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Gold and Green

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"Hi, Effie!"

Effie looked up to see Henry sitting up on top of his playcastle with a large book open on his lap. "Hi, Henry," she smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Just reading. What are you doing?"

"Just walking."

"You wanna come up?" Henry patted the space next to him.

Effie raised her eyebrows. "You sure?"

"Yeah, come on."

Effie pulled herself up easily beside him. Henry looked at her, knowingly. "I know who you are."

"Well, you've known me for ten years, so I should hope you know who I am by now!" Effie laughed.

"I mean in here!" Henry pointed eagerly to his book. Effie glanced at it; it was that large fairytale book he was always carrying around with him. "You're the Wicked Witch of the West; only you're not really wicked, according to this. It's Regina who made it look like you were the evil one."

"What makes you think I'm the Wicked Witch of the West?" Effie couldn't help but smile.

"Because of the way you are with Mr Gold. It's the same way that Elphaba was with Rumplestiltskin; they were really good friends, according to your story."

"Really? What does my story say?"

"You wanna hear some? It's all in little extracts."

"Sure."

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It was spring when Elphaba Thropp and her family moved into the village. They moved around a lot; no one really knew why. Even they themselves didn't seem to know why, but Elphaba herself was sure that it was to do with her. She had been born with emerald green skin, unlike her sister Nessarose, who had been born a normal colour but was unable to walk. Elphaba was sure that people were terrified of the colour of her skin - and her strange ability to make things happen, as if by magic.

Nearby a group of children played, tossing a ball back and forth to one another, chattering and laughing. Elphaba watched them, longingly. Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go and join them?" he asked, softly.

"They'll only run away," Elphaba sighed.

"You never know."

"Haha!" One of the boys crowed as she approached. "Rumplestiltskin's scared!"

"I am not!" the boy in question protested.

"Yes you are!"

"Rumplestiltskin's a coward!" another boy chanted.

"I am not!"

"Coward! Coward!" the children chanted. Elphaba took a deep breath. "Hi, there," she said.

The other children took one look at her and then ran away, yelling at the tops of their voices. The boy they had been laughing at, however, didn't. Instead, he simply turned at looked at her.

"I knew it!" Elphaba sank down onto a fallen log. "I scare away everybody!"

The boy looked over her. "How did you get like that?" he asked, finally.

"I was born like this," she replied. "I don't know why."

The boy shrugged. "Well, I don't think it's anything to be scared of."

She looked up at him. "You're different, aren't you?" He looked down at his feet. "No, it's not a bad thing." Elphaba got to her feet and smiled. "I've just never met anyone who's not like everyone else before."

The boy smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Rumplestiltskin."

"I'm Elphaba."

"Are you new here?"

"Yeah, just moved here. Why were those boys calling you a coward?"

"Because I wouldn't go with them to Siren Cove."

"Why should that make you a coward?"

"Because there are monsters that live there and it's dangerous."

"Well, that doesn't make you a coward. That makes you sensible. Anyway, they're the cowards for running away from me. You didn't."

"Thanks."

"So, tell me more about these monsters."

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Effie giggled. "I know," Henry replied. "It's hard to think of Rumplestiltskin as a kid, isn't it?"

"Go on; I'd like to hear some more."

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It was summer and eight years had passed since their first meeting; and Rumplestiltskin and Elphaba were still good friends. On this particular day, Elphaba was sitting at home alone, reading, when the door flew open and Rumplestiltskin came in, without even bothering to knock. But Elphaba was used to this.

"Unbelievable!"

"Whoa!" Elphaba got to her feet. "You look like you need a drink!"

"What have you got?"

"Whisky?"

"Bring it!"

"So, what's up?" Elphaba asked, bringing over a glass for him and taking a swig herself.

"I'm getting married!"

Elphaba almost choked. "You what?"

"My parents have arranged for me to get married!"

"Jeez! Who to?"

"Milah."

"Bloody hell!"

"What do I do, Elphie?" Rumplestiltskin groaned.

"Well, the way I see it; you can either go through it; or you can run."

"Isn't that the coward's way out?"

"I don't know; I'd say bowing to your parents' peer pressure would be the coward's way out." Elphaba looked at him carefully. "You pick."

"I don't think I've really got much choice." Rumplestiltskin took a swig of the stuff. "Even if I do run, they'll only track me down again."

"You know the worst thing about arranged marriages, don't you?"

"What?"

"You might fall in love with someone else and then where will you be?"

Rumplestiltskin groaned. "One day, Elphie, one day I'll change my destiny!"

"Yeah, well," Elphaba raised her glass to toast him. "Here's to that day!"

"I'll make you a deal, Elphie."

"A deal? Am I going to like the sound of this?"

"I'll be there for you if you're there for me; deal?"

"Deal!"

They shook hands on it.

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Elphaba knocked on the door of the house. Her heart was racing. It was now almost a year since Rumplestiltskin had married Milah and they had since had a child, a boy named Baelfire. She knocked again, but there was no reply. She was just about to kick the door and shout "Oi!" when it swung open and Milah blinked at her.

"Oh, it's you."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. Milah had never warmed to her; she had never warmed to anybody. "Can I speak to your husband, please?"

"Alright." Milah stepped aside and Elphaba hurried into the room. "Rum?"

"Elphie?" He got to his feet. "What's up?"

"We're moving again!"

"What? Where?"

"Munchkinland, wherever that is."

"Well, when are you going?"

"Tomorrow." Elphaba sighed. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."

"Right."

There was a pause. "I can write to you," Elphaba said, brightly. "It's not like we'll never see each other again."

Rumplestiltskin smiled. "Good luck, Elphie."

"Yeah, you too," she replied. There was another pause and then, completely ignoring Milah, they hugged.

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It was the first year of the Ogre Wars and Elphaba was just glad that she was too far away to be roped into the fighting. They would be over soon, surely? She sighed as she gathered the magical plants she needed for a potion. She liked Shiz but she was worried. Her favourite teacher, Doctor Dillamond, seemed to think that something bad was happening to the Animals of Oz and Elphaba was inclined to agree with him. She suspected that Madame Morrible had a problem with Animals teaching students. If she did something bad to Doctor Dillamond, or any Animal...

Elphaba slipped around a clump of trees, gasped and dropped the basket she was holding. Someone was lying on the forest floor, wounded, sobbing; and that someone was...

"Rum!" Elphaba charged forwards and knelt down beside him. "Rum? What happened?"

"I failed!" His voice was thick with tears. "I'm a coward, Elphie! I ran!"

"Look, get up." Elphaba helped him straighten up but when he let out a yelp of pain, she jumped back. "What?"

"I've been hobbled, Elphie!"

"What?"

"It's what they do to deserters!"

"Look, sit back; I'll make you some tea."

Rumplestiltskin gritted his teeth against the pain. "Elphie, all the tea in the world can't fix this!"

"It's to calm you down, you fool!" she snapped, bringing up the basket of herbs.

A few moments later, they both sat back against the tree trunk, sipping tea and feeling a whole lot calmer. "So, what happened?" Elphaba asked.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. "I failed, Elphie. The wars were so brutal, I got scared. I ran. And they hobbled me for cowardice."

Elphaba thought for a moment. "You had to, Rum. You've a son. What if something happened to Milah; Bae would never survive on his own. You had to survive, for him." When he didn't answer, she pursued. "If I was in your situation, and something were to happen to Father and Nanny, I'd want to survive - for Nessa's sake."

He looked at her for the first time. "What about your mother?"

"She died last month."

"Oh. Sorry."

She shrugged. "Well, I'm sort of a bit angry with her, anyway. I found out that she'd been cheating on my father with other men when I was younger." Elphaba looked at him. "You're not a coward, Rumplestiltskin. My father always said "he who runs away lives to fight another day."

For the first time, Rumplestiltskin smiled. "Thanks, Elphie."

"No problem."

"I'd better get back before night sets in."

Elphaba helped him to his feet. "How bad's the pain? Can you walk or hobble-?" She bit her lip. "Sorry, foot-in-mouth!"

"That's alright."

"I've got it!" To his surprise, Elphaba picked up a discarded tree branch, waved her hands and the next thing he knew, the branch had become a finely carved staff. "Here, use this!"

"Elphie, where did you learn how to do that?" Rumplestiltskin asked in wonder.

"Shiz. Oh, I forgot you didn't know. I'm at Shiz University now."

"Learning magic?"

"Learning to control it and do some pretty amazing things with it. Come on, I'll walk back with you."

"Elphie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

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"Elphaba?"

Elphaba looked up. She was in the library, reading her Grimoire. Madame Morrible was standing in the doorway, with her hands on her hips. "Yes, Madame Morrible?"

"You have a visitor."

"Who?"

"He says he's a friend of yours."

It had been several months since she had last seen Rumplestiltskin. Bewildered, Elphaba got to her feet and went out into the corridor. "Rum! What the heck-?"

"Milah's gone."

"Gone?"

Rumplestiltskin was holding Bae. "She wouldn't be branded the wife of a coward."

Elphaba groaned. "I always knew she was no good!"

"Elphie, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Well...wait, I've an idea! Nanny can help you! Nessa's literally standing on her own two feet now, so technically we don't need to use her right now."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure. Nessa?" Elphaba's little sister stuck her head out into the corridor. "Can you fetch Nanny? I want a word with her."

"Thanks, Elphie."

"Well, we made a deal, remember?"

Rumplestiltskin grinned. "I remember."

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Elphaba sighed. The Ogre Wars had started up again; and now children not that much older than Bae were being recruited to fight. She had graduated from Shiz in anger; since Doctor Dillamond had been killed and people kept saying it was an accident; but Elphaba knew the truth. He had been murdered and for years she had been planning her way to get justice justice for him. But right now she was on her way to see her old friends.

"Rum?" she called, knocking on the door. It swung open at once and Rumplestiltskin gave her a weary smile. "Elphie!"

She hugged him. "What's wrong?"

"They lowered the age again."

"But...Bae's birthday's in a few days time!"

"I know!"

"Oh, Gods!"

"Come on in." He ushered her inside. "Baelfire's friend Morriane was taken today."

"What are you going to do?"

"Remember what you told me once?"

"You're going to run away?"

"Can you do anything? You've got magic."

"I'll do my best but I can't promise anything."

There was a pattering of feet and Baelfire came into the room. "Auntie Elphie!" he cried, running up to her.

"Hello, Bae. Your dad told me about your friend; come here." She held out her arms and Bae hugged her. "Auntie Elphie, can't you do anything?"

"I'll try. But, hey, you know that your father will never let anything happen to you, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know." He sounded more hopeful. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"If it's alright with your father."

Rumplestiltskin smiled. "You know it is, Elphie."

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Elphaba pressed her lips together. Tonight was the night. Tonight, Madame Horrible Morrible would meet her maker for what she had done to Doctor Dillamond.

"Auntie Elphie!" Elphaba turned in surprise to see Baelfire running towards her at top speed. "Auntie Elphie!"

"Bae!" She caught him by the shoulders, steadying him. "What is it?" He looked terrified.

"Auntie Elphie, something's wrong with Papa! It's like a spell or a curse or something!"

"Curse?"

"He killed some people!"

"That's not like Rum!"

"I know! That's what I'm saying! You have to do something, please!"

"Bae!"

Elphaba looked up and stared. The man in front of her looked like Rumplestiltskin and yet at the same time he didn't. He certainly didn't look human. "Rum!" She exclaimed. "What's happened to you?"

"I know," Rumplestiltskin mused, looking down at himself. "I'm starting to look like you, aren't I, dearie?"

Dearie? That was not like Rumplestiltskin at all. Elphaba looked him up and down and then her eyes fell on the crooked dagger at his belt. "Rum?" She pointed a shaking finger at it. "Where did you get that?" His eyes glittered, manically. "Oh, Gods, Rum; it's the Dark One's curse - what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of my son!" he snapped, his voice an octave lower than usual.

"Rum, the one time you decide to grow a spine and you do this?!" Elphaba groaned. "Madame Morrible told me about this curse! It will consume you with darkness until there's nothing left except darkness and madness!" She held out her hand. "Right, give me that dagger!"

"Oh, I don't think so, dearie!" Rumplestiltskin stepped back from her reach.

"Rum, this isn't you!" Elphaba cried. "You're not evil like this, not really, you're just-!"

"What, dearie? A coward?"

"Rum!"

"Well, I'm done with being a coward, dearie! I protected what belongs to me and I’m not scared of anything!"

"Auntie Elphie, please!" Bae begged. "Can't you do something?"

Elphaba shook her head. "Bae, the only way to remove the Dark Curse is if someone uses that dagger to kill the Dark One; and I'd rather not do that, much as I'd really like to right now!" she added, fixing Rumplestiltskin with a look. He simply raised his eyebrows at her.

"I'm frightened, Auntie Elphie!"

Elphaba hugged him. "Bae, I know this is scary, but you just have to be brave. He's done this to keep you safe."

"She's right, Bae."

Elphaba looked at him. "Rum, do yourself a favour. Don't kill anyone else. That's how you'll really become the Dark One!"

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It was done. Madame Morrible was dead. To a degree, Elphaba was satisfied.

"Auntie Elphie!" Bae ran up and hugged her tightly. Elphaba laughed. "Bae, it's only been a few weeks; you're acting like you haven't seen me in a year! Wait; what happened?" she added, seeing his leg bandaged up.

"A little run-in with a man with a cart," Rumplestiltskin replied. "He won't be doing it again, though."

Elphaba groaned. "Oh, Rum, you didn't!"

"He did," Baelfire muttered as he left the room.

"Drink, dearie?"

"You're scaring your son," Elphaba reprimanded him.

"Says the woman who has Madame Morrible's blood on her hands!" he countered.

"That's different!" Elphaba snapped. "She had Doctor Dillamond murdered for no reason! She had it coming!"

"How did you do it?"

"I hit her over the head."

"Did you enjoy it?"

Elphaba shrugged. "Justice was done." Rumplestiltskin slid a tankard over to her and she caught it. "Who are the real monsters, Rum? Us or them?"

"That's the question, Elphie."

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"Then, it goes on about how your sister was killed-"

"Stop, I've heard enough!" Effie cried, throwing her hands over her ears. Henry looked at her in surprise. "Sorry, Henry; I'd just rather not live through all that again!"

"You remember?" Henry gasped. "How?"

Effie smiled. "Let me tell you what's not in the book, Henry."

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"Hey!" Effie turned to see a blonde woman behind her.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked.

"Can you tell me where Sidney Glass lives?"

"Sure, just down that way." Effie pointed. "Are you new in town?"

"Yeah, my name's Emma Swan."

"Emma?" Effie's memories came flooding back to he in a great rush.

"Yeah, you ok?" Emma looked at her in concern.

"Oh, yeah, sorry; I used to know someone called Emma." Effie smiled. "I'm Effie Tremaine, nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be."

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"Well, well, well," Mr Gold said, looking up as the shop bell tinkled. "If it isn't the Wicked Witch of the West!"

Effie scowled. "Watch it, Rumpy!"

He scowled. "Watch it, Elphie!"

Effie laughed. "You're you again!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're the Rumplestiltskin I remember!" Effie stepped up to the counter. "I've missed that!"

"So, I take it you met Miss Swan, then?"

"Oh, yes." Effie hesitated. "You didn't find Bae?"

Mr Gold shook his head. "I live in hope."

"You've still got that True Love bottled, right?"

"Saving it for a rainy day."

Effie smiled. "Well, you know I'm still your ally, right?"

Mr Gold grinned for the first time. "But of course, dearie; we made a deal, didn't we?"

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"I knew Mr Gold was Rumplestiltskin!" Henry whispered in awe.

Effie smiled. "You can't tell anyone, though; especially Regina!"

"I won't!" Henry beamed. "This is awesome! You two remember!"

"Yep!" Effie replied. "Come on, I'll shout you a hot chocolate in Granny's."

"Cool!" Henry hesitated. "Effie, Rumplestiltskin's on our side, right?"

"Sometimes I wonder." Effie shook her head as they set off. "He might be my friend but sometimes I wonder..."




(All OUAT characters and concepts belong to ABC)
(Elphaba belongs to Gregory Macguire)
(No romantic implications between these two - they're just friends. After all, they're both as bad as each other, sometimes!)
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© 2012 - 2024 MedieavalBeabe
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Tarnisis's avatar
I never would have thought about mixing OUAT and Wicked, but it truly is an intriguing idea! I love that you have Rum and Effie in the same boat! :D