Elphaba rose before dawn, as she always did, and changed into her uniform quietly then picked up her bag of books for the day’s classes – she did not plan to be around when Galinda woke up, friend or not, she would have to suffer her hangover alone.
Technically students weren’t supposed to leave their rooms before dawn but the rule went largely un-enforced as it often turned out that people caught at that time of day were returning from someone else’s room.
The presence of various initials carved into the trunk of Elphaba’s favourite willow tree suggested that the stone bench she sat on, behind the long swaying branches, was a favourite rendezvous spot for generations of Shiz students.
“Greetings again,” said Fali the Cat, perching in the tree branches like a certain grinning cat of Earth’s folklore. Elphaba looked up and smiled politely at the Animal.
“Greetings, Fali. I did not expect to see you again so soon.”
“Of course not, if I did what people expected I would hardly be a proper Cat.”
“No, the contrariness of Cats is legendary. I only meant that it seemed unwise for you to be in the same place at the same time for two days in a row.”
“Cats are, fortunately, not known for their wisdom. I am only here to tell you that you must be doubly careful here. Our informants in the Emerald City sent a message yesterday telling us an agent of the government has been sent to Shiz City, to investigate rumours of dissident activity. We investigated the entire city, no easy task but not as difficult as other places, and there has been only one new arrival from the Emerald City…”
“Your pardon for interrupting,” said Elphaba with a degree of certainty that the Cat found surprising. “I believe I know the identity of the person you are going to reveal to me.”
“Indeed?”
“It seems to me that you came here so soon because this new arrival is in the university, correct?”
“That is so. If they were in the city itself we would have waited a few days, knowing that students most often visit on rest days.”
“There has only been one new arrival at Shiz in the last few days, the new History Professor, Arlina Torelle.”
“You hiss like a Cat when you say that name. Do you hate her because she works with those who oppress us or is it something more?”
“I do not hate her,” snarled Elphaba, the tone of her voice suggesting that perhaps her statement wasn’t accurate. “She is not worthy of my hatred. I despise her and everything she is but I refuse to let myself hate her. Keer misee na keere grei het na keers.”
“Quadling tongue, now there’s something you don’t hear everyday in central Oz,” remarked Fali, accepting the rest of her explanation without comment.
“It means, more or less, someone who hates is more harmed by the hatred than the thing which they hate.”
“A very philosophical race, I suppose there’s not much to do but be philosophers.”
“One of their deepest beliefs is that the Great Mother should be venerated above all – Tarda jin na Yeka Dala elan je dekaljia shu jin thr yeekes aez uim jin dase ais eda.”
“You speak the language well for a Munchkinlander – or is that you speak the two phrases you know well?
“My mother taught it to me, I learned to speak it as I learned to speak the common language of Oz. Her mother, my Damere, was a Quadling though my father has never – in my hearing – acknowledged that fact and my sister is unaware of it.”
“How very interesting,” purred the Cat.
That answers one of the questions I had about Elphaba of Munchkinland at least.
“Not really, a lot of Munchkinlanders have mingled bloodlines.”
“That was not precisely what I meant, but no cat born will ever tell you precisely what they mean so it matters not. I must be away before this place wakes up properly.”
“One thing before you go,” said Elphaba quickly. “The Goats, did they make it?”
“Well and safe, out of reach of the authorities for now though I wonder if any place will be safe for Animals soon. Dillamond was very grateful for your help and urged me to ask you to be very careful. I add to that the same sentiment, watch your back in this place there are more enemies than friends.”
“Is that an observation or a prediction?”
“I’m a Cat not a Witch, sweet girl, there are always more enemies than friends.”
“An observation then, I thought so.”
“Enjoy your sunrise, Neeha, there will never be another like it.”
“Is that another piece of your obscure Cattish wisdom?” asked Elphaba, only to find that Fali had vanished into the shadows.
I wonder what neeha means, thought Elphaba as she watched the garden gradually grow lighter with the rising sun.
Despite her words at the beginning of the term Madame Morrible did not often have time to assist Nessarose and had assigned a young maid, who had experience in such things, to the task. Nessa didn’t mind too much because the maid, Lila, was polite, well behaved and obviously in awe of the younger girl’s rank. All in all Nessa found her much more restful than her sister.
“Will that be all, Miss Nessarose?” asked Lila, when Nessa was dressed and properly arranged in her chair.
“Yes, thank you, Lila. My sister is coming to visit me before class, she will assist me if there is anything else.”
“Very good, Miss.”
Lila curtsied to her and was about to depart when there was a knock on the door.
“Shall I see who that is, Miss?” she asked Nessa, who was brushing her hair.
“It’s probably just Elphaba, early as usual, please let her in on your way out.”
Despite the fact that Nessarose shared Madame Morrible’s rooms she had her own door into the place, Madame had explained that the structure was left over from a time when all of the teacher’s quarters were student rooms – when the teaching staff had all lived off-site, leaving chaperones in charge of the students.
“Good morning, Nessa.”
“Arlina!”
Nessa turned her head around and smiled brightly at her former carer, now teacher.
“Good morning to you as well, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”
“Well we hardly had a chance to catch up at dinner last night, with all the people in the room.”
“That’s true enough,” agreed Nessa. “Was there something in particular you wanted to speak about?”
“Not really,” said Arlina, sitting on the stool next to Nessa’s bed at her gestured invitation. “How do you like Shiz? I know you were disappointed that your father wanted you to go away and again when he decided not to send you to the Emerald City Academy.”
“It’s better than I thought it would be,” admitted Nessa, turning the chair around now that she had finished brushing her hair. “Father let me pick some of my own classes to fill in the time left after those he chose. I’ve always enjoyed my music lessons so I chose piano, harp, and singing.”
“And what about your sister?”
“Elphaba?” repeated Nessa; surprised by Arlina’s interest she shrugged. “She takes the same classes as I do, that was father’s condition – well one of them – for letting her accompany me her, except for her class with Madame Morrible.”
“I wasn’t aware that Madame taught anything nowadays, what with her duties as Headmistress.”
“It seems,” said Nessa with a mixture of distaste and envy in her voice. “That my sister has a ‘gift’ for sorcery. I thought you must have heard or I would have told you.”
“You mean Madame Morrible is actually encouraging your sister?”
“That was my reaction as well, but what could I say? After all Madame is one of Oz’s greatest, and only, sorceresses – if anyone can control my sister’s gift it will be her.”
“Yes, yes, you are quite right of course,” Arlina paused thoughtfully (and quite deliberately). “Do you think, though, that perhaps someone should talk to Madame Morrible and explain a bit more about her background? I realise it may be too late to make a difference, and perhaps Madame is already aware of these things, but still…”
“I had thought of that, I’m quite certain Father wouldn’t have…I mean Madame wasn’t even expecting her, that’s how she ended up sharing a room with Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands – Miss Galinda, I heard from some mutual acquaintances, is now going to be studying sorcery with Madame as well.”
“How very fascinating,” murmured Arlina, so as not to interrupt the flow of Nessa’s words.
“Anyway, it is hardly my place to tell Madame Morrible about my sister, especially considering the lecture she gave the whole school about gossip a few weeks ago, but perhaps from someone who has known her since she was young it wouldn’t be considered gossip as such?”
“ No, I don’t think it would, more along the lines of two teachers comparing notes about a student they have both been acquainted with. After all it is quite a recognised fact that early educational experiences can affect future learning.”
“I certainly see no harm in such a discussion,” agreed Nessarose, giving Arlina her unspoken permission to go ahead and reveal fairly private details about her family to the Headmistress – she was hardly going to hold such things against her after all.
“In fact I think…”
Whatever it was that Nessarose thought was interrupted by a brief knock on the door, followed very closely by Elphaba – carrying her bag of books – entering the room. She greeted Nessarose with a cheerful (for her) ‘Good morning’ before she realised that her sister had a visitor other than herself.
“I do beg your pardon,” she said, her voice changing from sisterly friendliness to stiff formality as soon as she realised that Arlina was in the room. “I did not realise you had company, Nessarose, or I would have waited for an invitation to enter.”
“Now, now, Elphaba,” chided Arlina disdainfully. “There is no need for such formality between us.”
Elphaba looked at Arlina, without blinking, for a moment as if she were making mental notes of the differences between the woman she saw before her and the one she had known since her childhood.
Such emotionless eyes, thought Arlina. How dare she not care what I think of her, when I know all there is to know about her?
“I beg your pardon, Professor Torelle, but you will speak to me with the proper title you would give any student or not at all.”
“Elphaba!” protested Nessarose. “How dare you speak to Arlina like that?”
“Miss Elphaba, rabbits aside, don’t you think that ten years is a long time to hold a childish grudge?”
Arlina deliberately pronounced the word without capitalisation, to provoke the younger woman’s temper; she knew well enough that it had been a Rabbit.
“Arlina is right, Elphaba,” said Nessarose, instantly taking sides against her sister. “It was just one animal after all.”
Drawing herself up to her full height, which put her at eye level with Arlina, Elphaba glared in complete silence at the other woman letting Arlina see the exact depths of contempt and, perhaps, hatred that she felt towards her. Arlina stared back making sure that her own feelings were quite obvious as well.
“Perhaps,” Arlina said, addressing Nessa with a rueful smile. “I had better go now.”
“Don’t trouble yourself,” interrupted Elphaba, very neutrally, before Nessa could answer. She pulled a notebook out of her bag and dropped it onto Nessa’s lap. “Here are the notes for Literature, I’ll see you in class.”
Without another word or look at Arlina, both of them knew well enough where they stood with each other now, she left the room.
“Well,” said Arlina, with a note of resignation (not entirely feigned) in her voice. “I see the years have not improved your sister’s temperament.”
“If anything coming to Shiz and being singled out by Madame Morrible has made her worse!”
Nessarose, ignoring the notebook on her lap, proceeded to inform Arlina of the circumstances surrounding the time when Madame Morrible had become aware of Elphaba’s ‘gift’ then the disruption that her sister had caused in the History class that Nessarose missed.
“An Animal Professor?” repeated Arlina incredulously, “I didn’t know anyone still employed them!”
“As I heard it,” said Nessa, whose friends were very fond of gossip. “Shiz was one of the last places to do so and he was the only one they had left when the new laws were announced. Naturally Elphaba would lose control over something as ridiculous as an Animal being fired, I’m quite surprised that Madame has consented to continue teaching her and not sent her home in disgrace!”
“What did your father have to say about the history class incident?”
“Well…” replied Nessa, a little uneasily. “I don’t think Madame told him about it.”
“You didn’t either?”
“No, I… I decided to give her one more chance to keep her promise to me – she promised things would be different here and so far she hasn’t managed too badly…I think Madame Morrible has some influence over her, more than our father would if he called her home.”
“As do you,” suggested Arlina.
“Yes,” agreed Nessa thoughtfully. “Just as I do.”
“Now then,” continued Arlina, seeing that Nessarose looked troubled by the open statement of her influence over her sister. “I have a class to prepare for and you have study to complete so I bid you a good day and I shall see you again at dinner.”
“And a good day to you, Arlina, I shall be delighted to see you this evening.”
“Madame Morrible. May I beg a few minutes of your time?” asked Arlina, after the Headmistress’s secretary let her into the office.
“Professor Torelle, of course, what can I do for you?”
“It’s about one of the students,” said Arlina seriously, declining Madame Morrible’s gestured invitation to take a seat.
“Already?” said Madame Morrible neutrally. “You have only taught one class so far have you not?”
“That is correct, Madame.”
“What did Miss Elphaba do now?”
“I beg your pardon, Madame, but I did not tell you the name of the person I wished to speak to you about yet. However you are correct…how did you know?”
“Let us simply say that Miss Elphaba has a… knack for making strong impressions very quickly.”
“That’s a very generous way of summarising her emotional outbursts.”
“I heard no reports of a disturberance in class yesterday.”
“I wasn’t talking about yesterday’s class,” corrected Arlina, being carefully polite. “In fact that brings me to the reason I came to speak to you. I have just learned today that you are tutoring Miss Elphaba in Sorcery and I thought you should know that I have been, in the past, quite well acquainted with her.”
“I find this very interesting,” said Madame Morrible, folding her arms thoughtfully. “Please continue if you are here to tell me more than that.”
“I must confess to you the concern I felt when I heard you were teaching Miss Elphaba Sorcery. I was there, you see, the first time…”
“Her gift manifested itself?” offered Morrible when it seemed that Arlina was not sure of the correct phrasing. “Miss Elphaba didn’t mention the particulars of the incident but I am aware of it.”
“If you like to call it a ‘gift’.”
In typical Gillikinese fashion Arlina was able to make her disdain for the notion quite obvious while also making it plain that she respected Madame Morrible’s opinion.
“I, personally, do but I can see how it might seem otherwise to someone who is not as experienced in these matters as myself.”
“Naturally I bow to your greater expertise and knowledge in the area of magic, Madame.”
“But?”
“I believe that you should know the particulars of the situation. You see, it involved an Animal and what with the way she reacted when I merely mentioned the Animal Professor yesterday…oh nothing too obvious but I know her well enough to know she still feels deeply on the subject.”
“Such feelings can be dangerous if they are not kept in check and Miss Elphaba’s lack of control has been well demonstrated to myself. Please proceed with the particulars of the incident you mentioned.”
“Miss Elphaba was twelve at the time and Miss Nessarose was seven. The cook and I were bringing the girls lunch, Elphaba was minding Miss Nessarose while I was away. The cook came back with me – I won’t bore you with the minutiae – it turned out that the cook had caught a Rabbit in her garden and made a stew of it, not completely civilized in my mind but you know what back-country Munchkinlanders are like at times I’m sure.
In any case, the next thing I knew the room was far colder than it should have been…”
Arlina shivered at the mere memory of the chill in the room, and the brief flash of implacable loathing she’d seen in Elphaba’s eyes.
“…And Elphaba knocked the fork out of her sister’s hand and threw both their plates at the window, with her hand mind you. The… unusual part came after that.”
Arlina took another deep breath, irritated with herself for showing such weakness before a probable rival and for letting a ten-year old memory affect her so, and then continued.
“Naturally I was expecting those plates to hit the window and smash the lot but they didn’t. There was a flash of light, blindingly bright so I couldn’t see for a few moments, when I could see again the two plates sat on the carpet with not a chip nor a morsel of food on them. After that she claimed that ‘he’, the rabbit, was ‘her friend’ and refused to eat meat ever again. As far as I know she has retained that dietary peculiarity though obviously it is impossible to tell, with her… complexion, whether or not the deficiency has affected her health.”
Morrible studied the other woman carefully for a few minutes as she considered Arlina’s story. There was little doubt that it was true, if coloured by Arlina’s own opinions, and it certainly fit with the vague outline Elphaba had given her of the first time she had used her powers.
“Thank you for enlightening me, Professor Torelle, I believe it will make it easier for me to…shall we say guide Miss Elphaba’s rather passionate nature towards more appropriate causes. May I ask if you witnessed any other such outbursts during your time with the family?”
“There were small incidents on quite a regular basis, despite the reprimands she received almost constantly for her inappropriate behaviour.”
Madame Morrible decided, at that moment, that it was nothing short of a miracle that Elphaba’s gift hadn’t been lost entirely when faced with the degree of censure that Arlina Torelle spoke of – she could hear the blatant dislike of magic, particularly (and perhaps only) Elphaba’s, Arlina obviously still harboured.
“There was also an incident, when she was thirteen, a rather major incident that took a great deal of the Governor’s influence to be kept quiet. It is also the reason I was surprised…no let me be even more frank, shocked when I heard from Miss Nessarose that her father had allowed Miss Elphaba to accompany her here.”
“This sounds very serious indeed,” Madame Morrible, acknowledged the severity of what Arlina was saying with a brisk nod. “And yet the girl’s father didn’t say a word to me about any of this, why might that be do you supposed? Based on your experience with the family.”
“It was decided that Miss Elphaba needed to be more involved in family life, her father decided she was old enough to care for Miss Nessarose herself, so I left the family’s service shortly after. My acquaintances amongst the servants, and the Governor himself, kept me informed of Miss Nessarose’s progress then she wrote to me herself when she was old enough.
From what I understand Miss Elphaba’s emotional… instabilities seemed to have resolved themselves, which is why the Governor allowed her to accompany her sister to Shiz, that and – in my opinion – he was a little concerned about what might happen if Miss Elphaba no longer had her duties to keep her occupied.”
“May one inquire as to what this incident was?” asked Madame Morrible in a tone that suggested it was an order rather than a request.
“Miss Elphaba ran away from the Governor’s mansion and, no is sure if it was by design or coincidence, made her way as far to the East as it is possible to go. I don’t know if you are aware, Madame, of the wall which separates Munchkinland from the deserts?”
“I am.”
“Well the wall is guarded but she somehow made it past the guards and attacked them, magically, when they attempted to prevent her from going closer to the wall. It was very lucky for her that the guards are trained to capture trespassers without injuring them. Even so the family doctor examined her after she was returned, and her father arranged for the incident to be ‘forgotten’, and told her father that he believed the child was still suffering from the death of their mother. I spoke to him myself, I was concerned for Miss Nessarose’s wellbeing around such an unpredictable child, he told me that she was quite mentally and emotionally disturbed – even for a girl of thirteen who may be expected to be a little unstable at times.”
“And you believe that this…instability has not improved enough for her to be sent away to school?”
“As I said, Madame, but I have not had close interaction with her for a number of years so perhaps she is less…unwell than she was before. Surely the Governor would have told you if he thought it would be a problem?”
“The Governor did not, in fact, mention Miss Elphaba at all. That is how she came to be rooming with Miss Galinda Upland; I had already made special arrangements for Miss Nessarose. Aside from two incidents here at Shiz I haven’t noticed any obvious signs of problems; a certain amount of antisocial behaviour, of course, but that is only to be expected in a young woman who is not used to interacting with her peers and who is handicapped by her physical differences. Still what you have told me does explain some little behavioural quirks that I would have otherwise dismissed.”
“I felt it was my duty to make you aware of the facts, Madame.”
“And so you have done, thank you, Professor Torelle.”
It was clearly a dismissal so Arlina gave the Headmistress a polite nod, which Madame Morrible returned. She left the room satisfied that she had done everything in her power at this time to undermine any good opinion that Madame Morrible might have developed with regard to Miss Elphaba Thropp.
AN: Translations of Quadling phrases (which belong to me) used in this chapter:
Keer misee na keere grei het na keers
=
Hatred harms the hater more than the hated.
Tarda jin na Yeka Dala elan je dekaljia shu jin thr yeekes aez uim jin dase ais eda.
=
Above all the Great Mother shall be venerated for all our days and in all that we do.