Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started with a mistake. The biggest mistake in Galinda’s life.

As most mistakes went, it began pretty well. She had been practicing flying, shifting into her dragon form easily under cover of darkness.

It was midnight as she flew further away from Frottica, just eager to see a world where there was no snow (well, truth be told, to get away from Momsie’s incessant nagging for a bit)

Although darkness covered the entire land, she could see every detail of the Great Gilikin Forest as she soared past the entire expanse. Ahead, she could see the edge of the forest. Beyond it, the land was flatter, and really, no place for an Aureal to hide. But it was midnight. It was safe. It was delightful.

She ignored her Momsie’s nagging even though she could hear it clearly in her mind as though Momsie was talking to her face to face.

Come back right now, Galinda.

It’s not safe!

I know you can hear me.

It’s never safe, she grumbled back. The twinge of pain that followed felt like her ear was being pulled. She held back a yelp of pain.

She knew the drill. Of course she did. It was repeated over and over again like a mantra.

You must not be seen. You’ll be killed on sight.

The fewer humans knew of them, the better. Because humans, even those other animal-shifters, had only one thing in mind for dragons - death.

Magic was disappearing from Oz and no one seemed to connect it with the ever-depleting number of dragons. Because everyone knew, courtesy of the Great Kinslaying, that killing a dragon would grant the slayer magic and riches from the dragon’s lair.

Centuries after dragon wars depleted their strength in numbers and exposed their weaknesses, humans started to hunt them. Never alone. That was sheer folly. Whole armies of men would appear in front of any suspected dragon lair, ready to kill for gold and glory.

Most dragons refused to engage. They simply shifted into their human forms, sealed their lair entrances and slowly moved their hoard under cover of darkness.

Small, affluent communities of dragon shifters began to emerge throughout the land of Oz and Gilikin was no exception. Naturally, anywhere a community of dragons settled, wealth followed.

Like all species, there were belligerent dragons. They managed to kill more humans (giving all dragons a bad rep) and in very rare cases, got themselves killed.

As a result, dragons, already isolated to begin with, began to shy away from each other and avoided taking dragon form unless they were with family. And with less magic in the air and less inclination to mate, fewer dragon eggs hatched.

Some eggs were stolen by humans, for their magic and healing properties. The few that survived theft, with no adult available to maintain hatching temperature, mostly petrified into stone.

Galinda had been a lucky dragonet, to have not one but two dragons to maintain hatching temperature. Momsie and Popsicle had been ecstatic when she had hatched, more golden than the average Aureal (she had always been an overachiever) over two hundred years ago.

Still, she was a teenager on the cusp of adulthood by dragon reckoning, and according to Momsie, was entirely dramatic by rebelling this way.

She closed the connection between her mind and her Momsie’s, knowing that she would be grounded soon enough. Better to be grounded for something she really did, she reasoned, than for just stretching her wings.

So, she flew further southeast, revelling in the slightly warmer temperature. It had been a long, miserable winter. That season that humans celebrated - what did they call it - ah, Lurlinemas. The season of giving was over.

Galinda loved Lurlinemas. It was such a nice season, and the only thing she looked forward to in winter. There was always carolling, music, dancing and sledding during winter.

This winter, however, had been horrendible. She could hardly stand Momsie’s constant nagging.

Look for a mate here in Gilikin, darling.

When I was your age, I already knew who my mate would be. Perhaps it’s time for you to find yours, my dear.

You can’t afford to be selective. There aren’t many of the true blood, remaining.

But all the available dragons were terribly old. Galinda did not fancy any of them. Some, like Lord Chuffrey were almost decrepit. In human form, he was a doddering fellow. In dragon form (Avaric had stolen a portrait), his wings were tattered and his scales a dull yellow.

The very thought of breathing her sacred fire on him or receiving it was beyond horrendible.

To be mated to that? The very thought made her nauseous. 

No, she would save her fire for someone else. Maybe a human, but she disliked the thought although her friends Pfannee and Shenshen were halfbloods. She wanted someone worthy. Someone who fit in perfectly with Galinda Arduenna Upland, of the Upper Uplands.

Galinda drifted lower, marvelling as always at the strange dwellings of Munchkins. Unlike the stone houses in Gilikin (a feature heavily copied by humans from the first dragon settlements - more than a few wooden houses had burned down from something as simple as a dragon sneezing), the houses here were shaped like mushrooms, with thatched roofs and they were colourful.

She was just musing over the impracticalities of Munchkin house design when black arrows whistled through the air. She swerved to avoid them but then pain seared through her hip. An obsidian arrow. She flapped her wings to fly higher into the clouds.

She had to turn back and go home.

Galinda! Stay where you are. Do not come home!

Popsicle’s panicked shout rang through her mind. She tried to answer but the connection was closed off on his side. Her mind raced.

Another whoosh like a bird’s wings echoed through the air. Her wings remained outstretched. Try as she might, she could not pull them down or lift them.

She couldn’t fly.

A net.

She somersaulted midair to bite through the rope. She felt her lungs ignite as fire flared and some of the rope covering her face melted away.

She managed to get her forelegs out of the net after some frantic clawing in the air.

But it wasn’t enough. She was losing height. Losing speed.

She was going to crash.

The ground loomed nearer and nearer, and she hardened her scales. Her right wing, still outstretched, clipped a fir tree. It bent under her weight without breaking. When it straightened, the resultant force launched her in the opposite direction.

She could feel wind gusts in all the wrong places. She was going to crash and crash she did, breaking a tree, bouncing off a few boulders, nether regions sinking on one particularly sharp outcropping (she nearly passed out) and finally rolling straight into a ravine.

All that bouncing and flailing snapped off the arrow, which drove the other end further into her hip. She roared in pain.

Every part of her body hurt, but she quickly shifted back into human form. The pain was a hundred times worse in human form than in dragon form. The only upside was that she could crawl out of the rope net. So crawl out of the net she did, but the pain was excruciating and she spontaneously shifted again into dragon form.

She found herself back in dragon form, with her left hind and forelegs still entangled in knots. She tried to shift. Nothing happened.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic. This is just a temporary glitch.

She tried taking deep breaths to stay conscious so that she could shift back.

But the world swam and she lost consciousness, crumbling in a golden heap to the ground of the shallow valley.

It was a sound, so slight, but her ears caught it nevertheless. She opened one eye, hardening her scales, ready to for the inevitable stab of a sword. Air filled her lungs, coupled with the spark in her throat. She was ready to broil the foolish man who was going to kill her. If there was anything the Aurealis were famous for, it was their range of fire.

Her one open eye fell on a human. A girl of about twelve. Not just any girl. This one was skinny and green. It was that one fact that caused the spark in her throat to sputter to nothing.

If she had her human eyebrows, she would raise them. In dragon form however, her face remained impassive.

I must have burnt my corneas.

She looked away from the human, expecting blue trees, pink skies and purple tree trunks. But no. The sky was blue. The tree trunks various shades of brown. The leaves on those trees were green. None of it was out of the ordinary. None, except the human.

None of her senses were heightened. None, because the girl was not even carrying a knife, or any sharp implement. She wore a knee-length black dress, had round spectacles and was holding a book, looking at her curiously.

She couldn’t help exhaling a small curl of smoke in relief.

“Are you a dragon?”

Galinda rolled her eyes. Just because no dragons had been sighted in centuries, did not mean that there weren’t stories written about them.

“You just rolled your eyes at me. You understand me.”

Galinda almost entirely closed her eyes. She left a little slit just to see what the girl would do. Surely, she would immediately run to the nearest town and cry bloody murder. In fact, she so should.

The strange, scrawny girl did neither of those things. Now that Galinda thought about it, what was she doing out here in the woods, unescorted?

The girl plunged a hand into the pocket of her black dress. Out came a small penknife.

Galinda relaxed. That thing would snap before it could penetrate her scales, and she wasn’t going to soften them for this human.

She narrowed her eyes as she heard back and forth sawing at the knots holding her left hind and forelegs in place. She couldn’t believe it. Didn’t the girl realise that she could easily be killed the moment Galinda was free?

The connection in her mind opened again. Popsicle again.

We are being watched. Don’t come back for until you hear from us.

Galinda’s mind raced.

Where in Oz could she go?

The girl gasped.

The corner of Galinda’s snout lifted in what would have been a human sneer.

“Is that you?”

Do you always hear voices in your head?

The girl ignored that jibe.

“You’re hurt.”

Galinda tensed as the girl walked away towards a black satchel.

She walked back with something that looked like…. Was that a scalpel?

The green girl kneeled, emptying the satchel and laying out the supplies on the ground before Galinda. Bandages. Iodine solution. Tweezers. Cotton.

Green eyes stared pointedly towards the ground, not making any move, as though Galinda was just another wild animal.

You could just kill me. I could make you insanely rich and famous.

The girl’s head shot up so quickly and stared directly into Galinda’s eyes. The indignant fire in them made… Oz, those eyes looked like living emeralds.

Hailing from Gilikin where most people had blue or brown eyes, she had never seen eyes like that.

I simply must have them.

Galinda blinked the sudden, entirely improper rush of covetousness away.

“Just because you’re different, doesn’t mean you should be killed.”

What an odd answer.

What else is in your satchel?

“Nothing… I just bring it with me. Just in case.”

You’re too young to be a healer. How old are you?

“Almost thirteen.”

Galinda took in the girl’s demeanour. She was projecting calm. Like meeting a dragon was a regular occurrence and all she wanted was for Galinda to remain calm. It seemed as though this was her way getting animals to trust her and Galinda hated that it was working.

“It’s for animals. And sometimes, Animals,” the girl bit her lower lip, taking in Galinda’s entire form with new trepidation.

“They don’t always need a healer. Just… a helping hand. To get out of traps and snares.”

Who made you patron saint of animals?

The tips of the girl’s ears darkened but she said nothing. Clearly, she was used to insults.

“I just… I never expected to meet a dragon.”

Consider this your lucky day, human. In fact, Galinda couldn’t help adding, most people consider themselves fortunate having met me.

“I should only be so lucky.”

Wait, is that sarcasm? Look here, young lady. I’ll have you know…

“Will you let me tend to your flanks?” The corner of her green lip lifted into a faint smile as Galinda found her tirade rudely interrupted.

My hip, you mean? It’s just sore.

“That’s because you have an arrow lodged in it.”

While regaining consciousness, Galinda had completely forgotten the arrow.

She turned her golden head to look backwards seeing nothing but blood on her left flank. She let out a mental squeak that the green girl could obviously hear.

For the second time in the day, the world swam and she lost consciousness.

When she came to, her hip was sore but there was less throbbing. Some gauze cut into neat rectangles had been bandaged over her gaping wound. The bandages were taped neatly at the sides, onto her scales.

A perfect tip of an obsidian arrow was beside her. So, the girl had managed to get the entire thing out in one piece. That was a relief. She could heal fully now without that thing sapping her powers.

Galinda growled at the arrow and backed away. The volcanic rock smelled like death. Huge leaves and sticks fell as she moved.

Did she try to camouflage me?

She lifted her head and stretched her wings. More leaves scattered to the ground. The soreness reminded her of the darned tree that had ricocheted her here.

The girl was nowhere in the vicinity. It was dusk, and it made sense that she had to go home.

Galinda’s stomach rumbled.

Oz, what she’d do to be back in Frottica, dressed in her ballgowns, eating foie gras and drinking wine.

She moved, testing her hip. The pain shooting through her spine almost made her faint.

You can’t faint here. It’s not safe.

She didn’t try to shift into human form. The dragon would heal better. Humans healing properties was sluggish at best.

The entire night was spent in half-slumber. Galinda rested and mulled over the strange behaviour from the green girl. Not that she trusted the human. It was just… well, it was out of character for any human, to spare a dragon’s life.

By morning, with the obsidian out of her system, she felt better. Her hip hurt less. She was still hungry. It seemed animals were smart enough to avoid her section of the woods or there weren’t many animals in the first place.

A few hours after sunrise, there was a series of grunts, footsteps and something heavy dragged along the forest floor. Galinda knew the girl was back. How she knew it was her, she didn’t know. Some extra dragon sense.

The girl dragged a huge basket. Galinda’s stomach rumbled. There was food in there.

“Do you eat fish?”

Galinda bobbed her head up and down, ravenous.

“Here,” the basket tilted sideways and a roast chicken and about fifteen salmon scattered on the ground.

Galinda approached the food slowly, making a dramatic show of sniffing it and looking back at the girl.

“I didn’t poison it.”

She sat on her haunches like she always did at the dining table, with her back straight. Then she realised the posture looked unnatural on a dragon. Awkwardly, she lowered her forelimbs until all four legs were on the ground.

She started on a salmon, swallowing it whole before remembering dragon etiquette. This girl had helped her. Saved her hide. The fact that she owed her life to this human was galling. 

The least she could do was to share a meal. As a symbol of friendship. A formal promise that she would come to her aid if she ever needed it.

Ugh, this is disgustifying, she thought as reverse peristalsis took over. The better part of the fish, the head, popped out of her mouth onto the ground.

She looked at the girl, who looked entirely grossed out.

Galinda bobbed her head, meaningfully looking from the salmon head to the girl.

“No, thanks.”

Her lungs rumbled with warning fire.

This is tradition. Dragons are not usually known to share but you saved my life, so it’s only proper.  

The girl looked alarmed, then she sighed.

“I swear, this is the weirdest thing ever since that Bobcat insisted on…”

Knowing more than a few bobcats in her lifetime, Galinda had to ask : On what? Sniffing your butt?

The girl’s face flushed a deeper green. The contrasts of green was delicious.

So you let a Bobcat sniff your butt? But you won’t share meal with me? You hussy.

“Can I opt for something less… salivated?”

Galinda growled. The sheer insult. Dragons in Frottica would kill to share a meal with her.

Well, not that Galinda was one to brag but she had many friends. However, she had never offered them friendship on dragon terms. This girl had helped her. So, it was the right thing to extend protection.

But the girl still looked reluctant. Munchkins, she reflected, were a dreadfully uncultured race. Here she was, a dazzlingly attractive dragon offering friendship and all that this slip of a girl could do was grimace.

Galinda growled a warning. She flashed a row of sharp teeth until the girl finally picked the salmon head gingerly and took a small bite.

She looked on as she struggled to chew and swallow. She cocked her head sideways and stared unblinkingly until she actually swallowed.

Satisfied, Galinda turned and swiped the girl playfully with a whomp of her tail. The girl landed five feet away, wind knocked out of her lungs, but she stood up looking awed, with her spectacles askew.

Galinda settled down to eat breakfast. The fish was fresh and the roast chicken, superb. She flapped her wings, feeling the soreness gone. There was still a twinge in her hip but she could fly now. She could feel it.

But where could she go? There seemed to be trouble back home.

Popsicle’s cryptic message made her worried but she was out here alone, in the open. She had other things to worry about.

She turned and saw the girl staring. Her black hair had tiny braids but even the tight braids had come somewhat loose when she had tested her wings.

There was a notebook of sorts in her hands.

Did you just draw me?

“Umm…”

That was rude.

“Sorry.”

May I see it?

The drawing was comically ugly.

This is really, really insulting.

If only she knew that Galinda was a prime example of her species and painters begged to paint her in human form! She was the most beauteous dragon in Frottica and beyond!

This… this crude sketch was making her hip wound hurt. She set fire to it immediately and turned her back on the girl.

Where are we?

“Colwen Grounds. The manor is two miles from here.”

This is part of the estate?

“Yes, but no one really comes here. So you’re safe to hide here, until you are able to leave.”

You said no one comes here.

“Yes.”

But you’re here.

“Oh, I just like to ramble in the woods.”

Galinda could feel the girl deflecting.

Alone?

“I overheard something crashing. So I came.”

Where are your friends?

Silence. She had no friends.

Why?

“I don’t get along with others.”

What’s your name?

“Elphaba.”

Elphaba. Thank you for helping me.

The green girl just shrugged, as though she didn’t believe she deserved gratitude. Weird.

“What’s your name, if I may ask?”

I can’t tell you that.

Elphaba nodded as though she received this reply often enough.

“You’re an Aureal.”

How did you know that?

Elphaba flashed a smile, and it was strangely endearing. Not a perfect row of teeth. There was something like a gap in her front teeth.

She took out a thin book from her satchel, entitled A Comprehensive Study of Dragons in Oz.

The book was laughably thin for a comprehensive study. Galinda snorted a small trail of smoke. 

What does it say about the Aurealis?

“Not much. Here,” she opened the page. There was a drawing of a yellow dragon with the wrong proportions. In fact, it looked disturbingly like Lord Chuffrey trying to pose with a broken back.

She sniffed at the illustration. She was golden, not yellow!

At the bottom were three insulting lines.

Firepower : Weak

Character : Extremely territorial.

Avoid at all costs.

Avoid at all costs? Weak?!!!

“That’s what is says,” Elphaba tried to hide her smile. 

We are very friendly, Galinda tried but couldn’t keep her tone from sounding any less indignant.

“If you say so.”

We have the best firepower.

“I’m sure all dragons think that.”

Galinda pawed the ground irritably, trying not to burn the book out of Elphaba’s hands.

What does it say about the other dragons?

She rested her head on her forelegs but her tail still twitched irritably from side to side, as Elphaba began to read aloud. Her voice and her strange accent was oddly soothing. There was something nice about simply being.

She thought about all her friends and their flurry of activity as they flitted from one outing to another. She had never hung out with anyone like this. Never as herself and most definitely never in her dragon form - that was reserved for immediate family only.

There was something strange about Elphaba. She was self-contained and clearly comfortable with being alone. She expected nothing from her, not even thanks.

Galinda wondered for a moment whether her verdigris was the reason she was shunned. No, it couldn’t be. The green fitted her. In fact, Galinda had never seen anyone with skin like that. Again, another wave that she recognised as acquisitiveness swept through her.

We don’t collect humans, Galinda, the memory of her mother’s voice rang in her mind.

Why not, Momsie?

They don’t react well to being treated like possessions.

But what if I really want one?

The more Galinda thought about it, she might really just collect this one.

That happened to your Uncle Roderick. He’s the reason the town of Settica keeps offering up a maiden every year. Need I remind you, he was almost killed for it?

I don’t want a maiden every year. Only… what if I come across a human I really want?

You befriend them and let them go their own way.

Go their own way? Why would I do that?

“The Azuri are known for being tricksters. Avoid at all costs,” Elphaba’s voice broke through her reverie.

Avoid at all costs. Whoever wrote that guide was a coward.

“You don’t think dragons should be avoided?”

Galinda thought briefly of Uncle Roderick. Maybe he had a point after all. How would Elphaba react if she brought her to see her dazzling hoard of treasures? She blinked the momentary burst of pride away.

If you value your life, yes.

The next few days, Galinda flew through the night to different parts of Nest Hardings, careful to stay away from settlements. The more she thought about the black arrows, the more uneasy she felt.

Someone had been waiting for her to fly. Someone had wanted to kill her and had known to use obsidian tipped arrows. Someone was also making it impossible for her to return.

Galinda felt oddly insecure, being so far away from home. Munchkinland had always been a strange place, with strange and unfriendly green dragons. The Viridis were the one dragon race that were almost wiped out. They would never offer her sanctuary.

She flew back to Colwen Grounds every day, careful to change locations per Elphaba’s advice. The Munchkins were generally agrarian farmers, kept to their farms and stayed away from the woods. And Galinda had reached the age where she could change the colour of her scales to camouflage herself.

The mistake happened on the evening before she returned to Frottica, right before she received an all clear from Popsicle.

It had been a rainy day, with plenty of cloud cover. Galinda landed in a copse of trees that Elphaba had painstakingly drawn the day before, northwest of the estate.

Unlike the past two days, her friend was nowhere to be seen. Galinda thought it was odd. Elphaba usually waited for her, bringing food from the kitchens and asked questions about dragons.

She sniffed the air, and it smelled faintly of iron.

Blood.

She padded through the trees, letting her nose guide her and then she saw her. Sitting with her back towards a maple tree, crying.

Fire flared in her throat.

Elphaba’s face and legs were covered in big purple patches. Someone had hit her. Bruised her. Someone bigger had clearly unleashed rage on her small body.

There was also strange abrasions. Cuts that wasn’t there the day before. Like she had sharp things thrown at her. Things like stone.

A strange wave of emotion surged through Galinda. Protectiveness? No, it was more than that. There was rage too, and it burned.

Elphaba, who hurt you?

Her tone was confrontational. Naturally, the girl’s shoulders stiffened.

“Go away, Aureal,” Galinda flinched at her tone.

Elphaba, you’re not okay. Tell me, who did this to you?

“So you can burn them to crisp?”

She was a smart one, Galinda had to give her credit.

Them? More than one person did this?

Yes. Yes, she’d like to burn them to crisp, thank you very much. Forget restraint.

“Don’t. Don’t blow your cover because of me.”

The rain grew heavier, pouring incessantly from the skies. Galinda watched as Elphaba flinched. She wondered why right until she smelt flesh.

Galinda saw that Elphaba had her lips pressed together tightly, as though it would prevent her from making any noise even though she was clearly in pain. It looked like learned behaviour, as though she knew how bad things could get if she so much as whimpered.

Galinda unfurled her left wing and held it over her friend. The green girl looked up at her clearly confused by the sudden positional lack of rainfall.

Galinda suddenly felt bashful for being caught in this act of kindness. She cleared her throat and it sounded like a rumble of thunder.

Elphaba furrowed her brows and a faint shimmer of magic rippled the air. A drying spell.

The dragon in Galinda purred. She loved magic. Her popsicle once said that magic was like a dragon’s version of catnip.

“You’ll wipe my memories, won’t you, when you leave?”

Galinda crouched quietly, unable to think of a suitable response.

Elphaba smiled a sadly, “I figured.”

How?

“You’re not easy to hide but there is almost no information about any of you. So, I assume the only reason for that is that you dragons have the ability to wipe minds.”

You’re really the smartest person of your age, Elphaba.

“I’m not. I just read a lot.”

Galinda tried asking again. It was clear the girl needed protection and didn’t Galinda formally promise to extend protection? She was going to make good on that promise.

Who hit you, Elphaba?

“It doesn’t matter,” Elphaba shrugged. The matter-of-fact tone tugged her heartstrings. “They get bored after awhile. They always do.”

Galinda had thought she couldn’t cry in dragon form. She was clearly very wrong. There were tears ducts in there somewhere and it was increasing her eye pressure and making them twitch.

Maybe she had finally caught the dreaded glaucoma that ran through the Upland clan. She mentally promised herself to arrange an appointment with the family healer soon just to be sure.

She decided to switch questioning tactics.

You’re allergic to water?

“Yes.”

Where’s your umbrella, then? You don’t seem the type to be unprepared.

“In my satchel,” Elphaba replied evenly.

But there was no satchel. The one which she knew had all sorts of medical paraphernalia. Whoever had hit Elphaba or threw stones at her had also taken her things. Anger burned again, white hot.

Galinda sank down on her haunches. Elphaba clearly refused to talk about what happened. So she just did what Elphaba always did for her - just simply be.

“You can furl your wings. I’m fine.”

You’ll burn.

“I always burn.”

After a long silence, Galinda finally asked something she always wanted to ask : Where is your family, Elphaba?

A long silence ensued before a single tear trickled down her friend’s face, burning a trail on the green skin.

“Mother’s gone. I still have Nessa, my sister. And Father.”

The pause between sister and father was slight, but telling. There had to be something that drove her friend into the woods every day, searching for meaning. Searching for animals that she could help. Searching for a way to make a difference. To be seen. To prove that she was good.

She said nothing. Elphaba seemed content in their mutual silence. When the rain stopped over an hour later, the girl had sniffled herself to sleep.

Afterwards, when she was safely back home, Galinda blamed it on a tickle in her throat. Or the strange thrumming of her dragon heartstrings. It felt unlike any other fire, this strange thing building up in her chest. It felt like possessiveness in the form of flame.

She knew instinctively that this flame would not hurt. It would heal. And Elphaba’s beautiful green skin was almost entirely made up of purplish bruises and reddish burns.

Instead of running home, this girl was out here. Alone with a dragon and Lurline knows what other wild animal. Elphaba had no one to soothe her and she seemed okay with it.

This is not okay.

No, Galinda had to do something, even if temporary. She had read enough about healing fires to try one now. 

Slowly, she let out a low breath and instead of hot yellow flames, a strange iridiscent bluish white flame enveloped.

With it, the sleeping girl’s bruises vanished. So did the burn marks from the rain.

As she breathed more fire, the healing blue turned to purple and then to pink. She was mesmerised by the swiftly changing colours.

It was so beautiful. It looked so special. It felt sacred.

Her brain stopped.

Sacred.

Oh, Oz.

No.

No way.

Not the sacred fire.

No, she did not just waste her sacred fire on a tiny slip of a girl, with eyes like living emeralds.

No, she did not just use up that bonding fire on a scrawny girl with green skin - a girl she wanted to hide from the world and to add to her hoard of beautiful things.

No.

One thought flashed through her mind.

Wait! This is a mistake! I take it back!

Chapter Text

Come home now. Take the polar route. Fly higher.

Even with the ability to adapt to different temperatures, flying toward the North Pole was anything but warm. The shortest route home was the same route she had taken to Munchkinland - over the Great Gilikin Forest, but she couldn’t use that.

The clouds were freezing, and little ice flakes in the air would have cut had she been in human form. It was so cold that her nether region seemed to solidify.

Oooh, that chafes. 

Having been on the receiving end of a black arrow, she was definitely more paranoid than when she flew out. So flying through what felt like a moving ice bath was a small price to pay, frozen coochie notwithstanding.

There had never been a formal end to the Great Kinslaying. Dragons held long grudges and some wars resumed without warning.

Galinda had taken wing right after healing Elphaba and wiping her memory. A million thoughts raced through her mind, wondering about the beautiful undulating fire that had been absorbed by her body.

Was it really sacred fire?

Galinda didn’t know. Dragons were terribly private creatures. Even dragonets did not like to mingle. No one really talked about sacred fire. It was something entirely private between mated pairs.

Only, healing fire was supposed to be blue. She wasn't such a clueless dragon to not know at least that much.

The thoughts preoccupied her the entire seven hours she had to fly. First, five hours straight to the North Pole.

Then she twisted and followed the tug in her midriff that meant Frottica.

An hour later, when the clouds cleared, she was shocked to see flat lands and no forest.

No bloody way.

She had never gotten lost before. Not while flying home. She could see a strip of green and yellow in the distant horizon.

It can't be...

Home was always Frottica in Gilikin. She always felt the pull of it every single time she flew but she had wasted a solid hour flying to Oz knows where.

That’s not.... Munchkinland. Right?

Had she somehow marked the girl with the lusciously green skin as her....

Nope, she shook her head mid-flight. I did nothing of the sort.

It must be a side effect from the severe blood loss.

Yes, that must be what this nonsense is. 

No wonder her homing instincts were affected. There had to be a lingering side-effect to obsidian.

Yes, it's simply nothing to worry about. Nothing a shot of fire whiskey can't cure.

The mere memory of the obsidian arrowhead and her inability to shift back to human form while it was in her body was enough to make Galinda’s flesh crawl.

Two hours later, there was a familiar dip in the snow-covered mountains. It was still winter here, although spring was progressing quickly in Nest Hardings. Oh, she had missed home.

She landed behind a sprawling stone manor, retracting her talons to land soundlessly on soft footpads. She began shifting into human form, summoning clothes on even before shifting fully - one of the first few skills to master as a dragonshifter. Tibbett had been the laughing stock while they were children because he paraded around stark naked, unable to manifest clothes.

The thick winter mink coat and matching pants was a familiar luxury and Oz, after four days of sleeping rough, she had missed fabric with high thread count! A faint shimmer of yellow light enveloped her and her wind-swept blonde hair was tied up neatly in a sleek ponytail.

She walked up massive stone steps towards the back door. The doors would open immediately for immediate family and they duly swung inward.

“Galinda!”

She knew he would be the first to know. There was no way anyone could enter his domain without his knowledge.

“Popsicle!” She was swept up in a long hug.

“Thank Lurline, you’re safe.”

A waiting footman at the next arched entrance received her winter coat with a bow.

“What happened?”

Her father put his hand around her shoulders and together they walked to his study.

“The beaconeers reported heavy fire at the border. I wasn’t sure exactly where you were, only that you were beyond the borders.”

He opened the door, gesturing for her to enter. The study was full of books, scrolls and enchanted manuscripts. She had played here many times as a dragonet and some manuscripts even bore her teeth marks.

“What else happened?”

She sank down into a heavily-stuffed Pastoria I chair as her father poured two glasses of red wine. She took the proferred glass with relish.

“There’s strange movement from the Emerald City to the South."

"Is it the Wizard?"

"We don't know for sure."

They were interrupted by a discreet knock on the study door. A servant in blue and gold livery put down a gold trimmed tray and removed the matching lapis lazuli cover.

“My lady,” he bowed as Galinda nodded her head, surveying her breakfast delightedly. It had been a long flight and she was ravenous. Chicken and fresh salmon was nice for her dragon self, but she had missed this.

“So where have you been hiding?” Her father watched her tuck into her eggs Benedict daintily.

“Colwen Grounds.”

“You flew that far south?"

"I wanted to see the beacons at first and then I decided to venture just off the border. Someone shot at me with obsidian arrows an hour south of the border.”

“What?”

Her father rose from his chair, looking agitated.

“Were you hurt? I shouldn’t have asked you to come home via the polar route.”

“I’m fine, Popsicle. I’ve healed nicely.”

This was a total lie. Her hip ached and her haunches felt as though it was sitting in another chair.

She knew when she checked later that the miniscule dragon that rested under her skin would be right at her hip. It always manifested like a moving tattoo wherever she hurt the most.

But she wasn’t about to complain. Not when she had been the one who had flown off without warning.

Being her father, he should have known it was a lie but he didn't. It felt like she had come home a different dragon.

“You healed yourself?”

“I had…. help.”

His nostrils flared. Never a good sign.

“You met a Viridis? You could have died, Galinda. They kill on sight.”

“It was a girl.”

The grilled sausages were really good. Galinda let out a small hum of appreciation as she spooned fresh yoghurt all the while trying to ignore the small trail of smoke from her father’s nostrils.

“You met a human."

“Yes, a girl of about twelve. No, she’s thirteen, really. She has the most wonderocious skin,” she decided to share.

There was really nothing much that she couldn’t tell her Popsicle. Momsie was slightly different, to be honest. Momsie was a ferocious Dragon.

The more Galinda ate her yoghurt, the more Elphaba’s green skin got to her. It really was such a special shade of green.

In fact, she should totally go to the studio after this. Maybe mix blue and yellow pigments until she got the right shade of green.

Yes. Let’s do that.

“What about the mob? Didn’t they try to kill you?”

“Oh, um, there was no mob. Elphaba would never. She’s odd - she saves animals.”

Her father blinked once, looking rather dragonesque. Galinda had often seen his dragon form blink just like that before raining down fire.

“She didn’t try to kill you?”

“No.”

Oz, freshly ground coffee and fresh milk. She could shed a tear at the first sip.

“Maybe she’s too young to know anything about dragons.”

“Oh no. Elphaba's ferociously well-read. She knew just by looking what sort of dragon I was, and did I tell you her eyes are emerald green? Sort of sparkly-like.”

Her father raised his eyebrows at the sudden swerve in conversation.

“Is she the reason you got lost at the Pole?”

“Me?” Galinda huffed. “I never get lost.”

"You took longer at the Pole, my girl."

The purple and pink fire crossed her mind. The last time (about fifty years ago) she had asked her parents about sacred fires, they had blushed and then sent her to her room.

Oz, how is a dragon supposed to learn anything in this house?

“Popsicle, can you describe healing fires to me again?”

“You can read about it in the library, dearest.”

“Have pity on your only daughter, won’t you? Momsie’s going to ground me the moment she wakes up. Your voice will be the last soothing thing I hear.”

That's right, darling. You're definitely grounded.

Galinda winced at the pain tugging through the mental connection.

The doors of the study opened and in swept her livid mother. Her father stood and immediately excused himself.

Sweet Lurline.

Galinda sat on her four-poster bed, reading. It was the only the second day of punishment and there was no escape. Momsie had gotten the last word with, “You’ll be grounded here in this house until winter comes again, young lady.”

Galinda thought this was exceedingly unfair. An entire year!

Her bedroom was large and had tall painted ceilings. The corniced ceiling and the cream wallpaper had the Arduenna crest interwoven in various nature designs.

The incredible space helped when she shifted to dragon form. Galinda had no small amount of difficulty maintaining human form while asleep when she was younger, hence the size of the room.

She pored over monogrammed leather-bound books summoned from the library. She couldn't believe it. There was almost no mention about sacred fires.

Not a hint in What To Do When You Get Flu : A Dragon's Handbook by Rhaenyra Viridian.

She had flipped through the weighty tome right to the chapter When Your Fire Comes Out Wrong and lost interest when it went on a tangent about nasal drips, cough drops and fire lozenges.

There was also nothing in 100 Dragonsafe Ways To Increase Firing Range - this one waxed lyrical about exercise and stamina. No mention of fires except the regular, destructive kind. She flipped to the back cover, saw the author’s burly profile and sniffed, No wonder.

Later in the day, her bedroom door opened and she dropped A Step-by-step Guide to Mind-blowing Sex by Casanova Aurealis like a hot coal.

"Interesting selection," her mother picked up Casanova's book and skimmed through the pages.

Galinda's face burned.

Her mother tried not to smile.

There was an awkward silence as mother and daughter avoided eye contact.

Galinda cleared her throat, “Momsie.. Is there anything you could tell me about sacred fires?"

Her mother turned a brilliant shade of pink and she looked completely floored before she sank down weakly on the bed, “Why do you ask?”

"Umm... I was just thinking since you've been nagging; pardon, mentioning finding a mate, I should know.... more, shouldn't I?"

"You'll find out then, dear. After marriage."

Galinda twirled a finger in her hair. A nervous habit her mother recognised immediately.

“Why, is there something you’d like to tell me, Galinda?”

“I think…. I might have accidentally spewed sacred fire," she continued twirling a finger absentmindedly in her blonde tresses.

“You think what?”

She looked at her mother pleadingly.

“It was just supposed to be for healing, I swear. But healing fires are blue but the fire changed colours and Oz, I thought it was beautiful and then I realised…”

“What in Oz are you talking about?”

“Elphaba, the girl I met -“

“In Munchkinland, yes,” her mother finished the sentence drily.

“Oh… you remembered.”

“You may have only mentioned it seventy six times in the last twenty four hours, dear. And in all those mentions, sacred fires didn't even come up once."

Galinda flushed. She had only wanted to tell her parents what an amazing human being Elphaba was. Which, she narrowed her eyes at her mother, did they realise just how brave Elphaba was?

Then, a thought formed.

Had Elphaba been struck because she had been stealing food for her? Oz, if that was what happened, she should not have finished the food every day. Suddenly she felt sick.

Her mother pursed her lips, "By any chance, were you in a compromising situation?”

“Oz, no, Momsie. She's thirteen. What do you take me for? A hussy?”

“Then it can’t be sacred fire.”

“Truly? Sweet Lurline, that is a huge relief. Momsie, the fire was purple, mauve and pink in all it's delicious shades."

Her mother was still looking at her with concern, "We should ask your Granny. But if she agrees with what I'm thinking, then you should start looking into building your own lair.”

“Oh,” Galinda laughed, oddly relieved. “Why should I? I’m not a mated dragon.”

For a person who was supposed to be grounded for an entire year, Galinda realised that this excursion was out of the ordinary. Usually Momsie was unyielding when it came to meting out punishments.

Her problem was a lot bigger than she realised now that she found herself in the family carriage on the road for the second day on the way to her Grandmother's manor at the foot of Mount Rouncible.

Granny was a tiny woman but Galinda had seen Momsie tremble at her dragon form. Dragon Granny was simply humungous.

Still, she was her granny's favourite and  as she found herself pulled in for a hug, the familiar scent made her recall many a flight on her granny's back while a dragonet.

"What brings you here, Larena?"

"It's Galinda," Momsie put down her teacup, done with propriety. "Tell her, darling."

For the third time in three days, Galinda found herself recounting the last few hours in Munchkinland. She noted with a pang that her Granny's skin looked almost translucent.

I should visit more often.

“Usually, we select mates in the form we are most often in - as humans. In rare cases, the dragon selects its mate and that’s what yours did," Granny ultimately concluded.

"So it wasn't sacred fire?"

"She had magic, you said? It's probably a pure, basic form of sacred fire, nothing I've ever heard about. You'll probably need to visit the libraries at Shiz to find out more."

"Oz, not that book place with the ridiculous shelving system," Galinda shuddered, remembering the revolving wheels more than a century later.

"Anyway, I can get it back, right? Since it's clear we're not mates."

Her grandmother and mother exchanged a meaningful glance that Galinda failed to notice.

"I just need to find her and take back what's mine," Galinda could already picture it.

Elphaba was highly logical and very independant. Surely, it'll be beneficial for both their sakes for the fire to return to where it belonged. Then, she could continue living her life as she pleased. Parties. Auctions. Admiring her growing hoard. Overseeing her investments. The list was long.

"Homo levis est sed draco nunquam."

"I refuse to believe that," Galinda said with a theatrical toss of her long blonde hair. "We are so much more than our latent animal."

Her grandmother smothered a laugh into her wrinkly hand.

"Galinda, that fire means you need to move out. Soon," Momsie said as she reached for a shortcake.

Galinda's outreached hand stilled. Granny’s melt-in-your-mouth shortcakes were tantalisingly close but there were issues to deal with.

“What? Wait. You can’t be serious. I just got home."

“Your father will agree with me.”

“What? First you ground me and now you're kicking me out of the house? Momsie, you can't change punishments. You're infringing on my dragon rights!"

Her grandmother snorted, muttering under her breath about dragons these days. She wasn’t a believer in human rights anymore than dragon rights.

“It seems I have no right to ground you any more."

Galinda gasped loudly.

"Unknowingly, your dragon marked another so your life as a daughter of our house has ended. You'll find that living with us from now onwards will be.... intolerable."

"Granny," she gasped. "Granny, say something."

“Your Momsie is right, honey.”

"We’ll help you with the new house, darling. Only, you'll have to start furnishing it and managing your own staff. You can’t have Elphaba despairing in your ability to provide.”

To... provide???

Her grandmother giggled into her teacup. Galinda rounded on her.

"Granny, I'm supposed to be a dragon mate! Not a dragon preparing for a mate! And may I add, I did not choose that scrawny girl as a mate."

"Sometimes.... draco sciat optimum. The dragon knows best, honey.”

"Noooo it doesn't," The miniscule dragon at her hip burned through her skin as though angered that she implied that it didn't know best. "It was an honest mistake. I was recovering from obsidian poisoning."

“Well, I can’t pretend this isn’t a disappointment," Momsie said. "This isn't the life I would have chosen for you. You could have anyone, Galinda. Even Lord Chuffrey has expressed interest in breathing his fire on you and with him, you’ll never lack anything.”

“He lacks incisors and two molars, Momsie. One shudders to think what else."

Her mother was on her usual roll, ignoring her.

“During the Mid-Autumn Festival, you won’t even dance with Lord Avaric.”

“He reeks of women. You wrinkled your nose as he walked by, Momsie.”

“Larena," Granny admonished her daughter. "Trust Galinda's dragon. Had it been Avaric, they would have been mated years ago. Not everyone has it straightforward like you and Highmuster."

Larena's shoulders drooped ever so slightly (Lurline forbid she had less than perfect posture), "I just wanted it to be easy for you too, my girl."

Galinda flipped her ponytail to one side.

"Don't worry, Momsie. Granny. I'll get it back. You'll see."

She ignored the looks on their faces and focused on the positives.

Yes, she could move out. Yes, she could begin designing her own house . Yay!

And a big definite Y.E.S., she could take back that strange not-sacred fire.

I always get my way.

It's probably just magic. Nothing more.

As soon as they arrived home, Galinda found herself soaring through the night with her father in the rear.

Whichever place speaks to you, we'll land.

Nothing is speaking to me, Popsicle, unless you count my body telling me I'm going suffer from sleep deprivation tomorrow.

She could feel her father's exasperation through their connection.

Give it time, my girl.

They flew over homesteads, towns and pristine forests. Nothing caught her interest. All she could feel was a familiar tug southeastward.

It must be a gastrointestinal upset.

That Southeast was where Elphaba was simply could not be the reason.

She's not my mate.

I must be coming down with a stomach bug.

They flew further, circling Pertha Hills when she felt it. A strange possessive sensation. She looked down and saw a small unoccupied valley snug in between two steep hills.

A silvery gleam caught her eye. She could sense rushing waters.

Yes, this place looks good.

As she flew nearer, she could hear the roar of a waterfall. Oh, the design possibilities!

She started her descent. Her father could sense something was going on. He followed quietly.

They landed by the waterfall, shifting to human form.

"I like it," he said. "It's defensible too. No one can approach you from behind. The other face is too steep."

"So what do I do now?"

"You fence it. I'll leave you to it," he kissed her on the cheek before taking flight again. It was a task for her and her alone.

She took flight again, circling the valley to determine her borders. Once she was satisfied that it would extend from the waterfall to the next tributary, she flapped her wings and spiraled as she climbed through the air.

When she reached a height where the air was really thin, she breathed yellowish black flame in all directions. The air crackled alive all around her, mirroring the effect of a solar wind. All around her, air particles ionised, emitting light.

Brightly coloured bands of light appeared over the valley. An aurora of shifting light - dark purple, blue and green undulated through the air, marking the borders magically.

As quickly as it appeared, the lights disappeared. She circled the valley once more, realising with some pride that it was now hers.

She started to fly back home, but home was no longer Frottica. Home was this place in the unclaimed wilderness of Pertha Hills that called to her.

She hated that Momsie was right. She really had to move out.

It turned out Galinda did not need to move out straightaway. Her new manor wasn't even built. She still stayed in Frottica but no one questioned her comings and goings anymore.

Galinda even had her own staff assigned. They would move out with her when the time came.

There were upsides to designing her own valley. First, she had full creative control. Second, she could finally put her gold and draughtsmanship to good use.

The first year was just clearing forests, making access roads and canals, laying piping for aqueducts (yes, she wanted fountains like Settica, sue her) and mapping the layout of roughly five thousand acre land.

The second year had her surveying for building material all over Gilikin. It was hard to source dressed stone but she hired (basically terrified) a family of stonemasons from the quarries at Mount Rouncible (the slate never cracks under pressure, just like Momsie).

There was no need to source lumber. It was easier to set up a lumber yard (okay, it was an entire production and handled export now) and use felled fir, spruce and oak trees from her own land.

The third year involved laying foundations. She came often under cover of darkness to drive pilings deeper with her dragon strength. This drove the builders mad because she always complained the next day about sinking pilings (she just wanted them to be several hundred feet deep).

The fourth year actually involved building her secret lair in the foundations of her sprawling manor. Everything was done in the dark. She had layers of protection built in, booby traps and dead ends, underground mazes and shortcuts, and of course everything was sealed with magical signature.

It wasn’t until the fifth year at the end of August that she felt it. The strange tug from the Southeast was getting stronger. Obsessing over materials, landscaping, forest management and draughting plans in her workspace meant she had gotten used to dismissing Elphaba from her mind.

It was just a matter of finding her if she ever crossed from Viridis land to Aurealis land. But this pull meant one thing : Elphaba was moving.

She must be eighteen now. Or nineteen?

So Elphaba had come of age and she hadn't realised. (A pink calendar in her workspace with crossed out months suggested otherwise)

The tug seemed to get stronger.

She's coming to Gilikin.

It's almost the start of a term, Galinda realised.

Oh Oz. I need to pack.

She had applied for admission last year only to realise Elphaba was not in any of the university rolls. Not Shiz nor Quox. She refused to check the lesser universities because Elphaba had been brilliant at thirteen. She would be brilliant now.

"Momsie! Popsicle! I'm going to Shiz! Don't miss me!" Galinda shouted as she ran through the halls from her workspace to her bedroom - something she would never had done while living under her mother's authority.

Her parents found her in her room and watched with amused expressions as she packed. Gone were the blue trunks with her father's crest - the  ones she had used over a century ago. Her new trunks were pastel pink had her initials monogrammed. She was her own dragon now.

"Galinda, you have been to Shiz! May I remind you that you graduated summa cum laude?" Her mother pointed out.

"That was a long time ago, Momsie!"

"Why not Quox?"

"It's too far from home. Plus the Rubini are strange."

The red dragons lived under the swamps near Quox which in Galinda's opinion was a disgustifying place to live.

"What will you study?" Popsicle looked amused.

"Architecture! One must keep up with the latest trends and building regulations!"

"This doesn't have to do with the monstrosity you're currently building, does it?"

"Oz no, Popsicle. You wound my feelings with your slanderocious words!"

Her manor was coming along nicely. Its supporting pillars and vaults were in place. It had been a headache to get the circular atrium right (she refused to to design pillars for her pièce de résistance ).

She needed one showpiece, right where the waterfall was. It would be glorious once finished, with its oculus dome letting light in. Installed correctly, there would be a perpetual rainbow over the waterfall.

"It should have been finished by now, Galinda, that's how I know it's a gaudy monstrosity."

"Ugh you say these hurtful things just to make me move out faster. Wait until you see it completed, Popsicle. Your scales will be blown away to the Pole."

"Have you gotten admission?" Her mother said as Galinda sat on a trunk trying to force it to close.

Oh dear, is the space extending charm fading?

"Crope will see to it," referring to her friend and closest aide, filling the next trunk with all her hair and skincare.

"Will you stay on campus or at Shiz?"

None of her parents blinked at her vast shoe collection. She sighed at her shoe trunk size, summoned her inner Marie Kondo and packed a tenth of her shoes.

Minimalism is overrated, she thought with gritted teeth.

What if she ran out of choices?

"Oh where was I? Right! A private suite on campus, of course. One must get to know one's coursemates, don't you agree?"

"Not sharing with anyone?"

"Oz, no. Can you imagine me sharing? What sort of dragon do you take me for?"

After two solid days of packing (and making use of her last year's letter of admission to Shiz University), Galinda waved her parents off from their private train platform. The train would bring her to the canals. From there, she would take a private boat to Shiz.

She was a grown up now. She didn't need her parents to escort her there, unlike her first time.

From the open train window, Galinda blew kisses into the air at her parents, "Remember it's not goodbye. It's farewell!"

"Elphaba is going to Shiz, isn't she?" Larena whispered to her husband as the train pulled away.

"Oh, most definitely," he replied with a furtive smile. "Mark my words, Larena. Galinda won't come back here alone."

Chapter Text

Shiz never changes, Galinda thought.

The canals were the same. The broad cream-and-pink stone archways and wide canals looked the same. The mixture of blue and cream, coupled with vine-draped walls gave her a pang of nostalgia.

Society had changed, even if Shiz had not. Only a hundred years ago, every girl travelled with a chaperone. Dresses featured more corsets and layers. People walked staidly and there was no need to haul one’s own luggage - there were porters. There was decidedly less chaos at the docks than what was currently going on ahead.

The boatman manoeuvred towards the stone dock leading into the university courtyard. Galinda jumped off her pile of trunks, down to the boat and onto the dock. For some reason, the excitement and sense of freedom coming off other students was affecting her.

Already, people were murmuring at her appearance. Galinda had been prepared for this. She was popular wherever she went, back then and from the looks of it, now. She tossed her hair in acknowledgement of the open admiration. A collective sigh went up in whichever direction she tossed.

Still got it, Galinda thought smugly.

The strange tugging at her midriff grew stronger. She was here. She could almost feel it. She could feel the minuscule dragon under her skin moving restlessly over her heart.

"My lady. She's not on the rolls,” Crope walked to her, having dealt with the porters about her luggage.

"Crope! How lovely to see you! It's been such a long time."

She muttered darkly under her breath, "Call me Glinda and what do you mean she’s not on the rolls?”

“It so has!” Her aide fanned his face, before kissing her on both cheeks. “Tell me, how have you been?”

“She’s just not,” he muttered back.

A Munchkin named Biq tried to introduce himself but she brushed him off with practiced vagueness.

She’s here. I can feel it.

Galinda swept her gaze around and then heard rather than saw. All around her, the crowd was gasping and parting like oil and water.

Her hands went clammy and so she clenched them before she turned.

Elphaba was standing and taking in the buildings with an air of curious resignation. She was right there on the docks next to a dumpy looking, well-dressed but clearly angry man.

She was dressed in black. Almost every inch of her skin was covered. She wore gold rings. Galinda could gauge the purity of those rings by glint alone.

“You’re…”

You’re here. You’re actually here. You grew up, dragon friend. You’re tall. You look well.

But what comes out of her mouth is this, “… green.”

But because Galinda had always been adored - the centre of attention, the crowd laughed, mistaking it as a taunt.

No, I didn't mean it like that.

Elphaba’s judgemental gaze swept over her and the tittering crowd and Galinda did not really listen as Elphaba launched into a practiced monologue of not being green on purpose.

I do know that. I do.

“… as you can see, she’s a perfectly acceptable colour,” Elphaba finished with a smile at her own joke.

Galinda could feel the dragon on her heart burn with displeasure.

Everyone then gathered in the courtyard, sitting on long, curved benches (another feature that had not changed) and then Galinda saw it - the Shiz coat of arms.

The Wizard’s face - here, in a Gilikinese university, right in the Gilikinese capital. It was unthinkable that they remade it just for him but there it was. How odd.

A strange tug came from behind. Galinda turned and saw Elphaba standing at the back, keeping a clear distance between herself and the newly enrolled students.

So she's here but not on the student rolls.

Suddenly the air of resignation at the docks made perfect sense. Like Elphaba had made peace with not being enrolled. Like it made perfect sense for her younger sister to attend and not her.

Again, the dragon moved over her heart, restless.

Nearer

Galinda dismissed it.

The Head Shiztress, Miss Coddle introduced the professors. They were all new to her and their demographic decidedly more human. Only two Animal professors, she noted.

When Madame Morrible was introduced, Galinda stood and clapped with everyone else. Only, when Morrible’s black eyes landed on her, Crope and Tibbett, the dragon over her heart turned ice cold.

There was a flurry of chaos when everyone got their room assignment. Galinda found herself inundated with people introducing themselves. She shook their hands all the while twisting to catch a glimpse of Elphaba, who happened to be talking to Miss Coddle across the Quad.

A surge of power rippled through the air. She could see darkening irises on Crope, Tibbett and some Vinkun students’ faces. This defining feature confirmed that there were other dragon shapeshifters here.

It was a natural reaction to magic. And this was not regular magic. Every bench in the courtyard was upended in the air, including Elphaba’s own sister.

Before she knew it, she saw Madame Morrible descending the stairs towards the courtyard. Elphaba was at the centre of the commotion, left alone by a sister who had rolled angrily away and Galinda knew she simply had to protect her from the fallout.

She missed the entire conversation, nearly tripping over a bench but raised her hand to defend her friend.

“You can room with Miss Elphaba.”

Galinda made a sound, like water had entered her fire chambers under her lungs. Suspended between disbelief and shock.

She raised her eyebrows at Crope and Tibbett, both looking equally alarmed by the situation.

The dragon over her heart curled into a circle.

Good

No.

I'm not sharing my room!

"Madame Morrible, wait!"

The private suite had been small a century ago. It was smaller now that she had to share it. Galinda could not believe modern bureaucracy. No one had proper deference for the Upland name and Miss Coddle would not override Madam Morrible’s decision.

What's the point of being Head Shiztress then? Galinda fumed.

Her trunks were arranged haphazardly all over the front of the suite, blocking the doorway. Crope and Tibbett knew better than to touch any dragon’s belongings more than absolutely necessary.

Galinda withheld the urge to unpack everything with magic. She sighed. The downside of being outside home was having to pretend to be fully human.

There was a knock on the door. Galinda opened it and let in two porters who would help to carry the mattresses out. She was too old to endure standard issue mattresses - too successful a dragon to endure questionable bedding.

Of course, she was going to be a good provider. A good roommate, she amended. She had ordered two mattresses from Shiz. One for herself and one for Elphaba. Tibbett said the shop would deliver before evening (which basically meant he tipped them generously and then threatened to end their business otherwise).

Elphaba walked in as the porters left, taking in the empty bed frames and strewn pink trunks.

She looked down at Galinda’s pink trunks blocking her way and…

No, she wouldn’t dare…

She bent and…

“Wait!” Galinda held out one hand.

… moved the trunks blocking the door out of her path.

"Don't touch my things," Galinda bristled.

"You mean this?" A green hand grabbed another pink trunk and shoved it to the side.

She touched it again!

“I’m telling you again, don’t touch my things.”

“They were on my side of the room.”

“That’s because you don’t have anything yet.”

“Look, blondie,” the green girl crossed her arms.

Galinda sputtered. Two hundred over years of life, twelve thousand tons of gold from business ventures and a thriving estate, and she calls me …… Blondie?

“Do you think this is funny? I don’t know what prank you’re pulling but I’m getting my mattress back,” Elphaba turned on her heel towards the door.

“No, El…,” the green girl stopped, looking suspicious at her slip of tongue. “… uhh, you don’t understand! It isn’t a prank! New mattresses are being delivered later today.”

“Why?”

“Because Shiz mattresses give me a crick in the neck and I need to wake up looking fabulocious.”

Elphaba seemed to absorb that information, probably deciding whether Galinda was telling the truth or pulling her leg. That green once-over gave her the strangest flutter.

“I don’t mind university-issued mattresses. It’s not like I can afford to pay you.”

“Well, you’re getting one because I’m just good that way. It’s what roommates do for each other, I’m told.”

“No, actually, I insist you should cancel your order.”

Whatever Galinda had imagined Elphaba’s reaction over the new mattresses would be, it was not this.

“No, I insist. Please. Let’s start over, shall we? Hi. I’m Glinda Upland,” she held out her hand. She could feel her heart pounding loudly. Here they were, five years later and she could finally give her a name.

The green girl’s fingers twitched subtly before she ignored Galinda’s outstretched hand. Rude, really.

“I’m Elphaba Thropp,” she looked everywhere except at Galinda’s hand.

I know. You’re my dragon friend. You used to be shoulder height.  Look at you. You’re…

“Look, Glinda,” she looked defiantly into her eyes. “I really can’t accept the mattress.”

“Why not?”

“Because….” She struggled.

“It’s a buy one free one offer,” Galinda fibbed. “If you didn’t take it, I’d just have to throw it away.”

“And just how did you manage to order this today? You’ve been here since morning, just like me.”

Galinda waved her hand.

“One can never be too prepared. And it’s university! Aren’t you excited to be here?”

It was the right thing to say because Elphaba’s eyes shone with genuine happiness. It made Galinda realise that the emerald sheen was more devastating than she remembered.

The girl who had loved to read, who had read book after book to an injured dragon and told her about her dream to study at Shiz - the girl who had resigned herself to never being enrolled but got herself enrolled, was finally here.

“Yes, it feels surreal. I didn’t think I’d ever…”

A strange wave of acquisitiveness swept over her as Elphaba left her sentence unfinished. Maybe this mix-up had a silver lining. Elphaba was right here, right in her clutches, uh, in their shared room.

It was like she was part of the Hoard.

The dragon over her heart stretched lazily. Content.

Yes, maybe this isn’t such a bad arrangement, after all.

The new Quox latex mattresses, complete with individualised pocketed spring coils, topped with comforters made of a blend of cotton and cashmere, arrived on schedule while Elphaba was out, presumably to check on her sister.

Galinda had to check the urge to follow the green girl but ultimately stayed in to arrange her seventeen trunks. There was nothing much to unpack really. The trunks operated as moving closets and had specially designed springs, lights and soft-closing hinges for easy and quiet access.

She tried to put everything on her side of the room but it made her corner look cluttered. So she let a few straddle the centre of the room, hoping that her roommate would not mind. Once everything was right where it should be, she went down to the Dining Hall and got herself a simple dinner.

Oz, she never expected to be back here. As a student, no less!

Elphaba was nowhere to be seen, and Galinda found herself being surrounded by admirers. It was nice to be adored.

She plastered on a smile when someone said that she was so good to allow the Cabbage to room with her. They laughed when someone else said, “She looks like she wrestled with a tree frog and lost.”

Her tiny dragon somersaulted in her midriff. Galinda felt her stomach turn. She stood up, tossed her hair and told everyone to have an early night. They sighed collectively at her goodness as she walked away.

Galinda was already in bed, luxuriating in pastel pink bedsheets when Elphaba finally returned to their room. She was wearing a nightgown that looked a little short - probably borrowed from her sister.

Elphaba stopped when she saw the new bed. It had pastel blue bedsheets because Galinda thought that getting them in pale green would be a little too on the nose.

Using her peripheral vision, Galinda watched the green girl sit carefully on the bed. She hid a smile as Elphaba ran her fingers appreciatively on top of the cashmere sheets.

With Elphaba back in the room, everything was under control. She could feel her heart calming down. The dragon over her heart curled tighter in sleep, letting out a satisfied purr only she could hear.

Yes, every part of the Hoard is right where it should be.

With that settled, she could finally sleep.

There was a problem with collecting humans, Galinda realised, as they walked out their private suite together the next morning, to register for classes at the Quad. Especially humans whom did not know they were part of a collection.

Elphaba was out of control. She moved constantly. She slept restlessly. She did not sit at her dragon-designated spot, unlike every other thing Galinda owned.

She also moved Galinda’s things thoughtlessly - her skincare on the bathroom counter. Her shampoos. Her trunks that crossed the imaginary centre line of the room. Galinda had to carefully unclench her jaw every single time she sensed her things being moved.

To be honest, she was one jaw clench away from pouncing on the green girl to shake her into obedience. Or to explain the ground rules of being part of a Hoard - not something she ever had to do with any of her acquisitions!

Galinda felt a twinge of discomfort when more than a few dragons made special effort to say hello to her roommate. She alternated between gritting her teeth and glaring at them.

She sleeps in my room. She’s mine!

Elphaba was too stunned by the attention to actually reply but it was enough to give Galinda a mild headache. Even though she knew dragons were probably just reacting to her roommate's exploits on the Quad, she was too popular among them for Galinda’s sanity.

The first-years milled in the Quad, waiting for the enchanted Scrolls to open for registration. There was a general murmur of people asking each other what they were planning to major in.

Galinda felt bereft as Elphaba turned aside to talk to another first year. She kept an eye on Asherton Blakensley as he talked animatedly to her roommate about the different subjects offered at Shiz. When he touched Elphaba’s arm mid-conversation, Galinda felt a burn over her heart. The sudden pain nearly made her lurch forward into her roommate. Blakensley’s arm fell away.

“Are you alright?” Elphaba asked. They had hardly said anything to each other in the room that morning. It was still awkward, living with someone else.

For Galinda, the hard part was getting used to the fact that one of her collection was actually talking back to her. While brushing teeth, she wondered with a pang of self-doubt just how to broach the subject of sacred fires.

“Just a touch of heat,” she glanced down and felt rather than saw her minuscule dragon moving down her arm, egging her to throttle Blakensley.

No, Draco, we can’t strangle people just because we don’t like them.

Why not?

Because it's not the human way.

The dragon under her skin snorted and a puff of smoke entered her lungs. Galinda swallowed the cough and thanked Lurline for the foresight of applying concealer all over her exposed skin.

At nine sharp, the Scrolls unfurled, and students lined up to speak their names to the scroll. Some Scrolls were shorter than others  as some professors refused to teach large classes.

As a Shiz alumnus, Galinda knew that some Scrolls could even refuse to put down names because they could sense that the student lacked the necessary aptitude. So, it was simply hilarious to watch a few freshmen being roundly ignored by the Sorcery and Mathematics Scrolls.

Galinda moved quickly, registering for all the subjects required for architecture. This time, she added art just for enjoyment. Once done, she made another round and put her name down for a few more subjects.

Over dinner after a day of shopping at Shiz, Crope pointed out that she had signed up for everything Elphaba took, except Sorcery.

Galinda ignored her chortling aides, looking around the Dining Hall for her roommate but the green woman was nowhere to be seen. She frowned.

Has Elphaba eaten? Does she even have money?

Galinda bought a tuna sandwich and an apple from the Dining Hall. Back in the room, she crossed the imaginary centre to Elphaba’s side and put the food on her study table.

Galinda looked around the room and could feel the dragon at her temple burn with anger (It had moved up there, sensing her worries). Elphaba’s things had not arrived post-haste. She was still surviving on whatever she wore on the day she arrived.

I’m going to burn Governor Thropp’s toes off when we meet, she thought fiercely.

One daughter was clearly favoured over the other as she remembered the way he fawned over Nessarose.

For the second night in a row, Elphaba arrived back in their room right before midnight in nightwear that was a few inches above her ankle.

The minuscule dragon at Galinda’s temples immediately descended to its place over her heart. It stretched lazily and curled up.

Galinda exhaled, turned to her side and went to sleep.

“Elphaba.”

Elphaba looked up from her book.

Galinda had a sudden urge to paint her in the morning light. Yes, her profile and braids, just like that.

“Do you want to go down together for breakfast?”

The sandwich and apple was gone. The dragon purred in satisfaction, fluttering over her heart, as Galinda realised.

“No,” the green girl replied. “I need to send a letter.”

“May I ask, is this about your things? Why haven’t they arrived yet?”

“Well…,” Elphaba replied woodenly.

Galinda just waited patiently (not a dragon trait) for the rest of the sentence.

“Sometimes Father just needs a reminder. He’s busy,” Elphaba twisted her rings and then she grabbed her satchel. “I really need to go now if I want to be on time for classes. Bye!”

“If it’s just a few necessities. Let me buy them for you,” Galinda stepped in front of the door, blocking her. The green girl took two steps back. A defensive gesture.

“I can’t pay you back, Glinda,” Elphaba replied, frustrated.

“Well, I have more money than I need. You can return it when you get your allowance, if it bothers you.”

Elphaba’s expression shuttered.

So, she doesn’t get any money from home.

“I’m no one’s charity case. I don’t need your money,” Elphaba’s spine straightened. Her shoulders, squared.

“Well you’re my roommate. I won’t have you getting laughed at because you’re wearing the same clothes for the third day in a row.”

“Why do you care, Glinda?”

Because you need to start well.

"Because this is Gilikin. People always notice what one wears!”

Elphaba shrugged her shoulders, clearly torn between being uncomfortable for saying too much and muttering about causing a commotion no matter what she wore before leaving the room.

Galinda stared at the door, for once glad that she wasn’t in dragon form. The room, no, the entire dormitory would have been on fire right now if she was.

For now, she just added Governor Thropp to her burn-on-sight list.

Just as Galinda expected, the lack of anything else to change into meant that Elphaba become a laughingstock during their first lecture together. There were whispers about green skin, hygiene and Morrible’s charity case.

For some reason (though Galinda had a good idea, remembering how Nessarose wheeled off and left Elphaba to fend for herself on the Quad that first day), the Thropp sisters did not sit together.

She’s ashamed of her, she thought with a pang.

Elphaba sat in front and Galinda was just debating whether or not to join her without looking desperate when she turned back abruptly at a loud shriek.

“Pfannee? Shenshen? What are you two doing here?”

The three of them tossed their hair in greeting. “Call me Glinda,” she muttered under her breath.

“We know,” Pfannee said, his smile full of teeth.

“We enrolled yesterday but we didn’t see you!” Shenshen said.

“What ever happened to  ‘higher education is a waste of time’?” She hissed.

Shenshen rambled about simply not being able to get through the year if they didn’t see her in Frottica.

“Oh, Oz,” Pfannee gasped, clearly happy to draw the attention from the other students. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Why?” Galinda asked.

“There’s a creature there with green skin.”

“Oh, that’s my roommate. Elphaba.”

She’s brave and kind and good. Something you’ll never be.

Both her friends wrinkled their nose.

“Honey, are you sure it’s safe to sleep in the same room with her? The green may be contagious.”

Is this why she didn’t shake my hand?

So Elphaba had learned not to assume that people were alright with her touching them. The realisation made her sombre.

“Honestly, Glinda. You’re just too good. If I had a private suite, I’d have kicked her out to the balcony so that she can photosynthesise.”

Pfannee’s clever barbs drew laughs from the students already seated.

Galinda felt a wave of something unpleasant. She could see Elphaba’s posture stiffen, staring straight ahead.

Just then, a thought occured to her. A ‘kill two sheep with one dragon swoop’ kind. She looked around calculatingly, remembering the attention Elphaba had gotten yesterday from the other dragons.

Maybe, just maybe, she can be all mine if the others don’t like her. Yes, maybe this is what needs to happen.

But the barbs never stopped and with every derogatory term about Elphaba, Galinda felt more and more nauseous. The dragon was livid and it was giving her a piece of its mind every time she stayed silent.

I’m doing this for her own good. If she doesn’t have friends, then I won’t have to keep looking over my shoulder for rivals. She’s mine.

The dragon burned hotter and hotter. Galinda felt her stomach churn violently. She rushed out the lecture hall to the nearest restroom and vomited.

By the time she returned, the linguification lecture had begun. On the up side, there was no more comments about Elphaba and she felt marginally better.

“Are you alright, Glinda?” Shenshen asked at dinner, as they were eating. Elphaba had skipped lunch and was not even there for dinner and it made Galinda even more nauseous. “You look like you’re going to be sick again.”

“I’m fine,” Galinda replied weakly.

“Are you sure?” Shenshen shuddered, clearly not wanting to catch whatever was ailing Galinda.

Somewhere a group of boys were rhyming loudly about verdigris and ‘no pedigree’.

The fever simmering in her body spiked unnaturally. The dining hall swam and everything went dark.

When she woke up, she was in the infirmary. The nurse gave her fever medication and told her to rest. Pfannee and Shenshen were nowhere to be found. Galinda was not upset. They were fair-weather friends and she wasn’t feeling up to acting fabulocious.

Galinda trudged back to the dormitory, feeling every bit like the two hundred over year-old dragon that she was. Her stomach still roiled and her fever had not abated.

She opened the door to their private suite and realised that Elphaba was there, poring over lecture notes. Studying.

Galinda stopped short when she saw a sandwich and an orange on her study table. She stared at it for a long minute, unmoving.

“I didn’t poison it.”

The memory of a big wicker basket of salmon and roast chicken crossed her mind.

The dragon under her skin cooled suddenly and her fever disappeared.

That’s sweet.

Galinda was actually touched.

“You should eat. I heard you fainted during dinner.”

“Oh?”

She’s worried about me?

Galinda could feel her minuscule dragon do three tiny happy hops across her chest.

Down, boy.

The corner of Elphaba’s mouth lifted as she quipped, “Your fan club was all aquiver.”

Galinda sat down gingerly and unwrapped the sandwich. She took one bite before asking, “Have your things arrived?”

“Just eat, Glinda. I need to read all this before bed.”

So her things had not arrived and she had spent the entire day just fighting to survive.

Somehow Galinda found it exceedingly hard to swallow.

Am I eating her dinner?

She broke off half the sandwich and walked to Elphaba’s side.

“Share it with me?”

Elphaba stared at the uneaten half.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?”

Elphaba went still.

“You don’t need to repay me for yesterday’s dinner, you know,” Galinda said gently. “Can’t you just accept a bit of help from your roommate?”

Elphaba gave a wry half-smile, “I’m not good at accepting help.”

Galinda held back the queer urge to run her fingers along Elphaba’s jaw.

“It’s okay. Do better next time.”

Elphaba snorted, took the offered half and together, they sat on the floor at the centre of their room. Galinda still had trouble swallowing her sandwich and so the orange was neatly halved by her roommate when her half of the sandwich was polished off.

“Thank you for yesterday. It was very kind of you,” Elphaba said shyly and Galinda was charmed by the sudden bashfulness. Charmed.

“I thought I was going to be hungry, so I bought it,” Galinda lied.

“Only for it to end up at my table?”

Too smart for her own good.

Galinda had no answer for that, although she wondered why her cheeks seemed to be the only part of her that was feverish. Shouldn’t fever be a whole-body experience?

“I… I should rest,” she replied, suddenly unable to maintain eye contact.

“Yeah, I’ll clear up,” Elphaba gathered the orange peels and sandwich wrap. She was back to her no-nonsense, brusque self.

They settled on their respective sides of the room. Elphaba restructured her notes on paper whereas Galinda read through missives from her foreman.

She needs a proper notebook.

For some reason, the fever medication did not work. She tossed and turned throughout the night, deeply uncomfortable. Her body was feverish and her joints were beginning to hurt.

It seemed she was not the only one having trouble sleeping - Elphaba moved often enough throughout the night.

She must be worried about her things not arriving.

Or… the bullying from the other students.

But Galinda had to stick to the plan. A less popular Elphaba would mean an Elphaba that belonged solely to her. It wouldn’t do for a part of the Hoard to be liked by many. So yes, the ends justified the means.

Even if Elphaba had to suffer through it.

Her fever spiked suddenly at that thought and her joints twinged painfully.

Somewhere around midnight, Galinda heard a muffled sob. And then silence. Elphaba was crying as silently as she could into her pillow. Galinda could smell tears and see her curled inwards.

Then she saw it. Dim purple fire emanating off her roommate’s body.

The fire.

Unlike the first time, it didn’t make Galinda mesmerised. It looked like dying embers, only in deep purple. It made her heart ache.

The dragon roared in her mind - something that only happened a few times in her life.

Do something!

No. If she has many friends, you won’t stand for it either, Draco.

YOU PROMISED!

A memory of a half eaten salmon head flashed through her mind.

“A dragon who breaks a promise is worse than a snake,” Popsicle read her bedtime story.

Oh.

Oh, Oz, I'm lower than a basilisk!

She tried willing the flame to return. A small tongue of purple flame lifted off Elphaba and floated towards Galinda. The flame was cold to the touch. And then there was excruciating pain.

Galinda bit her tongue to avoid crying out. Just one tongue of flame hurt like a thousand spikes were being driven into her body.

The remaining fire on Elphaba’s body dimmed further into a dark purple, looking almost black. It looked like despair.

There was no escaping truth.

If I get it back, I'll die.

The next morning, before dawn, Galinda went to find Crope. She received a few strange stares for being at the men's wing. She stared right back, knowing that she was too put together to look like she was doing the walk of shame.

He opened the door, topless. His blonde hair was tousled. Behind him, Tibbett was at the dressing table, putting on makeup.

"Glinda. What brings you here at this hour?" Crope rubbed his eyes.

Ugh. This room smells strange.

"Did you manage to get it?" Galinda delicately covered her nose with the back of her hand.

"Yes, yes. Although why we're doing this for a green Munchkin escapes me."

She had never told anyone outside her family about Elphaba. Crope and Tibbett only knew that Elphaba was important, but not why.

"She's my roommate. I won't have people laughing at her."

"You should stand up for her then," Tibbett steadily drew on his eyeliner, "rather than stay silent."

Her dragon snorted his agreement in her mind.

"I'll take these, thank you. See you later at breakfast!" Galinda took the shopping bags and walked swiftly (she ran) back to their room.

It was barely six in the morning as she let herself back in. Elphaba was still sleeping. She looked oddly peaceful and the sight made her calm.

She carefully placed the bags on Elphaba's side of the room. Just in case she would be stubborn, Galinda went to the bathroom and for the third day in a row touched the hem of her roommate's singular outfit. A ripple of heat emanated from her hand and the dress, washed every night, dried perfectly.

Galinda felt reluctant to be confronted by her roommate over the shopping, and she thought perhaps Elphaba would actually wear something if Galinda wasn't in the room to make her feel awkward. So she left a note on Elphaba's study table and quietly left the room.

To tide you over until your things arrive. Everything has been laundered. You can wear these immediately.

When Elphaba woke an hour later, she read the note, took in what looked like double of her wardrobe volume back home and wrestled between shame and gratitude.

She checked on the dress hanging in the bathroom - the same one she wore and washed three days in a row. It was strange because Gilikin was a lot colder than Munchkinland, and yet the dress dried out every morning without residual dampness.

“Can’t you accept a bit of help from your roommate?” 

Eventually common sense won out (she wasn't exactly immune to the jibes about hygiene) and she put on the plainest dress she could find. There was even hangers and writing supplies in smaller bags.

How Galinda managed to pull this off while being sick escaped her. Still, the reality of being on the receiving end of charity was a hard pill to swallow.

Elphaba had been a recipient of many things in life but kind gestures was few and far between. There was one ginger bread from the baker, treats from Dulcibear and a green ribbon from a classmate.

She looked at all the new items. None of them had price tags but she knew it must have cost a few gold crowns. She sank onto the chair and worried :

How will I ever be able to pay her back?

Chapter Text

The first week passed by rather quickly. Before any of the first years knew it, the weekend arrived and so did Elphaba’s things from home. The box was mostly filled with clothes, two loaves of bread and an assortment of pastries. She reminded herself to write to Dulcibear separately to thank her.

Although she was glad that her clothes had finally arrived, she actually found herself wanting to wear the clothes Glinda had gotten for her. They were surprisingly plain and understated but clearly of the highest quality. They were also (Elphaba would rather be adopted by a family of skunks before admitting it) flattering.

Even the underwear and bra was of the simplest cuts (as opposed to the frilly, semi-transparent things Glinda wore in their room) and Elphaba flushed at the thought of how Glinda knew what size she wore.

She had stammered her thanks to her roommate for the supplies (Glinda had thought of everything including pads!) but the blonde waved her hand and refused to talk about it. In fact, the blonde hardly spoke at all.

Sometimes when Elphaba interrupted her thoughts by asking a question, Glinda would look up, genuinely surprised that Elphaba was talking to her.

A letter from Frexspar arrived together with her things, filled with warnings on good behaviour and instructions for Nessa’s care. There was money in the brown envelope sealed with the Governor’s crest but her heart sank when she had to hand over every single gold crown at the administrative office. With the annual tuition fees paid, once again she was completely broke. 

She wanted to ask about a scholarship but knew that that would bring shame to the family. There were scars on her body that still throbbed from what her father would do at the slightest sullying of the Thropp name.

When the rations from Dulcibear almost ran out the second week, Elphaba found herself walking into town in search for a job. The restaurant and various cafe owners simply laughed at her request. Some scoffed but an elderly man with wispy blonde hair told her kindly that no one would hire her in Gilikin because of her verdigris, “Why, one look at your skin will drive customers away, my dear!”

Elphaba randomly selected a worn alley off the Main Street and ran straight into a bespectacled Rabbit, “Watch where you’re going!”

“I’m sorry!”

The Rabbit ran past her to the centre of the alley into a small shop. He looked dapper in a little tuxedo. He seemed to be distractedly emptying his pockets, looking for something.

Lacking anything real to do, Elphaba followed him from afar, noticing that there was a small, dilapidated display in the window : Part-timer Wanted.

“Sir, are you looking for a part-timer?”

“I’m sorry, Miss - ?”

“Elphaba.”

“Miss Elphaba, I’m Gregor White,” the Rabbit hurriedly offered his paw. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“I just enrolled at Shiz,” Elphaba shook the paw formally.

“A student? Excellent. I’m actually going to need someone to cover the evening hours, about four hours a day, really. My missus has just given birth and…,” the Rabbit made a grimace.

“Yes, I quite understand it must be rather hectic at home for you, sir.”

“Well, we haven’t had many walk in to ask for this job. I had a Fox asking just last week and can you imagine me working with a Fox? I’ve been looking for someone for months! How about you have a trial period of one week and we’ll see how it goes?”

“Yes,” Elphaba said, hoping she did not sound desperate. “That would be great, Mr White.”

The Rabbit then named an amount and Elphaba knew it was about two-thirds of waitressing. Still, she was a beggar at this point. She couldn’t afford to turn up her nose at ten crowns a day.

Mr White then explained to her about her job scope, which generally included wiping the window displays, rearranging new books according to different interests and leaving customers alone as they browsed.

“When do I start?”

“Could you swing by tomorrow at 5.30 p.m.?”

“Yes, of course.”

One meal at the university cafeteria could cost between four to eight crowns, depending on what she chose. As Elphaba walked back in somewhat relief, she knew she had to be careful with how she spent her money.

If I only eat once a day, then I can save some for rainy days.

If anyone had asked (not that anyone cared), “Why don’t you ask your Father for money? Or your sister?”, Elphaba knew they would not understand the strange family dynamic that was the Thropps.

Her father was simply out of the question - she was a stench in his nostrils. Her sister was still livid about the incident on the Quad and would not hesitate to withhold money until she had grovelled enough.

Elphaba was tired of grovelling. And tired of Nessa.

In fact, after two whole weeks at Shiz, Nessa still did not acknowledge her, let alone sit with her anywhere. Still, Elphaba went to her room every evening just to check on her and also to take a quick shower.

The shower situation became a sticking point because her roommate must have gotten her friends to speak for her. In Pfanee’s words after their first linguification lecture, “Find somewhere else to contaminate, won’t you?”

Not that the blonde ever said anything derogatory other than the initial ‘you’re green’ line but Elphaba felt that Glinda was probably too polite to say the insults straight to her face - she just watched as the others did the dirty work.

Still, Glinda was the only person who was kind to her that first week, regardless of what she privately thought. The buy-one-free-one mattress and bedsheets was the most comfortable she had ever slept on, the life saving sandwiches appeared every night that first week (on the flimsiest pretext) and then the supplies she bought was enough to last her the entire term.

So, the showering situation was something Elphaba was willing to overlook at first (until it got rather annoying because it meant she had to deal with Nessa in a snit), since it was true that were it not for her, Glinda would have had the entire suite to herself.

In Elphaba’s mind, Glinda was an enigma. 

Inside the room, in between getting ready for hangouts with her friends or society events, Glinda was completely serious, read through and answered a ton of mail (and made many annotations) and read rare books about architecture.

Occasionally, Elphaba came back to their room to Glinda sketching - She would never have thought anything weird about it since the blonde took Art, except that the blonde would snap the sketchbook shut every time and blindly picked up a book to read (sometimes the book was upside down).

On one or two rare occasions, the blonde would be poring over a complicated blueprint at her drawing board - another strange thing for a first year student in architecture to be caught doing. Those blueprints were immediately rolled up, set squares and vellum paper neatly placed back into one of her many trunks and once again, Galinda would pick up a book to read.

The blonde was also for lack of a better term - territorial. She would take in their room every night - both doors and windows, trail her fingers on her trunks in the same pattern and hum happily as she settled into bed.

Elphaba thought perhaps there was a touch of OCD in the way Glinda put everything she owned just so. In fact, just to test her hypothesis, Elphaba experimentally moved a few of the blonde’s things slightly off angle one night. Glinda’s furrow in between her eyes deepened every time and a tic appeared in her jaw.

Hypothesis accepted.

Outside the room, Glinda acted the vapid socialite and she was really popular everywhere she went. The other first years hung onto the blonde’s every word but there was always a strange faraway look on her face whenever the others started to call Elphaba names.

Elphaba had been hopeful that Shiz would be different. It was a modern university with people from all over Oz but she was wrong. Once again, just like in school or anywhere outside Colwen Grounds, she had to ignore the whispers, giggles and being the target of the occasional prank.

The insults rolled off her back like water, but being immediately assigned as social pariah hurt. Everything she did was heckled, from the clothes she wore, to the way she answered the professor’s questions in class, and even down to the corridors she walked through. She learned to take the longer routes just to avoid simple pranks like getting tripped over by someone else’s timely placed foot.

Strangely enough, the first few days, there were some students who went out of their way to say hello to her. For some reason, she found them equally off putting as the bullies. On more than one occasion, she noticed Glinda would sometimes stop talking completely and glare at them from across the classroom or the Quad whenever these encounters occured.

Perhaps it was the social power Glinda wielded, or Elphaba’s own lack of social skills, but the oddly friendly students soon paid her no mind. It hurt because it seemed as though Glinda, for all her initial kindness, was determined to ensure that Elphaba had no friends.

She had naievely hoped perhaps she could find a friend here. Just one person to see beyond her skin. As usual, no one did. Elphaba shrugged it off and boxed up that unspoken wish in one of her mental compartments.

Reminding herself that she was lucky to even be here, Elphaba kept her head down, studied hard and enjoyed all her lessons at Shiz. Out of all her lessons, History and Sorcery proved to be her favourites. Dr Dillamond encouraged both her and Glinda’s insights in class - there was an unspoken rivalry there that irked Elphaba no end.

As for Sorcery, Madame Morrible was kind and supportive no matter what Elphaba managed or did not manage to do in class, always telling her that her reward for hard work was meeting and working for the Wizard one day (“Isn’t that so exciting, Miss Elphaba?”)

Elphaba hated herself for craving praise but it really really was nice to be seen for something other than the colour of her skin or her lack of social graces.

All that talk about meeting the Wizard pushed her to study harder. He was known to grant anyone’s heart’s desire and as far as she could remember, her heart’s desire had been set a long time ago and had never changed.

The longer their days at Shiz went on, the more things Elphaba catalogued about her roommate. The first was that Glinda had something under her skin. It happened during their physical education lesson. Elphaba paired up with various classmates and there was always some sort of reluctance and disgust etched on her sparring partners’ faces.

“I hope I get Thropp because it means I’ll be able to sit this one out,” became the running joke among the first years. Elphaba realised everyone ganged up to show her that she was a social recluse because they simply feigned illness of some sort every single time. It hurt every time she stood on the sidelines.

On the third week, the coach paired her with Glinda. There was no reluctance or feigning of illness there, just a calm determination that she wanted to wipe off her roommate’s face (and also because Pfanee and Shenshen sighed at Glinda’s braverism, to much applause from the first years).

Elphaba couldn’t hide a grin as she realised that she did not need to hold back while sparring with Glinda. Their pairing was of high interest to their classmates since everyone sided with the popular blonde.

During the last ten minutes, there was a circle of spectators surrounding them (every other pair agreed that watching the top two in class have a go at each other was the height of fun), all cheering Glinda on and booing whenever Elphaba managed to land a blow.

The early confidence Elphaba had quickly gave way to surprise. The blonde was surprisingly quick on her feet for a person so dainty and had more than a few tricks up her sleeve. After some fancy footwork from the blonde, Elphaba found herself being pushed further and further back until she was on the edge of a stair.

She swung her staff, pivoted away from the stair and hit Glinda in the wrist. The blonde winced and that was when Elphaba saw it - a flash of black and gold appeared on her wrist.

What was that?

“I’m sorry,” she said, out of breath. “I shouldn’t have hit so hard.”

The blonde waved her apology away, “I’m fine,” but not before pulling her sleeves lower to cover her wrists. Pfanee and Shenshen hissed at her under their breaths for hurting Glinda and Elphaba knew that retribution was coming.

Back in their room that evening, Elphaba glanced at Glinda’s naked wrist. There was nothing there. Just pale creamy skin and not even a bruise.

How perfectly odd.

The second observation that made it to Elphaba’s mental list about Glinda was her friends. Pfanee and Shenshen were obviously run-of-the-mill sycophants. Glinda hung out with them outside of classes but she seemed lost in thought sometimes as they blabbered on.

It was Crope and Tibbett that made Elphaba think hard. They brought Glinda’s mail to their room every morning. Glinda had serious conversations with them in Gilikinese - she was never lost in thought with them and the two men seemed almost deferential whenever they talked to her.

Elphaba catalogued all these strange observations in her mind and eventually forgot about it because all the sticking points coalesced and a strange feeling came over her whenever she thought of the blonde. Akin to irritation. And yes, above all, she was irritated with herself that Glinda occupied her thoughts when she should be studying.

When the Rabbit left one Wednesday evening (Elphaba’s second week at work and two days after sparring with Glinda), everything was fine until a group of rowdy first years piled into the shop. The moment they saw her manning the counter, they started to throw books on the ground and step on them.

Elphaba tried to stop them  - she had to or she’d lose the job. The boys laughed at her panicked reaction. Some ran to the back of the shop, throwing even more books off the shelves. She could feel power coursing in her hands and sure enough, everything began to rattle. A tiniest crack appeared on the window display.

No. Not the window!

Right at the moment when she felt her magic surge, the door of the shop swung open and in swept Glinda, clad in a lavender dress cinched at the waist, cool as a cucumber. She looked so put together and in control, making Elphaba feel disheveled and small. She took one look at the shop and at Elphaba, before crooking her fingers at the first years, summoning them out.

To Elphaba’s surprise and anger, they followed, not before knocking another display off the shelves. Then, she was left to deal with the mess. She wiped the books carefully with a cloth and put everything back. Two of the books which had footprints on their pages, she bought with her meagre pay.

Did she put them up to this? Elphaba thought furiously as she bought the cheapest thing on the menu that night, her stomach protesting the small portion of yoghurt and fruit.

Two nights later, while walking back along the canals towards the university, she heard raucous laughter. She walked faster as she heard rough voices getting louder and louder. One of them broke into a run - she could hear the thudding footsteps.

Elphaba picked up her pace and started running, only to be blocked by another man in front.

“Hey, I’ve never touched green skin before!” A hand grabbed her. Elphaba twisted and fell to the ground. She tasted blood on her lip and….

My spectacles!

A boot stepped right on top of them and she could hear the crack of the metal and glass.

Ozdamnit!

“What’s hiding under all this black?” One of the men tried to pull up her skirt.

Elphaba got to her feet but was knocked down by another. She could smell alcohol on their breath. Of all the places it had to happen, it would be here, in the dark far from the next street light.

Please, somebody, she thought desperately as a kick landed in her side. Please help me.

Just then, a light airy laugh in the midst of conversation burst through the air. Everyone froze, both the men surrounding her and Elphaba herself. She looked up and focused.

It was Glinda looking golden under the distant street light, together with Crope and Tibbett strolling along the canal like it was the most natural thing to do.

“Come on,” her assaulters grumbled, before breaking off in a run.

“Are you alright, Miss Elphaba?” Tibbett carefully approached, not offering her a hand.

Elphaba got to her feet shakily. Crope looked around and found her spectacles, but they were useless. The glass was cracked and the spectacles were bent in a strange angle.

“Thank you,” Elphaba brushed the dust off her dress and satchel. She reached for the spectacles before walking off briskly. She could feel tears prickling in her eyes, she wasn’t sure it was from relief or fear.

“Miss Elphaba!” Crope called out.

Elphaba kept her head down and continued dusting off her dress as she walked. She winced as she pressed her fingers tentatively at her waist. More tears came and her vision blurred further.

The three of them were following her now and this heightened Elphaba’s anxiety.

Are they going to pull off a prank now?

Elphaba had been at the receiving end of cruel pranks before. This was an odd tactic but an effective one.

They’re trying to make you trust them. Soften you up.

Elphaba broke into a little run.

They’re going to play you and then do something worse after. Don’t trust them.

Glinda never said anything, not even when she returned to their room, clearly angry for once. She moved loudly and sighed huffily as though she could not comprehend why Elphaba had to work part time at all. She only seemed to calm down when she opened one of her trunks and put both hands inside, not moving at all for fifteen minutes.

After the incident, another strange thing happened. Elphaba realised Glinda suddenly had all the time in the world to hang out near different dark, desolated stretches at the canals every night as she walked back from work.

Some nights, Crope or Tibbett would wave to her and say mundane things like, “Good to see you, Miss Elphaba!” which Elphaba patently ignored.

Where does she find the time?

For Glinda, Elphaba knew, was the busiest first year at Shiz. She was in all of Elphaba’s classes except Sorcery and from the pink timetable pinned on the mounting board at her study table, she knew the blonde’s days was filled with first-year architecture classes.

Elphaba found it equally annoying and fascinating when Glinda could answer their professors’ questions with ease - the blonde never volunteered to answer, but when called upon, could give the most thoughtful and precise reply.

Glinda’s brown eyes would always stare right at hers after, as though challenging Elphaba with raised eyebrows to improve on her answer. That look infuriated Elphaba (she wanted to shave those light brown eyebrows off) and made her dive deeper into the library every day.

Other than their room, the library was the one place that proved to be a safe haven for Elphaba. The popular students would not be caught dead there, and those who found it funny to bully her had to remain silent. Strangely enough, Elphaba saw the blonde enter the library several times searching for more reading material on architecture and advanced mathematics.

Once again, Elphaba mulled, where does she find the time to do it all?

When they got their first assignments graded, Elphaba was aware that Glinda did well because the professors praised her during mathematics and linguification, and her stupid fan club fawned over the blonde like she was Lurline’s incarnate.

Besides taking turns acing their shared classes (another sticking point), Elphaba found it baffling that Glinda found the time on weekends to attend events held by various clubs and societies at Shiz. She was always flitting from one event to another and managed to stay on top of all her assignments. All of them.

The same assignments that took Elphaba a solid hour to write after work was hurriedly (and perfectly) done by Glinda between makeup removal and showers. It was, in Elphaba’s opinion, patently unfair. Elphaba reflected bitterly that some people were simply blessed with everything.

And so, she told herself, that was why she paid so much attention to whatever the blonde was doing.

“I don’t know how you go about courtship but making her loathe you is definitely…. revolutionary,” Crope said one Saturday morning as they sat on the benches in the Quad.

Galinda tossed her hair, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Courtship? Please.”

“Try explaining to me again why you’re making us shadow that green Munchkin whenever you’re off to class,” Tibbett groaned, stretching his back.

“I just need you to keep an eye on her. That girl can get into the strangest sort of trouble. You’re reading into this too much, Tibbett.”

“Why do you always debate with her? You already know this material. Stop goading her,” Crope pulled out a mirror to check his reflection.

“No one in class knows the right questions to ask. I’m doing everyone a favour by broadening their worldview.”

“Let’s not forget the way you took her down in front of Dr Nikidik for mixing up the stages of meiosis during Life Sciences. What else could make you more endearing,” Tibbett asked ironically.

“Glinda,” Crope said pityingly. “You’re obsessed with her.”

“I most certainly am not obsessed,” Galinda flushed to her ear tips.

“Why, I just heard from Milla that the first years just had their first portrait assignment of the year, and someone’s finished work was decidedly green,” Tibbett added slyly.

The miniature dragon under her skin hopped across her chest again at the memory of that portrait. Galinda cringed. She had never struggled while drawing as much as she did with that assignment - She drew her parents, her grandmother, her dogs and even the professors but every time she looked down, she had drawn the same person.

Finally, sixteen hours before the dateline, she gave in. She flew (figuratively) back and forth to town to replenish her blues and yellows, and handed it in as thought the portrait was possessed. It wasn’t perfect, having been drawn from pure memory and it irked her.

The other twenty two canvases hidden in her Art trunk were similarly possessed but none of them were perfect.

Oh, if only Elphaba would agree to sit for a portrait!

“I have bigger things to worry about. What did Rickon say about the marble production? I haven’t heard from him in two weeks. Oh, the flooring is going to be delayed!”

“Nice try, Glinda,” Tibbett said at her attempt to change the topic. “If you don’t step up where Elphaba is concerned, someone will. I don’t think you’ll like it when that happens.”

“Oh, pish,” Galinda leaned back and let the hair fan out in the wind. “I most certainly won’t lose my head over anything my roommate does.”

The thing is, Galinda was losing her head. If anything, the strange purple tongue of flame that hurt excruciatingly proved two things.

One, it was extremely, highly likely that it was sacred flame.

It’s not proven, she shook her head but she had to admit that she had to finally read up rare books about dragons in the library. Medium rare just wouldn’t do!

Two, whatever flame that was, Galinda was never going to get it back. She didn’t want to think of the implications but her Granny’s voice rang in her head.

“Our human side makes wrong choices sometimes, but the dragon never does.”

Once her dragon half decided that it couldn’t control her actions by giving her constant fever and nausea, she had recovered immediately. Unfortunately, the reprieve made her realise that she was beginning to feel the effects of the dragon’s choice.

Everything Elphaba did fascinated her. Everything.

First and foremost, Galinda found herself admiring Elphaba’s resilience. The green girl was stoic in the face of adversity. She held her own in class and refused to be fazed by jeering and heckling from their classmates. She even managed stinging comebacks (accompanied by the occasional cackle - the cutest sound!) that managed to silence most of her bullies.

Her talent with sorcery was used to scare some of their gullible classmates which she did by pretending to hex them. Galinda could feel that there was no real magic involved but that act alone managed to deter at least half of Elphaba’s bullies from ever attacking her directly.

Galinda found herself staring every single time Elphaba raised her hand in class. It helped that everyone else stared too (and gave Galinda time to sketch the curve of Elphaba’s arm or her sharp profile). Her questions or responses were smart and thoughtful, and just like Galinda, their professors would always lean in to hear every word.

Some grumbled that Elphaba was smart simply because she had plenty of resources and teachers as the Governor’s daughter but Galinda remembered from how severely neglected she was that this was a lie. She knew firsthand from how late Elphaba slept after returning back to their room that the green girl was always pushing herself as though she was not going to waste one minute of being here at Shiz.

In Galinda’s book, there was nothing more attractive than striving for competence (A general observation, of course. Who said this has anything to do with Elphaba?)

Another scary reason that made Galinda sure that she was losing her head was this - her emergency stash of gold bars beneath the false floorboard of trunk 9 could no longer calm her down. Naturally, she had brought some just for grounding purposes. It always helped her when she was dealing with stress to just touch something precious from her hoard but lately, not even pure gold could remove the agitation she felt under her skin when she thought of her roommate.

It’s all because she had to find that part-time job!

Oh, the part-time job at the bookshop was the bane of Galinda’s existence. For a moment, Galinda thought Elphaba was just helping the Rabbit out of kindness. (Mr White was not even the usual young juicy rabbit Galinda preferred during hunts - otherwise she would understand immediately why Elphaba wanted to help him out).

No, the Rabbit was middle-aged, with sinewy-looking flesh and with feet that looked like it could kick her straight to the Emerald City (which he would if he knew Galinda had sized him up with the eye of a predator).

So it made no sense for Elphaba to help him until she realised that Elphaba actually needed the money (Galinda had to withold the urge to shake the green girl and sit her down for a lecture on the wonders of passive income - one of the first lessons any self-respecting dragon would learn. Why work for money when money can work for you?!)

The green girl only went to the cafeteria every day after class at five, pick up two items (one for dinner and one for breakfast) and then disappear to eat somewhere else - the tugging in Galinda’s midriff positioned Elphaba at the fields just outside the main gate of the university.

Two sparse meals a day was making her green roommate lose weight and that bothered her for three reasons.

One, it was obvious that Elphaba needed to save money.

Two, she never ate in the Dining Hall - it made it hard to keep track on what her roommate was eating.

Three, those chiseled cheekbones grew more pronounced and Galinda realised that it made her fingers itch to paint and sketch them (but she’d already painted her for the Portrait assignment and it wouldn’t do to paint an entire series - she was running out of blues and yellows!)

Being a good roommate meant Galinda knew Elphaba worked every Monday until Friday from 5.30 p.m and on Saturday from 9.00 a.m for four hours every day. This meant that every school night, Galinda would stroll with Crope and Tibbett towards town (Nothing’s more invigorating than fresh air!) - especially after that ugly incident, which smashed her pure gold stress relieving therapy to smithereens.

Well, there were two incidents to be exact and both times, Galinda felt a violent tug at her ribs. The first was at the unfluffy Rabbit’s shop. She so happened to be in town to pick up more paints (Phthalo green’s back in stock, yay!) and new brushes when she felt it.

She walked out on the shop assistant without purchasing a thing (There’s a first time for everything!) and followed the tugging swiftly until she reached the bookshop.

Inside was pure chaos. Galinda gathered her aura and swept into the shop. She focused solely on the trouble makers who thought it was funny to trash the shop just because Elphaba was working there.

In human form, it was a teensy bit more difficult to control others, but Galinda was an angry pureblood and unlike lesser dragons, had more than enough power of persuasion - she managed to control every single one of the hooligans and persuade them never to create chaos in this shop again.

Once they were all outside the shop, she decided to add another clause to the persuasion charm - that they would be compelled to spend every last crown they had in this shop every time they came to town for the next few years.

The second incident happened only a couple nights later but this one gave Galinda chills whenever she thought about it. For some reason that evening, she told Crope and Tibbett to meet her at the university gate instead of their usual cozy spot at the Quad.

Her dragon was antsy, curling and uncurling over her heart. It kept moving to find a good spot. As they walked out of the gate, discussing estate matters, suddenly her dragon shouted in her mind.

Run!

Galinda sprinted, finding herself boosted by her dragon’s power. It had descended to her quads, giving her every last bit of extra strength and stamina.

Crope and Tibbett trailed her as she ran ahead and then she stopped at the canals leading into town, letting herself find Elphaba.

Right then, there was a tug, even more violent than she ever felt, and a voice in her head. Elphaba’s voice. That sound of desperation lit a fire inside her heart.

“Please, somebody. Please help me.”

Galinda swept her gaze over the area. Then she saw the scuffle in the dark. A group of men surrounding something on the ground in the distance.

It took every discipline and every lesson on secrecy that she had ever learned not to transform right away and burn them into cinders. She let out a tinkering laugh, trying to control the overwhelming urge to transform and punish.

Crope and Tibbett ran forward and managed to help Elphaba without touching her. Galinda refused to look, or to say anything - she could feel Draco threatening to transform.

But it was the tears and the smell of fear that stopped the dragon. She could sense Elphaba’s strange fear of them. Wordlessly, they trailed the green girl back, watching as she walked faster and faster to create more distance between them.

Once Galinda was sure that Elphaba had made it through the main gates, she turned to her aides, voice filled with command and a tinge of venom, “I want them incarcerated. I don’t want to know how. I just want results.”

“Yes, my lady.”

It rained for the first time at Shiz on a warm October evening, a month into their first year, right as Art class ended. The sudden downpour was strange - everyone knew Morrible could control weather.

The blasted woman’s probably off to the Emerald City for a meeting with the Wizard.

Galinda stared out of the bay windows at the art classroom before a memory surfaced. Of green skin and red burns.

Of course she’ll still be allergic to water, Glinda reflected on the fact that Elphaba never showered in their bathroom.

Do something!

She knew from memorising Elphaba’s timetable and general schedule that her roommate would most likely be at the library at this hour. The general tug in that direction confirmed her whereabouts.

Galinda hurriedly gathered her things, opened her umbrella, took out the light raincoat she always carried in her bag and ran across the Quad to the library block. She splashed over puddles as she ran. People called out to her but she did not stop.

Galinda walked briskly around the library but was quickly shooed by the hissing librarian ("A dripping umbrella!”). She darted down the stairs and saw Elphaba standing at the library courtyard, looking quizzically at the mournful sky.

Several boys crowded her on both sides, daring her to walk through them - jeering and hooting. Elphaba squared her shoulders and strode out into the rain, seemingly nonchalant.

NO!

“ELPHABA!”

The green woman didn’t stop. Even from the distance, Galinda could see her roommate’s fists were clenched.

Of course she won’t stop in the rain. It hurts.

Elphaba walked faster through the rain.

“Elphaba, WAIT!”

Galinda caught up to her and thrust the raincoat into green hands while holding her umbrella above Elphaba’s head.

She felt her face flushing at the sudden proximity with her tall roommate.

Okaayyyy I didn’t think this through. Abort mission. Abort mission!

Her roommate looked up at the sudden shade before saying, “Glinda? Why are you - ?”

“You shouldn’t walk through the rain like that,” she shivered and motioned for her to use the raincoat. “You could…”

“Your fan club wasn’t about to let me through to use the covered walkway back,” Elphaba was still too stunned to use the raincoat.

Galinda made a noise of exasperation and snatched the raincoat back, shaking it out.

“Why?”

“Why what?” One-handed, she draped the raincoat over her still-motionless roommate. Rain fell on her own shoulders as she tried to ensure her umbrella still covered Elphaba completely.

“Why do you care whether I get rained on or not?”

Galinda felt the flush on her cheeks spread down her neck as she tiptoed to reach behind Elphaba to pull the hood up over her head.

For some reason, Elphaba’s cheeks darkened as well.

Galinda’s eyes raked over Elphaba’s wet face, realising with relief that there were no burn marks. In fact, there were no burns at all.

“You’re fine,” she couldn’t keep the relief out of her voice.

“Of course I’m fine, Glinda,” her roommate looked at her quizzically. Galinda’s thoughts faltered at the greenest eyes rimmed by long, wet lashes.

“You’re not… you’re not allergic to water?” She asked faintly.

Elphaba’s eyes widened and Galinda realised her mistake. She beat a hasty retreat. No, she had to extricate herself. Immediately.

Too much. You talk too much, Galinda Arduenna Upland! This is why we have been avoiding to talk to her!

She ran as fast as she could, reaching their private suite in record time. Putting as much distance as possible between herself and her….

Galinda winced.

Sweet Lurline, why does she have to be my roommate?

Chapter Text

The wooden double doors of their private suite burst open. Galinda continued sketching, as though nothing was wrong with the world. Although, why she decided to sketch them under the rain slipped her mind.

Yes, more whites to show how the light falls. Then the water droplets would glisten just right, looking like natural crystals on the page.

Elphaba stood at the centre of their room, arms akimbo, looking at her pointedly.

Galinda pretended not to feel the weight of that discerning gaze.

Was Elphaba going to figure out that she was the dragon she met a long time ago? No, she had wiped the girl’s mind before she left Munchkinland, she reassured herself. Let’s just play this by ear.

“Glinda, can we talk?”

“I don’t see what there is to talk about,” Galinda said loftily.

“What made you think I have a water allergy?” Elphaba burst out.

Three, two, one. Showtime.

Galinda set down her pencil, “Well, maybe it’s the fact that you never use the shower. I saw the oils in the bathroom and I just assumed you were.”

Because I healed you from your burns when we met, that’s why.

Elphaba blinked, “That doesn’t explain why you had to run out in the rain to fetch me a raincoat.”

I thought your skin was going to burn!

“That’s what makes me so nice,” she said in a sing-song voice that she knew would drive the green girl mad.

Elphaba scoffed scathingly.

“Well, why don’t you shower here then?” She shot back. Galinda could see argument growing in her roommate’s eyes and so she softened her tone and pleaded, “Tell me the truth, Elphaba.”

The gentle tone seemed to work and Galinda catalogued it for future use. Elphaba visibly softened, pinched the bridge of her nose before her eyes darted to the ground, “Because your friend told me not to.”

“What? Who?”

“Pfannee did the very first day he arrived at Shiz,” Elphaba said in a low voice, exhaling.

Galinda froze at Elphaba’s quiet admission. Her heart sank. She never knew. She had attributed it to Elphaba’s aversion to water. She wanted to be angry at Pfannee but knew it was ultimately her fault - if only she didn’t freeze her roommate out, actually talked to her and treated her like a human being.

“Elphaba, I -“ She began.

“It’s fine. I’ve been taking my showers at Nessa’s,” Elphaba replied. “I’m not entirely unhygienic, no matter what everyone says.”

No it’s not fine. It can’t be fine.

“Elphaba, I know you’re not unhygienic. You can use the shower here, you know. I don’t mind. In fact, I want you to,” Galinda said softly, hoping the soft tone would get through to the green girl.

I don’t mind sharing with you.

The truth of that thought hit her. It was true, she wanted to share things with her roommate - after such a long time of being her own dragon.

The truth was, Galinda was slightly different from the other dragons of her age - she was pure dragon.  Most dragons she knew were half-bloods. They had one human parent and human relatives. Hence, they were more accustomed to human ways.

As a dragonet, Galinda was shy and overprotected. The little time she had interacting with other dragonets was highly supervised, and although she mastered how to don the appropriate mask to be popular, she was ultimately a loner at heart. A true dragon, Popsicle liked to say.

Meeting Elphaba had changed everything. In fact, she had been sharing things with this girl from the moment they met. A salmon head. A sandwich. A private suite.

How odd. Momsie’s right. Maybe this is my midlife crisis.

“It’s alright. I’ve overstepped enough in your space,” Elphaba crossed her arms, as though protecting herself from Galinda’s inevitable put-down. Something along the lines of ‘I’d really appreciate not sharing the shower with you’ or ‘Your skin colour is disgusting’.

“No, it’s not alright. This is your room too,” Galinda stood up and crossed the room to stand right in front of her green roommate.

“What did Pfanee say?”

“Nothing I’m not used to,” Elphaba turned away to shrug off the raincoat to hang it at the door.

“Elphaba,” she reached out and caught the green girl’s wrist. “Please believe me. I never told him to say anything.”

First touch!

Elphaba looked down at their hands and once again saw a flash of black and gold of something under her roommate’s skin. Her eyebrows furrowed, not understanding.

Don’t trust her, Elphaba warned herself. She’s only nice when she feels like it.

To Galinda’s dismay, Elphaba broke free from her grip with a low, “I believe you,” which conveyed everything unspoken except belief. They each retreated back into their usual silence on opposite sides of the room.

Galinda kept stealing glances across the room, at a loss on how to resume the conversation but Elphaba was resolutely finishing her mathematics.

Galinda reflected that decades of being her own dragon was starting to show. She had no idea how to have a normal conversation without feeling terribly awkward. Unlike her interactions with the rest of Shiz (which she could manipulate using her powers), Elphaba deserved realness and Galinda had no idea how to do just that.

Her dragon sighed in her mind.

Homo.

The next day was a Saturday but Galinda was not in the mood to socialise. After breakfast, she made a beeline for the library. It was time. She walked past the circular shelves to the back, looking for the section on Ozian Myths and Legends. She ran her finger along burgundy spines edged with silver to help her search faster, avoiding werewolves, animal shapeshifters, mermaids, vampires and then swore, “Lurline’s smooth bottom!”

Not a single book about dragons!

An enquiry with the librarian, Miss Cherida had Galinda dumbfounded, “Someone just borrowed the entire selection on dragons. You’ll have to wait a week and see if they return it or renew it.”

“You let someone borrow that many books? I thought it was only two books per library card,” Galinda said incredulously.

“Well, we only have two books in the Open Section. The rest are in the Restricted Section.”

Galinda looked up with interest, “How may I access it?”

“You can’t,” the bespectacled librarian smiled condescendingly.

Galinda used her aura to bend the woman to her will, “Please, I’d like to access them.” She was extremely polite because she knew from experience that being brusque could break the aura of control.

The Restricted Section in the library made the hackles on Galinda’s back rise. The air was artificially dry (no doubt to preserve rare documents) and she could feel a faint prickle of magic.

Miss Cherida touched her palm on one of the glass cases and it opened, “You’re only allowed to choose two. Just tell me which and I’ll take it for you.”

Galinda peered into the glass case and pointed at an old book, looking as though it was about to fall off its’ bindings. Then, she pointed at a fat looking one which turned out to be written completely in old Gilikinese (which although fluent, Galinda thought the spelling a pain to read)

“You must return these within six hours and you can’t remove them from the library,” the thin librarian said, looking confused as to why Galinda was there.

“Of course. I really appreciate you doing this for me,” Galinda smiled winningly.

She strode quickly out into the main section of the library, noting that the carpets in the Restricted Section did not even have a single speck of dust, nor were they worn at the centre like most carpets.

Whatever this piece of magic was, she wanted it for her own estate. Something that would keep everything pristine at all times.

She sat down on the table nearest to the Restricted Section and opened the old tome. There was no title until she touched it and it revealed itself as “A Most Secret Encyclopedia of Dragonkind by Viserion Azuri.” Every page inside was the same, empty until she touched it.

It was a solid hour or two later, when she finally arrived on the subject she wanted.

“Of mate selection, an exchange of something personal is needed before a successful application of sacred flame. It could, but is not exclusive to, range from a mutual exchange of treasure, land, bodily privilege or during claiming.

A majority of sacred flames are applied during or after claiming which has resulted in deaths of several dragons who claimed the wrong mate.

On the subject of sacred flames, this author finds it difficult to ascertain the exact colours due to the highly secretive nature of our species. What is certain, however, is that any flame that is emitted without the intention to destroy, coupled with prior exchange of something of a personal nature will inevitably result in sacred fire.

Various sources have confirmed that sacred flames are any colour other than yellow.”

Oh, Oz.

A few pages down, on History of the Dragon Wars, there was a curious footnote.

“During the Seventh Viridis-Azuri Peace Treaty, the tent where the treaty was being signed combusted into turquoise flame.

The warring pair, Vinci Viridis and Parri Azuri were shaking hands on exchanged land concessions when the tent combusted due to Vinci’s recurring lung infection.

It is rumoured that the green dragon coughed in the wrong direction and set Parri alight. Both dragons flew off together, beginning the Hundred Years of Peace, also known as Pax Centuria.

Two whole armies were left on the plains of Nest Hardings with no dragon to lead them. The armies dispersed in peace.

Together, Viridis and Azuri started the Vizuri line. Their descendants live in the Merry-Go Mountains.”

When Galinda got back to their room that evening with her notebook full of information copied from the rare texts, she was absolutely certain about one thing. That fire in Munchkinland was sacred flame and she had gone about this whole thing completely wrong.

She hadn’t done any claiming on Elphaba - there was no way she could stomach it, with a minor. Galinda had never been claimed, herself - never allowed anyone to, not even when Avaric, who was in Momsie’s opinion, the only eligible pureblood of her age was sniffing at her heels.

But if Vinci Viridis and Parri Azuri had gotten themselves accidentally and happily mated because of an exchange of land (which was exceedingly personal to a dragon), Galinda finally had an inkling how she had tied Elphaba to her.

It was that wretched, half-eaten salmon head.

Although sharing food was what dragons did to establish friendship with other dragons, it was different for her. It had been highly personal, because Galinda had never shared anything with anyone. In return, Elphaba had endured great personal risk to obtain food (the beating proved it) and hide her.

So, the first criteria of sacred fires had been fulfilled - the exchange of something personal.

Thus, when she had the urge to heal the blistered green girl from her water burns and the thrashing she undoubtedly suffered, the blue healing flame had flickered and changed.

It’s really sacred fire.

Galinda sank down on her bed and then she saw it. There was a new raincoat on her table. Galinda’s stomach twisted.

The reason for it did not escape her - not since she extracted the truth from Pfannee and snapped at him over dinner. Elphaba must have felt that she had contaminated her raincoat from using it once and bought her a new one to replace it.

You screwed up. You made her believe that she’s lesser.

It was the exact same brand and colour, and Galinda knew it must have taken a huge chunk out of her roommate’s meagre savings. She swallowed a lump in her throat.

How can I make this right?

You chose your chicken. Now swallow the feathers.

When Elphaba returned to the room at the usual time a few hours later, Galinda knew she had again showered at Nessa’s. She turned from her vanity, putting down her hair brush.

“Elphaba, I meant it when I said you could shower here. In fact, I’d very much like it if you do.”

“Why does it matter to you?” Elphaba said crankily.

“Because this is your room and that means that bathroom is yours too.”

“Why are you like this?” Elphaba, who had just endured an irascible Nessa and had three assignments to finish before Monday, had reached the end of her tether.

“Why am I like what? I’m always like this.”

“No, you’re not,” Elphaba’s fists were clenched as though controlling a surge of magic. “You’re kind and then you leave me alone. You appear when I’m in the worst situations but I can’t tell whether you’re the instigator or my saviour. You don’t care about me and then you act as if you care. I may not be the most socially adept person, Glinda, but you’re a hypocrite.”

Dude, she just called out your lousy behaviour.

“I’m what?” Galinda cried.

Oh, years of being a respected figure in Frottica, a city planner with buildings built in her name… only to endure this!

“For once, Glinda, will you stop pretending to be nice and just leave me alone!” The glass in their balcony door cracked and Galinda, well, Galinda could smell the salty tang of tears.

Magic. How wonderful.

That is not the point, Draco. Can’t you see she’s upset?

You started this, Homo. You fix it.

Galinda gritted her teeth. Only her dragon could make that old Gilikinese word for ‘man’ sound like a slur.

The dragon sighed in her mind.

Two-footed creature, let me list down what you need to do : start by being honest. Show her you mean what you say. Stop treating her like a possession. She’s worth more than the entire Hoard.

After another disgusted “Homo” resounded in her mind, her dragon goes silent.

Galinda tossed and turned restlessly the whole night. She wondered about the strange ache in her chest at the thought of Elphaba being upset.

It took awhile - Galinda was a pureblood and usually brushed her human feelings aside.  Finally she settled on a name for her feelings. It didn’t encapsulate everything but the first discernible feeling that floated up was guilt.

It was clear that underneath Elphaba’s outward bravado, the green girl was unhappy.

It’s my fault, Glinda thought, feeling rather small.

“Having a mate is more than just providing for her, my girl. Be careful how you treat her. The mate has more power than the dragon,” her father had advised her the night before she left for Shiz.

“She’s not my mate, Popsicle. I just need to clarify the situation to her. I’ll be back a free agent!”

“Looks like you’ll find out the hard way, then.”

Galinda sank into the bed, trying to list down where she had gone wrong.

One, she had intimidated the other six dragons in their batch from befriending her roommate. She had been successful because they could sense that she was a vicious dragon with an older lineage than they. Galinda simply could not stomach another dragon being physically close to Elphaba.

No regrets on this front.

Two, she had turned a blind eye where bullying was concerned. Elphaba was teased, heckled, name-called and pranked all because Galinda allowed it to happen. She had the power to stop them all but she did not.

Bile rose in her throat. This was really where things went wrong.

All because I was selfish. I thought she should belong solely to me.

But Elphaba still did not belong to her. Sure, she slept in her room and was assigned a spot among her things. It had been easy to just relegate her as one of the Hoard.

Once selected and collected, her treasures stayed where they were, guarded at all times. She had never felt the urge to keep an eye out for them. They were always where she had placed them - curated and safely out of sight.

But Elphaba moved. Elphaba had free will. Elphaba did not conform to Galinda’s plan for her. Right now? Her heart felt hollow all because Elphaba was upset because of her.

Galinda had never had the urge to pick up any piece in her Hoard or to understand them. Her fingers never itched to draw them constantly. None of them tugged at her midriff. She was never constantly aware exactly where they were.

Not until now.

Just like her real Hoard under her sprawling new manor, everything she owned at Shiz was a reflection of her love for beauty. It did not matter that she had a trunk with a hidden compartment full of gold (to ground herself when life got stressful) - the most precious thing in her Hoard right now was not even a thing but an entire, whole human being.

Once again, Galinda fluffed her pillow and tried to find another sleeping position. It took her another hour or so to realise the difference between her treasures and her roommate -  Elphaba sparkled with life. There was a fire inside her that burned brightly. Everything else Galinda owned dimmed in comparison.

How could a belt of pure beaten gold inlaid with rubies compare to the indomitable resilience of the green girl? How could gold chandeliers set with diamonds and sapphires compare to Elphaba’s sheer delight when she outdebated Galinda in class?

Not even how well her manor was coming along gave Galinda that rush of fierce pride when Elphaba answered well in class. She felt a giddy heat of sheer joy at every small, furtive smile of victory.

This was the reason she kept goading her roommate in classes - she was addicted to that glint of triumphant mischief in those emerald eyes. In their room, Galinda did not trust herself to speak without accidentally telling her all everything (it was getting harder to hold back).

So, Galinda had instigated all their interactions in class. In fact, most of their classmates had given up trying to pitch their ideas in. Everyone seemed resigned to the inevitable that the roommates would debate each other heatedly from opposite sides of the room.

The memory of a younger Elphaba - strikingly green and desperately kind, had dulled over time. In its place was this vibrant, strong and smart girl who was an absolute pain in her haunches. Galinda found herself speechless at times when Elphaba dismantled her arguments in real time, in front of their batch.

Elphaba’s vibrancy of spirit and determination to succeed sparkled. Try as she might, Galinda could not recreate it in any of her twenty three portraits of her roommate.

Galinda tossed in bed, sifting until another emotion emerged - shame. That fateful day in Munchkinland could have been the last day of her life were it not for Elphaba. The obsidian arrowhead would have slowly drained her powers and made her an easy target.

Elphaba herself could have gotten her powers and riches - she had more cause to want it, being constantly overlooked because of her verdant skin.

Galinda had made the green girl her first friend and yet, when they had met, objectified the green girl. Hoarded her for her private perusal, like gold.

But Elphaba was not a thing. Not a treasure she could hide. Not an object she could simply collect. She was human and fully hurt by Galinda’s ambiguous behaviour.

The situation really had gone too far.

I’m going to fix this.

The next morning, Galinda woke up to find that Elphaba was nowhere in their room. It was Sunday, her roommate’s one day off from work.

A discreet knock on the door revealed Crope and Tibbett, obviously on the way out for their weekly dates. Crope handed over the usual stack of mail from home.

“You’re looking glum. What’s wrong?”

She dragged them inside by the collar and closed the door.

“I need you two to teach me how to court a human.”

Her two aides exchanged gleeful glances of ‘It’s happening!’.

“Well, one step at a time. You have to be friends first. Don’t start by announcing that you want to court her,” Tibbett said, well aware of how Galinda easily dismissed human social cues when she wanted her way. 

Galinda folded her arms, “Why not?”

“You’ll scare her off. Think of it like hunting,” Crope said seriously.

Galinda nodded. She knew how to hunt. She was good at it.

“But I’m not hunting her. I’m courting her.”

“Same difference,” Tibbett chortled.

“My lady,” Crope said. “Talk to her. Be her friend. Humans need that.”

“Oh,” Galinda nodded finally. “I have to get close, like a black bear to salmon. It goes upstream.”

Both her friends’ looked worried at that comparison, but they wisely said nothing.

She went down to the cafeteria, bought muffins, pastries and two coffees, avoiding a waving Pfannee and Shenshen who were already sitting in the adjoining Dining Hall.

She walked across the Quad and then towards the university gate, knowing from the tug in her midriff that Elphaba was out in the fields again.

Outside the main gate, she turned left and took a beaten path up a hill. It was nine in the morning and the sun was shining brightly. She kept on walking until she saw Elphaba reading under a sprawling oak tree.

Elphaba looked up as Galinda approached, startled to see another person, least of all the popular blonde roommate she had insulted the night before. Galinda sat down next to her, uninvited. Elphaba looked flabbergasted and straightened her posture.

“Glinda, if this is about yesterday, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said what I did. I have a bad temper and it flares up at the worst times. In fact…”

Galinda lifted a forefinger. Elphaba was momentarily silenced but not for long.

“In fact… I should be thankful to you. If it wasn’t for your help that first week, I’d have nothing to wear and nothing to write on.”

“Are you done?” Elphaba’s verbose nature was adorable.

Elphaba was wringing her hands, “I fixed the window this morning and I’m sorry I called you a hypocrite.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. You were right. I’ve been a hypocrite.”

Elphaba’s jaw fell open.

Galinda opened the paper bag and offered her a freshly baked muffin and a coffee, feeling somewhat shy, “Here. I don’t know what you like.”

“Why are you here?” Elphaba was completely still for so long before she finally took the offerings tentatively. She was hungry and it was such a long time since she ate a warm breakfast, let alone a muffin. At three gold crowns, they were not cost effective.

“I’ve never been up here before. The view is quite something,” Galinda munched on her blueberry muffin, and opened her sketchbook.

They ate in companionable silence. Elphaba continued to read and Galinda itched to draw those remarkable eyes but she stuck to sketching the landscape, her architecture training making it easy to  outline the spires of their university.

“What are you reading?”

“A bedtime story, really,” Elphaba deflected, barely sipping the coffee.

“Not the fifteen pages that Dillamond assigned us? Shame on you, Elphaba,” Galinda teased.

“I’ve read that.”

“You look like you’re reading something scandalocious,” Galinda prodded. “Is it erotica?”

Elphaba snorted coffee through her nose. Galinda handed her a pink napkin with ease.

“It’s about dragons,” Elphaba said when she regained her composure.

Galinda felt food slide down her windpipe. The sphincter between her lungs and fire chambers kept opening and closing reflexively. Her face turned red and she started coughing repeatedly.

“Told you, it’s a bedtime story.”

She gestured with her pencil in a circle, eyes still tear-filled, “Why?”

“Just extra reading, I suppose,” Elphaba hedged.

So the one who borrowed both books from the Open Section, Galinda thought. That was you?

“Do you think dragons are real?”

Galinda coughs again. A lifetime of sworn secrecy and not trusting anyone outside of her immediate circle of family and aides was hard to overcome.

You know you’ll have to tell her someday what you are.

Not today, Draco.

“Do you?” She asked Elphaba, not answering the question.

The green girl hesitated before saying, “Yes.”

“Yes?” Galinda sputtered.

Draco, we wiped her mind, right?

Her dragon half was deathly silent in her mind.

Right?

“Dragons are a myth,” Galinda said with aplomb.

“No, they’re just unproven,” Elphaba shrugged her shoulders, once again never backing down from taking an opposite viewpoint. “Told you it’s a bedtime story.”

They settled down in silence, Elphaba reading and Galinda switching between pencils to shade her sketch. Once again, Galinda was reminded of the first time Elphaba ever read to her. It was peaceful to just….  be.

Her dragon stretched like a kitten and curled into a ball over her heart.

“You don’t like coffee,” Galinda noted.

“I don’t dislike it. I just prefer tea.”

“Okay,” she made a mental note.

Elphaba put her book down and said softly, “I never thanked you … for that night.”

“Don’t thank me,” Galinda said curtly. The thought of the four men being released in six months was simply galling.

“No, you were right there at the right time and I’m sorry I ran off from the three of you but I was scared that you -.”

“I know but we weren’t about to prank you.”

Elphaba tilted her head, thinking out loud.

“What is it?”

“Really, Glinda, why were you there? And why are you here? Don’t you have that Art Exhibition to plan? Or the Winter something?”

Galinda stopped sketching and turned to look at Elphaba seriously, “I’m here to apologise and hope we could start over.”

“Whatever for?”

“For everything. I could’ve stopped the others from torturing you since day one and I didn’t.”

Elphaba shrugged, “It’s not like it’s my first time. You don’t have to apologise. You can’t control others.”

You have no idea.

“I could have and I didn’t,” Galinda repeated, feeling shame-faced.

“If we’re on the topic of apologising, I’m sorry I hit you during sparring.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad we sparred. You’re the only one who won’t go easy on me.”

“You never go easy on me either!”

“Well, that’s because you’re strong enough to take it.”

They both chuckled and it felt pleasant to acknowledge their unspoken rivalry.

Galinda sighed, looking out over the university, “The others… they treat me like…”

“A princess.”

“Well, yes.”

“I see you for who you are, Glinda,” Elphaba’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “No special treatment for you.”

Galinda laughed. “You treat me like I’m normal. I like yo… that. Very much.”

After another twenty minutes of silence, Elphaba began to look suspicious, “Why are you still here?”

“Because I want to hang out with you,” Galinda said honestly.

“You’re the busiest person I know. There’s no way you just want to ‘hang out’.”

“Well, I need a break from everything sometimes.”

“Is it World Friendship Day?”

“What?”

The green girl shrugged, not meeting her gaze.

“You can stop pretending, you know. There’s no one here to watch you.”

Galinda felt it. The uneasiness. As though Elphaba was waiting for the punch line. For Pfannee or Shenshen to emerge from behind the tree line, laughing their heads off.

She doesn’t trust me.

Can you blame her?

“I know one apology won’t make a difference but I’d really like to make things right.”

“Did you lose a bet or something? Did the punishment include talking to this green freak?”

“Elphaba, can’t you just accept that I’m here because I want to be friends?” Galinda asked softly.

The mistrust in those green eyes. Oz.

The green girl got to her feet, “See you around.”

Galinda stood up quickly, her sketchbook falling into the grass, “Wait, where are you going?”

“Somewhere.”

Galinda quickly packed everything in her satchel and ran after the green girl.

“Stop following me,” Elphaba snarled a few minutes later, realising that she couldn’t shake Galinda off. The blonde could walk really fast. Really, really fast.

“I just happen to be walking in that direction,” Galinda gestured vaguely.

Elphaba turned around and walked in another direction across the grass, towards the cliffs. Galinda followed.

“That’s not the direction you said you were walking towards,” Elphaba called behind her shoulder.

“I just want to talk to you, Elphaba,” Galinda said. “Will you please stop marching towards the cliffs at that speed? You’ll fall over the edge and die.”

“And why should that matter to you at all?”

“Because I care about you!”

Galinda was glad that Elphaba finally stopped striding recklessly. The green girl turned, and Galinda was taken aback. No one had ever looked at her with so much resignation and sadness.

“You shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Have you seen this?” Elphaba gestured to herself.

“No, I haven’t. You’re dressed,” Galinda answered honestly, wondering why the green girl rolled her eyes. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Glinda, no one has ever wanted to be my friend and I am fine with that,” Elphaba snapped and then seemed to regret her outburst.

“Well, I want to be yours.”

Elphaba wasn’t done, “The moment you realise what it means to be friends with me, you’ll leave. So, no, we can’t be friends.”

“Elphie,” Galinda reached out gently to take hold of a green hand. Elphaba flinched as though she was burnt. “Can I call you Elphie?”

“It’s…” No one had ever touched her voluntarily like this for this many clock ticks. Glinda’s thumb was stroking her skin but Elphaba braced herself for the inevitable letdown. “Why Elphie?”

Galinda tilted her head, grabbing hold of Elphaba’s other hand. Once again, her other thumb was doing that thing - stroking soothing circles into her skin. Elphaba hated that it spoke to some unspoken need inside herself.

“In old Gilikinese, Aelfieron means elf strength. Elphie is a diminutive of both your name and Aelfieron,” Galinda did not say that Aelfieron was the most famous Aurealis dragon in history. A warrior dragon who had fallen in love with an elf, hence the fame.

Elphaba felt that this was the strangest conversation she had ever been roped in, and she had met many Animals before. She mulled over it, “You think I look like an elf because I’m green?”

“No. It’s because elves have magical powers and you’re the strongest magical person I know.”

The wind picked up speed and it was harder to hear each other. Elphaba shook herself out of this strange scene. She wrenched her hands away.

It’s a trap. Don’t trust her.

“Glinda. I swear, if you don’t drop your act right now, I’m going to hex you,” Elphaba threatened.

A small, lonely part of herself was intrigued by Glinda’s sincerity.

Why is she still here?

But Elphaba had taught herself long ago never to hope. She couldn’t take whatever came after this.

“Go on then. Hex me,” Galinda tossed her hair into the wind.

“Don’t test me, blondie,” Elphaba warned.

“I’m not. If you want to hex me to feel better, go on. I deserve it. I know I do. In fact, I’ll feel better if you do,” Galinda closed her eyes and made that universal symbol boxers did with both hands : Bring it on.

Elphaba rubbed her temples, as though a huge migraine had just appeared in front of her. She turned and strode away. The blonde gasped and ran after her.

“Leave me alone.”

“No.”

“You had no trouble leaving me alone for the past month.”

“Well that was a terrible mistake on my part and I want to make it up to you.”

“Why? So you’ll assuage whatever guilt you have because ‘that’s what makes you so nice’?”

“No,” Galinda whispered, out of Elphaba’s hearing, “Because you’re my only friend too.”

Elphaba zigzagged again, walking faster towards the edge.

“Elphie, stop!”

“Or what?” The green girl continued without looking back, almost reaching the edge of the cliff.

Galinda ran faster, gathering momentum and acting on instinct alone…. Which was a bad thing in retrospect because instinct took over and Draco always relished a hunt.

And Galinda well…. She pounced.

Elphaba let out a muffled ooof as she got tackled by the blonde into the tall grass. They tumbled and rolled, coming to a stop right at the cliff edge.

“What is wrong with you?” Elphaba rounded on the giggling blonde who did not seem to be afraid of the jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

“Stop struggling,” Galinda tried to make sense of all their intertwined limbs, of the delicious warmth pressed into her front. They both moved simultaneously and a pair of spectacles went flying.

Galinda was immediately smothered by guilt, “Did you see where it went?”

“If I did,” the green girl fumed, “I wouldn’t need spectacles now, would I?’

“I’ll help you find them.”

“That’s what makes you so nice,” Elphaba replied acidly.

“So you actually need spectacles,” Galinda said as the two of them bent over and walked through the grass, searching - Galinda could feel where it was, thanks to the overlaid gold filigree on the frames, but this momentary peace between bickering was sort of… nice.

“Of course I do,” Elphaba said crossly. “Why would I wear them if I didn’t need them?”

“Here they are,” Galinda felt an odd, painful twinge in her heart, seeing Elphaba glare in her direction, her gaze unfocused. For a moment, she looked anxious.

“Hold still.”

“Give them to me.”

“Let me do it.”

“Glinda…”

“Stop arguing,” Galinda placed the spectacles on her face carefully, running her fingers along the sides of the frame, viewing the fit with an assessing glance.

For once, the green girl had nothing to say.

“They’re not fitted well,” she touched the tips of the spectacles, running an exploring finger over the upper rim of one ear.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone? Can’t you see I’m not built to be anyone’s friend?” Elphaba could take insults, jabs and the occasional stone throw. But this strange gentleness, she had no defence against. She cursed herself for being weak, for savouring the feel of Glinda’s fingers.

Galinda noticed how her touch seemed to calm Elphaba down. What a thrillifying discovery.

“Just for your info, I’m not just anyone,” Galinda replied honestly.

Elphaba half-laughed, “You really are something else, you know? Who tackles someone just to be their friend?”

“Are you telling me that it’s not a standard move? I thought I read it somewhere in How To Make Human Friends 101. In May’s edition of OzVogue, there’s an article about ‘How To Tackle Friendship Head-on’.”

Elphaba burst into laughter, “Oz, you’re strange.”

Galinda, sensing Elphaba’s defences slipping, tugged her hand and squealed, “Day One of Our Fabulocious Friendship!” and before Elphaba could quantify all the reasons why this was a bad idea, they were walking down the hill on the familiar road towards Shiz, bickering.

Chapter Text

It was the most surreal Sunday in Elphaba’s life. Well, the second most. She had never told anyone what the most surreal Sunday was - no one would believe it.

The surreal feeling could all be distilled into this - Glinda Upland, her exceedingly pretty, popular roommate and academic rival was walking next to her, talking to her and touching her.

Glinda, she had observed over the month they had been roommates, was not tactile with her friends - neither Pfannee, Shenshen, Crope, Tibbett nor the myriad of classmates who hung upon her every word.

Which was why this tactile behaviour was extremely out of character. Within an hour of declaring them as friends, Glinda linked arms, brushed her thumbs on her skin, pulled her by the hands or wrists in seven different directions at one time.

Not to mention that the blonde had tackled her to the ground, nearly killing them both by skidding right to the edge of the cliff behind their university, all in the name of making things right.

And Elphaba, who had never been pursued for anything other than for target practice, had decided to throw caution to the wind and give the determined blonde a chance (otherwise, she would never know what other killer moves the blonde could pull).

Currently, it was four hours since she had accepted the fact that she couldn’t shake the single-minded blonde off.

Today must be Glinda’s Day of Atonement where she decided to be good, Elphaba decided. Tomorrow, everything would return to normal. Because no one in their right mind would want her as a friend.

“Oh, it’s here!” Galinda squealed, clapping her hands right outside a shop Elphaba had never noticed before, breaking the green girl’s depressed musings.

Quincey’s : Purveyors of Perspective Glass.

“Glinda, I don’t need spectacles,” Elphaba protested. She was already full from the lunch the blonde insisted they eat. It was a trendy cafe with a menu that cost more than her weekly pay at Mr White’s. But Glinda had swooped in with Elphaba in tow, pointedly insisting on another waiter when the first had been less than polite.

“Yours is breaking,” Galinda pointed to the bridge, which having been bent and straightened more than a few times, did look perilously close to severing if she stared harshly at it. “And it’s my fault.”

Elphaba blinked, removing her spectacle frames to examine them. “It’s not your fault.”

Galinda felt her mouth go dry at the sudden appearance of green eyes without spectacles. She cleared her throat.

“Okay, it’s your fault then. You shouldn’t have walked away and made me pounce on you. You shouldn’t have struggled. We could have gotten off the grass with grace, but no, you had to struggle,” Galinda said with a perfectly straight face.

Elphaba snorted back a laugh. The blonde said the most outrageous things.

“I don’t know which of us sent your spectacles flying off your face but since it can’t be me, then it’s you.”

“Why can’t it be you?” Elphaba laughed.

“Oh, Elphie,” Galinda said fondly.

Elphie. The nickname landed like something pulled out of her mental compartments labelled under “Wants” and not “Needs”, just like having a friend. It even came with a meaning attached and Elphaba wondered how much of that was Glinda pulling things out of thin air.

All of it, Elphaba decided.

Still, Elphie was cuter than Fabala, which in Elphaba’s opinion was a terrible nickname.

Her eyes fell on the window display of Quincey’s but before it could fully register telescopes, binoculars and opera glasses, her vision tilted and she was pulled into the shop by none other than Glinda.

The interior of the shop was dark thanks to blue tinted windows. Everything felt cool and professional. Elphaba liked the feeling of calm it gave her. After a thorough eye exam by the assistant, she was left to her devices as Glinda started speaking rapidly in Gilikinese.

She wandered around the shop and for some reason, the assistant did not follow her every move, unlike in most shops. Her eyes fell on magnifying glasses and there was even a microscope which looked exorbitantly expensive - unlike the utilitarian one they had in Nikidik’s labs.

Glinda gestured expressively to a middle-aged man who Elphaba guessed must be Quincey. From the corner of Elphaba’s eye, the blonde whipped out her sketchbook and sketched something for him.

“Can it be done?” Galinda switched to Ozian.

“Yes, yes. But I will need time to find the metal you want.”

“I could have it delivered to you by tomorrow.”

Why is Glinda being so nice? Elphaba wondered whether it was because the prank at White's had been truly instigated by the blonde.

She probably feels bad for pulling off that prank so she wants to be nice now.

“Now for the glass,” Galinda looked at the catalogue in front of her and then Elphaba lost track again because of the sudden switch to Gilikinese.

A glint of gold from Glinda to Quincey caught Elphaba’s eye. It looked like a gold wafer. The man blinked before bowing low, “It shall be done as you specify, my lady.”

My lady?

Elphaba scoffed mentally. Gilikinese were as shallow as Munchkins. Appearance and wealth was everything - Glinda had both in spades.

“Glinda,” Elphaba asked as they strolled through the Main Street again. “Can I ask you something?”

The blonde nodded, stopping completely and giving Elphaba her full attention. Big, doe-like brown eyes looked at her fully and Elphaba immediately felt like backtracking.

“You were at the bookstore when…..” Elphaba trailed off.

“Yes,” Galinda replied.

“Were you….”

“Was I what, Elphie?”

“Didyouputthemuptoit?” Elphaba said in a rush.

“What?”

Elphaba repeated the question without mumbling. Then she tacked on, “Is this why you think you have to make things right?”

The blonde looked momentarily pained before replying, “I did not put them up to it, Elphie.”

Elphaba felt her heart sink. She always ruined potential friendships with her suspicions. They continued walking and the blonde slipped her arm in hers. Elphaba relaxed.

“Miss Elphaba!” A voice from behind called.

Elphaba turned, “Mr White!”

The Rabbit looked pleased to see her, “And who is this?”

“This is Glinda Upland,” Elphaba swallowed hard before tacking on, “My roommate.”

The smile from Galinda was almost blindingly bright.

"How do you do? I’ve heard so much about you from Elphie (She hadn’t). How are the kits doing?”

The Rabbit’s face lit up, “The kits are fine. They’re as demanding as their mother, don’t tell the missus I said that.”

Both girls laughed.

“Miss Elphaba. Miss Glinda, would you like to come over for tea? My hutch isn’t far from here.”

They looked at each other. Galinda raised an eyebrow, why not?

“The missus wants to meet my assistant,” Mr White whispered to Galinda who nodded understandingly.

“I don’t want to impose, Mr White,” Elphaba fisted her hands, looking down.

“Nonsense. You’ve been summoned for an audience,” Mr White’s whiskers quivered with excitement. “Would you like to come?”

“Yes, I’d love to,” Elphaba replied quietly. Galinda was sure that the green girl was always surprised when anyone wanted to spend time with her. The twinge in her heart at that knowledge was oddly painful.

Mr White’s burrow was a long, comfortable one. It was built into the hills, with round doors and round windows. The ceiling was dreadfully low, but the girls managed to get inside without banging their heads. Inside was a lot more luxurious than the outside.

Curved wooden panelling made the walls and ceilings feel like they were cocooned in a wooden sphere. Elphaba noticed Glinda was looking at the walls and windows with undisguised interest.

Mrs White served them tea and shortbread, which they devoured despite having already having lunch. Something pleasant swooped in Elphaba’s chest when she realised that her notoriously high-maintenance roommate had no problem wolfing down something as simple as shortbread.

Galinda, for her part, noted that Elphaba’s usual defensiveness and armour melted as she talked to both Rabbits. She was gentle here. Soft, almost.

“So sorry about the mess,” Mrs White apologised, looking tiredly at her own living room. “Normally the kits would be in their bedrooms but Ava’s teething and she’s waking everyone else up.”

Said kit was fretting, eyes wet with tears, looking absolutely miserable. Her gaze fell on Elphaba, who visibly softened and spoke in a voice reserved for small animals, “Hi, Ava.”

Galinda felt the full effect of that voice. The tender concern was really something any animal would respond to and Draco, damn her dragon, purred in her mind. Galinda withheld a shiver.

“Where does it hurt, hmmm?” Elphaba continued in a calm manner. That calm, coupled with that voice did odd things to Galinda’s stomach. Her dragon kicked its feet in the air, before settling down at her stomach with a floppy sigh.

Ava, who had been lying on her back, kicked her hind legs twice, and her crying stopped. The Rabbits looked at each other, amazed.

“Mrs White, is it alright if I hold her?” Elphaba asked as Ava motioned for her using her two front paws.

“Yes,” the Rabbit replied, clearly at the end of her rope in regards to Ava’s fussiness.

Galinda watched as Elphaba slowly approached the kit, carefully letting Ava get used to her. She did not immediately pick the baby rabbit up. She just put her hand in the cot, letting Ava take her time.

“Glinda, could you hand me the ice?” Elphaba asked for the cloth wrapped in ice that Mrs White had prepared. Using her free hand, the green girl placed the ice on Ava’s gums, which the kit gnawed on immediately.

Something warm like treacle trickled into Galinda’s chest. Elphaba had been that patient with her, once, and she had been a full grown dragon. Seeing the green girl work with the baby rabbit made her heart swell.

Lurline, I need a checkup for pericarditis.

Ava crawled into Elphaba’s palm and the green girl slowly lifted the kit and nestled the kit right into the front of her black dress. She spoke softly to the teething Rabbit, and it wasn’t until a few clock ticks later, that Galinda realised that she was quoting Calculus 101.

“And so the differential of x with respect to x will be equal to one. Next, let’s consider derivatives of x. What would you say to -“

“Elphaba Thropp,” Galinda whispered. “Are you boring the poor kit to sleep?”

The green girl flashed the most mischievous smile. Once again, Galinda’s heart did a backflip. Maybe it’s myocarditis, she decided. I must have inherited it from Grandpa.

“You should see what I could do with the Ozian-Ev Agreements,” Elphaba grinned softly, trying not to jostle Ava.

Ava settled into Elphaba’s chest, stretched out all four paws and let out a full yawn. Mr and Mrs White were completely charmed out of their socks by the unfolding scene.

Do you see it now, Homo?

Her dragon could sense how she was staring at her roommate.

Shut up, Draco.

Galinda was in deep, deep trouble.

An hour later, it was already late in the afternoon. Galinda found her hands full with not one, but three baby rabbits, all yawning and sleeping. Ava’s paws moved constantly, as though she was running in her dreams.

It had started simply with Elphaba saying softly, “Do you mind holding her? Alvin looks like he’s about to fuss.”

One look at those imploring green eyes and Galinda folded, disregarding years of dragonet training from Popsicle, “Don’t play with your food, Galinda.”

A young Galinda had wanted to collect rabbits because they were cute but killing was part of Wilderness Training. She had spent a decade of her first century of life with Popsicle, just hunting, laying snares, trapping, cooking and fending for survival.

All that trained aggression and prey-predator mindset went out the window at the soft prompting of her roommate.

Sap.

Shut up, Draco.

They smell like food. They look like food. They are food. 

These are Rabbits, Draco. Not the other kind.

Smells the same to me.

Her dragon settled over her heart and added one more thought before napping.

Too small to eat. No meat.

It was another hour before Mr and Mrs White emerged from a well-earned afternoon nap - one that the girls insisted they take. By then, something real and quiet had settled between the girls.

Galinda wished that her hands were free to draw the tableau in front of her but just when that thought occured, Ava started to gnaw on her finger with her newly emerging sharp teeth. Galinda had to stop herself from yelping.

Elphaba, who had noticed the entire scene unfold, giggled silently. Galinda raised an indignant eyebrow and was completely disarmed by how young and relaxed the green girl could be as she dissolved into silent laughter, her shoulders shaking.

Galinda was neck deep in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.

A few whispered thanks from Mr and Mrs White later, the girls found themselves walking back to university. Galinda reached out to intertwine her fingers with Elphaba’s, glad that the green girl did not react or pull away.

Galinda was never a big fan of touching anyone. Momsie discouraged it, because touching could lead to claiming, and Momsie had very specific conditions before anyone could lay claim on her only child. Right now, just holding hands with Elphaba made Galinda’s heart full.

As they walked back through the main gate twenty minutes later, Galinda tugged the green girl’s hand tighter, nonverbally urging her not to let go.

“Glinda!” Pfannee and Shenshen rushed towards them from the Quad. “Where have you been all day?”

Both their gazes fell on Elphaba. Pfannee’s mouth widened in shock.

Galinda held on tightly to the green hand that was trying unsuccessfully to wrench free.

“I’ve been hanging out with Elphaba.”

“Glinda, you’re holding her hand,” Shenshen mock-whispered in horror.

Beside her, Galinda could feel the green girl stiffen. All the armour shed at the White’s was firmly back on.

“Of course I am. She’s my friend,” Galinda said with perfect posture. Perfect posture, Momsie’s voice in her head said, can get you through anything in life.

“But you don’t hold hands with anyone, Glinda,” Shenshen said. It was true, Galinda was too much of a pure-blood to enjoy being touched by simply anyone.

“I don’t hold hands with just anyone,” she told Elphaba, who was looking rather spooked by being at the centre of attention.

“But the green is contagious,” Pfannee said snootily. “You might leave with green patches on your skin.”

A small crowd of students gathered. Wherever Galinda went, she was the centre of attention. Galinda could feel Elphaba’s eyes looking straight ahead, her spine unnaturally straight as though waiting for something bad to happen.

“Hi everyone,” Galinda said, waving to the gathering crowd with her free hand. She lifted the other hand to gasps from the crowd, which was hard because Elphaba’s muscles were tense.

“This is Elphaba. Not the green freak. Nor any type of vegetable or any type of green plant. She’s my friend. If anyone has a problem with her, I will have a problem with them. I’ve seen what you’ve all been capable of, including myself, and I’d like to believe that we can all be better versions of ourselves.”

There was a low murmur of disbelief and a smattering of ‘she’s just so good’. Galinda smiled at the slack-jawed Elphaba, who had ceased to struggle against their adjoined hands.

“Come on, Elphie,” Galinda tugged her roommate towards the cafeteria. The crowd parted, still muttering confusedly.

“Glinda,” Pfannee stopped in front of her. “Stop. This isn’t who you are.”

“You don’t know who I am, Pfannee,” she warned. Her dragon had awakened from slumber, prowling around her heart spewing little bursts of fire.

“Glinda, you don’t have to do this,” Elphaba said softly beside her. “You don’t have to prove anything.”

“Oh yes, I do. You’re my friend, Elphie. This is what friends do.”

“If you’re her friend,” Pfannee huffed, “then this will be the end of our friendship.”

“So be it,” Galinda said resolutely, stepping past Pfannee and yet another small crowd, with Elphaba in tow.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I’m not eating,” Elphaba looked like she was blinking away something.

“My treat.”

“Glinda, you’ve been paying for everything for me this entire day. I am grateful, of course, but I don’t want you to do that anymore.”

Galinda, sensing that today had been too much for Elphaba, decided to buy a takeaway they could share.

She tugged Elphaba towards their room, avoiding the Dining Hall. Back inside their room, Elphaba’s shoulders sagged.

Galinda chewed her lower lip, worried. They sat on opposite ends of their room on their respective study chairs, but faced each other.

“You didn’t have to do all that.”

“I did,” Galinda replied grimly.

“Why?”

Tell her the truth.

But Galinda avoided replying, divvying up the takeaway into two portions. They ate in their respective corners in silence.

Elphaba wondered what was going on in the blonde’s mind, with her eyebrows furrowed. She looked distressed.

After they showered and changed, Galinda pulled Elphaba from her study table towards her bed. She pulled until Elphaba tumbled into the bed. Galinda followed, giggling next to her.

They were quiet for a minute, before Elphaba’s face took on a look of resignation, “This was all a prank, wasn’t it? You wanted to get back at Pfannee and Shenshen for something.”

“No,” Galinda shook her head. “I really really wanted to be friends with you.”

Elphaba shook her head, “I won’t believe it until you tell me why.”

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to be friends with me?”

Elphaba waited silently, waiting for the blonde to formulate an answer.

“Can I tell you a secret, Elphie?” Galinda whispered, looking absolutely serious.

Trust her.

Elphaba nodded. Once.

“A long time ago,” Galinda paused. “You saved my life.”

Elphaba’s eyes widened and she was about to say something but a small finger pressed her lips, miming shhhh.

“I don’t always look like this. You see, I’m a… ,” Galinda sat up on the bed, folding her legs in front of her and then winced at the next best thing that came to mind. “An Animal.”

What?

Animal?!

Draco was bombing her mind with a pyramid of organisms. At the summit was a dragon, followed by human, Animal and finally animal.

I refuse to be an Animal. I’m a Dragon, you Homo! You and I, we are Dragon!

Her dragon hopped across her chest and over her stomach, making her vaguely queasy.

Elphaba mirrored her sitting position. Galinda realised her hands were trembling from a lifetime of hiding her existence from anyone other than her own family. Green hands reached out to hold them still.

Elphaba ducked her head to catch Glinda’s eye. A pair of brown eyes flickered everywhere but at her. She reached out and touched the blonde’s nose. The brown eyes stopped looking everywhere and focused on the finger, then on her.

“Is this why you’ve been buying things for me?”

“Yes and also, this is why you don’t have to pay it back at all,” Galinda said seriously. “In fact, you don’t have to work part time anymore.”

“You’re not pulling my leg,” Elphaba said shakily. She took a look out of their windows, seeing a waxing moon.

“You’re sitting on it, I couldn’t pull it even if I wanted to,” Galinda said honestly and Elphaba felt herself snort at how literal her roommate could be.

“You’re trembling,” Elphaba reached for her blanket, covering Glinda’s shoulders. “Are you a werewolf?”

“Elphaba Thropp. Have you met a werewolf?” Galinda asked incredulously.

The honest answer was ‘yes’ but it seemed to agitate the blonde, so Elphaba did not respond. She cleared her throat.

“You’re a shapeshifter,” she decided.

Her blonde roommate nodded, her hands still shaking. Elphaba understood that this must have been a big secret for her to reveal.

“Who knows?” Elphaba asked before she added on, “Tibbett and Crope?”

Galinda’s eyes widened, “Yes.”

“Are they?”

“Yes. Just slightly different.”

“You’re like their alpha,” Elphaba considered Crope and Tibbett’s behaviour, and how they always followed Glinda’s every prompting.

“Yes.”

“Have you transformed here before?”

Galinda shook her head.

“It doesn’t hurt?”

“You’ve really met a werewolf before, haven’t you?” Galinda deduced drily before replying, “No, it doesn’t hurt me.”

Elphaba tried to think of what Animal Glinda was.

“Are you a Golden Retriever?” She thought of the Dog she had rescued from the markets at Nest Hardings.

Galinda sputtered, “What?”

Elphaba giggled.

“Is it because I’m blonde? Elphie, what do you have against blondes?” Galinda waved her hands wildly.

Elphaba cackled loudly, “Nothing, it’s just funny to rile you up.”

“You rescued a Golden Retriever?”

“Yes, the bitch (Galinda sucked in a sharp breath) was dying and she was chained. No one wanted her, so I set her free.”

Elphaba did not add that she had caused a commotion in that market for using her magic or that Frexspar had immediately used his belt on her but something in Glinda’s eyes made Elphaba feel that she could sense what was left unsaid.

You really are the kindest person I’ve ever met.

“Are you a ginger Cat? A Lion? A Golden Tamarin?”

“Elphie,” Galinda warned with a low growl. “A Golden Tamarin? Are you seriously comparing me to a monkey?”

Elphaba threw her head back and laughed freely.

Galinda had never seen her roommate this expressive before. She laughed despite herself and then she was angry at herself for laughing.

“I can’t believe I’m laughing with you because you’re laughing at me!” Galinda whacked her roommate with a pillow.

Elphaba only wheezed harder.

“I’ve told you a secret. Now it’s your turn,” Galinda urged. “Tell me a secret.”

From there, Galinda found out the truth about Elphaba. A tale of moonflowers, a loved one’s death and an overwhelming guilt that never left. She tried comforting her as much as she could, but Galinda could see that her words would not erase years of self-blame.

“Tell me a secret,” Elphaba had asked, refusing to continue talking about her family situation.

“Only if you agree to eat three meals a day with me,” Galinda bartered.

“Glinda, you can’t be serious,” Elphaba had never smiled so much in a day.

“I’m completely serious. Do you want to know the secret or not?”

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth that I saved your life?”

“You live in Colwen Grounds but you spend most of your time outdoors. You read books to Animals. You had no friends. You’re still wearing the same spectacle frames,” Galinda listed easily.

Elphaba blinked.

“So, three meals a day? It’s the least I could do,” Galinda said softly.

Elphaba nodded, stunned and also because now that Glinda was her friend, she really did want to know all her secrets.

“The secret is, I can sense when you’re in danger,” Galinda said.

Elphaba was silent. She had never unpacked her emotions from the night of the assault.

“That explains a lot,” Elphaba thought of how the blonde had been at the canals in the nick of time.

“Your turn. Tell me a secret,” Galinda said when Elphaba sat silently, blinking back tears for more than a few minutes.

“Does me asking you questions count?”

Galinda considered that, “Well, you have to make a concession since you want my secret.”

“What sort of concession?”

“You’ll let me give you things without question.”

“Never mind, then,” Elphaba said flippantly.

Galinda waited two tick tocks before the green girl groaned. She grinned triumphantly, “Curiousity is your downfall, isn’t it?”

Elphaba whined, “You’re not playing fair! I don’t have that many secrets!”

“You have to understand my point of view,” Galinda tried applying logic. Elphaba was already crossing her arms, getting ready to debate the point. “I could have died in Colwen Grounds. I’m only alive because of you. I owe you everything and so, everything I have is yours.”

Elphaba swallowed.

Was that too much?

That was perfect, Homo.

“I promise I’ll only buy you things you need,” Galinda said piously.

“You crossed your fingers.”

“I did not,” she uncrossed them.

“Yes, you did.”

“Well, what do you think of my logic then? Elphie, can’t you accept that you could be lucky sometimes, just because you saved the right Animal?  (Draco shuddered here and landed theatrically loudly on her heart) And don’t tell me you aren’t exhausted working that part-time job, because you’re losing weight from economising and you’re failing mathematics.”

Elphaba’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

“Don’t you want to stay indoors during the evenings and study?” Galinda ruefully thought that Elphaba was the only person whom studying extra hours could be used as a dangling carrot.

“I’ll give you one night to think about it. The offer for anything material stands indefinitely. And don’t start telling me that you can get money from your father or your sister.”

Elphaba’s mouth closed firmly.

“Anyway, here’s my next secret, seeing as you’ll agree to what I say tomorrow,” Galinda said confidently as Elphaba sputtered.

Galinda paused, wondering whether telling her would be too much. Whether she would find out too much. Whether the truth would freak her out.

It’s just your name.

Yes, but we’re hiding it for a reason.

Trust her.

Galinda shook her head, looking at her fingers.

“What’s the secret?”

“My name…. It’s Galinda,” Five years too late and yet, not too late. It felt like relief to let Elphaba know this much.

“It’s a beautiful name,” Elphaba said, noting once again that Glinda, no Galinda’s hands were shaking.

“Thank you.”

“I won’t tell anyone.”

Brown eyes peeked at her, with a glint, “Want to know more secrets? Or afraid you’re going to make more concessions?”

“Galinda!” Elphaba tilted her head back and laughed.

To hear her name from Elphaba’s lips was simply thrillifying. Galinda smiled indulgently at the green girl’s exasperation and took note of the smooth curve of her neck.

At the end of the night, or maybe it was morning, Elphaba lay in the dark, motionless, staring at nothing.

Today had been... surreal. The word people used when something felt too good to be true. Which, of course, it had been.

Galinda had laughed with her. Walked beside her. Touched her arm. Looked at her like she mattered. Maybe she was pretending to. Playing along with some game Elphaba hadn’t been told the rules of yet.

For a few hours, she'd let herself believe it was real. That someone like Galinda could enjoy her company. Could want her around.

Stupid. She was so stupid.

She should’ve known better. No one looked at her that way unless they were trying to make a point or prove how good and charitable they were. “Look at me, being kind to the freak.” That was the story, wasn’t it?

The worst part? She’d liked it. She’d clung to every second like it meant something, like she meant something.

Pathetic.

Elphaba curled tighter beneath her blanket, as if she could crush the memory before it could turn sour. But it was already curdling in her chest.

Tomorrow, everything would go back to normal. Galinda would laugh with her perfect friends and barely look her way. And Elphaba would act like today hadn’t meant anything. Like she hadn’t been stupid enough to hope.

She would wake up. She would go to class. She would study and work and keep her head down.

And she would be fine. She didn’t need anyone. She never had. She just had to keep pretending that was true.

Chapter Text

To Elphaba’s surprise, Galinda continued the friendship farce from that day onwards. She found herself being accompanied to classes, sitting next to the blonde - well, the first time Galinda unceremoniously sat next to her, Elphaba had dropped all her books onto the floor in shock.

Then she couldn't pick up any of those books because Galinda was talking rapidly, firmly holding her limp hands. Crope ended up picking her books up with an easy nod.

They still bickered (Galinda called it having an ‘enlightened discourse’) in front of the professors as the blonde absolutely refused to simply let her win any argument but during that first week of their friendship, Elphaba found herself defended time and again against the smallest slights.

She had to pull the blonde away from marching up to anyone who stared at her funny with a loud whisper of, “They’re just staring. It’s normal.”

“No, Elphie, it most certainly is not!” Galinda would be raring to go and Elphaba had to distract her by grabbing her hand tightly. The blonde was extraordinarily strong and Elphaba had to fight from losing her balance entirely.

Galinda’s confrontational behaviour meant all the negative things that had been directed at her stopped. In front of the blonde, no one dared to say anything about her and behind Galinda, well, even she could not hear ominous muttering.

Most of their batch left her alone with Galinda at first. But the blonde was too popular, and within mere days, Elphaba found herself surrounded by a permanent group of people - Crope, Tibbett, Nessa (who spoke to her now that Elphaba was in Galinda’s sphere) and Boq. Pfannee and Shenshen joined sometimes - Galinda’s input was needed for everything from the Art Exhibition to the Lurlinemas Ball.

Conversations started stiltedly but soon, Elphaba found herself making dry responses to Tibbett’s jokes, rolling her eyes at Crope, frowning at Boq’s mooning over Galinda and even smiling at Shenshen’s despair over the Lurlinemas Ball’s theme colours.

It was beyond surreal to be chosen daily, defended and befriended. Somewhere inside Elphaba, she was still waiting for Galinda to put a stop to this farce. To tell her that the trial period was over.

Every night, she told herself not to hope for tomorrow. Told herself that someone was going to laugh in her face tomorrow. Someone was going to say, “Poor Elphaba, I can’t believe you thought this was real. How did you ever think that Glinda ever wanted to be friends with you?”

But day after day, Galinda continued to be kind. Continued to save a seat for her in the Dining Hall. Continued to pull her this way and that to show her something. Walked with her to White’s as she worked her four hours every weekday. Studied with her at White’s and walked back together to their dorm.

Elphaba found herself wanting it to be real. She found her heart pounding extra hard if she could not see Galinda in the Dining Hall until she heard a cheery, “Elphie! Over here!”

Still, every so often, Elphaba would freeze. Sometimes it was mid-conversation, during their walks to class or during their nightly talks before bed. Cold and ugly doubts would descend on her, complete with all her self-loathing and she would go silent.

Of course, Galinda noticed. She had many internal conversations with her inner dragon, who had no issue laying full blame on her.

She doesn’t trust this.

Can you blame her? You chose your chicken, now…

Yes, yes I know. Swallow the feathers.

But it was hard. Just as it was hard to swallow a whole feathered chicken, during Wilderness Training with Popsicle. Just because she could do it did not mean that Galinda had not struggled.

Right now, Galinda was struggling to convince Elphaba that this was real. But how was she to overcome years of friendlessness? The first month of bullying that Elphaba endured still smothered Galinda in guilt.

There were other issues as well, besides Elphaba’s reticence towards their friendship. There was the issue of money. Galinda wanted, no needed to provide for her every need. The urge to do so was so strong that she felt physically ill every time Elphaba refused.

Since Elphaba still worked at White’s, she had pin money. Galinda learned that while she could not buy food for her outright but she could buy small add-ons. If Elphaba bought spaghetti, then she would buy some meatballs to go with them. If the meal had no fruit, Galinda would buy an extra portion of fruit.

The green girl would listen amusedly as Galinda pointed out in more and more dramatic ways how good these items went together (“Your spaghetti looks mournful without meatballs. Here, let me. See? Now you can eat a happy spaghetti.”)

As for studying, Mr White was gracious enough to allow Galinda to study together with Elphaba while manning his shop. Every day after arriving at the shop, they would sweep it together.

Elphaba insisted on doing the book displays, manning the cash register and wiping the glass, since she was the one being paid but Galinda enjoyed certain things about their arrangement.

First, proximity. Her dragon loved when Elphaba was near. It made Galinda’s whole body relax when Draco purred. All her anxieties about the estate, the manor, the building supplies, her various businesses and finally, her studies fell away when her roommate was near.

Second, she had more time to observe how light fell on her roommate as they walked to the shop, how her lips would purse up when she thought of something, how her shoulders tensed when she struggled with homework and how her entire being would light up and a small crooked smile emerged when she got something right.

Galinda found herself staring more than studying, heart fluttering at the smallest smile. She was doomed. So very doomed.

Third, being away from campus meant that the committees that depended on her for every small decision could finally figure things out on their own. Of course, Galinda still had the final say but she could avoid all the wrangling in between.

Fourth, the thrill of seeing Elphaba finally mastering cleaning spells and using it every day in the shop as well as in their dorm was a guilty pleasure. Her roommate, for lack of a better term, was simply magic.

Galinda loved magic as much as she loved gold.

By the end of October, amidst their budding friendship where Galinda had finally learned to let others make friends with Elphaba, a new problem emerged in the form of Prince Fiyero Tigelaar.

He swept in like the West Wind, all charm and grace. He had aura. He had magnetism. And he was a damned Azuri.

A royal one. He even had blue diamond tattoos on his face. Her dragon had scoffed deeply in her mind when she saw it.

He was a pure-blood, Galinda was certain. From the way he commanded the room, to the way almost everyone who had eye contact with him suddenly did the most ridiculous things, Galinda knew.

He was friendly. He was nice. He fit in with everyone. Even Pfannee had nothing negative to say about him - he was too busy drooling.

He fit in immediately with everyone, except Elphaba.

The green girl had rolled her eyes at the Vinkun prince, showing once again, that she was completely immune to dragon charm (Galinda would know this because Elphie said ‘no’ to her on a daily basis).

Fiyero seemed to take it to heart and was resolved to win her over, much to Galinda’s eternal annoyance.

“Ladies,” Fiyero said easily as they ate in the Dining Hall, on the third day of trying to get Elphaba to speak to him. “Where are the two of you off to?”

“None of your business, Fiyero,” Elphaba said.

Galinda had to slowly unclench her napkin, her smile not reaching her eyes. Just this very morning, in between Architecture and Art Classes, she had seen Elphaba laughing at something Fiyero said.

Galinda had walked in a stupor and sat in front of her easel during Art, unable to draw a single thing.

“I see you leaving campus every day at this hour,” Fiyero said. “Doing something fun around here?”

“Come on, Glinda,” Galinda let herself be pulled to her feet. “Let’s not be late.”

Fiyero left the Dining Hall and fell in step with them, refusing to leave them alone and made plenty of inane comments.

Galinda’s heart sank as the prince managed to get Elphaba to deliver one-word wry answers and sometimes, produce a rare laugh.

Crope and Tibbett had been right when they warned her about losing her head if one day, someone stepped up and befriended Elphaba.

Galinda was losing it.

She could see that Fiyero was doing everything right. He was genuinely friendly to Elphaba from the first. He did not do that stupid thing of sending mixed signals to the green girl, unlike the nonsense Galinda had put her through during their first few weeks.

He was pursuing her for friendship (for now, Galinda thought darkly) and Galinda thought that there was something in his gaze that mirrored the way she looked at Elphaba.

In the early days of their real friendship, Galinda had to stop herself from chasing away people (and dragons) who wanted to hang out with her roommate. She would run back to their dorm when someone else caught Elphie’s undivided attention, open trunk number nine and let her skin touch the pure gold bars arranged aesthetically there to self-soothe.

All those friendships turned out to be just that. Platonic. Galinda had patted herself on the back for showing great personal growth. For learning to let Elphaba be her own person and make human connections.

Her dragon was not at all impressed by her personal growth. It still wanted to burn all competitors for taking up the green girl's attention.

I don't like this. I really really don't like this, it nagged constantly.

You said to stop treating her like a possession, Draco.

I lied, Homo.

Out of all her lessons, History and Sorcery were Elphaba’s favourite, even though she personally liked studying everything.

What made a difference was the professors. Dr Dillamond liked to engage with her after class and lend her the most interesting books. He was very learned and Elphaba relished the way he taught History from more than one angle, to try to eliminate bias.

“There’s more than one side to any story, and history is ultimately that - someone’s story of an event,” he often said to the class as they handed in their weekly assignments.

On Wednesday and Thursday afternoons while waiting for Galinda, who had lectures on Foundational Design and Building Construction I, she found herself drawn to Dr Dillamond’s office, often just to talk or help him out with his latest research.

Sorcery truly was the most comforting class. Not that the subject matter was easy, no. Madame Morrible was strict about discipline, gave her a lot of reading assignments and practical ones.

She told Elphaba that being remarkable required practice and she was just pushing her hard so that she could make good when she met the Wizard.

So far, Elphaba had managed to levitate coins and books, repair broken glass and ceramic, clean things by magic (she had requested to learn household spells which helped her speed through all her daily chores, much to Madame Morrible’s resigned, “Don’t you want to learn more important branches of magic?”) and make a small fire - all within two months.

Elphaba flushed green every time Madame Morrible said, “Most remarkable, Miss Elphaba.”

So what made Sorcery comforting? It was Madame Morrible herself. For all that she was a close advisor to the Wizard, the woman was an encouraging teacher.

She praised Elphaba constantly and told her that she was proud of all her achievements so far. She was genuinely welcoming and excited whenever Elphaba mastered something.

Madame Morrible was sympathetic to her struggles with magic, often telling her, "It's not something one masters in a single day, Miss Elphaba!".

After accomplishing the day’s learning objectives, they would sit quietly in the classroom and have a cup of tea with some pastry that the sorceress had bought “Oh, you must simply try this! It’s from the Emerald City!”

Madame Morrible would share titbits of her life, her first meeting with the Wizard, how she fumbled her magic while she studied at Shiz and talked about how she wrote often to His Ozness weekly about Elphaba’s progress.

Elphaba felt at times that she had met her heroine and everything they said about not meeting your heroes was completely wrong.

“Today, we’ll be trying something new. Something I’ve mastered a long time ago and I was hoping you’d master it too,” Madame Morrible said with a gentle smile.

Elphaba leaned forward eagerly, “Control of the elements?”

Madame Morrible laughed self-deprecatingly, waving her hand at Elphaba’s interest in her most famous feat - weather control.

“Mind reading, dearie.”

Elphaba sat back, perturbed.

“Obviously, if you’re uncomfortable with it, I could just teach you the theory. The most important thing you must remember is that you should not do it without gaining consent,” Madame Morrible folded her hands into her long grey sleeves.

“Are you going to try it on me?” Elphaba shrank at the thought of letting Morrible see her upbringing.

“Heavens, no,” Morrible looked surprised. “Unless you want to give it a try? See how it feels like? To be on the receiving end?”

Elphaba took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Madame Morrible had been nice so far. Without her, she would have taken the boat and train back to Munchkinland, stuck to an unrewarding life in Colwen Grounds.

“I’d like to try,” she said after careful thought.

“Oh no, dearie. It’s alright," Madame Morrible waved her off. "It's a very personal thing to ask of someone."

“Please. Please let me try. I have to learn it anyway, if I’m to make good with the Wizard."

“If you’re sure, Miss Elphaba,” Morrible said.

"Yes. I'm sure," Elphaba stiffened her resolve. How was she going to learn anything if she couldn't push through her own fears?

"Alright, let's begin," Elphaba suddenly had a moment’s misgiving when she saw a gleam of victory in Morrible's eyes. But as quick as she saw it, it was gone.

Elphaba was studying in the library when it finally happened. For once, she was alone, Galinda was off for a meeting on the Lurlinemas Ball. At the same time, the Art Exhibition was happening down in the Quad.

It was a balmy October evening and already, the autumn trees were almost leafless. Winter, Elphaba noted, arrived sooner in Gilikin than in Munchkinland.

There was a low murmur outside the library that grew louder and louder. The noise was almost as loud as when Fiyero had led library goers into a mob dance on his first day at Shiz.

Elphaba walked to the veranda of the library, where she sometimes sat to get fresh air. A large group of students were gathered at the Quad, admiring different installments by the Faculty of Arts.

Elphaba herself, resolved to take a look, once she had finished Nikidik’s essay on Animal Care.

A loud murmuring swelled in front of a small canvas (it looked small from where Elphaba sat). Then a student looked up, saw her, and pointed, “Look, that’s her.”

Elphaba could feel the stares of a hundred pairs of eyes on her. Instantly, a memory of Munchkins and their taunts filled her mind : “Elphaba Thropp, green on top. Someone better tell her that everyone can smell her.”

Her heart sank. She knew what this was. She hadn’t felt it in over a month since Galinda had taken her under her wing. But she knew for certain, based on how everyone was now pointing and glancing back at the canvas, that there was some cruel caricature of herself right in the Quad.

Then she heard “Who drew it?”

“Glinda Upland.”

“Aren’t they roommates?”

“Isn’t the level of detail simply outstanding?”

Her heart hit rock bottom. She had been bracing for this. Every day, just bracing for something bad to happen. A month later, she had just somewhat relaxed into their friendship.

There you go, you stupid fool. Shoe, meet floor.

Nessa rolled up to her in her bespoke wheelchair, “Do you want me to go down with you?”

“There’s no need. I’ll just go and see for myself,” Elphaba tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

She steeled herself, walking towards the Quad. Students parted and a hush fell over the entire open exhibition.

“It’s… it’s a really good likeness,” someone tried to say. Another student shushed him. Someone else said, “It’s uncanny.”

Elphaba’s vision blurred. It was a portrait of her, reading. Her green face and skin on canvas. At the bottom of the canvas, was the initials of the artist, GU.

Elphaba could feel her throat constricting, her lungs filled with a strange weight. It felt hard to breathe. This felt worst than any prank. Worse because she had thought Galinda was her friend. Elphaba’s first real friend.

Did Galinda think that it was funny, to paint her and put it out here, for the world to see? Was that what those big brown eyes were doing all their time? Raking down her face and form, finding all of the ugly and putting it on display?

Did Galinda get extra credit for thinking out of the box? For painting a monster?

Behind her, she heard Nessa’s wheelchair roll across the Quad and she could hear her sister gasp.

Even Nessa sees it too, her heart sank.

Elphaba could feel her hands shaking, and tried to clench her toes, to keep her control. She wanted to cry but the weight on her chest felt like a stone. She raised her chin, willing herself not to - not in front of all these people.

From the North Tower, a door banged open and there was a flash of blonde hair. Elphaba turned briskly away, knowing it was Galinda.

It was Galinda, who was running down, jumping over multiple steps at a time, to get to the Quad. It was Galinda, calling, “Elphie! Elphie, wait!” It was Galinda, who was going to break her already broken heart with, ‘Did you really think a freak like you could be friends with me?’

She did not want to see the blonde right now. There was nothing to say. The proof was in the Quad, for all to see. All of her green face, neck, arms and fingers that she painstakingly hid under clothing, openly exhibited for people to point fingers. No, she did not want to see Galinda. She did not think she could control her magic at all.

Elphaba ran out the main gate to the field, climbing as quickly as she could, trying, trying and trying to get away.

But there was nowhere she could go. Galinda could always find her, especially when she had heightened emotions like this. The blonde knew all her secrets, including the place she went when she wanted to escape from the stress of university life.

She had been an utter, complete fool. She ran until she reached the edge of the cliff. The skies were grey and Elphaba did not realise that her face was wet from tears and that the pain in her arms were coming from her nails digging into her skin.

“Elphie?”

“Leave me alone!”

More scratches appeared on green skin, as though the pain could assuage the hurt in her heart.

“Elphie, what’s wrong?”

“Why did you do it? Why did you paint this?” Elphaba gestured down at herself. “What is a portrait of me doing in an Art Exhibition? Why didn’t you ever tell me you’d painted my portrait?”

“Elphie, I…” Galinda swallowed. “I didn’t know…”

“Did you think it was funny? Did you want your work to stand out? Couldn’t have others overshadowing Glinda Upland’s work, could you? Capture all this green to make your portrait interesting? Avant garde?”

“Elphie, I did it before we were friends. I should have gotten your permission but to be honest, you were all that appeared on my canvas. I had to submit something on the day of the dateline and all I had was twenty two other portraits of you!”

Elphaba could feel her heart crack. Just like how their so-called friendship was really a farce. Tears streamed openly down her face.

“Elphie, please believe me,” Galinda’s voice was shaking. “I didn’t know Dr Greyling was going to choose it for this exhibition,” she tried reaching out but flinched when the green girl wrenched herself away.

“But you’re in the organising committee for this exhibition,” Elphaba whispered, hating that she was crying this much in front of an enemy. “Don’t lie about not knowing.”

She had been a fool. A complete and utter fool to believe that Galinda wanted to be her friend.

“That’s why you pretended to want to be friends. You needed to get close enough to paint me,” she pointed a finger.

“Elphie, I am your friend,” Galinda said desperately, taking another step nearer. “I’m so sorry.”

“Stop lying,” the words came out like a hiss as Elphaba stepped back. “I knew it. I knew this was all a lie and yet I…”

Elphaba looked at the sky, cursing herself for believing for one moment, that Galinda had been genuine.

Galinda took a step back, hands flying to her face to stem tears, “You… you thought all this was a lie?”

Her dragon reeled backwards.

“Why? Why did you have to paint me?” Elphaba asked brokenly.

“Elphie…”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” The scream came out raw. Like a wild animal that was caught in a trap.

Homo. Homo. This is not good.

“I… I don’t understand why you’re upset. The portrait... it’s how I see you.”

“Of course you don’t,” Elphaba said bitterly.

How could she explain that every time someone had made an image of her, there was jeers and laughter? How could she describe to Galinda how much she hated the way she looked? How much she wished she could meet the Wizard so that he could degreenify her?

How could she possibly tell Galinda, who was beautiful and celebrated, that being ugly all over was all she had ever known? That people’s first reaction to seeing her was to flinch?

How could Galinda even begin to comprehend the hurt that she held inside at how her father would refer to her as ‘the monster’ or ‘the changeling’?

How could Galinda even begin to understand that she had been hidden from everyone since the day she was born? Hidden, like a dirty secret. Beaten, despised and mocked for the colour of her skin?

Elphaba hated, hated herself for crying harder and although she tried to stop to explain, nothing came out. And she did not think she needed to explain to the one person who had set the whole thing in motion.

She broke off into a run.

“Elphaba, wait! Please!”

“Don’t follow me!” Elphaba avoided Galinda’s outstretched hand.

Galinda’s hands fell, her feet rooted into the grass, watching her only true friend disappear from sight.

Galinda saw Nessa waiting in the Quad, as she walked back behind Elphaba, keeping a distance between herself and her roommate. The younger Thropp looked grim as she wheeled herself to where Galinda stood.

“I thought you were her friend.”

“I am her friend.”

Nessa’s upper lip curled cruelly.

“Nessa, what’s going on? Why is Elphaba reacting like this?”

“Surely you know, Galinda,” Nessa scoffed. “To put all that green on display when you know deep down how ugly she is. How uncouth of you.”

“What do you mean?” Galinda asked sharply. She couldn’t believe Nessa. “She’s not ugly. She’s beautiful.”

Nessa rolled her eyes, “Find someone else to practice that act on. And stay away from my sister.”

She’s not ugly. What is wrong with you?

Galinda walked up to the portrait, and saw that it had won second place in the exhibition. The blue ribbon stuck on the frame felt like a mockery. She stood there and studied the portrait - it wasn’t the most accurate, but she had wanted it to be honest.

She had wanted people to see Elphaba the way she saw her. Human and kind. Not as a monster or something ‘other’. Just simply one of them.

Footsteps echoed behind her and without turning, Galinda could feel the Azuri’s magnetic, animalistic aura.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“Go away, Fiyero.”

“What happened?” Fiyero bent his head and looked somewhat like he was ready to listen.

“I made a mistake,” Galinda was too tired to deflect.

“What, painting this?” Fiyero pointed at the masterpiece. In his opinion, it was as good as the portraits hanging in Kiamo Ko.

“No, submitting it. I should have never….,” Galinda trailed off.

“She’s really upset, isn’t she?”

Galinda’s shoulders drooped ever so slightly. Fiyero put an arm around hers.

“Don’t touch me,” she threatened. Her dragon travelled to her arm, breathing fire on the point of contact. She could feel her skin searing hot, trying to blister Fiyero’s skin.

“Just go with it. I need to talk to you about something,” He hissed in pain at the scorching heat. The blonde’s skin was hotter than an iron forge.

“What is it?” Galinda wanted to transform and kick him to Lake Chorge but Fiyero’s serious tone stopped her.

“Is there trouble in Gilikin…. with our kind?”

Galinda turned swiftly to stare into Fiyero’s eyes.

“Don’t test me, Azuri.”

“I’m not. I enrolled in Shiz for a reason,” Fiyero stroked her hair. “I’m looking for information.”

“For what?”

“For the war against the City.”

“Why?” Galinda stroked his cheek softly with the back of her hand.

To any onlooker, they looked like a couple in love.

“My kin are disappearing. Every single one that has been called to the City can’t be contacted. I don’t know whether they’re alive or dead. I wanted to know whether you have the same problem here.”

“I don’t think so, no,” Galinda furrowed her eyebrows. “But we had some trouble at the borders a few years ago. Patrols found many arrows, tipped with black stone.”

Galinda did not tell him that she herself had been shot down by one of those arrows.

Fiyero grimaced, “When I enrolled at Quox, the Rubini there are losing powers. Those who lost them walk around like shades, unable to transform. Every single one of them were turned loose after a visit to the City.”

Galinda stroked Fiyero’s ear, “How do I know you’re not lying to me? Don’t they say the Azuri are tricksters?”

“My sister has been taken,” Fiyero said smoothly but there was steel in his voice and his blue eyes turned icy blue for a tick tock. “Surely I wouldn’t lie about that.”

A group of students walked nearer to them. Fiyero changed the subject back to the portrait.

“She’s breathtaking. I can see why you’re so taken by her,” He poked Galinda in the waist.

“Stay away from her, Fiyero,” Galinda warned, noting the way his eyes admired the portrait. Suddenly, she was overcome with the urge to hide it from everyone’s eyes except her own.

“May the best of us win,” Fiyero winked.

“If you even breathe a bit of flame on her, you’ll die,” Galinda said matter-of-factly, letting him know without saying it, that Elphaba was hers.

Fiyero took in a sharp breath, understanding immediately.

“So beware. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Galinda thought of all the strange missives she got from Frottica and tried to compare it with Fiyero’s disturbing information. The Aurealis were naturally wary of the Emerald City ever since the Wizard took over. Few found the need to travel to there, since Gilikin was the height of culture. Most people came to Gilikin to be inspired rather than the other way round. The same could not be said for the other provinces.

She carried a stool from their room and placed it in front of Nessa’s door, where she knew Elphaba was going to stay the night. Several curious students whispered around her, but she ignored them and sat down. It was going to be a long night.

“Elphie! I know you’re in there!” Galinda knocked incessantly on Nessa’s dorm door. “Elphie, can we please talk?”

The door opened after a solid half hour of relentless knocking. Nessa was there, looking thoroughly annoyed.

“Go away. You’re disturbing the peace,” Nessa said.

“I’m not leaving until she comes back,” Galinda said to Nessa. Then louder, she projected her voice, “Elphie, I won’t leave until you come back home.”

“I know you’re upset but we can fight it out in the room,” She added.

Nessa rolled into her suite and Galinda could hear a low, urgent exchange between the Thropp sisters, “I need my sleep, Fabala. Go back to your room.”

“Nessa, please. Just for tonight.”

“No. She’s destroying my sanity. If you don’t go, I’ll write to Father that you’re disregarding my wishes.”

Galinda smiled. Her plan was working perfectly. Even if it didn’t, she was still going to knock on Nessa’s door the whole night.

Galinda did not want to spend a single night separated from her dear Elphie. An angry Elphaba was preferable to an absent one.

Galinda tried not to react when Elphaba walked towards the door, looking thoroughly defeated.

“Come home, please?”

“Go away, Glinda.”

“I heard what Nessa said. She doesn’t want you here.”

“Glinda,” Elphaba folded her arms. “What is wrong with you? Why are you like this?”

“I can’t sleep when you’re not there,” Galinda decided to go with honesty.

“So this is about your beauty sleep?”

“Yes?”

“I couldn’t care less about your beauty sleep.”

“Please, Elphaba, just come home. I promise I won’t talk if you don’t feel like it. I’ll be ever so good in my corner,” she wheedled.

Elphaba considered her, with a slight twitch in her mouth. Progress.

Galinda reached out wanting to hold Elphaba’s hand but stopped herself.

“You don’t want this now,” Her hand fell and so did her face.

Elphaba said nothing.

“Well, I’ll be in our room, if you don’t want to walk back together with me. But if you really don’t come back, I’ll - ” Galinda blinked away a tear. Then another tear. Oz, where were the tears coming from?

“You’re not quite sane, are you?”

“It runs in the family,” Galinda said apologetically. “We’re known to be a little extreme.”

Elphaba almost smiled.

“Okay, I’ll walk back now. Good night, Nessa. Good night, Elphaba.”

Galinda walked away, obviously Elphaba was too proud to walk with her. She mentally gave her an hour.

A low tug in her midriff five minutes later filled her with relief. Her mate roommate was coming home.

Whatever levity or cracks in Elphaba’s composure was gone by the time she entered their room. Once they completed their night routine, Galinda turned off the lights and saw a flicker of dark purple fire. Her Elphie was in deep despair.

She opened her mouth once. Then again. But no sound came.

“I made you sad,” Galinda said finally, her voice barely above a whisper.

Elphaba didn’t turn. “I thought you said you’d be ever so good in your corner,” she said.

Galinda blinked.

There was a long pause before Elphaba continued.

“I don’t want to talk to you, Galinda.”

Galinda let out a slow breath, barely audibly asked, “Are we… are we still friends?”

“I don’t think I can be yours,” Elphaba said with finality. “Because it would never last. One day you’ll stop wanting to be my friend, Galinda. You’ll be bored of this charity case. And when you do, I’ll still be here. Still green. Still wrong. And I’ll remember what it felt like to believe, even for a second, that I was chosen to be someone’s friend, even though it was all a lie.”

It’s not a lie!

She needs space, Homo. Give her space.

Galinda’s eyes welled. She nodded slowly, turned to her bed and climbed under the covers without another word. Underneath her skin, her dragon froze, turning icy cold as it shrank over her heart.

Chapter Text

Morning arrived, a pale, colorless light through the windows.

Elphaba was already dressed and halfway out the door when Galinda stirred beneath her blanket. No good morning. No glance. Just the soft click of boots on the floor and the sharper one of the door as it closed behind her.

Galinda sat up slowly, the chill of the empty room creeping in around her. Her bed felt like rocks. The silence felt like frost. The days that followed were slow fractures.

In class, Elphaba no longer sat beside Galinda. She took the seat farthest from her. Usually in the back, always in shadow. Galinda tried not to glance over, but she always did. It was a reflex now, like searching for a missing part of herself.

Elphaba, for her part, never looked back.

The professors noticed when both girls ceased their debates in class. The students whispered as both of them were never seen together, unlike the past month.

“Did they fight?”

“I thought they were inseparable.”

“It can’t be Glinda’s fault. She’s just so good!”

Still, Galinda was glad that no one resumed bullying Elphaba. She might have approached some potential bullies and threatened them as a preemptive measure. At the very least, her roommate would have some space to be alone with her thoughts.

“Tell me what’s troubling you, dearie,” Morrible said over their post-class regular cup of tea.

Elphaba had been quieter than usual and although she managed to get through the practical bit of today’s silencing spell, her magic had flared and set fire to the desk.

“It’s your roommate, isn’t it?” Morrible guessed.

The green girl had been happier for the past month but gossip travelled fast and it seemed that the girls had fallen out ever since the Art Exhibition.

To her dismay, Elphaba refused to even talk about her roommate - good or bad. Morrible wanted to strangle her green student when the conversation drifted away to everything except Glinda Upland.

Not that Morrible cared about young hearts, no. She needed Elphaba to trust her more. Needed to know what made this talented young witch tick. Needed to get past her mental defences (which were surprisingly airtight).

All that magic and power should be harnessed for the good of Oz (or for herself in the event of a showdown between herself and the Wizard) and what better way than to ensure Elphaba’s undying loyalty by tying it to her alone?

A quiet conversation with Jane Greyling of the Art Faculty had already borne fruit (she had just made a tiny suggestion on using the incredible Upland portrait).

She had an inkling that Elphaba was sensitive about her skin colour and she put that knowledge to use. As a result, her dear student was back to being a loner. No longer ostracised but definitely alone.

Perhaps, Morrible had mused, without friends, Elphaba would finally trust her enough. To finally let her dive into her mind and see all her weaknesses. All she had gotten so far was a blinding golden light. That was exceedingly unusual.

Normally minds were layered and it required time to peel away the layers.

But reading Elphaba’s mind was a painful thing - it was like looking directly into the sun and it gave her a migraine immediately after. She had never failed before at mind reading, and she most certainly was not going to start now.

Now that Elphaba had a falling out with that useless blonde, Morrible was determined to drive a deeper wedge between the girls. Just to make sure the talented sorceress would feed from the only hand that ever showed her love.

The most painful aftermath of the Art Exhibition was Fiyero and Elphaba’s budding friendship. The Vinkun prince accompanied her everywhere, sat with her during lectures and meals, and even walked her to and fro from White’s.

Galinda found herself waiting at the darkest alleys near the canals every night just to make sure Elphaba came home safely. Although Fiyero was with her, she just had to know for sure.

Crope and Tibbett gave her worried glances but knew better than to ask why the three of them hid in the darkness watching the Prince and the introvert walk back to the university.

Something like ice splintered inside her heart every time she heard Elphaba laughing at Fiyero’s jokes or even scolding him.

She looked paler than usual, but nothing that makeup could not cover up. Even her dragon, usually a flashy gold and black, had turned a pale, almost ghastly white.

Eventually both boys saw her without makeup one morning while delivering the daily mail and gasped when they saw her ghostly pallor.

“Drakina,” Tibbett said gently. “You look ghastly.”

You heard him. I refuse for you to look ugly, Homo.

Spare me.

By mid-November (two weeks after their friendship broke down), it was Fiyero’s grand idea that everyone should dance their stress away at the Ozdust. Finals were looming in two weeks and he insisted to all the first years, that a little dancing would be ‘just the thing’.

He worked his pure-blood aura through everyone’s misgivings, and by the time Friday night loomed, it had become the event of the year. Everyone was in a frenzy of excitement.

When Elphaba arrived at the Ozdust, she felt a sudden pang of dread. What in Oz was she doing here joining her classmates for a night of dancing and drinking? She had finals to study for and unlike everyone else, knew that Frexspar would use bad results as a reason to not let her continue studying.

In fact, he had intimated the exact thing in his last letter, “I do hope we are not wasting funds on your grandiose posturing at Shiz. There are disturbing reports that you gallivant every evening in town with boys and neglect the care of your only sister, whom unlike you, is the epitome of everything good.”

Still, the excuse she had given Fiyero as to why she could not come tonight had crumpled like wet paper. Mr White, upon hearing that there was an impromptu student gathering at the Ozdust had insisted that he could take care of the shop.

“You’re young, Miss Elphaba. Let your hair down for once,” he said with twinkling eyes.

And then, that traitor of a Rabbit had told Fiyero (who now accompanied her to White’s every day instead of Galinda) that Elphaba was free on Friday night.

Fiyero had eagerly asked her to go with him but Elphaba had declined. He was a good friend but he wasn’t Galinda, whom she missed more than she had ever expected. Her heart, Elphaba realised, was a highly traitorous organ.

Besides, going to the Ozdust with Fiyero meant opening a door she wasn’t ready to open. She might be clueless about friendships but even she knew that much.

“I might just stay in and study,” Elphaba told him on Thursday night. “I need to do more calculus.”

Without her roommate’s help, she was struggling again with integrals.

Fiyero’s face had fallen, understanding she was pushing him away from something more but he was a gentlemen through and through. He tipped an imaginary hat and left her alone in the Quad.

On Friday evening, Elphaba entered the dorm room after yet another long tea and chatting session with Madame Morrible only to see Pfannee and Shenshen fussing over Galinda. The blonde was wearing a dress that looked like hibiscus petals, and her blonde hair was curled effortlessly, falling over a shoulders in loose waves. She was a vision in red and orange.

Their eyes met for a moment but both girls said nothing. Pfannee and Shenshen both waved awkwardly at her before leaving to ‘rouge their knees’, whatever that meant.

“Are you going to the Ozdust tonight?” A quiet voice asked.

Elphaba hated herself for missing Galinda’s voice. For the past fortnight, she’d been hearing that voice directed at everyone else except at her.

She hated herself for actually missing Galinda. Hated herself for not saying anything after she found out through Boq that Dr Greyling was the one who ultimately chose the portraits for the exhibition (Galinda had no say whatsoever).

She cleared her throat, looking at the floor, “No. I’m just going to stay in and study. Finals are a fortnight away.”

Silence fell again, as Galinda sat at her vanity, checking her reflection one last time.

She got up and walked towards the door as Elphaba put her Sorcery textbooks down and sat at her study table.

“Years from now, you won’t even remember the finals. Why not just come?” Galinda swung a door open, looking back.

Elphaba snorted, “Says the girl who doesn’t need to study to come out top.”

Galinda let out a little hmmm.

“Do come, Elphaba. Fiyero would be happy to see you there. Wear something nice,” her roommate said before leaving.

Elphaba actually tried to study. She really tried. But a part of her was curious. Another part of her could not believe that Galinda, of all people, still cared enough to ask her to go.

A small voice in her head asked : Did you really come to Shiz just to study? Why not experience what university life is like outside studying?

Finally, an hour later, she threw her books aside and began rummaging through her wardrobe.

Wear something nice.

She pulled out a black number that she wore for outings. It was dressier than her usual fitted outfits, but still black. After showering, she redid a few micro braids, flash-checked her reflection in the mirror and walked towards the docks.

Everywhere was quiet. The night was clear and as the gondolier pushed off, she settled down and let herself feel the cool breeze on her skin.

Away from her books, her part-time job and a chatty Fiyero, Elphaba could actually hear silence. She used to relish it. Only now, silence meant that her thoughts strayed as always to her roommate.

There was a lot of regret there. Truth be told, Galinda had no right to draw her portrait without asking but some part of her felt that she had probably overreacted. She had projected her fear of abandonment and ridicule upon everything and her roommate had been collateral damage.

Most of her anger had dissipated the same day she had let it out on Galinda. Even now, her brain remembered the way Galinda’s eyes turned glassy as she said, “You… you thought all this was a lie?”

Her brain remembered the way Galinda tried to explain, “Elphie, I did it before we were friends. I should have gotten your permission but to be honest, you were all that appeared on my canvas. I had to submit something on the day of the dateline and all I had was twenty two other portraits of you!”

Was it really true that there were twenty two other portraits of her somewhere because she couldn’t paint anyone else?

Elphaba had no idea how artists functioned but she assumed it must have been hard for Galinda not being able to paint anything else.

Upon reflection, Elphaba admitted privately that the portrait was actually really good. Even Fiyero had mentioned during one of his rare serious moments that it was one of the best portraits he had seen in his life. Although, he too (being obnoxiously good looking as Galinda was) did not understand why Elphaba had been supremely upset.

The truth was Elphaba was beginning to see that Fiyero was right. The painting was not a cruel caricature, with swollen nose or protruding eyes. It was the softest, most honest version of herself. The truth and vulnerability in the portrait scared her more than any caricature could.

Is this how she sees me?

Elphaba felt a sharp pang when she realised Galinda hardly truly spoke to anyone. Now that she knew how the blonde was truly like in private, she could clearly see the mask she put on.

Outside, her posture was perfect, her smile impeccable. There was no slumping on the bed or moaning about homework, or little patters of feet if she got excited.

A part of Elphaba felt guilty seeing her roommate subdued. Galinda had kept her word and kept up her silence. It hurt to see the blonde sliding the very mask she reserved for others in front of her, when she knew how vivacious and funny she actually was.

As the gondola moved nearer to dock, Elphaba realised she actually missed the blonde’s little ways - from taking things too literally, buying her all sorts of food, having the strangest sayings and pre-bed rituals. She missed their easy laughter, the constant bartering for secrets and the way Galinda truly listened to everything she had to say.

Most of all she missed the comforting touches - Galinda had so many of them. Elphaba had never known what hugs from another human could feel like or how comforting thumbs and handholding could be. Now that she knew what she missed, it had turned from a wistful ‘WANT’ into a raging ‘NEED’.

By the time she walked the short distance from the dock to the Ozdust, Shiz students were scattered everywhere. The ballroom had great music, human and Animal musicians and everyone looked like they were having a good time. It felt like a celebration of being alive.

Elphaba edged towards the entrance, determined to find a nice corner to observe the crowd and enjoy the music. The set ended right as she stood at the top of the stairs, and she realised that everyone was staring.

At her.

An entire six weeks of not being targeted for her skin colour, all courtesy of Galinda’s intervention had made her forget how people viewed her. She had never fully realised, just how much freedom Galinda had secured for her, how much she had protected her and changed her life at Shiz.

These were not Shiz students. Just regular Gilikinese who had never seen her. She withheld the urge to run as they openly pointed and flinched.

There were some Shizians scattered in the crowd - not in her year - but they simply watched as the whispers among the Gilikinese crowd began. No one was brave enough to stand up for her. No one wanted to. No one ever had. 

It wasn’t that Elphaba had entirely forgotten a lifetime of being ostracised but Galinda’s painting had somehow awakened a new reality that she was somewhat worth seeing beyond the green. Therefore it hurt more now - as the jeering, the laughter and murmurs of, “She’s green!” and “I wonder whether she’s more sensitive than normal girls” spread through the crowd.

Drumsticks tapped rhythmically and the band began again.

“Go on, greenie,” someone grabbed her upper arm and pushed until she staggered to the centre of the dance floor to loud snickers. “Do what you came here for. Dance for us.”

Only there were more smirks. More whispers behind hands. More obvious chuckles.

To them, she was a spectacle. A creature to perform at command. Something strange and not quite human, all because her skin was green.

A deep, resigned sadness welled up from inside. Elphaba wasn’t sure if it was the music or just the pain of being forever maligned for her appearance.

If you wanted to see different, I’ll show you different.

She raised the back of her hand to her temple and wriggled her fingers. She tried a few more movements, drawing loud guffaws from onlookers and gasps of, “What is she doing?”

She clenched her teeth, willing herself to be strong. Then, Elphaba saw the familiar tresses of blonde hair. Galinda emerged breathless as though she had been running.

A sudden hush fell on the crowd. The Gilikinese beauty raised the back of her hand to her temple, and wriggled her fingers.

I’m here, she seemed to say.

Galinda mirrored more of her movements, saying without words, “I want to be seen with you.”

Her smile was wide. So wide.

Why are you like this?

She must have misunderstood. No one wanted to be seen with her.

This pain is mine to bear. Not yours.

But Galinda proceeded to dance alone, whirling and twirling gracefully, incorporating some elements of Elphaba’s own dance.

Of course she looks absolutely mesmerising, Elphaba thought as she turned on her heel to follow Galinda’s movements.

Please don’t make a fool of yourself. Can’t you see that no one wants to be seen with me?

Every twirl, every pirouette seemed to speak for itself, “I see you. I see your pain. I know what it’s like to hurt like this. Please, let me take it on. Let me make it better.”

Elphaba’s vision blurred.

Galinda was here. Galinda, who never put a social foot wrong. Galinda, who knew the difference between seventeen shades of pink, who could recite pre-wizard history from memory and who should know better than to join the social outcast.

Anyone else would have stayed back and found it humiliating to be seen with her, let alone dance.

This was an offer of truce. An extended hand of friendship that convinced her in a way that no words could. There was joy in every movement.

I was wrong. I’m sorry I said it was a lie. You really really want to be my friend.

From the corner of her eye, Elphaba saw Fiyero emerge from the crowd to push the still twirling Galinda towards her, whispering something.

“May I?” Galinda looked up at her bashfully, holding out both hands.

Elphaba gaped. She had never been chosen publicly like this before.

A tear fell as she tried smiling, overwhelmed by this feeling.

Chosen.

Wanted.

Seen.

Twenty minutes before Elphaba arrived, Galinda felt a familiar tug in her midriff. She immediately went pale. Fiyero stopped dancing to take her to the side.

“What is it?”

“She’s coming,” Galinda sat down, nursing the Shimmying Winkie Fiyero handed to her.

“Who?”

“Elphaba.”

“You can feel her,” Fiyero looked surprised.

“Yes, well… she’s… we’re… it’s complicated,” she completed lamely.

“Wait… she’s not your mate, is she?” Fiyero asked.

Galinda shrugged, “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Glinda,” Fiyero said carefully, knowing the subject of mates was a potential bust up between dragons. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well,” Galinda laced her fingers together to stop her hands from shaking. “I tried to warn you off but I realised it would do her good to make more friends. I was trying to give her space. You know, be a better…. person.”

Both she and Fiyero knew ‘person’ was supposed to be replaced with ‘dragon’.

“It’s making you ill,” Fiyero seemed rather intuitive, seemingly able to look past her flawless makeup and detect her underlying exhaustion.

“I misplaced her trust. She said I had no right to paint her without her knowledge and she’s right,” Galinda replied tiredly. The truth was, seeing Elphaba and not being able to touch her or talk to her was taking a toll. Even her dragon was almost white, refused to move much, lying down dejectedly over her heart.

When Elphaba arrived, Galinda could feel it. Her dragon prowled over her heart, agitated.

It took her two full minutes to push through the Friday night crowd to get to the entrance. By then, Elphaba had descended the stairs and looked absolutely spooked. By then, the other patrons had resorted to flinching at her otherness.

She was dressed in black, her gold rings trembling because her hands were trembling, and Galinda saw her silhouette rimmed with purple and red fire.

She’s sad and scared.

I know.

Homo, I don’t want her sad and scared.

I know. I’ll fix this.

Then Elphaba moved. It wasn't any dance (though as a daughter of a Governor, she must have had lessons). This was pure expression. Raw pain in movement. An acceptance that she would never be accepted anywhere, so why fit in?

Bring her back home.

The dragon in Galinda responded. Galinda surged to the front of the crowd, matching Elphaba's awkward movements.

The dance felt more important than anything Galinda had done before.

Popsicle's voice rang in her mind, reading a bedtime classic : The Dance of the Dragons, "The chosen will dance, flying where only the moon shines. Then time will have no beginning and no end.”

"Did you and Momsie dance?"

Momsie's face was fiery red but Popsicle roared with laughter, small puffs of smoke leaving his nose with every heave, "Of course. I just followed my lodestar."

Galinda had no idea what that meant. Until now.

Polaris. Her lodestar. The one star that would lead her home. The fixed point in an ever moving map of constellations. She was right here, in front of Galinda, beginning the intricate moves of a dance.

Like Elphaba's dance, Galinda allowed herself to feel. Allowed herself to defy conventions. To express her joy in finding the one in her movements. Like dragon dance, she replicated her mate's movements making it one with her own.

I found the one. For me.

Like dragon dance, her hands went up on both sides, then down, as though flying through the air and spiraling upwards together. Galinda did not realise the flash of light she released with that move. The Ozdust walls flickered like a rainbow for a moment, visible only to her stunned roommate.

On her skin, her dragon was also twirling and dancing, flying and spiraling across her rib cage and over her heart - careful to stay away from exposed skin. For once, it was exhilarated. Euphoric. She didn’t have to look, she knew it was gold and black again. If she looked, she would have seen her skin light up with all seven colours of light.

She's looking. Keep dancing.

The more she danced, the more the rimmed fire on Elphaba changed. Purple-red to bluish pink, like the colours of dawn.

They were a spectacle, one dancing and one openly staring. Yet more people joined - Galinda’s aura liberated them to express themselves freely in their own movements.

She felt Fiyero push her to close the distance with Elphaba. He whispered, "Go on, dummy. She's waiting."

Galinda couldn't help the blush spreading on her cheeks as she pirouetted closer (showing off to a potential mate was a must). When she finally held out two hands, her heart was pounding rapidly.

Take my hand.

The fire around Elphaba was pink. Fully pink and bright. No one else could see it.

It's all for me. For my eyes only.

Galinda's heart soared.

Green fingers laced themselves between her own. Galinda’s heart felt like it could burst. Pink fire wrapped around her. For a moment, they were one flame, their fire visible to none except her.

A stray tear fell on Elphaba's green cheek, "I don't know why I'm crying," halfway between tears and laughter.

Galinda reached out to brush it off, "It's okay."

I'm here. You can be vulnerable with me.

"I missed you. I’m sorry," Elphaba whispered.

We missed you too.

"I'm sorry I upset you. I really didn’t mean to. I’m sorry I - “

Elphaba opened her arms, teary eyed. Galinda flew into the tight hug, and the pink light surrounding the green girl flared brighter.

I don’t ever want to let go.

Right then there was another roar in the crowd as Fiyero stepped to the centre, doing a series of stomping dance moves. The girls pulled apart from their hug, trying to memorise the steps of the Vinkun tribal dance.

“Come on, Elphie. Let’s dance,” Galinda said as she stood next to him, laughing.

Elphaba’s movements were more awkward, more stilted, but she laughed too as more and more patrons copied Fiyero’s dance.

In tandem, they jumped, whirled and stomped in time. Galinda’s eyes never left her roommate’s. The outpouring of joy, of laughter and life was simply entrancing.

From across the dance floor, Fiyero winked at them, before rushing in to start a Gilikinese reel. Again, the music changed seemlessly, as though by magic. The patrons of the ballroom reeled freely, switching partners between turns and returning to their partners again and again.

When the reel ended, the girls got drinks. Elphaba swirled her red Murdered Munchkin dubiously making both Fiyero and Galinda laugh.

“Are you sure this is a drink? It really looks like someone murdered Boq behind the bar counter.”

“Embrace your wild side, Elphaba,” Fiyero challenged.

“Stop bullying my Elphie,” Galinda protested. “It’s her first time.”

“My Elphie, now, is it?” Fiyero shot a cheeky look and Galinda blushed.

“You don’t have to drink that, Elphie. I’ll get you something else. Wait here.”

A green hand shot out, “Glinda, you don’t have to do that.”

Galinda smiled widely back, “I don’t have to. But I want to.”

But she sank back into her seat as Elphaba pulled on her wrist more insistently.

“I’m going to dance the next one, you girls up for it?”

Elphaba was about to protest but Galinda was already pulling her to her feet. The blonde even stole half of Elphaba’s drink, her face flushed.

“Come on, Elphie. Let’s dance the night away!”

The sun shone directly into their dorm room. The light pierced her skull fiercely. Galinda sat up and for an unsteady moment, felt her form flicker precariously between human and dragon. There was a glass of water by the bed and some pills. She swallowed them all, hoping it was a cure for the headache or a quick way to death.

Elphaba was not in the room. It looked as though it was midday.

Her eyes opened wider and she realised all of her trunks were opened. Including trunk number nine.

She immediately jumped out of bed and started itemising everything in every trunk, accounting for losses. When she had accounted for everything, she closed everything and sat back down. Her heart rate returned to normal.

She peeked under her nightgown, checking on her dragon. It was asleep in the strangest position, sprawled out like a lamb on a barbeque spit.

You’re drunk.

Not so loud, Homo. Lemme sleep.

The doors screeched open and in swept Pfannee and Shenshen, being absolutely chaotic, “Glinda! You must simply join us for this afternoon’s shopping spree.”

Galinda raised a hand, wincing, “Too loud. Too loud.”

“Ohh,” Pfannee said, realising that she was suffering from the after effects of imbibing too much alcohol. “Well, don’t say we didn’t invite you!”

“Just go and have a good time,” Galinda pressed her hands to her temples.

Oz, everything hurt.

“Toodles then!” Shenshen waved, and the doors shut behind them both with an audible click.

Galinda shuffled to the bathroom. Her hands shook so much - toothpaste squirted everywhere on the sink except on her toothbrush. She brushed her teeth with minimal paste and almost fell backward at the blonde corpse-like face staring back at her.

When she was done, she stripped and stepped into the shower. She let out a yelp she turned the hot water tap more than the cold. The scalding water caused her dragon to turn over and lie on its stomach, hindquarters hanging in the air.

Draco, that’s obscene.

It’s been too long since we transformed. I deserve to dragonspread.

Showering helped to reduce the grogginess and perhaps the painkillers worked. She wrapped her long hair in a towel and then changed into a pastel blue dress. A wave of magic later, after she had finished her essays for linguification, her hair was dry and blown perfectly.

The doors opened again, and this time, Elphaba walked in, carrying food. Her gaze fell on the blonde and she smiled that tentative gap-toothed smile.

“Hi,” Galinda said breathlessly. Try as she might, she could not remember coming back to the dorms last night.

Elphaba laid out the packed lunch on the floor in the centre of their room.

Galinda squealed at the coffee, settled down on the floor, crossing her legs when Elphaba mildly said, “For an Aureal who got stinking drunk last night, you’re looking good.”

Galinda froze, dropping her coffee.

Chapter Text

Ten hours ago.

“Why is water sloshy?”

Elphaba held her roommate tight, this time by the waist, hoping she wouldn’t lurch suddenly towards the water again.

Galinda laughed as she mouthed ‘sloshy’ again and again, letting her slim fingers skim the water’s surface.

“Sloshy, Elphie,” she chuckled.

“Hmm.”

“You’re not talking to me,” Galinda whined and slumped into Elphaba’s side. “Are you still angry about the portrait? Oh Elphie, if you only knew how horrendible these past two weeks have been!”

“I’m not angry at you, Galinda. I'm trying to keep you from falling into the water."

The blonde poked Elphaba’s cheek. Then she circled one arm around her neck and nuzzled her cheek into hers. Elphaba was too surprised to react.

“You smell like fir trees and dew,” Galinda nuzzled again, brushing their cheeks like a cat. “Like the Great Gilikin Forest in springtime.”

Elphaba, assaulted by both Galinda and her perfume said, “You smell…. sweet.”

“Do you like it?” Big brown eyes stared up at her, unblinking.

Elphaba flushed at the blonde’s question.

“You do,” Galinda nodded to herself, letting go. “Good job, Galinda.”

Elphaba tried to smother the escaping giggle but failed, “How drunk are you?”

“Just a little. I never get drunk,” Galinda sang.

“I knew there was something in the Murdered Munchkins,” Elphaba swore under her breath.

The gondola docked at their university. They both stood up to disembark. Elphaba almost fell into the water when the blonde clung to her suddenly like a limpet.

“Elphie,” she giggled. “Pretty, pretty, Elphie.”

“Galinda,” Elphaba flushed. “I knew you shouldn’t have drunk so much tonight.”

“I’ve never drank Murdered Munchkins before,” Galinda sat down at the docks.

Elphaba tried pulling the blonde to her feet, but she refused, “Sit with me, Elphie.”

“It’s late, it could rain.”

“Okayyyy,” Galinda said in a singsong way, scrambling to her feet. “I’ll move only because it might rain. You musn’t get wet.”

Elphaba felt a warm feeling melt over her. There was something really endearing about Galinda’s real (and completely drunk) self.

As they cut across the Quad, Galinda stopped in her tracks, “Sway with me.”

“Here?”

“Yes, why not?”

“Galinda, we’ve just danced the entire night at the Ozdust.”

“You danced with everyone there but you don’t want to dance with me,” Galinda pouted.

Elphaba made a noise that could only be described as exasperated fondness.

“Can you waltz?”

Elphaba gulped as the blonde pulled her hands and put them on her waist. Pale arms wrapped around her neck.

“You can,” Galinda said. “I know you can.”

“I’ve had lessons,” Elphaba admitted.

“Let me lead,” Galinda giggled, as they settled into a drunken box step. Elphaba herself did not feel quite steady on her feet, not with the blonde being so near and cocktails in her system.

Somehow halfway through, Galinda leaned back and tossed her hair.

Elphaba never thought that she was the type of girl who giggled but being near Galinda brought that side out of her. She huffed,“That’s not a move they teach in any of the dances I know.”

Her steps faltered as the blonde put her forehead to hers, “Do I make you nervous?”

Elphaba nodded imperceptibly without moving away.

“I just like being close to you.”

She cleared her throat, unsure what to say. It was nice to be held like this, but surely, this wasn’t something friends did together, was it?

Galinda stopped moving and Elphaba collided into her. Once again, the blonde’s immense strength surprised her and kept them both from falling.

Inside Galinda’s mind, Draco’s voice cut through.

Tell her.

Now?

Before we pass out.

“Let’s go back,” Galinda said suddenly. “I need to tell you something.”

If moving on flat ground was tough, going up the stairs with a drunk in denial was tougher. By the time they made it through their dorm doors, Elphaba felt as though she had just completed a Quadling samba with a Hippopotamus.

Galinda, for all her small size was extraordinarily strong and when she refused to move, was extremely heavy. When she wanted to, she could move really quickly but when she refused to move, there was almost no budging her.

Elphaba learned something quickly in that short walk up the stairs - the blonde responded easily if she pouted or pleaded (she filed it in the back of her mind in case she needed Galinda’s cooperation in the future).

They sank onto the floor of their room like wrestling bears. Galinda stretched before announcing, “I… am an architect.”

Homo, Draco groaned painfully to Galinda. Not this. The whole truth.

“You mean, you’re studying to be an architect,” Elphaba corrected her with a small smile.

The blonde shook her head, “No, I really am a certified architect.”

“Galinda. You’re stinking drunk. Why don’t we shower and change? Then we can settle down and go to sleep.”

“I’m not drunk!”

“Please?” Elphaba tried to stick out her lower lip again. It was still awkward, but her blonde roommate blinked three times before caving in.

Little did she know that in Galinda’s mind, the blonde was complaining to her dragon half.

Draco, she’s pouting.

Be strong, Homo.

But… but..

I know.

“What did you say?”

Elphaba sighed and repeated herself. She pulled the blonde to her feet and helped to collect her towel and some clothes (she stayed away from the see-through nightgowns) - things that a roommate would know, even if they hadn’t talked for two weeks. Then she pushed her towards their bathroom.

By the time Elphaba emerged from the bathroom, Galinda had found her way into one of her many pink and sheer nightgowns. The practical shorts and shirt she had chosen for her had landed on two different sides of the blonde’s bed.

“Elphie, I want to show you something,” Galinda pulled her over to her side of the room and they sat down side by side at the foot of her bed.

“Here,” she crawled over, opening and rummaging through trunk after trunk until she found it. Her roommate averted her eyes when the nightgown revealed intimate curves. She returned and sat next to Elphaba, their backs towards the bed and their feet stretched out in front of them.

“‘The Impact of Biophilic Design in Public Spaces’ by G. A. Upland,” Elphaba read out loud.

Elphaba opened the front cover of the heavy tome and froze at the publication date. 1919.

“It’s published a hundred and six years ago,” Elphaba looked stunned.

Galinda waited until green eyes met hers before saying slowly, “I have a secret. My middle name is Arduenna.”

“No,” Elphaba shook her head. “There must be other G. A. Uplands. You can’t be more than twenty years old. If this is true, then you must be….”

“Two hundred and thirty eight years old,” Galinda sighed.

“Stop pulling my leg.”

“I’ve already told you that I’m not entirely human.”

“There’s no way Animals can live that long. Are you a Tortoise?”

“Elphie, are you calling me slow?” Galinda’s eyes narrowed.

“Wait, I know this. An Animal that lives for a long time. You’re a Koi fish,” Elphaba mused.

“Are you making fun of me? A Koi fish is prey! Do I look like prey to you?”

The unladylike series of drunken snorts was adorable. Galinda hated that she was smiling indulgently at someone who was making fun of her.

“Wait,” Elphaba stopped laughing suddenly.

Her dragon lifted its head, sniffing interestedly near her lungs.

She knows.

Oh no.

“Let’s assume everything you told me is true.”

Galinda crossed her arms, insulted.

Of course it’s true.

“You said I saved your life. You’re older than any Animal I know and you’re a certified architect. You knew about me and you knew about my water allergy.”

Galinda cocked her head to one side, waiting. She could see the cogs in Elphaba’s mind turning.

“The first day at Shiz, you said Shiz mattresses give you a crick in the neck. You wouldn’t know that unless….”

She had never seen a green face blanch that quickly. One moment it was green, and another it was almost entirely white.

“… you’ve studied here before,” Elphaba finished lamely.

Elphaba could feel chills running down her spine. Her water allergy had disappeared the very day the Aurealis had disappeared from Colwen Grounds.

It had rained for the next few days, and that was the year she had discovered the joy of baths and showers. Dulcibear had been absolutely amazed that she was suddenly able to touch water.

“That’s why you put down your name as Glinda. If people put two and two together, they’d know that you’re supernatural.”

“Why, thank you, Elphie. I believe I am,” Galinda tossed her hair into her roommate’s face. Nothing quite like scent-marking and if she could help it, she wanted every dragon to know that the secondary smell on Elphaba was hers.

To her surprise, Elphaba playfully tossed her braids in her face as well. A subtle scent of lavender permeated her senses. For a moment, Galinda stalled.

Can we pounce? Draco purred. I like this smell.

Galinda’s mind struggled before she weakly replied, no.

“Is this why you’re acing all your subjects? You’ve studied all this before!” Elphaba looked indignant. “No wonder you finish all our assignments so quickly!”

The blonde coughed nervously, her eyes darting everywhere around the room. “In my defence, the subject matter does change somewhat after a century and I’ve had plenty of time to read and write treatises on some subjects.”

“Galinda,” Elphaba stated quietly. “You’re not an Animal.”

The blonde’s shoulders stiffened and her face was pale. Her usual nervous tic of holding her fingers fully present.

“Right before my thirteenth birthday, I met a myth,” Elphaba narrated softly, hoping that her roommate would not panic. “That golden creature shielded me from rain with its wing just like you did that day when it stormed on the Quad.”

“I knew that was a dead giveaway,” the blonde winced.

Elphaba had known the way her roommate ran after her in the rain was strange. She had seen the fear and exasperation in the blonde’s eyes as she draped her raincoat over her. She had let the event pass because it must have been part of a prank.

Galinda’s eyes were unblinking, as though anticipating bad news, and now she knew why that look was familiar. The same look as when she had cut the ropes to free her.

“Are you an Aureal dragon?”

Draco hopped up and down on one hind foot, raising the other three.

Yes! That’s me!

Galinda shivered and nodded. Knowledge is power. Knowledge also meant she had given Elphaba the power to destroy her.

“Why didn’t you wipe my memories?” A green hand wrapped over her shaking hands, followed by another. Green thumbs rubbed soothingly into her skin. Unconsciously, she splayed open her palm and both their thumbs rubbed circles into each other’s hands.

“I… don’t think I can wipe yours.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Galinda led out a deep sigh. “We shared a meal together.”

Homo, Draco sighed. Tell her she’s the one.

Not yet. She spooks easily. Courting is like hunting, remember?

We’ve never hunted this many moons and not caught prey.

Patience.

Elphaba said, “You mean, when you offered me friendship.”

“Yes.”

“Have you… done that before?”

“Not until I met you and not until you saved me.”

Elphaba sat up straighter, “I have so many questions!”

“I’m sure you do,” Galinda sighed.

Is this an interview? I love interviews!

Wait! Wait, Draco.

Thankfully, the alcohol kicked in at this point. Galinda slid towards the ground and started to snore.

Ten hours later.

Elphaba mildly said, “For an Aureal who got stinking drunk last night, you’re looking good.”

Galinda scrambled to wipe the coffee off the floor, but it disappeared before she could do it.

The green girl looked at her sharply, “You don’t remember?”

Galinda shook her head, alarmed. There was no point asking her dragon. Draco was still ass-up drunk on her skin.

“I never get drunk.”

“You can’t hold your Murdered Munchkins,” the green girl said drily.

“I never get drunk,” Galinda repeated. It was true. “Never.”

“Well, you did.”

“Tell me what’s in that drink, you Munchkin!” Galinda quaffed her remaining dredges of coffee, eyes wide.

“I have no idea seeing as I haven’t been murdered,” Elphaba deadpanned.

“Sarcastic. Defensive. No empathy for my pain,” Galinda ticked off her fingers.

The corners of Elphaba’s lips lifted in a reluctant smile.

“Do you want to know what happened?”

Galinda held the green girl’s arms with both hands before letting them go, “Yes, please.”

“You sang with the band at the Ozdust. You drank seven Murdered Munchkins, including mine.”

“Oz,” Galinda said, starting to unwrap her beef foldover.

Elphaba took a bite of hers, warming up. “Then, you told Fiyero to keep his distance from me because he was coming on too strong.”

A flush creeped up Galinda’s neck, “I’m sorry, Elphie. I had no right. You have every right to be friends with anyone.”

“And then,” Elphaba continued, “You barrelled into the arms of the gondolier and told him he was the spitting image of your Uncle Patrick who died of the pox.”

Galinda winced, “Oh no.”

“You spent half the ride home asking me if you believed that we were friends -“

“Do you?” Galinda asked worriedly.

“As I’ve told you six times prior, yes. Then you sang the rest of the ride home and then jumped into my arms while getting out of the gondola. It’s a miracle that we didn’t end up in the canal,” Elphaba said.

“Okay, so we got back to the dorm,” the blonde tried to push the narrative forward. How much did Elphaba know?

Elphaba shook her head.

“No?”

“You wanted to sit at the docks but I managed to get you off. Then you danced in the middle of the Quad.”

Galinda’s brain shortcircuited, “Get me off?”

The green girl’s face turned deep green, “Get you off the docks!”

“Thank you for clarifying, Elphie,” Galinda could not stop blushing.

“As I was saying, you danced in the middle of the Quad.”

“Alone?”

A dim flash of green in her arms appeared in her mind. It didn’t seem that she danced alone.

Elphaba flushed, “You made me dance with you.”

“Was it terrible?” Galinda asked.

“No,” Elphaba finally said.

“I bet it was nice,” Galinda supplied. “I can dance.”

“You refused to get back inside,” Elphaba ignored the dance. “I had to cajole you every seven steps.”

“You pouted,” Galinda remembered.

“I did no such thing,” the green girl replied indignantly.

She pouted. It was cute. 

“Draco says you pouted.”

“Who’s Draco?”

“He’s… well, he’s me. When I’m in human form, he appears.”

Galinda debated for a moment, before pulling up her shirt to her midriff to show her dragon, who was still snoozing with hindquarters up for all to see.

“Sorry, he’s a little obscene today. He’s cranky because we haven’t transformed since coming to Shiz.”

Elphaba blinked at the toned stomach and alabaster skin. Obscene or not, the dragon was almost as intricate as the Aureal she remembered. It was about the size of a small fist.

“So that’s what this is,” she marvelled. “I thought I saw something when I hit you during sparring.”

Galinda said wryly, “You’re really too observant for your own good.”

“He protects you from harm?”

“Yes. He’s like my instinct, in miniature form. I can’t control him.”

“He’s beautiful,” Elphaba said in wonder.

Galinda couldn’t help it. She blushed. Draco was her, after all.

“It’s true. You must know that,” Elphaba said matter-of-factly. “You’re beautiful, too.”

“Elphie, stop,” Galinda was red in the face. “You can’t just say things like that.”

“You do it all the time,” Elphaba replied, taking another bite of her foldover. “Last night, you…”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

Galinda looked carefully at her roommate’s bashful, disbelieving expression.

“I called you beautiful, didn’t I?”

“You were very drunk,” Elphaba mumbled, looking away.

“In vino veritas,” Galinda said solemnly.

“There may be truth in wine, but not in Murdered Munchkins,” Elphaba deadpanned, glad to hear Galinda laugh out loud.

“There’s wine in Murdered Munchkins!” Galinda protested.

“Yes, and judging from your actions last night, there must be drugs inside too.”

“You really don’t believe me when I say you’re beautiful, do you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Elphaba stood to wash her hands in their bathroom sink, before returning to sit next to Galinda. “I’ve been thinking ever since the incident,” her shoulders tensed, “and I owe you an apology.”

Galinda looked up, finishing her food.

“Go wash your hands first and then we’ll talk,” Elphaba said.

When the blonde finally sat beside her on her bed, Elphaba felt a fresh wave of doubt.

“Elphie,” Galinda said, reaching out palms upwards. “Hold my hand. I like it when you hold my hand.”

Elphaba was not used to saying things like this aloud, but figured that it was a good time as any to try, “I like it too.”

“Good,” Galinda said with finality, noting again that Elphaba’s hands ran cold whereas hers ran hot.

“Are you angry I didn’t tell you before? That I’m a dragon?”

Elphaba shook her head, “It’s a big secret to tell.”

They both fell silent.

“I was wrong for submitting the portrait without telling you,” Galinda said first.

“It wasn’t totally bad,” Elphaba tried.

“Not totally bad?” Galinda gasped, pulling her hands out.

The green girl was silent, fueled by a lifetime of self-loathing and shame.

“Elphaba Thropp, tell me three things everyone knows about dragons,” Galinda asked, knowing that the green girl could never resist answering factual questions.

“They breathe fire. They fly. They hoard.”

“Excellent. And what do dragons hoard, Elphie?”

“Gold. Jewels. Random shiny things. I don’t know. You tell me.”

“You hurt me. Random shiny things is wrong,” she crossed her arms. “I am not a magpie.”

Once again, Elphaba had to hide a smile.

Galinda got up dramatically and pitter pattered towards her trunks. With a wave of her hand, everything was arranged in front of Elphie’s bed in chronological order.

With another wave of her hand, she opened each trunk, holding back the tears of pride at all her wonderlocious things - gowns in gleaming fabric, jewelled hairpins, bottles with shimmering liquid.

By the time they got to the ninth trunk, the green girl managed to croak, “You brought gold and precious stones to Shiz?”

“Out of all that, that’s all you want to ask? Not a word about my shoe collection, which, if I may add, is not my entire collection?” Galinda flopped on the bed next to where Elphaba sat, exasperated.

“Did you bring your entire hoard here?” Elphaba tried to calculate how much all those gold bars cost.

“Are you trying to be insulting? The entire hoard? I’m not even a lesser dragon.” Galinda unflopped herself and loomed above the green girl, their faces almost touching.

“The rest,” Galinda continued waving to the other trunks, “are books, canvasses, art supplies and blueprints.”

“I see,” Elphaba said warily, wondering what this show-and-tell was about. “Um Galinda? Why are you showing me all this?”

Galinda pitter-pattered over to one of her trunks and clambered up a pink platform with functioning lights. She struck a pose, suspiciously similar to last night’s lead singer and gestured to an imaginary audience, “Everything I own is beautiful. Exquisite. Limited edition. One of a kind.”

“I can see that,” Elphaba pinched her nose bridge, thinking once again that her roommate was the most dramatic person ever. Still, she preferred this version of Galinda any day.

“Everything,” she emphasised. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes,” Elphaba replied. “It’s easy to see that you like the finer things in life.”

“Not the finer things, Elphie. The finest.”

“That’s not grammatically correct.”

“Oh, hush. Now, I’m going to show you something, but you must promise me not to fly off the handle.”

Elphaba watched as the blonde clambered down to open a rather large trunk, retrieving canvas after canvas. As she arranged them aesthetically against all her half-opened trunks, Elphaba’s breath stuttered.

“Please don’t be angry,” Galinda whispered, her tell-tale tic of nervously holding her fingers showing. “You are all I think about. I’m ferociously obsessed with you it’s not even funny.”

Twenty two. Twenty two paintings of her, reading, walking through fog, studying, standing at the docks, sitting under a tree, sitting in the lecture hall, sparring. In some, her eyes were closed. Others, her eyes were looking far away. In more than a few, her eyes were shining with hope.

There was even one of her as a teenager, laying out her meagre medical supplies on the ground.

Had the subject been anyone but herself, Elphaba would readily admit that the paintings were beautiful. And they were. But the paintings before her were a stark contrast to cruel taunts from her past, to the cruel words that still resounded in her head.

She let her eyes rove from one canvas to another. This was a series. Like something from an exhibition. To be seen like this bowled her over. No one had ever saw her like this - just a regular girl, with regular hopes and dreams going through life.

Had it been just one or two portraits, she could brush it off as dabbling. At ten, she could convince herself that it was artistic curiosity. At fifteen, well, maybe the artist was obsessed.

What does it mean when there are twenty three portraits in total?

Twenty three hyper realistic paintings. One kept by Dr Greyling and twenty two more kept here. Raw and honest - perfect technique, heart and soul poured into every single one.

Devotion.

Twenty three paintings by the same person who stepped up every time she was flailing at life. The same girl who held out her hands at the Ozdust, unafraid of green skin because she saw beyond it. The same girl who changed the worse solo outing of her life into a moment to remember.

“Why…” Elphaba faltered.

“I’ve kept them because these canvasses belong to me and…. Elphie, remember what I said about the things I own? It applies to these paintings too and to you, my muse.”

Elphaba was trembling. There was just something about Galinda and her sincerity in everything she did. Every action tore through the walls she painstakingly built to protect herself. Every touch dismantled her determination to stay detached. Every word felt like a shard exposing her deepest insecurities.

Why am I so vulnerable around you?

It’s because she makes you feel safe, her brain supplied unhelpfully.

Galinda said softly, a dimple appearing in her cheek, “Do you know what really makes the canvasses beautiful?”

Elphaba shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“You,” Galinda whispered. “You make it beautiful because you are beautiful.”

Her cheeks were wet. She couldn’t be crying. That couldn’t be her.

“You are.”

“No one’s ever…” Elphaba’s voice cracked.

Elphaba allowed her roommate to cradle her face, tilting it upwards. She had never been treated so gently, as though she was fragile. She could take taunts, screaming and hits but not this. There was no defence against gentleness. No arms could be taken up against genuine empathy.

A thumb brushed over her cheek slowly, “Elphie, open your eyes.”

She did, but more tears clouded her vision.

“I’m a dragon,” Galinda said as though it explained everything and perhaps, it did. “And I love and own many beautiful things.”

Her lower lip trembled as Galinda wiped off her tears with her knuckles. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop years of accumulated hurt from pouring out of her heart.

“But you,” Galinda shook her head with incredulous amazement, “Elphie, you outshine them all.”

“I don’t care what others say. Or what you’ve been told or what lies you believe,” Elphaba closed her eyes as the blonde leaned forward to press their foreheads together.

“It’s not a lie,” Elphaba tried protesting but the voices in her head were getting muted by the stark reality of the canvasses. “I’m not…”

“I. See. You,” Elphaba opened her eyes to see brown ones staring into her soul. “So please believe me when I say…..”

Brown eyes flickered down to her lips and then back to her eyes, “…you are exquisitely beautiful to me.”

“I… I have to go,” Elphaba rose to her feet and rushed out of the room.

Chapter Text

It had become something of a habit to find Elphaba under the oak tree in the fields behind the university. Galinda was not at all surprised when the tugging in her midriff led her there.

Just fifteen minutes ago, her dragon had immediately nagged the moment Elphaba left the room.

Homo, she's running. What are you waiting for? Chase.

I will.

With a wave of her hand, all her things were locked up firmly in their respective trunks and arranged in their original places.

After changing, she walked out of the dorm with a bag of money and a long wool-and-cotton blend trench coat folded over her left arm, letting her feet and instincts guide her to wherever her roommate was.

She’s up there. At the place we pounced.

I know.

Let’s go, let’s goooo.

From afar, she could see the green girl hunched under the tree, hugging her knees like a small child. Seeing it caused an odd, painful twinge in Galinda’s heart.

She’s sad? Her dragon took a step back.

Yes, Draco.

Because you called her beautiful?

Because no one has ever called her beautiful.

She’s kind and beautiful.

She is, Galinda smiled wistfully.

“Elphie,” she elected not to address the reason the green girl ran. “Let’s go to town. We have to pick up something.”

“What is it?” Elphaba latched on to the conversation, seemingly glad that Galinda was not going to rehash what had just transpired in their room.

“You’re freezing,” Galinda shook out the coat in her hands and helped the green girl into it. Her hands brushed the lapels as she smoothed the fabric, tugging gently at the collar.

Elphaba looked as though she was holding back tears again.

“Come on. Let’s walk,” She slipped her hand into the crook of the green girl’s arm and led her down the grassy path towards the main road.

“Ask me anything, Elphie,” Galinda broke the drawn-out silence. “I’ll answer without you having to make concessions. It’s a one-time offer.”

Elphaba laughed, finally relaxing her posture, “Do you consider yourself young, middle-aged or old?”

Middle aged? Old? Draco fainted over in shock.

Galinda paused, “I’m about your age, actually. In dragon reckoning.”

Young. We are young. Tell her, her dragon pleaded.

“How old, exactly?”

“Twenty. Momsie says I still act like a teenager.”

Galinda saw the small smile forming on Elphaba’s lips, “Hey, I’m full grown. Show some respect.”

She furtively stared as Elphaba tilted her head back and laughed. The green girl looked so young and carefree.

Draco swelled until his entire golden body covered her stomach.

Drop it, Draco. It hurts.

I’m full grown.

They continued walking along the familiar road. It was mid November and most trees had lost their foliage although the grass was a still a dull green. Galinda asked about the animals that Elphaba saved, taking note of the way her roommate’s eyes lit up with fervour and excitement. She mentally sighed, knowing she had to design and build an entire building on their property dedicated to animal care.

“I’ve wanted to ask something for the longest time,” Galinda began, as they crossed the canals and a bridge, signalling the beginning of the sprawling Gilikinese capital. Under the bridge, gondolas floated by, ferrying goods and people to the island-town of Shiz. “But I want you to be honest with me.”

Elphaba looked at her, surprise by the shift in her tone.

“You don’t have to answer me now. Think about what you want to say,” she clarified.

“Okay. What’s the question?”

“Back when you were thirteen and you brought me food, were you punished for it?” Galinda twisted her head to see Elphaba’s reaction.

There was another long silence before the green girl nodded.

“Will you tell me later, what exactly happened? I know someone hurt you. Someone hit you.”

Galinda could feel the muscles in her roommate’s arm tense. She added quickly, “Don’t reply now. It’s just something I’ve thought about all these years. I can wait a little longer.”

There was silence and so Galinda plunged into the subject of architecture, pointing out the designs of Rafael Iri that was embedded into Shiz’s buildings. Much like their university, the buildings were made of cream stone and the corners of every block had towers. Arches were heavily featured over the Main Street, unlike the small alley where White’s was located. Most painted facades had faded, but there was enough blue and yellow paint harking back to a past of extreme grandeur.

“He was talented, yes. But he was famous for being arrogant and absolutely convinced that his design was the right one. Most architects of his calibre usually are.”

“Are they?” Elphaba was amused. “Why?”

“To be absolutely convinced that a design in one’s head should be built on a large scale? Lurline help us all if it’s an eyesore.”

“And what about you?”

“Me?”

“Have you designed anything?”

“A few buildings in Frottica. Nothing on Rafael’s scale,” Galinda said as they walked by an imposing courthouse, with symmetrical columns, pediments and domes reminiscent of ancient Lurlinist palace-cathedrals.

“Did you ever dream of becoming a great architect?” The green girl stopped to pull Galinda flush against her side as a carriage careened into their path.

“No,” Galinda shook her head, trying to shake off her sudden blush. “I like designing smaller projects. I get complete control and I don’t have to attend mind-numbing meetings with the local council.”

“What drew you to become an architect? I assume it’s not what your mother wanted,” A green hand slipped into Galinda’s naturally.

“Oh, Momsie was absolutely livid. She can’t believe that an Upland of the Upper Uplands got into trade.  She had her heart set on me getting married.”

“So, what drew you to it?” The green girl stopped suddenly to look at her.

“Just…” Galinda shrugged, at a loss when she realised just how green her roommate’s eyes were when they were looking at her just like that.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” she realised with a self-conscious laugh. “No one’s ever asked me that before. Why do you ask?”

“I want to know you. You’re so very different from everything I assumed. It’s very… disconcerting.”

“In a good way?” She leaned over to tease.

“Yes,” Galinda had to hold herself back from whooping at the quiet affirmation.

They continued walking down the main road, walking past more arched cream windows and loggias until they arrived at Quincey’s.

“Your spectacles were ready last week,” Galinda decided to stop herself from explaining why they hadn’t picked it up last week (They were still ignoring each other!) “It was a little hard for them to get my specifications just right.”

Elphaba had completely forgotten about the spectacles. That had been a month and a half ago.

“Come on, Elphie,” Galinda pushed open the door, with Elphaba in tow.

They were greeted politely by Quincey and his assistant, both whom Elphaba recognised from her last visit.

To everyone’s surprise, as Elphaba was trying on the lightest pair of spectacles she had ever worn, Galinda handed over a sketch, “Please adjust the curve of the earpieces. Her old pair wasn’t fitted well.”

“You are very lucky to have a friend like her, Miss,” the assistant who adjusted the frames with a delicate plier told Elphaba when Galinda was out of earshot, speaking to Quincey.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve it,” Elphaba confessed.

“Friendship isn’t about what one deserves, Miss. Judging from these spectacles alone, I daresay your friendship means a lot to her.”

“What is this metal?” Elphaba wanted to know. “It’s so light.”

“It’s very rare, it is, Miss. Your friend came back three times to insist that the frames ought to be thinner and lighter. We had to send it back to the forge every time. The smiths weren’t happy.”

“Won’t it break easily?” Elphaba dangled one earpiece, testing the weight of the spectacles.

“It’s titanium,” Mr Quincey walked over together with Galinda. “These frames can bend but will never break. And the lens, well, I’d say it’s cutting edge.”