Frex, the Governor of Munchkinland, joined his daughters for breakfast every morning when he was at home, and today was no exception.
"Good morning, Father," Nessa greeted him the moment he entered the room.
"Good morning, Nessa," he kissed his younger daughter on her cheek before he sat down.
Elphaba did not greet him, and the Governor did not acknowledge her presence. Nessa gave a little sigh, just like what she had done the day before, and the day before that, and every day before that.
"Father, Fabala and I are thinking of going to the market today," Nessa spoke up after a while. "I want to buy some ribbons for my hair."
"Of course, Nessa. Enjoy yourself. I'll pass you some spending money later."
"It's alright, Father. I still have some money left over from the last time."
Frex beamed at his youngest daughter. She was so thoughtful.
To Elphaba, his tone was harsher. "You take care of your sister and make sure you don't get into trouble."
"What kind of trouble can I get into, Father?" his eldest daughter replied. "Clash with the colour of the ribbons? I'm so sorry but I clash with everything!"
He scowled at her but said nothing. Nessa sighed a little softer and squeezed her sister's hand under the table.
The Governor looked at the letters that were on the tray and went through them while taking his breakfast. One of the letters put a frown on his face.
"Is anything the matter, Father?" Nessa asked when she saw the expression. "Father?"
Frex looked up. "No. Nothing," he said. But he reread the letter, and he looked as if he had just eaten a sour lemon.
"Why do you have to argue with him all the time, Fabala?" Nessa asked the moment they left the house. Nessa had changed into a yellow dress, and she had a thin shawl draped over her shoulders that fell to her waist. Her hair was pulled sideways and tied into a ponytail with a matching yellow ribbon. The girl was walking between Nanny and Elphaba. Nanny had a hand at her back, while Elphaba held a parasol over her head.
"I didn't. He was the one who started it first," Elphaba retorted.
"All you have to do is just give in a little. I'm sure Father will appreciate it."
"You are his precious little girl, Nessa. I am just an eyesore."
"You are not! She's wrong, isn't she, Nanny?"
Nanny made some noises.
"See? Even Nanny agrees with me. Come on, Fabala, will you do it for me?" Nessa pouted. They had been having this conversation, or conversations similar to this, for as long as they could remember. "Fabala, please."
"Alright," Elphaba gave in reluctantly, even though she had no idea how long she could keep her mouth shut. Nessa smiled.
"I'm sure Father will appreciate it," she repeated.
"We're almost reaching the market. Look, there are so many new things on display," Elphaba pointed to the shops at the distance as she tried to distract her sister.
She led Nessa to the stall selling accessories, a hand behind her back to support her, and were greeted warmly by the stall owner who showed Nessa the latest fashion clips from Gillikin. Nessarose already had far too many ribbons and clips, but she always wanted more. She loved to try out different hairstyles, to match her ribbons and hair clips to the dresses that she wore, to draw attention from her missing arms to her hair. To please her sister, Elphaba had learnt how to do her hair in more than a dozen styles. She also learnt how to use the hot iron to curl her sister's hair. Nessa had never worn her hair the same way for two consecutive days. Sometimes, she would even try out a few hairstyles before she was satisfied. On the contrary, Elphaba always braided her hair the same way and used a black ribbon.
Nanny helped to carry the purchases.
After their shopping, the three of them went to a café, where they enjoyed some cold lemonade before they headed home.
"Miss Elphaba," the maid approached Elphaba the moment the two sisters returned. "Master would like to speak to you."
"Did you get into some kind of trouble, Fabala?" Nessa asked. Frex had never asked for her unless she was in some kind of trouble but tried as she might, the green girl could not remember any trouble that she could be in and that he would be aware of. She shrugged.
"Tell him that I'll go to him after I've brought Nessa back to her room," she told the maid. Nessa always needed help with the stairs, and of course, Elphaba would have to help her to change out of her dress and comb her hair. That would take at least one hour. Another hour before she had to see her father.
Nessa leaned slightly onto her hand to get her attention.
"Why don't you go to Father now? I can make my way back with Nanny." She gestured at Nanny, and the old lady stepped into position. While everyone in the household knew how to take care of Nessa, some of them were clumsier than others. And of course, Nessa always preferred Nanny or Elphaba to take care of her. Elphaba wanted to object, but she kept quiet when Nessa gave her a look.
Without any reason to delay her visit, Elphaba made her way to her father's study.
She knocked on the door. "Father."
"Come in."
She entered the room.
There were two chairs next to the table. He didn't gesture for her to sit, and so she pulled out one of the chairs and made herself comfortable. Nessa had only asked her not to argue with Father, she did not ask her not to sit without asking.
Frex frowned at her.
"Were you looking for me, Father?"
"Yes."
He reached for one of the letters on his table. It was the same one from this morning. He read it again, his eyes narrowed as if he could erase the words from the paper with some superhuman glare. The look on his face remained unchanged.
"You know that our harvests have been badly affected by the drought for the past few years."
Of course, she knew. Instead of fields with green and golden crops, all she had seen in the recent years were the brown of failed harvest and dried ponds. There had been a shortage of food. Food prices shot up, and many families had to sell whatever little possessions they had to survive. Some of the younger Munchkins even left for Gillikin or the Emerald City to look for jobs so that they could offload the burden at home. It was only in the past few months that rain had come back again and the crops flourished. They had two good harvests since then, and everyone was praying that the good weather would continue.
"During that time, the Vinkuns helped by selling us some of their harvests at a preferential rate. It is not much, but it is better than nothing. The Gillikinese did nothing, except to increase the interest rates of our loans."
He paused.
"The treaty with the Vinkuns will expire at the end of the year," he added.
"The drought has ended."
"We don't know if the drought will come again. And in the coming year, the Vinkuns will no longer sell their goods to us at the current rate. And with the increased interest rates, paying both the Gillkinese and Vinkuns will increase the burden on the people. I have written to them, asking for an extension in the treaty."
Elphaba kept quiet.
"They just came back with a counteroffer."
She waited for him to continue.
"They will continue to sell their grains and vegetables to us at the current rate for one more year, but on one condition."
Frex paused again.
"They want to strengthen their ties with us. Their prince, Prince Fiyero, is asking for your sister's hand."