The Space Between: Beginnings

3. Friends Or Not?

Mal watched from her bedroom window. She saw the Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, laughing and smiling with a crowd of people. It looked like a party to her, and she wasn't invited. When Elphaba entered the room, Mal asked her, "Auntie, what is going on down there?"

"Looks like another cultish social gathering to me. Well, that's not really our thing, is it?"

"But Evie is my best friend! How could she not call me? It's her birthday, isn't it?"

"I think so. It probably is, I don't know," Elphaba bit her lip.

"It is, Mom, it is! And we've been invited!" Liir rushed in, joing for joy. "And CJ's going, so I'm going too!"

Elphaba watched Mal burst into tears as Liir ran out. For Oz's sake, Liir could be so insensitive. And she also disapproved of Liir's childish crush on Captain Hook's eldest daughter, Calista Jane Hook. Blonde, full of herself, and a confirmed flirt. All that, at just six. Elphaba fumed inwardly as she looked out at the party. She had no idea how she could comfort Mal. Tears really weren't her thing.

"Mali, what's wrong?" Rain asked, sitting down beside the window, close to Mal.

"Evie's throwing a party, and she didn't even call me!" Mal sobbed.

"If you're not going, then neither am I," Rain declared. "We're just like sisters, and sisters gotta stick together,yeah?"

As Rain squeezed Mal's hand, Maleficent strode in and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Nothing. Mal wasn't invited to Evie's party. But worries, I've got this," Elphaba smiled.

"How dare she? Wait, I'll teach her a lesson!" Maleficent growled.

"Maleficent, scale down. Maybe she was just doing it to be mean," Elphaba sighed. "You do know that being wrong is the only right thing to do around here, don't you? Besides, you shouldn't tear friends apart. It'll only make things worse. Evie might be sweet and pretty, but she's just a spoiled little princess. Maybe she'll learn over time that she shouldn't get on our wicked side, won't she?"

Maleficent smirked evilly. Elphaba was more than a match for her. Not exactly a subordinate like most of the others, but more of an equal. And maybe she did need someone to keep her in check. She watched out as Elphaba pointed out some of the other villain kids. The ones that really caught her eye, though, were Jay, Jafar's son, and Carlos, Cruella de Vil's child. Maybe, some day, all their children would get together and form a dream team of villains, all rotten to the core.
***
Five years later

"Hey, Mal, have you heard? There's a princess joining us here," Carlos announced, traipsing into class one day.

"Oh, who?" Mal asked. Rain bit her lip. She kind of remembered Elphaba referring to one of the other villain descendants as a princess, but she couldn't quite recall which. Liir was necking around with CJ Hook, again. Honestly, Rain hated that girl so much. Jay gave Rain a knowing look. He kind of remembered a party he had been to when he was around six. Maybe it was the girl from there?

The door opened to reveal a fair girl dressed in blue and black with dark brown eyes, rosy lips and midnight blue hair falling down to her shoulders.

"E, is that you?" Mal squealed. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

She jumped up and hugged Evie. Evie gladly returned the hug. Rain grinned and asked, "So, Evie, what happened? You haven't been around in so long."

"Well, ever since Mom realised that she had forgotten to invite Mal to my party, she was scared of what Maleficent would do to her. So she just kept away, I guess," Evie answered. "So, we're still friends, aren't we, M?"

"Of course, E! We'll never stop being friends. Just like Rain and I will never stop being sisters," Mal winked. Evie laughed at Mal's comment.

Later during break, she noticed Carlos sitting alone and asked Jay, "Who's that guy? The one with the white hair?"

"Um, wait. Hey, Carlos, come sit with us!" Jay called out.

Carlos joined their table. Jay introduced them, "So, Evie, this is Carlos. The baby of the group, and my personal brain. Carlos, this is-"

"Princess Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen Grimhilde and the fairest in the land. I've heard," Carlos smiled shyly.

Evie smiled back. She leaned towards Mal and asked, "M, are you sure you've forgiven me for not inviting you to my sixth birthday?"

"Oh, I'm not sure if I have," Mal began, but was cut off by Rain saying, "I'm sure even if she hasn't now, she will eventually. You know, Mali, mother always says that we all hope for forgiveness from everyone, for things we may or may not be guilty for. But in the end, if we really want it, we have to learn to give it too. The past is in the past now. Forgive and forget."

"Okay, Rain. If you say so," Mal groaned.

As CJ and Liir approached their table, Rain greeted them, "Hey, Calista Jane!"

"Don't you dare call me Calista Jane," CJ snarled. "It's CJ, okay?"

"Why? It's a nice name," Rain remarked, winking.

"Oh yeah, you don't go by your full name either," CJ pointed out.

"Well, unlike you, I don't have issues with people calling me Oziandra," Rain deadpanned.

"Really, sis. You'd better not mess with Cal," Liir warned, rolling his eyes.

"I can defend myself, thanks," Rain retorted, flipping her finger at Liir and CJ.

"Ooh, that's rude. And not altogether proper, if you ask me," Evie remarked, appalled.

"Oh hell, I'm no princess. So why should I act like one?" Rain asked, winking.

"How are you not a princess if your dad is a prince, your mom from a noble family, and you definitely have the looks of one?" Evie asked, puzzled.

Rain chuckled lightly as Jay swiped her bracelet from her wrist, turning her into a near replica of her mother. She said, "See? Told you I'm not one. Hey you, give that back!"

She chased Jay down the hallways, her eyes shining, until she managed to retrieve it from him and slip it back on. Mal couldn't hide her smile at Evie's shocked expression, because Rain and Jay had ended up on top of each other in a posture that wasn't altogether appropriate.
***
As the gang of six children walked the streets of the Isle that evening, wreaking havoc wherever they could, Elphaba remarked to Maleficent, "They're just like the Charmed Circle all over again."

"The what?"

"There was a little group of our friends back when I was in school. Somehow, watching these kids reminds me of that group. A lot, in fact."

"Okay, so who's who?"

"Um, let's see, Jay is kind of like Avaric, only less sleazy. Liir is definitely Fiyero. Carlos is Boq, the shy, nerdy, baby of the group. Rain is Nessa, minus the entire religious uptight bitch part. Mal is me, the socially inept outcast with a mean streak. And Evie is definitely Glinda- the perky, popular girl who acts vain but had hidden depths. And I sort of can't shake off the fact that those two are way more than just friends."

"Let's hope they don't go and betray each other."

"Honestly, now that I think of it, the entire thing was so absurd. Glinda and I had so much common ground, so much history together, and yet, all it took to drive a wedge between us was a little farm brat, a sister I wasn't close to in the first place, and a pair of shoes."

"I didn't imagine you to be into high society trappings like fancy shoes."

"That's what makes the whole business even sillier now. To think I almost wanted to kill the whiny little brat and her mangy dog over it."

Maleficent laughed at Elphaba's words, only earning a derisive snort in return. She shook her head and said, "Elphaba, why don't you see? Evil can come from anywhere. It's never silly. When it comes to villainy, any reason is a valid reason."