Chapter Text
A fair had come to Shiz.
It conveniently occurred on the weekend prior to graduation, so there was nothing preventing Elphaba from being dragged out by her sister and friends to explore. There was nothing to study for, no papers to write.
“No excuses,” Glinda informed her best friend, dragging her out of the dorm.
Elphaba didn’t actual argue that much. She was well aware that this would be one of the last times that the five of them were able to spend together before graduation, and she was trying to make the most of that time. Sure, she’d still see Nessarose and Boq frequently- it was hard to escape her sister when they lived in the same house. But who knew when they’d all be together again?
“Um, your engagement party?” Glinda suggested when Elphaba said as much as they strolled around the fair.
The group had split up with the agreement to meet for lunch in an hour, and Glinda had dragged Elphaba along with her. Nessa had found some classmates that had invited her to go have iced tea, and Fiyero and Boq were headed for the midway to play some games.
Elphaba almost choked on her soda. “Excuse me?!”
Glinda waved a dismissive hand. “Come on, Elphie. We all know it’s going to happen.”
Elphaba sighed. “Glin, don’t. Fiyero and I have only been together for a year-“
“Sixteen months.”
Elphaba rolled her eyes. “Whatever. It’s still too soon to start planning the wedding, okay? Let’s just see what happens once we’re living on opposite sides of Oz and he doesn’t see me daily.”
Glinda looked unimpressed. “Right. ‘Absence makes the heart grow colder.’ That’s how the saying goes, right?”
Elphaba sighed exasperatedly. “Glinda, I’m already having this argument with Fiyero, I don’t need it from you too. Look, didn’t you want some cotton candy?”
“Ooh, yes.”
Glinda practically skipped away to get her stick of cotton candy, admiring the swirls as she pulled off a piece. She offered some to Elphaba, who shook her head, wrinkling her nose.
“I’m just saying,” Glinda continued. “You love Fiyero, he loves you. Your father sucks, and if you got married, he’d be far away. Also, you’d be a princess.”
“How is my crappy relationship with my father a good foundation for a marriage?” Elphaba demanded.
Glinda paused, her brow furrowing as she thought about that. “You escape a crappy family by making your own family?” she finally countered.
Elphaba grimaced faintly. “Glinda, you realise leaving my father also means leaving Nessa?”
“Well, there is that,” Glinda had to admit. “But Nessa might get married herself one day, won’t she?”
“I suppose,” Elphaba agreed.
“You can’t put your own life on hold until Nessa gets a life, Elphie.”
Elphaba was rather offended on her sister’s behalf. “Nessa has a life! And what, you can’t have a life unless you’re married?”
Glinda sighed. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just saying, you can’t not live your own life to accommodate Nessa.”
“My father has spent at least the last decade telling me otherwise,” Elphaba said dryly.
Glinda sighed again. “Yes, well, there’s nothing I can do about that. Except point out that he’s wrong.”
They wandered through the streets, looking at the stalls, games and rides on offer. It seemed everyone on campus was here, in addition to all the townspeople. A carriage passed them on the street, full of a group of boys. Two of them leaned out the window, catcalling and whistling towards Glinda, who made a face.
“Ugh.”
“Ugh?” Elphaba repeated. “Is this growth, Miss Upland? Wasn’t there a time when you would have been flattered by idiots yelling what they think are romantic compliments out of a carriage window?”
Glinda waved a hand. “Sure, when I was younger and less wise.”
Elphaba snorted, breaking into peals of laughter. “When you were young? Glin, you’re twenty-one. You’re not exactly ready for retirement.”
Glinda tossed her hair. “Look, all I know is that one day, when I tell my children and grandchildren the story of how I met my husband and the love of my life, it’s not going to start with ‘He yelled at me from a carriage window while I walked down the street’,” she said firmly.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. “You do remember the story of how I met Fiyero is ‘he was asleep in the backseat and his carriage almost ran me over’, yes?”
“Yeah, but then the story goes on with ‘he was dating Aunty Glinda at the time’,” Glinda retorted. “And it will end with ‘I became a princess and we lived happily ever after’, so you can suck it up.”
Elphaba narrowed her eyes at her. “I can easily edit ‘Aunty Glinda’ out of the story. The story works just the same if you’re referred to as ‘my college roommate’ you know,” she threatened and Glinda giggled.
“You’re hilarious, Elphie. Hey, do you want a smoothie?”
Elphaba was actually enjoying herself- right up until she wasn’t. Glinda had to drag Elphaba away quickly when they came across a man forcing a Fox into a carriage and baiting him with fish, despite Elphaba’s protests.
“What are you going to do?” she demanded of Elphaba. “Lose your temper and do Oz knows what with your magic?”
Elphaba stared back over her shoulder as Glinda pulled her away. “We have to do something,” she insisted.
“And when you’re royalty, you’ll have the power to do something,” Glinda replied. “But right now, you can’t do anything.”
Elphaba crossed her arms, her lips pressed tightly together as she glared furiously.
“If Fiyero’s parents haven’t been able to contact the Wizard about the Animal Banns, why would I be able to do anything?” Her tone was bitter.
Glinda’s face softened sympathetically, and she squeezed Elphaba’s arm lightly. “Elphie, I know how important the Animals are to you. I do. I know that you’ve never really gotten over what happened to Dr Dillamond.”
Elphaba winced faintly.
“I hate this,” she said, her voice pained.
“I know, Elphie,” Glinda replied quietly.
The Animal Banns had only gotten stricter in the more than two years since Dr Dillamond had been dragged away. Elphaba had held out hope that Morrible would fulfill her promise of telling the Wizard about her, that she’d be able to meet him and get him to do something.
But months had gone by without word, and then abruptly last fall, Morrible had informed her that she was unable to continue teaching her Sorcery. She had no explanation that satisfied Elphaba.
“I think it’s become clear that your future lies outside of Sorcery,” she’d told her coldly, looking disapproving.
Elphaba had been completely confusified by her meaning, until a few days later when she’d run into Morrible while with Fiyero, and Morrible had regarded them with that same look. Why Elphaba’s relationship with Fiyero made her unsuitable to study Sorcery, she had no idea.
Fiyero’s parents were doing the best they could to keep the Vinkus safe for Animals, but not even they had the power to overturn all of the Banns. Which left Elphaba feeling dejected and useless.
“Oh, Elphie!” Glinda exclaimed suddenly. “Look! There’s a fortune teller! Let’s go!”
Elphaba stared at her. “Glin, if you think that’s the best way to cheer me up right now, I’m going to seriously question how well you actually know me after three years,” she said as Glinda dragged her towards the tent.
“Elphie, come on. I ask for so little-“
“Well, that’s not true.”
“And it’s not like it’s all made up. You’ve had visions-“
“If you can call them that.”
“So who’s to say this… Madame Fortuna doesn’t also have the ability to predict the future?”
“For one thing, she’s calling herself ‘Madame Fortuna’,” Elphaba muttered as they reached the tent.
Glinda ignored her, paid for both girls and dragged Elphaba inside. The inside of the tent was dark, cool and entirely cliché- complete with the small table and a crystal ball that made Elphaba roll her eyes.
“This is ridiculous,” she hissed to Glinda, who again ignored her.
“Good afternoon,” said a throaty voice and they turned to see a short, dark-skinned woman stepping out of the shadows.
Elphaba couldn’t place her accent, but she thought it might be Fliaan.
“Hello!” Glinda greeted the woman brightly. “We’d like to get our fortunes told, please.”
The woman smiled at them. “Of course. Which of you is first?”
“Me,” Glinda volunteered immediately, not even bothering to look at Elphaba.
Elphaba restrained herself from rolling her eyes as Glinda was ushered into a chair across the table from the woman.
“Do you have a question, child? Something that you wish to know about your future?”
Elphaba knew what Glinda’s answer would be before she’d even opened her mouth.
“Love,” Glinda said firmly. “I’d like to know about my love life.”
The woman nodded and made a big show of taking Glinda’s hand and examining it, and then peering into the crystal ball on the table.
“You look for love in the wrong places,” the woman almost scolded Glinda. “You search for that which does not exist.”
Glinda’s eyes widened in horror. “Love doesn’t exist?!” she gasped. “Love… at all? Or just… for me?”
Madame Fortuna’s face softened. “Perfection does not exist,” she clarified. “You need to find someone who’s flaws complement yours.”
Glinda wrinkled her nose, and for a moment Elphaba thought she was going to protest that she had no flaws.
“So, where do I look?” she demanded.
Madame Fortuna studied the crystal ball carefully- or at least, pretended to. “Love starts where life ends.”
Glinda turned her head to stare at Elphaba confusedly. Elphaba just rolled her eyes.
“Love starts where life ends?” she repeated uncertainly.
Madame Fortuna nodded. “Look for the mountain pool,” she advised and released Glinda’s hand and turned towards Elphaba. “Your turn, my dear.”
Elphaba crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m actually-“
“Ready to go,” Glinda said hastily, leaping from the seat to grab Elphaba’s arm and tug her over.
Elphaba glared at her friend, but Glinda ignored her.
“Do you have a question, child? Something particular that you wish to know?” Madame Fortuna asked her.
Elphaba suppressed a sigh. “No, not really,” she said tiredly.
Madame Fortuna smiled. “Not to worry. We’ll see what the fates reveal, shall we?”
She didn’t take Elphaba’s hand as she had Glinda’s. Three guesses as to why.
She stared into the crystal ball on the table for a long time, her brow creasing. Elphaba stared too, but saw nothing besides her own distorted reflection.
“Hm.”
Elphaba’s eyebrow arched of its own accord. “Hm?” she repeated.
Madame Fortuna raised her eyes to look at Elphaba, her face solemn.
“As the King takes the throne,
Two souls shall become one.
To bring forth a magic unlike has ever been seen
Rising from the blood of the one born of two worlds.
The Lenrosis shall bring forth the spirit guide
For one revolution around the sun.
As the King cries in the darkness,
His tears shall light the way,
For the Lenrosis to heal what has been broken,
And make the choice between blood and heart.”
Elphaba stared at her. “What does that mean?”
Madame Fortuna rose to her feet. “Thank you for coming,” she said, gesturing towards the opening to the tent.
Elphaba frowned, slowly rising to her feet. “Right. Thanks,” she said flatly.
Glinda’s eyes were wide as she followed Elphaba from the tent.
“Oh. My. Oz,” she breathed. “What was that?!”
“A waste of our time and your money,” Elphaba scolded her. “Happy now?”
Glinda rolled her eyes. “Elphie, come on. That was a real prophecy!”
“Oh, it was not,” Elphaba sighed. “It was a load of nonsense.”
“But it’s poetry.”
Elphaba stopped dead in her tracks to stare at Glinda incredulously. “It’s poetry? Really? That’s your logic for it being a real prophecy?”
“Prophecies are poems, Elphaba,” Glinda retorted. “Everyone knows that.”
Elphaba had to laugh. “Glin, seriously? The others are going to agree with me,” she predicted. “It’s a load of crap.”
Sure enough, when they met up with the others and Glinda excitedly told them the story, Fiyero snorted.
“Hey, Glin. You know what else is poetry?” he asked her seriously. “Roses are red,
Violets are blue, A face like yours, Belongs in a zoo. What do you think that is foretelling?”
Elphaba snorted with laughter, and Glinda glared at the two of them.
“You two deserve each other,” she muttered.
Nessa looked like she was trying not to smile as she turned to Glinda. “Glinda, what did it actually say?” she asked her.
Glinda wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. “Something about a king taking the throne… two souls… magic… I don’t remember,” she confessed. “You should have gotten her to write it down,” she complained to Elphaba.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. “Sure. Who’d want to forget that nonsense?”
Glinda sighed. “Elphie. What if it means something though?”
Boq cleared his throat. “If it is a real prophecy… I mean, it’s gonna happen regardless of whether Elphaba remembers it, won’t it? Like, isn’t that the point?”
Glinda paused. “I guess so,” she had to concede. “But then how will we know it’s come true?”
“Is it even about Elphaba at all?” Nessa asked. “You said it mentioned a king taking the throne… so, couldn’t that be Fiyero?”
Glinda’s eyes widened and Fiyero blanched slightly.
“If that’s the case, it’s going to be far, far, far in the future,” he said firmly. “The ancestor who holds the record for being the oldest person when they took the throne was seventy-six, and my goal in life is to beat that record.”
“What’s the record for the youngest?” Boq asked him.
“Uh, fifteen? Sixteen? Something like that, I think,” Fiyero shrugged. “Younger than us.”
Nessa turned back to Glinda. “So, what does that mean for your fortune? That wasn’t poetry, was it?”
“No,” Glinda said sadly. “But I still think it’s true. ‘Love begins where life ends’,” she recited. “It sounds mysterious, don’t you think? ‘Look for the mountain pool’.”
“You’re going to meet someone in the mountains?” Nessa asked.
Fiyero snorted. “I’m trying to picture you in the mountains,” he grinned at Glinda. “What exactly is happening there? Are you hiking?” he teased her.
Glinda glared at him. “I pass through the mountains every time I visit the Vinkus,” she reminded him. Her eyes lit up.
“Ooh. Maybe it’ll be like, a carriage accident, you know? Like, I’ll be coming to visit you and Elphie, and maybe the axle breaks and someone comes along to offer their assistance,” she said dreamily.
Elphaba sighed. “And that scenario fits in with the ‘life ends’ thing, how?”
“Maybe the carriage driver dies in the accident?” Fiyero suggested.
Nessa frowned. “This is all getting a little morbid,” she said uncomfortably. “Can we change the subject?”
When they eventually headed back to campus, Elphaba and Fiyero hung back to walk on their own, Fiyero easily linking their hands together.
“You know, I think I’m actually going to miss it here,” Fiyero remarked.
Elphaba raised her eyebrow slightly. “School? You’re going to miss school?”
Fiyero shrugged, grinning faintly. “Well, maybe not school. But I’ll miss the place, you know?”
Elphaba smiled sadly. “Yeah, I will too.”
She let out a breath slowly. “This has been the first place I’ve ever had that’s really felt like home,” she said.
Fiyero squeezed her hand lightly. “I know, Fae.”
“It’s weird. We’re about to graduate, and I don’t feel excited about it. But I should be, right?”
Fiyero laughed. “Elphaba, you’re graduating at the top of the class. You should be thrillified. I, for one, am so proud of you. Not at all surprised, but very proud. We all are.”
Elphaba moved closer, resting her head against him as they walked. “Thanks. It just doesn’t feel real yet, I guess. It just feels like the end of another school year, which means going back to Munchkinland and being stuck in that house with my father. My brain still thinks we’ll be back in the fall,” she admitted.
“Maybe we can meet in the Emerald City in the fall?” Fiyero suggested. “For a weekend or something?”
Elphaba looked at him with a smile. “We as in you and me, or ‘we’ as in the five of us?”
“I’d prefer it was just you and me,” Fiyero admitted readily. “But I think there’s more chance of it happening if Nessa’s on board to convince your father. And I don’t like the odds of Glinda finding out about this and not coming along.”
Elphaba laughed. “No, that’s not likely,” she agreed. “But I like that idea.”
Fiyero walked her to the door of her building. “Dinner at seven? Dining hall?” he asked.
Elphaba nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you then,” she said.
Fiyero kissed her cheek and headed off with a wave. Elphaba headed upstairs to her dorm room, finding Glinda scribbling furiously in her diary.
“You’re writing down the so-called prophecy, aren’t you?” she asked knowingly.
“Yes,” Glinda nodded. “So I can say ‘I told you so’ at the appropriate moment.”
Elphaba laughed, dumping her bag onto her bed and collapsing onto the end of it.
“Hey, Glin?”
“Hm?”
“I’m really glad that you’re my best friend,” Elphaba said honestly.
Glinda looked up from her diary to beam at her. “Me too, Elphie.”
She started writing again and Elphaba smiled fondly as she settled back on her bed and made herself comfortable.
It was strange to remember now how much she had hated being in this room those first few months before she and Glinda had become friends. She’d done everything in her power to spend as little time in the room as possible. Glinda had made it so painful, and Elphaba couldn’t deal with having someone in her space. But she would miss sharing a room with Glinda after this.
Everything was about to change. And Elphaba still firmly believed that it wasn’t possible to know what was coming- regardless or not of whether anything rhymed. Maybe it hadn’t really sunk in yet that they were graduating, and Elphaba had no idea what was next for her. She didn’t know if she and Fiyero would ever get married, or if she and Glinda would still be friends long enough for Elphaba to hear the story of how Glinda met her future husband.
But she was extremely grateful that she had them in her life now, for however long. No matter what the future held for them all.