A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. More on Sarah later. ;)
Chapter 29
"Gotta give Nanny credit. These records… she could have been in big trouble," Boq told them as he looked at the stack of books that Mopsi, Popsi, and Corporal Norris had brought back to the Emerald City.
"Exactly. She even made sure to carry them when Munchkinland was falling to pieces under Jinjuria. She could have burnt them," Elphaba figured.
"Somehow, I don't picture Nanny doing that," Boq admitted.
"She really cared for you. Otherwise, these would have never existed," Fiyero pointed out.
"Yes, that is true. She revealed quite a bit of my history but she makes no reference to the Clock. Mopsi said that the moment he mentioned the Clock, Nanny told him those words were dangerous and cut him off," Elphaba frowned.
"Not one mention of it?" Boq was confused.
"Nanny followed Lurline so the Clock was not her speed. I only hoped to find if she mentioned my birthplace. She does mention it but she doesn't call it the Clock and she does not call it our home in Munchkinland. This confuses me as most women give birth at home," the green woman told them.
"What did she say?" Boq asked.
"She claims that my mother gave birth in the Pine Barrens. Why would she do that? In the middle of the forest?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow.
"It was a way to cover herself. The Clock moves; it doesn't stay in one place. I can't imagine that Frex made your mom travel when she was heavily pregnant," Fiyero said.
"I realize that the Clock moves, but why would she travel from Colwen Grounds to the Pine Barrens? That journey is not short and it could have been dangerous. Not only that, Frex would never have wanted her anywhere near that Clock. I guess there are things that we will never know, as Nanny did not expound on anything – except to say that the birth certificate lied about my birthplace," she said.
"Mopsi spoke of how your progeny would be born in the clock," Boq pointed out.
"I don't think there can be any progeny," the green woman sighed. Fiyero took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Nanny got that specific?" Boq was surprised. Elphaba did not want to get into specifics about her sex life with Boq. They had been through a lot and they had finally gotten their friendship on track. It also wasn't just her involved – Fiyero did not deserve that either. The Munchkin sensed he had overstepped – it wasn't on purpose. He was just surprised that Nanny or even Melena would have allowed Frex to harm Elphaba in that way.
"Nanny made a note that the doctor gave Frex something he called 'special vitamins' and had Fae take them. She could not figure out what was in them, but made note that they messed with things," Fiyero said. It was as delicate as he could get.
"I didn't realize what was going on until I stopped taking those 'vitamins'," Elphaba admitted. The truth was the pills messed with her monthly cycle and she knew why Frex had been giving them to her. Again, she would not share that with Boq. Some things needed to be left in the past – as much as she possibly could.
"Well maybe Doctor Talib can help. At any rate, no one is being born in the Clock as long as it remains hidden," Boq shifted the topic.
"Point. While we may have some answers, I hate to think that the Clock is the only one left who would know why my mother did what she did," she said.
"Neither Mombey nor Ugabu destroyed the Clock. There has to be a reason. Mr. Boss is dead, so why not the Clock?" Fiyero asked.
"Both could have used their magic. Perhaps it's impervious to magic? Though you could have just set it on fire or left it out in the rain to rot. More questions and no answers," Elphaba shook her head.
"Some mysteries are better left buried. Worry now about yourself and your future. As long as no one in Munchkinland finds out about the Clock, then peace will continue," Boq figured.
"Agreed. Thanks, Boq," she gave him a smile and he patted her on her knee before leaving the room.
"You don't like mysteries," Fiyero said.
"No, no I don't and as much as I don't want to do anything while Glinda's on her honeymoon, we may be out of options. There was no good reason for the Clock to exist after Mombey and Ugabu visited it, so of course that means the opposite is true," Elphaba told him.
"There had to be a good reason for them to leave it alone," he shook his head.
"Exactly. We need to find out that reason," she said.
To Be Continued…