Oz

Chapter Eighteen

"Would you like to go the underground festival?" Samuel asks me when we stop dancing. My eyes widen in surprise.

"An underground festival!? That sounds wonderful!" I chime. He smiles and leads me out of the ballroom. I realize something.

We are holding hands. And I don't care.

I smile and follow him, passing by a gawking Galinda and Fiyero. We go out a different door than when we came in so we can get to the plaza level faster.

Once amidst the crowds, Samuel links arms with me to keep me closer. Despite swimming up the stream of green clothed people, we make it to a dark door in an alleyway.

"Are you sure....." I trail off, kinda nervous. He looks at me with a comforting smile and opens the door. Sparkling lights line the ceiling and the wall. They head all the way down a stone staircase. "Wow!" I go in front of Samuel down the stairs quickly as I can.

Samuel is down the stairs soon behind me, "Let's find you a simple dress so you can save that one for the ball,"He says walking over to a small shop in the gigantic underground tunnel. Everything in the shop is green, except for one dress. And it's....

Pink.

He buys it. For me. He bought it because he wanted to, I didn't even ask. That's so nice. Even if it is pink.

"Here, you can put it on in the dressing room," he hands the dress to me and points to the small curtained rooms and I go into one.
I change into the dress and let my hair down. Coming out of the room, I hand my ball gown to him like he had requested.

"Can you keep this here until we come back?" He asks the woman wiring the store. She nods and puts it behind the counter. We start walking towards the rides and food stands, "Would you like to ride the carousel while I get some drinks?" Samuel offers. I nod and smile.
I get on a gray horse as the carousel starts. I enjoys the lights as they pass after each turn. Someone's hands appear from behind me. One hand reaches around my waist and and the other grabs the pole of my horse.

I turn around and this man isn't Samuel. "You must be Elphaba," he concludes in a deep masculine voice. I look for Samuel in the crowd surrounding the carousel, but I don't see him. I guess I have to talk to this man.
"And you are?" I ask, irritated that he's touching me. When will this carousel stop! He chuckles before he answers.

"My name is Alexander. But you can call me Prince Alexander, for your rudeness." I roll my eyes, "But you are a pretty one, maybe we can work up to your manners," I feel him grab a fist full of my hair, restricting me from moving away from him.

I feel his hot breath on my ear before he whispers to me, "You're in for the ride of your life!" But it's not his voice. This voice matches the Jester.

The grip on my hair goes away, but he cut my hair short with a knife. I scream at the Jester, quickly getting off the horse and moving away, "What is wrong with you!?" My fingertips start to turn green, but I quickly calm down as I jump of the moving carousel. Quickly running towards the exit, I feel the Jester's eyes on me.

As I reach the stairs someone grabs me. I nearly scream before realizing who it is. It's just Samuel. I hug him tightly.

"What happened to your hair?!" He exclaims, seeing the bob of a haircut. I pull away from him and grab his hands, looking behind him at the Jester, closing in on us.

"I'll explain later. Right now, let's go home," I say going up the stairs with Samuel, closing the door behind me. Without a word, Samuel just follows me. We reach the top of the stairs and I quickly close the top door, seeing that the Jester is gaining on us. Prince Samuel takes me to his home, since it is closer than the Wizard's chamber.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" He asks sitting me down on one of his living room couches.

"I-I was on the carousel when a man came up behind me and started talking to me. He said his name was Prince Alexander. He scolded me for being rude when he was touching my waist.
I don't know why he's after.....well maybe I do. But this 'Alexander' man isn't telling the truth," I finish, leaving out some.

"Alexander is my brother. He wouldn't have even come up to you. But the Jester, why is he after you? What did you do to him?" Samuel holds me close.

"He tried to hurt my best friend, he nearly killed her!" I explain. I feel my lack of hair brush my neck. "But why did he need my hair? And so much of it?" I shake my head in confusion. "I'm sorry about your birthday Samuel....I'm really good at ruining things," I state, pulling away from him. I feel really ashamed.

"You didn't ruin anything. I am glad I got to spend the day with you and we have the ball tonight. I'll make sure nothing happens to you," he promises. His face goes from relaxed to having realized something. "We forgot your dress!" I sigh.

"I'm sure Glinda has something I can wear. Don't worry about it!" I smile and he does the same. I give him a hug, still trying to recover from this traumatic experience.

"Would you like to go home and rest before the ball? I'll walk you there." He offers. I nod and stand up, but he immediately sweeps me off my feet.

"What are you doing?" I ask with a giggle. He kisses my forehead with a smile
.
"I'm walking you home!" He walks with me out his front door. I smile. I lost one boyfriend and gained another. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the bruise?"

"I don't mind. I ran into a wall because I wasn't paying attention," I laugh a little as I lie. He laughs as well.

"Good thing I'm carrying you home! Don't want to hurt that beautiful face any more!" He chuckles, flirting with me. I watch him as we near the entrance to my new home, "I'll come get you when the clock strikes eight," he says putting me back on my feet at the doorstep. He then hands me the Grimmerie. I must've dropped it while we were at the festival. Good thing he picked it up.

"Thank you!" I give him a smile before walking inside. I look back at him before the door closes. Running up the stairs in excitement, I nearly trip a couple times. This is the best day of my life. I twirl as I walk through the door at the top. Glinda is there waiting in the Wizard's chamber. Hopefully not for me.

"Hello Glinda!" I chime, giving her a hug. She hugs be back and gives me a weird look. Before I'm able to say anything I get a tingling sensation in my fingertips. I then shake it off and look her dead in the eyes.

"Your hair!" I hear a high pitched voice exclaim from behind me. I turn around and see Galinda. "What did you do to it?"

"It's quite a long story, that I'd rather not get into right now!" I brush off the negativity. Instead of responding fully, I just hand the Grimmerie to Galinda.

I go change for the ball and when I come back, the tingling turns to pain as I look down at my hands. They are turning a sheer white. Like clouds.
How is that possible?