A/N: Shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. Thanks so much. More about Nanny now. ;)
Chapter 26
Elphaba had been pacing for what seemed like forever but had only been an hour or so. She'd half expected them back two days ago but it wasn't like they could make some big announcement regarding the group. What had made it worse was that there had been no word from Mopsi, Popsi, Corporal Norris, or Aenoheso. The Hawk was supposed to come back and when he didn't, Fiyero was ready to send out a search party, but Chistery stopped him. The Flying Monkey told him to wait and luckily, he'd been right. The Munchkins, Norris, and Aenoheso entered the Palace walls just before dinner. They were quickly ushered into the Palace and into Glinda's office.
"What did you find?" Elphaba asked them from the seat behind the desk, without as much as a hello. Mopsi understood her behavior and put a hand on hers before sliding back into the chair in front of the desk.
"Nanny's memory is not what it used to be so we are lucky she wrote it all down," he told her.
"She had hard copies?" The green woman gave him a look.
"Ten journals ma'am. We smuggled them out of Munchkinland," Norris spoke up from his seat next to the Munchkin. Popsi was fishing them out of the bags, which had been bought to the office as well, and placed them on the desk in front of her. Leather bound books that were about a half of an inch thick and looked like the books her father used to keep. It seemed that Nanny had helped herself to his supply, but that also probably helped them seem innocuous, which is probably why they still existed.
"I can't believe she kept these," Elphaba's eyes were tearing up.
"She cared very much for you. It is a shame we could not bring her back with us. I suspect that would have raised too many flags," Mopsi said.
"You mentioned her memory," the green woman gave him a look.
"She was great at lunch. Sharp as a tack but, after dinner she'd forget things. Stop midsentence and seem to be searching for her words," Norris explained.
"Neela said they call it sundowning. As the day goes on, Nanny's mind wanders and forgets," Popsi spoke up as he retook his seat next to the Corporal.
"She has seen things that I'm sure her mind would like to forget but not like that," Elphaba shook her head.
"Originally, she told us her nurse goes home. That's not true. Neela needs to stay with her twenty-four-seven. She's been found wandering off by the neighbors," Mopsi let her know.
"Oh dear," Elphaba shook her head.
"You don't think she'll spill the beans, do you?" Popsi asked.
"Given her memory issues, I'm not sure people would believe her. Now that you've taken those books, there is no proof of who she worked for when I was younger. I doubt anyone else, who may still be with us, would bring up that they worked for Frex," Elphaba said.
"They really hated him that much?" Norris was surprised.
"My father was not one for leniency. Anything that questioned his authority was met swiftly with punishment. He kept a very tight lid on things, but when I went to college with Nessa, he hoped all those years of browbeating would keep me in line. He could never suspect that Morrible had other plans. Nor could he imagine that I'd find a man who could see past my skin color and help me realize that not everyone hated me," she told him.
"You have always been your own woman for as long as I have known you. Some of that was inside you," Mopsi said.
"That was my mother. Frex knew that he could not control her and did not even try. It was much easier to shower Nessa with kindness and to try and make me as small as possible. I was easier to hate given my condition, which he viewed as some sort of punishment. His "punishment" became mine," Elphaba shook her head.
"Well hopefully these books will give you some answers," Norris gave her a slight smile, surprised that she had opened up with him in the room. Still, he did know all of what had happened to her; there would be things that Elphaba would only share with Fiyero.
"I hope so and I appreciate all that you did to get them," she told them.
"All in a day's work. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I need food and a nap, and not necessarily in that order," Mopsi said.
"Dinner is waiting now so you might want to do that first," the green woman gave him a smile. The men said good night to her and took their bags, leaving her and the books for only a moment or two. Fiyero knocked on the door and slipped inside.
"Light reading?" He asked.
"Nanny's records," she told him. His eyes went wide.
"Want some help?" The Prince wondered.
"Please. You are the only one I'd trust to read them," she admitted. He took the seat that Mopsi had vacated and grabbed a book.
To Be Continued…