Chapter 1: Ghosts of the Past.

The day dawned bright and early as the summer sun greeted Nessarose. It had been about a week since her rescue from Kirzurg and his evil Darkoe army, and she was still getting used to everything. She lay on her back for a few moments, wondering when Elphaba would show up to help her, but just as she was reaching for the bell cord to ring for one of the Flying Monkeys, her leg shifted and she remembered she didn't need help anymore, since she could walk on her own. Nessa shook her head, a small smile on her face as she stood. However, her smile quickly vanished when she remembered the price Elphaba had to pay to give her this gift.

Elphaba had fallen ill a few days after she granted Nessa permanent use of her legs. Because of her weakened state, Elphaba had come down with a high fever and was bedridden. Raga, concerned for her cousin's health, had tried to heal her, but her magic had little effect as she was more adept at healing wounds than illnesses. Still, Raga was fairly certain that as long as Elphaba got the rest and care she needed, she would recover with time.

Nessa sighed as she got ready for the day, putting on a light summer dress the color of the clear blue sky, and putting her hair back with a white headband. As she entered the dinning room, Nessa felt the gloomy atmosphere as Raga and Glinda attempted rather unsuccessfully to get Sapreen and Cirus to eat breakfast. Both kids wanted their mother and could sense that something was very wrong, hence they were both moody and temperamental.

"I want Mama, cousin Raga. When will she be better?" Sapreen asked, pushing her plate away.

"I don't know, sweetie. But she's gonna be ok. We'll go see her later, after breakfast," Raga said, finally getting the little girl to nibble on her fruit.

Cirus on the other hand, was more difficult. "Mama! Mama!" he cried, banging his chubby little fists on the table.

"Cirus, Mama needs rest and quiet. You'll see her after breakfast, ok?" Glinda coaxed.

"No! Mama!"

Raga laid a gentle hand on Glinda's shoulder. "I'll take care of him, Glin. You should take Elphaba something to eat."

"I'll get it," Nessa said, quickly heading for the kitchen.

She thought she was alone as she prepared her sister a light breakfast of fresh fruit, toast and tea, until she felt a gentle, delicate hand on her shoulder. Nessa turned to find Glinda looking kindly at her. "You know, Nessa, none of us blame you."

"But I blame myself. It's my fault Elphaba's sick in bed, possibly dying… If I'd never been born, this never would have happened," the brunet said, tears in her eyes.

"Elphie said the same thing once. She said if she'd never been born, you wouldn't have been crippled and your mother wouldn't have died. My point is, Elphie is stubborn and would have done what she did no matter what, Nessa. She loves you. Also, she's not dying. Elphie's far too stubborn for that. Let's take her and Fiyero breakfast," Glinda smiled ever so slightly, taking another tray for Fiyero.

The pair entered the bedchamber and were greeted with the same sad sight as always. Elphaba lay on the bed under the covers, her face a sickly pale green instead of its usual rich emerald hue, and her hair sticking to her face from the sweat that covered it. Fiyero sat by her side, looking miserable as he watched her, every now and then brushing her hair away, dabbing her forehead and face with a cold cloth to help bring the fever down. Taking her slim green hand in his, he murmured, "You're going to get through this, Fae. You're going to be ok."

Glinda and Nessa walked over, Glinda setting her tray on the table beside Fiyero, while Nessa set hers on the bed. Fiyero, after some prodding from Glinda, turned to his breakfast, while Nessa gently woke her sister. Elphaba moaned, but slowly opened her eyes. She smiled weakly when she saw who it was.

"This is a switch. I'm supposed to take care of you, not the other way around," the green girl chuckled, but wound up coughing instead.

"Easy! Easy, Elphaba. You've been taking care of me my whole life, now it's my turn to take care of you," Nessa murmured, gently helping her sister into a sitting position so she could eat.

Elphaba managed to keep her breakfast down, but practically passed out once her head touched the pillows again. After a bit of argument, Fiyero agreed to take a much needed shower and leave the room for some equally needed air. He had been by his wife's side day and night since she fell ill and was in sore need of a change. Nessa took his place watching and caring for Elphaba while she rested and recovered. As she slept, Elphaba started to talk in her sleep. What she said shocked Nessa to the core.

"No. No, Frex! I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I'll be good! No! Don't whip me! Not again!" Elphaba cried in her sleep as she tossed and turned, locked in a fevered nightmare.

Nessa was shocked by her sister's words. Could her father really have beaten Elphaba? No! It had to be a nightmare created by the fever, nothing more. But somehow, Nessa didn't really believe that. Feeling compelled to leave the room, Nessa rang for one of the Monkeys to stay with Elphaba until Fiyero or Raga returned. She then left and wandered the Palace distracted, not really paying attention to where she was going. She was surprised when she stumbled into a room that was empty except for a white marble statue in the center of the floor.

Being curious, Nessa moved forward and examined the statue. It was of three women standing behind a basin. It appeared to be a fountain, as there was a pool of water in the basin and each woman bore a jug from which to pour water into it, but none flowed as they held their jugs in an upright position. Then, Nessa got the shock of her life.

"Welcome, to the Mirror of the Fates. Will you look into the Mirror?" a group of whispery, almost ghost-like voices asked.

Nessa might well have jumped, as the voices came from the statues, though they did not move. However, she soon recovered herself. "What will I see?" she asked.

"The Mirror shows many things. Things that were…" the statue on the left tipped its jug forward so water poured into the basin. "Things that are…" the middle statue poured water from its jug into the basin. "And some things, that have not yet come to pass," the statue on the right poured water from its jug into the basin. After a moment, they all lifted their jugs so that they no longer poured water. "If you look into the Mirror, you will see what you need to see."

Nessa gulped, but decided to give it a try. "Very well. I'll look."

The statue on the left poured from its jug into the basin again. Nessa stepped forward and looked into the rippling water. The water soon stilled and she saw her childhood home. She saw a pregnant woman lying on a bed, obviously giving birth. She recognized the woman as her mother from the one or two pictures her father had shown her. At first, Nessa thought she was witnessing her own birth, but she was soon shown otherwise. At first, Frex was happy, but as soon as the midwife held the baby up, Frex recoiled from the sight.

"Take it away! It's obscene! The thing should be drowned!" he exclaimed as he stormed out of the room.

Melena reached out for her child and cradled the now crying infant in her arms lovingly. "There, there, precious. Don't cry, I'm here. I promise, I will always keep you safe, my little Elphaba," Melena murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to the infant's forehead.

As Elphaba settled down for her first meal in her mother's arms, the scene changed to while Melena was carrying Nessa. Nessa saw it all. How Frex started hitting Elphaba, how he forced Melena to chew the milkflowers, and finally her own birth. Nothing could have prepared Nessarose for what she saw. As soon as she was born and her condition discovered, Frex threw Elphaba against the wall, knocking the wind out of her. But it wasn't enough, as he strode over and threw her physically out of the room. Nessa watched helpless, as the scene revealed that later that night, Elphaba received the first of many beatings to come.

After that, things got progressively worse and Nessa saw and heard it all. Every blow, every scream, every insult, every tear, and she was shocked and sickened to realize just how badly her father had abused Elphaba and she hadn't seen or heard a thing in all those years of it happening right under her nose!

"What kind of sister am I? How could I not have seen this? I don't deserve anything Elphaba's given me. If only I could take it all back, do it all over…" Nessa was crying by this point, miserable with guilt and shame.

"Miss Nessarose, no one is perfect. And even if you could go back, you would change nothing for the better. Everything that happened, happened for a reason, though we may not understand it. Besides, you did help your sister more than you know," the Fate of the Past tipped her jug one last time.

Nessa looked and saw all the happy times she and Elphaba had, had growing up. It was obvious that Shiz was the happiest time for Elphaba, being far away from Frex's abuse.

"You see? Even though you feel responsible for Elphaba's pain, you really were one of the few people to bring any light of joy into her hard life. Go. You are needed elsewhere," the Fates said.

"Thank you," Nessa said as she quickly left.

When she found her way back to the main level, Glinda grabbed her. "Oh, Nessa! Come quick! It's Elphie!"

At first, Nessa was frightened that Elphaba had gotten worse, but as soon as she entered the room she was relieved to find her sitting up in bed looking much better. Elphaba saw her sister and called her over with a smile. "Hey, Nessa! I'm feeling much better. I think I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow if Raga agrees."

Raga snorted. "Yeah, right. You'll get up anyway, even if I order you to stay in bed. But, in this case, I believe you're right and you'll be strong enough to leave your bed for some much needed air."

"I'm glad! What happened that you're suddenly better?" Nessa asked.

Elphaba shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think I have a fuzzy memory of Raga saying something about a potion?"

Raga nodded. "Yes. I whipped one up to counter the fever and the effects of restoring your legs, Nessa. Elphaba should be back to her old self in a day or two."

"Well, I'm just glad you're ok, Fabala. By the way, when you're recovered, we have many things we need to talk about," Nessa said, a grave look on her face.

Elphaba saw the look and wondered what she'd said in her sleep in Nessa's presence. Nevertheless, she conceded. "Ok, Nessa. We'll talk."