(A/N: Hello readers. I bring to you after a long while, a new story, no crossover, I think I'm better when I don't have to handle as many characters. I will probably delete my phantom of the opera/wicked story and I might continue my glee one occasionally. Anyhu, this story is different for me because there are children involved! [urgh, i hate children] and also, Elphaba and Fiyero are a bit older than they are in all of my other fics. Lately I've been obsessed with Julie Andrews, so this fic will be in the vein of the Sound of Music probably and maybe a little My Fair Lady who knows. ANyways here's the first chapter, enjoy)

Fiyero sighed as he stared at the large sum of paperwork stacked on his rickety desk. He unceremoniously dropped his heavy hand on the corner of the desk with a thud, making the already antique desk tremble with dangerous vigor. Fiyero groaned and looked heavenward before dropping to his hands and knees. The sight of the King kneeling upon the floor would be enough to make any of the household staff faint with the impropriety and absurdness of it all, but King or not, propriety or not, Fiyero was going to fix that damn desk! He crawled under the blasted desk to try and fix the wobbly leg, all the while muttering surly curses as his suit became soiled with wrinkles.

"Your Majesty-" it was his butler. Fiyero jumped at the sound of the voice and his head hit the top of his desk with a painful bump. Fiyero cursed loudly and crawled out from beneath his table.

"Damn it Oakley!" Fiyero angrily brushed himself off as he stood, "What the devil can it be this time?"

"A telegram sir," Oakley stepped forward and gave the flustered master the small slip of paper, "from Munchkinland."

"And who the devil do I know from Munchkinland?" Fiyero asked, snatching the telegram from Oakley in his foul mood. Oakley merely bowed out of the King's study, swiftly closing the door behind him. Fiyero walked back to his desk with the telegram, plopping down in his seat angrily. He was about to read the telegram when the leg of his wobbly chair gave way and out tumbled the King onto his hand sewn Gillikin carpet.

"Curse it all!"

"Darling, I'll tell you once more, there is never going to be a Munchkinland again." Frex told his youngest daughter, "At least not as you've come to know it." he ended sadly and grimly. Nessa looked up at her father, a worried frown on her face. She touched his arm gently.

"But father…" she said in a whisper, "…where are we…"

"Your sister will be going to stay at the Tiggular manor in the Vinkus and you and I will have to stay in the Great Kells with your grandparents." Frex said.

"Why won't Elphaba be with us?" asked Nessa, casting a glance across the carriage at her sister, who looked out of the black night window solemnly, the gravity of the situation seemed to weigh her into silence, for she hadn't spoken a word since their secretive departure from their own manor a few hours ago.

"I'm afraid your Grandmother only has room in her house for the two of us." the badly made up excuse all but tripped on its way out of Frex's mouth and even sweet Nessa wasn't convinced.

"Nessa, our family has just been stripped of its title. We aren't nobles anymore and you'll have to get used to it. Our grandparents are already embarrassed enough by housing the two of you, let alone having to house the unsightly and abashed green girl who doesn't have a noble name to balance out her extreme negatives anymore." Elphaba threw out her explanation carelessly with an air of badly faked nonchalance.

"Elphaba I truly am sorry." Frex tried to comfort his eldest daughter.

"I still don't see why you can't just afford for me an apartment to live by myself in." Elphaba glowered. Nessa's look was aghast.

"Elphaba, a lady can't live alone by herself, especially at your age. You would need a chaperone and-"

"Dully noted Nessa." Elphaba sighed, cutting off Nessa's incessant rambles of propriety.

"Your sister is right Elphaba," Frex said, "When the tension between the provinces settles down-"

"You mean if this whole mess doesn't turn to war?" Elphaba asked, unblinkingly and blatantly.

"—when everything is fine again." Frex amended exasperated, "I will come to get you from the Tiggulars. You have my word."

Elphaba was greeted at the door by a rather stiff looking butler. She had only one bag with her filled with the few items she could grab from the Thropp Manor before they fled the province. Now here she stood at the magnificent Tiggular Castle, a sight which had drawn her unabashed gaze for a full minute at least. As she stared up at the pointed towers the rigid butler cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"Yes?" Elphaba snapped irritated.

"May I inquire an introduction Miss?" he asked in a droning tone.

"Oh, I'm Miss Elphaba, my father sent a telegram-"

"Oh, I see." the butler stepped aside a fraction of an inch to let her squeeze in past him into the castle. Elphaba's eyes widened a bit in amazement as she gazed around her at the interior castle. Everything inside was simply beautiful. The entrance began with a stairway on either side of her creating an indoor balcony effect around the entire room. Lovely wood floors were polished to a shine and Elphaba almost feared she would slip the floors were so clean.

"Stay right there Miss." Elphaba nodded as the butler walked away. She sighed and plopped herself down on the staircase with an unladylike thud. She supposed Nessa and Frex had made it to old Granny's house by now. She reluctantly put attention to the fact that Frex and Nessa might even forget that they had left her in the Vinkus and even when everything was back to normal, Frex would not remember he had another daughter to come back for. Elphaba thoughts were interrupted by a harsh voice behind her.

"Though the floors in this castle are indeed spotless Miss, they are not for sitting. We have chairs for matters such as those." Elphaba jumped up, nearly tripping over a stair as she whirled around to face the King. He stood there on the fourth stair, towering above her as he looked down at her with a look of severe disinterest and irritation.

"Yes, I would assume so." Elphaba said smartly under her breath. The King's eyes snapped to hers in a moment and she could see the irritation growing as he realized she would be troublesome. He let out a short steam of breath, a frustrated sigh.

"You must be the Governor—excuse me, the former Governor's daughter." he looked back at her, his air of indifference calmly replacing his irritation. Elphaba nodded, deciding to hold her tongue for once and not irritate the King. The King's eyes glanced at her briefly, expecting perhaps another smart comment to come from her mouth but she stayed quite. The irritation was back at her silence and he plowed on with a dismissive tone, "I am very sorry about your current situation Miss…"

"Elphaba." she supplied.

"…Miss Elphaba, however since your father has placed you in my care for the next few months or so, I shall lay a few ground rules-"

"Ground rules?" Elphaba asked.

"When someone is speaking you should not interrupt," the King had begun walking around her in circle and he halted temporarily at her interruption, "Now, you may do as you wish around the castle so long as you don't disturb me or come near my office unless it is of extreme importance. You are welcome and if you are so inclined to join the family at meal times, it is up to you-"

"The family, Sir?" Elphaba asked, confused.

"The children and myself naturally." said the King, throwing her a clearly annoyed look at her interruption.

"You have children?" Elphaba asked, surprised.

"Miles, Nor, Liir and Linny." the King rattled off the names of his children, "You'll meet them soon enough. Now, do you have any questions?" Elphaba shook her head and the King nodded, "Very well. Oakley will show you to your room, you may change there."

"Change, Sir?" Elphaba asked, confused.

"Yes, change." Fiyero nodded, turning back around.

"What do I need to change for?" Elphaba asked.

"Well I certainly won't have you wearing that around my castle." the King motioned to her choice of clothing which was a dark navy blue, completely shapeless and unflattering dress. Elphaba looked down at said dress and saw no problem.

"What's wrong with this?" Elphaba asked, brushing off her skirts as though to brush off any negative views of the clothing. The King looked at her with a look of shock and again, annoyance.

"Miss, I've seen peasants dress with more tasteful a fashion sense than you." he quipped rather pointedly.

"It is rather rude to criticize a woman on her fashion sense." Elphaba said defensively, crossing her arms as she suddenly felt embarrassed by her less than appropriate attire.

"Only when there is a fashion sense to criticize I'm afraid." Fiyero shot back smartly.

"And what would you know about women's fashion?" Elphaba asked, scowling at him now.

"Enough to know that women—oh, excuse me, girls shouldn't wear-" Fiyero was interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Elphaba asked, appalled at his implications, "I happen to be 24 years old which is every bit a woman and I shall not be addressed as a little girl, Sir." Elphaba glared at him as Fiyero's eyebrows shot up a little.

"My sincerest apologies Miss, do forgive me." he said, a very subtle sarcastic ring to his words. Elphaba nodded meekly, surprised at this apology, no matter how biting it was. She looked down, averting her gaze. Fiyero was puzzled for a moment at her sudden shyness.

"Well," she mumbled, "even if I were to go change, all of my clothes look like this anyway."

"Very well," Fiyero sighed, "I'll send for some dresses for you. In the meantime-"

"You'll just have to deal with it." Elphaba grumbled, huffing as she leaned down to pick up her suitcase.

"Yes, I suppose so. Good day Miss Elphaba." Fiyero said before turning and walking back up to his office. Elphaba watched him leave for a moment before turning and following the butler up the opposite staircase to where her bedroom must be. As Elphaba followed the cold butler, she thought about the impertinent King and she sighed, believing this was going to be a very lonely time ahead of her, without even Nessa to talk to.

"Miss," the butler nodded to the door before striding back down the hall. Elphaba opened the door and found the room rather pleasant. It wasn't as large as her room back in Munchkinland, but then again, she wasn't exactly nobility anymore now was she. There was a bed, a wardrobe, a bathroom and a desk. Elphaba flung her suitcase on the bed and promptly followed it, bouncing slightly as she jumped face down on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Elphaba looked up at the little giggle she heard from her doorway. She saw a little girl standing there, peeking in, giggling as Elphaba flopped on the bed.

"Trying out my new bed." Elphaba smiled at the little girl, "It's very erm…bouncy." Elphaba said awkwardly, she'd never been very good with children. The girl giggled again and Elphaba couldn't help but smile.

"Aren't you a little old to be bouncing on beds, Miss?" a boy appeared at the doorway then, looking to be about 15 or so. It was only as she noticed the significantly similar traits between the boy and the King that these must be his children.

"Can I try?" the little girl asked, pushed through her brother's legs.

"…Sure." Elphaba said, sliding off of her bed as the little girl ran into the room.

"Linny, you shouldn't just barge into someone's room, especially a lady's, it's rude." the older brother admonished. He looked at Elphaba, "May I?" he asked, gesturing to the room. Elphaba nodded and he entered, picking his sister up, "Let's go then Linny."

"But I wanted to flop on the bed…" she whined.

"Flop on your own bed." he said. As they walked out, Elphaba thought about stopping them, maybe letting the little girl bounce on her bed, but she didn't, not knowing yet how to speak to children. She sighed and flopped once more on her bed.

Fiyero briskly walked back up to his office, his nerves still suffered an annoyed strain from that Munchkinland girl, who as she had so adamantly put it, was a woman in every sense of the word. Fiyero scoffed, despite her age, he'd yet to see her illustrate any behavior suitable for a woman. She obviously had difficulty holding her tongue, she couldn't tell a proper chair from the floor and her manner of dress was atrocious. Fiyero sighed, if he'd known he was getting another child, he'd have written that blasted Governor back that no matter how good of friends he and his father were, he was not going to play host to his troublesome daughter. But she'd already been placed in his care and there was little he could do about the situation now. It was only now that he thought back on it, but, had she seemed…green? Fiyero shook his head, undoubtedly needing more sleep.

He worked on more papers for the next few hours before it was time for dinner. He straightened his suit before walking downstairs to where dinner was. He could already smell the savory entrances of the meal wafting towards him. As he neared the dining room, he heard a loud clamor from above. He looked up at the balcony and saw Miss Elphaba walking down the steps with the most noise and least grace he'd ever seen exerted from a woman, no—girl whilst descending a staircase. Instead of entering the dining room, he waited just outside the doors, his arms crossed as he scrutinized her. She finally looked up, noticing him with a start.

"Your Highness!" she exclaimed.

"Did I or did I not specify that you were to change?" he asked her harshly. She looked up at him, a little fire in her eyes as she glared at him.

"You did, but, as I've told you, all of my clothes look like this." she said.

"You haven't a single decent thing to wear to dinner?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"This is dece-"

"Oh, Miss, if that is your version of decent, I believe things are done a bit differently in the Vinkus." he said. She frowned.

"No, Munchkinland is very much like-"

"Apparently not." he cut her off before turning and walking into the dining, not bothering to hold the door for her. She resisted the urge to stamp her foot as she followed him into the room. She saw four children sitting there. There were two older children and two younger ones. They stared at her openly with curiosity.

"Hello." she murmured, taking a seat at the end of the table opposite the King.

"Children, this is Miss Elphaba, she will be staying with us for an undetermined amount of time, Miss Elphaba, I'd like you to meet my children, Miles, he's fifteen, Nor, she's sixteen, and then there's Liir and Linny, twins, they are both seven."

"I saw her flopping on her bed." Linny declared, "I was going to join her but-"

"Excuse me, flopping on her bed?" Fiyero asked, setting down his fork.

"Yes, flopping father; bouncing." Linny said matter-of-factly. The King directed his cutting gaze at Elphaba.

"Flopping on your bed Miss Elphaba, another Munchkinland custom?" he gave her a dry and sarcastic smile.

"No, I-" Elphaba flushed.

"Yes, well I suggest you figure out which of your…ahem, customs are appropriate in this castle and which are not." he glared at her across the table and Elphaba only nodded.

"Miss Elphaba?" Linny spoke up again.

"Yes?" Elphaba asked, she didn't miss the sharp almost vehemently annoyed look the King cast her as his quiet mealtime was disturbed again.

"Why are you green?" she asked. The entire family looked up now, curious to the answer and Elphaba blushed deeply.

"Oh well…um…" Elphaba tripped over her words, "I well…I was just born this way." she finally supplied the young child.

"Like the same way I was born this color?" she asked. Elphaba smiled.

"Yes, exactly." she said, glad that the answer satisfied the little girl. Dinner droned on then in that dull fashion that Elphaba had detected as just being the King's personality. About halfway through dinner, she realized finally what she found was missing at the table that was odd.

"Excuse me, Sir?" Elphaba asked the King. He looked up at her with annoyance.

"Yes?" he asked between clenched teeth as he managed a horrible excuse for a smile as it dripped with sarcasm.

"Where is the children's mother?" she asked. On her left she heard a choking sound and saw Nor, the eldest of the children, choking on her water. Miles gave her the same wide-eyed look. Elphaba looked next to the King. She nearly jumped at the intensity in his glare.

"Sarima died Miss Elphaba, about seven years ago." he tried to keep his tone civil, but the incredible anger was impossible to hide. Elphaba nearly dropped her fork and the King was an inch away from throwing his wine glass at her it seemed, "You'll see to it not to bring up the subject again."

"Sir, I'm so sorry, I didn't kn-"

"Miss Elphaba there is no need for an apology, as you have said, you didn't know." the King ripped his chilling gaze away from her then and tried to calm down, but his skewering of the noodles did little to appease that anger. The children stared at Elphaba a moment longer before going back to their own meals quietly. Elphaba sighed for what felt like the billionth time that day. If she'd had her doubts before, she certainly didn't have them now, the King absolutely hated her.