Soulmates

Defying the System

Elphaba lived in a world where people were born with the name of their Soulmate written upon their wrists. The name on hers read "Fiyero Tigelaar". For 18 long years, she would stare at that name and wonder. Who was this man? And what was he like? Would he be friendly? Or would he be repulsed when he realized that his Soulmate had green skin? Would he be understanding? Or grudging? And what did he look like? What color was his skin? What sort of things did he like and dislike? Even though Elphaba didn't usually like to ponder these sorts of things, just because pondering often led to hoping which led to disappointment, but a Soulmate was monumental enough that she couldn't help it.

But fast-forward those 18 years and the answers she received to her questions were not at all what she had expected. Maybe she hadn't had any clue what this "Fiyero" person would be like, but an arrogant and ignorant Winkie Prince was not at all what she had in mind...

"The name's Fiyero Tigelaar!" he had introduced himself with a very grandiose air, practically shoving his hand into Elphaba's face with a cocky, prideful, self-absorbed smile. "And may I inquire as to who your royal greenness is?" he asked her.

And all Elphaba had needed was to hear that mocking tone mixed with that self-assured smirk to know that she would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever accept him as her Soulmate. Even she deserved better than this! What did it matter what was written on her arms? Or in the stars? Or in the law? Screw fate! Screw destiny! She was going to blaze her own path! Write her own story! Even if it ended in tragedy and left her forever alone, it would be better than saddling herself with this frat-boy monstrosity who held no respect for her at all! This was unacceptable!

From then on, Elphaba lived her life according to her newfound goals. She never ever told Fiyero her name, for she knew that if she did, he would either try to force her to be his Soulmate, or he'd reject her outright. She didn't know which would hurt more. So she took the third route and ignored him. She shook his hand, but refused to give him a name. That first interaction was their last. Instead, she became bent upon living a life alone. Maybe once upon a time she had thought that Soulmates were romantic, but the longer she thought about it, the creepier and sicker the whole setup really felt to her. It was almost like an arranged marriage, of sorts. Even if the Soulmate System had a 100% success and satisfaction rate, there was still something sort of sad about realizing that such a large part of life was already preordained. No choice, no freedom, just a name already written in the stars. Maybe to some, such a setup was convenient, but to Elphaba, there was something quite demeaning about it all. She was a mature human adult! She could make her own choices in life! She didn't need some prophecy to tell her how to live!

"I think I'll try defying the system!" the green girl muttered to herself one night as she covered up Fiyero's name with green paint to match her skin tone. She was going to start with a clean slate. A nameless arm. Good riddance!

"What system?" a voice beside Elphaba piped up. It was Elphaba's little blond roommate, Galinda Upland. Elphaba was on guard at once. Even though she and Galinda had since entered a sort of truce, the green girl still did not like or trust the blond entirely. And she especially didn't feel comfortable with confessing such an intimate and treacherous thought. However, Elphaba finally decided to push aside her first instinct of silence and tell Galinda anyway. If she really wanted their little truce to blossom into the friendship it had the potential to reach, they needed to start somewhere. Besides, knowing Galinda, she would only be half-listening anyway. This meant that Elphaba could tell her anything she wanted to and Galinda would likely not even hear it! Who better to tell such a deep secret to than someone like that?

But once again, Galinda managed to surprise Elphaba. Instead of ignoring or misunderstanding Elphaba, Galinda had actually paid very close attention to Elphaba's tirade against the Soulmate System. She even sounded interested in the whole idea as well!