confusifying | wicked | book 3/3

Nessa

I lie there in the darkness, just staring up at the ceiling, listening to the bickering and screaming coming from elsewhere in the manor.
I have no chance of going back to sleep and my sanity is slowly depleting listening to the arguing from down the hall, it's loud, intense and very much emotion fulled.
The sheer volume of the disagreement is amped up to a hundred when the door to my room is slowly opened and as it shuts again it makes me realise just how loud the screaming is for the muted version to be sounding like it's coming from right outside my door.
"Who's there?" I ask bluntly, I'm tired and moody "if you've come to do your screaming closer to me I'd like to kindly request that you don't."
The figure in the corner of my eye gasps slightly and hesitated before walking confidently towards me.

"You should go back to sleep Ness." My sister whispers sternly, it's a wonder I can hear her over all the racket.
"I would love to." I answer flatly. "What are they shouting about?"
My sister doesn't answer me, immediately setting off every red flag in the book, why won't she answer me?
"Have we woken you up Nessa?" She asks me oddly, her questions are unusually direct and lack her usual level of concern.
"I'm surprised you haven't woken up the entirety of Munchkinland!" I hiss, "I'm so exhausted Elphaba and I've finally gotten some sleep-"
"Sorry." She cuts me off rather blankly.
I've started to have it with all this vagueness.
"Elphaba what is happening?" I cry angrily, "why won't you tell me what's going on?"
In amongst the darkness, I can just about make out my sisters face, the way her mouth is slightly down turned sternly and her eyes are worried and sad.
"I'll go and tell them to be quiet." Elphaba announces, without asking me if that's what I wanted at all.

My sister marches out of the room and I'm left pondering what exactly is happening.
"Will you all contain yourselves!" My sister barks, finally some words I can distinguish, all the noise seems to fizzle away like the smoke from a candle "Nessarose is trying to sleep!" Elphaba shrieks.
Despite my hatred for the noise, without it the manor seems eerily silent, like a funeral, though after such an experience I don't think I'm going to be able to get back to sleep for a while.
What in Oz could everyone be so worked up about?
Especially at whatever this ungodly hour is in the morning.
Everything is just so perplexing.
After a while, my bedroom door opens again, this time snivelling sounds clue me in as to who's at my door.
My mother steps forward frantically and practically throws herself to her knees and flings her arms over me, a jolt of pain shoots up my arms, I flinch slightly but try to maintain my temper.
"I'm so sorry Nessarose." Mother sobs into my chest. "Sorry we woke you up."
I deduce that it's better for the both of us if I just don't answer, I close my eyes and try to block out my mothers sobbing and just enjoy that she has her arms around me.
"Sleep well my pretty little Nessarose." Mother whispers as I begin to lose consciousness and succumb to my exhaustion.

When I open my eyes again, there's an alarming amount of sunlight cascading through the curtains and stretching across the floor.
The whole room has a beautiful golden glow that is quite mesmerising to look at.
From what I can see from my position on the bed, no one else is in the room with me, even my mother who had her arms wrapped so tightly around me mere hours ago, is nowhere to be seen.
I'm suddenly reminded of the memories of all the shouting and bickering last night and all at once I'm confused again.
What was everyone fighting over?
Was it me?
Have I done something wrong?
Have I done something else wrong?
I'm starting to fear the worst, when my door flies open and to my surprise, Glinda steps in.
"Your back!" I cry merrily, over the moon to see Glinda again, I wasn't anticipating her arrival for weeks so it's absolutely thrilling to see her here, in front of me.
She nods happily and sits down beside me on a chair, the layers on her pale green dress falling around her crossed legs like a waterfall, she looks beautiful.
I've always found Glinda to be beautiful.
"How are you feeling Nessarose?" Glinda asks shakily, she doesn't sound as happy as usual and it worries me.
I glance over at my chair, that's sat in the corner of my room.
"I'll be better once I'm out of bed." I reply "would you fetch my sister for me?"
It puzzles me for a second why I don't just ask glinda to move me herself but something tells me that she's not up for it.

As if my magic my sister pokes her head around the door and upon locking eyes with Glinda, she scowls.
Now I know something is the matter.
"Nessarose, good morning." My sister says weirdly.
I hesitate for a moment, processing the unusual tone of my sister, before asking her to transfer me to my chair.
"Elphaba would you get me out of bed please?" I ask gently, my sister nods and grins at me, avoiding eye contact with Glinda completely.
My sister brings my chair over to me and scoops me up and places me in it gently.
Miraculously, the transfer is completed without my arms causing me grief and I relish in the painlessness for far longer than is necessary.

Now that I'm out of my bed and into my chair, there's a horrible silence in the room, one that I'm unequipped to break.
Glinda and Elphaba are both looking at me and refusing eye contact with one another.
But I'm completely unsure as to why.