Chapter 1
The Ozdust was a spectacle of both sound and light. A golden glow settled over the lively crowd as they entered through the door. Galinda Upland stood at the top of the stairs with her friends—Pfannee, Shen Shen, and, the reason for their attendance, Fiyero. The Prince had arrived at Shiz earlier that day, much to the delight of all of the students. Galinda had taken it upon herself to give him a guided tour and after lots of flirting between the two, he had asked them to join him for a night of scandalocious fun. They all stood for a moment and took in the glorious vision below them.
“I can’t believe we are here! And with our new Prince Charming,” Pfannee said, eyes dropping to take in all of Fiyero. “Honestly, Galinda, you are so good to us to bring us with you.” Shen Shen nodded with wide eyes. “She’s so good.”
“Well, I could hardly let you miss all the fun and besides, that’s what makes me so nice” Galinda fluttered her eyelashes.
Fiyero turned back from where he had been looking down on to the dancing crowds. He offered Galinda his hand. “Well, shall we get the night started?” The three friends let out a squeal as they quickly descended the stairs. They made their way to the dance floor and felt themselves get lost in the movement of everyone around them.
After twirling and jumping along to a few songs, they decided to move to a table for a rest. Fiyero appeared with a tray of drinks. Pfanee and Shen Shen clapped their hands in delight. They all took a glass of the sparkling blue drink and Fiyero leant towards Galinda. “So what do you normally do for fun around here?” Galinda took a sip of her drink, feeling the alcohol warming her throat. “Nothing…until now.” Fiyero smirked at her, making deliberate eye contact. “Well, I’m glad that the responsibility to corrupt you fell to me.” Galinda twirled a piece of her hair around her finger and smiled back.
The background sound of the music faded away and a man in a top hat made his way to the microphone in the middle of the stage. Galinda turned her chair, so she could see what was about to happen.
“Fellow Ozdustians, tonight is our weekly guest musical appearance and Oz do we have a treat for you tonight. Making their Ozdust debut, please join me in rejoicifying and welcoming, all the way from Munchkinland, the magnificent, Emerald Fog!”
Clapping filled the room as the band made their way on to the stage, but just as quickly as it had began, it just as quickly stopped. Silence filled the room and the only sound was the sound of the band walking across the stage. The room felt full of tension. Galinda’s eyes searched for the reason for the sudden quiet and understood the change of atmosphere when her eyes fell upon one of the band members.
Galinda froze.
It was a woman. Tall, with striking green skin that seemed to glow under the soft lights. She wore a dark suit, tailored perfectly to her lean frame, and her hair was pulled back into a loose, elegant style. The room seemed to hold its breath as she adjusted the microphone.
The silence was broken by Pfanee. “More like Emerald Frog.”
The whole room burst into laughter. The singer didn’t acknowledge the noise and it was apparent that she was used to this kind of reaction, but Galinda noticed a slight tense in her shoulders, which gave away that she wasn’t immune to the cruel jibes.
Galinda didn’t join in with their laughter. Her attention was focused on the girl adjusting her guitar. She continued gaping until, out loud, not directed at anyone, she said, “she’s green”. It wasn’t said in a hurtful way, just an observation. The girl with the guitar stopped what she was doing and looked at Galinda, raising an eyebrow in challenge. The blonde realised that she hadn’t said that in her head and that the green girl must have heard her. Her cheeks filled with a dark red. She diverted her eyes down to her drink to move her gaze from the green eyes that had found hers. Her ears filled with white noise, drowning out the laughs from the rest of the room. She felt Fiyero lean his head towards hers.
“I’ll say this much, she doesn’t give a twig what anyone thinks”.
Galinda looked at him with slight dismay in her eyes.
“Of course she does…she just pretends not to.”
When the music started, Galinda’s breath hitched. A low and smoky voice filled the room, pulling everyone’s attention toward her. Galinda felt her heart race, though she told herself it was annoyance, not admiration.
Still, she couldn’t look away.
The first notes of the guitar cut through the air, low and melodic.
Her voice was deep and raw, laced with emotion that sent a shiver down Galinda’s spine. The room was utterly captivated, and Galinda, despite herself, was no exception.
There was something magnetic about her. The way she commanded the room with such ease, the way her green skin seemed to shimmer under the lights, the way her voice made Galinda’s chest tighten in a way she didn’t want to think about.
By the end of the first song, Galinda was gripping her cup so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
When the set ended, the room erupted into applause. The green woman, Elphaba, according to a whispered comment from a nearby table, gave a small nod of acknowledgment before stepping down from the stage.
“Wow, I’ll give it to her, she’s got talent”. Fiyero was thoroughly impressed by what he had just witnessed. Galinda was snapped out of her trance and took a deep breath.
“That was… acceptable, I suppose,” Galinda said, trying to sound indifferent as she sipped her drink.
Pfannee smirked. “That green singer, prancing around like she’s important? It’s laughable.”
“She’s probably just desperate for attention,” Shen Shen added, giggling.
Galinda’s chest tightened, and she had to stop herself from defending the girl. A hot, unfamiliar emotion flared within her. Why am I so bothered by this? By her? Her eyes scanned the room, looking for Elphaba, and watched her move through the crowd, her heart pounding for reasons she didn’t want to think about. As if she could hear her thoughts, Elphaba looked up from the conversation that she was having with her bandmate and her eyes met Galinda’s. Everything stopped. She felt as if the green eyes were looking into her soul. She felt her mouth go dry. Her hands trembled and suddenly her drink was falling down her dress, snapping her out of her daze.
Fiyero appeared with a towel that he had somehow managed to get in an instant and knelt down in front of her.
“Let me help you.”
“No, it’s okay, I can do this. Sorry…I’m so clumsy.” She gave a practiced giggle.
“Maybe you couldn’t handle being so close to me.” He gave what she felt was meant to be a flirty smile and put his hand on top of hers, but for some reason it just made her feel nauseous. She pulled her hand away and stood up.
“I’m actually not feeling great. I think I’m going to head back. You three should stay and enjoy your night.”
Before any of them could respond, she had picked up her bag and started to walk towards the exit, missing the confused looks of her friends. The nearer she got to the exit, the quicker she walked. She couldn’t stand the thick feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She needed to get out of there.
Galinda barely noticed as the Ozdust’s double doors swung open, spilling out into the cool air. The wind providing her with the relief her body needed. She was still caught in her thoughts when—
Crash.
The impact was sudden and jarring, sending her teetering on her heels. The voice that followed was low and biting.
“Oh for Oz’s sake—”
Galinda looked up. Her heart lurching as she came face-to-face with none other than Elphaba.
She felt sick. Her mind was racing. She was aware that she wasn’t speaking. She continued staring. Snap out of it! She clenched her palms, which were slick with sweat and took a breath.
“I…I’m…I wasn’t looking…I really should…so…yes…sorry.”
She mentally face palmed. She was Galinda Upland, the most kept together student at Shiz and for some reason she was falling apart. She couldn’t stop the word vomit. She saw the amused look on Elphaba’s face.
“Hey, no harm, don’t worry about it. You were inside weren’t you? I think I saw you?”
Galinda swallowed, remembering when their eyes had met.
“I saw you…your band…you were great…congratulotions…you…yes…lovely.”
She shut her mouth, wide eyed. It was definitely time to get out of there.
“If you excuse me, I’m just heading home. Nice to meet you.”
She left without waiting for a response. Elphaba felt very confused, but also warm from their interaction. There was something about the blonde girl that fascinated her. She called out to the departing girl.
“Hey, what’s your name?!”
The girl walked out of view without answering her question. Elphaba sighed and made her way back inside, only thinking about how she could find the unknown girl again.
Galinda made herself comfortable in the boat that was moving in the direction of Shiz. She had heard Elphaba’s question, but she couldn’t answer her. She needed to get out of there. She put her head in her hands and let out a shaky breath. What did this all mean?
When she got back to her dorm she could not settle in bed. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Elphaba had looked at her, as if she could see through every wall Galinda had carefully built around herself. Why did she feel this way? She decided that the only way she could make sense of this all was to find out as much about the girl as she could. That would be her mission.