard answered jovially. "Look!" He flipped a switch, and more monkeys flew into the throne room, aimlessly bumping into walls.

"And this is a good thing?" Elphaba squeaked, turning mint green.

"Of course!" Madam Morrible exclaimed. "They'll make good spies!"

"Spies?!"

"You're right, that's a harsh word," the Wizard said. "What about 'scouts'? They can fly around Oz and report any subversive Animal activity."

At that moment, it all made sense to Lukas. "You're behind it!" he shouted in disbelief. "All the Animals who've stopped talking! You need them as your enemy!" Then, another horrible thought came into his mind. "And you need Faba as your puppet."

"Don't talk about what you don't know, Bear," Morrible snapped.

"No, he's absolutely right," Elphaba said, the same thoughts running through her mind. "You have no real power." She glared up at the Wizard with eyes like daggers.

"Well, that is true," the Wizard admitted. "But Elphaba, think! You'll not only perform magic for me, you'll also help me make Oz a better place! Look, I'm already developing plans for a new public park here in the EC, and you can help with that! C'mon, let's make a map of Oz together."

He extended his arm out to help her stand up, but she shot up on her own. "NO! I REFUSE!" Without even thinking, Elphaba snatched up the Grimmerie and ran from the room, powered solely by adrenaline.

"Hey, Faba!" Lukas called after her. "No need to do that! Come back!" Was she crazy?! She was going to get herself killed!

"We'll go get her!" Glinda shrieked, grabbing Lukas and tearing out of the room. "Elphie! Elphie!" They found the green girl practically flying up a set of stairs in the western part of the Palace.

"Faba!"

"Elphie!"

Elphaba turned sharply when she heard her friends' calls. "You two are coming?" she asked, pleasantly surprised. "Good! Come on!" She charged on, while Glinda and Lukas rushed to catch up to her.

Eventually, the stairs ended, and the three friends found themselves in an attic of sorts. "Elphaba!" Glinda shrieked, exasperated. "Why couldn't you have stayed calm for once, instead of flying off the handle?! I hope you're happy!"

"I hope you're happy!" Elphaba retorted. "All you care about is your own ambition!" Lukas was trying to think of a way to prevent a possible catfight from happening when suddenly, Madam Morrible's voice came over the loudspeaker, silencing the girls.

"Citizens of Oz, there is an enemy who must be found and captured. Believe nothing she says. She is evil, responsible for the mutilation of these poor, innocent monkeys!"

"Lying bitch!" Lukas couldn't help but mumble.

"Her green skin is but an outward manifestorium of her twisted nature. This distortion, this repulsion, THIS WICKED WITCH!"

"That evil woman!" Lukas exploded. "I'll tear her a new one! I swear to Lurline!"

"I'm screwed," Elphaba whispered, suddenly realizing the severity of what she had done. "Oh, shit! What the hell do I do now?"

"Just say you're sorry, Elphie!" Glinda said desperately. "Before it's too late!"

"But Glinda, the Animals! I can't stand for that!"

"Screw the Animals! Elphie, there is an ARMY coming for us that could KILL YOU!"

"Um, girls?" Lukas cut in. "Just FYI, said army is coming up the stairs right now." The girls stared at him in disbelief. "Bear hearing. Works for me sometimes."

Elphaba was now practically dancing with fear. "Oh, I need to think about this!"

Each choice that you make is a kind of a loss,

Each turn that you take and each coin that you toss.

You lose all the choices you don't get to make.

You wonder about all the turns you don't take.

"So, what are you gonna do, Elphie?"

"How 'bout it, Faba?"