Wonderful | wicked | book 2/3

Elphie

(This chapter takes place a week before the 'Shiz winter holidays')

"I miss her" Glinda says slumping down on the floor, the joy has left her face, her happily coloured, bright yellow dress, contrasting with her dismal expression.
Though I do agree, this house feels empty without Nessa, my daily routine feels bleak and far too stress free.
"I know," I say after a while, crouching in front of Glinda, she doesn't look up, or even move at the sound of my voice "I miss her too."
Glinda suddenly shudders violently, it doesn't take me too long to realise that she's crying, I wrap my arms around her and she wriggles out of them and lays with her head in my lap, like a child.
"She won't come back, I've tried to talk to her," Glinda whimpers, I don't know what to do, the last person to lie on me like this willingly was Nessa.
But she was a child.
I do the only thing I remember how to, I stroke Glindas soft curly hair.

Soon Glinda takes my hand off of her head and holds it in hers, she lays there silently, until I can't bare the silence anymore.
"Glinda it's not your fault that she doesn't want to come here," I say reassuringly,
Glinda sniffs,
"I'm supposed to make everyone happy, all those people out there" Glinda cries "everyone counts on me to be happy, happy, happy, all the time and it's exhausting"
Glinda lies there for a few minutes and breaths shakily, I can hear the sadness and desperation in her voice.
"If I can't make Nessa happy then what good am I out there, Glinda The Good was all I ever wanted and now I can't do it anymore."
I ponder for a moment.
"I'll go, I'll talk to her."
Glinda sits up suddenly, freeing my hand from her tight grasp.
"Oh you will!" Glinda exclaims "oh Elphie."
Truth be told, I didn't want to bother her, I thought if I just left her alone with Albert and didn't pester her that she might come back home on her own, but knowing how much better it would make Glinda feel if I tried, I'm willing to make that choice.

I reach from my spell book, quickly find the page of the transportation spell and whisper it clearly, before I'm aware of what's happening I'm in Nessas office.
She looks terribly startled, she sits bold upright and widens her eyes.
"Elphaba, don't scare me like that!" She huffs, and looks back down at the papers she was reading.
"Elphaba?" I hear Alberts rich voice call, he steps awkwardly out of Nessas living room, "Elphaba how have you been?" He asks politely.
"Well," I reply hastily, "I just came to have a quick chat with Nessa then I'll be off home."
Albert nods gently and retreats back into the lounge, I can hear the fire crackling, even the sound makes me feel warm inside.

Nessa glances back up from her work and looks me up and down,
"Please," she says slowly "sit down."
I do as I'm told and perch myself on the chair in front of Nessas desk.
"What are you looking at?" I ask awkwardly, Nessa peers over to me.
"Staff reports." She looks back down at the papers, "you said you wanted to ask me something?"
I frown slightly,
"Ness please, put the work down for a little while." I plead, Nessa sighs deeply and sets the papers aside, she crosses her arms over the table and stares blankly over at me.
"Glinda really wants you home," I say dodging having to directly ask her to come home.
"And I told her I'm not coming, Albert can of he wants but I'm staying here." Nessa reply's swiftly, the words leave her lips so quickly that I wonder if she's rehearsed them.
"But why Nessa, what's so bad about coming home for four weeks?" I say impatiently.
"When I come down with a cold, I don't want to give it to you all." Nessa says, blatantly lying, "you know I get one every year."
Well, that parts the truth, Before Nessa could talk, Doctors assumes that her legs were causing her pain so they gave her a lot of medication to take, obviously It did nothing since she couldn't feel her legs to begin with.
All it didn't was ruin her immune system, so she always catches colds.

I sit silently, Nessa realises that I'm not going to talk and gets back to her work, the sound of her own on the paper starts to irritate me.
"If you done with the questions then you can go." Nessa says rather rudely.
I look at her straight in the eyes, probably with a condescending 'big sister' face.
"I don't think getting a cold is enough to make Glinda worry so much." I say coldly, standing up from my seat.
"Elphaba I don't need people to worry about me, I'm perfectly capable of functioning on my own, now please just go."

I went back home unsuccessful in my attempt to convince Nessa to come home,
Glinda was fairly distraught when I told her but she agreed that there was nothing more that we could do.
"Elphaba," Fiyero calls from somewhere in the house, "Bocs left his wallet upstairs, can you go get it?"
I stand up from the sofa and walk over to the bottom of the stairs,
"Yes of course," I call back.
I dash upstairs and see it on our bedside table, an odd place for Boc to leave his wallet but I don't question it much, I push it up and feel the cold leather in my hands.
I walk back out into the hallway then start to go downstairs, quickly gaining speed as I do so, I make it to the bottom three steps and feel myself miss a step.
I loose my balance and collapse into a heap on the floor.
I cry out in alarm as I land onto one of my feet.
Pain shoots through my foot and into the rest of my leg and I lie there motionless until I hear footsteps around me.