Chapter Text
The morning of Elphaba’s eighteenth birthday dawned still and quiet, exactly like all the mornings before it. There was a kind of comfort in that. It was predictable, at the very least. Elphaba hummed under her breath as she dressed, as she tied off her braid without a mirror, something she’d become quite an expert at. She descended the stairs, silent as a cat. Nessarose was a light sleeper, and there were chores to be done before waking her sister to get her ready for the day.
It felt good to be eighteen, to be an adult, considered a full and independent person. But at the same time, Elphaba was keenly aware of how little was actually going to change in her life with this new milestone, and that filled her with a sense of mourning she couldn’t shake. Frex had already denied her request to attend university, to no one’s surprise. It was quite clear what he wanted from her; to run his household and care for Nessa until her sister took over as Governor, and then, she guessed, to run Nessa’s household for the rest of her life. She loved Nessa, but it was a bleak future. So she tried not to think of it, to focus on the fleeting, ordinary joy of being eighteen.
It should seem improbable that the mark did not cross Elphaba’s mind even once as she navigated the singular day when it was liable to appear, but that was the truth. What reason would she have to think of it? There wasn’t a moment in Elphaba’s life where she had seriously thought that she might someday be one of those special, chosen ones who were granted a perfect match to their soul, a destiny with their lover written in the stars. If it was going to happen to anyone, it certainly would not happen to Elphaba Thropp. Now that was a laugh.
They all knew, or at least strongly suspected, that Nessarose would someday get the mark. It just made sense. A true romantic, her Nessie—she pored over books on soulmates, memorized the list of signs and symptoms, collected oddly-colored crystals and tried nonsensical rituals all guaranteed to make getting a soulmate more likely. Elphaba and Duclibear did their best to remind her that plenty of people weren’t blessed with the mark, and there was no proof any of these things would work, but everyone in the house was at least partially convinced that Nessa would indeed get her wish. She was a special girl, had been told so by her father, nanny and sister since she could lift her head. And she nearly always got what she wanted.
Elphaba opened all the curtains downstairs and sorted her father’s mail, fed Nessa’s pets (two small dogs and a tropical bird Frex had brought back from Quadling Country), and lit a fire in the dining room. The cook, Hilda, nodded at her in greeting when she entered the kitchen and they started readying breakfast together in silence.
She couldn’t remember if her birthdays had received any particular fanfare in her early childhood. If Dulcibear was to be believed, Elphaba’s mother had been fond of her before Nessa’s birth and her subsequent death. However, Dulcibear was occasionally taken to sugar-coating the truth to make her feel better, and even if it was true, “fond of” wasn’t exactly a glowing account as far as motherly love went. Elphaba didn’t think Frex even knew when her birthday was. She missed Dulcibear more than she did her mother, and loved her far deeper than her father.
The sky was light by now. Elphaba left Hilda to finish the last touches on the meal and ascended the staircase, quietly entering Nessa’s room. She sat on the edge of her sister’s bed and gently stroked her hair away from her face until Nessa stirred. “Good morning, Nessie,” she whispered.
Nessa yawned. “Morning, Fabala.” It took her a moment to remember, and then she sat up straight, beaming. “Happy birthday!”
Elphaba smiled half-heartedly. “Thank you.” She pulled Nessa’s chair closer and helped her settle into it.
“That wasn’t very enthusiastic.” Nessa eyed her reproachingly. “You’re not still upset about Shiz, are you?”
“He wouldn’t even let me apply,” Elphaba snapped, the old anger rushing back. She turned away to try and get herself under control, going to the closet instead.
“Oh Elphaba, you know Father’s only thinking of what’s best.” Nessa tilted her head, her wide brown eyes pleading, though her words ruined it. “What would you do with a university degree, anyway?”
Elphaba exhaled shortly. There was no point in arguing. “Which dress, Nessa?”
She served her father and Nessa breakfast, her birthday going unacknowledged by the former, and backed out to go and eat with the servants in the kitchen. It wasn’t that Frex had explicitly forbidden her from eating with them for breakfast and lunch, but it was very clear how unwelcome she was. Over the years, he had progressed from acting as if she were a part of the furniture to pointedly remarking that perhaps it would be easier for her to eat with the servants, since she was so busy with her duties. Well, fine. The servants tended to ignore her, too, but they were still kinder than him.
Her mood brightened when a package arrived in the mail from Dulcibear, containing a letter and a gift. It was a small, oddly shaped bottle made of green glass that had belonged to her mother, which Melena had apparently asked Dulcibear to give Elphaba when she came of age, though Dulcibear had no idea why. It was a strange gift, but Elphaba found herself clinging to it anyway. At some point in her life, she’d had a parent who didn’t completely despise her. That was enough of a birthday present for her.
The letter even more so, though Dulcibear wrote to her at least once a month anyway since her retirement. It was infused with motherly love, inquiring after her hobbies and wellbeing instead of just Nessa’s, and ending with a playful reminder that if she had gotten the mark she’d better tell Dulcibear right away so she could hunt Elphaba’s hypothetical soulmate down. Elphaba rolled her eyes fondly, already composing a snarky reply in her head.
She tucked both letter and bottle into her pocket. She didn’t want Frex finding the bottle—maybe she could hide it under her pillow. That way it would be close to her as she slept. Hilda called for her from the kitchen to help with the dishes, and she hurried back. After this, she would have to help Nessa organize herself before the tutor came for her first lesson of the day, and hopefully find a few minutes to listen at the door. It wasn’t enough that her father wouldn’t let her go to college, he had now discontinued her lessons altogether because apparently her education was “finished” now. Unlike Nessa’s, of course.
Elphaba was lost in thought as she rolled up her sleeves and started rinsing out bowls. She’d heard of correspondence study, but she would have to find some way to pay for it on her own—
She looked down as she reached for the soap, and promptly dropped the dish she was holding.
“What was that?” Hilda exclaimed. She hurried to Elphaba’s side, peering into the sink. “At least it didn’t break. What were you thinking?”
“S-Sorry,” Elphaba stammered, backing away. “I—I just remembered, Father asked me to do something!” She fled, the cook protesting to her retreating back.
Couldn’t be real. Couldn’t be. She was imagining things.
She ducked into the first empty room she came across—her father’s study—and closed the door, breathing heard. She stood in the middle of the room, and very slowly, looked at her left arm.
It was still there. On the smooth skin of her forearm, exposed from when she’d rolled up her sleeves to do the dishes, was a name.
Fiyero Tigelaar
The handwriting was loopy and grand, but in a hurried, careless sort of way, like the writer had had good penmanship drilled into them from a young age but their heart wasn’t really in it. Elphaba didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she started to feel lightheaded, and forced herself to exhale. She licked her thumb and rubbed somewhat desperately at the mark, but it didn’t come off. It had the slightest of textures to it, like someone really had written on her skin, but the black color didn’t so much as smear like ink would. This was permanent. And there was only one way it could have gotten there.
Elphaba clutched her arm, holding it to her chest. Little by little, without meaning to, she began to smile. Then she grinned so widely her cheeks hurt. She, Elphaba Thropp, had a soulmate. Someone out there was meant for her. Someone out there was destined to love her, someone out there wanted her. She looked at the mark again eagerly, this time trying to discern if she had heard the name before, if it meant her soulmate was from Munchkinland as well or maybe the Gilikin or the Vinkus—
Without warning, the door opened. Elphaba had just enough time to spin around before her father walked in. For a moment they stared at each other, frozen. His eyes moved to the writing on her arm.
Surprise flashed across his face, then a boiling rage, and before she could make a sound he was advancing on her. His hand seized her arm in a vice grip. “No,” he snarled, clawing at the mark as if to scrub it off. Elphaba tried unsuccessfully to wrench herself away from him. “What spell did you cast?” Frex demanded, yanking her closer until she could feel his hot breath on her face. “What trickery is this?!”
“None,” she insisted weakly. His fingers were digging in hard enough to bruise. “I didn’t do anything, it just appeared—”
“You little liar!” He finally let her go, only to strike her with the back of his hand, sending her stumbling back until she fell to the floor. Her father hadn’t been taller than her for years, but now he towered over her.
Elphaba’s cheek throbbed and she tasted blood where her lip had split. She knew better than to try to get up.
“Do you think this changes anything?” Frex hissed. He crouched down to her, his lips curled in a cruel, grotesque imitation of a smile. “Do you really think this soulmate of yours won’t take one look at you and be disgusted by the abomination that you are?” He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. “You are never to tell your sister about this. You are never to tell anyone, and you are never to try and find this man, do you understand?” He finally stood, briskly straightening his clothing. “Nessa has a bright future ahead of her, and I will not have you ruin it.”
She stayed there on the ground, her eyes stinging, as Frex walked behind his desk like nothing had happened.
“Get up,” he barked. “And get out of my office. Don’t let anyone see you.”
Yes, she knew the drill.
The journey upstairs was a blur. As soon as Elphaba found herself in her tiny room, she curled up the bed and clutched her pillow to her chest. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. A little voice whispered that she was far too old for such childish displays of emotion, one that sounded much like her father’s, but the door was shut firmly and she couldn’t bring herself to care. After an incident such as this, Fex always wanted her to stay in her room for the rest of the day, so he could collect himself and Nessa wouldn’t catch sight of any bruises that served as evidence of their “disagreement”. It wasn’t that she didn’t know this occasionally happened—but the only pity Elphaba ever got from her sister was a gentle but firm reminder that if she simply behaved, their father would have no reason to get angry. That probably wouldn’t change even if this time, she was being punished for something she hadn’t even done.
If she was being honest, what hurt most of all was that her father was right. Any joy Elphaba had felt upon seeing her soulmate’s name had drained away. Why would this person be any different than the rest of the world? Why would he ever want to be with her, soulmates or no? It didn’t matter that they were destined for each other. Girls like her, wicked girls with skin the color of sin, did not get happy endings.
***
Elphaba tried to calm herself down before she fell asleep that night. Dulcibear had always told her that a bad mood was a recipe for a bad dream, but oddly enough, her dreams were anything but.
A golden field glittered as the sun set low in the purpled sky. Around her, grass swayed as tall as her waist. She had never seen a landscape like this. Suddenly she was higher than those grasses, sitting atop a horse as blue as twilight. The horse began to run. Having no reins, her hands gripped its mane instead. She began to laugh as they sped over the field, her stomach swooping. She had never felt anything like this—it was like flying.
“Faster, Spur!” her mouth shouted, in a voice lower than her own with an unfamiliar accent.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the horse—no, Horse shouted back breathlessly, and sped up. Elphaba looked down and saw that her hands were not green at all, but a golden tan color. Grasslands rushed past as they galloped, and for the first time in her life, she felt free.
***
One of the books had been in storage in the attic, luckily, and was relatively easy to take for herself, but the other one was Nessa’s and it took two more days before Elphaba found the opportunity to sneak it from her room. The first was on the Vinkus, and the second on the topic of soulmates.
Elphaba knew it was a bad idea, that she should have learned by now not to long for things she couldn’t have, but the curiosity was too strong. If she could never meet her soulmate, she at least wanted to know more. About the place where he came from, about the connection they shared. She had woken up the morning after her birthday with an epiphany—Fiyero was a Vinkan name. One of the more popular ones, though she couldn’t quite remember why.
She cracked open the first book, titled simply, The Vinkus, and read.
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Vinkus is the largest of the four provinces, extending totally from south to north and standing on western Oz. This region is almost completely isolated, as it is bordered by deserts at north, west and south, and obstructed to the east by the Great and Lesser Kells mountains. The only way in is Kumbricia's Pass, opened at certain times of the year. The Vinkus is a scarcely populated and fertile land, characterized by vast expanses of grasslands, mountains and deserts. The Vinkus River runs up to Kiamo Ko, the now seldom-used fortress of the Tigelaar Family, leaders of the Arjiki Tribe and one of the only permanent settlements in the region. Their main residence and official royal palace is situated in Nether How, the primary Arjiki settlement and the largest in the Vinkus. Currently the royal family consists of King Marillot Tigelaar, Queen Baxiana of Upper Fanarra, Crown Prince Manek, Princess Ilianora, and the infant Prince Fiyero.
Elphaba dropped the book in shock, and then picked it up again and frantically looked for the publication date. Eighteen years ago. She breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered what she had just read. Sweet Oz, her soulmate was a prince. A tiny dart burrowed into her heart. If she needed any more proof that she needed to stay far, far away from him, this was it. Being the Governor’s daughter didn’t help one’s ranking much when one was largely either despised or unknown by the general public, and the land in question was only a small farming region anyway.
Most of the other information she already knew, but she read on nevertheless: the primary export of the Vinkus was jewels and precious metals, making them one of the wealthiest districts in Oz despite being so scarcely populated. Previous to the discovery of this literal and figurative gold mine, the Arikiji tribe were nomads and hunter-gatherers, and migrated between the mountains and the Thousand-Year Grasslands. Some traditions remained, such as men being required to spend six months alone in the wilderness before they were considered of age, and both sexes having specific tribal tattoos, though this was falling out of fashion. The archaic term for the Vinkus was Winkie Country, with Vinkans being referred to as Winkies, now an offensive term still sometimes used in the Gilikin. The Arjikis spoke a language that shared grammar with Ozian, making it easy for them to learn it second hand.
It was nearly midnight, and Elphaba’s eyelids were becoming heavy as she put the book aside. However, Nessa would surely notice if her soulmate book was gone for more than a night, so Elphaba lit a fresh candle and opened that one instead, willing herself to stay awake.
She skipped over the first few chapters. They presented a summary of the most popular legends centered around the origin of soulmates, which Elphaba found to be nothing more than romantic drivel. No wonder Nessa loved it so much. Finally, there was something useful: a list of the most common symptoms most pairs of soulmates noticed. Elphaba read eagerly.
Signs & Symptoms of Soulmatism
- Heightened sensitivity to touch (only when touched by the other soulmate, not simply anyone)
- Manipulation of time, mainly during moments of intimacy
- Physical reliance: soulmates may feel sick or weak when apart. This typically manifests after soulmates have met, and becomes more severe with more time spent together
- Extreme fertility and physical compatibility
- Extreme empathy: soulmates may sense each other’s most intense emotions even over long distances. This symptom can be noticed as early as adolescence
- Shared dreams, usually beginning shortly after the mark appears
- Enhancement of magical abilities with proximity to soulmate (only if abilities were already present)
It was an overwhelming amount of information. Elphaba felt dizzy at the thought that she may have already heard her soulmate’s voice and seen a fraction of his appearance, by way of the dream she’d accidentally intruded on. And some of these symptoms sounded downright unpleasant. Physical reliance? She had no desire to be tied to someone so strongly that they physically couldn’t be apart. It was a good thing she never intended to meet him…and the “enhancement of magical abilities” terrified her. She definitely didn’t need to be causing any more commotions than she already did. It was quite enough trouble for a lifetime. Manipulation of time? During…ew.
Elphaba cast her eye down the list again, blushing even more at “extreme fertility and physical compatibility”. Some things should be considered inappropriate for an educational book, she grumbled internally. The one about extreme empathy gave her pause…throughout puberty she’d been an especially moody teenager, feeling her emotions change suddenly as if another being had taken possession of her. Dulcibear called her “fickle” and “contrary” and laughed fondly at her dramatics, soothed her bouts of melancholy when they came without warning or reason. Her father called her “difficult” and “ungrateful”, and gave her a reason to conceal any emotion other than obedience.
She wondered if Fiyero’s parents were kind, if they loved him and cared for him and adjusted to his strange moods with grace and forgiveness. She remembered suddenly feeling a rush of joy and delight out of nowhere when she was thirteen, just hours after being chased by a group of children from school and pelted with rocks. Had it been from him? Hopefully the loneliness and spite that tended to dominate her moods most days didn’t affect him too much. She was a sorry match for a soulmate. Having the personality of a storm cloud aside…she couldn’t even give her fated lover the bare minimum. She couldn’t even be beautiful for him.
***
Nessa got into Shiz, because of course she did.
Elphaba hugged her sister and helped bake the cupcakes for the celebration Frex had organized, then excused herself and spent the evening shut up in her room, buried in another book on Vinkun history. Better for Nessa to wonder where she was than see the barely restrained envy in her sister’s eyes. It wasn’t just envy, either…with Nessa gone there would be no one to soften Frex, to distract him away from Elphaba and give him a reason to tend towards forgiveness (seldom as that ever worked). Nessa was going to go and live Elphaba’s biggest dream, whilst Elphaba was more trapped than ever. Not to mention Nessa would probably wake up on her eighteenth birthday with her soulmate’s name and be happily married by graduation.
Another emotion, an unfamiliar hollowness, prodded her mind. Elphaba had gotten better over time at distinguishing her soulmate’s emotions from her own. During the past year, the moods she felt from Fiyero drifted from mostly happiness, curiosity and excitement to frequently a bland sort of…emptiness. Not anger or sorrow like she herself was more familiar with, but a simple absence of feeling. Like he was doing things he thought would make him happy, but didn’t and only left him unsatisfied. Elphaba sighed heavily and laid back on her bed. I wish I could offer you something better, she thought. But at least your family doesn’t seem to hate you. Quite the pair, aren’t we?
She fell asleep quickly that night, exhausted from her father making her clean up after the party all by herself, and dreamed of a ball in a castle she had never been in, where the partygoers seemed to look right through her and the doors to the outside wouldn’t open.
***
Well, it seemed there was a tiny bit of justice in the world after all.
Elphaba cringed at herself the moment she had that thought. It was gone as quickly as it had come—in truth she was devastated for Nessa. Having a soulmate was all she had wanted, and they had all been so sure, Elphaba included, that it would happen. But to everyone’s surprise, it turned out that having a fated love wasn’t in the cards for her dear Nessie after all. It took days in bed crying her eyes out and being brought gifts and sweets from the kitchen before Nessa would even grant their father a smile again, the clincher being a pair of jeweled shoes that had belonged to their mother. For her part, Elphaba sat by her bedside for hours reading and promising Nessa that she would find love no matter what, something she had no trouble believing herself. But even as the words left her lips, her own soulmark burned under her sleeve, like a brand of shame.
It really would have been better for everyone, had it been Nessa.
Eventually, her sister managed to get over it, and off to Shiz they went. They, because Frex thankfully allowed Elphaba to come along and see Nessa off. And, of course, get a good look at Shiz, which was both a blessing and a curse. She wasn’t expecting her father to order her to follow Nessa inside like an overbearing mother, although she probably should have. She really wasn’t expecting to levitate a person thirty feet in the air for the first time in her life, nearly destroy a school and abruptly gain the approval and mentorship of Madame Morrible. But as she was led off, leaving her bewildered new roommate behind, Elphaba could only think of one thing amidst all of this uncharacteristically good luck.
If her magic had suddenly become this powerful just from being one region away from her soulmate instead of two, then she feared the day she ever met him in person.
Unfortunately for her, that day was not so far away.