Chapter 9: What It Means To Be Royalty.

Nessa's visit was wonderful, but when it came time for her and Raga to leave, Elphaba found it very hard to part with them.

"What am I going to do without you?" she asked, hugging her sister and cousin.

Raga smiled. "You'll be fine, Elphaba. Don't worry, we'll keep in touch and see each other again before you know it."

Elphaba sighed. "I know. But it's still hard."

"I know, Fabala. I feel like we're only just starting to get to know each other, but sadly, my own responsibilities as Governor of Munchkinland require my immediate return." Nessa hugged Elphaba one last time before heading down the steps to her carriage.

Raga stayed a moment longer. "I know you're worried about your royal training, but don't be. You have good teachers and if you ever need advice, I'm just a skrying mirror away. You do still remember the skrying spell I taught you, right?"

Elphaba chuckled. "Of course. I'm glad you taught me that. It'll almost be like you're still here with me, but it's still not quite the same. You'd best go. You've spent far too much time away from the Emerald Palace as it is."

"Until next time, little Elf." Raga smiled and got into her carriage, waving one last time before it rolled away down the road.

Elphaba stood and waved until the carriage was out of sight. With a sad sigh, she turned and went back inside. She was met in the hall by Queen Ilian.

"Ah! There you are, Elphaba. I hope you are ready for your first official princess lesson," the queen said with a kind smile.

Elphaba got a slightly uncomfortable look on her face, but shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be I guess."

Queen Ilian smiled. "Come. There is much for you to learn."

Elphaba's first lesson was in royal decorum. She was taught how a princess should enter a room and how she should carry herself with proper poise and dignity. Elphaba felt rather foolish during the whole lesson.

"Now remember to keep your head up. A lowered head is often seen as a sign of weakness…"

"I'm sorry, Queen Ilian…"

"Oh, Elphaba. How many times must I tell you to simply call me Mother?" Ilian smiled.

"Very well. Mother, I feel like a complete fake. None of this feels like, well, me."

Ilian laid a gentle hand on Elphaba's shoulder. "I know. Believe it or not, I felt the same when I went through this as a young lady. In all honesty, most of this 'royal decorum' is more to appease the stuffy nobility and to exude a certain air of aristocracy. Basically, it's mostly pomp and show, but it does have its practical uses."

Elphaba looked skeptical. "Like what?"

Ilian smiled schemingly. "Now that is something you will just have to find out for yourself. Now, practice your entrance again."

Elphaba rolled her eyes and went through the entrance again. She took a deep breath, lifted her head, pulled her shoulders back, and walked through the doorway with measured steps. It felt fake, but she did her best to follow Ilian's instructions and after several more tries, Ilian told her to take a break. Elphaba quickly sat down and immediately put her head in her hands, sighing tiredly. She felt her mother-in-law sit beside her. After a moment, Elphaba looked up at the older woman, who's face was one of understanding.

"You know, Elphaba, when I was learning all this I had a hard time at first too, but my mother gave me some good advice that I'm now going to share with you. 'Don't think about how uncomfortable or unnatural it feels now, but think of how you want to carry yourself, just so long as you do it with grace and dignity.' You've been trying to force yourself into what you think I want you to do. Instead, try thinking how your body wants to move. You have the grace and poise in you; you just have to figure out how to bring it to the surface so everyone else can see it too."

Elphaba sighed. "I don't think that's ever going to happen. I've never been graceful, no matter what anyone else says."

"That's Frexspar Thropp talking. Don't look so shocked; Raga told me what she knew of your past and Nessa shared a few insights that I'm sure were very painful for her. Elphaba, if I can see the beautiful, caring, graceful woman my son fell in love with and all your friends and family can see it too, then surely you can see it as well. If you allow yourself to see it. At any rate, I think that's enough princess training for today. You might not see it yet, but I can see clearly you will make a fine Princess and an even greater Queen."

Ilian's smile was infectious and Elphaba couldn't help the small smile that graced her emerald face as she and her mother-in-law walked out of the parlor arm-in-arm. They had only just entered the hall when Sapreen and Cirus came bounding over to their mother, their father following close behind. Elphaba laughed to see Fiyero red in the face and panting, while the children simply leapt into her open arms as she knelt down to receive them.

"Well, what have you two mischievous little monkeys been up to?" Elphaba asked.

"We were playing Hide-And-Seek with Daddy!" Sapreen said.

"Oh, were you now? I hope you didn't get into any trouble."

"Nope!"

Elphaba looked at Fiyero questioningly. Fiyero shook his head.

"No trouble, but these two are faster than they look," he said, ruffling Cirus' and Sapreen's hair, causing them both to squeal.

"Ok, enough. It's getting late. Time for little monkeys to be in bed."

"Aw, Mama," both kids moaned.

Elphaba shook her head. "No, you're not staying up late. Besides, you're both sleepy."

"No, we're not," Sapreen said through a yawn.

Elphaba and Fiyero both chuckled and carried their sleepy children up to bed. Ilian smiled as she watched the young parents tend to their children, remembering when she and Hammon had done the same with Fiyero.

"Ah, enjoy this time while you can, my children. When you get to be my age, these will be some of your fondest memories," Ilian murmured softly to herself as she made her way down the hall.

The next morning saw Elphaba in another princess lesson. This time, Ilian had her learning the finer points of royal etiquette in regards to tea service. Elphaba had been taught how to serve tea formally, but having tea served to her was a rather foreign concept. Apparently, there were different 'sets' of etiquette rules for different occasions depending on the importance of the event and who would be in attendance. For example, an informal tea with close friends meant that it was proper for Elphaba to serve the tea, but a more formal occasion meant that she had to let the servants do it while she focused on presenting an air of unquestionable authority.

"I know you're more of an academic, Elphaba, so I'll let you take notes on this one before we practice," Ilian said with a smile.

Elphaba breathed a sigh of relief and at once grabbed the pen and note pad from the coffee table. It wasn't long before Ilian was rattling off lists of rules and explaining their appropriate events, which both impressed and intimidated Elphaba, who was dreading having to memorize each of the half-dozen or so levels of tea formality and the corresponding rules. Once Elphaba had finished taking down her notes, Ilian asked to see them. Elphaba handed them over without question and Ilian blinked in surprise when she saw the neat and clear organization of the information in neat, clear handwriting.

"I can see why your grades at Shiz were most excellent during your brief time there. Have you ever considered returning to complete your degree?" Ilian asked earnestly.

Elphaba thought for a moment. "I've thought about it off and on, but I don't know if I want to return to Shiz. It changed so much for the worse since last I was there and even now the restorations have yet to be completed. Even still, it wouldn't be quite the same. Besides, what with my family and now my duties as your daughter-in-law, I don't really have the time or particular inclination at this point."

Ilian nodded in understanding. "I see. Hmm. I can't help but notice you never refer to yourself by your title of Crown Princess or even as a princess at all."

Elphaba winced slightly. "I don't feel like a princess. I've always been ambitious, but I never aspired to be royalty or really anybody famous. I just wanted to help the Animals find their place again and make a difference in Oz for the better for everyone's sake, but I never wanted to be anything other than just plain old Elphaba." She turned to Ilian quickly. "Don't get me wrong though, I'm incredibly grateful to be where I am, but I've just always seen myself as just Elphaba from Munchkinland and nobody particularly special."

Ilian wrapped and arm around the green girl and drew her into a side-hug, a warm motherly smile on her face. "And that is why you deserve to be called Crown Princess. Elphaba, I have met very few people whom I know to be truly humble and you are definitely at the top of that list. It is because of your humility that I love to call you Crown Princess of the Vinkus and am proud to call you my daughter-in-law. I couldn't ask for a better woman to be the love of my son's life and the mother of his children. If you would be willing, I'd be honored if you would truly consider me not just your mother-in-law, but your mother. I know I could never replace your birth mother, but I'd like to give you that kind of relationship again. If you'll have me."

Elphaba was stunned speechless. For a full three minutes all she could do was stare open-mouthed at Ilian, trying to process everything she'd just said. Finally however, she managed to simply wrap her arms around Ilian and bury her head in her shoulder. Ilian drew the young woman into a closer hug, just letting her process everything.

"I… I'd like that very much… Mother," Elphaba whispered.

Ilian smiled brighter, her heart swelling with joy. "Thank you, Elphaba. You have no idea what this means to me, my dear, dear daughter."

The two women then spent the rest of the day together just simply talking as mother and daughter, princess lessons shoved to the back burner for the time being.

Author's Note: I can't possibly apologize enough for dropping off the face of the Earth for this long, but rest assured I have not abandoned my stories, even though my muse has. Basically, I'm going to eventually finish all my stories and I'm making an effort for it to be sooner rather than later, but we'll see if that actually happens or if life decides to blow up in my face.