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"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute-" The Wizard called gently. "She...may not be ready." His voice was genuine, not to discourage Elphaba in any way, but because he was truly worried. Elphie was worried too, if she had to be honest. In no way did she want to humiliate herself in front of someone she so greatly looked up to, as well as in front of two people she so dearly loved.
"Casting a spell-with the Grimmerie?" The older man continued. "That's a mighty tall order. I-...y'know, I should know." His voice softened, and Elphaba found herself starting to hesitate. The Wizard, of course, would know. He'd been tossed into a land he knew nothing about, and then had become the land's most cherished and respected figure. As desired as a position like that was, or even something close to the position in question, getting there was not easy.
"You're right, we mustn't rush her..." Morrible followed up. Again-not to mock, or humiliate, or discourage, but out of worry. Had anyone ever truly worried for her before? Elphaba pondered the question for only a mere second before washing it away from her mind. She didn't have time to self-pity.
"Perhaps today has been too overwhelming-"
"No," She cut in softly. Both figures looked at her, caught a bit off guard but no where near offended. "Please." She softened her voice further, worried she'd snapped. Though she hadn't of course, but...people had a way of seeing her through their eyes, and though she was close to Madame Morrible, The Wizard had just met her. And she did not want him out of all people in Oz to see her as a self-absorbed brat. "Let me try. Let me prove myself." She pleaded.
The Wizard and the Sorceress looked at each other, and Elphie took the opportunity to sneak a glance towards Glinda. Brown doe eyes looked back at her, offering a gentle nod and a soft smile, far softer than any bright and giddy squeal she'd ever let out at Shiz, but equally loving.
Elphaba offered one back before turning back to the other two. Finding them give similar proud smiles and firmly approving nods, she turned to the Grimmerie at once. All three watched her, the tension in the room palpable. And then, after what felt like an eternity though was less than two seconds, the ancient book opened at once, it's pages fluttering as it did so.
"Sweet Oz!" Morrible gasped.
"It-opened for her," The Wizard followed, equally awestruck.
The Grimmerie's pages continued to flutter, and Elphaba watched intently, not dare bothering to turn her eyes anywhere else in the emerald-made architecture. This was it. This was her chance to-
-to prove herself.
"So-which spell are ya gonna start with?" The Wizard questioned.
"We've been working on levitation," Morrible explained, not taking her eyes off Elphaba for even a mere second.
"Levitation?" came The Wizard's answer. Though Elphaba didn't look back, she could hear the slight but thickly veiled confusion in his voice. "...Oh."
"That's interesting..." He continued. "Did you know that, um...Chistery, here-" Elphaba turned back to the others, looking down to find one of the monkey guards looking up at her. "H-Have you ladies met, uh, Chistery?" The Wizard stammered. "The leader of my-my emerald guards." He explained.
"Pleased to meet you," Elphaba greeted, looking down at the fuzzy blue creature as he lightly nodded back.
"Uh, he'd hate to admit this!" The Wizard continued, with slight amusement but not cruel in any way. "Does not like talkin' about himself-but...he watches birds, so longingly..." Chistery snapped up a little, slightly embarrassed by his ruler's words. "-Every morning."
"...Birds." Elphaba whispered to herself.
"Oh...birds!" Glinda repeated, giggling a little but toning down as Morrible shot her a look.
"Well...how can I help him? I-I don't-"
"Elphie, look!" Glinda quipped, pointing back to the Grimmerie.
It took Elphaba a good moment to realize the Grimmerie's pages were fluttering once more, far more rapidly this time. Immediately she turned back to it, emerald eyes watching intently. It finally landed on a page with a picture of-coincidentally but perhaps not-wings, and the pages below that had ancient writing. A language, perhaps.
"A-Are those words?" She frowned.
Morrible gasped softly. "Lost language..." She looked at her student, then back at the Grimmerie. "Our lost language of spells..." She took a step closer to Elphie, as did Glinda. "Don't be discouraged if you can't decipher it," She soothed. "Dearie, I myself can only read a word or two, and that took years-"
And then, with a gentle chant that started as a soothing hum, Elphaba started reading.
Morrible watched, almost dumbfounded for once in her life as she covered her mouths. Glinda almost squeaked, her pale hand grasping at Elphie's shoulder as the girl continued reading, her words getting faster and more fluent, as if she'd known the language all her life. "Oh, Elphie..." Glinda gasped.
Words continued spilling from her lips, words from a language lost and unknown by all but The Wizard of Oz himself-and now her.
And then Glinda, who's hand had been clutching Elphie's shoulder, took a sudden step back, feeling a sharp pain shoot through her spine. Elphie continued reading, seemingly so lost in the spell she didn't realize the gentle pressure lifted from her shoulder. She continued reading, and soon shreds of paper began to tear off the page, and yet she went on.
"What did I tell you?" Morrible whispered softly to her lover. The Wizard looked back at her, frowning only faintly. His eyes had once again returned to Glinda, who had gone much paler than usual. He looked at Elphaba with wonder in his eyes, staring at the youth uncovering a lost language as if it were her mother tongue.
Elphaba's hands hovered slightly over the book as more shreds tore off of the page she was reading, the picture of the ink blue wings tearing off in strips. Her voice got louder, clearer, as if she were giving a speech to the public, as the pieces of old paper tore off in rapid succession. And as the illustration of the wings almost came to life, nearly literally floating off the page-
Glinda cried out.
Elphie gasped, turning back sharply to the sound of her best friend's voice. "Glinda?!"
Glinda cried and sobbed, her chest heaving as she collapsed to the floor. Madame Morrible and The Wizard watched in confusion and then dawning horror as Chistery rushed towards the girl, shooting Elphaba a fearful glance.
"GLINDA!" Elphaba shouted.
The blonde continued sobbing and screaming out in pain, her screams getting hoarse as more spilled from her lips like vomit. She turned to her side, and Elphaba watched down in horror, realizing a sharp crimson was staining the soft pink of Glinda's dress.
Morrible rushed to Elphaba's side, squeezing her shoulders in panicked reassurance as The Wizard bent down next to Glinda and Chistery, gently trying to stable her.
"Glinda-hey, hey, no-Glinda-!" He stammered, watching the blood pool over Glinda's back.
Elphaba collapsed to her knees, a guttural sob wracking her frame.
No.
No, no, no.
No no no no no no no no NO
What had she done?!
"GLINDA!" She begged, horrifyingly unaware of what was happening to the poor girl. Glinda's sobs were turning into ragged chokes as she gasped for air. The wizard gently attempted to at least get her in a position that allowed her to breathe properly, but Glinda shrieked as soon as his hand made contact with her shoulder blades. He jerked back as if he'd been shocked, his face a sickening green that had nothing to do with the Emerald palace's hues.
"She's in pain," Elphaba gasped, short bursts of air coming in and out of her lungs. "She's-she's-I-I PUT HER IN PAIN! No, no, no, OZ DAMMIT! WHAT DO I DO?!" She begged, turning towards The Wizard. Yes. Surely, he'd know what to do. Maybe he could somehow reverse the spell, maybe she could somehow reverse the spell, maybe-maybe anything. She just wanted Glinda to stop bleeding and crying and-
Glinda shrieked out again as Elphaba desperately cradled her, the sound so painfully loud it almost wasn't audible. More ruby-red seeped out of pale, porcelain-like flesh, sticking the pink fabric of her dress painfully to her back.
Then Elphaba felt something fuzzy touch her hand.
"G-Glinda-?" She choked out, tears still pouring down her face. More fuzz brushed her hand, and she pulled back as gently as she could, though it still dragged another guttural sob from Glinda's chest.
Soft white patches of fluff had began to sprout from Glinda's back, almost...feather-like.
No.
Elphie's vision swam, and she dropped Glinda to the harsh emerald-coloured floor before she realized it.
No no no
Glinda was still crying.
Please.
Glinda was still bleeding, the white, angel-like wings clashing with red, making them look almost a pastel pink, a hue Glinda adored almost more than anything.
Please.
Please, Oz, no.
"No..." She choked out finally, her voice foreign. "I...I..."
"No! No, no, no, it's okay!" The Wizard quipped suddenly-suddenly enough that Glinda's overstimulated senses caused her to jerk up and her head to hit the floor once again. "It's okay! Alright, here, let's-Elphaba, it's alright-Glinda, darlin', we're gonna get you patched up, and then-"
"How do I reverse it?" Elphaba asked, painfully numb. Her voice was like silk dragged over gravel.
Morrible looked at her. "...Reverse it-"
"HOW DO I REVERSE IT?!" Elphaba begged.
"It-" Morrible's hesitation told everything she needed to know. "A-A spell from the Grimmerie can never be reversed..." She trailed off, understanding Elphaba had already figured it out.
Elphaba swallowed thickly. Glinda had passed out, her pale skin a sheet-white, her blonde hair matted with blood and tears, her dress stained, and her newfound wings limp and aching.
"Why didn't it happen to anyone else."
The Wizard looked up at her, frowning. He still looked sick to his stomach, though his own paler hue had returned to it's original light-tan. "Wh-What? Elphaba..."
"Why did it only happen to her?" Elphaba asked, clearer, as if she were explaining something to a child.
"I...Well, my dear, I-I'm not too sure..."
His voice was trembling.
The voice of Oz the Great and terrible was-
Trembling.
"Perhaps it's because she was...closest to you?" He offered.
"So was she." Elphaba gestured vaguely towards the Sorceress, who's hand had moved to the back of the Wizard's head, to cradle, to comfort, Lurline knew. "So why did it only happen to her?"
"Dearie..." Morrible started softly. She knelt down, her emerald and gold gown pooling around the already emerald floor beneath them. "I'm sorry, dearie. I truly am. I didn't think..."
"No..." Elphaba Thropp was not thinking straight anymore. "No. No, you're not. You're not 'sorry'. You're-you're glad this happened to her!"
Morrible jerked back. The Wizard looked horrified. "Now, wait a clock-tick-"
"You-You've always hated her!" Elphaba cried out suddenly. Chistery jerked back.
"Elphaba, no."
"Yes you have!"
"Elphie-"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Elphaba sobbed, one green hand still cradling the back of Glinda's head, fingers gently running through ruined blonde locks. "I..."
The Wizard, still knelt down as all four of them were, gave Morrible a gentle, pleading look. The sorceress sighed softly, pulling Elphaba into a hug. The girl broke down, her aching and overstimulated head resting against the older woman's shoulder, tears streaming down like liquid carved from a riverbed down already dried tracks. "There, there, dearie. Not to fret. I assure you, we'll have her fixed up in no time. We...may not be able to reverse the spell, but-"
"But she's in pain." Elphaba cried, pulling back as Morrible cradled her face between both pale hands. The statement was embarrassingly childish coming from her, though having never received such parental-like care from someone, she couldn't be bothered.
"We know, sweetheart, we know..." The Wizard murmured, gently reaching out to thumb away a tear from her cheek. Neither of them were repulsed by her green flesh or by the horrible, unutterably horrible mistake she'd just created, uncaring of how she was the main root cause another innocent had just gone through, and not just any innocent, but that being someone she loved, and someone who loved her and pretty much everyone else around her back.
"But surely, it's just-" He hesitated. "-well, the transformation that hurt her. Trust me, Elphaba. She'll be okay." He gently pushed back a curly black lock from her face, one that somehow stuck to her tear-dampened cheek.
"Well...what do I...what do I do..." She sniffled.
Morrible pulled her back into another embrace. "Dearie, I understand this is..." The Wizard gave her a warning look to choose her words carefully-which of course, she always did, but..."I promise you, The Wizard and I will do everything we can to make sure Glinda is alright." Elphie's emerald eyes watched Morrible's pale hand reach out to squeeze the Wizard's. "Dearie, you read the Grimmerie. You-"
The Wizard looked momentarily horrified once more, biting his tongue so hard he might as well have added to the minor bloodshed that had just been thrust upon them.
"Oh for Oz's sake-I don't CARE!" She cried. "Glinda is in pain, and you-"
"Okay." The Wizard prompted gently. "Okay. It's okay. No, no-you're right, alright? The Grimmerie doesn't matter as of now." He himself then pulled Elphaba into a hug, and she tightly wrapped her arms around him, her bloodied hands staining his jade-clad back.
Gently allowing her to tuck her head under his chin, The Wizard looked up. He'd already ordered Chistery to call the Palace medics, and gave an approving nod as they arrived. Gently-very gently-they loaded Glinda (the poor girl was still passed out) onto a stretcher, staring in confusion at her wings. Elphaba got up and kissed Glinda's forehead, whispering a soft and desperate apology, guilt-ridden and anguished.
"Chistery," The Wizard called gently. "Why don't you, ah, show Miss Elphie here the room we have prepared for her. She needs rest."
Elphaba didn't snap at him for the nickname. Instead, her hollow gaze shifted to him, a desperately thankful look written within them.
(---)
Oscar watched the young girl go, grunting slightly as he got up. "Well, that..." He trailed off. Because hell if he knew what to say in a situation like that.
"Uncalled for," Morrible finished for him. Despite it being far from what he had in mind, he didn't correct her.
His stomach still churned and bubbled with nausea, and his hands, though shoved into his pockets, still shook violently. "We...Sweet Oz, those poor girls just went through a lot."
Morrible sighed softly, resting her head on his shoulder. "It was far from what we wanted." She quipped, painfully unfazed and lacking sympathy for both girls.
"It was." Oscar admitted.
And that was true.
It was.
"It's a start though, ain't it?" He mumbled, wrapping an arm around her. "I doubt she'll trust us again, but...it is what it is, Morrie."
She rolled her eyes. "...Hmph. It would've been even better if I had been the one to have feathers sprout from my spine. That airheaded blonde can barely determine salt from sugar even if we shoved it down her throat!"
The Wizard blinked. "...Right. But-Lurline, no! I doubt I could bear to hear you scream like that. Or bleed like that. Or-Oz. I'd puke right there."
The Sorceress looked at him, deeply unimpressed. "Yes, Oscar, I'm aware. But as you said-it is what it is, isn't it?
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